The next few weeks seem to pass in a blur, and each morning, I count the day off, waiting with bated breath for that desperately-longed-for message.  On the last day, Hermione and Angelina corner me before I can head to breakfast. “Max, we have a surprise for you!” they chorus, and I swallow as they insist that I wait for a few minutes. Once all the boys have left, several girls traipse down from the girl’s dormitory. I recognize most of them from classes, but I can’t say I’m overly acquainted.

Angelina smiles. “Come on, introduce yourselves!” she chortles, and each girl begins talking at once. It takes a couple minutes for them to organize who’s going first.

“I’m Alicia Spinnet!” a girl with raven hair and a tanned complexion smiles. “Angie and Hermione have kind of… explained what happened with you, when you had that breakdown. I’m happy to be of help!” she reaches up, and, with a sharp tug, pulls a couple of hairs from her head, placing them in Hermione’s hand. Hermione tugs a strand of her own out and adds it to her palm, followed by Angelina.

A girl with a brown, chin-length bob chimes in, “Katie Bell! I’m in too!” she plucks some of her hair free, laying them in Hermione’s hand before spontaneously hugging me. “You’re pretty amazing, Maxine! I support you!”

I blink a little, before briefly hugging back. Four different people’s hair? Where are we going with this?

Next is a girl with pale skin and hair almost as curly as Hermione’s though with a much lighter shade.

“Lavender Brown! This is so cool, we need more girls here!” she giggles, her eyes twinkling as she uncoils a couple of hairs and snaps them off, adding them to the small bundle.

Finally, a stunningly-pretty Indian girl with long black hair adds her own to the little bunch. “I’m Parvati Patil! I don’t really understand what you’re going through, but I’ll help in any way I can. If this will make you feel right, then a little hair is a negligible price that I am more than happy to pay!” she says gently, giving my hand a squeeze.

Hermione bundles the hair into a neat twist. At a brief glance, it all looks the same.  “Angie and I did some research on the Polyjuice potion. While it’s true that the first hair that touches the surface will be the form you take, several well-documented experiments have proven conclusively that, if multiple hairs make simultaneous contact, it’ll construct a unique appearance based on a composite of the individuals the hairs came from!”

I blink, before Angelina clarifies, “you’ll have your own appearance! You won’t look like any one of us, you’ll be entirely unique!” I start sniffling, as the tall Quidditch Chaser hands me a small bundle of cloth. “Dumbledore gave me this yesterday to give you! It’s your new uniform! Skirt and all!”

Hermione giggles, “And here’s something I bought for you while I was home during Christmas! We should be about the same size, even after you’ve taken the potion!” she hands me a small package. When I take a peek inside, I turn scarlet. Inside are several sets of girl’s underclothes. I give her a big hug, then Angelina. “Thank you so much!”

Turning to each of the girls, each of whom had given so freely, I give each one a quick hug. Angelina chuckles, “better get moving if you want to have breakfast and change, Maxine!”

THE GREAT HALL, SHORTLY AFTER BREAKFAST HAS BEGUN, FREE P.O.V

Harry and Ron are sitting at a table near the entrance. Max hasn’t come down yet, and the two boys are debating going looking for their friend. Halfway through a plate of sausage and toast, Ron asks, “D’you really think that Max’ll be okay? She’s been getting really fidgety recently. Bit odd, but It DOES prove she’s actually happier than she used t’be.”

Harry swallows a mouthful of pumpkin juice.

“I know. When I met her, I got this vibe. I thought she was just shy, but when she told us she was a girl, I kinda understood. She’s never been herself, so of course she’s excited. Wouldn’t you be, if you had the chance to live your life for yourself, not for someone else?”

Ron chews thoughtfully on his toast, before swallowing.

“Yeah, s’a good point. I can’t imagine what it’d be like, being stuck in a body that isn’t mine…”

A voice comes from the left, as a girl sits down. “Ooh, I can tell you from experience, it absolutely stinks!”

Harry and Ron’s heads turn curiously. The girl sitting at the end of the table is a little taller than average, with waist-length black hair, curled at the ends. Her complexion is pale, but with a hint of colour in the cheeks, her blue eyes shimmering with unbounded good humour and a wicked delight. Her voice is soft, but not meek, with a clear breathiness that sounds almost husky.

Ron blinks. “Who’re you? Sorry, we were kinda saving that seat for our friend Max.”

“Oh, thank you, Ron. That’s so kind of you!” the girl replies, before Harry’s eyes widen behind his glasses.

Ron frowns. “Is it? I dunno why you’re thanking me, I told you-ow! Harry, why’re you kicking me?”

The girl’s composure finally breaks, as a wicked smirk forms and she begins giggling, a light, cheery sound that silences several nearby students. Leaning in, she murmurs,

“Ron, it’s me! Max! I took the Polyjuice potion!”

Ron’s eyes bug out, and he falls off his seat.

THE GREAT HALL, SHORTLY AFTER BREAKFAST HAS BEGUN, MAXINE’S P.O.V

I sit at the table, watching Ron pick himself up. “Sorry, I couldn’t help it! I wanted to see if you recognized me, and, if it took Harry a couple of minutes and you didn’t, it’s safe to say that I pass very well!” I giggle, and Ron stares.

“Yeah, it’s her alright.” He huffs, retaking his seat and shovelling a forkful of scrambled egg into his mouth. I smile as a familiar yapping noise starts near my ankles, and quickly make my request for breakfast, cracking two raw eggs into Mini’s bowl, the contents of which swiftly disappear into my ravenous little furbaby. Taking my own breakfast in hand, I begin eating with delicate little bites,

Feeling the comforting weight of my newly-lengthened hair, I shiver a little in ecstacy. This feels right, in every way. My body has the beginnings of curves, too! To anyone who doesn’t know, I’m just a normal eleven-year-old girl. True, I’m still young, but, with a body that fits me, I feel like I could take on the whole world, and win!

I don’t see Hermione until our first lesson. As I enter the classroom, everyone turns to stare for a couple of minutes as I make my way to an available seat near the front of the class, before resuming their conversations. Laying out my textbook, parchment, quill and ink, I sit, almost vibrating in anticipation, as the tiny Professor Flitwick hurries in, taking his place at the front of the room.

“Settle down, class, settle down! Now, it may have come to your attention, but we have a… new student in our midst from today! Would you like to introduce yourself, miss?” he smiles at me.

Standing up, I announce, “I’m Maxine Victoria Darcy. You can consider me a sibling to Maximillian, if that helps. I look forward to getting to know you all!”

A minor hubbub breaks out, and the diminutive professor allows it to continue for a minute, before clapping his hands loudly. “Questions later, Charms first!”

The class settles down, albeit reluctantly, and I make a show of struggling a little, before ‘improving’ my performance, enough that it doesn’t seem odd.  I do notice several other students staring at me, whispering among themselves, as Hermione focusses on her work, and Lavender winks at me, clearly relishing the prospect of hot gossip.

The bell chimes for the end of the lesson, and I check my timetable. Herbology next, with Professor Sprout. I head down and out to the greenhouse, where several other students from different Houses are assembled at the entrance. One of them is the Ravenclaw girl with the long, ash-blonde hair and vacant-looking eyes. She’s staring straight at me, with a weird alertness to her gaze.  A couple of Hufflepuff girls are giving me the same curious look as I’ve been getting all morning, before Professor Sprout trundles up, smiling broadly.

Listen up, today we have a new girl joining us. Please treat her the same as any other student. Got that? Please welcome Maxine Victoria Darcy! She’s Max’s relative, and I want you all to try and get along!”

As the lesson begins, I’m paired up with the vacant-eyed girl and a boy from Slytherin. He spends way too much time trying to impress me and ends up accidentally using an obscene amount of an exceptionally-potent pesticide on his Dittany, earning himself a scolding from the Herbology teacher.

While he’s getting chewed-out, the Ravenclaw girl tilts her head, still staring at me. “I’m Luna Lovegood…. And you’re new, but also familiar…” she says liltingly, her bow mouth opening slightly as she pokes the tip of her tongue out. Her attention switches back to her Dittany plant, and I breathe out in relief. She hasn’t figured me out, has she? That comment was a little too close for comfort…

On our way to lunch, Hermione joins us, and we chat about inconsequential things as she makes a show of ‘introducing’ herself for the benefit of anyone watching. So far no-one’s figured anything out, or if they have, they aren’t saying a word. That Luna girl was the only one who seemed to have an obvious suspicion of me…

Luckily, I’d avoided any suspicion with the exams, having been able to complete them in private, so as not to distract the other students with ‘surprise, I am a girl now’ stuff. It’s not like they’d understand, anyway, unless there are more closeted trans people here.

Hermione babbles, “I’d always heard that Hogwarts’ end-of-year exams were frightful, but I found that rather enjoyable!”

Ron grouses, “speak for yourself! Alright there, Harry?”

Harry’s wincing and pressing the heel of his palm to his forehead. “My scar… it keeps burning…” He mutters, and I wince in sympathy. Hermione muses, “It’s happened before…”

Harry shakes his head. “Not like this…” Ron clucks concernedly, his tie undone and draped around his neck. “Maybe you should see the nurse, mate?”

Harry blinks away sweat from his eyes. “I think… it’s a warning. It means… danger’s coming.” I tense up, remembering that night in the forest a few weeks ago. Despite the warmth of the early summer sun, I still wake up in a cold sweat, dreaming of that horrible black shadow and the way it had slithered towards me...

We head out of the main gate towards Hagrid’s hut, Harry clearly having something on his mind. The plaintive piping of a flute rises from the front steps of the great wood-and-brick pumpkin, the bearded groundskeeper playing slow and soft, his massive boarhound dozing on the warm grass.

“Of course!” Harry speeds up, explaining his thought process as he powerwalks towards Hagrid.

 “Don’t you think it’s a bit suspicious, that what Hagrid wants most in the world is a dragon, and a stranger just shows up and happens to have one? I mean, how many people wander around with dragon eggs in their pocket? Why didn’t I see it before?!”

I try to keep up, my new body moving much more comfortably than my old one, but without the stamina or speed I’d had. A small price to pay, even if the extra horsepower would’ve been useful right now! I swear, my legs are longer than the boys’! Why am I the slowest?! My heart pounds in my chest as I follow, a scant few metres behind.