Chapter 11
A month passed. Every night they met and worked on their Polyjuice potion for an hour under the relaxed supervising of Madam Flamel. He was comfortable around Granger in an academic kind of way. The midnight hour came when their potion was complete and it was time to sample it.
"Just a mouthful needs to be consumed. As this potion appears perfect, the effects will last exactly 12 hours." Madam Flamel complimented as she held two shot glasses of their Polyjuice Potion, presenting one to each of them. "Add a single strand of hair and bottoms up." She instructed.
Draco had forgotten about that part this morning when he could have extracted a strand of hair from his comb. Running his fingers through the longer locks of blond hair on the top of his head, he extracted one strand and carefully held it out for Granger to take.
Hermione too had grown accustomed to being in the presence of her partner. They didn't talk much during their times together. She figured he preferred it that way and didn't force him to talk about anything he didn't want to. Whenever she touched on a tender subject, he tended to become reclusive. She felt a tad sorry for him, a victim of circumstance, son to a terrible, overbearing father. She was sure all Draco wanted was a normal life. But she never said anything about it.
But tonight, Hermione's mind was elsewhere. The girl was practically giddy, excited to test the most complicated potion she's attempted thus far. She eagerly plucked a hair from her wild locks and they traded. As the hairs made contact with the potion, the glass containing her hair turned a silky crimson color. Whereas Draco's hair turned the potion a deep pearly green color.
"Well, Malfoy, here's to settling rivalries aside for a common goal." Hermione lifted her glass for a toast.
"Indeed. Cheers Granger." Draco agreed and clanked glasses with her and downed the potion in one go. Good thing too, it tasted horrible. He felt a surge to vomit and forced it back down. Then a tingling sensation spread over his body. He looked down to see if anything drastic changed. After a minute he physically appeared normal. His hair was the same color. "Did it wo…Woah." He stated as his eyes met hers. Or more correctly he saw his grey eyes in place of Granger's brown ones. It was…odd to say the least.
"It certainly did work. Well done you two." Professor Flamel remarked with a smile.
The taste and effects of Polyjuice potion were not unfamiliar to Hermione. She was almost used to the wretched feeling. Since so little was consumed, it barely registered to her. She smirked as Draco winced, trying not to vomit. 'What a light-weight.' She thought. Then his eyes turned from their usual icy grey color to soft chocolate brown. She found it fascinating to watch the transformation. She almost wished they were allowed to make the complete transition, if only just to watch.
"Woah yourself. Sorry to say, but the brown eyes clash a bit with your hair. Though one could get used to it." She teased as she pulled out a compact mirror from her bag. Honestly, she found his new eyes rather fetching. She gasped when she saw her new eyes, completely taken by the sight. "Oh my gosh, they look gorgeous on me! Something else I could get used to."
"Wonderful, simply wonderful! Top marks to you both. I'm very proud of you two." Professor Flamel applauded. "That's really all for now, you are dismissed."
"Thanks…I think?" Draco replied curious to see just how odd her brown eyes clashed with his hair. Draco didn't know whether to feel honored or disgusted that his eyes looked good, well honestly, really good on her. "Easy there, Granger. That sounds like something a conceited Slytherin would say."
With top marks and a dismissal from the professor they exited the classroom "Good night, Granger." He said extending his hand out to shake hers. A silent but sincere gesture of good work on the project they managed to do together without killing each other.
Hermione graciously took Draco's hand and gave it a firm associate type of hand shake. "I must admit, working with you hasn't been terrible." She found it enjoyable even. After she stopped thinking of him as a rival and viewed him as a partner, she started feeling… She really wasn't sure how she felt about him anymore.
She almost thought she might like him. He was intelligent, witty, and bloody hell handsome. The only caveat was that she wasn't sure how he felt about her. Sure their eyes met occasionally when they worked together, but it seemed like Draco's mind was more on the work at hand than anything else.
Still no word from Ron by this time anyway. And Hermione didn't much care. She had a new crush; at least she thought she did.
"I agree. You've been a tolerable know-it-all." He said his voice held no malice in it and a smirk peeking out of the corner of his lips. They released hands and he departed on his way back to the Slytherin dorms where sleep came easily that night and thoughts of Granger haunted him in his dreams in a not their usual nightmare way.
He woke along with the rest of the Slytherin students in his dorm. As he got up and stretched Goyle was the first to ask with hesitation, "Um, Malfoy what happened to you?"
"Polyjuice potion assignment with Granger." He answered, but then Blaise chimmed in. "I guess that explains the hair…"
"My hair? What are you talking about? I was referring to my eyes." Malfoy remarked as they started to come close and gawk at him, with a few snickers.
"You need to look in a mirror, mate." Nott answered and Malfoy got really nervous and headed for the bathroom. When he got there he found a mirror and looked at himself in shock and disbelief. His hair was still short thankfully, but it was brown in color. Just like his (her) eyes.
"Oh, bloody hell?! My hair! Why did it change too?! This wasn't supposed to happen." He said as he ran his fingers over the brown locks.
"Come on, it's not THAT bad. At least it matches your eyes." Nott remarked and Draco scowled at him. She showered and dressed as fast as he could and headed straight for the Great Hall to find Granger.
As Hermione walked back to her dorm, she kept looking at the hand she shook Draco's hand with. His grip was firm, but his skin was incredibly soft, almost like a girl's hand. If it weren't for the strength with which he shook and the size of his hand, of course it was a gentlemen's hand. She relived that moment in her head, and nearly forgot the password to get into Gryffindor tower, "head in the clouds, my dear?" The Fat lady asked as she finally opened up. "I suppose I'm just tired is all. A month of staying up this late gets old,"
She woke the next morning to Ginny shaking her, "Oi, Luna! What are you doing here? Where's Hermione?" Confused and half asleep, Hermione rolled over to face her friend, "I'm right here, Gin. What's your problem?" She mumbled.
"Merlin's pants! What did you do to your hair? And your eyes?" Ginny exclaimed.
"Calm down, would you? It's just an advanced Polyjuice potion. It shouldn't last past lunch today." Hermione explained rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She didn't seem to hear the part about her hair, until she finally opened her eyes to see bright blonde locks hanging in front of her face. "What on earth?" She scrambed out of bed to the window. She could just barely see her own reflection in it, but she could tell her hair now had changed to Draco's platinum blonde color.
'What on earth happened? Could it be even though we took so little, it had delayed effects?' She thought deciding she would have to speak to professor Flamel about this. In a panic, she patted herself down to make sure nothing else had changed. Still Hermione. Just with grey eyes and blonde hair. She turned to Ginny and Padma whom had woke up to the commotion, "Don't worry, everything's fine, I should be back to normal by noon today."
"I don't know, I think you ought to keep it that way, " Padma suggested, but Hermione was too busy getting dressed and heading to the Great Hall. She didn't have to even brush her hair this morning. It's normal tangled mess had turned sleek and easy to manage. She could only imagine how badly Draco was taking the transformation.
Even with a shower, using magic to dry the locks, and a bit of hair product Draco's newfound hair was a bit unruly. At least the brown matched his eyes. But the dark hair made his paleness look sickly instead of attractive.
Luna Lovegood sighted him while he stormed down the hallway toward the Great Hall. She rushed passed in a hurry toward Gryffindor tower. All eyes were on him as he entered the Great Hall. Some looks of shock, others snickering. "I look ridiculous." He complained and Pansy said as she approached to talk beside him, "See what happens? You shouldn't have accepted to work with that filthy mudblood in the first place."
"Shut up, Parkinson. At least I have the highest grade in class." He snapped, though if this transformation didn't fade he was sure their grade would drop. All that work for nothing. He strode to the Gryffindor table where a few of the guys were sitting at.
"Blimey! What happened to you, Malfoy?" Thomas blurted. "You don't make a very good brunet." Someone else commented. "Where's Granger?" He asked in an icy tone and a cold start that was so odd to see in Hermione's eyes.
"Um…Right there mate. I think?" Zabini answered, tapping Draco's shoulder and all eyes turned to see her just as she came into the Great Hall.
"Wow…"
"Woah…"
"Bloody hell…"
"Damn…"
"She's gorgeous."
"She looks like a Slytherin."
"She could pass as a member of the Malfoy family."
Came the responses from who knows which students.
"Hate to break it to you mate, but you look REALLY good on her. I kind of want it to stay." Zabini noted but Draco wasn't responding. Too busy keeping his jaw from hanging open. She was (dare he say) attractive as a brunette. She had even caught his attention for a moment during the Yule Ball. But her as a platinum blonde with grey eyes was mind blowing. He finally broke eye contact, swallowed hard, trying to find words to speak. He was torn between complimenting her and yelling at her for this situation.
It took Hermione a moment to recognize Draco. She was a little distracted by all the compliments and cat calls. Never before had she felt so noticed. Ron, of course would have had a field day, boxing any bloke who dared to look at her. When she finally realized the brown eyed brunet, fists clenched, tense shoulders was Malfoy, she couldn't help but snicker.
She tried to hide it, covering her mouth with her hand, but it didn't help. "I'm sorry, Malfoy. It doesn't suit you at all. If you like, I can transfigure your hair like it was before." She offered.
"Don't even think about it. If this doesn't wear off by the time lunch ends . . . " He threatened but had no hope of finishing. He just growled in spite and stormed off. He would be the sorry one if this didn't wear off. She on the other well got a really good looking make over. He retreated to the Slytherin dorms and climbed into bed, deciding hunger was worth the sacrifice of being trapped until his hair and eyes returned.