Nox Celebrationis - A Slytherin Party

Chapter 3

Hermione felt delirious. The potion slowly consumed her body and mind. The witch moved to the beat while her mind thought about the last year. She hasn't felt this free and at peace for a long time...

Since the war ended, loss, pain, and slow healing have taken over most of the past year. Not only Hermione was learning to live again, but also everyone around her.

Nevertheless one can say it was difficult after Fred died. George and Ron were hit the most by the loss of their brother, but every Order member was deeply hurt by the loss of their loved ones. She was hurting too, yet she had the feeling if she was overconsumed by the pain, all the others, like Gin and Harry, would be lost even more. She needed to be their rock and the foundation in times of change and hard transition into the new normal - at least outwardly.

This held especially true for Ron. He became different after the battle. Secluded at first, even when she tried to come through to him, he was not the same man. So once he slowly opened up and shared his pain, she had to be his one solid foundation to which he could always return, even on the darkest of days. And dark were a lot of them in the beginning.

This experience and the shared pain strengthened the bond that slowly grew over their time at Hogwarts. It turned into an emotional and sexual connection, beautiful at first but deadly at the end. It was a connection where the one couldn't let go of the other because he was in deep need of the one person that helped him through these dark days; And the other was unhappy and suffering because of the darkness which consumed her, but could not be shared, because she needed to be okay with him. During a long part of their relationship, she was the other who was too afraid of what would happen when she let go - so she didn't.

Yet, after a while, Ron got better, at least in front of the public eye.
He suddenly went to these dinner parties and events of the Magisterium, where his fame as a war hero would heal his pain more than Hermione ever could, with the overflowing awe and attention everyone had for him there. All his life, he was not seen, not in his big family or even as Harry's Best friend, but now after the war, he was the shining star. In fact, to shining, his darkness was drained away by it. But it also drained away himself and the love he had for Hermione. Initially, she was always the brilliant piece in Ron's arms and was happy about it. Not that she cared much for the attention and the fame these public outings brought along, but she cared for Ron to be better, happy even.

However, soon she realized that this beaming new Ron also got the attention of women. Everyone wanted a piece of the Trio after the war, so it was not new that advances were made, herself has gotten a ton of owls with courting letters after the war. But once she realized he did not dislike these advances, it was too late.
On one of these nights, she found him a little too close to a witch, and it opened her eyes. The whole time she had suffered silently to make the one person complete again and help him heal, just to get rewarded with a broken heart and his cheating wizard's ass on display while he was stuck in a moaning witch.  So, she left, a little broken, but without looking back.

Hermione was overexcited when the Hogwarts letter came, which noticed her that the Castle had rebuilt itself and the eight years were invited to redo their last year. An even better message was that Ron decided not to return with Ginny and her, but to reopen Weasley's Wizard Wheezes with George.

Ginny's relationship with Harry didn't fair better. Although their reason being much more typical than hers and Ron's. Harry felt like the war pushed him into the relationship and not because he wholeheartedly loved Ginny.
Something which was hard to bear for Ginny, who didn't know different than to love 'the boy who lived'.

Once Hermione drifted back to the green room, she saw the red head laughing with Blaise. She will be alright even after Harry, Hermione thought to herself. She chuckled, we will all be alright somehow.
The bright witch fully in a delirious but blissful state danced like no one was watching. Twirling around and around, singing to the tunes of the music - feeling finally unburdened within the pit of snakes. It seems like Nott was right when he said that our deepest desires will be met once we drink the potion, Hermione thought.

But what Hermione didn't know was that her deepest desire was hungrily watching her. Waiting to make the first move on the chessboard, where Hermione was the white queen and he was the black king.