FicWad

After the euphoria ebbed, Harry and Hermione tidied themselves up and got dressed. Hermione had modified her dress to accommodate her tail; it was large and bushy, reaching almost to the top of her head, and all attempts to try and hide it were fruitless. And given that, there had been no point in bothering to try and hide her ears.

Harry noticed Hermione was subdued now, and turning her face away from him. He thought he knew what was wrong.

“It’s alright Hermione, we’re in this together now. I’ll hex anyone who gives you a hard time.”

Hermione sighed and looked at Harry with tears in her eyes.

“It’s not that Harry. Well, maybe it is a bit... But mostly I...” Hermione sobbed, “...I wanted to say I’m sorry and thank you all at once and...”

“Sorry? What for?” asked a very bewildered Harry.

“I... I took advantage of you Harry. I shouldn’t have done that. I don’t think you were ready yet.”

Hermione was crying in earnest now. Harry couldn’t think what to do, so he put his arms around Hermione and hugged her. He hadn’t expected this. He couldn’t have imagined ever having such a beautiful experience. If Hermione hadn’t been precocious, it would never have happened--and he was very happy that it had.

Then Harry understood. He remembered what the Healer had told them, that Hermione would need a boyfriend to “settle" her instinctive feline urges. Hermione was back to her normal self and not in heat anymore because Harry had “settled” her. He kissed her forehead.

“Look at me Hermione. Please!”

Hermione slowly lifted her tear-streaked face and looked into Harry’s green eyes. He smiled at her.

“It’s alright Hermione. I... it was lovely. I mean it. You didn’t take advantage of me. You couldn’t help it because you were in heat. But it didn’t matter anyway, because I AM ready. I... I don’t know how it happened. I knew something was wrong with you when you wouldn’t come out of the stall after taking the polyjuice potion.”

“I couldn’t stop thinking about you the whole time Ron and I were with Malfoy. By the time we got back to Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom, I was different somehow. If anything, I’m sorry for not sticking up for you more with Ron. All of a sudden, I realised that he’s a bit stupid and mean--not to mention selfish. And... and I realised I wanted to look after you--not let anyone be mean to you.”

Hermione had stopped crying and her eyes widened. She was seeing Harry in a whole new light. Harry wasn’t a little boy anymore after all.

“Look...” Harry continued, “I’m not saying I wasn’t surprised--I was--but it was a very happy surprise. I want to be with you Hermione. I AM your boyfriend now!” Finished with his little speech, Harry suddenly kissed Hermione on the lips to show her that he meant it.

Hermione was feeling much calmer now. She smiled shyly at Harry and blushed slightly. The shyness was new to her. Nobody had ever made her feel this way before.

“I... I think I really do love you Harry. I don’t think it was just being a cat, or in heat. You’ve been so nice to me these last few weeks. And I’ve liked you since the day I met you on the train, but you and Ron seemed so... not interested in girls yet.”

“And thank you so much for being so understanding Harry... and for helping me with my problem. I feel normal again now. Not that I didn’t enjoy the sex too, but I felt out of control.”

Lunch time was almost over. Hermione undid her locking spell in the nick of time; Madam Pomfrey had returned. She spotted Harry with Hermione and smiled to herself. The boy was clearly besotted with Miss Granger, and she would need all the support she could get.

Hermione left the hospital wing with Harry very anxiously. She had a feeling that she would be in for a rough time. She was not incorrect. Other students had been wondering what had happened to her, and took immediate notice of Hermione’s new appearance. They didn’t even try to hide their laughter and rude comments.

It was made worse by the fact that most of the students were a bit frightened of Harry, which made them meaner when they realised that she was with Harry too. And it wasn’t just Slytherins. A Hufflepuff boy yelled out as she and Harry walked by.

“Is that your Pet Pussy, Potter?”

Several Hufflepuff girls nearby giggled. Some older Ravenclaws passing by laughed at Zachariah Smith’s crudeness and witty alliteration. One of the Ravenclaw boys grabbed Hermione’s tail and pulled it. She gasped in dismay and felt a sharp pain at the base of her spine.

Roger Davies dropped to the floor blinded by agony when Harry’s fist crashed into the side of his face.

“If ANYBODY else ever tries that again, I’ll hex the lot of you!” Harry yelled at everyone in the Hallway.

The rest of the students in the hallway fled in terror, wondering why they had been so stupid as to anger the Heir of Slytherin. Harry looked on in satisfaction. Unfortunately it didn’t last long. Snape had arrived with Madam Pomfrey who immediately began to administer aid to Roger Davies.

“Well, well, Mr Potter. What a stunning display of muggle violence,” Snape said with a nasty looking smirk. “I would say 50 points from Gryffindor and a month’s deten...”

“I don’t THINK so Severus!” Interjected Madam Pomfrey angrily, who leapt up from Roger Davies and glared with venom at Snape. He paled slightly and stepped back. He had never seen Poppy so enraged.

“If you DARE try to punish Mr Potter for protecting Miss Granger, I shall lodge a formal complaint with the Headmaster!” she snarled at him.

Snape glowered at Harry.

“You’ve been spared by your ‘chivalry’ Potter!” he sneered, “...for now!”

~o0o~

Ron really wanted to have another laugh at Hermione, but he restrained himself and made an attempt to ingratiate himself with Hermione instead. He wanted his friend Harry back, and he wanted Hermione to do his homework again. For their part, Harry and Hermione returned the favour and made an effort to welcome him back. But their friendships would never be quite the same again.

That evening, when Harry and Hermione showed up in the common room, everything went quiet and all eyes turned towards them. Well this was awkward, thought Harry. It was bad enough that a number of fellow Gryffindors thought he might be the Heir of Slytherin too, but now they had the added impression that he might beat anyone to pulp who looked at Hermione wrong. Though that didn’t stop some of the girls in Hermione’s dorm from giggling and whispering to each other.

Fred and George looked around the common room in disgust. They had been planning on holding a celebration for Harry; for sticking up for Hermione, bashing Roger Davies, annoying Snape, and getting away with it.

“Sod off you lot,” Fred said, making a rude hand gesture.

“Yeah, this party is for REAL Gryffindors!” exclaimed George.

Some of the Gryffindors in the common room looked quite sheepish, while others glared at Fred and George. But all of them filed up the stairs to their respective dormitories, even Ron and Ginny, and left the twins with Hermione and Harry who were both quite upset now. They had expected better treatment from their own House.

“Bunch of bloody gits,” George said.

“Who needs them!?” Fred remarked.

George pressed butterbeers into Hermione and Harry’s hands. Then he sighed and pulled out a little vial of some sort of potion.

“Here you two. I was going to save this for later, but you need it more.”

“What is it?” Hermione asked, who was on the verge of tears again.

“It’s a... erm... cheering sort of potion...” began Fred.

“...and don’t ask where we got it from,” finished George.

“Bottoms up you two,” Fred urged.

Hermione and Harry regarded the vial dubiously, but the Weasley twins were the only ones unequivocally on their side, and they both felt that it would be rude not to give it a go. They each took a swig and emptied the vial.

Moments later they felt much better, and a bit buzzy. Fred turned on the Wizard Wireless. Celestina Warbeck was warbling away.

“Urgh,” grunted Fred, who immediately flicked stations until he found one playing a New Order song. George opened a basket full of pork pies, sausage rolls, pumpkin pasties, bacon flavoured crisps, Jammie Dodgers, Chocolate Frogs and a number of other assorted goodies...

Soon they were playing a game of Exploding Snap and having a good laugh as Harry did an impression of Snape’s features when Madam Pomfrey had told him off. It was midnight before they all made their way to their respective dorms.

Hermione entered her dorm in trepidation. Everyone was still awake and staring at her when she entered. But Parvati was sitting on Hermione’s bed glowering at everyone else. Hermione ignored the others, and approached Parvati.

Parvati jumped up and gave Hermione a hug.

“I’m so sorry Hermione. It’s awful. I don’t care what you look like--no, actually I do. I think you look adorable.” Parvati sniffed and an angry tear rolled down one cheek as she gave everyone else a quick glare.

“Well I think you’re a freak!” Lavender said with a sour expression. Fay Dunbar and her friend glowered and nodded in agreement. “You don’t belong with humans anymore, you belong in Hagrid’s menagerie!” Lavender concluded with a sneer.

Hermione burst into tears. Parvati gasped at Lavender’s cruelty and whipped out her wand, shooting a hex at her. Lavender sprouted antlers and shrieked. She whipped out her own wand and pointed it at Hermione, vanishing her clothes.

Hermione yowled in horror, covered her face with her hands and sobbed as the other girls stared at her naked body.

“See...” yelled Lavender, “She’s an animal! She’s got eight breasts. I’m not sleeping in a dorm with a freak!”

“You evil hag,” shrieked Parvati, who quickly shot another hex at Lavender. Lavender dodged the spell and it hit Fay Dunbar in the chest. Fay’s nightgown exploded as her breasts blew up and kept growing until they hit the floor. Taking advantage of the confusion, Parvati threw a blanket over Hermione and pushed her out the door before taking a hit from a spell shot by Fay Dunbar’s friend.

A horse tail sprouted from Parvati’s backside. She whirled around and dueled with Fay’s friend and the antlered Lavender. Spells ricocheted around the room and the other girls in the dorm screamed and hid under their beds.

Hermione fled down the stairs from the girls’ dorm, and then up the stairs to the boys’ dorm. Wrapped only in her blanket, she flew past a shocked Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnegan. Hermione ran to Harry’s bed, who looked equally astounded. Ron was staring at her slack-jawed as she yanked the curtains closed around Harry’s bed and flung herself on him sobbing loudly.

The boys could hear what sounded like a full-scale riot in the girl’s dormitories. Harry just held Hermione tightly as she cried.

After a bit, there was silence from the girl’s dorm. Then half an hour later Professor McGonagall stormed into the second year boy’s dorm. She was livid.

With a wave of her wand everyone’s curtains closed, temporarily trapping the rest of the boys in their beds. Then she approached Harry’s curtain, and with a valiant effort she brought her temper under control and spoke as gently as she could to the young couple inside.

“Potter, Miss Granger, please come with me immediately. We need to talk. And this is not the place.”

Harry peeked through the curtain, and saw that everyone else’s was shut.

“It’s alright Hermione,” he said, “you can come out now. Nobody can see you.”

Still sobbing hard, Hermione emerged from the curtains surrounding Harry’s bed wrapped in her blanket. Anger creased McGonagall’s face again when she saw Hermione’s state. She waved her wand and a flowery nightgown replaced Hermione’s blanket. She put one arm around Hermione and the other around Harry and led them out of the boy’s dorm.

She looked back at the enclosed beds.

“Lights out NOW!” Professor McGonagall said sharply before slamming the door behind her.