Harry Potter One Shots (Vol. I)

I Dare You ... (Teddy Lupin)

I saw some comments on the last one shot that Teddy wasn't a prefect but I could've sworn he was?

Either way, this one shot has been a long-time coming. This was requested by beth_j who asked for a Gryffindor reader

And just a little fact about me in case anyone was wondering; had I attended Hogwarts then I'd have been in Teddy's year ~

Professor Zabini had this knack of knowing exactly when to end the lesson. Today was no exception; he dismissed the class the moment the bell rang to signal the end of the lesson. He returned to his desk, placing the essays we'd submitted into his bag as he prepared to leave the potions lab. But he would wait, like he always did, until every student had left the lab so he could lock it behind him. There was a rumour that he'd taken to doing that because of an attempt someone made of sneaking a love potion into his cauldron during his first year of teaching.

I focused on packing away my work as Aliyyah chatted away happily beside me. Her words trailed off mid-sentence, making me look curiously towards her. She watched the approaching Hufflepuff and I did a double take when I saw the blue haired boy walking towards our desk. Coming to a stop before our desk, he grinned at us and Aliyyah and I shared a look, waiting for him to say something.

"Do you want to go to Hogsmeade with me?" he questioned, my eyebrows rising at the blunt question. He hadn't even bothered to say hello and how were we supposed to know which one of us he was talking to?

It was as if Aliyyah had read my thoughts as she questioned, "Which one of us are you talking to, Lupin?"

"To Jones," he said with a bashful smile, rubbing the back of his head. Turning to Aliyyah he added, "Not that someone wouldn't be lucky to go to Hogsmeade with you Shafiq."

Aliyyah rolled her eyes, nudging me in the side when it became evident that I wasn't going to say anything. I was still recovering from the shock that he wanted to go to Hogsmeade with me, especially when I'd probably spoken less than 100 words to him during our entire time at Hogwarts.

Lupin cleared his throat, looking to me with a hopeful expression. "What about it, Jones? Hogsmeade?"

I contemplated for a second, coming past my shock. I would have said yes, had I not looked past him and seen his friends joking from over his shoulder. One of them gestured in our vague direction and I sighed; of course. Rising to my feet, I slung my bag over my shoulder and prepared to leave.

"Ha ha," I deadpanned as I walked around him, "Very funny. What was it that your friends said to you? 'I bet you can't get the ice queen to go to Hogsmeade with you?' Was that it?"

Brushing past him before he could answer me, I gave Aliyyah a grateful smile when she threw him a foul glare and walked after me. Linking her arm through mine she began to mutter about how Hufflepuffs had become such douchebags and I was grateful that she didn't tell me that I was over reacting. She, out of everyone, knew the real reason that I'd taken to guarding my heart so that it was impenetrable. She knew why I had no issue being called the resident ice queen.

I thought that my blunt dismissal of Lupin had ended the matter but clearly I had been wrong. He appeared in front of me within seconds after having run out of the classroom. Arms spread out of either side of him, he blocked the path so I couldn't just brush past him.

"What?" I questioned coldly, watching something indecipherable flicker through his eyes.

"I really want to go to Hogsmeade with you," he explained earnestly, eyes on mine.

Narrowing my eyes, I reasoned that he didn't seem like he was lying. His body language certainly didn't point towards that. Neither did the earnest expression on his face.