Usagi woke the next morning after everyone else in her dorm, as usual, and immediately grabbed a set of clean clothes to change into after her bath. She wasted no time in running the hot water and undressing. As she prepared to bathe, downstairs it was just another vacation day in the Gryffindor common room. Ron currently dueled with Harry in an engaging game of wizard's chess. Hermione curled up on one of the couches with a thick book that neither Ron nor Harry cared to ask her about. Fred and George huddled with Lee in one corner of the room discussing god only knows what, and a few other Gryffindors littered the commons area.
Everyone jumped when a sharp scream cut through the lazy quiet. After a moment's confusion, they figured the source was the girls' dormitories.
"It's probably just a bug or something. I'll go." Hermione volunteered, book marking her page and setting down her book. She slowly made her way up the staircase, checking doors as she went. To her surprise, the noise came from her own dormitory. In front of her mirror sat Usagi, who currently seemed to be in a fight with her hair brush. "Usagi?"
"Hermione!" The blonde exclaimed. As she turned her head, a splatter of water flew across the floor, signaling that she'd been in the bath recently. She looked extremely upset. "It won't come out!"
"What are you talking about, Usagi?" Hermione questioned with one eyebrow raised. Wrapped in nothing but a bath robe, Usagi held up a hair tie in one hand and a thick, drenched, golden ringlet in the other.
"My hair! I took out the hair tie this morning and tried to wash it but the gel won't wash out!" She elaborated frantically. Hermione frowned.
"Mine did. I washed it out last night after the ball." She said slowly. An idea hit her. "Where's the stuff we used?"
"Um...over here." Usagi opened her trunk and pulled out the kit that was conveniently sitting on top of everything else. Hermione grabbed the instruction manual and quickly flipped to the 'Warning' section. Her eyes skimmed over it for a few minutes before she found something significant.
"Warning," she began aloud, "do not keep any product in hair for more than eight hours. If such a situation occurs, contact company for instruction."
"That's it?" Usagi questioned when Hermione didn't continue.
"Yes. I guess you should send them a letter." Hermione shrugged.
"So my hair is stuck like this until they tell me how to get it out?" Usagi whined. Hermione nodded. Usagi sighed and pulled out parchment to start the letter. "Alright then. Thanks Hermione."
"No problem." Hermione replied, turning to leave.
-----
Usagi headed downstairs, fully dressed, with the finished letter in her hand. Before she could leave for the Owlery, however, Fred and George intercepted her.
"Hullo Usagi!" They greeted in unison. Usagi raised an eyebrow at them.
"Hello," she replied slowly.
"Splendid, your hair is still up. Did you see Malfoy at all last night?" George asked. Usagi blinked.
"No, I'm pretty sure I didn't." She answered thoughtfully.
"Lovely! We have this great idea," Fred began.
"It is a wonderful idea," George agreed.
"We're going to pull a prank on Malfoy," Fred continued.
"Because he's a prat," George added.
"Exactly. The thing is we need your help to pull it off." Fred explained.
"We can't do it without you." George said.
"Will you help?" Fred asked. Usagi absorbed their question for a moment before answering.
"Um...sure, but I have to mail this first." She said, holding up the letter. Fred snatched it and signaled for one of the first years to come over to them.
"Hey kid, we need you to mail this letter." He instructed, waving the envelope in front of him.
"What if I don't want to?" The kid asked, eyeing the envelope.
"Well, we are the best pranksters in school, if you get my drift." Fred answered nonchalantly. The kid looked startled for a few seconds before he grabbed the letter and ran off towards the Owlery. Usagi shook her head.
"That's taken care of. Now, here's the plan. Remember that box of chocolates we gave you for Christmas...?"
-----
Usagi looked around the Owlery cautiously, checking and rechecking for anyone that might bear witness to her crime. Satisfied that there was no one around, she pulled out a letters that was tucked inside her school bag, which she was carrying with her for today since she had so much to set up. Picking out a suitable owl, she tied the letter to its leg, clearly addressed to Crabbe. She grinned to herself at the sheer genius of the Weasley twins as she finished attaching the parchment.
"Deliver this at breakfast tomorrow, okay?" she cooed to the owl, pulling out a wrapped piece of bread for it to eat. It hooted enthusiastically as she broke of a piece and fed it to him. "You don't know how much I appreciate that." She mused as she left the Owlery as stealthily as she'd came, although most students were too busy relaxing to even notice her go past anyways. 'Phase 1 of pranking Malfoy is complete.'
"Now the hard part, finding the little bastard," she muttered to herself as she entered the castle. The Entrance Hall was practically empty, save for the few people that were headed outside. Usagi pulled out the parchment that Fred had given her earlier, which was also tucked away in her school bag. Her eyes rolled over the blank page before she touched her wand to it, whispering, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."
Lines flowed across the paper and formed a map of the school grounds. Usagi searched for a good ten minutes before she found the dot she was looking for, Draco Malfoy. He was currently in the library, and by a brilliant stroke of luck, Crabbe and Goyle weren't with him. 'Probably because they're afraid of books,' she thought to herself as she tucked the map away and set off towards the library.
-----
'I hope to God he doesn't recognize me. Here goes the most degrading moment in my life thus far.' Usagi crossed her fingers and set off across the library to where Malfoy currently sat. He kept looking over at the restricted section as though formulating a plan of how to get in without getting caught. He didn't even notice her approach until she had placed her hands on the table and leaned across towards him. His head snapped up as she addressed him.
"You're Draco Malfoy, right?" She asked in the most French-sounding accent she could muster. It sounded horrible, but he bought it.
"Yes, and who are you?" He inquiring, looking her up and down. Usagi resisted the urge to shudder, and instead plastered on a playful smile.
"I attend Beauxbatons. I've had my eye on you for a while now, why don't you meet me in the Armory room tomorrow after dinner for a...discussion." She said with what she hoped was a seductive grin.
"That sounds...lovely," Draco said as he looked her over again.
"Alright, love, see you then." Usagi winked at him and turned around, strutting off. 'Thank god he isn't the brightest crayon in the box. Glad that's over.' She mused, heading towards the kitchens. On arrival, a female house elf sprinted over and hugged her around the knees tightly.
"Miss! Miss! I've wanted to thank you for so long, I thought you'd never return to the kitchens! Dumbledore said that I should make more desserts, he loves them! I wasn't freed! Thank you!" The elf cried in its squeaky voice. Usagi smiled.
"I'm glad, Tiombe. It's going well for you then?" She asked.
"Yes, very much so, thanks to you." Tiombe said with an enthusiastic nod.
"All I did was compliment your dish, which it very well deserved. Everyone at our table loved it, I think we ran out." Usagi commented.
"Yes, I'll have to teach the others to make it so we can make more next time." Tiombe replied with a slightly flushed looked of happiness. Smoogle, the head elf, walked over to them.
"Hello Miss Usagi, I haven't seen you around here in a while. I'm sorry about all the commotion on your last visit. Would you like us to fix you something special to make up for it?" He questioned. For a brief moment, the image of warm odangos popped into her mind, but she reluctantly brushed it off.
"Actually, I wanted to ask a favor." Usagi said.
"What is it?" Smoogle inquired.
"Would there be any way for you to give, oh say, some chocolate or something to a particular person at dinner through the kitchens like, anonymously?" Usagi said, trying to phrase her words carefully so they wouldn't catch on to her evil intentions.
"Possibly, considering that most people sit at the same spot everyday at meal times." Smoogle said thoughtfully. "Of course, as a favor, I could send someone to find out where this particular person is sitting before food is served so we could pinpoint their location if you wanted."
"That would be awesome!" Usagi exclaimed.
"Alright then, who are you trying to send something to?" Smoogle asked.
"Um...two guys from Slytherin. One is Draco Malfoy, and the other is Crabbe, one of his 'bodyguards' in a sense." Usagi explained. Smoogle frowned.
"I don't know them..." He trailed.
"Dobby knows, sir!" Another house elf squeaked, apparently referring to himself in the third person. He scurried over and bowed down low before the chief house elf, his long nose smashed against the tiled floor.
"Hello," Usagi greeted, looking at the newcomer with interest. He wore an over-sized maroon sweater with a nice big 'R' embroidered in the front, which Usagi couldn't connect to his name in any way, and particularly baggy and mismatched socks, one mustard yellow and the other violet. He looked up at her with huge green eyes.
"Dobby knows Draco, and his two fat friends. Dobby used to be owned by the Malfoys before he was set free by Harry Potter, Miss." The house elf explained. Smoogle frowned at Dobby.
"I suppose if you know them, then the task will be appointed to you. What item do you want sent to them?" Smoogle asked, addressing Usagi. Usagi jumped and consulted her bag once again, producing two small, heart-shaped boxes. Each one had the proper name written on it in tidy cursive, so there would be no mix ups with the boxes. Usagi handed them over to Smoogle.
"I'm entrusting these to you, it's extremely important that the two gentlemen receive this candy tomorrow at dinner." She said very seriously. Smoogle nodded.
"Consider it done, Miss Usagi." He said with confidence.
"Thanks, you guys, see you later." Usagi smiled and waved before heading out of the kitchens. Satisfied that she'd done her job fairly well, she made her way back towards the Gryffindor common room. The Weasley twins were eagerly awaiting her return and nearly pounced on her as she walked in.
"Well? Is it on, did everything go alright?" They both said simultaneously.
"The letter is in the mail, Malfoy didn't recognize me, and the house elves were more than happy to oblige." Usagi confirmed. The twins let out a cheer.
"Wonderful. We got the camera from Creevey and plenty of parchment for fliers, so we're all ready to go." George said.
"Yes. Now remember, we'll be hiding behind the fourth suit of armor so if he goes past that point before the candy kicks in, it's all over." Fred instructed.
"The candy should kick in about 10 minutes after they eat it, so Malfoy should be in the Armory before it all goes down. By the time he gets over the shock and gets it in his mind to attack, Crabbe will show up." George went on.
"Yes, and since you will be hiding across from us, it is very very very important that you stay out of view, because if he spots you first, it'll ruin the whole prank and be a very bad day for you. Got it?" Fred asked.
"Yeah, I just hope it works out as planned." Usagi replied.
"Oh it will, and it will be the most priceless prank to ever take place in Hogwarts since the era of the Marauders." Fred said dreamily. Usagi raised an eyebrow but decided not to ask who the 'Marauders' were. Lee entered the common room and, after a quick sweep of the room, joined the three conspirers.
"Hey Fred, George," he looked over at Usagi and his eyes widened. "Usagi!"
"Why yes, Lee, that is my name." Usagi replied with a humongous grin. "It's about time you noticed."
"You didn't know it was Usagi?" Fred asked in a bewildered tone.
"You really are slow on the uptake, Lee." George said with a chuckle.
"I didn't see her until now." Lee defended.
"Actually, you looked straight at me last night during the ball." Usagi chimed with another grin.
"Did not!"
"Did too!"
"Whoa, kids, none of that, we're past that age right?" Fred asked. Several shocked stares were sent his way.
"No!" Lee and Usagi chorused; Fred sweatdropped.
-----
The next day, beginning of dinner...
Usagi stared at her plate, almost grudgingly, and then cast another glance at the Slytherin table. 'Stupid bloke isn't here yet. If he doesn't come then the whole thing is ruined.' Chewing her lip nervously, she cast a glace at the twins. They were doing a much better job at hiding their anxiety than her, if they even felt any anxiety. She really couldn't tell.
"Alright, Usagi, meeting under the table time," Fred exclaimed.
"Private meeting," George added to the surrounding people.
"Wai--" But sadly, it was too late for protests. The twins seized both of her arms and dragged her under with them. She nearly banged her head on the table, but managed to scrape by.
"Are you sure you didn't say before dinner by accident?" George asked.
"Positive." Usagi said with a nod.
"If he doesn't come, the whole things ruined and we're in serious trouble." Fred grumbled.
"Hey guys," Lee started, poking his head under. "Your prey has arrived."
"Finally," Usagi sighed with relief and returned to her seat at the table. Fred and George popped up soon after. Dumbledore initiated the feast a good fifteen minutes later than usual, and Usagi had the sneaking suspicion that he knew what they were up to as well. Malfoy and Crabbe got their chocolates as planned, and both were seemingly too absorbed in themselves to notice that they both received boxes before they tucked the items away.
Usagi smiled cheerfully and dug into her dinner with enthusiasm. After she finished, it seemed to take an eternity for dinner to end. When it finally did, Usagi and the twins rushed out of the Great Hall and sprinted towards the Armory at an unrivaled speed. They needed to be there long before their victims arrived. After several chaotic moments, they successfully concealed themselves behind objects.
"What did you write on the notes?" Fred whispered across the way.
"Something along the lines of 'Here's an after dinner treat for you, love, enjoy.' Lame, yes, but the two we're dealing with aren't really concerned about it anyways." Usagi whispered back. The twins snorted.
"This is going to be great. I can't believe the blokes actually fell for it, thus far." Fred muttered.
"Yeah, but how are you going to take pictures without them noticing. The camera has a flash, doesn't it?" Usagi questioned quietly.
"Yes, usually, but Creevey helped us rig it so that it would spit out good pictures without a flash. Ah, the beauty of magic," George mused in ecstasy. They all silenced when they heard the door knob turning. Said door creaked open loudly, and made a loud thump when closed. The gap between the stone wall and the suit of armor Usagi was hiding behind, she could see Malfoy strut in and look around with a puzzled expression.
"She must not be here yet." He said to himself, leaning against the wall idly to wait. She heard the small click of a camera to her left, and wondered why they were taking a picture now. Silence followed, and Usagi held her breath for fear that she might make too much noise. A loud crack sliced through the air, which made Usagi tumble backwards. She scurried back to her squatted position and peered through her gap once more.
She heard Malfoy coughing through the cloud of red smoke around him. When it cleared, Usagi had to shove half her fist in her mouth to keep from cracking up and ruining the rest of the prank. She heard another snap to her left, but it barely registered.
Malfoy let out a small scream as he looked downwards and discovered that he had become...well, a female. Though his hair was still slicked back, it had grown about double its previous length. His face was still the same, save his eyelashes were longer and his lips slightly fuller. Beyond that, he held the main attributes of a female, and it appeared as if he'd also shrunk several inches. Before Malfoy could even begin to figure out how the sudden change had occurred, the door to the Armory swung open with another loud screeching noise.
'Here's part 2, love potion boy.' Usagi mused sardonically to herself, hand now covering her mouth since the fist had become painful. Crabbe and Malfoy locked gazes for several seconds before Crabbe advanced.
"Crabbe? What are you doing?" Malfoy said with his voice more high-pitched and squeaky than normal. The boy didn't answer, but instead continued to move forward like a possessed zombie. Malfoy moved to turn and run, but Crabbe grabbed him before he could even get a head start.
"Crabbe, let me go." Malfoy snapped with much bravado, but Crabbe didn't seem to hear him. Malfoy tried to squirm free, but he was useless against Crabbe's brute strength. Said boy, forced his lips onto Malfoy's, who let out a muffled yell and reeled his arm back, punching Crabbe directly on the cheek. Sometime between this another snap of the camera had sounded. His head snapped to the side and Malfoy pulled loose, sprinting away from his fellow Slytherin. Crabbe quickly recovered and ran after him.
"Stay away from me, Crabbe!" Malfoy screamed over his shoulder. The sound of pounding feet faded away, followed by several seconds of silence. That is, until the three left in the room exploded into fits of laughter. Only after 10 straight minutes of cackling, they quieted to catch their breath and wipe their eyes. Usagi was the first to speak.
"That...was the funniest...most ingenious thing I have ever witnessed in my entire life." She gasped, breaking into another set of giggles.
"Now comes the best part." Fred said, holding up the camera with a grin.
Needless to say, the school woke to find pictures of a near make-out scene between Malfoy and Crabbe two days later, on fliers with big bold letters reading 'Malfoy and Crabbe: Lovers?'.
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Ho hum. I had an amusing time writing this chapter, and the prank was much lamer than I had hoped, but what the heck. The suggestion for the 'turn into a girl' came from Midnight Fairy, one of my lovely reviewers, so thanks. My friend Brittney suggested that one of his cronies fall in love with him, and I worked out the rest. It was a group prank. Hehehe, I really wanted to add on some more to make it more evil, but I couldn't really think of anything. Oh well.
ATTENTION! Here's how it's going down from here on out. I'm 99 sure that this story is going to end within 5 chapters, so I have to kick the romance into gear. Yet, despite this, I'm still unsure of the couple. Therefore, I'm holding a vote this chapter for the couple. All previous votes are voided, and only votes submitted this chapter will be counted, so don't go and review other chapters with a vote just to get the upper hand. Malfoy is not an option at this point, so don't vote for him, mmmkay? I guess it's between Harry, Lee, Fred, and George. If you want to have a say in the couple, you have to vote this chapter, so vote away.
Reviews:
Moon Guardian: It's not going to be Draco/Usa so no worries about that. I haven't even considered Severus since he was barely in the story. As for Harry, we'll see.
Critic: Grazie for the compliments, but Usagi's family had moved to England dearie so they didn't have to walk far at all.
Koosei: Hehehe, they had a short meeting under the table in this chapter. D The necklace that Harry gave her was just a gift; Hermione was acting that way because she was suspecting that Harry likes Usagi, which would be quite correct. Feel free to use the meeting under the table idea; it was just a sugar-induced psychotic moment. )
Shatoi: Sorry, I'm not having that couple.
SilverWingPhoenix: Really? I didn't think it was that surprising. oO
DevilWench: Meep, I'm happy that you love it. D Sorry, I'm rather bum-ish with story updates. --
Dark Universe: Hehehe, I 3 Helios. I did break 200, I never thought I'd get that with any story, I'm so excited.
Eternal Cosmos: Very very soon Usagi will be called into battle, and we'll get to see what she's made of. Sorry I write so slowly. --;
Kairinu: Grazie, updated.
Midnight Fairy: Well, I was going to make Harry Jealous, but I dunno, I kinda changed my mind after I started writing it out. Grazie for the idea of turning Malfoy into a girl, though I didn't really do everything you suggested. D
Starlytemint: Yes, well, I'm having a complex over here trying not to tamper with the HP storyline too much. Thank you for giving me the idea in the first place, I was on the brink of having her go with Lee. I'm glad you're enjoying the story, thanks again.
Elven Mischief: Why of course, we're always happy to recruit new members to the dark side. D
Maiden Genisis: Really? Wow, someone did guess. O You're a genius darling. Thank you lots. D
IcyButterflyKiss: Meep, I remember you. I'm glad you like the story.
Narani: It's okay, I know the feeling. ; Soon...soon it will be revealed...muahahahahahahahahahahahahaha. I'm fine, really. At this point, I don't really think that Malfoy and Usagi would work, but I agree that Harry is boring. I'm hoping that the votes go in someone else's favor. I personally like Malfoy though, and the guy who plays him in the movies is hot. stares at Tom Felton Thank you much, and of course the big event was the prank, though I guess it could also be considered the hair thing...really, that was just a convenient ploy for the prank's success. Ehem...I'll be quiet now.
Usagi Asia Maxwell: Meep, yes, I am slowly progressing out of my 'Usagi goes Goth' stories. I received the first season of Sailor Moon boxed set and, after watching it, realized what a great injustice I was doing to Usagi's character. I'm glad that you can still enjoy this story though, despite its weak plot and OOCness. ;
Usagi no Megami: Well, the Helios/Usagi ball thing was Starlytemint's idea, and a very splendid idea it was. If you want a pairing, you'll have to vote this chapter, we'll see who wins next time. Thanks.
Draconmouth: Once again, votes will be cast for the pairing this chapter.
Shelum: Meep, all you people changing your names is confusing. Thank you though. D
Yami Nocturna – dead: I would definitely consider it, but I'm leaving the couple up to the audience. Perhaps, if it doesn't work out for Helios, I'll write a one-shot with a. Usa/Helios pairing.
The devout one called Maxwell: Thank you so much for your review, I 3 Helios as well.
Henio: Thanks D
Sailor-Celestia2: Meep, I don't know, I wasn't really planning on it. Perhaps I could work it into the story...starts thinking
Well, that's the reviews for last chapter. 23! O I'm really excited, I finally broke 200 reviews. This story is nearing it's conclusion, so remember to vote on the pairing, and only once. See you next chapter!
SachiNyoko "God must love stupid people, He made so many."