Flowers

Flowers

"Draco, I don't suppose you'd like to tell us what you've got planned?"

"I'm not planning anything. What gave you that idea?"

A snort. "The way you're wringing your hands with anticipation while staring directly at the Gryffindor table might've given something away. And frankly, that gleam in your eyes is starting to creep us all out." Pansy gestured to the other six seventh year Slytherins sitting around them.

Blaise Zabini and Theodore Nott looked uncomfortable, but seemed as though they were trying to hide that fact. Daphne Greengrass was slowly inching her way down the table towards Malcolm Baddock, who had shown himself to be just as obnoxious as the Weasley twins had been, and Tracey Davis looked as though she desperately wanted to follow Daphne's lead. The lesser of two evils, Pansy mused. Crabbe and Goyle were...well, being Crabbe and Goyle. They hadn't really noticed anything going on for the fact that there was still food in front of them.

"I'm not planning anything," Draco argued, but this time he managed to wrest his gaze from the other side of the room to focus them on Pansy's face.

"Lying to me with a straight face." She heaved a dramatic sigh. "You know I've been able to see through that since you were twelve."

"And honestly, the rest of us were surprised it took you that long." Blaise piped up, his hazel eyes sparkling with mirth. He had obviously gotten over his discomfort quickly.

Pansy scowled at the brunette as the others laughed, but she quickly returned her gaze to Draco. "Usually when you're plotting against Potter, you can't wait to tell us what you've cooked up. Why the need for such secrecy?" she purred. "Perhaps you've failed too many times..." she teased. "Unless..." her eyes lit up, "you could get into a lot of trouble for this one!"

The blonde frowned. "Quiet," he hissed. "Do you want the whole school to know?" his eyes darted over to the Gryffindor table. Everything was still normal. "I had a hard enough time making all the arrangements. It'd be a shame and a waste for everything to go wrong now, because I had to go and gloat before I knew I was in the clear."

"It wouldn't be the first time," Blaise interjected with a grin. "You remember in our third year, when you tried to make Potter fall off his broom by dressing as a Dementor?"

"Or all those times you swore you were going to beat Potter to the Snitch?" Theodore broke in.

"Ooh, there were a lot of those!" Tracey giggled.

"And all those times in our first year when you were bent on getting him pinned with detention," Pansy chided. She began ticking them off on perfectly manicured, blood red fingernails. "You challenged him to a duel in the trophy room, fed some half-cocked story about a dragon to Professor McGonagall..." She trailed into silence upon realizing just how red and angry Draco was becoming. "Well, there were a lot," she muttered hastily, averting her eyes.

However, the impending explosion was prevented by a sudden uproar on the Gryffindor side of the room. Draco glanced over, and to his housemate's complete shock, he smiled. Everything was right in the world.

~~~***~~~

At first, Harry didn't understand what the shrieks and horrified looks from his housemates were all about. He set down his goblet of pumpkin juice, belched a second time, and picked up his fork, amused by the particularly shrill and effeminate scream Seamus had just emitted.

Only Hermione had the presence of mind to fumble through her bag for a mirror. "H-Harry..." she stammered. "I think you'd better look at yourself..."

Another, solitary, shriek pierced the air, and when Harry realized that the sound had come from him, he promptly fainted.

~~~***~~~

Pansy stood on top of the bench, her hand on Goyle's broad shoulder for balance, craning her neck to see what was going on. Harry had disappeared from view, and she sat down heavily. "I can't believe you didn't tell us you were actually going to try something that would work," she hissed.

Draco, deciding he felt rather magnanimous, chose to take this as a compliment. "Am I to assume you want details?" he asked, his expression still completely blissful. He already knew the answer, of course, but they both knew he wanted to hear Pansy ask. Having gossip first was one of the things that made her toes curl.

Pansy's expression immediately became coy, wrapping a curl of her shoulder-length brown hair around a finger. "Have I told you how diabolical you're looking today?" she asked, her voice saccharine. "You hair is particularly well-slicked."

Draco smirked. "Quaint."

"Just tell me what I need to know!" Pansy pleaded, her hands now clenched on the blonde's shoulders and shaking him back and forth. She paused as though she'd forgotten something, before adding a rather nonchalant, "Please."

"Very well." Draco's expression grew serious, however. "You can't tell anyone how I did it, or that I did it, though. I don't know how much trouble I could get into if I'm caught. The same goes for the rest of you."

Pansy looked around, noticing for the first time that Blaise, Theodore, Daphne, and Tracey were all focused on the pair of them. She scowled. She'd wanted to be the first to know. There was no way to avoid telling the rest of them, however, and she nodded along with them.

Upon getting his friend's agreement, Draco inhaled slowly, savouring this moment. "I changed Potter into a girl," he told them softly.

"You did what?" Tracey shrieked, her eyes wide with shock.

Pansy quickly clapped a hand over the other girl's mouth, her expression alight with glee. "What my dear Tracey means to say is, however did you manage that?" she interjected sweetly.

"Well, Pansy, I recalled hearing you ever so graciously informing Potter that that fourth-year Gryffindor MacDonald had a crush on him. Well, I, being the kind, Potions-adept student that I am, offered to brew her a Love Potion that she might gain Potter's favour."

Goyle had finally finished eating, and was half-listening to the blonde's words. "Professor Snape said Love Potions aren't allowed at Hogwarts," he said matter-of-factly.

They'd learned that their first year, and Pansy did them all a favour and swatted Goyle in the head (something that probably had little effect) as Draco continued. "Lucky for her, then, that I didn't brew a Love Potion. I gave her a Transgendering Potion instead. She was supposed to slip it to Potter this morning. Judging from the chaos over at the Gryffindor table, she did."

"Brilliant!" Pansy chirped, rubbing her hands together. "I can't wait to see him, er...her." She giggled. "I'll bet he makes a hideous girl."

Draco chuckled. "I agree."

They watched the action on the other side of the Great Hall, but for the group of Gryffindors blocking their view, they couldn't see much. Finally, the mob parted, and they watched Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall carry a figure from the room. Unfortunately because of the distance, they couldn't tell what Harry looked like.

Pansy turned back to Draco. "They won't be able to reverse it before we can get a look, will they?"

"According to the book, the transformation will only reverse with time." Draco looked vaguely nervous with this proclamation, however.

"Well, how long will it last, then?"

"That's just it. The book said it depends upon the subject. Something to do with his 'feminine side'. It didn't really specify. That's why I don't know how much trouble I could get into." The blonde's face broke into a grin. "How worth it would it be if it were permanent, though?"

Pansy groaned. "Unless you get expelled or sent to Azkaban!"

"My father wouldn't let anything so drastic as that happen, but anyway, the only way I'd get caught is if any of you said anything, so you'd better keep quiet."

"What about MacDonald?" Theodore pointed out quietly. "Surely she's figured out what happened?"

Draco's triumphant smirk became a devious grin. "For all she knows, she did it herself. I gave her two parts of the potion. They have to be mixed together within an hour of consumption. I told her they had to be measured in exact ratios or something could go wrong. Of course, she doesn't know that if even a drop of one part of the potion is mixed with the other, it'll work. She probably thinks it's all her fault. She won't talk, because she knows I won't verify her story, and she'll get all the blame herself."

"This calls for a toast!" Blaise raised his goblet, and the rest followed his example, even Crabbe and Goyle, who only had a limited idea what was going on. The boy lowered his voice to a murmur. "To the Girl Who Lived!" The seven Slytherin seventh years dissolved into laughter as they drank.

~~~***~~~

"Harry? Harry, wake up!"

Harry recognized Dumbledore's voice even in his sleep and decided that he'd better do as the headmaster said. His eyes flickered open slowly, and a blur he recognized as Madam Pomfrey set his glasses on his face gently. "What's going on?" he asked softly, but at the sound of his own voice, a sweet alto, he nearly lost consciousness again.

"Snap out of it, Potter," Madam Pomfrey muttered sharply. "I need to perform some tests that can only be administered properly if you are awake." She began muttering spells under he breath and prodding him with her wand.

What she was looking for, Harry wasn't sure, so he redirected his attention to the headmaster, who was sitting beside his bed. As he tried to form an adequate question, his hands examined his face and body. His cheekbones and jaw had softened, his lips had become fuller, and he emitted two audible whimpers; one when he discovered the augment in his chest, and the other when he realized his losses. "How did this happen?" he asked, his voice making him sound even more terrified because it was so high.

"It was a Transgendering Potion," Madam Pomfrey replied. "I can't reverse the transformation, nor can I predict when the potion's effects will wear off."

"Can't you do anything, Headmaster?" Harry pleaded, grasping at the man's hand desperately.

"We will, of course, try to find the culprit, but in a school so large, there is a great number of people with the ability to brew the potion in question. It isn't particularly difficult," Dumbledore mused. He looked as though he were trying not to be amused.

"It had to be Malfoy," Harry muttered darkly. "This is something he'd do."

"It would not be in the Head Boy's best interests to do such a thing, and since there is not evidence except for a seven-year grudge, I'm afraid we cannot press any such charges against him in this case, since this is not a particularly life-threatening affliction." Dumbledore stood. "Now, I've permitted Miss Granger and Miss Weasley to come up and help you adjust to your new situation. Madam Pomfrey can get you anything you might need." There was now no mistaking the twinkle in his eyes. "I suggest you choose a name better befitting your appearance."

Harry lifted the small mirror that sat on his bedside table. His gaze was immediately drawn to his own eyes. Except for a slight softening of their shape and a lengthening of his eyelashes, they were exactly the same as always. However, now they were completely identical to his mother's. "Lily," he murmured.

Dumbledore's gaze softened. "Indeed."

~~~***~~~

Pansy, Draco, and the rest watched and waited all day. Even Crabbe and Goyle caught on that they were supposed to be expecting someone or something, but, as always, what exactly it was eluded them. It wasn't until dinner that the moment they'd been anticipating finally occurred, but since it was halfway through the meal when the three Gryffindors entered, Pansy was the only Slytherin who noticed.

Flanked on either side by Hermione and Ginny was quite possibly the most gorgeous girl Pansy had ever laid eyes on. She couldn't think of a proper insult, and choked into the goblet she'd been drinking from when she realized it must be Harry.

Her black hair was the same length, but had been arranged in a mass of curls around her oval face in a more feminine style. The lightning-shaped scar was plainly visible with her fringe drawn back from her forehead, but attention was drawn away from it to her emerald-green eyes, which were more prominent either because of the thick eyelashes outlining them or the small thin-framed glasses she wore.

Pansy was quite aware that her jaw had dropped, but she didn't try to amend the situation, instead jabbing Draco hard in the ribs and pointing. Draco's jaw dropped as well, but then he dissolved into laugher as he pointed the girl out to Blaise and Theodore. He quickly put on a straight face when he noticed the three girls were not headed to their own table, but over to the Slytherins. Pansy, however, was incapable of regaining her composure fast enough, and Potter caught her staring. She quickly scowled and averted her eyes.

"Should we call you Harriet now, Scar-head?" Draco drawled, a superior smirk on his face. All the Slytherins laughed except for Pansy, who wasn't really listening so much as shooting furtive glances at the green-eyed girl.

"Actually, Malfoy, you'll still call me Potter," the girl snorted. "But now that you mention it, while I look like this, I'll be known as Lily Potter," he murmured proudly.

Draco's eyes widened as he exploded into laughter. "You've named yourself after a flower? How pathetic is that?"

'Lily's' face contorted with rage, but before she could utter a sound, Pansy's hand connected with Draco's face with a crack. As the blonde's cheek began to redden, she looked down at her hand in shock. Everyone else looked rather surprised as well. "Well, my name is a flower, too," Pansy muttered defensively, "and I hardly think it's pathetic." Everyone but Draco, who was too busy looking sulky, burst into laughter, until the three Gryffindors realized there was something inherently wrong with them laughing with Slytherins.

"I just came over here to tell you that I know you're behind this, Malfoy," 'Lily' muttered sharply, placing her hands on her hips (which were really quite shapely now).

"I'd like to see you prove it," Pansy retorted with a sneer, any sense of camaraderie broken at the accusation against her housemate. Her eyes narrowed critically as they flickered over 'Lily's' face and body. "Oh, and you may want to take a look at your eyebrows; you've plucked them unevenly." She smirked. Actually, they were perfect, but Pansy didn't think it'd be too hard to make the newly female Gryffindor self-conscious. To her surprise, it was Ginny Weasley who reacted.

She stepped forward threateningly, her expression fierce. "As a matter of fact, I did them for him...er...her." She looked to 'Lily' for confirmation, and she smiled generously to urge the redhead to continue. "And anyway, they look perfectly straight and even to me."

"Figures," Tracey whispered to Daphne, loudly enough to be heard by the Gryffindors as well.

'Lily' grinned and leaned over the table, getting directly in Tracey's face. A glimpse of cleavage could be seen through half-buttoned robes. Theodore swallowed thickly and averted his eyes as she spoke. "Don't hate me because I'm beautiful. Hate me because...well... Okay! Hate me because I'm beautiful." Then, tossing her hair over her shoulder, 'Lily' Potter flounced away, Hermione and Ginny at her sides.

Instantly, a wave of chatter began at the Slytherin table, the seven Slytherins who had actually been present for the encounter the only ones not speaking.

Finally, Theodore found his voice and turned to Blaise. "Did you see that?" he hissed. "Her...er...his chest was bigger than Millicent's!" Luckily Millicent was at the other end of the table and didn't hear what he'd said, or Harry wouldn't have been the only previously male student at Hogwarts. "And the way she, um, he walked! You'd think Potter was born to be female!"

Blaise snickered. "Don't you wish." Theodore flushed and averted his eyes.

Meanwhile, Tracey and Daphne had sparked up their own conversation. "Who does he think he is?" Tracey was outraged. "Female for barely a day, and Potter thinks he can act like one of us?"

Daphne snorted. "Still walks like a boy," she muttered darkly.

This seemed to mollify Tracey, though she'd noticed that 'Lily' seemed to know just how to swing her hips. "Did you see Pansy hit Draco, though? I thought she was defending Potter for a minute, until I realized what she was on about. Though I'd be sensitive, too, if my name was Pansy."

Pansy luckily heard none of this. She was completely floored. Who would've thought Potter would make such a bitchy girl? She thought it was hilarious. At the same time, she was mesmerized. She'd also never expected Potter to be able to hold himself so well in a female body; he was more graceful female than male.

Her mouth was still slightly open in shock, but she didn't notice until she felt Draco's fingers at her chin, pushing it closed. "I think you've got competition," he murmured with a low chuckle.

Pansy realized he was right in the second after she swatted him in the back of the head. She was the bitch of the school; Blaise had even made a special badge for her in their third year. She was not going to lose her title to some hussy who wasn't even originally female!

~~~***~~~

Harry had enjoyed that. He couldn't deny it. He now could understand why Pansy acted the way that she did ninety percent of the time. He decided, since he was certain Slytherins were to blame for his new appearance, that he would make them regret the decision to make him female...and perhaps have a little fun as well...

~~~***~~~

'Lily' didn't show up for breakfast. Pansy knew; she'd watched the entrance to the Great Hall the entire time. However, they had Double Potions first thing that morning, and she knew that even the newly crowned Gryffindor Bitch wouldn't dare incur Snape's wrath.

As expected, 'Lily' entered the room with Hermione and Ron, but broke away from them to sit at an empty table at the center of the room. Pansy couldn't blame her - him - she had to mentally correct herself. Granger and Weasley made a sickening couple.

Quickly, Pansy rose from the table she shared with Millicent Bulstrode and took the empty seat beside the green-eyed girl, much to Neville Longbottom's dismay. He had looked rather hopeful at being 'Lily's' partner, and now the only spare seat was beside Millicent.

"I almost appreciate that," 'Lily' smirked. "He's been eyeing me since last night, even though he knows who I am." Her eyes narrowed as she looked Pansy up and down. "Of course, then there's the unfortunate problem that now I've got you sitting next to me."

Pansy shot her an acidic look. "Ha ha, Potter. Very funny." Then she widened her eyes. "You've got lipstick on your teeth!" she cackled, another attempt to unnerve the newly female Gryffindor. "I thought they made that idiotproof! Boy did you ever prove them wrong!" Any further comments were cut off by shock when 'Lily' pulled a compact out of the folds of her robes and began checking herself in the mirror.

"Liar," she murmured calmly, eyes never leaving her reflection. She lifted her other hand and rubbed at the corner of her mouth. "Besides, Ginny did all my makeup." There was no reply, as now Pansy's eyes were focused on 'Lily's' fingernails. They were rather short, but perfectly manicured, with jade green lacquer. 'Lily' caught her looking and placed one small hand on her cheek. "You like the colour?" she teased. "I think it compliments my eyes." She batted her eyelashes and then grinned as Pansy reddened and turned away, glaring.

What right did Potter have to act in such a way? He wasn't really female, after all. Inwardly, she knew she was being ridiculous, but pride comes before logic. Before Pansy consciously knew what she was saying, the words were coming out of her mouth. "You think you've got what it takes to be Queen Bitch?" she hissed. "We settle this tonight. Midnight, at the top of the West Tower."

'Lily's' eyes had widened slightly. "I don't fight g-" she began, before she remembered what she had now become. Her lips curved into a slow, sensuous smirk. "You're on Parkinson."

Pansy's face was a scowl, but her eyes were locked on the Gryffindor's mouth. It should be illegal for Potter to be able to wear that expression. "Good," she snapped, averting her eyes. "Now let's get to work, and don't screw up this potion."

~~~***~~~

It was eleven-thirty, and Pansy sat on the ledge of the West Tower. She was aware that it was still a full half-hour before 'Lily' was due to meet her, but she hadn't been able to sleep. As she sat in the light of the half-moon, a light breeze ruffled through her hair, sending a chill down her spine. Fall was nearly over, and the nights had begun to cool dramatically. She didn't know how long she'd been there before a disembodied voice wafted through the darkness towards her.

"So. Now that you've lured me up here all by my lonesome, is Voldemort going to jump out of the shadows and yell, 'Gotcha!'?" 'Lily' asked, half sarcasm half amusement. "Because I've got his number," she went on. "Sure, at first he's all scary with his 'I have never died,' but then he elaborates: 'I laugh in the face of death...maybe not laugh, more like a snicker...a quiet snicker, and I wouldn't do it directly in death's face so, it's more like a quiet snicker behind death's back'."

Pansy wasn't sure whether she was supposed to laugh or be angry. She settled for disdain. "You know, not everything's about the Dark Lord, Potter. I'm here to settle a personal score."

"Won't he be surprised," 'Lily' muttered with amusement. When she removed the invisibility cloak, Pansy could tell through the moonlight that she was smirking. "But yes, I remember. You think I want to be you." A clear, bell-like laugh resounded through the shadows. "Clearly you're just jealous that I make a better girl than you do, and with less practice."

Now it was Pansy's turn to laugh, but the sound was harsh and sarcastic. "Don't flatter yourself, Potter. You may look like a girl, and you may be able to mimic us, but there are some subtleties that it would take you years to master."

'Lily' crossed her arms skeptically. "Like what?"

Pansy lowered herself gracefully from the ledge where she sat, to the floor. She crossed slowly to stand before the Gryffindor. "While there's no denying that you've got the proper attributes, nor that you're easy on the eyes, you'd never be able to seduce anyone other than the particularly slow-witted." She snorted thinking about Neville's behaviour earlier. "It's all about subtlety, Potter, and it's something you don't have." 'Lily's' lips had been curving into a gradually widening smirk while Pansy had been speaking, and finally, hands on her hips, she asked, "What?" exasperatedly.

'Lily' reached out and tucked a curl of Pansy's hair behind her ear. Pansy was too shocked to stop her. "You must not have noticed, for my subtlety, but I've been seducing you since yesterday." She leaned forward. "I've seen the way you look at me," she whispered, as though they were sharing a secret.

Pansy flushed, partly in anger and partly in embarrassment, and looked away, crossing her arms over her chest. "I don't know what you're on about, P-" She was cut off by a pair of lips as soft as hers. Her eyes widened in shock. Potter was kissing her. Male or female, the idea was just strange.

After all, Pansy had realized she was nearly as interested in girls as she was in Draco. Though, in retrospect, kissing Draco wasn't all that different from kissing girls, what with the long hair and very soft skin. This was different, however. This was Potter. Who made an absolutely gorgeous girl.

It was that thought that uncrossed Pansy's arms and caused her to reciprocate the kiss. She ran one hand through wavy raven locks as the other wrapped around 'Lily's' waist, pressing their bodies closer. "You make a really hot girl, Potter," Pansy mumbled against 'Lily's' lips. 'Lily' just chuckled as she nipped at Pansy's tongue.

Then, quite suddenly, Pansy broke away. She seized 'Lily's' hand and began tugging her towards the trapdoor that led down the tower. "Come with me, Potter," she laughed, her eyes sparkling suggestively in the moonlight. "I'm going to show you things about that body that you never would have discovered for yourself!"

~Fin.