A/N: I like this chapter a lot.. I think it's a bit funny at times, please feel free to review! Much much thanks to eedoe! I MEAN THIS! Now, enjoy.
*****
Alternate Identity: A Polyjuice Potion Story
Chapter Four: The Secret's Out
The next morning, Hermione and Ginny woke up early in the boy's dorm, in their natural forms, took the potion, and got dressed as quickly as possible, before everyone else got up. They wanted to come before the owls came in with the mail, because some students had subscriptions to the Daily Prophet and they did not want to think about Harry and Ron's pictures on the front cover, or what the headline might proclaim.
They were one of the first down in the hall, and only a few professors were there, including Snape and Dumbledore. They both knew to go straight to Dumbledore. His back was facing them, and when they called for him to turn around, the noticed what he was holding. It was the morning edition of the Daily Prophet.
"Professor Dumbledore, we have to tell you something!" Harry's voice was first to exclaim.
He turned to them. "Hello, boys," he said, surprised. "It seems you've made the paper."
"No," they said, out of breath, shaking their heads.
"We took the wrong potions!" Ron's voice blurted out. "We took the wrong Polyjuice Potions by mistake! I'm Hermione and this is Ginny," Ron's voice said, gesturing with a hand.
Dumbledore stood silent for a few moments. "Ah. Then am I correct to presume you were stuck in boys' bodies?"
"Yes," they said guiltily.
"And Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley are stuck in your own bodies?"
"Yes," they said, eyes cast downward.
"You should have come straight to me," he said, smiling slightly with a twinkle in his eyes that uncomfortably made them think he had known all along.
Meanwhile, in the girls' dorm, the bodies of the real Harry and Ron were lying in bed. They were accustomed to waking up earlier than usual, and they did, taking their potion under the sheets and getting dressed, not suspecting a thing.
One by one, the girls in the dorm got up, took their potions, and began getting ready for another day of classes as well. Everyone walked down to the Great Hall at about the same time to have breakfast.
"When we realized that we should have told you in the first place, it was too late," Ron's voice said. "I realized that too late."
Dumbledore nodded, opening the paper and grinning slightly. "So when Rita Skeeter believed Ron to be confessing feelings for Harry, it was Miss Weasley speaking?"
Harry's head nodded, going red.
"I understand. You may return to your table."
Students began filling the Great Hall soon and the bodies of Ron and Harry took their usual seats, looking nervous. Soon, owls came flying in with the mail.
"What's the matter?" Hermione's voice asked Hermione's body, noticing the nervous expression she often used to use.
"Erm.. you know that interview with Rita Skeeter we had last night?" Harry's voice asked Hermione and Ginny's bodies.
"Yeah?" they both asked, curiously.
Harry's and Ron's voices began frantically speaking at once. The ears of Hermione and Ginny's only caught the words "Tricked us--Veritaserum--Please don't be mad!"
"What?" Hermione's voice asked.
At that particular moment, many owls swooped in through windows, dropping mail in front of students. Both Hermione and Ginny, in the boys' bodies, knew that Ron had a subscription to the Daily Prophet--he always liked to read the Quidditch section-- and expected the worst.
As usual, they all switched mail, as each package has been dropped on the wrong person-- and Hermione's body, expecting Ron's mail, grabbed the Daily Prophet and making a horrified face as his eyes scanned over the headline-- Local Boy Ronald Weasley Admits Feelings for Harry Potter in Bodyswitching Project!
He was rendered motionless, shocked at the headline for a few seconds, before the first words escaped his mouth.
"Bloody.. HELL!" Hermione's voice roared, not caring who overheard, as Ron in her body jabbed his sister's body in the side, trying to get Harry to look at the headline.
Ginny's eyes widened to their full extent, before opening her mouth to emit what would have been an awfully loud girlish scream-- Hermione's hand covered the mouth before sound escaped it.
Harry and Ron's bodies couldn't do much but look on helplessly at their best friends panicking.
Hermione and Ginny's hands tore open the newspaper, frantic to see if the article was as bad as the headline.
"How could-- you made us look like we were--!" Ginny's voice stuttered.
"We had no choice! She tricked us into drinking something with Veritaserum in it!" Ron's voice explained.
"You actually took a drink from Rita Skeeter!?" Hermione asked, raising her voice to a high level. "How thick can you possibly get?"
"WAIT!" Ginny's voice said loudly. The other three calmed down to listen to Harry in Ginny's body and they noticed that the hall had gone dreadfully silent. Everyone's eyes seemed to be on them.
Wondering how long it had been silent for and when they could explain their mistake, the four looked around uncomfortably.
Dumbledore immediately rose and went to the front of the Great Hall. "May I please make an announcement!" he said to the hall. All eyes were now on him. "There has been a mistake with the potion," Dumbledore explained. "An error involving the four you are regarding. They took the wrong potions, and ended up in a different body than they expected. Rita Skeeter interviewed the two girls in the two boys' bodies, using Veritaserum."
A chatter arose in the hall, everyone knew using Veritaserum was a big deal.
"But, do not worry," Dumbledore said, smiling, "because we have caught the culprit, Rita Skeeter herself," he said, holding up a jar with a beetle inside it, with the same markings around its eyes as Rita Skeeter's glasses. Everyone sighed in relief, not wanting to experience the embarrassment that Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny felt just then.
"May I please ask the four to see me after breakfast," he said, ending his little speech.
Harry and Ron's eyes wandered to the other boys in the dorm, who looked at them oddly, now knowing that they were not of their own kind. They caught some of them whispering to eachother things like "What did they think they were doing?", "Why didn't they do anything about it?". Fred Weasley was even brave enough to say, "How come they got girls in their dorm?" and George quickly followed up with "Nothing on you, Gin." Harry and Ron's eyes quickly traveled elsewhere at the mention of that.
Hermione and Ginny's gaze traveled to the girls' in their new temporary dormitory, who looked at them in disgust, and they caught some of them whispering things like "I knew they were acting oddly," and "Those perverts!"
*****
After breakfast, the four people the school was talking about stayed in the Great Hall to see Dumbledore.
"What did you want to see us about?" Ron's voice asked him.
Dumbledore smiled, and with a wave of his wand their nametags switched-- the one on Hermione's body read "Ronald Weasley", the one on Ron's body said "Hemione Granger", the tag on Harry displayed "Virginia Weasley", and the one on Ginny said "Harry Potter". He had switched them so they displayed the correct information.
"You are free to go to your class," he said, smiling.
"You mean.. we're going to just stay as we are?" Ron in Hermione's body asked, dumbfounded.
"Precisely."
"But, Professor--" Harry's voice began.
"You were prepared to stay this way anyway if you weren't discovered, correct?" he asked. "All I'm doing is making it so you can be yourselves. You can now go to your normal classes, which are the classes of the person that your nametag displays. And if I switched them correctly, the nametag displays the person underneath the new shell."
They nodded, assuring him they were switched correctly.
You can also sleep in your normal dorms from now on, the one your nametag would direct you to, providing you get changed in privacy from the other occupants of the dorms. You planned this out quite well, didn't you, when you realized you'd made a mistake?" he asked, his blue eyes twinkling.
"We did, actually," Ron's voice replied. "Er-- thank you, Professor."
They were relieved to go back to their normal schedules and went off to their first classes after switching books.
Some students were satisfied with what Dumbledore explained, about the mistake in the potions and the Veritaserum, but others were still skeptical about it. How could they add the hairs and then accidentally switch potions? Draco Malfoy, who was in Blaise Zabini's body, was a strong believer of this.
"What Dumbledore said wasn't true," he said loudly to his clique of friends in the hallways, which included Crabbe and Goyle, who had switched places as well. "He's always favored Potter and Weasley above the rest of the students. I always thought they'd admit the truth about eachother one day. There was probably no Veritaserum involved!" he exclaimed.
Everyone who had a copy of The Daily Prophet read the article.
The Headmaster of Hogwarts, who has recently
assigned a dangerous body-switching project
involving Polyjuice Potion for fourth years and up,
has allowed me, Rita Skeeter, to interview one
of the most well-known students of Hogwarts:
Harry Potter. Along with him is the person he
has chosen to switch bodies with, Ronald
Weasley. Feelings and confessions poured out
of their mouths as I interviewed them, and the
information I was looking for was nowhere near
the information I received.
Ron Weasley, after being asked what it was
like to be in Harry Potter's body, replied: "Oh,
I suppose it's all right. But it's kind of odd, you
know? I mean, I really like him a lot. I've always
really fancied him since we met." I was surprised
at his words as I wrote his response. "He is a
hero, after all, ever so charming, and modest!
Do you see these eyes?" Ron removed the
glasses on Harry's face, making bright green
eyes more visible.
Upon asking Harry Potter the same question,
I got a just as surprising response. Starting
slowly, Harry admitted to the changes he went
through. "It's quite different from what I expected,"
he confessed. "He's quite taller than I'm used to
being."
After being asked about how he felt about Ron's
confession to him, Harry replied, "Last year, I
think he wanted to go to the Yule Ball with me.
He got angry when I went with someone else, and
later we argued about it. I finally said that if he
wanted to go with me, he should have asked me
straight off instead of waiting and having me as a
last resort," Harry in Ron's body recalled. His
thin lips formed a smile. "I'd actually be pretty
flattered if he asked."
Though this interview held secrets I had no
intention of uncovering, I was surprised and
delighted at both boys' honesty and hope the
best for their project and perhaps for their future
as well.
"What does she mean, and perhaps for our future as well?" Hermione's voice asked as she stomped through the halls, now wearing a nametag that announced, "Ron Weasley".
"I'm really sorry about the interview," Ron's voice said to Hermione's face. They talked it out in the hallway after lunch going to the Common Room for afternoon break, which left Harry and Ginny's bodies walking along behind them.
There was an awkward silence between the two of them. Ginny plucked up enough courage to speak through Harry's body, turning his head to face the body of Ginny. "I-- I'm really sorry about the article, Harry. I really am. I was the one who opened my big mouth first, and I had no idea all that would come out.." she trailed off.
Ginny's eyelashes were cast downward as Harry inside of her body thought of how to reply. "It's not your fault. Rita Skeeter is awful like that. I'm not surprised to hear she snuck Veritaserum into your drink, that seems just what she would do anyway.."
"But you know what I told her in the interview," Harry's voice said, his face going pink. "And I can't deny I said it. It was true." Harry's eyes remained on the floor, heart going a mile a minute, admitting things she'd never let loose otherwise, unless she had more Veritaserum.
There was a moment's pause. "If you're absolutely sure you didn't want me to know that.. then you can put a Memory Charm on me at the end of the month, if you want.
"Oh.. thank you for understanding. I'll.. I'll think about making you forget, Harry, only if you want to."
But as Harry thought of forgetting all the things Ginny had said about him, how she made him feel especially significant, he wasn't sure he wanted to.
*****
Ginny in Harry's body attended her fourth-year classes while Harry in Ginny's body, Hermione in Ron's body, and Ron in Hermione's body all went to their normal fifth-year classes. People asked them questions throughout the day, and they were relieved to be able to go to their dorms-- their normal dorms-- at the end of the long, long day.
In the girls' dorm, the bodies of Harry and Ron carrying the minds of Ginny and Hermione rested, feeling very awkward amongst all of the other girls. Knowing the potion would wear off soon comforted them.
"Well," Parvati said to the two of them. "Welcome back, you two."
"What's it like being in a boy's body?" the boy-crazy Lavender asked.
"It's odd," Ron's body admitted.
"But what's it like? Ginny, do you care to tell us?" another girl from across the dorm asked, giggling. They had all seen the article and knew how it revealed exactly what it was like for Ginny.
Harry's face went slightly pink. "None of your business. The potion's going to wear off soon anyway. I'm going to bed."
"Why won't you tell us?" Parvati asked.
"Because we don't want to. They're our friends.. and gossiping about what it's like being them is nasty, if you're going where I think you're going with that question," Ron's voice said. "Good night."
"Hermione--" Parvati began.
"I said good night!"
"Hermione, Ron tried to shave your legs when he was in your body!"
"He what?"
In the boys' dorm, something similar was happening. All of the boys felt uncomfortable at the sights of girls in their dorm. Some were trying not to mind them and others, who were more friendly with Harry and Ron than the others were, asked questions that Harry and Ron did not feel like answering.
Ron in Hermione's body had just come out of the bathroom in Hermione's pajamas. Harry had just changed before him, in Ginny's body. Neville, Seamus, and Lee sat on their beds, seeing two girls in their dorm where there normally would be two boys.
"So, how is it being.. you know," Neville, said, eyes traveling everywhere in the room but at the two he spoke to.
"What do you mean?" Ginny's voice asked him.
"He just wants to know how much different it is being a girl," Seamus explained.
Ginny and Hermione's faces looked at eachother for a split second, and then they burst out laughing. "How-- how different do you think it is?" Hermione's voice choked out through the laughter.
"We've only been living as girls for a few days, but we know exactly how different it is," Ginny's voice assured them. "Ginny Weasley by day, Harry Potter by night-- how confused would you be?" Ginny's voice asked.
"Neville's just trying to put it nicely," Lee said, raising his eyebrows. "We're fifteen-year-old boys, that's all."
"Okay," Ginny's voice said uncertainly, Harry's voice controlling it. "So? What are you trying to do, be perverted without actually sounding that way?"
"No, no," Neville said, going pink, Lee and Seamus grinning and chuckling at the sight of the awkward position they put Neville in.
"Let me get this straight," Hermione's voice said. "I know all of your potions already wore off already, but listen to me. That," here he controlled her to point towards the body of Ginny, "is my sister's body. Eyes off. And this," here he motioned at the body he was in, "is Hermione's body. Soon Ginny's body will turn into Harry, and this one will turn into me, Ron. No questions."
"Well, whatever you two think is breast," Seamus said absently, not immediately realizing his error.
"What was that?" Ginny's voice asked as the other boys held back laughter.
"I said whatever you think is best, Harry, best," Seamus assured them with an apologetic smile.
No one objected, quickly changing the subject to something less awkward.
The bodies of Ginny and Hermione went to bed. What Ron (in Hermione's body) had said wasn't exactly true.. they had about three-quarters of an hour before the potion actually wore off. Without giving it a second thought, they went to bed.
In the boys' dorm the next day, the bodies of Ron and Harry woke up, happy to be themselves again and knowing they don't have to stay under the covers until their potion was taken. They got up and stretched. Ron felt odd. He thought that it was only the fact that he was wearing Hermione's pajamas, which were a little too short for him anyway. But he turned back to look at the bed, the covers ruffled and messy, when he jumped back with shock and surprise.
*****
Meanwhile in the girls' dorm, Hermione woke up in her own body and glanced at the calendar and thought sleepily. Oh, look at the date.. But I'm prepared, I've already.. RON! She had forgotten to remind him of a brief event..
She took her potion, turning into Ron, and rushed out of the dorm, not waking up Harry. She had to get to Ron.
She burst into the dorm, waking up a few of the boys.
"Hermione! What are you doing here?" Seamus asked, who was already up.
Ron's eyes turned to Seamus, a blank, obvious expression on her face. "I've been here before," she told him.
Ron, who was standing in front of his bed, hadn't taken his potion yet and Hermione had, so there were two Rons in the room. The body of Ron with Ron inside it was still in shock, looking at the sheets, where there was a fairly small bloodstain that had not been there the day before.
The body of Ron-- the one that had Hermione inside, that is-- cringed and walked towards the real Ron, patting him on the shoulder. "Erm.. welcome to womanhood, Ron."
*****
"So you're saying that I.. you know.. in my sleep?" the body of Hermione asked the body of Ron at lunch.
"You must have," Ron's voice replied, "between the time you laid down to sleep, still looking like a girl, and the time the potion wore off during the night."
"And it lasts..?"
"Usually four days."
"Erm, Ginny?" Ginny's nervous voice said to Harry's body. "Do you-- I mean, if the same is going to happen to you anytime soon.. well, to me, I mean, I really don't want to be surprised like Ron was.. erm.."
Harry's mouth actually cracked a small smile, amused at Ginny's body, Harry controlling it, turning pink. "No," he said. "Er.. maybe on the last few days."
Meanwhile, Ron's voice was discussing the topic with Hermione's body, telling Ron's mind inside how to handle the next few days.
"..and you'll just need to mind that. You might have mood swings. Just.. trust me on this, okay?" Ron's voice had just finished up telling Hermione.
Ron in Hermione's body said nothing, appearing to be deep in thought, as if searching his mind for something.
"..Hello? Do you understand?" Hermione in Ron's body asked again.
Again, nothing.
"Ron, say something!"
"I want chocolate."
*****
A/N: Right. So the secret is out, and the project's been going on for six days. What will happen next? Between Ron and Hermione's arguments, Harry and Ginny's awkwardness, and the rest of the school understanding what's going on, who knows? I do. You keep reading, and I keep writing. So review so that I know people are actually reading.
*****
Alternate Identity: A Polyjuice Potion Story
Chapter Four: The Secret's Out
The next morning, Hermione and Ginny woke up early in the boy's dorm, in their natural forms, took the potion, and got dressed as quickly as possible, before everyone else got up. They wanted to come before the owls came in with the mail, because some students had subscriptions to the Daily Prophet and they did not want to think about Harry and Ron's pictures on the front cover, or what the headline might proclaim.
They were one of the first down in the hall, and only a few professors were there, including Snape and Dumbledore. They both knew to go straight to Dumbledore. His back was facing them, and when they called for him to turn around, the noticed what he was holding. It was the morning edition of the Daily Prophet.
"Professor Dumbledore, we have to tell you something!" Harry's voice was first to exclaim.
He turned to them. "Hello, boys," he said, surprised. "It seems you've made the paper."
"No," they said, out of breath, shaking their heads.
"We took the wrong potions!" Ron's voice blurted out. "We took the wrong Polyjuice Potions by mistake! I'm Hermione and this is Ginny," Ron's voice said, gesturing with a hand.
Dumbledore stood silent for a few moments. "Ah. Then am I correct to presume you were stuck in boys' bodies?"
"Yes," they said guiltily.
"And Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley are stuck in your own bodies?"
"Yes," they said, eyes cast downward.
"You should have come straight to me," he said, smiling slightly with a twinkle in his eyes that uncomfortably made them think he had known all along.
Meanwhile, in the girls' dorm, the bodies of the real Harry and Ron were lying in bed. They were accustomed to waking up earlier than usual, and they did, taking their potion under the sheets and getting dressed, not suspecting a thing.
One by one, the girls in the dorm got up, took their potions, and began getting ready for another day of classes as well. Everyone walked down to the Great Hall at about the same time to have breakfast.
"When we realized that we should have told you in the first place, it was too late," Ron's voice said. "I realized that too late."
Dumbledore nodded, opening the paper and grinning slightly. "So when Rita Skeeter believed Ron to be confessing feelings for Harry, it was Miss Weasley speaking?"
Harry's head nodded, going red.
"I understand. You may return to your table."
Students began filling the Great Hall soon and the bodies of Ron and Harry took their usual seats, looking nervous. Soon, owls came flying in with the mail.
"What's the matter?" Hermione's voice asked Hermione's body, noticing the nervous expression she often used to use.
"Erm.. you know that interview with Rita Skeeter we had last night?" Harry's voice asked Hermione and Ginny's bodies.
"Yeah?" they both asked, curiously.
Harry's and Ron's voices began frantically speaking at once. The ears of Hermione and Ginny's only caught the words "Tricked us--Veritaserum--Please don't be mad!"
"What?" Hermione's voice asked.
At that particular moment, many owls swooped in through windows, dropping mail in front of students. Both Hermione and Ginny, in the boys' bodies, knew that Ron had a subscription to the Daily Prophet--he always liked to read the Quidditch section-- and expected the worst.
As usual, they all switched mail, as each package has been dropped on the wrong person-- and Hermione's body, expecting Ron's mail, grabbed the Daily Prophet and making a horrified face as his eyes scanned over the headline-- Local Boy Ronald Weasley Admits Feelings for Harry Potter in Bodyswitching Project!
He was rendered motionless, shocked at the headline for a few seconds, before the first words escaped his mouth.
"Bloody.. HELL!" Hermione's voice roared, not caring who overheard, as Ron in her body jabbed his sister's body in the side, trying to get Harry to look at the headline.
Ginny's eyes widened to their full extent, before opening her mouth to emit what would have been an awfully loud girlish scream-- Hermione's hand covered the mouth before sound escaped it.
Harry and Ron's bodies couldn't do much but look on helplessly at their best friends panicking.
Hermione and Ginny's hands tore open the newspaper, frantic to see if the article was as bad as the headline.
"How could-- you made us look like we were--!" Ginny's voice stuttered.
"We had no choice! She tricked us into drinking something with Veritaserum in it!" Ron's voice explained.
"You actually took a drink from Rita Skeeter!?" Hermione asked, raising her voice to a high level. "How thick can you possibly get?"
"WAIT!" Ginny's voice said loudly. The other three calmed down to listen to Harry in Ginny's body and they noticed that the hall had gone dreadfully silent. Everyone's eyes seemed to be on them.
Wondering how long it had been silent for and when they could explain their mistake, the four looked around uncomfortably.
Dumbledore immediately rose and went to the front of the Great Hall. "May I please make an announcement!" he said to the hall. All eyes were now on him. "There has been a mistake with the potion," Dumbledore explained. "An error involving the four you are regarding. They took the wrong potions, and ended up in a different body than they expected. Rita Skeeter interviewed the two girls in the two boys' bodies, using Veritaserum."
A chatter arose in the hall, everyone knew using Veritaserum was a big deal.
"But, do not worry," Dumbledore said, smiling, "because we have caught the culprit, Rita Skeeter herself," he said, holding up a jar with a beetle inside it, with the same markings around its eyes as Rita Skeeter's glasses. Everyone sighed in relief, not wanting to experience the embarrassment that Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny felt just then.
"May I please ask the four to see me after breakfast," he said, ending his little speech.
Harry and Ron's eyes wandered to the other boys in the dorm, who looked at them oddly, now knowing that they were not of their own kind. They caught some of them whispering to eachother things like "What did they think they were doing?", "Why didn't they do anything about it?". Fred Weasley was even brave enough to say, "How come they got girls in their dorm?" and George quickly followed up with "Nothing on you, Gin." Harry and Ron's eyes quickly traveled elsewhere at the mention of that.
Hermione and Ginny's gaze traveled to the girls' in their new temporary dormitory, who looked at them in disgust, and they caught some of them whispering things like "I knew they were acting oddly," and "Those perverts!"
*****
After breakfast, the four people the school was talking about stayed in the Great Hall to see Dumbledore.
"What did you want to see us about?" Ron's voice asked him.
Dumbledore smiled, and with a wave of his wand their nametags switched-- the one on Hermione's body read "Ronald Weasley", the one on Ron's body said "Hemione Granger", the tag on Harry displayed "Virginia Weasley", and the one on Ginny said "Harry Potter". He had switched them so they displayed the correct information.
"You are free to go to your class," he said, smiling.
"You mean.. we're going to just stay as we are?" Ron in Hermione's body asked, dumbfounded.
"Precisely."
"But, Professor--" Harry's voice began.
"You were prepared to stay this way anyway if you weren't discovered, correct?" he asked. "All I'm doing is making it so you can be yourselves. You can now go to your normal classes, which are the classes of the person that your nametag displays. And if I switched them correctly, the nametag displays the person underneath the new shell."
They nodded, assuring him they were switched correctly.
You can also sleep in your normal dorms from now on, the one your nametag would direct you to, providing you get changed in privacy from the other occupants of the dorms. You planned this out quite well, didn't you, when you realized you'd made a mistake?" he asked, his blue eyes twinkling.
"We did, actually," Ron's voice replied. "Er-- thank you, Professor."
They were relieved to go back to their normal schedules and went off to their first classes after switching books.
Some students were satisfied with what Dumbledore explained, about the mistake in the potions and the Veritaserum, but others were still skeptical about it. How could they add the hairs and then accidentally switch potions? Draco Malfoy, who was in Blaise Zabini's body, was a strong believer of this.
"What Dumbledore said wasn't true," he said loudly to his clique of friends in the hallways, which included Crabbe and Goyle, who had switched places as well. "He's always favored Potter and Weasley above the rest of the students. I always thought they'd admit the truth about eachother one day. There was probably no Veritaserum involved!" he exclaimed.
Everyone who had a copy of The Daily Prophet read the article.
The Headmaster of Hogwarts, who has recently
assigned a dangerous body-switching project
involving Polyjuice Potion for fourth years and up,
has allowed me, Rita Skeeter, to interview one
of the most well-known students of Hogwarts:
Harry Potter. Along with him is the person he
has chosen to switch bodies with, Ronald
Weasley. Feelings and confessions poured out
of their mouths as I interviewed them, and the
information I was looking for was nowhere near
the information I received.
Ron Weasley, after being asked what it was
like to be in Harry Potter's body, replied: "Oh,
I suppose it's all right. But it's kind of odd, you
know? I mean, I really like him a lot. I've always
really fancied him since we met." I was surprised
at his words as I wrote his response. "He is a
hero, after all, ever so charming, and modest!
Do you see these eyes?" Ron removed the
glasses on Harry's face, making bright green
eyes more visible.
Upon asking Harry Potter the same question,
I got a just as surprising response. Starting
slowly, Harry admitted to the changes he went
through. "It's quite different from what I expected,"
he confessed. "He's quite taller than I'm used to
being."
After being asked about how he felt about Ron's
confession to him, Harry replied, "Last year, I
think he wanted to go to the Yule Ball with me.
He got angry when I went with someone else, and
later we argued about it. I finally said that if he
wanted to go with me, he should have asked me
straight off instead of waiting and having me as a
last resort," Harry in Ron's body recalled. His
thin lips formed a smile. "I'd actually be pretty
flattered if he asked."
Though this interview held secrets I had no
intention of uncovering, I was surprised and
delighted at both boys' honesty and hope the
best for their project and perhaps for their future
as well.
"What does she mean, and perhaps for our future as well?" Hermione's voice asked as she stomped through the halls, now wearing a nametag that announced, "Ron Weasley".
"I'm really sorry about the interview," Ron's voice said to Hermione's face. They talked it out in the hallway after lunch going to the Common Room for afternoon break, which left Harry and Ginny's bodies walking along behind them.
There was an awkward silence between the two of them. Ginny plucked up enough courage to speak through Harry's body, turning his head to face the body of Ginny. "I-- I'm really sorry about the article, Harry. I really am. I was the one who opened my big mouth first, and I had no idea all that would come out.." she trailed off.
Ginny's eyelashes were cast downward as Harry inside of her body thought of how to reply. "It's not your fault. Rita Skeeter is awful like that. I'm not surprised to hear she snuck Veritaserum into your drink, that seems just what she would do anyway.."
"But you know what I told her in the interview," Harry's voice said, his face going pink. "And I can't deny I said it. It was true." Harry's eyes remained on the floor, heart going a mile a minute, admitting things she'd never let loose otherwise, unless she had more Veritaserum.
There was a moment's pause. "If you're absolutely sure you didn't want me to know that.. then you can put a Memory Charm on me at the end of the month, if you want.
"Oh.. thank you for understanding. I'll.. I'll think about making you forget, Harry, only if you want to."
But as Harry thought of forgetting all the things Ginny had said about him, how she made him feel especially significant, he wasn't sure he wanted to.
*****
Ginny in Harry's body attended her fourth-year classes while Harry in Ginny's body, Hermione in Ron's body, and Ron in Hermione's body all went to their normal fifth-year classes. People asked them questions throughout the day, and they were relieved to be able to go to their dorms-- their normal dorms-- at the end of the long, long day.
In the girls' dorm, the bodies of Harry and Ron carrying the minds of Ginny and Hermione rested, feeling very awkward amongst all of the other girls. Knowing the potion would wear off soon comforted them.
"Well," Parvati said to the two of them. "Welcome back, you two."
"What's it like being in a boy's body?" the boy-crazy Lavender asked.
"It's odd," Ron's body admitted.
"But what's it like? Ginny, do you care to tell us?" another girl from across the dorm asked, giggling. They had all seen the article and knew how it revealed exactly what it was like for Ginny.
Harry's face went slightly pink. "None of your business. The potion's going to wear off soon anyway. I'm going to bed."
"Why won't you tell us?" Parvati asked.
"Because we don't want to. They're our friends.. and gossiping about what it's like being them is nasty, if you're going where I think you're going with that question," Ron's voice said. "Good night."
"Hermione--" Parvati began.
"I said good night!"
"Hermione, Ron tried to shave your legs when he was in your body!"
"He what?"
In the boys' dorm, something similar was happening. All of the boys felt uncomfortable at the sights of girls in their dorm. Some were trying not to mind them and others, who were more friendly with Harry and Ron than the others were, asked questions that Harry and Ron did not feel like answering.
Ron in Hermione's body had just come out of the bathroom in Hermione's pajamas. Harry had just changed before him, in Ginny's body. Neville, Seamus, and Lee sat on their beds, seeing two girls in their dorm where there normally would be two boys.
"So, how is it being.. you know," Neville, said, eyes traveling everywhere in the room but at the two he spoke to.
"What do you mean?" Ginny's voice asked him.
"He just wants to know how much different it is being a girl," Seamus explained.
Ginny and Hermione's faces looked at eachother for a split second, and then they burst out laughing. "How-- how different do you think it is?" Hermione's voice choked out through the laughter.
"We've only been living as girls for a few days, but we know exactly how different it is," Ginny's voice assured them. "Ginny Weasley by day, Harry Potter by night-- how confused would you be?" Ginny's voice asked.
"Neville's just trying to put it nicely," Lee said, raising his eyebrows. "We're fifteen-year-old boys, that's all."
"Okay," Ginny's voice said uncertainly, Harry's voice controlling it. "So? What are you trying to do, be perverted without actually sounding that way?"
"No, no," Neville said, going pink, Lee and Seamus grinning and chuckling at the sight of the awkward position they put Neville in.
"Let me get this straight," Hermione's voice said. "I know all of your potions already wore off already, but listen to me. That," here he controlled her to point towards the body of Ginny, "is my sister's body. Eyes off. And this," here he motioned at the body he was in, "is Hermione's body. Soon Ginny's body will turn into Harry, and this one will turn into me, Ron. No questions."
"Well, whatever you two think is breast," Seamus said absently, not immediately realizing his error.
"What was that?" Ginny's voice asked as the other boys held back laughter.
"I said whatever you think is best, Harry, best," Seamus assured them with an apologetic smile.
No one objected, quickly changing the subject to something less awkward.
The bodies of Ginny and Hermione went to bed. What Ron (in Hermione's body) had said wasn't exactly true.. they had about three-quarters of an hour before the potion actually wore off. Without giving it a second thought, they went to bed.
In the boys' dorm the next day, the bodies of Ron and Harry woke up, happy to be themselves again and knowing they don't have to stay under the covers until their potion was taken. They got up and stretched. Ron felt odd. He thought that it was only the fact that he was wearing Hermione's pajamas, which were a little too short for him anyway. But he turned back to look at the bed, the covers ruffled and messy, when he jumped back with shock and surprise.
*****
Meanwhile in the girls' dorm, Hermione woke up in her own body and glanced at the calendar and thought sleepily. Oh, look at the date.. But I'm prepared, I've already.. RON! She had forgotten to remind him of a brief event..
She took her potion, turning into Ron, and rushed out of the dorm, not waking up Harry. She had to get to Ron.
She burst into the dorm, waking up a few of the boys.
"Hermione! What are you doing here?" Seamus asked, who was already up.
Ron's eyes turned to Seamus, a blank, obvious expression on her face. "I've been here before," she told him.
Ron, who was standing in front of his bed, hadn't taken his potion yet and Hermione had, so there were two Rons in the room. The body of Ron with Ron inside it was still in shock, looking at the sheets, where there was a fairly small bloodstain that had not been there the day before.
The body of Ron-- the one that had Hermione inside, that is-- cringed and walked towards the real Ron, patting him on the shoulder. "Erm.. welcome to womanhood, Ron."
*****
"So you're saying that I.. you know.. in my sleep?" the body of Hermione asked the body of Ron at lunch.
"You must have," Ron's voice replied, "between the time you laid down to sleep, still looking like a girl, and the time the potion wore off during the night."
"And it lasts..?"
"Usually four days."
"Erm, Ginny?" Ginny's nervous voice said to Harry's body. "Do you-- I mean, if the same is going to happen to you anytime soon.. well, to me, I mean, I really don't want to be surprised like Ron was.. erm.."
Harry's mouth actually cracked a small smile, amused at Ginny's body, Harry controlling it, turning pink. "No," he said. "Er.. maybe on the last few days."
Meanwhile, Ron's voice was discussing the topic with Hermione's body, telling Ron's mind inside how to handle the next few days.
"..and you'll just need to mind that. You might have mood swings. Just.. trust me on this, okay?" Ron's voice had just finished up telling Hermione.
Ron in Hermione's body said nothing, appearing to be deep in thought, as if searching his mind for something.
"..Hello? Do you understand?" Hermione in Ron's body asked again.
Again, nothing.
"Ron, say something!"
"I want chocolate."
*****
A/N: Right. So the secret is out, and the project's been going on for six days. What will happen next? Between Ron and Hermione's arguments, Harry and Ginny's awkwardness, and the rest of the school understanding what's going on, who knows? I do. You keep reading, and I keep writing. So review so that I know people are actually reading.