Magical Bets Quiz
It seemed like a good idea at the time. Then again, who ever expects to lose a bet? In the magical world the payoffs can be rather interesting and the loser has no choice but to pay up! Today we have stories involving friendly little wagers and the consequences of losing a bet.
This week's quiz was chosen by rhyana, our resident expert on death.
Would you like to pick the theme for next week's quiz? Play the quiz at any time over the weekend by commenting with your answers. Just comment before the answer sheet goes up on Monday morning, Eastern Standard Time. If you have the correct answers, your name will be entered in our weekly drawing. The winner gets an all expense paid tour of the SSHG Quiz vault and the right to choose next Friday's quiz!
Match the quote to the story title:
One of the Boys by rillalicious
The Wager by rosewood AKA rosewoods_muse (SS/HG/RL)
The Bet by vanityfair00
Cat and Mouse by mmyrtle
When Bad Things Happen to Good Potions Masters by hayseed_42
The Bet by snapesflower
Seven Minutes in Heaven by stormyskize
A Friendly Wager by gmth
Moonlighting by warded_portal
Hermione Pulls It Off by Shiv5468
A Sore Winner by juniperus
The Long Drive Home by Olethros aka julilith
1. Severus’ left eyelid twitched as another loud cry echoed through the Great Hall.
He was going to kill Albus and leave his body where not even that damned snoop Mrs. Norris would find it.
And Severus knew all the best hiding places at Hogwarts. It made it easier to ferret out all of the idiotic, hormone-laden children attempting to copulate in the shadows if one knew exactly where to look.
Usually when Albus tricked Severus into playing a stakes game, it was for a particularly difficult potion.
He should have known, though.
Dropping his head into the cradle of his arms, Severus snorted.
Tiddlywinks.
Severus Snape had lost a high-stakes tiddlywinks match to an absolutely insane old man wearing a Muggle-style flowered shirt and knee-length trousers. And this was his punishment.
2. "Just a kiss, Granger. That's all."
"Draco, no."
"I'll do anything."
Hermione's eyebrow sketched a question mark in the air.
"Anything."
"How much is this bet for, anyway?"
"You don't want to know."
3. “I have been teaching Potions since before you were born, you insolent girl,” he spat, “Do you truly think you somehow have gained an upper hand when it comes to knowledge of ingredients?”
“No sir,” she answered.
“Good.” He turned to leave her to her work, sighing audibly when he heard her speak again.
“But I do think your source material is outdated.” He turned quickly on her, his robes swishing around him.
“Are you calling me old?” he demanded.
“No…I didn’t mean that…I…,” she struggled to answer. Her stammering calmed him somewhat and suddenly he had an idea.
“I propose a bet, Miss Granger,” he said smoothly. She looked at him in astonishment at his sudden change of demeanor.
“A bet, sir?”
“Yes, if you can prove to me that you are right and I am wrong then you win the bet. If, however, you cannot, then I win,” he explained.
“But what will I win?”
“So certain you will?” he asked in awe at her continued conceit.
4. "Ah, I know... how about Hermione Granger?"
Black's eyes lit up. "Yes! Just the one! Glad to see all that Wolfsbane potion hasn't dulled your appreciation of the finer things."
"You're on, then," Lupin said. "Whoever gets her to bed first wins 25 Galleons." He reached across the staff room table and the two men shook hands, smiling.
In the corridor, Professor Severus Snape had overheard their conversation, and he pursed his lips in disapproval. They're at it again, he thought to himself. Something has to be done about this, and soon. He turned and stalked purposely off down the corridor, black robes billowing around him.
5. "Go? You can't be serious!" she huffed.
"Day three on your schedule, had you won, was 'Slave will help Mistress improve a skill of her choice,' was it not? I've practiced my massage technique, Slave. You may go," he whispered.
"But Severus!' she exclaimed as she sat up. "I've apologized for trying to trap you into the bet!"
"You did trap me into the bet," he corrected. "What you tried to do was rig the results. A bet is a bet-isn't that what you said, Hermione?" He stood.
"Bastard!"
"Indeed," he replied, as he closed the door behind him.
6. “I would very much like to place a wager on that, Professor.”
That was certainly unexpected. “You are serious.”
“Very much so. I should warn you that I have ample experience bringing people around to my point of view, including two of most stubborn boys that I know.”
“Somehow I believe that the Ministry will be more immune to your charms than Potter and Weasley.”
At that, she smirked. “I wouldn’t count on it. I’ve received three rejection letters so far, and each one of them has arrived a little more promptly than the one before. If they were truly immune, they wouldn’t even bother returning my inquiries, would they?”
Once again, Hermione Granger had managed to surprise him. “What is the wager?” Snape asked. “And think carefully, Miss Granger. I will show no mercy if you lose.”
“If, after a year’s time, my department is not on the front page of the Daily Prophet, I will treat you to an obscenely expensive dinner. If I meet the conditions of the wager, you will be the one treating me.”
“That’s all, a dinner? Surely your career is worth risking more than that.”
“I did say an obscenely expensive dinner.”
“You think that I would demand that of a penniless graduate after the Ministry rejects you?”
“Apparently your age has let you forget the substantial stipend that we both received with our Order of Merlins.”
Snape gave her a sidelong glance before making a show of returning his gaze to the road. He might have allowed the corner of his mouth to quirk upwards ever so slightly.
“When you put it like that, Miss Granger, how could I possibly refuse?”
7. “I see a new game in the making!” said Seamus triumphantly.
“And what would that be?” she asked.
“I hereby issue a challenge to Ronald Weasley, Neville Longbottom and Hermione Granger. The first to successfully seduce the professor of their choice wins the title of Gryffindor stud.”
“You want me to seduce Snape?” she asked weakly.
“How hard can it be?” asked Dean. “Just show him what you showed us tonight. You’ve got some great assets there!”
Hermione blushed.
“Are you in?” asked Neville.
She cast a searching glance at Ron who was looking at her smugly. Setting out her chin, she replied firmly, “Why yes, yes I am!”
8. Hermione, on the other hand, merely groaned as she glanced over her attire. The buttons of her low-cut, tight white blouse strained tenuously across her ample bosom. The short green tartan plaid skirt overlaid a full ruffled petticoat that ended mid-thigh. Peeking from beneath the hemline was a set of white suspenders that carefully held up her matching white stockings. This not only showcased her shapely legs but also a ridiculously high pair of red stiletto heels. Finally, a satin red-hooded robe finished off her ensemble.
“You can’t possibly expect me to walk in these shoes,” Hermione gasped.
“Of course not,” Severus purred. “You’ll be skipping and prancing. Besides, I have cast a stabilizing charm upon them. You’ll be perfectly fine.”
“I refuse to skip and… and prance,” she huffed. “It’s undignified.”
“My dear, that is the beauty of wagering in the wizarding world,” Severus said. “A wager is considered a contract which all parties are bound to honor. In this case, a night of pleasure at the winner’s whim. That winner, of course, being myself. You will be compelled to skip and prance, whether you wish to or not.”
9. “This is absurd, Minerva! I’m forty-five years old. I don’t go to children’s birthday parties!”
“You do when you lose a bet to me, Severus,” Minerva said. “You entered into the wager knowing full well what the consequences would be were you to lose. You’ve lost and now it’s time to pay the piper.”
“I’ll gladly ‘pay the piper,’” Snape snarled. “How much will it cost me to buy my way out of this charade?”
"Oh, I doubt we’ll be playing Charades,” the older woman said.
They arrived at the Apparition point, and Snape made one more appeal to McGonagall’s better nature.
“Fifty Galleons?” he asked.
“Very tempting,” Minerva said, “but watching you play Pin the Horn on the Unicorn is worth much more to me than fifty Galleons.”
“You’ll pay for this indignity, Minerva,” Snape said as he prepared to Apparate.
“That’s what you always say.”
10. “Very well,” he allowed, his voice soft but unforgiving. “You have not had any risk in these pathetic games the Headmaster has set up. Here is the wager I offer you: I will hide from you. If you are able to discover my hiding place before I make myself known to you, I will grant you a favour. If, however, I am able to come upon you without your knowledge, you must agree to whatever boon I request. I warn you, I am tired and not anxious to spend hours waiting for you to figure out how to not hide behind a tree. This little game of ours will move quickly. Understand?”
Hermione knew that the odds were against her. Severus Snape had lived the life of a double agent for nearly as long as she’d been alive. The fact that she wasn’t quite certain whether Professor Snape was completely on the side of the Light made his talents in duplicity that much more obvious.
“You will grant me any favour?” Hermione asked.
Snape nodded. “Any favour you ask, provided I am able to grant it.”
“Agreed,” Hermione breathed. Before she had even finished saying the word, Severus Snape morphed from erudite professor to consummate predator - nothing about his appearance had changed, yet he looked completely different. He was hungry. Hungry and dangerous and he was hunting her, even though she was supposed to be the pursuer.
This week's quiz was chosen by rhyana, our resident expert on death.
Would you like to pick the theme for next week's quiz? Play the quiz at any time over the weekend by commenting with your answers. Just comment before the answer sheet goes up on Monday morning, Eastern Standard Time. If you have the correct answers, your name will be entered in our weekly drawing. The winner gets an all expense paid tour of the SSHG Quiz vault and the right to choose next Friday's quiz!
Match the quote to the story title:
One of the Boys by rillalicious
The Wager by rosewood AKA rosewoods_muse (SS/HG/RL)
The Bet by vanityfair00
Cat and Mouse by mmyrtle
When Bad Things Happen to Good Potions Masters by hayseed_42
The Bet by snapesflower
Seven Minutes in Heaven by stormyskize
A Friendly Wager by gmth
Moonlighting by warded_portal
Hermione Pulls It Off by Shiv5468
A Sore Winner by juniperus
The Long Drive Home by Olethros aka julilith
1. Severus’ left eyelid twitched as another loud cry echoed through the Great Hall.
He was going to kill Albus and leave his body where not even that damned snoop Mrs. Norris would find it.
And Severus knew all the best hiding places at Hogwarts. It made it easier to ferret out all of the idiotic, hormone-laden children attempting to copulate in the shadows if one knew exactly where to look.
Usually when Albus tricked Severus into playing a stakes game, it was for a particularly difficult potion.
He should have known, though.
Dropping his head into the cradle of his arms, Severus snorted.
Tiddlywinks.
Severus Snape had lost a high-stakes tiddlywinks match to an absolutely insane old man wearing a Muggle-style flowered shirt and knee-length trousers. And this was his punishment.
2. "Just a kiss, Granger. That's all."
"Draco, no."
"I'll do anything."
Hermione's eyebrow sketched a question mark in the air.
"Anything."
"How much is this bet for, anyway?"
"You don't want to know."
3. “I have been teaching Potions since before you were born, you insolent girl,” he spat, “Do you truly think you somehow have gained an upper hand when it comes to knowledge of ingredients?”
“No sir,” she answered.
“Good.” He turned to leave her to her work, sighing audibly when he heard her speak again.
“But I do think your source material is outdated.” He turned quickly on her, his robes swishing around him.
“Are you calling me old?” he demanded.
“No…I didn’t mean that…I…,” she struggled to answer. Her stammering calmed him somewhat and suddenly he had an idea.
“I propose a bet, Miss Granger,” he said smoothly. She looked at him in astonishment at his sudden change of demeanor.
“A bet, sir?”
“Yes, if you can prove to me that you are right and I am wrong then you win the bet. If, however, you cannot, then I win,” he explained.
“But what will I win?”
“So certain you will?” he asked in awe at her continued conceit.
4. "Ah, I know... how about Hermione Granger?"
Black's eyes lit up. "Yes! Just the one! Glad to see all that Wolfsbane potion hasn't dulled your appreciation of the finer things."
"You're on, then," Lupin said. "Whoever gets her to bed first wins 25 Galleons." He reached across the staff room table and the two men shook hands, smiling.
In the corridor, Professor Severus Snape had overheard their conversation, and he pursed his lips in disapproval. They're at it again, he thought to himself. Something has to be done about this, and soon. He turned and stalked purposely off down the corridor, black robes billowing around him.
5. "Go? You can't be serious!" she huffed.
"Day three on your schedule, had you won, was 'Slave will help Mistress improve a skill of her choice,' was it not? I've practiced my massage technique, Slave. You may go," he whispered.
"But Severus!' she exclaimed as she sat up. "I've apologized for trying to trap you into the bet!"
"You did trap me into the bet," he corrected. "What you tried to do was rig the results. A bet is a bet-isn't that what you said, Hermione?" He stood.
"Bastard!"
"Indeed," he replied, as he closed the door behind him.
6. “I would very much like to place a wager on that, Professor.”
That was certainly unexpected. “You are serious.”
“Very much so. I should warn you that I have ample experience bringing people around to my point of view, including two of most stubborn boys that I know.”
“Somehow I believe that the Ministry will be more immune to your charms than Potter and Weasley.”
At that, she smirked. “I wouldn’t count on it. I’ve received three rejection letters so far, and each one of them has arrived a little more promptly than the one before. If they were truly immune, they wouldn’t even bother returning my inquiries, would they?”
Once again, Hermione Granger had managed to surprise him. “What is the wager?” Snape asked. “And think carefully, Miss Granger. I will show no mercy if you lose.”
“If, after a year’s time, my department is not on the front page of the Daily Prophet, I will treat you to an obscenely expensive dinner. If I meet the conditions of the wager, you will be the one treating me.”
“That’s all, a dinner? Surely your career is worth risking more than that.”
“I did say an obscenely expensive dinner.”
“You think that I would demand that of a penniless graduate after the Ministry rejects you?”
“Apparently your age has let you forget the substantial stipend that we both received with our Order of Merlins.”
Snape gave her a sidelong glance before making a show of returning his gaze to the road. He might have allowed the corner of his mouth to quirk upwards ever so slightly.
“When you put it like that, Miss Granger, how could I possibly refuse?”
7. “I see a new game in the making!” said Seamus triumphantly.
“And what would that be?” she asked.
“I hereby issue a challenge to Ronald Weasley, Neville Longbottom and Hermione Granger. The first to successfully seduce the professor of their choice wins the title of Gryffindor stud.”
“You want me to seduce Snape?” she asked weakly.
“How hard can it be?” asked Dean. “Just show him what you showed us tonight. You’ve got some great assets there!”
Hermione blushed.
“Are you in?” asked Neville.
She cast a searching glance at Ron who was looking at her smugly. Setting out her chin, she replied firmly, “Why yes, yes I am!”
8. Hermione, on the other hand, merely groaned as she glanced over her attire. The buttons of her low-cut, tight white blouse strained tenuously across her ample bosom. The short green tartan plaid skirt overlaid a full ruffled petticoat that ended mid-thigh. Peeking from beneath the hemline was a set of white suspenders that carefully held up her matching white stockings. This not only showcased her shapely legs but also a ridiculously high pair of red stiletto heels. Finally, a satin red-hooded robe finished off her ensemble.
“You can’t possibly expect me to walk in these shoes,” Hermione gasped.
“Of course not,” Severus purred. “You’ll be skipping and prancing. Besides, I have cast a stabilizing charm upon them. You’ll be perfectly fine.”
“I refuse to skip and… and prance,” she huffed. “It’s undignified.”
“My dear, that is the beauty of wagering in the wizarding world,” Severus said. “A wager is considered a contract which all parties are bound to honor. In this case, a night of pleasure at the winner’s whim. That winner, of course, being myself. You will be compelled to skip and prance, whether you wish to or not.”
9. “This is absurd, Minerva! I’m forty-five years old. I don’t go to children’s birthday parties!”
“You do when you lose a bet to me, Severus,” Minerva said. “You entered into the wager knowing full well what the consequences would be were you to lose. You’ve lost and now it’s time to pay the piper.”
“I’ll gladly ‘pay the piper,’” Snape snarled. “How much will it cost me to buy my way out of this charade?”
"Oh, I doubt we’ll be playing Charades,” the older woman said.
They arrived at the Apparition point, and Snape made one more appeal to McGonagall’s better nature.
“Fifty Galleons?” he asked.
“Very tempting,” Minerva said, “but watching you play Pin the Horn on the Unicorn is worth much more to me than fifty Galleons.”
“You’ll pay for this indignity, Minerva,” Snape said as he prepared to Apparate.
“That’s what you always say.”
10. “Very well,” he allowed, his voice soft but unforgiving. “You have not had any risk in these pathetic games the Headmaster has set up. Here is the wager I offer you: I will hide from you. If you are able to discover my hiding place before I make myself known to you, I will grant you a favour. If, however, I am able to come upon you without your knowledge, you must agree to whatever boon I request. I warn you, I am tired and not anxious to spend hours waiting for you to figure out how to not hide behind a tree. This little game of ours will move quickly. Understand?”
Hermione knew that the odds were against her. Severus Snape had lived the life of a double agent for nearly as long as she’d been alive. The fact that she wasn’t quite certain whether Professor Snape was completely on the side of the Light made his talents in duplicity that much more obvious.
“You will grant me any favour?” Hermione asked.
Snape nodded. “Any favour you ask, provided I am able to grant it.”
“Agreed,” Hermione breathed. Before she had even finished saying the word, Severus Snape morphed from erudite professor to consummate predator - nothing about his appearance had changed, yet he looked completely different. He was hungry. Hungry and dangerous and he was hunting her, even though she was supposed to be the pursuer.