Chapter 24

Return to Hogwarts

As the Hogwarts Express shot its way to Scotland, Lily turned to her friends. "Uncle Sirius is more worried than he's letting on," she informed them, accepting the pumpkin juice Lavender pressed into her hands. Lavender allowed the cascade of sweets and savoury foods to pour from her arms onto Parvati, who grabbed the biggest looking chocolate bar.

"Well, think about what's happened in just three months alone. Peter Pettigrew was revealed to be the true traitor all along. Then there were the attacks during the Quidditch World Cup and now there is this deadly tournament with three European Wizarding Schools happening at Hogwarts," Hermione nudged Lily's side. "I think he may be overwhelmed and overthinking things. It would be stupid if anybody tried to hurt you, especially with so many people keeping an eye out."

"Besides, everyone is going to be too busy paying attention to the Tri-Wizard Cup to want to do anything," Ron exclaimed excitedly as he reached over and plucked a wiggling chocolate frog from the pile of treats. "We haven't had one since around 1792, and Hogwarts was in the lead by one. I wonder who the Champion for Hogwarts will be? I-"

"I think you should be a bit more concerned," Ginny interrupted, rolling her eyes. "Ever since you began school there's been something that happened. Why should your 4th year be any different? If anything, we should be more careful what with the school being packed with international students." At Ron's blank look, Ginny lightly kicked at his ankle. "With the tournament around, it will make everyone more distracted and less likely to guard Lily."

"Don't forget Lily will have us in the dorms, and I doubt anyone can get into Gryffindor Tower after what happened last year," Parvati said. "Padma will keep an eye on things from a Ravenclaw perspective, as well."

"I wonder who will teach us to dance?" Hermione thought aloud. "I can't imagine any of our professors teaching us. Can you imagine Snape trying?"

"Typically, for a ball, you have a partner to go with," Lavender began, before setting her eyes on Ron. "Ron, would you like to come to the ball with me?"

Ron blinked, the chocolate frog struggling weakly in his hands, as a deep blush worked its way up his neck and across his face. "Me?"

"I don't see any other Ron's here," she laughed, poking him with the edge of her liquorish wand. "So what do you say? Be my date."

"I, I'd like that a lot," he replied with a bashful grin, as Lavender returned it with her own cheeks glowing pink.

"Good thing we know in advance. I'm not sure who I will ask yet… Do you have anyone you want to go with, Lily?" Parvati asked.

"I haven't really thought about it," Lily answered. "I don't suppose many would want to go with me."

"Are you kidding? If third years were allowed, I'd go with you in a heartbeat," Ginny leaned back against the chair and took a long drink. "It's not fair. I have a gorgeous dress and nowhere to wear it…"

"It does grow with you," Hermione reminded her. "But maybe if you go to the ball with an older student, you will be allowed? We'll have to ask McGonagall."

"If I can go with an older student, then my question remains the same; if Lily wants, her and I could go together," Ginny said with a small shrug.

"We're both female, though…"

"Wizarding society doesn't care about matters like that," Hermione told Lily. "Gender doesn't really factor into many things when you leave school. It's just because hormones are so rampant for people our age, that we have the separate dormitories and bathrooms."

"Seriously? If gender doesn't matter, then why are so many freaking out about my being transgender?" Lily scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "That makes no sense."

"It doesn't. But I've come to realise that many things about the wizarding world is kind of backwards," Hermione chuckled. "I've been doing a lot of reading since you came out and while men and women are equal in so many ways, which makes us more advanced than the muggles, wizarding society as a whole also seem… more primitive."

"What do you mean?" Lavender asked, looking curious.

"In the last 100 years or so alone, Muggle society has come in leaps in bounds in terms of medicine, travelling to the moon, technology and even military wise," Hermione explained. "We have something called the internet as well, which allows us to access to unlimited knowledge all with just a few clicks of a button. But in terms of Wizarding society, there hasn't been any major advancements in any of what I just mentioned. Take transgender people, for example. Muggles have more knowledge about it, and ways to help a person feel more like their actual gender."

"That may be the case, but we don't need things like technology or what have you," Ron countered, leaning his elbows on his knees. "We have magic. That alone makes wizards better than muggles." At the glare Hermione sent him, he winced. "I don't mean it like that. I mean it like, because we have said magic to do so many things for us, we don't need that internet or the sciencycsts -"

"Scientists," Lily and Hermione corrected him at the same time.

"Yes, them. We don't need them to make cures for diseases because we have potions. Many things that Muggles have seen kinda pointless. Like my dad's obsession with rubber ducks. Why do you need rubber ducks when there are real life ones?"

"To entertain children while they're being bathed," Hermione said. "You can't exactly have a real duck bathing with a baby."

"But that's for muggles, isn't it? With magic, we can just conjure projections of ducks. Wizarding society doesn't need what muggles have. So really…" Ron shrugged. "I'd rather be a wizard than muggle."

"So you're saying you're better than muggles because you have magic?" Hermione asked coldly. "Are you better than me because you grew up with magic before the age of 11?"

"Nobody is saying anything like that, Hermione," Lily interrupted, gently. "I think what you're both getting at is that muggle society may be more advanced than wizarding society in many ways, but wizarding society are more so in others. That doesn't make any better than the other."

"What Lily said. Both have advantages and disadvantages, but that doesn't mean one is worse than the other," Parvati piped up. "Can we go back to talking about the ball now?"

"Yeah. I'm still waiting to hear if Lily would go to the ball with me," Ginny laughed. "So what do you say, girl who lived?"

"Bring it on, Gin Gin," Lily giggled, self-consciously. Her heart fluttered in her chest. "I have no idea how to dance, though."

"Can you imagine if Dumbledore taught us?"

"Imagine if it were Binns!"

"Oh, how about Hagrid?"

"Come on, we all know it will be Snape," Lily said in mock seriousness. The carriage laughed and the tensions from the growing argument faded.


The Great Hall was bustling with the usual excited natter of the welcoming feast. Hermione, however, overheard Nearly Headless Nick talking about how the food was prepared by house elves, with Peeves nearly scaring them all, and pushed away her barely touched plate in outrage.

Lily knew she was still angry at Mr. Crouch for how he had treated Winky and considered it slave labour. She nudged Hermione gently, getting her attention.

"Hermione, think of Dobby. He gets paid, yes, but he prefers to work over being paid too much, right?" Lily told her with an understanding smile. "I know you don't like it, but it's their culture. Have you ever spoken to a house elf, other than Dobby?"

"Well, no," Hermione confessed. "But it just doesn't seem right."

"Speak to them and ask them question; maybe you can learn something. Sure, Dobby wanted freedom, but imagine if he had belonged to me and Uncle Sirius for all this time instead of the Malfoys. We'd have treated him right, and he might not have wanted to leave, and not had any worry about being paid," Lily pointed out. "From what I gathered, from talking to him over the last year or so, he loves working. It brings him a sense of purpose, and achievement. I'm pretty sure that they must be paid in some way as well. Can you see Dumbledore exploiting them? It may not be in money but…"

"I guess that does make a certain sense," Hermione agreed. She stared down at her food before sighing and picking up her cutlery, resuming the meal.

Lily's eyes were drawn to the rather frightening looking man taking the position of Defence Against The Dark Arts. May-Eye Moody looked scarred and haggard, and it was very obvious why he was known as Mad-Eye. The magic eye bulged in its socket, sweeping over the Hall in rapid succession. When it shot to her, staring intently, Lily resisted a shiver and tried to finish her meal. It was hard to ignore the sensation that she was being carefully watched.

When everyone had finished eating, Dumbledore announced that the Quidditch Cup wouldn't be held, to a chorus of boos and angry calls, but everyone settled down when he mentioned the Tri-Wizard cup. Fred and George had both called out 'you're joking!' before whooping in excitement and, at the head table, only a cough from Minerva had stopped Dumbledore going off on a tangent about a joke he'd heard over the summer.


The Gryffindor common room was packed with old and new students alike. Fred and George had already gathered a small circle of listeners as they plotted, loudly, about entering the Tri-Wizard Cup by using an age potion.

"Dumbledore no doubt would have thought about any loopholes.," Lily pointed out as she squeezed her way to the front of the small crowd. "Plus, you do realise that people have died, right?"

"That was years ago! It'll be safer this year. And did you hear how much money the winner would get?! A thousand galleons! Who wouldn't want that?" Fred cried out, with an excited grin. "You can't say you wouldn't enter if you were old enough. You've already faced more than most kids here."

"Maybe, but I'd rather not go looking for trouble because of everything I've faced. Plus, no offence, I don't care about the money. I'd rather give you both the thousand galleons myself than watch you do something so dangerous!" Lily exclaimed.

The twins froze, blinking.

"Blimey Lily, you're really concerned, aren't you?" George said.

Lily rolled her eyes, fondly. "You guys are practically family. Of course I'm concerned!"

"Hey, if we were able to enter, you know we'd be okay, right? We may not have the grades, but we're pretty good at magic," Fred told her gently. "We can take care of ourselves."

"There's no question on your magical abilities," Lily began, placing her hands on her hips. "But that isn't the point. There is a reason for the age limit, and also a reason why the Tournament was banned for so many years. Yeah, it's been made safer, and maybe I'm just jaded due to my own experiences over the last few years but think about it. 3 years ago, we had a teacher possessed by Voldemort. 2 years ago, a phantom of him possessed one of our own and released a deadly basilisk on students. Last year, we discovered that one of his followers had been staying in Hogwarts as an illegal Animagus! The chance of a quiet year is unlikely because of this tournament and having two different wizarding schools staying but at least we can try and not exacerbate any sort of trouble or danger by abiding by the rules."

"It would be great to have a Gryffindor champion," Angelina spoke up. She pushed some hair off her face. "But you do have a point… along with the attack at the Quidditch World Cup, maybe it would be best if us underage students left the tournament for the 7th years."

"Truthfully, it seems foolish to even have the tournament begin again," Lily stated. "But whatever happens, we should stick together and keep each other safe."

"Well, there goes our dreams of fame and fortune," Fred sighed, but he ruffled Lily's hair. "Alright, Lily-kins, we won't enter the tournament."

"Fame may sound great but believe me it's more of a nuisance than anything," Lily said dryly. "I'd love to have anonymity and just be, well, Lily. Just Lily."

"You're the least outgoing famous person we know," George chuckled. "People should know you for your enormous heart."

"Just, don't try anything foolish," she concluded softly. "We may be Gryffindors and characterised by bravery but that doesn't mean we should seek out danger. I care about you, about all of you. I don't mean to be a kill joy, I just… yeah. I don't know. Maybe it is anxiety but let's keep an eye on each other, okay?"


The next morning, Lily received a letter halfway through breakfast. She gave Hedwig a piece of bacon as a way of thanking her, before opening it with bated breath. It was Madam Pomfrey, asking her to go to the hospital wing as soon as she was able. Barely able to hold back her excitement and hope, she wolfed down her breakfast and raced to the hospital wing with Ron and Hermione in tow.

"Welcome back, Miss Potter. I won't beat around the bush or leave you hanging; I've got a new potion for you to take," Madam Pomfrey said in greeting. "Over the holidays, I conferred with a number of colleagues at St. Mungo's, and some well-known potion masters, and together, we were able to come up with this," she revealed a small vial of a red liquid, holding it for all of them to see.

"What does it do?" Hermione's question got there before Lily's; Lily knew Hermione was as interested in this as Lily was, although for different reasons.

"We call it the Femininus Draught, for good reason. This will, at a fundamental level, begin to alter your body chemical's so that you produce Estrogen instead of Testosterone. It will also shift some of your body fat to your hips, giving you a more feminine figure, as well as prevent most production of testosterone. You see, the female body produces between 1/10th to 1/20th the amount of testosterone that men do, although some women can produce more than others," Madam Pomfrey explained. "Are you with me so far?"

"That's a masculine hormone, isn't it? Some of what it does is muscle mass, male reproductive parts and body hair?" Hermione asked.

"Miss Granger, if I could give you house points, I would," Madam Pomfrey smiled as she spoke. "That is some of what it does. It also regulates the male libido. While the current potion you're taking reduces testosterone, Miss Potter, this one will provide you with estrogen. As such, you might find yourself having some emotional outbursts or feeling overly emotional over the next few years as you develop through a female puberty. You'll develop breast tissue as well, and your voice will become more feminine naturally."

"How often will I need to take it?" Lily asked, unable to take her eyes of the glinting red vial.

"Like the masculine prevention potion you've been taking, you'll need to take this every morning as well. I'll make sure you have some with your breakfast. You're quite lucky; one potion master was able to ensure it tasted vaguely of strawberries." Madam Pomfrey said.

"Will it be a daily potion for the rest of my life?"

"Potentially. We're still working on it, and there may be more we can do, but this will take some time," Madam Pomfrey said. "Go on, see how it is!"

Lily uncorked the vial and downed it in one. "It definitely tastes of strawberries."

"Excellent. There is a muggle surgery that people are given when they're old enough, called, amongst others, Gender Affirming Surgery. It means that male anatomy is altered to become female, and vice versa. We think we can do this, but we need to do a lot more research. We want to make sure you've been on hormones for at least two years so please, be patient," Madam Pomfrey explained. The medi-witch smiled at Lily. "If I may say something, as well…"

Lily nodded, curious.

"If it were anybody other than you needing this done, our society would no doubt stay decades behind the muggles in terms of helping transgender people. As much as you dislike your fame, and the reasons for it, it's benefitting you and others in your position greatly."

Lily blushed, shrugging awkwardly. "I'm just glad this will help others feel more like their authentic selves. Thank you for all you're doing, Madam Pomfrey. And Professor Snape too. I'm assuming he has also had a major role in the development of this potion, too."

"You can thank him yourself," the matron pointed out. "Now, hurry to your lessons. Come straight back to me if you begin to experience any sort of side effects."

As the three rushed to their first lesson of term, Lily couldn't stop the beam crossing her face.


Sitting alone in the old house, Peter Pettigrew took the spoon away from Voldemort's pale, thin lips, and put it in the bowl. "I… I've heard from your spy, Master. He will ensure that Potter's name is placed into the tournament, and that he will compete," Peter said, his voice shaky.

"Good. This is important; I will be able to use him and before the year is out, everything will be ready," Voldemort's raspy voice said.

"M-Master, you… you said you wanted Potter's male name used?" Peter stammered. "Hogwarts knows him as Lily. Would the Cup mirror that?"

"It matters not what name is used; he will have no choice but to compete." Voldemort weakly coughed. "My plan will be ensured."