Chapter Text
The incident happened during potions class, where someone brewed a potion that could have been considered an absolute disgrace to the one the class had been instructed to brew. The potion called something or other (Harry hadn’t been listening) was supposed to turn out a greenish blue, and this.. Somehow the herb soup that Harry had stirred up had turned a slight pink..
What made it worse - even through the public humiliation Harry often suffered under Snape's potions tutelage- was the fact that in his haste to fix it, he’d managed to knock the entire cauldron of miscellaneous liquid onto an innocent passerby. Well.. Innocent wasn’t exactly the right word. Perhaps just unsuspecting.
A certain blonde had been waltzing past Harry’s desk at just the right time, earning himself a pink stained button up, and annoyingly wet pants. Needless to say, Malfoy hadn’t been happy about this, turning his sharp eyes on Potter and spewing about a thousand petty insults.
And he yanked Potter from behind his desk by the tie to berate him in further closeness, Harry shrinking a bit in a flurry of apologies before he remembered exactly who he was talking to. Hermione watched from the side with a raised brow, about to deescalate as always.
“You just wait until my father hears about this. You’re dead Potter-Dead!” Draco shrieked, “This is a brand new- thousand dollar shirt!
“Listen, It was an accident, Malfoy!” Harry said quickly, throwing his hands up, but at the ready to grab his wand should Malfoy actually challenge him. Malfoy’s hand still held Potter by the tie, ready to choke him with it.
He had to admit, this up close and personal, Draco sure looked nice in a soaked through shirt.. Harry swallowed, looking away from the rivulets of pink potion that spilled down the shirt that clung to his skin.
“Shove off Malfoy, your father can buy you another, can’t he?” Ron rolled his eyes, and Malfoy viscous glare settled on him.
Harry found himself missing that rapt attention, feeling suddenly deprived of it, but having only noticed when it was ripped away.
“Do you really think it’s about that? I know what your plan is, that potion was probably something horrible! you brewed it wrong on purpose, not just because you’re a terrible potions brewer- but because you planned something, isn’t that right?”
As Draco spoke, he didn’t seem to notice the change that undertook him, growing shorter as he jabbed a finger in the direction of Ron and Hermione- spitting a vile Mudblood in her direction that made Harry’s blood boil. Draco’s hair, all perfectly placed- grew at a length, and his chest.. suddenly held an ample supply of.. ah, well, breasts.
He only noticed when his monologue was interrupted by a voice crack- and when he continued his voice came out undeniably feminine.
The entire classroom had paused their galavanting to instead stare straight at this new blonde beauty in the middle of it.
Draco stood in terror, a hand coming up to roam the expanse of an impossibly long head of hair, longer lashes and full feminine lips. He was- soft! Less hard masculine edges and more smooth curvy- er, female!
“You- you- Potter! You absolute-… Filthy, disgusting, annoying, git! Who do you think you are!” Draco growled, less intimidating than it was meant to be with his voice at such a sweeter tone.
Harry blinked wildly, he couldn’t even feel any anger anymore, only an untamed fascination with this person now standing in front of him. His- er, her lashes were so long, fanning the air as Draco narrowed his sharp eyes onto him once again.
Before Draco had the chance to actually pounce on the git, a heavy hand settled on his shoulder.
“Vain boy,” Came a murmur from behind.
The group turned their heads back to face a signature ten-second eye roll from Snape himself.
“What's this ruckus about? Potter, once again you’ve surprised me with your absolute inability to follow directions..”
“Just- look at me! Potter and this Mudblood loving group have humiliated me publicly! Using whatever sordid potion here they've brewed up!”
Severus sighed, leaning down to the cauldron with a few drops of the failed potion still inside.
“…”
Draco cast a cleaning charm on himself to finally fix the problem of a soaked through shirt, but now his clothes just hung awkwardly off this new body, constricting around his hips and too wide around the waist.
Harry bit his lip, there was no way he was getting out of this without a scene.
—
After a trip to Dumbledore's office, they had decided- after tumultuous hours and a loudly complaining Malfoy- that the Golden Trio had really brewed this potion by accident. Hermione had been nearly yelling at the boys to follow her direction rather than do whatever it was they were doing. The outcome had still of course been something disastrous.
Exactly what potion it was that they brewed had been determined by Snape after a bit of flipping through an old book.
It had been dead silent when they’d been told what the reversal required, Snape setting the book down in front of them rather than deigning to mutter the words inside it.
Hermione, ever the fast reader, gasped before any of the other teens had set their eyes on the words. Her eyes were wide and she waited for the boys- as well as the new.. Female, Draco to finish. The words printed in bland, seemingly unassuming text started with the wrong impression, the small circular photo of the pink potion mixing with it made it seem harmless or almost inciting. The actual words sent a shiver down Draco’s spine.
Divine Femininity, read the top of the page, a drought specifically for the anti homosexual flavor. Brewed in five minutes, the maker shall give this potion to their desired male counterpart and enjoy the results of his feminine complexion until the end of their enjoyment. Without physical release of this potion, the effects last about 300 days. Then followed were the instructions to brew it, irritatingly similar to the potion they’d made in Snapes class.
The words were simultaneously dauntingly clear and confusingly cryptic. To the rest of his peers at least. Perhaps Harry was just an idiot, because all of his friends (not counting Malfoy as one) looked outwardly distraught at the words. Physical release? Did that not just refer to a hard game of quidditch?
Draco’s head hung low as he groaned loudly, “Surely, there is another option. Either one of these sounds positively hellish!”
Physically enrapture himself with Potter, or be a girl for three hundred days!
“What..? I don’t think it’s really that bad.”
All the eyes in the room flicked to him, and suddenly Harry felt like even more of an idiot. Draco’s cheeks flushed and he indignantly huffed and crossed his arms, “really?”
“Mate.. That’s still Malfoy we’re talking about. Even if he is a girl.” Ron put a hand on his shoulder.
“I know that! But isn't he still the same either way? All we have to do is play one rough game and it’s over, right?”
He heard a scoffed, ‘game?’ From Draco, as if quidditch wasn’t one.
Hermione slapped a hand over her mouth and Ron’s eyes went wide. Harry suddenly got the feeling that he was missing something.
Draco stood from his seat, his chair making a grating noise against the floor, “You don’t actually expect me to agree with this! I'm not engaging in any sort of physical activity with Potter. And I'm not waiting three hundred days. We will have to find another way. And Soon.”
The door slammed shut behind Draco, Harry watching until there weren't any more green robes to be seen retreating from the room. Harry couldn’t understand why Draco had had such a reaction to him suggesting a simple game of quidditch! Perhaps he was worried about an unfair disadvantage with his unfamiliar frame?
“I didn’t know you felt that way about Malfoy, Harry.” Ron mumbled.
“Felt what way? I’ve always-“
“Now.” Dumbledore started, “Without Mr. Malfoy here to discuss exactly what shall be done about this, I have only the option of looking into other cures for this potion. Mr. Potter.. Perhaps it would benefit you to be a bit more.. er, gentle in the ways that you speak about this rather unfortunate predicament to Mr.Malfoy.”
Harry blinked, glancing down at the book again, "... Okay?"
—
To say that in the days following that Draco was avoiding him was an understatement. It was like all traces of him had disappeared from Hogwarts entirely, aside from in the great hall when he would finally retreat from the slytherin dorm to eat something.
The first time he’d entered the great hall with his new look, he attracted more stares than even Harry Potter had after a bad headline on The Daily Prophet. He didn’t look entirely frustrated by the attention, but when he caught the griffindor’s eye from across the room, his lip curled downwards and a light blush scattered across his cheeks, or it was a healthy dusting of green from his signature look of disgust. Hard to tell from so far away, as he hid his face with his long hair.
He’d gotten himself a proper fitting uniform, not a skirt of course, but one with pants that covered everything they needed to.
Ron and Hermione seemed more and more disgusted with his nonchalance about the potion’s reversal, and Harry felt that he wasn’t understanding something crucial once again. He thought over the words again, anti homosexual didn’t really seem to have great significance in the text, unless it meant that not playing rough sports was..gay? That seemed quite odd for an old wizard to allude to in a potions text.. but there had been things that surprised Harry more than a homophobic wizard.
Whenever Harry caught a glimpse of Draco in the halls, it was always just as he was about to turn a corner or head into a classroom. He’d even begun skipping some classes to not see Harry, something he thought a bit excessive.. Harry didn’t understand why he was being avoided in the first place, if anything he thought the frequency in which Malfoy would attack him would increase.
Nearly an entire week went by with Malfoy diving away at every opportunity, not even his closest friends had been able to dig out of him exactly why he wasn’t squaring up with Potter.
He’d had to adjust so many things, namely, the height at which he had to extend his arm to reach many things that had been at shoulder height before. Another, how to do his hair. He’d seen Pansy put her hair up before, but after hundreds of failed attempts, he resigned to brushing it until it settled nicely along his shoulders. Seeing his own reflection; walking past a bathroom mirror and seeing a face that was not his own often sent him into a mini frenzie, before remembering what had happened to him.
Now, the real reason Draco was avoiding the Golden Boy was not only because of the excessive embarrassment it was to be seen in public in such a state, but also because it seemed as if Harry Potter had absolutely no qualms about.. having relations in order to fix this mistake that he’d caused.
One rough game, the git had said! Merlin, it made Draco furious. Did Potter think because he was a girl that he was suddenly also into blokes?! And even if he was, never in a million years would it be Potter that he would choose! And he thought it was all a game! This was Draco’s life and public image that was currently at stake, for three hundred days, at that.
Therefore, To avoid giving Potter a single hint that he might be willing to engage in any sort of ‘physical activity’ with him, he’d been completely avoiding the idiot, along with his two idiot cronies by proxy.
And now, he was sitting in his room staring at himself in the mirror.
Even though he’d never found himself with any certain level of attractedness to a female, he had to admit that he was the prettiest girl he’d ever seen, as a girl he was softer, but not soft-soft, like someone had just blurred the lines of his masculinity, and added some fuller lips and longer lashes. Though, he still looked fierce and every bit a Malfoy. He sat in front of the mirror scrutinizing every detail, unbuttoning his shirt to see a part of his female anatomy that he’d never been interested in on any other person.
Having an actual bust felt surreally odd. Luckily his was only a decent size, not overly large. He had no idea what the actual measurements were, but he’d overheard something about it in the common rooms from girl slytherin, so if he had to guess they were probably about a c cup.
And then.. the other part of the female anatomy. He hadn’t ventured there just yet, worried that he would embarrass himself even when he was alone.
He wondered for a moment if Potter had ever done anything like that, but that boy was so sheltered that he’d probably never even touched himself.
The amount that Draco skipped became less and less over the weeks, eventually settling back into the rhythm it was before, albeit with less fights and dangerously fierce eye contact from two certain houses. It had been almost an entire month since the incident, and neither Dumbledore nor Snape still had found an alternative cure. Draco wasn’t sure about how hard they were actually looking, though.
People had started getting used to his new look, and honestly Draco found himself not hating it as much as he thought he would. Once the stares died down, it was almost mundane to be a girl. He had noticed more fleeting looks from his housemates when he walked past, and they had a bit of a nervous buzz around him, as if he was an actual girl. As if he wasn’t their long time friend who already knew what they talk about on the daily..
Whatever, Draco thought, at least Pansy hasn’t changed.
It seemed to Draco that Harry had been trying to catch his eye more often, but when Draco would look his way, Harry would do nothing other than stare for a moment. And Draco would roll his eyes and look away- and not think about what the reversal was. He was angry with Harry, he would remind himself. Angry that somehow he’d hidden his attraction and apparently Draco was no different sexually now than he was as a man.
Who knew the Golden Boy could be so bold? So bold that he thought physical connection even with his rival was something to just scoff at. Draco’s handwriting turned sloppy as he failed to pay attention to what he was writing
Why did that thought plague his mind so badly… Harry seemed so readily prepared to do whatever he needed to to fix this, and he really didn’t see a difference in Draco’s gender. True griffindore attitude for you.
‘But isn't he still the same either way? All we have to do is play one rough game and it’s over’
Game. He thought this entire thing was a game. That’s right. So Potter was a playboy. Even though Draco knew that probably wasn’t the case, it didn't stop his nose wrinkling in disgust, rolling his eyes to himself about it. Even if he wasn’t a playboy, he was still an annoying git that Draco had no disposition to enjoy close proximity with. Potter had probably fallen in love with him sometime during the year and devised a perfect plan when Snape had revealed which potion they’d make the next week. Too bad he was Harry Potter, someone Draco wouldn’t fuck even if his life depended on it.
He set down his quill, once again feeling the magnetic pull of annoying green eyes on him. He looked over quickly to find Potter flinching when they made eye contact, and a note in between two of his fingers.
…
Did he think they were friends? Why in the world would Draco accept a note from Potter? It probably just contained a bunch of crudely drawn renditions of himself..
He ignored the green eyed boy and the note in his hand, turning back to his own paper. But at the end of class he found a crumpled note hit his desk as he walked by.
Making a face, Malfoy considered burning the note, but his curiosity got the better of him, and he found himself pulling it open as he left the room.
Stop avoiding me, I have an idea. Meet at quidditch pitch- 8 o’clock tonight.
What. Potter wanted to meet him. Tonight. …Alone?? Well, it didn't say alone, but Draco definitely wasn’t going to bring anyone. Hopefully he was smart enough to leave the two other idiots in their dorms as well. Had he finally snapped and decided Draco looked so ugly as a girl that he needed to change him back now? Or maybe he really was in love with him, and his feminine charm had started to get to the git?
Draco smirked, wouldn’t that be fun? If Potter was nursing a crush on Draco Malfoy..
—
As the sun sank down below the horizon Draco’s heart started to beat faster and his thoughts spun out of control. He’d have to turn this over eager savior down. He creeped out of the Slytherin common rooms and all the way down to the pitch, leaning against the outside wall of the castle.
He waited for a few minutes before deciding it was stupid to have come in the first place, shivering as he stood again. Then he heard someone clear their throat from behind, coming from thin air, Potter appeared with a broom in his hand.
“Malfoy!”
Draco eyed the broom, did he think they’d be going on an escapade far away to do what they were about to do?
“Potter. You’re late.” Draco quipped.
“I know, I know. Ron and Hermione wouldn’t stop asking where I was going.”
Draco frowned, “Why would you tell them that you were going somewhere..?”
“I didn’t, they saw me putting-.. They saw me leaving.” Potter mumbled
“Well, either way. I’ve only come to tell you that I’m not interested in whatever it is that you are trying to do tonight. I’d rather die than do that with you, Potter.” Draco huffed, “I’ll be leaving now.”
“What? You don’t want to play quidditch? I was wondering why you didn’t bring your broom.”
Draco narrowed his eyes. Quidditch?
“What good would quidditch do? Did you get hit in the head or something? Or did you not bring me here to.. do that?”
“.. I did. The reversal to the potion, right? Or did you want to play something else?”
“Potter, what in Merlin’s name are you talking about?!” Malfoy huffed, dragging a hand down his face.
“What are you talking about? I thought quidditch would be the easiest way to reverse the potion because we both know how to play!”
Draco blinked and his face contorted like he wanted to say something unkind but stopped himself, letting out a groan instead.
“Potter. What exactly do you think we need to do in order to reverse the effects of this potion?”
Yep. Harry was missing something.
“I think it’s what it says, obviously! Not like I’ve been able to test any of my hypotheses because you’ve been avoiding me the entire time!”
“What it says is up to interpretation, it seems. So tell me exactly what you think it means!” Draco’s eyes narrowed.
“A physical release! Like an exhausting game of quidditch!”
What an absolute blundering idiot!
“Merlin’s sake.. is this a prank? I’ve still not forgiven you for spilling it on me in the first place. It’s not wise to pull this now.”
“How is- ugh! I’m trying to help! What else could it mean!”
“What else could physical release mean?! Are you actually-…” Draco seethed.
As idiotic as it sounded, perhaps it was worth a try to interpret physical release as exhaustion. Certainly it would be a better choice than snogging Harry Potter. Before Draco fully punched him, he took a breath.
“Know what? Why don’t we play a game?” Draco mused, “See if that idiotic interpretation has any weight to it.”
Harry frowned, this was still Malfoy, even though he looked a touch kinder with a feminine appearance.
—
Draco retrieved his broom and the two stood across from each other on the pitch, the golden snitch ready to be let go. After an anticipation-filled moment, the snitch set off and Draco pushed off the ground, suddenly a bit harder to control from the lack of weight atop his broom. But it was easier to turn being so much lighter.
It was fun, zooming along the pitch at night, the only light being a lumos from Potter that dimmed the further they got from the ground. The snitch glinted from a few feet away and Draco dove at it, Harry seeing it just after but still beating him in speed.
The snitch flew to the right and Draco turned again, seeing Potter already feet ahead. Then they lost it again, somewhere on the other side of the pitch, they hovered mid air for a moment, searching for it. Well Harry was, Draco was watching Harry for the moment he caught it. Counting on this lithe frame, he thought he could beat him if he drove straight down and gained speed that way.
And his green eyes dilated when he spotted it, diving after it. Draco tested his approach, heading down and curving his trajectory right for it.
His path brought him right to the snitch, and just before Potter got to it as well, but as his fist wrapped around it, he leaned too far forward and practically front flipped off of his broom, sending him plummeting down to the ground.
He let out a girlish squeal, then an ‘oof’ when he landed on a thin stick with a pair of strong arms wrapping around him.
“Ow, fuck!” He yelped, turning to see Potter’s face mere centimeters from his, his own hands gripping Harry’s shoulders and his legs thrown to one side of his broom, over Harry’s left.
“Are you alright?” Potter asked, his hand tightening on his waist.
Draco sucked in a breath and turned away, something catching his eye from afar. During his fall, he’d let go of the snitch. And now when he craned his neck to see where it had gone, he leaned his whole body on accident and set the balance of their broom off, nearly tipping them over again.
Luckily Draco’s reflexes saved them, jerking back up and wrapping his arms tightly around Harry’s shoulders. Harry held him closer, his face turning a bit red.
“The game's over, then?” Harry asked, like an idiot.
“Oh, no. Can’t we play again on a single broom?” Draco mocked.
Turning back to face him (carefully, very carefully,) Draco found himself even closer than before.
That potion had to include some sort of attraction charm, right? Since it was made for intercourse..? It had to, because there was no way in hell the normal Draco’s heart would speed up just at the sight of Potter's stupid confused face.
Draco blushed but he couldn’t move any further away from Potter, too afraid to throw them off again and fall the entire distance to the ground.
“Take me down.” Draco mumbled, looking away.
Their descent started slowly, Harry scared to turn harshly. Draco kept himself as close as physically possible to not let himself fall, squeezing his eyes shut when they teetered.
Perhaps Harry felt a bit devious that day, purposely slowing down to make it last longer. Letting a Malfoy hang off him like a sloth was quite a funny predicament. Funny. Nothing else. Not arousing and not attractive and not tingly where their skin touched.
“As slow as a snail, seriously.” Draco complained, kicking his feet out when they got close to the ground, pushing away from Potter as soon as it was safe to.
It was too cold outside for either of them to have worked up a sweat, but for some reason Draco felt as though he was burning inside.
“Well, that didn’t work.” Draco muttered, already having known it wouldn’t.
Harry huffed indignantly, “Well what other option is there?”
Draco looked at Harry incredulously while Harry genuinely thought hard about it. No wonder he wasn’t a Ravenclaw, not the brightest, was he?
“I got it! We could-“
“Shut up, Potter.” Draco rolled his eyes, “Unless it’s come from Snape your idea is sure to be nothing but blathering nonsense.”
“Fine, what do you suggest we do about it then?” Harry asked frustratedly, feeling a bit stupid.
Draco blushed, “Nothing! Not until we’re given an alternative cure from a teacher!”
“Malfoy, it’s just a game! I don’t get why you’re so against playing anything! You could go for a run by yourself for all I care- but I just felt like I should take responsibility because I was the one who spilled the potion! But if you really hate the idea of physically exerting yourself in my vicinity, go ahead and sod off to work out by yourself!” Harry snapped.
“You are such an idiot!” Draco bit, tossing his hair dramatically and storming away, leaving a fuming Potter alone on the pitch.