Disclaimer, what you see does not belong to me but rather their respective companies and owners.

Notes: Harley 2

Never say Never, an apt saying. This has been plaguing me for a while, so I've decided to write it down. Keep in mind some of these segments were written long before the interlude chapter, that means Umbridge is still around in this particular chapter. Look, I know that most of this will seem out of the left feild, but it was fun to do! Sort of a writing exercise. Carry on!

OooOooO

Dudley could only stare, surely something was wrong here. His cousin wasn't here yet, and he had noticed many students come and go past him. Then again, Harry was a bit of a loner, and preferred his space, usually one of the last to arrive through the section between 9 and 10. Usually with a group of red heads.

They didn't exactly keep in contact, it would've been difficult for Dudley to explain how he had gotten parchment letters to his classmates and teachers. So they would usually spend the first week explaining how school went, then the next attempting to learn from each other's world, if in theory. During this time Dudley would offer what assistance he could with school work, Harry had insisted on keeping with current education.

"There you are Dudley, where is your cousin, they're late!"

Dudley glanced at his father before looking back towards the way Harry usually came, this time he could see a few of the red heads pop on through, finally. "I think they're coming now."

The boy stood a bit taller, nearly on his toes searching for the unmistakable messy hair of his cousin, not to mention that they were getting slightly taller as well, maybe almost as tall as his gym teacher. Still no sign of Harry, the red heads were basically upon them.

"Dudley, what are you doing?"

Startled the boy looked slightly down and in front of him, there stood a girl with long, slightly messy hair and... "Harry?"

The girl seemed to grimace before smiling, their vibrant green eyes seemed to flash for a moment, "Hey Dudley, give me a moment!" With that the girl turned back to the redheads, apparently saying their goodbyes, with exception to one of them to whom she just glanced at before giving a hug to a girl with slightly bushy hair, it seemed to be turning wavy at this point.

Dudley had no idea what to make of it. Vernon merely gruffed out something about wasting time, the boy nudged his father slightly. Then they were off to the car, he helped this girl load in their trunk and what not before stowing away his. Curiously his father hadn't said anything about the changed person in their midst.

'Oh Harry, what have you gotten yourself into this time?' was all Dudley could think, occasionally glancing over to this cousin, it was a quiet ride home.

OoOoO

Glancing up from the telly Petunia could only sigh as Vernon returned. She made her way to the entrance, there Vernon gave her a quick peck on the cheek before going to the kitchen. The first one in was her Dudley, who gave her a quick hug before heading upstairs with his dufflebag and rucksack, having decided that it was easier than trying to move a suitcase. Nothing could have prepared her for the next person through the door, with their trunk and owl cage.

Petunia Dursley could only stare at her now niece, simply change the hair color to a vibrant red, smooth out the occasional messy locks, maybe sharpen her cheekbones, it would be the spitting image of Lily. Something had gone wrong at that school, surely she should have gotten a letter about this sudden change. "Harry..."

The girl whirled about, staring at her with wide eyes. "Aunty?"

Yes, it was apparent something was wrong, that wasn't Harry, but this new girl. Harry would never have called her aunty, always Aunt Petunia. They needed to have one of Those talks once more. Decision made, "Put your stuff away dear, meet me back in the sitting room."

Heading to the kitchen she addressed her husband, it was a bit late for tea still he hadn't really had the time to enjoy lunch, "Vernon, I want you to take Dudley with you, me and our niece need some time together. Go see a film, maybe go somewhere to eat tonight."

Vernon considered it for a moment, setting aside his cucumber sandwich. "Very well Petunia, should we bring back some takeaway?"

"No, I'll probably make jacketed potatoes for us both. It's one of those discussions." With wide eyes Vernon could only nod away. Petunia knew something was definitely going on, he didn't even correct her about having a nephew instead of a niece. Dudley walked into the kitchen at this point. Petunia had told Dudley that he was going out with Vernon later and that was that.

Quickly preparing the meal for both herself and Harry, Petunia made it back to the sitting room. Not a moment later Harley hesitantly walked in. "Take a seat dear, tell me about how the school year went."

It was a bit lengthy, she only asked a couple of questions to clarify something, simply content to listen to the story. She absently waved off Vernon and Dudley as they left. Harley never really noticed that her aunt didn't really say anything, simply falling into complacency and relaxing.

"I see, my that sure is a lovely skirt you must tell me where you got it."

"Oh, well, Hermione helped me choose it." and on the talking went, Petunia patiently listening, trying to figure out this new person her nephew, now niece had become. They had pretty much the same mannerisms, same speech patterns. This wasn't some impostor posing as a relative. Now sure that this was indeed once Harry, she decided to strike with her own questions.

"Well, this is all fine and dandy, but tell me something if you can."

"Yes Aunty?"

"What happened to you Harry." the girl's eyes widened once again, "I distinctly remember sending my nephew to school back in September, so imagine my surprise when instead I get a niece back in mid June."

Crossing her ankles and leaning back in the chair, one hand holding a cup of tea, the other drumming her fingers on the chair arm. "This has gone on for some time, you have at least adjusted to the situation. Don't give me that look dearie, you're a survivor and crafty when need be. I may seem like a housewife, but for a while I've wanted to become a teacher, or at least a den mother before Dudley, then you, came along. Your change perhaps was sudden, but you've since gotten used to it. So, what happened."

That part of the story had to be coaxed out and prodded along. They had moved from the sitting room to the kitchen at some point, mainly to eat supper. After which they both retired back to the sitting room. To Harley's surprise she was even allowed a small glass of wine. "Don't be silly girl, it's not like I'm giving you whiskey or scotch, remember to sip it. This is only a one off thing, so enjoy it while you can. Anyway.."

There would be tears, there would be laughter, even some righteous anger. Still, they both bonded once again, this time truly as Aunt and Niece. It was starting to become sunset. Guiding Harley to her room, Petunia could only sigh exasperatedly as the girl simply curled up in bed and went right to sleep without bothering to change. They were both drained, but at least Petunia was more able to deal with the situation. Pulling the duvet over the girl, Petunia then went back to the sitting room.

Shortly thereafter Vernon and Dudley returned.

Petunia couldn't really say anything about the state of Dudley's appearance. It was obvious Vernon had somewhat the same idea, however it would also seem that Dudley may be a bit of a lightweight unfortunately. With a sigh she sent the boy to the couch before her and Vernon made their way back to the kitchen to discuss the day's happenings. Apparently Vernon knew he had perhaps gone a little too far, and had elected to sleep in the recliner, mainly to keep an eye on Dudley through the night.

As she lay down for the night, Petunia could only wonder what Lily would make of this, and if she was proud of how far along Harley had come. That perhaps in some way she was finally absolved of her guilt, her anger, the last few things she had left from her sister, her Lily. With a sigh she finally relaxed, and drifted off to a restful sleep.

Something truly magical happened that night, the bond of family had finally settled down, empowering the wards back up to full strength. It would take a few weeks, no one in the household would really know that a pair of Dementors had tried to make their way to Little Whinging. Nor that they were instantly vaporized upon impacting the wards.

OoO

Harley had explained what had happened to Dudley, who took the news fairly well. He didn't shun her like she thought he would. "Ok then, so your still my cousin." was all they had to say about it. They picked up where they left off, now preparing themselves for the Forth Level of the Maze. The only thing that annoyed him slightly was the fact that Harley had managed to level up quickly at the end of her school year thanks to some 'Life Quest'. It did serve to remind her that she should eventually spend those points sometime soon.

Then there was the second shopping trip she had to take with her Aunt, it was embarrassing, but she managed to find a style that suited her just fine. Vernon still gave no indication of anything amiss. Perhaps he had been caught up with whatever the game done to change history somewhat. Harley would never know and simply wrote it off as a Game Mechanic.

The summer passed quickly, for the last three weeks she spent it at her Godfathers, while also catching up with her friends that came to visit now and again. Then it was back to Hogwarts.

OoOoO

She knew something was wrong the moment the new teacher was announced, this... madam Umbridge just didn't set well with her in the least. Too much pink for a respectable woman to wear, and that overly sweet tone, just sent shivers of revulsion about.

Glancing at Headmistress McGonagall she came to the conclusion that the situation was under control. Harley knew that there would be no nonsense among the staff, and had a better handle on things than Dumbledore ever did.

This example came to a head later on when the board of governors and ministry personnel stormed lunch a week later. Something about a Inquisitorial position apparently. It was then the Headmistress spoke up loud and clear that the entire hall could hear.

"You may have appointed her as the teacher of Defense Against the Dark Arts, against my better wishes mind you! However, she will not hold the Head Inquisitor position as well, this is a core class! I can't have a teacher frolicking about, shirking their duties at the whims of the ministry, or personal agendas! We've had enough of that with Lockhart, and you all know how that mess ended up! If you need someone to do the job then I have a suggestion, have Augusta take the position. Now if you don't mind, you are interrupting lunch! We will head to my office to discuss this further!"

Of course things usually only went according to plan at the start. Umbridge still managed to cause much problems in the long run, even if she wasn't in control of her coveted position.

"I don't understand what she has against you Harley." Hermione commented as they left the class, Harley once again lost house points, barely avoiding a detention. It had barely been a month since the professor was teaching, and already they proved to be rather annoying.

With a vain attempt to blow a strand of hair out of her eyes Harley could hardly come up with a retort. "I know, it was simply a question about the curriculum! It's not like I took her prized kitten platter and smashed it against the wall!" Angrily she swept the stray hairs back. "Still, how can we complete our OWLs if we don't practice any spells!"

There was a flutter of something, glancing over it was only Parvarti chatting with Lavender. Then it felt like someone was watching her, glancing the other way it was hard to tell who it was with the other students making their way to class. With a shrug she continued on to the library with Hermione. Neville would join them later on, as well as a couple of others for the study session.

OoOoO

With a rage she simply slammed the door shut and stalked off. Anyone and everyone in her path parted ways, they could practically feel the air saturate with magic. It was well known to simply duck and wait out her anger than to provoke it. Besides, people knew she could do things that seemed impossible. A couple of students could only gape in surprise as she took off from the courtyard into the air! She never even heard their warnings as a storm was quickly forming across that side of the world.

Harley had spent a while learning this technique that her mother before her had perfected. Made all the more easier since she knew how to manipulate the air around her. It was liberating in a way that a broom simply couldn't do. Not to mention an ability she also learned from her aunt's journals, simply called [Heat Manipulation] that warded off the cold for her.

Harley enjoyed the feeling of the wind, the distant and near booms of lighting and thunder. Sure it may be a storm, a bad one at that, yet Harley just didn't care at the moment. It was her element, and a time where she could just flow with the environment. First it started out simply feeling where the breeze might go, when the next lighting strike would come. Until she was simply one with the storm, letting go of the frustrations of the past couple of months, to simply exist with no worries.

The same couldn't be said for the rest of the castle however.

They all hunkered down, staring fearfully out windows where possible. Even the Slytherin students were wary about what was going on above them. The Headmistress was consulting the wards, wondering if this was some kind of obscure attack on the castle. Those in Hogsmeade were fearful as well, not a soul dared to enter the storm that was gripping their part of the world.

There was no way Harley would know that she was the main cause, simply basking in the elements around her. She would eventually get a shock the next day when she checked her stats and skills.

[Temptress]
Bringer of the storm!
These rare users are able to call upon a storm and it to enhance their abilities. It takes great emotions to pull this off.

OoOoO

Conflict. What is expected, against what feels right.

Harley was no different, and she was at a point in her life where there would be much conflict. Especially considering she never was a girl to start with. She knew that she was being strange lately, distant even.

There it was again, the flutter of a skirt. The confident stride of that person. That pleasant laugh from that boy somewhere over there. Of how her hair just seemed to cascade down that one girl's shoulders.

With a mental slap she stared ahead, careful to not let her eyes wander.

"Harley, earth to Harley." Blinking She looked over to Hermione, who had somehow changed over the summer! "Finally, don't you have quidditch practice soon?"

With another blink, mainly to comprehend what Hermione said before blurting out. "Shoot! Thanks for the reminder! I gotta go!"

Of course there was the fact that she was in the locker room with three other girls who were getting ready for practice, they could hear the boys mess around on the other side. It was all she could do to listen to her captain and not stare as they got ready.

At least she was suitably distracted when it came to practice, although she had to remind herself a few dozen times that she had to catch the snitch rather than stare at the players, as well as keep an eye out for random bludgers, that happened more than once, which in her opinion was too much. Of course she had to get back to the common room afterwards.

There was also that feeling of being watched, by many people. Not in a violent sort of manner, more of a being sized up manner, the feeling left her feeling slightly flushed and confused. Not that she let anyone know that, it also didn't help that she had a high level of observation that couldn't really be turned off, sort of giving her a sixth sense. This was frustrating to deal with.

There was only one person she trusted with these feelings, and with that thought Harley had marched her way to the mediwitch to get some answers.

Of course some things were easily explained, but hard to accept. Once again Harley left the hospital wing, at least this time it wasn't as rudely as the previous year.

Just as before she made her way back to the Chamber. Things had changed of course, every now and then she would come down and cast as big of a reparo as she could at certain parts of the place. Other times she had to research obscure spells to get the job done properly. Only a handful of times had she gone to get materials to replace other things. Not to mention figuring out how to do an overhaul on certain things.

By now she had gotten plenty of skills unlocked and leveled up, one being a [Journeyman Mason]. It was worth it in her opinion, the presumed face of Salazar Slytherin was replaced by a more inconspicuous hidden gateway. It was still parstletongue protected of course, although she had changed the password. That was a pain in the ass to do, thankfully whoever started it had left behind a couple of journals detailing how to go about it.

The place even had a hidden library from some other descendant, most likely one that had come before the statue creators. Of course it was tough to translate the things, it was a mix of various languages of the time.

Still Harley had learned what she could, gaining even more skills, these ones based around languages. Something that would most certainly help her in the restoration of her House.

OoOoO

Of course Umbridge didn't last the whole year.

It took some time, but Professor McGonagall had changed things around, reinstated a few 'archaic' practices that had been 'shelved' by some previous Headmaster. One such being a reporting system against teachers. Still, it did take a bit longer than they would have liked to take Umbridge out, at the cost of at least eight students being scarred by an illegal blood quill. Not to mention the auditors who were supposed to be there to screen the teachers. For whatever reason Phineas Black had that part taken out of the school.

It was found that Umbridge had no real credentials for the position, not to mention various other red flags in her portfolio.

Students could only look on as she was dragged out, kicking and screaming soundlessly by a group of aurors.

OoOoO

By now there was a sizable group in the classroom now, most of the new comers muttering and chatting to each other about what the club. A fair few of the newcomers were restlessly waiting for the start. Ignoring them for the most part was Potter, she was currently sitting behind the teacher's desk, apparently reading a book of some kind, noting things down occasionally. Any time someone would ask when they were starting, she would pointedly pull out a watch, flip it open, shake her head and put the watch away. Majority had gotten the point the first time, and decided to wait it out, or talk among themselves.

Although a couple of the new comers left, annoyed apparently, despite arriving early.

Those that had been coming to the club for a week now had known better, and simply waited for the appointed time.

No one really knew though that Harley had mastered mental commands for her HUD, no real need to use gestures. Before her were the various windows, stats, skills, spreading trees of related and improved versions of skills, both learned and heard about. Currently also, she was noting which ones would be best taught to the various students that were still gathering, looking at her pocket watch she noted that there was still a couple minutes left before the start of the club. Sparing a quick glance at Hermione, the other young lady nodded back ever so slightly.

The watch wasn't truly necessary, still it was a neat gimmick that spoke more for it's actions than actually saying anything. A subtle way of telling people to wait or hurry up!

It was all Hermione's plan really, but she just didn't have the presence, nor mentality to teach in a way to get her point across. Oh surely when it came to books and notes that was her expertise, but only so. Glancing over at the others of her party, Harley thought about their talents, and how they could possibly do the task she had been selected for. To teach these students spells that honestly should have been taught by a competent Defense teacher.

Luna was great for explaining things in a round about way, but was more often lost in thought and focus. Neville had the potential to teach, only ever though in his sphere of influence and skillset however. Although he was great as an advisor. Ginny was more practical, and scoffed at the idea of book learning. Her brother Ron was much the same way, and had less patience to teach a group, and was only there because he had been dragged in by Ginny. Susan might surprisingly be able to do the task, but ultimately decided against it.

Clearing her thoughts Harley looked back at her fledgling planner, seeing now that perhaps DADA was being taught, if in a round about way. There were various spells that were taught by Charms, Transfiguration, even Care and Herbology. Yet there was no mindset, no practicality behind them other than teaching them. Perhaps, that was the point of the class, to teach the mindset and when to use such spells.

It was then that something clicked in her mind, that perhaps this was what she wanted to do when she grew up. Looking at her watch she note that it was now time. With a flick of her wand the books all snapped shut, not to mention most of the windows disappeared. Not to mention the door itself closed, the supervising professor simply looked up from their grading, nodded then went back to work, this time it was Flitwick who was on Defense Club minder.

"Right, lets start, I'm Harley Potter, fifth year student of Hogwarts. I am here to help with Defense Against the Dark Arts. There will be no foolish wand waving, this is a club, not some place to mess around." There was a few grumbles at that, of which she silenced with a piercing stare. "First lesson for today, wand safety. If your wand is stored in your pocket, I would advise finding somewhere else to put it. If it is in a bag, congratulations, you are a dunderhead, if your bag is stolen, so is your wand! There is such thing as a wand holster you know! They can be bought from Olivanders for half a sickle, used elsewhere for cheaper. If you request it even, a tailor will most likely make one for you."

There were various shuffling from many of the new comers, they hadn't thought of that.

"Then there is Wand Care, look at your wand, it should be an extension of you. You should be holding it with pride, tell me, is it something to be prideful of if it is dented, scratched, and dirty? Do you expect it to work if it isn't taken care of!" By now half of the students were staring down, clearly ashamed of how they were treating something so connected to them. "Again, wand care kits can be bought, and even made! Have any of you ever looked in your potions books?"

A fair few were chagrined, having never thought of that either.

"Keep in mind that a wand that isn't yours will never work, at least properly. There is a reason the wand chooses the witch or wizard." With that she drew her own Holly and Pheonix feather wand, before pointing it quickly at the nearest student, shooting a color changing spell at them before anyone could react. "That could have easily been a stunner, or a piercing hex. Never assume that anyone pointing a wand at you is doing so to be nice. Which brings me to lesson two..."

And so it went, Harley had gotten her point across quite well about the seriousness of the club. There would be none dropping out, they were too invested now to do so. Sure a few scoffed at the idea that the first spell they actually learned was the shielding charm, until they learned that most of their peers couldn't even form one! Their next class was going to be awareness and dodging apparently, which went against what proper dueling was about. That is until they were told that 'traditional dueling' was basically 'fencing' when compared to any true dueling, told by Professor Flitwick. Who then led a demonstration against Harley, it wasn't anything that they had been led to believe. It was humbling to realize that this fifth year had outgunned those in higher years in sheer experience.

Most would never realize that this was truly was D.A.D.A was about, the critical thinking of spell usage. After all, the duel they witnessed was limited to dodging, color spells, and shielding. It became apparent which of the two were more experienced, but even then, Harley had managed to hit the Professor a few times.

OoOoO

By now Harley felt that she had a semblance of normal for her. Of course it took requesting information from her godfather on how to handle the changes, who then forwarded her to her cousin She-who-must-be-named-Tonks. Both agreed though that Occlumency was going to be beneficial to learn, and had both given pointers on what to do. The only issue was testing out her progress, which was a bit more difficult to do considering that it required trust and someone experienced in the mind arts. Thankfully there was such a person on staff, going about it however was going to be the tough part.

It was a strange experience for her, upon entering her mind it was like walking through one of her self-created instances! It was simple to simply disguise memories as others, cloaking others. Still, she felt that feeling of foreboding when going near the cupboard under the stairs, even when she moved on from Privet Drive to Hogwarts, the room was still there, now hiding under the grand staircase leading elsewhere.

It was here that she had found out what had happened to Harry, her male personality. They had basically become a portrait, one that looked like it was going hazy until she started going through her memories of 'before'. Now Harry stood in the frame, clear once more, and was willing to be one of her defenses against intrusion. Perhaps, this was one of the side-effects of the change. It didn't feel right leaving him out in the open, nor did she ever want to lose him once again, so she had moved him to the Headmaster's tower, there she managed to 'reconnect' him to her mind. By now she had mostly taken control, and would remain in control. It was then her current crisis was somewhat solved. It was the echo of his consciousness still battling it out with hers, especially when it came to possible relationships.

It also brought forth new ideas that were straight forward, and fairly simple, as well as a sounding board of how to proceed in things. Simply becoming another conscious voice in her mind. She had forgotten what it was like to think like a boy, of how direct things could be, of how there were different solutions to various problems.

Clearing her mind once more she thought about how to approach the current mind expert in the school. After-all, Severus Snape was a busy person.

Of course once she managed it, she had to show proof that it was something she was serious about rather than some frivolous cause. He also lightly reprimanded her for learning a few steps without guidance. Harley then showed her study, notes, and study-path. To say Severus Snape was impressed was an understatement.

Then again, he could barely get a foothold once he tested her ability. It turns out having two thought processes instead of one was a boon. Something else Snape had reprimanded her for doing, for it could have split her irrevocably in a terrible way had she done anything wrong. She then pointed out that she was slowly going down that route until she made what she made, with her guidance Snape understood exactly what had happened.

"You mean to tell me, Potter, that this isn't your base form?" At both of their nods Snape could only pinch the bridge of his nose and sigh. "Well, that would explain your rather, explosive, attitude of late. I'm glad you have managed to solve that, but you should have come to me early on! As it is, you are lucky that you hadn't gone insane or had a total personality death! At least now we can work on ways to further smooth out the problems. First you will need to..."

The lesson would take weeks, at least she had managed to control her temper by that point. Not to mention figuring out her emotions and what not as well, although she was reminded that it was basically a crutch to rely on it, to mute emotions would lead to ruin at some point, either through complete apathy leading to sociopathy, or an explosive outburst at the wrong moment. She would need further training, and preferably by a female. Severus Snape thankfully knew of others in the field that would be able to volunteer time for it.

It was going to be a long year, and it wasn't even Christmas yet. With a groan Harley had gotten up and went about another school day, at least now things made a bit more sense.

OooOooO

... Damn it, I'm getting invested in this spin off. If it ever becomes it's own thing, it probably won't be published for a while. I've not even gotten close to being at this point of the main story. Let me tell you though, it was fun trying to make! I've had to do some digging around to get some things right and partially correct. Majority of this chapter simply wrote itself and for a moment I forgot that it was even my work, and was disappointed that there was not other chapters or details. Sure I've skipped over many plot points, but this is a short story. If I keep going then it'd create another spin off, which I'm not even close to being ready for. If anyone is inspired, by all means, I would like to read whatever story spawns from this, just know that maybe in the future I'll have my own version depending on how far along we get.

That being said, don't expect part three any time soon, I'm still working on "Gamer Potter: A Fighting Chance", as well as "A Fighting Chance: Chakra Edition", expect CE to update 'soon' after this one.