Rose Dursley: The Girl Who Lived

26. Changing the Rules

McGonagall hurried through the corridors towards the Headmaster's office. She wanted to speak to him before he went down to the feast.

Dumbledore was feeding his phoenix when McGonagall came into his office. She was out of breath, and collapsed into one of his chairs.

Dumbledore looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Everything okay, Minerva?" he asked.

McGonagall panted as she tried to get her breath back. It was difficult to speak, but she tried anyway. "It's... Dursley..." she said. "He just came to tell me... that he's trans male."

Dumbledore sighed and shook his head. "Rose Dursley is a girl," he said. "I don't know where she has got these foolish ideas from."

"It's he," said McGonagall. "And we know exactly where he has got those ideas from."

"Not this again," said Dumbledore. "The transfiguration spell I cast completely changed her into a girl."

"That was just the physical body which you changed," said McGonagall. "Self-knowledge and self-identity are not a physical part of the body. It can not be transfigured by magic."

"Bah. This is more muggle science and psychology," said Dumbledore.

McGonagall shook her head. "I might have learned this from muggles, but it doesn't mean that it is wrong," she said.

Dumbledore sat at his desk with a dismissive grunt. "So she wants to be a boy now, does she?" he said.

"Yes, his sense of self-knowledge tells him that he is male," said McGonagall. "So you need to use male pronouns when you refer to him."

Dumbledore rolled his eyes.

"And he has changed his name to Rob," said McGonagall.

Dumbledore sat silently for a while before speaking again. He did not agree with the idea of someone deciding their own gender. He would need to discourage this.

"Leave it with me," said Dumbledore. "Go down to the Great Hall. I'll meet you down there soon. There are some matters I need to attend to first."

McGonagall nodded, then left Dumbledore's office. She walked down to the Great Hall, and took her seat at the staff table. After she had been waiting for ten minutes, Dumbledore entered the hall. He walked over to the podium and waited for everyone to quiet down.

"Welcome back to those of you who went home for Christmas," said Dumbledore. "It is good to see you again.

"Now, it is unusual for the New Year Feast, but I have an announcement," Dumbledore continued. "We have a new student, Rob Dursley. He is a fourth year, and he has been sorted into Gryffindor. I hope you will all make him feel welcome."

McGonagall scowled at what Dumbledore was saying. Rob shifted uneasily in his seat as loads of people turned to stare at him. All around the whispering grew louder.

Hermione whispered angrily to Rob and Ron. "I don't know what he is talking about, you're not a new student."

"Yeah, that's a bit odd," said Ron.

Rob blushed at all the attention he was getting. "Just ignore it," he said. "It will be fine when everyone accepts it."

After Dumbledore finished talking, the food appeared. Soon everyone was distracted by eating. They stopped being interested in what Rob was doing.

As Rob was helping himself to a plate of food, Dean Thomas got up and walked towards him.

"Hey," said Dean. "I just wanted to say, I thought it was really brave the way you have come out."