Disclaimer: I take credit for this plot and my own characters, but everything else belongs to J.K. Rowling.
Note: Now that the computer is FINALLY fixed, I can update this chapter to you. I'm halfway done with chapter five, which I intend to be the final chapter...unless you guys persuade me for more...
Anywho, I'm so, so, sooooo sorry this took so long. I should have chapter five up in no time, and then for all of you who still have faith in "Blood is Red" my writer's block is slowly lifting and I should be posting more regularly in a week or two.
Chapter Four
The Wrong Prince
Anxiously I paced the doorway outside of the Hospital Wing as I had been doing for over an hour. If I had been in a humorous mood, I would have wondered how long it would take for me to wear a track of my footsteps into the floor, but my disposition was far from humorous. An hour and a half...ninety minutes...5400 seconds, and the only news I had was the occasional "poof" of a spell and a few choice words from Madame Pomfrey that I doubt consisted in the vocabulary of the most seasoned of sailors. My only companion was not doing a very proficient job at consoling her obviously stressed student...not that I could blame her...
"Brightest witch in the entire school," Professor McGonagall muttered darkly to herself as she paced the other side of the hall. Occasionally she would shoot me an irritated glance, roll her eyes and sigh just loudly enough for me to hear it. Then the muttering would presume and I would have to concentrate on tuning her out again. I understood that she was vexed with me for distrupting her class, but couldn't she see that moments after realizing that I could probably never live without him, I had, in my hormonal stupor, turned my best friend into an amphibious green creature that could never possibly return the flashes of thoughts I dared to call feelings? Tear welled up in my eyes as I stopped my pacing and leaned helplessly against the door to the infirmary. If only I hadn't been such a fool and let him kiss me at that bloody party, I would've been able to continue ignoring everything and he wouldn't be a frog. I had just begun to wonder if in years to come he would tell stories of the traitorous Hermione Granger to hundreds of eager little tadpoles when Madame Pomfrey turned the handle of the door. I jumped away from it and stared at her eagerly, Professor McGonagall instantly at my side.
"Well, Poppy?" She asked anxiously. "How is he?"
Madame Pomfrey sighed. "He's...very green," Our shoulders and faces fell, but the healer had more to say. "Transfigurations aren't difficult to reverse, but this one has been tampered with. It was mutated from it's original magic, and I haven't been able to get under the skin of this new spell."
"Mutated?" Professor McGonagall sputtered. Madame Pomfrey nodded solemnly.
"I'm afraid so, Minerva."
"Miss Granger, where on Earth did you find this spell?" McGonagall demanded, rounding on me. My jaw went slack and a few irrational noises made themselves heard, but I couldn't answer her. In truth, she had taught us the spell in our third year, but I didn't remember altering the spell.
"The difference between Miss Granger's spell and the original could simply be the flick of her wand, Minerva, you know that," Madame Pomfrey offered, and I was relieved to finally have someone on my side. "The good news is mutated spells show some parallel to the common cold; there is no cure, and they only go away when their course is run. Mind you, some spells take decades to wear off, but some only take a few days. We'll give Mr. Potter a week, and if he hasn't shown any improvement, we'll send him to St. Mungo's."
"Shouldn't we send him to St. Mungo's immediately, Poppy? Before the spell has a chance to establish roots in his system? Waiting could increase his odds at recovery," McGonagall said nervously, but Madame Pomfrey shook her head.
"I'm afraid that if we send him to St. Mungo's now, they'll use treatments on him that could hinder his recovery process and possibly leave permanent damage to Mr. Potter. We'll keep him at Hogwarts for a week and see what happens."
"Can I visit him, Madame Pomfrey?" I asked eagerly.
"I don't know if that would be a good decision, Miss Granger, considering the extent of the damage already caused on your behalf..." Professor McGonagall began, but Madame Pomfrey cut her off.
"Actually, he asked that he be allowed to see you, Miss Granger. He'll be tired from my attempts to restore him to his original form, so you can't stay long, but if you'd like to--"
"He asked if he could see Miss Granger?" Professor McGonagall asked incredulously. "How did he manage that?"
Madame Pomfrey grimmaced. "I'm afraid the transfiguration was...not complete. You see, he--"
I had heard enough. Before Madame Pomfrey could finish her explination, I pushed by her and made my way through the Hospital Wing, looking for Harry. I found him in the last bed of the infirmary, and the sight that met my eyes made me falter on my way to his side.
"Oh, Harry..." I began softly. He was perched atop his pillow, very green like Madame Pomfrey had said, and very much a frog. Large and round green eyes stared soberly at me, and a messy tuft of black hair on top of his smooth head were the only recognizable traits of the human he had been two hours ago.
"Er-my-own-nee," he croaked hoarsely, and I wasn't sure whether I should laugh or cry. I went to the head of the bed and knelt down by his side. With a small hop he turned to face me and smiled the best he could, given his new lips. "Madame Pom-frey sed I mi-ight be this w-ay for a w-hile."
"I know, Harry," I said as calmly as I could. His voice was deep and throaty, and hoarse croaks broke his words when he tried to speak. I felt a sob well in my own throat, and I attempted to stifle it. "I'll bring you your homework every day, I promise I will."
He croaked, and I assumed it was how he laughed now. "That's o-kay, Er-my-own-nee. I think I'll man-age."
"Harry, I'm so sorry for turning you into a frog!" I cried unable to contain my anguish any longer. "I'm sorry I've been avoiding you and snubbing you and I'm sorry about what happened at the party, and I'm sorry for what happened in my room last night, and...Harry?"
I sighed; he had fallen asleep. His eyes were closed and his chin was tucked against his chest, which swelled as he breathed rhythmically in his sleep. Biting my lip, I rose to my feet and silently left the Hospital Wing, wondering how long it would be this way until life went back to normal.
~*~
When I entered the Great Hall for dinner that night, evey head turned to watch me go by. I ignored everyone's stares as best as I could, but I couldn't dismiss their whispers.
"That's Hermione Granger!"
"She turned Harry Potter into a frog in Transfigurations this afternoon!"
"I heard she's seeing Seamus Finnigan, and Potter didn't like it."
"Is that why she turned him into a frog?"
"She's supposed to be an amazing kisser, though."
"Hey, Hermione!" someone called. I turned towards the voice, expecting a bombardment of questions. Instead, I was met with Seamus. He smiled charmingly and slid his arm through mine, then began towing me gently to two empty seats at the Gryffindor table. "Listen, love, about what happened earlier with Harry...I don't think you should blame yourself for it. He'll be fine in no time, just wait and see."
I smiled weakly as he pulled out a chair for me and I sank into it. "Thanks, Seamus." I looked around for Ron; I wasn't used to sitting with anyone but him and Harry. To my surprise, he was across the room at the Ravenclaw table, talking animatedly with Luna Lovegood. Even more amazing was the fact that I felt absolutely nothing at the realization that he was interested in someone other than me. I stared at them silently for a few moments, and then I felt a smile tug at the corners of my mouth. Luna and Ron...it was an insane combination, but something about it made sense. I was thinking of questions to ask him later when I was forced back to reality by Lavendar Brown.
"So, Hermione, Parvati and I have been meaning to ask you...what's been going on between you and Harry these past few days? You two hardly ever argue, and today in Transfiguration, you shocked us all."
Statled at their concern, I looked blankly around at who was listening. The question had attracted the attention of (naturally) Parvati, Seamus, Ginny, Dean Thomas, and even Neville Longbottom. Before I could think about what I was saying, I answered Lavendar.
"It all started at the party, I guess. When he kissed me during Spin the Bottle, remember?"
Parvati laughed. "How could we forget? That had to be the steamiest kiss I've ever seen in my life," Suddenly, her face changed from interested to something almost sympathetic. "It was so odd...I mean, he's always treated you like a sister. I'd see the way he'd look at Cho, and I never really saw that look in his eyes when you were around. I'm sure you were so confused for him to kiss you like that, Hermione, after such a platonic relationship between the two of you. Actually, I always figured it would be you and Ron who hooked up. Funny how life works out, hmm?"
I forced a smile on my face and nodded, angry at Harry again. Even if I had done it by accident, he deserved to be a frog after playing with my heart like he had. Parvati was right; I would never be anywhere close to what Cho had been to him. He had no right to put that much emotion into kissing me. Was he so blind that he couldn't remotely see that I was interested in him? That he was severing our friendship by pursuing me if he had no intentions of actually being with me? Testily I stabbed at my dinner and ate in a simmering silence that kept the others from talking to me for the remainder of the meal.
When dinner had commenced, I got to my feet and left for my room, but Seamus's hand on my arm stopped me. Before I could turn to look at him, he leaned in close to me and whispered in my ear. "So I hear you're the Head Girl now, 'Mione. I've always wondered what the Heads' dorms looked like. Would you care to give me a tour later tonight? I'll help you get your mind off of Potter."
Caught off of my guard by his words, I slowly looked up at him. He grinned suggestively down at me and raised an eyebrow. Butterflies exploded in my stomach, but not the kind of anticipation, the kind that came from...being with Harry. But...maybe I did need to forget Harry. I took a deep breath and nodded my head.
"Okay."
His smiled widened and he leaned down to kiss me swiftly. "Expect me around eleven," he said quickly, and then allowed himself to be swept away into the throng of departing students. I stood amidst them, and they parted around me like Moses and the sea. What on Earth had I just agreed to?