Cherry Lips by Viriditas
Disclaimer: -sigh- Unfortunately, JK Rowling owns anything Harry Potter related. And the song "Cherry Lips" belongs to the band Garbage.
Summary: One-shot. A dare can go wrong in so many ways… especially when Draco's on the receiving end. First fic! AU, of course, and the characters may be a little OOC…
"Alright, my turn. Malfoy, truth or dare?"
After a moment of contemplation, in which the arrogant bastard extraordinaire of Hogwarts weighed the ups and downs of his choices (ever the Slytherin), he declared in his drawling voice, "Dare."
He then, of course, proceeded to smirk at the Gryffindor girl sitting across from him.
She merely raised an eyebrow at his face and tossed her unruly brown hair over her shoulder. She stared at the blonde with a thoughtful expression.
Yes, Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger were sitting in a room. In close proximity. And not hexing each other into oblivion.
The students of Hogwarts all knew about the infamous rivalry between the Gryffindor and Slytherin houses. But the one between Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger was even more legendary; it probably could have merited a section all its own in Hogwarts, a History. So how exactly did they end up like this? Dumbledore.
Everyone had thought he had finally gone off his rocker when he announced that Draco and Hermione were this year's Heads at the start of term feast (with the usual twinkle in his eyes). Professor McGonagall's nostrils were flared while she sat stiffly in her chair; Snape, on the other hand, was even paler than usual and glared murderously at anyone who dared to meet his gaze. Obviously, they vehemently disapproved of the Headmaster's decision and obviously, they couldn't do anything about it whatsoever.
"Come now, Granger, it can't be that hard to think of a dare for me. Then again, I am the most sought after man in Hogwarts so I don't blame your nervousness while you're in my presence," Draco said with the smirk still firmly plastered to his face.
She glared at him this time, irritated with his interruption and his enormous ego, but still said nothing. Her face lit up as she came upon something. Her amber eyes glinted with amusement (or was it mischevousness?) as she kept her calculating gaze trained on her "victim".
The two had their share of fights and squabbles in the beginning of the year. Tensions had escalated so much that Dumbledore threatened to take away their badges. Being the stubborn people they were, Draco and Hermione grudgingly established a truce that would at least allow them to work together on Head duties without killing each other. This meant no name-calling (Mudblood, the Amazing Bouncing Ferret, etc.) and no goading the other person unnecessarily. Eventually, the truce allowed for a reluctant respect to form between to two, which brings us to this lovely Friday evening of Truth or Dare.
A smirk that was eerily similar to the one on Draco usually sports stole across Hermione's face. Draco's sneer faltered a bit at this as doubts began to seep through his normally impenetrable smugness.
"Malfoy…" said Hermione, now with a full-blown "evil" expression on her normally good-natured face.
"Granger…" replied Draco, a bit apprehensively.
"I…"
She gave you everything she had
But she was
young and dumb
She'd just turned twenty-one
"..dare you…"
She didn't
care to hang around
So when the shit came down
Why she was
nowhere to be found
"…to…" She paused for dramatic effect here.
This life can
turn a good girl bad
She was the sweetest thing
That you had
ever seen
"…dress like a girl and parade around in the Great Hall tomorrow morning at breakfast!"
Draco nearly fell off the couch at this proclamation. His eyes were as wide as dinner plates and his smirk promptly fell off his face. Instead, his jaw was now somewhere near the floor as he slowly processed the implications of the dare. His speechlessness was met with Hermione's triumphant smile.
You're such a
delicate boy
In the hysterical realm
Of an emotional
landslide
In physical terms
"B-b-but, you can't make me do that!" he exclaimed after a couple of minutes, his voice cracking. "Th-that's downright cruel! It's a direct insult to my masculinity!"
Hermione scoffed. "I don't care about your masculinity. And you can't turn down a dare. Isn't there something in the Malfoy Handbook that prevents you from doing that?"
"I-I…"
"Oh, it's not that bad. I know the perfect spells for this. Merlin knows how many times I've heard beauty tip conversations between Lavender and Pavarti over the years…" she shuddered. "Anyway, I know a spell that will lengthen and curl your hair and another that will apply make-up flawlessly. So how about it?"
Draco still looked shocked and insulted but he had begun to regain his composure. "If it's as flawless as you claim, why do you still look like you?"
"I have no need for these superficial comforts," said Hermione. "I am quite comfortable with the way I look. I would much rather focus on schoolwork than chatting about the latest ways to—oh I don't know—paint my toenails."
He let out a short burst of laughter at this. Hermione was definitely very different than the girls he was used to.
"Fine, Granger. I think I can trust your charm work. But I'll only do this under one condition…"
..:The Next Day (Saturday) at Breakfast:..
With your
cherry lips and golden curls
You could make grown men gasp
When
you'd go walking past them
The click, click, click of heels echoed through the Great Hall, which had fallen into a shocked silence at the sight of the two girls walking down the aisle to the High table. One was definitely Hermione Granger, but the other seemed as nervous and uncomfortable as Hermione was confident. She was quite pretty, however, and earned many stares from the male population. But there was something oddly familiar about that platinum blonde hair…
In your hot
pants and high heels
They could not believe
That such a body
was for real
Whispers started to erupt from every house table. "Who is that?", "Is she a new student?", "Hey! I'm over here, not there! I'm your girlfriend, remember?", and "Ow! What was that for?" were among some of the responses.
It seemed
like rainbows would appear
Whenever you came near the clouds would
disappear
Because you looked just like a girl
Your baby
blues would flash
And suddenly a spell was cast
The pair made their way up to the amused Headmaster. Hermione greeted him, while the strange "girl" at her side shifted about uneasily.
"Ah, Miss Granger. A good morning to you too! I don't believe I've met this young lady though. I pride myself in knowing who each of my students are, but apparently, you've slipped under my surveillance," said Dumbledore with a look in his eyes that clearly told them he knew who "she" was.
You hold a
candle in your heart
You shine the light on hidden parts
You
make the whole world wanna dance
You bought yourself a second
chance
Hermione nudged the "girl" when she stayed silent. "Go on," she whispered. "Tell him your name!"
Go Baby Go Go
We're right behind you
Go baby Go Go
Yeah we're looking at
you
Go baby Go Go
Aw we're right behind you
"Um… I, er…" began the "girl", whose blonde curls fell onto her face as she spoke to somewhere around the Headmaster's knees.
Go Baby
Go
Baby
Yeah right behind you
Go baby
Go Baby
Aw we're right
behind you
Go Baby
Go Baby
Yeah we're looking at you
Dumbledore had a look of concern mixed with amusement on his face. "Are you alright, dear? Perhaps Miss Granger should escort you to see Madame Pomfrey. You're turning quite a remarkable shade of red."
You hold a
candle in your heart
Go Baby Go Go
You shine the light on
hidden parts
Go Baby Go Go
You make the whole world wanna
dance
Go Baby Go Go
You bought yourself a second chance
Go
Baby Go Baby Go
"Oh, I assure it's nothing, Professor. She's feeling perfectly fine. Right, Dra—?"
The "girl's" grey eyes widened and clamped a hand over Hermione's mouth. "Erm, Professor Dumbledore, sir," she said in an unnaturally high voice. "I don't think I'm feeling very well after all. I think Gran—I mean, Hermione—should take me to the infirmary. Right away."
You're such a
delicate boy
Go Baby Go Baby Go
In the hysterical realm
Go
Baby Go Baby Go
Of an emotional landslide
Go Baby Go Baby Go
In
physical terms
Go Baby Go Go
Before Dumbledore had a chance to dismiss them, the "girl" practically dragged a laughing Hermione out of the Great Hall as fast as humanly possible in her heels, earning the odd pair even more stares. She pulled the hysterical girl, who had tears in her eyes by now, into an empty classroom and slammed the door shut. She rounded on Hermione, who was clutching her stomach from laughing so much.
"You!" said the "girl" in Draco Malfoy's voice. "I can't believe you made me agree to that! It was the most humiliating thing I've ever done!"
Hermione sobered up a bit, but her eyes were still glistening and her cheeks were still red. "Oh come off it! It wasn't so bad. No one knew who you really were, so your precious reputation is still intact."
"Dumbledore knew! The old doddering fool had that-that infuriating twinkle in his eyes!" He took on a more dramatic air and put his hand over his heart. "You wound me, Granger. You wound me deeply."
Seeing that Draco's usual demeanor was back, Hermione scoffed and raised an eyebrow at him. Draco smirked.
"So, Malfoy…"
Go
"Oh no, not again. I'm not doing another one of your dares. If you think—"
"No, not another dare," interrupted Hermione exasperatedly. Now she was the one who looked nervous. "I wanted to ask you something…"
"Yes?"
"Why did you want me to go to Hogsmeade with you in exchange for the dare?"
Yeah we're
looking at you
Go Baby Go Go
Aw we're right behind you
..:Fin:..
A/N: Glad to get that done... Now for future stories... er, that is, after all the exams and projects my dear teachers assigned are done. A shout out to my awesome beta, azkabancell101 (who needs to get moving on her first story… but is in the same situation as I am schoolwork-wise)! Please Review! Comments, constructive criticism and flames are all welcome.