Disclaimer: I do not own anything other than the story line . All rights belong to J.K. Rowling
Chapter Three: The Perils of Being a Girl
Hermione sighed softly to herself as she led her best friend up the stairs towards her room. She had never had a friend over for any sort of stay before, so she was feeling somewhat unsure of just how to proceed. This wasn't something that could be learned from a book, and that thought frankly scared her.
Her best friend. What had happened to him scared her; it scared her half to death. When she added in that she felt very much responsible for the predicament that Harry found himself in she wondered how she was going to be able to function around him, or her, or – whatever.
It seemed almost impossible to believe that Harry was now a girl! She hoped fervently that it was only temporary. She loved Harry, more than she'd ever even admitted to herself, and the thought of losing out on a chance to have him as a boyfriend, and possibly much much more worried her on a level that she had only just begun to realize was there.
As she was musing about these thoughts, she led Harry down the hall and into her room. She wasn't sure how he – she supposed that she needed to start thinking of him as a she now – would like the room. She liked her room, but how would Harry, or Jamie like it? Would she find it to her tastes? It was a rather feminine room, if in a bookwormy, nerdy sort of way.
"Well, Jamie, here it is, the place where you'll be staying for a while," Hermione said softly, trying out the new identity that Dumbledore had spent most of the morning crafting. She looked at her companion, and noticed that she was looking not at her, but at the floor, and she seemed to be struggling with something.
"What's the matter?" she asked as she reached out and used her fingertips to lift the girl's chin up so that she could see her eyes. The eyes are the same, she thought. What scared her were the pools of tears that were forming in those eyes. She had never, ever witnessed Harry crying before. That she would cry now shook up Hermione as nothing else could.
"Ha… er… Jamie?" she whispered. She pulled her hand back hastily as her best friend let out a low growl and jerked her head away.
"I hate that name," Jamie spat out. "Never asked me what I thought of it, did he?" she asked, though Hermione quickly realized that it was a rhetorical question. Jamie clenched her jaw shut, but not before a soft sob wrenched its way out of her. "Why do I always feel like I have to cry?"
Hermione reached out and grabbed her hand. She held it firmly when Jamie tried to pull it away. "No, Harry," she said in what she hoped was a soothing tone. "I can see that it bothers you, but we need to try and get used to using the name, so that in public you can fool the people that are trying to find you. I – I don't want to lose you, and if we're found out, and something happens to you…" She trailed off, trying to shut out the images that were floating in her head.
"I'm sorry, Hermione," Harry whispered. She let out a low moan and arched her back in an effort to relieve some of the pressure she was feeling.
"It's alright, Harry," Hermione replied. She looked critically at her friend. She could see not only emotional pain etched on her face, but there was the hint of physical discomfort there as well. "What's going on?" she asked.
"Back hurts," she grunted. "I'm not used to this body. Do you mind if I sit down?"
Hermione led her friend to the bed and she hopped up on it while Harry sat down a little more gingerly than Hermione would have liked to see. "You look exhausted," she told her. "Why don't you have a lie down?"
Harry nodded her head and laid back with her head on a pillow. "How do you do it?" she asked.
"Do what?"
Harry put her arms out to the side and bent her elbows until her fingertips were positioned next to her breasts. "Deal with these?" she asked. "I feel like I'm carrying around a couple of cricket balls."
Hermione considered carefully how to reply to that for a couple of seconds. She looked at Harry. Her best friend was still dressed in the ratty second-hand clothes that she had worn when she was a boy. "I'm going to ask you a question, and please don't get mad at me, or go all defensive when I do, alright?" she asked.
"Alright," Harry sighed.
"Have you ever had anything but your cousin's oversized hand-me-downs to wear?" Hermione asked.
Harry's chin quivered as she tried vainly to stop the tears from flowing. "Have you ever seen me in anything else?" she spat out. "I'm sorry, what's wrong with me?" she cried.
"Harry, you're in a new body, and that body isn't filled with all kinds of hormones that you're not used to. You're experiencing what it's like to be a hormonal teenage girl, instead of a boy. We cry because of the way our body reacts to stress. You can't help it right now, so don't let it bother you so much. As you get used to what your body is doing to you it will calm down, I promise, alright?"
Harry sniffed, then nodded her head. "I've never had anything new, Hermione. I've only ever had what no longer fit Dudley. I used to watch from my cupboard whenever Dudley would get something new on his birthday or for Christmas…"
"Your what?" Hermione asked sharply.
"Excuse me?" Harry asked, shrinking back slightly from her vehemence.
"Your cupboard?" Hermione questioned. "What do you mean, your cupboard?"
"That's where I stayed and slept until I got my first Hogwarts letter," Harry murmured.
"THEY KEPT YOU IN A CUPBOARD?" Hermione shrieked.
"Yes," Harry replied so softly that Hermione had to strain to hear her.
Hermione was reaching for her wand and scrambling for the edge of the bed when Harry grabbed her wrist. "Hermione, it doesn't matter anymore – I'm here now," she said firmly.
"But what if you have to go back?" Hermione whined piteously.
"I'm never going back, Hermione. Can you imagine what they'd do to me if they saw me like this? Aunt Petunia would probably hold me down while Dudley and Vernon had a go at me." She shook at the thought, a look of pure disgust and hatred on her face. "No, I'll not return there, ever."
They stayed there on the bed like that for a few minutes while neither knew quite what to say to the other. Finally Hermione huffed and looked at her best friend. "We need for you to feel good about yourself, Harry. Even if you are stuck in this body for a while, you need to accept yourself, and that's never going to happen while you're stuck in those rags."
"But they're all I've got," Harry whined.
"I know that, but that can change," Hermione said in that voice that she used when she would brook no challenge to her authority. "One thing about being a girl, Harry, is that you can pamper yourself when it comes to clothes. We're just about the same size, and for now you can wear some of mine. Some of the clothes that I wear when I'm home anyway. And, we need to get you into a bra."
Harry paled at the thought. He hadn't really considered anything beyond the fact that he was stuck in a strange body that he didn't really understand. A bra… If he were to wear a bra then he would have to accept the idea that he wasn't a boy anymore. Fresh tears flowed down his cheeks at the thought.
Hermione dragged her best friend over to her dresser. She opened the top drawer and pulled out a rather plain bra and looked at it. She stood next to Harry and quickly compared their profiles. Confident that it would probably work for the time being, she looked again up to Harry's face.
"Get out of those rags so that we can get you into something that makes you feel better," Hermione said as she flashed her best smile at Harry. The smile evaporated as she watched the color drain from Harry's face. She hated to see such an expression on such a pretty face. Harry really did make a beautiful girl…
"Whatever's the matter?" she asked.
"Get undressed?" Harry managed to squeak. "In front of you?"
"Well, of course," Hermione answered matter-of-factly. "How else are we going to get you into something better?" She had a puzzled look on her face. Why wouldn't Harry want to get into better clothes?
"But…" Harry stammered. "I'll be naked."
"Oh, for goodness sake," Hermione muttered. "It's just skin, Harry," she admonished. "When you were a guy you never had a problem with your roommates when you had to shower did you?"
"But that's just us blokes," Harry cried.
"But you're not a bloke anymore, Harry," Hermione responded. "Like it or not, right now you're a girl, just like me. So, in a way, it's the same thing. Just us girls. If you stay a girl you have to get used to it. We can't be bothered with waiting for everyone to clear out before we get dressed." She placed her fists on her hips as she glared at Harry for a moment.
As Harry continued to quail she huffed. "Look, if it will help, then I'll strip down too…" She walked over and shut the door to her room and then returned to Harry's side. She reached down and grabbed the bottom of her jumper. She quickly pulled it over her head. Harry let out a strangled cry and quickly averted her eyes.
Hermione reached over and gently guided Harry's head back so that she was looking at her. "Harry, just like you need to get used to the name Jamie, and we'll talk more about that tomorrow, you also need to get comfortable with the idea of skin being skin amongst girls. Now look at me." Harry did, her eyes going wide as she took in Hermione standing there in her jeans and a bra. It was obvious that Harry had never seen a girl in such a state of undress before.
"Now, I'll have to teach you how to put on a bra," Hermione said trying to distract Harry from her predicament. She handed the girl the bra that she had left on the dresser. Harry looked at it as if it was a completely incomprehensible piece of alien technology. While Harry was trying to figure out which way was up with the fool thing Hermione took the opportunity to strip out of her jeans. When Harry looked back at her she gulped. She started to tremble as Hermione reached around behind herself and unhooked her bra.
Harry tried to keep from passing out from sheer panic as Hermione shrugged her shoulders and let her straps fall down her arms. She gently removed the bra and stood in front of her in just her panties.
"Harry, it's alright," Hermione said in a demure voice. "You can look. I know I'm not as pretty as you or Ginny, but…"
"You're a goddess," Harry whispered.
Hermione blushed. She blushed all the way down her torso. "Thank you, Harry. Now, let's get you out of those clothes." She gently helped a rather unresponsive Harry out of her clothing. When they were both down to the same state of undress, and she noticed that Harry was blushing even more than she had, she stopped.
"Let me see you, Harry. After all, it's only fair. You've seen mine," she teased her. She hoped the distraction helped. As Harry tentatively lowered her arms, Hermione outright stared. If Harry thought that she was a goddess, just wait until she saw herself in a mirror. "Merlin, Harry, you're really beautiful."
"Thanks," Harry squeaked.
Now, about that bra," Hermione said. She bent over and picked up her own bra. As she did so a familiar scent hit her nostrils. As she knew it wasn't her, she realized that it had to be Harry. It was the definite scent of female arousal. Harry was turned on? But she was a girl now. Why would she be aroused right now? She wasn't sure but she needed to press on. They would have to deal with the consequences later.
When she straightened up the look on Harry's face was so precious that she couldn't help herself. She leaned over and whispered in Harry's ear. "If you ever change back, maybe you can do more than look." Harry looked like she wanted to bolt, and Hermione instantly felt guilty that she had taken advantage of her vulnerable state.
"I'm sorry, Harry, I shouldn't have teased you."
"It's alright, Hermione," Harry replied, trying to keep what little composure she still had.
"Now," Hermione said as she positioned herself to teach Harry how to put on a bra, "you need to take your bra like this and put it around yourself backwards." She demonstrated for him and waited for him to imitate her. Harry fumbled with it for a couple of moments before she got it around her back. "Now, you can hook it in front of you so that you can see what you're doing. Now you're a little smaller than me around, so you want to hook it at its tightest setting, like this," and she demonstrated once again.
When Harry had finished with that step she continued. "Now, you slide it around until the cups are in front of you and you then position it so that your breasts are in them. Then you put your arms through the straps and position them on your shoulders to give you support." Once Harry had completed that, Hermione realized that she still didn't have enough support.
"Let me adjust the straps for you, Harry," she said as she moved around behind her. As she made the adjustments she took a moment to run her fingers through Harry's hair. Harry leaned back into the touch. Hermione quickly pulled her fingers out and Harry let out a little mew of disappointment.
Hermione felt a twinge of something she didn't understand, deep within her abdomen. To cover up her confusion she stepped around Harry and looked at her critically. "How does that feel?" she asked in a somewhat shaky voice.
"Better," Harry whispered.
Hermione smiled. "I'm glad. I just want you to feel good, Harry," she told him.
Harry looked really uncertain, but Hermione could see her steeling up her courage to press on. "What's going to happen, Hermione?"
"What do you mean, Harry?" she replied.
"With me? With us?" she asked. "What if my core never recovers and I'm a squib? What if I can't change back?" She was crying again. "I meant what I said yesterday – you're my everything…"
"Oh, Harry," Hermione said with a sigh. "Even if you lose your magic, which I don't believe for a moment will happen, I'll still be there with you. As for the other, I'll make this promise to you. If you're able to return to being a bloke again, ask me to be your girlfriend. I promise you I'll say yes." She smiled hopefully at her.
"And if I don't?" Harry asked.
"In that case I don't know," Hermione admitted with a frown. "I – I'm not a lesbian, Harry. The only thing I can tell you is that I'll never leave you, even if you don't turn back, I'll be there with you, and I'll still be your best friend forever."
Harry nodded her head slowly, the hurt evident in her expression. Hermione didn't know what to say to make that hurt go away.
"You don't have to say anymore," Harry said to her. "I understand. It hurts, but I understand." She sniffed back the threat of yet another crying jag.
Hermione pulled her into a bone-crushing hug. "It will be alright, Harry," she whispered into her ear. "You'll see, I promise."
"Of course it will," Harry returned, though Hermione thought that she sounded like she was trying to make herself believe it more than she was really agreeing with her.
She held the hug for maybe longer than was absolutely necessary, and then stepped back. "Now, let's get you into a pair of panties that actually fit you instead of those horrid boxers, and then into an outfit you can be proud to wear," she told him. She let out a soft giggle as she once again watched the color drain from Harry's pretty features…
Author's Note: This was actually a very tough chapter for me, a bloke, to wright. I had to put myself into Harry's place, and then write it from Hermione's POV. I hope that I did okay.
I haven't done this for a while, so my recommendation for the chapter is "A Hogwarts Christmas Story" by Bobmin356. There isn't really a pairing for the story, but it left me in tears, I was laughing so hard. You'll love how Harry handles Snape in this one, and Flitwick is the hero of the tale. Enjoy. I sure did.