Chapter 3

The Mirror Part 2

"Tell me what you see."

Harry looked into the mirror – that same mirror from over Christmas. That mirror that showed him his family… and her.

Looking into the mirror, he could see his family again. Right there, in front of his parents, was that same girl. The same hair, the same scar, the same eyes. Same as Harry.

As Harry watched, the girl reached into her pocket and pulled out a small blood-red stone. She winked at Harry and put the stone back into her pocket. Harry felt as a weight settled against his leg. Somehow, he had gotten the stone.

He had to answer Voldemort still. "I- I see myself. I see my parents. They're… they're smiling at me."

Voldemort laughed. A high pitched, cruel sounding laugh. It chilled Harry to the bone.

"There is more that you see, is there not?"

Harry shook his head.

"Lies!"

Harry tried to back away.

"He has the Stone. Get him!"

Harry could not back away fast enough. Professor Quirrell's hand closed around his wrist.

Harry yelped in pain. So did Professor Quirrell. The teacher flinched back, watching as his hand blistered and blackened.

"Master! My hand!"

"Get him you fool!"

Quirrell reached for Harry again, to similar results.

Harry had an idea. He remained entirely unharmed.

As Quirrell reached for Harry once again, Harry grabbed the teacher's face.

Quirrell screamed.

Harry screamed.

Voldemort screamed.

Harry's vision went dark. Eventually, he felt himself being pulled away from Quirrell. His vision returned and he could see a shiny glint of metal and a deep purple cloak.

Harry had strange dreams.

In one, he was wearing Professor Quirrell's turban. He could hear Voldemort's voice telling him to join him.

In another, he dreamt of the girl in the mirror. He touched his hand to the mirror, her hand meeting his at the glass. Then he was falling through the mirror. He shut his eyes as the world spun around him. When the world was finally still, he opened his eyes. He felt weird. He examined himself and found that he now was the girl. The girl was now her. And she was happy.

In yet another dream, he would wake up, back in his dormitory. Or, in her dormitory. She was the girl again. She woke up in the girls' dormitory. Hermione was there. They went to breakfast together. Hermione called her 'Hazel.'

Hazel's a nice name.

I like Hazel.

Then she woke up.

All she remembered was the image of the girl, the feeling of herself as a girl.

And he remembered the name Hazel. Remembered that he really liked this name.

"So what did you see in the mirror?" Hermione asked.

"I… I saw myself with the stone," Harry answered.

"There's more, right?"

Harry nodded.

"What else did you see then?"

Harry ran his hand through his hair. "I saw my parents."

"Your parents?"

Harry nodded.

"I- I've seen this mirror before, you know."

"You have?"

Harry nodded. "Christmas break. After I got the cloak. I found it in a room. I saw my parents in it then. Dumbledore found me."

"What happened? How did you not get in trouble?"

Harry shrugged. "I dunno. He just said the mirror showed us what it was we desired. And then he sent me to bed. He also said he saw himself receiving socks for Christmas."

"Socks?"

Harry nodded. "He really likes socks apparently."

Hermione laughed. "He really is quite barmy."

Harry nodded, laughing.

"But that's not everything, is it?"

Harry looked back down towards the floor.

"Harry?"

"No, it wasn't."

"What-"

"I don't wanna talk about it."

"Harry-"

"Please, just don't."

"Can I guess?"

Harry shrugged, standing and walking over to the fireplace.

Hermione followed.

"Can I?"

Harry nodded.

"Did you see a girl version of yourself?" Hermione asked.

Harry's eyes widened. "How did you know?"

Hermione pursed her lips. "Come, sit back down." Hermione sat back on the couch. Harry sat next to her, his (her?) leg shaking.

"So… then do you want to be a girl?"

Harry shrugged.

Hermione sighed.

"I asked you how you knew what I saw," he (she?) said.

Hermione focused on some embers in the fire. "I've suspected. For a long time now, actually. Since we first got here."

Harry looked shocked. "What-"

"You climbed our stairs."

Harry looked confused. "What does that have to do with anything?"

Hermione sighed. "Did you pay attention to the prefect's when we got here?"

Harry shook his/her head. "Ron distracted me."

Hermione sighed. "Well that explains why you were late for our first class, they told us there were guides on the notice board."

"Oh."

"They also told us that boys can't climb the stairs to the girls' dorms."

Harry still looked confused. "So?"

"You climbed them anyway, Harry. Remember?"

Harry thought about it. "I did, didn't I? Damn. What does that mean?"

Hermione sighed. "I don't know for sure. But… combined with the mirror thing… I suspect… well I think you're like me."

Harry was right back to looking confused. "Like you?"

Hermione was talking fast now, nervous. "Yes, like me. You see, when I was born, the doctors thought I was a boy. But I'm not a boy, I just looked like one."

Harry still looked confused. "But you look like a girl."

Hermione nodded. "I do now. Because I told my mum and dad that I was actually a girl, and they… well fortunately for me, they were very accepting of that. Not many parents are."

Harry shook his/her head. "That's… mental."

Hermione scowled. "It is a perfectly normal thing to happen, Harry Potter."

Harry looked sheepish. "Alright, alright. So… wait, when you mean you looked like a boy…"

Hermione shook her head. "Not relevant. Point is, I suspected you might be like that too."

Harry reeled back in shock. "Me?!"

Hermione nodded. "Yes, you. I thought you be like me. It's… it's called 'transgender.' It means being a different gender than what the doctors and whatnot thought you were when you were born."

Harry looked scared. "But- but… I can't be. I'm not- I shouldn't-"

Hermione sighed. "It's just a suspicion."

"Well, it's wrong. I'm not a girl. I can't be a girl. Maybe you can be a girl, I guess. Stairs let you up, maybe for me their just broken, or something."

And with that, Hermione's friend, who she felt sure was a girl, stormed up the stairs to the boys' dorms. Hermione did not see her until the next day, in which she acted as if nothing had happened.