Humiliation

"Could so."

"I doubt it."

"I so could."

"Wanna bet?"

"Sure. Ten galleons for every girl that goes out with me in the next month," stated Draco Malfoy.

"And fifty to me for every girl that turns you down," replied Pansy Parkinson.

"Twenty for every girl that already has a boyfriend."

"Fine."

"And thirty for each Gryffindor."

"Well...all right."

"I'll come out on top in this...you'll see."

"I doubt you'll be on top in anything."

"I will...HEY! I can get any girl in this school to quiver and faint at the sight of me. And farther if I want."

"We'll see about that when I'm rolling in money."

"Yes, we'll see." And so the game began.

The next morning at breakfast, Draco quickly appraised the situation. There were about five to seven girls in every year per house. That made around one hundred seventy girls. Minus the first years and probably the second was about one hundred fifteen eligible girls. Assuming he got turned down and didn't get to every girl in school, that was about one thousand galleons in his pocket over two months. Now, to get started. He decided first to work on the girls in his own house, as they would be the easiest. Pansy would turn him down for the fifty galleons; Millicent was a bit large, but she would do fine for starters. He knew she was in love with him, and hated it. But now was her opportunity. Cautiously, he got up and went to sit by her. She started to growl when she felt someone sit next to her, but looking up, her eyes widened and she began to flutter them revoltingly. Draco swallowed hard.

"Um...Millicent? I was wondering if you wanted to meet me after dinner tonight at the lake...say around eight?" She gasped and her answer was barely audible.

"Sure!"

"Well...uh...great. See you there." He smiled at her and got up, writing her name down on a pad of paper and the time and place. "One down," he breathed. This was going to be harder than he thought.

Going back to the Common Room after breakfast, he was startled to find a group of male Slytherins huddled around the fire discussing something in animated tones. Slytherins almost never got this excited about anything. Feeling it had to be important, he strode over to them and was quickly yanked down at the collar by Goyle.

"Is it true?" asked one.

"We heard about your bet from Pansy," said another.

"Are you going to do it?" questioned a third.

"You have to; it's battle of the sexes here!"

"Man vs. woman."

"The strong prevailing over the weak."

"Show who the dominant species is."

"Wait a second," said a very confused Draco. "I did agree to it. Pansy and I made a bet. I've only got one date so far, but just you wait. Every girl will be begging to go out with Draco Malfoy in a few days." And he got up and left.

When Draco got up to his dormitory, he gave himself an appraising look in his mirror. His hair was a bit unruly so he gave it a small trim and brushed it down and back. His robes that he was currently wearing had a bit of dirt from this morning's Quidditch practice so he put on a new pair. They were of a deep green edged with silver, so dark they were almost black. Underneath, he wore a tight shirt that was sure to show off his deltoids that had become quite well formed from Quidditch. He tucked these into a pair of leather pants that were close fitting, but not too tight. He left his robes open for the full affect. Then, since it was Saturday, he went down to the lake where most of the school was scattered about. As soon as he came out, he could feel hundreds of eyes on him, most female. He went and sat down by the lake near a Ravenclaw sixth year. Striking up a conversation in his most charming voice, he got her to agree to nine that night. He smiled cordially, got up, wrote her name down, and strolled to the other side of the lake where he leaned casually against a tree. Within a few minutes, he had gotten three more dates for that evening, all Hufflepuffs. Well, sure, he thought, they were easy, but I'm going for the big stakes later on. He took off towards the castle, making sure to capture the attention of several more females as he went. He saw Pansy following at a distance.

When Draco got back to the castle, he made his way to an empty classroom where Pansy soon followed him.

"How many?" she asked.

"Five so far. And it's only," he looked at his watch, "ten. I'm going to win this. Big time." He winked and stalked off, leaving Pansy staring out after him.

After a painful lunch filled with Millicent cuddling up to him and several girls, many of them unknown, fluttering their eyes at him from all directions, Draco went out for a walk, where he was promptly ambushed by a group of ten or so sixth years. They were all giggling incessantly and staring up at him, trying to get his attention. Draco recognized Lavender, a Gryffindor, and focused his attention on her. She was soon giggling more than the rest and he was able to rope her in, along with one or two others. He explained that he 'just wanted to spend some time with the unknown population' of Hogwarts. After some small talk, he left the sight as quickly as possible, having had his fill of giggles and girls for the day.

Striding around the grounds, he was soon able to take his mind off his current situation and focus it one other things; schoolwork, Hogsmeade..., anything that didn't have long hair, makeup, and giggled.

Turning around a clump of trees, he walked headfirst in to the last person he wanted to see. A girl, and a mudblood, no less. Hermione Granger. She was leaning against a tree, chatting with Harry Potter. They didn't seem to be doing anything but talking, though he couldn't imagine why. Chiding himself for thinking such things, he glanced down at her drop-dead gorgeous figure and almost started drooling. He was, after all, a hormone driven fifteen year old boy.

Seeing him standing there, she looked up at his face and raised one eyebrow. "Good day, Malfoy." He could tell it was paining her to be cordial to him, but she was Head Girl and she did have a responsibility towards the students.

Potter too looked up, though with nothing short of malice in his eyes.

What a catch she would make, thought Draco. Can't ruin it for myself now. He looked back at Hermione. "Good afternoon, Ms. Granger, Mr. Potter." Harry's jaw dropped so low, he could have tucked it in to his belt and Hermione's eyes were as round as saucers. He nodded a greeting and continued on his walk. As he walked away, he could hear them muttering something about the Imperius Curse. He grinned softly to himself. She's next.

He had hardly gone ten paces when she came up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder, making him jump about a foot in the air. She had been as silent as a cat and he hadn't noticed her presence.

"I heard about your bet," she said.

"How does everybody know?!"

"Your real girlfriend isn't exactly subtle, is she?"

"I guess not." He looked her up and down. Now's as good a time as anyway. "Hey, Hermione...," he started.

"Sure, I will. But you'd better not try anything on me, Draco Malfoy. I've taken up a martial art, and I'm not so bad." She turned and walked away.

Late afternoon came quickly and soon Draco was on his way to his first 'meeting'. He had managed to fit a fifth year Hufflepuff in first, and she was staring at him with wide googly eyes the entire time. He took her first for a stroll to the lake where he tried to make small talk, but to no avail. She just kept staring at him, scarcely saying a word, merely nodding and agreeing with him every so often. At the end, she made like she was waiting for a goodnight kiss, but he managed to escape with an excuse he couldn't even remember. He was so relieved to be away from her, he didn't watch where he was going and cascaded directly into Millicent Bullstrode who was waiting in the entrance hall. She was dressed in a much too tight sparkly dress made of what looked to golden sequins. Her hair was done up and she was wearing a mask of makeup that made Draco want to hurl. He smiled weakly at her and she grinned at him in a strangely fixed way that showed every single one of her uneven teeth. She was, by far, not the best looking girl in his house and Draco suspected she was even more dressed up than she had been for the Yule Ball. He gulped and led her out on his arm.

The rest of the evening seemed to go on for several days instead of just a few hours. Just when he thought he was done, he would remember that there was another date after this one and another after that one and it would go on. Every single girl would sit there batting their eyelashes and looking up at him in that dreamy sort of way. Most were dressed up, though a few of the Hufflepuffs were not. Finally, around midnight, Draco went to meet his last girl of the night: Hermione Granger.

As he climbed the marble stairs, tired because of the many walks, hoarse because of all the talking he was doing on his own, and flat out tired of the opposite gender, he saw Hermione waiting there in jeans, a tank top, and a close fitting, sleeveless robe of dark scarlet. To him, it seemed, she hadn't taken more than a few minutes to get ready, though she was, in his opinion, absolutely stunning anyway.

"I expect you've had enough late-night strolls around the lake," she said, looking at him matter-of-factly as he ascended the stairs. He flushed, but didn't say anything. "Well, if you're going to be like that...," she trailed off at his look.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you for not batting your eyelashes at me," he said with all the gratefulness he could muster at that hour. Hermione made a disgusted noise and started to walk off. Then she stopped, turned, gave him an appraising look, grabbed his hand, and tore off down the stairs, dragging an extremely confused Draco behind her.

She led him through the great double doors and out on to the lawn where she kept on running. He watched as her as he fought to keep up with her. Her long legs ran rhythmically and powerfully, her dark hair flying out behind her with the half-moon shining on it. Her cloak billowed out behind her and, to him, she seemed like the exact model of perfection of the female gender.

Finally she stopped, hardly breaking a sweat, though Draco was almost doubled over. When he had regained his breath, he looked up to see her leaning against a tree, arms folded; very nonchalant.

"So...," she began for him.

"So...what...?"

"I only agreed to this because I wanted to know what in the name of Hell you think you're doing."

"By what?"

"By what? Come on, Draco. This whole betting thing. I've been trying to figure out my male friends lately and they've made more sense than you. And that's saying something.

"Are you doing this to boost your ego? I didn't think you needed it. You're certainly not doing it for the money. I don't think you're doing it to meet your true love. There aren't that many girls at Hogwarts to choose from. God. Your life can't be as boring as all that, that you have to go out with every girl here to have a good time. And I seriously doubt that you honestly care about proving anything to that pug-faced girlfriend of yours."

"She's not my girlfriend," he muttered. Hermione raised an eyebrow but said nothing. "I don't know why I'm doing this and I don't much care." He sighed. "I don't get it, and neither does anyone else."

"I do." She said it so softly, Draco wasn't sure he had heard her at all. "I understand. And it's your own fault. I don't do pity, Draco Malfoy. If you want to make a difference, you have to do it yourself. Everything that you do is because of the choices that you made; are making.

"I know what you're going through. Torn between things you can't comprehend. I figured you might need somebody to help you along. I'm not offering much, but I am offering a listening ear." And then Draco snapped. He told her about everything he was thinking, everything that had made him how he was. He told her about his family, about the Death Eaters visiting his house, about what everyone in Slytherin expected of him, of what he had to live up to, and of that horrible girl that kept following him around; Pansy Parkinson. He had absolutely no interest in her and he told her so, yet she kept coming back. Hermione listened to it all, only prodding him along at times, never changing expression.

Around dawn, he began to run out of breath and slowed to a halt. She looked at him, gently, and spoke for the first time in several hours.

"Are you done?" He nodded and fell back as she walked up to the castle.

"Hermione," he called, not getting up. "Thanks." She kept walking, and he was soon fast asleep.

That night, at dinner, Draco hardly said a word, though several girls kept glancing at him. Every single one of them seemed to giggle incessantly, though he ignored it all. Finally, around dessert, he got up and strode over to the Gryffindor table. Every bit of talk stopped and he could feel every eye on him. He went up to the long table where Hermione sat and cleared his throat. She stood, though so did Potter and Weasley.

"Hermione Granger," he stated clearly. "I have come to two conclusions. Firstly that I have found my true love through this bet. And secondly," he took a deep breath, "that it's you." He waited while she stared at him, eyes narrowing.

When she eventually spoke, it was in a barely audible whisper, though the entire Hall was silent, and he had a feeling it could be heard throughout.

"What?! What makes you think I'd go out with you? You're not that good-looking and you obviously can't win on personality. And besides, I don't love you in the slightest." At this, Draco could hear a few stifled giggles. "And now that I've thoroughly humiliated you, let me top it off." She turned and grabbed Harry's face and pressed her own against it, firmly and passionately. Harry looked about as surprised as Draco, though not with the same horrified look. After a few seconds, she broke it off and turned back to Draco.

"But, why?" he asked.

"Because he's listened just like I did, more times than I can count."

She stared at him for a few seconds and then climbed up on her chair.

"Girls," she announced clearly. "He's all yours." Then she grabbed Harry's hand and ran out the door with him trailing behind, much the same way she had done with Draco.

Draco turned and looked around, only to find a sea of what seemed only girls advancing on him, and not in the way he would have preferred.

"Goodbye, Draco Malfoy," whispered one, and then they all joined in. Somewhere at the back, he could see Pansy Parkinson staring at him with an enormous grin.

"Goodbye, Draco Malfoy," she said. "I never liked you. Oh, and the Yule Ball sucked. You're a horrible dancer." And she too turned and left.

Draco looked around him at what seemed to be about one hundred saber-tooth tigers. Holy -