Kiss and Spell (SOON TO BE UP FOR ADOPTION!)

III: Dare

Murmurs and oooohs rippled round the circle. Meanwhile, Malfoy narrowed his eyes at Parkinson.

"That's it? That's your dare?" A disbelieving grin spread across his face, and to Harry's amazement, he threw back his head and laughed. "I was expecting more from you, Parkinson. Everyone's stolen potion ingredients before. And from Slughorn? What a joke."

"Why am I involved in this?" Harry interjected.

Parkinson didn't take her eyes off of Malfoy, nor did the smirk leave her face. In fact, it grew larger. "Not so fast," she drawled. "I said you have to work with Potter to steal the ingredients."

"I didn't miss that part," he said coldly.

"Together."

"Yes, that's what 'with Potter' means," Malfoy snapped.

"Why me?" Harry asked again, but nobody was listening. Everyone had their eyes on the drama unfolding between the two Slytherins.

Parkinson tipped her head to the side. "So you'll do it?"

Malfoy snorted. "Of course I will. I'm not a wuss. Besides," he added, narrowing his eyes at her again, "don't have much of a choice, do I? That's how Truth or Dare works."

"Smart boy," Parkinson drawled. She dug in her robes pocket and pulled out a small scroll of parchment, holding it out to him. "These are the ingredients you need to steal."

Malfoy stood up and snatched the parchment from her.

"Come on, Potter," he said stiffly, tucking the scroll in his robes pocket.

Harry scrambled to his feet, feeling slightly dazed. "I don't have a say in this, do I?"

"Not at all," said Parkinson cheerfully.

Harry's eyes drifted to Ron and Hermione, silently pleading for help. To his chagrin, Hermione's expression looked thoughtful, while Ron's looked...annoyed? Harry couldn't read their emotions well in the firelight, and honestly, the signals he was picking up weren't making much sense. He pushed it out of his mind, deciding he would deal with that later. He had a bigger problem to attend to currently. A quick glance round the rest of the circle confirmed that nobody was going to help him. Harry had the vague idea that involving someone else in another person's dare was against the rules of the game, but to be fair, he'd never had a group of friends large enough to play such a game before. It was perfectly plausible that this was a normal part of the game, which made him wish all the more that he had skipped it to go to the Astronomy Tower or the Owlery. He would've been alone, and probably lonely, but he wouldn't have been here.

At least Malfoy wasn't dared to kiss me, Harry found himself thinking, remembering Malfoy's earlier comment about playing Spin the Bottle. Stealing potion ingredients is much preferred to what the dare could've been.

Harry sighed and stood up. It looked as though this is what he was stuck with. If Malfoy was having his own doubts about agreeing to join the game, he wasn't showing them. Not that his body language was relaxed or at ease, but he'd been that way before the game began, so it wasn't anything new. Malfoy strode across the circle, leaving Harry to scurry after him.

"Good luck," Parkinson called after them as they climbed out of the portrait hole. "We look forward to hearing about it when you get back!"

"I'm sure you do," Malfoy growled as he slammed the portrait shut behind them.

"Oi, there! Watch it!"

Harry and Malfoy turned round to see Sir Cadogan sprawled on the painted grass, having been knocked off his pony by the force of Malfoy slamming his portrait. His helmet had slipped over his head, and his sword was stuck, blade-down, in the ground. The knight struggled to his feet.

"Who goes there?" he shouted, his over-large helmet still covering his eyes. "Be you students out past curfew or intruders in the castle, show yourselves, you rouges, and prepare to duel!"

"Oh, shut up," Malfoy said irritably, poking the knight in the stomach.

Sir Cadogan stumbled backward and fell on his arse, still struggling to rearrange his armor so that he could see them. "Lily-livered cowards! Knaves, braggarts, dogs! Attacking when your opponent is down, I'll show you a lesson!"

But Malfoy wasn't waiting around for Sir Cadogan to reorient himself. He was already striding away from the eighth years' dorm. Harry trailed reluctantly after him. Part of him wanted to let Malfoy steal the ingredients himself and wait for him in the corridor instead. But as he dragged his feet after Malfoy, letting him get farther and farther away, a sharp tug in his abdomen yanked him forward. He heard Malfoy swear up ahead, louder than was a good idea after curfew.

"Potter! Stop that this instant or I swear to Merlin I will hex you into oblivion!"

Harry jogged after Malfoy and found him leaning against the stone wall in the stairwell, clutching his side and breathing rather heavily.

"What in the bloody hell was that?" Malfoy snapped, glaring at Harry from under the fringe of white-blond hair that fell over his forehead. "Did you hex me?!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb with me, Potter, I know what you did!"

Harry shook his head, utterly bewildered. "I didn't do anything. I was going to let you leave me behind, but then I was yanked forward."

A look of comprehension slowly dawned on Malfoy's face, and he looked pissed.

"Oh, I am going to murder Parkinson," he said, gritting his teeth. "I was yanked backwards so forcefully I almost fell over, and you were yanked forward? That can't be a coincidence. Merlin, I'm going to hex her until even her own mother can't recognise her!"

He turned away and began to back stomp up the stairs, muttering to himself, "'I said you have to work together, Draco, do you know what that means?' Merlin's saggy left nut, I hate her with every fibre of my being."

"What do you mean?" Harry called after him, still utterly bewildered. "What did she do? Where are you going?"

"Are you really that dense, Potter? I can't believe —"

Malfoy stopped in his tracks, looking as though he was straining against an invisible wall. "Oh, sod everything! You have got to be kidding me. I did not sign up for this!"

He turned back round with one of the angriest looks on his face that Harry had ever seen.

"Parkinson jinxed us, so now we're stuck together until we finish this blasted dare. Merlin, I hate everything!"

Chapter three: 1,088 words.

Total count: 3,119 words.