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Holly Evans and the Spiral Path
Chapter 23: Holly's Crucible
Mum asked me to add this part before I transcribed the meeting so she could remember the conversation if Obliviated. It was very nice to meet you Granny Minerva. To reduce confusion, when Mum looks like Holly I label her Holly, and when she's Harry, I label him Harry. I'm so less confused now that I've said that. It doesn't matter to me where things started; when I was born, Holly was my mum and Dean's juice was my papa and Hermione was the midwife or something. Sorry for rambling.
~Newt~
Transcription: 25th January, 1994 starting 12:19 PM
Harry and Prof. Lupin are sitting on the stone floor across from each other in the DADA lab room. Harry has a cloak wrapped around his body. Harry has just finished a brief crying jag.
Harry: "Well, my One True God theory was just shot to Hell."
Prof. Lupin: "You should probably take the counter-potion now. We will need to know whether the effect is permanent or..."
Harry: "No! Not yet. I'm sorry for losing it there for a moment, Professor, but this is not the time to rush into another change. If this is only a temporary Animagus state, I might have to train for months to be able to become Harry again. While I'm him, I have the chance to get access to all the legacies and resources I've been denied up until now. I know there's a Trust fund, which means there may be other things that my parents owned being held until I can appear in public to claim them. We need to go to Gringott's. Today. But I have to confront McGonagall first. She knew who I was. She'll know why I was changed and why they let the world believe there were two of us."
Prof. Lupin: "Y'know, there is the remote possibility that this is just an unusual aberration- an ability for one sibling to become the other in Animagus form."
Harry turns a very angry gaze at Prof. Lupin.
Harry: "Right. We'll give that option 300-to-one odds against. That doesn't mean I don't have good reason to rip out of that bank every galleon, sickle and knut that belongs to the House of Potter."
Prof. Lupin: "I ...suppose not."
Both wizards sit in thought for a few minutes.
Prof. Lupin: "Well, we could at least try the Animagus revealing spell. I should warn you, it will be painful as I have to hold it on you to keep the effect in place. As soon as I let up, the potion will take hold again and you'll go through the transformations once more."
Harry: "Fine. It's not like I'm a stranger to pain. Hit me."
Prof. Lupin: "Restituo Clementia"
Lime green light issuing from Prof. Lupin's wand strikes Harry forcing him immediately to the ground. Over the next minute, his features shift until Holly is visible beneath the shower of magic. Lupin has struggled mightily to keep his spell in effect, so when Holly's form finally appears, he collapses to the floor as well. With the spell ended, the Animagus potion begins taking effect once more, forcing Holly to shift into the form of a black bird. The black bird lays on the stone floor twitching for a minute, then expels some stomach contents. Another minute passes and the birds shape once more bubbles and froths until Harry is left behind. Both wizards remain panting on the floor.
Harry: "I've decided ...that anyone who causes me ...that much pain ...without earning my wrath for it ...should have a better nickname ...than Oatmeal. How are you doing, Moony?"
Moony: "Better than you, I expect. What now?"
Harry: "Take the Map and go find your Lolita and make sure she isn't doing something foolish or being preyed upon, then meet me back here before 2 so you can accompany me to our Deputy Headmaster's office."
Moony: "Lolita? Just what do you think Hermione and I have been doing?"
Harry: "Well for damn sure you don't have to stand within each other's personal space to cast the Patronus, and Hermione has been cold to me for the last week. I know she... isn't like me, but I would have hoped your legendary restraint would extend to my girlfriend-in-denial. All things equal though, I'd rather she were with you than anyone else I've met."
Moony: "Harry..."
Harry: "Holly."
Moony: "First, I suggest you get used to being called Harry while you look like this, as it wouldn't do for your secrets to come out so easily. Second, I have been restrained, even though I can smell her attraction to me. We have been working together on a modification to the Purging Draught, so that your full humanity would be restored when we were complete, instead of you reverting to a hybrid. We've been working day and night to have it ready in time for today. She wanted to give you back your humanity, as a surprise. Um...surprise!"
Harry lies on the stone floor, mouth agape, for a full minute before tears start flowing from his eyes.
Harry: "Would...would you please go find the greatest woman I have ever known, ensure her safety and tell her that when we're done I intend to give her all my worldly possessions, which should be a more meaningful gesture by the end of the day? Could you do that for me?"
Moony rises to standing. Offering his hand, he pulls Harry up from the floor as well.
Moony: "I would be honored. I'll return in time to sneak you down to Minerva's office. What are you going to do?"
Harry: "I think I'll poke at my new parts for a bit while I try to figure out all the questions that need asking today, not to mention the wording of an oath I'd like to get from ...Minerva before we start. How long until the first potion starts going toxic?"
Moony: "Normally four hours, but your physiology leaves many things up to guesswork. Just tell me immediately if you start feeling a deep burning or a sudden nausea. Please take the Purging Draught if I'm not back soon enough."
Harry: "Brilliant. Oh, Moony. Could you whip me up some clothes?"
Moony: "Better we should adjust the clothes you wore. You wouldn't want them to disappear at the wrong moment."
Transcription ends.
Transcription: 25th January, 1994 starting 2:03 PM GMT
Harry is standing outside the office of Professor Minerva McGonagall under the Invisibility Cloak. Professor Lupin walks up, stops, casts Muffliato and looks back down to the Marauders Map he had been carrying folded in his robes. The Map shows 'Remus Lupin', 'Holly Evans' alone in the hallway, with 'Minerva McGonagall' the only label floating within the room.
Moony: "I tracked Hermione from an isolated storage room as she headed back to the Gryffindor dorms. She went back to your room and then disappeared. Do you know how she accomplished that?"
Harry: "Yeah, Hermione figured out a way to obscure our beds from the Map so the twins wouldn't get nosey about our relationship. Oh! I'm talking about the Weasley twins, not the Patils."
Moony: "Yes, I figured that. Fred and George have a tendency to drop to their knees saying 'we're not worthy' whenever we bump into each other away from other students. They had the Map for a while I take it?"
Harry: "They said they nicked it from Filch's office. The Map really is a marvel."
Moony: "A cooperative effort, including some insight from both your parents. Did you want me to go in with you?"
Harry: "No. Just keep a wary eye on the Map for Hermione and the Headmaster. Wait, does the Map show House elves?"
Moony: "No, the Map only shows what the portraits can see or the places we've tagged with a Marauder Monitor- it's a kind of Tracking rune, but can only reveal what a Tracking Charm would show. Elves ...have a different sort of magic."
Harry: "Huh. Dobby."
Dobby appears after a minute holding another elf in a headlock. Both elves have deep scratches and bruises on their bodies. Harry pulls off the Invisibility Cloak and hits the other struggling elf with a silent Stupefy.
Dobby: "Thanks to Mistress Holly for stunning the bad elf! Urkel was getting annoying."
Harry: "Dobby! Are you alright?"
Dobby: "Dobby will heal, Mistress. Dobby had to keep bad elf from running to Headmaster with Mistress's secrets. Mistress's secrets are always safe with Dobby."
Harry: "So, you don't think I'm Harry Potter?"
Dobby: "Mistress doesn't think of herself as the Great Harry Potter. Dobby would be being rude to calls Mistress anything but Mistress."
Moony: "Like the Map, they always seem to know how a person labels themself. That's why Sirius shows up on the Map as Padfoot when he shifts to his dog form."
Harry: "Dobby, you are absolutely right, but I have a favor to ask."
Dobby: "Dobby is overjoyed to do Mistress's bidding!"
Harry: "Right. Whenever you see me looking like this, don't call me Mistress."
Dobby: "Dobby must be squeaking?"
Harry: "That would be best. Privately, of course, do as you see fit."
Dobby: "Mistress Holly is the most wondrous and perfect Mistress ever! Dobby shall return to keeping nosey castle elves away from Mistress!"
Dobby disappears with Urkel's body.
Moony: "I had no idea you had such a loyal elf. Once this crisis is over, we should talk to him about updating the Map to see his kind."
Harry: "One miracle per day, Moony."
After checking the Marauders Map over Professor Lupin's shoulder once more to assure that the room has only one occupant, Harry nods to Moony and steps into the office. The Professor is sitting primly behind her desk. Tea service with savory and sweet selections has been laid out. The Professor stands briefly and gestures for Harry to take the opposite chair with a small smile. Harry glares at her, then pulls out the holly wand and proceeds to silently cast seven spells around the room. As the last spell takes effect, Harry turns back to regard the desk, waving his hand wearing the jade ring over the selections until he stops over a porcelain sugar bowl. Harry grabs the bowl and tosses it into the Professor's fireplace. Turning once more to Professor McGonagall, Harry nods. They sit down calmly, though Harry places the blade of Gryffindor (in Gladius form) directly in front of him on the desk, causing the Professor to hold back and consider her words. After a minute, the Professor nervously breaks the silence.
Professor McGonagall: "Good afternoon, Mister Potter."
Harry: "That's Holly to you and I'll be calling you Minerva. Until we clear a few things up I'm not making assumptions and neither should you. Right now you are not my teacher or my Deputy Headmaster. You're just a woman who has been screwing around with my life since before I even met you."
Minerva: "I ...understand. That was an impressive piece of silent magic you just displayed."
Harry: "This wand seems to be working better for me right now. By contrast the holdout wand is ...resistant. I assume you knew about the other wand from the journal?"
Minerva: "Yes. We'll talk more about that later I expect. Before we begin, I want ...I'd like to meet our scribe."
Harry: (Sigh) "Newt, say hello to one of the people who needs to convince me not to kill them."
Newt emerges from amongst Harry's hair to look at Minerva.
Newt: (squeak)
Minerva: "Extraordinary. Doesn't Newt talk?"
Harry: "No, all she can do audibly is rub her hand on her head so it makes a squeak."
Minerva: "But, you've had conversations..."
Harry: "Written ones, yes. I write, she writes. Also, I can Rapport with her now as well, so long as I can see her eyes. She doesn't breathe, so why would she speak?"
Newt: (squeak)
Newt blinks and runs down Harry's arm, jumping to the table. After wandering for a moment, Newt jumps into a goblet of juice, absorbing the contents and then retreats back up into Harry's messy black hair.
Minerva: "There is one other matter. Ever since your encounter with Mr. Thomas, I have been trying to catch you or your partner in the lavatory haunted by Moaning Myrtle in the hopes of diverting your quite illegal experiments in alchemy, without revealing how I came to know about them through your journal. I can find nothing in there! How did you hide your cauldrons and worktable?"
Harry: "We didn't. Following the potions 'accident' with Pansy, we shifted locations. Whenever I referred to Myrtle's lav-lab, I was actually meaning the bottom of the stairs to the Chamber of Secrets."
Minerva: "Stairs? I thought there was only a slide..."
Harry: "Unless you ask for stairs in Parseltongue. Wizards can't fly without assistance, so far as I know. How else was Saladbar going to get back out?"
Minerva: "You aren't going to let me forget that, are you?"
Harry: "Anything that puts you off your game here is to my advantage. I need a vow."
Minerva picks up her wand from the desk, careful to keep it pointed away from her guest. Her every movement while holding the wand is tracked by Harry's unblinking and alert gaze.
Minerva: "By my magic, I swear I shall tell the truth for the rest of this meeting, unless by doing so I would violate any other oath I may be under; in such circumstance I shall simply state 'I cannot say'. So mote it be."
Harry: "I decline."
The swirling energy around Minerva's wand dissipates with a fart-like pop.
Minerva: "I beg your pardon?"
Harry: "As well you should. Try this one."
Harry slides a torn piece of parchment across the desk.
Minerva: "A-alright. Wait, are you serious?!"
Harry: "Like the plague. I'd like to remind you of the hypocrisy of teaching me ethics for the last month, if you doubt the need for such an oath."
Minerva looks quite pale as she raises her wand once more and reads from the scrap of parchment.
Minerva: "B-by my magic, I swear I shall tell the complete truth as I understand it whenever you or your blood and I converse in private. If by doing so I would violate any other oath I may be under, I shall simply state 'I cannot say'. If I am asked for that truth a second time, I ...I will comply with the request even if it should require the breaking of vows to other parties, whatever the consequences. The content of these conversations will be held as secret, not to be shared with any others except with your explicit permission, unless to hold that secret directly risks your life or the life of Hermione Granger. So mote it be."
Harry: "So mote it be."
The new swirling magic at the tip of Minerva's wand spins up quickly and strikes out to hit Minerva, Harry and Newt in the center of each being's chest.
It tickles!
Harry: "Just to clarify Minerva, you understand that having these conversations transcribed in the journal means you must also protect its contents from being seen by anyone, right?"
Minerva: "I hadn't, but you are correct in that. No one else has seen or will see the contents of my copy until I am dead. Filius has instructions to take over for me should something unfortunate happen."
Harry: "Alright for now. So. 'Harry Potter sees everything you write.' Were you trying to be funny?"
Minerva: "I was answering the question as completely as I could. I have been under a vow not to reveal your origin to you. That vow didn't preclude a hint or two. You are Harry Potter, child of James and Lily Potter. Unless you're writing wearing a blindfold, you see everything you write. Please don't murder me for trying to help."
Harry: "If it's any consolation, I really don't want to kill you. For all that you've been involved in my tragic past and present, I don't believe you have acted cruelly. I can't say the same for our beloved Headmaster. He has done a number of things that lead me to believe that my current situation is his fault."
Minerva: "In this I feel I have to thank you, for your ...temperance and in opening my eyes. If you hadn't revealed the Headmaster's use of the Loyalis Perfecta, I assure you this meeting would be progressing quite differently, and most likely in his office. I was quite ill the night after last Valentine's Day, both from Poppy's Purging Draught and my own ...loss of faith. This last year separated from that influence has been revelatory. Albus Dumbledore is a great wizard and a consummate politician but I have come to the realisation that he can be infuriatingly single-minded in his belief that 'Albus knows best'."
Harry: "That's nice, but what I need to know is what does he want with me, and why?"
Minerva: "Albus Dumbledore believes that Harry Potter is the only person alive who can truly defeat He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."
Harry: "Alright, starting now, can we agree to just call him Riddle? Why does everyone avoid saying Voldemort anyway?"
Minerva: "Most people don't know that ...Riddle is Riddle. His past was always shrouded in mystery. Tom Riddle disappeared from magical society sometime around 1952, having previously taken a meaningless position at Borgin and Burke's following a stellar rise to Head Boy and Special Services award recipient. When he returned under his nom-de-guerre, he looked very different than he had in the past- still attractive but inhuman, almost otherworldly. Those few outside of his Inner Circle to survive an encounter with him likened his appearance to that of a 'healthy vampire' without the fangs. Towards the end of the last war, rumours abounded that to speak his name would call him to your location. The Prophet articles of the time were quick to advise the public that speaking his name was an invitation to attack, and might even break the security on home wards and personal protections. It isn't an unreasoning fear. It is a public safety protocol."
Harry: "Why would the Headmaster think I can defeat the boogeyman? And why was I changed into a girl?"
Minerva: "There is a prophesy that Albus heard about, detailing that a child born in late July of 1980 would have the power to defeat the Dark Lord. I don't know the actual wording of it. Albus had confronted Riddle at several engagements but never could defeat him, only defend himself and aid others to escape. I don't know how Riddle always won their engagements, in fact I'm not sure even Albus knows. I know that Albus was losing hope by the end of 1978, seeing so many of our strongest, brightest friends and former students cut down so early in their lives. He was despondent, digging into all sorts of arcane research to understand why Riddle's advance seemed inexorable. Then in August of 1979, Albus recaptured his spark and started working intensely with both the Potters and the Longbottoms. A year after you and Neville were born, Albus convinced both families to go into hiding. On Halloween of 1981, Riddle was led to the Potters' modern-styled house hidden in Godric's Hollow, a gift James had given Lily for their engagement. When Albus and I met there with Hagrid to respond to a warning device that had set off in the Headmaster's office, we found the top half of the house had been eliminated by spell damage. James was ...dead at the foot of the staircase, Lily's body was (sniff) slumped on the floor in front of your crib, and Riddle's cloak lay on top of a scorched pile of ashes nearby. You were burned quite a bit and your unusual scar was bleeding, so Albus wrapped you in a conjured blanket and handed you off to Hagrid so that he could clean you up and heal your wounds, something his meager skills and broken wand might be able to handle. Albus set to investigating the circumstances of the battle, and to assure that Riddle was truly gone. I was keeping a wary eye out for his forces while looking for any sign of how the house had been found. After a few minutes, Hagrid apprised us that you had...changed."
Harry: "You're saying I was already a girl at that point?"
Minerva: "Quite. The last time I had seen you was a week previous, and had aided Lily in changing you following some play in the swim pool. You were still a boy then. Albus was... well, we all became very confused. He explained that Lily had sacrificed herself to protect you from Riddle's curse, and that the protection had destroyed Riddle's body along with the top floor of the house. Albus' stated theory at the time was that Lily's protection had caused the change in your appearance somehow. I suspect he knew Lily was planning something of this sort, but that she kept some details from him, which is why he was surprised by the results."
Harry: "So it was my Mum's plan that I become a girl?"
Minerva: "I honestly don't know any more of how the protection Lily provided was enacted. Knowing Lily, if she thought this would have been the likely result, she would have told someone she trusted. I doubt she did it intentionally."
Harry: "So then what happened?"
Minerva: "Albus directed Hagrid to search the wreckage for a broom to take you back to Hogwarts; he didn't want Hagrid to use other means of transport so as not to interfere with what may have affected you magically, nor for the travel to be tracked by the Ministry. I was sent ahead to prepare the school defenses and keep an eye on the students as news filtered back to them. Albus headed to the Ministry to inform them of Riddle's defeat, if not his death. While it might not have signaled an absolute end to the conflict, knowing that the Dark Lord had been incinerated would provide a much-needed boost in morale. You were still injured, so when Hagrid arrived on Sirius Black's flying motorbike, we took you to Madame Pomfrey for more complete attention. At the time, Albus and I were greatly concerned with suspected agents of Riddle working at St. Mungo's Hospital as well, so returning you to Hogwarts seemed the safest plan. Poppy was only told that you were a victim of an attack by the Dark Lord. I believe Hagrid was Obliviated of some of the details from that night."
Harry: "Hang on, Sirius Black was there, and gave Hagrid his motorcycle in order for me to be taken to safety?"
Minerva: "Well...yes, though he must have arrived after I departed for Hogwarts. That is confusing. Were he truly in the Dark Lo... Riddle's employ, you would think he would either have attacked Hagrid or tracked or trapped the motorbike. At the time I saw Hagrid landing in the motorbike I had no notion that Sirius Black had committed any crimes; I was just relieved to see Hagrid hadn't dropped you in transit."
Harry: "Or at least if he did, he picked me up afterwards."
Minerva: "Placing you in Hagrid's care was Albus' decision, and one I was uncomfortable with, but Albus was adamant that he knew how best to ensure your safety."
Harry: "Really. Then why place me at the Dursleys?"
Minerva: "Albus insisted that keeping you at Hogwarts in the long term would invite attacks, and he felt your burgeoning celebrity status in the magical world would spoil you. There were also concerns that, should the matter of your placement become an issue of Ministry judgment, you would easily end up placed with the Malfoy's family or one of their allies. Having no other direct living relatives, the Dursleys became the obvious choice."
Harry: "Did you even meet them? How could you think they would be good caretakers? They're monsters!"
Minerva: "I did meet with them! They were pleasant and mild-mannered, even if Vernon was overfond of food and drink. They were happily occupied with raising their own child, but didn't appear to be in the slightest dismayed at the prospect of adding to their family, as Petunia had suffered during her child's birth and was no longer able to have children. I am truly bewildered as to how your treatment under their guardianship came to pass. Despite my experience with the Headmaster, I believe I am generally a good judge of character."
Harry: "Alright. That bears some investigation, but not right now. So I was left on their doorstep?"
Minerva: "Don't be dramatic! Of course not. When we found out you had been ...changed, we had to come up with a plan quickly. At first, Albus wanted to just leave you with the Dursleys after healing you up and come back to fix things later. After a bit of planning, we realised that the longer you were Holly and not necessarily linked to Harry or the magical world, the longer we would have before the Dark Lord or his followers would come after you. Once we decided you needed to be explained somewhat, we worked out that you would need to be an Evans so Petunia would accept you, and that you needed to be older rather than younger. It is much easier to make a person seem older than younger, particularly in the long term. In your case, we used a version of the Incubation Bath, with which you are now quite familiar. That made you physically correct, but then your development needed a boost- Petunia would know a two year old child doesn't act like a 15-month old toddler, particularly as they were raising one of nearly the same age. With Albus' help I gave you some of my earliest memories of childhood to give you a basis for moving about and reading...it took a few weeks between the brewing and making sure you had integrated the skills, but thankfully everyone was celebrating the end of the war, so my absences weren't much noted."
Harry: "You acted as my nanny?"
Minerva: "I was acting as your Godmother, not that I was asked by your parents. They selected Alice Longbottom. Poor Alice...poor Neville."
Minerva sits back in her chair wearing a sad, wistful expression.
Harry: "I didn't know Neville was an orphan."
Minerva: "Oh, he isn't. His parents were tortured by Bellatrix LeStrange until they lost their grip on reality, days after your parents were killed. They're under permanent medical treatment. Ach! Your vow has made me tell you some indiscreet truths! Please take Neville's feelings into consideration with this knowledge."
Harry: "Yes, of course. So, I'm physically what my birthday indicates?"
Minerva takes a sip of her tea.
Minerva: "Well, you were. I can hardly guess what all these other influences have done to your biology, including the co-opting of Miss Granger's Time Turner."
Minerva gives Harry a critical stare. Harry barely smirks.
Harry: "I regret nothing."
Minerva: "No, you wouldn't, but Miss Granger might. The Time Turner program is an institution with specific rules. You catching her out has robbed her of an opportunity, one of the few a bright but Muggleborn witch has to flourish in our world. I cannot say more on this, or other oaths may harm me..."
Harry: "Alright, fine. As it is, are you planning on taking it back?"
Minerva: "At the end of the year is when the evaluation is complete. So long as incompetence or gross abuse isn't demonstrated, Miss Granger will still have access. Most likely then, so shall you. As far as your age is concerned, there is a Charm to display your physical parameters, used by the Aurors and Ministry personnel. I think Professor Lupin may know it, or possibly Professor Flitwick could cast it for you, but I hasten to add..."
Harry: "Yeah, let's not expand the circle of those with difficult questions. I'll ask Professor Oat...uhh...Lupin. So, the master plan was to let me be Holly until Riddle shows his ugly face again, then you would take me aside, turn my world inside out and put me in his path?"
Minerva: "That seems to roughly summarize Albus' plan, though he has mentioned the idea of additional training. Providing special treatment to you before the truth was revealed would have prompted too many questions. I have been fighting with him since your arrival to pin down when we should reveal the truth. He agreed in September to sit down with you as soon as Sirius Black is captured."
Harry: "Well, that could take years! Not that it matters now. What did you expect would happen?"
Minerva: "Well, something not unlike what we are doing now, though I was hoping you would have friends here to provide support. Hermione doesn't seem to be taking this as well as you are."
Harry looks at Minerva critically.
Harry: "I'm not taking it well. I'm shunting my rage into a small room in my mind until a sufficiently worthy target pops up."
Minerva's expression becomes momentarily fearful.
Minerva: "Yes, well. I believe the Headmaster expected you to be relieved to find out that your strange thoughts came from an unnatural alteration of your gender, and that you would appreciate the opportunity to become what you were meant to be, what your parents originally knew you to be."
Harry: "Are you serving him up as the target?"
Minerva: "Well, better him than me! He might survive your wrath. I hope you aren't unforgivably incensed that I have been privy to your thoughts through the journal. It has allowed me to deflect some of his more intrusive ideas, by convincing him of your nobler character than what is on display to the public."
Harry: "I'm surprised he allowed you to handle it. I'm more surprised he didn't insist on having access to the journal."
Minerva: "I'm quite proud of winning that argument. It helps that Albus acknowledges he has a poor understanding of women."
Harry: "He never married, did he?"
Minerva: "He would not have wanted to. His proclivities bend in another direction."
Harry: "That explains a bit."
Minerva: "Quite."
Harry: "I'm also surprised you didn't send me letters as Harry to remind me to eat my vegetables."
Minerva: "Albus and I have argued many a time, about that very topic. He wanted me to draft letters from 'Harry' to you giving advice on what you had written, or assurances that 'he' was on your side, possibly even guiding your decisions in some way. I knew this day would come. There was no way I could stand to deceive you like that, and knowing you now, very little chance of me surviving the confession. It was hard enough keeping quiet during your more troublesome times, not to mention coming up with ways to plausibly get you money for school and your eyewear. Until your recent arrangement with the school over the Basilisk remains, the muggleborn's scholarship was barely able to handle two students per year. Did you know we may actually be able to increase overall attendance at Hogwarts by 30% just from those children of poorer families who otherwise are simply Obliviated of their talent to preserve the Statute of Secrecy?"
Harry's expression changes to indignant surprise.
Harry: "They're still out there? They could be restored..."
Minerva: "Well, possibly. Most people's lives aren't stressful enough to induce a post-Full Obliviation use of accidental magic, but you hear about them occasionally. Miraculous survivors of auto crashes or people who say they see ghosts. They aren't living a half-life, Harry ...umm Holly. It may be well enough to leave them be. Their children may find their way to our world. If Hermione's arguments about genetics truly stand, she may be revealed to be a lost descendent of Rowena Ravenclaw. For certain though, this will expand the openings we can offer. There's a young orphan named Orla that I'll be visiting tomorrow for just that reason, providing you'll allow me to live."
Minerva's sarcasm is ignored as Harry looks at her defiantly.
Harry: "I feel it takes something away from Hermione's accomplishments to suggest that she must have famous ancestors. Hermione is a marvel in her own right."
Both participants take a few moments to settle into their chairs and drink some tea.
Minerva: "How do you feel about Miss Granger?"
Harry: "I love her, you know that. She is a treasure, and a better person than I am."
Minerva: "What I meant was, what do you want to do knowing you're not really a girl and she..."
Harry stands up from the chair and slaps his hand on the desk.
Harry: "Now hang on! I've been a girl for ten times as long as I was a boy, and now I am both, which believe me explains a lot! I think. Oooh! This whole thing is giving me a headache."
Harry stomps his foot in a very girlish manner, prompting Minerva to barely chuckle. Harry growls a grimace.
Harry: "Fine. You want to play? Next question: what happened to Penelope Clearwater?"
Minerva: "I... Holly, do you really think..."
Harry: "Answer the question!"
Minerva gasps and clutches at the desk for a moment. Her response allows her breathing to ease.
Minerva: "She ...was ...raped by at least four boys, based upon trace material we found. Filius was livid, as was I. We considered lifting the Obliviation but felt it would be punishing her cruelly to make her live through that again, assuming we were able to break the Obliviation at all. Upon reflection, that was the wrong choice. Flint would not confess to anything and we had no legal cause to use Legilimency or Veritaserum, as there was only limited evidence of coercion. Your journal couldn't be used as it would reveal too many other secrets, so the process of discovery would invalidate the chain of evidence leading to her examination. We only suspected Lockhart's involvement after your excursion into the Chamber, so seeking justice from him seemed pointless. The best Albus could manage was Marcus Flint's expulsion under the threat of revealing his crimes to the public. Penelope ...died horribly, after suffering without knowing why. It is some small comfort to know she passed on and does not linger as a ghost."
Harry: "No it isn't. That girl received no justice and died, all to keep my secret. Now I feel responsible. How was her family compensated?"
Minerva: "They weren't. Her death at school was deemed an accident so their insurance paid out, but they have lost their only magical daughter. I don't believe the Clearwaters are likely to speak to anyone in the magical world again."
Harry: "Smart. It shows how their daughter became a Ravenclaw, too. We may be discussing things politely, but don't mistake this situation. I am still in a rage."
[pause]
"You're afraid of me. Why?"
Minerva: "Putting aside the fact you came in here bearing Gryffindor's sword unsheathed, you have exhibited an incredible talent for survival and the willingness to act on your instincts in stressful situations. You personally defeated a thousand-year-old Basilisk with minimal magic. You nearly killed Gilderoy Lockhart for stealing your memory, again with minimal magic involved. If you decide to kill someone, I have very little faith that they will survive for long. I have already committed worse crimes against you than Lockhart did. I am, I think, understandably concerned."
Harry slumps back into the chair, looking like his feelings have been hurt.
Harry: (quietly) "I didn't pummel Lockhart just for stealing my memories. I had been looking for whoever had protected Flint's crimes, and Lockhart demonstrated that he was willing and able to use the Memory Charm unethically. Penelope died by his actions. If the Ministry isn't going to pursue justice, I will."
Minerva: "Penelope was killed by the Basilisk..."
Harry: "Yes! While standing right next to Hermione who was only petrified because she was using a mirror. If Penelope had been in her right mind she would have been able to protect herself- she was a Ravenclaw prefect for God's sake! How many different defenses should she have been able to come up with in the 10 seconds after Hermione said 'There's a Basilisk coming!'? Instead the girl was left half-lobotomised by a combination of nightmares and self-doubt. Lockhart, Flint and his cronies effectively killed her."
Minerva: "I suppose we should be thankful you haven't sought to finish off Flint since his return."
Harry: "Yeah, well I've been happy. Bliss is distracting. Was that what was making the Professors so uppity towards us during this last term? Hermione's relationship with me?"
Minerva: "No. Your endeavors in 'brewing children' as you put it have sparked an ethical debate amongst our staff. I presented the situation with your alchemy experiments without revealing your identity or the nature of your eggs; the other professors are under the assumption you extracted your own ova. I tried to present it as a theoretical discussion, but Professor Snape intimated he was concerned about the Gryffindor sisters working feverishly in secret and everyone jumped to the right conclusion fairly quickly. I believe he may have gathered some sense of what you were up to from either Hermione's or the Twins' minds, more likely the latter given the limited and general information he presented."
Harry: "I don't get it. Why do you even care?"
Minerva: "Why do we care?! You said to Hermione you knew that this was not normal! Already a month of morals teaching and you ask...! What you may not realise is that your experiments are very nearly the definition of Dark Arts. To use human tissue and alchemy to create a new species is one of the worst offenses to the natural order conceivable. What may result could threaten the Statutes of Secrecy or even life on this planet! Similar experiments in the past resulted in the creation of the Basilisk, Cockatrices and Manticores."
Harry: "Yes, also Hippogriffs, Crups, Abraxans, and Post Owls. People like Hagrid are doing similar every year. So why didn't you shut us down?"
Minerva: "Well for one I couldn't find you. For another, the professors are actually in a deadlock about it."
Harry: "Really? Where does everyone stand?"
Minerva: "I...have not cast the deciding vote. Albus stands as arbiter so as not to influence the discussion, Severus is opposed on the basis of the work being performed by unmonitored amateurs, Pomona is offended, Filius is intrigued and doesn't see the problem, Hagrid is all for it as you could guess, Professor Lupin won't debate but votes for it, Aurora and Bathsheba are opposed, yet Septima favors it as does Sibyll Trelawney, who inexplicably came down for dinner the night we had the initial discussion, but hasn't taken a staff meal since. The other 'nay' vote comes from Poppy Pomfrey. We haven't included the associate Professors in the discussion, but I have a feeling they would be evenly split as well."
Harry: "You haven't voted? You just went off on me about it."
Minerva: "There's the other side of the argument. These are your eggs, your potential children even if they aren't purely human. Who am I to say what should be done with them? Should we disallow pregnancies at Hogwarts? There are anti-pregnancy potions; should we add them to the pumpkin juice? Will that encourage earlier acts of intimacy, should the potions use be known? Do we have a right to add it in without consent of the students, or at least their parents? There's also the practical side. Should we interfere with your experiments here and have you continue them outside our guidance and capacity to react to an unexpected result? No, this is not a simple debate."
Harry: "So now what?"
Minerva: "So now what nothing. You've completed the experiment. The deed is done."
Harry: "I have more eggs..."
Minerva: "Please, Holly. For all that they may interest you, I don't think there was a divine hand in your mutation after last year's battle. They don't mean anything more than you have survived an extraordinary altercation, but not unscathed. I think your pet Newt..."
Harry: "She's not my 'pet', she's my daughter. I would defend her as I would defend any thinking being, but twice as hard because I love her. I want her to flourish. For now I'd also like her to remain a secret, so you may as well continue your 'ethical argument', or else your colleagues will press you to find out why we stopped. I will consider your opinion about further incubations. For now, I'm concentrating on my own issues."
Minerva: "Alright, Holly. I see some wisdom growing in you, at least."
Harry: "What would you have said, if you could have responded to what I wrote?"
Minerva: "'Don't brew the eggs'; 'it's not for you to take revenge on Mr. Flint'; 'don't push for intimacy at such a young age'; 'hold on, I'm coming to save you'. I should never have left you alone at the Cauldron this summer. For that matter, I should have taken you away from the Dursleys when we met three years ago."
Harry: "It's strange. Other than the last, I would have opposed you at every turn, yet I respect your opinion. Is there anything you have a burning need to know?"
Minerva: "Well, you've referred at times to a quiver, but it was never described. Is that it?"
Harry: "Oh, didn't I? Yes, I bought this at Borgin & Burke's. It's an old crossbowman's quiver with multiple slots. I keep the Blade in one, my shrunken Nimbus when Ginny doesn’t have it, spare parchment, long tubes with prepared potions, my...holdout wand... There are even some leftover javelins and crossbow bolts somewhere in here..."
Minerva: "How ...how do you see yourself, now?"
Harry sits back to think for a minute.
Harry: "I am Holly. I don't know what happened to Harry, but I've been Holly through all that I've survived and that's what I trust. Male parts aside. We'll see what happens when I take the counter-potion this evening. Lupin and I are expecting that I'll revert to being Holly, but able to become Harry as an ...andromagus form. Nevertheless, it's time Harry Potter made an appearance in the magical world. I intend to claim my inheritance, so I will go to Gringott's and see what the goblins have for me."
[pause]
"So, where do we go from here?"
Minerva: "I will think upon things and check up on Miss Granger. We should continue to meet for your 'ethics' detentions, but instead talk about what is happening and how you'd like to handle things. For now, go to see the goblins, but be very careful. They are vicious, ruthless and exacting."
Harry: "You said before that I should avoid Gringott's; why?"
Minerva: "Goblins use blood to track identity, ownership, contracts and the like. If you had appeared as Holly to them and opened an account, your identity would most likely have been revealed to them. They are the most cunning dealers in secrets, and knowing yours before you did would have been catastrophic. Albus has said that you are essential to permanently defeating the Dark Lord. If the goblins learn that, you might be taken hostage and used as leverage against us, the Ministry and the Dark Lord himself. If you must go there, please take along an adult and do not let yourself be separated. I cannot go with you now, but if you can wait..."
Harry: "No! The longer I'm like this the more likely someone else will find out and I may lose the advantage of surprise. I need to go now. Lupin can take me. We'll get a quick tailored robe for me to look presentable and then head into the Bank to make my entrance and claim what's mine. I don't need to be rich, but enough money under my control can help ensure my freedom."
Minerva: "Well, the Potter family is an old wizarding line with no other inheritors I can remember. They are considered an Ancient House, I think. You don't have noble title but you should be well-supported. One thing; you may not be able to claim all your rights until later in life. Primary adulthood is seventeen, full titles can be granted at twenty-one and estates usually pass from their regents to inheritors as they turn twenty-five. There are exceptions for the last of the line, but usually only with support from a Noble sponsor."
Harry: "What do you make of Dobby bonding to me, though? Lucius Malfoy and the Headmaster made such a fuss over the fact Dobby could accept my offer."
Minerva: "I don't own an elf, so my experience is limited. It was quite curious, though. I have another concern. It is yet possible that your blood will not identify you as Harry Potter, but as an unknown person. They'll have no sample record for Holly Evans unless the Headmaster gave them one, and even then it won't be the same now as it was a dozen years ago. Fallout from your battle with the Basilisk has no doubt changed your magical signature. Perhaps you should ask the Headmaster..."
Harry: (Sigh) "I suppose he and I will need to hash out things as well. How long do you think before he knows?"
Minerva: "Professor Dumbledore is an exceptional wizard who often knows more than anyone ever imagines he could. I haven't spoken to him today, nor will I discuss anything we've spoken about, of course. Nonetheless, I would expect he will have some idea of your change in status soon, either from his knowledge of the castle's goings-on or from spies he may have with the goblins. That said, you still have an unexpected advantage."
Harry: "Really? How so? I'm feeling close to well-cornered at the moment, so I could use an advantage."
Minerva: "I can guarantee he never expected you to be able to be both Harry and Holly! I had forced him to agree to speak to you about your true background as soon as the threat from Sirius Black has been handled. He began working on a permanent gender changing elixir following that meeting, as it takes months to concoct."
Harry: "Yeah, I know. Four months unless you have fresh Nundu tail."
Minerva: "Where did you...? Underground Potions?"
Harry: "Yup. From the 1875 edition. When they labeled it Quarterly, they meant 'of a century' didn't they?"
Minerva: "Yes, an article published in the Underground Potions Quarterly is not unlike a Nobel Prize for the Potions Masters and Alchemy set, despite the journal's status as a banned publication. Lily submitted an article that is still under consideration for the Millennial edition."
Harry: "Another thing no one ever told me. What's it about?"
Minerva: "Familial Blood-empowered Wards. I haven't seen the full draft that she submitted, just an early copy of the introduction. I am concerned if there will ever be another edition, as the senior editor and publisher was Nicholas Flamel."
Harry: "Yes, it seems a lot of good people die earlier than they planned when dealing with Albus Dumbledore. My parents, the Flamels..."
As Harry's expression begins to darken, Minerva looks at him thoughtfully.
Minerva: "Holly, please consider what it is you expect from the Headmaster before you confront him. He did not take their lives and he is not an evil man. I still believe Albus works for the betterment of our society and defense of the innocent. I just don't trust his judgment as I used to."
Harry: "I can't trust anyone anymore!"
Harry erupts from his chair and starts to pace the office.
Harry: "I had to force you into an oath! Even Hermione is absent right now; her mother doesn't trust me and her father would shoot me with his hunting gun if he found out she and I had been intimate! I have no idea why Lupin is helping me now except from guilt, but that didn't bring him running three years ago! These are the closest people I know, the closest thing I have to family! If I had a family I would turn to them, relying on the idea that they would choose me over any other oath or allegiance they may feel, but even my brother is a myth! Who's left to trust that will cover my back? How can I get that? Where can I go to get that kind of support? Because right now, there's no one!"
Minerva: "I can ...fulfill that role."
Harry: "YOU?! You've acted, you've... you've tried to protect me, haven't you?"
Harry sits, suddenly calming down in a thoughtful state.
Minerva: "This is not a manipulation on my part, Holly, except perhaps to try to alleviate my feelings of guilt for all that you have gone through that I might have been able to affect."
Minerva stands from behind the desk and walks over to Harry's chair.
Minerva: "Holly, if it wouldn't offend you, may I offer you my help as a Godmother? It would possibly allow me to take over as your magical guardian instead of Albus, and allow us to supersede most of the oaths I have sworn, and fulfill a few as well. I owe it to Lily to do better for you than I have."
Harry looks up from the chair to stare into Minerva's eyes. The stare continues for several minutes and as the time goes, Harry begins to look more and more sad, more frightened. Harry finally chooses to speak as tears begin to stream down his face from both eyes.
Harry: "I'm glad you asked me as Holly. It helps. I'd want you to be my Godmother, because...because...because I have no one else to turn t-t-t-tooooo."
Harry bolts out of the chair to embrace Minerva as she offers her open arms to him. Minerva holds the crying boy, rocking him soothingly in her embrace as she whispers assurances she hopes will be meaningful.
Transcription ends.
What do you think, Newt?
We need help. I'd like to have a grandmum. You're still Mum. I think Hermione was just upset, so you shouldn't think we're alone in this. Also, Moony keeps looking at you weird, so I think it's more than guilt or Professor Dumb's orders to protect you that has him helping us. Then there's Auntie Hedwig and Dobby. We're all loyal because we love you.
How did you get so smart?
Excellent source material. And whenever I'm idle, Hermione casts a Transcription Charm on me while I'm standing on one of her books. I learn quickly that way but it makes me dizzy, so we only do it every few days. Is she my Auntie?
I think I'll ask her to be your Godmother.
Huzzah!
She had you transcribe Shakespeare, didn't she?
First one. I nearly turned transparent from all the ink I spewed.
(Mum smiled. She's still attractive as a man, just in a different way.)
No wonder I couldn't find you for half of our holiday. You were in recovery. Lush!
Weirdo!
Pervy Squirt!
Transsexual!
Okay, now this is getting odd.
Minerva,
Moony's back from talking to the teller goblin. I'll try to update you as soon as we get out of here and find some privacy, but Moony says he thinks the inner rooms and vaults are protected from linking and tracking spells. You probably won't see any updates until later.
Wish us luck.
Holly
*
Holly Evans and the Spiral Path
Chapter 23: Holly's Crucible
Mum asked me to add this part before I transcribed the meeting so she could remember the conversation if Obliviated. It was very nice to meet you Granny Minerva. To reduce confusion, when Mum looks like Holly I label her Holly, and when she's Harry, I label him Harry. I'm so less confused now that I've said that. It doesn't matter to me where things started; when I was born, Holly was my mum and Dean's juice was my papa and Hermione was the midwife or something. Sorry for rambling.
~Newt~
Transcription: 25th January, 1994 starting 12:19 PM
Harry and Prof. Lupin are sitting on the stone floor across from each other in the DADA lab room. Harry has a cloak wrapped around his body. Harry has just finished a brief crying jag.
Harry: "Well, my One True God theory was just shot to Hell."
Prof. Lupin: "You should probably take the counter-potion now. We will need to know whether the effect is permanent or..."
Harry: "No! Not yet. I'm sorry for losing it there for a moment, Professor, but this is not the time to rush into another change. If this is only a temporary Animagus state, I might have to train for months to be able to become Harry again. While I'm him, I have the chance to get access to all the legacies and resources I've been denied up until now. I know there's a Trust fund, which means there may be other things that my parents owned being held until I can appear in public to claim them. We need to go to Gringott's. Today. But I have to confront McGonagall first. She knew who I was. She'll know why I was changed and why they let the world believe there were two of us."
Prof. Lupin: "Y'know, there is the remote possibility that this is just an unusual aberration- an ability for one sibling to become the other in Animagus form."
Harry turns a very angry gaze at Prof. Lupin.
Harry: "Right. We'll give that option 300-to-one odds against. That doesn't mean I don't have good reason to rip out of that bank every galleon, sickle and knut that belongs to the House of Potter."
Prof. Lupin: "I ...suppose not."
Both wizards sit in thought for a few minutes.
Prof. Lupin: "Well, we could at least try the Animagus revealing spell. I should warn you, it will be painful as I have to hold it on you to keep the effect in place. As soon as I let up, the potion will take hold again and you'll go through the transformations once more."
Harry: "Fine. It's not like I'm a stranger to pain. Hit me."
Prof. Lupin: "Restituo Clementia"
Lime green light issuing from Prof. Lupin's wand strikes Harry forcing him immediately to the ground. Over the next minute, his features shift until Holly is visible beneath the shower of magic. Lupin has struggled mightily to keep his spell in effect, so when Holly's form finally appears, he collapses to the floor as well. With the spell ended, the Animagus potion begins taking effect once more, forcing Holly to shift into the form of a black bird. The black bird lays on the stone floor twitching for a minute, then expels some stomach contents. Another minute passes and the birds shape once more bubbles and froths until Harry is left behind. Both wizards remain panting on the floor.
Harry: "I've decided ...that anyone who causes me ...that much pain ...without earning my wrath for it ...should have a better nickname ...than Oatmeal. How are you doing, Moony?"
Moony: "Better than you, I expect. What now?"
Harry: "Take the Map and go find your Lolita and make sure she isn't doing something foolish or being preyed upon, then meet me back here before 2 so you can accompany me to our Deputy Headmaster's office."
Moony: "Lolita? Just what do you think Hermione and I have been doing?"
Harry: "Well for damn sure you don't have to stand within each other's personal space to cast the Patronus, and Hermione has been cold to me for the last week. I know she... isn't like me, but I would have hoped your legendary restraint would extend to my girlfriend-in-denial. All things equal though, I'd rather she were with you than anyone else I've met."
Moony: "Harry..."
Harry: "Holly."
Moony: "First, I suggest you get used to being called Harry while you look like this, as it wouldn't do for your secrets to come out so easily. Second, I have been restrained, even though I can smell her attraction to me. We have been working together on a modification to the Purging Draught, so that your full humanity would be restored when we were complete, instead of you reverting to a hybrid. We've been working day and night to have it ready in time for today. She wanted to give you back your humanity, as a surprise. Um...surprise!"
Harry lies on the stone floor, mouth agape, for a full minute before tears start flowing from his eyes.
Harry: "Would...would you please go find the greatest woman I have ever known, ensure her safety and tell her that when we're done I intend to give her all my worldly possessions, which should be a more meaningful gesture by the end of the day? Could you do that for me?"
Moony rises to standing. Offering his hand, he pulls Harry up from the floor as well.
Moony: "I would be honored. I'll return in time to sneak you down to Minerva's office. What are you going to do?"
Harry: "I think I'll poke at my new parts for a bit while I try to figure out all the questions that need asking today, not to mention the wording of an oath I'd like to get from ...Minerva before we start. How long until the first potion starts going toxic?"
Moony: "Normally four hours, but your physiology leaves many things up to guesswork. Just tell me immediately if you start feeling a deep burning or a sudden nausea. Please take the Purging Draught if I'm not back soon enough."
Harry: "Brilliant. Oh, Moony. Could you whip me up some clothes?"
Moony: "Better we should adjust the clothes you wore. You wouldn't want them to disappear at the wrong moment."
Transcription ends.
Transcription: 25th January, 1994 starting 2:03 PM GMT
Harry is standing outside the office of Professor Minerva McGonagall under the Invisibility Cloak. Professor Lupin walks up, stops, casts Muffliato and looks back down to the Marauders Map he had been carrying folded in his robes. The Map shows 'Remus Lupin', 'Holly Evans' alone in the hallway, with 'Minerva McGonagall' the only label floating within the room.
Moony: "I tracked Hermione from an isolated storage room as she headed back to the Gryffindor dorms. She went back to your room and then disappeared. Do you know how she accomplished that?"
Harry: "Yeah, Hermione figured out a way to obscure our beds from the Map so the twins wouldn't get nosey about our relationship. Oh! I'm talking about the Weasley twins, not the Patils."
Moony: "Yes, I figured that. Fred and George have a tendency to drop to their knees saying 'we're not worthy' whenever we bump into each other away from other students. They had the Map for a while I take it?"
Harry: "They said they nicked it from Filch's office. The Map really is a marvel."
Moony: "A cooperative effort, including some insight from both your parents. Did you want me to go in with you?"
Harry: "No. Just keep a wary eye on the Map for Hermione and the Headmaster. Wait, does the Map show House elves?"
Moony: "No, the Map only shows what the portraits can see or the places we've tagged with a Marauder Monitor- it's a kind of Tracking rune, but can only reveal what a Tracking Charm would show. Elves ...have a different sort of magic."
Harry: "Huh. Dobby."
Dobby appears after a minute holding another elf in a headlock. Both elves have deep scratches and bruises on their bodies. Harry pulls off the Invisibility Cloak and hits the other struggling elf with a silent Stupefy.
Dobby: "Thanks to Mistress Holly for stunning the bad elf! Urkel was getting annoying."
Harry: "Dobby! Are you alright?"
Dobby: "Dobby will heal, Mistress. Dobby had to keep bad elf from running to Headmaster with Mistress's secrets. Mistress's secrets are always safe with Dobby."
Harry: "So, you don't think I'm Harry Potter?"
Dobby: "Mistress doesn't think of herself as the Great Harry Potter. Dobby would be being rude to calls Mistress anything but Mistress."
Moony: "Like the Map, they always seem to know how a person labels themself. That's why Sirius shows up on the Map as Padfoot when he shifts to his dog form."
Harry: "Dobby, you are absolutely right, but I have a favor to ask."
Dobby: "Dobby is overjoyed to do Mistress's bidding!"
Harry: "Right. Whenever you see me looking like this, don't call me Mistress."
Dobby: "Dobby must be squeaking?"
Harry: "That would be best. Privately, of course, do as you see fit."
Dobby: "Mistress Holly is the most wondrous and perfect Mistress ever! Dobby shall return to keeping nosey castle elves away from Mistress!"
Dobby disappears with Urkel's body.
Moony: "I had no idea you had such a loyal elf. Once this crisis is over, we should talk to him about updating the Map to see his kind."
Harry: "One miracle per day, Moony."
After checking the Marauders Map over Professor Lupin's shoulder once more to assure that the room has only one occupant, Harry nods to Moony and steps into the office. The Professor is sitting primly behind her desk. Tea service with savory and sweet selections has been laid out. The Professor stands briefly and gestures for Harry to take the opposite chair with a small smile. Harry glares at her, then pulls out the holly wand and proceeds to silently cast seven spells around the room. As the last spell takes effect, Harry turns back to regard the desk, waving his hand wearing the jade ring over the selections until he stops over a porcelain sugar bowl. Harry grabs the bowl and tosses it into the Professor's fireplace. Turning once more to Professor McGonagall, Harry nods. They sit down calmly, though Harry places the blade of Gryffindor (in Gladius form) directly in front of him on the desk, causing the Professor to hold back and consider her words. After a minute, the Professor nervously breaks the silence.
Professor McGonagall: "Good afternoon, Mister Potter."
Harry: "That's Holly to you and I'll be calling you Minerva. Until we clear a few things up I'm not making assumptions and neither should you. Right now you are not my teacher or my Deputy Headmaster. You're just a woman who has been screwing around with my life since before I even met you."
Minerva: "I ...understand. That was an impressive piece of silent magic you just displayed."
Harry: "This wand seems to be working better for me right now. By contrast the holdout wand is ...resistant. I assume you knew about the other wand from the journal?"
Minerva: "Yes. We'll talk more about that later I expect. Before we begin, I want ...I'd like to meet our scribe."
Harry: (Sigh) "Newt, say hello to one of the people who needs to convince me not to kill them."
Newt emerges from amongst Harry's hair to look at Minerva.
Newt: (squeak)
Minerva: "Extraordinary. Doesn't Newt talk?"
Harry: "No, all she can do audibly is rub her hand on her head so it makes a squeak."
Minerva: "But, you've had conversations..."
Harry: "Written ones, yes. I write, she writes. Also, I can Rapport with her now as well, so long as I can see her eyes. She doesn't breathe, so why would she speak?"
Newt: (squeak)
Newt blinks and runs down Harry's arm, jumping to the table. After wandering for a moment, Newt jumps into a goblet of juice, absorbing the contents and then retreats back up into Harry's messy black hair.
Minerva: "There is one other matter. Ever since your encounter with Mr. Thomas, I have been trying to catch you or your partner in the lavatory haunted by Moaning Myrtle in the hopes of diverting your quite illegal experiments in alchemy, without revealing how I came to know about them through your journal. I can find nothing in there! How did you hide your cauldrons and worktable?"
Harry: "We didn't. Following the potions 'accident' with Pansy, we shifted locations. Whenever I referred to Myrtle's lav-lab, I was actually meaning the bottom of the stairs to the Chamber of Secrets."
Minerva: "Stairs? I thought there was only a slide..."
Harry: "Unless you ask for stairs in Parseltongue. Wizards can't fly without assistance, so far as I know. How else was Saladbar going to get back out?"
Minerva: "You aren't going to let me forget that, are you?"
Harry: "Anything that puts you off your game here is to my advantage. I need a vow."
Minerva picks up her wand from the desk, careful to keep it pointed away from her guest. Her every movement while holding the wand is tracked by Harry's unblinking and alert gaze.
Minerva: "By my magic, I swear I shall tell the truth for the rest of this meeting, unless by doing so I would violate any other oath I may be under; in such circumstance I shall simply state 'I cannot say'. So mote it be."
Harry: "I decline."
The swirling energy around Minerva's wand dissipates with a fart-like pop.
Minerva: "I beg your pardon?"
Harry: "As well you should. Try this one."
Harry slides a torn piece of parchment across the desk.
Minerva: "A-alright. Wait, are you serious?!"
Harry: "Like the plague. I'd like to remind you of the hypocrisy of teaching me ethics for the last month, if you doubt the need for such an oath."
Minerva looks quite pale as she raises her wand once more and reads from the scrap of parchment.
Minerva: "B-by my magic, I swear I shall tell the complete truth as I understand it whenever you or your blood and I converse in private. If by doing so I would violate any other oath I may be under, I shall simply state 'I cannot say'. If I am asked for that truth a second time, I ...I will comply with the request even if it should require the breaking of vows to other parties, whatever the consequences. The content of these conversations will be held as secret, not to be shared with any others except with your explicit permission, unless to hold that secret directly risks your life or the life of Hermione Granger. So mote it be."
Harry: "So mote it be."
The new swirling magic at the tip of Minerva's wand spins up quickly and strikes out to hit Minerva, Harry and Newt in the center of each being's chest.
It tickles!
Harry: "Just to clarify Minerva, you understand that having these conversations transcribed in the journal means you must also protect its contents from being seen by anyone, right?"
Minerva: "I hadn't, but you are correct in that. No one else has seen or will see the contents of my copy until I am dead. Filius has instructions to take over for me should something unfortunate happen."
Harry: "Alright for now. So. 'Harry Potter sees everything you write.' Were you trying to be funny?"
Minerva: "I was answering the question as completely as I could. I have been under a vow not to reveal your origin to you. That vow didn't preclude a hint or two. You are Harry Potter, child of James and Lily Potter. Unless you're writing wearing a blindfold, you see everything you write. Please don't murder me for trying to help."
Harry: "If it's any consolation, I really don't want to kill you. For all that you've been involved in my tragic past and present, I don't believe you have acted cruelly. I can't say the same for our beloved Headmaster. He has done a number of things that lead me to believe that my current situation is his fault."
Minerva: "In this I feel I have to thank you, for your ...temperance and in opening my eyes. If you hadn't revealed the Headmaster's use of the Loyalis Perfecta, I assure you this meeting would be progressing quite differently, and most likely in his office. I was quite ill the night after last Valentine's Day, both from Poppy's Purging Draught and my own ...loss of faith. This last year separated from that influence has been revelatory. Albus Dumbledore is a great wizard and a consummate politician but I have come to the realisation that he can be infuriatingly single-minded in his belief that 'Albus knows best'."
Harry: "That's nice, but what I need to know is what does he want with me, and why?"
Minerva: "Albus Dumbledore believes that Harry Potter is the only person alive who can truly defeat He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."
Harry: "Alright, starting now, can we agree to just call him Riddle? Why does everyone avoid saying Voldemort anyway?"
Minerva: "Most people don't know that ...Riddle is Riddle. His past was always shrouded in mystery. Tom Riddle disappeared from magical society sometime around 1952, having previously taken a meaningless position at Borgin and Burke's following a stellar rise to Head Boy and Special Services award recipient. When he returned under his nom-de-guerre, he looked very different than he had in the past- still attractive but inhuman, almost otherworldly. Those few outside of his Inner Circle to survive an encounter with him likened his appearance to that of a 'healthy vampire' without the fangs. Towards the end of the last war, rumours abounded that to speak his name would call him to your location. The Prophet articles of the time were quick to advise the public that speaking his name was an invitation to attack, and might even break the security on home wards and personal protections. It isn't an unreasoning fear. It is a public safety protocol."
Harry: "Why would the Headmaster think I can defeat the boogeyman? And why was I changed into a girl?"
Minerva: "There is a prophesy that Albus heard about, detailing that a child born in late July of 1980 would have the power to defeat the Dark Lord. I don't know the actual wording of it. Albus had confronted Riddle at several engagements but never could defeat him, only defend himself and aid others to escape. I don't know how Riddle always won their engagements, in fact I'm not sure even Albus knows. I know that Albus was losing hope by the end of 1978, seeing so many of our strongest, brightest friends and former students cut down so early in their lives. He was despondent, digging into all sorts of arcane research to understand why Riddle's advance seemed inexorable. Then in August of 1979, Albus recaptured his spark and started working intensely with both the Potters and the Longbottoms. A year after you and Neville were born, Albus convinced both families to go into hiding. On Halloween of 1981, Riddle was led to the Potters' modern-styled house hidden in Godric's Hollow, a gift James had given Lily for their engagement. When Albus and I met there with Hagrid to respond to a warning device that had set off in the Headmaster's office, we found the top half of the house had been eliminated by spell damage. James was ...dead at the foot of the staircase, Lily's body was (sniff) slumped on the floor in front of your crib, and Riddle's cloak lay on top of a scorched pile of ashes nearby. You were burned quite a bit and your unusual scar was bleeding, so Albus wrapped you in a conjured blanket and handed you off to Hagrid so that he could clean you up and heal your wounds, something his meager skills and broken wand might be able to handle. Albus set to investigating the circumstances of the battle, and to assure that Riddle was truly gone. I was keeping a wary eye out for his forces while looking for any sign of how the house had been found. After a few minutes, Hagrid apprised us that you had...changed."
Harry: "You're saying I was already a girl at that point?"
Minerva: "Quite. The last time I had seen you was a week previous, and had aided Lily in changing you following some play in the swim pool. You were still a boy then. Albus was... well, we all became very confused. He explained that Lily had sacrificed herself to protect you from Riddle's curse, and that the protection had destroyed Riddle's body along with the top floor of the house. Albus' stated theory at the time was that Lily's protection had caused the change in your appearance somehow. I suspect he knew Lily was planning something of this sort, but that she kept some details from him, which is why he was surprised by the results."
Harry: "So it was my Mum's plan that I become a girl?"
Minerva: "I honestly don't know any more of how the protection Lily provided was enacted. Knowing Lily, if she thought this would have been the likely result, she would have told someone she trusted. I doubt she did it intentionally."
Harry: "So then what happened?"
Minerva: "Albus directed Hagrid to search the wreckage for a broom to take you back to Hogwarts; he didn't want Hagrid to use other means of transport so as not to interfere with what may have affected you magically, nor for the travel to be tracked by the Ministry. I was sent ahead to prepare the school defenses and keep an eye on the students as news filtered back to them. Albus headed to the Ministry to inform them of Riddle's defeat, if not his death. While it might not have signaled an absolute end to the conflict, knowing that the Dark Lord had been incinerated would provide a much-needed boost in morale. You were still injured, so when Hagrid arrived on Sirius Black's flying motorbike, we took you to Madame Pomfrey for more complete attention. At the time, Albus and I were greatly concerned with suspected agents of Riddle working at St. Mungo's Hospital as well, so returning you to Hogwarts seemed the safest plan. Poppy was only told that you were a victim of an attack by the Dark Lord. I believe Hagrid was Obliviated of some of the details from that night."
Harry: "Hang on, Sirius Black was there, and gave Hagrid his motorcycle in order for me to be taken to safety?"
Minerva: "Well...yes, though he must have arrived after I departed for Hogwarts. That is confusing. Were he truly in the Dark Lo... Riddle's employ, you would think he would either have attacked Hagrid or tracked or trapped the motorbike. At the time I saw Hagrid landing in the motorbike I had no notion that Sirius Black had committed any crimes; I was just relieved to see Hagrid hadn't dropped you in transit."
Harry: "Or at least if he did, he picked me up afterwards."
Minerva: "Placing you in Hagrid's care was Albus' decision, and one I was uncomfortable with, but Albus was adamant that he knew how best to ensure your safety."
Harry: "Really. Then why place me at the Dursleys?"
Minerva: "Albus insisted that keeping you at Hogwarts in the long term would invite attacks, and he felt your burgeoning celebrity status in the magical world would spoil you. There were also concerns that, should the matter of your placement become an issue of Ministry judgment, you would easily end up placed with the Malfoy's family or one of their allies. Having no other direct living relatives, the Dursleys became the obvious choice."
Harry: "Did you even meet them? How could you think they would be good caretakers? They're monsters!"
Minerva: "I did meet with them! They were pleasant and mild-mannered, even if Vernon was overfond of food and drink. They were happily occupied with raising their own child, but didn't appear to be in the slightest dismayed at the prospect of adding to their family, as Petunia had suffered during her child's birth and was no longer able to have children. I am truly bewildered as to how your treatment under their guardianship came to pass. Despite my experience with the Headmaster, I believe I am generally a good judge of character."
Harry: "Alright. That bears some investigation, but not right now. So I was left on their doorstep?"
Minerva: "Don't be dramatic! Of course not. When we found out you had been ...changed, we had to come up with a plan quickly. At first, Albus wanted to just leave you with the Dursleys after healing you up and come back to fix things later. After a bit of planning, we realised that the longer you were Holly and not necessarily linked to Harry or the magical world, the longer we would have before the Dark Lord or his followers would come after you. Once we decided you needed to be explained somewhat, we worked out that you would need to be an Evans so Petunia would accept you, and that you needed to be older rather than younger. It is much easier to make a person seem older than younger, particularly in the long term. In your case, we used a version of the Incubation Bath, with which you are now quite familiar. That made you physically correct, but then your development needed a boost- Petunia would know a two year old child doesn't act like a 15-month old toddler, particularly as they were raising one of nearly the same age. With Albus' help I gave you some of my earliest memories of childhood to give you a basis for moving about and reading...it took a few weeks between the brewing and making sure you had integrated the skills, but thankfully everyone was celebrating the end of the war, so my absences weren't much noted."
Harry: "You acted as my nanny?"
Minerva: "I was acting as your Godmother, not that I was asked by your parents. They selected Alice Longbottom. Poor Alice...poor Neville."
Minerva sits back in her chair wearing a sad, wistful expression.
Harry: "I didn't know Neville was an orphan."
Minerva: "Oh, he isn't. His parents were tortured by Bellatrix LeStrange until they lost their grip on reality, days after your parents were killed. They're under permanent medical treatment. Ach! Your vow has made me tell you some indiscreet truths! Please take Neville's feelings into consideration with this knowledge."
Harry: "Yes, of course. So, I'm physically what my birthday indicates?"
Minerva takes a sip of her tea.
Minerva: "Well, you were. I can hardly guess what all these other influences have done to your biology, including the co-opting of Miss Granger's Time Turner."
Minerva gives Harry a critical stare. Harry barely smirks.
Harry: "I regret nothing."
Minerva: "No, you wouldn't, but Miss Granger might. The Time Turner program is an institution with specific rules. You catching her out has robbed her of an opportunity, one of the few a bright but Muggleborn witch has to flourish in our world. I cannot say more on this, or other oaths may harm me..."
Harry: "Alright, fine. As it is, are you planning on taking it back?"
Minerva: "At the end of the year is when the evaluation is complete. So long as incompetence or gross abuse isn't demonstrated, Miss Granger will still have access. Most likely then, so shall you. As far as your age is concerned, there is a Charm to display your physical parameters, used by the Aurors and Ministry personnel. I think Professor Lupin may know it, or possibly Professor Flitwick could cast it for you, but I hasten to add..."
Harry: "Yeah, let's not expand the circle of those with difficult questions. I'll ask Professor Oat...uhh...Lupin. So, the master plan was to let me be Holly until Riddle shows his ugly face again, then you would take me aside, turn my world inside out and put me in his path?"
Minerva: "That seems to roughly summarize Albus' plan, though he has mentioned the idea of additional training. Providing special treatment to you before the truth was revealed would have prompted too many questions. I have been fighting with him since your arrival to pin down when we should reveal the truth. He agreed in September to sit down with you as soon as Sirius Black is captured."
Harry: "Well, that could take years! Not that it matters now. What did you expect would happen?"
Minerva: "Well, something not unlike what we are doing now, though I was hoping you would have friends here to provide support. Hermione doesn't seem to be taking this as well as you are."
Harry looks at Minerva critically.
Harry: "I'm not taking it well. I'm shunting my rage into a small room in my mind until a sufficiently worthy target pops up."
Minerva's expression becomes momentarily fearful.
Minerva: "Yes, well. I believe the Headmaster expected you to be relieved to find out that your strange thoughts came from an unnatural alteration of your gender, and that you would appreciate the opportunity to become what you were meant to be, what your parents originally knew you to be."
Harry: "Are you serving him up as the target?"
Minerva: "Well, better him than me! He might survive your wrath. I hope you aren't unforgivably incensed that I have been privy to your thoughts through the journal. It has allowed me to deflect some of his more intrusive ideas, by convincing him of your nobler character than what is on display to the public."
Harry: "I'm surprised he allowed you to handle it. I'm more surprised he didn't insist on having access to the journal."
Minerva: "I'm quite proud of winning that argument. It helps that Albus acknowledges he has a poor understanding of women."
Harry: "He never married, did he?"
Minerva: "He would not have wanted to. His proclivities bend in another direction."
Harry: "That explains a bit."
Minerva: "Quite."
Harry: "I'm also surprised you didn't send me letters as Harry to remind me to eat my vegetables."
Minerva: "Albus and I have argued many a time, about that very topic. He wanted me to draft letters from 'Harry' to you giving advice on what you had written, or assurances that 'he' was on your side, possibly even guiding your decisions in some way. I knew this day would come. There was no way I could stand to deceive you like that, and knowing you now, very little chance of me surviving the confession. It was hard enough keeping quiet during your more troublesome times, not to mention coming up with ways to plausibly get you money for school and your eyewear. Until your recent arrangement with the school over the Basilisk remains, the muggleborn's scholarship was barely able to handle two students per year. Did you know we may actually be able to increase overall attendance at Hogwarts by 30% just from those children of poorer families who otherwise are simply Obliviated of their talent to preserve the Statute of Secrecy?"
Harry's expression changes to indignant surprise.
Harry: "They're still out there? They could be restored..."
Minerva: "Well, possibly. Most people's lives aren't stressful enough to induce a post-Full Obliviation use of accidental magic, but you hear about them occasionally. Miraculous survivors of auto crashes or people who say they see ghosts. They aren't living a half-life, Harry ...umm Holly. It may be well enough to leave them be. Their children may find their way to our world. If Hermione's arguments about genetics truly stand, she may be revealed to be a lost descendent of Rowena Ravenclaw. For certain though, this will expand the openings we can offer. There's a young orphan named Orla that I'll be visiting tomorrow for just that reason, providing you'll allow me to live."
Minerva's sarcasm is ignored as Harry looks at her defiantly.
Harry: "I feel it takes something away from Hermione's accomplishments to suggest that she must have famous ancestors. Hermione is a marvel in her own right."
Both participants take a few moments to settle into their chairs and drink some tea.
Minerva: "How do you feel about Miss Granger?"
Harry: "I love her, you know that. She is a treasure, and a better person than I am."
Minerva: "What I meant was, what do you want to do knowing you're not really a girl and she..."
Harry stands up from the chair and slaps his hand on the desk.
Harry: "Now hang on! I've been a girl for ten times as long as I was a boy, and now I am both, which believe me explains a lot! I think. Oooh! This whole thing is giving me a headache."
Harry stomps his foot in a very girlish manner, prompting Minerva to barely chuckle. Harry growls a grimace.
Harry: "Fine. You want to play? Next question: what happened to Penelope Clearwater?"
Minerva: "I... Holly, do you really think..."
Harry: "Answer the question!"
Minerva gasps and clutches at the desk for a moment. Her response allows her breathing to ease.
Minerva: "She ...was ...raped by at least four boys, based upon trace material we found. Filius was livid, as was I. We considered lifting the Obliviation but felt it would be punishing her cruelly to make her live through that again, assuming we were able to break the Obliviation at all. Upon reflection, that was the wrong choice. Flint would not confess to anything and we had no legal cause to use Legilimency or Veritaserum, as there was only limited evidence of coercion. Your journal couldn't be used as it would reveal too many other secrets, so the process of discovery would invalidate the chain of evidence leading to her examination. We only suspected Lockhart's involvement after your excursion into the Chamber, so seeking justice from him seemed pointless. The best Albus could manage was Marcus Flint's expulsion under the threat of revealing his crimes to the public. Penelope ...died horribly, after suffering without knowing why. It is some small comfort to know she passed on and does not linger as a ghost."
Harry: "No it isn't. That girl received no justice and died, all to keep my secret. Now I feel responsible. How was her family compensated?"
Minerva: "They weren't. Her death at school was deemed an accident so their insurance paid out, but they have lost their only magical daughter. I don't believe the Clearwaters are likely to speak to anyone in the magical world again."
Harry: "Smart. It shows how their daughter became a Ravenclaw, too. We may be discussing things politely, but don't mistake this situation. I am still in a rage."
[pause]
"You're afraid of me. Why?"
Minerva: "Putting aside the fact you came in here bearing Gryffindor's sword unsheathed, you have exhibited an incredible talent for survival and the willingness to act on your instincts in stressful situations. You personally defeated a thousand-year-old Basilisk with minimal magic. You nearly killed Gilderoy Lockhart for stealing your memory, again with minimal magic involved. If you decide to kill someone, I have very little faith that they will survive for long. I have already committed worse crimes against you than Lockhart did. I am, I think, understandably concerned."
Harry slumps back into the chair, looking like his feelings have been hurt.
Harry: (quietly) "I didn't pummel Lockhart just for stealing my memories. I had been looking for whoever had protected Flint's crimes, and Lockhart demonstrated that he was willing and able to use the Memory Charm unethically. Penelope died by his actions. If the Ministry isn't going to pursue justice, I will."
Minerva: "Penelope was killed by the Basilisk..."
Harry: "Yes! While standing right next to Hermione who was only petrified because she was using a mirror. If Penelope had been in her right mind she would have been able to protect herself- she was a Ravenclaw prefect for God's sake! How many different defenses should she have been able to come up with in the 10 seconds after Hermione said 'There's a Basilisk coming!'? Instead the girl was left half-lobotomised by a combination of nightmares and self-doubt. Lockhart, Flint and his cronies effectively killed her."
Minerva: "I suppose we should be thankful you haven't sought to finish off Flint since his return."
Harry: "Yeah, well I've been happy. Bliss is distracting. Was that what was making the Professors so uppity towards us during this last term? Hermione's relationship with me?"
Minerva: "No. Your endeavors in 'brewing children' as you put it have sparked an ethical debate amongst our staff. I presented the situation with your alchemy experiments without revealing your identity or the nature of your eggs; the other professors are under the assumption you extracted your own ova. I tried to present it as a theoretical discussion, but Professor Snape intimated he was concerned about the Gryffindor sisters working feverishly in secret and everyone jumped to the right conclusion fairly quickly. I believe he may have gathered some sense of what you were up to from either Hermione's or the Twins' minds, more likely the latter given the limited and general information he presented."
Harry: "I don't get it. Why do you even care?"
Minerva: "Why do we care?! You said to Hermione you knew that this was not normal! Already a month of morals teaching and you ask...! What you may not realise is that your experiments are very nearly the definition of Dark Arts. To use human tissue and alchemy to create a new species is one of the worst offenses to the natural order conceivable. What may result could threaten the Statutes of Secrecy or even life on this planet! Similar experiments in the past resulted in the creation of the Basilisk, Cockatrices and Manticores."
Harry: "Yes, also Hippogriffs, Crups, Abraxans, and Post Owls. People like Hagrid are doing similar every year. So why didn't you shut us down?"
Minerva: "Well for one I couldn't find you. For another, the professors are actually in a deadlock about it."
Harry: "Really? Where does everyone stand?"
Minerva: "I...have not cast the deciding vote. Albus stands as arbiter so as not to influence the discussion, Severus is opposed on the basis of the work being performed by unmonitored amateurs, Pomona is offended, Filius is intrigued and doesn't see the problem, Hagrid is all for it as you could guess, Professor Lupin won't debate but votes for it, Aurora and Bathsheba are opposed, yet Septima favors it as does Sibyll Trelawney, who inexplicably came down for dinner the night we had the initial discussion, but hasn't taken a staff meal since. The other 'nay' vote comes from Poppy Pomfrey. We haven't included the associate Professors in the discussion, but I have a feeling they would be evenly split as well."
Harry: "You haven't voted? You just went off on me about it."
Minerva: "There's the other side of the argument. These are your eggs, your potential children even if they aren't purely human. Who am I to say what should be done with them? Should we disallow pregnancies at Hogwarts? There are anti-pregnancy potions; should we add them to the pumpkin juice? Will that encourage earlier acts of intimacy, should the potions use be known? Do we have a right to add it in without consent of the students, or at least their parents? There's also the practical side. Should we interfere with your experiments here and have you continue them outside our guidance and capacity to react to an unexpected result? No, this is not a simple debate."
Harry: "So now what?"
Minerva: "So now what nothing. You've completed the experiment. The deed is done."
Harry: "I have more eggs..."
Minerva: "Please, Holly. For all that they may interest you, I don't think there was a divine hand in your mutation after last year's battle. They don't mean anything more than you have survived an extraordinary altercation, but not unscathed. I think your pet Newt..."
Harry: "She's not my 'pet', she's my daughter. I would defend her as I would defend any thinking being, but twice as hard because I love her. I want her to flourish. For now I'd also like her to remain a secret, so you may as well continue your 'ethical argument', or else your colleagues will press you to find out why we stopped. I will consider your opinion about further incubations. For now, I'm concentrating on my own issues."
Minerva: "Alright, Holly. I see some wisdom growing in you, at least."
Harry: "What would you have said, if you could have responded to what I wrote?"
Minerva: "'Don't brew the eggs'; 'it's not for you to take revenge on Mr. Flint'; 'don't push for intimacy at such a young age'; 'hold on, I'm coming to save you'. I should never have left you alone at the Cauldron this summer. For that matter, I should have taken you away from the Dursleys when we met three years ago."
Harry: "It's strange. Other than the last, I would have opposed you at every turn, yet I respect your opinion. Is there anything you have a burning need to know?"
Minerva: "Well, you've referred at times to a quiver, but it was never described. Is that it?"
Harry: "Oh, didn't I? Yes, I bought this at Borgin & Burke's. It's an old crossbowman's quiver with multiple slots. I keep the Blade in one, my shrunken Nimbus when Ginny doesn’t have it, spare parchment, long tubes with prepared potions, my...holdout wand... There are even some leftover javelins and crossbow bolts somewhere in here..."
Minerva: "How ...how do you see yourself, now?"
Harry sits back to think for a minute.
Harry: "I am Holly. I don't know what happened to Harry, but I've been Holly through all that I've survived and that's what I trust. Male parts aside. We'll see what happens when I take the counter-potion this evening. Lupin and I are expecting that I'll revert to being Holly, but able to become Harry as an ...andromagus form. Nevertheless, it's time Harry Potter made an appearance in the magical world. I intend to claim my inheritance, so I will go to Gringott's and see what the goblins have for me."
[pause]
"So, where do we go from here?"
Minerva: "I will think upon things and check up on Miss Granger. We should continue to meet for your 'ethics' detentions, but instead talk about what is happening and how you'd like to handle things. For now, go to see the goblins, but be very careful. They are vicious, ruthless and exacting."
Harry: "You said before that I should avoid Gringott's; why?"
Minerva: "Goblins use blood to track identity, ownership, contracts and the like. If you had appeared as Holly to them and opened an account, your identity would most likely have been revealed to them. They are the most cunning dealers in secrets, and knowing yours before you did would have been catastrophic. Albus has said that you are essential to permanently defeating the Dark Lord. If the goblins learn that, you might be taken hostage and used as leverage against us, the Ministry and the Dark Lord himself. If you must go there, please take along an adult and do not let yourself be separated. I cannot go with you now, but if you can wait..."
Harry: "No! The longer I'm like this the more likely someone else will find out and I may lose the advantage of surprise. I need to go now. Lupin can take me. We'll get a quick tailored robe for me to look presentable and then head into the Bank to make my entrance and claim what's mine. I don't need to be rich, but enough money under my control can help ensure my freedom."
Minerva: "Well, the Potter family is an old wizarding line with no other inheritors I can remember. They are considered an Ancient House, I think. You don't have noble title but you should be well-supported. One thing; you may not be able to claim all your rights until later in life. Primary adulthood is seventeen, full titles can be granted at twenty-one and estates usually pass from their regents to inheritors as they turn twenty-five. There are exceptions for the last of the line, but usually only with support from a Noble sponsor."
Harry: "What do you make of Dobby bonding to me, though? Lucius Malfoy and the Headmaster made such a fuss over the fact Dobby could accept my offer."
Minerva: "I don't own an elf, so my experience is limited. It was quite curious, though. I have another concern. It is yet possible that your blood will not identify you as Harry Potter, but as an unknown person. They'll have no sample record for Holly Evans unless the Headmaster gave them one, and even then it won't be the same now as it was a dozen years ago. Fallout from your battle with the Basilisk has no doubt changed your magical signature. Perhaps you should ask the Headmaster..."
Harry: (Sigh) "I suppose he and I will need to hash out things as well. How long do you think before he knows?"
Minerva: "Professor Dumbledore is an exceptional wizard who often knows more than anyone ever imagines he could. I haven't spoken to him today, nor will I discuss anything we've spoken about, of course. Nonetheless, I would expect he will have some idea of your change in status soon, either from his knowledge of the castle's goings-on or from spies he may have with the goblins. That said, you still have an unexpected advantage."
Harry: "Really? How so? I'm feeling close to well-cornered at the moment, so I could use an advantage."
Minerva: "I can guarantee he never expected you to be able to be both Harry and Holly! I had forced him to agree to speak to you about your true background as soon as the threat from Sirius Black has been handled. He began working on a permanent gender changing elixir following that meeting, as it takes months to concoct."
Harry: "Yeah, I know. Four months unless you have fresh Nundu tail."
Minerva: "Where did you...? Underground Potions?"
Harry: "Yup. From the 1875 edition. When they labeled it Quarterly, they meant 'of a century' didn't they?"
Minerva: "Yes, an article published in the Underground Potions Quarterly is not unlike a Nobel Prize for the Potions Masters and Alchemy set, despite the journal's status as a banned publication. Lily submitted an article that is still under consideration for the Millennial edition."
Harry: "Another thing no one ever told me. What's it about?"
Minerva: "Familial Blood-empowered Wards. I haven't seen the full draft that she submitted, just an early copy of the introduction. I am concerned if there will ever be another edition, as the senior editor and publisher was Nicholas Flamel."
Harry: "Yes, it seems a lot of good people die earlier than they planned when dealing with Albus Dumbledore. My parents, the Flamels..."
As Harry's expression begins to darken, Minerva looks at him thoughtfully.
Minerva: "Holly, please consider what it is you expect from the Headmaster before you confront him. He did not take their lives and he is not an evil man. I still believe Albus works for the betterment of our society and defense of the innocent. I just don't trust his judgment as I used to."
Harry: "I can't trust anyone anymore!"
Harry erupts from his chair and starts to pace the office.
Harry: "I had to force you into an oath! Even Hermione is absent right now; her mother doesn't trust me and her father would shoot me with his hunting gun if he found out she and I had been intimate! I have no idea why Lupin is helping me now except from guilt, but that didn't bring him running three years ago! These are the closest people I know, the closest thing I have to family! If I had a family I would turn to them, relying on the idea that they would choose me over any other oath or allegiance they may feel, but even my brother is a myth! Who's left to trust that will cover my back? How can I get that? Where can I go to get that kind of support? Because right now, there's no one!"
Minerva: "I can ...fulfill that role."
Harry: "YOU?! You've acted, you've... you've tried to protect me, haven't you?"
Harry sits, suddenly calming down in a thoughtful state.
Minerva: "This is not a manipulation on my part, Holly, except perhaps to try to alleviate my feelings of guilt for all that you have gone through that I might have been able to affect."
Minerva stands from behind the desk and walks over to Harry's chair.
Minerva: "Holly, if it wouldn't offend you, may I offer you my help as a Godmother? It would possibly allow me to take over as your magical guardian instead of Albus, and allow us to supersede most of the oaths I have sworn, and fulfill a few as well. I owe it to Lily to do better for you than I have."
Harry looks up from the chair to stare into Minerva's eyes. The stare continues for several minutes and as the time goes, Harry begins to look more and more sad, more frightened. Harry finally chooses to speak as tears begin to stream down his face from both eyes.
Harry: "I'm glad you asked me as Holly. It helps. I'd want you to be my Godmother, because...because...because I have no one else to turn t-t-t-tooooo."
Harry bolts out of the chair to embrace Minerva as she offers her open arms to him. Minerva holds the crying boy, rocking him soothingly in her embrace as she whispers assurances she hopes will be meaningful.
Transcription ends.
What do you think, Newt?
We need help. I'd like to have a grandmum. You're still Mum. I think Hermione was just upset, so you shouldn't think we're alone in this. Also, Moony keeps looking at you weird, so I think it's more than guilt or Professor Dumb's orders to protect you that has him helping us. Then there's Auntie Hedwig and Dobby. We're all loyal because we love you.
How did you get so smart?
Excellent source material. And whenever I'm idle, Hermione casts a Transcription Charm on me while I'm standing on one of her books. I learn quickly that way but it makes me dizzy, so we only do it every few days. Is she my Auntie?
I think I'll ask her to be your Godmother.
Huzzah!
She had you transcribe Shakespeare, didn't she?
First one. I nearly turned transparent from all the ink I spewed.
(Mum smiled. She's still attractive as a man, just in a different way.)
No wonder I couldn't find you for half of our holiday. You were in recovery. Lush!
Weirdo!
Pervy Squirt!
Transsexual!
Okay, now this is getting odd.
Minerva,
Moony's back from talking to the teller goblin. I'll try to update you as soon as we get out of here and find some privacy, but Moony says he thinks the inner rooms and vaults are protected from linking and tracking spells. You probably won't see any updates until later.
Wish us luck.
Holly
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