Chapter 21: Truth or Dare

"Why then tonight let us assay our plot…"

-All's Well That Ends Well

For about an hour the girls just chatted and ate, giggled and drank. The five of them were getting on as if they'd been friends since childhood, which pleased Minerva almost as much as it did Pomona.

It was Rolanda, unsurprisingly, who suggested that they play, "Truth or Dare," a game she had taught them two years earlier and boasted that she invented, though Minerva suspected otherwise. It took a great deal of convincing, but all the girls agreed to participate in the game, and Skipper started.

"Okay, Pomona, since you're the new girl, Truth or Dare?"

Pomona fidgeting and took a deep breath, and after a moment she said, "Truth. No! Dare. Yeah, Dare…No, wait, Truth. Truth. Okay I want Truth."

Rolanda giggled. "Okay…um…Let's start out easy. What's the best, more scandalous, most juiciest rumour you've ever heard?"

"Most juiciest?" asked Minerva, but she was ignored.

"You mean here at school?" Pomona inquired, and the Quiddich player nodded vigorously.

"Well… Last year Regan-Elyse Archibald said that she saw Professor Merrythought and Headmaster Dippet kissing just outside this weird room that, er, only appears there if you need it. She said that he exited first and looked around and but she had on her brother's Invisibility Cloak so he looked right through her, then Professor Merrythought turned up out of nowhere and they were snogging each other half senseless."

"Eww!" squealed Poppy as she and Rolanda collapsed in a fit of giggles. Minerva turned a particularly attractive shade of pink and Cicely grinned wickedly.

"No it's not only the Deputy who's getting some action here at Hogwarts," she said coyly and Pomona raised her eyebrows. "I think Regan-Elyse was probably lying. I've never seen this room she was talking about, and anyway, she loves being the center of attention."

"Still," Cicely said, her smile broad and genuine, "Rumours almost always have some basis in truth."

"Okay, Pomona, you ask someone!" Rolanda demanded, and Pomona saluted her. "Yes Ma'am! Okay, Minerva, Truth or Dare?"

Minerva rolled her eyes. "I knew that you would ask me! Okay. Truth."

"Bor-ring!" Complained Poppy, but Cicely shushed her.

"Okay… Have you ever…have you ever had a boyfriend?"

With this, Cicely, Poppy and Rolanda simultaneously burst out into hysterical laughter.

"Actually, I do currently have a… a boyfriend," Minerva answered, trying her best to remain composed and mature.

But Pomona was now incredibly curious. "You do? Did he go here?" She glanced at Rolanda. "Is he a Quiddich player?"

"So, Cicely, Truth or Dare?" was Minerva's response and her friends laughed even harder.

"Tell her, Minerva!" demanded Cicely. "Then she can re-answer her juicy rumour question!"

Minerva rolled her eyes and sipped her drink. "We're playing Truth or Dare," she said a moment later, "Not Truth, Dare and Lengthy Explanations."

Poppy laughed, Cicely sighed, Rolanda shook her head and Pomona appeared confused. Minerva continued,

"Truth or Dare, Cicely!"

Grinning wickedly, Cicely responded with "Dare!" and all of the girls giggled.

"Okay!" Minerva exclaimed. "Now we can have some real fun… Cicely Sinistra, I dare you to… er…"

"Make her strip down to her unmentionables and fly around the tower!" Suggested Rolanda.

Poppy disagreed. "She's done that once before, and we didn't even have to dare her, remember Skipper?"

"Oh yeah…" Pensive, Rolanda ran her fingers through her shoulder-length hair and thought a moment.

Slowly a Cheshire Cat smile spread across the pale face of Minerva McGonagall. "I want you to slip into Gryffindor common room and hit the first person you see with a jelly legs jinx! And if there's no one in the common room, slip up to one of the dorms, I don't care which, and get someone there."

"In our own common room?" Cicely exclaimed.

"No, no way!" said Poppy, vigorously shaking her head so her bouncy girls flew about in every direction.

Minerva was confused. "Why on earth not?"

"Make her do it to someone else… The Slytherins, or Ravenclaws!"

"Or the Hufflepuffs," Pomona supplied, her face darkening.

"Are they very mean to you?" asked Poppy kindly. The future medi-witch was an extremely compassionate person, and simply hated to see other people sad, hurt or upset because of the cruel and malicious things they say and do.

Pomona shrugged, but they could all see the tears welling up in her eyes. Minerva was about to move over to her, to comfort her, when Skipper through her arms around Pomona's shoulders.

"Who's the worst one, kid?" Rolanda asked, adding "There's always a worst one."

"There's this one girl… I suppose she's the worst. She's always sayings things like 'out, Sprout,' when I enter a room, and if I mess something in class she's always the first to laugh, and sometimes she'll take my things and hide them so I have to search to find them… I really hate it when she does that… and she's so pretty, and funny, and all the other girls laugh and all the boys tell her how very pretty she is and no one cares that she's the meanest female to ever walk the earth, magic or non-magic folk alike… I would certainly not mind seeing a jelly-legs curse turned on her!"

"Then Hufflepuff it is!" Cicely announced as she stood, wand at the ready. Let's go! Who's going to come and watch and make sure I really do it. Minerva should, since it's her dare. Pomona can come too, I guess, but too many people and we'll get caught."

Poppy and Rolanda did not look happy about this, but they accepted that Cicely was indeed correct in her assessment.

So Minerva, Cicely and Pomona slipped out of the chambers unnoticed, and they made it all the way to the Hufflepuff common room without incident.

"What's this wench's name?" Cicely whispered to Pomona once they were inside.

"Gita. And this is her room, here. She's in the first bed on the left…"

The three crept into the room silent as Unspeakables. "Her, there?" asked Minerva, pointing at the beautiful sleeping silhouette that was Gita Lorraine Mason-Lee. Even in the dorm Minerva could make out the fourteen year olds flawless skin, her long, wavy dark-red hair, and her already forming figure. Minerva raised an eyebrow. "That's Gita?"

"Whoa," whispered Cicely. "That kid is gorgeous!"

Pomona "Yeah…"

"Hey, wait!" Cicely whispered. "We have a problem."

"What's that?" whispered Minerva.

"If she wakes up all jelly-legged, and Pomona is missing, everyone will think she did it. I say we do something else…" and without further explanation, Cicely pointed her wand at the sleeping girl and said, quietly but clearly, "Facialitis Morpheus."

Minerva's eyes widened and Pomona was confused. "What's 'facial—"

"Hush!" commanded Cicely. "Let us be off."

Shortly afterwards the girls were back in Minerva's room, where they found Rolanda and Poppy drinking Butterbeer and reading magazines.

"How'd it go?" asked Rolanda when the others returned, and Minerva laughed, so much so that she had difficulty replying. "You would not believe… Oh, Skipper! Oh my Merlin…"

"I didn't understand what spell that was," said Pomona simply and Cicely snickered.

"All I can say is, Little Miss Gita will not be so beautiful in the morning. Maybe we should visit your Mum in the AM, Poppers? Could be interesting!"

"You didn't hit her with the jelly legs?" asked Poppy, and the girls shook their heads.

"A facial morph!" Explained Minerva finally. Very powerful Dark Magic. The best bit is, they'll probably think Pomona did it, but none of the professors will believe that a fourteen year old girl, regardless of her certain talents, could pull it off. So they will fear her enough to keep their proper distance and quit their torture, and the professors will be none the wiser! Oh, it was ingenious, Cicely!"

Pomona grinned. "Thanks, Cicely! You all are the best mates a girl could have!"

Cicely smiled. "All right now, ladies. This Truth or Dare stuff is getting dull. What do you say we drink a little butterbeer and talk about the ever revolving door behind which hide all of the men in our lives, eh?"

"Oh, that's just like you, Cicely!" scolded Rolanda.

But she opened up a butterbeer and was the first to start the chatter.

Three hours later they had learned all about A) Rolanda's boyfriend, the Quiddich player, B) Cicely's boyfriend, and the two other boys that she's more-or-less seeing behind his back, C) The cute Ravenclaw boy in Pomona's class who sometimes talks to her about plants, D) The young Irish wizard who works at Zonko's and often catches Poppy's eye, and E) Minerva's mystery boyfriend.

"You really won't say who he is?" asked Pomona, though it sounded more like "Shoo weally won't shay 'oo 'e ish?" (After the butterbeer was gone, Rolanda broke out the whiskey, wine and gillywater… Pomona was not drinking the gillywater).

"Well, that's alright then!" said Poppy, who was also a little tipsy. "I'll say! His name is…" She looked to Minerva, who simply shrugged.

"Go on," Minerva encouraged her. "I just decided I don't care. I am loved in… I am in love, and I no care who knows about it." (Actually, no one was drinking the gillywater).

Cicely grinned and downed the rest of the whiskey, much to Rolanda's dismay. "But does Albus Dumbledore want everyone to know about it?"

Pomona shrieked. "Albush Dumbledore? Ish that 'oo… Wow!"

Minerva simply smiled and sipped her wine.

Another hour went by, and another, and soon the girls were tired. They fell asleep haphazardly around the room. Minerva curled up on a chair, Rolanda stretched comfortably on the couch, Poppy on the floor with her cloak bunched up like a pillow beneath her, Cicely also on the floor with her head resting on Poppy's stomach, and Pomona sitting up, leaning against the couch.

When they awoke in the morning, it was to grogginess and headaches (and a wicked hangover for poor Pomona, who had never before consumed hard liquor), but though they were tired, sore and slightly nauseous, they were able to concur that a good time had been had by all…

The only thing that would have made the night better would be if they had seen the face of Gita Mason-Lee in the morning.

Because it was not a pretty picture.

A/N

Okay, wow. It only took me like three months to update, and I am sure this chapter will be disappointing because it's all about the party, but fear not! She will be staying the weekend at Hogwarts (and you don't really need to 'see' much of that) then she will be joining Albus at the convention, and we can have a little more…fun.

Sorry it has taken me so long to do this update. I hope you all have not lost faith in me! I wish I had some great excuse, but the truth is, I don't. Unless you count the fact that I used to do most of my writing at work and now this is a Forbidden Website (sigh). But the real reason I have not been writing is just because I'm busy (there's a shock… lol, it's always the same excuse with me!) Between full time school, my three jobs, all the shows I've been doing, and spending time with my new boyfriend (woo-hoo! lol) I just haven't had time… but I promise… PROMISE… to do better. Honest! I'm already working on Chapter 22! But feel free and post a review telling me exactly what you'd like to see, because I love suggestions! Thanks to everyone who is still reading and reviewing my story! … AL