After this one, only one more short chapter and then a longer one. You'll probably get the long one in May since we're on track for one more chapter before I go back to work. Some reviews would be nice. Just saying.

Ferret

November 5th, 1994
Sixth Year

"Why so tense, Potter?" Draco asked as he jumped out of the tree he was sitting in. "My father and I have a bet, you see. I don't think you're gonna last 10 minutes in this tournament. He disagrees, he thinks you won't last five," Draco sneered.

Harry turned, "I don't give a damn what your father thinks, Malfoy. He's vile and cruel. And you're just pathetic."

"Pathetic?" Malfoy repeated, whipping out his wand and preparing to curse Harry into oblivion.

"Oh no you don't, sonny!" Mad-eye said, turning Malfoy into a ferret before he had a chance to say a word. "I'll teach you to curse someone when their back is turned!" With that he began to make Malfoy bounce, "You stinking," bounce, "cowardly," bounce, "scummy..." bounce.

"Professor Moody!" McGonagall called.

"...Back-shooting..." bounce-bounce.

"Professor Moody! …What are you doing?"

"Teaching." Bounce.

"Is that a...? Is that a student?!"

"Technically it's a ferret."

McGonagall transfigured Malfoy back into a boy, who with a threat and fearful shriek, ran away when Mad-Eye made it clear he could tell stories of Draco's father that would curl even Draco's greasy hair.

"Alastor,"

"It doesn't end here!" Mad-Eye shouted after Draco.

"Alastor!" McGonagall repeated sternly, "We never use transfiguration as punishment! We take points and speak to their head of house. Surely Dumbledore told you that?"

Moody looked sheepish, "Mighta mentioned it."

"You would do well to remember it," she said, scooping up her books before shoo-ing off the gathered students and walking briskly away while Moody dragged a traumatized Malfoy with him to see Snape.

"Don't talk to me," Ron said quietly.

"Why not?" Hermione said in surprise.

"Because I want to fix that in my memory forever," Ron said, his eyes closed and an ecstatic expression on his face. "Draco Malfoy, the amazing bouncing ferret..."

Jo and Leilani were the only two—besides McGonagall—not laughing. Leili wanted to, seeing Malfoy transformed into a ferret was funny, but the frown on Jo's face had her clamping her lips together to suppress her grin.

"That wasn't funny," Jo declared.

"No. You're right. It wasn't, it was—" she coughed to hide the snicker, "It was terrible."

"Then stop laughing!"

"I'm not laughing!"

Jo gave her a look, arms crossed, eyebrow raised, head tilted.

Leili cleared her throat to dispel the laughter that lingered there, but she couldn't suppress the smile. "I'm sorry, I know you don't like Moody, and I know that under most other circumstances I'd be right there with you. I just…!" she tossed up her hands in a shrug that plainly said she was giving up. "Hippogriffs don't like Draco."

"Because he's an arrogant little snot, but that doesn't mean he deserved that!"

"Well, yeah, but Moody turned him into a ferret and hippogriffs eat ferrets. SO it's not that they don't like him as it is that they—"

"Want to eat him," Jo finished. It was her turn to smile, "Ok, that's a little funny. But the rest of it was wrong!"

"Absolutely. ...I actually feel a little bad now."

"For finding it funny?"

"Yeah, but also for not doing anything. Draco was transfigured into a ferret by a teacher. It's an abusive of Moody's power and I maybe shoulda done something instead of standing and watching..." the guilt of doing nothing was coming through loud and clear now that the humor had passed.

"Yeah well, don't beat yourself up too much: I didn't exactly leap to the kid's rescue either."