The Ole Switch-a-roo

The morning of December first dawned like any other for the so called "Golden Trio" at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry, Ron, and Hermione walked down to breakfast like any other day discussing what else? Quidditch.

"The Cannons are just bound to win this year, I'm telling you!" Ron said as the three of them jumped over the invisible step that Neville always forgot to watch out for.

"Yeah their score is 0-5, smashing start to a season they're bound to win. Don't you think so Hermione? Hermione?" Harry said looking at the spot on the stair where he assumed his shorter friend was standing.

But Hermione in fact wasn't there; she was at the foot of the stairs where she was talking to Ginny about what was apparently on the gigantic bulletin board.

"Sometimes I think that she still has that time turner," Harry said as they reached the girls. Ron snorted and quickly turned it into a hacking cough.

"What's all the fuss about?" Ron said, looking around at the student body. Apparently, they were all excited about what was one the bulletin board. Well, at least the female population was. The girls were running around to different groups of friends discussing about what was on that board. The guys just seemed a bit depressed, to put it lightly.

"See for yourself," Ginny said, pointing to the board. And indeed, something had changed over night. Gone were all the notices about Quidditch practice, also, gone were the ad signs for Weasley's Wizard Wheeze's. Only one enormous sign was left on that bulletin board, and it said thus:

Attention All Students!

Back by popular demand is.....

THE YULE BALL!!

So dust off those dress robes,

And find yourself a date!

You only have 'til December 24!!

"You have got to be kidding me!" Ron said, as the four of them walked into then Great Hall.

"Well, apparently they're not," said Harry, laughing at Ron's reaction.

"Why would anyone want to relive that awful experience?" Ron exclaimed, as he helped himself to bacon and eggs.

"Well, if you two weren't being such prats you might not have had such a bad time!" said Parvati from across the table.

"So!" Ron said, ignoring Parvati and turning to Hermione, "Going to call Vicky and tell him to come in for the special event?"

"If you must know, Viktor has a girlfriend, he lives in Germany now, and for the last time you twit, we're just friends!" Hermione said, with her nose in the air. She didn't say another word to Ron all day.

That night in the Gryffindor common room, something, shall we say, interesting happened.

It all started with Seamus and Dean discussing the Yule Ball over their game of chess.

"It's a huge pain if you ask me," Dean said watching his pawn trying to wrestle Seamus's castle to the ground.

"It's complete rubbish; it was made by girls for girls," Seamus said laughing.

"It was not!" Parvati and Lavender said at the same time, jumping up from their couch where they were discussing what color they should charm their dress robes to be.

"The girls have just as a rubbish time as the boys do maybe even more of one." Lavender said glaring at Dean and Seamus.

"And what about this ball is so hard on you girls that you have to complain about it?" Ron said, striding across the room to take the side of his two fellow dorm mates.

"Hmm....let's see," Ginny said sarcastically, " Oh, I don't know, maybe finding a dress, getting all made up which, by the way takes about two hours at least, making sure that you actually get a date because this school won't let the girls ask the boys--" She was cut off by Harry.

"Yes and I'm sure that is so hard on your female minds," Harry said glaring at the girls, "Try having to walk around school, looking like an idiot, hoping that when you do ask someone the don't say no and you're left standing there like an idiot to everyone who was watching." He still wasn't going to let go of the fact that Cho turned him down.

"Yes, and I'm sure that that deflates your macho egos so much, which amazingly fit into this room," Hermione said, setting down her copy of Hogwarts a History which she was re-reading for the eighteenth time.

Neville, who was sitting on a nearby chair, holding tightly to a struggling Trevor whom he had caught for the sixth time that day, had been watching the argument like a tennis match. He finally spoke up and surprised everyone because they hadn't even realized that he was there.

"Well, can't you agree to disagree?" he said quietly.

"NO!" everyone yelled at him. Poor Neville was left looking permanently windswept.

"I might have a way to solve this, though." Hermione said looking very evil, when Seamus interrupted her.

"And that would be how?" he asked rudely.

"Well, if you'd just shut your Irish flapping mouth for one minute I'd tell you!" Hermione exclaimed. "Anyone else?" she said, looking around, and when no one answered she continued.

"I've recently been researching gender changing spells between simple mammals. I have found a way to alter the charm so it rearranges a person's genetic material and changes the gender of a homosapien to the opposite of which it was born for a shortened period of time," she said proudly, looking at them.

"Uh, did anyone understand that?" Ron asked looking around at the others for help.

"I was with her up until she said 'anyone else?', and after that everything went right over my head," Dean said, looking confused.

"Hermione, translate please?" Lavender requested, looking at the brunette like she was from another planet.

"Seriously! Are you people that stupid?!" Hermione said, looking disgusted at them. "It means that I can change a girl to a boy and a boy to a girl for a little while, and it wouldn't be permanent."

"Good for you, Hermione," Seamus said, clapping sarcastically. "Anyone actually have an idea of how we can settle this....OW!"

Hermione had thrown her book across the room at him which hit him upside the head.

"I told you to shut up for a minute!" she said, glaring at the Irishman, whose eyes were watering from the pain. "What I'm saying is, that for one month we switch places. The girls become guys and the guys become girls, so we can see who really has the tougher life," she said grinning manically.

Everyone just stared at her. Hermione started to blush.

"Well I thought it was a good idea," she said blushing still.

"I think it's a great idea!" Harry said, looking at the other guys for support.

"Yeah, I mean how hard can it be to be a girl?" Dean said, trying to help Seamus focus on his fingers. (Seamus kept insisting that there were six when Dean was only holding up two fingers.)

"Guys can't possibly have it any harder than girls!" Ginny said, looking at Parvati and Lavender for their answers.

"Getting to be gross, not having to worry about what I look like, and not having to wear makeup? Downside is where?" Parvati said grinning.

"Same here, I'm in," Lavender said, smiling.

"Then it's settled, I can go get McGonagall's permission tomorrow morning so that this time tomorrow evening we'll all be opposites," said Hermione, looking very proud that her plan worked out.

"What about you, Neville? Are you going to be womanified too?" Ron said, looking at Neville expectantly.

"I'd rather be a spectator than a player in this game," he said smiling.

"Hermione, I have just one question," Seamus said looking at her. "Why one month, doesn't that seem a bit long?"

Hermione just gave the boys another manic smile and said, "One, the dance is in twenty four days, close enough to a month if you ask me." She continued, "Plus, if it were any shorter than a month, some of you boys might miss the best part about being a girl."

When she said this, the other three girls just started howling with laughter, the boys just looked at each other, confused as hell.