Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. I don't own the song 'Blue Moon'.
Okay guys, this is the final chapter. I'm glad to all of you who kept up with this story. So this is the nice lengthy conclusion. What will Hermione do? Will the boys get busted? By the way, this chapter is really the reason the story is titled 'Blue Moon Baby'.
Chapter 4: Blue Moon
Hermione huffed angrily as she swam over to the edge of the pool.
"Wait…just you wait, until I get out of here!" she grumbled. "I'll make you, go through…everything I went through."
"I don't think there's enough itching powder left," said Rudy.
"Or my blue goo," added Oscar.
"Besides that, I don't think a monster from the blue lagoon's allowed to get us back," said Rudy, causing Oscar to laugh.
Hermione made it to the edge and began pulling herself back up.
"Wait til your mother hears about this! Then you're gonna…"
She had been so distracted by the incident and her anger, that she hadn't noticed until now just how exposed she was at the moment. Chasing the boys around the house with nothing but thick blue goo on her person hadn't made the biggest impact on her as she had at least been covered up. But now, all of it was floating in the pool, and there would be no doubt in anyone's mind that she was completely naked. The only thing that goo had left behind was its coloring which had completely dyed all of her skin, including her hair, blue.
Hermione hunched over and did her best to try and cover her body with her hands as the air rang with Oscar and Rudy's laughter.
"Now she looks like a smurf!" cried Oscar as he doubled over in joy.
"All that's missing, is the white dress and hat," added Rudy who was laughing just as hard.
While the boys were distracted with their laughing, Hermione took a moment to rub at the blue coloring on her skin.
"It won't come off!" she cried. "It didn't even come off in the water!"
"They don't call it True Blu Goo for nothing," said Oscar.
"What?" Hermione demanded.
"Fred and George are the best."
"What! How do you know Fred and George?"
"Our uncle took us down Diagon alley and we saw their shop," said Rudy.
"Yeah, he wanted to show us where we'd be going to get our school supplies when it's time for us to go," said Oscar.
Hermione was flabbergasted.
"But…but you're muggles, I mean, normal," she argued. "You mean all this time you've been wizards?"
"Hey how bout that," said Oscar as he turned to Rudy, "she knows about magic."
"Our powers came in months ago. Guess mom forgot to share that much," said Rudy.
"Well she is supposed to be just some girl," Oscar said as he turned to him. "She even said so herself."
"She's got to be a witch if she knows about magic," said Rudy. "You suspected her."
"And I suspected you," Hermione muttered more to herself then the boys as she stared at them. It was no wonder why they had moved out of the neighborhood. Their powers had come in and Mrs. Forwick clearly didn't want anyone to catch wind of it. There was also the fact that their home looked abnormally large from within when it looked so small on the outside. She didn't fully hold it against Mrs. Forwick as she would have considered her to be a simple muggle girl. She was pulled out of her thoughts as a quick breeze tickled her bare skin. She hunched back over in an attempt to continue hiding her nudity.
"None of that matters right now! I want my clothes!"
"None of that matters?" said Rudy as if he was outraged. "You're a witch! When mom finds out, I'll bet she'll let you be our official babysitter from now on. She was so worried about having a muggle sitter, but now that we've got you it won't be a problem."
"If you think I'm babysitting you again, you've got another thing coming! Now fetch me my clothes!"
"Maybe it will be a problem," said Oscar with a smile. "She seems a bit thick."
"You've had ample time to go fetch your own clothes you know."
With the sick realization that Rudy was right, she made a mad dash towards the door. She completely missed the skateboard that was in her path and ended up tripping over it. She fell to the ground with a thud. She raised her head up and saw the boys leering at her.
"Aww Hermione, why so blue?" asked Oscar.
She growled as she made to push herself back to her feet. The boys scrambled away and dashed inside. By the time Hermione reached the glass door, they had locked it.
"Open this door! Right now!"
"What? I'm sorry, what?" Oscar asked as he cupped his hand over his ear as if he was partially deaf. Rudy burst into laughter.
"You heard me! You open this door right now!"
"But we've decided to get your clothes, it would only be right," said Rudy. They then hurried away, leaving her completely alone, and still completely bare.
"HEY!" She backed away a bit and took in her reflection in the glass. "I really do look like a smurf." There wasn't a speck of her natural skin color to be seen.
She reframed from yelling anymore, least she alert anyone nearby. She couldn't imagine anything worse than being seen by more people.
"I've got to find something to cover with." She looked around, but the only thing she spotted was a lawn chair and a large beach ball. Desperate, she grabbed the ball and held it in front of her. She cringed at the idea of traveling to the front door, but she feared it may be her only choice. Then again, it was highly possible the boys wouldn't open the front door either. Frustrated, she sank to the patio's floor. "I should've brought my wand."
She didn't know how long she'd been sitting in misery before she heard the boys calling to her.
"Oh Hermione!"
She looked around. The voices were coming from around the corner of the house. She stood and cautiously walked forward. Oscar and Rudy had definitely found another route to the backyard.
"Going to the beach?" Rudy asked as he took in the beach ball she still held before her body.
"Don't forget to bring a towel," said Oscar as he waved her ruined bath towel in his hand. Hermione growled and bared her teeth like a wild animal.
"Give me that towel!"
She went charging at them like an angry bull, but neither of them made a run for it. When the space between them decreased significantly, Hermione tossed the ball aside so she could grab the only source of clothing they had brought. At the last minute, Rudy grabbed the other end of the towel and they both jumped aside so that only the middle of the towel was in Hermione's path.
She was given no time to change direction to either boy as her body hit the towel. The boys held onto their end tightly and pushed back as Hermione ran into it. The effect was like pulling back the pad of a slingshot as Hermione went tumbling back and hit the ground. Hermione felt momentarily breathless. She didn't move as the boys moved closer and looked down at her.
"What do we do with her now?" asked Rudy. In response, Oscar dipped into his pocket and blew a glittery dust from his hand onto her face. Hermione's eyes fluttered before they closed.
"Found some old sleeping powder of mom's," Oscar explained. "Didn't know that's what that was until I accidently fell asleep from it. I been keeping it in case I needed it."
"For me," said Rudy in a slightly bitter tone. Oscar shrugged.
"Who knows what other wizarding stuff she's been hiding from us."
"Well, we won't have to worry about her keeping wizarding stuff from us anymore, now that we're wizards," said Rudy. "Think of all the things we pulled on each other. They could've been much better with magic."
"It's not too late," said Oscar as a smirk lifted his lips. "Mom's been hiding a lot more things besides sleeping powder."
"What things?" Rudy asked curiously, causing Oscar's smile to widen.
Mrs. Forwick rummaged in her purse for her keys as she approached the walkway to her house. It was already evening and she was eager to get a hot meal on the table for her boys. She also didn't want Hermione to have to babysit any later than was necessary.
"I hope everything went alright," she muttered to herself as she walked and searched. "She didn't…call, so…it must have been alright."
She pulled out her keys and slowly unlocked the door.
"Hermione! Oscar! Rudy! Mommy's home!" she frowned when no one came to greet her. She moved further into the house. "Everyone, I'm…"
The sight of blue footprints, specks of blue paint, and toys balls scattered about froze the rest of her words in her throat.
"What in Merlin's…" Mrs. Forwick hurried up the stairs while carefully avoiding the mysterious gooey looking footprints. "Hermione! Boys! Are you up here?"
There was no sign of them anywhere. Instead she saw signs of juice staining the carpet near the edge of the stairs. There was white powder near the entrance of the boys' room. She didn't focus on that for too long as her eyes drifted to the footprints that were leading into the bathroom.
Mrs. Forwick grabbed her chest in shock at the unsightly mess in her bathroom, which was clearly the source of the mysterious blue. She didn't dare touch the buildup in the tub.
"What in the…BOYS!"
She turned away and hurried down the stairs. When she reached the bottom, music reached her ears. It was coming from outside. She turned the corner and headed towards the back. Through the back door she could see the boys gathered under the tree. Above them, but not directly on top of them, there was something large, and round, and blue rotating in mid-air. The music happened to be coming from an old phonograph they had dragged outside and placed next to the tree.
"What in the world?" Mrs. Forwick's frown deepened as she slowly walked towards the door and stepped outside. The lyrics of the song were clearer now.
'Blue moon
You saw me standing, alone
Without a dream in my heart
Without a love of my own'
"What is going on here?" she asked as she approached the boys who were so busy staring up at the blue thing and laughing that they didn't notice her coming. They stopped laughing at once and spun around.
"Mom, you're back!" cried Rudy.
"Did you bring us something special?" asked Oscar.
"I said I would if you settled your disputes."
"And we did. We've really been getting along," said Oscar as he laid an arm around his brother's shoulder.
"If that's the case, then how come my house is ruined with blue paint, and powder, and toys, and juice?"
"It wasn't our fault," said Rudy. "It was all Hermione's doing."
"Speaking of Hermione, where is she? Don't tell me she's left you two alone," she said with much anger in her voice.
The boys stifled a laugh and Oscar pointed up.
"She's been with us the whole time."
Mrs. Forwick raised her head and gasped as she truly took in the sight of the blue thing high above them that was quivering softly and seemed to be moaning. At first she really didn't understand what it was. It looked like a large ball with a crack running down the center.
"You might not want to stand directly under it," Oscar advised as Rudy broke out into a fit of giggles.
Mrs. Forwick stepped aside and gasped as she realized what she was looking at. It was a very blue Hermione, and the round ball with the crack in it happened to be her bare naked butt rotating around on an invisible spot. Somehow the boys had her positioned in a kind of fold where her straight legs were pulled forward to meet her chest. She assumed Hermione's arms were wrapped around her legs to keep them close. It was hard to tell as a towel had been wrapped around her upper portion, hiding her arms and how the boys had tied her to herself. She was, however, able to see Hermione's head and the gag that had been placed in her mouth. There was nothing to show how Hermione was hanging in the air, but Mrs. Forwick knew right away it was some kind of levitation power as opposed to invisible wires.
"Merlin's beard." Hermione stared down at her with pleading eyes as she mumbled into her gag. The song Blue Moon continued to play. Mrs. Forwick didn't need any help in understanding why the boys had chosen that particular song. "What…what…how? What's going on here? I thought you boys had given up pranking your sitters long ago."
"We have," said Rudy. "She just happened to walk in on what we set up for each other. It was the only way we knew how to settle our disputes."
"It's not our fault she didn't see them," said Oscar.
"And did you think you would honestly get away with this?" Mrs. Forwick asked angrily as she rested her hands on her hips.
"Well, it did help us to get along and, work together," said Oscar. "You should be proud of that mom."
"Not only that, but she's a witch, just like you mom!" cried Rudy.
"Excuse me?" Mrs. Forwick asked while raising an eyebrow. Hermione continued to moan and wiggle above them.
"I always knew there was something funny about her. She knows about magic," said Oscar.
"And so you risked pulling out things you received from Diagon alley to prove it?"
"No, it's like Oscar said. She walked into those things."
"Boys," she paused to sigh and raise a hand to her temple, "I told you not to go seeking out any magical relics or playing with those silly toys you bought from your trip. I knew I shouldn't have let your uncle take you so soon. You're too young to be playing with magic. Do you want to get us in trouble! Your father hasn't even fully accepted what you are yet."
At this the boys frowned in annoyance.
"Well, I expect he'll feel differently when we come back from Hogwarts all powerful."
"That's years from now," she nearly yelled. "And you wouldn't be allowed to use anything you learned at school back here. Especially not on your babysitters, now take her down this instant!"
Rudy and Oscar traded a look.
"Well, it wasn't our magic, it was a trick from the joke shop," said Oscar.
"Meaning?"
"Meaning we don't know how to undo it," said Rudy.
Mrs. Forwick sighed heavily and pulled out a hidden wand and pointed it up at Hermione. Hermione gave a gasp as she started to drop, but at the last minute her bare bottom hit the grassy ground gently. Mrs. Forwick used her wand to keep her upright as she started to undo the towel. She gasped and even blushed when she saw just how bare Hermione was. The boys started to laugh, which angered their mother.
"Both of you, turn your backs! Right now!" They stifled their giggles before turning their backs to give Hermione the privacy they hadn't given before. She then turned to the ropes that had been used to bind her arms around her legs and began loosening them. "I don't know how you got into this situation Ms. Granger, but I hope you'll be able to explain. You're not hurt are you?"
The last thing she removed was her gag. Hermione scrambled to grab the towel and throw it around her body.
"Hurt! If you mean physically then no. Not anymore. But those two…those two…," Hermione was so angry she didn't know what to say first. She decided to start with the first surprise. "They're wizards! You're a wizard, I..I mean a witch, and you didn't tell me."
"I could say the same about you," said Mrs. Forwick with a slight smile. "I assumed you were a muggle just as you assumed we were. Yes, I am a witch married to a muggle, but I didn't expect my boys to obtain powers after all this time. When they did, well, I'm sure you figured out the rest."
"Magical itching powder, magical goo, levitation. Even if you didn't feel it necessary to tell me what kind of boys and things you had in your house, the least you could have done was to tell me they were pranksters." A part of her was scolding herself for becoming so angry with an adult, but at the same time she felt she had every right to nearly yell at the woman who was doing a good job of remaining calm.
"They're father made them give it up after they pulled it on a babysitter long ago," she explained. "And after that they'd been so distracted by fighting with one another and becoming wizards that they haven't bothered to do such things since. Look, I am very sorry for what they did to you. I mean, they are boys, and you can understand that they can get out of control."
"No boys should ever get out of that much control," Hermione countered. Oscar and Rudy started laughing. She turned to them and shot them the death glare. In response, Oscar started mouthing the words to the song that was still playing. Seeing that Hermione was becoming even more flustered by them, Mrs. Forwick flicked her wand to stop phonograph. She then turned to Hermione and forced a smile upon her face.
"Like I said dear, I am so very sorry for what's happened to you," she said as she started to lead her away from the boys. "I have no idea how I can make it up to you. Or maybe I can. How about double the pay?"
"Mrs. Forwick."
"Alright, alright, I'll triple it."
"Mrs. Forwick," Hermione said while doing her best to keep her anger at bay and while trying to ignore the cold breeze slipping under her towel. "I think the only thing you can do, is to never ask me to babysit your sons again."
Mrs. Forwick looked crestfallen.
"Oh, well, I can understand that, but, considering that I've learned you're a witch, it would mean so much to me if you did continue to babysit them. That way I wouldn't have to worry about a muggle babysitter finding out about what they can do. And you did manage to get them working together."
"To get my butt in the air!" she cried while pointing at her blue bum. "I'm sorry Mrs. Forwick, but the only thing I'm interested in is finding a way to get this blue color off my skin."
Hermione walked away from her and stepped inside. Mrs. Forwick gave a conflicted glance back at her boys before following behind Hermione.
"Well, I'm sorry to, for what must be done," she said quietly.
Hermione turned to her, curious.
"What do you mean what must be…" She didn't have a chance to finish as Mrs. Forwick had raised her wand and directed a small stream of purplish light at her head. At once Hermione's eyes began to glaze over, then she smiled warmly at the woman. "I'm afraid I can't let you take what happened here out into the public. My family will be ruined. And besides that, the boys do seem to like you so much. You stopped their fighting, and it's a great help that you're also magical. Why, I can even see you tutoring them from time to time."
"Oh, I couldn't agree more," Hermione said slowly.
"Very good," said Mrs. Forwick as she patted Hermione on the back. "Now why don't you run along home and wash that stuff off. Don't forget your clothes in the bathroom."
"Of course," Hermione said, once more in a slow tone. She looked down at herself and frowned at her blue body, but didn't question it. Instead she started for the stairs.
"I would very much like to arrange another chance for you to babysit, if you don't mind."
"Of course, call me anytime," Hermione said dreamily. She even tossed a happy smile at the boys who had decided to come inside. Hermione moved up the stairs and out of sight, leaving Mrs. Forwick to feel the weight of guilt at what she had done.
Behind her Oscar elbowed Rudy. They had seen what their mother had done to their babysitter and had figured out its purpose.
"We've got to learn that trick," he whispered.
"What for?"
"Weren't you paying attention? Mom wants Hermione to be our babysitter full time, which means…"
"Which means loads of fun for us," Rudy concluded. "Without us ever getting into trouble."
They shook hands and smiled at the idea of having Hermione as a permanent babysitter. A young witch who had not only entertained them, but also brought them together in the end.
Hermione's been blue throughout this whole thing. At first I was hesitant to have it end with Mrs. Forwick casting a kind of memory charm on Hermione, but I liked the idea of Hermione having to babysit those brats again and winding up in wild situations. In prank fics, the kids would either get away with it in the end, or the victim would be able to retaliate. I felt I'd seen a lot of prank fics and saw that they ended in the usual ways, and I wanted to throw something unusual in there. In this case, the victim doesn't quite remember what she's been through. Well the kids got away with it, thanks to their mother, so it was a bit of a minor twist I was able to put on there. I like to think this story has been a bit more about the twins coming together then Hermione being humiliated. Such an ending also opens the door for more, but for the moment, I'll end it here. Hope you guys enjoyed it.
And thank you to la z boy for inspiring this fic!
