CHAPTER 2

KISSING MALFOY

It was almost time for Potions and Harry's mind was racing, trying to come up with a way to get out of the horrible dare.

"Come on, Ron, this is Malfoy we're talking about here. I promise I'll kiss anyone else in the entire school! Er, as long as it's not Snape... please Ron, I promise I'll do the next dare you give me no matter what it is!"

Ron was in a surprisingly good mood, considering that he was about to be tortured for 1 1/2 hours by his least favorite professor. Hermione on the other hand was almost as upset as Harry was.

"Ron, it isn't fair. Harry doesn't want to do it. How would you like to be in his place?"

Ron looked horrified for a moment, then shrugged and said with a wide grin "Well, I'm not."

"Ron!"

The small group of Gryffindors had just rounded a bend in the hallway when Draco Malfoy sauntered into view, walking towards the Potions classroom from the other direction, flanked by Crabbe, Goyle and the rest of the 5th year Slytherins.

"Oh no, not in front of all of them!" Harry groaned. Ron, who hadn't anticipated this, had begun to look as if he wanted to take back the dare. He was contemplating tapping Harry on the shoulder and whispering "you don't have to" in his friend's ear when Harry stepped forward. "Malfoy, tell your friends to go into class, I have something to say to you. Alone." He glanced pointedly at the two hulking figures standing dumbly behind the tall blonde.

"And why would he want to do that, Potter?" came Pansy Parkinson's annoying voice, interrupting, as usual.

Malfoy glared at Harry and his friends and, if for no other reason than because Pansy would have done differently, jerked his head in the direction of the slightly open doorway to Professor Snape's classroom. Pansy and the others looked resentful, but followed his order none the less.

Crabbe and Goyle, however, who didn't catch the meaning of Malfoy's nod, stayed where they were, looking questioningly at the retreating backs of their classmates.

"Crabbe, Goyle! I said leave!"

Harry could hear Goyle whisper to Crabbe as they left. "He did? I didn't hear him."

Once they had gone, Malfoy looked skeptically at the Gryffindors standing behind Harry, watching him expectantly. "Tell your friends to leave."

"Aww, Harry–"

Harry interrupted, terrified that the kiss might be mentioned. "Seamus! Go on. Please."

With a great deal of grumbling and knowing smirks over their shoulders, they too trooped off towards the now closed classroom door.

Harry gulped.

"So what's so important, Potter? I haven't got all day."

Now it was just the two of them standing there in the empty hallway, the tension growing stronger by the second.

Harry's hands were shaking.

Taking a huge breath, he closed the distance between them in two steps and, before the taller boy could react, reached up and pulled the blonde head down by the collar, squinted his eyes shut, and placed a light kiss on those inviting lips.

When he opened his eyes, Malfoy was staring wide-eyed at him as though he had just sprouted purple polka dotted butterfly wings and a long furry tail.

Harry's cheeks were rapidly flushing a brilliant shade of red.

"It was a dare, alright?"

Oh my god, I can't believe I did that, I actually kissed Malfoy! Oh my god!

Without a backward glance, Harry turned around and bolted through the classroom door.

Snape looked up from his desk at the loud BANG the door made when it shut.

"5 points, potter, you're late!"

Harry took a seat at the very back of the classroom, avoiding the amused gazes of his fellow Gryffindor classmates and searching, suspicious ones of Slytherin classmates.

He sighed. Class hadn't even started yet and already he had lost points. AND, to make matters worse, his lips were tingling and he had the oddest, fluttering feeling in the pit of his stomach. No, he definitely didn't like the feeling.

Five minutes later, Malfoy walked in the door looking a bit disconcerted.

Pansy cooed and sent him concerned looks interspersed with I'll-deal-with-you-later glares in Harry's direction.

Snape took 5 more points from Gryffindor for making his prize student late.

Everyone who had been a part of the truth or dare game the other night waited impatiently for a chance to find out what had happened in the hallway.

Hermione sent Harry a worried look and then began taking notes.

Draco had never been so confused in his life. Firstly, his worst enemy had walked up to him in the corridor and given him a kiss on the lips.

Draco shifted in his seat and stirred his potion to the left.

Secondly, he had actually liked it. Bloody fucking hell, what was the world coming to?

I didn't really like it, I'm not going crazy. I didn't really like it, I'm not going crazy. I am NOT going crazy...

He glanced over at Harry who sat at his desk, staring down into his cauldron. Ron sat beside him, pestering him in low tones about god knows what.

By tomorrow the entire school would probably know about the incident in the corridor. Draco was beginning to get scared. What if his father found out?

Thirdly, right when he had been about to lean forward and kiss Harry back, the raven-haired boy had told him it was only a dare.

Draco shuddered. It was a damn good thing Harry hadn't given him the chance to make an even bigger fool of himself!

Fourthly and lastly, he had felt the most disturbing, overwhelming sense of loss when those lovely pink lips (get a grip, Draco!) uttered those five words. "It was a dare, alright?" They echoed around in his head, repeating themselves over and over again so that Draco wanted to clap his hands over his ears and drown out the sound.

Jesus Christ, Draco, what's wrong with me?

BOOM!

For the first time in Draco Malfoy's life, his cauldron exploded and he couldn't rightfully place the blame on anyone other than himself.

The room became so silent that a small fly could be heard buzzing around the tiny window set in the wall right where it met the ceiling.

"What is the meaning of this?" Snape thundered, bearing down on the shocked group of Slytherins. "Who did this?"

"It was Potter, Professor Snape, I saw him!" cried Pansy, lying through her teeth. It was obvious to everyone in the room that Harry had not been the one at fault.

The Gryffindor side of the room started to argue but was quickly silenced by the usually timid hand that shot up in the far back of the room.

"I'm sorry professor, it was my fault."

Draco had thought he had seen too much to be surprised again that day. Obviously, he was wrong.

Fifthly. In which Potter took the blame for a mistake made by Draco.

Draco was more confused than ever, and that in itself disconcerted him.

"5 more points, Potter."

TBC