A/N: More than one reader expressed concern about "Dumbledore bashing." I won't deny being entertained by stories where writers find all the ways he screwed up, but like with soul bonds, I'm using the cliche in a way that I think is a bit different — more three dimensional and less simplistic. He'll be an antagonist and an opponent, especially early on, but not evil. You may even find yourself sympathizing with him occasionally. Several popular cliches will be used in a similar way, in fact, so have a little patience, you may be surprised.

Recommendation: Story recommendation for this chapter is "More Important than Any Broomstick" by witowsmp. In third year, Harry realizes that Hermione is more important to him than his new broomstick and so chooses to stick with her rather than be mad at her.

Chapter 03 - Revelations and Repression

Thursday, December 10, 1994, Evening.

Minerva McGonagall was desperately wishing that she hadn't already committed herself to not having a second drink in front of her students — or at least that she hadn't caved in so early and had the first already. Of all the things that these two witches might have come to her about, including many of the more obscure and unusual issues, she had never considered Hermione Granger and Jasmine Potter asking her about how homosexuality was viewed in the magical world.

That might be because it was an issue she herself had avoided thinking about for such a long, long time. It brought up a lot of memories, some grand but many painful.

Firmly shutting the door on the ghosts of her own past, Minerva tried to focus on the teen witches in front of her. Suddenly, a number of things started to make sense, including things she hadn't consciously noted before. Actions like holding hands and having a silent conversation she had earlier chalked up to them simply being particularly close friends, but now those actions acquired rather different connotations. Then there was the comment Jasmine made about "her Hermione" which Minerva had ignored.

Eyes flicking back and forth between the girls' faces, the aging professor started slowly, "So…some things are becoming clear to me, I think. How long has this been going on, then?"

"Well, only today, frankly..." Hermione began.

"Actually," Jasmine interjected, "I've known this about myself for a while, though I've tried to ignore it or repress it as much as possible. Ditto with my feelings specifically for Hermione. However, this morning I learned that not only was I required to attend a Yule Ball I have no interest in, but I'd have to bring a date — presumably a boy who I also have no interest in." Minerva winced inwardly, recognizing the rebuke as rather justified now that she had more information.

"Basically, I had a panic attack — something that I hadn't gone through since before coming to Hogwarts, despite all the dangerous and scary things that have happened to me."

"I've been thinking about that, Jas." Hermione said, "I was worried about you because I hadn't seen a reaction like that from you before. It's because you didn't think I could accept it, wasn't it? Previously, whether you were facing dragons, dementors, basilisks, or whatever, you always felt that I was on your side, if not actually at your side. This time, though, you were convinced that you'd truly be alone. You feared that I might go so far as to abandon you, if I learned too much." Hermione leaned a bit closer, "I'm right, aren't I?"

Jasmine was staring down at her lap, unwilling to let anyone see the tears starting to form in her eyes. Sniffing, she said quietly, "Yeah." At that point, some of the crippling fear she'd experienced that morning came crashing back into her.

That was all Hermione needed to hear. Kneeling next to the chair, she pulled Jasmine into a hug, allowing the other girl to bury her head in Hermione's hair. Slowly rubbing her hand up and down the other girl's arm, Hermione whispered, "It's OK. I'm here and I'm not going anywhere. No matter what, I won't leave you."

If she'd had any doubts about what the girls were truly feeling, Minerva would have lost them all right there. This wasn't the sort of intimacy shared by girls who were experimenting or confused — and it was more than she'd expect to see between students who were simply friends. She'd long known that these two had an unusually close bond, but it had apparently morphed into something more serious without anyone realizing. I wouldn't have thought they could get any closer, but clearly I was wrong, she mused. I wonder how this will affect their day-to-day interactions?

Minerva gave Jasmine a minute to get the emotions out of her system, but eventually she had to clear her throat to get their attention. "I'm sorry, but we do need to move forward if we're to accomplish anything before curfew. Clearly your questions weren't hypothetical. Just so there aren't any misunderstandings, you're both attracted to witches rather than to wizards, have recently entered into a romantic, intimate relationship, and are concerned about the consequences for how you will be treated in magical society?"

"Ummm…" Jasmine began.

"Almost," Hermione said. "Jasmine is attracted to witches, and me in particular. I... well, romance isn't something I've given much thought to. I assumed I was straight, at least to the extent that the question occurred to me; but after my conversation with Jasmine, I guess I'm reconsidering. I need to do a bit of soul-searching to figure out what I really feel."

Looking over at The Girl Who Lived, she continued, "I don't know what I think about witches or women in general, but I think I'm attracted to Jasmine. Attracted enough, at least, to give dating a try. I wouldn't say we're exactly 'intimate' since we've only kissed a couple of times," she added, flushing slightly, "but we are close. So we were thinking of going as a couple to the Yule Ball. That, though, depends on people's reactions. We've never seen any openly gay wizards or witches, and given the general amount of bigotry in magical society, we're concerned."

Minerva raised her eyebrows. So close and in sync with each other, she thought to herself, yet only just now starting a relationship that is still tentative, at least on Miss Granger's part. I can't imagine what they'll be like if and when their relationship solidifies.

Deciding to get this out of the way, Minerva said, "I'm afraid I don't have good news, although I doubt that comes as a surprise to either of you. Relationships between magicals of the same sex are tolerated, but only barely and only if those relationships are kept absolutely secret. Essentially, if no one is confronted with the reality of such a relationship, they are willing to continue with the polite fiction that such relationships don't exist. In truth, they know the relationships exist and in fact often know that certain friends have such relationships, but they pretend otherwise."

Hermione opened her mouth, then closed it again. "Yes, Miss Granger?" Minerva prompted.

"I... I think I saw something about that on the news," Hermione answered. "Not among magicals, but a muggle military somewhere. In the last year or so they adopted a new policy of... I think it was not asking if members were gay, and no one had to tell their superiors if they were gay. It replaced a policy of actively hunting gays down and kicking them out."

Minerva nodded her head in understanding. "I'm not surprised that something similar can be found elsewhere. It's an easy way to pretend to be tolerant while forcing people into hiding and then removing them when they can no longer hide."

She continued with her explanation, saying, "Unfortunately, when pretending is no longer possible, the consequences for those involved can be dire. At least there are no longer any laws that would see such people imprisoned, but the social ramifications are bad enough. They'll lose most if not all of their friends; those who refuse to participate in the shunning risk being shunned themselves. No jobs will be available, and those who do try to provide jobs will find their own positions at risk. Stores and shops which employ such people lose most if not all of their business, much like if they openly employ werewolves."

Minerva stopped for a few moments to let all of this sink in. The news she had given them could have been worse, but not by much. Being open about their relationship simply wouldn't be an option, she knew that all too well. "As you can see, going to the Yule Ball as a couple would not be wise. You, Miss Granger, would naturally suffer the most." The brunette witch started with surprise at hearing this.

"Yes, you should already be aware that you're at somewhat of a disadvantage because you're a muggleborn. The fact that you regularly outperform purebloods who believe that they have a birthright to being superior makes it worse. Your peers here at school will be your peers in any future working environment, and neither of you have many friends or admirers among them by this point. That's important because the British magical community is far too small to avoid people who know you or at least know of you."

"I expect you will have difficulties when you leave Hogwarts, though I hope that your high achievements will overcome some of your problems if you find the right field. Adding in a relationship like this, however," she gestured to the two of them, "will make you virtually unemployable and a near pariah in magical society."

Minerva looked grim as she continued, "I'm sorry to say, but you'd almost certainly have to return to the muggle world just to find work to survive. There, however, you would be burdened by a woefully inadequate education, because students who attend Hogwarts have little chance to keep up with muggle schooling as well. So while you would be able to get work, it would not be work that is well-suited to your innate abilities or aspirations."

Jasmine frowned. "Would my experience really be that different?" she asked. "I may not start with all the same issues, but wouldn't the end result be pretty much the same? Surely being the Girl Who Lived wouldn't change something that serious?"

Somewhat taken aback by the question, Minerva responded, "No, not at all. To be sure, you'd also end up virtually unemployable, but you'd at least have your family's money, investments, and property to fall back upon. You wouldn't be accepted very well by society, however the Potter name should make up for a little of that, and you'd have enough resources that you wouldn't have to leave magical society simply to survive. Whether you'd want to stay or leave would be another question, of course."

At this, Jasmine's frown deepened and she was quickly joined by Hermione, who asked, "Money? Investments? What do you mean by that? Jasmine hasn't been told anything about any of that, have you?"

"No," the auburn-haired teen said tightly, clearly having trouble maintaining a hold on her anger. "Dumbledore again, right? What did I ever do to him to make him hate me so much…?"

"Oh, dear," sighed Minerva softly. "This is clearly something we're going to have to talk about at some point. I honestly never got the impression that he hated you; quite the contrary, in fact. However, I will obviously have to reconsider a lot of his decisions with regards to you. Suffice it to say, yes, you should have reasonable economic resources, even if it isn't all available until you are older. Yes, you should have heard something about it by now, even if not all the details. And, yes, it should go a long way to cushion any social blow created by a public revelation of your orientation. But we'll have to wait until later to talk further about all that. Right now, our immediate concern is the Yule Ball, yes?"

Both teen witches looked like they wanted to pursue this new issue, but they grudgingly conceded that it wasn't the priority right now.

"Very well, I think you'll agree that going to the Yule Ball as a couple would not be a good idea. Whether you're willing to accept the consequences or not, you're not yet at a point where you fully understand what those consequences will be or how you'll deal with them. You aren't even at a point yet where you fully understand your own relationship. Discretion and secrecy would be the best path right now."

It was clear to Minerva that neither of the younger witches were happy about this, but she had made her point about the ramifications of their relationship becoming public, and they acquiesced. "Have you given any thought to alternative plans? I'm afraid that I can't let you out of going to the Yule Ball. Well, short of a serious illness or injury that strikes you at the last minute — and I suspect that that would come under close scrutiny even if you were to do such a good acting job in advance that the whole school is convinced that you can't wait to attend."

Hermione decided to answer, knowing that Jasmine would need a little time to get her emotions under control, "Yes, we discussed a couple of alternatives. Jasmine going with a boy whom we trust is one option, particularly if we can trust him enough with our secret — after an oath, of course. We'd probably use the oath you created, since it's safer."

Minerva looked thoughtful at that. "I think that's probably your best option. I know how hard it will be to reveal your secret to someone else, but the benefits of a fellow student knowing will probably outweigh the risks. You'll find it hard to keep your new relationship hidden, but the help of a fellow student who is with you day after day will prove more useful than the help of a staff member like me. Can I ask whom you have in mind? Mr. Ronald Weasley, perhaps?"

"No!" Jasmine said, almost shouting and surprising the other two with the vehemence of her response. Looking a bit sheepish over having let the emotions of the previous topic carry over, she continued, "Look, I'll admit that he and I are better now than we were a month ago, but his reaction to my name coming out of the Triwizard Cup still hurts, and I haven't completely forgiven him. So I don't completely trust him, either — he's working on getting closer to me again, but it will be a while yet."

"And quite frankly," she said with a sigh, "even if things were as good as they were a year ago, I don't think I'd be willing to go on a fake date with him. Have you seen him eat?"

Hermione shivered and Minerva closed her eyes in sympathy. Both were well aware of the eating habits that the youngest Weasley boy demonstrated sometimes, and neither relished the prospect of trying to endure a nice dinner in his vicinity.

"More important, though," she continued, "is the fact that he has a tendency to blurt out whatever he's thinking, however inappropriate or hurtful. You should hear some of the things he's said to Hermione when they're arguing. I don't know that I'd ever trust him to be able to keep this to himself, even with an oath."

"The one person I can honestly think of trusting that much, with or without an oath, is Neville Longbottom. We aren't as close as I'd like to be for this, but we have gotten a lot closer recently because of his support and help in this tournament, and I think we'll keep getting closer over time." Hermione agreed with this wholeheartedly.

Minerva thought for a moment, then nodded, "Yes, I think he is a good choice. It's unfortunate that you probably haven't been made aware of this, but the Potter and Longbottom families have a longstanding tradition of working together. Mr. Longbottom lacks confidence, from what I've observed, but I think he has it in him to be a good friend — and hopefully a strong wizard." With a long-suffering glance heavenward, she added, "Eventually."

Jasmine was torn between happiness over the the revelation about the Longbottoms and annoyance that she hadn't known already.

Minerva continued, "I think we've accomplished all we can for tonight. It's getting late, and if your options for possible dates truly are so limited, you would be wise to talk to Mr. Longbottom before he decides to attend the ball with someone else. I'd recommend talking to him tonight, if at all possible — you should have enough time before curfew, if you hurry."

Looking at the nearby clock, both witches silently agreed to do exactly that. As they started for the door, however, their professor held up her hand to stop them. "Before you leave, I'd like to make it clear that I, personally, do not share the prejudices so prevalent in the rest of our society. I intend to advise and help you not merely because I wish to earn the trust I've lost, but also because I think it's the right thing to do. To be honest, I've long thought that you two have made a remarkable team as friends, particularly with the way you support each other, and I think that you will be more remarkable still if your relationship grows beyond mere friendship. If there is anything I can do to help or protect you, I will."

Jasmine and Hermione were shocked at this unalloyed statement of support, coming as it did from their normally undemonstrative professor. Stammering out their thanks, they rushed out of the office to go find Neville.

Once they were gone, Minerva sat lost in thought for a time, remembering missed opportunities and the shortsightedness of youth. With a shake of her head, she brushed something that might have been a tear from her eye and got up to return to her own quarters.

Racing along the empty stone corridors to get back to the Gryffindor common room, Jasmine Potter reflected on what she and Hermione had just been told by their head of house. She had suffered quite a few shocks from all the revelations, but at the moment it was Professor McGonagall's parting words that stuck out the most: they were and would be a remarkable couple because of how well they supported each other.

Jasmine wanted to think that this was true, she really did; but as the two of them ran she realized, much to her dismay, that it wasn't true at all. Sure, she thought to herself, Hermione has supported me in lots of ways, but have I done the same? When was the last time I went out of my way to support or help her like she did for me just this morning?

Skidding to a halt, she almost caused Hermione to fall. Instead of answering the questioning look she received, Jasmine simply pulled her into the closest empty classroom. Hermione had no idea what was going on, but didn't hesitate to cast her silencing and privacy charms on the door. When she turned back to her friend, she saw that she was almost in tears. "Jasmine! What's wrong?" she asked desperately.

"Hermione, I am so sorry. I've only now started to realize how bad of a friend I've been compared to you. McGonagall was wrong in saying that we support each other. You certainly support me — what you did for me this morning proves that — but I don't do nearly enough to support you. Then there are times when I hurt you, like the broomstick incident last year! I... I... I've been horrible!"

"Oh, Jasmine!" Hermione couldn't take it anymore and simply wrapped her friend in an embrace. She smiled a little, pleased that Jasmine cared enough to finally recognize and apologize for some of her flaws, but she needed to help the green-eyed girl understand that matters hadn't been nearly as bad as she evidently feared. And anyway, with Jasmine's background, who could blame her if emotional support didn't come effortlessly to her? In fact, Hermione worried a little that this might be one of those things that had to be learned by some critical age or it would never be learned properly at all. Now, though, was not the time for that sort of conversation.

"Jas," she said as she pulled back, "thank you for caring enough to say all that, but it's not nearly as bad as you make it out. I've been hurt a couple of times, but it's not like you're abusive or anything. You're not like Ron, at least, who often says things that hurt me. You do have some room for improvement, and we'll talk about that later; but for now, don't beat yourself up over it."

Despite her words, Jasmine didn't look particularly reassured. Biting her bottom lip in thought for a moment, Hermione continued, "In fact, I suppose I should make a confession about that broomstick incident. I had hoped to never say anything, but if you're going to keep torturing yourself over it, I suppose I'm going to have to."

Jasmine felt confused, not sure what Hermione could possibly have to confess.

"You and Ron got mad at me and stopped talking to me after I told Professor McGonagall about the broomstick. You feel bad about that, and, while it would have been nice if you had handled it better, I honestly didn't expect you to. You behaved exactly like I figured you would. Ron, too."

Letting go of her friend, Hermione sat at a nearby desk before resuming her explanation. "Once I saw that broomstick and realized what sort of danger it might pose, I had two options. The first option — the one that a good friend would have taken — was to talk to you first, and then only go to McGonagall if you refused to see reason. A good friend, a true friend, would have trusted you to see reason and do the right thing. Friends trust each other and have faith in each other. But I didn't do that. Do you want to know why?"

Jasmine was even more confused now. It sounded like Hermione was confessing to being a bad friend, but she couldn't imagine anyone being a better friend than her.

"I didn't do it because I was scared," Hermione continued. "I knew that if I went to McGonagall, you'd be mad, but I was certain that if I went to McGonagall after talking to you first, you'd be even madder — you'd see it as an even greater betrayal. I was afraid that if it came to that, you'd be far less likely to forgive me and resume our friendship. So I chose the option that represented being a worse friend, but gave me the best chance of not permanently losing my only friends. You know that I didn't have any real friends before Hogwarts, and the prospect of losing the only ones I'd ever known was truly frightening."

Taking a deep, shuddering breath as she tried hard not to cry, she finished off by saying, "I'll have you know, though, that I don't regret what I did and I wouldn't change it. As scared as I was of possibly losing my only friends, I was far more scared of you being killed by a cursed broomstick. I'd rather you hate me and be alive than die while still my friend."

Jasmine's emotions were all mixed up by now. As bad as she had thought the broomstick incident was, in some ways it was worse. Not only had she shunned her first and best friend over a disagreement about a piece of wood, but she had actually forced that friend to calculate what was more important: a friend lost or a friend dying. For an insecure girl who didn't have real friends before Hogwarts, giving up her only two friends would have been a huge sacrifice.

For some reason, though, Hermione was willing to forgive her. Reaching out and pulling her friend up into an embrace, she spoke softly into her bushy hair. "I'm so sorry I forced you into even considering such a choice. You're wrong, though, you know — the second option was the one that represented real friendship. Because when you picked it, you were consciously putting my life ahead of your own interests. You chose me over everything else, just like I promise I'll always choose you."

Both girls started to sob a bit after that, until Jasmine shook her head and tried to pull herself together. She was never this emotional and had no idea where this behavior was coming from, but she chose to focus on Hermione instead of that. Hermione said that she hadn't behaved as badly as she thought, she told herself firmly, and if Hermione said she was fine, then that would be good enough for her. "OK, if you're sure, then we'll talk about this later. We'd better get going and find Neville, though. I'm sorry for crying all over you."

With a deep breath of her own, Hermione smiled. "No worries, Jas. We'll be fine." Taking her hand, Hermione undid the spells on the door, and the two were off running again in search of a certain Gryffindor herbologist.