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A Consternating Transformation	By : The-Shiny-Slowpoke Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female Views: 28077 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 6
Disclaimer: The Harry Potter series and it's characters belong to JK Rowling and I make no profit from this work of fiction :)

Chapter List
- 4
- 5
To say Harry was distracted the rest of the day, would be an understatement.
She returned from lunch back to Muggle Studies, but she could not concentrate at all. All she could see all lesson was that smug-arse smile on Draco Malfoy’s face. He didn’t talk much, just asking her quiet questions she couldn’t answer through the lack of coherency in her thoughts.
She had been completely derailed, and Hermione was acting funny too. Watching her, scowling at Draco. The girl was probably suspicious, but Harry just couldn’t find it in her to care. She had too much to think about. After Muggle Studies she had DADA where she sat beside Ron, but all it was just an hour talking about the war and crap like that. Nothing Harry didn’t know (or hadn’t participated in, for that matter).
The new teacher was a wizened looking woman in her forties, no doubt an ex Auror. Someone who had participated in the fight at the ministry, apparently. After Voldemort had died, the Aurors had launched a fight into regaining control of their now corrupted government, as a lot of the death eaters in the ministry had stayed, in an attempt to hold onto what little power they had. There had been casualties, but mostly on the death eaters’ side. From her introduction, this greyed woman had been one of the Aurors in the lead of the attack.
Very skilled in her field… Hopefully she could keep the job. “D’you reckon she can break the curse of the DADA position? She seems alright.” Ron asked as the golden trio left the class room, glancing between his friends.
Harry shrugged, turning to look over her shoulder at the class. “Maybe… There’s not really anything stopping DADA being a safe position now. Before there was the crap with Voldemort, and the thing with Lupin being a werewolf…”
“…and Lockhart being an utter twat.” Ron finished, grinning and laughing when Hermione shoved him disapprovingly for the rude language. “What?”
“Don’t be disrespectful, he’s not well.” The brunette scolded, scowling softly.
“And who’s fault is that?” Ron countered as he entwined his fingers with hers. The bookworm sighed but didn’t disagree, tipping her head to acknowledge that point. The man had brought it upon himself after all, by trying to harm her two best friends.
-
Harry woke slowly, her magic tingling deep in her bones. Her brain felt more alert then the rest of her body, and she frowned, confused as she sat up slowly in bed. Then a very quiet cracking sound reached her ears.
It must have been around four o’clock in the morning… They’d not long been in bed, as they’d had double astronomy the night before. But her magic had woken her, and she knew why.
The egg.
She put spells on it to alert her of any movement, and now she’d been woken by said spell. The dark haired girl scrambled for her wand, muttering a quick ‘Lumos’ as she climbed out of bed. She padded to where she had left the egg on the windowsill in its nest, smiling sleepily when she saw a few cracks in a web like shape from one side. Like something was trying to poke its way out.
“Hello there…” Harry crooned quietly, picking the nest up and sitting on her bed with it in her lap.
Even as sleep deprived as she was, she was excited for this. She’d been looking after this egg for four days now, almost five, as it was now Friday morning… She wanted it to hatch, so she could meet her little phoenix.
She’d seen Draco’s in Astronomy the night before… Apparently it had hatched after dinner.
Harry glanced over at Hermione’s sleeping form, but didn’t move to wake her. As much as she wanted a bit of support from the smarter girl, this was her moment and her pet.
This was private.
Hermione’s puffskein was sleeping on her pillow beside her head, having been kept in a small carry box during lesson to prevent it rolling around like it seemed to long to do the majority of the time.
A bit of the shell dropped off, about the size of a penny, and Harry could just see a little black beak poking through, opening and closing repeatedly as it tried to get to grips with what was happening.
It made a soft keening sound, and Harry smiled, grabbing her notes from where she had left them on her bedside table.
She skipped to the page about hatching, scanning it briefly. She cast a warming charm over the egg, knowing this process would be incredibly stressful for the bird. She wasn’t allowed to intervene, but supervising the egg was advised, as Augureys usually took between half an hour and three hours to hatch. Once they had hatched, they needed immediate care in case they were unwell.
She did however have to keep the egg warm and safe. She had notes on early signs of problems with the baby, so she knew what to look for.
It felt like hours before a hole big enough for the chick’s head to poke through was made, although in reality it was only twenty minutes. The little creature blinked groggily up at Harry, its eyes far too large for its little head, its beak also seeming comically large.
“Don’t strain yourself, you’re okay…” The dark haired Gryffindor insisted in a soft voice when the Augurey keened unhappily, Harry marking crosses next to ‘cloudy eyes’ and ‘deformed beak’ on the list of possible issues. It looked perfectly healthy so far.
The bird has bright, practically sparkling black eyes, and a shiny, sharp beak.
As was expected.
It was another hour before the bird gathered the strength to break open enough of the egg to escape, flopping out tiredly. Harry smiled, very, very gently lifting the bird to check the last few possible issues. Once she was sure there was nothing wrong with the bird, she removed the egg fragments from the nest and placed it amongst the downy feathers. The bird was almost bald, covered in a few, sticky green feathers that barely masked its black skin.
“Well aren’t you beautiful…?” Harry insisted, despite how wrinkled and bedraggled the bird looked.
She felt a bit… Motherly of the creature.
The Augurey raised its head, watching her, following the sound of her voice. Harry was all it had as a parent.
“Well, as a little girl, I think I’ll call you… Hm. Astrid… I like that.” She whispered, grinning when the bird peeped softly at her. “I know you’re probably hungry, but I’m not meant to feed you for about… Five hours? Something like that. Your yolk is still in your system, so you don’t need sustenance just yet. And if your organs are underdeveloped, I don’t want to hurt you. We’ll talk to Hagrid tomorrow.” She assured the little thing, smiling as it moved in a wobbly manner to rest it’s head on the edge of the small nest, its body laid in the nest. “That more comfy…? You look okay. I’m going to put another sensor on you so that I wake if anything is wrong… But you’re not showing any signs of ill health.” She continued, having read that it was good to talk to the baby so it got used to your voice.
After casting a few spell and watching Astrid fall asleep, Harry returned to her bed and settled for what little time she had left to sleep. She had a late start scheduled (due to her astrology lesson), but she knew she’d be tired now.
-
“Arry! Draco! Yer eggs hatched okay then? They both look healthy…” The giant of a man crowed as he approached Harry, where she was sat at one of the tables on the grass with Draco, their birds both sat in their nests on the table.
“Mine hatched yesterday afternoon… Harry’s hatched early this morning.” The blonde Slytherin told Hagrid as he plonked himself down opposite them, the wooden bench creaking dangerously. Harry and he had discussed it in the lesson before (Muggle Studies) whilst they labelled a diagram of a basic wired appliance. The bench lifted slightly on their side and Harry smiled in amusement to herself.
“Wake yeh up, did it?” The bumbling teacher chortled, picking up Harry’s Augurey with surprising gentleness to examine it. “Well, she’s lookin’ pretty healthy… Lemme get a look at those wings…” He hummed, not noticing how tense Draco was. The blonde was concerned about the half giant handling such a fragile creature, but Harry had complete faith in the man, watching as he used two fingers to very gently coax Astrid’s wing from where it lay flat on her side. At the tentative prodding Astrid spread her tiny wings and opened her mouth as if in warning, making Hagrid chuckle.
“Fiesty little thin’… Don’ worry, I ain’t ‘ere to hurt yeh…” He boomed in a laugh, grinning as he put her back in her nest. She watched him cautiously but made no move to attack him, or even leave her nest. Not that she could, with how little she was. “She looks great Harry. How was the hatchin?”
“She didn’t take too long, maybe an hour and a half…? Maybe a little less. Which is what the book said was average. She was tired when she got out, but very vocal. No cloudy eyes, no deformations…” Harry reported, reaching out a finger to gently stroke Astrid’s head as Hagrid nodded and reached out for Draco’s chick to check it over.
“Yeh both got baby girls…? Thas’ cute… ‘Ave either of yeh named ‘em?” Hagrid asked, examining Draco’s bird as he watched.
“I called mine Astrid…” The dark haired girl told them, smiling when Hagrid beamed at her.
“Thas’ nice. Draco…?” The large man rumbled, handing him back his bird now that he had found everything to be alright with it.
“I named mine Cissy… After my mother.” The grey eyed boy mumbled a little warily, obviously expecting a negative reaction. Most people were still very, very wary of the Malfoys. But Harry and Hagrid had been witness to her kindness, when she saved the saviour of the wizarding world.
“That’s nice.” Harry insisted, smiling at the blonde. She could never downplay how much she respected Narcissa for her act in the war. Without the blonde woman, Harry would have died and Voldemort would have won, as she lied to the dark lord to protect a boy she had despised for the sake of her own son. Harry had been saved by a mother’s love more than once.
“Yer, it is.” Hagrid acknowledged. He may have thought poorly of the Malfoys before, after the incident with Buckbeak, but he couldn’t hate them after what Narcissa had done.
“How’s Witherwings, Hagrid?” Harry asked, shooting a cautious look at Draco, who was paying them no attention.
Draco of course didn’t know that Hagrid still had Buckbeak, few people did, so the Hippogriff had been renamed for its protection.
“Wi- oh righ’, he’s great. Likes bein’ round the lady ‘ippogriffs very much.” Hagrid assured Harry with a grin and a wink. “He’s ‘ad a baby with one o’ the others. Beau’iful little scrap it is… I can show yeh after lesson if yeh like.”
“I’d love that.” The Gryffindor insisted, glancing at a table nearby where Ron and Hermione were grooming their pets. Crookshanks had joined them, and was purring loudly as he watched Hermione’s puffskein with his tail lashing. “Ron and Hermione would like to as well I imagine. We’ve missed Witherwings…”
“O’ course, yeh’re all welcome. Nothin’ I love better than showin’ off baby critters…” The old groundskeeper declared proudly, puffing his chest out and grinning.
-
“Where are you going?” Ginny inquired for what had to be the fourth time, making Harry sigh.
“Out, Ginny.” The speccy girl repeated, trying to tame her hair in the mirror. It was still as madly scruffy as it had been when she were a he. It was a bit longer now, Hermione having told her to let it grow out a bit so she looked more feminine. It hung was her jaw now, half way to her shoulders.
“But where out? Don’t ask me for advice on your clothes and not tell me why you need the advice.” Ginny whined, eyeing the black skinny jeans the girl was wearing with an emerald green fitted t-shirt. They were clothes Harry had never worn before, having bought them on a shopping trip with Hermione and Ginny just to shut them up. “You do look nice. Suspiciously nice…”
“Suspiciously nice? Do you know how crazy you sound?” Harry laughed, sitting down on her bed and slipping on a pair of dark green converses. Ginny grinned from where she sat opposite her, flopping backwards on Hermione’s bed.
“Yeah, yeah… Hermione and Ron have gone to that concert by Dominic Maestro's, I thought I’d have you for company!” She huffed, pouting childishly, messing around.
The black haired girl shrugged with a smile. “Well you won’t I’m afraid, I have plans.” She explained.
Harry felt very nervous. Her stomach was very unsettled, and she wasn’t sure if it was out of excitement or dread. She’d not managed to wiggle out of her plans with Draco, and she was sick with worry. What was going to happen tonight?
“Please tell me?” Ginny pined, sitting back up and crossing her legs on the bed sheets. Harry sighed, glancing over at Astrid, who was chirping merrily on the windowsill.
“I will, once I get back. I’ll tell you everything, give you all the gossip.” She promised, smiling when Ginny’s face lit up. “Are you going to stay in here whilst you watch Dumble and Astrid?” She asked, glancing at Dumble, where he was sat at the end of Hermione’s bed, vibrating as he chittered at Crookshanks. The ginger cat watched him with his tail lashing but made no move towards him.
“Yeahhh, I’ll just do some homework. You’ve already run me through food and routines, and you’ve given me some snacks as payment so… No problem.” The female Weasley lilted cheerfully, winking. “How could I refuse when you both offered such fine payment?” She joked, referring to the small mountain of Honeydukes next to her bag on the floor.
“Exactly. I’ll talk to you later… Take Dumble and Astrid to Hagrid if you have any problems.” Harry instructed, standing up and brushing off her outfit self-consciously. “I’ve already told him that’s he’s on speed dial since I’m out.”
Ginny jumped to her feet, pulling her former boyfriend into a hug. “Take care… And know that if you don’t give me the gossip when you get back, I will tickle it out of you.” She threatened, grinning.
Harry rolled her eyes, kissing Astrid gently on the head and leaving with one last wave goodbye. She walked down to the entrance of the great hall, chewing her bottom lip. She checked her watch, to find that she was five minutes late. She thought for a moment that Draco had forgotten when she didn’t spot him, and thanked her lucky stars, but he was stood leaning against the closed doors to the great hall with a smirk on his face.
“You’re late…” He teased, straightening up and folding his arms. Harry shrugged non-committedly, trying to blow it off. She eyed him, appreciating the soft looking grey jumper he was wearing with a pair of darker grey trousers and a pair of shiny black shoes. He’d not slicked his hair back like he used to, so it was in disarray over his forehead.
He looked very good, and Harry felt somewhat underdressed.
“I had to make sure Ginny knew how to look after Astrid.” She lied, too embarrassed to admit she’d spent the last hour worrying about how she looked, when Ginny already knew how to look after the Augurey as they’d discussed it at dinner.
“That’s reasonable enough… I’ll excuse you, this once.” The blonde laughed, smiling warmer and winking. “I thought you might have ditched me for a moment.” He admitted in an undertone, leading the way to the front door.
“I was only five minutes late.” Harry reasoned, raising an eyebrow at him. This was just a few drinks, why would he care if Harry hadn’t turned up?
It looked like the charming Slytherin really did like her.
“I know, but I didn’t really expect you to come at all.” He confessed with more honesty than Harry would have ever expected from him.
“Well I did. Where are we going?” The green eyed girl pointed out as they walked to a set of carriages that sat outside the front doors for older students to get to Hogsmeade. “I don’t think we should go to The Three Broomsticks, people will talk…”
“We’re not going to The Three Broomsticks. Or Hogsmeade, for that matter.” Draco assured her, walking past the carriages towards the Hogwarts gates.
“We’re not…?”
“We’re not. We need to get off Hogwarts grounds to apparate. I know a quiet place you’ll like, where discrepancy is guaranteed. No one who sees you there will tell the press you were out with a former death eater, don’t worry.” He sighed, rolling his eyes. Harry opened her mouth to retort that she wasn’t worried about that, but they both knew that was a lie.
She didn’t want is publicised that she went out with Draco, though this wasn’t because he was a former death eater, or even because he was a Malfoy. It was because she liked her privacy.
They reached the gate and Draco held out his arm to Harry, watching her expectantly.
“Uh, not thank you, I can apparate just fine myself.” She insisted, scowling when Draco rolled his eyes again at her.
“I’m not offering to be chivalrous, Harry, I’m offering because only I know where we’re going. Pray, do tell how’re you going to apparate somewhere you’ve never been before?” He sniffed a little haughtily, raising an eyebrow at her and waiting for an answer. Harry flushed pink, her brows furrowing as she averted her gaze to the floor and put her hand on his arm. Draco cleared his throat, before moving her hand and tucking her arm firmly through his. “Hold on tight, if you fall I don’t know where you’ll land and that’ll be an awful start to our first date.” He dictated, flashing Harry a smile when she startled but apparating before she could speak her alarm.
Harry gasped at the squeezing sensation apparating always caused, closing her eyes and feeling her heart jolt when Draco tightened his grip on her. Whether he did this instinctively or in comfort she didn’t know.
She breathed in deeply when a fresh breeze hit her and opened her eyes, finding herself and Draco stood on the edge of a lone road. It was a long, poorly tarmacked road and on either side of them were fields.
“..what…?” Harry mumbled to herself in confusion, slipping her wand out of her back pocket and regarding the blonde beside her suspiciously, stepping away from him.
The regal teen chuckled, folding his arms and watching her. “I haven’t dragged you out to some remote location to harm you or have my way with you. We’re not allowed to apparate straight to the door, because muggles come this way sometimes. Don’t worry, there’s a path.” He explained, pointing to a gap between two hedges. He crossed the road without looking and disappeared between the hedges, clearly expecting Harry to follow.
Harry exhaled heavily, debating just apparating back to Hogwarts but following instead after checking the road was clear. When she got through the gap in the hedge she was a moonlit cobble stone path through the field, leading to a homey looking cottage pub. There was a sign hanging over the door that read ‘The Cackling Stump’, and an old knarred stump feet away from the door.
“The Cackling...? Isn’t that a fairy tale?” Harry queried as she caught up with Draco, who was waiting beside the stump.
“It is… With some basis in fact. Concentrate on the stump.” Draco instructed, stepping aside for Harry to get a better look. She frowned but did as she was told, her mouth popping into a perfect ‘o’ shape when a statue materialised. It was a stone statue or a plump, poor looking woman with the corner of her mouth quirked up into a mischievous smile. On the stump a plaque had materialised, reading ‘In memory of the clever witch who halted the witch hunts in Surrey’.
“We’re in Surrey…?” Harry asked, raising her gaze to look up at Draco.
“Yeah. Babbitty Rabbity was arguably based off the story of an unknown witch who put a stop to the witch hunt in Surrey. She claimed that she was the only witch in the land and that if she wasn’t appeased she’d curse the land. She was far from the only witch here, but saying that put her in the spot light and stopped the people from killing innocents and magic users alike. She was murdered in her sleep for the stunt, but not for years after the witch hunts ceased. No one remembers her name… No one is sure that Babbitty Rabbity and the Cackling Stump was written about her, but her story is similar to that of the fairy tale so the pub is named after it.” He elaborated, opening the door and walking inside. The pub was quaint, and to Harry’s surprise full of muggles. Draco led the way to a door at the far wall that would seemingly lead back outside, but instead opened into a beautiful wizard bar.
It had a muggle disguise, like The Leaky Cauldron did.
“Oh… Wow.” Harry breathed, letting Draco usher her to a booth. There was a small dance floor placed between the booths lining the walls, though most of the patrons of the pub were sat at tables rather than dancing.
“I thought you’d like it. What would you like to drink?” The blonde articulated, grinning a little, his blonde hair falling into his eyes a little as he leaned over the table.
“Errr… A beer?” The dark haired girl suggested, her brows furrowing when Draco frowned at her. “Alright… Whatever you’re having I guess.” She decided, guessing from Draco’s expression that he didn’t think her previous choice acceptable. The Malfoy dipped his head and left, walking to the bar.
Harry sighed and brushed a hand through her hair, glancing around at the other customers. None of them were even giving her a second glance, much to her surprise. She had expected a bit of a fuss, though she still expected to get that from Draco. She straightened herself in her comfortable seat, preparing herself for what would likely be a long, uncomfortable night.
Author's Notes: So here we are! Date night at last. I enjoyed writing this chapter, it marks the beginning of what will likely be an exceedingly awkard relationship between Harry and Draco
I cannot believe that this story has two thousand views...! I hope you all like it, thank you so much for reading.
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The-Shiny-Slowpoke
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A Consternating Transformation