Alright, so lately I've been obsessed with NamelesslyNightlock's story The Game. I highly recommend that you read it, for I can only hope that this fic ever reaches that amazingness. This fic is based on it, meaning that the overview and rules are the same from when the Marauders play The Game in the original story, but I have a new set of characters to mess with, along with another generation of Hogwarts teachers. Now, I'm working on the next chapter (which will undoubtedly be longer), but any truth questions or dare suggestions would be much appreciated!
Also, if you want a quick summary, scroll down. There's a general overview of The Game those crazy seventh years are going to play. I can assure you, it will be a truckload of fun. I must apologize and warn you, but this first chapter seems extremely similar to that of the original Game, but this is it. All other chapters will be uniquely chaotic. Once again, sorry, but I couldn't think of more perfect way to start another round of The Game! Besides, this draws parallels between the two generations, right?
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, the Marauders, The Game (that's NamelesslyNightlock), or the Star Spangled Banner… or anything else recognizable.
Sunday Evening: Star-Spangled-Banners and Banshees
"O-say-can-you-see?"
"Jack…"
"By the twilight's last light…"
"Jack…"
"What so proudly we mailed…"
"Jack!"
"And the starlight's first streaming…"
"JACK! Shut up!"
"And the rocket's red glare! The …uh… lights bursting through air!"
"Those aren't even the right words," muttered Arjun Patel.
"Er… what comes next?" asked Jack Jones, looking at Arjun.
"Please be quiet."
"Oh! Over the land of the free and the home of the brave!"
"What on earth is going on?" cried Ellie Shacklebolt, walking down from the girls dormitories. "It sounded like a Banshee with a sore throat!"
"Jack is attempting to sing the American National Anthem," said Arjun.
"Why is 'attempting' in there?" demanded Jack.
Arjun looked pointedly at a group of first years who were huddled in the corner with their hands over their ears.
"Hey guys," said Teddy Lupin and Hiroyoshi Yamada, walking into the common room.
"Where have you been?" asked Arjun. "You were supposed to be back ages ago!"
"Well," started Teddy, "I was just in our last Quidditch practice with Gemma."
"And I was avoiding what sounded to be a banshee in here," added Hiro.
"Hey!" exclaimed Jack. "That's two of you thinking I'm a banshee!"
"That was you?" scoffed Teddy. "Wow, mate. I'm sorry."
"Thank you," Jack sniffed.
"I can't believe you were cursed with such a bad voice!"
"Oh, shut up," sneered Jack. He paused and looked around. "Hey! What should I sing next?"
"Please, no more singing!" begged Arjun. "Anything but that!"
"But I'm bored," whined Jack, flopping down next to Arjun on a sofa. "Maybe I'll sing Whitney Houston. I know you love that one song-"
"Hold on a minute, mate," Teddy intervened at the pained look on Arjun's face. "I've got a better idea if you're bored."
"What is it?" asked Hiro.
"Let's play… The Game!"
"Which Game?" asked Ellie as Arjun and Hiro groaned.
"The Game!" stated Teddy.
"It's a game Teddy and Jack try to convince us to play every year," explained Hiro. "We've always declined, but-"
"Is that a 'but' I hear, Hiro?" asked Jack, leaning in. "He's in, Teddy!"
"I am?"
"He is? Great! What about you, Ellie?"
"Well, what is The Game?"
"So you'll play? Brilliant!"
"I never said-"
"Arjun, you in mate?"
"Well actually-"
"Brilliant!"
"Ted-"
"No way, Arjun. You're in. It's our last year! Ellie, go get Gemma and other people. It'll be more fun that way. Jack, go get Izzy, wherever she is. I'll get food. Hiro and Arjun, stay put, and under no circumstances are you to run off. Really. Someone might steal our spot.
oOo
A few minutes later, everyone was sitting down in a circle in front of the fire. Everyone, meaning Teddy, Jack, Hiro, Arjun, Ellie, Gemma Wood, Izzy Cortes, and Melissa Chen. Gemma, Izzy, and Melissa all shared Ellie's dormitory, and they were all best friends. Izzy and Gemma were also the girlfriends of Jack and Hiro, respectively.
By now, they had all come to realize that Jack and Teddy wanted to play some form of Truth or Dare.
"Alright, as I picked the Game and have the rules, I get to go first," said Teddy.
"Wait up," said Melissa, "You said 'rules', as in plural. Want to clue us in?"
"Oh, right, sorry," said Teddy. Instead of going off on a long speech as everyone expected, he waved his wand, and sixteen pieces of parchment flew down the stairs and separated into two different piles. He then waved his wand a second time, and writing appeared on one pile of parchment. He handed these out everyone, starting to work on the second pile.
"What's this for?" asked Izzy.
"The Game," said Jack, "Is no ordinary game of Truth or Dare. Read the rules."
THE GAME
GENERAL OVERVIEW
The person who suggested to play the game goes first. They must pick someone and ask them Truth or Dare. The person asked MUST ANSWER. They must answer their truth or do their dare. If they don't the person who gave them the dare may come up with three alternatives with NO RULES and they will be voted on by the others. If that is not completed, they will goa day stark naked. Yes, that really is a rule. These parchments have been charmed so that the moment your quill touches the paper you will have an urge to comply to the rules.
The Game will last for an entire week, never ending (YES, that is twenty-four hours!) Ask your questions/give dares using the other parchment. If one person writes something, it will appear on everyone else's, also. Don't worry, Lillikins. If a teacher (or anyone else) looks at the parchment, it will simply look like notes from the subject you are in at the time or that you last had. Yeah, it took us ages to find that spell. You will receive a watch which will become warm when someone has written something on the parchment. It will also wake you up during the night if your name is written on the parchment. The time on the watch is not the time, but the amount of time left until the end of the game. (See rule #12 for more info)
The rules are written below. If you break the rules, the punishment is the same as the chicken.
Have fun!
RULES
You cannot pick the person who picked you.
You cannot play in teams; that is a different game.
You cannot give a dare that includes being completely naked (unless it is a chicken.)
You cannot harm anyone other than a Slytherin or one who is on the Marauder hit list (such as Amos Diggory.)
You cannot permanently change some-ones appearance or damage any property.
For the duration of the game you can't tell anyone you are playing a game or doing a dare.
Truths can't be repeated to any person not playing.
You can't let anyone else see you parchment.
You must complete (or at least start, if it is a long one) you dare within an hour of receiving it, unless it is a dare that can only be performed at a certain time, say, lunch, or if the darer says 'after classes finish' or something similar.
You must wear your watch at all times.
You must pick someone else within five minutes of your dare/truth ending.
If someone is put in detention, the game pauses and the extra time is added to the end.
RULES MAY BE ADDED IF THEY ARE PASSED BY A 75% MAJORITY. (Note from Sirius: for those of you who can't do that percentage in your head, with 8 people playing that's 6 people that must agree.)
The person doing the dare may take leave of the dare (if necessary) in order to dare another person or participate in another dare, but must then resume the previous dare as soon as possible.
When giving a dare, the darer may present the victim with two options, and ask them 'would you rather?' The victim must then pick one and do one. The two options must be similar yet different… i.e. would you rather eat a large chocolate cake or a large waffle?
You must pick truth at least once for every five dares, and vice versa.
Where if the victim has done his dare slightly incorrectly, or only partially, they do not get a chicken; they get given a normal dare from the darer. However, this dare does not have to be written on the parchment-it can be told verbally-and does not have to be told to the rest of the players. In fact, the victim and the darer MUST NOT tell any other players until the dare is completed, when all players must be informed.
The darer may change the ending time of the dare if they have a majority vote (and I mean more than 50%) but they can only make it shorter-not longer.
The receiver of a dare may ask another person(s) to also participate in that dare so long as they participate in a dare of their aiders when asked, and they cannot refuse. They may only be forced into the same number of dares they asked aid in.
Ellie paused as she finished reading. Then something registered in her mind.
"This is going to last for an entire week!" she shrieked.
"Who, calm down, Ellie!" soothed Teddy. "It's alright! Christmas holidays are next week, and we won't get any assignments due before then, and we can do our usual work and play."
"Well…"
"It's our last year, Ellie! Please let us play!" begged Jack.
"Well, I guess…"
"Lighten up, Ellie! This sounds fun!" exclaimed Izzy. Gemma nodded in agreement, while Melissa continued to stare at the page.
"So, when do we start?" asked Gemma.
"Eight," said Teddy. "Everyone must be at breakfast tomorrow morning by five until eight in order to receive watches, and then the Game will begin!"
"But tomorrow's Monday," whined Izzy. "I don't want to wake up that early on a Monday…"
"Izzy, our classes start at eight thirty!" said Jack.
"Yes, but not all of us require half an hour to eat!"
"Hold up," said Melissa as she re-read the rules. "Do people often get into detention while playing?"
"I would assume so," said Hiro. "It's basically truth or dare."
"So, yes then? I'd never really gotten into detention until you guys."
"Nice to know we've had a positive influence on you, Melly," said Jack, putting his arm around her shoulder.
"Look guys, if we-" started Arjun.
"Positive?" scoffed Ellie.
"Alright, if we-"
"Obviously," grinned Jack.
"Quiet!" cried Arjun. "Look, if we're going to play the Game this week, we'll need as much rest as possible! Everyone needs a quill and that other parchment. Teddy, pass it out, will you? Anyway, sign in on the paper."
"How do we do that?" asked Gemma, pulling out a quill.
"Easy. Just write the passcode, and then Gemma Wood, signing in," explained Jack.
"What's the passcode?" asked Ellie, "And why do we need one?"
"Because otherwise anyone could join in on the conversation," explained Hiro. He then leaned in and whispered, "The passcode is I do believe it's butter."
"What?" giggled Melissa. "Why that?"
"Well, no one would ever think of that, would they?"
"Only you, Jones. Only you."
"Hey! It was Arjun's idea!"
"Really?" asked Izzy. "If so, nice one, mate."
"Thanks."
"Is that sarcasm? I do believe our dear Arjy just used sarcasm! He's growing so fast…"
"Oh, shut up, Jones."
Shaking her head, Ellie wrote on the parchment.
I do believe it's butter, Ellie Shacklebolt, signing in. –E
"What's with that 'E' at the end?" she asked.
"Oh, right," said Hiro. "The first letter of your name appears after you write. That way we don't have to decipher handwriting."
I do believe it's butter, Jack Jones, signing in. –J
I do believe it's butter, Hiro Yamada, signing in. –H
I do believe it's butter, Teddy Lupin, signing in. –T
I do believe it's butter, Gemma Wood, signing in. –G
I do believe it's butter, Izzy Cortes, signing in. –I
I do believe it's butter, Melissa Chen, signing in. –M
"Arjun," said Jack in what he probably thought was a threatening tone.
"Fine," muttered Arjun.
I do believe it's butter, Arjun Patel, signing in. –A
The writing appeared on everyone's parchment.
"Great," said Teddy. "Now, let's get some rest. Arjun reckons we need it."
"And don't forget," said Jack after kissing Gemma good night, "Five before eight. No excuses."
oOo
Alright! Chapter 1! Once again, I have to apologize for it's similarity to The Game's first chapter. The rest of the story will differ, I assure you! Anyway, what do you think? Will this be fun?
Also, I might have mentioned this before, but I WOULD REALLY LIKE SOME DARES OR TRUTH SUGGESTIONS! I've got some ideas, but I don't think it will last an entire week! Anything, no matter how bizarre you might think it be, would be a good idea!
Thanks!
