Taught to Wed

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Taught to Wed

Chapter 1 - The Game

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"I got it!" Harry Potter shouted, running into the room, whipping off his invisibility cloak as he closed the door to the Room of Requirement. The group looked at him with eager eyes. If they were going to play Truth or Dare, they were going to play it right. Harry took a drop from the vial of Veritaserum, which he had stolen from Professor Severus Snape's office, before passing it around the small group.

Cho Chang, Hermione Granger, Neville Longbottom, Ron Weasley, and his younger sister Ginny, followed Harry's example, though, all were rather nervous about the game that lay ahead. Sure, they all had played Truth or Dare before, but none with stakes as high as these. No one was going to be able to weasel their way out of a question. It had been Ron's idea to use the Veritaserum, but when his turn came, he was reluctant to drink.

"Come on, Ron," Hermione said, a look of utter resolve upon her face. There was no way she was going to let a Gryffindor chicken out of his own idea.

However, as the idea had come to Ron after entering the room, there was no choice but to steal it from Snape. They had decided that the Room of Requirement, which they had used many a time for DA meetings over the past two years was the perfect place to play the game. As the room was a magical one, it changed from time to time based upon the needs of the students who passed by it. If there was need for a bathroom, then it was a bathroom. When used for the DA meetings it was full of items that one might need when practicing magical self-defense. Tonight it was full of surprises as everyone had thought of things they might need for a dare.

Ron looked pleadingly at Hermione, but when her expression did not budge, he grimaced and took his drop of serum. He had no physical reason to grimace, as the serum was odorless and tasteless; it was purely an emotional reaction. However, the thought of having to tell the whole truth scared him, as it did the others.

"See, now that wasn't so hard, was it, Ron?" Hermione said with a grin plastered across her face.

"No," answered Ron. "It really wasn't. I'm just nervous." Ron blushed. This stuff works fast, he thought. Why did I have to come up with this bloody brilliant idea?

"Now that everything is settled," said Harry, "we can start the game. Who wants to go first?" Several pairs of eyes darted across the room, each pair landing on someone different. When no one volunteered, he spoke up, "Fine. If everyone here is a chicken then I'll decide who goes first." He glanced around eagerly, "Ginny: Truth or Dare?"

Ginny jumped at her name, "Truth."

"How is it that Neville and you became a couple?" Ron beamed at Harry for asking this question. It was one that had crossed his mind several times. Neville was rather clumsy, and Ginny tended to date guys who had more agility and grace in their left pinky, than Neville did in his entire body. It was quite an unexpected relationship, despite the fact that the two went to the Yule Ball together three years ago, during the Tri-Wizard Tournament.

Ginny blushed profusely at the question and looked nervously at Neville. "By playing this exact game," she said, hoping it was enough to get her turn over with.

Harry looked at her, eager for more, "And?"

"And the rest is ancient history," Ginny said, letting out a sigh of relief at her cunning ability to be truthful, yet dodge the question at hand.

Harry wouldn't let her off that easily, though, "So was it a dare or a truth that brought the two of you together?"

"That's not fair," Neville interrupted. "You've asked her three questions. You're only supposed to get one."

"Well," said Harry, "if she doesn't answer now, one of you will have to later on."

"Fine," she replied. "It was a dare. Dean dared Neville to kiss me. He did. Then we just didn't stop. Next day, Neville asked me if I'd be his girlfriend. I said 'Yes'."

Ron had never been pleased with the idea of his younger, and only sister, dating; however, he was much more content with Neville than he had been with Michael Corners, and the several other guys she had dated over the past two years. But the news of how they started dating didn't settle well with Ron. He managed to control his angry reply, but his face showed all his emotions.

Ginny looked across the room at Cho, who sat there quietly and not at all nervous. "Cho, Truth or Dare?" she asked smiling.

"Truth," said Cho, not wanting to be the first to take a dare. As a Ravenclaw, her courage was not expected to be as high as the others in the room, but looking around at the nervous faces, she felt as though these kids were hardly worthy of being Gryffindors.

"Why did you and Harry break up?" These were hardly the words anyone expected to hear. Cho and Harry both looked stressed over the question.

"We never really were a couple, Ginny. We tried to go on a few dates, and we even kissed a few times," Cho replied, memories of their first kiss, in this very room, floating through her mind. "But one day Harry came to me and explained that he just didn't understand girls, and didn't want to hurt me anymore. He said we should just be friends."

Everyone looked at Harry. "What?" he screeched. "It was the honest truth. Can't you see that we are still friends? She wouldn't be here if we weren't." Everyone nodded their head in acceptance of her answer.

"Neville," Cho said, "Truth or Dare?"

"Dare," said Neville triumphantly. Then panic struck in as he realized what he had just done, he took the first dare. The first dare always sets up the rest of the game, and can quite often be the worst one.

"I dare you - to kiss," Cho said looking around the room. Upon spotting a house elf, she pointed at it and said, "Him."

"What!?!?!" Hermione and Neville shouted at the same time.

"Gross," said Neville.

"Are you sure that's not disrespectful to the house elf?" asked Hermione. Everyone just stared at her.

"Are you nuts?" asked Ron. "It's just a bloody house elf, 'Mione. And don't bring up that Spew stuff anymore. I thought you were done with it." Hermione looked at him with indignation. He glared back, daring her with his eyes to go off on another S.P.E.W. tangent.

Hermione crossed her arms and let out an angry sigh.

"I didn't say you had to use tongue or anything." Cho said, laughing.

Neville looked at the house elf. It flinched as he approached it. Neville leaned down and looked the elf in the eyes. The elf looked as nervous as Neville felt disgusted. Ron tried to keep his eyes closed, wanting to avoid the sight of anyone kissing a house elf; but when he glimpsed how ridiculous Neville looked, down on his knees leaning in for a kiss, he chuckled and watched with amusement.

"That wasn't so bad, now was it?" Cho asked, giggling. Neville glared at her.

Ginny reached up as Neville approached her and gave him a big hug. "It's ok, Hun. It could have been worse."

"I guess," he responded, "It's my turn now.... Hmmm... Ron." Ron's face scrunched up as if to say 'Who, me?'

"Truth," responded Ron, before Neville could even ask him.

"Who, here at Hogwarts, do you have a crush on?" Neville asked, knowing full well who it was, since Ron had told him earlier.

Ron glared at Neville, refusing to answer.

"If you don't answer Ron, we'll have to give you more Veritaserum. Then you'll have no choice but to tell," Neville grinned at him.

"Fine," Ron said. "I like Cho." A blush crept over both Ron and Cho's faces at his response.

"I like you, too," she responded. They blushed again and Ron got up to move next to Cho.

"Ok, Ron, can we continue this game or what?" asked Hermione. She wanted her turn to come and be over with so that she could find an excuse to leave. Seeing as term didn't start for two more days, she couldn't exactly say she had to study.

"Sorry," mumbled Ron. "Harry, Truth or Dare?"

"Dare," said Harry. He wasn't going to take any chances of them finding out whom it was that he liked. None of them would have believed it, even if he had drank the whole bottle of Veritaserum.

"I dare you to kiss Hermione," he said glancing over to Neville for a nod of approval. This was exactly the point of the entire game. Ron and Neville wanted Harry and Hermione to date. What better way to get them there. It worked for Ginny. Surely it would work for them as well.

Harry and Hermione glanced nervously at each other. Harry scooted closer to her and gave her a light peck on the lips before quickly pulling away. Ron looked severely disappointed at the lack of a genuine kiss. However, Harry had followed the dare completely and there was nothing that could be done to change it.

"I guess I'm the only one who hasn't gone yet," squeaked Hermione. "I'll take a dare."

Just then Harry heard footsteps in the hall. Pulling the Marauder's Map out of his pocket he saw that it was Snape. What's Snape doing lurking around here, he thought. "Ok, Hermione. I dare you to follow Snape to see what he's doing."

Hermione gasped. "What? Why? How can I follow him without getting in trouble?" Her mind was ablaze with many questions.

"You can take my invisibility cloak."

Hermione got up, grabbed the cloak, and stormed towards the door. "Don't expect anything exciting. He's probably just on rounds," she replied as she draped the cloak over her and exited the room.

The others in the room giggled as she left. They watched the map with delight as they saw her follow Snape through the school. They then saw both of the dots representing Hermione and Snape disappear, as they exited the great hall.

"Damn," said Ron. "Guess we'll have to wait until she gets back."

They sat there chatting and glancing at the map for what seemed like days, but was really less than an hour, when Hermione and Snape appeared on the map again, this time right next to each other and headed to Dumbledore's office.

"Let's get out of here," Harry said. Everyone nodded in agreement before heading back to their dormitories.