Title: I Don't Know Why (02)
Author name: Jetsam Porridge
Author email: jetsamporridge@yahoo.com.au
Category: Romance
Sub Category: Slash
Keywords: Draco Harry dare
Rating: R
Spoilers: SS/PS, CoS, PoA, GoF, OoTP
Summary: Truth or Dare is a completely harmless way of passing the time. Or so Harry Potter thought. Of course, he forgot about his insatiable need to Prove Himself. One simple game will cause a chain of events during which Harry will find out a little about those he thought he knew, and those he knew he didn't. But Harry doesn't yet realize that he will find himself as well…
DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. Any similarities to any other works are purely coincidental and were not intended by the author.

A/N: Part two of chapter two! Don't know why chapter one worked properly…

I Don't Know Why

Chapter two: Harry's Dirty Secrets (Part 2)

It's a few minutes before I can coerce my feet into moving. They seem to have temporarily glued themselves to the dungeon floor. I'm quite certain I just saw Draco Malfoy stalk gracefully from the room. I'm sure he had a very good reason to do that, since I've never known him to make a Grand Exit without a Dramatic Prelude.

Of course, this reasoning doesn't help to fill the gaping hole in my memory.

I wonder briefly where my wand is and see the end of it poking out from behind the storeroom door. My feet finally unstick themselves enough for me to walk over and pick it up, only then realizing that it's not my wand.

He must have taken mine by mistake, I thought. I'll have to go find him and get mine back. Oh joy, oh happiness. An evening trip to the Slytherin dungeons.

I make my way out of the dungeon and turn to head in the direction of the Slytherin rooms. I'm so caught up in my thoughts that I don't see Hermione coming, which means I get an awful shock when she grabs me by the arm.

"Did you find your pen?"

I feel my face screw up into a confused frown.

"What?"

"Your pen," she says patiently. "You said you forgot it?"

"When did I say that?"

"Just then! Everyone was talking in the common room, then you got up and said you'd forgotten your pen, and you left!"

"I did?"

"Yes! Don't you remember? Honestly, Harry!"

"No…" I'm slowly becoming more and more confused. "I don't remember at all…the only things I remember are…well, going to detention and then leaving detention. I don't remember anything in between."

"What do you mean?" she says sharply.

"I mean…I've just got this…blank spot in my memory. Up until Malfoy left."

"Really?" She's frowning now.

"Yeah…oh well, never mind. Listen, I think Malfoy mixed our wands up. I'm going to go get mine back, alright?"

"I'll go with you," she says firmly.

"I'm sure I'll be fine," I reply.

She frowns again.

"Alright," she finally says, albeit a little reluctantly.

"See you later, Hermione."

I continue on towards the Slytherin rooms.

"But Harry…" her voice floats after me and I turn around.

"Be careful!"

~*~

I reach the wall where I know the door to the Slytherin common room is located. I'm not sure where exactly it is, so I settle for a spot somewhere near the middle and bang on it.

"Hello?" I yell.

Nothing happens.

"I want to talk to Malfoy!"

After a minute, a portion of the wall slides open, revealing a more than slightly annoyed Pansy Parkinson.

She screws up her face, making her look even more like a pug than she usually does.

"Sod off, Potter," she says and the wall starts to slide shut again.

"Wait!" I shout.

The 'door' slides back open again and Pansy looks even more annoyed.

"What?"

"I need to speak to Malfoy."

"Well, he doesn't need to speak with you, Potter, so you can just fuck off."

"Creative, aren't you?" I mutter.

"What did you say?" she says sharply.

"I'll tell you if you let me speak to Malfoy?" I know it probably won't work, but I try anyway.

"Fuck off, Potter."

There's that creativity again. Time to beg.

"Please," I say through gritted teeth. "It's very important."

"Bad luck. You can't see Draco."

"Who can't see me?" a drawling voice comes from inside the room. Of course, I'm in no doubt as to whom it belongs to

Malfoy appears in the doorway, cool and unruffled as always.

"Oh, it's you," he says, his face wrinkling unpleasantly.

"Geez, don't bowl me over with enthusiasm, Malfoy," I say sarcastically.

"What do you want?" he sneers.

"To talk to you."

"So, talk. I haven't got all day."

"Without her, Malfoy," I say, pointing at Pansy. I can feel myself getting angrier.

He raises his eyebrows. "Fine," he says dispassionately. "Pansy, piss off."

She huffs, insulted, and disappears inside the common room. Malfoy steps out of the doorway and into the corridor, the door sliding shut behind him.

"What?" he says, crossing his arms and not sounding the least bit interested. I decide to be blunt since I've often been told that I have no talent for beating around the bush.

"Where's my wand?"

"What?"

"My wand," I say patiently, holding up his. "This isn't mine, so I'm assuming it's yours. I think you have mine."

"Oh," he says, sounding bored. "Is that all? Well, here it is."

He pulls it out of his pocket. I move forward to grab it and he jerks it out of my reach.

"Give me mine, Potter, and I'll give you yours."

"Fine," I say through gritted teeth, holding out his wand. He takes it and tosses mine down the corridor.

"Run along, now, Potter," he says sweetly and turns to head back through the door. I begin to walk away, but a thought suddenly flashes across my mind.

Up until Malfoy left…

"Malfoy," I begin cautiously.

"What?" he says. I can tell he's getting annoyed.

I hesitate.

"Nothing, don't worry about it."

He snorts exasperatedly and crosses his arms.

"What, Potter?"

"Nothing!"

I walk away from him, but then stop. Is it worth asking just in case?

Might as well.

"Did you do obliviate on me?"

"Sorry?" he says, uncrossing his arms.

"You heard me."

"I don't know what you're talking about," he says, plastering innocence all over his face and layering it onto his voice.

And there's the proof. It's so obvious I'm almost sure he wants me to think he did do it.

"Why?"

He sneers.

"You really want to know?" he asks, loading on the sarcasm. "I got detention on purpose, knocked you out with a chair, polyjuiced myself into you, stole your shirt, went to Gryffindor tower, found out all your Dirty Secrets and spread false information about you. Happy?"

My mouth moves uselessly for a moment.

"I don't believe you," I manage. He steps towards the now-hidden door to the Slytherin rooms.

"Your loss," he says. "You asked; I told you. It's your fault if you don't believe me."

With that, he touches a hand to the wall. The door slides open and he disappears inside without a second glance.

After a moment, I begin to head back towards Gryffindor Tower. I try not to think about his oh-so-sarcastic statement, which in fact seems to make enough sense that it might even be true.

~*~

Well, that was interesting, I thought. Obviously my Evil Plan was more than slightly flawed. I suppose I could have performed a better obliviate spell, thus preventing Potter from suspecting anything. Or at least, that would have been the best-case scenario.

On the other hand, knowing my luck, Potter probably would have suspected something anyway.

I flung myself into my favourite chair – a dark green armchair that perfectly matches my Slytherin t-shirt - and rack my brain for the next logical step.

What did I have to work with? I drew up a list in my mind.

1. Apparently, Potter likes boys.

2. Potter's friends think he likes me.

3. Potter's friends will tease him about me.

Hmm, I thought. Difficult.

But after a minute, I was struck with a brilliant idea.

Why not give them something to tease him about?

I was, after all, outrageously sexy, and if Potter was gay he should find me irresistible. I grinned to myself. I would lead him a wonderful dance, and then crush him like an… easily crushable thing.

My new Evil Plan? Why, to seduce Harry Potter. Secretly, of course. I didn't want my impeccable reputation sullied.

And if some people thought it's already sullied… well, they were just wrong, weren't they?

~*~