Unofficial Portkey Archive

Hermione, you've got to calm down!" Harry said gently as he stiffly pulled his girlfriend into a hug. "If you're not calm, we can't get you to Madam Pomfrey without raising questions..."

Hermione nodded against Harry's neck as tears streamed down her cheeks but seemed to grow more and more frustrated as time went on.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked tenderly as he led her to her chair.

"It's hard to calm down," she explained in frustration. "I keep seeing the executioner that came for Buckbeak!"

"He's not going to come after you, or anyone else for that matter," Harry said swiftly. "We need to calm you down or things will look suspicious..."

Hermione nodded reluctantly and closed her eyes. A look of extreme concentration came over her face as a few final tears squeezed out to run down her cheeks. Harry heard her breathing become regular instead of the short hiccups she'd gone into after her tears abated. She looked up to him with a small smile. "I've calmed down," she said with a shaky breath.

"Good, now try to turn back to normal," Harry said in a positive manner. "If you can, we won't have to see the school nurse."

Hermione nodded and went into the meditation. She looked like she was trying extremely hard to change back, but was unable to do so. Hermione opened her eyes with a sigh and shook her head. "I can't," she said calmly.

Harry nodded and pinched the bridge of his nose as he thought aloud. "I wonder if there's a spell that mimics being stuck in a different form..."

"We could tell her I was attempting the spell and had an accident..." Hermione said, thinking along the same lines.

"Let's just hope that it's not dark magic," Harry said evenly, "Otherwise we'll need to sneak into the restricted section."

"It's too late to do anything tonight and the transformations have made me tired," Hermione said with a yawn. "What are we going to do until then?"

"We have a few days to work at it... Hang on," Harry said before slipping into a trance of his own and after a few moments, opened his eyes. He saw Hermione's face pale and he nodded. "For now, it's the only way we can do this."

"Harry, I don't know if I feel comfortable with you looking like me..." Hermione said quietly.

"I'm not comfortable with you in my body either," he retorted with a grin. "But for now, we'll have to do this... Perhaps we can talk with Tonks and get her help?"

"I don't want anybody but you to know that I'm a Metamorphmagus as well..." Hermione said quickly. "Tonks is the only other one that knows you are... what if the ability isn't so rare?"

"I don't know," Harry said with the shake of his head. "She told me last year that you're born one and that the abilities are rare..."

"Then how is it that in one day, the both of us confirm that we are?"

"Did you have anything happen to you when you were younger?" Harry asked quizzically.

"Well, there was this one time when I was in school..." she said warily. "I... well... I never understood why the other girls started shaving their legs, I've never had to..."

Harry nodded at the new bit of information. "I guess that's a good indication. Look, we'll see if we can find something similar that the potion Tonks described can be used to counter its effects and see if we can use that as an excuse. For tonight, I'll need to know where your room is -"

"My room?" Hermione asked, aghast.

"We could sleep fully clothed in the common room," Harry explained quickly, "or both sleep in my room. But if something happens and we're needed, then we could get into trouble. Besides, if the potion we need can be easily made, we won't have to ask Madam Pomfrey and nobody will be the wiser."

"Tonks also said that the sticking is temporary," Hermione added and rubbed the sweat from her hands. "Do guys always sweat this much?"

"Love," Harry said gently and cupped her cheek tenderly. "You have that effect on me all the time."

Hermione blushed and looked at the version of herself that Harry had become. "I guess it doesn't matter what we look like if we love each other..." she said in a whisper. "But I really can't see kissing myself as anything but surreal."

"Your hormones are as mind boggling as this situation," Harry said with a smirk. "We don't have much time before bed, so you'll have to give me the directions to your room. I won't touch anything and I'll just go to sleep."

The two of them walked shakily from the Room of Requirement. By the time they'd reached their house's common room they'd gotten somewhat used to how their new bodies worked.

"I'm alone in my room since Ginny moved back to her normal dormitory the other night," Hermione explained quickly. "My room is the third floor, second room."

Harry nodded and they both closed their eyes for a quick goodnight kiss. He noted that it wasn't quite as strange as he'd thought it would be and found his arms sliding around Hermione's neck. Goosebumps ran over his skin as Hermione slipped her arms around his waist and their kiss deepened.

"We-we better stop," Hermione said quickly after pulling away from their embrace. "I was beginning to like that a bit too much."

Harry nodded his agreement and they quickly kissed each other before turning to their separate dormitories. He climbed the stairs for the first time, wondering if the alarms would go off like they had for Ron last year, but no bells sounded and the staircase remained normal. He sighed once he reached a door that had a plaque with "Sixth Year" engraved upon its shiny surface and he opened it tentatively.

Crookshanks let out a coarse meow from Hermione's bed and Harry plopped down beside his girlfriend's pet.

"Hi, Crookshanks," he said tiredly. "I know you know, and I'm glad that you seem to like me..."

Crookshanks meowed again, followed by a soft, rumbling purr as Harry scratched behind the half-kneazle's ears. With a tremendous yawn, he scooted into the bed, closed the curtains, and fell asleep within minutes.

"Hermione, are you ready for breakfast yet?" Harry heard Ginny ask from just outside the curtains of his girlfriend's bed. His eyes snapped open quickly and he checked himself over to make sure he was still disguised as Hermione.

He sighed as he felt her soft curves and cleared his throat experimentally. "I'll be ready in a few minutes," Harry said tiredly without opening the curtains. "I guess I overslept for once..."

"There's a first," Ginny said with a whistle. "You're just lucky that Parvati and Lavender aren't here, it'd be all over the school in a matter of minutes!"

"Ugh, I don't even want to think about that," Harry said in a way that he thought Hermione might react. "How were the V.I.P. suites? I assume your parents had you stay there as well?"

"Oh, Hermione, the rooms are better than ours are!" Ginny said with a squeal. "I had a room the same size as this all to myself, and the house-elves redecorated it..."

Harry quickly used his new abilities to change the clothes he was wearing into Hermione's pajamas before opening the curtains. He'd also put his hair up in a loose ponytail as he'd seen her wear on numerous occasions.

When he slid out of the bed, he looked pointedly at Ginny, remembering how much Hermione was still into S.P.E.W. and mentally grinned at the younger witch's paled face.

"They insisted, really!" Ginny said defensively.

"I wish they'd realize that it's better to be free," Harry said with a sigh as he stood and stretched.

"Hey, did Harry change his mind about his extra workload last night?" Ginny asked quickly in an obvious attempt to change the subject and shift Hermione's irritation to her boyfriend.

Harry looked at the youngest Weasley and gave a resigned shake of his head before opening an armoire and pretending to look at clothes. He'd seen Hermione do this once as she chose her clothing for the trip to America and hoped he was mimicking her as closely as possible.

"No," he said in irritation. "He's being stubborn again and thinks that he can handle everything... On top of that, your parents couldn't adopt him and he feels alone." Harry couldn't help but wonder how he was able to look at himself so objectively.

"I know, Mum and Dad told me last night," Ginny said with irritation. "It's just not fair."

"Things just don't seem to be fair where he's concerned," Harry said with a sigh, forgetting who he was supposed to be for the moment. He looked quickly to Ginny who hadn't noticed his slip and was nodding appreciatively.

"Well, at least he's got you," Ginny said softly and shrugged before smiling apologetically. "Just keep an eye on him, ok?"

Harry nodded. "I will, Gin," he said softly. "Look, I still need to clean up, could you tell Harry that I'll be down in a little bit? I'm sure he's waiting for me..."

"Sure, Hermione," Ginny said with a smile. "See you when you're done."

Harry shook his head after she left and put the ensemble back in Hermione's armoire. He entered the adjoining bathroom and turned on the water as he morphed into himself, undressed, then showered quickly. He wasn't used to using the perfumed soaps, oils, lotions, and whatnot, but did his best to choose what Hermione would use.

His shower over, he quickly toweled off and dressed again before changing into a refreshed looking Hermione. The makeup on her bedside table confused him so he concentrated on what she looked like. He opened his eyes and smiled at the face he'd seen every day in school and most of their summers. With a deep breath, he quickly left the room and emerged into the Gryffindor common room to find himself, rather, Hermione waiting patiently with a quiet Ginny.

"Good morning, beautiful," Hermione said with a grin as she got to her feet and crossed over to Harry. "How'd you sleep?"

"Like I always do, Harry," Harry said with a smile and stood on his tiptoes to kiss his girlfriend.

"You coming, Gin?" Hermione asked as they turned toward the portrait hole and the three of them made their way to the Great hall.

"Where have you been?" Sirius barked when the three of them opened the doors to the large room. "I've been waiting for you in the forest for the past three hours!"

"Ugh, I forgot about training..." Hermione said in a spot-on imitation of Harry.

"It's my fault, Sirius," Harry said quickly, drawing everyone's eyes to him. "Harry and I were up late talking about the adoption..."

Sirius's face immediately softened then went dangerously sharp. "Those blasted Muggles!" He growled angrily, slamming himself into a chair. "Look, I'm sorry about how I acted when the Weasleys' wanted to adopt you, Harry," he said with a sigh. "Their hearts are in the right place and I couldn't even get you out of that bind..."

"I know, Sirius," Hermione said quietly as she filled a goblet with water and passed it to Harry, who had just filled her plate with a generous helping of eggs and sausage. Harry smiled as he filled his with a few sausages, eggs, and toast. He watched as Hermione began to eat like him and then looked at her plate. "I'm sorry I was late for training this morning..."

"That's alright, I understand why you weren't there, but don't be late tomorrow!" Sirius said after setting down his cup of tea. "We're going to loose some time when term starts and Dumbledore tells me that you're trying to take on too much of a workload."

"I'll be fine," Hermione said reassuringly, glaring at Harry after she'd finished. "I'll find time, it won't be easy, but I'll do it."

"You know, I believe you will," Sirius said with a clap to Hermione's shoulder. "Your Dad was the same way, wanting to do everything at once, if it weren't for your Mum, he'd have gone mad after the first few weeks here!"

Hermione let out a chuckle and shook her head. "I guess stubbornness runs in the family..."

"You bet it does!" Sirius said as he barked out a laugh. "Listen, I should head back to the office. Don't worry about training for the rest of the morning, but I'm going to push you even harder tomorrow!"

"Thanks, Sirius," Hermione said with a smile before Harry's godfather left for the day.

Harry watched Sirius leave as well and looked curiously at the obviously enraged redhead that was stalking up to the three of them.

"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN!" Ron barked angrily at Harry. "I couldn't get word to you in your room so I figured I'd wait in the library! AND GUESS WHAT?!" Harry looked at him nervously, about to say something but Ron cut him off. "YOU BLOODY WELL DON'T SHOW UP!"

"The exam!" Harry said quickly, covering his mouth instinctively. "Ron, I'm sorry!"

"I had to take that blasted thing without any additional help, thanks to you, and I have to wait around until Professor McGonagall comes out of her room!" Ron wailed pitifully. "I needed your help, Hermione, where were you?!" He sat at the table and shoved a few sausages in his mouth as if to accentuate his point and glared expectantly at Harry.

"I-I overslept..." Harry mumbled under his breath.

"YOU WHAT?!" Ron bellowed, clearly surprised by the admission.

"It's true, Ron," Ginny said quickly.

"That's right," Hermione put in. "She and I were up late talking..."

"Talking?" Ron said slyly and looked at Hermione meaningfully.

Harry caught the look and rolled his eyes. "Yes. Talking!" he said evenly. "I'm sorry about the extra study time, Ron, I really am..." he added in a softer tone.

"There's nothing that can be done about it now..." Ron said with a sigh. "I guess I'll find out in a few hours whether I did well or not."

"I'm sure you did fine, Ron," Ginny said with a gentle pat to his arm. "You were working hard..."

"You'll do fine, Ron," Harry said with a soft smile. "You have been working hard at studying and I'm proud of you for that."

Ron blushed slightly and turned away from his friends. "Thanks," he said quietly as he filled a plate with just about everything he could reach.

Hermione smiled at Harry appreciatively and Harry pushed his plate away after a few quick bites. "I've got to get to the library," he said matter-of-factly and got to his feet. "There's still so much I have to research..."

"Hey, I've got to look into that potions essay, I'll come with you," Hermione said swiftly, shoveling a few extra forkfuls of food into her mouth as well. "See you later, Ron, get some rest... That exam must have been painful..."

"Ha! Ha!" Ron said through a mouthful of eggs. "I just might do that!" he retorted.

With a wave to the two Weasleys, Harry led Hermione to Professor McGonagall's office.

"Wait, I thought we were going to the library..." Hermione said in a quick whisper. "We have research to do!"

"I just thought of something, besides, we can ask if she knows where Tonks is..." Harry replied quickly.

"Is it me, or have we completely reversed roles here?" Hermione asked with a snort.

Harry shrugged and knocked on the door then entered when their professor invited them in.

"Miss Granger, Mr. Potter, what may I do for you?" she asked distractedly as she read over a parchment that was on her desk.

"Professor, I was wondering if I could write an essay for a bit of extra credit," Harry said quickly. "I was thinking about the way Transfiguration and potions interact... Reversing transformations and such..."

"I don't see why not..." the professor said with a curious look. "Why ask me at all? You usually hand in your essays after you've written them."

"There's a book in the restricted section I've read about," Harry replied quickly. "Moste Potente Potions..."

"There are some potions that deal with Transfiguration in that book..." Professor McGonagall said thoughtfully. "That will be fine, however, you may not brew any of the potions that are listed inside," she added sternly. "If I find out that you have, you shall be in serious trouble!"

"I won't, Professor," Harry said truthfully. "I just need it for a bit of research."

Their head of house looked at Harry appraisingly for a moment then pulled out a sheet of paper and handed it to him. He looked at the permission slip and smiled widely.

"Thank you, Professor McGonagall," he said happily.

"Professor," Hermione chirped in as if rehearsed, "do you know if Tonks is still about?"

"She left this morning on Ministry business, Mr. Potter," she said absently. "Now if you don't mind, I need to finish marking Mr. Weasley's exam." The professor went back to her task and seemingly ignored the students who were swiftly leaving her office.

"I should have thought of that," Hermione said exasperatedly as they made their way to the Library this time.

"That's male hormones for you," Harry said with a smirk. Hermione glowered at him before they handed the permission slip over to Madam Pince. She examined it with a critical eye then disappeared into the library only to return with the book they had requested.

"You know the rules, Miss Granger," the librarian said with an air of importance. "I'll see you within the week."

Harry nodded and the two of them went to one of the back tables to work. They poured over the contents and found a few potions that might work, but those dealt with Animagi transformation accidents. Hermione closed the book and rubbed her temples as she tried to think.

"How can you even think when your body does things like this?" Hermione whispered harshly as she pointed under the table.

"It happens," Harry said with a shrug. "Actually, just about anything can set it off..."

"Anything?" Hermione asked in a disgusted sort of voice.

"Well, within reason, of course," Harry said with a soft chuckle. "I wonder if we could just ask Madam Pomfrey about the potion..."

"I thought of that, but do you think she'd get suspicious?"

"Well, I gave a good cover story for wanting to know," Harry said with an apologetic smile. "I hope you don't mind..."

"I was thinking about doing that anyway," Hermione said with the shake of her head. "It's worth a try, I guess."

Having decided their next idea could possibly lead them to a solution, the two of them headed to the Hospital Wing with their newly acquired book in tow.

Madam Pomfrey was straightening out her potions cabinet and taking stock of her supplies before the new term began when Harry and Hermione entered the white walled room.

"Is there something wrong again?" the nurse asked exasperatedly when she heard the door open and watched the two students enter the room.

"No, Madam," Hermione said quickly.

"I'm writing an essay on Transfiguration and potions for extra credit and just wanted to ask you a question or two," Harry added quickly.

"Oh, well, nobody's ever asked me to help them with their homework before..." Madam Pomfrey said with a smile. "What would you like to know? There are quite a few medicinal potions and charms that are used to cure Transfigured patients."

"We were talking with Tonks the other day," Harry said as they took the two chairs directly across from the nurse. "She said that there are times when even Metamorphmagi can become trapped in an alternate form and there were potions that could correct that.

"I was wondering what potions were used since all we could find in Moste Potente Potions were spells dealing with Animagi, not Metamorphmagi..."

"That's a good question," the nurse said with a smile. "The truth is, there isn't a potion specifically for Metamorphmagi." Harry and Hermione looked at each other in confusion before turning to face Madam Pomfrey again. "No, the Animagi potions won't work either. Though the two forms of Transfiguration are similar, they're not compatible when it comes to a counter-curse.

"The magic used for changing from one person to another, much like Polyjuice, is very simple to reverse." Madam Pomfrey walked to her cupboard and retrieved three flasks. "Any of these potions can be used to remove the 'sticking' of a Metamorphmagus' transformation. Forgetfulness potion, for instance, can be used in low quantities for the patient to forget they'd transformed and their body will return to normal on its own. Polyjuice, if boomslang skin and fluxweed are not used and Jobberknoll feathers used instead of lacewing flies, will allow a person to return to normal instantly, if there is a bit of your original form to place into the potion. But that takes a full month to prepare just as the original potion.

"And lastly, a single drop of Veritaserum will force the person to remember who they are and revert to normal instantly," Madam Pomfrey said in succession. "There are spells that can stick and un-stick a Transfigured patient that are much safer and less time consuming than brewing potions for the task. Reversing a splinched person is close to the same thing, only the patient isn't in different pieces and spread across the countryside..."

Harry had begun writing the moment the nurse had started talking and only paused to refill his quill. He looked thoughtful for a moment then asked, "So there isn't a certain potion to undo a stuck Metamorphmagus?"

"Well, there is one other potion, Miss Granger," Madam Pomfrey said after a moment. "It's only used to force a doppelganger back into its original form," she returned the potions she'd had collected earlier and returned with another vial which had a yellowed label on it and looked very old. "There hasn't been a case at the school for over six hundred years and the student was branded at the Ministry shortly thereafter. The Metamorphus Reveritus potion is simple to make and lasts an eternity, but takes twelve hours to revert the patient to their normal state."

"What happens with these potions if given to someone who is not stuck?" Hermione asked inquisitively.

"Nothing," Madam Pomfrey said with a shrug. "The only thing anyone has to worry about is the taste. Polyjuice is, by far, the worst tasting concoction of the four. Forgetfulness potion makes you forget so nobody can ever tell you what it tastes like. I've never heard of anyone telling a lie while under Veritaserum, even with one drop and they say it tastes a bit like burnt bread.

"Surprisingly enough, Metamorphus Reveritus, which was used to help hunt down suspected shape shifters, is not unpleasant. The last reported imbiber said it tasted like toffee and mint."

"Can this potion also be used to un-stick Animagus transformation?" Hermione asked as Harry continued to write the information on a piece of parchment.

"Like I mentioned before, the differing schools of magic make it difficult to create a counter to such a situation." Madam Pomfrey said quickly. "Though there are similarities and it seems the Metamorphus Reveritus simply, how shall I say, lubricates the Transfiguration's hold on the subject, so I guess it could be used to reverse an Animagus transformation."

"Would it be possible for me to take the potion, just so I know what the flavor is like in case someone needs to administer it?" Hermione asked tentatively. "I know it's an unusual request, but lately I can't be too sure who I can trust and if I ever need to take the potion, it would be good to know how it tastes and feels so I can distinguish it from a poison or other potion."

Harry looked at Hermione with a semi-cross look on his face. She'd definitely gone into rambling mode, which always told him that she was either nervous or lying. Since she was such a bad liar, he had a feeling that it was usually both cases each time.

"I don't see why not," Madam Pomfrey said with a shrug. "The effects won't harm you or work on you unless you're stuck and it's a good idea to know how a potion might affect you."

Harry turned to Madam Pomfrey with wide eyes, surprised that she would be so nonchalant about giving out a potion. He watched as Hermione took the given dose, looked this way and that as the potion swished in her mouth, then swallowed with a slight grin.

"It does taste like toffee and the aftertaste is refreshingly minty," she said in amusement.

"You should also feel a slight tickling sensation as the magic searches out the reason for being stuck in a different form," Madam Pomfrey said as she gave Harry a dose as well. "That only lasts for a few seconds, however, and you should feel normal afterwards."

Harry and Hermione both nodded as they felt what seemed to be a ball of feathers lightly dance in their arms and legs. A few seconds passed, as the nurse had said, but the tickling sensation continued unabated. Harry guessed it was due to their being Metamorphmagi that he still felt the ball of feathers floating around inside of him.

"Now, if you were Metamorphmagi," the nurse explained with a smile. "The tickling would become more pronounced after an hour and last for approximately another hour. That's how the doppelgangers were hunted down in the old days. Everyone's goblets would have a bit of the potion in it and anyone who didn't drink was put to death. Those who did and found it impossible to stop laughing would be marked and branded. I say good riddance!"