It was the summer, a time that most children looked forward to... Caly didn't mind it but she wasn't it's biggest fan either. There were a few boys that had discovered her secret recently and they hunted her relentlessly. It was one of the reasons she was working even harder on her potions then before...as evidence of her newly blue hair. One of these days she'd be a real girl... somehow...

She sighed to herself and shook her head, her hair in a bun that was covered by a simple cloth cover trimmed in lace. Next to her face a few strands fell lose simply because she preferred to hide her face. She was beautiful but with that beauty came attention, and she'd learned that when you were born in the wrong gender body attention was the last thing you wanted... not that it stopped her from dressing in her homemade fashions.

Today she was dressed in a loli style corset dress, trimmed in white lace. She'd just finished the dress, and it'd used the last of her favorite lace. She had come into diagon alley specifically to buy more of this same lace, not caring that her father didn't approve. She'd tried to be who he wanted her to be and it just didn't work...

"Hey... fag boy...lost?" called a far to familiar voice as she was passing an alley way and all thought of lace left her head. She bit her lip, whirling around and trying to get her fists ready even though she knew this was a fight she'd lose...Already, however, a robe had wrapped around her as the familiar redheaded boy lasso'd her like she was some kind of animal. He'd had a crush on her once... but then he'd found something unexpected between her legs and realized she was only a she on the inside. Ever since that day, to him she WAS a mere animal. A strange beast ...

With a might yank the three boys pulled her into the alley , which was unfortunately for Caly in a rather forgotten section. Only old ladies seemed to bother to come to pick up sewing goods when anyone did come at all. they tied her hands before she could react and she knew she was trapped. The first boy punched her and then the beating began in earnest as she fell to the ground. She knew it would do no good to scream but as she was beaten and she saw the lace on her neckline become red with blood she did anyway.

The boys laughed as their prey screamed and simply continued to kick her and punch her until her dress was in tatters and she was on the ground. She whimpered, struggling against the rope around her waist and nearly in tears. How could this happen... she'd been so careful to avoid the places they knew to look for her...

Summer. Time for kids to meet up with friends and hang out at beaches or go clubbing. Basically, the freedom season to do whatever you wanted, whenever you wanted.

Unfortunately for Rose, it meant being the errand girl for her mother.

She, of course, had nothing against it; it meant she got to wander about Diagon Alley a lot. She was however, unhappy with the prospect of being subjected to the items she had to get. Well, when your mother’s a rather well-known Muggle fashion designer you tend to be your mother’s favorite model. And once discovering there were "wonderfully beautiful fabrics at cheap prices" it was indefinite her mother wasn’t going to look anywhere else for the most part.

But whatever; she was promised to visit her uncle soon and with it came practicing with his guns. Rose trusted her wand very much, but something about guns just really had her…uncharacteristically happy. They were a lot easier to pull out on someone threatening her since her wand couldn’t be used on Muggles not knowing magic. Stupid magic laws…

She was making her way down an alley when she heard a scream ahead. Quickly tossing aside her thoughts she dashed down the alley, and was greeted with the sight of three boys punching and kicking a young girl with blue hair. It took only a few moments to notice the blood and only one moment after for her to pull back the first boy and smash his face with a left hook. The boy stumbled back, which caught the attention of the other two, and Rose made her presence known.

“Three against one? Against a defenseless girl no less? Pathetic.” She spat out, standing in a ready position. “How about you get out of here with whatever speck of pride you have left.” She growled, assessing the situation. Three boys, not bright but fairly strong. However she had no doubt that they thought they could take her. She grinned inwardly; she was itching to practice some of the new moves she recently learnt anyway.

Cal whimpered softly, her bleeding lip cut pretty badly. Normally they were satisfied once they made her bleed a little but today they seemed especially vicious. Was it because she;d dressed so cutesy, feminine, and doll like today? She always instinctively blamed herself. She was the weird one right? the one who couldn't be normal... At least that's what she'd been told. She tried to push up, wanting to fight but not sure how.

The sound of another voice startled her and she paused a moment to peer up out of a swollen eye. She saw the girl crack the other boy in the jaw so easily and felt a moment of panic. What if she got hurt? What if the boys got too hurt? She frowned, afraid of anyone getting in trouble. She knew the boys wouldn't stop that easily.... they were persistent and too filled with pride for their own good.

One boy stayed to hold Cal so she wouldn't run away, but the other two turned on Rose. The one she had punched let out an inhuman growl in response and the other was already running towards her. The one lunging at her went in all out punch while the growling boy kicked out at her, hurting her even more important then standing apparently. He would then try to stand whether he connected with the kick or not.

Rose eyes narrowed, watching the second boy coming at her; she easily blocked his (terribly formed) punch with her forearm, and grabbed the punching arm at the wrist with the other. With a quick turn she twisted her arm and elbow smashed his own, relishing with the fact that she had broken the arm (as his yowls of pains indicated). Not finished with him yet, she quickly ducked, avoiding another punch with his good arm, and sent a side kick straight into his knee and just as quick she sent another to his ribs, sending him back hard.

He fell to the floor in great pain, which caused the one kicking the girl to stop and look with astonishment and (to wait Rose could make out) anger. Rose stood back in ready position, sending a smirk his way. Well that was one boy down; she was hoping that his anger would cloud his judgment long enough to take him out. He did seem to be the ring leader after all.

The boy started to fight when he heard his friend crying from the broken arm and heard the other boy suggest they leave. He would have ignored him but then the other friend begged him to take him to the hospital. He called Rose a hopeless bitch and with the help of his other friend took the third boy out of the alley. He could barely walk and had to lean on the other two... apparently the boy did genuinely care for his underlings and they were gone.

Cal shivered, whimpering as she heard a bone break even though it was not her own. She then slowly stood, whimpering in pain but she knew she was just bruised. She gazed up at rose in wonderment, why had she saved her? She wished she could fight like that... but as a half blood she was always taught to rely on magic by her full blood father. Still, she doubted she'd have the strength. Physically she'd always been frail... it was likely one of the reasons her body looked so feminine is she just didn't form muscle. It was almost as if her body didn't even produce the amount of testosterone a true female did...

"I... thank you... y...you ... aren't hurt are you?" She asked cautiously. It was clear the idea of someone getting hurt because of her bothered her quite a bit. She stood hastily even as she whimpered as pain to get on the same level as the other girl. Part of her bun had fallen down and she couldn't see very clearly... Was the other girl okay?

“Feh, least they got half that statement right,” she grumbled under her breath, watching them leave, though stood ready to fight in case it was a just a ploy. However once they were gone for good Rose turned to the fallen girl who was trying to stand. Rose raised an eyebrow at this; she was the one who got seriously beaten and yet the injured one was asking if she was hurt??

“Worry more about yourself, it not me who’s bleeding.” was the blunt reply she gave before coming to her side. She could see the blue-haired female better now and had half a mind to go after those boys with a giant mallet. She not only have a swollen eye and serious cuts on her face she was practically back, blue AND red all over. “Here; tell me where it’s bleeding the most.” She asked, though with a little more force than normal. But hey, she was angry so it was understandable.

Hopeless or a bitch ? which did she apply to herself she wondered. Cal shrugged off the thought, instead focusing on what she was saying... She wasn't bleeding in too many places. She just had a split lip, a tiny cut on her arm where she'd hit something in the alley and a small cut on her forehead... though like all head wounds it bled more then you'd think it should. She touched each cut in turn, her eyes not very trustworthy right now between her bloody matted hair and one swollen eye that would likely turn into a black eye.

"Probably my forehead....but i'm okay, I just need.... a place to heal up" She muttered softly, a little taken aback by the other girls tone. She was very forceful wasn't she? But she didn't seem a mean person... Caly focused on this and managed to relax even if she still shyly looked at her toes as she did so. She wasn't sure what to think or why the girl asked. Maybe she knew healing spells? Caly was good at them herself, due to this having happened before. She'd been wearing girls clothes ever since she could dress herself and paying the price. In fact how her magic had been discovered was someone had cut off her hair in elementary and she'd made it grow back.

She was tempted to just cast a spell to heal herself but she didn't dare risk getting expelled. One of the deals she'd made with her father was that she would get perfect grades and not get into fights if he'd let her dress the way she wanted to at school. Because of this deal she couldn't go home... if he knew she had a fight. She wondered briefly if she had saved enough allowance to rent a hotel room until she could get her cousin to come heal her.

“Like hell you’re okay,” she snorted. She was not letting this one go anywhere alone, especially if those boys were still around. She pulled out her shirt and ripped off the bottom half quickly; at least it was a prototype shirt, so it made ripping it a lot easier. Rose wrapped the torn fabric around the injured one’s head without so much as a warning. She was careful enough to make her it covered the wound and not squeeze her head in the process. Rose was very tempted to cast some healing spells but there were a few reasons she felt she shouldn’t. Main reason was she was no healer; she could easily make a fatal mistake and there was no way in hell she was going to have that on her conscious.

The other reason was simply because she was unsure if being in such a populated area full of magical people would mask her own magical signature. As a Ravenclaw, she figured she should get that figured out this summer...

“There’s a small sewing store further this way,” Rose pointed over her shoulder, “Can you walk?” she questioned. She looked small enough and Rose, at the risk of sounding like a narcissist, was rather strong…

Caly was tempted to say that she'd had much worse than this but she had a feeling that'd just make the other girl angry. She was not very good at socializing but even she knew better then that. She watched her a moment, not sure what to say. Still, before she could really say anything anyway she was already getting her head bandaged. She winced, though whether it was because of the other woman tearing her shirt or pain was impossible to say. Carly was ... strange when it came to clothing. Still she did keep herself quiet until the other woman spoke once again.

"Yeah... My legs aren't injured but...i... i can't see very well right now. I might need a little help guiding wise..." She said quietly, frowning at the ground. She seemed almost embarrassed and she was. She hated imposing on someone ... even when she didn't' already owe them alot. She already felt useless... oh well. Perhaps she could call her cousin at the dress shop, the older woman who ran it always was such a dear... her cousin had graduated from hogwarts recently so could legally heal her and could be trusted to keep it a secret.

“Well that’s probably because of the shiner they gave you.” She stated bluntly before internally smacking herself. Why did she say that?! The girl was already looking so down and that comment was definitely not helping things here! She even looked so far as embarrassed; either for getting hurt or asking for guidance Rose wasn’t sure. She did know that they better get going and soon; three boys are not the only things lurking in alleyways…

“Here,” she spoke quietly, firmly taking her hand, “Just follow me. If I walk too fast tell me. And I mean it too; don’t think you need to push yourself.” She warned her, though only out of concern. This blue-haired girl was the victim here after all.

And with that Rose led her down the ally. At least that owner of the dress shop was a nice old lady; she after all, very much loved chatting with her mother about designs and such…

Caly let herself be lead without complaint, sore but still not too slow. She knew she'd be feeling even worse in the morning... maybe she should say she was staying with her cousin for the weekend. She couldn't be seen with a torn dress either.. she'd have to repair it and that would take time. She bit her lip in thought, surprised that the other girl would help her so readily. She was lucky she came along.... She squeezed the other girl's hand a moment, grateful.

"I.. I'm sorry for the inconvenience. W...where were you headed?" She asked quietly. She didn't look at the other girl, she saw no reason to. She couldn't really see enough. She could see enough that the person was a female and her height. She was probably about her age judging by her height... she briefly wondered if they went to the same school. She half hoped they did... it would be nice to have a friend.

“There’s nothing to be sorry for and you are not inconvenience.” came her brisk answer as she continued to lead. Rose had a sinking feeling that this beating was not a one time thing, especially with the way she spoke. If she ever got her hands on those damn little bastards…!

“And was heading this way to be honest.” She answered back, careful to not walk too fast nor to let out her anger. “Needed to pick up some things for my mother,” she turned her head slightly, noticing her head was down. Perhaps she just couldn’t see well? It was a pretty big shiner…

“You know, I never caught your name,” she thought out loud suddenly. “Mine’s Rosalinda, but I prefer Rose,” she introduced, noticing the shop just up ahead. Wouldn’t be long now!

"I'm so glad that I'm not being that much trouble... oh.... that's right, things were a bit to hectic back there huh? You can call me Caly it's a pleasure to meet you." She responded, forcing herself to look up. She gave the other woman a warm smile, genuine warmth on her features. It was just her nature to return kindness when she was given it. Still it wasn't just that she had to admit. She almost felt like some girl out of a shojo manga or a princes being rescued. It was silly but it was true and it made her blush as she realized it. She felt a little foolish at this realization and because of it she dropped her head again. She must seem so silly and weak she was sure.

"So you shop here a lot Rose?" She asked quietly to distract herself. She bit her lip, unsure a moment. Inwardly she wondered, how would rose react if she knew what she had saved? If she knew why they were doing what they did would she be touching her so gently or would she push her hand away. Many kids had called her gross and pushed her away like that... so it wouldn't be the first time.

She had a very pretty smile Rose decided, and she couldn’t help but smile back. In fact, Caly was just an overall pretty little girl and she could hardly understand why she was so savagely beaten. It was a good thing she went this way first otherwise this could have ended in a whole other way…

“Not exactly…I just come here in the summer whenever my mother has an order ready to pick up. It certainly beats…helping her with other things at home.” She winced slightly, thinking of how she narrowly escaped wearing Mother’s latest design. It was very pretty; no doubt there; but DAMN it was just so….clingy.

Finally reaching the small shop Rose knocked thrice on the door before calling out to the owner inside. “Madam Dossom? Are you there??”

((I totally made that name up BTW I hope you don’t mind XD;;; ))

((lol its fine))

For a moment she watched the other girl and couldn't help but notice how she cringed. Being one of fanciful imagination her mind instantly fled to many dark possibilities. Just what could make a brave girl cringe like that? She didn't even look as the older witch let them in. She heard Dosom gasp at her appearance and heard her say something about how terrible! The sixty year old witch then fled the room, heading to the back for something... Caly, however was still caught up with what Rose had said and her reaction.

"W..what kind of Things? w...would you help her with i mean?" Cal asked quietly as she gazed at the other girl. She didn't even look away as Dosom returned. Dosom then began to feed her potions with various healing potions. Caly made a face at the potions, thinking absently that she made better tasting ones. Then again Potions were Caly's real skill, the only one who was her equal was Snape and once she reached adulthood that would likely no longer be the case.

Once the potions had done their work and she was healing fairly well Dosom would go find her something to change into. She felt a moment of fear, however, as she realized Rose might know.... No dosom would get her female clothes and her shyness would be good enough explanation for hiding to change right?

Of course Rose knew the second Dosom saw Caly she would treat her immediately. Despite working in a sewing shop she also did, at one point, work as a healer, so she knew her stuff. She probably knew better than the healer at Hogwarts (though Rose would never admit it out loud there). She blinked though, surprised at the other girl’s question and even moreso at her gaze. What did she think she was talking about?

She did hide a grin when the blue-haired girl made a face at the potions she swallowed. At least she was starting to look a lot better. “Well pretty much I model her dresses; my Mother’s a fashion designer in the Muggle world and while she does make very lovely clothes, I uh…well they’re just really not my kind of style.” She sheepishly explained, an embarrassed look on her face. It wasn’t like she didn’t like the outfits; they just weren’t something she’d wear in public that’s all.

She nodded to the old woman as she went away to find better clothes and quickly asked if she could bring the fabrics a well. Speaking of clothes, Rose did get a good look at hers. “Y’know, I think she would’ve liked yours if those idiots didn’t come by and ruined it,” she scowled a bit at that thought.

"M..me? m...mine? N..nah, i'm just an amateur... w..what's her name?" She responded, looking stunned and a little excited. Honestly it sounded like her dream work, trying on designer fashions... she even knew the names of most muggle designers, loving it more then wizard fashion. She didn't think she'd be a good model, not confident enough, but that didn't mean she didn't enjoy it. A woman with an awareness of fashion and the ability to kick ass, what could be better?

She may have asked more but then Dosom arrived with a simple, robe like dress. She took it contently enough, always loving how Dosom accepted her. Dosom had measured her enough times to know she wasn't truly female. She then stepped nervously into the other room to change. She then got behind a dresser, determined to hide fully even if someone walked in. She didn't know if the other girl would come in to answer.

She would dress quickly then bring out the dress to Dosom. Dosom would quickly begin casting spells to repair and clean the dress. She sat on one of the chairs then and looked to Rose to see how she reacted to all this. She knew Rose would probably take her order and leave but... it would be nice to have company while it lasted.

“Well her name’s Tanacita Ghiram but I’m not sure if you’ve heard of her…” Rose began, thinking about it. After all, not many wizards wore muggle clothes, which is sad because muggle clothing is a lot more comfortable anyway. “And I’m pretty sure she would like it. Lolita style right?” she asked, before Dosom stepped back into the room holding out a robe-like dress.

Caly went to the next room and changed rather quickly. Not that it bothered Rose, she was just probably shy. Dosom took the torn outfit and went to fix it, but not before bringing her the fabrics. She thanked the old woman, paying her the usual fee, before sitting on the chairs next to Caly. True, Rose could just leave there and then; but those boys could be back and she didn’t feel she could leave Caly just like that anyway.

“Soooo I was wondering but…” Rose spoke rather slowly, as if unsure to ask, “Is your hair naturally that blue or what?” It was a reeeeeally pretty shade of blue.

"T-t-tanacita Ghiram!? S-s-she's f-fantastic!" She stuttered as she leaned forward, looking like she was ready to let out a fan girl squee. She loved the designer! true her designs were sometimes more sexy then she felt comfortable wearing in public but that didn't change the fact that she loved them. She flushed instantly as she realized what a fan girl she must have looked and leaned back. She cleared her throat and began to reach up and let her hair down so she could fix the mess. Dosom had removed the blood with her spells but there was nothing to get her hair just so.

She watched the other girl buying her goods, surprised when she stayed. She gave the other girl a shy but warm smile at that, though she wasn't sure what to say at first. She reached into her bag and took out her hair brush to distract herself. she tried to think of something as she began to brush her hair. She bit her lip in thought, part of her wanting to ask to meet the other girl's mother. It was stupid but the woman WAS one of her idols in the fashion industry. Her dream was ultimately to bring muggle fashion influences to wizard fashion and become a great designer.

"M...my hair? ...er... I... I was playing with potions and messed up.. i...its weird, I know..." She mumbled softly, biting her lip as she looked down at her feet. She wasn't sure what to say as she couldn't tell if the other girl was approving or disapproving of it. To her it always just so ... weird... even if she loved that it was still so long and it WAS her favorite color..

Rose couldn’t help but be surprised at the other girl. Not only did she know of her mom, she apparently was quite the fan! Ha, she should definitely tell her mother about Caly, she’d demand right away to meet Caly for sure. It wasn’t often for her mother meet a girl both interested in her styles and design clothes herself. And by the looks of it, Caly wouldn’t mind meeting with her mother either.

She watched as her lovely smile turned into a little frown, Caly biting her lip from wait she guessed was disappointment. However Rose was definitely thinking the opposite. “Weird? Maybe. I however, think it’s absolutely beautiful! It’s such a lovely blue.” She smiled, running a hand through own short black-brown hair. “I wouldn’t mind my hair that colour; probably make my cousin jealous. Always dying her hair blue the muggle way she is; not that she can use magic anyway, but still.”

Caly looked up in surprise, apparently she had not expected such a reaction. She flushed and continued brushing her hair a moment. She had known of people who liked it but she was always worrying about being judged to the point of paranoia. She pushed away the thought and reminded herself that Rose was a nice person... and a blunt one. She wouldn't pretend to believe anything she didn't. She could relax.

"Thank you Rose... that means alot. I... I dont think I could help you. I was just experimenting with some potions, it would be difficult and dangerous to reproduce..." She responded quietly. She had given Rose a warm smile but as she spoke the last sentence the smile began to fade. She briefly glanced at the floor feeling rather sad. She had not succeeded at all... beneath her skirt her body was just as male, but she would find it... somehow.

((she doesn't find the right potion until shortly before school term, i figure this is closer to mid summerxD))

Rose wondered why Caly had suddenly lost her smile as soon as she got it back. “Hey come on, I’m only joking. You know my dad would have a heart attack if I dyed my hair anyway?? I wouldn’t be able to return to Hogwarts ever!” she winked. “Besides you look good with it so I hope you won’t change it back too soon.”

It was at that moment Dosom returned, Caly’s dress all fixed up, back in the way it was. Rose had to admit, she liked the dress a lot better this way. “Ohhhhh yeah. My mother is just going to love you for sure.” She grinned as the blue-haired girl took the dress back.

((Ahhh OK I see! :D Hmm…how do you want Rose to find out about her? :3 ))

((Hmm well her mother could always be really over enthusiastic and just all ' Oh you msut try this out fit on *starts pulling of clothes.*' and make Caly fall over in a position that reveals it XD. Though eventually she'd probably tell Rose... or Rose can just find her experimenting on one of her potions. Which do you prefer?))

"I..i can't. Dyes and potions dont work...." She responded to the first but there was a bit of a smile on her lips. For the first time since she dyed her hair she thought maybe, just maybe, it could be pretty. She'd always been so proud of her hair before... and so it had really shocked her when the potion changed it. Maybe it did suit her better then the brownish color it was before. She glanced at a strand thoughtfully, curling it around a finger in thought. Finally she let out a soft sound almost like a laugh, relaxing even further.

She then remembered the dress and folded it carefully. She put it into her bag slowly, treating it as something delicate. It was a dress she had put so much work in... it even had butterflies embroidered all along the edge of the skirt. She smiled softly to herself but then paused in shock as the other girl spoke. She talked as if... as if she was going to meet her mother?! She turned to her and stared a moment before she spoke.

"g..going to love me? y... you mean I'm going to meet her? T..That you're g-going to be my friend?" She asked softly, a combination of nervousness and excitement flashing across her features. A friend... she'd lost most of them when people had found out her gender during her second year at hogwarts. Apparently her female friends were a little threatened by the fact that a boy was prettier then them...

((I won’t lie, the whole over enthusiastic thing and pulling at the clothes makes me giggle :XD I wouldn’t mind that ;) ))

“Well yeah, if you want to that is of course, to both meeting her and being my friend,” Rose rubbed the back of her neck, “Besides, how can I just leave you after helping you in the alley? I wouldn’t have gone through all that to then ditch you after.” She explained. It was kind of strange really; usually she was never this worried about bringing someone home. Her parents didn’t really mind…though usually it was a boy it usually was because she made him cry (this of course, didn’t happen nowadays but still).

“And someone has to back your back if those three idiots come again right?” she grinned, though it was a touch more devilish. “Though if they do maybe I’ll break something a little more painful than an arm…”

"Y..you dont n-need to do that! It....it's my fault... I made a mistake...to make him hate me..." She said in an almost frightened tone as she talked about breaking other things. She'd loved that boy once, he had been her first crush and her first boyfriend. Probably her only boyfriend now that other kids new... They'd never date a freak like her, they wanted a real girl, a good and full girl....

Still, she forced herself not to think of that as she wanted nothing to do with those depressing thoughts. She had a friend! who would let her meet her idol and was rapidly becoming someone she wanted to be like. She smiled, forcing herself to remember Rose's shy look. It was cute and had made her instantly relaxed. She then nodded, reaching out to cautiously touch the other girls hand.

"I would love to be your friend... and meet your mother."