Or a friend?

Harry chewed her lip in thought, the quiet of the store making the 'tap tap tap' of rain on the windows seem loud. Up to this point, she'd been rolling with whatever happened in an effort to not be outed, first to Snape and second to Mrs. Malfoy. But now that she had a moment alone to think, she knew that needed to change. Doing nothing but reacting was, sooner or later, going to put her in a situation she couldn't bullshit her way out of. While coming face to face to Voldemort was the worst case scenario - and thus the first thing that came to mind - the more likely event of running into a **** Eater with enough skepticism to look past "her" last name would find themselves having one wandless Harry Potter at their mercy.

Clearly, now was the time to bail. The ravenette sighed at the hesitant guilt forming in her gut as she stepped off the stool and made for the door, the tape measurer trying to get the length of her shin as she walked. On paper, there was no reason why she should feel bad for doing this. Narcissa was the mother to obnoxious blowhard Draco and wife to **** Eater Supreme Lucius. And despite whatever side effects the potion might of had, they weren't related. This was all just a magically muddled case of mistaken identity.

...

So why the Bloody Hell did she feel like complete shite for walking out like this?! Oh, why did Narcissa have to go all motherly as soon as the "fact" came out that they were family? Why couldn't she have stayed the same snobby ice queen Malfoy he'd always known her as instead of becoming a posh Mrs. Weasley?

Reaching the door, Harry almost wrenched it open before remembering the bell and easing it open instead. Slipping back out into the street, she took a moment to make sure the coast was clear before making for the Leaky Cauldron at the fastest 'I'm-not-doing-anything-suspicious-so-don't-notice-me' pace she could manage.

Okay. She needed a plan. Getting her trunk and leaving was clearly the way to go. But then what? Going back to the Dursleys was... an option. One she wouldn't dismiss out of hand, but would keep firmly at the bottom of the list. While she did have some wizarding money in her trunk, the amount of muggle money she had would barely be enough to buy a fizzy drink out of a vending machine.

So unless she wanted to bum the summer out, she'd be limited to wizarding places. Her best bet might be just to bite the bullet and head for the Burrow.

Letting out a groan at the thought of how everyone would react, Harry ran a hand through her wet hair. On second thought, maybe going to get some money from her Gringotts vault would be better. At least the worst thing the goblins might do to her for trying to get Harry Potters gold is kill her.

"Hello Harry."

"Ah!" Harry jumped, slipped on a wet cobblestone, and landed awkwardly in a puddle.

"You really should be wearing better cloths on a day like this, Harry. Those school boots are basically slippers. Can't handle wet surfaces at all."

"Luna!" Harry squawked, taking Luna's offered hand to get back to her feet and trying to ring out her soaked side. "What are - you shouldn't be... Wait. How did you recognize me?"

While the rest of the world seemed to be doing its best to be as unnoticeable as possible, Luna had placed herself front row and center with a sunshine yellow rain cloak over robes of forget-me-not blue. Somewhere she'd acquired a small, many pedaled pink flower and stuck it behind her right ear. "You're Harry, so why wouldn't I recognize you? I'm not out here alone since I'm with you. And I'm meeting with you like asked me to. Did you not get my letter? I knew I should have given Hedwig extras again."

The ravenette blinked at the blond before the realization clicked. "Right! You're letter. No, I got it. I was going to get to reading it after I got a room at the Cauldron, but I, umm... got distracted. It's still in my trouser pocket, but, well, they seemed to have disappeared on me." Harry joke weakly, gesturing to the bare skin showing between the bottom of the sweatshirt and the top of her socks.

"That's okay. We still met up and I like your knees anyways."

"Oh, uh. Thanks." Harry glanced down. While not knobby like his boy knees, she wasn't sure what made these girl ones special.

"You're welcome." Luna said before turning to Harry's side and doing an odd little curtsy. "Lady Malfoy."

"Heiress Lovegood." Harry flinched at the respectful but cool acknowledgment the came from behind her. Looking over her shoulder, she was met with the sight of Mrs. Malfoy holding her umbrella over herself and Harry while aiming a rather fixed expression at Luna. It eased - slightly - when she turned to Harry. "Seirios, dear. What are you doing out here?"

"I -" Harry gave Luna what she hoped was a subtle, 'follow my lead,' look. "- saw Luna walking by the store and wanted to catch her before she left. We've known each other for a long time - as, you know, pen pals - and wanted to meet in person now that I finally had a chance to come over from America."

"I see." Narcissa said in a tone of... anger? Disagreement? Suspicion? Had the older woman picked up on a clue, some inconsistency, and pieced together that Harry wasn't the girl Narcissa had convinced herself she was? Harry's teeth clenched as her mind raced for a plan to pursue or explanation to give.

Only for a memory to make her pause.

Years ago, before he'd received that first Hogwarts letter, Petunia and Dudley had been getting ready to go out. And not just to pick up a few things at the corner store, but for a list as long as Petunia's arm. Necessities for the house, early school shopping for Dudley, and an entire restocking of the pantry. A full day wherein Petunia would have her beloved sons undivided attention all to herself.

Except she didn't.

Dudley, not wanting to spend the entire day being so bored, had invited his friend Dennis to come with. Something Petunia only learned of when the boy had shown up unannounced. But, being the loving mother who never denied her perfect son anything, Petunia had accepted this in a way Harry had only later been able to piece together.

Like Petunia then, Narcissa wasn't angry.

She was pouting.

"Is... that okay?" Harry asked with fake hesitation, fishing for confirmation.

"No, no. It's fine." Narcissa validated with a slightly too polite tone, bringing both the girls, instead of just Harry, under the cover of her umbrella - which expanded to allow the three of them to fit - and ushering them back towards Madam Malkin's. "Just let me know of such matters in the future. At the very least to keep you from getting soaked."

It was, as far as clothes shopping went, a short time later that the two girls were back in the Alley, waiting for Narcissa to finish business in the shop. Harry glanced around to make sure nobody was within earshot before turning to Luna.

"Thanks for looking for me." Harry said, shifting under her dark purple rain cloak. "Narcissa thinks I'm her niece, Sirius's secret daughter, that he sent away to America to keep safe. She caught me without my wand, so I've just been going along with it."

"You do look a lot like her and the other Blacks. Was that what you were trying for?"

"No, I was-" Harry stopped, realizing how badly the full truth would sound. "-I was just... I've never... You know, with a girl. I wanted to get a good idea what to do when, you know, it happens."

"I see. Did you think to ask Ginny to help you practice?"

"Y-No! No. I wasn't going to ask her to do anything like that."

"That's too bad. I doubt she would have said no."

Harry gave Luna a look. A look of what, even she didn't know. Instead of replying, she went back to shifting and wiggling around under her cloak.

"Practicing is always good, but I don't think here is the place to do it."

"I'm not doing that!" Harry blushed and shot Luna a look that was clearly flustered before focusing back on herself. "It's these robes Narcissa picked out. They're not too tight, but it's like I can feel them on my everything. See?"

Harry held open the rain cloak, revealing her new witches clothing. Quality black cloth with subtle silver embroidering made up the robes, hanging elegantly over her legs to her ankles. It was at her hips that changed, the robes suddenly hugging them closely enough to clearly display their youthful fertility and the breath of the rear they supported without going to so far as to reveal the cleft of her cheeks. Over the torso the cloth felt like a second skin - though admittedly not an uncomfortable one - making the slimness of her waist undeniable while holding her breasts in a manner wherein they were separately defined - almost too defined - before continuing to cover not only her arms down to the wrists, but the slender length of her neck.

Her feet at least wore something she was more used to. Black leather wizarding boots, if a bit more effeminate with moderately pronounced heels. While a little odd to walk in, at least now her girl self was able to match her blonde companion in height.

"They're not that odd." Said Luna, showing her own robes. While not to the extent as Harry's, they did show of her slender shape more then wizard robes ever would. "But they're not everyday robes either. Mrs. Malfoy must be getting ready to show you off."

"Show me off? What do you mean?" Harry dropped her cloak closed and glanced back into the shop where Narcissa was still talking to Madam Malkin.

Luna shrugged. "I don't know. Sometimes Dad lets me go with him to Wizengamot meetings and I have to wear dress robes to those. The next mandatory meeting isn't till the summer solstice though."

Questions ran through Harry's mind, each fighting to be the first to be asked. But by the time even some were getting close to winning, the door to Madam Malkin's opened and out stepped Narcissa, her umbrella in one hand and a bag in the other.

"Ready to move on, girls?"