Chương 12: 12. Life Hurts
Disclaimer: I've been pondering this…I don't control your reactions to this fic, but yet I control the character's. But in a sense, doesn't Rowling control the characters since she created them? Kami, my brain hurts…
Parenting Class
Life Hurts
It had now been several days since the Hogmeade trip, eleven to be exact. And quite a lot had happened over those days…
For starters, Sparkles had been christened and given a new home. It had been a huge ceremony, equipped fully with holy water ('blessed' by Hermione), a little white shirt for Sparkles, and a Baptismal candle.
Draco had posed as the parent to his new charge, and Harry as the priest, Hermione as the audience. As the girl and proud parent watched, Sparkles was dumped and soaked in the water, before emerging and having a drying charm performed.
He was then handed back to his new owner, who promised to love and cherish this newborn. In case you're wondering…this child is none other then the stuffed dragon Hermione and Harry gave Draco.
After being accepted warmly into the family, Sparkles and Draco were inseparable. Each and every class the dragon would be sitting in the child's lap, safe in Hermione's book bag during Care of Magical Creatures, and beside him during meals.
Of course, many other things happened to the child in his stay with his adopted guardians. He managed to pull several pranks on them after getting a hold of Harry's wand, with Pansy's help of course.
These little jokes of his included everything from putting a Ton Tongue Toffee in Hermione's eggs at breakfast to hanging Harry's clothes like pennants on top of the North Tower, with the help of Harry's Firebolt.
Both Gryffindors, mainly Harry, had been impressed that the child had been able to control the fastest broom ever created. So of course, the Quidditch loving boy had taken his charge out on several long rides over the lake and around Hogwarts' grounds.
But then, we must remember that this is Draco, slightly accident prone though he doesn't mean to be. And with broomsticks, fast speeds, and high winds, come accidents… so that's how Hermione found herself camped out at the Hospital Wing two nights straight as Draco and Harry were both treated for pneumonia after falling in the ice cold lake.
Madam Pomfrey had said that both were lucky…it was only September and the lake wasn't as cold as it was in the winter months, though it was still rather chilly for fall.
And of course, Terry provided quite a bit of amusement…Draco and the Ravenclaw had gotten off on rather bad terms. Now, they had to be separated lest Terry try to attack Draco and Draco fight back.
One time, Ron had to physically get in-between the snarling kids and had ended up with tooth marks from Terry all up his left arm as he tried to get at Draco, after the child had 'accidentally' pushed a glass of pumpkin juice into Terry's lap.
Draco had also had his first Herbology Class, and truth tell, was terrified of it. For the entire lesson he had clung to Sparkles and Hermione, convinced all the plants were going to try to eat him.
Hermione was still puzzling over the fact that Draco didn't mind getting eaten by a dragon, yet the thought of a rather harmless plant (such as the Feathery Florescent Flower) sent him hiding beneath the table.
Currently, Hermione was curled up in an armchair, immersed in Hogwarts, a History, while Harry lounged on the sofa, watching Draco run around the room after Crookshanks, who had his beloved stuffed dragon in his mouth.
"BLOODY CAT!" Draco yelled, "GET YOUR FUZZY, ORANGE ARSE BACK HERE RIGHT NOW!"
"Draco!" scolded Hermione, glancing up from the thick text. "Where on earth did you here those words? Those are bad!"
"From Ron," the child admitted, hanging his head and stopping his chase.
"Oooh," the girl fumed, slapping her book shut. "He is going to hear about this! Lavender was right! The children are picking up on his language!" Draco only smiled as Hermione stormed over to the portrait hole.
It swung open obediently and the girl stalked out, only for a loud thump to sound a second later. "Miss Granger! Please look where you're going!" huffed the Transfiguration professor.
"I'm sorry," came the muffled reply of the Gryffindor, who was beneath the woman.
With a groan, McGonagall rose to her feet and offered Hermione a hand up. "Were you leaving? I would like you to hear something first."
'Maiming Ron can wait,' Hermione concluded. "Sure, come on in," she invited, walking back into the room, Leviculus watching the whole exchange with a goofy grin. Both entered and McGonagall seated herself in a second armchair, watching the blond child with amusement as he once more chased the cat around the room for possession of his toy.
"I have something very important to tell you," the teacher said seriously, reaching into her robes and handing Hermione, who had seated herself next to Harry, a small vial of a dark red potion. "Two weeks have gone by, and it is now time for Mr. Malfoy to become himself again."
"Already?" Hermione murmured, tears coming to her eyes. "But it can't have been…"
"It has been fourteen days to this date, Miss Granger. I've discussed with Professor Tobin, and we have made a change to the system…only Mr. Malfoy will take a potion today…in two days time, both you and Mr. Potter will take the de-aging potion."
"Why wait?" asked Harry.
"We feel the students might need a break, to just catch up and talk to their friends, and possibly their partners…and I trust some individuals might even need time to just be alone."
"Should we give it to him now?" queried Harry, his own voice choked up.
"Yes. It will knock Mr. Malfoy out for several hours…he'll probably wake up around dinnertime so he can go eat. And all of his clothes inside his trunk and on him will go make to his normal size."
Hermione paled. "You mean they have to be in the trunk?"
"That's right…and at their normal size, no shrinking charms."
With a soft cry, Hermione raced into Draco's room, the sound of a trunk being slammed down and then opening filling the front room. "What's Hermione doing with all my clothes?" Draco asked, climbing into Harry's lap, Sparkles safe in his arms. "She told me to fold them earlier…and now she's unfolding them."
"Hermione wants them all in the trunk now," Harry explained, wiping away the tears gathering in his eyes.
"Why are you crying?" Draco asked softly, reaching up and wiping a tear that Harry hadn't caught.
"I'll be going now, Mr. Potter," announced McGonagall, rising to her feet. Smiling sadly at the child, she ruffled the blond locks and then continued out the door, the portrait closing behind her.
"Got them all to fit!" exclaimed Hermione, exiting Draco's room with a satisfied smirk on her face. But one look at the child, hugging his dragon and sitting on Harry's lap sent her into a wave of tears.
"Why are you both crying?" Draco asked again, concern forming on his angelic features.
"Come here, Draco," Hermione murmured, holding out her arms for the boy. Scrambling off of Harry's lap, Draco allowed himself to be picked up and carried into his bedroom, Harry trailing behind.
"What's going on?" Hermione didn't answer the Slytherin's question, just sat him down under his covers and sat on the edge of the bed, Harry on the other side. "Did I do something wrong?"
"You did nothing," Hermione whispered, pushing him so he lay on his pillow. "Absolutely nothing wrong." Harry, who had been holding onto the stuffed dragon, passed it to the child, who immediately latched onto it.
"Why are you tucking me in? It isn't even lunchtime yet."
"You know we love you, right Draco?" Hermione whispered, placing a kiss on his brow. The child nodded, more puzzled then ever. "We need you to drink this for us, okay?" she murmured, holding out the vial.
"Why?"
"It's…for a test Professor McGonagall is holding…it'll taste good though," Hermione assured, voice heavy with tears.
"We'll always love you and care for you, no matter what," Harry whispered, placing a kiss on top of the golden head. "Remember that, okay?" Draco gave a nod and sat up, accepting the vial from Hermione.
"You're right," he smiled, "it does taste good. Like cranberries!" Hermione pulled the child to her, cradling him in her arms, as he started to go limp, the glass falling from his hand and shattering to the ground, eyes closing in sleep.
Harry pried the child out of Hermione's arms and laid him back down, having to hold Hermione to keep her from grabbing Draco again. Slowly, as they watched with bated breath, Draco began to change.
Seconds later, a sleeping sixteen-year-old lie on the bed, one arm still wrapped around Sparkles, a peaceful expression on his face. Hermione burst into loud wails, the child they'd cared for now officially gone.
Harry gently grabbed Hermione by her shoulders and led her from the room to the common room couch, sitting her down and pulling her into a hug, attempting to comfort her.
"Why did we have to change him back?" she sobbed, burying her head into Harry's shoulder. "Why couldn't we just keep him like that?"
"Because that's not who he's supposed to be," Harry murmured. "At least we got to spend some time with him, right? And who knows? Maybe he's changed."
"I hope so," Hermione mumbled, sitting up and wiping her eyes.
"Besides, you two are destined to be together," Harry grinned. "And it wouldn't be much fun if he was still a prat."
"We were not destined!" Hermione cried, face reddening in embarrassment. "Unexpected could be anyone…like maybe I'd fall in love with Snape!" Harry mentally tried to picture the couple and gagged.
"Don't ever say that again," he begged, still chasing away nasty images. "Please, please, please don't ever say that."
"I was just making a point," Hermione sniffed.
For the rest of the day, the two lounged around the common room, neither hungry for lunch. Hermione managed to finish up her homework due on Monday, and still had time to gloat that she was free of Harry's own work and watch her friend toil through it.
When the clock chimed five, a loud grumble accompanied it. "I think I'm hungry," Harry chuckled, patting his stomach. "Should we head down to dinner?"
"What about Draco?" Hermione murmured, glancing at the closed bedroom door where the Slytherin still slept. "What if he wakes up?"
"I don't think we're going to be the first thing he wants to see," Harry said softly, placing a hand on Hermione's shoulder. "McGonagall said that some of them would just want to be alone…I think Draco would be under that category. A lot happened to him…he'll need some time to think about it."
"I guess you're right…" Hermione said reluctantly. "But he should be awake now, shouldn't he? I'll go ask if he wants to come down with us."
Harry opened his mouth to say that wasn't such a good idea, but Hermione was already outside Draco's door. Her hand twisted the knob, but much to her surprise it was locked. "Draco? Are you okay?" she murmured, not really expecting a reply. She didn't get one. "Well, he woke up," she announced softly to Harry, leaving the closed door. "We can bring him something back from dinner…he's sure to be hungry by then."
Throwing one last concerned look at the locked door, Hermione exited the portrait and towards dinner. Entering the Great Hall, she was quite sad to see no children at the benches, just all teenagers.
Terry was still sitting at the Gryffindor table, apologizing to everyone. "You should have seen him!" giggled Lavender as Harry and Hermione sat down. "He went up and hugged Snape a few minutes ago!"
Harry stared goggle-eyed at the Ravenclaw. "You did what?"
"Hugged him," the boy laughed. "I wanted to apologize for biting him earlier…and some of the potion effects are still lingering…like I'm still expecting hugs and I still keep trying to bite."
"You bit Snape?" Hermione repeated faintly. "I'm honestly surprised you aren't dead."
"Us too," muttered Ron. "From the constant abuse Terry managed to put us through."
"I said I was sorry!" Terry exclaimed. "I honestly didn't mean for you to go to the hospital!"
"Uh huh," the red head grumbled.
"How did your parents ever handle you?" Lavender asked, quite interested in the answer.
Terry rubbed the back of his head. "They didn't give me any sort of sweet or cake…that's what made me act like that."
"We are such idiots," Lavender groaned, pounding her head against the table. "If we'd only known." Then a thought occurred to her. "Why didn't you tell us not to give you candy?"
"Why would I? I was deprived of sugar as a child…you can't mean to tell me I'd willingly give it up when I knew you and Ron knew nothing about it."
"Hey, Mione," said Ginny, sliding into the seat next to her friend. "Where's Draco?" she asked, looking around the hall. "I don't see him anywhere."
"He locked himself in his room," Hermione said quietly. "He just needs to be alone for a little bit."
"Hermione? I mean…Granger?" asked a voice from behind the Gryffindor. The girl turned to see Pansy fidgeting behind her, twisting her hair black hair between her fingers.
"It's Hermione, Pansy," the girl said firmly, holding out her hand to the Slytherin. "We're friends, aren't we?"
After a split second decision, Pansy smiled and took the offered hand, giving it a small shake. "I was wondering…do you know where Draco is?"
"Locked in his room," Hermione said sadly. "Harry and I are just leaving him alone for a little while…he needs some time to think."
"Oh…all right. Well…when you see him, tell him I said I hope he feels better." Hermione nodded as Pansy turned and went back to her own table. She had understood what the Slytherin had said…she wanted Draco to know she cared about him and to know she was his friend.
"I'm going to head back to the room," stated Hermione, wrapping a roll into a napkin. "And I promise not to disturb Draco," she promised, noticing the look Harry was giving her.
Walking back down the hall, the girl sighed. Everyone else appeared to be all right with their older forms…though embarrassed like Terry perhaps. But Draco…so much she'd learned about him…so much he wanted to keep secret. How could anyone expect to go back to his own ways after going through all that?
Entering the common room, Hermione sat down on the couch, and picked up a book to read, desperate to get her mind off of Draco. But after seconds of reading, a soft noise disturbed her concentration and she set the book aside.
Creeping up to the Slytherin's door, she pressed her ear against it, the sound now distinguishable. Crying. Draco was crying. At once, the mothering instincts she'd started to react to kicked in. Trying the door, she glared at the brass knob when it refused to turn.
"Alohamora," she breathed, flicking her wand at the door. Silently, the door opened and Hermione entered, feeling her own eyes mist up at the sight laid out before her. Draco was still in his black robes he'd been wearing, and still beneath the covers, though he was curled up around Sparkles, shoulders shaking with soft sobs.
Crossing silently over to the bed, Hermione clambered up and slid under the covers beneath the crying boy, arms hesitantly wrapping around him in a hug. Draco didn't push away like she'd expected, he merely pulled her to him and buried his face against her.
"It's okay," she murmured, rubbing small circles on his back. "Everything is all right."
With a sudden jolt, Draco sat up and shoved the Gryffindor away, silver eyes glittering with anger and tears. "Nothing is all right," he hissed, "and it never will be."
"Draco…"
He roughly pushed her hand off of his shoulder, before drawing back farther on his bed. "Just leave me alone, Granger….please," he whispered brokenly.
"I just want to let you know…what Harry and I said was true. We really do love you, Draco…and we just want to help."
"I don't need any help," the Slytherin murmured, looking down at his clasped hands. "If you'd wanted to help me, you wouldn't have been born."
Hermione recoiled like she'd been slapped, a hurt look washing over her face. "That really isn't you talking," she said after a minute, eyes downcast. "You told me so many times you loved me…that must have meant something."
"It didn't," Draco snarled. "Just forget any of that ever happened."
"It did happen, and I won't forget. During those two weeks, you were a human Draco. You weren't afraid to show your feelings, tell us your problems, allowed us to comfort you. You didn't mind being told you were loved for, you accepted the hugs we gave you. Don't you dare try and tell me that was nothing."
"Maybe I just want it to be nothing," Draco retorted. "I didn't want you in my life…why did you have to be nice to me?" he whispered, tears trickling down his cheeks. "Why couldn't you just ignore me and throw me away? Then this wouldn't have happened."
"What wouldn't have happened?" Hermione asked quietly, inching closer and cupping his cheek in her hand, thumb wiping away the tears. Draco stiffened, but didn't move.
"You wouldn't have made me care about you."
Author's Notes:
Sorry this chapter turned out to be a little shorter then normal...it just seemed like a very good place to end. And as most of you probably saw, I changed Draco back a little earlier then expected...I just felt like that if I kept doing Draco-Chan, then I wouldn't have anything else left for the other kids.
As a strike of boredom (I actually finished this chapter earlier then I normally do, this time on Saturday night!) I'm answering a lot of different questions. But from now on, I'll only answer five. Oki? Great! n.n And if there are spelling errors, I am very, very sorry. My spellcheck changes a lot of things I don't want changed and I had a band-aid on my finger...broke almost my entire nail off cleaning my room earlier today so I kept hitting extra keys. XD
I'd also like to remind everyone, that on chapter ten in the Author's Notes are the answers to the most commonly asked questions...please check to see if your question was asked there before repeating the same question again. Arigatou!
And, I'd like to thank the following people for their wonderful reviews:
LishaChan, athenakitty, Kou Shun'u, tigerlily727, wockygal, memommy27, kat6528, Slytherin ice princess, Sugary Peach Tea, cocoaducks, FlickFlick, Gertyke, LiLbLueangeL1223, soulsaint06, Laen, Invisible Voice, BrennaM, Alenor, HaliJade Snape, charmedsisters, ilovetom88, blackrosebunny451, samhaincat, scarlet-knight13, it wasn't me, Pernese-Kat, CircleOfStone, Rain-Pyr, Bronwen, jujyfruits7766, GirlWaterShaman, LosOjosDeLaVida, ERMonkey, Burner of Cookies, dizzydragon, knivesgirl346, gtrlvr8877, bleedingheart666, Hawaiian-Rachael, Katarcta, citcat299, BluDiamond, Serena, deejayD, Aleskris, D/HR SHiPPER, DraconisGirl, rogue solus, Pia O'Leary, Frogs Rok, YamiClara, wackyone, Emma Lee18, Corinne Black, coffeentoffee, BlueBabyAquaGirl, Coffee-is-addictive, finally-defeated, and The Stump
And now on to all of those questions...
Are you going to write a sequel? submitted by LishaChanYup! I already have a rather funny idea planned that would probably work more on Draco/Hermione and Harry/Ginny, but would be humorous as well. But don't try asking for ideas of what it is…I ain't saying nothing.
If Hermione is a muggle born, and Harry grew up with the Dursleys, how would they deal with magic? submitted by wockygalVery differently then how Draco did. Harry, his entire life, was told the 'm' word was bad so he'll probably be quite frightened would be my logical guess. Hermione though might see it as some big fantasy land from a faerie tale and fit in quite comfortably...with just a few little mishaps.
How on earth are Harry and Draco going to deal with Hermione when she's a kid? submitted by cocoaducksVery carefully. XD She's going to be a wild little thing, much like myself when I was younger. I'd say the best thing for them to do is have hardhats, bring protective dragon hide gloves, and follow behind her with a ton of band-aids...for all the people unfortunate enough to get in her way.
What is Draco's opinion of Dobby going to be like after he turns back? submitted by FlickFlickQuite honestly, I really don't see it as being any different. Dobby had always been nice to Draco when he was a kid, and he was still probably polite and kind to him until he left the manor in Draco's second year. So going to Dobby might actually be comforting for Draco...knowing someone he grew up with is there.
What school do you go to? You write so totally awesome! submitted by LiLbLueangeL1223Awww, thanx. I can't give out my school name online, but it is a high school somewhere in Illinois. I'm a sophomore there. But I give no credit to my writing to the school. XD In English last year (I'm not in it right now, starting second semester) I did win third place in a Literary Festival for my narrative, but other then that, my writing was nothing special. If anything, I'd give credit to my eighth grade L.A. teacher, who entered me in a ton of poetry contests, and I won several…even got published in a book. The strange thing is, I'm actually going to be taking junior English classes this year…on a test I took in ninth grade, they told me my reading/writing skill level was at college level so I'm in all these advanced classes. :shudder: I really don't see a difference except I get more homework.
What's your background/But are you by chance Japanese? submitted by Laen/AlenorI hope you two don't mind...the question was very similar so I just grouped it together. No, I'm not Japanese, though I wish I was. I learned all the language I knew from writing anime fanfics, reading anime fanfics, reading mangas, and listening to some of my DVD's in Japanese. n.n As for what my background is, I'm 25 Italian and 25 Slovak. The other 50 of me is made up of Scottish, Irish, Welsh, and British, although I unfortunately don't have an accent. But I can mimic one when I want too. Sound rather realistic too.
Arethere going to be as many fun things happening when Hermione becomes a child? submitted by Pernese-KatOh yes! She's my little 'wild child'. XD Draco was polite, and slightly accident prone. Harry will be more of shy but then a very outgoing kid, though still careful, and Hermione...is Hermione. Don't worry, I already have several fun things planned for the bookworm.
When Harry/Hermione become all chibi like, are they going to freak out about the magic? submitted by CircleOfStoneHarry would be a definite yes to that question. He grew up his life learning magic was bad and unreal, so he would probably either A. think that he'd gone insane or B. think the Dursley's had set up a trap to catch him saying the forbidden word. XD Hermione, I think, would treat the whole thing as a game and probably have quite a lot of fun with all the fun things to 'play' with.
What chibi Harry Potter character would be your fav? Why? submitted by Rain-PyrDraco-Chan of course! I just picture him as the sweet little angel he is, along with his accident proneness. XD As for why, I think it's because I almost see myself in him. I am daily running into things and causing minor little accidents in my wake, and then I revert to sweetness. lol
Who would you want to be in your group and why? submitted by Rain-PyrHmmm...for one, I'd want Pansy. I do believe we'd be able to create some entertainment for the school. Although they'd probably hide in terror with me loose in the castle. My other partner I'd want would of course be...dun dun dun...Draco:dreamy sigh: Too bad I'm not an HP character...then my life would be complete.
Why did you decide to have Harry in the middle instead of him being last? submitted by knivesgirl346Have ya ever heard the saying, 'save the best for last?'. That's exactly what I'm doing. I really intend to go full blown on Hermione's character and want a lot of time to accomplish it. Also, because I really want to work on the D/Hr romance, and I really can't do that if Hermione is little...be pretty gross from Draco to be snogging a five year old. :shudders:Are you going to do moreHP fanfiction on here after you're done with this one? submitted by Hawaiian-RachaelI'm actually a tad confused by your question. XD If you go to my profile page, I have quite a number of other HP fics as well as several anime ones for YYH, WR, RK, and Yugioh. If you meant a sequel to this one though, the answer is yes!
So, when the next person turns small, they won't remember the other person was small before? submitted by deejayDThat's correct. The child will only remember their own memories up to their current age, which is five years old. So to them, the events of the last two weeks, and the rest of their lives, so about ten years, never happened.
When will Ron be turned little? submitted by AleskrisRon shall be little when Harry is! I decided that those two would have a lot of fond memories to share if they actually 'grew up' together...so, since Harry should be changing in a chapter or two, that's when Ron will be.
Is Ron going to become a child too? (I'm assuming he is) and if yes, are you going to tell about it or will it be more like a side-thing that shows up every now and again? submitted by Pia O'LearyYup, he is. n.n As for being a sideshow...I'm not quite sure. I do plan on him popping up quite a bit (more then Pansy with Draco) since I intend for him and Ron to become pretty good friends, but he won't be the main character. The way I write this story is in third person and I'm always with one of the main three characters. When I write, I try to pretend there's a thread and I'm not allowed to break it...I just have to let the scenes blend into each other. Although sometimes, I will cut it off and start a new one, when I either need to change the POV, the day, or which character I'm with, although I shouldn't really cut off at all in this fic unless it's a time change. And that had absolutely nothing to do with the question...
Do you think that your lifestlye eg. religion, choices of music ect. has influence your writing style? submitted by Coffee-is-addictiveI don't think my religion has anything to do with it...I'm Catholic but I still enjoy doing things not allowed by it, like horoscopes, an occasioanl swear (oops) or at times lying to get myself out of trouble. lol But music does have a big impact. I currently have 220 clips on my Realone Player that I listen to whenever I write. If I'm writing a sad part, I'll switch the song to slow...in high tense situations, I'll move it to fast, loud music, and fluff I make sweet. Some of the songs I use a lot for all scenes are Running Away by Hoobastank (which I feel has several qualities), Numb by Linkin Park (I relate this song to Draco), and Going Under by Evanesence. For this chapter, if anyone's curious, I listened a lot to The Better Life (3 Doors Down), Heaven (DJ Sammy), Requiem (LOTR), and My December (Linkin Park)
Do you believe that the character Draco in your story will ever become evil or betray Hermione? submitted by Coffee-is-addictiveNo, not really. I love writing Draco, and see him as someone who would turn around from what Rowling wrote him as. He might have the occasional evil streak or be mean, but he won't ever try to give her to Voldemort or kill her, anything extreme like that.
What is your opinion on people that cash in on J.K Rowlings success through the releasing of published books, that have been written with reference or relation to the books HARRY POTTER tm? submitted by Coffee-is-addictiveI'd have to say, it is just like the situation of Yugioh and Duel Masters. Every single time I see a commerical for the former, I want to go out and demand that Yugioh sues, seeing as they had the original idea. But for Rowling,it is a bit different. A lot of people like to dive into the world of magic so using that isn't wrong, but copying relatively close shouldn't be allowed. Then again, I've never seen one of these other books before.
Do you believe that the Movies of Harry Potter tm. are an acurrate representation of the books written by the genius Miss J.K. Rowling? submitted by Coffee-is-addictiveOverall, I'd say yes. There are somethings I would go back and re-edit...like in PoA, I wouldn't have the kind of hinting at Hermione/Ron, since Rowling never wrote that in the books. And I would have definetly explained the Maurder's Map and its creators in the movie...my one friend was quite confused about that since she'd never read the books. But they did pick pretty good actors for the parts and each is holding the character's qualities quite well.
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