Those annoying A/N's: Hi Everyone! This is only my second fanfic so please don't expect it to be any good. If you're reading this then that means that you've actually clicked on my story, Thank you!!! I love getting reviews and they would be greatly appreciated, just please don't flame me!! Do I really need to put a disclaimer? Sigh...okay I don't own Harry Potter, or any of the characters here. If I did I wouldn't be sitting here I would be in some mansion in England having tea with Prince William! I changed the story a bit and run spell check! BIG APOLOGIES TO ALL THOSE WHO READ THE FIRST VERSION OF THIS STORY!! Hope you like this one a lot better!
Anywho, enough of my rambling, I hope you enjoy...
Potion Panic
Chapter One: Harry, The Bathroom, and another Potion Debacle!
Hermione Granger drinks a "love potion" and accidentally turns herself into a boy! She has to keep her identity hidden as she tries to find a cure and live as a Slytherin exchange student, so what happens when she finds herself falling for her worst enemy? H/D! CH.1 TOTALLY REVISED!! R/R
It was midnight at Hogwart's school of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
The halls of the castle were silent except for the distant meowing of Mrs. Norris, the random shifting of a staircase, and the soft howling of a passing wind outside. Stillness fell over the building like a blanket. Even the ghosts that usually drifted through and across the many rooms seemed to have retired for the night, allowing for empty passageways all around the enchanted school. Darkness loomed over the stone walls as students and professors alike drifted asleep.
Except for one.
Slowly, ever so slowly, Harry Potter made his way across a long corridor, his invisibility cloak draped protectively around him, as he took silent, quick steps forward. Even though Harry had been in his share of adventures and more often than not had taken late-night trips with his cloak, he could feel his heart beating loudly in his chest and his ears were pounding as he reached a corner and he pressed his body against the cold stone-wall. His brilliant green eyes peeked towards the next hall and he breathed a sigh of relief to find it completely empty.
Quickly, he began to walk once more towards his destination. His mind wandered to the folded note in the pocket of his pajamas and he shook his head to clear it, trying to keep his mind focused on the familiar route to the girl's bathroom on the first floor.
But, it's so unlike her... Harry thought, his mind traveling back to the note. He shifted his gaze down to the bundle of clothes he held in his free hand, and he could feel curiosity prickling in his blood. The truth was, it was curiosity that had him up at this hour and traveling to Moaning Myrtles haunting place more than anything, curiosity because he had been summoned there by someone he would never have expected to break school rules.
Hermione Granger.
The last time Harry had seen his clever friend was in the great hall as they ate their usual dinner while candlesticks floated around them. Harry and Ron had been engrossed in a conversation about Quidditch and the young wizard had to admit to himself that he hadn't talked to Hermione much; she had been quiet!
The enchanted sky had been a festival of twinkling stars and Hermione kept glancing up, a nervous smile on her face as she played with her fork. Then, she had abruptly gotten up and dashed up, mumbling something that neither Harry nor Ron had quite been able to understand.
"Where do you think she's off too in such a hurry?" Ron had asked in between mouthfuls of peppercorn streak.
"Who knows! She's been acting strange for days."
And then, Harry and Ron had slowly made their way to the common room, did their homework (well, tried to do it…Hermione wasn't around so they had an excuse!) played a quick game of wizards chess, gone off to bed, and around eleven, just as Harry was drifting off to sleep, Hedwig had woken him up with the note, landing right smack in his face.
Dong. Dong. Dong.
The deep echoing of a distant clock striking the hour brought Harry back form his short reverie. He let a yawn escape from his lips and he squinted his eyes, the first floor was always the darkest, and the torch lights that usually illuminated the halls had already been put out for the night, making it much harder to see. He felt a wave of excitement as he reached the door to the bathroom and hesitated for only a brief second before he pushed his way through.
"Stop" a strange voice, said the minute Harry had taken his first step into the bathroom. "Don't come any closer."
"Err..." Harry peered through his glasses ahead but the bathroom was like a cave, totally black. "It's me, Harry..."
"Did you bring the clothes?"
"Yeah." A bewildered Harry let the invisibility cloak drop and looked towards his hands, where he held a spare male uniform for the school, bundled up in a wrinkled ball. His curiosity was at full-peak as he added, "I couldn't bring the shoes, and I only have one pair."
"Toss them, please." The voice said shakily.
Harry took a step forward, then stopped abruptly.
"Don't come any closer!" the voice snapped, " I said, TOSS them please!"
The young dark, haired wizard suddenly became annoyed (who did this character think he was?) but he did as the voice told him and threw the clothes into the darkness. He heard it drop with a loud rustle, then it sounded as if someone took a step forward, gathered them up, and a door creaked, announcing that the stranger had slipped into a bathroom stall.
Harry was totally confused. The voice he had heard was definitely male, and it shocked him slightly because it was not what he had expected at all. A male voice meant whoever was in the bathroom was not the person that had summoned him. Harry suddenly felt himself tense up. What if all this was some Slytherin prank?
The darkness of the bathroom began to weigh heavily on the boy's shoulders. As Harry pushed his glasses up, he felt inside his pajama pocket for his wand with his free hand. It was only when he felt his fingers curl around the slender wooden wand that he let himself relax.
It felt as if an hour passed by before Harry heard the voice disembodied voice again.
Okay..." Harry heard a sigh, "You can come closer now."
Harry held his breath and walked straight into the bathroom. At first, he saw nothing until his eye caught a hint of something slowly emerging from the shadows and he quickly turned in that direction. He heard a soft creaking sound then a sudden faint glow filled the area. That is when he saw the owner of the voice.
A young man, probably around sixteen years old, the same age as Harry, stepped into a shimmering beam of moonlight that suddenly poured in from a high window and served to illuminate his features. Pale, with a frightened expression, he was wearing Harry's creased uniform, which fit his perfectly on his skinny frame. He moved forward until he was only a few feet from Harry and then stopped. They stood like that, staring at each other for a few seconds as silence loomed over the walls of the bathroom.
No, it just can't be.
Realization struck Harry like thunder. His uncertain voice was a whisper as he finally spoke, "...Hermione?"
The boy nodded miserably.
"WHAT?!?" Harry exploded. His vivid green eyes widened like saucers and his mouth dropped open in complete disbelief. Harry Potter, amazing wizard, the boy-who-lived, Griffindor seeker, you name it, he had seen many strange things in his six years at Hogwarts, but this was too much for him.
Harry stared ahead at him, completely bewildered as he watched the boy bring a finger to his lips, motioning for Harry to be quiet. The dark haired youth then sunk to his knees, a look of complete misery passing over the young face.
Harry gradually got on his knees as well and studied the stranger in front of him. The boy looked up, and there gazes met.
No way!! Could it really be?
Yes, he saw the resemblance now. The large, syrupy-brown eyes rimmed with long inky lashes, the deep brown hair (much shorter now, so it fell over his forehead in unruly wisps), and the fair skin. It was Hermione all right, only taller, and in boy-form.
It was just...too...strange!
"Oh, Harry, this is horrible!
Harry Potter couldn't help but pull a face and blink several times as the words came out of the boy's mouth. The young man saw this and cast his gaze to the ground, bowing his head in shame.
Harry felt slightly bad but he couldn't help it; it was the strangest thing to see Hermione sitting there, with the same coloring and features of his clever friend and yet a voice so unlike Hermione's gentler, light one. The boy spoke a bit like Ron, his voice already holding the hints of deepness but still sweeter, not yet a full male one.
"Hermione, what the...what happened?" he managed to croak out.
Hermione's boy form propped his arms up against his knees and stared ahead, ashen-faced. "Oh Harry! Do you really have to ask? I'll tell you, but first....Did we have any homework for Defense Against the Dark Arts?"
"Hermione!! You've got to be joking, look at you, and you're thinking about homework!"
"I made a mistake in the new potion!" Hermione blurted out.
"You made a MISTAKE?"
"Yes, I don't understand it..." Hermione raised a hand to rub her new body's chin. she furrowed her brows together in concentration and got that hard, calculated look in her eyes that even in boy form, wiped all of Harry's doubts away in a second. Hermione always got that look when she was thinking. Despite himself, Harry shivered.
What is the world coming too if Hermione GRANGER made a mistake.
"I don't understand it." Hermione repeated, "I made the secret potion exactly as I was supposed too, I waited the exact time..." Suddenly, her eyes widened and a hand quickly shot to her face, but it was too late.
Made a HUGE mistake.
"Secret potion?" Harry gaped at Hermione, "secret potion?" he repeated, shocked, surprised, stupefied. The boy flushed slightly and whispered something like,
"It's a long story."
"Hermione..." Harry scratched his unique black hair that stuck up in all sorts of directions. He raised an eyebrow, "Earlier this week you told me that you were working on a PolyJuice Potion so we could turn into Crabbe and Goyle again. We were all going to take it together!"
"I know, that one's done. But I wanted to try my other potion out now that it's the weekend so I..." Hermione flushed slightly and broke off.
Harry felt slightly uncomfortable as he looked at the somber youth in front of him, he felt really sorry for Hermione but he couldn't mask the slight anger that bubbled inside him. They were all friends and had been through so much that now that they were sixth years, keeping secrets from each other just seemed strange and suspicious. "Hermione, you should have waited for me and Ron! Or at least told us about this secret potion! Since when do we keep secrets from each other? Why didn't you wait for us? We could have helped!"
"I doubt it." Hermione said warily.
"Why?" Harry demanded.
"Well... it was a love potion" she whispered.
Harry gaped at her for a second, he opened his mouth to talk and then clamped it shut. A wave of shame passed through his body at his snappish reaction.
"Exactly." Hermione said, looking as if she wanted to crawl under a hole and die.
"Well, At least you're not a cat." He offered lamely, cringing slightly at the sudden memory of Hermione's cat-like form in second year, another PolyJuice Potion Debacle! Hermione frowned, suddenly standing up. Harry watched her boy frame incredulously as she walked over to a mirror, staring at her masculine reflection. "I'm not a cat alright".
She brought her hands to her face and tears began to form in her eyes, I can't...this is rubbish Harry! I can't deal with this."
Harry stood up; he stepped forward and softly patted Hermione's back. "There, there mate," he said softly.
Hermione suddenly turned, as a boy she was slightly taller than Harry, but that didn't stop her from rushing forward and throwing her arms around him in a tight hug, "Harry, I'm going to be in so much trouble!" she sobbed. Tears began to flow down her cheeks, and her voice rose considerably " I am a boy!!! I'm a BOY! What am I going to do???"
Harry stood frozen stiff, a bit stunned at being hugged by another male. Even if it was Hermione inside, he felt really odd. "Um...Hermione this is a little wier-..."
"Dumbledore is going to expel me, I know it!!" Hermione sobbed, tightening her grip on Harry." WHAT AM I GOING TO DO HARRY?
"Hermiychoking mff." Harry choked out.
"Oh, sorry..." Hermione instantly let go and stepped back, realizing she wasn't aware of her own strength. She raised her hands to rub her new face and Harry they were shaking. He was quiet for a minute, listening to his friends muffled sobs, then he glanced at Hermione and grinned, "Hey Hermione, look at us, we've forgotten we go to the best school of witchcraft and wizardry! I'll just take you to the hospital wing and they can surely cure you there. We've been in worse situations than these anyways, remember when I had to re-grow my bones?"
"But Harry..." Hermione sighed, "I did this to myself! I'm worried about all the house points we'll loose, and I'm a prefect.... i...if I get expelled..."
"You won't. We'll talk to Dumbeldore, no one has to know about this but you and me" Harry's green eyes flashed determinedly from behind his round glasses as he put his hands on Hermione's shoulders and gave them a squeeze, "I won't even tell Ron."
Hermione smiled weakly and flushed. Ronald Weasley, the reason for this whole mess! What had she been thinking when she decided to create a love potion for him?
Harry, apart from her best friend Ginny Weasley, was the only person in the whole school that new about Hermione's feelings for the red-haired prefect. Ron would have a heart attack if he saw her now!! Hermione felt a wave of affection for Harry for even thinking about that, his words gave her courage and she nodded slowly, forcing herself to forget about her new body until she spoke to Dumbledore. She swallowed hard, that was not going to be easy, but she had made her bed, she had to lie in it.
"You promise me you won't tell?" Hermione asked uncertainly, gazing up at her friend with wide eyes. She watched as Harry opened his mouth to answer, then he shut it again quickly. His face became drained of color and his hands dropped from her shoulders as his eyes narrowed. They seemed to be looking beyond Hermione, to something just behind. A small feeling of apprehension gripped her as she quickly twisted around.
Hermione felt her whole body freeze. Her entire being was ice as a feeling of horror rippled across her blood.
Draco Malfoy was standing behind her, leaning against the door of the window. A slow, mallicious grin curved his lips as he said in an icy voice. "I promise."