SWITCHED

CHAPTER ONE

"D'ya know what I think?" slurred Ron drunkenly. Gryffindor had just beaten Slytherin in the Quidditch Cup and, with the Weasley twins gone, it was now down to Harry and Ron to supply the Gryffindors with party food. They couldn't help but 'borrow' a bit of alcohol too.

"I don't know, Ron, tell me what you think," replied Harry, just as drunkenly. Thye had been engaged in a drinking competition with Seamus and Dean and all four of them were absolutely plastered.

"I think …" he began, but passed out before he could finish his sentence.

"Hey, look, everyone!" yelled Seamus. "Weasley has passed out!"

"Quick, who has a magic marker?" cried Emma. Everyone turned to look at her.

"What's a magic marker?" asked Lavender. "No, actually – scrap that question. What the hell are you doing in our Common Room? You're a Ravenclaw!" Emma simply shrugged in that mysterious way of hers. No one knew where she had come from; she had just appeared one day and it was Dumbledore's orders that she should be Sorted, along with her friend, Alyson, who had been Sorted into Slytherin. They had been asked a thousand times where they had come from but had never given anything away and they both had the most annoying habit of turning up in the most random places. Like now, for instance.

"So, are we going to have some fun or not?" asked Seamus impatiently.

"Yes," replied Harry mischievously, "and I have just the plan …"

A few hours later, Ron started to wake up.

"Ah, my head," he groaned. He opened his eyes slowly and jumped in shock. Well, that was the plan, anyway, but he couldn't really do that, as he was tied to the chair he was sitting on. Not only was he tied to the chair he was sitting on, but the chair happened to be in Snape's dungeon. That, in itself, was bad enough, but he then realised that the only thing he was wearing was … a thong.

"They are so going to pay for this," he grumbled, trying to free himself from the ropes binding him to the chair. A few seconds of that and he quickly gave up. Then, to his horror, he heard voices coming from outside the dungeons. Luckily, though, it didn't sound like a teacher. It was two girls, although he had no idea who they were.

"OMG! Poor Hermione! And you say she hasn't told anyone?"

"No, she just seems so sensible, I don't see how a thing like that could happen to her."

"I know! I must admit, though, I do feel pretty sorry for Cho as well."

"Yeah, I know. I've never really liked her but you can't help but feel sorry for her."

"So, has Malfoy said anything to you about … well, you know?" The two girls both broke off into peals of laughter. The catch on the dungeon door turned and they both walked in. One of them was Emma DeLonge and the other was Alyson Russon.

"Oh, you're awake, then," said Emma, coming over and untying his bonds. "I thought I should just come and check on you to make sure nothing had happened to you. Come on, I'll help you back to the Gryffindor Common Room. Give us a hand, Ally." Together, Alyson and Emma hauled him off the chair and started to drag him across the dungeon.

"You know, for a weed, you do weigh a lot, Ron," moaned Ally.

"Say, Ally, you never did tell me why you were down here," said Emma.

"Oh, you know, just walking," mumbled Alyson, turning a bright red.

"At 3 a.m.?" scorned Emma.

"Maybe …" replied Ally in a squeaky voice.

"So, what were you guys talking about earlier?" asked Ron. "You mentioned something about Hermione and Malfoy …."

"Nothing!" they both cried at the same time, accidentally dropping Ron, who went skidding into the potions cupboard. He sat there in a crumpled heap, covered in some slimy, green stuff. Emma and Ally looked at each other and couldn't help but laugh their socks off at the sight.

"Why does everyone have to have so many secrets?" grumbled Ron, getting up. "You know, if I had the power, I would teach everyone a lesson about keeping secrets. It's so annoying; why can't you just face the pain and be honest?" he whined.

"Hey, there's a Muggle song like that!" exclaimed Emma and she started to sing. "Everybody wants to hide their secrets awaaaay, noobody wants to stand up to the paaain …"

"Come on, let's get you back to your Common Room," said Alyson, interrupting Emma's singing. Emma didn't seem to care, though; she carried on wailing.

"But I will STAND UP to the paaain, WAKE UP and fight agaaain …" That seemed to be the extend of her knowledge of the lyrics because she continued to 'la' the rest of the tune, putting a few lyrics in here and there.

"Emma, you can shut up now," said Alyson.

"If you could dance with me in this raaain … la, la, la, la … fight again!"

"Emma, Emma, Emma, Emma, Emma, Emma, SHUT UP!" That brought a halt to Emma's singing. They left the dungeon quickly; breakfast was in a few hours. Behind them, the remainder of the green gunge that now covered Ron began to glow. Outside, a gust of wind blew through the castle grounds, but no one stirred. As the early morning sun began to rise, a piercing scream sounded somewhere in the castle, waking everyone up, soon joined by several other screams from around the castle …