Disclaimer:

I do not own the amusement park that is Hogwarts or the colorful characters J.K. Rowling has created for us. I've considered writing a transgender story for awhile now and have decided to try it. Like any story utilizing this premise, Harry will be different from canon but that can't really be helped considering her outlook on life and the things that happen to her. I hope you enjoy it.

#foreign language#, *parseltongue*, "spoken", 'thoughts', [telepathic messages]

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The Marauders' Daughter

Chapter Thirteen

I Know Your Secret

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(Wednesday, September 1st, 1993, Evening)

Heather sighed as she idly used her fork to move her mashed potatoes from one side of her plate to the other. Despite feeling hungry, her anxiety over her upcoming meeting with the headmaster kept her from eating. Shame too as the table was filled with all manner of meats, fruits and vegetables. She took a whiff of her pumpkin juice and grimaced before shoving the goblet away from her in disgust.

"What's wrong Heather?" Luna asked as she looked at her friend in concern.

"I'm worried about my upcoming discussion with the bearded wonder up there," the ravenette replied quietly. When the blonde raised a questioning eyebrow, she continued, "I know he's going to insist on speaking with me tonight."

Ticking off her fingers one by one, Heather continued wearily, "First of all, I'm a transfer student which is practically unheard of in magical Britain. Secondly, I scored straight O+'s on my first and second year entrance exams, also very unusual. Thirdly, I'm an unknown witch who somehow managed to destroy a vile creature most people believe to be unkillable. Lastly, he'll probably ask me about Sirius Black and my relationship with his golden boy."

"Why would he ask about Harry?" Luna asked softly.

"He probably believes that as his godsister I'll have information regarding his plans or whereabouts, not that I intend to tell him anything," Heather replied with a grin as she grabbed her goblet, vanished the pumpkin juice within before wandlessly summoning a water jug from somewhere further down the table. The other Ravenclaws started in shock at the sudden movement and turned towards the source. Some were noticeably impressed while others watched nervously as the new girl casually levitated the jug and poured water into her goblet without using her hands, verbal incantations or wand.

"That was a very impressive display of wandless magic Miss Black," an amused voice said Heather recognized as belonging to her new Head of House. "That said, Minerva should've informed you that magic is not permitted within the Great Hall."

"Hello Professor," the last Potter said as she turned in her seat to greet the half-goblin. "Um, she did actually, but I'm so used to doing magic whenever I feel like it I forgot Hogwarts has rules about such things. I'll try to remember in the future."

"See that you do, I'll have to deduct points and give you detention next time," Filius Flitwick said jovially as his eyes danced with mirth, both of them knowing he wouldn't. "Anyways, I came to tell you the Headmaster wishes to speak with you after dinner. I'll escort you to his office and back to the dormitories once we're finished."

"Told you," Heather said teasingly as she glanced at her friend. Turning back towards her teacher, she nodded politely and said, "Thank you Professor, I appreciate that."

The rest of the meal passed without incident and soon it was time for her and Flitwick to head to the headmaster's office.

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Professor and student walked towards the headmaster's office in silence as neither felt a need to fill the air with small talk. While Flitwick was usually chatty with his star pupils, he could tell from the ravenette's demeanor that such frivolities would be unwelcomed. Like all members of the faculty, he was well aware of the girl's perfect scores on her entrance exams and was looking forward to seeing her in his advanced Charms class.

When they arrived at the stone gargoyle protecting the headmaster's office, Flitwick said, "Sherbert Lemon." At his student's questioning glance, he shrugged and explained, "Albus likes his sweets."

"Could be worse I suppose," Heather said in amusement as the two of them walked up the ascending staircase towards the headmaster's office.

When they reached the top, they heard an aged voice call from within, "Come in Filius, Miss Black."

The last Potter closed her eyes for several seconds as she steeled her resolve. Opening her eyes, she slowly opened the door and paused in the doorway as she took in the scene in front of her. She'd half expected the entire faculty, or at least the headmaster's pet snake, to be present and was thankful they were not. The last person she needed to deal with was Snape and his snide comments after the stressful day she'd had. Between leaving home, dealing with unpleasant students, fighting off a dementor and traveling for hours, all she wanted to do was cuddle with her girlfriend and go to sleep.

"Miss Black, I imagine you're wondering why I've asked to see you on such short notice," the old man said in that hated knowing and patronizing voice of his as he idly conjured a chair for her to sit in.

Heather sat in a regal pose and said calmly, "Actually Headmaster, I'm not surprised you summoned me to your office tonight."

"You expected me to send for you? Why?" the headmaster asked in confusion at his pupil's apparent calm demeanor. Usually when students were sent to the headmaster's office they were nervous and freely offered information. To see one so composed, as though she were sitting in the Wizengamot like a Lady of her House, was unheard of for a thirteen year old third year.

"I have several theories, but how about you tell me why you wanted to see me and I'll see if I'm right," the ravenette replied with confidence in her voice she didn't feel inside. She and Hermione had spent the last month working on their Occlumency by meditating daily and trying to organize their minds as Lily's journal had instructed. They were far from proficient, but the girls noticed they could clear their minds and calm themselves down much easier than before.

"Very well," Dumbledore said as he clasped his hands together and leaned forward on his desk. "According to the letter of introduction you sent Professor McGonagall, you claim to be Sirius Black's daughter which I find rather difficult to believe. I knew the man before he was incarcerated and he never mentioned anything about having a child."

"A good non-question Headmaster," Heather said with a slight smile. "As for why Sirius never mentioned me, the truth is he doesn't know. My mother was muggleborn and living in the mundane world at the time. She never told him their one night stand resulted in her becoming pregnant with me. As is common with dalliances between purebloods and muggleborns, she didn't believe Sirius would accept a love child into his family so she kept me to herself, never telling my father about me. It was only when I returned to magical Britain and stopped by Gringotts to check on my heritage that I realized Sirius Black was my father."

"Where had you been living before then?" Albus asked in curiosity.

"That's neither here nor there sir," the ravenette said sternly as she glared at the old wizard. She was well aware of the man's tendency to ask non-questions or seemingly benign inquiries to gather information but never offering any of his own. She felt it relatively harmless to give him a plausible explanation as to why he'd never heard about her, but refused to give information that could be proven false such as a location or name.

"Very well," the old man said with a heavy sigh. "You must have had some very good teachers for you to get straight O+'s."

"Another non-question, but yes I did," the last Potter said with a smirk. "I found it interesting that the professors had decided to include some third year questions in my entrance exams, but since I've been studying advanced material for the last year or so it wasn't an issue. Was there anything else Headmaster?"

"There is something I've been wondering about since Professor Lupin messaged me earlier," Albus said as he stared at his student more intently than he had previously. "How did you manage to destroy one of the dementors that boarded the train?"

"One of… You mean there were more of those horrid monsters? Was anyone hurt?" the ravenette gasped in shock as she started wondering if someone had died because she hadn't destroyed it in time.

"Calm yourself dear girl, everyone else was fine. Remus conjured a Patronus and drove it off," the headmaster said gently, pleased to see the girl react with concern for her fellow students. That was the crux of the matter though, was she genuinely concerned or was it all an act? Would she truly kill anyone who tried to harm her friends as her comment following the destruction of the dementor suggested or had she simply said that in the heat of the moment as her adrenaline and protective instincts kicked in? He knew he would need to keep an eye on her and make sure she didn't take things too far.

"What is a Patronus sir?" Heather asked with a raised eyebrow. The term sounded vaguely familiar and she knew she'd read about it in one of the books from her family library but couldn't remember was it was. Whatever it was, it sounded useful if it could drive away those demons. Her solution was more permanent, but it also forced her to engage the monster in melee which put her at significantly higher risk, especially if there were more than one and they managed to surround her.

"I'll let Professor Lupin explain it to you," Albus said kindly. "Now, as I understand it, you not only stabbed the dementor with a sword and set it on fire, you used your wand to sever its head. You then proceeded to throw another spell which caused its head to explode after knocking it down the corridor, is that correct?"

"Yes sir," the last Potter said softly. The ravenette had a feeling she was in trouble because of the spells she'd chosen and how she had potentially endangered the other students with her pyrotechnics. She hoped she wasn't about to be expelled, but if it came down to having to surrender her daggers in order to attend Hogwarts, she would leave the castle that evening and continue her studies elsewhere. She knew that if that was the case, Hermione would ask her parents to withdraw her from school and the two of them could look for another institution in which to complete their studies.

"Are you aware that students are not permitted to carry weapons on their person?"

"I was not, however that makes no sense to me sir," the last Potter said. "Everyone within the castle carries a wand, which in itself can be a wonderful tool yes, but also a deadly weapon. Why would I walking around with a sword, which is a melee weapon, be of any concern when everyone is armed with the muggle equivalent of a pistol?"

"She has a point Albus," Flitwick interjected before the headmaster could say anything. "If I may ask Miss Black, why do you carry a sword on you?"

"My sword is actually a dagger; I enlarged it so I wouldn't have to get closer to the dementor than I already was," Heather replied as she drew one of her daggers while making certain her hand covered the Potter and Black crests on the handle. Focusing on the blade, she willed it to lengthen until it was as long as a rapier. "I must insist upon being allowed to carry my family's blade. It originally belonged to my grandmother and I wish to honor her and my family by continuing that tradition."

"The Blacks?" the half-goblin asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes sir," the ravenette answered as she restored her dagger to its original form and muttered the runic command to turn it invisible. "I don't know if you are aware of it or not, but all Black women carry blades on their person at all times. It's family tradition and one I am happy to uphold."

"She's right Albus. Andromeda, Narcissa and Bellatrix all carried family blades when they attended school," Flitwick said. As far as he was concerned the discussion was over, but he also knew the headmaster and his pacifist ways.

"Very well," Albus said with a heavy sigh, not wanting to argue what would likely be a moot point anyway.

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A half hour later, Filius and Heather walked into the Ravenclaw common room after successfully answering what she felt was too simple a riddle. Granted, first years and seventh years, moderately intelligent and geniuses alike all needed to be able to return to their dorms but what about everyone else? Did the knocker only activate if a Ravenclaw touched it or would anyone who answered correctly be allowed in? It raised several questions about the tower's security. At least in Gryffindor, she'd had to memorize a password that changed every two weeks.

Pushing that thought aside, she thanked her professor for showing her the way and looked around her new common room. As expected for a House known for its intelligence, bookshelves overflowing with books lined the circular walls with the exception of two hallways leading towards the girls' and boys' rooms, an alcove carved out to make room for a fireplace and the small hallway from the entrance. The book shelves were easily over a dozen feet high with a sliding ladder available to reach the top most shelves.

'Hermione would have been right at home here,' Heather thought with a smile as she continued to look around in awe. Like the Gryffindor common room, there were tables and chairs scattered throughout with a couch right in front of the fireplace. The only difference was, instead of red with gold highlights, they were blue with bronze highlights.

Luna emerged from the girls' corridor and said, "Oh hey Heather, did everything go alright with the Headmaster?"

"Everything went fine Luna," the ravenette replied with a smile.

"I'm glad. Follow me and I'll show you to your room," the dirty-blonde said as she grabbed her friend's hand and started leading her down the hallway towards the girls' dorms. As they walked, she continued, "You're lucky, you have a room all to yourself."

Heather smiled inwardly, glad that her request had gone through without a hitch. While McGonagall had been showing her around the castle in between exams, she'd asked that if she was admitted whether she would be allowed a private room within whatever House she was sorted into. She'd explained that she was used to living on her own, not with roommates and was generally uncomfortable around too many other people, particularly in compromising positions like sleeping. While both of them knew Snape would never have agreed, she'd also known she wasn't going to be in Slytherin so it hadn't been an issue.

After climbing two flights of stairs, the girls stood on the third floor landing in front of a door with large, blocky letters in bronze spelling out her surname. Finding the color ugly and lettering horrendous, Heather grimaced as she opened the door and walked inside. She looked around the room and nodded in satisfaction. It was probably half the size of her bedroom back home, but having it all to herself rather than sharing it with four others made it feel roomy and comfortable. Aside from the twin-sized bed pressed up against the wall opposite the door in between two windows, she had a desk, a couple of chairs and a wardrobe. A door between her desk and wardrobe led to the third year communal loo, allowing her to use the facility without announcing it to the whole tower, which she was thankful for.

The last Potter sat on her bed and asked teasingly, "Why are you still standing out there Luna? Get your pretty blonde arse in here!"

The girl in question blushed as she skipped into the room and plopped onto her friend's bed. She watched in awe as the older girl casually waved her hand at the door to close and lock it. She'd never heard of anyone so young being able to use wandless and silent magic so well, not even the famed Harry Potter.

Luna stared at the raven-haired girl sitting on the bed beside her and shook her head. Every time she looked at Heather, something felt off. It was almost as though she wasn't looking at the girl's true form, but rather a glamour and it gave her a headache. The same thing had happened at the end of the previous year when she'd shared a compartment with Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Neville Longbottom and the younger Weasleys. The girl's aura was only slightly different than it had been then. The only semi-logical explanation her mind could come up with was that Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, had become a girl, changed her name and didn't want anyone knowing her true identity.

Figuring the older girl needed someone to talk to and wanting to help, she blurted out, "I know your secret."

Heather froze for several moments before turning towards her younger friend and asked in a voice devoid of emotion, "What secret might that be Luna?"

"That you, Heather Black, used to be a boy named Harry Potter," Luna replied cautiously. While she had a rough idea how Harry tended to react to various things, given what she'd seen Heather do when faced with a dementor, she wasn't sure she could accurately predict how the ravenette would respond. Would she be angry with her? Would she threaten her with worse torment than her bullies already did? Would she kill her with that fancy sword of hers in order to preserve her secret?

"Assuming such an outlandish and ridiculous notion could possibly be true, what would you do with this information?" the ravenette asked neutrally, not wanting to lash out at the younger girl in anger or give any indication of the truth. Troubled by the thought the semi-spacey blonde had seen through her disguise when the Headmaster and the rest of the school hadn't, she wasn't sure how she wanted to proceed. On one hand, the more people that knew her secret, the less secure it was and the more likely she would be discovered prematurely. On the other, she knew Luna had a unique way of seeing the world and the people around her. Having someone she could easily come to think of as a younger sister being there for her when her girlfriend couldn't be would help ease her mind.

"Nothing, except to help and be there for you when your witch can't, like now," the dirty-blonde said airily with a wave of her hand.

Heather stared at the younger girl in shock. How could Luna possibly know she had a girlfriend? She had heard stories the previous year about how strange people generally thought the girl was and picked on her because of it, but having briefly experienced her, she didn't think strange was the right word. If she had to pick a word, she would call the blonde insightful, but to a frightening degree. She seemed to have an uncanny knack for ferreting out other people's secrets, regardless of how well hidden they were. If the second year wasn't so innocent, she would've assumed the girl would have exploited her gift and created a little black book on everyone the previous year.

"I think we're going to need to include another in this conversation," the last Potter said wearily as she slowly shook her head at what she was about to do. Turning towards the room at large, she called, "Dobby!"

A soft pop heralded her elf's appearance as he said, "Mistress be calling Dobby! What can Dobby be doing for his mistress?"

"Hello Dobby, I'm glad you could make it," Heather said pleasantly as she took in her elf's attire. Gone was the butler uniform with the Black family crest that he'd been wearing while they were home. Instead, he was wearing a Hogwarts tea towel. It was still a huge improvement over the dirty pillowcase he'd been forced to wear when he'd served the Malfoys, but she still preferred him dressed like a muggle, either in casual clothing or as a butler.

"This is Luna Lovegood, my new little sister I think," the ravenette said as she cancelled her glamour and reverted to her true form. "If you could please ask Hermione to join us, I would appreciate it."

"Hello Mistress's little sister Luna," Dobby said happily. "Dobby be getting Mistress's Missy Miney right away."

"I was right…" Luna whispered as she watched the scene in shock. She was so surprised by everything she'd seen and heard; she wasn't sure how to process the fact Heather had called her little sister.

A few moments later, Dobby popped back into her room with Hermione in tow.

"Dobby!" Hermione said disapprovingly as she stomped her foot and crossed her arms over her chest. "Why did you grab me like that? Where am I?"

"Hello 'Mione," Heather said teasingly as she took in her girlfriend's attire. It was obvious from the girl's nightshirt and disheveled hair that she'd been in bed, likely reading or actually trying to get to sleep.

"Heather! Luna?" Hermione exclaimed before shooting her girlfriend a glance while tilting her head towards the blonde and wordlessly asking, 'Why is she here?'

"She knows 'Mione, though I haven't a clue how," the redhead said as she patted a space beside her.

Hermione smiled at her best friend as she took the smaller girl's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze before sitting on the bed. With Dobby in the castle, she had hoped she'd be able to see her girlfriend as her true self before going to sleep that night. They were so used to sneaking a kiss each night before heading to bed she had worried she wouldn't be able to get to sleep. While she was able to see and touch her girlfriend, thanks to Dobby, she didn't think it would be a good idea for them to cuddle and kiss while Luna was in the room.

The blonde in question looked between the older girls with a dreamy smile on her lips, hoping someone would love her like they loved one another some day. She could see the connection between them and the blending of their auras. It was something she had noticed on the train, but hadn't wanted to say anything while Ginny was in the compartment in case they wanted to keep their relationship secret. Knowing magical Britain as she did, she knew how the closed-minded purebloods would treat the two of them if they ever found out about it. She personally didn't care, if two people loved one another she felt that was the greatest magic in the world and it didn't matter whether they were the same sex or not.

Noticing the looks on her friends' faces, Luna sighed softly and said, "At the end of last year, I started getting headaches whenever I would look at Harry Potter, as though I wasn't seeing the real person but rather an elaborate illusion. It was confusing and disorientating to say the least. I spent a lot of time over the summer pondering what it could mean. Fast forward to today and the same thing happened, that sense of wrongness when I looked at you on the train. With you and Hermione as close as you are and 'Harry' clearly not returning to school this year, logic leads me to conclude that you, Heather, were in fact Harry Potter once upon a time and have decided to return to Hogwarts and hide in plain sight for some reason."

"You know Luna, it really would have been much better if you hadn't figured it out," Heather said wearily as she fell back on her bed and sighed.

"I'm a Ravenclaw, it's what I do when I'm faced with a mystery," the blonde retorted cheekily.

"I know, Hermione and I are the same way but I'm afraid this is going cause you some problems, especially when it comes to Ginny."

"Huh? Why would I knowing the truth about you cause issues between Ginny and me?" Luna asked only to pause as a plausible answer occurred to her. "Oh, you don't want anyone knowing the truth, especially those loyal to Dumbledore and the Weasleys…"

"That's definitely part of it, but there's more to it than that," the last Potter said as she righted herself and looked at the younger girl sitting at the end of her bed. "Ginny is your best friend. You and I both know she's going to want to talk to you about Harry. She'll probably try to talk to Hermione as well if she hasn't already. Are you going to be able to look Ginny in the eye and lie to her face in order to preserve my secret? To everyone outside this room, I am and always have been, Heather Dorea Black. Can I trust you to keep this secret between the three of us?"

"Yes," Luna replied without hesitation.

Heather raised an eyebrow at the quick declaration and said bluntly, "I'm going to be honest with you Luna, you knowing the truth about me makes me nervous and uncomfortable. Maybe if I knew you better, if we'd been friends for longer than a few hours, I could trust you like I do Hermione. As things stand, I know it's considered crass to ask for such a thing, but I'm going to need a Witch's Oath from you. I'm sorry, but I really must insist upon this staying secret for as long as possible."

"I understand and don't blame you one bit," Luna said as she climbed off the bed and drew her wand. Pointing it towards the ceiling, she stated in a deadly serious tone, "I, Luna Pandora Lovegood, hereby swear on my life and magic that I will not reveal the secrets of Heather Dorea Black and her girlfriend, Hermione Jean Granger, until such time the witches in question have released me from my oath. So mote it be!"

Once Luna had finished stating her vow, a bright flash of white light enveloped the three of them in a warm cocoon of energy.

"Luna, was that supposed to happen?" Hermione asked once the light had died down and the warmth had disappeared.

"I'm not sure," the blonde replied as she slipped her wand behind her left ear and resumed her place on Heather's bed. "I mean, usually when someone makes an oath they'll cast a spell immediately afterward to prove they still have magic. Something simple like a Lumos or whatever, but that… I've never heard of anything like that happening when making a vow."

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Author's Notes:

I hope you all have enjoyed this chapter. I want to thank everyone who has read this story so far and I hope I can retain your interest. Please read and review. Comments and criticism are welcome, I just ask you to be nice about it.

Publish Date: July 16th, 2021