CHAPTER FOUR – TWICE THE FAITH

Meanwhile in the Transfiguration classroom, Professor McGonagall was trying to calm the students down, as another pair of students had panicked, thinking they had made the same mistake as Faith just moments ago.

"That is quite enough, class!" shouted Professor McGonagall, "I do not believe that Mr Weasley and Miss Granger have transfigured themselves into each other for more than two hours. We will wait it out. Now on to the next portion of the lesson…"

Back in the Hospital Wing, Faith had already switched back to her normal self, while Harry still remained in Faith's body. And what a body! Harry had to admit that Faith had a nicely proportioned body underneath her robes, and he only looked briefly as he changed into the hospital gown. Faith had helped, batting his hands away if they ever got near a private area. Eventually, Harry thought, Faith would have to get used to the fact that he was going to have to touch them sooner or later when he washed.

Faith kept apologizing to Harry and her tears flowed freely as she sobbed, holding Harry's hand, wanting to make everything go away. She had used an Unforgivable curse…she could have been sent to Azkaban…but it was self-defence…it really didn't give her peace of mind that her being who she was made the Wizengamot decide to give her a second chance. As she sat looking at Harry, she wondered if she would be taken to Azkaban for her mistake.

Emotionally, she was very distraught, especially since her godfather died. He was more than just a godfather…he was her mentor. He tutored her much like he had with others like her, and she felt an overwhelming urge to tell Harry everything…but all in due time, she thought. All in due time.

"Faith…" said Harry in her own voice…sounding just a bit tired.

"I'm here, Harry," she said, half sobbing, "Merlin, Harry, I'm so sorry! It is entirely my fault! I should have paid more attention to the pronunciation. My mother's going to send me such a howler the whole Great Hall will explode!"

Harry sat up, surprised at how heavy his bosom was, as it got in the way when he tried to fold his arms over his chest…Faith's chest. This time, Faith was too busy sobbing to care about where Harry's hands were. It pained her to see Harry in pain, and she asked him if it hurt any.

"No, it doesn't," he said, "I just have a little bit of a backache. How do you cope with these things?"

Faith laughed as she knew to what Harry was referring…her breasts, "Now, Harry…what I need to lend you is a bra. A contraption women use to keep them in place. If Madam Pomfrey gives you clearance to leave the Hospital Wing, we can go back to my dormitory and you can borrow my spare uniform and some undergarments," she said half laughing, half crying, "Look at me, I'm laughing instead of feeling bad that I put you in this predicament."

Harry shook his head, "Don't worry about it," he said, "Let's just take it an hour at a time. I'm only concerned about what will happen when the spell starts to wear off and I have both these and my...well…my male parts."

Harry blushed at the thought. Even though he looked like a female, his thoughts were gearing towards Faith and her beauty…especially her violet eyes. Harry knew he shouldn't be looking at them…or at her in that way. He was only seventeen years old and he had time to find a girl and fall in love with her. But he hadn't had many dates. The one with Cho Chang in fifth year at Madam Puddifoot's in Hogsmeade was a proven disaster…she actually wanted to talk about Cedric Diggory, whom she was seeing before the Triwizard Tournament in Harry's fourth year. However, as Harry sat there in the hospital bed, he couldn't help but think how nice Faith was, but he had some reservations about her.

He felt like he could trust her, but deep down in his heart, he did not want to be hurt. Harry knew that Faith was sincere in her remorse about putting him in this unusual predicament. Being a girl for a couple of weeks would either be a blessing or a curse. Harry hoped it would be the former. He wanted to experience everything…to see what Faith had to go through every single day of her life.

Faith couldn't help but smile and she blushed as well, "You know, Harry, I wish I could take it all back. I wish I had enunciated properly. If I had, you would not be in this mess. I feel just awful!"

Again, tears began to fall. Harry felt sorry for her…even more so than he felt for himself in his predicament. He could not imagine how she would feel, having him as her clone, roaming the castle. Harry reached out and touched her hand again, trying to reassure her that everything would be fine.

"Don't worry," he said, "I've been in worse situations than this. I don't think there's anything harmful about being a girl for two weeks."

Harry gave Faith a brave smile and made to squeeze her hand in reassurance. Instead, Faith found herself hugging Harry, feeling her cloned body hugging her back. It felt a bit awkward, but nothing could have prepared Harry for the sensations he felt as Faith pressed her body against him. He felt quite content and warm, as though everything would turn out okay. In fact, when Faith let Harry go, he collapsed onto the pillow.

"I'll stay with you until you have to go back to the dormitories, Harry," said Faith, "It's my fault you're like this, and I won't let you out of my sight for a minute…while you're my clone, that is. I need to teach you how to put on a bra, how to remove the hair from your legs and possibly how to put on a pair of pantyhose."

"HUH?" Harry asked loudly, "You mean I'm going to have to shave my legs?"

Faith nodded, "Probably in a couple of days' time," she said, looking down at her own legs, "It's something we could do together. Now, get some sleep. I'll be here reading if you need anything."

Harry nodded and he instantly fell asleep. He quickly began to dream about walking down the corridors as Faith, all of the boys gawking and staring, trying to grope him or even, Merlin forbid…kiss him! He tried to fight them off, but since they were boys, he had no strength and his wand wasn't with him. Then, they turned into Death Eaters…Voldemort was among them, and they began to torment Harry as Faith, throwing curse after curse at him. Harry's scar began to throb badly. He bucked and thrashed on the bed, making incoherent sounds.

Then, something miraculous happened. Harry felt a hand on his, and instantly, the nightmare was gone. When Harry opened his eyes, he saw Faith standing over him, one hand on his shoulder and the other on his forehead.

"Harry! Are you okay?" Faith asked, "You were having a nightmare about Voldemort, weren't you?"

"Huh?" he asked, "How did you know?"

"Nothing else could have explained the bucking and thrashing…and of course, you were clutching at your scar. I don't have to be Dumbledore to know that you are experiencing those nightmares again," Faith said seriously, "I don't pretend to know everything. I have only been taught a minimal amount of Occlumency and Legilimency due to the Junior Aurorship Program at the Ministry. However, there is something I sense is troubling you. If you don't want to talk about it, I understand. Just know I'm here if you want to talk. Now get some rest."

Harry nodded, "But you don't need to stay," he said, "I'll be fine."

Faith shook her head and patted Harry on the shoulder, "I'll feel much better if I stayed with you. Even though you are my clone, you still have your own magic in you. If my instincts are correct, I can only assume that in my body, he can enter your mind more easily and more often. I need to be with you at all times. Because you are now female, Voldemort is going to enjoy torturing you even more because of it."

Harry never thought of that. Perhaps he was more vulnerable in Faith's body than he was in his own. Even though her magic wasn't flowing through his veins, he did feel slightly drained of his own magical reserve, "I guess you're right," said Harry, "But if that's the case, why do I feel drained of my power?"

"I don't really know the answer to that, Harry," Faith answered, taking her place in the chair by Harry's bed, "I will have to do some research on that at the library, or talk to Professor McGonagall. Either way, I intend to make some sense out of this. I wish Professor Dumbledore were still alive…he'll know the answer…unless…"

"Unless what?" asked Harry.

"Unless I can speak with his portrait," said Faith, "The more powerful a witch or wizard is, Harry, the more of him or herself they leave behind when a portrait of them is painted. I will ask Professor McGonagall for her permission to speak with Dumbledore's portrait. That way, I can determine what is troubling you and how we can solve the problem of you having these nightmares…" Faith paused and took a deep breath, clutching her head in her hand, "Mind you, I wish there were some way I could help you with Occlumency or even teach you some Legilimency…though I believe you already possess some natural ability with being connected to Voldemort through your scar."

"How do you know we're connected?" asked Harry, "The only people who know about that are dead. Professor Dumbledore and Sirius Black."

Faith smiled at the mention of Sirius, "A good man Sirius was," said Faith, "He helped my parents out with a few things before he passed through the Veil. We had several wonderful conversations during the summer before fifth year…" Her voice trailed off, "But that's all in the past, Harry. We need to focus on now. If you just get some rest, we can have lunch together and then after that, we can see about facing the rest of the school."

Harry gasped, "Oy," he said, "I guess I'll have to face them sometime. But I can't be you. You'll have to teach me how to properly act like a girl."

Faith laughed, "Oh, I will, Harry," she said, "No doubt about that. Now get some rest. I'll be here." Harry nodded as he felt Faith's hand grasping his and soon, Harry's eyelids began to droop. Harry dreamt the same dream…but no Death Eaters or Voldemort entered his mind and he had a somewhat peaceful sleep…other than a few boys trying to kiss him…and one succeeding. That wasn't a dream…it was a nightmare. Harry immediately brushed his teeth in his dream.

Three hours later, Harry opened his eyes. Faith was gently snoozing in her chair, her glasses on her nose and the book she was reading, pressed against her abdomen as her arm held it in place. The instant Harry woke, Faith opened her eyes.

"Oh, good, you're awake!" Faith said, "I was reading this book and decided to practice some Shared Occlumency. I left for ten minutes and asked Madam Pince if I could borrow this book. She didn't ask any questions when I showed her my Auror badge. When I told her it was to help you, she also gave me this book…" Faith held up a large bound leather volume titled Accidental Magic Reversal: A Healer's Guide.

"Healer's guide?" Harry asked, "Why would you need that?"

Faith just smiled, "I'd been doing some Healing during my apprenticeship at the Ministry last summer and I became quite adept at healing deep gashes and reversing quite a lot of curses and hexes at St. Mungo's Hospital last month. When I saw the book on the shelf, I asked Madam Pince if she had any books on Accidental Magic Reversal, and she gave me this one…the one that they use at the Ministry Hospital. Mind you, I've only gone through half of the book."

Harry took another look. The tome looked to be about ten thousand pages long. How could Faith read something like that? Unless it was full of illustrations, she was about as resourceful as Hermione.

"So how will this book help me?" Harry asked, propping himself up into a sitting position.

"The way I see it, Harry, is that I accidentally mispronounced a word in the Cloning Spell. What I am about to attempt, is what they call the Reversiclonus Spell, which essentially fixes the Cloning spell, and gives the victim of the spell a week to gradually transform back without the risk of the slight deformities mentioned in the book. For example, having both female breasts and the male reproductive organ at the same time."

Harry let out a breath, "You can prevent that from happening?" Harry asked.

Faith nodded, "I can try," she said, "I will need complete silence for this. Madam Pomfrey has given me the go ahead for this."

Just then, Madam Pomfrey came in to check on Harry, fluffing his pillows.

"Everything all right, dears?" she asked, "I trust you are ready to perform the spell, Miss Richardson?"

Faith nodded and stood up, her wand at the ready, "I'm as ready as I'll ever be, Madame Pomfrey," she said, "Now Harry, this won't hurt a bit…I hope..."

In a manner of five seconds, Faith uttered the spell, "Reversiclonus!" and waved her wand in a quite unusual pattern. Instead of swishing and flicking, she flicked before she swished and her wand glowed a bright white before it surrounded Harry's body, fixing the cloning part. Harry only felt a bit of discomfort, like someone was enveloping him in a very hot blanket and pricking him with a needle. As soon as it came, the little pain Harry felt was gone.

Instantly, Harry felt better and Faith dropped her wand, as her hand had become sweaty from being so nervous. Harry laughed.

"I guess I'm not the only one who's clumsy," Harry said, "But I feel much better now."

"I'm glad," she said, picking up her wand, turning to Madam Pomfrey, "Did I do that right?"

Madam Pomfrey just grinned after performing a complex charm on Harry that checked his vital signs and his healing status…or in this case…clone reversal status. After a pause, "Yes, child," she said, "Well done. Now if you'd like, I can have a house-elf bring you lunch. Or you may go to the Great Hall. Your choice."

Faith looked at Harry, "What do you say, Harry?" Faith asked, "Ready to face the school in my body?"

Harry looked down and noticed he was wearing the same thing as Faith. But how he became clothed, was beyond him at this moment, "Well," he said, "I'm as ready as I'll ever be."

He got up out of the hospital bed and put on the shoes that were beside the bed. The heels were slightly higher than he was used to, but he got the hang of it after a few uneasy steps. Faith held onto his arm until he was stable enough.

"Okay," said Faith, "Now all you have to do is take smaller steps, and follow my lead. I'll do all the talking if anyone tries to make fun of you. Your scar is still quite visible, actually."

Harry chuckled nervously, "Well, that hasn't changed," he said, "It was always visible."

Faith and Harry walked down the hall and took the stairs to the Great Hall for lunch. As soon as Faith and Harry-as-Faith entered, the entire hall fell silent, except for the whispering that followed. Apparently word had spread that Harry had been turned into Faith. However, nobody was laughing. A few boys that Harry knew liked Faith from the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, made eyes at him. It felt awkward for Harry, having guys staring at him.

Faith, however, grabbed Harry by the arm and led him straight to where Ron and Hermione were. Thankfully, the two of them didn't laugh or stare.

"Thank goodness the two of you came down," said Hermione, "We were worried that you would become a hermit for the next two weeks."

"It's now only a week," said Harry, "Faith performed a clone reversal spell and hopefully I'll be myself in a week's time."

Ron, on the other hand couldn't help but grin, "Harry," he said, "You look good. I think this might be an improvement on how you usually look."

Harry smacked him on the arm, "Hey!" he said, "When I get my body back, you are seriously getting a beating!"

Ron laughed, "I'm only joking, Harry," he said, "So you're like this for a week?"

Harry nodded, "I will be sleeping in the girls' dormitory from tonight until I switch back," he said as he began to pile food onto his plate. He was starving now, "In the meantime, I'm going to see what it's like being a girl."

Hermione smiled, "We can study together," she offered, "Don't forget we have N.E.W.T.'s this June."

Harry groaned, "Do you always have to remind us about studying?" he asked, "When I have a question, I'll ask you. But I'm sure Faith can help as well, can't you, Faith?"

Harry waited for Faith's response. A seventh-year Slytherin boy had stopped her and he was quite close to her, caressing her arm. To his relief, she smacked his arm away. Harry then realized who the seventh-year boy was. He had longish, blond hair.

"Not in a million years, Draco!" she said and she turned from him. She sat down and began to pile food on her plate.

"Honestly," said Faith, "I don't see how Draco can ask me out after that whole thing with Dumbledore last year. I thought I made it clear to him that I don't want anything to do with him."

Faith fumed, but she began to devour everything on her plate, "Oh, by the way, Harry," she said, "Yes, I'll help you study if you want me to."

She smiled at him before turning to Hermione, "We'll have some fun for the next week."

Lunch played out more the same. As Harry turned to leave with Faith, he found that a lot of the boys were coming up to him, making fun of him mostly, but a few of them tried to pull him in for a kiss, thinking he was Faith. His scar, at this point, was not visible under the fringe.

The next thing Harry knew, Faith had her want pressed against the boy's throat, "Unless you want me to hex you till kingdom come, you will let Harry go."

The seventh-year Ravenclaw boy let Harry go as though he were something smelly and mumbled his apology.

"Sorry, Faith," he said, "I thought he was you. I distinctly remember the last time we kissed and I wanted that memory back."

Faith slapped him and took away her wand, "Next time you should feel so inclined, I would hope you'd have a better approach than to just do it. Ask, first, Terry."

Terry Boot nodded in defeat and slumped off.

"Harry, are you okay?" Faith asked soothingly.

Harry nodded, but was visibly shaken, "I'm fine," he said, "Now I see how difficult it is to be you. I never knew you had so many…er…admirers."

Faith laughed, "I wouldn't call them admirers. Stalkers more like it. I don't know how many times Terry's asked me out, and he once kissed me in the Ravenclaw common-room. But that was only once. I haven't had a real boyfriend yet. I guess I'm just waiting for someone who's not after me simply because of the way I look."

Harry smiled, "I'm not," he said to himself.

"What do you mean by that?" Faith asked, "What do you mean you're not?"

Oh boy, Harry thought, "You heard that?" he asked.

Faith nodded, "Sometimes I can hear people's thoughts. It happens quite randomly actually. I never know when it happens…it just does. I don't even realize it happens until something awkward like this occurs."

Harry took a deep breath, "All right," he said, "Just know that you're not just a pretty face to me. That's all I'm going to say right now or I'll be in more hot water than I care to be."

Harry hoped Faith wouldn't catch his blush. Faith laughed, "I'm flattered Harry, really," she said, "I'm just not interested right now."

Harry looked sad, "Why not?"

"Well, for one," she said, "You're my spitting image. How would it look right now if I were to snog myself?"

Harry was shocked, "I guess it would look like you were batting for the other team."

"Exactly," said Faith, "Now second…in a week's time, I might consider it."

"Consider what?" Harry asked.

"Never mind," said Faith, "Now let's get to the common-room. I believe we need to discuss some things regarding those remaining Horcruxes. That, and we can get you started on your lessons in being a girl."

Harry laughed, "All right," he said, "Let's go."

With that, Faith and Harry walked all the way up the stairs to the Gryffindor common-room, only to come face-to-face with Professor Snape.

"Well, it is true," said Snape, "You have become Miss Richardson's clone, Potter."

Harry turned to look at Snape and nodded.

"We're just going to the common-room to study," Faith said, "Harry and I have a bit of catching up to do for the next week. Professor McGonagall's said that we don't need to attend classes this week."

"That is true," said Professor Snape, "If you would study chapters fifteen through seventeen and hand in one essay on each topic as the book indicates, on my desk by Saturday morning, you will then be given a brief lesson on the defence of the Unforgivables."

"Thank you, Professor," said Faith, "Harry and I will be sure to finish the essays on time. How long should they be?"

Professor Snape looked pensive and he said, "No more than two feet of parchment in total," he said, "I do not want drivel or any other unwanted information as Miss Granger always gives. Precise and to the point as usual, Miss Richardson, I will expect no less than an Outstanding grade from you. As well as Mr Potter. Unfortunately, the Dementor lesson will be postponed a week, due to your error, Miss Richardson."

"I understand, Sir," said Faith, "Have a good day."

Snape nodded and said, "Good day."

With a swish of his cloak, he was gone. Faith and Harry walked up the staircase and reached the common room. The portrait of the Fat Lady gasped in surprise.

"Merlin's beard," she said, "Two of you?"

Faith laughed, "Just a little Transfiguration mishap," she said, "The other me is Harry. Please let us in. Pumpkin Pasties."

"Very well," she said, and she swung open to reveal the portrait hole. Harry followed Faith and the two of them got straight to work on their Dark Arts homework.

Harry couldn't believe his luck. In a week's time, he would be back to normal. In a week's time, he thought, as he watched Faith's brilliant violet eyes concentrating on reading her textbook, her glasses askew, he would think to ask her out to Hogsmeade. He was beginning to have the same feelings for Faith as he had for Ginny…about whom he had quickly forgotten. He cared for Ginny deeply but she just wasn't…well…Faith. Minutes passed and Harry hadn't even opened his textbook. He was just watching Faith as she now had her quill and ink ready for her first essay.

"Aren't you going to study, Harry?" Faith asked, bringing him out of his reverie.

"Oh, right," he said sheepishly, opening up his textbook and beginning to read, "Sorry…just thinking."

Faith smiled at him and they resumed their homework, the conversation about the Horcruxes forgotten once again.