The next day Hermione woke up in an extremely good mood and it took her a few minutes to remember about Malfoy. She smiled largely to herself; little Draco was still fast asleep inside her sock. The thought was such a turn-on to her. What was she going to do to him today? Part of her still wanted to punish him for all the nasty things he had said to her, but part of her wanted to protect the little defenceless man.
Hermione dressed slowly, then decided to have a little fun. When she reached for her socks she picked up the one that Malfoy was in and slid it slowly on her feet. She could feel her toes running over Draco's body, and she felt him react immediately.
"Hermione! Hermione! Your majesty!" She could hear him shout, although minutely. She could feel him pounding her toes. She decided to ignore him for the moment. Humming to herself, she walked across the room. She didn't put that much weight on Malfoy but she could hear him screaming each time she put her foot down.
"Oopsie, I didn't realise you were in that sock!" Said Hermione with mock surprise as she pealed the sock off her foot. Malfoy remained pealed to the bottom of her toes and he was moaning in pain.
"Here you go," Hermione said, prying Draco off her feet and into her hand. He didn't look hurt, just a little shocked again. But then Draco was looking at something else; he was looking at her chest. Just then Hermione realised that all she had on up top was a bra.
"Oops!" She said, turning red and smiling sheepishly. "Can't go out wearing that!" She reached over and pulled on her robes over top of her bra and shorts, all the while keeping Draco enclosed in her hand.
"Well," She told the little Malfoy, "I have Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures in the morning. I can't very well leave you here. So you'll be coming with me."
And with that she slipped Draco into her robe pocket. He slid comfertably down in there, and wiggled himself into an even more comfertable position.
"I hope you don't get seasick, because I'll be walking a lot," Said Hermione, rummaging through her school things. She picked out the end of a broken quill and a ripped corner of parchement.
"Here," Said Hermione, handing these things to Draco in her pocket. "I expect you to take good notes in class. I'll be checking later, okay?"
"Yes, your majesty," Came the muffled response. Hermione smiled and patted her pocket. She then grabbed her school things and made her way out of the dormitory and down to breakfast.
Hermione sat down with Ron and Harry in the Great Hall. Both of them were already deeply involved in their breakfast.
"Mornin' 'Mione," Said Ron through his usual mouthful of toast.
"Hi Hermione," Said Harry.
"Hi boys," Said Hermione cheerfully. "How did your little expedition go?"
Ron looked exasperated. "We ran into Pansy Parkinson. She was still looking from Malfoy!"
"Really?" Exclaimed Hermione.
"Yeah," Ron said. "She asked us what we were doing down there. We told her we were picking up books that we forgot. Then, you won't believe this, she threw some shrinking potion at us!"
"She had some?" Asked Hermione.
"Apparently Snape didn't clean up from yesterday's lesson." Harry said. "He's been spending an awful lot of time prowling around. Pansy must have got her hands on a bottle."
"It's a good thing she missed then isn't it?" Said Hermione. Harry and Ron looked at each other uncomfortably.
"Well," Harry said, looking uneasy. "She didn't exactly miss…"
"Huh?" Said Hermione, looking halfway between shock and amusement.
"Well, the majority of the potion missed us," Said Ron, "But we got a little, er, splashed."
Hermione couldn't help but giggle. "So—so how much did you shrink?" She asked, struggeling to keep a straight face.
"Well," Ron said. "Harry's four inches shorter, and I—I shrank six inches!"
Both boys hung their heads looking ashamed. Hermione couldn't stop her self from giggling at that.
"So—that means you're what, five foot six?" Asked Hermione. "Cause you were six foot before Ron, and you were five ten." She giggled some more. "That means I'm the tallest now, I'm five seven!"
Harry and Ron looked miserable. Now that Hermione knew she could tell they were definitely slightly smaller.
"Oh, don't worry about it," Said Hermione, putting her hands on Ron's and Harry's. "I still respect you. And at least you're nowhere near in as bad of a situation as Malfoy is."
Harry and Ron smiled weekly at this. "I'd never hear the end of it if Malfoy saw me like this," Ron said. "I'm just glad he's a few inches tall somewhere…"
They finished breakfast and walked out to Herbology together. Walking together, Hermione could definitely tell they were shorter. Their robes were extremely loose as well. She walked between them, her head highest of the three. She kinda liked being the tallest…no, she loved it. There was something about how it made her feel that was irresistible.
In Herbology they were planting bouncing bulbs in new pots. These were a bit tricky; the bulbs would say perfectly still for a few minutes, then at random intervals they would suddenly rocket around the room and generally make a racket. Ron and Harry, still ashamed of being short, hid behind Hermione and let her do most of the work. Hermione was too cheerful to mind. She thought about giving Malfoy a bouncing bulb to keep him company, but decided against it.
After Herbology the three of them walked outside to Care of Magical Creatures. Harry and Ron were still misriable about their size and they couldn't understand Hermione's bright mood. "Well, none of the Hufflepuffs noticed." She said. "And Hagrid's so much bigger than all of us anyway he won't be able to tell if your any shorter."
"But the Slytherins will be there!" Moaned Ron.
"Yeah, but you-know-who won't be!" Said Hermione brightly. Ron gave a weak smile thinking about Malfoy.
In Care of Magical Creatures today Hagrid had them working with Giffors. Giffors were small little furry things that mostly poked around in the grass for bugs. Most people didn't think there was too much magical about them.
"They're extremely loyal," Said Hagrid. "They'll attach ter one person, so you'll have to work individ'ly with 'em or you'll get bit. If a Giffor gets attached to a person, don't dare threaten that person in front of the Giffor, it may be the last thing you do."
The class looked dowbtfully at the 8 inch Giffors, greatly dowbting that these little creatures could be that dangerous, the class dubiously each took a Giffor, which was about eight inches long.
"You'll be drawlin' 'em," Said Hagrid. "Just put 'em down and let them find their fav'rite piece of ground. Mind you, they have good mem'ries."
As it turned out, most Giffors's favorite patches of ground were not near Hagrid's hut at all but in fact were usually a distant corner of the grounds that took ten minutes just to walk to. This suited Hermione well, however, since she could find a quiet piece of ground to take out Malfoy.
They stopped near a grove of trees quite a ways from Hagrid's hut once the Giffor finally found a patch of ground it liked. When the Giffor was happily sifting through the grass Hermione thought it was safe to take out Malfoy and give him some fresh air.
She brought Malfoy out of her pocket, his body warm from having been in her pocket. Malfoy flinched at her cold hand as she brought him out. He blinked in the late morning sun.
"Just thought I'd give you a little sun," Said Hermione, smiling. The air was chilly as it was getting on Fall and the tiny Malfoy shivered.
"That's…" Malfoy shivered. "That's thoughtful of you. Your majesty."
Hermione smiled. "I need to draw this Giffor. How about you ride him to make sure he doesn't move around on me?"
"What? Ride it?" Malfoy said incredulously, but when Hermione gave him a warning look he said. "I mean…of course, your highness."
Hermione placed Malfoy on the Giffor. The Giffor reared onto it's back legs in surprise at someone being put on his back, almost causing Malfoy to fall off. Hermione pushed him back on with one finger as the Giffor went back to all fours. It shuffled a little bit but beyond that no longer seemed to care or even notice that there was a miniature human on it's back.
Hermione took out her sketchbook and started to draw the Giffor, amused at Malfoy's peril as he tried to stay on the Giffor which made many sudden turns as he poked around in the grass.
After about a half an hour Hermione had the Giffor drawn and the major body parts labled. Draco was starting to shiver in the cold air and he was growing tired with the effort of staying on the Giffor.
"Okay, time to go Draco," Hermione said, reaching to pull him off the Giffor, but the Giffor snapped at her fingers.
"Ah!" Said Hermione, pulling her hand away. "I'm not trying to hurt you!" But the giffor wouldn't let her pick up Malfoy.
Ah, this giffor chose Malfoy to be loyal too thought Hermione. She just had to convince it that she wasn't going to cause any harm to him.
"Don't worry little Giffor," Hermione said, reaching her hand slowly for Malfoy again. "I'm not going to hurt little Draco here. See? I'm just going to put him back in my pocket. I'm going to keep him nice and safe."
Hermione's hand was within biting distance but the Giffor didn't attack her, although it was looking at her with caution. With a sudden movement Hermione snatched up Malfoy from the Giffor and put him in her pocket. The Giffor made a little snap but did not attack further. It appeared to trust Hermione's word but still looked wary.
"Come on, back to Hagrid's hut." Said Hermione, starting to walk, the giffor following her. On the way back Hermione met up with Ron and Harry, both of whom were walking with the giffors at their heels.
"Hi," they said as she met up with them.
"Hi," Said Hermione. "Cute little thinks aren't they, giffors?"
"Yeah," Said Ron distractedly. "Did you hear what Pansy's been saying?"
"No, what has she been saying?" Hermione asked, interested.
"She's telling everyone that Malfoy's sick in the dormitory," Ron said. "Hermione, I recon she's got him!"
Hermione laughed. "Of course she hasn't got him!" Both Ron and Harry looked at her. Hermione recovered herself immediately. "Don't you see? She's saying that so nobody'll worry about him! She hasn't found him, but she's still looking!"
"I don't know, Hermione," Said Ron. "I think she's got him."
"Why is she walking towards the dungeons then?" Hermione asked. Both Harry and Ron looked. Pansy was heading off alone back to the potions dungeon.
"I wonder if Snape has any antidote," Said Harry. "I really don't want to stay this small."
"Are you mad!" Ron exclaimed. "I don't want Snape to see me like this! Besides, he'll know we were snooping around before." They both looked at Hermione.
"Please?" Ron said, looking pleadingly. "You're the quietest of us, and if Snape catches you you can just say you were looking for somehting else."
Hermione's mind was working. If she snuck into the dungeon she could get some antidote. She could also get some more shrinking potion.
"I won't ask you to check my work for a month!" Ron continued pleading.
"Alright, I'll go have a look." Hermione said. Both Harry and Ron looked overjoyed. "I'm not promising anything, but I'll try my best. Run off now!"
Harry and Ron looked liked they wanted to hug her, but they quickly made their way back off to the dormitory while Hermione followed the distant Pansy to the dungeons.
As she walked, all sorts of things went through Hermione's mind, all kinds of things she could do with a shrinking potion. Trying to focus on the task at hand, she entered the castle and could hear Snape talking to Pansy.
"Thank you for continuing to look for Draco, Miss Parkinson," Said Snape. "Ten more points to Slytherin, and remember don't say a word about this. Now I'm going off to lunch."
Hermione ducked into a doorway as Snape walked back her looking angry. She was glad she was causing him so much agony. She knew that if anything happened to Malfoy, or if everyone thought anything happened to Malfoy, Snape would probably get sacked. She wondered idly if she could work that into her plan…
Pansy could be heard cooing from inside the dungeon. "Come out, little Draco!" She said, pointing her illuminated wand into holes in the walls. "I won't hurt you!"
Hermione thought that to be a bit thick of Pansy. If Draco was down there he would have either come out long before now or he wouldn't come out now. Pansy was acting as if he was a mouse or something.
Pansy's back was turned to the door and she seemed affixed to her task. Hermione snuck into the room, ducking down to stay behind the rows of lab tables. She could spot the yet ungraded samples of shrinking potion from yesterday's class along with several bottles of antidote. If Hermione could just sneek a few of them out, Snape would have to pin it on Pansy! Excellent.
Hermione was selective in the potions she took. Most of the class seemed to make the potion correctly, but there were a few that stood out as obviously wrong. The correct ones were a light slimy green while the antidote was light grey.
With Draco in her right pocket and shrinking potion in her left pocket, Hermione smiled as she made her way out of the dungeon. She was going to have so much fun…
Hermione was so happy that she didn't look where she was going so that she almost ran into Snape as he entered the dungeon.
"Well well well, Granger," Snape said, a satisfied smile on his face. "Lurking around the dungeon at lunchtime? Looking for a little ilicit potion, perhaps?"
Snape's eyes looked down to the middle of her robes, eyeing them suspiciously. "Turn out your pockets, Granger.