"So, Remus, Truth or Dare" Pixie asked, staying sane enough to ask the
question.
"Dare." Remus said, being a Marauder, which automatically makes him suicidal.
"Does it ever get you down, being a. youknow?"
"Is that my dare?" Lupin asked, mouth doing the 's' thing.
"What?"
"What?"
They stared at each other, being stuck in a conversational deadlock. Neither seemed to have worked out what the other said.
Quirrell rolled his eyes and shook his head slowly.
Ron started dancing on the table.
Severus, irate idiot that he is, pulled the tablecloth off the table and sent Ron flying.
Ron, through a mouthful of Graham's Stale Irish Stew and soot from the fireplace, started cursing Snape.
All this happened in the moments that Remus and Pixie were replaying the last moments of their conversation in their head trying to work out what had happened.
"OH!" the author yelled suddenly. "Of course! Remus, I challenge you to a game, and you have to do it for your dare!"
"What game?"
"Who-Can-Hold-Their-Hand-In-The-Ice-Bucket-Longest?" Pixie giggled. "It's a really good game, it's over here and I'm the unbeaten champion."
"Oh yes?" Ginny asked. "How did you manage that?"
"I had to cheat a bit, granted. Not much, I just put cockroaches down the contestant's back with my spare hand." Pixie smiled.
"I want a separate bucket!" Remus whined. Pixie conjured up buckets of iced water, even though she technically wasn't magical.
"Hey, Draco, Truth or Dare?" Remus asked, his reasoning that just watching the game would be boring and the spectators needed something else to do.
"Dare, as long as you leave the hair alone!" Draco warned.
"I dare you to have a go on the bucking bronco, over there. And if you don't last at least 20 seconds then I'll have to think up a forfeit."
"Oh, bucking hell!" Draco muttered. Albus grinned.
"Indeed, Herr Kommandant."
"Heil Albus!" Severus said automatically, before slapping his forehead and massaging his temple. "I wish you wouldn't do that, Albus, you're messing with my self-esteem."
"What hell?" Graham asked. Dumbledore grinned more.
Ginny, out of everyone's line of sight, conjured some grease on to the bronco Draco was about to ride.
As expected, he got on and fell off the other side, protesting for another go.
"That wasn't fair, he hadn't started bucking yet!" He whinged. Remus sighed.
"That proves how crap you're going to do, doesn't it?"
"Oh, buck off."
"If you use the fucking bucking joke one more time then I cannot be asked to take responsibility of my actions!" Graham said.
While two different modes of torture were going on, Dumbledore was laughing to himself. Lurking in and amongst the pink fluffy clouds and jumping wildcats there was a vague promise of suffering waiting to be found. Graham and Severus did look so cute together.
Draco had been thrown completely out of the bronco's saddle and had landed in a funny way, which made him think of changing his name to something feminine. There was a kind of steady ache around his crotch area now, and through blurry vision he could see Graham bent double in the corner, wincing and hugging his own nether regions in sympathy.
He had a vague sense that he was falling and then a realistic thud as he hit the ground. Harry checked his stopwatch (which was new - courtesy of Dumbledore).
"20.3 seconds." He announced. Draco breathed a sigh of relief. His crotch was safe. Relatively.
Over in the ice-bucket game, Remus was beginning to think he had developed frostbite. His hand had gone bright red and he was certain that water around it was beginning to freeze.
Pixie wasn't quite fairing as well. Her hand had gone blue, and she could no longer move it. It wasn't long before the paralysis moved up her arm into the rest of her body and she fell rigid into the bucket.
"I declare the winner of this completely crazy, utterly pointless competition - REMUS LUPIN!" Sirius yelled, holding his friend's working hand high.
Remus just put his cold hand in the cup of tea one of the endless number of house elves had brought him. There was a sizzling sound and he flinched.
"Boy, that does not sound good."
Harry did a double-take at his stop watch.
"Ye Gods, it's midnight! It must have been a good day for the Four Bells."
Harry's watch ran by the Four Bells of Hogsmeade, a tourist attraction and timekeeper for the many wizards in the area. Midnight was a different times each night, depending on what mood the bells were in and what sort of day it had been.
On Christmas, midnight was always a few hours early. In the middle of a war when one of the bells had a cold, it was tolled out at 6 am two weeks later. It was very complicated, as it messed with future time, past time and present time, as well as reality.
For example:- midnight could be tolled today at normal time but it was actually being tolled two weeks ago as well because it had been such a good day and the Bells had received lots of presents.
In the holidays, residents of Hogwarts usually went to bed at Hogsmeade Midnight, no matter when it was.
It was still light, but Dumbledore conjured up blinds and little lullaby- singing reindeer to get everyone to sleep. It worked instantly, like a drug. Everyone was out like a light except Dumbledore.
He checked everyone was asleep, tip-toed over to Severus and dragged the man halfway across the hall, draping him over Graham. The sleeping Muggle twitched and mumbled something in his sleep.
Something about the oranges being epelredy.
Dumbledore shook his head and went to his own bit of floor.
There. That should give Graham a bit of a shock, bust Severus' ego AND start a romance to teach the children that homosexuality wasn't all that bad.
Job done.
"Dare." Remus said, being a Marauder, which automatically makes him suicidal.
"Does it ever get you down, being a. youknow?"
"Is that my dare?" Lupin asked, mouth doing the 's' thing.
"What?"
"What?"
They stared at each other, being stuck in a conversational deadlock. Neither seemed to have worked out what the other said.
Quirrell rolled his eyes and shook his head slowly.
Ron started dancing on the table.
Severus, irate idiot that he is, pulled the tablecloth off the table and sent Ron flying.
Ron, through a mouthful of Graham's Stale Irish Stew and soot from the fireplace, started cursing Snape.
All this happened in the moments that Remus and Pixie were replaying the last moments of their conversation in their head trying to work out what had happened.
"OH!" the author yelled suddenly. "Of course! Remus, I challenge you to a game, and you have to do it for your dare!"
"What game?"
"Who-Can-Hold-Their-Hand-In-The-Ice-Bucket-Longest?" Pixie giggled. "It's a really good game, it's over here and I'm the unbeaten champion."
"Oh yes?" Ginny asked. "How did you manage that?"
"I had to cheat a bit, granted. Not much, I just put cockroaches down the contestant's back with my spare hand." Pixie smiled.
"I want a separate bucket!" Remus whined. Pixie conjured up buckets of iced water, even though she technically wasn't magical.
"Hey, Draco, Truth or Dare?" Remus asked, his reasoning that just watching the game would be boring and the spectators needed something else to do.
"Dare, as long as you leave the hair alone!" Draco warned.
"I dare you to have a go on the bucking bronco, over there. And if you don't last at least 20 seconds then I'll have to think up a forfeit."
"Oh, bucking hell!" Draco muttered. Albus grinned.
"Indeed, Herr Kommandant."
"Heil Albus!" Severus said automatically, before slapping his forehead and massaging his temple. "I wish you wouldn't do that, Albus, you're messing with my self-esteem."
"What hell?" Graham asked. Dumbledore grinned more.
Ginny, out of everyone's line of sight, conjured some grease on to the bronco Draco was about to ride.
As expected, he got on and fell off the other side, protesting for another go.
"That wasn't fair, he hadn't started bucking yet!" He whinged. Remus sighed.
"That proves how crap you're going to do, doesn't it?"
"Oh, buck off."
"If you use the fucking bucking joke one more time then I cannot be asked to take responsibility of my actions!" Graham said.
While two different modes of torture were going on, Dumbledore was laughing to himself. Lurking in and amongst the pink fluffy clouds and jumping wildcats there was a vague promise of suffering waiting to be found. Graham and Severus did look so cute together.
Draco had been thrown completely out of the bronco's saddle and had landed in a funny way, which made him think of changing his name to something feminine. There was a kind of steady ache around his crotch area now, and through blurry vision he could see Graham bent double in the corner, wincing and hugging his own nether regions in sympathy.
He had a vague sense that he was falling and then a realistic thud as he hit the ground. Harry checked his stopwatch (which was new - courtesy of Dumbledore).
"20.3 seconds." He announced. Draco breathed a sigh of relief. His crotch was safe. Relatively.
Over in the ice-bucket game, Remus was beginning to think he had developed frostbite. His hand had gone bright red and he was certain that water around it was beginning to freeze.
Pixie wasn't quite fairing as well. Her hand had gone blue, and she could no longer move it. It wasn't long before the paralysis moved up her arm into the rest of her body and she fell rigid into the bucket.
"I declare the winner of this completely crazy, utterly pointless competition - REMUS LUPIN!" Sirius yelled, holding his friend's working hand high.
Remus just put his cold hand in the cup of tea one of the endless number of house elves had brought him. There was a sizzling sound and he flinched.
"Boy, that does not sound good."
Harry did a double-take at his stop watch.
"Ye Gods, it's midnight! It must have been a good day for the Four Bells."
Harry's watch ran by the Four Bells of Hogsmeade, a tourist attraction and timekeeper for the many wizards in the area. Midnight was a different times each night, depending on what mood the bells were in and what sort of day it had been.
On Christmas, midnight was always a few hours early. In the middle of a war when one of the bells had a cold, it was tolled out at 6 am two weeks later. It was very complicated, as it messed with future time, past time and present time, as well as reality.
For example:- midnight could be tolled today at normal time but it was actually being tolled two weeks ago as well because it had been such a good day and the Bells had received lots of presents.
In the holidays, residents of Hogwarts usually went to bed at Hogsmeade Midnight, no matter when it was.
It was still light, but Dumbledore conjured up blinds and little lullaby- singing reindeer to get everyone to sleep. It worked instantly, like a drug. Everyone was out like a light except Dumbledore.
He checked everyone was asleep, tip-toed over to Severus and dragged the man halfway across the hall, draping him over Graham. The sleeping Muggle twitched and mumbled something in his sleep.
Something about the oranges being epelredy.
Dumbledore shook his head and went to his own bit of floor.
There. That should give Graham a bit of a shock, bust Severus' ego AND start a romance to teach the children that homosexuality wasn't all that bad.
Job done.