Author's Notes: Chapter 3 starts right after the last chapter.

Harry Potter belongs the JK Rowling, along with all characters, places, and so on and so forth.

Chapter 3

The next morning started the same as the day before. Harry slipped down to breakfast and back to the dormitory unseen by Hermione, but today he had a new idea. When he had put away the uniform again last night, he had seen the Marauder's map and it dawned on him he could leave the dormitory and go down to the common room safely, because he could see where Hermione was and if the coast was clear. With that in mind he went through the process of getting dressed again, and checked the map. Scanning his eyes across the parchment, he located the little dot that read "Hermione Granger" at the same table in the library as yesterday. His heart pounding in his chest even though his was the only dot in Gryffindor Tower, Harry opened the door and slowly made his way downstairs. He had decided to wear his uniform shoes, even though they didn't go with the girl's uniform, to keep his feet warm. His footsteps sounded louder than usual in his ears and he was sure someone would hear him and come investigate.

Despite his internal fears the common room was as empty as the map showed, all the chairs empty and a fire going in the grate. Checking the map again to make sure that Hermione hadn't moved, he stood rooted to the spot, unsure what to do next. He went over to the fire and stood there letting it warm him after the cold of the stairs, and felt the warm draft under his skirt. Looking around he found a copy of Witch Weekly left abandoned next to an armchair and picked it up. Flipping through it he saw articles titled "10 ways to charm you man" or "Love Potions for the Lonely". Harry had never taken any time to read what he and Ron thought was girly nonsense, but now all of a sudden, he was interested. Sitting down in an armchair he started reading a page with a very stylized picture of a fairy on it that was about a charm for making sure your make up stay perfect all night long.

Without realizing it Harry spent over an hour reading the magazine, taking it all in. Much of it was, to him, pointless nonsense, but still, he couldn't stop from reading it. Looking at the clock he was shocked to see how long he'd been reading and quickly scanned the map again, angry with himself for forgetting to keep an eye on it. She hadn't moved thankfully, and he breathed a lot easier. He looked at the magazine cover, and decided that he was going to keep it. He wondered if there were any other issues lying around and started searching. After a quarter of an hour, he had turned up two more, one of them the same edition he already had. He also found a girl's bracelet under a table, and a compact mirror. All of these items he set by the boy's stairs. Checking the map again he started to wonder what else to do. His eyes drifted across the room, and eventually landed on the stairs to the girl's dorms.

An idea growing in his mind, he carefully crossed the room, not quite believing he was doing this, and started climbing. He was on the third step when it happened. A loud klaxon went off and the steps magically transformed into a slide. Slipping he went feet first on his back down the slide and landed in a heap at the bottom, his skirt showing off his lower regions to the empty common room. Terrified he grabbed the map, his girly loot, and bolted back to his dormitory, worrying that the alarm would have Hermione, or worse Professor McGonagall, heading this way to investigate. When enough time had passed for Harry to be sure that no one was on their way to the tower he cautiously went back downstairs, and continued looking around for any more treasures.
Soon it was lunch time and, not wanting to run into Hermione again and be dragged to the library, Harry checked the map to wait for her to be gone before heading to the Great Hall. Eating quickly he used one of his shortcuts to get back upstairs unseen and got changed again. By this point he felt pretty good getting dressed in the girl's clothes, and before long he was laying on his bed reading the same copy of Witch Weekly again. Somehow it seemed more interesting this time through.

Once more enthralled in an article about the Weird Sister's drummer, he completely forgot to pay attention to the Marauder's map, which was sitting across the way on Ron's bed. If Harry had been checking it every so often, he'd have noticed that Hermione had left the library and was heading for Gryffindor Tower. He'd have seen her dot enter the common room and, after looking around for a moment, climb the boy's stairs to the dorms. Instead, he was completely engrossed in the magazine when the door opened and Hermione walked in, stopping dead when she saw what he was wearing.

When the handle of the door turned Harry sat bold upright, panic rising in his chest and any rational thought flying from his head. He bolted off the bed as the door opened, throwing the magazine in his wake, and fled to what he considered the safety of the bathroom. Slamming and bolting the door he stood there looking for any further escape, and of course found none. His heart was pounding in his ears, and he realized in that moment he was trapped. He had nothing to change into, no wand or invisibility cloak, and there was no way Hermione hadn't seen what he'd been as he had run across the room.

After a few moments, or maybe it was an hour Harry wasn't sure, there was a light knocking on the door. "Harry, are you ok in there?" Hermione called through the locked door. Harry didn't answer, not sure if he could trust his voice. He tried taking slow breathes to calm himself but it only slightly helped. Another knock, "Harry, it's Hermione. Can you open the door please?"
Harry, finally able to get his breathing under control managed to respond "Please go away"
"Harry, please come out. I promise it's ok" came the reply.
Harry looked at the door handle, willing himself to try and open it. When he finally was able to reach out, he saw how badly his hands were shaking. Slowly he opened the door, revealing Hermione standing there with a look of concern on her face. When she saw him, she looked him up and down and Harry tried hard to read her face for an idea of what she was thinking.
"Harry, are you ok?" She asked him

Nodding, he replied "You aren't freaked out?"
"Of course not Harry. I've just been worried about you for the past two days. How about we go sit on your bed and talk?" Hermione said, reaching out her hand to him. Once he put his in hers she slowly led him over to his bed. Once he sat down, she slipped over and sat on Ron's bed looking at him.
"How'd you get up the stairs?" Harry asked, looking at the floor

Despite the situation Hermione managed her "When will you read Hogwarts: A History" look and said "It's the way the founders set up the stairs. They thought girls were more trustworthy so they didn't enchant the stairs to stop us from getting up to the boys dormitories like the enchanted the girl's stairs.."
"Oh" was all that Harry could manage in reply.

Hermione looked at his face closely. "Harry, do you want to tell me why you're wearing a girl's uniform?"

"I didn't steal it I promise!" Harry exclaimed, panic rising again now that the subject was brought up

"Ok," Hermione answered trying to stay calm, "then how did you get it?"
"I don't know. It just showed up in my trunk for some reason a few weeks ago."
"So that's how Lavender lost a uniform. I'm assuming you've had it since it went missing?" She asked

Harry could only nod in response. Hermione stayed quiet until she thought he had calmed down again before asking "Ok, so why are you wearing it?"
Harry took a minute before answering, finally he whispered "Because I feel pretty in it." As he said it the damn burst and his shoulders started to heave with sobs. Hermione got up and crossed the gap between the two beds as she saw this. Sitting next to him she put her arms around him and hugged him tightly. "You look very pretty Harry" She said reassuringly.

Harry, now completely in tears, rested his head on her shoulder. "You mean it, Hermione?" he managed between sobs.
"Of course! You pull it off very well" She said as she held him.

They stayed that way for a few minutes as Harry relaxed again, and sniffling pulled his head back up to look at Hermione. "You don't think I'm a freak?"
"Harry, I could never think you were a freak!" Hermione replied firmly, holding his hand and eyeing him up and down. "I do have questions, but you are absolutely not a freak"

Harry, hearing this, was able to collect himself a bit more, sat up a little straighter and said "What questions do you have?"
"Well," Hermione said reaching over for the abandoned copy of Witch Weekly near his pillow and giving him a small smile, "I just found my best guy friend wearing a skirt and reading a girly magazine. I feel like that's a pretty obvious first question"

"I've always wanted to try to dress like a girl, since I was little. But I didn't remember that until this uniform ended up in my trunk. I feel pretty in it." He replied, looking for any hint that she was repulsed by what he said.
"Alright. Well, I'm guessing you liked it once you tried it. How long has this been going on?"
"Since the other night after we got back from Hagrid's" Harry said.
"So this has been what you've been up to the last two days instead of helping me!" Hermione cried lightly slapping him on the shoulder.
"Yeah, I'm sorry" Harry said abashed.
"It's alright. But you're going to have to make it up to me" She responded grinning.
"How?" He replied, finally looking her in the face and letting himself start to feel like this wasn't going to go badly.
"You're going to answer my questions, and then we'll see" She told him.
And so they sat on Harry's bed talking. Hermione asked how he felt dressing like a girl, and if he enjoyed reading Witch Weekly. Harry said he was really liking dressing like a girl, and the magazine was a lot more interesting than he would've ever thought. After he was feeling more comfortable, which didn't take long once he realized that Hermione wasn't going to turn on him, he did mention how he wished he had something other than a uniform to wear. Hermione was quiet for a moment and then replied "Harry, if you want to dress like a girl, I can help you, but I have a few conditions for you."
Harry, not believing his ears, replied quickly "What are they?"
"First, you need to return Lavender's uniform. I know you didn't steal it but keeping it is wrong and a little weird. Second, I need you to promise that you won't try and steal clothes from any girl or try and spy on them for any reason. Third I always want you to be honest with me about this. I'm your friend and want to do what I can to help you."
"Deal" He responded quickly.

After one more look Hermione slid off the bed and walked toward the door. "I'll be back in a minute" she called as she went down the stairs. Harry quickly tidied up his stuff and waited. He didn't have to wait long. Soon he heard her climbing the stairs again. She came in with a bag and set it down on Ron's bed. "First things first, I want you to go shower and use these to clean yourself." She said handing him three bottles. "One of those is body wash, one is conditioner, and the other is shampoo. Use the shampoo first, then the conditioner. When you're done wrap your towel around your chest and I'll be in in a minute. Leave Lavender's uniform on the floor and I'll put it in the laundry chute in the girl's dormitory when I go back."
It didn't take long for Harry to shower and try the bottles. The body wash smelled like flowers and he enjoyed washing himself with it. The shampoo and conditioner were also flower scented but differently. He spent longer than he usually did showering, breathing in the flowery smells, enjoying how they felt on his skin. Once he was done, he stepped out and grabbed his towel, noticing that there was another bottle sitting on the sink and the uniform was gone. Hermione called from the other room, "That bottle is lotion. Use it all over and then come out here." When Harry finally stepped out of the bathroom, smelling like flowers and enjoying the feeling of his lotioned skin, towel wrapped around him just under his armpits, he could see that Hermione had been busy.