When Worlds Collide

A/N: I don't own Harry Potter, I don't make money off this and I do this for fun, not for any other reason. So don't sue me please .

Chapter one: So it begins...

When magic goes awry and you find yourself in mortal danger your greatest enemy can become your best friend. Such is the case in this story.

It all started innocently enough- in the dungeons of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry Potter and his two closest friends sat at the very back of Snape's potions class trying not to be noticed.

Harry glanced down at his watch for the third time in two minutes and was surprised to find that he'd only managed to make halfway through the two-hour lesson. He looked over to his right and smiled a little as he watched Hermione's hand frantically moving back and forth across her notebook page, leaving behind row upon row of her neat, small handwriting. Beside her on the farthest end of the table the three shared, Ron was staring blankly off into space.

Hermione noticed Harry watching Ron try to stay awake and she glared at him. "You really should be listening." she chided "This is all very important you know. It's going to be on our quiz Friday, plus if you don't take down the notes you'll never get the potion right!"

Harry sighed resignedly and picked up his quill. He waited until Hermione had turned back to her own notebook before putting the tip of his quill to paper. Might as well keep myself busy if I'm going to be stuck here for the next hour… he thought, letting his hand move the soft eagle-feather across his page.

Harry was just starting to add wings to the messy circle of ink he'd scribbled when Hermione elbowed him hard in the ribs.

"Harry!" she hissed "You need to pay attention! We're trying out aging potions and if you do it wrong you'll be in real trouble."

The boy-who-lived sighed again and reluctantly looked up. He watched Snape making a diagram on the board, listening half-heartedly as the potions master began to describe the aging potion and its effects.

"This potion, as indicated by the name, will age you by two to three years. It will wear off in precisely an hour. When brewed incorrectly however, the effects can become permanent." Snape was saying.

"What's so bad about being seventeen?" Ron muttered to Harry. "I could take my Apparating test then…"

"What is so bad about it, mister Weasley, is that you might not become older." Snape sneered, once again reminding the class of how sharp his hearing was "The potion could reduce your age instead of accelerating it and you would forever be a child. Or worse, if you do as poor a job as Longbottom will, you could become a child trapped in an adult's body. That is why only fifth-years such as yourselves are taught how to brew it. "

"This potion is highly volatile." Snape cautioned as he turned back to the rest of the class. "It is made of a precise combination of belladonna essence, powdered dragon's horn, moonstone and shredded boomslang skin. The exact measurements are given in your textbooks." He turned his hard black eyes on Neville. "You'll want to be especially careful while brewing this potion, Longbottom. Belladonna is poisonous and we wouldn't want you injured now would we?" His every word dripped sarcasm and the cold gleam in his eyes suggested that he would just love to see Neville rushed to the hospital wing, whimpering and sobbing from the effects of the belladonna.

Neville swallowed hard and turned white, sinking down in his seat. Snape smirked and turned back to the rest of the class. "Pair off and start your potions. Before you drink this potion, you are to make sure it is properly prepared. Bring it to me and I shall tell you if it is fit to drink." He saw Harry immediately turn to Ron and a slow smile spread across his face. "I think not, Potter. You will work with mister Malfoy."

Harry glared at him, but managed to keep a hold on his anger as he grabbed his books and stomped off towards Malfoy.

"Well, well famous Harry Potter's come to work with me, has he?" Draco smirked. "Snape knew you'd botch your potion and paired you with a real wizard, did he?"
"Sod off and let's get this over with." Harry shot back. "I don't want to be here; you don't want to be here so let's just make the stupid potion and then we can both get away from each other, alrght?"

"Awww, did I offend you?" Malfoy asked in mock concern. "Did my reminding you of what a git you are upset you?"

"No, your complete lack of anything resembling human qualities upsets me." Harry retorted "Now shut up and give me the belladonna essence. I don't trust you not to poison me with it."

Draco smiled wickedly at him, picked up the small phial of pre-measured, greenish-purple liquid and purposely dropped it into their bubbling cauldron. "Butterfingers." he shrugged.

"I hate you." Harry muttered, turning and taking up his knife. "And one day, I'll give you yours…"

Twenty minutes before the end of class found Harry and Draco at Snape's desk, showing the professor their light purple potion.

Harry crossed his fingers inside the pocket of his robes, praying fervently that it was done right. He dreaded the thought of having to spend his lunch hour with both Snape and Malfoy. He repressed a shudder and watched anxiously as Snape took the potion from Malfoy.

The potions master held the delicate phial up to a nearby candle, letting the soft light filter through the pale potion. "It seems in order." he said slowly, still eyeing the mixture critically. Finally, he nodded at Draco. "Fine work mister Malfoy, ten points to Slytherin. Go back to your cauldron and have Potter test it for you."

Malfoy smirked at Harry, giving the other boy a slight shove forwards as they made his way back to their desk. "Ladies first." he said in a would-be courteous voice.

Harry closed his eyes for a second as he felt a white hot surge of anger rising in his throat. Be. Calm. he told himself If you kill him, you'll be sent to Azkaban with the Dementors.

He shuddered at the thought then turned back to Draco, feeling oddly as if a shadow had fallen over him. "You know it's surprising that you can come up with these witty remarks. One would think someone with so little intelligence wouldn't have enough brain cells to think and breathe at the same time."

Draco turned scarlet as a few nearby Gryffindors snickered. "Oh yeah, Potter? If I'm the stupid one how come you're drinking the potion and not me?"

Harry faltered for a second. "I'm not!" he said at last "I'm not putting anything you've made into my mouth Malfoy!"

Just as Harry turned to grab his bookbag, Snape swept up beside them. "Trouble boys?" he asked silkily.

"No si-" Harry started.

Malfoy cut him off. "Yes, sir, Potter won't take the potion because he wants me to fail!"

Snape arched an eyebrow at Harry. "Potter, don't think because you are famous that you can do as you please. Now drink the potion, I don't want to have to see your face in my dungeons after class hours."

Harry stood his ground. "And if I don't?" he challenged.

Snape gave him a hard look. "Then you will find yourself in my office, everyday after classes dissecting rat spleens and pulling apart frog's brains. Do I make myself clear?"

Harry repressed another surge of annoyed anger and forced himself to say 'yes sir, very clear.' in as respectful a tone as he could muster.

Draco grinned maliciously at Harry as he handed the other boy the crystal phial. Harry resisted the urge to punch Malfoy in the face and snatched the phial from him. He peered into the potion, trying to see if it had been tampered with or not, then reluctantly took a small swallow.
Snape waited expectantly, a strange glitter in his black eyes as he waited for the potion to take effect. Five minutes and then ten had passed and still nothing seemed to be happening.

"Why isn't it working?" Draco demanded furiously "What did you do to it Potter!?"

Harry glared at him. "I didn't do anything! You're the one that-" He broke off suddenly and gripped the edge of the desk with two hands.

"What wrong?" snapped Malfoy "Why do you look as if you're going to pass out?"

"It is the potion taking effect." Snape explained calmly, seemingly indifferent to Harry's suffering. "It creates a momentary feeling of dizziness as it ages you. He should be fine in a moment or two."

But Harry was not fine, in fact he felt as though the entire world were closing in on him. He sank to all fours, his fingers gripping the uneven edges of the flagstone floor as his vision began to blur and he felt himself start to tremble.

By now the entire class was gathered around Harry and Draco, trying to get a glimpse of the young man kneeling on the floor. Hermione and Ron elbowed their way to the front of the crowd and Ron gasped in horror.

"He's pale as death!" the young man exclaimed "Hermione, is this supposed to happen?!"

"No, it isn't, something's not right!" Hermione squeaked in alarm "He's been poisoned! We have to get him to the hospital wing!"

She shoved past the small knot of students in front of her and knelt beside Harry. "Harry?" she asked shakily "Harry, can you hear me? We're bringing you to the hospital wing. We're going to get you help…"

Harry heard her and tried to tell her he was alright, but his voice seemed to have deserted him. He felt his bones being compressed, as if in some sort of vice and his scar suddenly seared with pain. He closed his eyes against the pain and grabbed hold of Hermione's robes.

Snape saw Harry shrinking before his eyes; the tall, almost-grown young man slowly becoming a small child. He inhaled sharply and swore under his breath. "What did you put in that potion Malfoy?" he demanded of the Slytherin.

"I-it wasn't me…" Draco stammered "I-it was Harry! He measured out the ingredients! I just put them in the cauldron!"

Snape cursed again and turned to the rest of the class. "Class dismissed." He said shortly. "Everyone is to leave the classroom as quickly as possible." No one moved. "Immediately!" Snape roared.

Every student bolted for their desks. Malfoy made to leave but Ron pulled him back.

"You're not going anywhere Malfoy!" he yelled furiously "Put him right!"

Malfoy shoved Ron back and away from him. "I told you Weasley, it wasn't me!" With that the Slytherin boy snatched up his bookbag and stormed out of the room.

"H-hermione…" Harry spoke up at last, his voice small and high-pitched "I-I think I'm going to…to…" But before Harry could finish his sentence he'd fallen forwards in Hermione's arms, unconcious.

Ron lunged forwards and caught the child-sized Harry in his arms before he hit the floor. "Now what do we do?" he asked shakily.

"Get him to the hospital wing you idiot." Snape said icily, his calm tones belying the grave glint in his eyes. "You, Granger, get Headmaster Dumbledore and tell him we have an emergency. I will be waiting for him in the hospital wing with Potter, assuming he's snapped out of it by then."

Ron and Hermione nodded shortly and hurriedly left the classroom.

Snape stood alone for a moment in the now empty room, replaying the last five minutes in his mind. He didn't understand it… The potion had looked virtually flawless. And even if it was a little off, it shouldn't have had that kind of effect on the boy. At worse he'd expected the potion not to work at all, or simply age Harry half a year instead of two. Why then had completely this happened? He shook his head and started walking towards the hospital wing, thinking that he'd get his answers soon enough.

A/N: Okay, so I caved and started writing a Harry Potter ficcy… First one of this type that I've written and I want all the cc's anyone cares to throw at me! Anything you got, I wanna hear it so I can improve on this. . Thankies to all who read and/or review this.

Later days,

Tenshi Kitsune