A/N - Thanks for the support I received, following last week's extra update. I really appreciate it, and want to thank all the wonderful people on this site who encourage me to keep writing and doing what I love. Thanks.


Sitting in the Gryffindor changing rooms, Ron cradled his head in his hands as his teammates slowly cleaned up and got changed following the match. Since everyone thought Ron was blaming himself for the loss, his teammates had all spoken to him personally and ensured him that he'd done nothing wrong. Ironically enough, Ron believed what they were saying and although he was annoyed with his sluggish start to the game, he was well aware that once the Slytherins upped their game, he'd stood no chance against them. They'd simply been outplayed, and there was no point getting upset over something you couldn't control.

However, Ron's thoughts weren't on the match they'd just played. They were on the bet he'd rashly made with Draco. Ron knew the second he'd made the bet that he'd done the wrong thing, but he'd been caught up in the moment and hadn't wanted to back down in front of the Slytherins. Although even then he never thought Gryffindor would lose and he would have to pay up. Yet here he was, the loser, and unless he wanted to undergo some humiliating forfeit, he had to get Hermione to go on a date with her fellow head.

"What do I do Harry?" Ron moaned as the final player left the changing room. While Harry had at least showered and changed, unlike Ron, he'd stuck around to speak to his best friend in private.

"The way I see it you have two choices," Harry said as he sat down next to his friend.

"Choices?" Ron snorted, not seeing any choices himself.

"Option one, you go and see Malfoy and accept the forfeit," Harry said.

"Which will be the most humiliating thing he can think of," Ron interrupted.

"Then you have option two," Harry said with a sight shrug.

"Which is?"

"Speak to Hermione, explain everything and throw yourself on her mercy."

"And you think if I do that she'll agree to go on a date with Malfoy?" Ron asked hopefully.

"Hell no," Harry snorted. "I think if she finds out about this, she'll hex your balls off."

"So you would go for option one?" Ron checked.

"I would," Harry replied with a nod. "Although I suppose even that has its risks. Aside from the humiliation you'll suffer, you'd still be relying on Malfoy and his friends keeping quiet. One of them could still tell Hermione about the bet."

"Then I'm screwed either way," Ron moaned, lowering his head back into his hands.

"It looks like it," Harry said sympathetically. "I did try and warn you."

"I know," Ron sighed, lifting his head yet again and leaning back against the wall behind the bench he was sitting on. "I just got carried away. But to be fair, I never for one minute thought we would lose the game."

"Neither did I," Harry admitted. "I don't know what Malfoy said to his chasers, but it certainly lit a fire underneath them. They were unstoppable."

"And now I've got to make a choice," Ron said softly. "Do I confess to Hermione and hope for the best, or do everything I can to keep her from finding out about the bet?"

"I think trying to keep her in the dark is your best option," Harry said. "It'll certainly be the safest."

"In that case, it looks like I'm going to have to go and throw myself on Malfoy's mercy," Ron grumbled, looking repulsed at the idea of grovelling to the blond Slytherin. "Do you think he does mercy?"

"I'm sure he'll take pity on you," Harry replied, sounding far more confident than he felt. Even though he didn't really mind Draco these days, he still couldn't picture the icy Slytherin taking pity on Ron and the mess he'd landed himself in. "Although, I would shower and change first."

"Are you going to wait?" Ron asked as he got to his feet.

"I'll be here," Harry confirmed as his friend headed for the shower.

Fifteen minutes later the pair emerged from the changing rooms. They knew the Slytherin players were long gone as the cries of victory had long since faded from their changing room across the corridor to the Gryffindor one. However, they had no idea if Draco was down in the dungeons celebrating with his teammates and the rest of the Slytherins, or if he was in the head dorms.

"It's actually lunch time, so why don't we grab some food before trying to find Malfoy," Harry suggested as they entered the castle via one of the back entrances.

"I don't think I can eat," Ron admitted. "But I suppose we can have a look and see if he's in The Great Hall. I can't say I fancy trying to talk to him in the Head Dorms in case Hermione overhears."

By the time they'd arrived at The Great Hall, Harry had persuaded Ron to stop so he could grab a quick bite to eat. However, when the Slytherin table was virtually deserted and there was no sign of Draco or his friends, Ron also decided to have some lunch. Despite being sick with worry over what would happen if Hermione ever got wind of his mad idea to bet her on a quidditch match, Ron still managed to eat a hearty lunch and when Harry mentioned it, he defended himself by claiming he'd had no breakfast so therefore needed the sustenance.

"Do you want to go and check the Head Dorms?" Harry asked Ron as they exited The Great Hall. Since they'd seen no sign of Hermione while they'd been eating, they were left to assume she'd returned to the Head Dorms, although she could also be up in Gryffindor Tower.

"Okay, but if Hermione's there you need to distract her while I talk to Malfoy," Ron said.

"I'll do my best," Harry vowed, hoping that if things went wrong he wasn't going to get dragged into things and find himself on the receiving end of Hermione's fiery temper.

When they got to the Head Dorms, they found Hermione was settled back in her rooms, but there was no sign of the Head Boy.

"I'm sure he's still down in the dungeons partying," Hermione remarked with a casual shrug when Harry enquired about her roommate. "I wouldn't have thought you two would be that eager to see him considering what happened this morning."

"We bear no ill will towards him or his team," Harry said. "They played better, and deserved to win."

"That's a good thing to hear, Harry," Hermione said, bestowing her friend with an approving smile. "There's nothing worse than bad sportsmanship. Sometimes you just have to admit that you were outplayed and today wasn't your today."

"You can say that again," Ron muttered.

"I hope you're not blaming yourself for the defeat, Ronald Weasley," Hermione scolded. "You made some great saves over the course of the match. The Slytherins were just the better team on the day."

"I know," Ron replied, offering Hermione a small smile to let her know that he wasn't beating himself up over his performance. "But it still sucks to be on the receiving end of such a thumping defeat."

"I don't suppose it's the best feeling," Hermione admitted. "How would you like some chocolate cake to cheer yourself up?"

"You have chocolate cake?" Ron asked greedily, his worries momentarily forgotten in the face of his favourite dessert.

"After the match I wanted to get back to my studying, so one of the elves kindly brought me some lunch. Although they brought me enough to feed a small army, including a whopping piece of chocolate fudge cake."

"I never say no to cake," Ron said.

Hermione retrieved the plate of leftover food from the kitchen and placed it on the coffee table. Aside from the chocolate cake, there was plenty more food as well, and Harry and Ron dove into the leftovers despite having just left The Great Hall after their own lunch. Between stuffing their faces with food and relaxing with Hermione, Ron almost forgot about the bet with Draco. That was until the blond in question entered the room in high spirits alongside his two best friends.

"I hope there's going to be no trouble," Hermione warned when the Slytherins and the Gryffindors came face to face.

"You'll have no trouble from us," Draco vowed.

"Or us," Harry added.

"Good," Hermione replied with a nod of her head.

"So Weasley, how are you feeling?" Theo asked with a teasing grin. "Are you ready to pay up?"

"Pay up?" Hermione questioned with a frown. "Please tell me you haven't been betting with Slytherins?"

"What's wrong with betting with Slytherins?" Draco demanded.

"For a start, you cheat," Hermione replied.

"I won that game of poker fair and square," Draco retorted with a smirk.

"I still say you switched the cards when I answered the door to Professor Dumbledore," Hermione shot back. "If it had been Snape at the door, I would have even said you'd planned that as well."

"Honestly, Granger, just what do you think I am?" Draco questioned in fake outrage.

"Someone who doesn't like to lose," Hermione replied.

"It is true, I don't like to lose," Draco conceded. "But I promise you, that I did not cheat to win this bet. You saw the game, we won fair and square."

"You bet on the outcome of the quidditch match?" Hermione asked her friend.

"Yes," Ron whispered sheepishly.

"So you see, I couldn't cheat," Draco said.

"You did offer every chaser a bag of gold if we scored enough goals to eliminate the need for you to catch the snitch," Theo offered.

"Theo," Draco hissed, giving his friend an unimpressed glare. "I've told you before about thinking before you speak."

"Sorry," Theo apologised with a wince.

"You bribed your chasers?" Hermione questioned.

"Just a little bit," Draco replied with a slight shrug.

"Wow, you must have really wanted to win if you were willing to part with three bags of gold," Hermione chuckled.

"I happen to think the prize is worth it," Draco said with a smile.

"And just what is that prize?" Hermione asked.

"Do you want to tell her, Weasley?" Draco asked, glancing at Ron who was looking distinctly pale.

"What have you done, Ron?" Hermione asked, taking in Ron and Harry's wary looks compared to the Slytherins smug ones.

"I'm so sorry Hermione, I said it before I could think," Ron stammered. "It was the only thing I could think of that Malfoy would want."

"You still haven't told me what it is that you two bet," Hermione said.

"If Gryffindor won, Weasley would have gotten my new Firebolt Extreme," Draco supplied.

"You mean the most expensive broomstick ever to be sold in this country?" Hermione checked.

"That's the one," Draco confirmed.

"And just what could Ron give you that could match an expensive broomstick?" Hermione asked.

"You," Theo blurted.

"Me?" Hermione squeaked, not understanding what Theo was meaning.

"I'm sorry Hermione," Ron gushed. "I'll take the forfeit like a man."

"You want to take the forfeit?" Blaise asked with a smirk. "Because we've already got some good ideas. You might end up streaking around The Great Hall, professing your undying love to Professor McGonagall or even telling Professor Snape that you admire his dress sense and want to know where he buys his robes. Not to mention all the other fun things we've been discussing."

"Back up," Hermione called. "I'm lost here. Just where do I come into things?"

"It was Ron's bet," Harry answered, sensing that his best friend had once again lost the power of speech. "He offered Malfoy a date with you if Slytherin won."

"You bet me like a possession?" Hermione demanded, her brown eyes flashing dangerously. "And just what makes you think I am yours to wager away, Ronald Billius Weasley? I'm not even your girlfriend, but even if I was, you would still have no right to use me as your stake in a bet."

"Oh, she's mad, she's using the full name," Draco laughed.

"And don't think you're getting out of this scot free, Draco Lucius Malfoy," Hermione snarled. "You were a part of this whole thing."

"Hey, Weasley was the one who put you on the table," Draco argued. "I had nothing to do with it."

"And it didn't occur to you to say no?" Hermione demanded. "And I suppose you were all present," she added, focusing on each boy in turn and fixing them with an angry glare. "And not one of you decided to speak up and remind people that I'm not some toy that can be passed around. I'm a person with my own free will, and I will not be part of a wager on a damn quidditch game."

"I did try and stop them," Harry offered meekly.

"Yet the bet went ahead anyway," Hermione snapped. "Harry James Potter, you're as bad as the rest. And I'm including you two in this, Blaise Zabini and Theodore Nott. The whole lot of you disgust me."

"So I take it you won't be honouring Weasley's bet?" Theo asked nervously.

"No I will not be honouring his sodding bet," Hermione snarled. "You lot can sort this out yourselves. I'm going for a walk and I don't want to set eyes on any of you when I return, is that understood?"

Sheepishly the boys all muttered their agreement and watched as Hermione stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her. For a moment after her departure, the five boys merely looked at each other, none of them quite sure what to say or how to react.

"I don't think I like Hermione anymore," Blaise joked. "Damn she is scary when she is angry."

"Yes, she is," Harry agreed.

"Yet you still made the bet, Weasley. You've got bigger balls than I gave you credit for," Blaise said with a low, impressed whistle.

"I might not have any balls once Hermione gets hold of me," Ron muttered. "I've never seen her so mad."

"Do you think there's any chance if her calming down and honouring the bet for you?" Theo asked.

"Nah," Ron admitted with a sigh. "Bring on the forfeit."

"Not yet, Weasley," Draco said. "The bet was a date with Hermione on Saturday. I'll give you until then to see if you can work on her. I'll be in the Three Broomsticks at twelve. If she doesn't show up by one, I'll take it that the bet is forfeited."

"Thanks for the extra time, Malfoy, but it won't do me any good," Ron said with a sigh. "No matter what I say, Hermione won't be there on Saturday. Hell, I'll be lucky if she even speaks to me again."

"We'll all be lucky if she speaks to any of us again," Harry snorted as he and Ron got to their feet to leave.

Saying goodbye to the Slytherins, the pair left the Head Dorms, wondering how they were going to fix things with their best friend. Although they did know that finding her when she was still mad was a bad idea. First of all they would give her time to calm down, before trying to apologise and make amends for their rash actions.