Till Forever Falls Apart

Stuck in the Dungeons

*Due to my inability to count, I will be titling chapters by their names from now on! I hope you all enjoy the chapter and have a wonderful day:)

December 19, 1992

"You two look terrible."

Val put her hands on her hips as she studied the boys before her. Harry and Ron had taken the form of Crabbe and Goyle, similar in every detail.

Val shuddered as she took the Slytherin robes in her hand, giving it to Harry who she still could not fully look in the eye without laughing.

"You don't need to tell me twice," Ron muttered as he squished his face in the mirror before him.

"Hermione," Val called, "it's your turn!"

"You need to go on without me."

Val folded her arms together. "Why? I promise you'll still be beautiful even if you're someone else for an hour."

"I'm not leaving the stall!" Hermione cried.

The three standing outside the toilet Hermione occupied exchanged confused glances. Stepping away for a moment, Val pushed the new Crabbe and Goyle towards the exit.

"You two go," she said solidly. "I'll try and get her to come out. We don't have time to wait."

"But we don't know where the Slytherin common room is!" Ron interjected. "You were the one that was supposed to lead us there!"

Val racked her mind for a moment, and without further delay, she retrieved Sirius' diary from her pocket and shoved it into his hands.

"It's on the twenty-sixth page," she hurried to explain. "There's no map, but it has directions he wrote that lead directly to the door of their common room. Go!"

They spun around, rushing to get the job done.

"Weasley! One more thing!" Val pulled at the hood of his robe.

"We don't have time, Val!" said Ron exasperatedly.

"If anything happens to that journal, you're toast," she gave him a warning look.

Ron swallowed, nodded very quickly, and left with Harry behind him.

Val clapped her hands together, proceeding to her next task. "Hermione," she said again. "It can't be terrible. It won't last much longer-"

The door clicked, and Hermione hung her head lowly as she held back sobs.

Val coughed to hide her laugh.

"Oh. My. Word."

"You don't have to say anything!" Hermione bawled. "It had to have been cat hair. I'll be stuck like this for weeks!"

"We need to get you to Madam Pomfrey," Val said, quick to jump to action. "She'll know what to do."

"But people will see me on my way there! They'll know!" Hermione uselessly scrubbed with soap and water at the fur that covered her face.

Unfastening the button of her school robe, Val peeled it off her shoulders and placed it around her friend.

"The hood will cover your head, but it will only keep your face hidden if you look down the entire time," Val informed her. "And if anyone asks any questions on your way there, tell them you were practicing dueling with me. Things got out of hand, and I'll say that you were too quick for me and I cast the only spell I could think of. I put on a brave face while you took the victory. People will be bound to think about that the next time they try to cross you."