Time for a Change: Back to the Beginning?

Time for a Change
Chapter Fourteen
By: Lori Finnegan
2007

 

Hermione and Pansy rushed through the crowds, one after the other, until they got down into the dungeons and in front of Snape’s door, where they stopped to look at each other, breathing deeply not only from their speedy trip down the stairs, but also because they were nervous as all hell.

“Well, are you going to knock, or should I?” Pansy wanted to know as they both stood there.

Hermione raised her fist. “I’ll do it,” she decided, and then tapped softly at the door a couple times.

It seemed like forever until the door swung open, and Snape appeared, frowning down on them. “What is it that I can do for you, Miss Parkinson... Miss Granger?”

Hermione looked up at him nervously. “Could we please come inside, Professor?” she asked. “There’s something important we need to discuss with you.”

Snape seemed to think about it for a moment, but then stepped aside so that they could enter. “Please make this prompt,” he requested. “I’m very busy.”

“Yes, sir,” Hermione agreed as they walked past him and stood by his desk. She wondered if there was a time when Snape wasn’t busy.

The two girls waited while Snape sat back down at his desk and gathered up some pieces of parchment. “Well, what are you waiting for? Please have a seat and start talking. I imagine whatever it is you have to say must be rather important for you to come and find me outside of class.”

Hermione imagined that not many students, if any, wished to engage him in any sort of conversation outside of class. She quickly glanced over at Pansy, wondering if she was going to do the talking, but realized that wasn’t the case when she saw Pansy’s pale face.

“You see, Professor…” Hermione started out. “About a week and a half ago, there was a little potions mishap that happened during class. We attempted to right the situation ourselves, but we failed. We didn’t want to bother you, but seeing that we ran out of options…”

Snape looked up from his papers and right at Hermione and then looked over at Pansy. “Excuse me for being so dense,” he said, “but I haven’t noticed any oversized noses or ears. What exactly was this mishap that you speak of?”

“Well,” Hermione went on, “The potion that was supposed to turn us green, but we accidentally added a little too much water, and the side effect… well, it left little to be desired. We ended up—”

“I know what extra water does to that potion,” Snape said as he looked between them. “Are you telling me that the two of you are no longer in your own bodies?”

They both nodded at him slowly.

Snape stared at them for an overly long moment and then finally blinked, to their slight relief. Without a word, he stood up from his chair and went into his supply closet where all students knew they were never, under any condition, allowed to enter. When he emerged, he held a small bottle with a stopper in it and placed it gently onto the table before looking back at the girls.

“I could just give you the correct potion and send you on your way,” he said. “But to be honest with you, I’m quite interested in why you didn’t come to me the very moment this happened.”

Pansy finally sat forward in her chair. “We thought we could handle it, Professor,” she explained simply. “Hermione dug up the potion recipe from some obscure library text, and she was confident we would have positive results.”

“I see,” Snape said, folding his arms over his chest as his glare fixed on Hermione. “So, now it’s assumed that Miss Know-It-All truly does know it all?”

Hermione had to stop herself from shooting death glares back at him. The best she could do was avert her eyes.

“Why don’t you show me the ingredients, Miss Granger?” Snape said, holding his hand out to her.

Reluctantly, Hermione shuffled through her backpack until she produced the list and handed it over to Snape. “There was only one written source for such a potion, sir,” she told him. “We were merely working with what we had.”

His eyes were fixed on the list, and when they reached the end, a small sneer crept to his lips. “I actually find this somewhat amusing,” he finally said.

Hermione took a quick glance at Pansy, as she doubted he could find anything amusing, but Pansy was still staring at him with wide eyes. But it didn’t really matter right now, she decided as she slowly turned her head back to face him.

“The reason your potion was a failure was not because you made a mistake with the ingredients or not even with the brewing itself,” Snape went on. “The problem was with your research… or rather, Hogwarts’ strange need to keep ancient books on its shelves that are extremely out of date. You see, the reason you were only able to find this particular version of the potion was because I had taken out the book on the new edition. It just so happens that my stock was expired, and I had to make some more for just such situations. And now, thanks to you two, I’ll have to start over once again.”

“But, Professor,” Hermione spoke up. “Why is it that the old formula no longer works?”

Snape gave her an irritated look before answering. “I would think you would know this, Miss Granger, but the properties of the ingredients, especially ones coming from animal and beast sources, have the tendency to change over time. It’s always a risk to make potions that were written over a thousand years ago.”

Hermione looked down in her lap uncomfortably. He was right; she should have known that. Perhaps it was their desperation that had made her overlook that obvious fact.

I think you girls have learned your lesson,” Snape said as he handed the list of ingredients back to Hermione. “However, I’m going to give you both Ds on the original assignment, and you will both spend every evening, including weekends, in detention until the Christmas holiday. And in all honestly, Miss Granger, Miss Parkinson, this feels like more of a punishment to me than to you.”

Hermione wasn’t surprised by their punishment, so she kept her eyes on the floor and her mouth closed.

“So, please, I want each of you to drink half of the bottle and return to your appropriate classes. And do so quickly. I will see you in class and then at eight o’clock this evening, on the dot, for detention. Understood?” He pushed the bottle closer to their end of the desk.

Both girls nodded as he turned around and returned to the shelves. When he finally had his back to them, they glanced at each other regretfully.

Pansy was the first to reach for the bottle. As she tilted it towards her lips, she took one more look over at Hermione. Hermione nodded at her for reassurance, and when Pansy took a gulp and set it down on the table, Hermione picked up the bottle and finished it off.

The two girls stared at each other, waiting for something to happen, and the next thing they knew, they were back in their own bodies, looking at each other's appropriate faces.

They couldn't help but smile at each other.

Happy to be back in her own body, but feeling a little bit weird to be there, Hermione grinned as she and Pansy quickly rushed to make it to Defense Against the Dark Arts on time. They stopped in front of the door and slipped through just before class began.

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Ron looked past Harry at what appeared to be Hermione and wondered if they had indeed been successful in switching back to their own bodies. It was hard to tell without actually talking to her. Hell, it had taken him long enough to even realize that she wasn't Hermione anymore last time.

“Psst!” he hissed at her. “Where have you been? You're usually not late to class, not to mention you completely missed our last one!”

“I got caught up with something,” she hissed back at him. “And you should pay attention during class!”

Ron turned his head back to the front of the class and smiled to himself. Now, that was definitely Hermione.

When class ended, Ron picked up his things and shoved them into his bag. And when he stood up and slung his backpack over his shoulder, he couldn’t help but let his eyes follow over to the Slytherin side of the room where they landed directly on Pansy Parkinson. He was surprised when he noticed that her eyes lifted to meet his, and she winked at him. Ron shot her a crooked grin and then tore his eyes away quickly so that Harry and Hermione wouldn’t notice the odd exchange that he had had with a Slytherin.

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“Just what was that?” Draco demanded, and Pansy jumped, startled by his voice. “Did I just see you wink at Weasley!?” he said Ron's name as if it had a nasty taste.

Pansy immediately put her hands up to her eye. “Are you crazy? I think I got some dust in my eye, is all. Damn house elves need to dust more than once a month!”

Draco didn’t say anything for a moment as Pansy busied herself with picking up her books and dropping them into her backpack.

“I don’t like the way he looks at you,” he finally spoke up when she started to walk down the isle and towards the exit.

Knowing that he couldn’t see her from where he stood, Pansy rolled her eyes at his comment. “What are you talking about? You’re delusional, Draco, honestly.”

He caught up to her. “Don’t tell me you didn’t see that look he was giving you,” he said. “I am seriously going to hex him the next time he looks at you.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Pansy said as she walked through the exit, failing to hold the door open for him. When he finally caught up to her again, he was even more upset than before.

“I don’t know what to do with you,” he said between his teeth as they made their way through a group of fourth years who were lined up trying to get into the Defense Against the Dark Arts room. “Why can’t you just be honest with me for a change?” he demanded.

Pansy stopped in her tracks and waited till he turned to face her. “Listen, Draco, I am being bloody honest with you. It’s not my fault that Ron Weasley has some sort of tick that makes his face contort into ugly expressions!”

Draco frowned at her. “Whatever,” he said, and turned back around to lead the way to their next class, which just happened to be Potions. “Come on,” he muttered. “We’re going to be late.”

Pansy glared at his back. What was with him? Maybe she should have listened to Hermione a little more when she tried to tell her about Draco the night before…

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That evening, after dinner, Hermione decided to spend some time in the library. In the week that she'd been stuck pretending to be a Slytherin, she forgot just how loud the Gryffindor Common Room could be, and she just wanted some peace and quiet while she worked on her homework.

She couldn't have been more surprised when Ron sat down across from her with a smile on his face.

“Are you going to study with me or something?” she inquired before he had a chance to say anything. Her question was answered as he placed a book down in front of him on the table.

“Why not?” he wanted to know. “We never get to study together.”

“Yeah,” Hermione said suspiciously. “That's because when we do study together it's usually you copying my answers.”

Ron flipped his book open and began searching for a specific spot in the text. “Well, this time I'm serious,” he said. “And besides, I think we should spend more time together. You're always off studying on your own, so I thought the best way to spend time with you was to join you.”

Hermione continued to stare at him. He must want help with his homework, she thought. “What do you need help on, Ron,” she sighed, looking down at his book. “Transfiguration?”

“You're not listening to me, Hermione,” Ron said, the smile still on his face. “I just wanted to spend time with you. We haven't been hanging out too much lately.”

“I see,” she replied, but she was still suspicious. She knew for a fact that he completely detested homework and always left it till the last minute. He was even worse than Harry. She decided to humor him since it didn't seem like he was going to be giving up this line of thought anytime soon.

“Okay, then,” she said, handing him a blank piece of parchment. “Let's get studying!”
______________________________________________________________________

“No, no, no,” Draco heard a voice from the other side of the bookshelf. “You never add fluxweed to potions that are meant to alter emotion. The result could be hazardous!”

“How was I supposed to know that?” another voice asked.

From their conversation, as well as their obnoxious voices, Draco could tell without a doubt that he was listening to one of Granger's tutoring sessions... and she was pretty unlucky because it was Weasley who needed help. He almost felt sorry for her.

Almost. After all, it had been a crazy Granger that had invaded their Common Room that very morning. And he still hadn't found out why, and for some reason, she had escaped with not only no one noticing her, but without punishment as well.

“Well, if you'd been paying attention in class,” Granger told him, “maybe you would have known.”

“Okay, okay, I get it now,” Weasley gave in. “No... fluxweed.. in emotional... potions,” he said it as he were writing it down in his notes. “Got it. I think I'm fine on my own now. Thanks, Hermione.”

Draco rolled his eyes. Weasley's essay would definitely be returned to him with red marks all over it. He wondered why Weasley didn't just drop Potions and skip the pain and misery that came with it. It was obvious that his work wasn't up to par with Snape's standards.

“You're welcome, Ron,” Granger told him. “Next time you should actually try reading the chapter before you try doing the homework for it. Geez.”

Draco suddenly felt a little jealous, which was a very odd and new feeling for him, and for any Malfoy, he was sure. It wasn't that he was jealous of Weasley studying with Granger, it was just that generally, Draco didn't really have anyone to study with besides Pansy, and let's face it, she wasn't always in the helping mood. Though sometimes she was, and this past week had proved it.

He just didn't understand why she wouldn't let him into her room to study after dinner. It was why he had come to the library in the first place... he just didn't expect to have to listen to Granger and Weasley having a lovers' quarrel.

And when Weasley asked for help again, Draco couldn't stand to listen to their conversation anymore. He quickly gathered up his books and quills and moved to another part of the library.

If he was going to be forced to study all by himself, then he shouldn't have to be interrupted by Granger and Weasley's stupid conversation.

______________________________________________________________________

Pansy was on her stomach as she studied for her next Divination exam from her bed. It was nice to be back in her room. When she had been in Gryffindor, she never had a moments peace due to Hermione's ever chattering roommates.

And while she sure didn't miss them, she was a little surprised that she did miss two other people... and now that she was back to being Pansy Parkinson, she knew she'd never really be able to go back to that place again... especially with Harry since he had absolutely no clue what had been going on that last week.

She was still thinking about her time as Hermione when there was a knock on the door, and she jumped, startled. “Come in,” she said after she had recovered.

The door opened and Blaise stuck his head through the entrance. “You busy?” he wanted to know. “Can I come in?”

Pansy sighed. “Sure, why not?” She had already turned Draco down for a study session, but for some reason, Blaise wasn't quite as annoying to her as Draco was at the current moment.

Blaise smiled and came inside, closing the door securely behind himself. He walked over to her bed and sat down on the floor, putting his book on the chair next to the bed. “What are you working on?”

“Just Divination,” she replied, not taking her eyes off of the text. “We have to memorize some star charts. Boring as hell, but I have to get it done.”

Blaise leaned back against the side of her bed. “Remember last time you helped me with my Transfiguration essay?” he asked.

Pansy didn't remember, but she since it sounded like it was something Hermione had done instead of her, she nodded her head. “Yeah,” she mumbled.

“And you said you'd help me with mine the next time if I brought it to you sooner...”

That made Pansy look up at him. What the hell did she know about Transfiguration that Blaise didn't? Of course, Hermione had the top Transfiguration grade in their whole year.

“I'm sorry, Blaise, but I don't really have time right now,” she replied. Even if she did try and help him with his essay, she'd probably mess it up completely for him.

Blaise just looked at her for a moment. “Well, if I leave it with you, can you look it over when you do have time?”

Pansy figured she could at least give it to Hermione to look at it. After all, it was Hermione who made the promise, not her. “Sure,” she agreed. “Just leave it on my desk, and I'll give it back to you sometime tomorrow.”

“Thanks, Pansy,” Blaise said, springing to his feet and pulling his essay out of his folder. “You're the best.”

She batted her eyes at him. “I already know that, Blaise,” she said with a smile.
______________________________________________________________________

The next morning, Pansy found it harder than she thought to get Hermione's attention. The night before, in detention, she had completely forgotten to mention Blaise's Transiguration essay to her. And now that they no longer had their morning meeting after breakfast, she didn't know how she was going to get her to look at Blaise' homework. All during breakfast she had been trying to catch Hermione's eyes to no avail. Instead of sitting up and chatting with her friends during breakfast like a normal person, Hermione had her nose in a text book while Harry and Ron seemed to be animatedly talking about a Quidditch game.

Pansy gave up and decided to try and track her down after breakfast. So when she saw her get up from her spot at the Gryffindor table and walk towards the exit, she quickly shoved her unfinished plate towards the middle of the table, muttered an excuse to Draco and Blaise, and made a break for the door as well, her backpack just barely making it over her shoulder as she took off.

When she made it out into the halls, she saw Hermione walking towards the library. “Psst!” she hissed loudly.

Hermione turned around, looking a little confused when she saw that it was Pansy who was trying to get her attention. “What is it?” she wanted to know.

“I need to ask you a favor,” Pansy said as she walked towards Hermione. “Well, it's not really a favor,” she went on before Hermione had a chance to say anything. “It's something you promised Blaise last week... and now he expects me to do it.”

“Oh?” Hermione said. “Oh... is this about Transfiguration homework?”

“Yeah.” Pansy dug through her bag and pulled out a roll of parchment. “He just wants you to read it over and make sure it's okay. You apparently did such a good job last time that he doesn't trust himself anymore.”

Hermione took the essay from her and put it into her own backpack. “No problem. Blaise's writing is usually right on anyway. Last time I barely changed anything.”

“Good to know,” Pansy said as she slung her backpack back onto her back and then went to turn around. “See you in class!”
______________________________________________________________________

Harry and Ron walked out of the Great hall, laughing about something stupid that Ron had said just a few minutes earlier, when Harry caught a glimpse of Pansy Parkinson making her way away from Hermione, who stood still in the middle of the hallway, seemingly rearranging the contents of her backpack.

“Everything okay, Hermione?” he asked her.

“Yeah,” she replied, looking up at him. “I just was making sure I remembered to put my Potions assignment in my bag this morning. Luckily, I did.”

“When was the last time you forgot an assignment?” Harry wanted to know, glancing at Ron for support, but Ron only shrugged. Harry could easily see that his mind was on other things.

Hermione only smiled at him. “Just checking,” she said. “By the way, how are you feeling after yesterday's fall? I was so worried.”

“I'm feeling better,” He replied. “I was a little sore after yesterday morning, but today I feel almost back to normal.”

“Wonderful what Madam Pomfrey's drafts can do,” Ron finally chimed in. “Hey, you guys ready to get to class?”

Harry looked over at Ron suspiciously. Since when was Ron anxious to go to class? That was supposed to have been Hermione's line.

“Of course,” she told him. “Let's get going.”

______________________________________________________________________

Towards the end of Hermione's second day back in her own body, she was almost getting used to it again. Her friendships with Harry and Ron hadn't seemed to skip a beat, and all of her professors seemed thrilled that she was back to her normal self and answering the normal amount of questions during her classes. However, Hermione felt as though something was missing.

And during Care of Magical Creatures, as she looked across the grassy field, she realized that she wasn't missing something in her own life, it was something in Pansy's life... and his name was Draco Malfoy.

While Draco wasn't the kindest of boys, and he most certainly wasn't the friendliest, Hermione couldn't help but miss the time that she had spent with him. Sure, Harry and Ron were fantastic friends and they always had been... but to them, she was just one of the guys. However, when Hermione had been with Draco, he seemed to think of her as more than just someone to help him with his homework and someone to hang out with... with him, she was a girl... and it kind of felt nice for a change.

When his eyes looked up from the small animal in the cage in front of him and met hers, she quickly looked away. The last thing she wanted was any trouble from him. Now that she was back to being Hermione, she knew that he wouldn't possibly think of her as a friend.

Ron nudged her elbow. “Are you okay, Hermione?” he whispered to her as Hagrid began talking about the types of creatures they'd be working with tomorrow.

She nodded, not even bothering to look up at him.

“It's just that you're usually scribbling notes during class... and today, I don't even think you were paying attention,” Ron told her.

“I'm just a little tired,” she lied to him, and immediately felt guilty for it. “I was up too late studying.”

“Typical,” Ron replied. “Well, we better make sure you get plenty of sleep tonight. No late night studying tonight, Hermione.”

Hermione nodded again, agreeing with him. She was already a few days ahead of her studies anyway, so going to bed early and catching up on sleep wouldn't be the end of the world.

“That's it for t'day,” Hagrid announced as he began stacking up the cages. “See ya all t'morrow!”

Hermione, Ron and Harry packed up their things and walked up the hill and back to the castle.

“Hermione's going to be relaxing tonight,” Ron told Harry. “Can you believe I caught her dazing during class?”

Harry looked over at Hermione with a concerned expression on his face. “Are you feeling okay?” he wanted to know.

“I'm fine,” she replied with a slight smile. “Just tired. And relaxing is a good idea, I think.”
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Draco walked up the hill with his classmates, his eyes fixed on the cold ground as they made their way along. He had been feeling a little uneasy since the end of class just then, and was having trouble shaking it.

It had been really weird when he had caught Granger looking at him... but what was even weirder was that he didn't feel like making a big deal about it.

And that's what disturbed him the most.

There was just something about her eyes... but he wasn't sure exactly what it was. Perhaps she had been feeling guilty about her stint in the Slytherin common room the other day, especially the part where she shoved him out of her way, and was trying to apologize to him.

Apologize? As if he'd accept it anyway! There was no excuse for a mudblood running into Slytherin territory, especially uninvited. And so instead of concentrating on that strange, yet familiar look he had observed in her eyes, he made himself angry over her intrusion the other morning. It only seemed more natural.

“Something, wrong, Draco?” Blaise asked as they walked through the side doors to the castle.

He quickly glanced at Blaise and decided to reveal some of his thoughts to his friend. “Do you remember when that mudblood stormed into the Common Room yesterday morning?” he asked and waited for a reply.

“Yeah,” Blaise replied. “What about it?”

“She was staring at me in the middle of class. It was unnerving, you know?”

“Ah, who cares,” Blaise told him. “Some seventh years told Snape anyway, and he's looking into it. Don't get all upset about it.”

“It's just weird how she got in there, you know?” he reminded Blaise.

“I know...” Blaise agreed.

Pansy pushed her way between them as they walked past the great Hall towards the staircase to the dungeons. “What are you guys talking about?” she wanted to know.

Draco looked over at her as he made room for her between them as they walked. “Just about Granger bursting into the Common Room yesterday,” he said.

“Snape is taking care of it,” Blaise added in, looping his arm through Pansy's. “I told him not to worry about it.”

“Yeah, it's really no big deal,” Pansy agreed. “So what if Granger was in the Common Room? It's not like she'd do anything anyway... after all, she's such a goody-goody.”

“Which is why it was weird for her to be in there in the first place...” Draco mused just as they reached the Common Room. “I'll see you guys at dinner,” he said as they stepped through the doorway. “I'm going to get started on my Arithmancy charts.”

He could feel their eyes on his back as he walked to the boy's side of the dormitories and towards his room. He just couldn't shake the unsettling feeling he was getting. Things around him had changed so quickly, but he wasn't quite sure what they were... and he didn't know what he could do about it.

______________________________________________________________________

That evening, Hermione sat in the back of the Gryffindor Common Room eating the bag lunch that Harry and Ron had brought her from the Great Hall after dinner, and trying to read a book that she had picked up at the library earlier that day.

“You better not be studying,” Harry said as he sat down across from her at the table. “You're supposed to be taking it easy tonight.”

“It's just fiction,” she replied, picking up a slice of apple from the tablet and taking a bite of it. “This is how I wind down.”

“You're weird,” Harry replied. “But that's why...” he trailed off. “Hey,” he said. “Just don't overdo it okay? Things have been... pretty stressful lately, and Ron is right. It'll be good to have a quiet night for a change. I might have one myself.”

“That'll be good,” Hermione agreed, though she wondered what he was going to say before he changed the topic. “And you and Ron are right. We just all need a break from everything... even if it's only for one night.”

“See you later, Hermione. I'm gonna get an early start on my night.” Harry snatched up a slice of her apple and popped it into his mouth before he got up and walked back to the boys' dormitories.

Hermione watched him disappear around the corner and up the staircase before she took another apple from the table. She'd have to ask Pansy later to be sure, but Harry seemed a little different since they switched back.

Then again, maybe it was her that had changed, not Harry. She wasn't completely sure.

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Ginny Weasley had fallen asleep on a couch in the Common Room in front of the fireplace. She woke up abruptly when she heard a door open. She looked over the top of the couch just in time to see Hermione walking through the portrait hole.

Just above the door, the large golden clock struck eleven.