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Harry sat down heavily on the grass, the light of the last summer sun keeping him warm even through the breeze coming from the lake.
He could see Hogwarts in all of her magnificence, the air around the castle always accepting and warm, even on the coldest of days.
That's just what he wanted: to feel accepted to be himself for a while, he just never really understood how.
He had never felt right, never felt himself, there had always been something in the background, something that made him feel uncomfortable every time he looked in a mirror.
He always thought it was his scar, but now that it had almost faded, now that it was barely visible, he still felt it, even stronger since the Horcrux was gone.
That was another thing that he couldn't explain: apparently the Horcrux had always weighted on him, at least that's what Hermione said, the years of abuse from the hands of the Dursleys made the protection in his blood unable to completely block the Horcrux out, that's why he got visions and pains around Tom, thankfully it was strong enough to still keep it at bay, strong enough to just hold it still, and once it was gone it was like being born anew.
He felt calmer, more rational, and spells came to him way more easily than before.
Like a veil being lifted from his mind, he could feel and think more clearly than he ever had.
He turned to look at the water when he saw Hermione coming towards him from the castle gates. A smile slowly spread over his face, the usual warmth of knowing Hermione was there for him blooming in his chest.
He had felt bad for what happened in the forest of Dean, but he could have never just chucked it up to a momentary weakness. He tried, but he knew the night he and Hermione shared was not an act born solely of desperation and solitude.
He had known from the moment he woke up with her next to him: he loved her.
They just took a bit to figure it out, the war and the battle of Hogwarts weighing heavily on their minds. Ginny had been understanding, as she had also found someone else during her stay at Hogwarts. He could still picture her dazzling smile when Luna arrived for the final battle, the way they embraced and kissed like nothing else ever mattered.
It had given him strength, had reminded him of why they were fighting.
"There you are!" Hermione took him out of his musing.
"I thought you didn't just go around brooding anymore?" she smiled and sat on his right, leaning on him and sneaking her arm around his to hold his hand and intertwine their fingers.
"Just thinking, not brooding," he shrugged with a genuine smile "Besides, I knew you would find me."
They slowly kissed as Harry thought back to his original question.
"Hermione, have you ever felt..." he huffed, not knowing how to express the thought.
"Felt?" she asked curiously.
"Felt like you weren't right in some way? Like there was something wrong with how you are?" He slowly asked.
"Well..." she said, sounding unsure "We can tell each other everything, right, Harry?"
"Of course," he nodded "I love you, Hermione."
"I love you too," she smiled before taking his bottom lip and torturing it with her teeth "I... Only really said this to one person before, and it was in the middle of a very emotional discussion, it just slipped out, and..."
"Hey, it's fine, I don't have to be the one you tell everything first but, as long as you want me to know, I'll always listen."
"I'm Bi," she breathed out "It means I like girls as well as boys."
"I know what it means, Hermione," he smiled "So any girl who caught your fancy?"
"What?" she spluttered "Ju-Just like that? You don't mind? You don't find it weird?" she spluttered.
"Hermione, my previous girlfriend turned out to be a lesbian. No, I don't mind at all," he smiled mischievously.
"Although it is a weird track record, I think every girl I kissed has either turned out to be Bi or just a Lesbian, do you think this was the *actual* power he knew not? Would I have turned Voldemort gay if I kissed him?" he laughed at his joke as Hermione tried and failed to keep a straight face.
"Well, should I be worried about the fact that you're thinking about kissing Voldemort?" she smirked.
"Ugh," He stopped laughing and blanched "I didn't think about the image there, God I'm going to puke now."
"So changing argument!" he said after dry heaving for a while "Who else knows this?"
"Fleur" Hermione confessed.
"Fleur?" Harry asked surprisedly.
"We had an actual conversation towards the end of the summer she was staying at the burrow, it started with me being awfully catty towards her, and her responding in kind, it evolved into a half-shouting match, and then there were tears and pleads of forgiveness, and it just kinda came out when we were talking about having to hide and control a major part of ourselves around everyone," She shrugged.
"Fleur is amazing. I still feel ashamed about how I treated her that summer. We're friends now, and we write, she said I should have told you sooner, that you'd be accepting," she breathed out "I was just scared." she laid her head on his shoulder, nuzzling in his neck a bit.
"Well, no need to be scared Hermione, I will always support you." He freed his arm from hers just to put it around her shoulders, hugging her closer.
"So..." he said.
"So?" she lifted her head to look at him.
"Ever snogged a girl before?" he smiled.
"Harry!" she opened her mouth to retort when a slightly goofy grin took his place on her face "Well, let's just say I also have a weak spot for redheads and leave it at that"
"What!?" he exclaimed surprised "You snogged Ginny? But I thought only Fleur knew!"
"Well," she blushed "we may have both been a bit drunk, and she didn't remember it afterwards."
Harry stared at her slack-jawed.
"Great," he grunted, moving to sit in a more comfortable position for his new status.
"Now every time I'll think about Ginny, I'll have that in my mind," he smiled "pretty good image if you ask me."
They laughed ending up sprawled next to each other on the grass, Hermione took hold of his hand again as they just watched the clouds pass in the sky.
"Hey, look!" Harry said, pointing at one "That's a Snitch!"
"You *always* see snitches in the clouds, Harry!" she huffed.
That evening dinner in the Great Hall was as boisterous as ever being the "Head couple" meant that Harry and Hermione were always under scrutiny from both the professor and the student body.
Although the students mostly wanted to feel vindicated for not being chosen for the role themselves.
Thankfully, both Harry and Hermione seemed to be doing a pretty good job at it, at least from what McGonnagall kept saying during their meeting with the Heads of House.
Eyeing the last piece of Treacle Tart Harry snatched it before Neville could lay claim to it.
He took the following glare from the Griffyndor at face value and winked at him, receiving a huff in response.
He took a sip of his pumpkin juice and went to town on his favourite dessert while Hermione just fondly shook her head and kept reading while eating.
"You know," Harry said, "Once we go living together we'll have to put a no books at the dinner table rule up."
"What?" she replied icily.
"Don't want the kids to just bring books at the table, instead of talking with us" he smirked.
She blushed red up to her hair and just huffed returning to her reading.
"Do you plan on having kids soon?" Ginny said from her spot to Neville's right, enjoying the embarrassment of the older girl.
"N-no" Hermione replied, taking control of her blush back.
"I want to take a mastery in transfiguration before having any kids. I'd also like to get on par with my muggle education, go to uni and get a law degree at Strathclyde here in Scotland. Then maybe either open my firm or work from inside the ministry to change and write laws that give better rights to muggles, muggleborns and magical creatures here in England."
Harry's proud smile at her made her blush return in full force.
"What about you, Harry?" Ginny asked curiously "Are you going to join the Aurors after school?"
"I don't know," he shrugged.
"I'd like the job, I know I'd be good at it, but I was thinking of going for a more consultive role, so I can do that and take a mastery in Defence against the Dark Arts. Then I'm not sure," he took a bite of treacle tart and turned to Neville "What about you Nev? Still going for the Herbology mastery?"
"And then I'll do the traditional European tour" The other boy nodded. "Professor Sprout said it would give me the right kind of experience to take her place. I already know I'm going to love teaching Herbology" he smiled with a happy glint in his eyes.
"What about you, Ginny?" asked Hermione "Have any scouts contacted you yet?"
"Puddlemere United, Holyhead Harpies and..." she sighed "Chudley cannons."
The other three snickered at that.
"They just send scouts to everyone! They're *that* desperate for new talent!"
"So, Quidditch for you then Gin?" Harry asked, trying to rein in the amusement.
"Yes, I can't wait!" she excitedly nodded "Now, if you guys don't mind, I have a date!" she got to her feet and walked towards the Ravenclaw table to collect Luna.
Harry smiled, watching her go "Do we also have a Date?" he asked Hermione.
"Do you want to go on a date?" she raised her eyebrow.
"I always want to go on dates with you," he cheekily answered.
"Then I'll meet you in the heads quarters' Common room," she smiled "Bring the cloak."
She got up and walked out of the great hall with her book tucked close to her chest.
"You know," Neville said, "I never saw either of you look so happy, I'm
glad you two got together in the end."
"Nothing to do with the fact you won the betting pool then?" Harry smirked
"You know about the betting pool?" laughed Neville
"The twins confessed after you and Angelina won." Harry finished his treacle tart and pumpkin juice and smiled at Neville "I will now also leave for my date! Good luck with Hannah, Nev!"
His date with Hermione went great, as usual.
They had sneaked under the cloak and spent an enjoyable evening, taking in the sights from the Astronomy tower and going back to their room soon after midnight, only to fall in Harry's bed.
They passed the time talking about being finally free to plan a future together or a future at all, before falling asleep in each other arms, as usual.
As Harry slowly woke up, he could immediately tell something was wrong.
He moved his legs, trying to regain feeling and slowly checked to see if Hermione had fallen asleep on his chest again.
Then he found out that the extra weight on his chest was actually breasts.
Breasts attached to his chest.
He stared at them for a couple of seconds before slowly and deliberately lifting the covers and taking a look underneath his underwear.
"What the hell!" he cried, in a voice that wasn't his own.
Hermione reacted immediately: when she didn't recognize the voice in her bed, she shot out of it crouching and with her wand pointed at the intruder.
And then she saw the girl sitting up shirtless in her bed.
She had short messy black hair, the most vivid green eyes she had ever seen, and was definitely panicking.
"Who are you?" Hermione asked getting on her feet and never pointing her wand away from the girl
"Hermione! It's me! Harry!" the eyes of the girl turned to her, and she could see the panic in them.
"Harry? But- What?" she spluttered.
"I don't know!" Harry exclaimed shooting out of bed and immediately losing his balance and falling face-first on the carpet.
"Harry! Are you OK?" Hermione hurried to the side of the now very female boyfriend and helped him up.
"I don't know!" Harry got up from the floor to sit on the edge of the bed
and looking at his reflection in the mirror in front of him.
"I- I'm a girl!"
"Yeah, Harry" Hermione snickered, "I noticed."
Harry shot her a dark look "It's not funny!"
"It's very funny, actually" Hermione laughed.
Calmed by her reaction Harry just glared at her half-heartedly and returned to look at himself in the mirror.
Harry's hair had remained almost the same, a bit longer, but still messy and pointing in every direction.
He looked a lot more like his mother now, he definitely had her nose and chin, and the eyes were still the same.
He was a bit shorter, and he definitely had breasts now.
He stood transfixed studying his petite figure, noticing how the same muscles he used for Quidditch were still well defined.
He stopped and moved his eyes over to Hermione, seeing the love he always saw when they looked in each other eyes, he took a deep breath and got up from the bed looking for his shirt.
And immediately stumbled forward, barely managing to stay on his feet by leaning on the dresser.
"My balance is all skewed!" He lamented "I'm way too short! And how bloody heavy can these be?!" He said, grabbing his breast and immediately letting go whimpering in pain "Shite, that hurt!"
"Language, Harry!" Hermione chided still intently looking at his breasts.
Harry blushed as soon he noticed her stare.
"Like what you see?" Harry playfully asked.
Hermione Blushed and looked away, murmuring a soft "You bet I do."
Harry smiled happily and moved forward, trying to balance himself to avoid falling face-first on the carpet again.
He kneeled forward on the bed planting a slow kiss on Hermione's lips, continuing down her jaw and neck and then up behind her ear, leaving goosebumps everywhere his lips touched.
"So, madame Pomfrey?" He asked getting up and grabbing a shirt with a shit-eating grin.
"Yeah," said Hermione sighing but firmly deciding not to fall for his bait. "She will tell us what changed you, you didn't drink or eat anything weird yesterday, right?" she got up and started getting changed in the day robes.
"No, usual pumpkin juice and normal dinner, why?"
"Well, I can think of three potions and two spells that could have done this off the top of my mind. The spells take time to cast so you would have noticed, which leaves us with a potion. I only know of 1 that has no flavour, so there, you probably got fed a dose of the *Selmutas* potion." She pulled her hair up in a messy ponytail and watched as Harry didn't even need to brush it to make it look good.
"Even as a girl your hair is always sexy, how is it possible?" Hermione huffed exasperatedly.
"Just the Potter luck" Harry cheekily answered.
"So, how do you counteract this potion?" Harry opened the door to the Gryffindor Common room and headed outside.
"Well..." Hermione hesitated "It kinda just fades away on its own..."
Harry looked at her, starting to get worried again "And how much does it take to fade away?"
"Two weeks," Hermione said "Unless you take another dose before it fades, then it will last one more month, and if you take a third dose after the first week it becomes permanent."
Harry blanched thinking of spending two weeks as a girl before he blushed to the root of his hair.
"What's wrong, Harry?" Asked Hermione
"I have to pee..." As she later swore to Harry, Hermione tried really really hard not to laugh at that.
Madame Pomfrey was having a pretty good morning.
Her morning tea was the perfect temperature, thanks to the wonderful elves of the castle.
Her infirmary was empty, thank Merlin.
And it was Sunday so she could bask in the morning without worrying about a student barging in her sanctuary out of nowh-
As Hermione Granger made her way towards her followed by a young woman who was obviously Mr Potter, Madame Pomfrey could only sigh, she should have known.
"Good morning Miss Granger," she greeted "And good morning to you too Miss Potter" the corners of her mouth only tugged harder at the glare she received.
"It's not funny Poppy!" Harry said, sitting on one of the beds.
"Oh, I find it particularly funny actually, Harry."
Hermione tried fighting her smile at the usual banter between Harry and the school nurse.
"Was this... Intentional?" the nurse asked as she moved her wand in complicated patterns around Harry.
"Why would someone intentionally change sex?!" Harry exclaimed.
"Well, *Miss* Potter, I hope I don't have to tell you that sometimes couples like to... Experiment with each other" she smiled seeing both of the students redden at the implications.
"Also, some people find themselves more comfortable in a body belonging to the opposite sex. That is why there are potions that can permanently change someone's gender."
"Oh," Harry said, surprised "I never thought about something like that."
"It's not exactly accepted in the Muggle world," Hermione said, "There are still a lot of particularly unforgiving ideas around gender identity and sexuality between muggles."
"I am aware," Madame Pomfrey nodded.
"The wizarding world is, thankfully, much more open to this kind of thing, gender stops being such a firm concept when there are both spells and potions to change it."
She jabbed her wand sharply on Harry's arm, a stream of blood seeped from the small cut only to float upwards and into an also floating flask.
"What about same-sex relationships?" Hermione asked curiously.
"Ginny and Luna don't seem to be hiding it, but there are also very few people who would speak against two war heroes."
"The biggest counter to same-sex relationships has always been that two people of the same sex cannot conceive an heir which led to the idea being tolerated, as long as the people involved weren't expected to produce heirs to their family name. That changed with the invention of the *Gravidem* potion, which grants two witches the chance to procreate. Sadly when it comes to two wizards, the idea is still treated a bit frostily."
Her lips pursed as the blood in the flask turned a deep blue.
"It seems you have been dosed with *Selmutas* potion," The matron sighed, "That means you will be in this body for at least two weeks, maybe less if the dose wasn't the exact one for your weight, but no less than a week I'm afraid."
Harry could only nod, half mortified and dreading the following weeks.
The Headmistress office was, to Harry's surprise, not too different than Dumbledore's.
There were still lots of silver instruments around the office, twirling and puffing, and was that a Wilhelm scream that just went off?
Headmistress McConnagal was sitting behind her desk.
She regarded her two students with a thoughtful look as she listened to their pleading, or Harry's pleading, really.
"I can't let you skip up to two weeks of classes Mr Potter," said McConnagal sighing "While I understand that your situation is highly unusual, this *is* your NEWT year, and skipping classes for such a long time would undoubtedly hamper your education."
"But-" Harry tried to interrupt only to be silenced by a look from the Headmistress
"Furthermore," She resumed ignoring Harry "You are the Headboy of Hogwarts, and this puts certain responsibilities in your hands. A Headboy just missing for two weeks would give quite a bad example to the younger years."
Harry sighed dejectedly and rubbed his eyes under his glasses "I-"
"Are you ok, Harry?" Hermione asked patting his shoulder, of course having to face the school after being suddenly changed to a girl was not the best of news, but Harry seemed to be taking it particularly hard.
"I- I don't know," He said, his voice a wet broken whisper "I'm not-" as Harry's voice broke again a tear traced down his face and he suddenly got up pacing the room "I'm sorry Minerva, I'll be present to the classes, I just need to get a grip."
"It's not a problem, Harry," The headmistress said, "Are you sure you're ok?"
"Yeah," Harry nodded "I'm just awfully emotional right now, don't know why."
"Well," Hermione said, "There is a reason why people usually only take this potion after they're 21 years of age: your hormones are changing right now, and you're already in a pretty hormonal stage of your growth, so you're gonna have some trouble with emotions in the next few days as you get settled."
"Maybe you should retire for the rest of the day," McConnagal said still following Harry's pacing in her office.
"That sounds reasonable," said Harry, suddenly stopping "Thank you, Headmistress."
"Are you sure you want to go to dinner?" Hermione slashed her wand to shrink her shirt for Harry to wear.
"It's better to just get it over with," Harry said grimacing "At least some of the reactions will be funny, and maybe we'll get a lead on who decided to turn me into a girl".
Hermione simply nodded smiling and passed the shirt to Harry, it hugged his new figure, his pants also had to be shrunk as they were way longer than his new height permitted.
"Hermione, before we go..."
"Yeah?" she turned to give him her full attention
"I-" Harry stopped to take a breath "Is it weird that I find moving around as a girl... Comfortable?" he asked "Like, it's weird, don't get me wrong, but I find it... Appealing?" have huffed "I'm not explaining myself very well am I?"
Hermione merely stood up and took Harry by the shoulders "No, you're not, but I've known you for 8 years now, so I can understand you anyway" she smiled never taking her hands off his shoulders "This is just your first day as a girl Harry, so it's OK if you can't exactly explain how you are feeling about it, but even if you *like* being a girl more than being a boy, there's nothing weird or wrong with that."
Harry simply nodded, still blushing from the exchange but it seemed to Hermione like he was holding something back
"There's something else you want to say."
"I need to think about it a bit more, okay?" Harry breathed out "It's not that I don't want to talk about it with you, but I want to understand it a bit better myself first."
"That's Okay Harry, I'll be here when you want to talk" Hermione simply smiled and moved to the door of their suite with Harry following behind her.
Truthfully Hermione was a bit worried about Harry, she had never considered that Harry's feelings of inadequacy could have stemmed from the fact that he saw himself as a girl more than a boy.
Considering where and with whom he grew up it was possible he never even considered it a possibility to feel like the way he was born wasn't suited to him.
Hermione knew Harry always thought the feelings stemmed from the scar, either because it reminded him of the night his parents died or because it was a connection to their murderer.
But maybe the Horcrux in the scar had always been such a weight on Harry's psyche and his soul itself, that his feeling uncomfortable was only amplified once it was gone.
Of course, that would explain why he still sometimes felt the necessity of asking her about identity and why he sometimes felt like a stranger to himself.
The idea that Harry might find himself more comfortable as a girl was new, and he would probably need support from her and their friends, but she didn't really care about his sex.
Harry was still Harry, whether he was a boy or a girl she would always be by his side, the fact that she was also attracted to girls probably helped mitigate any feelings of anxiety she might have felt over this.
Her musings were interrupted by the buzzing of the Great Hall, she looked sideways at Harry, who had stopped in his track and was taking a heavy breath to steel himself.
She took his hand in hers, intertwining their fingers.
"It's OK Harry" and he knew what she meant.
He wasn't really scared about the rumour mill going around, people would get a laugh at him, and in two weeks everything would be forgotten, he was weary of his own feelings in the matter, that's what Hermione meant.
At first, no one recognised him it seemed until he sat in his spot at the Gryffindor table.
Luna decided to sit with them that evening: she and Ginny were sitting in front of Him, Neville at their side, and he and Hermione on the opposite side of the table.
Conversation stopped for a moment before Ginny asked "Uhm... Harry? Is that you?"
"I got fed a dose of a potion, don't know how or when exactly, woke up like this."
Neville's snicker gave away to laughter from those close enough around him to have heard of what happened, Ginny also gave in to temptation and laughed along with the others, Harry simply huffed, as the only ones not to laugh were Luna and Hermione.
"Well," Luna said, "You look really good Harry, are you going to change your name?"
"I never said I would stay a girl, Luna" Harry answered
"Well it would be stupid to change, you seem to have gotten rid of a lot of your wrackspruts" her eyes became unfocused as she slowly tilted her head to one side "You also look quite relaxed, I would imagine it would take a while to get used to your breasts, as they are pretty big for your size."
Even after getting used to Luna she still took Harry by surprise as he blushed and stammered
"They are pretty big aren't they Luna?" said Ginny ogling him.
"Why Ginny, no touching I'm afraid," Hermione haughtily said from beside Harry "At least, not for you."
"Not for you either if this keeps going!" Harry said shooting a dark look at his Girlfriend.
"But, Harry!" Hermione pouted.
"I think the talk about breasts has gone long enough," said Neville, blushing furiously "I would like to know if you have any idea who gave you the potion Harry."
"No idea for now" Harry grimaced, I hoped someone's reaction would give them away, but I guess they're enjoying the show without giving much away."
"Don't worry Harry, I'm sure you will find out soon enough," Luna said.
"We should talk to the Elves," Harry suggested as he and Hermione packed their books at the end of the last lesson of the day.
"Of course!" she exclaimed, "If someone tampered with your food, they may have asked the elves for help."
"Maybe, or maybe they managed a switching spell between their pumpkin juice and mine, or between the potion itself and some of my juice," Harry said as they left the classroom.
"Harry!" the pompous voice of Draco Malfoy broke his reverie as he turned to look at him.
Since the beginning of the year, Malfoy seemed to have a new outlook on life, while his father didn't escape his sentence for his crimes during the war, Draco and his mother had been let off, mostly thanks to Harry's own word.
As such their hostilities had mostly ceased and, even if not exactly friends, the two were moving past their former antipathy.
"Draco," Harry said, moving the strap of his bag so it didn't press on his breast, he was indeed still having difficulties with them, but thankfully magical bras were a thing, and Harry was oh so grateful for their existence.
"I must say," the blond drawled with a small smile on his face, "I thought you were ugly before, this is a new level." the light words from Draco had none of their usual vitriol behind them and Harry smirked as he had come to like these short bouts with the Slytherin.
"And I must commend you on the way you keep your hair in check, Draco" Harry's voice was dripping with sweetness, he still had to come to terms with how exactly his new voice sounded "Did you put your whole head in gel or do you just pour an entire bottle of it on your head?"
Hermione simply rolled her eyes "We have somewhere to be Harry, before dinner possibly, so if you and *dear* Draco here wish to continue your usual diatribe, you will have to do it while walking." While she still didn't exactly like Draco Malfoy, his unexpected apology at the beginning of the year, and his apparent willingness to try and do better made him worthy of a second chance in her eyes.
"Where is the golden couple headed?" he said as he fell into step with the two
"We're going to interview some elves, to find out how they gave me the potion," Harry said.
"A good enough plan, unless they received orders to not speak of the matter," Draco reasoned "or maybe they didn't go through the Elves at all."
"Yeah, I know but asking doesn't hurt."
They bantered a bit until they reached the entrance to the kitchen, Harry tickled the pear and the door opened revealing the usual bustling of Elves preparing dinner for the castle population.
One of the Elves separated from the rest and moved towards the group
"Young masters needs something?"
"Yes, Hello Dory, I was wondering if someone came by a couple of days ago and asked the elves for a favour of some kind," Harry asked.
"I's not sure, young master," she said wringing her hands, "two young masters come before dinner two days past, but they not talk to Dory, they talk to Very and Lotty, Dory calls for them?"
"That would be great, thank you, Dory," Hermione added.
Very and Lotty were two of the youngest elves on the staff, having been employed just before Harry's third year at the school, they were reverential to a fault and seldom said no to a student wish.
"Two birdies come two days past," said Very who was still shaking a bottle of some sort.
"Two birdies?" asked Draco lifting an eyebrow.
"They mean two Ravenclaws," answered Harry "Do you know their names?"
The two elves shook their head in the negative "We is sorry" Said Lotty "We only know of Young moon, she often come to talk with us elves, we is not knowing the other birdie"
"So, one of them was Luna," Hermione clarified "Do you remember how the other student looked like?"
"She was smaller than Mistress Potter, and had big blue eyes, and black hair," said Very
They thanked the Elves and moved outside in the direction of the great hall.
"So, we need to find this other Ravenclaw I guess," said Hermione linking her hand with Harry's as she watched Draco join his friends at the Slytherin table.
"Maybe, for now, let's just eat."
It was weird, Harry mused as he looked at Hogwarts' grounds from the library window next to Hermione's table, he really didn't feel that different as a girl.
While it was definitely a particular experience, especially getting used to having boobs, and also not having a penis, Harry didn't feel bad about it.
Hermione had said that it was OK if he felt better as a girl, but Harry didn't know if he felt better or just different.
It had certainly been easy to adapt, easier than he thought would be, and easier than some of his classmates claimed it would have been for them.
And he strangely enjoyed the differences between being a male and a female, so he just sighed again, completely ignoring the withering look Hermione gave him for not paying attention he turned to the others at the table.
Luna was lazily playing with Ginny's hair, twirling them around her finger and letting go only to twirl them again.
Ginny didn't seem to mind, as she was completely focused on her next Transfiguration essay.
Daphne looked bored as she read through Tracey's Potion essay.
They were relatively new additions to his group of friends, gaining a spot in his heart when he had seen them fight Death eaters to cover for some of the lower years that were still in the middle of flooing away from the castle.
It seemed Hermione had known the two already since her third year, as they shared all her classes, and they used to study together and sometimes just hang out in those library corners no one looked for.
Harry was happy that with the new attitude in the school the two Slytherins didn't feel threatened to show their friendship with his girlfriend, and he hit it off particularly well with Tracy, who shared his same cutting sarcasm and a general sense of humour.
Neville and Hannah were missing from this group, probably occupied with snogging in a broom cupboard somewhere.
"It wouldn't be weird Harry," Luna stopped her ministration of Ginny's hair and looked at him, her silver eyes almost looking through him.
"What wouldn't be weird?" asked Daphne lifting her gaze from the essay.
One by one everyone at the table looked at Luna, but she just smiled slightly at Harry and nodded slowly.
"How do you always know what I'm thinking about?" Harry asked half exasperated "I wasn't even sure if should *be* thinking about it!"
"Come on, Harry," this time it was Hermione talking "I also know what you were thinking about, I just didn't think pointing it out would be a good idea."
Tracey and Daphne just exchanged a smile and turned to look at Harry, waiting for him to explain
"Would it be weird if wanted to permanently be a girl?"
The silence was his answer for a second before Daphne of all people answered the question, with another question of course, in typical Slytherin style.
"Do you want to stay as a woman?"
"Maybe," answered Harry "I don't exactly know why, but I feel... comfortable like this, maybe even more than I felt as a boy." he shrugged "I was just wondering..."
Hermione appeared to want to say something but instead chose to stay silent, waiting for the others at the table to digest the statement, it wasn't a total surprise for her after all.
"Weird? A bit" said Ginny "I still find it weird to see your eyes on a female body" she explained "But weird isn't bad," she smiled at Luna for a second "So, if you want to be a girl it's Ok Harry, maybe change your name if you do."
Everyone at the table smiled slightly as Tracey nodded "What red said," she added, "It's gonna be weird for a while, but if you find yourself to be a woman, it's OK, plus, you're way easier on the eyes like this."
"Eyes only" growled Hermione next to him, possessively putting an arm around his shoulder "Everything else's off-limits Davies."
"Don't worry Hermione," Dahne said, "I'm pretty sure dear Tracey has her eyes on a cute red-headed Hufflepuff as of late."
Tracey blushed a bit, quickly gaining control of her expression "As if you haven't been ogling that Smith guy from Ravenclaw for the last month!"
"You gave me the potion didn't you?" said Harry
"I did" proclaimed Luna, "I thought you might need a bit of pushing"
Everyone looked surprised at the Ravenclaw as she continued.
"I wasn't sure if changing sex was exactly what you needed to stop feeling so out of sorts, so I just gave you a temporary potion, but it turns out I was right" she smiled.
"Maybe, but maybe not, I'm not exactly sure about what I'll do." Harry sighed
"I think I'm going to go for a fly" He smiled at Hermione "Wanna come with?" he asked with mirth in his eyes.
"No thank you!" said Hermione "Last time you promised to go slow and I still have nightmares about it."
"You loved it!" smiled Harry pecking her cheek and leaving the library.
"Luna..." Hermione began "I know you had good intentions, and that things ended up going well but I think dosing Harry with a sex-changing potion is one of those things that cross certain boundaries."
"Didn't we already have a conversation about boundaries Hermione?" Luna said slowly
"Yes love," said Ginny "But you kind of ignored it by feeding Harry a potion like that."
"But I was right, wasn't I?" Luna said confused
"That doesn't really matter, Luna," said Hermione "I understand that you were trying to do a good thing for Harry, and I'm happy that it seems it worked, but it's still wrong to force something like that on someone."
"Oh," Luna said subdued, "I think I get it" she looked at the table, her expression a bit sullen "I'm sorry, do you think I should apologise to Harry as well?"
Ginny hugged her closer "You probably should," she said.
Luna nodded resolutely and got up following Harry out of the library.
Daphne turned to Hermione "You're OK with Harry wanting to be a girl?"
Hermione blushed slightly "I don't mind, no."
"You're attracted to girls as well?" said Daphne raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah," said Hermione "I am."
"Ha-ha!" exclaimed Tracey "I knew it!" she opened her hand and Daphne grumbled and handed her a galleon
"You bet on that?" Hermione said incensed.
"I won on that," said Tracey Smugly.
Flying was great, as always.
He had waived off Luna's apology, she had good intentions, and he couldn't exactly blame her.
Now he was flying towards the sky, his firebolt acting as if it had always just been a part of his body, moving with every small touch, every wish of going faster being met with sudden acceleration.
The harsh wind blowing around him making him feel free.
His heart beating faster and faster.
He turned his broom around and pushed it towards the ground, skimming the grass with his shoes by righting the broom at the last second.
As he kept circling the quidditch field faster and faster his thoughts drifted off to the last 8 days, and to the idea of maybe staying a girl and not going back to being normal Harry.
Flying felt a lot like how he felt in the last week, free and exhilarated.
He hadn't felt this comfortable with himself in forever, he had always thought it was the Dursleys' fault first and Voldemort's after, but maybe it was himself, and he just never really had the time to analyse the situation.
The first time he tried dressing in a skirt he had been embarrassed but found it strangely liberating, he was a girl anyway, so he should dress like one right?
And Hermione had never once denied him, never once said it was strange or freakish to find himself comfortable wearing bras, and skirts, and stockings.
Hermione never wavered from his side, but he still wasn't sure about her wanting to be with him if he stayed a girl.
And if he wanted to stay a girl, maybe he should change the way he addressed himself?
That thought brought him to a halting stop, should he change his name if he stayed a girl? He liked his name, it was one of the few things his parents gave him.
He looked towards the Gryffindor tower, to the window of the Head suite, he moved towards it watching as Hermione entered the suite and sat on the bed after getting rid of her books, she relaxed and sprawled on the bed.
Harry just couldn't believe how much love he felt for her, at that moment his heart felt like it was bursting as he watched her let go and relax, the usual tension in her shoulder visibly leaving her as she exhaled.
Harry smiled and felt himself lowering his broom towards the entrance hall, he just wanted to talk to Hermione now.
She found Hermione still on the bed where she last saw her.
"Hey," Hermione said when she entered their room.
"I love you," she said without preamble.
Hermione blushed slightly as she smiled "I love you too."
Harry smiled brightly as he joined Hermione on the bed to kiss her.
She always loved the taste of her lips, which she now knew was a mix of lipstick and some other product she used to keep her lips moist, like a mix between Vanilla and Strawberry.
She opened her lips slightly trailing Hermione's own lips with her tongue, feeling Hermione opening up to her as her girlfriend's tongue met her own in their usual dance.
They hadn't been intimate since she had changed sex and Harry stance soon changed as Hermione turned them over to get on top of her, her tongue dashing in to explore Harry's mouth.
Even with the change of sex Hermione still seemed to know exactly what she needed, her touches brought goosebumps to every spot of Harry's skin she touched.
The lovemaking eased Harry's Heart, in the end, it didn't matter if he was a boy or a girl, she and Hermione were still the same, still closer than anyone could ever be to her, still in sync like she had never been with anyone else.
They fell asleep together, in each other's arms, small smiles still adorning their lips, sweet nothings murmured in their ears, love shining from their eyes.
They loved each other, and nothing else really mattered.
The stone was shiny even in the complete darkness of the bedroom, she looked at the form of her sleeping girlfriend and nodded to herself, moving in the shared space between their rooms Harry sat on the small couch and breathed deeply, she hadn't used the stone since the night she sacrificed herself.
She turned it once, remembering the cold of the forbidden forest even during the last months of spring.
She turned it twice, remembering the love of her life, sleeping in the next room.
She turned it thrice, and the darkness in the room almost seemed to pulse as two forms coalesced in front of him.
"Harry." her mother sat on the couch to her right.
"Hello, Harry," said her father as he sat to her left.
"Hi," started Harry "I know I shouldn't have called, but..."
"It's OK, sweetheart" Her mother smiled as his father simply nodded.
"Now why don't you tell us what you want to talk about?" said her father.
"I just... Are you OK with this?" she motioned to herself.
"Well, it's a bit of a surprise, to be honest," her father said, "But it doesn't matter if you're a girl or a boy, you're still our child."
"Your father is right," said her mother "Actually, during my pregnancy, I was convinced you would be a girl till the moment you were born, so maybe I already had an inkling, but honestly, it doesn't matter, we'll love you whatever you decide to be."
Harry smiled "Thanks, I love you guys too."
They stayed in silence for a while simply enjoying being able to be together.
"What would have my name been? If I had been born a girl?" Harry suddenly asked.
"Iris Euphemia" answered her mother.
"Euphemia?" she asked curiously.
"It was my mother's name," said James smiling sadly "both my parents died before you were born."
Harry nodded and smiled to himself "Iris Euphemia Potter," she said, "I like it."