Truth or Dare... Weasley Style

Fred Weasley stared mutinously at the rain that ran down the windows. "Of all the days for it to rain!" he said darkly. "Bad omen, that is. Dad's not going to be happy about you coming back, Perce."

Percy Weasley looked at his younger brother pityingly. "Don't be stupid, Fred. It's Father's own fault that I left in the first place; I don't think he has a right to tell me I can't come back." Nose in the air, he settled into one of the threadbare armchairs in the Weasley's drawing room. "I've come back to this side, haven't I? Mind you, it's all really one side, since the Minister has recognized the truth in Harry's statements..."

"Stop talking about Fudge like he's infallible, Percy. He's an idiot, and you know it. We all know it," Harry Potter said angrily. "I've always known it. Dumbledore's always known it. Just because you're too much of a prat--"

"I think that's enough, Harry," Remus Lupin said gently as he walked in, carrying a large pile of news clippings and magazines. "We're all glad that Percy's back. This is a time to welcome people with open arms, not to push them away." He selected a particularly ratty chair and sat down, spreading his pile of papers over his lap and the end table next to him.

"What's all that, then?" George asked with interest, peering at the pile of documents.

"Seeing if there're any mentions of Voldemort in the papers." The Weasleys flinched at the name, but stayed silent. "We've got some Daily Prophet, some Quibbler (don't know why we bother, really), and a bunch of Muggle papers," Lupin said, holding up examples for each. His manner seemed to say 'Pay no mind to the old werewolf in the corner,' as he immersed himself in the first yellowed clipping.

The mood in the drawing room was somber. Hermione fiddled nervously with a run in her stockings, Ron stared at the maroon carpet as if he had never seen anything so fascinating, Harry kept clenching and unclenching his fists, and Ginny was chewing her cheek vigorously, trying not to look at Percy. The twins exchanged mischievous glances.

"Anyone up for a game of Truth or Dare?" Fred said brightly. Harry looked at him as if he had just suggested inviting Voldemort over for tea. "Come on, Harry, it'll be fun! If anyone needs some fun and smiles, it's you, mate."

Harry looked around. Ron looked slightly apprehensive and very red at Fred's suggestion, and the run in Hermione's stockings seemed to have taken on an entire new meaning to her that involved staring intently at it. Ginny's face, however, had brightened, and Percy looked vaguely interested.

"All right, you lot, gather round," George said, motioning for the others to join him cross-legged on the floor. The four other Weasleys, Harry, and Hermione all eventually lowered themselves onto the frayed carpet in a neat little circle.

"Right. I'll start," Fred announced. "And let's make it absolutely clear that this is real truth or dare. No wishy-washy ducking out of stuff--you're dared, you do that dare, you're asked a question, you answer it completely truthfully." He looked around murderously at the others. "Right then!" He closed his eyes, whirled his arm around like a windmill, and when he opened his eyes, his index finger was pointing at Ron's forehead.

"Right, Ron, truth or dare?"

Ron muttered "Truth," very quietly.

Fred thought for a moment. "Alright, this is a bit cliché, mind, but who's the girl you've fancied the most. Ever."

Ron went furiously scarlet. "Fleur," he said almost inaudibly. Fred's eyebrows shot up into his red hair.

"Not Hermione, then? Well, George, that's five galleons I owe you," he said good-naturedly to his twin. Hermione had also gone a very fetching shade of pink at this comment. "God, you two should start a club or something, B.A.S.T. or something."

"B.A.I.T?" Hermione asked interestedly. Harry and Ron groaned inwardly, hoping she wouldn't start on S.P.E.W.

"Yeah, Blushers Against Idiot Twins," George grinned, having read his twin's mind. This simply made Ron and Hermione go an even deeper shade of scarlet, and started Harry laughing. "Right, Ron, your turn, is it not?"

"Oh, right," Ron muttered, straightening up a little. Seven pairs of eyes bore into him curiously. Unsurely, he closed his eyes, and whirled his arm about, missing Ginny by inches. His finger landed on Harry. "All right, Harry, truth or dare?"

Harry was obviously itching to say 'Truth,' so he could regale them all with more reasons that he was emotionally superior to all of them, but he changed his mind mid-think. "Dare."

"Alright. Er... how about you've got to throw a dungbomb at my mum without her realizing who did it?" Ron said uncertainly. Fred and George rolled their eyes, but supplied the said dungbomb nonetheless. Harry stood cautiously, and tiptoed over to the doorway that joined the drawing room with the kitchen. Very carefully, he lobbed the dungbomb at Mrs. Weasley, who was stirring something absentmindedly while reading a Gildroy Lockhart book. As soon as her head shot up, Harry retreated back to the game.

"How about, er, Percy."

Percy shot him a long-suffering look, but obviously found no pity in any of the members of the game. "OK, Percy, truth or dare?"

"Truth," Percy answered stiffly. He pushed his glasses up his nose, and looked at Harry with slightly owl-like eyes.

"Should I ask something really stupid, or a deep, probing personal question?" Harry asked in an unusual show of wickedness. Judging by the expressions on the other Weasleys' faces, they wanted something very personal, but Percy had other ideas.

"Something stupid. Now it's my turn."

Harry spluttered at him. "What do you mean? I haven't asked you a question!"

Percy smiled, if a little coldly. "Yes you did, Harry. You asked what sort of question I would like, and I answered truthfully. And now," he said, holding up a hand to Harry's protests, "it is my turn."

"How about... Lupin?" he said smoothly. Lupin, who had been pretending not to watch but with ears wide open with wolf-like awareness, looked up quickly.

"Oh, I'm not sure I'm playing, I've got all this to get through..." He motioned hopelessly towards the huge pile of clippings and torn pages at his side.

"Oh come on, Lupin! It'll make it so much more interesting to have a grown-up playing," pleaded Ginny. Percy looked distinctly ruffled at this, but stayed silent. Lupin gave a wolfish grin, and abandoned his work, joining the seven young people on the carpet.

Percy cleared his throat importantly, and with a horrible jolt, the surrounding players realized he sounded rather like Umbridge. "So, truth or dare, Remus?"

Lupin shrugged. "How about dare. When I get truths, they all tend to be about the same thing," he said darkly. He put on a voice that sounded surprisingly like Tonks. "'So, Remus, what's it like being a werewolf?' or 'What was the grossest thing you've ever eaten while you were a werewolf.' Stupid things like that."

"Alright, then. How about," Percy's face acquired a very nasty look indeed, one that none of them had ever seen there. "How about you give Hermione a little kiss?"

Hermione, Ron, and Fred all jumped to their feet in protest, but Lupin simply raised his eyebrows.

"You've obviously never played this game with Moody," he said, rolling his eyes. Ron and Hermione sank back down to the ground, looking completely revolted, but Fred stayed standing.

"Perce, that's not fair! Hell, that's probably illegal, not to mention unreasonable, if Hermione doesn't want to, and..." he faded off, aware for once in his life that everyone in the room was staring at him disbelievingly. "Well, I mean, Lupin probably doesn't want to do it," he muttered, sitting again, painfully conscious of the heat rising in his neck.

Lupin grinned pleasantly. "Well, unless Hermione protests, I honestly don't mind, Fred, though thank you for your concern." He turned to Hermione, whose face had moved on from red and was now a fine shade of violet that rivaled Harry's Uncle Vernon. "Hermione?"

Percy looked on maliciously as Hermione nodded, her eyes clamped shut. "Won't be your first kiss," she whispered to herself quietly. Lupin leaned in and gave Hermione a small peck on the cheek. When Percy protested, Lupin held up a hand in an imitation of Percy's response to Harry's objections. "You didn't say where, Percy."

Lupin cast an amused eye around the room. "I'd resort to what seems to be the patented Weasley method of swinging my arm wildly, but I'm afraid I'd hit you two," he said to Hermione and Percy on either side. "Let's go with Ginny, shall we? Truth or dare?"

Ginny's hazel eyes rolled upwards, and she looked at the ceiling for a moment before deciding. "Dare."

Lupin thought, obviously running over ideas in his mind. "OK, I dare you, Ginevra Molly Weasley, to nick something secret of Ron's from his room," he said as if giving a military order. As Ginny scampered off, Ron mouthed soundlessly at Lupin. "I did learn some tricks, being friends with Harry's dad," he said, but the laughter had gone from his eyes. The recent memory of Sirius' death settled over the room like a cloak, but was erased minutes later as Ginny burst back into the drawing room clutching a journal.

"Now hold on just one bleeding minute," Ron exclaimed angrily. "That's private property, that is! I'll kill you, Ginny, I really will..." but he faded off as Ginny opened the little book and began to read.

"I had that dream again, the one with Fleur dancing. I wish they'd go away. I would tell Harry, but he has troubles of his own. I can't believe I still fancy that bitch."

Looking very amused indeed, Lupin said, "I think that's enough, Ginny." The twins and Harry were in hysterics. Ron was beet red and looked as if he wouldn't need a Pepper Imp to smoke at the ears. "Old. Entry. Forgot. About. It," he forced out angrily. The twins laughed, and Ron turned on them furiously.

"Think it's funny, do you?" he bellowed.

"Um, yeah. You, Fred?"

"A bit, yeah." Fred grinned at his youngest brother. "Don't have a hippogriff, Ron. No one really cares, do they? And you'll never have to think about screwing her again, now that she and Bill are married and all." Ron's face took on the shade of a ripe tomato, and he sat down, grumbling something that sounded like "Wibble."

"Right, my turn," Ginny said enterprisingly. "I pick Hermione."

Hermione tried to remain cool and collected, but her forehead revealed her nervousness. "Truth, please."

"If Lupin wasn't your first kiss, then who was?"

"Viktor. I thought everyone knew that," Hermione expelled, obviously relieved. It was hard to tell whether Ron was blushing more than before, but Fred certainly was. George nudged him with a questioning look.

"Nothing, it's nothing," Fred whispered.

Hermione threw her finger at George. "Truth or dare, George?"

"Do you even have to ask, Hermione?" he laughed, fingering something that looked suspiciously like a Headless Hat that was tucked under his t-shirt.

"Right then. I dare you to," Hermione cast a malicious eye at Percy, "snog Percy. On the lips."

This time, George, Fred, and Percy stood as if one. "There's no way in hell I'm snogging that git!" George said, almost exactly as Percy exclaimed, "That's not funny, Hermione! That's illegal!" Fred just stood, as Ron had, gaping like a fish.

Hermione examined her nails coyly. "Fred, I believe you said, and I quote, 'you're dared, you do that dare'. Tough luck, George."

George looked at her as if he would have liked to slip her a Puking Pastille without the remedy, but he turned towards Percy instead, looking disgusted. If he was looking revolted, however, it was nothing to the expression on Percy's face. It was plain that he was rather regretting returning to the side of the Order.

Seeing this, George's face relaxed a little, and there was a hint of mischief in his eye. As Percy moved in cautiously, George seized his brother's face in his hands, and gave him a very passionate kiss on the lips, which, judging by the very surprised look on Percy's face, may have included tongue. As they broke apart, Percy looked as if he had swallowed a Puking Pastille.

"Take that, you git," George said triumphantly.

Hermione, a vengeful smile on her face, clapped dryly. The rest of the participants simply stared horrorstruck. Ron had gone from red to green, Harry's brow was furrowed so deeply it looked as if his eyebrows were going to slip right down his nose, Ginny's eyes were huge, and Fred's lip was curled in repugnance. Only Lupin looked in the least amused.

"I'm telling you, if you think this is bad, you should play some time with Moody and Tonks," he commented casually.

"Well," said George, wiping his mouth. "It looks as if it's my turn to choose someone, is it not?" The rest of the circle nodded dumbly. "I suppose the only person who hasn't gone is Forge, isn't it?" His twin gave a blink of assent, apparently not yet able to talk.

"All right, Fred, truth or dare?"

To everyone's surprise, possibly even his own, Fred said he would like a truth.

"Right then," said George, a puzzled look on his face. "How's about I choose someone randomly in the room, and you tell them exactly how you feel about them?" Everyone in the room tensed visibly. "Righto." George whirled his arm around, actually hitting Ron on his left. When his eyes opened, he was pointing at Hermione. Her shoulders tautened.

George turned to his twin. "So, Fred," he said, a smile playing around the corners of his mouth, "what do you think of darling Hermione? Being perfectly honest, mind you."

Fred took a deep breath, and stared at the carpet. "I think she's a know-it-all. I think she puts far too much emphasis on school. I think she needs to lighten up sometimes. I think she's one of the most beautiful, wonderful people I know." He looked up at her, staring straight into her brown eyes. "I think I love her."

The effect of his words was similar to that of a Fainting Fancy. Hermione started to shake, and had gone very red again.

"I'm sorry, Hermione, it's just the complete truth. Shit, forget I ever said it," Fred said, looking at his hands.

"But what about Angelina?" whispered Hermione, almost fearfully.

"I only asked her to the Yule Ball because I knew you were going with someone else--Ginny told me," he added as an explanation. "But it's you I wanted to go with." He grinned at her, not sure what to say. To his and everybody else's surprise, Hermione flung herself into his arms.

"I love you too," she whispered. "I have ever since my fourth year, when everyone thought I liked Ron."

"What? When was this?" asked Ron thickly, but no one paid him any mind.

"Oh, shut up, Ron," Ginny said, punching him on the arm. Fred planted a tentative kiss on Hermione's lips, and she threw her head onto his shoulder.

"We'll just leave you alone, shall we?" asked Lupin, a smile forming on his worn face. He beckoned for everyone to follow him, and they all tiptoed out of the sitting room, where Hermione and Fred sat, apparently attached by a very strong sticking charm at the lips.