Title: Heaven Forbid
Author: XiaoLang - Kaz
Rating: PG13
Summary: I hate him; I wish he was dead. He wants me dead and I couldn't care less. Let him sneer; let him glare; let him express his hatred for me. Let him ignore me, and yet keep all his attention on me. I don't care. …I think I'm in love with him.
Disclaimer: the book series of Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling. All work relating to the book series or the content and characters within belong to her alone.
Chapter II
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"Hey! You made it!"
I looked up and smiled as I approached the Gryffindor table, sitting across from my best friends. The rest of my friends were around us, glad to see me joining them tonight.
"Welcome back, Harry!"
"Hey! Don't talk as if he came back from the dead or something!"
I laughed, shaking my head. "It's all right, guys. Don't worry about it."
Ron and Hermione smiled in unison, glancing at each other. I rolled my eyes in their direction for the attention I was receiving, but didn't comment aloud as the evening meal started up. In the time that I've avoided such praise and jokes and attention, I enjoyed the company and noise this time. Dinner went by so quickly; I didn't even know it had ended until I actually looked around to see that nearly half of the Hall was empty. I sighed when I noticed this, idly biting my lower lip.
"Harry?"
I turned to see Hermione stand up. "Yeah?"
"I'm heading over to the library. Ron will be accompanying me, so I hope you don't mind."
I shook my head, smiling. "Not at all."
Ron rubbed at gunk that stuck to his fingers. "Hey, if you need to work, join us, mate."
I declined the offer. "No thanks. I already finished. You two go ahead. I'm just going to sit outside."
The two knew what I meant and nodded, gathering their things and heading over to the library. I watched them, a bit envious, before finishing roll I left untouched, grabbing another and downing the first with my drink before heading out myself, waving farewell to my friends as I headed up to the dormitory to grab my secondary bag before walking out to the lake once again. Like before, I went to my favorite spot, leaning against the tree and watching the sun set, disappearing of the tops of the trees that formed the forest. The stolen roll was still clutched in my hand, waiting to be thrown into the lake. Dropping my bag by the tree and unlatching my cloak, I went up to the edge of the lake and stretched, working my tired fingers. Then, without the patience of tearing it up, I chunked the whole roll into the lake, a small splash and a flow of ripples following after it as it hit the water.
"Ten points!" I cheered to myself, my voice low as I talked to myself. "And they thought I learned nothing besides running in school. I guess my cousin was actually good for something."
I grinned like a fool and laughed as a memory surfaced when my cousin Dudley would chase me with his lackeys flanking him, all carrying something to torture me with. And every time he sought me out during PE and in between classes, I would climb out of his reach, later being in trouble for sitting on the school roof, avoiding flying objects. They would have to bring up a ladder for me to climb down, even though there was always a tree nearby for me to climb from. Never would my cousin or his friends climb to the roof like I would, fearing the trouble they could get in. But since they were all from snotty families, the authority at school wouldn't care anyway, blaming any pain, fake or not, inflicted on any of them on me. It was rotten, but I had no power against any of them. So I continued to get in trouble and ran and fled. Thankfully, though, by the age of eleven, I came here, to Hogwarts, under the careful watch of Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster of the witchcraft and wizardry school.
I sighed and closed my eyes as the wind blew, hitting my face and tossing my hair in wild directions. I turned around to make sure my cloak didn't fly off, just in time to have it smack me in the face. I grunted as I dragged it off my, folding it and placing it under my bag. To my surprise, as I did so, something fluttered to the ground. Bending down, I saw it to be a piece of paper and picked it up. Turning it over in my hand, I found there was no writing on it.
"Ah, oh well."
I stuffed it inside my pants pocket and finished gathering my things in a pile. I laid back on the ground and laced my fingers behind my head, looking up at the night's sky. Really, since day had fallen, I wasn't supposed to be out. But that's what my bag was for. In it was my inheritance from my troublesome father. Invisibility cloak. The name said it all. When I went back, I would use it to conceal myself and avoid trouble. Though my father was a kook, he sure knew how to get around the place.
A smile played on my lips as I closed my eyes again, letting the wind play with and around me. Little did I know, I fell asleep as I relaxed, the world passing me by as I became oblivious to everything. I had a strange dream, though, where I was choking on something being forced down my throat. Huh. Maybe it was a sign that I would die through poison or something.
When I woke, only the stars lit the school grounds. I cursed and threw my father's cloak around me, gathering my things and rushing back to the Gryffindor tower, uttering the password to enter the common room, jumping up the stairs to the boy's dormitory. Sure that I was silent in all this, I shed my cloak and climbed into bed, slipping off my shoes and setting it under the side of my bed while my bag and accessories were stuffed carelessly in my trunk. My breath was short from the long run, and it took me a while to return my breath to normal. In the time, I stared up blankly at the canopy of my four-poster bed, licking my lips. Strangely, it was slightly wet, as if I drooled in my sleep and didn't even notice it. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and settled on getting myself to sleep.
"Oy, mate!"
I lifted a hand out from between the covers and flapped a hand in the direction of the owner of the voice. With a grunt I buried myself under the covers even more, wrapping them around me.
"Hey! Harry!"
"Oh, just leave him, Ron. I bet you he was out late last night, having forgotten to actually come back while he was thinking out there."
Ah, Hermione. Thanks.
"But—!"
Hermione chuckled. "Don't worry about it, Ron, dear. He actually came to dinner last night. If he did, then that's an improvement, right? I'm sure he's fine. Let's let him sleep in a bit more. I'm sure he won't dare be late to Potions."
Ron sighed and I felt his weight leave the side of my bed. I sighed inwardly and drifted back to sleep, the last thing I hear being a quick kiss between the two before they leave me to sleep in. I'm glad for Hermione being knowing, mature beyond her age and with knowledge to rival any expert. The fact that she's still in school is rather amazing. But she doesn't really have a reason to leave, does she?
The next time I come back to the living, its on my own, no one else in the dormitory as I slid out of the bed and gather clean clothes and my brush. As I head over to the bathroom, I stop as I cross the giant mirror on the far wall. What the—?!
I drop my belongings and run up to it, my eyes wide as saucers. I cry out in surprise and I ogle at my reflection. I take off my glasses and rube them against the hem of my shirt, finding that it's not an illusion as I look down.
"Holy—!!"
I glanced around, half expecting someone to be there, but found the place empty except myself. I bite my lower lip and rush out of the bathroom, grabbing both my father's cloak and my own. I wrap myself in my cloak first before hiding under my father's clambering out of the Gryffindor common room and out the hall, straight to the man who I hoped and knew would help me. The run was short as I named sweets off the top of my head to reach the stairwell that led up to the Headmaster's office. Once up there, I didn't stop, falling through the doors in a huff, tangled in my belongings.
"Harry?"
I looked up to see Dumbledore, as well as all his paintings on the walls, staring at me in wonder.
"What's the matter?"
I scrambled to my feet and approached his desk, collapsing in one of the chairs before the desk. "P-Prof-Professor D-Dumbledore!"
"Yes?"
I waited until my breath returned to normal that I spoke again. "Professor, I have a serious problem!"
He put his quill away and gave me his full attention. He looked me over, wondering what I could possibly be fretting over. Well, he couldn't see since I still clutched my cloak to myself, my father's cloak draped over the arm of the chair.
"IhavenoearthylcluewhathappenedbutIwokeupasusual, right? Well, whenIwenttogoshowersinceIdidn'tgetachancetolastnightIfiguredIhadtointhemorning. But guess what? RightwhenIenteredthebathroom, Icaughtsightofmyselfinthemirror. AnddoyouknowwhatIsaw?!" I stood up and unlatched my cloak. "THIS!!"
Dumbledore, unsurprisingly, caught everything I said and saw what I did in the mirror. "Well, my boy, I do not know how this could've happened. Either we're both hallucinating, or you really have gone through a miraculous change. Did you notice your voice is higher than normal?"
I was about to cry out on my 'miraculous' change when I caught his last sentence. In fact, my voice indeed was higher than normal, all traces of a male being gone. Oh great... I slumped in my chair, my rant gone from my tongue.
"Now what?"
Dumbledore smiled kindly at me, lacing his fingers. "Would you like to present yourself to the school as a female? Or keep it a secret. There are ups and down to both choices, Harry."
I groaned. "Which is better?"
"I cannot say. It's your choice anyhow. You must choose, Harry, not I."
I sunk lower in my chair at his statement. I wouldn't be able to stand the stares if all of Hogwarts knew that the infamous Harry Potter suddenly turned into Harriet Potter. Looking up to meet Dumbledore's gentle gaze, I asked, "If I chose the latter, how would we keep it a secret?"
Dumbledore's smile widened slightly as he replied. "There is always binding it, or else Harry Potter can take a sudden vacation from school to take care of his family, while Harriet, or whatever name you wish to use in place, steps in, ironically the same day of Mr. Potter's disappearance."
"Bind?" I repeated, goosebumps covering my arms at the thought of having to suffocate myself. "Uh, eheh... I think Harry'll take his vacation."
Dumbledore nodded and handed me several parchments of paper and a spare quill, sliding an inkbottle toward me. "You will need to create a written excuse and a short description of the new you."
I stared at quill in my hand, shifting to stare at the paper, then to Dumbledore. "Is that all I need to do?"
He nodded. "For now, yes. I assure you that I will take care of any complications or needed information afterwards. Don't worry, all you'll need to do after we assign you a new uniform, is go on with your normal schedule."
About to dip the tip of the quill into the ink, I paused. "New uniform?"
"Yes, I'm afraid that you'll have to wear a girl's uniform, Harry. It may be uncomfortable, especially since it's a skirt, but I'm sure you'll do fine." With a wink, he added, "Just don't punch any boy."
I blushed at immediate realization to what he meant by punching boys. Oh jeez... I sighed heavily and began writing.
Name:
Uh, no clue what that is yet.
Age: 17
Well, of course I'm seventeen. That was a bit obvious. Ah, oh well.
Gender: FemaleI pause to snort mentally. Why in the world did I add that?
Appearance: Black hair and green eyesErm... perhaps I should add something?
Height: Approximately 5'6"Okay, maybe I was short for my age... Oh well. I'm sure if I found some boots or something I could add a bit of height there. No problem.
I glanced up at Dumbledore.
"Professor Dumbledore?"
He looked up from his own work, peeing over his glasses. "Yes, Harry?"
"What exactly am I supposed to write here?"
He read the paper upside-down. "It doesn't have to be much. Basic information, really. But it would be best if you thought of a name first."
I nodded and returned to my papers, turning to my excuse of absence as I raked my brain for a new name. Doing as he suggested, I wrote that I was called home to take care and see my uncle in the hospital. In reality, I wouldn't step foot in the room he would be held in (if ever this was true), and wouldn't care less. But as family things go, it wouldn't be unusual if I actually was there. So, as unrealistic as it was, I wrote of a serious illness and pain inflicted upon Uncle Vernon Dursley, guardian and hateful uncle to Harry Potter. Ah, but after this I wouldn't be a 'Harry', would I?
As I closed the report of Harry Potter's absence, I returned to my short and pathetic biography, staring at the blank that was soon to be filled with some unknown feminine name.
Before I could actually think of something, the doors to Dumbledore's office opened. Quickly, I wrapped myself up in my cloak, hiding my father's cloak in my bag before turning to see who it was that entered the room. It was a Gryffindor girl in Year Seven as me, a book and several papers in her arms.
"Ah, Joan, I'm glad to see you."
I sat back in my chair to watch Dumbledore greet the girl. I hadn't really noticed her before, but knew she was in the same house as me. She smiled, brushing back a lock of black hair.
"Hello, Professor Dumbledore." She smiled. "How are you?"
"I'm fine. Come for the daily visit?"
Daily?
I must've thought this aloud because Joan suddenly turned to me, seeing me for the first time.
"Oh! Hello, I didn't see you there. I'm sorry. I'm Joan."
We shook hands and exchanged smiles.
"Pleasure," I replied.
"What's your name?"
"Ha— " I stop short, remember I wasn't supposed to be Harry. "Uh, Harle."
Joan smiled. "That's a pretty name. Are you new here? I don't think I've seen you before."
Dumbledore cleared his throat. "Yes, Miss Harle has come in from a distant school and is here to join us at Hogwarts. She was just discussing with me that she was issued the wrong uniform and needs a set of her own. And since the uniform won't come in till later this afternoon or possibly tomorrow, perhaps you can lend her your own?"
Joan smiled. "Oh, not at all. I'd be glad to help out a new student."
Dumbledore smiled. "That's good to here. Then would you mind being her guide while she's here? We've already sorted her into the Gryffindor house and all she needs to do is settle in and get to know the place. I'm sure it won't be a problem if you help her."
With a nod, she accepted, turning to me to flash another smile. "Pleased to meet you, Harle. I'm sure we'll become great friends."
I could only crack a half smile in response.
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AN: Okay, maybe that's weirder than the previous chapter, but I'm sure you like it. ^^ Please comment on this and tell me what you think. Cheers!