Hermione gulped down her fourth drink since the dinner they had. She was so drunk that if she would choose truth she would not be able lie at all.
"Hermione lets have another dare" Ginny said encouragingly "We already have enough truths done. Dares are fun too. What say Harry?" Harry nodded unsure. He knew that both the girls had been drinking too much to handle. Even Ron and Dean had been highly drunk. He was not sure how big a dare they would give and how easily Hermione would accept it.
"OK!" Hermione called everyone on the table for attention "I TAKE DAARE!" She announced standing up, raising her glass of fire whisky.
Ginny and Ron started clapping. Harry thanked god that there was another party and too much noise for people's attention to divert on this side. Or else, people would think they'd gone nuts.
"Harry, you give her a dare darling" Ginny said flirting. Harry's cheeks reddened a shade lighter than what Ron's would have. But he found this opportunity a nice one to finish off with it with a small dare. "OK, I dar-"
"I will dare her" Dean interrupted him.
"No Dean, it is OK" Harry insisted.
"No Harry, let Dean do it" Ron shushed Harry.
"Yes Harry." Ginny agreed. Harry knew what the Weasleys were thinking. Since Hermione had given such a dare to Dean, he obviously would give something back that surely would be amusing to sit and watch.
Seamus, Neville and Harry thinking about the same thing exchanged tensed looks.
Before Harry could say anything else Hermione herself agreed to take the dare that Dean wanted to give her. Dean shifted on his seat, rubbed his palms on each other in order to warn Hermione. Hermione smiled dizzily.
"Go Hermione, please someone. With your attractive looks make him smile and kiss him. We will wait till you are done. The guy, you get to choose. But I give options" Dean said proudly. Ginny shook her head gesturing how good the dare was. She even made Harry praise him. "The guy you get to choose from that party." Dean announced pointing at the simultaneous part going on.
"Eww" Hermione childishly frowned. She sat facing the girls dancing crazily, two girls all over Blaise and the others staring at them amused. Crabbe was glaring at all girls greedily. None interested to turn up to him to even dance with him. They preferred staying single. Draco Malfoy sat there on the farthest chair, holding a glass of fire whisky, drinking from it in a formal manner. He didn't at all look like the Malfoy Hermione knew in school, arrogant, selfish, manner less and villain-ish. He was sitting respectably on the chair talking to a girl, very pretty. They didn't seem like they knew each other before. Hermione felt a bad irritation in her heart looking at them. Looking at how pretty she was and how much Draco was trying to keep her comfortable.
"Come on Hermione, don't be a spoil sport." Ginny said encouragingly.
"Oh Ginny" Dean said. "She won't be able to. Isn't it Hermione?"
Hermione brought herself to her own table. She was actually staring at Malfoy thinking about him. She is an enthusiastic and daring girl. But she would think ten times before doing something that would spoil her reputation of a know-it-all, talented girl. Even when she is drunk.
"Hermione you don't need to do it." Neville said nervously.
Harry nodded for he knew nothing could stop Hermione if she was determined.
Hermione said nothing. She kept staring at the three boys among almost 15 girls. She could not believe she was even considering the dare, her first instinct should have had been 'no'. Though it was not a big deal, but for her, it didn't go with her reputation. But, wasn't her reputation and values concerned with school? And hadn't she broken several rules in the course of her 6 years of her school already? Now after the war, hadn't her reputation changed to a daring, brave and sporty girl?
"Oh Hermione I did not know you are such a pussy cat!" Dean commented when Hermione replied with nothing but silence. "Let's just call professor McGonagall or someone like that. To sit and teach you! Because that's all you are capable of."
"That's it Dean!" Harry said quietly but harshly.
"No Harry let him say" Hermione snapped "I really will want to see his face then, when I prove him wrong." She said hotly.
"Hermione you don't need to!" Harry protested.
"Shush Harry, now just watch me" She said all drunk. She winked and walked away. Harry held his forehead in his palms watching Hermione walk towards the corner of that party adjusting her blue dress trying to look attractive.
Hermione lacking confidence, stopped somewhere in the middle near the bar-counter. She took a deep breath, still tackling with her dress of the ocean's beauty to keep up to her reputation. Hermione's brown curls beautifully resting on her forehead. Her already pink cheeks were turning red due to consciousness and alcohol side effects. She nervously twisted around with her finger on the hem of her above knee-length dress.
Harry noticed the smart looking boy in the party checking out Hermione. Though there already was a girl sitting almost on his lap kissing his cheek. Harry recognized him as Blaise Zabini who once had accompanied Ginny to the Slughorn club party. Blaise was Draco's best friend. According to what Hermione said, Draco was a forced evil. But he was as nature a very innocent person. He had Crabbe and Goyle with him because his father had asked him to as they too were children of death eaters. She also said that Draco never wanted to be a Voldemort's supporter but he had no choice. He never was able to overcome the fear posed indirectly by the Lord through his father. But now Draco was a different person. Though Harry somehow believed Hermione, Ron completely denied what Hermione said.
Hermione stopped at Goyle thinking if it would be easier to get along with him. He was alone and not really noticeable in public. But, of course she had some standard and her choice of men. Sadly, Goyle, met none.
Then she saw the cute boy looking at her. His structure was perfect. Girls loved him. He was charming and Draco's best friend. He was the party's attraction. That was not what she had heard. She always heard the famous Draco Malfoy; the most allegeable bachelor of the year was always surrounded by girls. But he seemed to prefer staying alone. He was literally sending girls away because he felt like staying alone. At least that's what a girl sitting there in the party had disclaimed.
Hermione did not feel weird when she saw a girl in pink dress sticking onto Blaise, but her chest burnt when she looked at Draco, kissing the girl good bye on her cheek, standing up from the farthest chair on the corner.
Already drunk Hermione picked another glass of Butter beer from the Bar-counter and gulped it down. Finally Hermione realized that her heart had chosen her boy for tonight.
