"A game?" Hermione hedged at Blaise's question.

"Yes. A game." That annoyingly charming grin was still spread across his face. Oh yes, there was no doubt he knew exactly how he affected the females of their species. That much was readily apparent to her.

"What kind of game?" She continued to prod. Unwilling to agree to anything with a Slytherin without knowing the specifics that would be required of her.

"A drinking game. We would have to go over there." He indicated a small cluster of chairs that were situated around a royal blue couch. Nearly all the seats were taken by what looked like other members of his house. The thought of a whole group of them figuring out who she was sent chills down her spine and a fresh wave of goosebumps to erupt over her body. "Each person takes a turn and gives two true things about themselves and one lie, then everyone else has to guess which is the lie. If you guess wrong you have to take a shot. It is genuinely effortless. I promise."

It did seem simple enough and she liked to think she was a pretty observant person. That would definitely play in her favor during a game like Blaise proposed. Why was she hesitating anyway? This was exactly what she had come here for! Well, maybe not the whole spending the evening with a bunch of Slytherins part but being able to live a different life for a night. How much more divergent from her normal life could she get than playing drinking games with people who routinely harassed her?

"I suppose that would have the distinct possibility for drunken shenanigans." Hermione replied. She didn't miss the flash of admiration in Blaise's eyes before he slid his hand onto her lower back, scarcely above where the tulle hid her bottom from any explorative groping. He gently steered her towards the group of unknown coeds.

They stopped at the entrance to the little circle and she scanned the gathering warily…

She picked out Pansy Parkinson right away. The chit had gone way overboard with the Slytherin Pride. She was figuratively (and quite literally) a snake. Her mask was inlaid with emeralds, diamonds and black opals. The flawless work on the scale design was exquisite and when combined with her masterful use of dark makeup... Wow! Her dress was barely there and naturally- emerald green to match the jewels of her mask. It had a glitter overlay that shimmered eerily in the candlelight, while her neckline plunged far enough down to show the undersides of her breasts before the fabric gathered in a u-shape across her upper stomach. The skirt would be considered what the muggle fashion world called "mini", the fabric barely came down enough to cover her voluptuous bum. Pansy silently screamed sex as she sat in one of the chairs, her legs draped across the arm leisurely.

Hermione's self-esteem took the calculated hit. There was no way anyone was going to look very long at her when they had Pansy to fawn over and they both knew it. Not that she had come for the sole purpose of finding male attention mind you! But even she had to admit it was nice to have Blaise's attention for the short time she'd had it…

Wayne Hopkins, a Hufflepuff from their year, had one of the Carrow twins sitting in his lap. Was it... Hestia? Maybe. An odd pairing but the drunken heart wants what the drunken heart wants, apparently… And who was she to judge considering not even sixty seconds before she had been taking companionable drinks with the Slytherin Playboy?

Finally, Sue Li from Ravenclaw sat on the couch with... Shit! Draco -frickin'- Malfoy... In a tux... And a "Phantom of the Opera" styled mask? What in the world?! She hadn't noticed him at first considering his two brainless sidekicks were nowhere in sight. Hermione paused as Blaise stepped forward and sat between the two. He reached over and pulled Sue's legs into his lap. The dress she wore was a deep dark purple and leaned more towards modest but it did have a slit up the left side that went to mid-thigh. A fact that he took immediate advantage of by sliding his hand onto her exposed knee. She didn't protest and just situated herself until she was more comfortable in the new position.

Hermione fought with the grimace that tried to spring onto her face. She had no idea why she cared. Hadn't she thought it odd that he was alone when he approached her? Besides, it was not like Blaise had done anything overtly forward with her. She should have known better. Just because the boy had taken pity and talked to her did not mean he was showing an interest!

She quickly sat in one of the empty chairs. It felt good to rest her legs, the long walk from Gryffindor Tower and her own overactive nerves had taken a lot out of her.

"We are going to play Two Truths and A Lie." Blaise announced to the group, not drawing any attention to the newcomer with an introduction. Something she was overwhelmingly grateful for. She didn't know how she was going to find the fearlessness she needed to adequately portray nonchalance to even speak in Malfoy's presence. What if he recognized her? In no way was she prepared for the lashing she was sure to get once he or Pansy realized it was her. Would Blaise or any of the others spare her enough of a distraction to slink away before it became too brutal?

This was a mistake... A stupid stupid stupid mistake…

"Awesome!" Wayne exclaimed. "Who's going first?"

"I will!" Sue said with a shrug of her thin shoulders. She sat there thinking for a second. Absent-mindedly she reached up and scratched at a piece of glitter that had fallen from the mask on her face. Hermione found herself wondering yet again if some of the masks had been bought from muggle shops. Being a Halfblood, Sue could have had her muggle parent send it from home easily enough. Suddenly the girl sat up straighter and started ticking off her list on her fingers. "My favorite band is the Wicked Sisters. I know how to drive a muggle stick shift car. I am secretly a Metamorphmagi."

"The Wicked Sisters, while gifted and everything, do not seem to be your style." Blaise said, running his thumb along the skin of Sue's upper thigh, keeping the rest of his fingers cleverly on her knee cap. No one else was paying close enough attention to notice the discrete venture. There had to be something deeply wrong with her… For a few seconds Hermione had actually wanted to be in the other witch's place... She hoped it was just her teenage hormones running amuck while mixed with alcohol and she wasn't developing a crush on the guy, like every other girl in the school.

Malfoy sighed and rolled his eyes towards no one in particular. "The muggle car one."

Hermione faltered, realizing it was her turn. Everyone stared at her waiting for her guess.

"Well... Ummm... You're not really a metamorphmagi." She finally got out and took a deep breath as she turned towards Wayne expectantly, hoping the others would do the same.

Once more her unsaid prayers were answered and they did. She took a moment to gather her thoughts. She needed to keep her wits about her if she wanted to survive this untouched. Her mind vaguely registered that Wayne went with Blaise and Hestia had quickly agreed with him. From the glazed over look in her eyes she wondered if the girl had gotten into something even stronger than drink…

Pansy suddenly shifted in a quick movement. One moment she was relaxed, leaning back against the arm of the chair and the next she was sitting upright with her legs crossed. For Hermione, this just further reinforced the resemblance to her house mascot and served as yet another unneeded reminder that she couldn't allow herself to let down her guard. She didn't need a replay of the numerous times Pansy had used her smarts and vicious mouth to break her down. Still uncertain if anyone had figured out who she was, she could only hope to keep the secret until she could tactfully escape.

"Definitely the covert powers one. If you were able to do something like that it would have gotten out by now." Pansy answered, giving the reasoning Hermione would have if she wasn't afraid of talking too much and giving herself away.

Sue smirked over in Pansy's direction, not making direct eye contact. It seemed that she wasn't the only one afraid of the wench. "Caught me."

"Damn, I really thought you had better musical tastes." Blaise interjected with a wave of his wand. A nonverbal spell caused shot glasses to appear full in each of the losers hands. Hermione couldn't help but be impressed and a tiny bit entertained that the boy had something in common with Mrs. Weasley. Even though it was common enough she had never thought, someone as entitled as him, would take the time to learn such a menial spell. He was an enigma that was for sure... The only reason she could come up with was that it could be considered an impressive party trick. They all took their shots and the glasses disappeared before any of them could look for a place to set them down.

"Well then, it looks to be my turn." Blaise observed, his infuriating habitual smirk finding its way across his features. "I hate turnips. My Mother has Veela blood and that is why I am so irresistible. I secretly think Quidditch is a waste of time."

Malfoy started off at nothing when he answered with a simple and concise. "Quidditch."

Hermione raised her eyebrow at that. Zabini was a Pureblood. Everyone knew that. Why had Malfoy purposely guessed wrong? It made absolutely no sense. She made a mental check mark to come back to it later. She did not have the time to sit and ruminate over it at that precise moment. "Your mother is not a veela. You are good looking but not that good looking."

Everyone laughed. Even Malfoy snorted. The rest of them agreed with her on his Mother's origins being the lie. Draco took his shot and she noticed for the first time just how tired he looked under his mask. His normally cold gray eyes swirled as if a storm was brewing underneath his composed exterior. She found herself pondering if they had always done that and the iced-over look she normally got was from his deep hatred for anyone Muggleborn. Or was this a new development from the aftermath of what happened last year?

He leaned forward and placed his elbows on his knees, staring at the floor. It took him longer than Blaise or Sue to gather his thoughts and Hermione hoped it would be easy to pick out his lie. He was cunning and if she didn't pay attention to his exact wordage he might slip something past her and she would end up taking another shot. Not a good idea when the mission was to get away from this group as quickly as etiquette allowed…

Unprompted, his eyes snapped up and locked on to hers. Her own widened in response from getting caught staring. For a second, she could have sworn he knew who was hiding under her mask. Her heartbeat instantly started to race and she hoped he wouldn't be able to see her pulse throb in her neck. She prayed silently to every god she knew, begging them to hear her pleas to get out of this before he started in on her... She knew it was a long shot. He had never given up an opportunity in the past.

Why should tonight be any different?