Chapter 43: "The Mystery of the Petrifications"

Lockhart was the clear choice for the task at hand, so after Hermione explained the situation to him, he quickly signed the note without even reading it.

The trio just needed to borrow a book containing the recipe for the potion they needed.

However, they still had two problems to solve: finding a place to brew the potion and obtaining the necessary materials.

Hermione suggested using the abandoned bathroom belonging to the crying Myrtle, as it was unlikely anyone would come there and disturb them.

They were able to ignore the sobbing ghost and gather the materials they needed from the lockers of ordinary students.

Some rare ingredients proved more difficult to acquire, but they hoped to find them in a private storage room.

Despite these challenges, Ron expressed his doubt that they would be able to make contact with the person they needed to change.

Harry encouraged him, saying, "Opportunities can always be created."

----------------------------------------

On Saturday afternoon, Draco regretted his actions. He had warned Dobby not to go to the Quidditch match, fearing that the runaway ball might hurt someone.

However, he underestimated the power of Harry's protagonist halo, and the game ended much sooner than expected because the ball did not disturb Harry.

Pansy was crying in the lounge, blaming herself for the outcome of the game.

Despite the team's good training and normal performance on the field, luck was not on their side.Draco tried to comfort her for the rest of the afternoon.

That night, there was news of another petrified student, Colin Crivey, one of Harry's followers.

Colin Crivey wanted to visit Harry in the ward, but was petrified in the corridor.

Dobby could only obey the orders of his master's family, so instead of hitting the roaming ball this time, he cast a spell on the people who were cheering and lifting Harry up.

When Draco heard the news, he suspected that Dobby had caused the Gryffindor players to drop Harry on the ground.

The history of the situation was surprisingly similar to what had happened before with Lockhart's "perfect" boneless curse, which resulted in Harry being hospitalized.

On Monday morning, news spread throughout the school that Colin Crivey had been attacked and was now lying in the ward like a dead man. Rumors circulated and everyone became suspicious.

First-year students began to group together in threes or fives, as if they were afraid of being attack if they were alone.

The Weasley brothers' roaring letter became popular once again, allowing the brothers to make a profit.

During the second week of December, Professor McGonagall came to collect a list of students who would be staying at school for Christmas.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione signed up to stay, but they were surprised to hear that Draco would also be staying.

They hoped to use the holiday season to uncover the truth about Draco using the compound decoction.

Of course, Draco was staying in order to find the truth as well.

Harry and his friends had almost everything they needed, but they still lacked the horns of a bicorn and the skin of an African tree snake.

In Snape's potions class, Harry and Ron planned to cause a disturbance in order to distract Snape and give Hermione a chance to steal the materials from his private storage room.

The potions class was held in a large underground classroom on Thursday afternoon.

There were twenty crucibles set up between wooden tables, with copper balances and jars of ingredients placed on the tables.

Snape walked around the room, harshly criticizing the work of the Gryffindor students while the Slytherin students snickered.

Harry and Ron were preparing to use some of Fred and George's fireworks to cause chaos when they heard the sound of "cock-a-doodle-doo."

Almost everyone in the class was startled by the noise, and many students made mistakes, causing potions to splash everywhere. The class became noisy and chaotic, with students wandering around.

"Neville Longbottom!" Snape growled with his somber voice.

"I will expel you the next time you bring this thing to class!"

He continued, "Gryffindor loses two points! Now everyone be quiet! Be Quiet! Students who have been splashed with potion, come to me for the anti-tumor agent."

"I think we should invite Neville for a meal," Ron said.

"Today is the only day when we lost points that I'm happy," Harry said, feeling guilty but also relieved.

After class, Hermione succeeded in obtaining the new ingredients they needed.

They rushed to the abandoned bathroom belonging to Myrtle and added them to the crucible.

"He knew it was me," Hermione said anxiously as she stirred the potion.

"But he has no evidence, right?" Harry tried to comfort her.

"He wouldn't need evidence, Harry," Ron pointed out.

"He can just make assumptions."

"Okay," Harry said, sighing.

"We'll just admit our mistakes together."

"Are you kidding me?" Hermione's voice rose.

"I only stole because I don't have a record. Trust me, he has no evidence to use against us. We're used to this, right?" She stared at Harry and said, "Besides, we worked hard for this."

"That is also true," Harry said, rubbing his nose.

The trio finished brewing the potion and waited for the opportunity to use it.

They knew that it was risky, but they were determined to uncover the truth and protect their friends and school.

They kept a close eye on Draco and waited for the right moment to act.