From a Serpent to a Lioness: Year Two

I stare at the Weasley twins, mind racing as I try to come up with anything that might keep my secret. Fred-or is it George?- circles around me. “All that shady business with Angie and the other Gryffindor girls, and Ron’s been weirdly quiet about his year, too. The letter, the way your sister just appeared out of nowhere when she wasn’t mentioned before, the incident with Dumbledore in the Common Room… it all adds up!”

I feel my hands trembling, and shove them deep in my pockets to hide them. “That’s… that’s a crazy theory, you guys have wild imaginations, don’t you?” I try to keep my voice light, thankful for the darkening evening sky. The boys chuckle.

“That’s pretty much the reaction we expected. Look, we don’t want to startle you or anything; we just… didn’t get a chance to bring it up at school last year. In fact, you’re not even the first trans girl we’ve met. Maybe if you’re good, we’ll introduce you to a few of them sometime?”

I stare at them again, my mouth hanging open. “You… know other people like me? Wow… I thought I was… one-of-a-kind…”

“Sorry to burst your bubble, but no, there are others. Don’t worry; we’ll keep your secret at school.” Fred says, with George nodding in solidarity. “And if anyone gives you trouble, let us know! We’ll prank the ever-living daylights outta them!”

I smile, despite myself, as the twins head back to the Burrow. I catch my breath and wait for my heart to stop racing, leaning on a nearby section of rickety fence and looking up at the stars.  It’s so quiet here, so peaceful, that I simply can’t be bothered by my problems. A noise comes from behind me, and I turn my head. Standing behind me, Mini in her arms, is Ron’s little sister.

“Hey, Ginny. What’s up?”

“Um… I wanted to talk to you. About… earlier. I wanted to know more about it, and Mini was getting antsy, so we came to find you.”

I turn, half-leaning, half-sitting on the fence. “Yeah, sure, I don’t mind. Ron knows, the twins clocked me, so it’d probably be best for you to know as well. Like, properly.”

Ginny kneels down and let’s Mini go, the tiny Fennec fox bounding into the grass to explore some more, before joining me in leaning on the fence.

I clear my throat. “So… do you know what being transgender is?”

Ginny shakes her head, her eyes glittering in the starlight, and I re-evaluate what I was about to say.

“Well, someone who’s transgender, or trans, doesn’t feel comfortable in the body they were born in. I was born a boy, but it felt so unbearably incorrect, that I quickly realised that I should have been a girl all along.  If I tried to stay as a boy, it’d be like being sent to Azkaban for a crime I didn’t commit. I’D know I was innocent, but no-one would believe me, the Dementors wouldn’t care, and I’d slowly wither away to nothing. THAT’S what it feels like not to be able to live as your preferred gender. I know I’m a girl, but people only see a boy. It sucks, but I’m getting help with it. There are potions and magic that can… correct me, so I can have the body I should.”

Ginny’s expression is thoughtful. “Oh… that sounds… difficult. What do your parents think?”

I wince. “They don’t know, and for my own safety, it HAS to stay that way. If they found out… well, I don’t even want to think about it.”

“Oh, I’m… I’m sorry, I…”

I smile. “It’s okay, you didn’t know. Well, do you have any questions, or anything else you want to know?”

Ginny thinks for a minute, chewing her bottom lip. “So… do you like-like boys, or girls?”

I blink. “Well, um… girls. I haven’t really thought too much about it, but I think I’d be called a lesbian.”

Ginny tilts her head. “Yeah, boys are kinda gross, huh.” I snort a little. “Yeah, I guess.  But anyway, that’s pretty much me.  Maxine Victoria Darcy, the witch raised as a wizard…”

I curtsey a little, and Ginny giggles. “Nice to meet you!” she curtseys back, and then holds up a finger. “Oh! Ron said I shouldn’t tell anyone, and I won’t! Your secret is safe with me!”

I smile. “Thanks, Ginny. But yes, it’s a secret. If the wrong people figure out that Max and Maxine are the same person, it could spell serious trouble for me.”

I click  my tongue in a trilling chitter, and Mini’s tail-tip pokes up above the grass, moving through the green stalks like a fluffy little land-shark, her yipping growing louder as she  burrows through the lawn to leap up onto a tree-stump, then into my arms. I smile and nuzzle her, beginning to head back to the house. Ginny scampers ahead, and, by the time I get in, she’s already bouncing around excitedly.

“Hey, Max! We’ve set you up in the spare bedroom, if that’s okay with you?” Mrs Weasley smiles, still bustling around, a bundle of fresh linens floating behind her, almost bouncing off Mr Weasley’s head. He ducks with practiced ease, leafing through his newspaper, as I follow Mrs Weasley. She hums as she ascends the stairs. I lug my trunk with me, Mini riding on top like a tiny, fluffy sailor, her tail puffed up.

The spare room is neat and tidy, and the sheets float over, drifting neatly into their correct positions, pillows sliding into cases and a warm quilt fluttering down to land perfectly.

“There you are, dear, it’s ready for you whenever you feel like sleeping,” Molly smiles and I smile back. “Thank you so much, Mrs Weasley.”

“It’s no trouble, no trouble at all! You must have had a day, make sure you get a good rest. Let me know if you need anything!” Mrs Weasley gives me a motherly hug and clatters away down the stairs.

I sit on the bed, Mini nosing around to check out our surroundings, before removing my shoes and curling up on the mattress, smiling. Ron’s family is so nice… He’s going to go far if he stays the course….

I wake in the dark, with someone shaking my shoulder. “Psst, Max!” Ron’s voice whispers, and I blink, clearing the fog from my brain as I sit up. I must’ve fallen asleep on top of the duvet.

“Wait… why are you dressed? Did you know we were going to go check up on Harry?”

 I frown, blinking blearily. “Wait, we’re doing what now?” I stretch, yawning as I slip my feet into my shoes and sweater, zipping it up and.

“C’mon, Max, we’re going to go get Harry!” Fred, or maybe George, butts in, sticking their head around the doorframe.

I rub my eyes, clearing the fuzz from my vision and standing. “Okay, what’s the plan?”

The twins grin, shooting each other a look, before one of them holds up a set of keys. “The car.”

I blink. “Why would that help?”

The three Weasleys grin at me. “You’ll see! Now come on!”

We creep down the stairs. As we leave, Mini raises her head, flicking an ear sleepily and yawning, before curling back up and flicking her tail around to cover her snout.

The Burrow is dark and quiet, and I trail behind the three boys, the stairs softly creaking beneath us as we sneak out through the kitchen, the door clicking as George eases it closed with practiced skill. I shiver a little and tug my sweater more tightly around myself. Fred tugs the car doors open.

“After you, milady!” he chuckles, and I huff, squirming into the back seat as Ron takes up the other seat. The twins take the two front seats and turn the car on, before spinning the wheel and we start driving down a dirt track. Thumbing a button on the dashboard, Fred chuckles, “here we go!”

The car judders briefly, before lifting, rising off the ground and into the night air. Fred thumbs another button. “Invisibility engaged, captain! Hard a-port, we’re heading for Little Whinging!”

Ron and I stare at each other, then I burst out laughing, “THAT’S where Harry lives? What kind of name is that?!” I giggle, holding my stomach as I try to regain my composure, the car flying through the dark night, the other three laughing as we make our way to Harry.

I stare, Ron stares, the twins stare. Harry’s house has a sturdy set of bars on one window. “That… that IS the right address, right? Wow… the Muggles here are jerks!” Ron growls, and I nod in agreement.  Fred and George scowl. “Good job we have something in the boot for this. Could you check for us, Maxine?”

I turn and lean over the back of the seat, rummaging, before tugging something out of the heap of clutter. “This?”

Fred nods. “Yep, that’ll do it!” George brings the car close to the side of the house. I lean out, knocking on the window through the bars. A few moments later, Harry’s face appears at the window, and his eyes widen. With a flurry of action, he tugs his windows open. “What are you doing here?”

I smile. “We came to rescue you! When you didn’t respond to our letters, we thought something had happened, so…”

Harry groans, “Yeah, there’s a reason for that, I’ll explain later. Let’s go!” I look back at the twins, and they nod.  I turn back and hand him the item I’d been told to grab. “Attach that to the bars, then!” as Harry stares at the hook, I adjust the rope tied to it, wrapping it around the car’s bodywork. Ron grips onto the hemp too, and I tug it tight.

“Ready!”

“Ready here, too!” Harry adds, taking a couple of hasty steps back, and George pulls away, the bars creaking, before pulling away from the wall and landing in the flowerbed below, taking the windows with it.. The hook comes free and I hastily reel it back in as George backs up, the boot opening as Ron reaches out, helping Harry to load his trunk, then Hedwig, his haughty-looking owl,  stuck in her cage and looking morose. The sound of someone pounding on Harry’s bedroom door fills the street, accompanied by furious bellowing and the rattling of chains and padlocks.

“POTTER!!!!!”

The door flies open, and I see, silhouetted in the hallway lights, a very fat, moustachioed man, a skinny twig of a woman, and a boy who looks like he’s halfway to becoming an doppelganger of his father. Rushing across the room as Harry scrambles through the window-hole, the walrus-man bawls, “PETUNIA, HE’S ESCAPING!”

Grabbing Harry’s ankle, the Amazing Human Elephant-Seal attempts to drag him back inside, the other boy shouting encouragement.

“Let go of me!” Harry yells, but his uncle grins maniacally. “Ohhh, no boy! You and that BLOODY PIGEON of yours aren’t going anywhere!”

I pull out my wand, but Ron, his arms wrapped around Harry’s chest, roars, “DRIVE!”

George revs the car, changing gear, and we pull away, Harry’s ankle slipping free from the Incredible Pillsbury Doughboy’s grasp, causing him to overreach himself, screaming, “NO! NO! NO-NO-NO-AAAAAGGGHHH!”, tipping, tipping, before finally falling, out of the window, landing in a stupid-looking little bush beneath Harry’s former window.

We slowly motor forwards, allowing Harry the chance to savour the sight of his uncle’s humiliation as ‘Petunia’ and the boy rush to the hole in the wall, looking out in shock and fear as the Remarkable Bipedal Buffalo lurches upright, heaving himself out of the bedraggled hedgelet.

As I watch the Muggle staring up at us in enraged, impotent bemusement, Ron nudges Harry. “By the way, mate, happy birthday!”

I smile. “Happy birthday, Harry. I didn’t bring your present with me, so I hope the rescue will do for now!” I wink at him as Hedwig ruffles her own feathers in irritable silence.