Alcohol

Disclaimer: The characters, settings etc aren't mine. The Marriage Law challenge isn't mine either, I just borrowed everything. No money is being made off it.

Thank you to SW69 and notsosaintly for continually putting up with my numerous errors :)

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There are good things about being ignored, thought Hermione. Being able to have an entire booth to yourself at a popular bar on a Friday night for one. People just moved out of the way as she walked past, like she was a werewolf.

Ahh, Remus. Another painful thought, another glass of Firewhisky. It was almost amusing how those who had been outcasts all their lives suddenly turned on others when they became part of the pack. Although, when she thought about it carefully, it was almost to be expected of Remus. He had been part of the biggest group of bullies that had ever graced the halls of Hogwarts. Why would that have changed over the years? Another gulp of alcohol, and she was ready to forget them all. Just for tonight; tomorrow she could go back to tormenting herself again.

"Death by alcohol, or death by drowning?"

Oh just brilliant. He was here. How perfect her night was turning out to be. Someone who was still talking to her, that she'd rather would just die. Death by irony might have been more appropriate really.

"You know, I'm not really in the mood for the company of a git tonight. But enjoy whatever it is you're planning to do elsewhere."

"Granger, as sweet as always, I see. Unfortunately, this is the only available seat in this bar, and I plan on getting neatly plastered before heading home."

He had to be kidding. Why didn't he just go stand near the fireplace? Maybe then, one of the flames would leap out and he wouldn't be an issue anymore. And whoever said the phrase "neatly plastered"? Wow, that sounds cool. Argh, she wished she could wipe that self-satisfied look off his face. Annoying her really wasn't difficult enough to be satisfied over.

"Well, it would make Apparating a great deal more interesting anyway. And of course that seat's empty. It's all your fault it's empty, and you know it. First you cause the problem, and then you turn up to make it worse. Go rot, Snape."

There, that should work. Now she could return to the ever so important matter of drinking.

"You have turned bitter since the war. Unless you can spit out something intelligent, Miss Granger, please refrain from talking to me. Witty ripostes are not the reason I came over, and I would much prefer to drink in silence."

He didn't even look angry. He was just lounging back, looking relaxed and leisurely. Didn't he realize he was being insulted? Apparently not, judging from the casual air emanating from him. Besides, did anyone actually fall for that classroom voice once they had graduated? Trying to intimidate someone who had worked so closely with him was really not the most intelligent thing to do.

She was on the verge of leaving, when two faces suddenly became clear in the crowd. And they had seen her too, sitting here at a table with him. How bad it must all look right now. The anger on their faces was almost like a physical blow to her. After all they'd done to her, it was a wonder she still cared. But twelve years was a lot to throw away; even more to move on from.

Suddenly, it was all too much for her. Between the git across from her and those two on the other side of the room, it was definitely time to leave. Wasn't it enough that she had losses to grieve over, friends to mourn? Did she really have to mourn those that still lived? And on top of it all, to be lumbered with the bat from the dungeons! Maybe life under Voldemort wouldn't have been so bad after all.

The look on Snape's face was too smug to be anything less than irritating. He'd obviously seen them as well.

"If you leave now, they'll think they've caught you doing something wrong again. And with me, no less. Whereas, if you stay, it will look like you're deliberately flaunting yourself in their faces. Hard choice all round, isn't it, Miss Granger?"

Smarmy git. Why did he even bother to talk to people? Did it make him happy to point out the obvious? Of course it was a hard choice!

"Tell me, Snape, do you get a hard-on from other people's unhappiness, or does it go with the territory of having no heart?"

If the smug look had been irritating, this look was nothing short of bliss for Hermione to look at. Finally, she had managed to shock, disgust, and best Snape with words.

Without waiting for her victory to turn into a loss, Hermione picked up her bag and, after downing the last of her drink, stormed out of the bar to Apparate home.

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As he sat alone in his house, Snape wondered just how everything had gone so wrong. It was supposed to have gone a lot differently than how it had eventually turned out. He'd found the one person in the wizarding world logical enough to see the truth behind that horrific act, convinced her, and used her. Through his spying efforts, she managed to pass all the right information on to the Hero. It was his maneuvering that made the way clear for the final showdown. Without him, Potter would have encountered twenty Death Eaters before getting anywhere near the Dark Lord, and would definitely not have had enough energy left to win.

It had been the perfect plan to end a life in the darkness. It was meant to have brought him back to the light; meant to ensure that he could start to live his life. The acquittal went smoothly. With the use of a Pensieve, the Wizengamot was able to see the thoughts that Potter, so useless at anything involving his brain, had missed. Of course, they had used Legilimency to communicate before Snape had cast the Avada Kedavra. How else could they have had a conversation in a room full of Death Eaters without blowing his cover?

Truth be told, it was his fault that it had all blown up after that. Whilst the acquittal had not exactly cleared his name completely, people were at least willing to acknowledge his existence on the street. It was a start. He didn't want to be the best loved person in the world. A shudder ran through his body at the very thought. Most people in the world were still dunderheads, and would continue to be until they were removed from the Earth, but less of the blatant, open hostility might have been nice. A quiet existence where he ignored others. They weren't meant to ignore him.

Seeing Hermione so openly had been a mistake. He'd had no reason left for communicating with her; the war was over and the hearing finished. But a thank you drink in the Leaky Cauldron certainly seemed appropriate. Not to Weasley. Jealous and idiotic were two very dangerous combinations in someone so exalted by society. Despite her hitherto high standing in the community, Hermione had no chance against the redhead. Never had a child been born with more aptly colored hair than that one. By the time he'd finished slandering both of them, there was no one left that would listen to the other side. Potter had believed it all, of course. Why wouldn't he? Any reason to hate Snape again was welcome. At least, any reasonable excuse to carry on the hatred that had never left was welcome.

It did surprise Snape that they'd been so willing to lose Hermione. Surely, she'd meant more to the both of them then just homework help. After all, without her, they never would have passed his subject at least, and probably every other one at Hogwarts.

Giving up on all of these thoughts, Snape proceeded to drink himself into a deep slumber. He fell asleep on the chair and didn't wake to the tapping of the owl on the window the next morning.

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Hermione had continued her drinking when she had arrived home. Hence, it was her mother who received the owl post the next morning. The headline meant very little to her, and she continued with her breakfast in a blissfully unaware state.

It wouldn't last long. Bill 5932 had been passed and would become effective within a month.