After the final task had finished, everyone slowly made their way back to the castle. It was late in the evening, and dinner was being served in the Great Hall.

There was a big celebration feast planned for the next evening. But for tonight it was just a normal meal. Of course, that didn't stop the Hogwarts students from treating it like a celebration.

Professor Dumbledore decided to leave them to their fun. He headed to his office, followed by McGonagall and Snape.

"Well, that all seemed very successful," said Dumbledore, as he sat down at his desk.

"Yes. And nice to see Mr Diggory emerge triumphant," said McGonagall.

"Though there was one minor issue," said Snape. "A group of first years were nearly killed horribly."

"I didn't notice that," said Dumbledore. "What happened?"

"Krum blew a hole in the side of the maze, one of Hagrid's creatures escaped," said Snape. "Fortunately Dursley was there. He leapt in front and repelled the beast."

"Really? That was brave," said Dumbledore. "Perhaps I was wrong about them. That sort of bravery certainly sounds like a more male trait."

McGonagall scowled at him. "Women can be brave too," she muttered.

"What was that, Minerva?" Dumbledore asked.

"Oh, nothing," said McGonagall. "You are right, being so brave definitely shows that young Dursley is a boy."

Dumbledore stroked his beard and thought about Rob. "Hmmm. But it is just the body that is different," he said.

"I have done what I can about that," said Snape. "I have been brewing a potion to halt the effects of hormones on his body. It has stopped him becoming more female in appearance."

"Yes, I noticed the change in his demeanor these past few weeks," said McGonagall. "Your potion was certainly very helpful. But there are limits."

"To go any further would need some kind of transfiguration spell," said Snape. "But anything like that would be beyond my knowledge."

"But if you did know of such a spell, would you use it, Severus?" McGonagall asked, while giving Dumbledore a sideways glance.

Snape thought about it carefully. "Hmmm, that is difficult," he said. "But Dursley sees himself as male, and shows some desire to have a more masculine body. So yes, if that was what he wanted, I would perform that spell on him."

Dumbledore sighed. "Okay, you've made your point, Minerva," he said. "I'll talk to him and see what he chooses to do."

"Does that mean you know how to perform a spell such as this one, Headmaster?" Snape asked.

"Yes, I have performed it before when I transformed him into a girl the first time," said Dumbledore.

Snape was dumbfounded. "You did what?" he said.

"Sit down, Severus," said Dumbledore.

Snape looked at Dumbledore with a mixture of fear and apprehension. He walked slowly over to the chair and sat down.

"What I am about to tell you is in complete secrecy," said Dumbledore. "You can not tell anyone, especially Dursley. Do you understand?"

Snape looked at Dumbledore and raised his eyebrow. "I do," he said.

"You remember many years ago when Voldemort was destroyed as he killed James and Lily, and their son, Harry," said Dumbledore. "Well, that's the thing. Harry did not die."

Snape clenched his fists at the thought of Lily's death. "I knew he survived the attack. I was there after it happened," said Snape. "But the child disappeared afterwards. I assumed some other Death Eaters came to finish the job."

"No, not Death Eaters. It was Hagrid who took Harry," said Dumbledore.

Snape was surprised by this. "Hagrid?" he said. "Then he survived, but what happened to him?"

"You must understand, the child was in danger. He had to be hidden where no one could find him," said Dumbledore.

"Yes, that makes sense," said Snape. "But where could you have hidden him safely for all these years? It must be a very secure location."

"Ahhh, yes. He was hidden in plain sight as it were," said Dumbledore. "With his family at first, then here at Hogwarts."

"He's here, at Hogwarts?" Snape asked. "And with family? But the only person here who was related to Potter is..."

"The Dursleys, yes," said Dumbledore. "When Harry was a baby I used a powerful transfiguration spell to transform him into a girl. Harry became Rose, and disappeared from view."

Snape's mouth hung open in shock. A noise came from it, but no words.

"But it now appears that the transformation was not as complete as I thought," said Dumbledore. "The memory of his true gender remained. I had always thought that gender was governed by one's physical body, but it appears I was mistaken."

"He's Harry Potter," said Snape, when his mouth started to work again.

"Yes, I know," said Dumbledore. "It was a cunning deception."

"That's... not what I was going to call it," said Snape.

"I agree," said McGonagall. "But now you know the truth."

"Does he know?" Snape asked.

"No. Just me, Minerva, and Hagrid," said Dumbledore.

Snape shook his head slowly. "You lied to me when you told me Lily was his aunt," he said. "Though I don't understand how you hid it from my legilimency?"

"Ahhh, well technically I didn't lie," said Dumbledore. "I told you that they were related, and that Mrs Dursley was Lily's sister. You just assumed the rest."

Snape scowled angrily. "Why didn't you tell me the truth when we spoke last year?" he asked.

"Now is not the time for an argument," said McGonagall. "We should focus on what would be the best way to help the boy."

"Quite right, let us focus on what is important here," said Dumbledore.

Snape sat quietly brooding and let the other two discuss things. His own thoughts were now consumed with thoughts of Harry. As Rob, he had grown to like him. But now that Snape knew he was James Potter's son, it changed things.

"You should talk to him, Albus," said McGonagall. "See if he would want you to reverse the changes you made."

"I could do that," said Dumbledore. "But I am still not sure the danger has passed for him. What if Voldemort returns?"

"Perhaps if you change his body, but leave the altered memories intact?" said McGonagall. "Leave the name 'Harry Potter' in the grave, but make him fully male."

"That could work," said Dumbledore. "Okay, leave it with me. Go and join the feast downstairs. I need to decide what I am going to tell him."

Once Snape and McGonagall had left, Dumbledore went into his desk drawer and pulled out a bottle of fire whiskey. He poured some into a glass, then dropped in a couple of sherbet lemons. He swirled the glass around until the sweets had dissolved in the whiskey and started to fizz.

Dumbledore took a sip of his drink and sighed. This Dursley problem was making him stressed. He wondered if changing him back to a boy would get rid of the problem.

"Urgh," he groaned. No, not into a boy. As McGonagall keeps telling him, he has to remember that Dursley is a boy. It was such a complicated thing for him to get his head around.

These modern wizards spend more time around muggles. Getting mixed up with their muggle culture, and bringing back weird muggle ideas. Dumbledore missed the simpler times he had known when he was younger.

But then Dumbledore thought back to when he was younger. Maybe things had not been so different. He had realised he was gay in a time when such things were not accepted. He had remained closeted rather than face coming out. He wondered would the reaction from other people have been so different from what Dursley was experiencing.

Dumbledore finished the rest of his drink with a shudder at the fiery lemon sensation. That was when he decided to do whatever he could to help Rob. And with that he left his office and headed to bed.