Cauldron of Surprises

Luna was waiting for Draco to get home from the shop, as per usual when an idea struck her. They had been living together for nearly a month and had developed a routine. She wasn't particularly against routines, but being a free spirit, she enjoyed variety in her life. With a satisfied smile, she gathered up some things that she expected to use and set about preparing the surprise for Draco.

Draco was in a particularly good mood when he apparated into his drawing room. He counted it as a good day of business, but couldn't help but smile a little wider when he thought of Luna waiting for him with dinner. He discarded his cloak and straightened his robes before venturing into the dining room. He was met with the sight of Luna stirring a large cauldron, her hair swept up into a messy bun.

"Hello," he greeted her cautiously, hoping she hadn't gone mad. He remembered some of her quirks from Hogwarts and was a bit worried that she had discovered something very loony while looking for Quibbler material and was now testing it out.

"Oh. Hi!" she said brightly, the steam from the cauldron turning her cheeks pink. "Good day at work?"

"Yes. What are you doing?" he asked.

"Oh. Well I thought I'd make something for you. I'd like to play a game, you see."

"Erm…ok. What kind of game?" he ventured.

Luna smiled mischievously and Draco's heart fluttered a bit. "You'll have to wait until I'm finished," she told him.

"Are we having dinner?" he questioned as his stomach protested the deviation from their routine.

"Yes. I have some stew waiting for you on the table. You can eat it there or bring it in here. Whichever you prefer is fine."

"Have you eaten?"

"No. But I'm fine for now," she told him. "I got very excited about my idea and decided to work on it right away."

"Ok. I'll just eat in the dining room," he told her. He was still a little wary about her fervor for this plan, but decided not to push anything too much, especially since she seemed to be so excited. He ate by himself and pondered what Luna could possibly want to do with him. He was quite content to sit with her in the evenings while she read and he worked on acquiring new items for his store and listened to the radio.

"It's ready," Luna announced from the kitchen twenty minutes after Draco had settled down at the dining table with his stew and the Daily Prophet. He cleaned the bowl and banished it to the kitchen, then folded the newspaper and steeled himself for whatever Luna was planning.

"Alright," he seated himself at the kitchen table across from her. The cauldron was gone and only two steaming goblets remained on the table. "Care to explain this game now?"

Luna beamed at him. "Well it's a muggle game I've heard some girls talk about," she started. Draco cut her off however.

"MUGGLE? You want me to partake in some kind of MUGGLE ritual?" He was flabbergasted.

"Don't be ridiculous. It's just a game, Draco!" He really wanted to deny her flat out and had he not gone through hell and back in the war to find himself terribly lonely, and a little changed he might have refused to continue. Luna was looking at him with pleading eyes however, and he had grown very fond of her, so he reluctantly held his tongue and allowed her to continue explaining. "The thing is, you ask the other person truth or dare. If the person picks truth you ask them something and they have to tell you the true answer. If they choose dare, you can ask them to perform some task and they have to do it for you."

"It sounds silly," he told her. "People lie. And people also refuse to do things they don't want to do. I don't know how muggles manage with such lowly ideas as to demand someone either tell you something intimate or do something for you. It's crude!"

Luna sighed and he stopped talking, however. "I've added a bit of magic to the game, though." She pointed to the two steaming goblets. "I've added Veritaserum to apple cider so we'll both drink and we won't be able to lie."

"Why do you even want to play this game?" he asked.

"It sounded like fun," she replied. She took a long drink of her cider and looked at Draco with her big blue eyes.

'Damn it!' he thought to himself. She was going to be disappointed if he didn't play along with her game. Feeling completely foolish, he drained the fluid in one. She smiled brightly at him and then finished her spiked cider as well.

"Do you want to go first?" she asked him.

Draco sighed. From what he saw, it was going to be a long night. Not only was he participating in a muggle activity, he also couldn't lie. He shrugged, ready to get things started so they would be over with quickly.