Disclaimer: No it doesn't belong to me, I wouldn't mind owning it though.
Chapter 7: You're turning me into a what?!
"Okay Ferret Boy, let's get this over with."
Draco opened an eye. Being turned into a ferret once gave everyone – even people he didn't know – ammo against him to last a lifetime.
Forever immortalised as 'the guy who was turned into a ferret and bounced around the halls'.
Or Ferret Boy for short.
He gave an exaggerated stretch.
"Lunchtime already? How time flies."
Hermione dropped her bag on the floor with a thump and glared at him.
"Not in a jokey mood, eh?" Draco asked her, sitting up on the bed. "Oh well."
Hermione turned her back on him and began to tidy up a pile of parchment on her desk. Draco cleared his throat quietly. She didn't look around.
"Y'know Granger, Ron certainly has changed over the summer, he's even better looking than he was last year."
Hermione froze mid shuffle. Draco continued in a lazy way.
"He has lovely eyes and a great sense of humour. Really Granger, you are strangely obsessed with eyes. Oh and, while I think of it, Potter does not have nicer eyes than me!"
Hermione turned around slowly, a horrified look spreading across her face.
"But he only and ever will see me as a friend. Hermione the bookworm."
"You read my diary!"
"Diaries, plural."
Unexpectedly, Hermione managed to compose herself. She shrugged and turned her attention to the parchment again.
"It's a good thing that they have spells on them then." She said calmly. Draco scowled. "If anyone reads my diaries then they have a hex placed on them – if they try to tell anyone, except me, the contents then the hex is activated. And I must say, it is a particularly horrible hex."
Draco looked thoughtful for a minute before speaking.
"What if I write down some of your entries and paste copies around the school?"
"It still counts, plus I would hex you to the middle of next week in addition to the diary hex."
"Oh well. I can still torment you about it, can't I?"
"If you must." Hermione sounded irritated.
"Okay then. Ron Weasley?! You had a crush on Ron Weasley in fourth year?!"
"It's not like he felt the same way. Besides I'm over it now." Hermione said primly.
"Ron Join-the-freckles-on-my-face-and-see-what-shape-you-get Weasley?"
"Yes. It's not always what's on the outside that counts." Hermione was becoming angry. Draco grinned; annoying Hermione should be made a sport. "That's why I would never go out with you!"
Draco's grin vanished and he looked up at her curiously.
"Why would you never go out with me?"
"Because, you may be one of the best looking boys in our year," Draco allowed himself a smug smile, "but inside you're pure malice and arrogance. I'm surprised even Pansy sticks with you."
Draco had stood up and crossed the room in one smooth movement. Hermione blinked and looked up at Draco who was standing in front of her.
He seemed to be considering something, his grey eyes boring into her brown eyes. Hermione contemplated saying something. But what to say? Her mind had gone blank of all but one thought.
Maybe his eyes were nicer than Harry's.
Draco drew closer to Hermione; he was frowning slightly but didn't seem to be angry.
Hermione berated herself mentally for almost enjoying being in such close proximity to a Malfoy.
Little did she know that Draco was doing the same thing.
Then, as suddenly as he had stepped close to her he moved away again. He slipped out of his cloak and took his tie off. He passed them to Hermione silently.
"What are these for?" Hermione asked, examining the green and silver striped tie and the cloak.
Draco rolled his eyes.
"Granger, you don't really expect to wander into the Slytherin dungeons in Gryffindor uniform do you?"
Hermione's face reddened in embarrassment at her stupidity. The 'moment' had passed and Draco had reverted to his normal self. Maybe they could just forget it happened.
She rolled up the cloak and tie and put them under her arm. Draco pulled out his wand.
"You ready?" He asked.
"I never thought I'd willingly let you put a spell on me."
Draco smirked. "I'm going to take that as a yes."
"You do that."
"Granger, if you're smart mouthed then I may accidentally turn your hair green and refuse to turn it back." He eyed her smugly and twirled his wand around in his fingers.
"Just get on with it."
Draco waved his wand in a complicated manner and mumbled something Hermione couldn't quite make out.
A bright red jet of light shot out of the end of his wand and encircled Hermione. It thrummed around her for a while before vanishing.
"You'll have two minutes, roughly, until the change begins to happen." He said, pocketing his wand. He looked annoyingly smug. "Then you will have half an hour to get the broom."
There was a short pause.
"Malfoy."
"Yes Granger?"
"What am I going to look like?"
Draco attempted to look innocent – it didn't work. Hermione put her hands on her hips.
"Well, I thought you'd be too recognisable as a girl."
Hermione's eyes widened.
"You're making me into a boy?"
Draco fought to hold back his laughter at Hermione's face.
"More like a slightly effeminate boy I would say."
Hermione scowled.
"Like you then?"
It was Hermione's turn to grin as Draco spluttered indignantly.
"I am not effeminate! I just have delicate features."
"Yeah sure, and I'm secretly in love with Snape!"
Draco scratched his chin thoughtfully.
"I could see it."
Hermione snatched up a pillow from the sofa and threw it at him. Draco laughed and dodged it. Hermione smiled and straightened her robes.
"So what's the Slytherin password?"
A few minutes later Hermione found herself in Slytherin robes with her Gryffindor robes under her arm wandering down the corridors in the other direction to many hungry, swarming students.
Absent-mindedly she reached up and touched her hair. It now sat on her head in a spiky mass, she was pretty sure Draco had made it a dark brown. What she really wanted to do was find a mirror and see what she looked like, but she was working to a time limit.
Maybe on the way back.
She replayed Draco's directions over and over in her brain. Seeing the correct staircase she descended down to the dungeons. A labyrinth of corridors stretched out in front of her. She reached into her pockets and pulled out a scrap of parchment with the directions and password written on it.
Hermione weaved through the dimly lit corridors until she came to a part of wall that looked slightly different from the rest.
By different, it looked like it had slightly less damp than the other walls.
Hermione was suddenly very grateful for her cosy common room, with the constantly burning fire and the lack of mould.
Salazar must have really hated his house.
Hermione flipped the piece of parchment over; she read the password and mouthed it a few times.
"C-cautelous!"
The hidden door slid open and Hermione stepped through into the Slytherin common room.
It wasn't much better inside; everything was in the house colours as was the Gryffindor common room but all the green gave the room a murky, cave like feel.
No wonder all the Slytherins had corrosive personalities.
There were a few Slytherins in the common room, most of them huddled in front of the weak fire or sitting half hidden by shadows in the corners of the room.
Hermione gave some of them a weak smile. They only scowled at her.
Obviously smiling wasn't the thing to do in Slytherin.
She went up the staircase into Draco's dorm and found his bed. His broom should be on top of his trunk.
She noticed a bunch of flowers lying on his bed from a certain Pansy Parkinson and allowed herself a small grin.
Draco's bed was oddly tidy compared to what must be Crabbe and Goyle's. Hermione wondered whether someone had tidied his bed out of respect or he was just a tidy person.
She frowned. Actually, it being Malfoy, he would probably have someone to make his bed for him.
He probably had someone to lick his shoes as well.
She took her attention away from his bed and looked to where Draco said his broom was. Except there was a slight flaw.
His broom wasn't there.
Ten minutes earlier.
Blaise Zabini turned to Crabbe and Goyle who were staring entranced at Draco's broom.
"Shall we take it for a spin?" He grinned at them. Crabbe scratched his head and Goyle frowned.
"But Draco..." Goyle began, not taking his eyes off the broom.
"Isn't here. He won't ever find out. That is, if he does return at all." Blaise goaded.
The two burly boys still hesitated so Blaise attempted a different approach.
"It's the fastest broom in the world. Just think, if Draco was here now he wouldn't even let you this close."
Crabbe glanced at Goyle.
"Alright. Just for half an hour." He said slowly. Blaise grinned again and picked up the broom, the three boys left the dorm.
There was no loyalty amongst Slytherins.
Draco stared out of the window feeling quite pleased with himself. Hermione had looked very different when she had left. He had changed her hair to a very short dark brown, he had vanished the spattering of freckles over her nose and changed her eyes to a light blue.
She definitely wouldn't be recognisable.
Draco idly watched some figures enjoying their lunch break by taking it in turns to fly around the quidditch pitch.
It was odd. No one had readily wanted to help him before. Sure Hermione wanted him out of her room as soon as possible but she could have bundled him out of her window or just kicked him out. Instead she had gone out of her way to help him.
Thinking about it now, if it was the other way round, he probably wouldn't have helped her.
That was the difference between Gryffindors and Slytherins.
The door burst open and Hermione, who had turned back to her normal self, hurried in.
Empty handed.
"Where's the broom?" He asked.
"It wasn't there."
"What?"
"The broom. It wasn't there." Hermione sounded tired.
Draco glanced out of the window, the figures definitely looked familiar.
"Zabini." He growled making Hermione jump.
"I want you out today. So there's one other option."
"What is it?"
Hermione grinned evilly. Draco knew he wouldn't like the answer.
"You get to dress up for a change."
A/N: Well, I'm supposed to be revising but I think I know what the Spanish for 'I have a headache' is pretty well.
Anyway, the Slytherin password Cautelous means cautious, cunning or treacherous.
Latin – Cautela
French – Cauteleux
Spanish - Cauteloso
I just thought it suited the Slytherin personality.
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