Gryffindors, Slytherins, and Hipporgriffs, Oh My!

Author's Note: quick mention of a slashy kiss (not graphic, no details).

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Thanks again to ancientgirl and my wonderful Beta June!

Chapter 7 - Gryffindors, Slytherins and Hippogriffs, Oh My!

Minerva McGonagall walked purposefully through the Hogwarts corridors, eager to get to the Headmaster's office. She rattled off the password quickly as she neared the gargoyle. Her heels clicked angrily as she walked the few steps from the landing to his door. The door sprang open and she walked in.

Dumbledore was standing over a basin where he was apparently talking with a fish. As soon as he heard footsteps approach, the Headmaster stood up quickly, and there was a splash behind him. He turned to greet his new guest. There was no need to guess who it was, as he had the door charmed to admit Minerva. He knew from the sound of her footsteps that she was upset about something. The air practically crackled with magic as she swept up to his desk.

"Albus Dumbledore!" she stormed. "Just what is going on here?"

The Headmaster moved to cover more of the watery basin behind him. "I'm sure I have no idea what you mean, Minerva," he said.

"What I mean... What I mean... I'll tell you what I mean, Albus. I've had no less than fifteen owls from both Mr. Weasley and Mr. Potter just in the past few hours. They claim they've been trying to reach you about Miss Granger."

He raised his eyebrows and looked innocently at her.

"None of this rings a bell?" she asked him in an accusatory tone.

Dumbledore looked about uneasily.

"And was that a fish you were talking to?" she said, pointing to the basin behind him, her voice ending in a shriek. "Have you gone batty?"

"Sit down, Minerva, and I will explain it all," he said with a weary sigh.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"You turned them into what?" Minerva's scream could be heard echoing miles away. "Of all the harebrained things you've come up with in the past, Albus, this... This is just too much. Two of them against all those creatures in the lake, and the merpeople don't even know they're coming."

"But Minerva," he sputtered. "I had to do something. The merbaby needed to be returned to her family."

"Returned, nothing," she sniffed. "You just wanted to meddle again, and the baby was just an excuse."

"Minerva," he said. "You know as well as I do, had someone not done something, Severus and Hermione would have taken forever to get together."

"Still...," she began to say, but was soon interrupted by someone yelling angrily at the gargoyle below. "What in the world?"

But Dumbledore was already up and moving. "I suspected this might happen," he said as he moved to open the door.

On the other side, in angry mid-knock, was none other than Draco Malfoy.

"Dumbledore," Draco said coldly, despite being more than a hundred years younger than the greatest wizard of the age.

"Why, Draco, to what do we owe this wonderful surprise?" asked Dumbledore.

Draco looked suspiciously around the room, his eyes resting for a moment on Minerva. "Professor McGonagall," he said stiffly, bowing his head to her.

"Mr. Malfoy," Minerva said courteously in return.

"I am looking for my godfather," Draco said, angrily rounding on Dumbledore. "He was supposed to meet me for tea yesterday, and he never showed up. My owls have gone unanswered as well. My godfather never misses an appointment. Something is wrong here, and I intend to find out what it is." Draco's cloak billowed dramatically about him while he took his seat.

Dumbledore was about to comment on this when they heard the pounding of footsteps up the stairs, down the corridor and to the door. No guessing who this was either. The door was also charmed to grant Harry Potter entrance as well. The door slammed open, and Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley came running in.

"Professor Dumbledore, is there any news on Hermione and Professor Snape?" Harry yelled. "They were supposed to be back in a day, and it's been over a day now."

"Yeah, and she's down there with Snape! With her bobbly bits hanging out! We've been owling you forever," said Ron.

The Headmaster opened his mouth to answer but was again cut off.

"I knew it," Draco said, pointing an accusatory finger at Dumbledore. "I knew something was going on!"

"You!" hissed Harry, glaring at Draco.

"Well, if there is something going on, then it has nothing to do with you!" shouted Ron.

"Yeah," said Harry angrily.

"Oh, really, Potter?" Draco said, moving closer to Harry. "I'm afraid anything concerning my godfather is very much my business," he said threateningly.

"Oh, yeah?" said Harry, coming chest to chest with Draco.

"Yeah," said Draco, moving even closer. "And what's Granger got to do with all of this? If that jumped-up little know-it-all has done anything to hurt him, I'll..." Draco broke off, shaking with anger, his hand tightly gripping the snakehead top of his father's cane.

"You'll do what?" Harry asked, his green eyes sparkling dangerously.

"I'll put her in her place, that's what," said Draco.

And at that, Harry let loose. He shoved Draco hard, pushing him to the ground. Unfortunately, the momentum carried Harry along with it, and both men landed on the floor with a thud. What happened next was a melee for domination. They rolled about on the floor fighting, kicking, and screaming. Harry felt as if every pent-up emotion he'd ever had about Draco was pouring out. Ron was on the sidelines egging him on.

"Get him, mate!" Ron shouted. "Hit him where it hurts!"

Minerva jumped and moved back as soon as the fighting started.

"Stop!" yelled Dumbledore. "This is accomplishing nothing!"

But the two men didn't hear him. They were grunting, sweating, and fighting on the floor. They had waited too long for this day. Everything they had ever felt about each other was coming out now.

"You'd better watch it, Scarhead!" Draco was yelling from his current position on top of Harry. "I'll pull my wand on you."

"Ha!" yelled Harry triumphantly. He had managed to free himself from underneath Draco and now was on top of him. "You try that, Malfoy," he said, watching Draco reach for the snakehead tip of his cane. "I know exactly where you're hiding your wand and just how big it is!"

Draco paused for a moment. A look of fear and mortification crossed his face. His cheeks flushed a bright red as well.

"I'd like to see you try to get my wand, Potty!" the blond wizard shouted.

Harry hadn't missed the look on Draco's face and wondered briefly just what it meant.

That pause was long enough for Draco to struggle free. He scrambled for his wand as Harry reached for his. The two men jumped up and aimed them at one another.

"Expelliarmus!" shouted Dumbledore.

Both men and their wands went flying.

"Accio wands," said the Headmaster, and both their wands flew to his outstretched hand.

Harry looked up at him for the first time with real fear on his face. Dumbledore was angry, and an angry Dumbledore was a very scary thing indeed.

The Headmaster looked with fury at both men. "That is enough!" He raised his wand angrily at them. Both men began to scramble, but neither was quick enough. "Hippogriffamous!"

Ron and Minerva watched in horror as first Harry and then Draco were Transformed into hippogriffs. Harry changed into a golden brown one, while Draco became a brilliant white one. The two hippogriffs stood blinking at each other, both stunned.

"Out!" ordered Dumbledore, pointing to his window with his wand. The windows slammed open, the glass breaking with the magical force that threw them back. "Out, out, out! And don't come back until you've worked this out between the two of you."

Neither terrified hippogriff needed more urging, and both made for the window at the same time. They bickered, clawed, and pecked at each other before they were able to get out, one after the other.

Once outside, Harry screeched at Draco. The two flew at each other, fighting in mid-air. Harry knocked Draco onto the roof of Dumbledore's office. The sound of the battle echoed through the castle.

"Harry!" shouted Ron, finally moving from his spot beside Minerva. "I'm coming to help you!"

"Petrificus Totalus," said the Headmaster.

Ron fell to the floor in front of the doorway.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Weasley," Dumbledore said. "But I'm afraid Harry must go this one alone."

"Albus!" Minerva was clearly startled. "What are you going to do about this?"

Another loud crash on the roof caused them both to cringe as the battle continued on.

"I intend to do nothing," Dumbledore said, trying not to let his frustration show. "Those two will never be able to work things out on their own unless they're forced into it."

"Oh, Albus, you are interfering again," she scolded.

"Well, what would you have me do?" Dumbledore cried in frustration. "Those two on the roof are worse than the two we have in the lake. It's obvious to everyone else how they feel. It's time the two of them work it out for themselves."

"Well, of course it's obvious to everyone," Minerva said. "But they may have discovered it in their own time."

"Then what would you have me do now?" he asked stubbornly. "Let them destroy my office with their sexual aggression in the meantime?"

"It's better for them to destroy the castle as hippogriffs instead?" she asked shrilly.

As if to punctuate what she said, there was a crash and a screech, and then several white and brown feathers floated past the window.

"Yes," said Dumbledore, sounding tired for the first time. "Until they work out their differences, that's exactly what I intend them to do." And with that, he pointed his wand at his desk. A tea service appeared. "Tea, Minerva?" he offered.

Minerva shook her head angrily, brushed the rubble from her seat, and sat down with him.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Harry and Draco had been fighting in hippogriff form with a fierce desperation. But in truth they were both getting tired. Draco's lunges towards Harry were becoming less and less aggressive. Finally, Harry saw his chance and attacked Draco, biting one of his clawed forelegs. Draco shrieked in pain and fell to the roof below. Harry looked at him and felt elation at having finally won the fight. But his elation didn't last long as he stared at the injured Draco below. Harry had dealt him a hefty blow, and Draco's foreleg was bleeding heavily. Harry flew down closer to get a better look. Draco was whimpering and instinctively licking at his wound with his tongue.

Harry called out to him in concern, but a terrible screeching sound came out instead. Draco cringed in fear and tried to move further away from him. Harry couldn't have felt worse. Why had he fought with Draco anyway? The Slytherin had only come here concerned about Snape. 'Concerned about Snape,' Harry thought with disgust. Still, Draco's intentions had been honorable, and Snape was probably the closest thing to family he had left. Why had things gone so horribly wrong? Why did Draco have to call Hermione a jumped-up little know-it-all?

The Gryffindor felt more guilt as he remembered all that Draco had done for them during the war. The blond had pledged his loyalties to Dumbledore shortly after his flight with Snape from Hogwarts. This had cost him both his parents' lives. Draco's services to the Order had proved invaluable in Harry's defeat of Voldemort.

'Well,' Harry thought. He looked at the hippogriff, who was a few feet away from him, sadly licking his wounds. 'Things couldn't possibly get worse for him than this.'

At that moment, the clouds opened up and it poured. Now Draco was injured and wet. And were those crying noises Harry was hearing coming from him? Harry felt horrible. It was as if he had turned into the bully he never wanted to be.

Draco was feeling miserable. Potter had bested him once again. Draco didn't know why he was always so defensive around him. He wished he could be friendlier, but he was afraid if he were nice, his true feelings would come out. He had thought for one frightening moment there that Potter had discovered the truth when he made that comment about his wand. Great tears rolled down his face as he realized the one man he'd ever wanted to have a relationship with most likely hated him. Draco had been so caught up in his own thoughts and tending his wound that he didn't even notice Harry's approach.

The Boy-Who-Lived had been contemplating his feelings about Draco for quite a while now, as he watched the sobbing and injured white hippogriff. He didn't understand why Draco aroused such passion and anger in him. Whenever Harry was near him, he felt as if something was going to tip him over the edge. And then it dawned on him that he had felt passion whenever he was with him. The realization hit him like a ton of bricks. He could keep suppressing these emotions, but he knew it was time to finally acknowledge them. There was something in the way Draco had looked at him today that made him think maybe he felt the same way too. 'Perhaps,' he thought, 'that was why Draco was reacting the same way too.'

Harry had gotten very close to Draco by now. His heart went out to him as he raised his own brown wing to shelter him from the rain.

Draco, who was deep in his own thoughts, realized he suddenly felt no more rain. He looked up in surprise to see Harry's wing protecting him. Draco quickly turned to look at Harry. He really hoped this was not a trick. And then he looked into Harry's green eyes. There was a warmth, a kindness, and understanding in them that he'd never seen before. And as Draco was cold, wet, and injured, he decided it was in his best interest to trust him.

The brown hippogriff leaned in a bit closer to Draco, hoping the warmth from his body would help ease the Slytherin's shivering and give him some comfort.

Draco leaned into him and was soon snuggled into Harry's warm brown feathers.

The soft cooing sound Harry made when he tried to say something kind to Draco surprised him. It wasn't words but it seemed to get the point across to Draco. Harry moved closer to Draco's wounded foreleg and began to clean it.

The white hippogriff tensed at first, but once he realized Harry meant him no harm, he relaxed some more. Draco moved his head up for a moment to look into Harry's eyes. In that one look they shared it all. A sudden understanding of what they felt for each other came across. It was mutual and that was good. Draco cooed back to Harry, then snuggled closer to him, while all around Hogwarts silence reigned.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Do you hear that?" Dumbledore asked, looking up from his tea and crumpets.

"Hear what?" asked Minerva. "I don't hear anything."

"Exactly," said Dumbledore.

As if to contradict that, a loud stomping noise could suddenly be heard in the hall outside the door.

Hagrid didn't even have a chance to knock on the Headmaster's door before it swung open. He came in the door and stepped over the frozen Mr. Weasley.

"Oh, hi there, Ron," Hagrid said, looking down at him.

If the half-giant seemed to be concerned about the state of the Headmaster's office, he didn't let on about it.

"Seems like ya done some redecorating," he said to Dumbledore.

"It seems I have," said Albus with a twinkle in his eye. "And what brings you here, my friend?"

"Oh," said Hagrid, still taking things in. "I was wondering if ya knew 'bout the pair of mating hippogriffs you've got on yer roof."

"Mating!" Minerva yelled, knocking her chair over in her haste to get to the window.

Dumbledore hurried over to stand with her, both of them looking curiously out the window. "You say they are mating, Hagrid?"

"Oh, not mating... No," Hagrid laughed. "But ya can tell they're mates. All snuggled up and cute like," he said with a dreamy look on his face. "They'd make great friends for Buckbeak."

Minerva let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank goodness," she said. "Albus, don't you see how dangerous your meddling can be? If they had mated, then they both would have to stay that way forever."

Dumbledore began to laugh. "Oh, Minerva. They're two males. I hardly think we need to worry about Harry and Draco with a baby hippogriff."

"No, Albus," she said angrily. "It's not them we need to worry about. It's Severus and Hermione down in the lake. Did you think about that, Albus? Did you? We could lose them both forever if they decide to stay. Did you even warn them about that?"

Dumbledore's face changed from one of merriment to one of concern. "Perhaps you are right, Minerva," he said. "I did say they would be a day or two in accomplishing their task, so if I don't hear from them by tonight, I'll send Hagrid out to collect them." He said nothing about Philippe, who had not given him permission to tell others about him.

Minerva looked at him severely. Her lips were pinched in a tight line.

"It will be okay, Minnie," he said, using his pet name for her. "I promise."

She continued to say nothing and seemed to blink back some tears.

"You will be able to find them, Hagrid, will you not?" Dumbledore said, turning to the half-giant standing behind them at the window.

But Hagrid was still entranced with the hippogriffs. "Look at them cuddling," he said dreamily. "Like little lovebirds... Bless 'em!"

Dumbledore looked out the window once again. Draco was preening Harry's facial feathers, and the brown hippogriff resembled nothing more than a fluff ball at the moment.

"That they are, Hagrid," Dumbledore said. "But, I'm afraid it's time to turn them back." He whistled loudly to call their attention.

Two hippogriff heads snapped up in his direction.

"Come in... Come in," said Dumbledore, waving them in.

Everyone made room as the two large creatures flew back into the office, the white one a bit wobbly. Dumbledore quickly said an incantation, and the two were immediately turned back to their human forms.

Harry quickly moved over to the injured Slytherin, who was on the floor, unable to stand. "Draco, I am so sorry... for everything..." Harry's voice broke off, tears welling in his eyes.

Draco reached up and put his uninjured hand on Harry's arm. "It's okay. It's enough that we've both come to this understanding."

"Never again, my love," he whispered as he leaned near Draco's face. "Never again will I hurt you so."

Draco smiled up at Harry and cupped his face with his hand. "I know. I know."

Then Harry and Draco both leaned in for a very deep and heartfelt first kiss.

"Bloody hell!!!!" yelled Ron, who had finally been released from the Headmaster's Body-Bind Curse. "Harry?" he said, looking at his best friend. "Draco?" he said, looking at the man his best friend was kissing. Then he fainted fast away, once more blocking the doorway.

Breaking away from his kiss with Draco, Harry turned to look at Ron lying on the floor once again.

"Ahhh... Well... He'll get used to it," Harry said. "Hagrid," he called more urgently to the completely puzzled half-giant standing nearby, while trying to help Draco up. "Hagrid, he's hurt. Won't you please help me get him to the hospital wing?"

"Alright, Harry," Hagrid said, scooping up the injured Malfoy. "I'm not rightly sure what just happened here, but I'm more than happy to help if ya wants me to."

"Thank you, Hagrid," said Harry, flashing him a grin. "It means a lot to me."

The three began to walk off when Dumbledore called Hagrid back.

"Hagrid," Dumbledore called. "Miss Granger and Professor Snape should be coming up from the lake this evening. Would you mind standing by the lake to watch for them, and bring them to me so I may return them to human form?"

"O' course not, Headmaster," said Hagrid. "I'll get right on it as soon as I get these two settled in the hospital wing."

"Thank you, Hagrid," said Dumbledore.

Albus moved to stand next to Minerva, his arm resting comfortably around her shoulders. "Don't worry so, Minnie. It will be alright. We will have Severus and Hermione back soon."

Minerva rested her head on his shoulder and hoped he would be right.

~*~*~*~

A/N: Next chapter, we go back to the lake with Severus and Hermione!