Disclaimer: I do not own anything other than the story line . All rights belong to J.K. Rowling

Author's Note: I have received a couple of reviews and approximately fifteen private messages urging me to rethink my stance on further lemons. The logic was actually quite sound, and I will consider it in future chapters. There will not be any lemons in this chapter.

Chapter Seven: Upsetting the Apple Cart

Hermione was having a hard time coming to grips with the crazy mixed up world that was her life. She thought all the really tough things had been conquered when she accepted that she was indeed a witch and would be going to a school designed with people like her in mind.

Strangely enough, upon looking back at the last few years, that was just the tip of the iceberg. If anyone had told her back then that in just four short years she would have to try and help her girlfriend, who was the "Boy-Who-Lived", to adjust to life as a girl after he was almost killed by the backlash from her own magic, well, she probably would have looked at them as if they had grown a third eye. Of course, in the world of magic a third eye just might have been considered rather normal…

Then there was the fact that she was dating a guy who happened to be a girl, who was being stalked by the most evil wizard ever. Would anything in her life ever be normal again? Did she even want to have normalcy in her life? After all, at this moment she was happier than she ever had been before.

It was an honor and a privilege to be the best friend of Harry Potter. He was kind, courteous, thoughtful and brave. He was devoted to her in ways that she had only imagined a person could be. He never made her cry, he never purposefully made her upset, he always put her first in front of all others. He had confessed to her that he was in love with her.

All in all, he was perfect in so many ways. The crazy part was that he was now a she. Hermione had never thought that she could be attracted to a girl. She had admitted as much to Harry just shortly after he had transformed into a girl. It had broken her best friend's heart.

Now, Hermione had to admit that she had been wrong. Looking at things objectively, she realized that she had always been rather a thinker, more cerebral than most. She had been over-thinking things. No matter what, it was Harry inside Jamie's body, and once she realized that it was just a different covering for the one that she loved, she came to accept the beauty that Harry had become.

And Harry as Jamie really was beautiful. She had elfin features, and soft, luscious lips that just begged to be kissed. They were satiny to the touch, and left her feeling breathless after each snogging session. Harry's black hair had been messy and unruly as a boy, as a girl she had hair that made Hermione insane with the intensity of the feelings she got when she ran her hair through it.

Then there were her hands. Such slender, long-fingered hands with just a touch of longer-than-normal nails. Those nails did such incredible things to her. She shivered with the thought of Harry's touch. Oh the heights those nails had driven her to, the places they had reached. Her girlfriend might have been a novice at sex, but she was a very quick learner.

A smile came to her face when she thought of some of her girlfriend's other physical features. Her breasts were small, but perfectly developed, capped with a pair of overly sensitive nipples the size of pencil erasers. Her arse was a thing of beauty, with a shape that artists had historically fought over for the right to sculpt. It fit perfectly in Hermione's hands, and whenever she did Harry would squirm in exquisite agony.

The thought of the other side of Harry's body was making her wet to even think about. Hermione had said that she wasn't a lesbian, but she certainly seemed to have some bi tendencies. Perhaps the psychologists were correct when they maintained that all women had such tendencies, they just needed something to bring them out. Hermione didn't know if that was correct, but she suspected that she wouldn't have ever found out if Harry hadn't transformed. Harry aroused her no matter what form she had; no other girl had ever held any sexual fascination for her, not even Fleur Delacour, who Hermione had to admit was as close to physical perfection as she had ever seen.

She let out a sigh, wondering where Harry had gotten to. She had taken a shower early that morning and then wandered off with a book. This new Harry certainly had a few differences from the boy she had known, but then, she supposed that it was to be expected.

She was broken from her musings by a ring of the doorbell. She wondered who would be there on a Saturday morning. Calling out to her mother she announced that she would get the door. She quickly made her way down the stairs and across the foyer. When she opened it she was surprised to see Professor Dumbledore standing there. Add in the fact that he wasn't alone, and Hermione was both startled and more than a little confused; especially when she didn't know either of the two witches that were accompanying her Headmaster.

"Hello Professor," she said softly. She glanced at the two witches. One was about the same height as her, perhaps half an inch taller, with vivid purple hair. She was wearing a Holyhead Harpies tee shirt, stretched taut over her rather ample chest. She had on faded jeans and an old pair of Doc Martins. Hermione estimated her age to be somewhere in her late teens to early twenties.

The other girl was at least two to three inches shorter than Hermione. She was platinum blonde and dressed in what looked to be a dress directly from the hippie movement across the pond. She had a rather blank expression in her protuberant blue eyes. The skin around those eyes was puffy, and Hermione could make out the slight staining on her cheeks from where tears had run down them. Her heart went out to the young girl, for young she was, probably a year or two younger than Hermione herself.

"Won't you come in, Professor?" she asked. Whatever had happened, she was sure that all would be explained shortly.

"Thank you, Miss Granger," he replied as he stepped into the foyer and moved to the side so the other two could enter as well. "Are your parents and Jamie here?"

"They are," she said. "Would you care to sit in the living room while I fetch them?" Receiving an affirmative answer she led them in and once they were sitting she hurried off to find everyone.

It wasn't long before she had the others following her into the room. Her mother had been fixing lunch, while her father had been teaching Harry the intricacies of football. She had to chuckle to see the grass stains on Harry's shoulder and her socks. Apparently Robert Granger hadn't lost the touch that had made him an alternate on the English National team for the World Cup competition in late eighties.

While her parents took their usual seats, she and Harry sat down on the love seat opposite the couch where the guests were sitting.

"Hello Professor," Robert greeted the Headmaster.

"Hello Dr. Granger," Dumbledore replied with a twinkle in his eye. "Might I be permitted to introduce you to Ms. Nymphadora Tonks…" The witch bristled at the mention of her first name. "… and to Ms. Luna Lovegood." He indicated each in turn. "Miss Tonks is a recent graduate of Hogwarts, and a trainee in the Auror department. She also has some talents that I thought would be very helpful to Jamie in her efforts at changing her appearance." He smiled at Harry who looked startled and scooted a little closer to Hermione.

"Do you really think you can help Jamie?" Jane Granger asked Tonks.

"Yeah," the witch replied. "I think that I can. If she's like me, then I'm one of the few in England that can understand what she's going through and help her to come to grips with her talents. Professor Dumbledore tells me that she tests with very high potential, and I'd really love to see what she can accomplish. There are exercises that I can teach her which will help her control everything."

"With that thought in mind, I was wondering if we could impose upon your hospitality to take in these two for a while," the Headmaster said.

"I can understand about Miss Tonks," Robert said, "but what about – Miss Lovegood was it?" He looked at the petite blond. She hadn't moved and he wasn't even sure if she had blinked yet or not. If he were a betting man he would have put money on the latter.

"Ah yes," the aged Professor started, "Miss Lovegood is to be a fourth year Ravenclaw, and was home enjoying her holidays with her father, Xenophilius. Xeno owns and publishes a magazine called the Quibbler. His magazine has always been somewhat controversial, and though it is usually thought of as mildly humorous by most of the wizarding population, apparently his latest editorial upset someone a little too much.

"He wrote a piece accusing several high-level government officials of some rather unsavory acts. Yesterday he paid a very high price for his work. Young Luna here found him in their home, suffering the after effects of a Dementor's kiss. Unfortunately, as Hermione can attest to from her studies, the kiss removes a person's soul from their body, leaving a vegetable of a shell. There is no recovery from such an attack.

Hermione looked at the Headmaster, a look of deep horror on her face. She glanced at Luna, and though the girl's expression hadn't changed in the least, tears were now running down her cheeks and she was trembling violently. In a flash she and Harry were up and had each taken one of Luna's hands. They led her back to the love seat and snuggled up on either side of her.

"What about her mother?" Jane asked.

"Alas, her mother died when she was but nine years of age, the victim of an accidental spell failure and backlash. Luna witnessed her mother's death. She has been through so much, and I fear for her if she does not receive some much needed caring and understanding. Since Jamie is an orphan, she can understand some of what Luna is going through. Also, if I might say so, your daughter is one of the most caring individuals I have ever seen. She has the caring, loyalty and work ethic of a Hufflepuff, the intelligence of a Ravenclaw, and the courage and ethics of a true Gryffindor. She is a true credit to the school." He smiled warmly at one of his favorite students.

"Thank you, Professor," Hermione whispered. She looked at Harry and then her parents. "We have to help, Mum," she pleaded.

"Of course we will, Kitten," Jane responded. "We have the room, and I think it will be good for you and Jamie. It would probably help in both of them to heal."

"Thank you," Dumbledore told her. "There is also the added benefit of the wards that I have placed here. They should protect Luna in case whoever sent the Dementor after Xeno tries to finish off his daughter." He pulled out a miniaturized trunk from his pocket and set it on the floor next to the couch. With a flick of his wand he restored it to its original size.

"This is a compartmentalized trunk, similar to the one that Professor Moody had at school," he explained. "In it is all of Luna's possessions including all of her clothing." He stood and shook the Granger adults' hands. "I must be leaving, as there are numerous details that I must see to in my duties as Headmaster and leader of the Wizengamot. One of those duties is to check and see what information or leads the Aurors have come up with concerning Ms. Lovegood's case. It is my belief that someone in the Ministry is responsible, and I intend to find out who it is. If you will excuse me, I shall take my leave of you. I shall, of course, return periodically to check on Ms. Lovegood and on Jamie."

*0*0*

It took three long days before they could get Luna to say a word. It was obvious that she had been severely traumatized by what had happened. Both Hermione and Harry had spent almost all their time with the girl in an attempt to make her feel loved and cared for. The only time this wasn't true was when Harry was working with Tonks to release his potential metamorphmagus talent and when they were asleep.

It happened as Hermione and Luna were just leaving the kitchen after a late breakfast. Both of Hermione's parents were at work, Harry was with Tonks and Hermione was walking with the young witch into the living room.

Something seemed to catch Luna's eye, perhaps spurring a memory. "Daddy?" Luna said in a quavering voice. "Why?" She looked around wildly. "DADDY!" she screamed before she crumpled. Hermione just managed to catch her before she hit her head on the floor.

"Why why why why why why why…" she babbled. Hermione just clutched her to her breast.

"Shhh…" she whispered soothingly. She heard the footfalls as Harry and Tonks came thundering into the room. They came to a stop as Luna pulled back and looked Hermione in the eye.

"How can I go on?" she asked. Hermione's heart broke for her. Wiping back tears of her own she reached out and stroked the girl's cheek.

"With help from your friends," she explained.

"Friends?" Luna asked. "I've never had friends." It was a simple statement, but it cut Hermione to the core.

"You've got us," she whispered. "Jamie, Tonks and I. We're your friends now. We shan't leave you, Luna. You don't have to face this alone. Let us help."

Luna looked at the three of them. "You're my friends? Really? I have friends? But don't you think I'm loony? Everyone thinks I'm loony. Poor, silly Loony Lovegood, foolish little Ravenclaw, no-one to love Loony. That's what they all say. They think that I don't hear what they whisper, but I do. I see and hear everything.

"Everything hurts, everywhere is pain. I thought it would be different at school, but it's just the same. Nobody tries to understand, nobody cares, everybody lies." She sniffed loudly. "Why, Hermione? Why does everybody hate me?" She was crying freely now. "I miss Mummy so much. Only Daddy would understand. Only Daddy would hold me. Only Daddy was there… And now he's gone!" she wailed.

"Luna," Hermione began, "we can't take the place of your Dad, but we can be here for you. Jamie is orphaned too, and she's finally found someone to care for her. She understands how you feel. Tonks and I are outcasts too. We know what it's like. I'm a bookworm, shunned by everyone. Tonks is only wanted for who she can become. Nobody is interested in the real her. You see, the four of us can be outcasts together. We want to learn all about you. We want to get to know you, Luna Lovegood, the quirky Ravenclaw witch. We want to help you get through this. Please let us. We want to be there for you, and we want you to be there for us. Please."

Jamie came up beside her. "I've always wanted a family, Luna. Do you think that maybe you could be a little sister to me? I've never had family before, never been able to do the things that people do with siblings. I want that feeling, the feeling of having sisters."

She ran her fingers through Luna's curls. "I can't have that with Hermione," she explained. "You can't be sisters with your girlfriend, it's a different kind of love. I'd really like to have that feeling of siblings with you and Tonks," she whispered.

"Really?" Luna asked.

"Why not?" Jamie replied. "I know we've only known each other for a few days, but something is drawing all of us together, and I get the feeling that whatever that is, this is necessary. I don't know why, and I don't really care. I just know that I this is something that we all seem to need." She looked at each of them. "Does that make sense?"

Realizing that she probably needed to reassure Hermione that she wasn't looking for anything more from the other two witches, she leaned over and placed a soft kiss on her lips. "I love you," she whispered.

"Love you too," Hermione replied with a caress of Jamie's cheek. "We don't have to understand everything, Sweetheart. At the end of the day, magic will have its due. If our magic is leading us this way, then it is what it is." She looked up at Tonks. "What do you think?"

"I think you could be right, Hermione," the older witch replied. "Bloody Hell, we've got two who are orphans and two who are the only child. Four lonely witches who have found each other. Merlin only knows why. Why not? I'm in."

*0*0*

Hermione sat cross-legged on her bed next to Luna as she watched her girlfriend strain with effort. She could see the lines of frustration across Jamie's forehead as she concentrated hard on her appointed task.

"You've got to relax, Jamie," Tonks said. "Let it flow, like a liquid. Don't try to change a solid shape, be like water."

"I'm bloody trying," Jamie spat out.

Tonks let out a sigh. "Maybe we're going at this the wrong way," she said. "It just came naturally to me, but then I started out a lot younger than you, and from what you've explained about growing up in a Muggle orphanage, your magic probably suppressed itself so you could survive the Muggle world." She thought for a moment. "I have an idea. Instead of trying to change your features to look like someone else, like I did when I started, let's work on just one aspect. Just concentrate on your hair. Try to picture yourself with hair the same color as Hermione's. Can you do that?"

"I'll try," Jamie said, somewhat expasperated. She scrunched up her face with the effort. After two minutes she gave up, gasping. "It's no use," she said in a bitter tone.

"Er, Jamie," Hermione interrupted.

"Yeah Babe?" she replied.

"Look in the mirror," she said with a smile. As Jamie did so Hermione held up a small mirror behind her so that she could see the back of her head reflected in the two mirrors. There, running down the back of her head from the top of her scalp was a bushy brown lock of hair…

Jamie let out an excited squeal. "I did it!" she exclaimed. "Tonks, Luna, I did it!"

Hermione smiled wide as she watched the one she loved get hugs from the two other girls. Things were finally starting to come together. Luna was opening up. Tonks was starting to understand that someone could like her for who she was, not just for what she could become, and her Harry was experiencing love and caring, no matter what she looked like or what she called herself. Seeing the beatific smile on her face made Hermione realize that maybe something good would come from all of this after all.

Author's Note: Next chapter: The group dynamic grows, another meeting with the Marauders, Harry and Hermione get to spend some quiet time with each other, and Luna asks a very pointed question...

I have a story recommendation for this chapter: Death and a Butterbeer Chaser, Hold the Cat, by ApAidan. I read it yesterday and fell in love with it. A must read for Harry/Hermione fans.