Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, the locations, or friends and enemies.
Author's Note: Hah. Surprisingly, it wasn't Placebo who innovated me for this ficlet /gasp/. It was actually Keane's "The Frog Prince". Just the title was inspiration enough.
Pardon if the story is a bit off. My beta isn't too fond of fluffy stories, so she left the editing up to me. Enjoy!
The Frog Prince
Sludge dripped off the drapes of Professor Minerva McGonagall's classroom and made a squish as it hit the aged oak floors. Everything in eyesight was covered in the muddy mess. The young first years huddled around the entrance, trying to be as far away from the sludge as possible. Several house elves were working hard to get rid of the wreckage, but it would only reappear in abundance. The students' voices became louder and louder, all wondering what could have caused the transfiguration room to look quite marsh-like.
"Quiet down, quiet down!" shouted Professor Minerva McGonagall as she bustled to the front of the classroom. The young witches and wizards abruptly ended all conversation at the sound of their teacher's shrill voice. "Due to the obvious conditions of my classroom, given credit to a certain pair of twins who are now serving a detention," the professor cleared her throat and frowned at Ronald Weasley, "we will take our work outdoors." She picked up a few of her important books and made her way to the exit. The students stared as she stepped over various sludge piles. Professor McGonagall turned and said, "Come along, now! We don't have all day!" Harry, Ron and Hermione—along with the rest of the first-years—quickly gathered their belongings and rushed to catch up with the transfiguration master.
Once the class was situated in the garden near the Herbology greenhouses, the professor set her books and papers on top of a lone tree stump. "The reason I brought you outside was to teach you something a little more advanced than your year. And I don't need another mess in my classroom!"
The students looked at each other, wondering what she was talking about. "Today, you will learn how to change a small object into an animal. For instance," the transfiguration professor picked a milky-white dog rose and placed it on top of her books. She closed her eyes for a moment then reopened them. Her wand flicked and swished, as the first-years had learned in Charms. A second later, the piece of grass changed into a pristine, white dove. The students were pleasantly surprised by the bird as it smoothly flew away.
"Now, pair up and get started. Remember, all you need to know is in yourBeginner's Guide to Transfiguration textbooks. You are transfiguring small objects in this vicinity only! That means not your peers, Mr. Malfoy," she snapped. Draco was snickering at the thought of turning Harry into a fly, so killing the boy who lived was as easy as performing 'Wingardium Leviosa!' "I will be walking around if you need any help at all," the professor said as a final note before the students commenced the task.
Ron and Harry immediately paired, which left Hermione to fend for herself. She looked amongst her peers; almost everyone else was paired up as well, except for Neville. Hermione sighed, gathered her books, and headed over to the front of the group of students to sit by Neville.
Harry and Ron sat around their books with their legs crossed. Harry flipped to the table of contents in search of the section Professor McGonagall had mentioned. He looked up from his reading for a moment to watch his peers in action. He saw Draco partnered with Pansy Parkinson. The Slytherin boy looked up from his work and saw that Harry was staring at him, so the blond snarled. Harry quickly looked away, but not before he returned the favor of glaring back to Draco.
The young Gryffindor's wandering eyes fell upon Hermione and Neville. Harry giggled when he saw that the flower Neville was trying to transfigure burst into flames. Hermione turned to the raven-haired boy and glared.
"Hermione must have the hearing of a bat," Harry muttered.
"Tell me about it," Ron replied. Harry looked back at Hermione; she was still glaring, but this time with a more hateful look directed at Ron.
Harry picked up a twig and studied it. He didn't know what to turn it into. Harry referred back to his book and decided on the easiest word to say: rana, meaning frog.
Ferula adfectio rana.
Harry concentrated on the twig. It was too hard. Thinking of frogs made him keep recalling an amusing incident that happened to Ron at the beginning of the year: He and Ron were waiting for Herbology to start. The red-head was peering into a plant that very much resembled Harry's Aunt Marge. Before Ron could look away, a dozen frogs leapt out of the leaves. They didn't attack Ron, but they must have found his head quite comfortable for they wouldn't get off of it. He was sent to the hospital wing, and every time he attended the class, Ron steered clear of the Nemus cantum: Tree of Croaks.
Harry snapped out of his daze. Ron was still having trouble with his blade of grass. He kept waving his wand at the grass, but nothing happened. Harry held up his twig once more. Ferula adfetio rana! He thought as hard as he could.
At that very instant, Harry watched as the spell came out of his wand, missed the twig and shot straight into Ron. Harry's eyes were borderline popping out of his skull as Professor McGonagall ran over to see the commotion. The students gathered in a circled around the now amphibian victim and his perpetrator.
"Oops," Harry whispered. What was now frog-Ron started to hop away. A group of girls to whom frog-Ron was headed for squealed and ran, which provided a gap for him to get away.
"Mr. Potter! What has happened?" Professor McGonagall wailed.
"I—well—the stick—and then Ron—" Harry sputtered. Draco chuckled and the transfiguration professor gave him an angry look that made his skin turn paler then his bleach blonde hair.
Hermione squeezed through the crowd and looked questioningly at Harry. "Where's—"
"Mr. Potter, I'd suggest you capture Mr. Weasley before he enters the forest!" McGonagall sternly said. Harry raised himself off of the ground as fast as he could and started running after his leaping friend.
"Professor, may I go along with Harry?" Hermione asked. "You know, in case he gets lost."
"Quickly, my dear!" McGonagall replied, as Hermione ran down the crooked stone steps towards Hagrid's hut.
"Harry!" Hermione yelled, "Harry, you've got to slow down!"
Harry stopped abruptly and Hermione managed to catch up quickly. "Wow," she panted, "you listened!"
"No, it's that." Harry pointed ahead of him, "The Forbidden Forest."
"Oh," chills ran up and down Hermione's spine as the atmosphere seemed to have become a few degrees colder, "right."
Harry breathed deeply. He set one foot inside the forest when Hermione grabbed his arm and pulled him back.
"You can't!" she said, "It's forbidden for a reason!"
"Who else is going to save Ron? He probably doesn't know anything when he's a frog." When Hermione didn't try to talk more sense into Harry, he ran into the forest.
"Drat!" Hermione muttered as she stealthily walked in after her friend.
It wasn't but two unsure steps into the Forbidden Forest when Hermione heard a thud, followed by a "Gotcha!" Harry emerged from the shadows carrying amphibian-Ron. "How do we reverse it?
Hermione thought a moment. "Oh, if only I had my books with me..."
"I think you know how, Hermione!"
"I do?" Hermione said, puzzled
"Yes you do." Harry said, smirking, "Kiss it—I mean him!"
Hermione was disgusted at the thought of it. "Why should I do that?"
"You do like Ron, don't you?"
"Well...wait. What does that have to do with kissing a frog?"
"Don't you believe in those silly fairy tales where the princess kisses the frog...or something?"
"Why are you pushing this, Harry?"
"What, do you think I'm going to kiss Ron?" Harry squeaked. "Yuck!"
Hermione sighed. Clearly she wasn't going to win this argument with stubborn Harry. "Give him to me."
Harry was surprised at the girl's sudden change of heart. "Ex—Excuse me?"
"You heard me," Hermione snatched frog-Ron out of Harry's hands. She raised the amphibian to the level of her eyes. As she puckered her lips, she heard a rustle in a bush next to Harry. "What was that?"
Harry cleared his throat obnoxiously. "What was what?" he said sweetly. "Now hurry, I think class is ending soon."
Hermione's jaw clenched as her eyes met the frog's once more. Her heart raced as her face became closer with its.
But before their lips touched, Hermione heard another loud rustle behind her. Ron had fallen out of the tree he had been hiding in, screaming, "SPIDERS! SPIDERS!"
Ron sprinted to Harry's side, shaking himself off and brushing his cloak and trousers for any arachnids that could be still attached, if there were any to begin with. He stared at the spider-ridden bush, and then at Hermione, who looked as if she was going to explode.
"Why you—" Hermione was so infuriated at the two boys that she couldn't even complete a sentence. "How did you—you almost made me—disgusting!" She wiped her lips and huffed at Ron and Harry before she stomped out of the woods, muttering angrily to herself.
"I think she likes you, mate," Harry said, grinning as they watched Hermione storm out of the forest.
Fin.