Author's Note: This chapter wasn't easy to write, even though I knew I was going to have to write it when I started this story. It's probably also the last time I ever will write its like. Of course, this summer isn't just changing Harry and Ginny, by giving them the treatment they need. You may notice in this chapter just how much the right word getting to the right person can change things.

I'd like to thank Jim Trig for his help with this chapter.

This Chapter has been updated on 7/30/18


Chapter Eight Rainy Days and Mondays

It was a rainy Monday morning, so Ginny Weasley felt perfectly okay having slept in a bit. If she'd been at home, she wouldn't have been able to. Her mother didn't believe in letting her daughter sleep in unless she was sick. So Ginny was enjoying not just the ability to sleep in, but the admonishment to do so. And mornings like this one were perfect for it, with the rain hitting her bedroom window.

Ginny snuggled up with her stuffed kangaroo under a warm, but not too warm, blanket. It was so nice just to lay in bed, letting her mind drift, dozing in and out of mid-morning dreams. Spinner's End was for once rather quiet, though some beeping from the warehouse behind the houses had briefly interrupted her dreams this morning. Another interruption, unintended, she was sure, suddenly came from the room next door with a low moan, accompanied by the sound of bedsprings being sat on suddenly.

The sound was enough for Ginny to get up and tip toe through the open doorways. Ginny Weasley had heard the particular note of moaning before. She didn't expect to hear it from the boy next door. Not that Harry really was the boy next door any more. She peeked through the door. Harry was sitting on the bed, with his head between his legs. "Not feeling good, Harry?"

"That would be an understatement," Harry said, sitting up. "I mean, I felt a little bad last night, but this morning ... I feel so bloated, faint, and after what you said last night, I'm a bit afraid to look down there."

With the way Harry's night shirt crossed his legs, Ginny didn't have to lift any thing. "Hot shower, fresh panties, and pad," she ordered. "I'll get the hot water bottle, and we'll play chess until you feel better."

"Okay," Harry said, wobbling a bit as she stood. "Maybe it will make me feel less of a mess."

"Oh it will, Harry," Ginny said. "And I'm sure that you know exactly who to blame for your current condition."

Every step that Harry made towards the bathroom and her hot shower was punctuated by a syllable of the man she blamed. "Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore."

Ginny hoped that the Headmaster didn't stop by any time in the next three or four days. The resulting 'accidental' magic could be fatal, and if it wasn't, it would definitely be creative. Ginny put out fresh, comfortable clothes for Harry, and retrieved a bunch of extra pillows from the linen closet.

With the soft summer rain predicted to last all day, it was time to relax and enjoy indoors for a while. Ginny planned to finish more of that Shakespeare book that had been left in her room, and perhaps try her hand at baking a few biscuits. She was sure that they'd be appreciated, as long as she didn't burn them.


Professor Severus Snape was used to Harry Potter waking up before him. Ever since Harry and Ginny had moved in, it had been a constant. Since their arrival, Harry had been there, bright eyed, standing at the stove. Severus had insisted that Harry could sleep in, but thus far he had not, until today at least.

Severus was sitting at the kitchen table, taking in that nectar of the gods known as coffee. The Daily Prophet was open to the Sports page. It appeared that one of his Slytherins from a couple years back was the new starting seeker for the Arrows. He had told Flint that Letty Bracegirdle was much better than Higgs, but Flint didn't want the girl on the team. Though Severus had to admit that Higgs hadn't been that bad, even if he'd lost the snitch to Potter. Of course, Higgs was currently Bracegirdle's backup on the Arrows, and that said everything about Flint's choices.

There was a good chance that Flint wouldn't get the captain's badge this year ... if he could find someone else to replace him. Really, the idea that Draco had anywhere near the raw talent of Harry, it was laughable, actually. Draco wasn't a seeker, he was a stalker.

"Excuse me, Professor," Ginny Weasley interrupted his musing.

"Yes, Ginny?" Severus said. The girl had been getting better sleep, lately, but she wasn't a morning person. He looked at the clock. Nine-thirty?

"Where did you put the hot water bottle?" Ginny asked.

"On the right hand side, first shelf, in the cabinet above the toilet," Severus replied, a bit puzzled why she'd be asking again, a week after the last time.

Ginny replied quickly, "Thanks. I think Harry's going to need it today. Oh, I think Harry's going to need to talk to Mum."

Severus nodded. He swiftly decided that he needed to get some woman that Harry might trust, because there was no way he was going to be talking to a young girl about that, again. And if he ended up doing it, he was going to strangle the Headmaster. That wasn't an option. Unfortunately, neither was Molly Weasley, at the moment. Not with Draco due to come over this afternoon — he hoped that Draco would survive the visit, as it seemed that fresh oil had been added to the frying pan.

Severus mentally went through the possibilities. Petunia was out, even with the recent reconciliation. He needed someone that Harry knew and trusted. There really was only one choice, Severus figured, with a pair of Gryffindors under his roof. Hopefully she would be at home, not Hogwarts, as Spinner's End wasn't on the floo.

Severus put down the paper. He didn't think he could put this off. He headed over to the phone in the entry way, sitting down in the newly placed chair, before dialing a number that had become quite familiar. It took several rings before she answered, but it always did.

"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Deputy Headmistress speaking," Minerva McGonagall answered.

"You know, Minerva, you've got to get away from the school more," Severus said. "Either that, or you and Flitwick are going to have to find a way to connect the phone to Hogwarts."

"If the Governors approved, it would be installed tomorrow, all the way down to your office," Minerva replied. "And you know I only put in the line in my house to talk to the new muggleborn parents, after you complained about everyone giving out your number. What brings you to call me this summer?"

"Has the Headmaster informed you of his mad plan for taking care of Potter this summer?" Severus asked. "And perhaps the not quite as audacious plan for Miss Weasley?"

"Aside from the fact that Miss Weasley is getting treatment from a mind healer at Hogwarts' expense, no."

"Apparently the best there is lives here on Spinner's End," Severus said, leaning back in the chair. "I am hosting both Harry and Ginny this summer while Doctor Chalice works with them both. Of course, therein lies the problem."

"I imagine it does," Minerva replied dryly.

"Probably not in the way that you think," Severus said, already imagining his colleague's reaction to what he was about to reveal. There was no way the stern Deputy Headmistress was not going to react badly to Dumbledore's little potion. "In order to hide Harry, Dumbledore commissioned a suppression potion. You might remember when a short term version was used on Mister Black when he stood up Marianne Montague?"

"You mean you are hosting Miss Harry Potter, who I suppose is the spitting image of his mother at the moment?" Minerva said in a surprisingly jovial tone.

"Yes," Severus said dryly.

"Oh Severus, I take it that your regrets and treatment of Harry have come home to roost then?"

"In spades. However, I need you for one of the side effects. It seems that Harry is suffering from that time of the month, and I do not have a prefect to pass the comforting off onto, this time."

"I shall be there."


Today was a day that Harry couldn't refer to herself as himself. Not with what Ginny had called the curse. The reminder of being a girl at the moment was too great. As if the breasts and longer red hair didn't do that enough. The hair wasn't that bad, but the other red stuff leaking from somewhere that Harry wasn't supposed to have was too much.

Harry found herself sitting up against an impressive pile of pillows at the end of her bed, with a hot water bottle carefully positioned on her lower body. The rain was tapping against her window, and she was quite tempted to slide back under the covers and go to sleep. Sleeping through most of her first period sounded like a very good idea. Unfortunately, Hermione had been bugging her about her homework. So she was taking notes on a clip board as she read back through her transfiguration book. There were several slips of paper marking certain passages that she was sure she'd need in her essay on practical uses of transfiguration in daily life.

If she'd still been on Privet Drive, she would have been really tempted to use a few spells. Being on Spinner's End, however, that was not a temptation ... most of the time. Those whistling, groping boys who congregated at the end of the block were tempting her.

Harry reached over for the glass of hot chocolate that she'd placed just in reach. Ginny had said that days like today were something she enjoyed, after she'd handled the discomfort. Her mother always provided her with plenty of hot chocolate and biscuits. She called it a sick day. Harry had always had to work through any sickness she had, at least until she got to Hogwarts. Once she'd been told that she had to go to the Hospital Wing when she felt sick, she found being sick was a lot better. In the Hospital Wing of Hogwarts, you didn't get hot chocolate and fresh biscuits, though. Ginny's biscuits were good.

Harry took another sip and put back the cup. She'd moved to the bottom of the bed because the light was better, and she could hear the beat of the rain drops. It was a pleasant backdrop to her studying. Harry had never really enjoyed music while studying. The tapping of the rain, the rumble of distant thunder, that she felt was the perfect background.

She'd spent the first half of the morning playing chess with Ginny, who apparently was actually a better player than Ron. Unfortunately, Harry wasn't even in Ron's league, really. So eventually they'd split. Ginny was now in her own room reading Shakespearean tragedies.

Harry had gone down to ask the Professor for any Transfiguration books he might have to help work on the essay. The Professor had pulled out a few, including a copy of his own second year Transfiguration text, which had some side notes from Harry's mother. She was going to be reading through that one, very carefully.

There was a knock on her open door, and Harry looked up to discover that her head of house had apparently come to visit. Though she had never seen Professor McGonagall dressed quite the same. She still had her hair in a bun, but instead of the rather formal outfits that Harry was used to seeing her Head of House wearing, she was wearing a black sweatshirt with the word "Blackpool" printed in gold on the front.

"Professor McGonagall, I didn't expect to see you until I was back at Hogwarts," Harry said.

"I imagine that you'll see many of us from Hogwarts this summer," McGonagall said, taking a seat at the other end of the bed. "Though I suspect most of us will not realize who you are, given your changes."

"Oh yes," Harry said darkly. "The Headmaster has a lot to answer for."

"He certainly does, and I'm afraid not just for your current monthly curse," McGonagall said.

"You mean that since I'm taking the boosters every six days possibly until the end of August, I'm going to have to experience this again?" Harry growled. "Dumbledore is dead."

"I shall take suitable revenge on your behalf," McGonagall said. "I'm afraid that Albus has forgotten how well a Lioness protects her cubs ... and the fact that neither your father's friends nor the Weasley twins have bested my efforts."

Harry didn't know what to respond to first. She was going to stand up for her. She had been a prankster like the Weasley twins, and apparently Harry's father. She had known Harry's father. It hadn't occurred to Harry that the teachers might have taught her parents.

"My father was a prankster?" Harry asked, putting her current book aside.

"Oh most certainly," McGonagall smiled, conjuring a pillow so she could lean up against the head board. "James Potter, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, and Sirius Black were the pranksters of their generation in Gryffindor, though I would have to say that Severus was a worthy rival in the business, all his own, in Slytherin."

"Professor Snape played pranks?" Harry replied incredulously.

"Yes, and I prefer him to take points over pranking," McGonagall replied. "And just because he's a professor, does not mean he is beyond pranks. He's just narrowed his targets and teaching has reduced his opportunities. He usually prefers potion based pranks, though he's no slouch when it comes to transfiguration. I see you're working on your transfiguration summer assignment. Do you have any questions."

"Just collecting all the information on it at the moment, Professor," Harry said. "I intend to make an outstanding on it." Then he took a deep breath, and marshaled his courage. Professor Snape had obviously arranged for her to come so he'd have a trusted woman to ask questions about his now female body. "Actually, Professor McGonagall, I've got a few questions, but not about Transfiguration."

"Girl questions?" McGonagall asked.

Harry nodded, her face seeming to burn with embarrassment. She was sure that it was as red as her new longer hair

"Ask."


Albus Dumbledore had a terrific headache. Troubles at Hogwarts were supposed to go down during the summer. Of course, there was the usual fun of finding yet another Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor. At least, for once, he could say that the students who had left Hogwarts a few weeks ago were well taken care of. Harry and Ginny were getting care, and with the help of Filius, he was sure that the other abused students like Harry were not in the same situation anymore.

At the moment he was going through the points and detention log, something that he often thought he should do more during the year. He was usually too busy to give it more than a cursory scan. Now, after discovering some disturbing trends when going through the list of possible abused students that Madam Pomfrey had produced for him, he was going though it student by student, professor by professor. There were going to be some changes next year, he promised himself. At the very least, someone was going to be doing what he was doing now at least monthly, if not weekly, even if he had to hire someone just to do it.

There was a knock on his door. "Come in," Albus said. The door opened to reveal the eldest Weasley boy, a former Head Boy. It was not often that such visited, but Bill Weasley was not yet ten years out of Hogwarts, and as such was on a short list that Dumbledore went to for feedback. "Mister Weasley, what brings you to Hogwarts." He indicated that Bill should take a seat before his desk.

"My sister and the horcrux that possessed her," Bill said, taking a seat. "You've got a real problem, Headmaster."

"Where did you hear about horcruxes?" Dumbledore asked, troubled that Bill would even know about the subject.

"I'm a curse breaker in Egypt, now, sir. They're practically littered on the ground when you go tomb raiding there," Bill said, seriously. "I didn't think I'd hear about one in England, but if there was anyone who would try that, it would be You-Know-Who. When Ron told me what Harry told him about his rescue of my little sister, I got really worried that it might not be the only one. I was right."

"What do you mean?" Dumbledore said. He would have preferred if the knowledge of horcruxes had passed from the earth, but he supposed that some professions like curse breakers would have to at least know how to destroy them.

"I told my boss at Gringotts that You-Know-Who had made at least one horcrux," Bill said. "Gringotts doesn't allow such things to be stored in their vaults, so he ordered a search of all incarcerated Death Eaters vaults and those of their families. This morning they found one in Bellatrix LeStrange's vault. It's been destroyed, but my boss says that there are more out there, possibly as many as five, but at least two."

"I see," Dumbledore said. "I wished those accursed containers had not washed upon England's shores, but it seems that evil lurks once again in England."

Bill nodded. "Sir, might You-Know-Who have left one at Hogwarts? It's always been said that Hogwarts is the only place near as safe as Gringotts. Dark Lords like to put them in safe places that they know of. Any Hogwarts alumni would consider it safe, and if what Ron said was true, You-Know-Who was a predecessor of mine as Head Boy."

"Yes, Tom Marvolo Riddle, Slytherin, from 1944-1945. Never in my time at Hogwarts have I seen a student go so wrong, and I have seen quite a few students pass through these halls."

"I'm sure you have, sir. Is it true that he has cursed the Defense Against the Dark Arts post?"

"I am almost certain of it. I have not kept a single professor in that post since the day that he interviewed to replace Professor Merrythought."

"Gringotts has assigned me to track down any more of You-Know-Who's horcruxes," Bill said. "Maybe while I look to see if he left any behind at Hogwarts, with your permission, I can see what signs there are of the Defense curse."

Dumbledore considered it for a moment. He really didn't like when students were exposed to dark magic, and as a Professor, he still saw most of his former students as they were when he first encountered them, waiting to be sorted. He looked up at Bill, noticing his fang earring and long hair, remembering once when he'd considered the same. The boy had grown up, perhaps not as much as some, but Dumbledore could not do everything, and William Weasley was a good boy, trained in just what was needed. "Agreed."