45: Polyjuiced Idiots

[3rd Pov]

"We know Millicent Bulstrode isn't the prettiest, but no one will recognize you," Harry kept knocking on Hermione's stall while Hope tried to persuade her to join them. Looking at his watch, he noticed that five minutes had already passed out of their precious sixty.

"Just go without me... You only have an hour," Hermione's high-pitched voice came from within the stall, causing the polyjuiced trio to visibly sigh.

"Fine, let's just go," Ron said, walking away from the bathroom stalls.

"We'll meet you back here, alright?" Hope said, receiving a meek "Okay" in response.

She worried that Hermione's potion might have failed and that she might have suffered some hideous mutation that couldn't be reversed. But Hermione insisted she was okay and could handle it herself, so there shouldn't be any problem... right?

The worry gnawed at her, but the time pressure made her follow Ron and her brother to the bathroom's exit.

Thankfully, the truth turned out to be more cute than appalling. They cautiously opened the bathroom door, checked for anyone watching, and set off.

They went down a marble staircase, desperately looking for a Slytherin student they could follow to their common room. A few people glanced at them, and even fewer talked to the group, but most quickly walked away, looking suspiciously at the three.

Suddenly, they heard a voice approaching from behind. They were surprised to find Draco, dressed in casual green robes, walking towards them.

"There you are! I've been searching everywhere for you!" he said, anxiously looking at them. "You left me alone with him in the common room. You're lucky he didn't turn my hair pink!"

The three were puzzled. Ron wondered why it sounded like something Fred and George would do, and the Potter twins tried to understand the connection between being alone in the common room and having pink hair.

"W-What do you mean?" Hope stuttered, attempting to mimic Pansy's overly sweet voice.

Draco raised an eyebrow and scrutinized Hope suspiciously. "Aren't you supposed to be in the library? And what's up with your voice?"

They all froze, fearing that Draco might recognize them. After a tense moment, Draco shrugged, and they felt relieved. "Whatever," he said. Harry and Ron relaxed their fists, and Hope resumed breathing. "Just come with me, and don't leave me alone next time!"

Following Draco, they descended the dungeon stairs until they stopped in front of a bare, damp stone wall.

"What's the password again?" Draco asked.

"Er—"

"Oh, yeah — Serpensortia!" Draco declared, not waiting for their response. The wall revealed a hidden door after a large silver snake slithered across it. He led the way through, with Harry, Ron, and Hope trailing behind.

"Wait here," Draco quickly said, motioning for them to sit on some empty chairs just outside the main room.

Curious about Draco's unease, the three sat down, doing their best to look at home.

"What's got him so nervous?" Harry whispered loud enough for Ron and Hope to hear, as they watched Draco peeking around the corner.

"Maybe the creature's hungry," Ron whispered back. "He's afraid it'll attack him if he doesn't find another victim soon."

Draco finally turned the corner and entered the main room, and for a moment, there was complete silence.

Suddenly, they heard a loud *THUD*, like a teapot falling on a soft rug. It was followed by a girlish scream that they could only assume came from Draco.

Without thinking, they jumped off their chairs and hurried around the corner, ready to confront the creature, but none of them had the sense to take out their wands from their pockets.

Their hearts felt almost as if they had taken residency in their mouths. Sweat trickled down their palms and forehead, and if someone looked closely, they were slightly trembling.

Maybe the overwhelming flow of thoughts through their mind had clouded their judgment, seeing as they were about to confront who they thought was the beast that had been petrifying people without any preparation whatsoever.

Or maybe, they were simply stupid. Brave, yes, but stupid. But was there anyone who could actually draw the line between courage and foolishness?

Alas, all that retrospective had been for nought, as the moment they reached the corner, they spotted a fainted pink-haired Draco, and a silver-blonde-haired boy sitting by the fire, with his back to them.

"What the—"

Beside him was a variety of what they thought were gifts, from robes to quills. The paper warp that enclosed these gifts was neatly shoved into a corner of the room, and an enchanted broom kept adding more to the pile.

But what had caught their attention was the cloud of smoke that lingered above the sitting person. If it was a normal cloud, they would have simply dismissed it as a weird spell. This cloud, however, was entirely different.

Snakes, snakes, and more snakes. That was all they could make out of it. It was as if thousands of those elongated, limbless reptiles had come together to form an unholy amalgamation of terror for people with Ophidiophobia, or simply for people that were afraid of the Slytherin house.

While Harry/Goyle and Hope/Pancy were more curious than horrified, Ron/Crabbe slowly stepped back, his face lacking colour.

It was no secret he hated spiders, but he had to admit, snakes came in on a close second.

Abruptly, the cloud shifted, parting like a curtain, and a colossal snake came hurtling towards them.

Ron, already shaken by the sight, watched in terror as the snake's mouth opened wide, exposing its sharp and undoubtedly lethal fangs.

Another high-pitched scream later, Ron found himself sprawled flat on the ground, his body contorted into an almost comical position as he instinctively shielded his head. Meanwhile, the snake had vanished, dispersing like smoke, much like the cloud that had been hovering near the fireplace.

The Potter twins stood there, utterly flabbergasted, their eyes wide and jaws dropped as they observed the slowly dissipating cloud of smoke.

"Hm?" Somewhat surprised by a second scream, Alaric lifted himself from the plush armchair beside the fireplace and turned around, searching for the source of the scream.

He carefully placed his grandfather's skull hookah on the wooden table next to the armchair while the long hose extending from it still emitted a faint wisp of smoke.

Alaric's eyes wandered around the room, glancing over the fainted Draco whose hair he had just given a makeover, before finally resting on the trio near the entrance of the room.

While Crabbe was curled up on the floor, a position that didn't fit someone his size, Goyle and Pancy were both looking at him with different expressions.

Goyle had a fearful look that complimented his shaking legs, while Pancy had her eyes fixed on the artefact responsible for their earlier scare.

"What?" Alaric asked, glancing suspiciously at the three. "Never seen an illusion before?"

"O-Of course we have!"

In the heat of the moment, Hope blurted out an answer that wasn't really true. Had she ever seen an illusion? Not really. But did she want to look stupid in front of Alaric? Absolutely not. She did, however, forget she had taken a Polyjuice potion moments before. And Pancy wasn't exactly similar to her.

"Sure..." Alaric's voice trailed off, before a small smirk formed on his face.

He reached his hand to a nearby table, grabbing a newspaper clipping that rested on it.

"Here," he said, pushing the newspaper against Harry's chest. "This is what he wanted to give you,"

Hope saw her brother's eyes widen in shock. She took the clipping from his hands, and quickly read through it.

It had been clipped out of the Daily Prophet, and it explained how Arthur Weasley, Head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office, was to be fined fifty Galleons for bewitching a Muggle car.

"Quite the stupid thing to be fined for, if I do say so myself," Alaric said, intentively looking at the three, more specifically Ron, who had just got up from the ground. "But I guess the Howler was just the beginning for Ronniekins. Don't you think so, Gregory?" The last question was directed at Harry.

"Ha Ha," said Harry bleakly.

Alaric's smirk grew wider.

"Such a shame. Mr Weasley could simply relocate his efforts to any other department but he went and choose the most reductant of them all. There's no other word for it but waste,"

Ron's — or rather, Crabbe's — face was contorted with shame and fury, with a slight hint of fear behind his eyes. Imagining what his mother would do to him once he went home was enough to send shivers down his spine.

But he also couldn't just stand by and let Alaric slander his father about his passion.

"Got something to say, Crabbe? You look like a tomato," Alaric asked, his smirk even wider.

"Stomachache," Ron grunted, keeping himself from lashing out.

For a moment, Alaric's smirk faltered, as if they had taken away from him his favourite toy.

"Then you should go to the infirmary. Just make sure to avoid the wing with the petrified victims, or else Madam Pomfrey will have your head," Alaric said. His eyes then settled on Draco. "You know, I'm surprised the Daily Prophet hasn't reported these attacks yet," he carried on thoughtfully. "Dumbledore must be trying to hush it all up. I bet Draco's father must be dying for him to get sacked," he finished with a chuckle.

The lack of reaction of the three when he sent another jab to Draco further fuelled Alaric's conviction.

"What's the matter with you three?" he feigned ignorance and asked.

"We're just curious about something..." asked Hope, trying to mellow out her voice.

"And what may that be?"

"Surely, you must know who's behind these attacks," said Harry. He nervously clenched his fists, waiting for the answer.

"Apart from that it's a beast, I know nothing," Alaric responded, telling them a half-truth.

"Then, maybe Draco is—"

"Really? Draco?" Alaric had to bring his hand up to massage his temples after being exposed to such idiocy. "I assure you, if he was the Heir of Slytherin, he would go around parading about it,"

Then, a playful expression made her way into Alaric's face.

"But I thought you knew about this already?" Alaric said, tilting his head. "I guess you aren't as close as I made you to be, but—"

"Ho!" said Ron.

Alaric looked at him with a grin. Harry and Hope too. Ron blushed. Even his hair was turning red. His nose was also slowly lengthening — their hour was up, Ron was turning back into himself, and from the look of horror he was suddenly giving the twins, they must be, too.

"Medicine for my stomach," grunted Ron.

"Make sure you don't trip, Ronniekins," said Alaric.

Ron nodded absentmindedly, and, without further ado, sprinted the length of the common room alongside Harry, hurled themselves at the stone wall, and dashed up the passage.

Hope was right behind them, but before she could go, Alaric threw something at her, which she easily caught.

"Do me a favour and give this to my sister," he said, turning around. "For some reason, it came in my pile,"

Quickly glancing at the wrapped gift, Hope nodded in the same manner Ron did and quickly exited the room.

Ron and Harry could feel their feet slipping away from their giant shoes, while Hope's robe felt too big for her waist. Stuffing some of the extra clothes in the closet door, the three ran up the marble staircase toward Myrtle's bathroom.

"Well, it wasn't a complete waste of time," Ron panted, closing the bathroom door behind them. "I know we still haven't found out who's doing the attacks, but at least we know it isn't Draco,"

Harry approached a mirror to check if his face was back to normal. He put his glasses on, before glancing over to his sister, who was clutching tightly the gift in her arms.

"What's that?" he asked.

"Oh, this?" Hope said. "Alaric asked me if I could give it to his... sister... oh,"

Hope's cheeks grew redder, and Harry clutched the bridge of his nose.

Ron was the last to catch on, but when he did, his eyes widened in shock.

"He was just messing with us!"

**********

A/N. Hey guys, miss me?

I know I've been missing for a while, but I've been extremely busy preparing for a big step I'm taking at the beginning of the next semester at Uni. I'm going on Erasmus!

Where? Still don't know. But they should give me the options next week.

Also, for those slow on the uptake, I feel like I should leave this here:

— If you didn't notice yet, I'm mixing elements from both Hogwarts Mystery and Hogwarts Legacy. Vaults and Ancient Magic and whatnot.

— Alaric can't see the effects of potions simply because most Potions don't require magic to be concocted, only the ingredients. (Emphasis on the "most", not all).

That's all! Hope you enjoyed the chapter!