Save point loaded!

Harry stared at the words that floated in front of his eyes. If he were a little less sane he'd even say they were mocking him… no they were totally mocking him. He blinked and the words were gone, as if he'd imagined them.

Slowly, Harry looked up, a mouthed, "What the fuck," on his lips as he finally looked around.

It was the Great Hall of Hogwarts castle, filled to the brim with students- most in Hogwarts robes, but he could see several wore different uniforms. The entire room was darkened, windows shaded and the ceiling's enchantment showing the night sky; the only light came from the dimmed candles and a roaring blue fire held in a goblet at the top of a very high pedestal.

It was then that Harry registered where exactly he was at. The Triwizard Tournament champion selection ceremony. He felt himself get a bit lightheaded at the thought of having to redo his schooling again.

"HARRIET JAMIE POTTER!" Dumbledore's voice rang out, echoing across the silent- save for the crackling fire- room.

Harry sat there uncomprehendingly until he felt a nudge on his knee, "That's you, Harry- go," Hermione's quiet voice urged him.

"R-right," he said in a pitched voice, stumbling slightly as he stood from the benches and approached Dumbledore and the goblet.

"Through the door there, please." Dumbledore motioned to the side, and Harry listlessly followed the motion.

Fleur was the first one to notice him. "Is zere an issue? Do zey want us back in ze hall?"

Harry waggled his head back and forth, noting he had more hair than usual. "There… is an- uh an issue, yeah." His voice definitely felt weird.

"EXTRAORDINARY! UNPRECEDENTED! EXCITING!" Ludo Bagman exclaimed as he burst into the room. "Ladies and Gentlemen, the Triwizard Tournament has a fourth champion!"

"That's the issue," Harry said in a small voice.

Fleur's eyes narrowed, Victor's face darkened, and Cedric looked almost as lost as Harry did.

"Zat is a very funny joke, Mister Bagman," Fleur said.

"Oh, I assure you, her name came out of the Goblet- same as all of yours. It is no joke! It is incredible!"

"It is the Triwizard Tournament, not the Quadwizard Tournament, no?" Fleur continued. Ludo paused there, contemplating her words. "Besides, she is too young to compete. It was for sixth years and up, yes?"

As Bagman started to stutter out a reply, the rest of the headmasters and officials burst through the doors.

"Madame Maxime! Zis man is saying zat zis little girl is to compete!" Fleur complained, waving her hand at Harry.

Harry took that time to look at his hand. Before, what he vaguely remembered of this happening, he got angry at Fleur for that but… he couldn't help but agree, now. His arm was slightly slimmer than what he remembered, the hands and nails much more taken care of, he noticed. Taking a closer look, he noticed that they were painted- moving paint, even. He smiled faintly at what looked like someone on a broom flying past his fingernails towards a quidditch goal on his thumb.

"Harriet," Dumbledore said in a quiet voice. Harry looked up- the old headmaster had his hand on his shoulder and looking at him with the utmost concern.

"Yes, professor?" he asked.

"Did you put your name in the Goblet of Fire?"

"No, sir."

"Did you ask an older student to put your name in the Goblet of Fire?"

"No, sir." He shook his head this time. "I have enough fame as it is; and I'd rather hoped for a quiet year this year," He explained further.

"Thank you, Harriet," Dumbledore said, under the voice of another headmaster voicing their thoughts.

Harry tuned out again as he looked back at his nails again, entranced as the quidditch player continued to circle around. Lifting up his other arm, he noticed that a different scene played out- it was a seeker going after the snitch, which flitted around his fingernails. Curious, he brought his hands together, and the two quidditch players started to fly through both hands, going after their respective goals.

Eventually, watching them could only hold his attention for so long before he got bored, so he let his hands fall and looked around. The teachers and officials were still arguing, which made Harry curious if he could just… slip away without anyone noticing. He still had to figure out what that mysterious message was, and why… everything's weird.

Harry had managed to make it to the wall, pretending to look around the storage room's contents, when the door slammed open and Moody clunked in. He jumped a bit when the door slammed open, but calmed down when it was just Moody arriving to make things even more of a mess. As Harry wandered ever closer to the now-open door, he wondered if Moody would call him out on leaving.

"Alastor!" Dumbledore said harshly, and that was the last word Harry heard as he slipped out the door.

The Great Hall was now devoid of students, likely having been sent to their dorms. It felt… bigger for lack of a better word as he walked between the tables. Coming to a standstill just past the doors, he glanced towards the grand staircase(s) before striding forward and outside. The cool night air bit into his skin and stabbed his nostrils as he took a deep breath.

He took out his wand and lit it up before making his way down to the lakeside shore. The water lapped gently against the stones as he sat down, the ripples from wind and the giant squid's movements creating a gentle atmosphere. Harry sat there for a few moments, enjoying the tranquility, before finally addressing himself.

"I'm… a girl," he spoke aloud, finally looking down and recognizing the rest of his body. He was wearing, of course, the girls' school uniform. Though his skirt went down to just below his knees rather than above like he'd seen on other girls' uniforms. His breasts were… "Small, but that's probably a good thing," he voiced aloud, thinking about quidditch. He wasn't flat, but he wasn't heaving footballs like Lavender did.

His wandering hands eventually went lower, towards… "Yeah. Definitely a girl." He smiled wryly, readjusting how he sat slightly. Ignoring how his breathing changed and the strange feeling down there, he took a deep breath before lying down to look at the sky. In all honesty, he didn't feel… wrong. It didn't feel any more different than he did as a guy. Of course, there way the physical changes and slight mental changes because of different hormones and chemicals, but he didn't feel… different.

He just felt like Harry Potter.

Ah, wasn't this something he talked with his therapist about? The lack of self-worth and not really having a solid identity. And his "saving people thing" which was described as "Almost suicidal ideation stemming from a lack of self-worth and the idea that everyone but you needs help." It was almost impressive how many issues he had if it weren't so concerning. Though it didn't surprise him that most of it stemmed from the Dursley's abuse- the vast majority of it being emotional abuse and neglect rather than physical.

When he finally realized that, yes, the Dursleys weren't good people and yes, he could learn to live without their shadows, it was freeing. Of course, that didn't account for the rest of the abuse suffered from Dumbledore's hands, which was surprising to learn about. Now that he's lived and grown and learned, Harry can look back and say with certainty that Dumbledore was doing his best, but didn't know half of what he was doing.

It was certainly something to relate to with the old man.

A familiar hooting call caused Harry to look up, as- "Hello, Hedwig. It's good to see you again," Harry smiled as his oldest and most faithful companion landed next to him. Hedwig preened as he stroked her feathers.

"I was wondering where you wandered off to," a voice spoke up. Harry looked up to see Hermione staring down at him.

"Hey, 'mio."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "The house is in an uproar because you haven't come back yet, though they've already started the party."

"Figured. Gryffindors are rather impatient."

"We're both Gryffindors, Harrie." Ah, he could spot the minute difference between Harry and Harrie now that he's not so frazzled.

"I'm not wrong."

Hermione sighed as she sat down. "You aren't. Still, why are you out here instead of back in the castle?"

"Had to think on a few things, and I couldn't really do that if there's a party going on in the common room, now could I?"

"I suppose not. What were you thinking on?"

"Me. Life. The world. The tournament." he added as almost an afterthought. It really wasn't the most critical thing to him in that moment, since he'd already gone through it once.

"I don't think you did it," Hermione said after a moment of silence. "You had no reason to participate in the tournament, and you've often made clear how much you hate your fame. Participating in a death tournament- I've looked it up- for money and fame is just-!" Hermione cut her tirade off with a huff. "I don't get why people are so… excited about it."

"Competition, I've found, especially if you're part of a group, is a way to get people excited and start othering people. Humans are bloodthirsty, violent creatures; Wizards to an extreme with our level of durability. Throughout history, there's always been conflict- either for enjoyment or for ideals. The World Wars, gladiators in Ancient Rome, the Crusades, and more." Harry rolled his head over to look at Hermione again. "Today is no different, we've just found ways to be less bloody or violent about it through sports and tournaments like this."

"In the full history of the Triwizard Tournament, there has always been at least one participant death. The latest one had all three contestants die before they shut it down," Hermione said flatly.

"Wizards tend to be bloodthirstier than normal people."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Come on, let's get back to the dorm."

"Yes'm." Harry rolled to his knees before standing, Hedwig flying upward to land on his shoulder to begin preening his hair. As he walked ahead of Hermione, he could hear her suck in a breath before letting it out in a sigh.

They managed to make it back to the dorm without encountering any prefects or teachers or the caretaker. Filch, that was his name, right? It's been too long since he's been to Hogwarts. Hermione provided the password to the door, which reminded him he'll have to learn the passwords again. When the door opened, a veritable wave of noise washed over them, stunning Harry for a second; though Hermione easily entered.

Following her inside, the noise reached a crescendo when the twins noticed him.

"THERE SHE IS!" the one on the right said.

"THE LADY OF THE HOUR!" the other followed.

Grabbing him by the arms, they pulled him forward as a mass of people started congratulating and cheering for him or Gryffindor. Slightly amused, he went along with them and easily danced through the social situation with grace- which couldn't be said of his older self. Eventually, he found himself standing slightly above the rest of the crowd- save for the tallest people there (percy and the twins).

"I'd like to make an announcement," he said to the quickly-quieting crowd. As soon as they were all focused on him, he continued, "I didn't do it." The boos and denials quickly rushed forward, but were stilled with a raised hand. "I didn't put my name in the Goblet of Fire. You know my history with… stranger than normal situations, especially dangerous ones, and this is no different. Someone put my name into the Goblet of Fire to kill me, I'm sure of it." He forestalled the protests and cries with a raised hand again. "However! I will win this tournament to prove that I'm not to be trifled with, and to bring glory to Hogwarts and Gryffindor!" The roars and cheers was expected this time and he stepped down into the even more riled up crowd.

Slowly, he made his way towards the staircase, one of the twins catching him before he managed to slip out.

"Keep them busy, will you? I'm tired by the events of tonight and just want to get some sleep."

The twin nodded before his brother did something and Harry finally slipped towards the- right, yeah. Towards the girls' dorms. As he ascended the spiral staircase, he half expected it to be a mirrored version of the boys' dorms, but it was instead almost exactly the same. Minor differences made themselves known, but was ultimately ignorable or looked over.

Entering the fourth years' room, he was unsurprised to see Hermione already there and reading. She had looked up from her book when she heard the door open, a surprised look on her face as she saw it was Harry.

"I thought you'd stay down there longer. You looked like you were enjoying yourself."

Harry shook his head, finding the bed that was his, "I'm more tired than anything, honestly."

"Yeah, I can imagine it being mentally draining."

"Night, 'mio," he said, falling onto his bed.

He heard her snort, before replying, "Goodnight, Harriet."

surprise! to those of you who think i am dead, i am not. I am simply posting stories to AO3. I am only posting this here because i got the idea to do this from looking at and reading some old stories i favorited/followed on here.

But follow me on AO3 under the same username (with underscores instead of spaces) for a better reading experience (since i can have html stuff on there and gush about the story more so the word count doesn't bloat)