The Potter Twins and the Chamber of Secrets

XIX

"Come on, then," said Ron irritably. "You can't just sit there grinning like that and not tell us."

"Well, it'd be dangerous," Hermione said, apparently building the suspense. "And it'd be breaking about fifty school rules..."

"Hermione!" I said exasperatedly. "Tell us, will you?" Hermione gave me a disgruntled look, but she carried on. "It's a potion that allows you to take on the form of another. Polyjuice Potion. I read about it in the holidays, you see... anyway, I know the book which we can get the recipe, but it'd be in the restricted section. You need a signature from a teacher."

"Surely," Harry pointed out, "you wouldn't want the book unless you actually wanted to brew one of the potions."

"We could make up an excuse," Will suggested. "Say we're interested in the theory, something like that." Ron snorted. "Oh, come on, no teacher's going to fall for that. They'd have to be really thick..."

"I know just who we need," I said with a grin.

So, at the end of another one of Lockhart's horrendous Defence lessons, where he'd attempted to make Harry and I act out of one of the scenes from his books and we had both flatly refused, Hermione sidled up to Lockhart's desk and handed him a piece of paper. "Could you sign this please, Professor? I thought the book would help me understand what you say in Gadding with Ghouls about slow acting venoms."

"Ah, Gadding with Ghouls!" Lockhart said with a brilliant white smile, which I privately thought was about as natural as a five-legged owl. "Possibly my favourite book... you like it, Miss Granger?"

"Oh yes," Hermione said eagerly. "Very clever, especially how you trapped the monster in a tea-strainer." Lockhart pulled out an enormous peacock quill. "Yes, nice, isn't it?" he agreed, misreading the revolted look on Ron's face. "I usually save it for book signings..." he scrawled a huge loopy signature on the form and gave it back to Hermione. 

"So, Harry," Lockhart added, as Hermione folded the note and pushed it into her bag with trembling fingers, "first match of the season tomorrow, eh? I hear you're a handy seeker. Played there myself, you know, could have played for England if I hadn't dedicated myself to fighting the forces of evil... anyway, tell me if you'd like some coaching, I'm always happy to help out the less able players." He looked at me. "How does it feel... uh, Sam... to have a sibling on the team and yet to be left on the sidelines?"

I had to try very hard not to slap him. "I'm on the team as well," I said through gritted teeth. "I'm a chaser. Maybe..." I was about to say something that would have got me in very deep trouble when Will stood heavily on my foot and said, "we'd better go." He grabbed my sleeve and led me out of the room. Once we were out in the corridor, Ron grabbed the note and examined it. "He didn't even look at the note we wanted. What a brainless git!"

"He is not a brainless git!" Hermione said shrilly, snatching the paper back, as we headed to the library. Madam Pince, the librarian, took the note off her and held it up to the light, as if trying to detect a forgery. "Moste Potente Potions?" she asked suspiciously. "What do you want that for?"

"Theory," Will said promptly. Apparently the note passed the test, because she waved her hand and said, "go on, then." Hermione, however, stood stock-still. "I was wondering if I could keep it," she said breathlessly.

"Oh, come on," Ron said exasperatedly, pulling her forward. "We'll get you another one. Lockhart'll sign anything if it stands still long enough."

Harry fetched the book and we headed to the common room. "Hang on," he said, stopping suddenly. "We don't want anyone looking over our shoulders when it comes to this."

"I know a place," Hermione suggested, and five minutes later, we were barricaded inside a girls' bathroom, which I wholeheartedly did not support.

"Hate to say this," I whined, "but if someone comes in here they might be a bit weirded out... I mean, everyone already thinks we're the heirs of Slytherin, what are they gonna say when they see this?"

"It's Moaning Myrtle's bathroom," I was told. "No one ever comes in."

So, Harry opened the book and it was immediately clear why it was in the Restricted Section. Some of the potions had very gruesome effects (I won't describe any of them because I don't want to imagine seeing those pictures again) but Hermione flicked through like they were nothing. "Here it is!" she said excitedly, at last. "Oh, it's the most complicated potion I've ever seen. Merlin's beard... Boomslang skin, Bicorn horn, where are we going to get those?"

I examined the page. "I hope the artist imagined how painful the potion is..." 

"Hermione," Will said slowly, "do you know how much trouble we could get in 'cause of this? Where on Earth are we going to get Boomslang skin? Snape's storeroom? And how long is it going to make?"

"Oh, that's a good idea, Will!" Hermione said brightly. "Let's see... with all the ingredients, I'd say about a month."

"A month?!" Ron demanded. "Malfoy could have attacked everyone in the school by then!" And then, as Hermione's eyes darkened, he added hurriedly, "but it's the best plan we've got, so full speed ahead, I say."

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

I went to bed that night exhausted. I'd like to say I couldn't sleep due to all my worries, but that would be a complete lie. Harry, on the other hand, looked like he hadn't closed his eyes all night - behind his glasses, his eyes were puffy, and there were dark circles under his eye sockets too. "You gonna be alright?" I asked him worriedly, as we sat at breakfast in our Quidditch gear. He nodded. "Yeah."

"Knock Malfoy off his broom for me, Harry," Seamus said loudly a second later, then slapped Harry's back so hard it appeared he was showing him how to do it. My brother began to look queasy. 

Ten minutes later, we were in the changing room, ready to fly out. Ron, Hermione and Will came hurrying up to wish us luck, and Wood gathered us all round to make his usual pre-match speech. "They might have better brooms than us," he said totally seriously, "but we have better people  on our brooms. It doesn't matter that they're faster... we've been training in all weathers, all conditions... and we're going to make them rue the day they let that filthy little piece of slime, Malfoy, buy his way into their team." Wood, chest heaving with emotion, turned to Harry, who was by now paler than a ghost. "Don't let him win this, Harry... you can do this, I know you can."

"So no pressure," George Weasley said, winking at him. 

I lined up behind Harry, with Alicia Spinnet and Katie Bell after me. "Don't worry," I whispered. "You'll wipe the floor with that little bugger."

"Course," he replied, a ghost of a smile flickering across his face, and then it was time.

"GRYFFINDOR QUIDDITCH TEAM!" Lee Jordan shouted from the commentators' stand, and we all flew out onto the pitch as hundreds of students cheered or booed from the stands. It was now or never: humiliate or be humiliated.

hey everyone! it's the weekend, so i'm trying to get ahead... plus, being at home, lockdown and everything... i should really be using this time to get on. i don't like leaving sam and co in limbo, so hopefully there will be another soon. anyway, hope you enjoyed! :) <3