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 Three
The next morning began the same as the day before. Harry went down to breakfast and came back to the dormitory unseen by Hermione, intent on trying something new. As he had folded the uniform and hid it the night before, he had found the Marauder's Map. Realization had dawned on him in that instant that as long as he diligently checked the map to ensure the coast was clear, he could leave the dormitory while dressed up. Excitedly, 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 where they had worked yesterday. Another minute and he had found Peeves bouncing around the Transfiguration classroom. His heart pounding in his chest even though his was the only dot in Gryffindor Tower, Harry opened the door and cautiously made his way down the spiral staircase. He had decided to wear his boy's 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 fears, the common room was as empty as the map showed. Every armchair was empty, and a large fire crackled merrily in the grate. Anxiously checking the map again to make sure that Hermione hadn't moved, he stood rooted to the spot, unsure what to do next. Plucking up his courage, Harry walked over to the fire and stood there letting it warm him after the cold of the stairs. As he had the other night, there was a breeze coming in under his skirt, though it was thankfully warm this time. Looking around he saw a copy of Witch Weekly left abandoned next to an armchair and moved to pick 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 suddenly he was very interested. Sitting down in the chair 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. Even though he was interested, much of him still viewed it as nonsense. That didn't stop him from reading the entire magazine cover to cover. Looking at the clock he was shocked to see how long he'd been reading and quickly snatched up the map to check it, angry with himself for forgetting to keep an eye on it. Hermione hadn't moved thankfully, and he let out a long sigh of relief. 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 month he already had. In his rummaging, he also found a girl's bracelet under a table and a cracked compact mirror. All of these items he set by the boy's stairs, so that he could hide them upstairs later. Checking the map once more he started to wonder what else to do. His eyes drifted across the room and eventually landed on the door that hid the staircase to the girl's dorms.
An idea growing in his mind, he carefully crossed the room, Not quite believing he was doing this, Harry started climbing the staircase. 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. In utter terror, 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. Hiding under the blankets on his bed, it was another half an hour of panicked staring at the map before Harry accepted the fact that no one was coming to see why a boy had tried to get into the girl's dormitories.
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 done eating before heading to the Great Hall. Eating hurriedly, he used one of his shortcuts to get back upstairs unseen and got changed again. By this point he felt pretty comfortable getting dressed in the girl's clothes, and before long he was laying on his bed reading the same copy of Witch Weekly again. 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 Hermione leave the library and head for Gryffindor Tower. He'd have seen her dot enter the common room and climb the boy's stairs to the dormitories. Instead, he was completely engrossed in the magazine when the door opened and Hermione walked in, stopping dead.
The sound of the door handle turning made Harry sit bolt upright. Panic rose in his chest and any rational thought fled with the speed of his old Nimbus. He bolted off the bed as the door opened, the magazine going flying in his wake, and fled to the relative safety of the bathroom. Slamming and locking the door, he stood there looking for any further escape, finding none. He paced back and forth in front of the mirrors, completely at a loss for what to do next. His heart pounded in his ears as the realization that 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 wearing as he had fled across the room.
After a few moments, or maybe it was an hour, Harry wasn't sure, there was a light knocking. "Harry, are you ok in there?" Hermione called through the locked door. Harry didn't answer, unsure if he could trust his voice. He tried to relax and take deep, calming breathes. Another knock, this time louder, "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" He cringed as his voice cracked, sounding higher than it usually did.
"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
Words failed him and he nodded.
"Do you want to come out here and talk?" Hermione asked kindly, reaching out her hand to him.
"You aren't freaked out?" Harry asked, his voice cracking again.
"Why would I be freaked out? Come on, let's go sit on your bed and talk. I've been really worried about you for the past few days" Hermione said, still reaching out her hand to him. Timidly, he put his hand in hers and allowed himself to be guided over to his bed. Once he sat down, she moved over and sat on Ron's bed looking at him.
"How'd you get up the stairs?" Harry asked, looking at the floor. It was the first question he could think of that had nothing to do with his current predicament.
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 cried, panic rising again now that the subject was brought up.
"Okay," 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."
There was a small pause during which Harry wished the ceiling would collapse and crush him before Hermione spoke again. "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 "Okay," she said again, clearly trying to process all of this as quickly as possible, "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 at this. Sitting next to him she put her arms around him and hugged him tightly. "You look very pretty, Harry" She murmured reassuringly.
Harry, now completely in tears, rested his head on her shoulder. "You mean it?" he managed between sobs.
"Of course I do! You pull it off very well" She said as she held him.
They stayed that way for a few minutes as Harry relaxed again. Still sniffling, he pulled his head up and looked her in the eyes. "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"
These words were what Harry needed to hear. The fact that she wasn't running screaming but was instead comforting him finally began to sink in. "Questions?" he asked.
"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"
Harry was surprised to find that he was able to smile in return. "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 exclaimed 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?" His nerves rose again at this, fearing what penance Hermione was about to extract from him.
"You're going to answer my questions, and then we'll see" She told him simply. She could tell her joking threat had worried him and took his hands in hers again, squeezing them reassuringly.
And so, they sat on Harry's bed talking. Hermione's questions were cautious at first, as though she were worried about setting off another panic attack. Slowly, but with ever growing confidence as the interview went on, Harry explained how he was really enjoying dressing like a girl, and about how 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 before replying "Harry, if you want to dress like a girl, I can help you, but I have a few conditions."
This wasn't the answer Harry had expected to get in a million years. Excitedly he asked, "What are they?"
Hermione held up her hand, pointer finger extended. "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," another finger joined the first, "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. Hermione didn't keep him in suspense long. She returned carrying a large bag, setting 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 also had flowery scents, but different from the wash. He spent longer than he usually did showering, breathing in the flowery aromas and enjoying how they made his body and hair feel. 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. Not hearing the water anymore, 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 skin, he could see Hermione had been busy.