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Although this fic does not yet include slash per se (that is, a romantic relationship between two people of the same sex), the main character is a lesbian (at this point it's fairly easy to ignore, though), so if you don't like slash you probably wouldn't like this either.

Also, Padma belongs to J.K., although she is an annoyingly minor character. All of the good characters seem to be minor, actually. Eloise Midgen. Mrs. Lestrange. Seamus's mother. It's tragic.

Summary of chapter: Mandy and Padma play a game of Dare, Truth, or Promise which, coincidentally, wakes up the whole House.

Stupid note: I don't know if they play Truth or Dare in Britain. I once read a book (an f/f slashy book, coincidentally) that took place in Australia (I think) and the characters played Dare, Truth, or Promise. I thought that sounded slightly more British than Truth or Dare, so that's what I had them play.

Other stupid note: yes, Terry is a boy. In SS/PS it says something about the Ravenclaws shaking hands with him as he joined them.

Third stupid note: The definition of fancy is from Webster's New Universal Unabridged (read: heavy) Dictionary.

Fourth stupid note: "Conked out" probably isn't an English term. So sue me.

Fifth stupid note: If I sound really British, then I'm special, because I've never been there.

Sixth stupid note: I'm having the Ravenclaw girls' beds be exactly like the Gryffindor boys' beds, only blue. However, the dormitories are arranged differently, which is why Terry was the first person not in her dormitory to hear Mandy jumping on the bed.

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"Dare," Mandy said, "truth, or promise."

"Truth."

"Who do you like?"

She should have thought of that. Padma had opted for the easy out in this game since childhood, and since telling someone when she was born or what her underwear looked like seemed far preferable to climbing up on the roof of the house, her answer was always the same. Unfortunately, her friends seemed to be getting smarter.

The raven in her brain (as she called it) began to whisper instructions. It was the real reason she was in the house she was; she could twist logic and literal meanings in any way she wanted to. She didn't say "love." She didn't say "like romantically." Who do you like? You like lots of boys.

"Right," Padma said. "Terry."

"Terry doesn't count."

"Why not?"

"Everyone likes Terry, or has, at some point."

"You should have said that before."

"Padma." This in an exasperated tone. Mandy put her head back on the pillow. "I'm going to sleep if you can't play properly."

"Okay."

"Padma."

"Mandy."

"It's too early to go to sleep."

"You were the one who wanted to go to sleep."

"Oh, come on, Padma. Who d'you fancy?"

Fancy. Verb. Second definition- to like; to be pleased with; to be fond of; as, he fancied
her the first time they met. "I told you; I fancy Terry."

"What about that French boy?"

"Who, Pierre? He was all right."

"All right? You met him all the time at Hogsmeade last year."

"I said he was all right. Yeah, I like him. It's your turn. Dare truth or promise." And she had liked him, liked to be with him. She was fond of him. Unfortunately, Mandy was not referring to the dictionary definition of fancy. She was not asking whether Padma found Pierre amusing. Or interesting. Or fun to be with. She was asking if Padma had liked kissing him. It had been all right, she supposed, but Padma was smart enough to know that kissing a boy was supposed to be more than all right. If it wasn't, then there was something wrong with you.

"Dare."

Padma cast an amused glance around the room, looking for something truly horrible for Mandy to do. Once she'd forced her to swim ten laps in the bathtub, but the memory of Mandy's olive shoulders and dark hair against the deep green of her bathing suit still made her stomach clench uncomfortably. "Right. Er- jump on the bed until you wake Rag up."

"Padma!"

"You chose dare, you've got to keep it."

"But the whole house will be up before she is. And she'll kill us!"

"Kill you, you mean. I'm not going to jump on the bed." Morag MacDougal, however sensible she was during the sunny hours, was not a night person. She conked out at around eight or nine and couldn't be woken until seven, unless seven was still dark, in which case she couldn't be woken until eight. If anyone managed to wake her before seven, she spit acid.

"You're going to die when it's your turn again."

"I know," Padma said, snickering. "Do it."

"Fine. Get off the bed."

Padma obediently slipped off the end of Mandy's four-poster. When they were younger and having one of their midnight vigils, they used to lay next to each other, but Padma no longer felt she could do that. It was too... too close. Yes, that was it.

Mandy very hesitantly started bouncing up and down on the bed. "Open her curtains, Padma. I don't want to do this a second longer than I have to."

"You wouldn't have to do it at all if you hadn't chosen dare."

"How was I to know you'd make me do this?"

Padma looked at her levelly, trying very, very hard not to laugh. "Mandy, what kind of things do I usually make you do when you choose dare?"

"Well... this kind of thing."

Padma threw up her hands. "Then why do you always choose dare?" And with that she
went over to open Morag's curtains.

Mandy glared at her.

"Jump."

She started again. About three seconds later, the curtains of the fourth bed opened, and Lisa Turpin, looking sleepy but still speaking in a perfectly crisp, clear voice, said "What exactly would you two be doing?"

Lisa was a bit of a mystery. She was a pale, bony girl with gray nearsighted eyes and thin black hair, and as far as Padma could tell, she had no friends, nor had she ever had. You would have expected her to be really good at school, loner that she was, but she wasn't that much better than the rest of their year. She always seemed, though, like she was thinking about something else, something she really cared about, which was really more important than anything else she could possibly come in contact with. Lisa was- Lisa was self-contained, Padma thought. Yes. That was what you'd call her.

"Trying to wake up Rag," Mandy said without looking at her. "Padma, am I allowed to yell?"

"No, you've got to jump."

"I hate you, you know."

"I know. I can't believe it even woke you up, Lisa. I was hoping she'd just keep jumping all night, while Rag slumbered on."

"I wasn't asleep."

Mandy glared at Padma and started jumping with more fervor.

About five minutes later Terry Boot was banging on the door of the common room.

"What d'you think you're doing?" he shouted, to Padma's great amusement. "Some of us are trying to sleep in here!"

"It's not my fault!" Mandy said. "She dared me."

"She chose dare," Padma told him.

"Mandy, why did you choose 'dare' in the middle of the night?"

"It isn't the middle of the night," Mandy said. "It's early. How was I supposed to know she was going to make me do this?"

"You could have thought about it. You know Padma. Remember the time she made you swim all those laps in the bathtub?"

Padma blushed and hoped no one was looking at her.

"And it is too late. What is it, like midnight?"

"Eleven-forty-six," Lisa said, putting on her glasses.

"Eleven-forty-six's not late!" Mandy insisted, continuing to leap up and down.

"Of course it's late! None of us were awake!"

"Excuse me," said Roger Davies from the door, "but you know the whole team has to get up early to practice, and here you are making all this noise! I don't want to take points away from my own house, but-"

"Stuff it, Roger," Mandy said, jumping.

"I think he's right," Orla Quirke interrupted, also from the door. "I'm a very light sleeper you know. It isn't fair to deprive us of our rest, when some of us have more important things to do-"

"It's Friday," Padma told her. "As in, no school tomorrow. Go away and leave us alone."

"Look-" said Stewart Ackerly- "we shouldn't have to justify our reasons for needing sleep-"

"Hurry up, Mandy, will you?" Padma snapped. "Wait just a minute, everyone, when Rag is up you can all go back to sleep."

"Oh that's a relief," Ivan Moon muttered, glaring at her.

"Will you shut up!" Terry said. "Just leave her to it, that's what you should do. The more noise you make the more you're-"

"It's not Ivan's fault," Roger said. "You're being ridiculous."

"Well, what do you propose we do? We can't exactly go to sleep."

"You don't even have any reason to go to sleep. You don't play Quidditch and bring glory to your whole house."

"It's not like you win or something," Terry informed him. "You and Ivan and everyone think you're better than the whole rest of the house because you play that stupid game-"
A few minutes later, the group of ten or so people standing outside the fifth-year dorm was chanting "Fight! Fight! Fight!" They were having such a good time chanting that they forgot why they were there in the first place, but this didn't bother Padma, who really wanted nothing more than to have Mandy jump on the bed all night. That would really be something to laugh about. Besides, maybe her nightgown would fly up.

Suddenly they were interrupted by a rather bloodthirsty-sounding voice. "Who woke me up?" said the voice.

Everyone tore their eyes away from the sight of Terry and Roger and looked at the fourth bed in the dormitory. Emerging from under many blankets and sheets was the figure of Morag MacDougal. "Who woke me up?" she asked again.

Suddenly Terry, Roger, Padma, Lisa, and Mandy were the only ones left in the dormitory.

"It was Mandy," Padma explained as Terry got up and limped away.

"But Padma told me to do it," Mandy countered as Roger moved all his fingers carefully to make sure none were broken.

"But she chose dare."

"Right," Morag said. "Mandy, I'll see you in the morning." With this, she crawled back under the covers and went back to sleep.

Mandy shivered. "I hate you, Padma. And it's your turn now. Dare truth or promise?"

"What d'you mean? You're not done."

"You're going nutters, Padma. Of course I'm done."

"No you're not. I said no yelling could wake her up. She didn't wake up because you jumped on the bed. She woke up because everyone was yelling at Roger and Terry."

"You didn't say that."

"Did."

"Didn't."

"Did."

"Didn't."

"Did."

"Didn't."

"Did."

"I think," Lisa interrupted. Both of them stared at her. "Mandy, you said 'Am I allowed
to yell?' and Padma, you said 'No, you've got to jump.' Mandy didn't yell."

"Thank you, Lisa," Mandy said. "Dare truth or promise, Padma?"

"I don't want to play any longer. It's midnight now, isn't it Lisa?"

"Twelve-thirteen."

"You can't get out of it this easily."

"I'm not trying to get out of it, I'm just tired."

"Well, I'm not." Mandy yawned. She had nice teeth, Padma thought. "Okay, maybe a
little. But I will get you back, you know."

"I know."

"Good night, Padma."

"Good night."
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++The end. Or is it?

No, it is not. But it is the end of Chapter One. So you should review, like nice fanfiction readers. Also, if you flame me for having slashy hints, can you please include in your flame the reason you read a story which you were told contained homosexuality? It rather confuses me.