A/N: Hi all, I'm back with another Dramione multi-chap (yay!). The general premise for the parings involved in the bet and Daphne's reasons for establishing it were given to me by Jecht Breaker as a challenge. Not a plot that has been done before to my knowledge, but I've planned ahead to throw in a couple of tweaks to put a new spin on it and make it original just in case, so I hope you guys enjoy reading. (Unfortunately I own nothing to do with Harry Potter, this is for non-profit etc, etc.)

[[Updated A/N]] It is romance/humour but it's not complete fluff - promise! There's some definite angst-y moments later on thrown into the mix, too :)

By the way, do you like the cover image? I drew it myself :D

Call His Bluff

14 days until the Yule Ball

The door to the Slytherin common room flew open and slammed shut with an echoing bang, causing many annoyed glances to be shot towards the entrance.

"What's the matter with you, Crabbe?" asked Blaise Zabini, who had looked up from his conversation with Draco Malfoy towards the door. Vincent Crabbe slumped into the room in his usual hunched stance towards his friends. Gregory Goyle accompanied him, and both boys were covered in snow. Their expressions were equally sour.

Crabbe remained silent until he sank ungracefully into the space beside Draco on the bottle-green leather sofa. Goyle perched on the arm of the chair and proceeded to shake snow off his robes, much to Crabbe's annoyance.

"Cut it out you pillock." He growled.

"I ask again: what's the matter with you?" Blaise laughed.

"Just got rejected by about five of them Beauxbaton's girls didn't I?" Crabbe muttered, picking at dirt beneath his fingernails. "Goyle here got shot down too." Draco smirked.

"Beauxbatons? Merlin, Crabbe that lot are way out of your league," he drawled, "Is it really that much of a surprise you had no luck?"

"Leave it out. I just didn't want to go with anyone from Hogwarts: almost all of the girls here look like they were raised in a sewer," replied Crabbe, "what were you two talking about anyway?"

"Ah, well Blaise and I were just discussing which lucky lady is worthy of taking me to the Yule Ball as it so happens. I've had at least ten invitations in the past few days." Draco said coolly.

"As if!" Goyle jeered.

"Fine then, don't believe me." The blond shrugged as he lounged against the back of the chair.

"Name every one of them girls then, and I'll believe you," Goyle challenged. Draco's confident exterior wavered slightly, but he recovered.

"One, I hardly think its necessary for me to prove myself to you. I don't particularly care if you believe me or not. Two, I'm afraid I can't oblige that request, I'm not quite sure of all of their names to be honest." At this Goyle decided not to argue but Crabbe persisted.

"Answer this then: were any of the girls from Beauxbatons?"

"Maybe." Draco evaded the question.

"I bet they were all complete dogs," Goyle whispered to Crabbe, laughing.

"Actually-" Draco said loudly as he glared up at Goyle, raising an eyebrow. "-There were one or two whom I'd certainly not say no to, under normal circumstances." He drawled.

"Eh?" Blaise asked from Draco's left.

"I was just about to tell you, that is before these two buffoons stormed in," Draco indicated towards Crabbe and Goyle with a jerk of his head as he replied to Blaise. "Come on, this is the Yule Ball, it's a big thing…at least by this school's standards," the others nodded in agreement at this statement, "So I find it a bit...easy to just be handed a date. It takes all the challenge out of it."

"What the hell? It's bloody annoying trying to get someone. And there's more pressure now that the Ball is only two weeks away. I know it's a stupid thing but I don't want to show up dateless," Crabbe growled.

"So what are you going to do, Draco?" Blaise asked. Draco seemed to consider the question for a moment or two.

"I'm not planning on taking any of the girls who already asked me, but the time pressure certainly makes the idea of finding a date myself more interesting." He thought aloud.

"You got anyone in mind?" Goyle piped up.

"Not as such," he admitted, "But I tell you one thing Crabbe, I would certainly be able to get a Beauxbatons girl as a date." Crabbe scoffed at his claim, so Draco decided to turn the screw a little more. "I got ten offers without even trying, I obviously have the charm to pull anyone I want." Draco drawled smugly.

"Oh really?" Came a nearby voice. Daphne Greengrass stared at the boys over the pages of an issue of Witch Weekly. Pansy Parkinson sat in a chair beside her. She was glaring at Draco, making her already pug-like features all the more obvious. "Honestly you lot are pathetic." Daphne continued.

"What's it to you, Greengrass?" Draco raised an eyebrow at her, ignoring Pansy. Daphne promptly closed her magazine, and discarded it in her seat as she stood up and walked over to the fourth-year boys. She tossed her blonde hair and folded her arms as she reached them, the firelight reflecting off her rectangular glasses menacingly.

"Well, Draco, forgive me for listening in to your conversation but I was just wondering how your head could possibly fit into this room. You're such an arrogant tool sometimes," she said, shooting Crabbe a death-glare when she caught him ogling at her chest, "And Merlin, Crabbe it's hardly any wonder you haven't got a date yet. You're just so…obvious."

"I could say the same about Pansy over there," Draco nodded his head towards the brunette who was still scowling at him. Daphne rolled her eyes.

"Well you can hardly blame her can you? You've been flirting with her constantly for a year so to her it seemed more than likely that you'd be asking her to the Ball."

Draco laughed. "Oh really? Honestly you girls need to lighten up. The flirting was just good fun and I've told her that on more than one occasion. I'm just keeping my options open that's all."

"Well you could have had the decency to grow some balls and tell her that a date wouldn't be on the cards instead of messing her around like this. This is the problem with you boys: your ego is always the biggest priority and you have the gall to talk about girls like they're toys you can just discard whenever you like. But then you always run away when it comes to facing up to what you've done… or claimed." Daphne had begun her rant angrily and she looked accusingly at each of the boys individually as she spoke. But by the end, her voice had trailed off and she began chewing her lip thoughtfully. She smiled mischievously at Draco, who looked confused.

"What was that about? See this is the problem with girls. One minute you're annoyed, the next minute you're smiling." Blaise said, looking equally as bewildered.

"Well Draco, care to put your Galleons where your mouth is?" She replied mysteriously and ignored Blaise.

"Go on." Draco said as he sat forwards. "And I don't run away. The Pansy thing was obviously a misunderstanding."

"As you are oh so confident that you 'have the charm to pull anyone you want' why not follow through with your arrogant claims for once. Prove that you don't 'run away' as you said just now." Daphne stared down at Draco smugly as her proposition prompted a chorus of 'ooooohs' from his friends. He suddenly looked uncomfortable and his smirk quickly faded away.

"So you want me to ask a girl out and get a date for the Ball basically? Easy." He drawled as he thought about what Daphne had just said. She shook her head, still smirking smugly.

"Oh no. You want a challenge don't you? After all you said so yourself that you weren't accepting any invitations because it was 'too easy'." Draco gulped but tried not to let it show. 'I'm going to choose a girl for you, and you will convince her to go to the Ball with you. And just to reinforce proof that you aren't a coward, you will also have to follow through and take her to the Ball. '

"And what's in it for me?" Draco asked.

"Well of course, bragging rights that you actually can get any girl."

"Hmm. To be honest Greengrass I've been bragging about that anyway. Plus, this seems awfully one-sided." The signature smirk twisted the boy's pointed features once more.

"Meaning?" Daphne prompted, rolling her eyes at Draco's bravado.

"Meaning that I should get a reward for completing this challenge… if I were to accept it that is." He winked at her suggestively and Daphne scoffed.

"Provided that I can lay down a couple of ground rules on that front, and I can issue a penalty if you fail, then I accept." She shot back.

Draco let out a long breath. "You drive a hard bargain, Greengrass," he said before pausing, and their area of the Common Room fell silent. Blaise's eyes were darting between Daphne and Draco; Crabbe and Goyle on the other hand didn't seem to know what was going on.

"All right, who am I to turn down the opportunity to prove you wrong? Name your terms." Draco said coolly, locking eyes with Daphne.

The blonde witch absent-mindedly removed her glasses and began twirling them between her fingers as she thought. "My terms are thus: One; you must ask a girl of my choosing to the Yule Ball and have her willingly agree to be your date," She smirked upon seeing Draco's expression fall at this requirement, "Two; you are to follow through and take her to the Ball, and three; you must spend the entire evening with her. Now, as for your reward, -"

"The whole evening?!" Draco exclaimed.

"Just a precaution; after all, it's not really a date if you keep making excuses to run away every five minutes." Daphne said coolly as she replaced her glasses.

Blaise elbowed Draco at this point.

"What?" Draco demanded as he rubbed his upper-arm.

"Why are you making such a big deal out of this?" Blaise asked, "what if Daphne chooses the fittest Beauxbaton's girl here? I'm sure you wouldn't mind spending the whole evening with her." He wiggled his eyebrows at Draco, who in turn seemed to grow arrogant once again, smirking and nodding his head as if imagining such a scenario.

Daphne cleared her throat and folded her arms again. "As I was saying," She emphasised, growing impatient with the interruptions, "for your reward, you may decide your own prize, which I will give to you; however, these can in no way, shape or form, require any physical contact between the two of us." She finished, having got the impression of Draco's thoughts when he mentioned the reward earlier.

He ran a hand through his hair and simply nodded, seemingly unperturbed by her conditions.

"Anything else?" He asked, sounding bored.

"Your penalty, should you fail to meet any of the three aforementioned requirements, will be decided by me. As long as that's clear with you then I guess that's everything. So, name your price." She said.

Crabbe and Goyle had seemed to have caught up with the conversation now, and were waiting for Draco's reply, their piggy eyes fixated on him.

"If I complete this challenge, or, well I suppose it's a bet now with the penalties and what-not, I would like… you to kiss Potter, on the lips, after the second task of the Tournament, in public." Draco said slowly, as if speaking as the thoughts came to him. A grin spread across his face and he clapped his hands together, feeling very proud of his idea.

Daphne's stomach dropped and she blinked rapidly trying to adjust to his terms. She had been expecting him to want money, want her to do his homework, polish his damn broomstick, anything other than what he had actually said.

"Wanting to back out now, Greengrass?" Draco challenged, "Feel free, but that would effectively mean you admitting that I can get any girl I want."

There was no way Daphne was letting that happen, so she decided to play it cool, despite her stomach twisting in knots at the unsettling thought of potentially having to kiss Harry Potter in public.

"Please, I never back out. I was just surprised at the angle you decided to play it," she shrugged, feigning nonchalance.

"Well the way I see it, Potter is going to be treated like the bloody hero anyway – provided he survives the task of course – so I may as well make the situation a little more entertaining for myself," he grinned as the other boys nodded approvingly, "Also, I figured that if I have to suffer the pressure of completing this, you should too. It's only fair."

"Okay then. But now, my penalty…" Daphne was mulling over her options. Two could play at this game!

Draco stiffened in his seat; the penalty had completely slipped his mind.

"I think I'll take inspiration from that amazing idea of yours," she gushed mockingly, enjoying the sight of Draco Malfoy's smirk being wiped off his face, "If you fail, you have to make a public declaration of your romantic feelings for the girl I choose. And by 'public', I mean in front of at least ten other students and two professors in a silent setting. That is, not during a Quidditch match where you wouldn't be heard. And by 'romantic feelings', I mean undying love."

Draco gulped. This was bad. This would potentially be humiliating: he was a Malfoy after all, girls were supposed to be making sad, desperate speeches vying for his affections, not the other way around. Then again, thinking about what Blaise had said, it wouldn't be so bad if it were a Beauxbatons girl. At least then there was a chance that he would mean the words, or better yet, she wouldn't have a damn clue what he was saying.

"Well?" Daphne prompted as she adjusted her glasses.

"Scratch the 'undying love' part and you have a deal. Romantic feelings can still be a requirement though." He bargained, stretching out his hand.

"In that case, I think a bigger audience would be needed." Daphne shot back.

"Fine, romantic feelings only, two professors and twenty students."

"Three professors and twenty students."

"Deal… if you tell me the name of the girl now. And no changing your mind after you give me a name." Draco said.

Daphne scoffed. "I'm not stupid, Draco. If I did that then you could back out before we've even made this official. You can't always have everything you want."

Draco glowered at her. He made a mental note to never push this girl's buttons again after this.

"So, if I go back down to your proposal of two professors and twenty students to witness your penalty declaration, I will tell you the girl's name after we put the binding spell in place. Take it or leave it."

"Binding spell?" Blaise spluttered in disbelief. The clash of Daphne and Draco's egos was escalating rapidly and he was having trouble keeping up.

"Yeah, to add an extra unknown penalty threat should either of us not follow through with the one's we have just discussed. I've a friend in sixth year who knows how to perform it." She tossed her blonde hair and put her hands on her hips.

"What exactly will this spell do?" Draco asked.

"It's random, so no one, even the caster, would have any control. Whatever it is would be something worse than the existing penalties though, so it's just a precaution to ensure both parties of a bet or wager will follow it through."

"Merlin, you always remind me of Granger when you go all book-ish like that," Blaise said, shuddering.

Daphne opened her mouth to retort but Blaise's words made her mind begin to race excitedly.

"Do we have a deal, Draco?" She stepped forwards and took hold of his hand, pretending that she hadn't heard Blaise's comment.

His grey eyes studied her suspiciously for a moment, and the eyes of Crabbe, Goyle and Blaise, fell on him. He sighed and shook Daphne's hand, nodding stiffly.

"Right; now let's get this binding spell over with so you can finally tell me who the lucky lady is." He drawled nonchalantly.

Daphne nodded and departed to the girl's dormitories, returning quickly with a tall girl who Draco recognised as a Chaser on the Slytherin Quidditch team.

The girl performed the spell and left just as swiftly as she had arrived, and all eyes remained on the doorway to the dormitories when they heard a short shriek from nearby and saw Pansy flouncing angrily through the girl's entrance shortly afterwards. The door slammed with a bang and the sound peeled off the walls.

Daphne winced; there was no way Pansy was going to be forgiving her any time soon. Why did she have to get so caught up in this? All she wanted to do was call Draco's bluff and knock him down a peg or two.

Blaise let out a long breath and laughed humourlessly. "It's ironic that this whole thing started from you defending her because you thought Draco was leading her on."

"Yes thanks for that little observation, Zabini." Daphne snapped.

"It's a fair point though," said Blaise, holding his hands up, "seriously that was a smart move; defend her one second and persuading the boy she fancies to go on a date with someone else the next."

Draco smirked at his friend's comment, enjoying Daphne's slip up.

"Look, can we just get on with this? We've already put the spell in place so we have to follow through." Daphne huffed.

"Or you can just forfeit, deal with the mystery consequence and beg for Pansy's forgiveness." Draco replied smugly.

"Pansy's going to be pissed at me either way, Malfoy; we continue." She said.

"Have it your way. So, who is it going to be?" Draco asked, raising an eyebrow.

Daphne fiddled with the earpieces of her glasses as she thought: there was no way Pansy would forgive her if she actually did set Draco up with a Beauxbatons girl, so she had to think of someone that Draco could in no way, ever be attracted to. Blaise's earlier comment floated to the front of her mind once again and she grinned. This idea was genius: now it was a win-win; Pansy couldn't be too mad and if Draco lost it would be joy instead of jealously that Pansy would feel, not to mention that Daphne wouldn't have to kiss Potter.

"I choose…Granger."

"What?" Draco's eyes widened in disbelief and the other boys simultaneously snorted with laughter.

"I see what you did there, Greengrass. Smart girl." Blaise laughed, clapping his hands.

"Why thank you, Zabini." Daphne smiled at him, taking a bow.

"You sneaky little-" Draco began.

"Forfeit if you want, Malfoy. Just remember the consequence will be worse than having to publically disclose your romantic feelings for Granger, and you'll be admitting that you can't get any girl. It's not my fault that to you 'any girl' seems to mean 'any attractive girl.' "

Draco clenched his fists and scowled at Daphne through his white-blond fringe. It took a moment or two for him to compose himself, but he did, and soon he was lounging back once again as calm as ever.

"Okay Greengrass, you got me there. But, there is no way I'm backing down. I intend to prove to you that I have the superior pulling abilities that can get even Granger to agree to go to the Ball with me." He drawled calmly.

"I'd like to see you try."

'Oh you will; then you will see me succeed, and more importantly, after that I'll see you lock lips with Scarhead.'

With that, Draco rose from the sofa, drew his back straight and sauntered towards the boy's dormitories, cool and collected on the outside, but filled with dread, disgust and panic on the inside at the thought of having to effectively go on a date with Hermione Granger… that is, if she even agreed to go with him.

He threw himself onto his bed and groaned, sincerely hoping that his parents would never find out about this.

To be continued...

A/N: Thank you all for reading, you're awesome. Please review on your way out :)