Disclaimer: The Hp series belongs to JKR. And this plot belongs to the Grimm Brothers...actually, its technically legal to use it because its been hundreds of years since it was published. The copy right on their stuff is not valid anymore...Whatever...I'm rambling.

A/N: Sooo...I took the story 'The Frog Prince,' (The Grimm Brothers version) and tweaked it here and there to make this...The Ferret Prince. I'll be doing a few random fairy tales once in a while and uploading them...Anyway, on to the main attraction!

But first, a round of applause to Miss Mary Sue for editing!

The Ferret Prince

In olden times, when wishing still helped one and magic still existed, there lived a King, King Granger, who had a daughter so beautiful that the sun itself, which had seen so much, was astonished whenever it shone in her face. This princess was christened with the name Hermione Jean Granger.

Close by King Granger's castle lay a great dark forest, and under an old vinewood tree in the forest was a well. When the days were very warm, Ms. Granger would go out into the forest and sit down by the side of the cool fountain, and when she was dull she took a book of fairy tales, and read through it over and over again. This book was her favorite thing in the world...

For years, the young princess dreamed of her own fairy tale. She dreamed of her prince, her one true love, coming to save her from the agonies of her boring, repetitive life. But they were only dreams. Just dreams, no more.

Now it so happened that on one occasion the princess's golden book slipped out of the princess's nimble fingers, on to the ground beyond, and toppled straight into the water.

Hermione followed it with her eyes, but it vanished, and the well was deep, so deep that the bottom could not be seen. All her eyes met was pitch black. Upon this happening, she began to yell, and yelled louder and louder, and could not be comforted. For you see, this princess had a mighty temper.

And as she thus bellowed, someone said to her, "What is wrong, Ms. Granger? You shout in a way that even a stone would show pity."

She looked round to the side from whence the voice came, and saw a ferret stretching forth its furry, ugly head from the water. "I am shouting for my favorite book, which has fallen into the well," said she; "Ah! You can swim can't you? Will you retrieve my book for me?"

"Be quiet, and do not yell," answered the ferret. "I can help you, but what you give me if I bring your book up again?"

"Whatever you will have, dear ferret," said Hermione—"my clothes, my pearls and jewels, and even the golden crown which I am wearing."

The ferret answered, "I do not care for your clothes, your pearls and jewels, or your golden crown, but if you will love me and let me be your companion and play-fellow, and sit by you at your little table, and eat off your little golden plate, and drink out of your little cup, and sleep in your little bed — if you will promise me this I will go down below, and bring your precious book up again."

"Oh, yes," exclaimed Hermione, "I promise you all you wish, if you will bring me my book back again." She, however, thought, 'How the silly ferret does talk! He lives in the forest with the other ferrets, and hisses. A ferret can be no companion to any human being!' But she kept her thoughts to herself, just wanting her book back.

The ferret, when he had received this promise, took a breath of air, put his head into the water, and sank down. In a short time he came swimming up again with the book settled between his mighty teeth, and threw it on the grass.

The princess was delighted to see her wonderful book once more. She picked it up and ran away with it.

"Wait, wait," called the frog. "Take me with you. I can't run as you are." But what did it avail him to scream his hiss, hiss, after her, as loudly as he could? She did not listen to it, but ran home and soon forgot the poor ferret, who was forced to go back into his well again.

------

The next day when she had seated herself at table with her father and all the courtiers, and was eating from her little golden plate, something came creeping 'thump thump, thump thump', up the marble staircase, and when it had got to the top, it knocked at the door and cried, "Princess, young Princess Hermione, open the door for me."

Hermione ran to see who was outside, but when she opened the door, there sat the ferret in front of it. Then she slammed the door to, in great haste, sat down to dinner again, and was quite frightened.

King Granger saw plainly that her heart was beating violently, and said, "My child, what are you so afraid of? Is there per chance a giant outside who wants to carry you away?"

"Ah, no," replied she, "it is not a giant, but a filthy, disgusting ferret."

"What does a ferret want with you?" he questioned curiously.

"Ah, dear father, yesterday when I was in the forest sitting by the well, reading, my book of fairy tales fell into the water. And because I yelled so much, the ferret brought it out again for me. And because he insisted so on it, I promised him that he should be my companion, but I never thought he would be able to come out of his water! And now he is outside there, and wants to come in to me."

In the meantime it knocked a second time, and cried,

"Princess, young princess!
Open the door for me!
Do you not know what you said to me
Yesterday by the cool waters of the fountain?
Princess, youngest princess!
Open the door for me!"

Then said the King, "If he is a ferret, it should be obvious that he could be able to come out of water. They are land dwelling creatures, even though this one seems like a capable swimmer. That which you have promised, you must perform. Go and let him in."

Princess Hermione went and opened the door, her head bowed in shame, and the ferret stepped in and followed her, step by step, to her chair.

There he sat and cried, "Lift me up beside you." She delayed, until at last the King commanded her to do it. When the ferret was on the chair, he wanted to be on the table, and when he was on the table, he said, "Now, push you little golden plate nearer to me that we may eat together."

She did this, but it was easy to see that she did not do it willingly, but rather out of force. The ferret enjoyed what he ate, but almost every mouthful she took choked her.

At length he said, "I have eaten and am satisfied; now I am tired, carry me into your little room and make your little silken bed ready. So we can both lie down and go to sleep."

The princess began to cry, for she was afraid of the furry ferret which she did not like to touch, and which was now to sleep in her pretty, clean little bed.

But King Granger grew angry and said, "He who helped you when you were in trouble should not afterwards, be despised by you in such a manner."

So she took hold of the ferret with two fingers, carried him upstairs, and put him in a corner. But when she was in bed he crept to her and said, "I am tired, I want to sleep as well as you, lift me up or I will tell your father."

Then she was terribly angry, and took him up and threw him with all her might against the wall. "Now, thou wilt be quiet, odious frog," screamed Hermione.

But when he fell down he was no ferret, but a king's son with beautiful, kind, grey eyes. He by her father's will was now her dear companion and husband. He said that he went by the name of Draco Malfoy. Hermione's heart thudded loudly in her chest, upon realizing that the ferret was a prince. A handsome prince.

Then he told her how he had been bewitched by a wicked wizard by the name of Voldemort, and how no one could have delivered him from the well but herself, and that tomorrow they would go together into his kingdom. Princess Hermione was in shock, but it was of a happy, blissful kind.

Then they went to sleep, and next morning when the sun awoke them, a carriage came driving up with eight white horses, which had white ostrich feathers on their heads, and were harnessed with golden chains, and behind stood Prince Draco's servant, faithful Blaise.

Faithful Blaise had been so unhappy when his master was changed into a ferret, that he had caused three iron bands to be laid round his heart, lest it should burst with grief and sadness.

The carriage was to conduct Prince Draco and Princess Hermione into his kingdom. Faithful Blaise helped them both in, placed himself behind again, and was full of joy because of this deliverance.

And when they had driven a part of the way, the King's son heard a cracking behind him as if something had broken. So he turned round and cried, "Blaise, the carriage is breaking."

"No, Master Daco, it is not the carriage. It is a band from my heart, which was put there in my great pain when you were a ferret and imprisoned in the well."

Again and once again while they were on their way something cracked, and each time the King's son thought the carriage was breaking, but it was only the bands which were springing from the heart of faithful Blaise because his master was set free and was happy.

Hermione got her fairy tale...They lived happily ever after.

The End.

A/N: Now some people who are reading this are probably like 'WTF! She throws him at a wall and he turns back into a prince? Where's the kiss?!'

Well, I made this adaption out of the Grimms version of the story. The real one. And in the real one, he was thrown at a wall in a fit of anger. If you don't understand why, I did some research and this is what I came up with this: In the tale, a spoiled princess reluctantly befriends a frog (by meeting him after dropping a gold ball into his pond), who magically transforms into a handsome prince. Although in modern versions the transformation is invariably triggered by the princess kissing the frog, in the original Grimm version of the story, the frog's spell was broken when the princess threw it against a wall in disgust. The violent act of the princess, throwing the frog against the wall, is a common folkloric trait of undoing shapeshifting magic. (source: Wikipedia)

Please do review...More to fairy tales to come....eventually!

XOXO

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