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…

A/N: Okay… I was bored… and I'm trying to get over writer's block for Satin. ;
This picks up at the actual execution of the dare. Enjoy!

..: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 weaved through the early morning bustle of starving students trying to reach their breakfast. The blonde shuffled along behind Hermione as they made their way to the Gryffindor table. Noticing where they were, she sent an icy glare at the Head Girl.

"Harry! Ron! Isn't this the most wonderful morning?" said Hermione enthusiastically with a huge grin on her face. She hugged them both with the same zeal.

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

"Er… If you say so, Hermione," replied Harry, exchanging a suspicious glance with Ron. Or rather, attempting to exchange a glance with Ron.

Ron, being the polite gentleman he was, was staring open-mouthed (half-chewed bacon and all) at the blonde girl next to Hermione. She shifted uneasily under his inspection and sent another glare at her companion.

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

Hermione was too preoccupied with Ron's manners, or lack thereof, to notice the silent death threats coming from the increasingly uneasy blonde. "Ronald! Shut your mouth! I don't particularly want to lose my appetite. It's also very rude to stare! I'll have you know—"

"You're pretty…" said Ron suddenly, interrupting Hermione's speech. "What's your name?"

"I—er…"

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

As Ron continued to stare at the girl struggling with her words, Ginny walked in and sat down next to Harry.

"Good morning boys, Hermione," she said. Looking at the peculiar scene enfolding between her brother and the blonde girl, and then at Hermione's annoyed expression, she said to the Head Girl, "Who's that?"

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, her?" said Hermione, her bad mood dissipating quickly. She continued with a smirk on her face. "That's Dra—"

The girl began to listen to Hermione and Ginny's conversation in time for her to hear the last bit. Her grey eyes widened and clamped a hand over Hermione's mouth. She laughed nervously and said in an unnaturally high voice, "Oh dear… Look at the time! Gra—I mean Hermione and I must take our leave. We er… have some business to take care of with the Headmaster!"

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 the boys and Ginny could question them further, the "girl" dragged a laughing Hermione out of the Great Hall as fast as humanly possible in her heels. They didn't even hear Ginny's shout of "But Dumbledore's at the Head Table!", nor did they notice the numerous stares they were getting. 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! Do you know how sickening it is for the Weasel to ogle you?"

Hermione laughed even harder at this.

"Hmmph!" said Draco. "This was the most humiliating thing I've ever done and all you can do is laugh?"

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."

"You were about to tell them! And what are you going to say when they ask you about me?" He sighed dramatically and put his hand over his heart. "I'm scarred for life, Granger. I'll never be the same again!"

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: Ta-da! This idea was floating around in my head for a while… and I finally wrote it down! pats myself on the back

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