Chapter 2: Unforseen Consequences
Harry was sitting in a comfortable leather chair. An ornate and expensive looking wooden office desk was in front of him. A young, white haired man not much older than Harry was looking at him with a crooked smile and mirth in his eyes.
"Mr. Potter." The man said while shuffling a stack of papers and giving them a quick glance. "Troublesome as always you wizard-people" he sighed and locked eyes with Harry, Harry opened his mouth to say something but the man interrupted.
"Fate is going to have a fit." He shook his head with his eyes closed "that bitch" he muttered under his breath.
"Where am I?" said Harry finally, the white haired man looked at him with a quizzical expression, he snorted loudly, the snort became an all-out barking laugh that reminded Harry of Sirius.
"Right!" the man said while rubbing the tears of laugh from his eyes "You must be confused Mr. Potter" He set the documents he was shuffling on the desk "you can call me Mr. Black" Harry eyes widened as he took a sharp breath "Oh— Right err…" The man avoided Harry's eyes "You can call me Mr. White. And you are in— Well you could call this place the Limbo" He smiled at Harry with a thothy grin "I Prefer to call it The Antechamber, It sounds way better"
"Why? I am here?" Said Harry looking around, he was in what looked like a normal muggle office, except everything looked like it was taken from a thirties' detective movie even Mr. Whtie suit looked old styled.
"To put it simply, It wasn't your time yet Mr. Potter" He shuffled the papers "Bloody hell!" He said under his breath "You still had a hundred eighty four years four months and seven days left" he shook his head "Fate is going to— be really upset." the man grimaced at Harry showing a set of perfectly white teeth
"Fate? Who—" Harry asked but Mr. White simply shook his head with tight lips like an upset McGonagall
"Anyway Mr. Potter I don't want Fate to… You know, be an unpleasant bitch so—" A small silver humming bird popped into existence in between Mr. White and Harry, it landed softly on the desk and chirped angrily at Mr. White.
Mr. White's eyes widened and his lower jaw started to tremble, the bird stopped chirping and then disappeared, He started muttering under his breath completely ignoring Harry then looked at Harry as if surprised he was still there.
Harry had expected to see his loved ones after dying, not to end up in a bureaucrat's office in limbo, he had hundred questions to ask Mr. White but the man hadn't let him say a much, Harry watched as the man stood and opened a cabinet behind him he retrieved a large metallic object which resembled and old muggle type writer with knobs, levers, buttons and keyholes, Mr. White dropped the object on the desk with a metallic clank.
"Mr. Potter we don't have much time" Mr. White's body was trembling as he fiddled with the machine his eyes locked in the bronze instrument "Fate is coming, I think she heard the rumor, So I'll get to the point." He looked away from the typewriter and locked eyes with Harry "I'll give you a second chance"
"A second chance?"
"Yes!" He looked at a clock in the wall which Harry noted had about a hundred hands all of them moving at different speeds and some counter clock wise "Yes!" he let out a shaky breath "A second chance, you'll live again and hopefully, you'll return without fate noticing" Harry noted Mr. White forehead was drenched with sweat "So please stop talking and don't interrupt me while I tune the vitareponere"
"The what?" Said Harry, Mr. White was already fiddling with the various knobs of the machine
"Your name?" when Harry didn't answer immediately Mr. White shouted at him "What's your full name Mr. Potter!"
"Ha-Harry James Potter Evans" Harry answered, Mr. White continued to make questions and Harry answered as fast as he could, and as soon as he answered a question Mr. White would move knob press a button or fiddle with a lever in the bronze gizmo.
"What's your gender Mr. Potter" Harry looked at the man as if he was seeing crumple horned Snorkack, Mr. White looked away from the machine "Are you a boy or a girl?" He smirked but shook his head a second latter
"Isn't that evident?" Harry asked his eyes narrowing and crossing his arms.
"Just answer the question!" Yelled Mr. White while running a hand through his white hair.
"A boy! I'm male!" Mr. White looked back at the machine and paused for a second before his hand hovering millimeters above a silver lever before turning it left. Mr. White turned the type-writer to face, there was a golden lever with an incrusted jewel in the middle of the tangle of switches and knobs.
"Pull it, Mr. Potter" Harry motioned to take the lever but hesitated "Do it now, you don't want to be here when Fate comes asking for you!" He said with his back rigid against his chair and his eyes darting fast from Harry to the exit door.
Harry grabbed the gold stick and pulled it downwards, pain shoot trough every cell of his body, he saw Mr. White mouth 'good luck' or 'fuck you' Harry wasn't really sure, Harry was falling through the endless void he couldn't feel his body but, curiously he could its absence, he heard a splash like a body falling in a pool.
His last conscious thought was "What a weird person, Mr. White."
O—O—O—O—O
Tonks was holding her broom tightly as a warm breeze passed over the group she was standing along with. 'Mad Eye' gave her an approving nod, while Kingsley spoke to him quietly, over fifty order members and Aurors loyal to the order waited outside of a house on the suburbs of Liverpool. The main door opened and Snape walked briskly towards the huddle of waiting wizards and witches, several of them looked at the potion master with fear or distrust.
"Snape what—" said Tonks
"Professor Snape, Miss. Tonks" Corrected Snape without his usual bite, Tonks thought he looked sad but discarded that idea.
"Snape—" Said Alastor, limping towards Snape with his eye whirling crazily in all directions.
"Mad Eye." Cut Snape "Dumbledore needs you ready now" He said, his teeth clenched and his lips barely moving, without stopping his brisk pace he turned in the spot and disappeared before Mad Eye could confirm.
"Git" Muttered Alastor "You heard the bat! On your brooms now!" The group shoot into the sky some of them put on Invisibility cloak, others just used the Disillusionment charm. Tonks had to use her father's old frayed cloak.
"Nymphadora, Prewett, Collins, Cromwell, Brown and Lupin, You come with me!" Yelled Moody, his magical eye darting in every direction and stopping from time to time in the muggle house below them, Tonks floated towards Moody as did Carl Prewett, the boy was still in Auror training yet Moody had asked for him specifically for this mission. Whatever it was. Remus gave Tonks a serene smile as the other grouped up with 'Mad Eye'
"Why I'm the only one he calls by their first name?" Said Tonks loud enough for 'Mad Eye' to hear, Remus shrugged at her and looked away. Tonks could a stifled laugh from him, her hair when from vivid red to pale pink in a few seconds before setting up again in her normal bubble-gum pink
"Right!" Said Moody suddenly, making Prewett and Tonks waver in their brooms. "This is what's going to happen…"
O—O—O—O—O
The chanting in the large, empty room stopped at the same time Harry stopped breathing. For a moment there was total silence then from the boy's scar a tick golden lightning bolt shoot to the roof breaking it and leaving a large hole behind.
"It' appears to have worked" Said Nicholas Flamel
"Impressive" Said Janus Areleous, Albus kept quiet and sank into the chair next to Harry's body, with his hands on his face and his elbows on his knees he let out an unsteady sigh. Nicholas and Janus looked at each other with understanding in their eyes, and silently left the room.
Dumbledore heart was beating faster than it ever had, the pain in his chest was the only thing that reminded him that he was still alive, he should have been the one to be sacrificed not a young boy that never knew happiness. He who had committed many sins and lived a long life full of mistakes and regret, but it had to be Harry, The spell targeted your enemy's soul, the catalyst needed to be something that belonged to the target, the more attached the target was to it, the stronger the effect.
The spell itself would destroy the vessel of the target soul, unfortunately Harry had been the vessel for a fragment for Tom's soul. Dumbledore straightened in his chair and removed his half-moon glassed to rub his tired eyes. He looked at the still form of the boy who lived, a painful pang in his chest made him wish the boy was still alive, if he was, he would make everything in his power to make sure Harry was happy and safe.
Albus felt it before it happened, he drew his wand faster than a blink of an eye and casted a powerful shield charm in an even smaller time, the shimmering ethereal sphere surrounded him in an instant.
Harry's body started to glow bright blue, becoming brighter by the second until it was impossible to look at it directly, Albus could feel a power overwhelming that made him feel like a muggle, a high pitched hiss that resembled water hitting a white hot metal was heard before it stopped, the light and the power gone, Albus waited for his eyes to adjust and the spots in his vision to clear. Harry's body lay still in the table, his face in a relaxed expression, his respiration steady.
Albus watched the rise and fall of his chest, he wasn't sure what it meant. He is alive! But, how? Albus' mind raced, jumping from one idea to another, remembering old books and tablets about resurrections, necromancy and thaumaturgy, trying to understand how was possible for the boy to be still alive, but in the end he came with nothing. he waved his wand over the body casting serval diagnosing charms, the boy was healthy as he had been in the morning, or even better than before as he couldn't detect the dark power from Tom's soul fragment.
Albus gave Harry a long look and for the first time noticed that his face looked different, and his body seemed smaller than he remembered, his hair was also longer and the shape of his body was wrong for a boy.
"Most Interesting" Albus mumbled
O—O—O—O—O
Pain was the only thing Harry could feel, every inch of his body ached, it was as if he had been spent a week under effects of the Cruciatus curse, for a moment all Harry could think about was the agony he felt in every muscle in his body, he tried to open his eyes but it they were heavy as bowling balls, he tried to move but he was completely his aching muscles didn't respond, he heard someone whisper 'most interesting' followed by 'enervate!'.
Harry energy replenished, the pain subdued, when his eyes opened the first thing he saw was Professor Dumbledore's twinkling blue eyes behind his half-moon glasses. He could see his moth moving but couldn't hear anything but tone, he focused and started hearing a distant soft whisper.
"…even so, I am so happy you are still alive" Dumbledore conjured a silver goblet and filled it with fresh water with a swish of his wand "Drink this, I'm sure you must be most exhausted" Harry took the goblet and drank it in one go, he found himself still thirsty.
"Alive?" Asked Harry, Professor Dumbledore gave him a nod. "But how?" Professor Dumbledore looked at Harry in the eyes with a wide smile on his face and mirth in his eyes.
"I don't know" He said simply and turned around, Dumbledore waved his wand and his phoenix Patronus flew away, Harry sat straight and drank again from the goblet which had refilled itself, he did so several times until his thirst was quenched.
Then he realized something wasn't right, Harry looked at his hands, they were smaller than before, the sleeves of his shirt where way longer than he remembered and the shoulders where way too large even for one of Dudley's old hand-me-downs, the waist of the his trousers was so loose that Harry could easily put in both of his arms in without any difficulty.
He also felt his body was unbalanced, it was the most peculiar sensation Harry had ever felt, he felt his chest, but instead of the hard, flat sternum he felt two soft bumps that weren't supposed to be there.
"What—" he ran his hand through his hair and realized it was quite longer, he pulled at it to make sure it was indeed his hair. "What the hell!?" Harry looked at Dumbledore who gave him a calm and collected look "What happened to me?" He said with a broken high-pitched voice, his eyes went wide when he heard himself and his hands went to his mouth where he found a pair of soft lips "Was it because the ritual?" Dumbledore shook his head
"There is no reason to believe that; It would take me a long time for me to explain you how the intricacies of the spell but, you need to believe me when I say that, this" he made a gesture indicating he was talking about Harry "Is not something that should have happened"
"This?" Harry touched his chest again, giving it a squeeze, he felt a shiver travel through his spinal column he let out a gasp, and quickly covered his mouth feeling his face go warm.
"I- Is that what—? It can't be, right?" Harry could hear his own heartbeat in his ears
"Harry, I'm sorry, but for some reason, that I can't start to understand, it appears that your body has become that of a female" Harry's started trembling uncontrollably, his mind racing, how he had become…
"Bu- but how?!" Said Harry standing up from the table, holding his pants so they didn't fall, Dumbledore sat in a chair and conjured two cups of steaming hot tea, Harry sat in front of him in another chair.
"I Don't Know—" Said Dumbledore as he siped his tea his hands steady but his brow furrowed in concentration "Is too early to tell"
"How can you not know?" Harry yelled "You— you are the greatest wizard in the world!" Dumbledore kept calm which only made Harry start breathing and shaking faster.
"Some may think that Harry, but even so, this something that nobody had ever heard" Harry let out a long breath trying to calm himself, he drank all is hot steaming tea in one glup and set the teacup softly in the table
"Sorry, Sir." Said Harry closing his eyes to calm himself "Can't you turn me back to normal"
"I'm sure I'll be able to find something to help you" In that moment a silver ethereal ram appeared in the middle of the room, the disembodied voice of 'Mad Eye' came from it
"Albus, we've found his body at Malfoy Manor, have captured a handful of Death Eaters including Malfoy. The others have already reported to me the other locations, you aren't going to believe it: Gringotts, Hogwarts and Number Twelve"
"Sir?" Said Harry as he looked at flash of triumph in Dumbledore's face.
"It appears Harry that everything went better than we could have dreamed of, Tom is dead and you are still alive, I do wonder if it had something to do with your mother sacrifice" he drank again from his tea and set the teacup in the table
"But—" Harry thought for a moment, he was supposed to be dead yet he was still here even if his body was different, he was sure Dumbledore would find a way to turn him back "— you are right Professor, What is going to happen now Sir?"
Dumbledore popped a candy in mouth that he procured from somewhere in his robes "for the time being, I think it would be prudent for you to return with your relatives" Harry groaned and Dumbledore chuckled "I'm sorry, but even if he is gone some of Tom's Death Eaters are still at large and your mother's protection is still in effect, still I think with the proper protections you could move to Number Twelve" Harry smiled, leaving his relatives would be the best.
"It would be a good idea to have Poppy have a look at you" said Dumbledore standing up and offering Harry his hand, Harry stood and took it, soon he was being squished through the void.
O—O—O—O—O
After Dumbledore explained to Madam Pomfrey Harry's predicament she made a complete physical examination and concluded that Harry was one hundred percent healthy, if a little bit exhausted. She gave Harry several potions to drink and recommended him to rest right away, he stayed in the hospital wing and slept in one of the beds. He didn't need much time before he fell asleep.
The next morning when he woke up, he barely remembered dreaming of Sirius with white hair but as soon as Madam Pomfrey brought breakfast he completely forgot about his dream, he was let out of the hospital wing by mid-day, he made quick way to the Gryffindor tower to take a bath.
The bathroom was empty as expected because of summer vacation, he chose a stall nearest to the exist and opened the hot water and let it run, he started to get rid of his clothes but stopped suddenly realizing what he was doing.
"I'm being ridiculous, it's my own body" he removed Dudley's old rags with his eyes closed and threw them the basket, he opened his eyes trying not to look at his own body. He heard a soft crack and turned around but there was nothing but the large wall mirror that always had been there.
For the first time Harry looked at himself, the girl in the reflection was pretty, her face looked like his mother's more than his father's and her pale skin contrasted wildly with her pitch black messy hair that reached her shoulders. Her eyes where bright green exactly like Harry's own and she had a distinctive lightning bolt in her forehead but instead of being vivid red it was just a paler smudge, her body was slim and her chest… Harry looked away and got into the shower.
After the most awkward shower in Hogwarts since September 1617 Harry got out with the towel warped around his body, like always a clean change of clothes was on the side shelf, Harry's stomach compressed into a tight ball when he saw the first item in the pile of clothes was made of a pure white fabric and quite small.
"Bloody hell no!" Said Harry, looking closer there was also a grey plaid skirt and a white bra in the pile of clothes "This is not funny!" Harry yelled at the roof, a crack, and a trembling female house elf appeared in front of him.
"I-Is a problem Miss" said the small creature bowed until her nose touched the floor, Harry looked at it in silence for a beat "Yes! There is a problem! These are girl's clothes!" the house elf looked at Harry for moment her wide eyes even wider and her head tilting to the left.
"B-But Miss is a Miss" said the small elf with a breaking Voice
"No! I'm a boy!" Harry snapped, the elf flinched making Harry felt a pang in his chest "Look I know how I look ok? I'm not mad just get me some boy clothes, please?"
The elf snapped her fingers and the clothes disappeared, another snap and a new pile of clothes appeared in the same place, Harry could see a pair of grey pants, a white button up shirt, socks, and a pair of black boxer brief. Harry let out a long sigh and took the underwear to start changing
"Thank you, err... what's your name?" Harry asked, the elf eyes went wide
"Wimpey is Wimpey's Name, Miss" the elf said shaking her head making her large ears sway like Dobby's
"Well Thank You Wimpey, My name is Harry" the elf looked at Harry quizzically "What?"
"Oh nothing Miss Harry nothing at all" the elf said but her expression didn't change, Harry let another sigh and his shoulders slumped "Tell me, I promise I won't get mad"
"Well…" Wimpey said while she started to play with hem of her tea towel that served as her uniform "Wimpey's thinks that Harry is a boy name Miss Harry" Harry blew out air and pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger
"Well, of course Wimpey, It's a boy's name didn't I tell you? I'm a boy" the elf gave Harry a long look from head to toes
"Wimpey Thinks Miss Harry looks like a Miss not a Master" the elf squeaked "and a pretty one" for some reason Harry felt his face heat up
"Wimpey, believe me I'm a boy, thank you for the clothes can you leave me so I can change?
"Yes, Yes Miss Harry Wimpey will be leaving now, if there is anything else that Miss Harry needs, Miss Harry can call Wimpey directly" The elf snapped her fingers and disappeared with a small crack.
"What's wrong with me that I always attract the crazy ones?" Harry whispered with a smirk on his face. He quickly put on the clothes that Wimpey had brought and found that they fit him rather well, if someone saw him like that they would think he was a rather girly boy. Harry wondered how had the elf know his measurements if even Harry himself didn't know them.
After his bath Harry wandered the halls of the deserted Hogwarts and ended up in the library so he decided to find something to read while he waited for Professor Dumbledore to take him to the Dursleys.
On one hand he was dreading the Dursleys' reaction to his predicament on the other if he was kind of happy because according to Dumbledore this would be the last summer he would have to spend in that wretched house. A small smile appeared on Harry's face, he was going to live where Sirius had been hiding since last year!.
He found a book that piqued his interest, it was novel titled 'The Lass of the Unfinished Waltz', he took it to one of the comfortable reading chair and sank himself on it and started reading, he was so focused on the story that when he finally was able to peel of his eyes from the book the sky had already become red tinted. He closed the book and left it in the place where he took it, committing to memory the title and the page he was, he really wanted to know how the story ended and whenever the main character was going to marry her childhood friend or end up with the arranged marriage her father had set up.
Harry shook his head and walked to the great hall, not knowing exactly how to contact Dumbledore when a silver phoenix appeared in front of him and
"Dungeons, Potions Classroom" said the Patronus with Professor Dumbledore voice before vanishing, Harry turned around and set out to the dungeons.
O—O—O—O—O
In the cold familiar classroom Harry sat in a stool his feet dangling, while professor Snape fiddled with a potion in a cauldron and pointedly avoided looking at him, Professor Dumbledore just looked amused while he sucked on a sherbet lemon. After a few moments Snape conjured a goblet and poured in it the potion and without looking at Harry gave it to Dumbledore with a sour look on his face then walked into another room and slammed shut the door behind him.
Professor Dumbledore looked at the door for a few seconds before turning back to Harry,
"You have to forgive Professor Snape he—"
"I understand sir, after I touched the Patronus I think I can understand him better" said Harry and saw Dumbledore smile widen "although I don't think much will change between us, sir" Dumbledore's smile deflated slightly, Dumbledore nodded
"What is in the potion sir?"
"Polyjuice potion" said Dumbledore simply, and Harry understood in that instant what was Dumbledore planning
"But it takes a month to brew!" Dumbledore raised his eyebrows
"This is a quite advanced potion Harry I'm impressed that you know such fact as it isn't taught until sixth year" Harry's checks pinked
"Err— I"
"I'm sure is a side effect of Miss Granger's friendship" Dumbledore said, his smile giving him away
"In away sir, yes" Harry grinned at Dumbledore and he chuckled
Dumbledore took a small bag from his robe which contained some strands of black hair, Harry raised his eyebrows looking at the old wizard questioningly
"Oh, this… there is an elf working for Hogwarts that is quite a fan of you, Dobby I think is his name" Harry shook his head letting an exasperated sigh
"I don't want to know sir, really" Dumbledore nodded and took a hair from the bag and dropped it into the goblet it quickly turned into a golden soupy liquid, Dumbledore offered the silver goblet to Harry and he took it in his hands and without waiting for Dumbledore to tell him he took a gulp from the liquid.
After nothing happening for ten minutes Dumbledore vanished the potion from the goblet, Harry was still very much female
"Sir?"
"Well, Harry, while I hoped we could dose you with Polyjuice potion while I searched for a more permanent solution it appears we have discovered something really interesting" Dumbledore took another hair from the bag and levitated it with his wand then a yellow light flew from his wand making it glow pink, Dumbledore stroked his bread and put away his wand
"Most Interesting…" He murmured "Most interesting indeed"
"What is interesting sir?" well these hairs where taken before your… change, and I can assure you that they are yours as I tested them, but with a simple charm I was able to ascertain these are indeed from a female" when Dumbledore saw Harry's confused face "this means that the hairs changed at the same time you changed even thought they had been already been separated from your body"
"What does this mean to me, sir?" Harry asked with a preoccupied tone
"Don't worry Harry, It means I'll need to find you a different temporal solution" Said Dumbledore as he took a book from one his shelves his eyes scanned the book but he quickly closed it and took another one he murmured something before closing the book and putting it back too.
He looked around and saw that the window and it was already night, Dumbledore sighed
"I think is time I took you home Harry" Harry nodded knowing that there was no other option, after word came out of Voldemort defeat something like what happened to the Longbottoms could happen again. Harry stood from his chair while Dumbledore walked to his side, and put his arm over Harry's slim shoulder
"Fawkes" The golden-red bird flew from his pedestal and circled above Dumbledore's head, he reached for the phoenix and they were engulfed in warm flames, the next moment they stood outside of number 4 privet drive
"It's better than apparition" said Harry nothing that he didn't felt queasy as when they had done side along apparition.
"It Is" Said Dumbledore as they walked towards Number Four's front door he knocked the door three times and waited Harry heard his aunt walking down the stairs before she opened the door
"You!" she hissed did the motion of closing the door but a wave of Dumbledore hand stopped her, she struggled futility trying to close the door for a moment.
"You are so kind to allow us into your house" said Dumbledore with a smile and a jovial tone as he walked inside the house followed by Harry while Aunt Petunia juts gaped at him, he sat in one of the comfortable sofas in the living room as if he owned the place and popped a sherbet lemon he procured from his robes, Harry sat beside the old man trying to look
"A word Petunia?" said Dumbledore softly but his words carried command that couldn't be ignored, Aunt petunia hesitated for a moment before sitting in the armchair in that was in front of them, and when she finally looked at Harry Her expression went from an exasperated frown to a surprised wide eyed one, Harry almost laughed out loud.
"L-Lily?" The quiver in his aunt voice, surprised Harry, there was more emotion in that lone word than in everything she had said to him in the fourteen or so years Harry had known the woman. Her eyes started to water and Harry started to feel really, really awkward
"No, I'm sorry, Petunia, This is Harry your nephew" said Dumbledore "He suffered a potion accident and unfortunately we are not sure when we will be able to turn him back to normal" Aunt Petunia looked hard at Harry for a moment then the frown returned
"And what I'm supposed to do, what will I tell the neighbors?" Dumbledore frowned at petunia which made her retreat a bit in her armchair
"What you'll tell your acquaintances Is not of my concern, I'm here to deliver Harry and update you on your current situation" Dumbledore cleared his throat "This summer will be Harry's last in this… house" said Dumbledore simply, Petunia shocked expression and wide eyes made Harry stifle a laugh.
"Bu- But the protection" she said imploringly
"Do not worry Petunia, he is gone and his followers are being captured as we speak, we just need time to set things in order for Harry to go live with his godfather as his parents intended" Aunt Petunia remained silent for a moment looking between Harry and Dumbledore every time her eyes landed on Harry her expression softened for an instant before frowning again.
"I- I understand" she said finally, Dumbledore stood and turned to Harry
"I will come to pick you up before the start of the term with at least a temporal solution" Harry nodded dumbly "Petunia." He nodded at his aunt, the tall old man left the house without another word. Both of them sat in an uncomfortable silence for a few minutes, when Harry stood to leave for his room his aunt looked at him with the same odd expression, he walked up the stairs past Dudley's room and into his own he removed his button up shirt and put and old loose t-shirt and a pair of old pajama bottoms that had stopped fitting him a few years ago but now fitted him almost fine. He fell into his bed and hadn't a chance to think about anything before falling asleep.
O—O—O—O—O
It had been a week since Harry had returned, and he hadn't left his room save for grabbing something to eat or going to the bathroom, most of his time was spent reading, writing to his friends or finishing his summer homework. The first day when Dudley realized Harry situation he started to tease him about it but, for some reason, aunt petunia put an end to that, Harry didn't know what his aunt had told Dudley or Uncle Vernon but both of them seemed to either avoid or ignore Harry to the best of their abilities, he also hadn't been asked to do any chore since his return, which suited Harry rather nicely.
The thing with having so much free time was that at the end of the first week he had already finished all his homework, written a dozen letters to his friends and read several books, he found himself bored out of his mind.
For that reason Harry, was looking for something to wear to go and take a walk, all of Dudley's hand-me-downs where too big for him when he was male but now they were so big for him it was ridiculous he finally was able to find a pair of old washed out jeans, and a dark t-shirt from that he had put away when they didn't fit any longer.
He walked out of his room, down the stairs and was about to turn the knob of the door when he heard his aunt shrill voice. Harry winced.
"Where do you think are you going looking like that?" Harry stopped before his fingers even touched the knob and turned to look at his aunt, who had her fists on her hips and a frown on her face, she closed the distance in a few long strides.
"Looking like what?" Said Harry, aunt Petunia fixated her narrowed eyes on Harry's chest area, Harry followed her line of sight, his face went warm when he realized they were poking through the fabric of the shirt
"You aren't wearing one, right?" Harry looked dumbly at his aunt trying to puzzle out what she was trying to say
"What?" He asked already knowing the answer to the question
"A bra—"
"Oh god!, no!, why I would wear something like that!" Aunt Petunia narrowed her eyes at Harry and walked away but before he could react she was back with her car keys, she grabbed Harry's wrist and dragged him towards the car parked in front of number four.
"What— Where are we going?" aunt petunia didn't look at Harry her eyes fixated towards the car, Harry could swear he saw a glimmer in her eyes
"Shopping." She said simply
O—O—O—O—O
"…Adam was ever so a gentleman yesterday, I think he may be the one" Katie giggled while she folded several blouses that some inconsiderate customer had made a mess of "He even paid for everything although I offered to pay for my part he insisted" she giggled again "I had a wonderful evening with him." She winked as if Chloe didn't know what that meant, slut.
"Well, I'm glad for you" Said Chloe "I hope this relationship last longer than the last, you are oh so unlucky with your boyfriends." they both laughed insincerely
"I Know" she sniffed as if trying to hold back fake tears "but—" the bell that announced a new customer ringed clear in the empty clothes shop
"Don't worry I'll take this one you can take the next" said Chloe as Katie made the motion to stand, she frowned at her but she was already on her way to intercept the new customer. A middle aged woman with a rather long neck and a face like a horse was accompanied by pretty, if badly dressed, girl with a nest of shoulder length, flyaway black hair and the most impressive green eyes Chloe had ever seen behind a pair of battered old round glassed held together by sellotape.
"Welcome to Windstone's, what can I help you today?" The girl looked at Chloe like a deer looking at the bad end of blunderbuss, while the woman sneered at her, Chloe instantly knew she was one of those customers.
"My niece…" Chloe knew It!, It was impossible for a woman like her to give birth to such a pretty girl "…Is visiting and the airport lost her luggage so we need one or two change of clothes including underwear" the girl winced, Chloe gave her a knowing smile, she knew how embarrassing could be for a girl to shop for these kind of thing at their ages and even more so with a relative.
"No problem Mrs. …" Chloe paused for a moment
"Dursley" She completed
"No problem Mrs. Dursley, I'm sure I can find something fitting for such a cute girl" for some reason the girl frowned at her with a cold stare, teenagers Chloe thought.
"Follow me Miss…" Chloe used again her favorite technique to get people to tell her their names
"Ha—" she stopped and looked at her aunt, they shared a significant look for a moment "Hanna" she said finally.
"Hanna what a nice name" The girl could have been named Helga or Boomquifa and Chloe would have said the same thing, Hanna followed her towards the teen section, and tried to make some conversation with her but she kept her answer shot and curt, even so it was easy for Chloe realize that Hanna had some insecurities about herself, which was strange because she was actually cute.
"So, what are you looking for? Hanna mumbled something under her breath "I'm sorry?" Hanna made a face as if she had swallowed something ratter bitter
"U-Underwear" her face went red as she fiddled with the hem of her shirt, Chloe remembered her friend Julius who would yell MOE! At a girl like her, nerd.
"Right! well which size do you need" the girl looked confused, poor thing was a nervous wreck "Don't worry" she said smiling reassuringly as she pulled out her measuring tape, they had already reached the teen underwear section, the girl kept her eyes cast downwards trying to avoid looking at anything
"Rise your hands!" Hanna did so "And stand straight!" Chloe warped the tape around her body at the places that she needed to know to do her job correctly. When Chloe murmured that Hanna was an A cup the girl expression became apprehensive, she probably has a complex about that she thought. The whole ordeal took less than five minutes, soon Chloe was suggesting different styles of under wear, but the girl refused everything, she was trying Chloe's patience which always had been in a short fuse.
"But why don't you like this one?" Said Chloe while holding a set of pink frilly brand name undergarments, Hanna avoided her eyes from the set.
"I- I Don't really like girly things" She said red-faced, that was it, Chloe went to gather another set, when she returned and showed it to her, Hanna looked at it for a long moment.
"These are called Boy-Shorts they have become quite popular lately with girls that play sports, and this is a sports bra, they give a really good support" the girl nodded slowly
"Right" she said her shoulders slumping and her gaze downcast.
"Come on try them out" she handed them to her and saw her slowly walk towards the changing room as if she was walking the last mile. Five minutes later Chloe asked the girl if she needed anything she accepted that she didn't know how to put one so she had to help her and show how to do it, for a moment Chloe thought that the girl maybe had never used one before but dismissed the idea. Finally the girl looked impressed.
"It— it really feels better." Said Hanna, looking at herself in the mirror, her face beet red.
"Right? Much better than normal ones!" Hanna looked at her with her bright green eyes and simply nodded, after that the rest of the purchases where easy, Chloe concluded that either Hanna wasn't out of that phase some girls went into or was a total tomboy. In the end she ended buying two sets of sports underwear, a pair of denim pants, socks, a pair of simple blue sneakers, and two patterned button up shirts.
On the checkup, when it was time to pay Mrs. Dursleys eye twitched when she heard the grand total, and paid reluctantly with a gold credit card, Hanna and Mrs. Dursley walked away with the young girl carrying the bags.
"Well that was one piece of a hard customer, and I didn't get a tip, what a bitch! But I liked Hanna she seems like a nice girl." Said Chloe while she walked towards Katie to annoy her some more.
O—O—O—O—O
After the shopping trip Harry avoided his aunt like the plague, he would always wake earlier then everyone, eat something quick for breakfast and go walk aimlessly around Little Whinging, he always ended up in in the park, so he started to always carry a muggle book with him to read. His favorite spot became an old pear tree that gave the best of shadow.
Thankfully Dudley evaded him even more so than before, and so did his gang, Harry guessed he didn't want anything to have with this kind of magic, well, neither did Harry to be honest.
Harry's eyes where closed yet he could feel the warm beams of sunlight on his skin, he was about to doze off with the book on his lap when he felt the sunlight being blocked, he opened his eye to find the indistinguishable form of Piers Polkiss in front of him. He stood there looking at Harry, his checks a little red and a stupid smile on his face.
"Hello, You are Dudley's cousin right?" he tried to give Harry a lopsided smirk, but only managed to make his face look more asymmetrical, Harry didn't really knew what to say, Piers had always been one the kids that tormented him so his instincts told to run.
"Yes, and you are?" Said Harry with his best poker face, as Harry was supposed to not know him. Harry regretted saying this the moment Piers plopped on the ground next to Harry, he rolled his eyes at him and stood up "Can I help you with something?" Said Harry coldly, Piers face went completely red, he stood up and quickly regained his composure.
"Your Name is Hanna Right? You are new in town right? Why do you let me show you the cool spots around?" he said and winked at him, Harry stomach gave a half jump backwards giving him nausea when he realized that Piers was hitting on him.
"Oh, you are Piers right?" He smiled broadly at Harry, he resisted the urge to hex him right there "My brother told me all about you" Piers looked stupidly at Harry and Harry glared back
"My name is Hanna Potter, Bye." and he turned around and walked towards number four privet drive he would need to find a better place to hang out.
O—O—O—O—O
"Aw, man! That was completely utterly pathetic" Crowed Malcom not doing a very god job hiding his laugh, Denis and Gordon where just pointing and making jeering sounds at the incoming red faced Piers, they had saw how the chick had rejected him from one of the tables in the park.
"Shut up!" Yelled Piers back, his voice almost breaking, this of course only made things worse. "That damn Potter! He rated us with his sister!" Piers shook his fist in the air menacingly Denis and Gordon where on the ground laughing so hard they were grasping for air. Piers just gave them a silent cold stare.
"Bu-But who would have thought that Potter had such a cute sister."
"Fuck that bitch— Next time I see her I Will—" said piers not noticing their friends had gone completely silent and wide eyed
"You will what, Piers?" Said Dudley, making Piers wince
"I- I Will—"
"Didn't I tell you not to get close to her?" Said Dudley frowning and crossing his arm "Believe you don't want anything to do with her"
"Oi, Piers here fancies her, poor boy just got rejected" said Malcom with an evil grin, Piers threw him a glare back.
"Come on, Big D" Said Piers with a shaky voice "I couldn't resist, she is too cute!" Dudley started cracking his knuckles and walking towards piers who gave several steps back until his back was against a tree.
"I think I'll need to teach you not to disobey me, Piers. I'm Sorry mate is for your own good"
O—O—O—O—O
The rest of the summer passed without much incidents, Piers didn't try to approach him again, so he could kept going to the park to read to avoid her aunt and uncle, sometimes one the boys or girls that hanged around the park would try to talk to Harry but as soon as they learned that he was Harry's sister they avoided him, Harry really didn't care much about that.
It was two days before the start of the term when the silver phoenix appeared in his room.
"Meet me in the garden" Said Dumbledore voice coming from the Patronus, Harry almost jumped from his bed throwing the book he had been reading aside, opened the door of his room ran down the stairs almost tripping, opened the front door and slammed it behind himself before his aunt could yell at him for creating such a racket.
Outside in the garden Professor Dumbledore stood in the middle of the front yard he was wearing a purple robe stamped with stars that twinkled, Harry considered for a moment if he had chosen his most showy robe just to spite his aunt.
"Professor!" Harry said
"Harry" Dumbledore smiled at Harry "How was your summer" Harry grimaced "so bad?" Dumbledore chuckled and offered Harry his hand
"Sir, what about my Trunk, Hedwig and my other stuff" he said giving a look at the window of his room
"I'll send a house elf for them." Harry took Dumbledore's hand, he was able to give one last glance to number four before he felt the darkness press all around him.
O—O—O—O—O
For Ron, the last few months had been one of the oddest rollercoaster in his life, first he finally had accepted that he fancied Hermione, after he saw her during the Yule Ball. It wasn't as if Ron was being superficial and just because she had prettied up for that particular event, it was more the fact that he could've lost her for that bloke Victor Krum that gave him a wakeup call.
During the summer he thought back and realized that he had liked her as far back as the troll incident, he had been just too stupid to realize it himself.
Then, Cedric died at the end of the Tri-Wizard Tournament, and Harry saw how You-know-who return to his full power, the future looked bleak. But then something most unlikely happened.
About a month ago, Aurors and Order members raided Malfoy manor and somehow defeated You-Know-Who, the details had been kept under wraps but the prophet had been full of articles on the subject. He-Who-Must-Be-Not-Named was dead and would be not coming back, ever, this had been confirmed by Dumbledore himself.
They even appended Mr. Malfoy and with the overwhelming evidence and was currently waiting for his trial in Azkaban, Ron couldn't resist to grin at that. They also caught Peter Pettigrew so Sirius Black was waiting for his trial too, the Prophet had run wildly with that story telling how the Minister had been incompetent.
And then a few days ago, Professor Dumbledore had asked if Harry could stay at the burrow the last few days of summer after buying their school supplies. He even received a letter from Harry himself saying that he wouldn't need to stay with the Dursleys anymore.
I had been truly a few hectic months.
The Burrow's fireplace roared with green flames, the familiar form of Ron's best mate came spinning and ended in a sprawl in the wooden floor of the living room, Ron offered a hand to Harry who helped himself straight.
"Thanks Mate" he said, there was something off with Harry, but Ron wasn't sure exactly what. "Long time no see" he grinned as he looked around, Harry started to pull on his trunk barely moving it
"Let me help you." Said Ron, they both easily moved the trunk to his room "Mum said you could stay in my room." Ron helped Harry set his trunk at the feet of his bed, Ron noted Harry noted Harry forehead was wet with sweat. "How was your summer?" Harry grimaced at Ron but kept quiet
"That bad?" Said Ron as he sank into his Bed "Did they muggles gave you a hard time?"
"Worse" Harry looked into a spot in the in the ceiling while laying down on the other bed, Ron was about to ask what he meant by that. "I'll tell you latter… maybe" Ron frowned but didn't push the subject. They spent the next few hours talking about the happenings of the summer. Harry was excited and happy that Sirius was getting his trial. He hadn't know about Mr. Malfoy predicament. They both wondered if Malfoy would go to school this term. Hopefully no.
Half way thought their game of chess around noon, the twins bragged in making a mess and being their usual selves. They seemed oddly fond of Harry for some reason. Harry latter explained that he had given them the gold of the tri-wizard tournament so they could start their own business. Ron hoped his mum didn't hear about that.
Latter Ginny came to say hi to Harry, Ron may have been stupid to realize his own feelings for Hermione but he wasn't that stupid to not see that Ginny still had a thing for Harry. Ron didn't know how he would feel if Harry did reciprocate her feelings, In one hand he wanted his sister to be happy on the other hand Harry was his mate it would be kind of weird. He was sure there was some unwritten rule about dating your mate little sister.
The next day they woke up, Ron and Harry with the twins went to play a friendly game of Quidditch after breakfast, Ron saw her sister look sourly at them before going back inside, slamming the door behind her. By the time they were completely tired, dirty and sweaty the sun was high in the sky. The twins retreated to their room saying something about research, Harry decided to take a bath while Ron dozed off in front of the fireplace while his mum prepared dinner.
Ron woke up some time later, feeling well rested. He suspected he had overslept so he decided to take bath too, by this time surely Harry had already finished his. Ron walked up the stairs feeling a bit wobbly, he grasped the cold brass knob of the bathroom and turned it pushing the door open.
"Damn it Ginny!" Yelled Ron slamming the door shut an instant later, his ears red and his freckles more noticeable than before "Keep the bloody door shut…" Ron trailed, since when did Ginny have black hair?
"Who are you!" he yelled at the door
"Wait! I can explain" said the girl's trembling voice muted by the door "It's… It's me!"
"Me?" Ron said dumbly "Are you…"
"Harry I'm Harry" There was a long silence for a moment
"Yeah, right…"
"Damn it Ron can you wait until I get dressed I'll explain everything just go to your bloody room!" Ron was still at the door when the black haired girl got out she was wearing one of Harry's old baggy jeans and an hold white t-shirt, Ron blushed a bit when he could see the black fabric under it, it was clearly something muggle made, The girl had Harry's green eyes and his peculiar lightning bolt scar, Ron couldn't help it but stare at it.
"Your. Room. Now." She followed Ron back to his room, then closed the door with a click. Ron sat in his bed while the girl sat on Harry's facing him
"Dammit" she said "Dammit, dammit, dammit!" Her fist punched one of the pillows each time she said dammit "Look," He calmed herself taking a deep breath "I Know this will sound ridiculous but it's really me, Harry"
Ron remained silent for a moment trying to puzzle out what exactly was happening. The facts where that, some girl had been taking a shower in the burrow's shower, the same girl now was claiming to be his best mate. Why would a girl claim that? For what propose? Was it a prank from the twins… while a possibility they were more in your face tactics that messing with your mind.
Ron gave her a long look her hair was just like Harry's pitch black and messy, she was using the same round, battered glasses Hermione had repaired all these times, her eyes where the exact same color as Harry's and she also had the scar, although it wasn't vivid red as it usually was. Apart from that the girl didn't look a lot like Harry her face seemed familiar to Ron but he didn't know from where until it hit him.
"You look like your mum, but with your dad's hair" the girl… Harry grimaced "But— how?"
Harry explained what really had happened the summer, how he had decided to die to destroy Voldemort, Ron's ears went red with anger at that but kept quiet while she told the story. He explained how after the ritual worked instead of dying he woke up with his body turned female.
He also explained how Ron hadn't realized earlier.
Harry showed him an iron necklace, the design was simple and it didn't have any gems, if he was asked he would say it was rather ugly. But according to her the important thing was the spells Dumbledore had casted in it, it was something similar to a muggle repelling charm but instead of, well, repelling muggles it made anyone looking at the person wearing it think that the she or he was actually the opposite sex.
Harry put on the necklace but Ron still saw the same girl in front of him, apparently if you were told about it the necklace became useless with you, most inconvenient.
"So, do you believe me?" Said Harry
Ron considered it for a long moment, Harry fidgeted locking her eyes with Ron swallowed hard, it was almost unbelievable but looking at it from another perspective it was one of these things that happened to Harry.
"Y-Yeah, I guess" Harry gave Ron the brightest smile and Ron felt his face go red
"Ok, Mate let's keep this a secret between the two of us, right" Ron nodded
"Right" Answered Ron
Chapter 2 END
Author Notes: Holy shit this the longest chapter I've ever written, Originally I wanted to write 2K words but decided to try something different and write a 10K chapter, ended up with 9K as it seemed a good place to stop the story, I think I'll try to aim for around 10K per chapter
Next chapter, we meet Hermione at 9 ¾, Draco in the Hogwarts express and I think we'll have something of Snape. Please review, also I'm working on fixing the prologue as it has several typos/grammatical errors