I Tauwght I Taw a Putty-Tat!
Harry, in a freak Potions mishap, is turned into a tiny kitten! To make matters worse, Malfoy's been assigned task of caretaker! SLASH
Why Malfoy? Of course he paired me up with Malfoy, it's a sick, twisted way of torture, thought Harry bitterly as he chopped magnolia roots for the Draught of Giddiness that they were supposed to be concocting. Of course, Draco was doing the actual work; all Harry had to do was chop and crush things. And he, for one, wasn't complaining about that little agreement. It suited him just fine.
Snape seemed to realize this. He swooped over to their table (overgrown bat that he was) and scowled down upon Harry. This did not bode well for the fifteen-year-old Gryffindor.
"Potter," said Snape very, very softly, his sallow face right up close to Harry's, "why is Mr. Malfoy the only one doing any…work at this table?"
"Erm…he told me he knew I'd screw the Potion up, sir – he said he's do it all so he could get a good grade."
"Hm. Very good reasoning, Draco. Based, I assume, upon Potter's previous disasters?"
Malfoy nodded, a malicious glint in his eyes.
"But, as well thought out that may be, it is not fair for one partner to be doing nothing while the other must do all. Potter, you take a turn at brewing – Draco, you can sit over here and help me grade the essays."
"Yes, Professor," chorused Harry and Malfoy together.
"Very good," said Snape silkily.
Harry inwardly cursed the batty Potions master as he stirred three times clockwise, three times counterclockwise as was instructed.
"Add half a pound of crushed Mandragora," he read in a monotonous tone. Still poring over the text, he grabbed where he had put the mandragora and dumped the beaker's contents into the cauldron. The potion began to fizz ominously, and Harry began to get nervous. He glanced over the ingredients still assembled on the desk – and saw the half-pound of crushed mandragora over to the left of the now-empty beaker which he had grabbed. He looked over them again and realized that the fire cat's hair was missing.
Oh sh-
BOOM!
Snape quickly waved away the dust and smoke and flames with his wand. He and Draco rushed over to where the Golden Boy had sat a moment before.
"Is he…?" Draco asked, turning to his Head of House, who had visibly paled.
"What did the stupid boy do?" Snape asked, almost to himself. "OW!" he yelled as something very akin to ten sharp needles buried themselves into his skin just above his ankle. "What the bloody…" He looked down and blinked.
A tiny "mew" came from near his feet Draco looked down and started. A midnight-black-and-snow-white striped, tiny kitten was sitting on the Potions professor's shoe, claws and paws entangled in the black trousers. Draco bent down and picked it up gingerly.
It looked at Draco with startled emerald eyes before reaching out a paw and batting Draco gently on the nose. Draco blinked and held in a laugh. It was adorable!
"Draco, put Potter down," commanded Snape tersely.
"Wh-what…?" Draco stammered. He lowered the kitten gently to the ground. It gave a mewl of discontent and clambered into Draco's hands, snuggling into the crook of the Slytherin's elbow.
Snape sighed. "Mr. Potter replaced the mandragora roots with fire cat hair. This cause an explosion and turned Potter into – ," Snape said, gesturing at the kitten in Draco's arms, "that."
"Ah," said Draco. He absent-mindedly scratched the kitten behind the ear. He felt its tiny body vibrate and heard a small purring sound coming from it. Am I…petting POTTER!
He dropped the kitten, which, true to its kind, landed on its feet. It gave an unsatisfied mew and leaped on Draco's shoe to play with the shoelaces. The bell rang.
"Draco, I shall inform Dumbledore of this. In the meantime…look after him, will you?"
Without waiting for an answer, Snape left, leaving Draco alone with the Kitten-Who-Was-A-Boy.
Oh, wouldn't Blaise get a kick out of this…
A/N Well?