Hey everyone. So, it's been... just, a long time since I've updated any of my stories. I could give a lot of excuses, but I know as a reader myself that most of you probably won't care much. The gist is that I'm not abandoning this story, and sometimes I get both/either depressed or distracted from writing. In addition, I forgot to post this chapter to when I uploaded it to Ao3 a while ago. So… Oops. I mostly upload this in chapters to keep myself accountable, but that doesn't seem to have worked well.

Either way, I'm doing this without a beta, so please excuse any egregious slips in spelling and grammar. I noticed in some past chapters that a couple of my sentences end in the middle of the word or just cut off? I may go back and fix that eventually, but probably only after I finish the story.

Please look forward to more chapters at sporadic intervals and lengths of content. I generally write anywhere between 5 and 15k chapters, but average between 6 and 10k. It's weird on my brain and I'm sorry if my writing is weird for anyone.

- Pyrdiu Lefquo

On the floor of a room in a magically expanded carriage, sat two girls. The older of the two was blonde, hair bordering on silvery white. Her features were aristocratic, elegant, and above all, beautiful. She had her slim arms wrapped around the younger girl's shoulders from behind.

The younger girl's eyes were closed, a gentle smile on her face. Her hair, blonde as the elder's, was tied back into a very loose braid. Her face was delicate, with moderately high cheekbones, a soft curve of the jaw, and a cute, slightly turned up nose. With long eyelashes and full lips, she cut an adorable and classically feminine figure. Her body was well formed, with a generous bust, narrow waist, and moderately wide hips.

Wait… did I say two girls? I meant one girl and a boy.

After hearing what the older teen had whispered in his ear, Harry Potter opened his eyes wide, startled at her implication.

"What the he-"

"Shhh…" Fleur said, running her hand along the top of Harry's head, trying to comfort him. "Do not worry. I will help you through this."

Harry leant into Fleur's embrace, confused and not understanding what the situation was, but experiencing a lightheaded warm feeling. As far as he knew, the transformation had gone swimmingly, and he could now work on going back to his normal body.

The boy turned his attention downward to take stock of his new features, and blanched slightly at the breasts he could clearly see protruding from his front. His shirt was uncomfortably tight across the chest, probably due to the aforementioned breasts. A little movement of the thighs and a wiggle of his bum demonstrated that his… well, he'd definitely turned into a girl.

He kind of felt like his mind was slowly disconnecting from his body. He couldn't really deal with this right now. 'Why is this my life?' he thought calmly, floating in a haze. 'What have I done to be in this situation?'

Fleur Delacour was feeling smug, concerned, and kind of offended all at once. She was still disgruntled that Harry's animagus form was a Veela, but she still enjoyed being correct. She spent a couple of minutes comforting the boy turned girl in front of her, then guided him to the chair near the wall of her room. As she conjured a glass and filled it with water from an aguamenti charm, her conflicting emotions gave way to amusement.

"Here, little sister, drink." She implored, putting the cup in his hand "You need water. Drink."

She watched as he absently obeyed, taking slow, steady sips. 'Well, this is certainly better than I expected,' she thought absently. Fleur had expected a scream of surprise, or at least some hyperventilation. Something, at least. She was almost disappointed.

Fleur was pretty pleased at the situation though, overall. The boy had completed his transformation like he was born to it, and with a minor bit of spacing out aside, seemed to be taking to his new form well. The boy-cum-girl looked like he was coming to terms with his new circumstances.

Fleur raked her gaze over the room's other occupant, and took stock of her appearance. The magically flawless skin, silky hair, the perfect bodily proportions. She sighed, then thought about her situation while Harry did… whatever it was that Harry was doing.

Fleur knew she wouldn't be getting in trouble for having a guest over so late at night, because the guest at least appeared female. So she would at most be able to run Harry's training through dawn, or thereabouts.

She figured that when she returned the boy to his castle, she would put her name in the Goblet of Fire. Y'know, since she was gonna be there anyway. No need to make too much of a fuss since there was opportunity to be more subtle.

The seventeen year old rubbed Harry's back as he sipped on his water, while she cataloged all the things she would need to do to help out her new sister.

And Harry was a sister (brother?), in a way. All Veela had a tendency to gather into groups, and felt most comfortable when surrounded by their own. This sense of camaraderie and the warmth of each other's Allure made for easy attachment to other Veela. And Fleur could feel the Allure rolling off Harry like gentle waves. It caused her to feel more relaxed than she'd been since she'd seen her mother and sister this last summer.

Further contemplation would have to wait, however, because it seemed as if Harry were coming out of his shocked state.

Harry's mind slowly descended back into his body as he mechanically drank the water Fleur had most graciously provided. He'd thought for about twenty minutes about all of what was happening.

Fact: His animagus form was a Veela.

Fact: Veela are always female, without exception.

Conclusion: He had turned into a girl.

This was a little much for Harry to take in immediately, but after a little thought, he'd decided it was something he could work with. The Veela form would be good for going about without people realizing who he was. He wasn't particularly attached (except in the most literal sense) to his male parts either, and honestly, they were a bit inconvenient at times. Having a whole new set of stuff to work out was going to be a challenge, but not an impossible one. He filed that task away as something to be done at a later date. For now, the task was to change back, which could be done tomorrow, after he'd slept away his initial shock.

The boy-turned-girl breathed in deeply, and released his breath slowly. He then turned his gaze to Fleur, who was looking at him with a little concern and an -oddly- relaxed expression. He was about to open his mouth to talk about next steps, but noticed a little late that he could feel a presence about her. It was warm and comforting, almost like laying in a warm-but-not-hot bath. He sighed a bit, and this caused Fleur to smile.

"You feel my Allure, do you not?" She inquired.

Harry's eyes fluttered closed lightly, and he (she?) hummed contentedly.

"I dunno what it is, honestly, but it feels great." His eyes then opened wide again at the sound of his voice. It was high pitched and feminine, with the unintentionally sultry tone he had noticed Fleur spoke with.

"Oh wow," he said. "This'll certainly take some getting used to."

Fleur laughed, her face scrunched up a little with mirth. Harry pouted, his face looking adorable, which caused Fleur to laugh harder, clutching her sides in an effort to stay relatively quiet.

"Whenever you're done then…" Harry muttered, a little miffed.

She continued for a good minute more, then she was able to calm herself. After her laughter died down to the occasional giggle, Fleur wiped a tear from her eye.

"I am sorry, Harry. I am only laughing because you are so cute."

Harry grumbled something about "...not cute…", and crossed his arms. This caused his mood to sour a little, because he found the way he crossed his arms to be a little uncomfortable in his new body. He'd have to learn to do a number of things differently, he noted absently.

He was brought out of his thoughts by a more serious tone in the older girl's voice.

"So, we must help you control your Allure by tomorrow morning." The born Veela said, as if lecturing. "The control does not take much effort, though it may take a few tries. It will be a task of concentration to reign it in, and you will never completely succeed, but it should keep you from having to fend off boys all the time."

Fleur moved closer to Harry and took his hands. She closed her eyes, and Harry felt the warm aura exuding from Fleur recede until it was naught but a blip on his metaphorical radar. He frowned at the loss.

"Close your eyes and feel with your magic. You should find the source of your Allure quickly."

Harry followed her instructions, and she was right. It took him about thirty minutes, but he found it. It felt like a little ball of dark pink energy that was radiating heat like a furnace.

"Found it." He said, focussing on keeping his attention on the little ball.

"Pretend you are wrapping your hands around it. Cradling it." Fleur's voice was almost hypnotic, and it caused him to fall once more into a light meditative trance. He tried to follow her instructions, but it was hard. Every time he reached out to grasp it, it floated slowly away from him, almost like it was in a nonexistent breeze.

Fleur could feel the Allure from Harry fluctuate, and was able to tell the boy was trying too hard.

"Gently, Harry." She said soothingly. "Do not grasp, cradle. Treat it like a fragile glass sculpture. It is a part of you. Treat it gently. It is not an enemy."

As the minutes turned into an hour, then two, she could feel him getting the hang of taking the Allure in hand. Now, it was time to control it.

"Now, Harry." She started, squeezing his hands to let him know she was still there. "Now carefully close your hands around your Allure. Let as little light out as possible." As an example, she guided the boy's hands into a tight ball, as if he were trying to keep a small bug inside the space between his hands.

Harry, she learned, was apparently a very fast learner, because it was only another hour before she felt his Allure recede slowly. It took another thirty-odd minutes for him to mask it to the best of his ability, but it was much better than Fleur had expected for the night. He'd still be looked at with interest by his classmates, but he was unlikely to attract as much of the attention an uncontrolled Allure would command.

"Wake, sister," Fleur prompted. "Keep your image in mind, and hold it close."

It was a predictable event, that when Harry came out of his meditation, his control slipped almost immediately.

"Again." Fleur commanded. Now knowing what to do, Harry got to work.

Once more, minutes turned into hours, and night turned into dawn. Nearabouts the time the sun finished tearing itself away from the horizon, Harry had finally completed his task. He was able to grasp and control his Allure without going into meditation.

***HCTHtM***

Harry, tired after his all-nighter with Fleur, made his way quietly through the castle and up to the Gryffindor entrance. It wasn't until he'd gotten there though, that he realized he didn't know the password. Sighing, he sat behind the suit of armor, in the alcove on the opposite side of the hallway and waited for the first people to come out of the portrait hole. He was able to stay attentive for the first half-hour or so, but after that, his head sank and he was finding it hard to stay awake.

He'd dozed for a couple hours when he heard the portrait hole open. Harry snapped back to awareness, hoping the person coming through would be uninclined to ask questions. He levered himself to his feet as the shadow became a person, and heaved a sigh of relief when he saw it was Hermione. 'Good ol' Hermione' he thought, flagging her down and stage whispering her name so as not to be heard down the hallway.

His friend turned and gasped, presumably surprised by his appearance. "Harry?!" she exclaimed, a little louder than she probably should have. "Get inside!" She hissed, motioning him in impatiently while looking up and down the corridor. Harry gratefully followed her directive, ducking in through the portrait hole with haste.

After she followed him back in, Hermione engulfed Harry into a hug, then pulled back to look at his state. The first thing she noticed when looking at his face was that he looked completely exhausted. Then she took stock of his facial features. Blinking a couple times, she tilted her head then raked her eyes over the rest of Harry's form. She pursed her lips and sighed, tousling her already bushy hair into absolute madness.

"Only you, Harry. Only you."

Harry hung his head, before nodding in agreement. He then straightened back up before stretching.

"I'm knackered Hermione. Can you just tell me the password to the entrance so I can go to sleep?" Hermione did so, and the boy turned around and walked away, waving over his shoulder as he said "We'll talk about this later today, Hermione. It's a good thing it's still pretty early. G'night."

With that, he went up to the boys dorm and changed into his night clothes, which was a little awkward with the stupid effing tits on his front side. Not that he was embarrassed about them, they were his after all, but because he had to adjust his nightshirt in a way that accommodated them.

Harry then crawled into bed and fell asleep almost instantly.

***HCTHtM***

Harry was woken at 8am by Hermione, who was babbling something about being late for class. He'd only gotten about an hour of sleep, but he dragged himself out of bed anyway and stripped himself of his nightclothes. He didn't even register Hermione's gasp at his exposed breasts and lack of visible parts downstairs. He got dressed at a snail's speed, and was ushered off to class by Hermione before he could go through his morning routine, or even put his bag fully on his shoulder.

The morning passed in a blur. Transfiguration, then Defense were on the schedule today, and he only remembered little flashes of classes. He must have done pretty badly, because he recalled being dressed down for his appearance and demeanor, then a minor bit of pain that had temporarily gotten his attention. He came back to himself once Hermione shook him into awareness in a room he felt like he recognized but was too tired to place.

"What the…" He slurred lightly. "Whereweat, Mione…?"

"Harry, we're in the hospital wing." She said slowly. " Madam Pomfrey is getting you a Wide-eye potion to wake you up because you haven't been responsive to professors McGonagall and Moody."

"Mmm…" Harry responded, nodding off again.

Hermione shook him once more, and Harry came awake to the sight of the school medi-witch looking decidedly unamused and holding out a light blue, shimmery potion. The boy mechanically took it, and tipped it back. A few seconds later, he shuddered and he felt like he'd been dipped into an ice cold bathtub. Harry felt an electric jolt through his body as his mind cleared. It was similar to that feeling when you've thrown back a couple strong cups of coffee, and the caffeine finally kicks in.

Harry, finally awake, took a look at Hermione, then at Madam Pomfrey, then down at himself and his rumpled school uniform.

"Oh."

Hermione gave a rueful smile, then said, "'Oh', indeed." The elderly woman in front of him had an expression of supreme disapproval.

"What have you gotten yourself into Mr… Miss… ugh. Potter, what did you do this time?"

"Well, first," Harry started, a small grin on his face. "I think it's still 'Mr'. Not like having tits makes me an actual girl."

Hermione punched him on the arm and berated him about his language, but the medi-witch had a wry grin and was shaking her head. "Indeed not, Mr. Potter. I must say though, you're taking this remarkably well."

Harry shrugged. "I mean, it's not like it's something I'm gonna have to deal with forever, right? All I have to do is figure out how to turn back, and it'll be fine."

Madam Pomfrey tutted and leveled a glare at Harry that was intense enough to have him blush lightly. "Turn back, Mr. Potter? I take it you know the cause of your… condition, then?"

Harry nodded warily, as if expecting the healer to grow fangs and claws. "Yeah, I've been learning some… uh... " He looked over at Hermione. She rolled her eyes, then turned to Madam Pomfrey.

"He's been learning how to become an animagus, Madam."

Poppy Pomfrey's eyes widened in astonishment, then narrowed dangerously. "You were unsupervised during the majority of this, weren't you, Mr. Potter?" She had her arms crossed in front of her with her wand tapping her forearm.

"How long have you been undergoing this process? Since second year? End of your first year? I know Minerva does her little transformation bit at the beginning of each class's first lesson. It must have intrigued you all the way since then."

Harry's face was red, and his mind was whirling in panic. "Uhh… yeah." He responded lamely. "It was uh, about midway through first year when I started."

Pomfrey made a derisive sound, and Harry looked back at her unrepentantly. "What? I'm not the first person to learn how to be an animagus in school, and I bet I won't be the last."

The healer looked at him with an eyebrow raised. "Yes, but you are the first wizard… ever… I think, to have a humanoid form, let alone of the opposite gender. Which process did you use?"

"Uh, it had to do with a mandrake leaf and some meditation." Harry said slowly, trying to sound forgetful. "I can't remember well because I did most of it a while ago." This was a blatant lie.

The resident medi-witch shook her head, knowing he was lying, but he didn't seem to be exhibiting any terrible side effects of the transformation, so it wasn't her business. He knew what he was getting himself into, he just needed to be given the paperwork to register. "I would go speak to the headmaster about this, Potter. But first," Madam Pomfrey twirled her wand, conjuring something Harry wished he would never have to see in the context of him having to wear it.

"Ughh… Madam Pomfrey, really? A bra?" He asked, grimacing. "Professor Dumbledore is probably just gonna turn me right back, not like I'm going to need it."

"Yes, Mr. Potter, a brassiere. The main complaint with Minerva this morning, according to miss Granger here, was about you being ill dressed and… well… I believe you students call it 'nipping', these days."

Harry looked down, and 'yup, didn't need to see that.'

He grabbed the bra, turned around, and began unbuttoning his shirt. Pomfrey politely pulled the curtain, and Hermione helped him figure it out.

"Wow," she said, impressed. "I wonder how she got your size right so quickly?"

"I'm not sure that matters much, at the moment, Hermione." Harry responded, with a deadpan expression.

"Dammit," He continued, suddenly remembering the daze he was in this morning. "What happened in class? I remember getting pretty much yelled at by McGonagall, but not much else."

Hermione snorted in a decidedly non-Hermione fashion. "Well, first…"

Hermione pulled Harry into Transfiguration about ten minutes late. She was a little irritated because this was the first time she'd ever been late to class, and she also had to deal with a mostly asleep Harry Potter. A mostly asleep Harry Potter who had poorly concealed breasts because he'd not spent any time dressing properly. She granted that he'd only been able to sleep for an hour, but really, he couldn't be late to class or the professors would get suspicious and go check the dorms. She pulled herself out of her thoughts when she heard a throat being cleared.

"Ah. P-Professor. I-I can explain…"

"Go to your seat, Miss Granger, we'll speak after class." Hermione scurried to obey. Minerva turned to the blonde girl that Hermione had escorted here, and looked her up and down. "And you are?" She asked sternly, not recognizing the student.

The girl was wearing Gryffindor colors, but an ill-fitting men's uniform for some reason. Also, her hair was decidedly rumpled, and she looked like she'd fall asleep at any moment. It took her a moment, but she noticed that the girl's top was tight around her chest and her eh-hem… assets were on display in a very unbecoming way..

"Young lady, have you no decency?"

The girl mumbled an apology, and went to sit down. McGonagall called out, "Stay after class!"

Transfiguration had gone spectacularly terrible for poor Harry, even with Hermione helping out. Harry couldn't get the spell they were practicing (changing a mouse to a rat) to work at all, and lost a total of 20 points from the deputy headmistress for falling asleep in class.

The dressing-down Hermione had watched Harry get was objectively impressive, especially coming from such a reserved woman. It covered everything from dress code, to respecting oneself as a woman, to managing time properly concerning study and sleep. The talking-to she'd gotten afterward left her feeling sad she'd disappointed her Professor. Hermione had lost her house 5 points for her misdemeanor.

"... and then we went to Defense, where professor Moody took one look at you, shot a weak stinging hex that got you in the hand, declared that 'not only were you not one of this students, but you were in no state to go to a class', and ordered you to the hospital wing for the potion."

Harry's hands were cradling his face. They'd gotten the hated bra on him and adjusted his shirt to drape over his chest nicely, even if it was still a bit tight. On their way to lunch, Hermione leaned in to whisper in Harry's ear. "You know, if Draco were around today, he'd have had kittens. The boys were fairly drooling over you."

Harry didn't talk to Hermione for the rest of the trip, partly because he was too red to speak, but mostly because the brown haired girl was too busy laughing at her best friend's face.

***HCTHtM***

When the two arrived in the Great Hall, only a few people had already made it down to the tables. Those here were likely the ones who had free periods before lunch. They made their way to the Gryffindor table and sat down next to Fleur, who had apparently been waiting for them.

The older girl stood up and waved her wand over Harry. He felt a familiar tingle in his ears, so he didn't think too much about it and pulled out his Transfiguration book so he could try and catch up with the theory of last class. Fleur put paid to that idea by nicking the book and putting it into her own bag.

"Heeyy…" Harry whined, his brow crinkling in irritation. "Give that back."

"No, I do not believe I will." Fleur said in a haughty manner. "You need to be working on maintaining control of your Allure. You must have noticed the boys going crazy over you today."

The blonde boy opened his mouth to say that he'd not been in any state to notice anything this morning, when Hermione cut across him.

"I saw it. That's what happened with the men at the World Cup this year. It wasn't as bad, but the boys were going a bit mad over Harry."

"Well, I cannot go into much detail about it to someone who is not a Veela, but the basics are as follows…"

For the next ten minutes, the two natural born girls conversed with each other over Harry's head (literally; they were both tall enough to do it). Harry felt a bit disgruntled that they were talking about him as if he weren't even there, but honestly, it was a good time to work on his control. While he was doing this, he started to slouch over a bit, and rested his elbows on the table so he could cup his chin in his hands. It wasn't ten seconds after he did so, when he was smacked about the back of his head.

"Sit up straight!" Fleur reprimanded. "A lady does not slouch!" Harry rolled his eyes, then dodged another slap for his trouble.

The Great Hall eventually filled up, and lunch was served. Ron dropped into the spot across from Hermione and asked where Harry was, while looking starstruck at Fleur and, mortifyingly, Harry. The boy in question hung his head in disappointment, and the two girls started giggling madly.

"What?" The redhead asked, confused at the reactions of the three in front of him.

Fleur leaned down and whispered to Harry, "You see, this is what I have to put up with daily, everywhere I go. It's like they don't even look at your face." Harry ignored her, and looked up at Ron.

"Hi Ron, it's me."

Ron looked at Harry up and down, just shy of leering. The gaze made Harry shiver in revulsion a little bit. "And who're you again?"

"Ronald!" Hermione reprimanded, while Harry pressed the bridge of his nose with his hand. "It's Harry! For heaven's sake, you can see if in his eyes, if nowhere else."

Ron looked a little closer, which caused Harry to redden a bit. A lightbulb apparently went off in his head, because he did next what he often did best; put his foot in his mouth.

"Blimey, Harry, you've got tits!"

The green eyed boy leveled an unamused stare at his friend. "Yes, thank you Ron, for that wonderfully insightful gem of knowledge."

Ron had the grace to keep his mouth shut, but he did a poor job of concealing his blushing glances at Harry's and Fleur's bodies. Harry put up with it through most of lunch, but once it was getting to be close to the end, he'd had enough.

"RON!" he yelled, careless of the stopped conversations around them, and the searing gaze of Draco Malfoy from across the room. "I swear to God, the next time you look at my chest like that, you're getting a face full of pumpkin juice!"

Hermione and Fleur apparently thought that was the funniest thing they'd ever heard, because they started cackling. Well, Hermione was cackling, Fleur's laugh was too elegant for such a crass word to apply. It still irritated Harry, though. He crossed his arms over his chest again, serving the dual purpose of helping him sulk, and hiding his bust from Ron and the other boys.

"Is this seriously what it's like for girls all the time?" Harry gumped. He had only had a fully female form for like… twelve hours, and already he was tired of people's shite.

Fleur put a hand on his shoulder, and gave him a response he wasn't exactly happy about.

"It is like this for many beautiful women. But for you, it will be worse. Because you are Veela." With a light squeeze, she told him he'd done a good job controlling his Allure for the duration of lunch.

"You should be fine going to the rest of your classes, Harry, but I would suggest going to your headmaster's office first." Hermione nodded in agreement, and even offered to go with him for moral support. Harry figured he might as well get it out of the way now, and when all the food disappeared, he and Hermione made their way up to Dumbledore's office.

***HCTHtM***

Harry was shifting from foot to foot outside the headmaster's door; so much so, that Hermione backhanded his arm and hissed at him to quit fidgeting. The two teens waited for a couple minutes, then heard Dumbledore call out "Enter!" Harry opened the door, then let Hermione in after him.

"Ah, hello Harry, Miss Granger. How has your morning been so far?" Harry shrugged helplessly, both unwilling to start the conversation, and impressed the old man knew it was him, and let Hermione answer for the both of them.

"Well, it's been pretty eventful, sir." Harry's friend looked at him pointedly, and the boy understood he was supposed to take off his outer robe. He did so, and watched as the headmaster's bushy eyebrows rose marginally in surprise.

"It would appear so, my boy. Or should I say, my girl?"

"Boy, sir." Harry said, resignedly. "I'm still a boy. Just… the wrapping's changed a bit for now."

Dumbledore's eyes glittered a bit. "And how did this come about?"

The blonde boy-turned-girl sighed and relayed the whole story, including his time in Fleur's tent last night. The headmaster knew about Sirius and Moony, and it shouldn't hurt him to know about the altered animagus process.

After he'd told the entire tale, Albus Dumbledore, he of the many names and titles, leant back in his chair and chuckled lightly in amusement. "As always, the ingenuity of your parents and their friends astounds me."

The headmaster stroked his long beard in thought for a moment, then asked, "Do you consent to me casting a spell over you, Harry?" The boy nodded, wary, but interested.

The elderly man took his wand out and swished it through the air. Harry felt the warm feeling he got when he changed forms sear through his body, and would have hollered in pain, but the sensation lasted for too short a time. Luckily, the boy was distracted by the fact he was in his normal, non-Veela form again.

Harry let out a whoop of joy, while Albus smiled gently at him. Hermione was happy as a clam as well. "Well, Harry. It seems that is that done and sor-"

Dumbledore was suddenly interrupted by a loud *POP* and a soft burst of magical energy. Once everybody had opened their eyes again, it was evident that Harry had returned to his new Veela form.

"Ughhhh… really?!" He moaned, frustration beginning to slip through in his tone.

"How intriguing." Dumbledore responded lightly. The old man then proceeded to run a battery of diagnostic spells that had Harry's skin tingling, and caused static to run through his long, blond hair.

"I see!" he exclaimed, after a good twenty minutes. "I will need to run some more diagnostics to be sure, but let me ask a couple of clarifying questions first.." Harry looked at Albus expectantly.

"Can you turn back at all?" The boy nodded silently.

"And what does it feel like when you try?"

"Dunno," Harry said. "It's hard to explain, but there's a stretchy feeling, kinda like a rubber band. And I kind of pull on it. And then I have to keep it pulled. And if I let go, I go back to… well…" the fourth year motioned down his body. "This."

"I see. That is very similar to how Minerva describes turning into her animagus form. But for her, letting go returns her to her… well, let us call it her 'base' form."

"Sir, are you thinking Harry somehow messed up the process?" Hermione piped up, interested in the goings on.

"Well, my dear, I'd say something seems to have gone awry." Dumbledore mused, "My suggestion is to continue trying to change back as much as possible, Harry. I will consult with Remus about why you might be stuck like this. And please, Harry, try to control your Allure. The male population can only take so much exposure to a Veela before an unfortunate situation might occur."

Harry's heart leapt into his throat, and a chill went down his back at the implication. Was it possible he could be… No. Nobody would assault him. He knew how to defend himself, and he refused to allow that to happen in the first place. Even if something like that should happen, Harry was fast, and he was a slippery little thing. Those skills had been honed for years from constant games of Harry Hunting, and he had no reason to believe this would be any different. Just because he was in a girl's body, didn't mean he was weaker.

As he and Hermione crossed the threshold of the headmaster's office, he heard Dumbledore call for his attention.

"Harry, you and Miss Granger have been excused from class this afternoon and tomorrow. I am sure your friend Ronald will bring your assignments to you. I will also inform your professors about this development."

As the two teens made their way back to the Gryffindor tower, Harry decided there was no time like the present to work on staying in his 'Harry' form. He'd decided to name his Veela form Lauren, in homage to Draco's made up name for him at the World Cup. The boy switched back to 'Harry', and found -to his surprise- that the feeling of his transformation had changed. It went from feeling like he was trying to pull apart an impossibly thick spring, to feeling like he was pulling against one of those really, really thick rubber bands. The ones used for bungee jumping. So, hard, but still doable.

Honestly, it was kind of a relief.

Harry was able to hold the (de?)transformation for thirty seconds before he suddenly popped back to 'Lauren'. That was insane progress on his part, so he would take what he could get.

"D'you see that, Hermione? That was like, three times longer than when I last tried! I'm sure I'll be back to myself in no time." Hermione made a concerned, but happy noise that he took as agreement.

***HCTHtM***

Harry spent the rest of the afternoon in Gryffindor tower, sulking at his inability to hold his original form for more than a minute. It was hard. It was way harder than controlling the Allure, which felt almost like putting a pot of boiling water on the back burner. Meaning he still had to pay attention to the Allure, but it was less of a concern than he thought it would be as long as he didn't neglect it. The concentration it took to maintain his 'Harry' body was ridiculous.

It was nearing dinner when there was a knock on the door of his dorm room. Hermione slipped in, followed by the redhead he was least looking forward to seeing.

"Oh, Harry, Harry, Harry." Ginny crooned. "Somebody has been a naughty boy."

'Kill me now…' he thought. Anything to save him from the teasing he was about to endure.

With a predatory smile, the redhead put a finger to her lip as if thinking. "What was it you said to me this summer, Harry? Oh yes!" Ginny clasped her hands underneath her chin and continued in a high-pitched, mocking tone "'I'm gay, not an effing girl. Merlin, Ginny.'" She then flopped on Harry's bed and across his lap, giggling madly.

"Not funny, Ginny." Hermione said.

"Get off." Harry deadpanned, pushing the younger girl off his bed. Ginny yelped as she fell, and gave a little *oof* as she hit the ground butt first.

The youngest Weasley huffed, and playfully glared at Harry from her place on the floor. She then stuck her tongue out with a cheeky grin.

"So, Harry." the girl began, leering obscenely. "Have you taken a look at the goods yet?"

"Ginny!" Hermione exclaimed, scandalized.

Harry, used to Ginny's oddly dirty humor (if not the topic of conversation), met her gaze, and said "No, Ginny, I have not 'taken a look at the goods'. I only finished the transformation last night." Harry blinked a couple times, then looked at Hermione curiously.

"You told her, right? Privately?"

Hermione scoffed, then looked at Harry as if he'd insulted her honor. "Of course it was private, Harry. And yes. Obviously she knows. And even if she didn't before, she would now."

The only (self-identified) boy in the room nodded lightly, conceding the point. He knew Ginny could keep a secret, it was just that he didn't want his animagus form widely advertised. It was just a little too weird. Harry decided then and there that he would practice only in his dorm until such a time as he was able to be 'Harry' for more than two hour at a time.

It was unfortunate that attendance at dinner was mandatory tonight. The revealing of the names from the Goblet was supposed to be sort of like… a celebration or something? Hermione had told him at some point, but he didn't remember, due to other, obviously more pressing concerns. The girls seemed to remember right at that point that it was getting to be that time, so they grabbed Harry's arms and frog-marched him to the Great Hall.

***HCTHtM***

Harry was sat between Hermione and Fleur at dinner, with Ginny and Ron across from them. Ron kept trying to sneak glances at Fleur, but had at least quickly learned his lesson when it came to ogling Harry. Harry was about ready to reach across the table and slap the blush off his face. Hermione was trying to engage everyone in conversation, and Fleur was trying to suppress her excitement as much as possible given the circumstances. Ginny, on the other hand, seemed to make it her sole mission in life to embarrass Harry as much as she possibly could.

Harry took a deep breath as the food was whisked away. Just a little longer, then he'd be able to go to sleep. He could feel the Wide eye potion from earlier beginning to wear off, and he knew he had at most another hour before he'd be in the same state as this morning. As he contemplated this, his control over his Allure wavered slightly and he got glances from almost all the boys around his little group, including Ron, the git.

Dumbledore started talking about the tournament again, and Harry spaced out. Not like the tournament was even really interesting to him, except in the way the World Cup was interesting (he'd be more excited when he could watch the action). He came back to awareness when Fleur nudged him in the side sharply. The reason for the heinous assault became clear when she pointed out the Goblet of Fire and its little stool being brought in and set beside the headmaster.

"Fleur," Harry said disgruntledly, trying not to draw too much attention to himself. "I have literally zero interest in this tournament right now. I can think of at least three other things and places I would rather be doing and be at than being here at this feast and watching the stupid fire cup."

The French girl looked moderately insulted, and sniffed haughtily before saying "Well, this tournament is my entire reason for being here in the first place, and I am hoping to be chosen. So, can you at least pretend to care, Mr. 'cannot be bothered to care about things his sister cares about'?"

Hermione heard this exchange and cocked her head to the side. "Sister?" She asked leadingly.

Harry groaned, letting his head fall backward, then rolled his eyes and tried to focus on whatever it was that Dumbledore was saying about the Goblet of Fire. It really was unfortunate that when he focused in that direction, the magical artifact seemed to reach out for him.

"-batons is Fleur Delacour!" The headmaster's voice rang through the fog of Harry's mind.

Fleur squealed quietly before putting on what seemed to be her best poker face. She rose gracefully, and Harry was saddened that she seemed to clamp down on her Allure as she made her way into a side chamber of the Great Hall that Harry hadn't even known existed. Or at least, if he had, he didn't remember until just now, his own tired brain supplied him.

Viktor Krum was quickly chosen for Durmstrang, and Cedric Diggory for Hogwarts, but this entire process was not something Harry was interested in. He knew he was fading fast, and prepared himself for the end of the feast, making sure he'd not spilled anything on himself, when he heard something that hit him like another Wide-eye potion.

"Harry Potter!" Dumbledore's concerned voice came from right next to him. The blonde boy looked up at him, both scared and confused. With a kind look, Dumbledore motioned him to get up. "Harry, please make your way to the side chamber with the other champions."