The Cracked Cauldron
(Or: Neville, You Just Burned My Bollocks Off)
Warnings: Gender Swapping, Vulgar Language, Dysphoria, Potential Smut, Gore
Author's Note: So I read a fic seven years ago with this premise. It was abandoned. So I took the idea and went with it to (hopefully) see it through to completion, adding my own spin to it of course. I don't recall the original title or author, and if this rings a bell for anyone please let me know.
I do not own Harry Potter or other trademarked names or locations. They are property of Bloomsbury Books, Warner Bros., etc. Please support the original content.
Summary: Neville's lack of skill in potions causes Harry's world to turn upside down. Eighth year. Drarry.
The month of November was one of learning for Harry. Aside from his usual studies (which, frankly, he only half paid attention to at best) he learned much about himself and his newfound companions, the Slytherins.
He learned that when you start hanging around with Draco Malfoy, every Slytherin in the school will treat you as one of their own.
He figured this out first. After being seen cavorting publicly with Draco at the Halloween Ball and subsequent afterparty, every student donning a silver and green necktie began nodding at him in the corridors, some even going as far as cheerfully greeting him as they passed. One Slytherin sixth year went out of his way to hold the door for him as Harry exited the Great Hall after lunch, arms laden with textbooks for his afternoon classes.
"Would you like help carrying those, Potter?" the boy asked, smiling politely at him.
Harry asked Draco straight away if the reason for their behavior was in fact because of their newfound companionship, but the only response he received was a shrug. "Your guess is as good as mine. Would you like to go flying later?"
He learned that he could use his female body as an excuse to never cut his hair again, thus ridding himself of a chore he had always dearly dreaded. By mid-month, his fringe was past his eyes and the back of his hair would have to be pulled out of the back of his shirts every morning when he dressed. It was still terribly messy, usually just hastily swept to the side of his head by hand every day before he left his dormitory.
It didn't hurt that, sometimes, when they would study together late into the night, Draco would absently play with the longer tresses on the back of his neck while reading
Harry learned a lot about his new body, with help from Healer Maggie and his female friends.
He learned that sometimes his mood was going to be unpredictable and that there was nothing he could do about it. He learned the proper way to keep his new body parts clean and maintained. He learned about The Potion, a draught he could take once monthly to prevent unwanted pregnancy.
"Should an intimate relationship with a boy develop," Ginny had told him, winking.
He learned about different ways to explore sexuality in his new body. Healer Maggie calmly explaining the location and functionality of the clitoris while Madame Pomfrey pointed to a diagram was a memory Harry feared would always be burned into his mind.
Harry also learned that he could not look at himself naked, nor touch himself in any way not directly related to keeping sanitary without feeling nauseous and wanting to cry. When he expressed this to Maggie, she assured him that she and the other healers were doing all they could to find a way to reverse the effects of the potion. When he asked if they were making any progress, she had no response.
Harry learned that Draco Malfoy could make anyone feel cared for, if he was so inclined. When Professor McGonagall informed Harry and Neville that they would have to adhere to the dress code, and could no longer wear the boys' uniform, Harry was a little frustrated, to say the least. When ranting about his frustrations to Ron, Hermione, Draco, Pansy, Blaise and Ginny (which was now the entirety of the social circle he interacted with daily) most of his companions responded with sympathy. Draco slung an arm around his shoulders and, though he nodded in sympathy through Harry's frustrated words, and whispered, "I'd wear the girl's uniform with you out of solidarity, but I hate being reminded that you're better looking than me."
The following Monday found Draco in a girl's uniform anyway. When McGonagall asked him to explain himself, he asked her why she got to pick and choose which boys got to wear skirts. Slytherin was docked five points for Draco's cheek, but that very evening she pulled Harry and Neville aside and gave her word that they would be allowed to wear boys' uniforms once more. Harry was so delighted he nearly kissed Draco the next time he saw him. (Luckily, he didn't actually kiss him, but he did offer his sincere and earnest thanks repeatedly)
That was another thing Harry learned as the month went by. He thought about kissing Draco Malfoy quite a lot. More than what could be considered normal. And whenever those thoughts began to surface in his mind, Harry would feel his lower abdomen grow tight, and something inside him would throb almost pleasurably. Sometimes thoughts about kissing Draco would follow a very reasonable sequence of events; Draco always licked his lips after eating sweets, Draco often kissed Pansy on the cheek to both annoy her and show his affection, Draco often applied an herbal salve to his lips prior to flying to protect them from the icy November wind. But sometimes the thoughts came out of absolutely nowhere, like the first time Harry and Draco stayed up until sunrise together, studying for a particularly important Potions exam. As the two blearily parted ways, hoping to get whatever sleep they could before they were required to attend classes that day, Draco smiled at him sleepily and wished him a pleasant nap. Harry found he was suddenly wide awake and his only thought was the hypothetical feeling of Draco's nearly invisible chin stubble against his lips.
Harry learned that Draco always smelled of coffee immediately after breakfast, but just as surely would smell of mint by lunch, then smell pleasantly of sweat and human by the time dinner was through. He learned that no matter how amazing Ginny claimed it felt, there was nothing any person could do to convince Harry to shave his legs. He learned that the staircase to the Gryffindor girls' dormitories could sense right through his physical exterior, and sent him sliding back down every single time. He learned that Slytherins were useless without caffeine and a sense of competition. He learned that he quite liked that about them. He learned that while Pansy Parkinson and Hermione Granger might not appear to have anything in common, they got along famously once all of their grievances were aired. The same was true, interestingly enough, for Blaise and Ron. Ginny and Pansy, though they behaved civilly toward each other for the sake of their mutual friends when others were present, did not get along very well at all; and could not be left alone together without loud bickering erupting from the two. Harry learned that Draco almost never drank tea, but would never turn down a butterbeer. Harry learned that it was extremely difficult to tear his eyes away from Draco when he laughed. Harry learned that Draco despised the cold and cast warming charms liberally and constantly once the morning dews became frosts.
Harry learned that he wanted to learn everything about this new life he was beginning. He learned that he wanted to learn everything about the man who had somehow become a constant in it.