A scarlet woman

Previously

Hermione noticing him finally aware, faced her fear of what her friend would do and said, "Harry we have a big problem."

Harry slowly getting back to his feet noticed his furry tail. Nearly stumbling as he swished it, he realized he was going to have to work on his stability in this new form. Raising one of his clawed and hairy hands he noted that he now had fur on his face and pointed furry ears that he could move. He was thankful that his hands did have thumbs, an opposable digit, thus they were hands not paws though he could retract the claws on each of the five digits in the same way a cat would. "There is nothing to worry about Hermione. My fir is a mix from ginger through marmalade because Crookshanks is that colour, verses Parkinson's that was grey. Other than that I look pretty similar to how you looked second year. Your idea worked perfectly."

"Harry the whole similarity to how I looked in second year is the problem…

"Why? You wanted me to do the same thing you had done and become a human-half-kneazle-hybrid to get around the trace…

"Harry, please take a seat, it is not the human-half-kneazle-hybrid that is the problem. It is the human girl part of the human-half-kneazle-hybrid, and aside colour you are now looking so similar to how I looked in second year, and that is the problem. You must have grabbed in addition to a hair from Crookshanks, a second hair from me. You are no longer a boy, Harry." Hermione explained then waited for the explosion that was sure to follow.

"Where the heck do you come off making that kind of comment? I am fully clothed! Did you peek earl…

"No, I most certainly did not! But even in clothes it is obvious that boys and girls look different. Especially as you now have; Well, those!" Hermione for once un-eloquently indicated to a little below his neck.

Harry looked down and noticed the problem, or rather the two problems. As he hadn't yet changed into the Dursley's oversized castoffs, his school uniform that had fit quite well was straining, puckered at the upper buttons of his shirt to the point if he breathed in deeply he was concerned he would send a few buttons flying. He was only glad that due to the heat he had taken off his blazer and wizards cloak earlier. They had both been getting a little small and with his new upper body would surely have been torn. His newly padded hands fell upon the pair and he couldn't ignore what his eyes said was there. For his hands concurred. He really did have, to quote Hermione, 'those'. The rest of his clothing was way too loose, and if he had changed out of Hogwarts uniform prior to this, he would have been drowned in them. Harry though had to know the worst and holding his loose trousers out, after standing back up peeked, paled and plunked back down onto the seat.

"So, girl or boy?" Hermione asked.

"Isn't that question asked of pregnant women, Hermione?"

"Fine, Harry, then let me ask you, can you now get pregnant?"

"Merlin, I think that question is worse than the previous." Harry replied.

"Well hurry up and answer one of them, Harry. You're whole dithering and avoiding makes me think I should have looked while you were rolling around on the floor. I patiently waited until after you looked after all, before even asking."

"Hermione, I am currently hoping that if I don't answer you, it isn't true, OK."

Hermione looked at Harry closely, "So, you are now a girl."

"Grrh! Damn it Hermione, I didn't want to acknowledge it…

Loud knocking on the compartment door interrupted Harry, and Hermione got up and started to head toward it.

"Wait! You can't let them in! You haven't taught me the glamour charm yet!" Harry yelled.

"Harry, that will take a few hours, we can't leave them out of the compartment it will draw other prefects attention. Also the charm hides the half-kneazle properties. If I had to guess, then after you learn it, you will look like my identical twin sister. Unless you're lucky and my human hair effect has the usual hourly time limit of affecting you, leaving you a male-human-half-kneazle-hybrid or you become Harry because the human hair negates the animal hair in the potion and you can re-drink the potion with only one correct hair" Hermione rambled with run on sentence after another as she started questioning what might happen due to the two different hairs.

"Well cast it on me at least before you let them in." Harry declared. "Better yet, let's leave them out for one hour so hopefully the worst is solved."

"Are you implying that being a girl is the worst thing that could happen?" Harry wisely kept quiet, "Anyway I can't, Harry. If I could, then Madam Pomfrey would have been able to cast it on me second year and you wouldn't have seen me in the clinic as you did. The specific glamour charm to cover this can only be cast upon yourself. I was stuck in the clinic until I learned how to cast it." Hermione then went and opened the door, which was now on its third and most violent knocking, allowing in Ron who had been joined with Neville and Luna. "Where's Ginny?" she asked as she closed the door and reapplied the earlier spells.

The three arrivals had not heard her though. They were all staring slack jawed at Harry. Luna was first to recover. "Um, Harry, yes?" after getting a nod "I think you need to borrow some of Hermione's clothes, unless you have some of your own already that fit. If so, you should change into those instead. Mine would be as bad as what you are currently wearing. Oh! You could take off your clothing I actually think that would be better. Can you describe the creature that was last nesting in your hair? Do you know its name, because I haven't a clue what creature can do that? We have to talk to Daddy, please tell me you have a photograph or at the least its name?"

"Hermione, glamour charm, now!"

As Hermione taught the charm to Harry, and Luna threw more and more wild, potentially mythical animals out as the cause, possibly if they worked in combination. Ron and Neville, at least finally sitting down just stared at Harry with glazed eyes as if he had grown an extra head. Harry studiously ignored them, concentrating on the charm Hermione was teaching him.

Finally getting the charm down in the third hour, he looked at himself and saw Hermione dressed in Harry's school uniform. He wondered if the audience of three unwanted people helped him learn the spell faster or if their being there had distracted him into taking longer.

"Well it would seem the kneazle hair affects the human hair effects hourly time limit." Hermione stated, "The problem is by how much, and does the corollary run too. Good thing I'd already decided that you would come home with me. As you will be with us in case we need another of Crookshanks' hairs."

Luna suddenly burst out laughing. "Polyjuice with two different species hairs, you two often experiment like this? Oh, then it is easy you both have a major wrackspurts and nargle infestation. Crookshanks is male?" at the double nod, Luna, continued, "Ah, Ah, Harry do you have both bits? Can I look?"

"No and No!" Harry murderously exclaimed.

"So, Harry you are a girl the whole way now?"

"I am currently like Hermione's identical twin." Harry left off while wearing the glamour and though it was not visible he knew he was still sitting on a tail. His ears moved to point to where sound came from but no one could see that, even if he felt it.

"Then we should change clothes. Hermione, can he borrow some of yours? Or Harry did you already buy some in preparation for your sex change?"

"Luna, we didn't intend this. I was going to be a male-human-half-kneazle-hybrid to get around the trace. Accidently one of Hermione's hairs got in the polyjuice potion." Harry bit out.

"Okay so you'll need to borrow some clothes from Hermione," Luna continued, totally able to keep on the current topic, "You will look better dressed as Hermione. She makes a much better choice than you do in wardrobe, even beyond the actual fitting thing that you are the most hopeless at even amongst males."

"Luna, there are people in the compartment. I am not going to get changed."

"Oh, pooh! Neville, Ron you need to get out us girls need to change."

"I can't get changed with you girls!"

"Huh! I thought you said you were a girl?"

"I have been trying very hard, to not say I am a girl, Luna"

"Well as you stated you are not both, and you have those, I would think that makes you a girl. Are you he, she or it?" Luna asked, completely not noticing how uncomfortable Harry was getting.

Hermione angrily stopped this by cutting in, "That's it! Ron, Neville give us some time and don't talk about this to anyone. We will likely need at least two hours so give us three. Luna just drop it, please, and Harry you are going to have to borrow some of my clothes. Unless you know how to put a bra on you are going to get changed with us, so lump it. Get over it. You are now a girl and stop being so much of a prat. Half the world lives perfectly fine as a female. So don't you dare insult us any longer. I have had it with you acting as if this is a bad thing. In reality it is just immaturity that stops you from accepting the situation."

After the boys left and Hermione had recast the plethora of spells once more, Hermione used her wand to bring her trunk down from the overhead rack. As she began looking through the extremely tidy, and well organized, packed trunk Harry looked at the situation. If he continued he could not only make both girls awkward, well he didn't think anyone could make Luna feel awkward, but he appeared in addition to be well on the way to ticking off Hermione. He already had himself in Ginny's doghouse, and he obviously needed female help. Though he thought he was nowhere close to annoying Luna, he knew that if he had to struggle through living as a female he could only do it with his best female friend on hand. He was rather worried what abuse could occur to him if he was left counting on Luna. Further, as Luna had no clothes that would fit Harry, they would have to go female clothes shopping right away and that had to be a point of proving you had given in to the whole, well to this! Borrowing Hermione's clothes meant they weren't his. He so didn't need to own female clothes.

Harry was staggered how quickly three hours had passed. He had to learn how to put on and take off a bra. For some reason Hermione then declared he needed to learn how to do it single handed. Luna guffawed at that, especially when Harry stated he didn't plan on losing an arm so couldn't see the need. Luna said something and Hermione blushed bright red. Harry was completely befuddled when Hermione had hotly stated, "Well I should get something out of this for later on!" They then played dress-up with their new toy. He had adamantly refused to use make-up even if in order to do that he had to allow them to see him in two dresses and three skirts. The first dress due to his tail didn't work the second had a scandalous low back that Harry was sure Hermione would never wear. It did work with his tail but he didn't like the looks received from both Hermione and Luna so quickly vetoed it. Thankfully they allowed him to wear jeans. They were low riders that allowed his tail exit. The two girls didn't tell him but the navel displaying crop top combo with low hip hugging jeans that were needed so there wouldn't be a bump caused by the invisible tail, meant he was showing a bit of the upper cheeks behind. Hermione was wondering if it was narcissistic to enjoy ogling Harry so much while he was her identical twin.

They had just settled on a name, Heather. Harry had wanted to stay with the flower naming used with girls in his Mum's family and keep the 'H' for the monograms, like the outside of his trunk. He argued that he wouldn't be Perdita, even if he was lost, as it would imply he was Hermione's daughter not twin sister, and that would be weird. Even if in a way you could argue that through polyjuice potion he was sort of born from Hermione. Hermione said that as they were going to ask her parents to accept a second daughter they should use the middle name starting with 'J' as a bargaining chip, offering them to chose it. Further discussion was then interrupted by knocking on the compartment door.

Ginny entered first almost running in, until the shock of seeing the twin Hermione's aborted her forward momentum and her head swung from one to the other and back again. "Sweet Merlin, I couldn't believe Ron was telling the truth. Err one of you is Harry right?"

"Ron I said, don't tell anyone!" Hermione exclaimed.

"She demanded a reason why we had to give you guys three hours. I made sure we were alone and got her to agree to not tell anyone else prior to telling her." Ron stated leaving Hermione boggled that Ron had thought it through that well.

Meanwhile Ginny determining the yet to speak Hermione standing in the middle of the compartment must be Harry and walked around him. "Merlin, Hermione you could dress like this!"

"Harry has to dress like that as he has a tail, even if the glamour hides it." Hermione replied.

"If Mum saw you dressed like this…

"You would be declared a scarlet woman." Ron interrupted his sister.

Authors Note: This is not quite a challenge from Whitetigerwolf's "Stay away from polyjuice potion", though that challenge did create the spark that caused this story. The spark being namely, a mess up from polyjuice potion that causes Harry to have to learn how the other half lives and I can't make the poor boy pregnant to keep him locked in the opposite gender, until he at least understands what it truly means to be a girl. Harry, on his femininity is currently in the middle of a well known river in Egypt. At this point in other words I haven't yet decided if he recovers his maleness (Now there is something one doesn't normally write) in the future or force him to truly live his life a girl and go through everything. - Trengilly rubs her hands and cackles madly, then wonders why people are stepping back away from her. – I'm not mad, honest. So nods in respect of the author that set a challenge that was the seed, but I'm keeping mum on if this story will meet the challenge criterion at this point of time.