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Author: cryslin Story: Switched Rating: Young Teens Setting: AU Status: Completed Reviews: 14 Words: 20,411
The third and forth weeks passed with relative peace; however, both boys grew even more irritated by their predicament as the days dragged on. It got to the point where they snapped at their friends for the slightest thing. They even had to spend time in detention for cheeky attitudes toward their teachers. Harry’s moods lightened whenever Ginny was present in general. Sometimes it was with comforting words at the end of each day or a quick hug whenever they were alone. She had also begun to leave him notes of encouragement on his pillow every night. A few were words of encouragement for the next day while others were love notes that revealed a piece of herself to Harry. For his part, Harry returned the favor using Crookshanks as his messenger—the half-Kneazle was willing to carry the notes as long as Harry gave him a piece of meat from his dinner plate. The two would sometimes exchange notes in the middle of the night if they could not sleep. These moments together via letters were precious. Both would prepare for those nights by saving the meat from their meals to feed their messenger. On one particular night, Harry was working on the final draft of his Potions essay when Crookshanks came to him with a note from Ginny. Long night? Perplexed, he turned to find her coming from the stairs with a sleepy expression. “Did I wake you?” “How could you wake me when I am in another part of the tower? Only you would say that,” she said with a sly grin. “Sorry. Old habit I guess. At least I’m not singing something or making some infernal racket like some people I know,” he said with a smirk. “Like Hermione’s roommates? Did you know that they will sing the Weird Sisters just because they want to, that is, if the room’s empty.” “And if not?” he asked, hoping that he would not laugh too loudly with the answer. “Then there will be the biggest blackmail ever once we get recorded proof. Lavender cannot hold a tune and Parvati cannot keep a beat. The two of them would have dogs howling at them.” “Since I did not wake you as you say, is everything all right?” Harry asked after laughing with her. She sighed, shaking her head. “No. Bad night in general.” Harry set his quill down and quickly tidied up the table before he walked with her to the couch in front of the fireplace. “A bad night for you and a long one for me,” said Harry as he placed a blanket around the both of them, but mostly on Ginny in case he had to get up in a hurry. Ginny smiled as he finally sat down and looked at her. “Are you all right?” he asked. “It’s nothing, really. I shouldn’t even bother you with it but you’ll ask anyway. Nightmares,” she said waving the comment off. “What kind?” “Stuff from the Chamber. It comes and goes.” “I’m sorry,” Harry said softly. He reached up and tucked a stray strand of red hair behind her ear. She leaned in to his touch, he noted. “Why should you be? That was my fault,” she noted with the threat of tears. “But we should have seen it coming. You were quiet around me more than usual. I thought it was due to being shy around me, but that card on Valentine’s Day should have been a signal that you weren’t shy.” Harry teased Ginny lightly. “Oh, don’t talk about that card! That was the most idiotic thing I could have ever done. I’m amazed that I didn’t take a pen knife to myself then.” “Don’t talk like that. It was sentimental. Someone cared about me. Unfortunately, that happened at age twelve and not age fifteen or sixteen.” At this, an awkward silence stretched between them as if each was trying to decide what to do next. After a moment, Ginny snuggled closer to Harry who put his arm around her and laid his head on hers. They stayed contentedly like that for some time, until Crookshanks mewed in front of them, interrupting the silence. “It’s been almost a month now…” Ginny muttered to herself. “Hmm…?” “Oh. I was just noting that it’s been about a month since you and Malfoy switched.” “I know. Only two days left. It’s strange really. I’ve actually got quite used to this.” Harry shuddered at his statement before looking at Ginny for comfort. “You need to get him back for all the torment he’s caused you this month.” Harry smiled smugly at the statement. “Already have an idea.” “What is it?” “Not telling.” “Not even if I hex you?” she asked innocently. “Now Ginny, dearest, why would you want to do that?” he sweetly countered. She laughed at him before kissing him silent. He didn’t object considering that they had not kissed since the night of the party for fear that Ron would find them. The kiss seemed too brief to Harry when she pulled away to snuggle into him again. Sighing softly, he kissed the top of her head before he pulled the blanket tighter around her. They stayed together until the early hours of the morning when Crookshanks decided to jump on the two to wake them up. First he tried mewing. Then he tried walking on them, but that only resulted in his landing in a disgruntled lump on the floor. As a last resort, he stood on Harry’s chest and started licking his nose. “Ow…” he muttered as he slowly started to become aware of his surroundings. The painful feeling of wet sandpaper got his attention and he opened one eye. He noticed the ginger cat licking his face and Ginny in his arms. “Ginny…? We need to get up now. It’s almost morning,” he told her groggily. Sighing, Ginny rose off the couch and looked at her watch. “Harry, it’s five a.m.” “You better get back to your bed before you get in trouble.” “What about you?” He pointed to the table where his books and parchment lay neglected. Ginny nodded in understanding and pecked him on the nose before she walked briskly back to her room. He watched her leave and walked to the table where his essay was almost complete. Smiling, he picked up his quill and resumed where he left off on Sunstones and solar energy. ~*~ Breakfast was in itself amusing to those who saw Harry that morning. He struggled to stay awake long enough to eat his toast and drink a cup of coffee. It was the first time that anyone had seen Harry resort to drinking coffee, not even during the last stressful weeks before last year’s OWLs had he touched the stuff. It was not his preferred beverage of choice. Hermione watched him with a concerned expression on her face while Ron concentrated on finishing breakfast. He was still angry with Harry for what had happened at the party two weeks ago. Hermione had scolded Ron frequently since the incident until she told Harry to hex him on the spot if Ron continued to brood. That resulted in a fight that the entire school could hear and the two boys had served detention together for a weekend. “Harry?” Hermione called just loud enough to wake him. Harry jumped, causing the liquid in his cup to slosh over the rim of his cup. “Hmm?” Harry asked, looking around wildly. She grabbed his cup and filled it with more coffee while he groggily took a napkin to dry his hands. “Thanks.” “Any particular reason for your sleepy state?” she asked while handing his coffee back carefully so he wouldn’t get burned. “Potions,” he muttered before taking a sip of the liquid caffeine. “I asked if you needed help and you said ‘no’. I even offered you my notes so you could understand the essay and what she wanted written,” Hermione said concerned. “I know. Thank you for those notes by the way. They were helpful, but it was a difficult essay to write, and plus I couldn’t sleep.” “Did you have a nightmare or something?” “No. Not yet. I’ve got until Wednesday for those to come back.” “Has it really been a month?” “Yep.” He turned to look at his watch and grabbed his bag. “We got to go. Class is in ten minutes.” With one last bite of toast and a final gulp of coffee, Harry and Hermione headed off together to Potions. * Lunch could not come soon enough. Harry was still extremely tired, and had a horrible time staying awake in Potions since the topic of the day happened to be Sleeping Draughts. Hermione smirked when Professor Jennings mentioned the simplicity of a powerful draught since Hermione made one her second year for Crabbe and Goyle. Harry glanced at her when the professor mentioned how fast a potion could affect a person. He noticed her ‘I-told-you-so-and-you-didn’t-believe-me’ smirk and had a hard time holding back a snicker. Shaking his head, he turned his attention back to the professor. She had brought out the plants used in common Sleeping Potions and burnt them in an incense holder so that the class could understand the power of those particular plants. Harry hoped that his morning dose of caffeine would work against the pleasant scent of the plants she burned. Some of the students did fall asleep from the intoxicating scents of blooming lavender and chamomile stems. As another example of an unusual plant used in Sleeping Draughts she also burned eucalyptus leaves near the other two plants in a separate holder. The fragrance was wonderful. The room had a blissful air of peace. A far cry from last year when Snape taught, thought Harry. His eyelids were getting heavy from the burning plants but he fought to stay awake. He turned to ask Hermione to help him stay awake; instead, he found her with her head on the desk and her eyes closed. He glanced around the room to see how the others were doing. About half the room was either fast asleep or getting close. Then he dared to look over to Malfoy and saw that he too was sleeping. It was strange to see himself sleeping with a calm look across his face. There were no creases of worry or sadness on his face as he slept and Harry wished that he could have that peace once restored in his body. He looked back at the professor to see her removing all the plants in an attempt to get her students awake. She glanced around the room to see who was still awake and listening. Sighing, she shook her head in amusement more than anger as she continued to douse the scents. After removing all the offending plants, she picked up a very large book and slammed it on her desk. It was not a successful effort, no one stirred in the slightest bit. Harry saw her mouth twitch into a smile as she took the book off the desk. He would have to ask why later; right now, he was entertained just by watching her unsuccessfully wake her class. With a frustrated sigh, she pointed her wand up toward the ceiling and sounded an ear-piercing crack; instantly, all the students jolted awake. Hermione jumped and sat straight up eyes wide open in surprise. Harry snickered at her before biting his lip to keep from laughing harder. He could tell Hermione was annoyed by the situation, but made the best of it and looked back at the professor. Professor Jennings stood there patiently with a small grin on her face while waiting for everyone to shake off their slumberous demeanour and pay attention. “Now then, for those of you who remained awake so far, ten points for each of you. Good job for resisting the powers of those plants,” she said jovially while trying to not laugh. “As you can see, these are the most commonly used plants in making these potions. Now on page 213 we see an example…” Harry smiled at the fact he got ten points for his house while an irritated Hermione got her book out. Harry had the book turned to the page but he was hardly paying attention. Professor Jennings’ voice was slowly lulling him to sleep, something which usually happened only in History of Magic with Professor Binns, the driest teacher in Hogwarts. He barely noticed that the lecture was soon over and they would soon make the Sleeping Draught before lunch. * “How are you doing, Harry?” Ginny asked as she came into the Great Hall with him hand in hand. “Tired,” he said in an exhausted voice. “I’m sorry. Did I-” “No. It’s not your fault. That Potions essay took me longer than expected to finish. I think I did all right with it though. Today’s topic was not helpful. Sleeping Draughts.” “Ouch. That’s mean for someone who was up most of the night.” “It was rough.” He looked up to see Ron and Hermione bickering again and Malfoy once again in his way. “Not again,” he growled under his breath before Malfoy reached him. “What do you want this time, Malfoy?” he muttered. “Nothing, Potter. Just counting down the days until this nightmare is over,” he said with satisfied smirk. Harry glared at him and noticed over Malfoy’s shoulder that Ron was coming over. He could feel Ginny bristle behind him and Hermione looking worried at what situations could unfold. Right when Malfoy was about to continue his statement, Ron clapped a hand on Malfoy’s shoulder and turned him around to face him. “Problems, Malfoy?” Ron said, glaring icily at him. “None you should worry about Weasel,” he retorted and shook off Ron’s hand before leaving them. Harry didn’t bother to thank Ron and walked past him to his seat to eat lunch. He didn’t want to get into a fight with Ron and today would not be an ideal day to do so. Ron glanced questioningly at his sister. Ginny told him of Harry’s worrying about him and any impending fight between the two friends. She also mentioned that both Hermione and she were trying to help Harry into talking to him. Feeling a little guilty, he walked over to Harry and sat next to him. “I don’t want to fight,” Harry murmured while looking away. “Who said anything about a fight?” “You when you threatened to throw me out of the tower if I kissed her again,” Harry told him while he continued to eat lunch. Ron shifted nervously as his sister glared at him knowing this new information. Gathering his courage, he finally apologized to Harry and stated why he was so angry. “Ron,” Harry stated after listening to his reasons, “I think that you should overlook that fact. On Wednesday, the spell will be reversed, I hope, and I’ll be back to normal. I’ll be the same messy-haired prat that you know.” “And love,” Ginny added with a smile. Harry and Ron smiled at the statement and Hermione joined them for their noon meal after two weeks of tension. Ron asked how Harry would get Malfoy back before Ginny lightly informed him that Harry had a plan. “How do you know?” Ron asked accusingly. “He won’t tell me. That’s why,” Ginny mentioned offhandedly. “What is it Harry?” “Not telling, and don’t go spreading this around,” he said quickly, then he added, “If this gets to Snape before the plan is executed, then I’ll be in detention for the rest of the year for conspiracy.” Sighing in defeat, Ron accepted the answer and continued to eat his lunch. ~*~ The Final day, Wednesday, had come at last and Harry could not wait until Dumbledore called Malfoy and him into his office to reverse the spell. He walked down the hall with a spring in his step and a smile on his face that morning. “Looks like someone’s happy today?” Hermione asked as they entered the Great Hall for breakfast. He nodded with a grin and started to gleefully eat his breakfast. Ron and Ginny soon joined them along with his roommates for a good breakfast. While in deep conversation with Ron and Seamus about Quidditch a note came to him via Hedwig in Dumbledore’s writing. Before lunch, come to my office. The spell will be reversed then. “All right. This is it,” he told them, waving the note lightly. “Ron, meet me by Dumbledore’s office before lunch. I’ll join the rest of you later on.” “Why?” Ron questioningly asked. “Just go with me on this one. Besides, I need to get rid of this greasy feeling I have from being Malfoy for a month,” he said with a slight grimace. They all laughed at the comment and Seamus made an interesting, if not vulgar, point about how greasy Malfoy is. While the girls rolled their eyes at him, the boys had a hardy laugh instead. They soon left breakfast to go to Defence class while Ginny went to Potions. Harry hoped that Snape would not keep him after class for any reason. He glanced over to Malfoy and noticed that Malfoy might be thinking the same thing. Snape didn’t want them in their current forms anymore than the boys did, which meant that he released them early. Both were extremely grateful and bolted from the room with speed that could only be matched by their brooms. When they reached the entrance to Dumbledore’s office, they skittered to a stop and gazed at the gargoyle in front of them. “What’s the password, Potter?” Malfoy retorted once they stopped. “Like I know? I haven’t been here in a while and he didn’t give it to me. I thought you were a prefect and that you knew everything,” Harry said condescendingly. “Don’t push your luck, Potter.” As they glared at each other in tense silence the gargoyle jumped aside to reveal the revolving staircase to Dumbledore’s office. “I see you two arrived early thanks to Professor Snape?” Dumbledore said with a light smile. Both nodded and stood in front of his desk. Harry glanced around the office and found that everything was back in its original place. It was as though he never broken any of the objects. He turned back to see Dumbledore waiting for him to listen while Malfoy glared at him. “As you know the spell that caused the switch is a complex and difficult spell to remove; however, we have managed to find the counter curse and have been working with it. This counter spell is a most intricate spell not normally used. It takes a great deal of time to work and form before it is usable. “With this in mind, I hope that you two take your experiences and learn from them. Now would you two take your house robe and ties off and place them on my desk so they can be returned to their proper owner.” Harry took his tie off and placed it on the left side of the desk followed by the Gryffindor robe while Malfoy placed his Slytherin robe and tie on the right side of the desk. When they were finished, they took a few steps back and waited for Dumbledore to start the incantation. Harry saw the Headmaster’s mouth move but did not hear a thing. Then he looked down to see the spidery webs of light surround his body and connect to Malfoy much like it did a month before. The last thing he saw was bright threads of light covering his eyes. ~*~ The spell was surprisingly fast considering how long Dumbledore had spent working on it. Less than five minutes later, he opened his eyes and saw that he was on Dumbledore’s left side. He looked to the left and saw Malfoy being released from the light webs with a look of relief when the spell finished. Dumbledore nodded to them, indicating that they were free to go. Malfoy quickly snatched his robe and tie before leaving the Headmaster’s office. Harry gave his thanks, and took his possessions. When he reached the entranceway of Dumbledore’s office, he saw Ron was waiting for him with a grin. “About time. Welcome back.” “Thanks. Now’s it’s time for that shower. That guy puts way too much stuff on my hair,” he noted as he ran his hand through his black locks and got a fist full of Sleek Easy Potion. Ron decided to help and messed up Harry’s hair even more. When he was finished, Harry’s hair stuck out in all directions while Ron tried to get rid of the globs of potion that had accumulated on his hands. “By the way, did you get the clothes out that weren’t touched by Malfoy?” “Yep. They’re sitting on your bed.” “Good. I don’t need to still smell like him after I’ve cleaned myself up.” “That’s a good idea. Get rid of the ‘Eau de Malfoy’ scent.” Harry smiled at the comment as the two friends ran up to Gryffindor Tower. * Harry never thought that a shower would feel so wonderful now that he was back in his own body. It took thirty minutes just to wash his hair of the Sleek Easy Potions, which caused Ron to ask if he fell in. When he was finished, he donned only his boxers before asking Ron to help him. “Help you in what, if I may ask. I still have the rest of your clothes here.” “I need another eye to catch any wayward markings or something that Malfoy could leave on me.” “Paranoid are we, Potter?” Ron asked with a smirk. “Just help me out,” Harry said irritated. “Alright, alright,” Ron grumbled from outside the door. Ron came in and checked Harry’s back for ‘markings’ that Malfoy could leave. After reassuring Harry twice that he was left unharmed, Harry ducked back in to change. He quickly changed and glanced at his reflection to see his green eyes sparkling at him again. “Good to have you back,” the mirror told him. “Thanks,” Harry grinned. He rushed out and met up with Ron who was tapping his foot with impatience. The two rushed down the stairs to the Great Hall where lunch was almost over. Before they got to the main level, they heard an agonizing scream come from below where the Slytherin common room and dormitories were. “Harry, did you hear that?” Ron asked while looking around for the source. “Come on Ron, we need to eat,” he said as he pulled on Ron’s cloak. “But Harry…” Harry ignored his protests as he released the red head before he went on to the Great Hall with Ron in hesitant tow. When Harry reached the entrance to the Great Hall, his entire table burst with applause that caused him to blush at the attention. Ron smiled and lightly shoved him forward so he could go eat. Harry acknowledged the applause as he made his way down the aisle. A chorus of “Welcome back, Harry!” “Good to see ya, Harry!” and “It’s about time!” followed him as he made his way to his seat. When he reached his seat, Ginny gave him a peck on the cheek and Hermione gave him a warm smile. He finally felt like things would finally get back to normal. The feeling did not last when he heard Malfoy come slamming the doors open in his wake and yelling his name. Quickly, he strode up to Harry and grabbed him by the hair, pulling him out of his seat. He seized Harry with such force that one could hear hair being pulled by the roots. Harry landed hard on the floor with his hand clutching his head where Malfoy pulled him. Ron stood up to help Harry but Malfoy, in his fury, swung his arm and hit Ron hard in the chest. The blow sent the redhead onto the table hard before he rolled off to the other side. Then he turned his attention back to Harry, drawing back his arm to swing his fist into his face when Professor McGonagall came and separated the two with a spell. “Are you all right, Mr. Potter?” she asked in rushed concern. Harry nodded as he rubbed his head. “Mr. Malfoy, what is the meaning of this?” she asked sternly. He stuttered, “He…he did…” “What?” Harry interrupted. “Kiss my girlfriend with your body? That’s called affection and you need to deal with it.” “Enough Mr. Potter,” she sternly noted before turning to Malfoy. “Is this the reason Mr. Malfoy?” The blond boy was turning red from anger and about to reply when Harry pulled his hand away from his head; there was blood on his fingers. Professor McGonagall gave Harry a look of concern and cast a spell on his scalp to temporarily stop the bleeding before she turned back to Malfoy. He nodded silently as she assigned him a detention for the next night and waited for him to leave. After he left, she saw Professor Snape looking on confused which caused her to explain Draco’s actions. “Are you all right Harry?” Hermione asked when the commotion died down. “Yeah. I’m fine. Check on Ron though.” She left to find Ron still on the floor rubbing where Malfoy hit him and helped him to the Hospital Wing. Ginny and the others were asking what Harry did to cause Malfoy to go after him. Harry gave one reply. “How would you feel being in your enemy’s body?” ~*~ Later that evening, Harry was preparing to leave the common room for the library to do some Transfigurations research when Dean blocked the stairway entrance. He looked past him to see Ron and his other roommates there as well. “Hi guys. What’s up?” “Come on, Harry. What’d you do?” “Nothing, Dean. Why do you ask?” Harry said innocently. “Because it seems highly unusual for Malfoy to attack you like that, in broad daylight, with the reason being ‘affection’. Come on Harry, we’re not that thick when it comes to revenge.” “Boys leave him alone,” Hermione told them from one of the tables. “Do you really want to know?” he whispered to them. They looked at each other then back to Harry who started to show an evil grin on his face. “What did you do?” Seamus asked in a surprised whisper. “Come to the room, I’ll tell you there.” * The boys quickly left the girls and went to their room, eager to hear Harry’s story. Hermione rolled her eyes while Ginny continued to write her essay like nothing happened. Nothing did for five minutes until a loud yell was heard. “YOU DID WHAT?!?!” “Boys, honestly,” Hermione muttered while she dipped her quill in ink. Ginny looked back to the stairs to see what the fuss was about. She saw the boys red with laughter and shocked expressions on their faces as they came down the stairs. “Oooo. I would have killed the person who did that to me.” “I can’t believe you did that.” “Only you would think of such a thing. Or was this influenced by something else?” Harry was ahead of the pack with a big grin on his face listening to the exclamations. He shook his head at some of them and laughed at others. “What did you do, Harry?” Hermione asked. “Nothing.” “What did you do, Harry?” Ginny asked. “Nothing dearest,” he stated sweetly before giving her a peck on the cheek. Just as he turned to leave, he noticed that she had a tight grip on his wrist. “Come on, Ginny. I need to go to the library.” “Not until you tell me.” “Don’t tell her Harry,” Dean warned. “Ginny, you don’t want to know,” Ron told her. “Why not?” “Because!” the boys chorused. She whipped out her wand and pointed it at Harry. “I won’t let go. I’ll hex you if you don’t tell me. And you know how strong my Bat-Bogey Hex is.” Harry considered this threat while thinking of what to do. All the boys did not want her to know, but if he must tell her… “Okay then. You asked for it though,” he told her. Then he bent down to whisper what he did in ear. With each sentence, she turned a darker shade of red until she faced him in shock as Harry stood up and laughed triumphantly. “Harry James Potter! You are the Devil!” “Thank you. Now off to the library.” With a bow to her, he turned on his heels and left the two girls. The last words they heard as he passed through the portrait hole were, “It’s not like it won’t grow back!” “Ginny! What did he do?” Hermione asked once Harry left. “You don’t want to know. Believe me on this one. You don’t want to know.” * It was late when Harry returned to the Tower. As he climbed through the portrait hole he observed Hermione asleep on her essay while Ginny played with Crookshanks using her quill as a toy. “Hey there,” he whispered huskily. “Well, well, well. There you are Little Devil.” He smiled broadly with her comment and flopped onto the couch. She put her quill down and walked over to him. Lost in thought and gazing toward the fire, it took him a moment before he noticed her getting on top of him. “Uh, Ginny. What do you think you’re doing?” “Getting comfortable,” she said playfully. “Figures you’d say that. Watch that knee though.” Maybe this would be his punishment, a quick jab in the one place he definitely did not want to get hit. She instead apologized as she shifted positions until she lay slightly on top of him with a blanket over the both of them. He knew he was in big trouble to tell her, but he feared her hexes more than anything else. Then she glanced at his watch and snuggled closer to him. It was a little after midnight so there was no chance of getting into too much trouble. The boys had all gone to bed before Harry returned and Hermione had already been asleep for an hour. “I am so glad you are back to normal. Now I can see how you really kiss,” she said coyly. He smiled as she ran her fingers though his hair and leaned in closer. He knew that he would not be able to sleep again now that he was in his own body again. The visions and nightmares would return with a vengeance but for this moment, he would suffer the consequences of being Harry Potter just to be with Ginny. She would kiss his troubles away; she would talk to him and comfort him when he needed it. She would listen no matter if he was ranting or just expressing his concerns. He looked at her with tender affection and returned her kisses with heartfelt love until they fell asleep together on the couch. The End A/N: Thank you to all who were involved in this story. To Arnel who took over and help see it through. To Tante and DancinginMagic who helped with a chapter or two, thank you and Tante, you are missed. To Bart and Melissa for being wonderful pre-betas. And finally, to the readers for sticking with me as this story progressed.
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