A Stroll in Your Shoes

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Harry Potter world, or characters etc…

Warning: There are quite a few lewd references, but it’s not really enough to make this story R. If you’re offended by it, I guess you shouldn’t read it. *shrugs*  

Misunderstandings

Ginny walked down the hallway feeling just a little annoyed. She was looking for Blaise who had just run off muttering something about libraries. To her surprise she saw Hermione looking very troubled and mumbling to herself as she walked quickly ahead. Ginny wondered what was wrong with her bookish friend and decided to find out.

“Hermione!” Ginny called out, jogging slightly to catch up.

Hermione stopped and turned to look at Ginny, her eyes widening slightly as she saw her. “Oh it’s you,” Hermione said a little nervously. Ginny frowned slightly, wondering why Hermione would look so uncomfortable to see her; surely she must have gotten over the fact that Ginny looked like Draco by now?

“Is something wrong?” Ginny asked curiously.

“You and Zabini get along, right?” Hermione asked suddenly, a worried expression on her face. Ginny stared at her, wondering why she was talking about Blaise, and why in Merlin’s name she seemed upset about the fact that she and Blaise might get along. It wasn’t a crime to befriend Slytherins after all…

“Yes,” Ginny answered slowly, a frown settling on her lips. “Why?”

“I…it’s nothing.” Hermione replied quickly and started to walk ahead.

Ginny frowned even more, wondering what Blaise could have possibly done to make Hermione so anxious.

“What did he do? Did he say something to you?” Ginny demanded.

“He… well, we talked a bit, and well… he said some interesting things,” Hermione muttered quickly, still with the same nervous expression. Ginny was beginning to feel a little alarmed now, and just a little annoyed that Hermione wasn’t telling her what Blaise had said.

“What did he say?” Ginny persisted.

Hermione looked around cautiously, as if to check if anyone was watching. She then grabbed Ginny by the arm and steered her off to an unused classroom, neither of them noticing the blue eyes that narrowed as the door shut behind them.

OOOOOOOOOOO

Ron peeled his eyes away from Hermione and Ginny, who he thought was Draco, and looked at Harry. “Did you see that?” he asked angrily, looking like he was about to explode.

Harry nodded blankly, too stunned to make any coherent speech.

Ron slapped a hand on Harry’s back, pulling him closer into the shadows. “That’s the second time this week I've seen Hermione go running off with Draco Malfoy, and just the other day I saw her go running off with Blaise Zabini.” Ron muttered in a dark voice, “But it’s not just Hermione who seems to have gone mental. I also saw Ginny walking with Draco, and they too went into an unused classroom.” Ron narrowed his eyes, a meaningful expression on his face. “We all know the only reason people go into unused classrooms...”

Harry looked at Ron horrified, clearly disturbed by the image Ron was creating in his head. “Do you think Ginny is cheating on me with Malfoy?”

Ron nodded solemnly. “It’s obvious, and he’s clearly not satisfied with just Ginny, so he decided to go after Hermione too, the sneaky git.” Ron added with a dissatisfied expression.

“We have to do something!” Harry shouted, his green eyes blazing with jealousy.

“Shh,” Ron scolded. “Not so loud; we have to go about this quietly. We can't have the girls knowing what we’re doing.” Ron grimaced slightly, almost shuddering, “You know how they get when they think we’re interfering….”

“But that’s my girlfriend.” Harry declared in an outraged voice.

Ron nodded in understanding and quickly glanced around to make sure no one was listening in. “Here’s what we’ll do,” he muttered conspiratorially…

OOOOOOOOOOO

Ginny sat down and looked at Hermione sharply. She didn’t like all this talk of Blaise and these worried expressions. Something was up, and she wanted to make sure she found out what....

“Okay Hermione,” Ginny said in a calm voice. “What’s this about?”

Hermione sighed and sat down on a chair, her eyes glancing at Ginny with a calculating expression.

“Blaise asked me to go research with him in the library, and it was fine until he started asking me some weird questions…” Hermione began in a slow voice, as if she was choosing her words wisely.

Ginny just stared at her, unsure what to think or what to say. She knew that Hermione and Blaise had been researching in the library for ways to help her and Draco get their bodies back, but they usually did it with both Ginny and Draco there as well. They had never gone there just themselves…

“What do you think of Zabini, Ginny?” Hermione suddenly asked, a curious expression on her face.

Ginny swallowed slightly, surprised by the odd question. She noticed Hermione staring at her intently and suddenly felt like she was being interrogated.

“He’s nice I guess… why?” Ginny asked with a frown.

“Well, do you think he’s good looking? Attractive?” Hermione persisted, the calculating expression coming back into her face.

Ginny’s brow creased slightly, wondering why Hermione would be asking her such things. As she stared at Hermione’s narrowed eyes and interrogative expression, she suddenly thought she understood. Hermione liked Blaise, and now she was trying to find out whether Ginny did too…

“I don’t like him in that way, if that’s what you’re wondering,” Ginny said in a quiet voice, trying to keep her temper in check. She was annoyed that Hermione had cornered her like this. It was as if she was accusing Ginny of trying to steal Blaise’s affections or something. Ginny really had no idea Hermione was such a jealous person, for she had never done anything to show she liked Blaise, or give any sort of reason for Hermione to act this way towards her… 

“Alright then,” Hermione said in a relieved voice. “That’s all I needed to know.”

Ginny watched as she stood up, giving her a brief smile as she headed to the door. “I’ve got to catch up on some homework, but I’ll try do some more research tonight about you and Malfoy’s condition.”

Ginny nodded her head and watched her friend leave the room, still feeling too stunned to really do anything by the strange interrogation she had just received. Sighing slightly Ginny stood up and opened the door, stopping in fright as she was immediately accosted by Ron and Harry who were both wearing identical grim expressions.

“Malfoy, how nice of you to finally join us,” Ron muttered darkly, an angry expression on his face.

Ginny stared at her brother and her boyfriend’s displeased expression and inwardly sighed. This was not going to be pretty...

“What are you playing at with Ginny?” Harry demanded coldly.

Ginny looked at him in surprise, not expecting his anger for Draco to be about her. “What?” She said startled.

Ron’s face went red as he glared at her, his blue eyes blazing. “Don't try and lie to us Malfoy. I've seen you sneaking off with Ginny, and just before I saw you go off with Hermione into that unused classroom. Enjoyed a good snog did you?”

“W-what?” Ginny replied in a confused voice. What were they, insane?

“Don't try play dumb.” Harry retorted angrily. “We saw you take her in there.”

Ron nodded. “We see you all the time. You and that git Zabini.”

Ginny couldn't help it- she burst out laughing. “That’s the most ridiculous thing I've heard all day,” she choked out between giggles, her eyes lighting up with amusement.

Harry glared at her, and Ron looked like he wanted to punch her as he muttered, “Why you-”

“-Ron what are you doing?” Draco interrupted, coming to stand in between Ginny and Ron, an annoyed expression on his face.

“Stay out of this!” Ron growled and pushed Draco out of the way.

Ginny smirked slightly, unable to resist getting back at them. “Why don't you tell her why you're trying to beat me to a pulp?” she said with a laugh. “I’m sure she'll find it just as amusing as I did.”

Draco looked at Ginny sharply and then turned back to Ron with an enquiring look. Ron shifted uncomfortably, glancing at Harry to help him out.

“Well?” Draco said impatiently, his eyes switching from one boy to the next.

It was Harry who spoke, his green eyes filled with hurt and betrayal: “Ginny have you been cheating on me with Malfoy?”

“Of course not.” Draco replied blankly, clearly at a loss how that accusation came about. “What gave you that idea?”

“We always see you two sneaking off together,” Ron cut in. “Even Hermione was in the unused classroom with him just before, and we've seen Zabini with you too.”

Draco stared at them for a moment, and then slowly a sly grin formed on his face. “Do you really want me to say what we were doing?” 

Ginny felt the small pangs of misgiving and looked at Draco warningly, knowing that whatever he was going to say would not help the situation.

Ron and Harry both nodded their heads, identical grave expressions on their faces.

Draco ginned slightly. “Well, first of all me and Draco here were having a nice old snog-fest in the classroom. Then Hermione came in so we allowed her to join us too. Oh, and you know Blaise came too, so we decided to have a massive orgy. I’m sorry we didn't invite you; I would of if I’d known you’d get this way.”

Ginny had to try and stifle a giggle, only succeeding in making an odd choking noise. Ron glared at her furiously, making Ginny quickly fall silent.

“This isn't a joke, Ginny,” Harry said firmly. “What are you doing with a piece of scum like him?”

Draco sighed, clearly tired of their accusations against him and Ginny. “Oh shutup and leave me alone,” he muttered, grabbing Ginny by the arm and pulling her away from the furious Gryffindors. He stopped when they were well away from the fuming duo and looked at Ginny, who was still desperately trying not to laugh.

“How thick can you get?” he said rhetorically, shaking his head slightly. He had never heard such stupid accusations in his life, and that was saying something, considering he was friends with Crabbe and Goyle.

Ginny finally burst out laughing now that it was safe to, clutching the wall to support herself as she practically cried with mirth. “Did you see their faces?” she choked out through laughs. “They looked so outraged.”

Draco couldn’t help but laugh too. They really had looked funny with their morally outraged expressions…

Ginny slowly stopped laughing, though her eyes were still twinkling with amusement. “I can't believe they would think that both me and Hermione would be going off to snog you.”

“Hey, I resent that.” Draco retorted in an annoyed voice. “Just what are you implying?”

Ginny giggled and pushed him lightly. “Don’t be so vain; you know we don't like you, and besides, Hermione fancies Blaise.”

Draco stared at her in surprise. “What?”

Ginny nodded, the laughter dying out of her eyes. “Yeah; she as good as told me before.”

Draco sniggered slightly, “So the mudblood finally hit puberty, eh?”

Ginny sighed, “Don’t call her a mudblood, and this isn’t as funny as you might think. It’s going to make things much more difficult for us.”

“Why?” Draco asked confused.

“Because she thinks that I like him too.” Ginny said simply.

“And do you?” Draco asked sharply.

“No...” Ginny answered slowly, “But that doesn’t change the fact that she’ll be less likely to go near him now that she likes him. I know what she’s like, and I know she’ll be too shy to be around him now that she has feelings for him.”

Draco rolled his eyes in frustration. “So while they battle their silly love problems, we’re stuck in each other's bodies?” Draco sighed and leant grumpily against the wall, his eyes staring at her with an aggravated expression. “Do they even realise that Christmas is coming up and we will be expected to go home?”

Ginny shook her head, “I think they're too worked up about their own tangled love lives. I just wish this whole thing was over.”

Draco nodded understandingly. “Tell me about it; you girls have it so tough.”

Ginny looked at him in surprise and then started giggling. “No, don’t tell me,” she said with an inelegant snort. “It’s that time of the month?”

Draco blushed and looked the other way, looking just as uncomfortable as he must feel. “It’s certainly not easy that’s for sure. I’ll never mock a woman’s pain tolerance again…”

For the third time that day Ginny burst into uncontrollable laughter, tears streaming down her eyes. “Wow, this day just keeps getting better and better.”

“Shutup Weasley,” Draco retorted threateningly.

Ginny choked back her laughter and began walking down the corridor, still chuckling to herself slightly at the thought of Draco Malfoy experiencing a period.

“Where are you going?” Draco asked grumpily.

“I’m going to look for Blaise,” Ginny replied with a small smirk and walked off, leaving Draco standing there watching her with a bitter expression. He knew she was enjoying his discomfort in being a girl, and he only hoped hers was just as bad in being a boy….

OOOOOOOO

Ginny walked into the library and saw Blaise sitting at a table, completely engrossed with the book in his hands. From this vantage point she had free reign to stare at him to her fill, and as she watched him read, Ginny thought she could understand why Hermione would fall for Blaise. He was extremely handsome in a way both Draco and Harry could never hope to aspire too. His black hair, slightly curly and always tousled, perfectly shaped his well-structured face. His tan skin looked smooth and warm, and then there were those amazing amber eyes that always seemed to be filled with mischief but also gentleness. He dressed elegantly, and his personality far outstripped his friend's- since he was both nice and funny, while Draco was often mean and sarcastic…

Blaise suddenly looked up at her as though he could feel her gaze and gave a warm smile. Ginny thought she could fall in love with him herself when he smiled…

“Hey,” Ginny said, coming to sit down next to him.

Blaise placed his book down and looked at Ginny with a small grin. “What brings you to the library, Ginevra? I don’t normally see you here unless Granger or myself drag you.”

Ginny looked at him surprised. He had never called her by her first name before, normally always just calling her ‘Weasley’. Shaking off such trivial thoughts, Ginny glanced about at the books he was reading.

“What’s this?”

Blaise stared at the book, sighing slightly. “It’s a book on different switching spells and potions. I’m trying to see if there is anything that might help us get your body back in there.”

Ginny frowned slightly, thinking that both he and Hermione were putting so much effort into helping them get their bodies back, but they were still no closer to getting it done then they were two weeks ago. She still couldn’t believe it had been this long…

“Something wrong?” Blaise asked with a frown.

Ginny shook her head. “I just can’t believe I have been pretending to be Draco Malfoy for two weeks.

Blaise laughed slightly, “You’re right; it has been a rather long time. I imagine it has been quite an experience for you.”

Ginny nodded her head, thinking of all the things that had happened while she had been Draco Malfoy. “It’s strange but even though I really don’t like being Draco himself, I kind of don’t mind it at the same time.”

Blaise smiled slightly, “Must be the charming friends. Crabbe and Goyle would make any person want to stay as Draco if only to listen to their stimulating conversations.”

Ginny laughed and looked at him, her eyes meeting his to see the amusement shining through those amber depths. He really was a fun person to be with, even if he was Draco Malfoy’s best friend and a Slytherin. She suddenly remembered that Hermione liked him and felt a small sigh escape her lips. She almost felt like she wasn’t allowed to talk to Blaise anymore, but that was just stupid. Besides, she enjoyed being with him, and so Hermione would just have to handle it…

“C’mon,” Ginny said firmly. “Enough with the musty old books. Let’s go do something.”

Blaise grinned appreciatively and gathered the books that were sprawled out on the table into his bag. “As you command,” he said with a laugh and followed her out of the library.

OOOOOOOOO

Draco walked into the common room and sighed as he saw Hermione sitting on the seat making her stupid elf hats again. He walked over moodily, and collapsed on the couch next to her, another sigh escaping from his lips.

Hermione looked at him in surprise, “I didn't expect to see you here.”

Draco shrugged and idly picked up a book, but that failed to interest him at all. He gazed back at Hermione and remembered that Ginny had said she liked Blaise. In a way he found that rather hard to believe. If he had known any better, he would have thought Hermione liked Harry or Ron, but then he guessed he was certainly no expert on the feelings of mudbloods.

“Is there something on my face?” Hermione asked with a frown.

Draco shook his head and sighed despondently again, leaning back against the chair. He was so bored… What he wouldn’t give to be in his own body right now, in his own room, with his own friends… Two weeks he had spent being a girl; two weeks he had spent being bored out of his mind, losing Quidditch games, and watching the daughter of his Father’s mortal enemy becoming close friends with his best friend. To top it all off he just had to have cramps, or whatever females called them…

“This sucks,” Draco muttered under his breath, and angrily threw a book on the floor. Hermione stared at him curiously but wisely refrained from saying anything.

With a frustrated groan, Draco stood up again and trudged up to is room, inwardly praying that somehow tomorrow he would wake up back in his own body again so he could escape this hellish lifestyle he had been forced to live and just be himself again…