Alternate Timeline
by Zelgadis Greywood
zelgadisgreywood@chez-vrolet.net
Harry Potter
Disclaimer: Don't own 'em. Not getting paid.
Summary: Takes place during GoF. As in the real story, Moody turns Draco into a ferret, but in this turn of events, the ferret escapes.
Warning: Ferrets acting naturally.
Alternate Timeline
by Zelgadis Greywood
-Chapter 01-
Moody pointed his wand at the white ferret. He was about to hurl the poor animal across the room when something distracted him.
Draco, who had seen the look in Moody's eye, darted from the Great Hall past Hagrid who was on his way to see Dumbledore and out the front doors just before the half giant.
By the time Moody got to the front doors, the little white ferret was gone.
"Damn it," he muttered. "She escaped."
"Don't you mean he, sir?" a student asked meekly.
"I made the ferret female." Moody explained.
*****
"Where is Mr. Malfoy?" Professor McGonagall asked during Transfiguration class that afternoon.
"Please, Professor," Hermione offered. "Professor Moody turned Draco Malfoy into a female ferret for trying to hex Harry. She got out and we didn't
see where she went."
"I see. Excuse me." Professor McGonagall rushed to find Dumbledore.
*****
Lucius Malfoy was fit to be tied.
"I don't care what your excuse was, Moody. " he told the ex-Auror . "My son is lost out there as a ferret. He cannot fend for himself. If he gets hurt..."
Dumbledore smiled. "I'm sure Draco will be fine. Hagrid will tell us when he's found her."
-Chapter 02-
"I can't believe its been a full two months since we heard from Draco." Harry told Ron and Hermione as they made their way to Hagrid's hut with the rest of the Care of Magical Creatures class.
"I hope she's okay," Hermione sounded genuinely worried.
Once again the class found themselves taking care of Hagrid's Blast-ended Skrewts.
"Do you hear something?" Hermione asked. "Hagrid, I think there's an animal under your hut." She lit her wand and peered down a tunnel she'd spotted.
Lying there was a pure white ferret. Hermione knew at once that it was Draco. But she wasn't alone. Four baby ferrets, three brown and one white, were nursing from her.
"Aww..." Hermione smiled. She turned to face hcr classmates. "Hey! Its Draco!"
Crabbe pushed her aside and reached in to grab Draco. "Ouch!" he exclaimed, pulling his arm out of the tunnel. "She bit me! Why?"
"She's been a ferret too long." Hagrid explained. "She don't remember being a wizard or any of us now. "
-Chapter 03a-
Narcissa Malfoy stormed across the grounds and into the school,
She threw the doors open and roared: "Bring me the head of Mad-Eye Moody!"
"Mrs. Malfoy..." Dumbledore had seen Draco's mother coming and had hurried to meet her.
"I want Moody's head on a plate."
"I don't think the House Elves are serving that today." Dumbledore smiled.
"I am not in the mood for your jokes." Narcissa bellowed. "My son is dead and Mad-Eye Moody is the one who murdered him."
Dumbledore realized that Lucius must have told her Draco was dead rather than tell her that he had been turned into a ferret. "Your son is not dead."
"Then where is he?" Narcissa demanded.
Dumbledore led her to Hagrid's hut. The half-giant had moved the ferret family into his hut where they slept in a straw-filled box in the corner.
He smiled in amusement at the ferret flap in the door.
"Mrs. Malfoy is here to see Draco."
"Just popped out for erm... well she'll be back real soon. Never leaves her babies for more than a couple minutes."
"Oh, Merlin! Narcissa wailed. "He married that Granger, didn't he? A Malfoy marrying a commoner. I shall never... AAAAH!"
The mother ferret scampered into the room and had brushed past Narcissa's leg on her way to feed her babies.
"Ugh! Rats!" She glared.
The mother ferret bristled.
"Draco may be a ferret," Dumbledore observed, "but she's still got the old Malfoy sense of pride."
-Chapter 03b-
Narcissa looked horrifled. "That's Draco?"
Dumbledore nodded and Narcissa collapsed into a chair.
Hagrid brought her a cup of tea which she drank, her hands shaking as she tried to calm her nerves.
"My son is a ferret." She shook her head. "I'll have none of that, thank you." She pulled the ferret mom free, ignoring the bites, and returned him to human form.
"Come on, Draco," she said, "You're coming home."
Another spell flew through the air, turning Draco back into the ferret.
"No, she's not." Lucius said, firmly. "Narcissa, Draco has only two choices; be a ferret or spend the rest of his life in St. Mungo's."
Narcissa knelt down and watched the babies nurse.
The jill looked up at her and then began to groom her babies.
"Let's go." Narcissa finally said to her husband as she got to her feet. "We have to buy a ton of photo albums." She smiled as she led Lucius away from the hut, "Gotta get all kinds of pictures of our grandferrets."
From a distance, Dumbledore and Hagrid heard Lucius cry out. "Pictures of our grandferrets?! Are you mad?!"
end