A/N: Okay, people
A/N: This one has been in the works for a much shorter period than last chapter, and although those readers that actually have been around since the beginning (if any are still alive) might disagree, I've got to say that these chapters are like…I don't know…beef stew. Although it eventually spoils, up until a point it only gets better. So there. My excuse for long pauses between chapters is a muddled up food simile.
Disclaimer: I have absolutely no claim on any of the characters depicted herein, except perhaps Mary and I don't want her. How about Millicent? Could I have Millie instead?
Game Night
"If life doesn't offer a game worth playing, then invent a new one."
Anthony J. D'Angelo
Chapter Twelve:
Change
"All things must change to something new, to something strange."
– Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
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I've Never
"Hm," Ron said, and thought, and pondered. "I have never brewed Veritaserum." He grinned, happy that for once he could get some good out of his low grade in Potions. Snape scowled, but tipped up his mug (courtesy of the house elves). Luna gave him a considerate look.
"I've never played Quidditch," she said, then smiled, and Ron glowered at her.
"Nerd," he said into his cup.
Surprisingly, Snape was drinking too. "What?" He said when he saw them looking at him. "I wasn't raised in a cave, you know." Luna just laughed.
--
Truth or Dare
"Mister Potter. Truth. Dare. Double Dare. Double Truth. Rainbow. Pick your poison."
Harry swallowed, and for half a second considered Truth before realising that meant she could ask anything. "Erm…Rainbow."
Pansy scowled, but ran her eyes along the his body. "Well, well, well. Anxious to get out of your…?" She stopped abruptly, remembering the dare from earlier, pursed her lips. "No, I don't think so. White."
He glanced down at the white dress shirt he was wearing, stretched tight across his shoulders, and had his fingers on the first button before remembering the bra beneath it. He mentally cursed, and began to unbutton, trying not to let the flush rise to his cheeks. How the hell was he going to get his clothes back from Cho, anyway? He had to slip out of the robe to get the shirt off, but he had it back on the second he could. Unfortunately, Pansy said, "Nice bra, Potter," loudly enough for everyone to look over, so his humiliation was complete anyway.
--
Spin the Bottle
"Hermione," Ginny said, miserably watching the bottle go round, "I'm not sure you thought this one through." It skidded to a halt (being a magical bottle, it could do that) in front of the aforementioned inebriation, and they both sighed.
"Ginny," Hermione said, dolefully watching the die flip over, "you may have a point."
--
I've Never
"I've never worn red."
Over the rim of their mugs, Ron and Luna glowered at the demon currently inhabiting their professor's body.
"Make it a rainbow scarf," Ron said to the blond, "and I'll chip in."
"Done. Your turn."
Ron tapped his fingers, thinking. Snape glared. Luna stared off in the distance.
--
Truth or Dare
"You know, isn't there some sort of rule against only two people playing Truth or Dare?" Harry asked, trying to buy time as he figured out what to ask Pansy for her Truth.
"Isn't there some sort of rule against Slytherins hanging out in Gryffindor tower?" she rebutted. "I don't think your friend Granger is paying much attention to the rules anymore." Harry couldn't respond to that, and by the time he thought of something else to stall with, she had said, "Now, come on Potter. No more postponing the inevitable. Have at it."
"Ehm… Why do you follow Malfoy around, like you do?"
The dark-haired girl groaned. "Honestly, would it kill you to ask something interesting? …For the same reason Weasley – the short one, not the Neanderthal – has dated five guys in the past month, probably." She paused, to let the confused expression cover his face, explained: "To disguise my true motives. I could be a spy for Voldemort or the leader of an underground resistance movement, but people look at me and think, 'Draco's girlfriend'. They don't even imagine I might have a brain in my head. Here's a secret: Slytherins are sneaky, not stupid. We want people to underestimate us. See, because even if you Gryffindors don't pay attention to truisms, 'Know Thine Enemy' is an unofficial Slytherin motto. …Except, you know, in Latin. And if we muddle up our personalities and make it impossible for our enemies to figure us out, we've got one more advantage." She took a deep breath. "Alright, impromptu lecture over. Truth, Double Truth, Dare, Double Dare, or Rainbow?"
--
Spin the Bottle
"How old were you, then?" Draco asked Neville, while the girls snogged some more. The boys had been left out of the loop for the past ten rounds or so, and even if Millicent's appalling suggestion had been true, all this casual spit-swapping would certainly have dampened any extant…tensions.
"How old when?"
"When your gran dressed you like a girl."
Neville blushed. "Uh…a few months, I guess. I don't remember it, but the pictures…"
"There are photographs?"
Neville said "Eegmmm" and then "She really wanted a granddaughter, and at that age-"
"There are photographs?"
The bottle (spun by Millicent) lazily drifted still in front of Neville, and he sighed.
"This conversation is not over," Draco said, as the die wobbled.
--
I've Never
"I've never lived alone," Ron said.
Snape scowled at him, took a sip of firewhiskey, then "I've never worn orange."
Ron's mug said something that sounded like, "I fluffing hate you." Luna took it all in stride.
"I've never worn male underwear."
Both the men scowled at her, and she grinned dazzlingly.
"I've never
"I've never worn purple."
Luna took a large swallow. "Sevvy?"
"Mmm?"
"How can you be a queen if you've never worn rainbow?"
--
Truth or Dare
Harry swallowed. "Er…Dare, then." She grinned, an impressive display of teeth that did little to settle his nerves. She reminded him of a documentary he had watched on sharks a number of years ago. They wounded their prey first, it had said, then wait until it had bled out to finish the meal. Suddenly he was regretting his choice.
"I dare you to dance," she said, and he was halfway through a sigh of relief when she continued, "in these. With Draco." These were the strappy black heels she had slipped off some time ago, and now cast Laxare on, so they would fit him.
Harry quivered, eyes expanding to unprecedented size. "But…um…what…I…"
--
The clanging of a bell emanated through the room, and everyone froze. Then suddenly a chorus of "Oh, thank God"s, "Thank Merlin"s, "Sweet Jesus yes"s filled the room. Severus Snape glared; it had been his turn.
--
A/N: Yes, it's finally here. A thousand words, which makes it the longest chapter so far, I think, although still not particularly long. Harry is a very, very, lucky guy.