Title: Boy, Interrupted

Author: Nepenthe

Genre: Romance

Pairing: Harry/Draco eventually, Blaise/Seamus

Format: WIP

Rating: R

Warning: Draco turns into a girl during the day. Not much more warnage than that!

Disclaimer: I own the idea, but not the characters. Or something like that

Summary: When a potion goes wrong, Draco has to deal with the aftereffects while a cure must be found…

This was going to be ridiculously rushed, he thought. Draco shredded Hickery and Gent roots carefully as he watched the mints melt into liquid above their little flames. Downstairs was the uproarious laughter of family and friends, and loud music that made the floor hum underneath his feet, causing him to grit his teeth in annoyance. All he wanted was some quiet, but that seemed impossible with the constant goings on his father's friends and their wives. All summer he had to deal with them and offer his hospitality like he actually enjoyed their company, when really, he just wanted some time alone. He could not practice with so many people in his house, especially when they could hear him. He had to hide his notes now from snoopy cousins and greedy friends in fear that they would be found and be shown to his father. If Lucius knew what Draco wanted to be doing with his spare time, he would probably kill him personally. No Malfoy is everkilled by anyone else but family. Draco wasn't sure if he should be proud of that or not.

Sighing, Draco scraped the chopped roots into his open palm and threw them in the cauldron that was full of clear water. After watching the draining time glass, he slowly emptied one vial after another into the cauldron, each content changing colors; black, blue, yellow, red, and finally green. Vapors of some sweet aroma rafted up from the thick stew and Draco leaned over closely to look at it, spoon at ready to stir. For his Advanced Potions project, he was supposed to make an original potion that had some sort of purpose and worked. After playing Malfoy Charming and being social all summer, Draco had forgotten about the project until the last moment, one day away from returning to Hogwarts. Snape wouldn't be impressed that his favorite pupil didn't do the assignment, even if he did know how busy he was playing Death Eater son.

Draco bit his lip nervously as his spoon just barely touched the churning liquid before it exploded. Draco was thrown backwards and landed gracefully on his bed with the splatter of green liquid all over his person and his room. Before he could reach up and wipe the liquid off, it was disappearing and soaking away. Frantically, he checked his face where just moments before it was covered and found nothing left; it had dried right into his skin. Draco watched the liquid on his clothes begin to do the same thing and so he began tearing them off frantically. But he was too late; he could feel the potion being sucked in by his pores. Gulping, Draco tore towards the bathroom and threw himself in the shower with half of his clothes still on and jerked the water on. He danced around in the spray, trying to get himself cleansed as quickly as possible. After scrubbing his skin raw, his arms, chest, and torso red from clawing at himself with soap, Draco took a moment to breathe. He looked himself over slowly. No pimples, no furry hair where it wasn't supposed to be, no new limb or appendage. He didn't feel strange either, like being drugged or compelled to tell the truth or anything. He tried a few lies and found no problem spitting them out. Maybe the potion was a dud and couldn't do anything. Draco sighed with relief. Thank Merlin.

"Draco? Sweetheart, Pansy is here to see you," Narcissa called from his bathroom door. Draco waited for her to blow up about his destroyed room, about all the green guck splattered everywhere. But she didn't say a thing and he could hear her loud heels clicking away from the door. Quickly, Draco scrambled out with a towel around his waist and peeked into his bedroom again. It looked like nothing had been touched, besides the wrinkled sheets when he was thrown from his potion set.

"Hmm," Draco mumbled. "Well, that's useful. Maybe Snape would like some disappearing potion? Might be hard to find..."

"Dracooooo..." Pansy called from the hallway.

"Maybe it will make me disappear," Draco muttered and tried veryhard to blend with the wall. It didn't seem to work because his mirror started making suggestive catcalls.

"Sweetie, you don't need that towel around me," the mirror cooed, stretching its glass in a wave. "You and me don't have to be shy at all."

"You're right," Draco nodded. And promptly threw his towel over the mirror, which groaned in loss.

Draco woke up that morning with two things. One was a sweet aroma surrounding him, making him smile and pull his pillow closer. Second, was his mother screaming in outrage.

"Get up!" Narcissa screamed hysterically. "I thought you were gone already! Damnit, Draco, you've completely missed the Hogwarts Express!"

"WHAT?" Draco yelled, jerking up in bed and forgetting that familiar smell.

"Honestly, Draco, you're seventeen and I don't have TIME to baby you all the time!" Narcissa yelled at him before slamming the door behind her as she left the room.

"I DIDN'T ASK YOU TO!" Draco screamed back, fury making his cheeks beat red, before he leaped from the bed to get ready. He dashed around the room collecting his things and swinging his wand around to order objects to pack themselves. His mother had been a regular bear ever since this entire war started up. Draco liked to think that she didn't want him to go fight, but she had been treating him so coldly these last couple of years that he had long ago given up on that idea. Sometimes, he would rather face fully trained Auror wizards than look at his mother's expression one moment longer. As for his father...well, Lucius and Draco had never been close. So he was not disappointed or angry when Lucius spat something vicious or never gave him praise for anything he'd done right. This switch in his mother's personality made Draco burn with anger because she was the only thing that could make his insides sting.

"HURRY UP!"

"SHUT UP!" Draco screamed back, throwing some of his glass vials across the room when his temper reached its peak.

Needless to say, Narcissa's and Draco's parting was a cold one.

Draco ripped out his parchment and quill as soon as they were on the road to Hogwarts, the carriage rocking back and forth. He sprawled himself out on the little floor room he had and let the ink sway precariously back and forth in its glass case as he dipped his quill in and began to write furiously.

Have you forgotten

everything that I wanted?

Gotta get away

It will never be the same

We are so different now

Have you forgotten,

do you forget it now?

"Crap," Draco whispered furiously at his hideous scrawl. He didn't know why he kept working on this stupid song. He couldn't sing it anyway; it was too high for him to reach...and too personal. But he did, regardless. He knew he wouldn't sing it even if he wanted to, even if he could. His father would never allow him to do what he wanted to do with his life. He was supposed to go into the war when he graduated and fight. He would never...

Sighing, Draco looked over the other scrawls of little sayings and lyrics he had thrown hurriedly on this piece of paper. One he was quite fond of and he ran his pale fingers over the dried ink.

Does it comfort you to know you fought the good fight?

Basking in your victory,

Hollow and alone

While you boast your bitter bragging rights to anyone who'll listen.

While you're left with nothing tangible to gain.

When Draco first wrote it, he thought it was about his father. But later, after he read it, he realized to his surprise that it was about Harry Potter.

Harry Potter. Draco roughly rolled the scroll back up and capped his ink, shoving his belongings back into his bag. Over the last two years, Harry Potter had grown more popular, more heroic, and more desirable to anything living. Much to Draco's annoyance. After awhile of girls fawning over him and having people faint whenever a touch of bare skin appeared out from under his clothing, Harry finally figured out that, WOW, I must be pretty hot. And he had been unbearable ever since. If he were attracted to a girl, she would throw herself at him. Harry had a line of old girlfriends that would start from one side of the Great Hall and extend to the other. He never stayed with a girl long and Draco could see why; he always picked brainless idiots who could think of nothing but complimenting him on how the sun caught his hair.

Those girls SHOULD be fawning all over Draco. He was the one with the money, with charming looks, with WIT! Harry couldn't string two words together. But instead, he was just second best. He always had the girlfriend who clasped his hand but was looking starry-eyed at Potter. And he always had the boyfriend who was probably imagining that it was Potter fucking him.

Draco kicked his trunk repeatedly.

Maybe he didn't really care about the girls fawning over him. He was more partial to men anyway. But watching Potter succeed in something once again without even trying was just too much. He wanted to see Potter humiliated. He wanted to watch Potter fall for some twit hard and then get his heart broken. He desired that more than he could ever desire Potter's body like everyone else.

The trip was hard on Draco and he couldn't really understand why. When his anger started to subside, he beganto get sick. His pelvic area was constantly cramping up and making him clench it to release the pain. He tried to lie down, but the carriage had only enough room for him to curl up and he needed to stretch his body out. Soon, the nausea began and the dizziness. Nothing could distract him from his ailments, not even Potter, who had effectively distracted him for the past six years. Instead, all he could do was moan and wish he were dead. Thankfully, he arrived to Hogwarts soon after and stumbled from the carriage, pale and sweaty. His servant, once he came around the horses, took one look at him before he started running for the castle. Draco took a much slower pace and just made it through the large doors when someone swept him up before he hit the floor. The black robes were coarse on his skin, but dry and Draco clenched onto them. His clothes were soaked from his sweat and he shivered.

"I just need to lie down," Draco heard himself whisper, his vision dimming. "Need to lie..."

"Draco, stay awake," a firm voice said. "You need to tell me what happened. You need..."

Draco, blissfully, passed out.