The Frog and Ginny

Draco laughed. Not the infectious laugh of the popular at a joke but the cruel piercing laugh of the bully mocking his victim. Laughed and laughed until tears ran down his cheeks and set the rest of the Slytherins laughing in a nervous way, lest they should be hexed next.

Draco bent down and picked up the frog, which sat in front of him, by his left foot. Jiggling him up and down his laughter reaching a higher pitch piercing the clammy skin of the frog. The frog wriggled in the grasp of the teenage boy.

"Ribbit," said the frog in protest as Draco made to throw the frog at a couple of second year girls who squealed at the thought.

"Ribbit," said the frog in fear when Draco tossed him in the air and caught him an inch from the ground.

"Ribbit," said the frog through crushed lungs as Draco squeezed him between his hands.

Draco sighed dramatically as he stopped laughing and again picked up the terrified frog by his leg. "Sorry Neville, I don't speak frog," he said. Then tossed the poor transfigured boy through the window, out into the snow.

"Oh this is ridiculous," cried Hermione stamping her foot in the snow. "We don't even know if Neville really was transfigured into a toad and tossed out this window. And besides it's absolutely freezing out here. Neville's probably hidden somewhere in the castle and Draco just got that kid to tell us some story so he could laugh at us out here in the cold, the wet and now the dark."

Harry sighed internally. It did sound like something Malfoy would do, get them all out here only for Neville to be found somewhere inside the castle. However it sounded equally likely for Draco to have turned Neville into a toad and tossed him out the window. Harry swept the twighlight ground with this wand tuning the crimson glow of sunset to brilliant white. Harry couldn't remember much about toads but he was pretty sure that even a boy transfigured into one wouldn't last long in the cold. Now that night was falling Harry didn't want to think about what might happen if they didn't find Neville before then.

Ron on the other hand completely agreed with Hermione. "Come on Harry, let's give it a rest for the night. We can come back tomorrow. Or even better let's find that little slug Malfoy and make him tell us where Neville is." Ron grinned at the thought of torturing Malfoy. Hermione smiled back; Ginny smacked him across the chest.

"I cannot believe you Ronald Weasly. Neville is out friend and he wouldn't give up looking for us so we can't leave him. Besides it sounds just like Malfoy to do something like this. What do you say Harry? Harry?"

Harry opened his mouth to agree but was rather distracted from his answer by the snowflakes that hung on Ginny's eyelashes and the way her cheeks had flushed with her argument at Ron. Her red hair had fallen from the hood of the cloak and glowed blood read in the sunset. Ginny's lips moved as she said something and Harry wondered what she tasted like.

"Harry what are you..." Ginny began but never completed her sentence, being distracted by something long, thin and pink that had leapt out of the tree to her left touched her cheek and snapped back like an elastic band. Ginny put her gloved hand up to her cheek. Her expression forcibly reminded Harry of when Hermione had kissed Ron before his fist Quiditch match.

Ginny turned her head and spread the branches of the tree. A grin blossomed across her face. Harry found himself wishing that he had caused this change of mood and hopping Neville had only been trying to get her attentions and not to steal a kiss. Ginny reached out her gloved hand and picked up the frog from the tree branch and held him gently him her hands.

"He's a frog, not a toad," she said with a smile. "But he's absolutely freezing and my gloves are all wet from the snow. Oh what shall we...wait a minute. Just had a great idea." Holding Neville in one hand she unbuttoned the top of her cloak, then her shirt and dropped Neville onto her warm chest.

"Ribbit," said Neville and Ginny giggled as the frog peaked out from between her chest and cloak.

"Why did you have to put him there?" Burst Ron.

"Because I don't have any pockets," said Ginny matter of fatly as if she regularly dropped her brothers classmates down her top.

"How do you know it's even him," demanded Ron getting as red as the tips of his ears.

"Well, honestly Ron," Ginny replied not looking up. She was scratching Neville under his chin and the frog seemed to enjoy it far too much. "Have you ever seen a frog blush?"

Once the five of them, two boys, two girls and one frog, had got back to the Gryffindor common room they threw off their wet cloaks and gloves and sat by the fire to try and figure out what to do with Neville. Ron had insisted on moving him onto the carpet and away from Ginny. Hermione had bounded up the stairs to her dorm and returned thirty seconds later with largest book Harry had ever seen.

"It's all about animal transfiguration and animagus transformations. I've been doing some extra reading for my Newt next year. There's bound to be something in here about changing Neville back. Now if only we knew where to begin." Harry and Ron moved behind her to get a better view at the index. Ginny made a grab for Neville.

"Put him down Ginny. We have to turn him back," threatened Ron, his ears turning red again.

"Come on Ginny, this book will have something we can use to ... what?" Hermione said.

Ginny rolled her eyes at the three of them. "Honestly Hermione. Have you never heard any fairy tales before? Every girl knows how to turn a frog into a prin..well, back to a boy anyway." She lifted Neville with both hands to her face.

Harry was completely distracted by the way Ginny looked kneeling in front of the fire to pay much attention to what she was about to do. Hermione was just plain confused. Ron on the other hand spluttered with shock but before he could get his tongue wrapped around and intelligible word Ginny had lightly planted a kiss on the frog's lips.

Nothing happened. Ron sighed with obvious relief. Hermione smiled indulgently. Harry wished Ginny was kissing him.

"Ribbit," said Neville, almost in apology for not changing back.

"Sorry Ginny but that's just a story. Just a stupid fairy tale about not judging on first impressions. It's not real."

Ginny seemed riled by Hermione's patronising tone. She rolled her eyes again in which to say of course it's real, what would you know. Ginny again lifted Neville with both hands to her lips and let her kiss linger for a second longer. She shut here eyes as if to savour his taste.

Then something happened. The frog swelled and tuned pink. Its eyes shrunk and closed, growing eyelids. Its arms grew long and the webbed skin between the fingers grew back. Suddenly a body was there in an explosion of growth, two legs grew so that suddenly Neville was knelling in front of the fire an exact mirror to Ginny. It was all over in a blink of an eye. It was all over without Ginny removing her lips from Neville's.

Their eyes fluttered open for the briefest of moments. Ginny smiled, Neville kissed back. Her hands stopped holding her head and dropped onto his back. Neville's arms circled around her waist and shoulder and pulled her close.

Looking back Harry didn't think - Ron would have been able to cope with the sight of Neville kissing his little sister. Even if he hadn't transfigured back completely naked.

They sat in that pose for what seemed like hours but could only have been seconds. Ron's jaw seemed to have broken and was hanging open. Hermione was just staring; Harry did not want to know where. Harry began to get more and more jealous of the fact Ginny was kissing Neville and not him.

Eventually they pulled back still gazing into each others eyes.

"Thanks," whispered Neville.

"Don't mention it," blushed Ginny. Her hand dropped onto his chest as she gave him a gentle push. When her hand found only bare skin she looked puzzled and looked down. She squealed and slapped her hand over her eyes. Neville blushed crimson and looked mortified grabbed on to the wet cloaks.

"Oh, oh, oh my g-g-god," Neville stuttered. "G-g-gin? Are you..? I'm sorry I..." He turned and saw Harry, Ron and Hermione. "OH MY GOD! Oh my GOD! Oh man, oh man, oh man. I was...that it...where the hell...? How long have you been just sitting there!?"

The only reply he got was stunned silence before Ron jerked out of his inertia to throw a cloak over Neville and but put his hand over Hermione's eyes. Hermione squeaked in surprise which made Harry jump.

"Why the HELL are you naked?" Demanded Ron.

"I don't know. Why the hell would I? Er, thanks for rescuing my guys. I had a better go to bed now. Er, right, yes. See you." With that Neville scuttled off to the boys dorm clasping the cloak around his waist.

Disclaimer: I do not own these character I'm just having a little fun with them

Oh and a little note before you review – this is a stand alone piece I will not add a second chapter about what happens next. I am currently attempting to write a novel length HP fan fiction and also have some pesky University work to do that usually gets in the way. Feel free to write a second chapter yourself if you really can't bare the thought of not knowing what happens. I can assure you I have absolutely no idea.

xxx