Disclaimer: This creation is based on characters and situations created and owned by J. K. Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros. Inc. No money is being made, no copyright or trademark infringement, or offense is intended. All characters depicted in sexual situations are above the age of consent.
Notes: Written for the 2015 Creature Fest on LiveJournal.
For those questioning the rating. This is rated as such for language.
Apparently my muse took the Halloween aspect of the fest and chucked it right out the window. So I apologise to the prompter in advance if this is not to your liking. Many, many thanks go to my alphas, both of who helped me in different ways on this entertaining adventure. Tons of thanks goes to my lovely beta who helped whip this fic into shape, any mistakes you see are my own. I hope you all enjoy my fluffy, little tale.
"What is that thing? A furball from a giant cat?"
Hermione raised an eyebrow, pausing in her search for the library's copy of A Christmas Carol to read during the holidays.
"Have you seen any giant, white cats roaming the halls?"
Her other eyebrow joined the first.
"Well, no, I guess I haven't." There was a pause and she could imagine the first young boy was closely examining what they were looking at. "Is it alive?"
Her eyes narrowed as she waited to hear a response.
"Poke it and find out."
"What if it bites me? No, you poke it."
Hermione started to make her way to the end of the aisle, intending to interrupt the youngsters if necessary.
"What's it going to bite you with? It's a ball of fur."
There was another slight pause before she heard a high-pitched squeaking.
"Ah! It is alive!"
Hermione stepped into the aisle, her eyes taking in the scene before her. Two first year boys, Ravenclaws by the insignia on their robes, were indeed standing over a white ball of fur. She squinted, noticing a long white tail.
"Five points each from Ravenclaw."
At the sound of the Head Girl's voice, the boys jumped and turned to face her with wide eyes. The little ball of fur fell silent, waiting to see what would happen next.
She quickly made her way towards the two boys and the little creature. Once she was closer, she was able to make out what the creature was the boys had been poking. "What do you think Professor Flitwick would say if I told him you were picking on a defenceless pygmy puff?"
"A what?"
"A miniature puffskein." She kneeled down next to the pygmy puff, her school skirt fluttering in the air. "Now, get back to your dorm before curfew in twenty minutes and get your things together for tomorrow."
Not needing to be told twice, the two boys started to leave.
"Oh, and if I ever catch either of you two doing anything like this again, it will be more than just the loss of five house points that you'll have."
"Yes, Miss Granger," both boys muttered before quickly leaving Hermione alone with the still frightened creature.
Hermione turned her attention to the floor in front of her. She slowly reached her hand out towards the pygmy puff.
It looked at her warily, shuffling back and forth.
Smiling softly, she whispered, "I promise I won't hurt you."
The pygmy puff stopped moving, continuing to eye the progression of her hand.
The tips of her fingers came in contact with some of the softest fur she had felt in her life. She grinned as its little eyes slowly closed as she brushed her fingers over its fur.
"You like that, don't you."
The answer she received came in the form of a soft purring sound.
Hermione chuckled. "I'll take that as a yes."
She looked around to see if anyone else was in the library possibly looking for his or her lost pet. Not seeing anyone, she turned back to the now content creature. She scooped it into her arms.
"Since I don't see anyone looking for a lost pet, how about I take you back with me to my dorm room until we can find your owner?"
As she was standing up, she missed the affronted look her words garnered from the little puffball.
Since pets were not allowed in the cavernous room, Hermione quickly made her way out of the library, not wanting Madame Pince to catch her with her new companion. Once out in the hallway, she slowed her pace and made her way towards her shared Heads' common room.
Looking down at the animal in her hands she was hit with the realisation that unless George had managed to change the colours of the pygmy puffs he sold, this little guy should be either pink or purple. Not white.
It looked like she might have to place a call to the one-eared prankster to see if he had any information on the creature now in her possession.
She came to a stop in front of the entrance to the Heads' common room.
"Ipsa Scientia Potestas Est."
The older lady in the painting gestured to the shelves upon shelves of books that surrounded her. "I do have to agree with the new password you both chose," the Russian lady smiled. "Knowledge itself is power. How true." The painting swung open to reveal the passageway to their common room. "You may enter, Miss Granger. Sleep well."
Hermione stepped into the short corridor. "Thank you, Madame Volkov."
Entering her common room, Hermione was not surprised to see it empty. The Head Boy was going home to see his mum for the holiday, so she figured he was already in his room preparing to leave in the morning.
Hermione thanked her lucky stars that while the two of them had a rocky start to their tenure as Head Boy and Girl, they were now able to get along. They still had their moments, particularly when one of them said something without thinking, but over all, Hermione couldn't complain that she was sharing a common room this year with Draco Malfoy. She grinned. It didn't hurt that he was easy on the eyes either.
"Well, it looks like my fellow head has already gone into his room for the evening. There's not a whole lot I can do at the moment to try and find your owner, but I can owl my friend, George, to see if he knows who purchased you."
The pygmy puff snorted.
Thinking the creature was upset with having to wait, she apologised for the inconvenience. "I'm sorry, little guy, but it's too late to go wandering about the castle now. I promise I'll look for your owner in the morning." Sitting down to write to George, she set the animal on her desk. "Now, just give me a moment and I'll write this letter to George."
The pygmy puff sat at the corner of her desk watching her write to George Weasley, a look of annoyance on its face.
Finishing the letter, she addressed the outside of the parchment before standing and gathering the letter and the pygmy puff into her arms. She made her way across her room to her closed window, opening it, she whistled.
The pygmy puff jumped in her arms.
"Sorry, about that, I needed to get the attention of my owl, Aramis, so he can deliver my letter to George."
Moments later, a rather large barn owl flew silently through the window, landing on Hermione's outstretched arm.
A raspy hiss issued from his mouth at the sight of the ball of fluff in Hermione's hand.
Hermione hid her hand behind her back. "No, Aramis, you leave him alone. You know exactly where your treats are, plus you're going to see George and I know he'll have some mice for you."
She watched as her owl's eyes lit up at the mention of its favourite member of the Weasley family.
"I knew you'd be happy to hear that, now, take this to George and please wait for a reply and come back in the morning." She gestured to the letter in her hand.
The owl turned its head and gently plucked the letter from its owner's hand before pushing off from her arm. Hermione watched as he winged his way out into the night sky, the partial moon turning Aramis almost ghost-like in colour as he flew across the castle grounds.
Bringing her hand back from its hidden position, Hermione scratched behind the pygmy puff's ear.
"Now that that's out of the way, we should probably go to bed." Walking over to her bed, she placed the little creature at the foot of her bed. "Will you stay there while I get ready for bed?"
The pygmy puff stared at her as if to say, 'Where would I go?'
Hermione shrugged. "Okay, good. I'll be right back."
,./`~`\., ,./`~`\., ,./`~`\., ,./`~`\.,
You've got to be fucking kidding me. First, those two Ravenclaw brats poke me with their wand, which they'll be losing more than ten points total once I can talk again, and then Granger's owl tries to eat me. Could this night get any worse? He sighed. Oh yeah, I'm a fucking pygmy puff! What the actual hell?! This is so not fair.
He toddled back and forth across a few inches of Granger's bed.
What did I do to deserve to have my animagus form be a bleeding pygmy puff? Images of the last seven years unburied themselves from the recesses of his brain. I was trying to forget about all that, but I can see why this happened. Something else occurred to him. At least I'm not a ferret! Now that would have been tragic
The door opened and Hermione Granger stepped back into her room. Clad in a pair of warm looking, sensible winter pyjamas, but something about her caught his attention. Maybe it was her bare feet or her freshly scrubbed face or hell even his new perspective, but whatever it was, Draco Malfoy, and not for the first time, realised that maybe Hermione Granger wasn't that bad looking after all. In fact, he found her rather pretty with her wild curls, ink stained fingertips, chapped lip from her habit of biting the bottom one when concentrating, and brilliant mind.
Those ink stained fingers slid underneath him, picking him up off the bed.
Woah, woman! Don't move so fast! Draco squeaked at her not that she understood him.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." She raised him up to her eye level. "I really wish I knew what your owner called you."
I don't have an owner, you daft bint!
Hermione frowned. "I'm sorry, I can't understand your squeaking." She settled on her bed, pulling her bedclothes over her legs, and placing him on her lap. "Let's see what kind of name we can come up with for you."
Resting back against her headboard, she hummed. After a moment, a slow smile spread across her lips.
Draco eyed her wondering what was going to come out of her mouth.
"How about Mr Fluffkins?"
Draco glared at her. No.
She chuckled. "I'll take that squeak as a no."
Right you are.
"I think it's safe to assume you won't like Mr Fluffykins then either."
If I had claws, I'd scratch the shite out of you right now.
"That squeak was another definite no then." She reached out to scratch behind his ear. "What about Mr Fluffers?"
Draco tried to nip at her fingers even though he knew it would do him no good since he didn't have sharp enough teeth. That and he couldn't reach her fingers. That's even worse, you idiot!
She grinned. "I'm not that mean."
I should hope not!
She tilted her head to the side, observing him.
What?
"You squeak quite a bit. How about Squeaks?"
He huffed indignantly. You are an evil, evil woman.
She grinned. "You may not be very happy with it, but you've got to admit, it fits you quite well."
Draco groaned a pygmy puff groan, resolved to his fate for the foreseeable future. I hate you, I hope you realise that. Although, he knew that wasn't quite true.
"Once I know your actual name, I'd be happy to call you by it. Unfortunately, I don't speak pygmy puff or puffskein." She gently scoped him up before settling him on the empty pillow on her bed. "Try and get some rest tonight, and tomorrow morning we'll go around and try to find your owner before they leave for the holidays."
After Hermione placed him on the pillow, she brushed her fingers over his fur a couple times. She then reached over and after grasping her wand, she turned off the lights in her room.
Once Draco's eyes adjusted to the darkened setting, he noticed that she had slid further down into her bed and pulled the covers back up.
Draco grumbled. It's not like I know how to speak pygmy puff myself either. He looked at the witch lying beside him. I guess there could be worse people who could have found me. Like those damn Ravenclaw brats. Or Weasley. Or Salazar forbid Pansy. He shuddered. That would have been a horrifying experience. At least with Granger I stand a very good chance of returning to my correct form. Hopefully sooner rather than later, because I'd like to go home and see my mum.
He sighed, finally resting for the first time since he ended up in his current form. Closing his eyes, he let sleep slowly over take him, hoping good news would come the next day.
,./`~`\., ,./`~`\., ,./`~`\., ,./`~`\.,
Hermione stood just inside the main doors of the castle, watching her fellow students leave for the Christmas holidays. She had Squeaks sitting in her hands, visible for all to see, in hopes of his owner seeing him before they left.
"Hey Hermione," Harry greeted as he, Ron, and Ginny joined her. "What have you got there?"
Transferring her temporary pet to one hand, she gave quick hugs to her three friends.
"I found him in the library last night being tormented by two first year Ravenclaws. I'm hoping his owner will see him before they leave for the train."
"Awww," Ginny cooed. "He's so cute!" She reached out and touched him. "Ohhh, he's so soft! Much softer than Arnold."
"He looks like one of George's. Have you talked to him yet?" Ron reached out to touch the pygmy puff. It squeaked furiously at him and backed up Hermione's arm. He glared at the pygmy puff. "Bloody creature, just like your damned ginger menace and that evil bird of yours."
Hermione raised an eyebrow at him. "You leave my familiars alone, Ronald, and of course I've contacted George. Do I look like an idiot to you? I'm currently waiting for Aramis to return with his reply." She stepped back, adjusting Squeaks in her hands. "It looks like I'll have to wait for the end of the holidays before I find this little guy's owner since most of the students have left already. Ginny, you might want to take your brother and catch one of the carriages before they leave."
Knowing her friend was right, Ginny gave Hermione a quick kiss on the cheek before she hugged Harry goodbye. Ron also tried to kiss Hermione's cheek, but she leaned back as the pygmy puff in her hands protested quite loudly.
"Buggering fuck."
"Ronald, watch your language, there are children present."
"I don't give a damn."
"I do. Five points from Gryffindor for your language."
"But—"
"Don't argue with me or it will be more. Now, go get on the carriages."
"Come on, Ron, let's get home to mum and dad."
He turned away, grumbling under his breath about animals that hated him.
Harry chuckled. "He'll never learn will he?"
"About what?"
"Coming near any animal that's in your care. Neither Crooks or Aramis like him and it seems like your new pet doesn't like him either." Harry reached out and scratched behind Squeaks' ears. He earned a glare from the pygmy puff in return. "Apparently he doesn't like wizards."
"I can't say I blame him, after what those first years did last night."
The entrance doors closed behind the last of the departing students.
"Are you sad you're not going to The Burrow this year?"
Hermione shrugged. "A little bit, but to be honest, I'd feel like an outsider. This is their first Christmas without Fred and they really need to deal with it on their own."
Harry nodded. "I feel the same way. Yes, I consider them part of my family, but I don't want to intrude on their grief." He looped Hermione's arm through his own as he led the way back to Hermione's common room, knowing it would be much quieter than the one in Gryffindor Tower. "Have you heard any news about your parents?"
She shook her head. "No, not recently, but last I talked to Kingsley, he mentioned that they would start looking in the south of Australia in the hopes that they went south since they obviously didn't stay in Sydney."
He patted her arm. "I hope they find them soon. How do you feel about getting a head start on our holiday homework, so we can relax this evening?"
Hermione looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "Who are you and what have you done with my friend?"
Harry laughed. "After seven years of having you as one of my best friends? You've finally started to rub off on me. I've actually been completing my homework at least the day before its due so I can review it and make any last minute changes if necessary. Why do you think I've not asked you for help much this year? Especially at the last minute."
Hermione thought back over the last few months. "Huh, I hadn't realised that. I think because Ron has picked up on his nagging me for help. When will he learn that I won't always be there for him to take advantage of?"
"It probably won't hit him until he sits down to take his N.E.W.T.s and realises that you were right all along."
"Speaking of the N.E.W.T.s, how is your studying going for that?"
Harry groaned. "Not as well as I'd like. There's just so much information to cover."
"Well, if you'd like to study with me. You're more than welcome to join me. Ginny too, once the next semester resumes."
"She'd like that, but what will your dorm mate think?"
"Draco? Well, I'm not sure, but I'll ask him once he returns." She tilted her head, thinking. "Speaking of him, he must have gotten a very early start today since I didn't see him at breakfast and I didn't see him leave. He must have been one of the first to leave for the train. I didn't even see him last night when I returned from the library where I found Squeaks."
Harry laughed. "You named him Squeaks?" He looked at the pygmy puff sitting silently in Hermione's hands. It looked up at him. "You poor thing. Why couldn't you give him a manlier name? Why name him Squeaks?"
Hermione huffed. "Because he squeaks. A lot. I thought it was fitting for him, at least until I find out his real name."
They reached the entrance to the Heads' common room and she quietly gave the password, before leading the way into the warm room.
A hiss alerted them to the presence of Hermione's owl. She reached out to place Squeaks in Harry's hands. "Harry, can you hold Squeaks while I retrieve George's letter?"
"Hermione, wait." But she had already placed the creature in his hands and was walking towards the partially open window.
,./`~`\., ,./`~`\., ,./`~`\., ,./`~`\.,
I thought last night was bad enough, but noooo, first the Weasel tries to feel me up, and somehow Potter succeeds. He shuddered. And now, I'm sitting in Potter's hands! This just keeps getting better and better. I hope Granger has another idea up her sleeve, because the prankster twin won't know anything since I'm not one of his!
Hermione's voice caught his attention. "George says he's not one of his. I figured as much since he's white and not pink or purple, but it was worth a shot." She studied him as he sat sullenly in Potter's hands. "I guess my next step would be to talk to the Headmistress to see if she knows who he might belong to."
Potter nodded. "It can't hurt to try, what's the worst thing she could say?"
"That she doesn't know who he belongs to, which is probably what's going to happen."
"True, but you'll at least know you tried that avenue."
Potter finally set him down on the large coffee table as both Gryffindors pulled out their homework.
I hate this so much. Why couldn't I turn into a creature that could talk, or at least communicate in some way with humans? Then I could tell her that there's actually been some progress in the hunt for her parents, but at the same time I wouldn't want to say something now and get her hopes up. Damn. If he could stomp his foot and have it make a loud noise, he would, but sadly, his little pygmy puff feet were not conducive to making loud noises. I guess I could look over Granger's shoulder while she works and get some studying done. It'll be an easy way to pass the time. He made his way over to where he could see what she was working on.
She grinned. "Are you wanting to see what I'm working on?"
He stared at her for a moment before moving his head.
"You really are quite the clever creature."
He preened.
"And arrogant too," Harry joked. "Squeaks would make a great pet for Malfoy."
He frowned. There is no way in hell, I'd own one of the Weasley Twins inventions.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Could you really see him owning anything other than a pet snake?"
Harry laughed. "True."
Why would I own one of those disgusting creatures? Just because my house's mascot is one doesn't mean we all want one as a pet. Draco huffed. I had more than enough of those creatures to last me a lifetime during the war. I'm quite content to never see one again.
"Come on, let's get some work done." She waved her wand, turning on the wizarding radio they had in their common room.
Christmas Carols filled the room as the two students and one pygmy puff settled into their holiday homework.
,./`~`\., ,./`~`\., ,./`~`\., ,./`~`\.,
A couple days later, on Tuesday afternoon, Harry had hit a wall in studying and decided to take the rest of the afternoon off to fly around the quidditch pitch. Hermione was planning to meet him just outside the doors to the Great Hall for dinner.
She was currently sitting at her desk in her common room finishing up the last of the history paper Professor Binns had assigned them for the holiday break. Squeaks was sitting quite contently on her shoulder as she worked. Little did she know that he was studying right along side her the whole time.
Finishing the last sentence of her paper, she signed the bottom and set down her quill. Reaching up, she scratched behind Squeaks' ear.
"So, my friend, how do you feel about relaxing for the rest of the afternoon?"
A purr was her only response.
"Reading a book in front of the fire sounds like a wonderful idea, Squeaks."
Putting away her work, she stood up and started to make her way to one of the couches in front of the common room fireplace. A knock on the door halted her steps.
"There is a lady here to see you, Miss Granger," the portrait guardian explained from her second painting inside the common room.
"Thank you, Madame Volkov."
Hermione quickly made her way over to the entrance; she opened the door and was surprised by who was visiting her.
"Mrs Malfoy, how may I help you?"
Before the witch could respond, Squeaks tumbled from Hermione's shoulder, squeaking excitedly. She caught him before he fell to the floor and tried to calm the creature, but he wouldn't stay still.
"I'm so sorry, Mrs Malfoy, I'm not sure what's come over him. Usually he's fairly well behaved."
Narcissa Malfoy observed the white pygmy puff as he continued to squirm in the Head Girl's arms. "Quite the excitable creature."
"Apparently," Hermione murmured. She gestured into the common room. "Please come in. I'll conjure a cage for Squeaks and then we can talk."
A few moments later, the two witches were sitting across from each other; the room's coffee table and a now silenced, but still excitable Squeaks sitting between them.
"Again, I apologise about that. Although I'm thankful to say that you didn't upset him, it just seems that he's excited to see you. Maybe he's getting tired of seeing just Harry and me all the time."
Narcissa raised a hand. "No need to apologise, our pets all have their moments."
"Oh Squeaks isn't mine, I found him late Friday night and couldn't find his owner before they left for the holidays, so I'm watching him until someone returns looking for their lost white pygmy puff."
"I see."
Hermione shifted in her seat, watching the blonde witch. "Mrs Malfoy, what brings you to Hogwarts today? Is there something I can help you with?"
"I hope so." Narcissa took a breath before speaking again, a sad look crossing her features. "Have you seen Draco recently? He was going to be gone for the weekend with Blaise and Theo, but he should have been home by last night. I talked with both Blaise and Theo and they both said that Draco wasn't with them at all during the weekend. Is he still here?"
Hermione shook her head. "As far as I know, no, he isn't. The only people that have been in the Heads' common room since the holiday started are you, Harry, and me. In fact, the last I saw of Draco was at dinner on Friday night. I figured he was in his room packing when I returned just before curfew on Friday. And on Saturday, again, I didn't see him, but thought that he was making a head start on his holidays."
Hermione watched in dismay as tears formed in the blonde witch's eyes. Narcissa bent her head to cover the evidence as she pulled a handkerchief from her purse. In the silence of the room, the young witch's heart went out to her when the sound of a couple sniffles reached her ears. Hermione waited patiently for the aristocratic witch to collect herself.
Dabbing at her eyes, Narcissa breathed deeply before looking up. "Pardon my behaviour, Miss Granger."
Hermione smiled gently. "There's nothing to apologise for, Mrs Malfoy. Your son is missing and I can empathise with what you're going through. I will keep my eye out for him around the castle and when I go to Hogsmeade. I'll also ask Harry for his help."
"Thank you very much, Miss Granger. I knew it was a long shot that Draco was still here since the Headmistress would have owled me if he were still in the castle."
,./`~`\., ,./`~`\., ,./`~`\., ,./`~`\.,
After spending the better part of his mom's visit trying to get her attention, Draco finally settled down. He was currently staring sullenly from his cage as both witches stood up, his mum preparing to leave. "I think I will take my leave now. I should go to the ministry and file a missing persons report."
Hermione nodded. "That's a good idea." She bent down and picked up his cage, removing the silencing charm. "If I let you out, will you behave this time and say goodbye to our guest?"
Draco squeaked softly.
"I'll take that as a yes."
Of course it's a yes, you idiot. I want to go with my mum, then maybe she'd figure out who I really was!
Hermione gently removed him from the cage she had placed him in earlier. He stared at his mum, imploring her to understand that her son was right before her eyes.
In a somewhat uncharacteristic gesture for her, Narcissa reached out to pet Draco.
"He really is a beautiful creature. Such a pure colour."
"I agree with you, which is why I'll be sad to see him go back to his owner."
Draco preened under their attention.
"Life has a weird way of working out, so you never know what may happen with him."
Hermione laughed. "You are correct." She led the way to the door to the Heads' dorms, Draco along for the ride. "I'm sorry I was not of more help to you, but I will keep my eyes out for Draco and if I see him I will let you know."
"Thank you again, Miss Granger. I know we've had a rocky past, but you are a very nice young lady and don't let anyone tell you otherwise."
She blushed. "Thank you."
"Enjoy your holidays."
"I will, thank you and I hope you find Draco soon."
As the door closed behind his mother, he heard her whisper, "Me too."
"Poor lady," Hermione muttered as she made her way back to the couch. "I hope she finds Draco soon. Maybe this evening after dinner I can talk to Harry and Luna about it and see if they have any ideas."
If anyone can figure it out, it's you, Granger. Not Potter and definitely not Lovegood. Draco sighed. Of all the animals I could've turned into, I turned into one of the most useless animals. I really wish I could write, then I could tell the whole bloody world what was going on here!
"So, shall we get started on that book we were going to read before Mrs Malfoy joined us?"
I'd really rather figure out how to change me back, but it's not like you know what I'm saying.
Hermione settled onto the couch and pulled out A Christmas Carol.
"Now, where were we?" She flipped to the bookmark holding her place. "Ah yes, the Ghost of Christmas Past. What does he have in store for old Ebenezer?"
,./`~`\., ,./`~`\., ,./`~`\., ,./`~`\.,
It was the next morning at breakfast before Hermione was able to speak with Harry and Luna about the missing Malfoy heir.
"I felt so bad that I wasn't able to help Mrs Malfoy more. She's genuinely upset over her missing son."
"I can understand why she'd be upset," Luna remarked. "He can still be arrogant sometimes, but he's grown up quite a bit this year."
"He really has," Hermione agreed. "It's much easier to work with him this year than in our first six years of school."
"Does Mrs Malfoy know where Draco went missing?"
"She knows that he never joined with Blaise and Theo on the train for their weekend trip," Hermione replied to Harry's question.
"I wonder, is it possible he's still here?"
"Do you mean in the school?"
"It's possible, but he may not be in the castle, but somewhere either on the grounds or in Hogsmeade."
All of a sudden, Squeaks tumbled from his normal position on Hermione's shoulder. He landed on the table in front of her where he proceeded to squeak and bounce on his little feet.
Hermione grinned. "What's got you all excited? Do you like the idea of a good mystery?"
Squeaks continued his noisy chatter as Hermione picked him up and started to softly pet him, trying to calm the excited creature.
Hermione looked at her bespectacled best friend and whispered, "Do you still have the map?"
"Yes!" Harry exclaimed. "It's in my room."
"Okay, as soon as we're done eating breakfast, we'll go up to Gryffindor Tower."
,./`~`\., ,./`~`\., ,./`~`\., ,./`~`\.,
Draco could barely contain his excitement as Hermione walked with Potter and Lovegood towards the Gryffindor common room. Any moment now, Hermione would hopefully figure out that he had been with her this whole time.
After entering the common room, Draco watched as Potter ran off and disappeared up the stairs, only to reappear coming down the stairs a few minutes later.
"Sorry about the delay. It slipped to the bottom of my trunk."
Potter then produced a blank piece of parchment folded many times.
Draco frowned.
"What's this?"
Draco grinned at Lovegood's question. It was nice to know that he wasn't the only one that didn't know what was going on now.
"This is a secret that was passed down to me from my dad via Fred and George Weasley."
Oh no, I can see many different ways that this can go wrong. Draco started preparing himself for the worst. I hope I'm wrong though.
Potter laid the parchment on the empty coffee table in front of the fireplace.
Touching his wand to the parchment, Potter whispered. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."
And right before Draco's very own eyes, he watched as line after line and dot after dot started to appear on the parchment. What is this?
When all was said and done, a blueprint of the school was lying on the table in front of him. To say that Draco was shocked would be an understatement. He now understood how Potter and Weasley got away with so much stuff over the years. The map and Hermione's brain.
Draco's eyes quickly zeroed in on the Gryffindor common room.
After a few moments of silent searching, Lovegood spoke up. "Hey, Hermione, look here." She pointed to the very room they were currently standing in.
Hermione gasped.
"What?"
"The map says Draco's supposed to be right here in the common room with us, how is that possible?"
The three of them started to look around. Looking high and low, but with no luck. After a few moments, Hermione set Draco down on the table right next to the map as she continued her hunt. At one point Hermione and Potter ran up the stairs to search the rooms up there.
Draco sighed. You all are so close! I'm right here!
"The map must be wrong, Harry. He's not here."
"But he has to be. Look, it's saying he's right here with us."
"Where though?"
"I don't know."
Lovegood tilted her head, looking at him sitting there, somewhat patiently, on the table.
"Hermione, what about Squeaks."
"What about him?"
"I think Squeaks might be the wizard we're searching for."
Salazar's bent wand! Lovegood actually figured it out!
Both Hermione and Potter stared at Lovegood for a moment before their eyes dropped to look at the pygmy puff sitting on the table, staring up at them. Although the stare was starting to look more like a glare.
"Draco?"
Yes! Yes! Yes! I'm right here! Now fix me!
"Oh my gods," Hermione murmured, as she sat heavily on the couch behind her.
"Well, I'll be damned." Potter followed suit, but not before wiping the map clean. "Mischief managed."
"What happened?"
Animagus accident, but it's not like you understand what I'm saying. He sighed. Dammit.
Hermione's head tilted to the side as she continued to observe him.
What?
"Draco, give me a moment, I'm trying to come up with a way to communicate with you right now. As it stands, I can't comprehend what you're saying."
Tell me something I didn't figure out on day one!
"Draco, don't be too hard on Hermione, she's trying to help you."
Three pairs of eyes turned to look at the quirky witch.
"Wait, you speak pygmy puff?"
You can understand me?
"You know what Draco's saying?"
Lovegood shook her head. "No, Harry, I do not speak pygmy puff. Even I know that pygmy puffs don't have a language. Not like nargles do. I can just tell that he's frustrated with the situation, not that I blame him."
What the hell are nargles?!
Before she could respond, Potter spoke up, "What about asking yes and no questions? One squeak for yes and two for no?"
Draco stared of at Potter. Sweet Nimune, I can't believe I'm saying this, but Potter what a brilliant idea.
He watched from the table as Hermione's eyes lit up in agreement with him. "Oh, Harry, what a wonderful idea!" She turned to Draco. "Does that work for you?"
Yes!
"Good."
"Do you know what happened?"
Yes.
"Did someone do this to you?"
No.
"Was it an independent potions accident?"
No.
Lovegood piped in with her own question. "Charms?"
No.
"Well, if no one did it to you and it's not a potions or charms accident, then…"
Potter finished her sentence. "A transfiguration accident?"
'Finally, we're getting somewhere,' Draco thought. Yes!
Hermione looked perplexed. "It's a transfiguration accident?"
Draco sighed. Yes.
"Well, then someone had to do this to you."
No.
"It's the only thing that makes sense."
Lovegood kneeled on the carpet next to the table. Draco turned to look at her.
They stared at each other for a few moments before the blonde witch finally came to a conclusion. "You're trying to become an animagus."
Yes.
Hermione frowned. "Why didn't you say anything? I know we're not exactly the best of friends, but I would've helped you."
Draco glared at her.
"Hermione, yes or no questions. Remember?"
"Oh right." She focused her attention back on Draco. "Do you know how this happened?"
Do you think I'd be here if I did?
"Draco, please."
If he could have crossed his arms over his chest he would have, but since he couldn't at the moment he settled for a sneer. No.
"Thank you. Did this happen when you were trying to transform into your animagus form?"
Yes.
"Was this your first time transforming?"
Yes.
"Well, that should make it easier to find a solution then, shouldn't it?"
Knowing my luck, no, and honestly, Granger, how the bloody hell should I know?!
"Calm down, Draco. We'll find a solution to your problem. I think the best place to start at is going to be looking through the books in the library." She stood up. "Why don't we go ahead and make our way there and get started."
"Don't you think we should let the Headmistress know what is going on?"
"That's probably a good idea, Harry."
"You might want to owl his mum too."
Hermione nodded her head in agreement with Lovegood's statement. "That's probably an even better idea."
"I'll be right back. I've got parchment, ink, and a quill in my room."
"Thank you, Harry."
,./`~`\., ,./`~`\., ,./`~`\., ,./`~`\.,
It was the late afternoon of Christmas Day, and Harry, Hermione, and Luna, along with Draco, who was still in his pygmy puff form, were sitting in the Heads' common room continuing their search through books for a solution to Draco's furry problem. They were waiting to hear from Narcissa Malfoy to see if she had found anything at any of the Malfoy holdings.
"I owled my dad this morning to ask him if he had any books that he thought might be helpful." Luna looked at Draco. "And before you ask, no, I didn't tell him who it was for. I just told him a friend had a mishap and we were working to fix it."
Draco regarded the blonde witch from his perch atop Hermione's shoulder. He gave a single squeak and a nod of his head.
There was a knock at the door.
Madame Volkov appeared in her painting in the common room. "It is the blonde witch from a few days ago."
"Thank you, Madame Volkov. You can let Mrs Malfoy in." Hermione grinned, hoping to hear good news from their visitor. One look at her face as she entered the room told her that she did not come bearing good news.
"No luck?"
Narcissa shook her head. "No, none, and I tried all of the Malfoy properties."
"Darn it. I was hoping an answer would be there since we've almost exhausted all of our resources here." Hermione sighed. "Well, we've still got one option. Luna owled her dad to see if he might have anything useful."
"That's a good idea, thank you."
Luna shrugged. "I didn't tell my father who it was for, but it's the least I can do for my fellow student and the same wizard who brought extra food for us when I was in your house last year."
Narcissa smiled. "I'm glad to see he was able to sneak food down to you. I had told him to, but never knew if he was successful or not. I'm glad to know he was."
"Are there any other family libraries available?"
Narcissa pondered Hermione's question. "Well, there are quite a few of the old Pureblood families that have libraries. They're often available to me on request. At the same time, I'd like to be as discrete about this as possible. Not because I'm ashamed of what's happened, but rather, I know how private of a person my son is."
"Then they will be an absolute last resort."
"Thank you." Hermione saw Harry's eyes light up. "What is it, Harry?"
He looked at Hermione. "What about Grimmauld Place?"
"What about it?"
Before he could respond, Narcissa spoke up. "The Black library is at Grimmauld Place."
Harry nodded. "Yes, it is. I would be more than happy to let you in to see if you can find anything there."
"That would be wonderful. Thank you, Mr Potter."
"Oh, Mrs Malfoy, please call me Harry. Mr Potter makes me feel all official and I don't like it. I rather like the idea of being a teenager for a while longer."
Narcissa smiled. "Harry it is then." She looked at all three students. "All three of you are more than welcome to call me Cissa or Narcissa if you prefer. You're all bright, kind young people and after everything is said and done and we get my son back to his normal self, I'd like the chance to get to know the three of you."
"Thank you," they chorused.
"And I have to say, Miss Granger, you definitely keep my son on his toes when it comes to school." A small grin curled the corners of her lips. "Someone has to keep him honest."
Hermione laughed, petting the pygmy puff on her shoulder. "Hermione, please, and Draco definitely gives me a run for my money. I think he's the one keeping me honest!"
Harry snickered. "Let me put it this way, Mrs Mal, I mean, Narcissa. The entertainment your son and Hermione provide the rest of the school has made coming back for this year worth it." At her questioning brow, he continued, "They bicker all the time."
"About what?"
"The correct question would be what don't they bicker about?"
Narcissa laughed. "Now, that definitely sounds like Draco. He always loved to argue as a child."
Draco hopped from Hermione's shoulder to her leg and then onto the coffee table, squeaking the whole time.
Luna laughed. "It appears that Draco is upset that he can't get a word in on the conversation." She smiled at the older witch. "This goes without saying, but feel free to call me Luna."
Narcissa raised an eyebrow at Luna's observation. "And it will upset him even more that he's not able to get the last word in either."
Luna looked back at the upset pygmy puff on the table. "Technically, you could get the last word in, but until you're returned to normal, none of us will be able to understand what you say."
Hermione could tell that if he had arms long enough then they would surely be crossed over his chest with a dark look marring his face.
Narcissa stood up. "I think I'm going to take my leave now, but I do hope to be able to have a look through your library in the morning, Harry."
All three students stood up too.
"I will let Kreacher know to expect your call in the morning and he can come get you and bring you in. You shouldn't have any problems with the books because of your blood, but my home is still warded and under the Fidelius Charm because of the press now."
"I do not blame you at all, Harry. The press can be quite the determined bunch, even at the cost of others' freedom."
Hermione nodded her head. "I couldn't have said it better myself." She followed Narcissa to the entrance door. "Thank you for coming here and letting us know how things were going for you. Hopefully, the Black library and Mr Lovegood's library will be of more use to us."
"Let's hope so. Have a wonderful evening, all four of you."
"Thank you, we will."
The portrait door closed silently behind the aristocratic witch.
,./`~`\., ,./`~`\., ,./`~`\., ,./`~`\.,
Draco sat on Hermione's shoulder reading the book in her lap when a voice interrupted the silence.
"Miss Lovegood to see you."
"Thank you, Madame Volkov, you can let her in."
Luna was already talking and at a quick pace when she entered the room, a grin plastered across her face. "Hermione, Draco, I received the books from my dad last night and I was looking through them this morning."
"Why didn't you bring them down?" Hermione questioned. "We would've helped you look through them."
Luna shrugged. "There were only a few books and I think I found what we've been searching for in the third one I looked in. An old book about human transfiguration."
Oh, I really hope this is what we need. I'm definitely ready to be human again.
She held out a small, old tome. It was barely an inch thick and couldn't have been more than ten inches tall and six inches wide. "Here, I've marked the page."
Hermione gently took the book from Luna and opened it to the marked page. Draco looked down and focused on the words in front of him.
He felt Hermione's shoulders drop.
"Isn't it unusual to use a potion to reverse a transfiguration accident?"
Not necessarily, you've forgotten that a potion reversed the dark mark for those of us who didn't want to be involved in the first place.
Luna shook her head. "No, it's been done before. Look at—"
"Voldemort's dark mark."
"Exactly."
"Well, it's worth a shot. We'll have to ask the Headmistress if we can get access to Slughorn's store room since he's gone for the holidays." Hermione read over the potion recipe again. "It looks like it will have to sit over night, so the earliest we'll know if it works is tomorrow. Why don't I go talk to the Headmistress and explain to her what we're planning to do and see if I'm able to get the potion ingredients, you go talk to Harry and update him, and after dinner we can come back here and make the potion. How does that sound, Draco?"
The girls couldn't see it because of all his fur, but a grin spread across his face. Good.
,./`~`\., ,./`~`\., ,./`~`\., ,./`~`\.,
Hermione read through the directions one last time. "Okay, it looks like all I have to do is coat Draco in the potion, give him a teaspoon to drink, speak the incantation that goes with it and we should have a human Draco standing before us. Is there anything else?"
Harry scratched the back of his head. "Do uh, do you uh…" A blush spread across his features. At Hermione's raised eyebrow, he started again, "Do you know if he'll transform back in the clothes he was wearing?"
Hermione's eyes widened. "I didn't even think about that."
"Does Draco have a bathrobe? Or you could always grab one of his school robes for him."
"Yes, he has a bathrobe in our bathroom. Harry, do you mind grabbing it?" She watched as Harry left to fetch Draco's bathrobe. She turned to Luna. "Thank you for the suggestion."
Luna waved her hand. "It's no big deal. I'm just glad we're trying this and I really do think it will work."
Hermione laughed. "Well, we'll find out in a few moments."
Harry returned, a navy blue bathrobe in his hands. "Alright, let's do this."
"Okay, come here, Draco." She reached down and picked him up, a frown pulling down the corners of her lips. "You actually make a rather good pet, but you're not half bad as a human, so I guess I should change you back."
Draco squeaked at her.
"No, I will not leave you like this. Hold on." Hermione reached into the cauldron and scooped out some of the dark red potion. She gently covered Draco in the potion before giving him the calculated dosage based on his size. Setting him down on the common room floor, she recited the incantation from Mr Lovegood's book.
Draco closed his eyes waiting for the spell and potion to take effect.
It was a few short moments after she finished speaking before anything happened, but slowly the pygmy puff on the floor started to grow and as he continued to grow his shape changed from that of the fluffy little creature to a human curled up on his side. As the potion soaked into his skin and the spell ended a red glow spread over Draco before slowly seeping into his skin.
Hermione stared at the man on the floor, shocked that their first attempt actually worked. She turned to Luna and hugged her. "You're brilliant! It worked!"
Luna returned her hug. "No, I just tend to think differently than others and sometimes luck out when my ideas work."
"Well, I'm glad this one worked," said a voice that none of them had heard since before the holidays.
Hermione and Luna turned their attention to the Head Boy where they found him with his back to them, pulling on his bathrobe over pale, naked shoulders. Harry was standing a few feet away with his head turned and one hand over his eyes.
"I'm all dressed now, Potter, you no longer have to avert your eyes."
"How are you feeling?"
He raised an eyebrow at Hermione's question. "Like I am never doing that again," Draco groused, once he had finished tightening the belt of his robe.
Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Well, maybe next time you should work on this with a trained professional rather than trying to do it all yourself."
,./`~`\., ,./`~`\., ,./`~`\., ,./`~`\.,
That evening, Draco stepped out of the fireplace and into his mother's arms.
"Oh Draco, I'm so glad to have you home."
Doing something he hadn't done since he was a small child, Draco buried his head against his mother's neck and breathed deeply.
"It's good to be home too. I'm also glad to no longer be small, furry, and unable to speak."
Narcissa chuckled and leaned back. "I bet you're happy about that, because I know I am."
"Does father know what happened?"
She shook her head. "No, I haven't talked to your father recently. I plan to visit him after you go back to school, but he has no need to know what happened. What can he do about it from his cell?"
A raised blond eyebrow was his response.
She sighed. "Draco, your father would not look down on you for attempting and for the most part succeeding in something that even he could not do. Becoming an animagus is quite difficult, and yes, you ran into quite the obstacle on your first attempt, but you can learn from it and your next time you'll do better."
He chuckled. "Next time may not happen for a while."
She eyed him. "So you say."
"Trust me."
"Mm hmm." She clapped her hands together, a grin spreading across her face. "Enough about your ordeal, let's get you settled. Clancy!"
A house-elf appeared next to them.
He bowed. "Yes, mistress?"
"Please take Draco's bag to his room."
"Yes, mistress." He disappeared as silently as he had appeared next to them.
"Do you have plans for New Year's Eve?"
"No, why?"
A smirk spread across her face. "I've got an idea and we've got some planning to do."
,./`~`\., ,./`~`\., ,./`~`\., ,./`~`\.,
Luna sat next to Hermione at the shared table. "Do you guys want to go to town tomorrow evening for dinner to celebrate the New Year?"
Hermione thought about Luna's suggestion as she swallowed her bite. "I hadn't thought about it, but that might be nice. And the Headmistress did say we could go visit Hogsmeade if we wished to during the holidays." She turned to her green-eyed friend. "What do you think?"
"I would be great to see Madame Rosmerta without all the other students around and see how she's doing."
"I agree."
An owl landed on the table between Hermione and Luna.
The blonde witch reached out and gently ran her fingers over the soft brown feathers. "What a beautiful lady."
Hermione grinned as the owl preened. She also ran her fingers over the brown owl's feathers, admiring the differences between the tawny owl before her and her own beloved barn owl. They were both brown in colour, but she was just a little bit bigger than Aramis and quite a bit fluffier.
"Hel, what does your master have to say?"
She held out her leg for Hermione to remove the letter.
"Who's it from?"
Hermione looked at Harry. "Hel is Draco's owl, I've seen her in and out of our quarters quite a bit this past semester with Aramis."
"What does it say?"
"It's an invitation from Draco and his mum to spend New Year's Eve with them." She looked up. "For all three of us. They want to thank us for helping Draco."
A frown pulled at the corners of Harry's lips. "I'm not sure I'm ready to go back to Malfoy Manor yet. Or ever for that matter."
Hermione nodded. "I know exactly what you mean, Harry, but this would be at their townhouse in London and not the manor."
Harry shrugged, looking between Hermione and Luna. "Well, we did just make plans to go down to Hogsmeade for tomorrow evening."
"Plans that we can do on a different day," Luna suggested.
"Luna's right," Hermione agreed. "Madame Rosmerta is not going anywhere any time soon and we can visit the village on Sunday when we return."
"They've offered us a place to sleep?"
"Yes," Hermione replied, grinning. "Narcissa even said they'd feed us."
Harry laughed. "Well then, how can we say no to that?"
"We can't," Luna agreed.
"That settles it, we're going to spend New Year's Eve with Draco Malfoy and his mother," Hermione confirmed.
"Ron is going to have kittens."
Hermione rolled her eyes. "That's his problem. Draco is not the same boy we grew up with before the war, he's actually grown up, while Ron on the other hand still has some growing to do. Besides his opinion on what we for New Year's Eve does not matter right now. He is back in Ottery St Catchpole with his family, where he belongs."
"Good point," Harry conceded. "Let's send that response."
,./`~`\., ,./`~`\., ,./`~`\., ,./`~`\.,
To say that his life had taken an interesting turn in the last few months would be a huge understatement. While his father was serving a sentence in Azkaban, Draco had received house arrest for the remainder of the summer, was required to go back and finish his education with the rest of his classmates, and after he graduated at the end of the school year he had additional community service hours that he had to complete. Besides the Wizengamot, there were two people he had to thank for his reduced sentence, Harry and Hermione, both of whom testified on his behalf about his role in the war.
The biggest surprise had been his appointment as Head Boy. Many people, himself included, thought he didn't deserve the title, but as the Headmistress had explained to him, he fulfilled the requirements needed and the Wizengamot had agreed with her that it was a suitable form of community service for him during the school year.
He nursed his drink as he watched Potter join the two witches.
If he were honest with himself, it was his truce with Potter that was more of a surprise to him than his friendship with his co-head, a friendship that he really shouldn't have been that surprised by at all. His friendship with the witch his mother was currently conversing with. Yes, she was a Muggleborn and, yes, he was raised to believe that Muggleborns were beneath him, but he had always found intelligence to be a very powerful and useful tool. A tool the brunette witch had in abundance.
The two Head students spent quite a bit of time together in their shared positions and rooms; they even ended up being paired together in quite a few of their classes. The extra time spent in close proximity with each other brought them to their breaking point. He wasn't sure when exactly the transition from mild distain to friendship happened, but every once in a while they would bicker with each other, more so out of a sense of nostalgia rather than any real heat behind their words.
She smiled and laughed at something his mother said and her face lit up, highlighting her dark chocolate coloured eyes and causing a light burst of colour to spread across her cheekbones.
"You'll never win her over, if you sit over here by yourself and nurse your drink."
Draco turned to look at the blonde witch that had sat down next to him on the couch.
"Who says I want to win her over? Plus, you're sitting with me now, so I'm no longer by myself."
Lovegood raised an eyebrow. "How do you expect me to believe you when I've seen you look at her throughout the school year?" She paused, a smile curling the corners of her lips. "Even when you were Squeaks there was still something there between the two of you."
Draco blushed, he had never once realised he had been that obvious. "Well, this is embarrassing."
She laughed. "Oh, Draco, there is absolutely nothing to be ashamed of, unless you don't act upon your feelings. Because I can tell you right now that if you were to ask her out, she'd say yes."
He regarded the quirky, blonde witch very carefully. "Are you certain?"
She smiled. "I've been able to get to know Hermione very well since the end of the war because she spent a lot of her time over the summer with the Weasleys since her parents are still somewhere in Australia."
Draco grinned. "Not for much longer."
She gasped. "You found them?!"
He shushed her. "Shhh! I want to surprise her when they actually return. They should be in England on Sunday or Monday."
"Oh, Draco, you don't know how much this will mean to her to have her parents back again."
He shrugged. "I didn't do much other than calling in a couple favours."
"Yes, you did. You're giving Hermione her family back and she won't forget it." She patted his hand. "Let me know when they're back in England and I'll find a way to get her down here. Just owl me."
He nodded his head. "I can do that."
"Now, get up off this couch and go over there and get your witch before midnight hits!"
Draco saluted her with his glass before downing the last of his drink and standing up. "Thank you, Miss Lovegood."
She rolled her eyes. "It's Luna, Draco, and you know that."
He grinned unrepentantly. "I know."
Luna shook her head as she watched Draco make his way over to where Hermione and his mother were still talking. A few moments after he joined them, Narcissa excused herself.
Harry sat down next to her, taking what had just been Draco's seat. "You are something else, I hope you know that."
"And yet you wouldn't want me any other way, love."
He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. "No, definitely not. You make things fun and keep me on my toes."
She grinned. "Well someone has to."
"And I'm glad it's you." He returned her grin. "Happy New Year's, love."
"Happy New Year's."
Harry leaned forward and kissed her. As he did, they both missed the kiss Draco placed on Hermione's cheek as the clock struck midnight.
Language notes:
Ipsa Scientia Potestas Est is Latin for "Knowledge itself is power."
Hel is the Queen of Helheim, the Norse underworld