A/N: THANK YOU SO MUCH for those that reviewed. I've never gotten so many reviews for one chapter (or-ever lol) before. You guys rock!
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Disclaimer: forgot to do this last chapter, whoops. Nearly everything belongs to J.K Rowling except for any plot, characters, clubs that was not written in any book or article or interview.
Chapter two: Gluttony.
"Hey Hermione," Fred and George dumped their bags beside Hermione and grabbed a toast off her plate.
"Don't forget the dare," George reminded her, as if she needed reminding.
The dare had made its way to every student (and teachers, who decided to turn a deaf ear) in Hogwarts; everybody was betting their money either in favour or against her. Some people, for the fun of it, had cameras slinging around their necks in case Hermione committed one of the sins in front of them.
It was decided that Harry and Ron would be the witnesses. If the sin was not done in front of them, it would not count. As each sin was committed, they'd cross it off the parchment.
"I won't forget." Hermione said coldly, stabbing at her bacon.
"Scared already?" Fred baited.
Hermione smiled sweetly, "of course not. I haven't even started yet."
"Well make sure you do finish the dare," George mumbled through scrambled eggs, "Fred and I have ten galleons at stake here. Who knew this little dare turned out to be such a money maker?"
Hermione grunted, "I'm not doing this to make you rich."
Harry leaned across to grab the pitcher of pumpkin juice. "Which sin are you committing today?" He asked.
Hermione shrugged, "Gluttony I guess, that's easy."
Ron frowned at her. "You're not eating much to be a glutton."
She sighed. "I'm not going to stuff myself silly before class. I'm not getting this dare in the way of my education, thank you very much."
"Hold on!" George grinned down at Hermione. "Fred and I are adding one more rule. You have to commit the sins in order. If you commit anger on the wrong day, it doesn't count."
Hermione gaped. "I did not agree to this!"
"Well, that rule's posted on the notice board, so-"
Hermione gave a gasp of indignation. "You posted the dare on the NOTICE BOARD?" She yelled.
Fred shrugged, "everyone likes publicity. Besides, I need money."
"But we're nice to you," George added, "We let you chose the first sin- Gluttony. So here's the list of the sins in order. Today it's Gluttony, tomorrow is-"
"I can read!" Hermione snapped, grabbing the parchment off him.
Ron and Harry leant over the table to read the list.
SEVEN DEADLY SINS DARE-COMMENCING ON THURSDAY 02/04
Gluttony
Anger
Sloth
Envy
Greed
Pride
Lust
Snape entered the Hall, his robes billowing behind him, making him look like a greasy-haired, over large bat. Draco and his posse followed, all snickering and smirking at the Gryffindor table. No doubt, they had heard the dare too.
"Eat up quick, we have potions first." Harry said, glancing suspiciously at Snape who looked extremely happy this morning. It was frightening.
Hermione followed his gaze and gulped. Snape suddenly turned to look at her and gave an eerie smile. She shuddered.
"He knows," she whispered frantically. "Oh Merlin, the teachers know about the stupid dare!"
Fred and George grinned. "Oh yeah, we owled them this morning, even Dumbledore knows about it. He sent a letter back to tell us that it's such a great idea, and that he's putting down five galleons that you follow through."
Hermione was thunderstruck. "I told you to not include the teachers!" She yelled, pointing her fork at Fred's chest. "T-that's cheating!" She spat.
The twins hastily got up from the bench and were gone in an instant. "See ya!" George waved, "looking forward to see you at dinner, Glutton!"
Hermione grumbled under her breath. Merlin knew what Snape was planning for his lesson.
"I have… a special task for you today," Snape said, looking around at the class. Gryffindor and Slytherin had Potions together, but for some reason, both Houses were eagerly listening to what Snape had to say.
"It was planned specifically for… somebody," Snape shot a look at Hermione, who was cowering behind the massive stack of books on her desk.
"The Draught of Invigoration, who can tell me-? Why, Miss Know-it-all does, of course. Granger." Snape smirked at Hermione who, despite feeling regretful about her decision to take on the dare, had her hand shot up in the air.
"The Draught of Invigoration is a potion that stimulates the drinker's body. It refreshes them and makes them twice as energetic and hard working. However there are side effects-" Hermione answered in one breath, as usual, she was quoting it word for word from the text book.
"-That's enough. Say things that are more necessary, Granger, and you'll find yourself to be very lonely indeed." Snape said, a cruel smile forming on his lips. Every Slytherin howled in laughter. Hermione looked down, humiliated.
"Everybody is to make this potion, the instructions are-" Snape waved his wand at the blackboard and the chalk began to write words on it by itself, "on the board. The best potion receives extra credit and I shall choose one lucky student to drink it." There was no doubt who would be the one to drink it.
Hermione dragged herself to the cupboard where the ingredients were kept. She wanted the extra credit, but on the other hand, she would be the one to drink it. She sighed.
"What, finally realised that you're that ugly, Mudblood?" Someone drawled from behind her. Hermione whirled around.
"Oh. It's you," she said, waving her hand dismissively as if his comments didn't matter.
Draco, cocky and blonde as ever, had his eyebrows arched so high Hermione wondered if they'd bury into his hair. He leaned against the table. "I heard some very interesting rumours, Granger. Which sin are you going to perform today? Because if it's lust, I'll warn every male- and female- you are a Mudblood after all, in the school to stay five metres away from you. Merlin knows what a filthy Mudblood might attempt to do in desperation."
Hermione placed her hands on her hips, her face flushing in embarrassment. "Go away Malfoy, I have no time for your stupid remarks." She grabbed the ingredients she needed and hurried back to her desk, where Harry and Ron were already eagerly cutting up some roots.
"I thought you were on my side!" Hermione hissed at their enthusiasm.
The two boys looked at each other guiltily. "Er, we just, y'know, wanted the extra credit," Ron lied.
Hermione arched an eyebrow, looking strangely like Malfoy a few moments ago. "You, Ronald Weasley, looking for extra credit in POTIONS?" She asked, looking as intimidating as ever.
"Well, er," Ron elbowed Harry, who ignored his not-so-subtle plea to escape from the interrogation. "I wanted to make you, er, healthy! Yeah, if I brew this properly and it's the best, that means you won't be forced down some, er, bad potion! Yeah, that's it!" He was suddenly beaming at his sudden new-found intelligence of finally to be able to find a good excuse for once.
Hermione sat down, nodding at his 'thoughtfulness'. "That makes sense. Snape never said he'll feed me the right potion, he just said 'the best'. Thanks, Ron." She smiled at him gratefully. "I knew you weren't my friend for nothing."
Ron cleared his throat. The reason was that he (and Harry) had raised their stakes to fifteen Galleons each. That meant his entire savings. He was hoping the Draught of Invigoration would stimulate Hermione's stomach and make her eat like crazy.
Harry skinned and chopped and counted carefully as he stirred like a madman. He didn't need the money; he actually thought it's best to brew a good potion to get on Snape's good side. Potions was needed as an auror. He needed the extra credit.
Hermione turned towards her own cauldron. She thought, secretly, that Ron and Harry weren't the best people to rely on when it came to Potions. It was best if she brewed it herself. Hermione fleetingly remembered the side effects that came with the potion. She gulped, maybe she'll vanish the potion and pretend to drink it instead? Hogwarts only needed one Bouncing Ferret.
She chopped and skinned her ingredients, measuring carefully, stirring with the upmost concentration. When it was time for them to pack up, Hermione was no longer so worried. Her potion was the best, there was no doubt.
Harry's was a sickening murky brown; Ron's ingredients were not blended together as he didn't stir properly and it looked like pickled pickles in a cauldron, Malfoy's was slightly better than the two, his was blue at least, though not the clear sapphire blue that was expected. Hermione's was perfect.
Snape gave a small sniff as Hermione triumphantly handed her vial over, carefully marked with her name on it. He uncorked it and looked at its contents.
"Hmph," Snape muttered, Hermione gleefully watched him try and make Hermione feel bad. "You didn't fill the vial to the brim, which I wanted you to. Malfoy, yours is the best."
Hermione's eyes widened with terror as Snape tossed her precious vial back to her, its contents vanished by Snape. She was boiling with fury, but, of course, her being angry now was useless, because she was supposed to 'be angry' tomorrow, according to the parchment the twins had given her.
Malfoy strutted up to the front, smirked at Snape and snatched the vial from the professor's hands. Malfoy had not stirred forty times clockwise in the last step, Hermione thought, judging it by its colour. He had only done thirty-something times. She swallowed as both Malfoy and Snape turned towards her.
"Well Draco, you can choose who to give this potion to," Snape said, his black eyes gleaming in cruel delight. Everybody's eyes were trained on Hermione; even the Gryffindors looked gleeful as Malfoy slowly headed towards her, his vial held out like a sword.
He stopped at her desk. "A present, Granger, because your friends are too poor to afford one." He said, shooting Ron a look. Ron's ears became red at the insult, but he didn't rise to defend himself like he would have done normally.
Hermione, with shaking hands, took the vial, uncorked it, and grimaced as the cool liquid was poured down her throat. She shuddered as the effects took place, as the potion was swallowed and made its way down. Her brain fuzzed and whirled, her inner-voice was muttering the definition and side effects of the potion non-stopping.
"The-Draught-of –Invigoration-is-a-potion –that-stimulates-the drinker's- body. It-refreshes-them-and-makes-them-twice-as-energetic-and-hard-working. However-there-are-side-effects-of-being –too-energetic,-overly-cheerful,-having-the-constant-feeling-of-being-tickled-not-being-able-to-stand-still-nor-sit-for-over-five-seconds-and-talking-really-fast. The-effects-and-side-effects-of-the-potion-can-last-from-five-hours-to-twenty-four-hours."
This paragraph from the text book kept replaying in Hermione's head. The voice was talking faster and faster each time. She swallowed the last of the potion and set the vial down.
Suddenly the voice in her head stopped chanting. Hermione opened her eyes and shook her head violently. Everybody was talking so slowwwly. It seemed the bell had already rung, and people were gathering up their things and leaving, disappointed at how the potion turned out to be a dud, or so they thought.
Hermione watched them move, feeling like she was watching one of those scenes in a movie where everything is played back in slow-motion, because that was what she saw, everybody moving like a troll, talking in weird, dragged out voices. It seemed comical.
Hermione giggled madly as the scene unfolded out in front of her. Honestly, they moved so slowly! Snails could beat them at a running race (if snails ran, of course).
Harry and Ron turned to stare at Hermione, astonished by the un-hermioneish giggle that came out of her mouth.
Malfoy grinned. "Mudblood-" he started.
"That's funny! Stop it!" Hermione giggled, doubling over as she felt the annoying sensation of someone tickling her. The tickling feeling had hit all her ticklish spots, and she kept rolling on the ground, crashing into the desks and chairs as she laughed with tears of mirth flowing down her cheeks.
Even Malfoy was at a lost. When did Hermione laugh so cheerfully at being called a Mudblood?
Harry and Ron grabbed their own copies of the text book, and finished reading the same time as each other. Malfoy was positively beaming, whereas Ron and Harry were casting worried looks at each other, staring at Hermione who was giggling and rolling on the floor with an astonishing fast speed.
"C'mon," Harry muttered to Ron. They heaved Hermione up, who was giggling and saying, "you guys are trolls, so slooowwww!" and dragged her out the classroom, with Malfoy clicking away with his camera that had mysteriously appeared.
"Get lost!" Ron snarled as soon as the camera clicked. Malfoy skipped to one side, avoiding the kick Harry had aimed at him.
"We'!Icanmove!" Hermione was speaking really fast and neither Harry, Ron nor Draco could make out what she was saying. She was wriggling around so much that Ron and Harry dropped her in order to save their poor arms.
"!" She squealed, "Seeyouinclass!" And then she dashed down the corridor like a wreck train.
"How is she supposed to commit Gluttony?" Harry wondered, "She won't be able to sit at the table long enough to eat lot's of food!"
Ron turned to punch Malfoy in the face, but found the obnoxious boy had already gone. The warning bell rang above them and the two friends gave each other another worried look before running to their next class.
Hermione sat down at her desk, stood up again, then sat, then stood, then sat. The transfiguration teacher was looking at her coldly, with a tinge of curiosity and disproval at her model student acting so…energetically.
"We…can…explain," Harry panted as he and Ron came crashing into the room just as the final bell rang.
"Please," Professor McGonagall said sternly. "Why is Granger acting like that over excited owl of yours, Weasley?"
Ron flushed at the mention of Pig. "Er, we had potions before and-"
"Of course, The Draught of Invigoration. I should have known Severus would do anything to win ten galleons off me. Sit down Potter and Weasley, I shall restrain Granger from running around the class." The teacher brandished her wand, and cast a full body bind of Hermione, forcing her to sit on the chair without moving.
"Whyiseverybodysoslow,professor?Evenyou?OhMerlin,it'sme,I'mfast!" Hermione shrieked. McGonagall winced and waved her wand again. "I'll also gag her," she added.
Hermione's lips were sealed shut in an instant. "Mhmmhmhmhmhmhm!" She said in muffled tones. Her eyes were darting around quickly and her fingers were aching to scratch herself to get rid of the itchy, ticklish feeling.
Class ended too slowly for Hermione, and towards the end, the spell that gagged her had worn off. She was forever yelling out answers and shouting cheerfully at how nice every body looked. Of course, nobody understood her words. She was also laughing and giggling all the time.
Most of the Gryffindors and Ravenclaws (who took Transfiguration with the Gryffindors) had decided to change their minds and bet that Hermione couldn't commit gluttony today, seeing as she was too restless.
This meant though, that Harry and Ron, who still had faith in Hermione would earn much more money than before. This was the only optimistic thought that crossed their minds.
Lunch couldn't come around soon enough. The students (and secretly teachers) who had betted that Hermione would commit the sins, were sorely disappointed with her performance at the table. She didn't sit down at all; instead she sprinted from one end of the hall to the other, grabbing a small bun as she did. She barely ate enough to fill her stomach, let alone be recognised as a glutton.
The rest of the day slowly past to the rest of the school, who had to endure loud cackles, being pushed over as Hermione dashed down the corridor for fear of getting late to class, being kicked at as Harry and Ron attempted to aim them at Malfoy who always managed to avoid them.
Malfoy was the only one (and perhaps Snape) who was smiling gleefully at the turn of events. Malfoy always got a kick out of bullying Hermione, and Snape had his pride and money to keep. The truth, (Merlin forbid it got out) was that Malfoy had not brewed the Draught of Invigoration, but a deadlier, more powerful potion. A potion that make the drinker develop a phobia of meat and vegetables.
Malfoy couldn't wait when the day was over, he and his club will be raking in the galleons.
"EW!Vegetablesandmeat!Ican'teatthis!" Hermione screamed, knocking over a poor first-year and running out the Great Hall, where a chorus of laughter followed her.
Ron and Harry, out of breath, finally caught up to Hermione, pinned her to the ground and half dragged her to the Hospital Wing. They needed that potion out of her system. Or they would lose Ron's entire savings.
Oh and the minor thing that Hermione was embarrassing herself in front of the entire school
Half an hour later, and with less than fifteen minutes til dinner was over, Hermione was back to her normal self, much to their relief.
"I can't believe I acted so foolishly!" She hissed, her face flushed as she thought about her actions.
"Well dinner's nearly over, you need to go to the Great Hall!" Harry dragged her by the left arm and Ron grabbed the other.
"We've got Galleons at stake, 'Mione!" Ron moaned, wondering how he'll be able to save up for the newest broom.
Hermione shook herself from their clutches and dashed ahead. She ran, gasping her breath, slipped onto the bench and started grabbing everything in sight.
From the Slytherin table, Malfoy watched with horror. His plan had failed! Trust that Mudblood to outsmart him, that know-it-all…
People all around her were booing, but a few were cheering for her.
Hermione saw Harry and Ron from the corner of her eye slip on either side of her. She made an extra effort and managed to swallow an entire pudding in one gulp, which caused her to grab the pitcher of water and gulp down its contents.
She was so full by the time the dishes in front of her were cleared away. She was positively green. It was a tough job keeping all that food down.
"We've got a GLUTTON!" Ron whooped, "Hermione Granger has committed the first sin!"
Boos echoed around the Great Hall. "You should have more faith in Hermione," Ginny lectured them, "but thanks to all of you that changed your mind, I'm going to get richer!"
Fred and George clapped Hermione on her back. "Thanks Hermione!" They chorused, slapping her on the back again. That was it for Hermione. She jumped up and ran to the nearest bathroom, throwing up all the contents in her stomach into the toilet before slumping down and groaning. One thing was certain: she would NEVER take on any foolish dares again.
Ginny helped Hermione to her feet and gave her a goblet of what Hermione recognised as a potion that helped with indigestion and stomach pains. She mumbled her thanks and gulped the contents down, gagging at the taste.
"Harry and Ron are outside," Ginny informed her, "They want to show you something… interesting." The younger girl made a sudden grin, that didn't escape Hermione's attention.
"What… sort of thing?" Hermione asked tentatively.
"Oh, you'll see," Ginny answered mysteriously. "C'mon, I'll help you."
Together the two girls made their way outside where Hermione's two best friends were waiting patiently.
"What's all this fuss about?" Hermione asked, "What's so important?"
But none of her friends would answer her, and instead steered her to the notice board.
"Harry and I have just placed our names down," Ron said, pointing to the large parchment on the noticeboard.
Hermione followed his finger and read with horror. The parchment was split into two sides, with a crooked line drawn with ink down the middle.
"THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS DARE," She read, "Place your bet down here on either side and you may win a lot of money!"
LEFT SIDE: I bet that Hermione Granger DOES follow through and complete the dare! [write your name and House down, and the amount of money you are betting.]
Ginny Weasley, Gryffindor, 5 galleons.
Albus Dumbledore, Gryffindor, 5 galleons.
Minerva McGonagall, Gryffindor, 10 galleons.
Rubeus Hagrid, 20 galleons.
Dean Thomas, Gryffindor, 10 sickles.
Seamus Finnagan, Gryffindor, 5 knuts.
Lavender Brown, Gryffindor, five sickles.
Parvati Patil, Gryffindor, five sickles.
Harry Potter, Gryffindor, 15 galleons
Ron Weasley, Gryffindor, 15 galleons.
Gred Weasley, Gryffindor, 10 galleons.
Forge Weasley, Gryffindor, 10 galleons.
Neville Longbottom, Gryffindor, 12 sickles.
Luna Lovegood, Ravenclaw , 21 sickles.
Dennis Creevey, Gryffindor, 15 sickles.
RIGHT SIDE: I bet that H.G DOES NOT follow through and complete the dare.
Draco Malfoy, Slytherin, 50 galleons.
Pansy Parkinson, Slytherin, 15 galleons.
Severus Snape, Slytherin, 10 galleons.
Sybill Trelawney, 5 galleons
…
The right side of the parchment had at least a hundred names on the parchment, and several more sheets of parchment followed. It seemed that except for a few of Hermione's friends, the rest had betted for her not to follow through. This only made Hermione more determined to complete the dare more than anything.
Then something caught her eye, another piece of parchment was stuck above the Betting Parchment.
"What's that?" Ron asked curiously, he pulled it down.
Ginny, Harry and Hermione crowded around him and read it.
CALLING ALL INTELLIGENT PEOPLE!!!
JOIN IN THE HERMIONE GRANGER SUCKS CLUB AND BE IN TO WIN A LOT OF VALUABLE THINGS!
Objective: To make sure that the right side of the betting table wins, and to prove once and for all that Hermione Granger is a bossy, know-it-all, boring, Miss Goody-two-shoes person.
Benefits: every member gets twenty galleons upon gaining membership, plus a free fifty galleon spending money in Hogsmeade AND free access (for a limited time) to Severus Snape's personal potions storage! (conditions apply, see below.)
HOW TO JOIN:
Step 1: Write your name down on this parchment.
Step2: Send the president a suggestion on how to make sure Hermione Granger does not complete the dare.
Step3: You're IN!
CONDITIONS TO JOINING
You must provide at least one suggestion per club meeting.
You must attend all club meetings (at the library, after dinner)
You must make sure that all potions that you brew (whether during class or not) goes towards preventing Hermione Granger from committing the sins.
You must not leak out information on what the club is planning to do next.
You must recognise the president as the best wizard in the whole school.
Club President: Draco Malfoy
Vice-President: Draco Malfoy
Secretary: Pansy Parkinson
Treasurer: Draco Malfoy.
Hermione was positively steaming as she finished reading. She snatched the paper out of Ron's hands and looked at the people who had signed up. It seemed every Slytherin had, among some Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw students. To her immense relief, not one Gryffindor had joined, though she suspected this might due to fear of the Weasley twins.
"Whoa, Hermione, cool down." Ginny placed her hand on Hermione's shoulder and gently patted her back. "Bottle it up and save it for tomorrow."
"Malfoy, that stupid git," Harry said furiously, "I'll kill him!"
"Why that is such a genius idea, Potty!" Malfoy drawled from behind them. The four friends turned around, their wands pointed at Malfoy who lazily brandished his as well.
"I'll have that back, Mudblood," with a twitch of his wand, the parchment sailed out of Hermione's hands and into Malfoy's outstretched ones.
"Remember Potty and Weasels, My club is still looking for members, you know what to do. Club meeting is every day until next Wednesday after dinner at the library." Malfoy smirked at the outrage on their faces. "Even blood traitors and half-bloods are welcome, unfortunately."
With a howl of rage, Ron launched himself onto Malfoy's retreating back. Harry and Hermione just managed to get him off, but not before allowing him to give the obnoxious boy a punch in the gut.
Ron struggled to get free, but Harry and Hermione were strong enough to hold him still. "Don't Ron-You'll get into trouble!" Hermione begged.
But none of them thought to restrain Ginny. She took two strides forward and a split second later she performed the best Bat-Bogey Hex they had ever seen. Malfoy whimpered and dashed down the hallway.
"There," Ginny said satisfied. "It makes him nicer to look at."
Hermione and Harry released Ron, who was panting heavily. "H-Hermione," he said, his face and ears deep red, "you better bottle up all your anger and release it all on him and his club tomorrow. And it'd be MY turn to bring along a camera."
Hermione smiled. "You know what, Ron? That might be your best idea yet."
Suddenly all of them couldn't wait until tomorrow after dinner.