AN: I've been meaning to write this for ages. Not only have I've wanted to do this for the Harry Potter Ship Week, but also for another challenge by the harrypotterandthegenderbendingblog. This was inspired by a drawing by Maria (you can find her on DA and tumblr).

Not edited much because I want to get this out before I go on a long (and I mean 12-plus hours) car trip.

Happy holidays!

Disclaimer: Just because JK Rowling used a pseudonym doesn't mean that I'm her. Bloomsbury and Warner Bros makes sure of that.

Title: And Everybody Shout

Words: 2K

Summary: It's almost Christmas and Leslie Jordan's tarantula is on the lose. Now it's up to the prefects to go help find it. For the Harry Potter Ship Week. Gender-bent.

"I don't get it," Rory Weasley complained again. "Shouldn't that thing be dead by now?"

Hector Granger waved his wand and the tip grew brighter. "Would you like to pass that message on to Leslie? I'm sure she would love to hear that very much."

It was after the last DA meeting before the Winter Hols started, and everything was going fine until Leslie had come up to him and told him that her prized pet tarantula was missing. He wasn't sure why anyone would want a pet spider, but it was missing either way and as prefect, he and Rory should be the ones to help find it. Leslie's friends were also helping, but they were covering different parts of the castle.

Rory wasn't thrilled about being volunteered for the search. "It's a bloody big spider with teeth—"

"I don't think tarantulas have teeth," Hector said. "They have pinchers."

She shuddered and rubbed her arms as if she was feeling their hairy legs. "That's even worse."

"You've faced more terrifying spiders before," Hector reminded her. They came to a stop where the hallway bisected into two more. The torches weren't doing much of a good job keeping the shadows away, and the hallways seemed to stretch on forever. It reminded him of a scene from a horror film that he had saw with his parents before the term had started. The whole idea wasn't a very comforting thought, and he was glad that Halley had taught them how to defend for themselves.

"Want to split up?" Rory's voice gave a slight wobble. She nervously tugged on the end of her customary red plait, but remembered that she'd styled her hair differently. Hector wasn't sure what it was called, but her hair was down while there was this kind of plait that crowned the back of her head. He liked how the down part framed her face. "We could cover more ground that way, you know?"

"I have a feeling that could be a bad idea." Trying not to think what more monsters could be hiding at Hogwarts (or her hair), he chose the hallway that had slightly more torchlight. He even recognised the area as the same hallway that held his Ancient Runes and Arithmancy classes in. Hector pointed his wand to the right. "I like this one."

"I think a giant spider would pick a darker place to lurk." Rory pointed to the hallway on the left.

"How Gryffindor of you," he said dryly.

"Think of it as our last adventure of the year before we part." Her smile only showed false cheer. Hector felt some stinging guilt. He wasn't going to see her for the next few weeks because he was going to be up north skiing with his parents. It felt like forever since he'd spent any time with them, but at the same time he wasn't going to see her until after the start of the New Year. He was going to miss her, but he didn't know how to say that to her. And he was sure that she didn't know how to say it to him, as well.

"I'll send you owls," he promised. "Honest. Every little detail and mistake that I do while going down a mountain on some wooden planks, you'll know."

"You better or I'll find some way to visit you, and I'll laugh as you fall face-first into some snow." Rory's smile was brighter now. She walked down the hallway on the right with her long hair moving behind her.

Hector stood there for a moment and had to remind himself that they were on a search for a pet tarantula, not to have a sentimental moment with a good friend. He caught up with her and matched her long strides. There were vast stretches of empty walls between the classrooms, and they carefully checked the rooms to see if the tarantula was anywhere to be found. Hector wished that he could just do a Summoning Charm, but according to Leslie, the old arachnid would probably die from shock if it was zipping through the air again.

(Again? He was going to ask her to keep it in a better cage so that this won't happen for another time.)

Hector closed the door to his Ancient Runes class. "Are you looking forward to going to Snuffle's house?"

"Kinda." A frown creased Rory's face. "The house is old and creepy and the House-Elf hates me. It'll be weird not doing this at home, but with You-Know-Who, and Priscilla being a prat then what can we do?" She shrugged and a part of her baggy gray jumper fell down one shoulder. "I think Halley is going to like it more," she said. "She misses Snuffles."

Hector gestured to her shoulder and Rory pushed her jumper back up. "How do you think Halley has been lately?" he asked carefully. "I was worried at the start of the year, but now she's…"

"Better?" Rory offered. "I've noticed that. She's been having less nightmares, I think."

"That's good," he sighed, thinking back to how their friend was during the summer and start of the school year. "She's easy to worry about."

"We all are, and I care about her too." Rory was curt. Her blue eyes narrowed. "I'm just glad that the DA's been helping her. She needs this. Where is she, anyway?"

"The last I checked Halley was talking to Chao Chang." Hector watched her expression carefully as it changed from worry to weary. "You can be happy for her. It's also good that she likes someone, the distraction should be nice until we have to start studying more for our OWL's." He mentally ran though his schedule and started to make plans on what needed to be changed. There wasn't much time between now and what could determine their future.

Rory's long nose wrinkled when he mentioned the exams. She opened the door to another classroom and let him in first. "I'm happy for her, really. It's just that she saw Chang's girlfriend die, so I think it's going to become awkward dating conversation for them. Halley doesn't do awkward well."

"Then who do you think she should be with? Your brother who has happily moved on?" Hector remembered seeing Gid going on a date with Michelle Corner in Hogsmeade the other week.

"At least I know my brother and I can trust him," Rory said. She crossed her arms under her chest and her lower lip was pouting. "I don't know Chang that well, and that bothers me—Is that bloody mistletoe?"

Hector felt very out of place as his eyes moved up to see the green-leafed plant above them. The red berries twinkled from the combined light coming from their wands. He couldn't bring himself to say anything, really. Rory's blush creped down her collarbone and her blue eyes were looking at the wall behind him rather than on him. She also wasn't speaking.

"Um," he articulated. The earlier tension from the small argument took a sudden shift, and his wide vocabulary came up short. "Well, uh. I wasn't expecting this."

"No kidding, I thought Umbridge banned these." A long strand of her hair fell over her face. Out of reflex he pushed it away and curled it over her ear…and her cheek was very soft…and her hair had a very smooth texture like what he'd imagined…Suddenly, all Hector could really think about weren't his friends dating, but of freckles, pink lips, and sweet-smelling hair. Her face was close to his and he could see the individual freckles that were near her upper lip…

"Spider!" Rory stumbled away from him and jumped on a desk. "Bloody hell! It's right behind you!"

Hector looked over his shoulder and saw what could be the biggest tarantula on the face of the earth. It raised a furry leg and its large pinchers made snapping noises. He yelped and also jumped on the desk next to her. Rory clung onto him for dear life and shouted at the monster to go away.

It inched closer.

Rory gave a shrill yelp near his ear.

He fumbled for his wand but her tight grip was preventing anything from happening. The tarantula moved again towards them. Rory took her shoe off and chucked it. It flew in the air with a shaky arc, but the hard sole smashed into the tarantula's head. The last thing that it had seen was probably a redhead shrieking and then the bottom of her shoe. One of its many legs gave a final twitch and Hector knew that it was dead.

My hero, he thought. "You killed Leslie's spider." Her arm was still around him, and when he moved his head to congratulate her—or to kiss her—all he got was a mouthful of her hair.

"It was an act of self defense," Rory argued. She didn't appear to notice him. "I saved our lives for all we know."

Hector tried to tell her that he knew that, but he was spitting her hair out. Sure it smelled like flowers, but it tasted like hair. He was disappointed when she removed her arm and watched her get off the desk. She hobbled over to the dead tarantula and gingerly held her shoe up.

"Gross! There's spider guts on here!" Rory shook her shoe and only made it more of a mess. Her plait was undone and the way the red strands moved reminded him of fire. "Get it off, get it off, get it off!"

Hector climbed off the desk and had to smile despite the insanity of the situation. "Are you a witch or not?" he mocked. He steadied her hand and did the charm to Vanish the spider remains from her shoe. "See? Much better."

Rory smiled sheepishly. She squeezed his hand and he felt a jolt. "Thanks." They both looked up and saw that the mistletoe was still there. Seizing the moment, Hector moved his head down to show her his appreciation…but she pressed her palm against his chest. "We—we should go tell Leslie that I killed her pet." Rory's voice sounded higher and her blue eyes were very bright. She stepped away.

Hector's chest felt heavy and the rejection stung. He could only stare at her and wonder why and what he did wrong. Things were going so well between them lately, and this was the best that things had been for them so far. They'd barely argued, they were working together more and helping each other…

"Come on." Rory was already out the door. "Halley needs us."

And they were always going to put their friendship for Halley first. She needed them more right now more than ever. Hector looked up at the mistletoe. He sighed and imagined of what could have been. Maybe one day…

"Right," he said. "I'm coming."