The Gryffindor Royal - Year Two

Chapter Eight

"Do you think it's true? Do you think there's really a Chamber of Secrets?" Ron asked Harry, Hermione and (Y/N) the minute they'd left the Transfiguration classroom. The atmosphere had become rather tense after McGonagall explained the legend behind the chamber, and no one really talked much.

"Yes. Couldn't you tell?" Hermione asked, looking at Ron like he was stupid. "McGonagall's worried; all the teachers are." (Y/N) scoffed. "Reckon Snape would love for all the Muggle-borns to be wiped out." she pointed out. Ron agreed, but Hermione then responded that he'd tried to save Harry last year, yet he wasn't a Pureblood. "If there really is a Chamber of Secrets, and it really has been opened, then that means..." Harry trailed off, not wanting to finish his sentence. "The Heir of Slytherin has returned to Hogwarts. The question is... who is it?" Ron and (Y/N) looked at each other as if the answer was obvious.

"Let's think," Ron started. "Who do we know who thinks all Muggle-horns are scum?" (Y/N) finished, crossing her arms over her chest and raising a questioning eyebrow at Hermione. "If you're talking at Malfoy-" Hermione spluttered, but Ron interrupted her her. "Of course we're talking about him! You heard him!" he said. "Wait! I wanna finish it! 'You'll be next, Mudbloods'." (Y/N) said, doing her best impression of Malfoy.

Nobody laughed.

"I heard him, but Malfoy, the Heir of Slytherin?" Hermione fired back, looking like she was thinking furiously of other worthy heirs. "But maybe Ron and (Y/N) are right, Hermione," Harry said, to nobody's surprise. They all knew Harry hated Malfoy. "Look at his family: the whole lot of them have been in Slytherin for centuries!"

Ron hadn't spoken for a while, and he seemed to have thought of something. "Crabbe and Goyle must know!" he said suddenly, looking proud of himself. "Maybe we can trick them into telling!" Hermione gave a short, sarcastic laugh. "Even they aren't that thick." she said, but then she stopped. "But there might be another way." Ron, Harry and (Y/N) looked at her curiously, giving her the signal to continue talking.

"Mind you, it would be difficult, not to mention we'd be breaking about fifty school rules. And it'll be dangerous. Very dangerous." As Hermione led the other three to the library, (Y/N) gave a short bark of laughter, saying, "After seeing You-Know-Who on the back of Quirell's head and trying to get the Philosopher's Stone, nothing's that dangerous anymore, 'Mione. Besides, we've already broken rules before. What's the problem with breaking a few more?"

Hermione shrugged, entering the busy library and telling her friends to wait amongst the rows of books, then running off to find a book somewhere else. She came back a few minutes later, holding up the book. "Here it is, the Polyjuice Potion. 'Properly brewed, the Polyjuice Potion allows the drinker to transform himself temporarily into the physical from of another'." She looked up to see Ron and Harry's response to what she'd said.

"Wait a minute," said Ron. "You mean if Harry and I drink that stuff, we'll turn into Crabbe and Goyle?" Hermione said 'yes', and a grin formed on Ron's face. "Wicked," he said in a low tone, exchanging grins with Harry. "Malfoy will tell us anything!" Hermione nodded. "Exactly. But it's tricky, I've never seen a more complicated potion." (Y/N) leaned over to look at the instructions, and her eyes nearly fell out of her head: there were much more steps — and very long steps, mind you — to making the potion, and she wondered how on earth Hermione intended to make the potion. "Well, how long will it take to make?" Harry asked. After seeing (Y/N)'a reaction, he was dreading the answer. "A month." Hermione said, looking slightly worried.

"A month?" Harry repeated, eyes widening. "But Hermione, if Malfoy is the heir of Slytherin, he could attack half the Muggle-bones in the school by then." he said, thinking about all his Muggle-born friends and feeling his heart sink. "I know," Hermione said in a discouraging tone. "But it's the only plan we've got."