A/N: Okay so slowly reaching the end of my school term and it's agonizing. It certainly doesn't help when the teachers start giving the bigger projects right when you feel you don't have enough time to do anything and everything. So after working my ass off since the beginning of the week I decided that I needed a much needed break from school work and got cracking on editing chapter 3 and I feel soooooo much better! Though I only hope that I didn't make Draco seem out of character or anything. Oh no more anxiety!


Desperate Measures

"There she is," nudged Zabini as he and Malfoy walked along the empty corridor. Far down the hallway Autwin had just exited out of the Great Hall and was making her way towards the Grand staircase.

"Come on," urged Zabini as he lead the way following her making sure to stay a safe distance from the Ravenclaw so as to not be noticed yet close enough to be aware of where she was heading. Malfoy held back some distance still not a hundred percent certain about his friend's plan. His idea seemed more ludicrous than anything else. The two Slytherins followed the girl up to the fifth floor before seeing her disappear through her House portrait hole still completely unaware that she was being followed.

"Alright, you ready?" Zabini asked turning towards his friend. He himself was very excited about getting his plan put into action.

"I changed my mind," Malfoy said hastily before walking away.

"What? Why? You agreed to this, after all."

"Because this is ridiculous!" Malfoy snapped. And it was. This plan was utterly horribly ridiculous. Thinking back on it Malfoy had no idea why at first he even thought this plan of theirs was brilliant to begin with. He and Zabini had sorted out all the details, he had sent a letter to his parents giving an excuse of why he needed to stay at the castle and was, therefore, unable to come home for the holidays. He received very little argument from them since they had been debating about taking a trip to Romania; so everything worked out well on that part. That was phase one of the so-called "plan". It was the next part of it where he would feel like a complete fool if he continued along with it. Malfoy admitted that at first it did sound like a pretty good plan in the moment of it, but now he was having second thoughts.

"Oh, no! You are not backing out of this. I did not stay here at school to help you only to have you chicken out."

"I'm not doing this," Malfoy argued back.

"Then what do you propose we do? Doesn't seem like you're going to ask her upfront anytime soon."

"I don't care what you say so forget it," Malfoy said with a tone of finality as he turned and walked away down the corridor.

Zabini let out a breath of frustration at his friend's sudden change of mind before pulling out his wand from his pocket. "Bloody stubborn ass of a git."

Directing the tip of his wand at Malfoy he cast his spell immediately seeing the effects of his enchantment work its magic.

With his back turned Malfoy was not prepared as he felt the spell hit him squarely in the back and suddenly the entire corridor was spinning around him. He felt himself collapse to the stone floor and he waited for everything to stop moving as a wave of dizziness overcame him. When the walls finally seemed to remain still again he saw a pair of black, shiny shoes in his line of vision.

"Sorry, Draco," hearing Zabini's voice Malfoy turned his head up to see that his friend had become the size of a giant, "but you really left me no choice."

'No, he didn't,' Malfoy thought frozen at the simple thought of what Zabini had done. Looking down at his form he saw that he was, in fact, covered head to toe with sleek silver fur. With his tiny paws he felt around his face to feel a short narrow snout and twitching white whiskers. Flashbacks from fourth year began to fill his mind as Malfoy immediately turned a fierce glare up towards Zabini, which only seemed to amuse the Slytherin. "Oh, don't give me that look. It's your own fault for being as stubborn as you are."

Malfoy started yelling at him for his stupidity only to have his words come out in tiny squeaks of gibberish. "Sorry mate, I don't speak ferret," Zabini laughed with clear amusement. "Now remember the plan-if you want me to change you back all you have to do is find me. Also keep in mind from what we had researched that you can't stay in that form for more than twenty-four hours or you'll risk losing your memories just like Autwin. Good luck, Draco." With that said Zabini swiftly made his way down the corridor and out of sight before Malfoy could get any idea of chasing him down for revenge at what he had just done. He had a feeling that he would be getting an earful for this later.

Watching his friend leave him behind Malfoy, without hesitation, began cursing Zabini in his head for what he had just done to him. He shouldn't be so shocked really as he was, in fact, a Slythrin. Even if he did chase his friend down, he doubted Zabini would change him back unless he did some undercover work about Autwin.

'You'll pay for this, Zabini,' he thought darkly as he began to brainstorm just what kind of punishment he would get back at with his friend. Well, at least for the moment, he didn't have to worry about anyone coming along and…

"Hey! Look at that," a voice rang throughout the hallway. Quickly turning around Malfoy saw what appeared to be a group of first years begin to circle around him. Where on Earth did they come from? There were four of them, all boys, and since they were dressed in their normal clothes there was no way to tell which Houses they were from.

"What is it?"

'Are you bloody kidding me?' Malfoy thought. Apparently, this one needed to get his eyes examined.

"Looks like a rat." And that one, too.

"It's a ferret, genius." Well, least someone had some common sense.

"Well, what's it doing around here?"

"Who cares?" the first boy asked as he pulled out his wand, "Let's have some fun with it. Wingardium Leviosa!"

Before Malfoy could make a move the boy cast the simple levitation spell on him and he had no way to break it as the boy lifted him higher into the air. Soon he was hovering up almost as high as the ceiling. The others simply watched and laughed at this little bit of fun as he twisted and squirmed trying to break free. At least they had no clue that this was in fact a sixth year they were dealing with and Malfoy would be certain to memorize each and everyone of their faces for much needed payback later.

'I hate first years,' he groaned inwardly as he tried to figure just how he was going to escape this humiliating situation at the hands of these simpletons. Malfoy just hoped that they didn't come up with the brilliant idea to turn him yellow or any other sort of nonsense.

"This is great," one boy said through his laughter, "with no Prefects monitoring the corridors there isn't really anyone around to spoil our fun."

"No, but there are older sisters who love to lecture their younger brothers."

Hearing the voice of intrusion all four boys whipped their heads around causing the one boy casting the enchantment to lose his focus on the spell leaving Malfoy free to fall to the ground. About halfway down before he would meet with the hard stone floor Malfoy felt himself being jerked up in midair to see that it was Autwin that had come to his rescue.

With her wand in hand Krista directed the poor creature back onto solid ground before she saw it scurry off under the safety of a nearby tapestry.

"Uh oh, it's your sister," murmured the one who had just hidden his wand away.

The boy with messy brown hair with strands sticking up here and there rolled his green eyes. "Thanks for telling me."

Sticking her wand back into her jean pocket Krista strolled up to the group ready to give them a lecture on proper magic usage. "What were you boys doing to that poor ferret?"

"We were just practicing, Krista."

She sighed, "Then use a feather or some other unanimated object. Don't go using living things."

The boy looked to his feet with a guilty expression on his face. "Sorry, we were just bored. There isn't really much to do around here."

"Come on, a group of first years like yourselves should be able to find something to do. You have a whole castle to explore; you can play wizards chess, or better yet go outside and play in the snow," pointing out to a nearby window where a whole winter wonderland awaited just outside the castle walls.

"Snowball fight," said one boy enthusiastically at the thought of playing out on the grounds.

"Let's go, then!" cried another.

The three boys ran off without a second thought to fetch their winter clothes, not noticing that the fourth of their party had stayed behind.

Krista looked quizzically down at the shaggy brown-haired boy still wearing the guilty look. "Something on your mind, Warren?"

"I was wondering," he began shyly, "if you could help me with some homework later. I'm having trouble with some of my classes."

"Of course," she smiled sweetly, "we'll meet up later and talk about doing a little homework session in the library sometime, okay?"

"Okay."

"Alright, now run along and have a good time with your friends," pushing him in the direction of where his friend's had headed.

"But, what about you?" he looked back. "Your friends all went home for the holidays. What are you going to do?"

"Oh, I'm sure I'll come up with something. I was actually heading down to the library," pulling at the leather strap of her book bag hanging off her shoulder.

"You want to come play with us?" the boy offered.

"Thanks for the offer, but there is no need to worry about me," she said before tousling his hair making it even messier than it was before. "You just go and have fun, got it?"

The young boy turned and hugged her, "Thanks, Krista," he mumbled into her jumper before pulling away and waving goodbye as he went to catch up with his friends.

From under the cover of the tapestry Malfoy watched all this seeing Autwin shake her head at the boys antics before continuing on her way to the staircase. The boy had seemed to be a little too friendly towards her than the normal relationship between junior and senior students. Watching her go Malfoy decided that he might as well follow her since Zabini had put him in the state he was in and most likely wouldn't turn him back unless he did something about the Ravenclaw.

The library was practically deserted like everywhere else in the school, but that didn't stop the librarian, Ms. Pryce, from searching the stacks like a hawk for anyone who might dare break the rules or harm one of her precious books that she was charged with. Malfoy had to carefully avoid being spotted by her. Making his way through the room Malfoy finally spotted Autwin sitting in a secluded corner all on her own. She couldn't have been sitting there for less than five minutes when he saw that git Eversion creep out from the stacks to approach her.


Krista could have heard his heavy breathing from a mile away.

"Oh, sugar plum," she muttered to herself as she inwardly cursed the predicament that she was about to find herself in.

"Hey, Krissy," he breathed into her ear.

His voice and his unmentionably bad breath nearly made her gag at the smallest whiff of it. It seemed that Daniel forgot the purpose of a toothbrush and toothpaste. Though she highly doubted that minty fresh breath would make him anymore appealing to her. "Go away," Krista grounded out not taking her eyes off the pages of her book.

"What? You looked like you were lonely," he insisted as he pulled a chair out for himself and sat right beside her. This really put a snag into her plans for some quiet time for herself.

Idly turning the page, Krista replied, "I prefer my solitude."

Daniel smirked, "Come on, a pretty girl like you shouldn't be alone at this time of the year."

Krista rolled her eyes. By "this time of year" he, of course, meant Christmas and, due to his stupidity, assumed that every girl needed to have a boyfriend to cope with any depression that they might have of the thought of being alone around the holidays. She wasn't that desperate and if anyone was desperate here it was her ex who was far too clingy to let anything, meaning their old relationship, go. "You know, I see you talking but all I'm hearing is blah, blah, blah." Yes, it was childish, but apparently having an adult conversation, as proven before, was completely lost on the Hufflepuff and he was the senior of the two of them.

"Aw, don't be like that," he cooed while draping an arm over the back of her chair.

Krista felt her nose twitch as an unpleasant odor infiltrated her nostrils instantly overcoming her sense of smell. With the highly overwhelming smell it was hard to determine what exactly the scent was, but overall it seemed to be a clash of spices that were just thrown together without a second thought with the maker not caring about the final product.

'Oh my god he's actually wearing cologne,' she thought as the stench of it began to overwhelm her. This is it, this is what was going to kill her. Krista coughed as she tried not to breath in the stuff or else she would feel the need to empty her stomach. And hopefully it would be right over him. Though what she really needed was clean air and she needed it now.

"Ah, you smell that do you? It's my new cologne. You like it?" Daniel purred.

Krista gagged before swiftly collecting her belongings, "Yes, it's very appealing. You smell like you have rolled around in dragon dung." She hastily got up hoping to make a quick exit but Daniel grabbed at her wrist jerking her back into her seat.

This all felt like deja vu to her. Krista was instantly reminded of what happened the last time Daniel had the nerve to touch her. It was almost as if she were back in the Great Hall wanting the same thing she did right now-to make a fast exit. He had roughly snatched at her wrist then just like he was doing now. "Let go," she growled already picturing exactly were this was going to lead.

Daniel held his ground, "No," he said wearing this arrogant smug grin on his face that she just wanted to smack right off.

She tried pulling her hand free from his grip and when she did he just held on even tighter. The pressure he was putting on her wrist was now starting to hurt, but no way was she going to let him see that. Putting on a tough act she spat out, "Remember what happened the last time you touched me? I'd hate to put another dent in that pretty face of yours."

If possible his grin seemed to get even wider, "Well, that's not… ow!" he exclaimed as he suddenly released her. Krista didn't know what was the cause of his pain, but she wasn't going to question it.

"Bastard," she hissed before fully slapping him right across the face with her now free hand. Without a second look Krista fled out of the library before Daniel could register what had just happened.

As fast as she could Krista walked briskly down the corridor hoping to get out of range before Daniel decided to pursue her and slipped into an empty classroom shutting the door firmly behind her. Hearing the door lock with a solid click Krista pressed herself against it listening for any sign of movement outside. She didn't have to wait long to hear the sound of footsteps rush by the door before they fading down the hallway, hopefully not to return. Letting out a breath of air that she had been holding in Krista pressed her back against the door relieved for the moment to have escaped her tormentor. Turning her attention to the room Krista saw that she was in one of the Defense Against the Dark Arts room instantly recognizable due to the large skeletal dragon that hung suspended above the room. She walked further into the room slowly taking her time making her way down the main aisle that separated the four rows of desks. Finally, she plopped herself down in a random seat before closing her eyes and soaking in all the peace and quiet that she sadly was not able to find in the library. Taking a deep breath she was somewhat able to relieve some of the weight that she felt on her shoulders before opening her eyes to see a white ferret sitting on the desk before her.

"Jeeze!" Krista exclaimed just before she lost her balance and fell right flat onto her back. The fall knocked the wind right out of her as she collided with the hard, cold, stone floor.

"I'm seeing things, right?" she groaned before looking up to see that there was, in fact, a ferret curiously staring right at her position on the floor. Looking more closely Krista saw that the ferret was more of a sleek silver, but still had an off-white colour to it. It appeared to be full-grown with no other markings that some ferrets were known to have decorating its body. Its black shiny eyes seemed to have some sort of mischievous glint in them almost as if it were laughing at the tumble she had taken.

On the desk top Malfoy looked down at the slightly bewildered Ravenclaw in amusement. He didn't expect his sudden appearance to register such an appealing reaction. Back in the library he had stayed out of sight underneath the desk table that Autwin had occupied when he saw Eversion approach her. He had listened to their conversation long enough to see the Snugglepuff grab her before he slashed at him with his sharp claws allowing Autwin to get away. From there he had just hitched a ride in her book bag to end up here. Her slapping Eversion was just the cherry on top for him. Autwin always knew how to pack a punch and he knew first hand just how much.

Malfoy saw Autwin pick herself up, "For the love of Merlin, where did you come from?" she asked retaking her seat. She looked him up and down before recognition dawned on her face. "You're the ferret from earlier today," she smiled thinking back to the levitating ferret she had grounded earlier that day. "Have you been following me?" she looked down at it obviously not expecting it to answer. All it did was blink its small black eyes at her. "And I'm talking to a ferret. Oh, I can just hear Becca making smart comments about that," she laughed to herself running a hand through her hair. "Who cares I talk to Farrence all the time, anyways."

As he listened to her ramble on Malfoy stared at her quizzically, 'Does she always talk to animals like this?' The way that she went on gave him the impression that she did this on a regular basis. He had seen her talk to her bird many times, but instead of thinking of her as a complete loony for doing so he found himself wondering how she originally picked up the habit.

Malfoy focused back on reality when he heard her breathe out a small sigh, "So I suppose I have you to thank for your small act of heroism back there, huh?" Krista could only guess, but she had a small feeling that the furry creature before her played some part in Daniel's pain; not that she minded.

Malfoy rolled his eyes, 'The guy is a complete creep.'

"So what's a devilish, handsome fella like you doing in a place like this, hmmm?"

'What?' Malfoy asked confused at this sudden turn of conversation.

Krista let out a small laugh at the blank expression that she received, "Ya, I know, bad line. Give me a break I'm not exactly having the best of days here. Though, I probably didn't have it as bad as you did. I mean you were tortured by first years, not exactly the best way for one to start their day."

Well, he sure didn't have a picnic about it, 'You have no idea.'

Suddenly, Autwin stood up from her seat causing Malfoy to jump a little at her sudden movement, "But seriously, what is he doing here?" Krista asked out loud as her mind wandered its way back to her problem at hand. In her muddled mind she unknowingly started pacing up and down the aisle leaving her book bag at the desk.

"He wasn't suppose to be here," she groaned while rubbing her temples, "He was suppose to go home, away from here and I was suppose to get a decent break from the creeper." From the word creeper it didn't exactly take a genius to figure out that Autwin was taking about the Snugglepuff. Malfoy continued to watch her from the desk top, "Ugh, figures, of course something like this would happen. Maybe I should look up some jinxes to hit him with later."

Malfoy certainly was on board with the idea, 'I know I can certainly think of a few.' Thinking back on all the jinxes and curses that he had tormented Potter and his friends with over the years. It really paid off to be a Slytherin.

As Krista paced, a million thoughts were going through her head. This wasn't exactly how she planned for her holidays to kick off. For one Daniel was suppose to have gone home for his vacation. She made certain of that before deciding to stay here at school. And she made absolute certain that word didn't travel about her staying at Hogwarts she had only told Luna and Becca about it. Krista knew they wouldn't have blabbed it all over school or anything. So why was Daniel here? Hopefully it was just a coincidence and nothing more, but one thing was for sure she couldn't go to the library anymore without worrying about him giving her hell. She was going to have to do something about that.

Malfoy, on the other hand, was getting a little impatient will all the silence; but soon Autwin returned to her seat seeming to get whatever weight she needed off her chest for the moment. She sat there quietly for a time having her attention on what appeared to be a very interesting scratch carved into the desktop.

Finally, she spoke up, "So, what's your story? You lost? Your owner left you behind? Taking a stroll around the castle, perhaps?" she laughed at herself for her little interrogation. "I'm lonely, can't you tell?" she gave a small smile, but it was hard not to miss the hint of sadness behind it. In truth Krista admitted that she was a little sad. Sure she was sad about her friends going home for the holidays and she had looked forward to spending time in the nearly deserted castle, but knowing that her ex boyfriend was staying here too didn't settle well with her.

Malfoy was stumped. He really felt like an idiot sitting there especially in the form that he was in. How the heck was a ferret supposed to deal with this whole situation? Merlin knew that he wasn't exactly the consoling type. But, on the other hand, he was a ferret and no one really cared about what they did. In his awkwardness ,Malfoy shuffled closer to the girl before placing a single paw on her hand that laid on the desk.

'Ya, this isn't awkward at all,' he thought sarcastically while inwardly slapping himself on the head.

Surprisingly to him Autwin found amusement at the gesture that he was giving her. "Well, aren't you sweet?" she smiled giving his head an appreciated scratch, "I hope no one left you behind; I can't see how someone could have the heart to leave a cutie like you all by yourself."

'I'm not cute!' he rebelled before groaning out, 'who am I kidding? I'm bloody fluffy.' He was definitely going to have to kill Zabini for turning him into a ferret of all things.

Krista looked around the room noticing the comfy looking chair that was placed behind the teacher's desk. "I think I might get some actual reading done in here." She had been dying to make some progress on the current book she was reading and since the library was no longer an option she might as well make do with where she was now.

Picking up her bag, Krista made her way over to the large desk and took a seat in the large cushioned high chair. "I don't think anyone would mind if I sit here." It wasn't like anyone was going to use it anytime soon. Settling herself in the oversized chair Krista had to admit that it was a comfy piece of furniture. She pulled her leather bound book from her bag before letting it drop to the floor.

Before Malfoy knew it he found himself running up to the front of the classroom.

Propping her feet on the desk Krista was about to open her novel before she heard a tiny squeak. Looking down at the floor she saw that the silver ferret had decided to follow her and was looking up at her tilting its head from side to side.

Krista placed the book down before reaching her arms down, "What? You want up?" she asked as she picked him up to put him on the table.

Well, he got up-now what was he going to do?

'I'm a ferret so what does she care what I do?' With that thought in mind Malfoy didn't hesitate to scurry along her legs on the table before weaseling his way up her arm and along her shoulders. Curling his slim ferret body around her shoulders and neck Malfoy peered over her to get a better look at the old looking book in Autwin's hands.

Krista looked a little shocked at the critter that had just settled itself on her. Apparently this ferret was not shy at all despite its behavior from before. He was very peculiar she noted as she watched him looking down at the item in her hands.

"A Tale of a Feather" by George Mattlebee," she said as if informing him of his curiosity. "It's a good read. It's about two brothers and a curse and this crazy adventure they go on. So far it has nothing to do with feathers," she joked before returning her attention back to the bound pages.

Time went by and Malfoy had found himself engrossed in the book as he read it along with Autwin. It wasn't until Autwin had closed the book that he took note of the clock. It was late, well into the evening and nearing curfew.

Krista rubbed at her eyes tiredly before she too noticed the time on the clock that hung on the wall.

"Curfew already?" she yawned, "Ah, well, time to call it a night, I guess."

As Autwin collected her stuff Malfoy jumped from his spot, to the chair, to the floor and then ran the rest of the way to the door. Autwin lazily approached the latch on the door.

"You heading off to bed, too?" she asked as the door opened with a creek. Looking outside into the corridor Krista saw no one in sight and hopefully it would remain so as she made her way back to Ravenclaw Tower. The last thing she needed to make her day complete was to run into Filch and his cat, Ms. Norris.

Malfoy took one last look back up at Autwin before he sprinted down the corridor. He didn't want to leave, but he needed to get back to the Slytherin common room before the caretaker and his pet made their rounds through the corridors of the castle.

"See you around little guy," he heard Autwin say before he turned the next corner that would lead to the grand staircase.

Today might not have been a huge success, but it was a start-a good start. Malfoy was slowly starting to learn more about the Ravenclaw and just how he could use all his ferretness to his advantage. Perhaps Zabini's plan wasn't so crazy, after all.


A/N: Hey guys I'm just throwing this out there but if you care to help me with my school blues know what will make me really happy? Reviews! Please! Don't let school suck the life force out of me! =D