CHAPTER 1
A/N: JKR has revealed herself to be a massive transphobe, but for me (and many others) the Harry Potter world has always been a place of escapism and even greater inclusion, so I would like to believe that there is a place for trans characters in the Wizarding World regardless of any bigotry that JKR spouts.
Disclaimer: I am not an AMAB trans woman, so I may have made mistakes or portrayed things unfaithfully, for which I apologise.
It is not my intention to cause any offense, so do let me know if there is anything particularly problematic.
CW - although I have tried to limit it, there may be things you find to be transphobic, such as, or along with, instances of misgendering and deadnaming
Friday 31st August 2018:
It was the end of an August which had scorched its way across the country, shrouding it in a balmy and oppressive cloak of heat. As the sun slipped beneath the horizon, a gentle breeze sprung up and flowed through the open windows of the Potter household. It ruffled Harry's hair as he sank onto the large, squashy sofa next to his wife, who vainly tried to flatten it and grinned wryly as she failed - as she had every time in the past 20 years. The kids were in bed and it was finally time to relax.
Harry was just reaching over to turn on the Wizarding Wireless Network when a tentative knock on the door disrupted the evening still.
"Who is it?" he asked, settling back on the sofa and abandoning all hopes of catching Lee Jordan's Late Night Natterings.
"Me" came the reply, as their second child's head came into view, hair mussed with sleep - or lack thereof. Harry turned to face Al properly, who chose to remain lurking nervously in the door, as if ready to make a hasty escape. "I... uh, wanted to tell you something. Something that's really important, about who I really am. I'm telling you 'cause I know you love me and I want to believe you'll support me in this, even though it's gonna be a shock"
Here Al paused and took in a shaky breath before continuing.
"Mum, Dad, I'm trans."
Before either of them could react, Al carried on "Transgender, I mean. I'm a girl, not a boy, and I wanted to finally get it out and tell you before I go back to school - so I can live as the me I really am. I know it'll take some getting used to that I'm your daughter, not your son, but I'm the same person I've always been, you just know a bit more about me now. And, well, I guess James is outnumbered properly now." Here Al tried for a weak smile. Harry, though his mind was reeling, tried to echo it and smile back although he felt numb.
"Thank you for telling us" Ginny said warmly, anticipating that this would be a long conversation and beckoning for their child to join them on the sofa.
"Yeah, that must've taken a lot of bravery to open up like that... We appreciate it" added Harry, sensing how Al needed affirmation from both parents, although his mind was still whirling - was Al even the right name for their child anymore?
"Are you still Al?" he asked, then winced at the clumsy phrasing and tried again. "I mean, Albus isn't a girls' name, is it? Should we call you a different name or something?"
"Well, yes, but I'm not really sure what - I haven't really decided. I thought that, maybe Gwen was a good idea - but not for a first name. I like it as a middle name though - and it's even similar to Albus, because they both mean 'white', and I don't want to reject everything you named me for or anything, so Gwen. It's also Welsh, like the Harpies, Mum, and well, it's short for Guinevere, which is where Ginevra comes from too, so it's like how your middle name is James, Dad. I mean, I like it..." Their so-daughter's (that was going to take some getting used to, Harry realised) voice trailed off here, and she looked at both of them anxiously.
"That sounds lovely, I can see how much thought you've put into it" reassured Ginny and their daughter relaxed slightly. "If your dad and I had ever had another daughter, we always thought we'd name her Ruby - for Hagrid - or Jasmine - to continue the floral theme. I'm not saying that you need to blindly follow our wishes or anything - Merlin, you're twelve now and James hasn't done that since he was about five, if that - but give those a think maybe?"
There was a pause as their daughter considered things.
"I like Ruby" she said eventually in a small voice, and then, trying it out, slowly enunciated "Ruby Gwen Potter". She smiled shyly "I like that a lot".
Ginny squeezed her hand gently. "Right then Ruby Gwen Potter, do you want me to owl Professor McGonagall to tell her about this so she can made accommodations for Hogwarts, or are you still keeping this quiet outside the family for now? There's no rush if you don't feel ready-"
"No, I want them to know, so I can live as a girl at Hogwarts. I think I've delayed it all long enough, and I'd rather get it all over and done with now, I think, so that people can get used to me being Ruby sooner rather than later. We can keep it quiet from all the journalists though, can't we?"
"Bloody maniacs the lot of them" agreed Harry, contributing more easily now they were back onto familiar territory. "We'll do what we can to keep things quiet for as long as possible - you're a child still so I can probably get away with threatening them via the Aurors if they get wind of anything, without too many eyebrows being raised."
"Thanks, Dad"
Just then, Harry heard a creak on the stairs. From fourteen years' of experience of his children's antics, he was confident when he called out, "James, I know you're there, you might as well come down"
His son burst into the room and had the decency to adopt a slightly bashful expression before explaining "I was just making sure you weren't gonna come out with anything dodgy. I was gonnna yell at you if you did" He looked thoughtful for a second, "or maybe punch you, don't wanna wake up Lil"
Ginny playfully swatted his head. She began to speak just as the cuckoo clock loudly announced 11 o'clock, drowning her out. Eyes widening, she changed tack. "Bed, both of you. Ruby, thanks again for telling us, we're very proud. We've got a lot to discuss, but we can do it tomorrow morning before we go to Diagon Alley to pick up school things."
"Good night" Harry said, which was duly echoed by his children as they began to troop upstairs.
He waited until he heard the click of two bedroom doors closing. and then turned to Ginny. "I reckon you handled that well, love. I still dunno what everything means - hell I have no idea where to go from here, trans stuff wasn't exactly covered by the Dursleys."
"Or at Hogwarts" pointed out Ginny. "It's the sort of thing that's kept under wraps by most families in the magical world too, s'pecially when you can get hold of the right potions and spells without too much hassle. Maybe that stigma's the sort of thing this generation will change, Morgana knows our one's still too caught up on blood purity. But yeah, thankfully Mum had all sorts of books she gave us - mostly after she realised Charlie was never gonna be interested in girls. You can always grab a few in Flourish and Blott's tomorrow"
"Right yeah, good plan" Harry nodded. He still hadn't quite come to terms with it all - repeating 'Ruby, she, daughter' in his head until he was sure it had stuck - but he had promised that he'd always accept his kids, and if reading half the books in Flourish and Blotts was what it took to understand what was going on, he'd better get on with it.
"Merlin's pants, we'll have to get Ruby a whole new wardrobe too." Ginny realised, and then chuckled as she added "Trust our kids to leave things til the last possible minute, Madam Malkins and Gladrags are both gonna be heaving tomorrow."
"Does that mean you're volunteering to brave those hell-holes?"
"The mighty Head Auror, cowed by clothes shopping?"
"It's my wolfsbane" Harry agreed, and then, as he thought things through , said "The mighty Head Auror is also realising that if you're taking Ruby shopping, he has the unenviable task of keeping James out of mischief for the whole afternoon and may have to resort to ice cream bribery"
"Ice cream at Fortescue's sounds like an excellent idea all round, we can meet there when we're done"
"It's a plan" said Harry, and they both lapsed into a peaceful silence, marred only by a yawn or two.
"I just, wow. That wasn't how I expected this evening to go" said Harry eventually, the shock from earlier still present
"We've got another daughter, that's going to take some getting used to." Ginny acknowledged.
"Yeah. I think bed will do me some good" Harry said, groaning slightly as he got up.
"Bed it is"
Ginny wandered over to the window and closed it, the breeze long having evaporated as the night settled, still and cool. She paused at the window and Harry joined her, staring up at the blanket of gently twinkling stars, as Ginny finally drew the curtains and they traipsed up to bed
If they had looked right up above their heads, they might have noticed Ruby doing the same, grinning up at the sky as she let herself feel a sense of hope for the future.