Chapter 2 - Never Have I Ever
A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews and follows! I appreciate it. I am brand new at writing, so reviews are welcome!
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or its characters. The plot is my own.
After the feast, the 22 returning eighth years walked to their common room on the west side of the castle near Ravenclaw Tower. While the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws always got on, the Gryffindors and Slytherins looked warily at each other, insulted they had to fraternise for the next ten months. Hermione and Draco approached the portrait of wizarding poet Percival Pratt. Hermione muttered the password "Wordsworth", and Pratt yawned "overrated" before swinging open.
Everyone formed a semi-circle while Hermione and Draco stood before them. They had each received a letter informing them they would have their own bedrooms. Located in the common room were busts of each founder. These would act as portals to the other house common rooms so the eighth years could have independence as adults without feeling isolated from their houses.
Hermione pulled out a roll of parchment with room assignments "There are four staircases, two boys and two girls. In the north corridor, is myself, Parvati and Padma Patil, Lisa Turpin and Mandy Brocklehurst. The west corridor Hannah Abbott, Susan Bones, Pansy Parkinson and Daphne Green grass. The Southern corridor is for Ernie MacMillan, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Michael Corner, Terry Boot, Anthony Goldstein, and Neville Longbottom..."
Harry cut her off "Hermione; you can't be serious ..."
Hermione glared at him, cleared her throat and said: "and the West corridor will have Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Dean Thomas, Draco Malfoy, Blaise Zabini and Theodore Nott." Hermione continued, "The Headmaster would like to reiterate that there will be no inter-house rivalries or fighting amongst the eighth years. Professors and the Head Boy and Girl have been instructed to deduct 50 points from each house and assign detention if we see any fighting amongst the houses. Please, I beg you, don't make us enforce it." She stared at Harry, Ron, Neville and Dean imploringly while Draco shot a warning look at Blaise, Theo and Pansy.
"Greasy git" murmured Ron under his breath so only Harry and Neville could hear him.
"To this end, since we don't have a head of house or prefects, Hermione and I would like to institute a house meeting every Sunday evening after dinner in the Great Hall. Since it's Sunday, we thought we'd have a moment of silence to recognise those we lost last year during the war: Isobel MacDougal, Sue Li, Oliver Rivers, Vincent Crabbe, and Lavender Brown."
"CRABBE! CRABBE NEARLY KILLED US HERMIONE!" Ron's temper bested him, his face growing as red as his hair. How dare Hermione ally herself with Snape and Malfoy. How dare Lavender be remembered alongside Crabbe. They may have broken up at the end of the sixth year, but he had loved her. She did not deserve to be murdered by Fenrir Greyback. Crabbe had died by his own stupidity. Then he turned on Draco, "You're only alive because of us Malfoy. We saved your ass in the Room of Requirement. You and Snape'..."
All of a sudden everyone was yelling and fighting. Harry, Ron, Neville and Dean were shouting obscenities at the Slytherins. Just as Ron was drawing her wand, Hermione jumped up onto the coffee table and yelled "Silencio! Immoblious!" Everyone froze, and the room went silent. Hermione pinned the boys with a glare worthy of Severus Snape.
"RON. HARRY. YOU WILL SHUT UP. We all suffered during the war. We have all been affected. We must all show unity and heal the divide between us if we want peace. Everyone, think of the lives lost during the war. Do we want their lives to have been given in vain so we can keep on fighting every single day? You don't have to be best friends, but you must be civil. 50 points from Gryffindor for drawing your wand at a fellow student and detention with Filch tomorrow Ron." It pained Hermione to do this to Ron, her best friend, but she couldn't let him get away with his behaviour. She had to make an example of him.
"Yes", interjected Draco, "and to facilitate 'inter-house unity', we're going to be playing a drinking game, getting pissed and taking the piss out of each other. Maybe we'll learn that we have some things in common after all."
While Draco conjured 22 shot glasses and summoned bottles of firewhiskey, Hermione transfigured a lamp into a record player and summoned some records. The Beatles, The Stones, The Kinks, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Who. She giggled knowing they'd never believe that she'd pilfered these from Snape's collection over the summer. He seemed too reserved and uptight to be interested in something frivolous like rock music. If only they knew how his gorgeous arse looked in muggle jeans or his broad shoulders and arms in a t-shirt. Padma and Pavarti conjured some beanbag chairs to lay on the floor; Pansy and Daphne transfigured the candles into faerie lights; Ernie and Justin went to the kitchens to get food from the house elves. Everyone else quickly ran up to their rooms to change out of their school robes into muggle clothing.
"Ok!", Declared Draco, "the game is 'Never Have I Ever' The object is to state something you have never done before in your life. If someone else in the room has done it, they must take a shot. I'll start. Never Have I Ever Vanquished the Dark Lord." Draco smirked and toasted to Harry. Harry drank and slammed his shot glass down on the table.
"Ok Harry, it's your turn" prodded Hermione.
"Fine, you're gonna play it like that Malfoy? Never Have I Ever Received the Dark Mark!"
"HARRY!", Cried Hermione, "The War and Voldemort are officially off-limits. Both of you."
"It's fine Hermione; I'll drink," Draco said as he downed his shot.
"Well I'm going to change the subject stated Hermione. "Never have I ever received a D grade on an assignment" Harry and Ron rolled their eyes and drank along with Neville, Daphne, Pansy, Blaise, Susan and Justin.
Blaise rolled his eyes and sneered "Of course, no Ravenclaws or our illustrious Heads."
After that, they went around in a circle. Everyone began nervously, and the statements were pretty basic.
"Never Have I Ever Played Quidditch."
"Never Have I Ever studied Arithmancy."
Hermione had charmed the record player to flip and replace the records and when Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon came on Harry was intrigued. Dudley and friends had been obsessed with Pink Floyd a few summers ago and had listened to the CD over and over again. He got up and grabbed the cover and liner notes. Scrawled in ink on the liner notes was a message:
"S,
Happy Christmas. Come over tomorrow, and we'll listen to it until the needle wears out.
Love,
L"
Harry looked at the note and shouted "Hermione, where did you get these records? I didn't know you were a fan of 'the British Invasion'."
"Oh, they're my dad's. I put everything in storage before I sent them to Australia, and found them when I was cleaning it out this summer. Thought it'd be a nice addition to the common room. He was at Uni in the late 60s/early 70s", Hermione replied nonchalantly.
Harry looked confused, "What's this note then? I thought your dad's name was David?"
Hermione just shrugged, "I don't know Harry. Maybe he got it second hand?" She gave him a look that said 'drop it.'
As they rejoined the group, it was Daphne Greengrass' turn:
"Never Have I Ever been to the cinema."
Ron whispered to Hermione "That's like those movies you and Harry always want to watch, right? Like that horrible Titanic movie, you made me watch?"
Hermione giggled "Yes Ron, but instead of in my living room; it's in a large auditorium with a huge screen."
Daphne's eyes lit up. "Oh Hermione, do you think we could all go to London one weekend and see a film? I would love it!" "Sure Daphne! That sounds like fun. We can arrange it soon."
Blaise, who wanted to get everyone pissed, declared:
"Never Have I Ever Known the Identify of my Father."
There was a collective groan around the room as everyone drank. "Cheap shot Blaise, not everyone's family is as 'unconventional' as yours. Which step-dad are you on now?" Theo asked.
"#8 this summer actually", replied Blaise dispassionately.
Everyone was starting to loosen up, Lisa, Mandy, Daphne, Padma and Pavarti were dancing in a corner while Dean, Ernie and Neville were singing Here Comes the Sun off-key.
"Never Have I ever travelled outside of the UK."
"Never Have I ever kissed a Muggle."
Terry Boot grinned evilly at his friend Michael Corner.
"Never Have I ever snogged Ginny Weasley."
Harry glared murderously at Michael Corner, Dean Thomas and Blaise Zabini while he also drank. Pansy Parkinson looked at Blaise aghast. Everyone knew Michael and Dean had dated Ginny before Harry, but Blaise?
"Blaise, when did you hook up with Weasley?"
Blaise shrugged, "we snogged once after a Slug Club get together." He looked at Dean and Harry, "it was after she broke up with Dean, but before Potter had the bollocks to ask her out."
The more they drank, the bolder they became, and things were escalating quickly.
"Never Have I Ever Destroyed Public Property"
Harry, Hermione and Ron groaned remembering their rendezvous with a dragon last spring.
"Never Have I Ever Had a Crush on a Professor"
Several girls drank to that. The boys were whispering amongst themselves "Lockhart?! Lupin, maybe?" while the girls were mostly thinking of their dark and brooding Headmaster.
"Never Have I Ever Given a Blow Job".
Some of the girls drank, Ron and Harry's eyes bugged out of their heads when Hermione drank, while she averted their gaze. Everyone did a spit take when Draco threw his drink back. He just shrugged and said "What? Sexuality is fluid."
Justin Finch-Fletchley and Hannah Abbott patted Ernie MacMillan on the back. Ernie looked around the circle, his usual pomposity replaced with timidity. "I'm gay," he sighed, "very few people know. I'd appreciate it if you did not spread it around as my parents do not know." Everyone nodded in agreement, vowing to maintain Ernie's privacy. Draco, however, also eyed Ernie up and down as if he were about to proposition him.
"Never Have I Ever gone to class with no knickers on".
Many of the boys drank to this, while Susan Bones turned as red as her hair."
Then, it was Mandy Brocklehurst turn, and she shrieked in a fit of giggles, wanting to embarrass Lisa Turpin for her hook-up with Theo last year:
"Never Have I Ever Shagged a Slytherin".
Draco, Pansy, Blaise, Theo, Daphne and Lisa all drank. And then Hermione shifted back and forth, blushed from her neck to the roots of her hair and drank as well.
Harry and Ron looked at each other then Hermione in shock, while the Slytherins sat there, jaws dropped. The boys immediately questioned Hermione. "Did you sleep with Draco? I knew we should never have left you here this summer", cried Harry.
"Harry, it obviously wasn't Draco, he's as shocked as we are", said Daphne calmly.
Ron whispered accusingly "You wouldn't fuck me, but you fucked a Snake?!" Hermione winced at Ron's language. "When? Over the summer? Was it Nott or Zabini?" He glared at Theo and Blaise "I will hex both your bollocks off."
Theo and Blaise pulled out their wands "We were not with Granger!"
"Then who?" questioned Pansy. "It must have been in the sixth year, to an older student, Pucey, Vaisey?"
Suddenly it dawned on Draco. His face paled, and eyes widened. He stared at Hermione, begging it not to be true. "Oh Hermione, please tell me it wasn't..."
