The Bet

"The Bet--Part Eleven--The Girls Get Their Revenge on Neville"

That night, five Gryffindor boys were talking. Well, four were talking. One very embarrassed boy was in his bed, pouting with the curtains drawn.

"Well, put me down for two," Dean said to Harry, who had taken up marking the scores down since Ron was er, busy at the moment.

"Really? You got back in the game today?" Harry asked. Dean was the only one who'd gotten laid that day. Unless you count Ron's mishap, that is.

"Yeah!" Dean said smiling. "I guess with Pimp Master Neville out of commission, the girls decided to come back to me."

A loud scoff was heard from behind Ron's curtain.

"Not our fault that the girls you slept with got pissed off at you, Ron," Seamus said.

A few choice words were grumbled from behind the curtain, but Seamus chose to ignore them.

"Well, I for one am exhausted. All that time with no sex, then getting back on the er, proverbial horse wiped me out."

Harry, Neville, and Seamus chuckled. "I should deduct five of your points just for the horrible joke!" Harry said and poised the quill for effect.

"Don't you dare," Dean said, but he was smiling. Harry sighed and tossed the paper under his bed.

Five Gryffindor boys went to sleep that night, and only one of them had a smile on his face.

-Scene Change-

Morning rose and five Gryffindor boys got ready for a day of learning. Ron refused to leave the room until just before class, claiming he would just die of embarrassment. The other four rolled their eyes and headed merrily down stairs. Just before they entered the Great Hall, however, Professor McGonagall approached.

"Mr. Longbottom? I need to see you in my office."

"Uh, sure," Neville said and cast a worried glance at his bet-mates. They all shrugged and went to breakfast. Neville followed McGonagall to her office where she motioned for him to sit in a chair.

"Mr. Longbottom, it has come to my attention that you are involved in a bet."

"Uh..."

"First of all, it is against the rules of Hogwarts to engage in any sort of sexual activity here, and secondly, betting is also. Do you have any idea how many rules you have broken?"

"Just the two?"

"Try 37."

"Damn, that's a lot."

"Make it 38. Watch your language."

"Sorry. Uh, who told you about the bet?"

"That's none of your business. Mr. Longbottom, I can't even begin to fathom a punishment that will fit this crime."

"Uh, you could just let me go," he said hopefully.

"Not even in your wildest dreams," McGonagall retorted.

"It was worth a shot," he shrugged.

"Mr. Longbottom, I need some time to think of an appropriate punishment. Until I do, you have detention every night with Professor Snape."

"WHAT? No! Anyone but Snape. Please? I'll go on missions in the Forbidden Forest for Hagrid. Please, anyone but Snape."

"You heard me, now go."

Neville got up and muttered a few curse words as he exited. As the door shut behind him, he heard McGonagall call out, "Make it 39!"

Back in the office, Hermione and Lavender took of Harry's invisibility cloak that they had "borrowed", and McGonagall turned to them.

"You girls certainly have wild imaginations for punishments!"

"Thank you, Professor, for helping us with this."

"No problem, girls. Anything to keep you from indecently exposing another boy to Hagrid's classes."

"The punishment should fit the crime..." Lavender began.

McGonagall chuckled. "Okay, girls. You're up now."

"Thanks," Hermione smiled and the two girls headed to breakfast.

-Scene Change-

Neville was lying on his bed, resting before he headed to his detention. There was a knock.

"Come in," he called.

Lavender entered and sat down on his bed.

"Lavender, did you rat me out?"

"No, must've been Parvati or something."

"Oh, well, I have detention with Snape in a few minutes."

"That sucks. But I already knew about it. Harry told me."

"Oh."

"I just came to wish you luck."

"Thanks."

"And to give you this," she said as she offered him a small flask.

"What's in it?"

"Fire whiskey. Figured you could use a shot or two before you went to face Snape," she said as she chuckled.

"Thanks," Neville said and drank it down. Suddenly the room started to spin. "Are you sure this is fire whiskey? I feel strange..." And with that, Neville Longbottom passed out.

-Scene Change-

Neville came to in the potions class room and immediately noticed he was tied to the wall, spread eagle. A second realization came to him: he was naked. He struggled to free himself, as he heard footsteps outside the door. The door was flung open and Severus Snape stalked into the room. When he looked up and noticed Neville, his face turned an angry red and he glared at Neville.

"WHAT IS THIS ABOUT, MR. LONGBOTTOM?" he boomed.

"I don't know, I was...up in my room, and..."

Snape grabbed a mirror from the table and held it up for Neville to see. On his face was written "Property of Severus Snape," and on his stomach were the words, "Snape's personal 'pestle' polisher." Neville gasped and passed out again.

-Scene Change-

When Neville came to, he was in his own bed. He ran to the bathroom and tried to scrub off the words that covered his body. No amount of scrubbing would to the trick, so he pulled out his wand and began muttering spells. Again, to no avail. He sighed and headed back to his room, having decided he'd worry about it in the morning. Upon his return, he noticed a piece of parchment on his pillow. He picked it up and read:

Dear Neville,

The writing on your body was done magically, and it won't come off for 48 hours, no matter what you do. If I were you, I'd call in sick.

A Friend

Neville growled angrily. "Shit."