Punish me, Professor, I dare you.

Chapter 14: Stripped

10:00

Drax finally returns from breakfast, and I sit down with him in the common room for a chat, and to ask for his help. I figure if I wanted to get into an establishment with Snape unnoticed, I have to take matters in my own hands.

"Drax, this will sound weird, but give me a few strands of hair." I put my hand out to him smiling. The boy just looks at me weirdly at first.

"Oookay..." he trails off, then he realizes my intentions with it. Drax gasps with a grin, "Polyjuice potion?" I nod. "Genius! Why didn't I think of this?" and with that, he pulls out a few black strands, placing them into my palm. I take out Snape's handkerchief from my pocket, and fold it together over the hair to keep it safe.

"It's only until we get in. I wouldn't want Snape to stay in your form during the date. I already chose the best location, can't take any risks with this, one wrong move and we're busted." Drax nods, and I'm off for the next phase of my mission: beautification. I want to look my best for Snape, downright irresistible, so I start making effort to look and feel gorgeous. I heard Sprout has a secret cabinet in one of the greenhouses, where she stores rare herbal remedies for all kinds of vanity purposes, and if a Hufflepuff student performs well during the year, the Herbology teacher rewards them from 'The Cabinet'. No wonder Hufflepuffs are so pretty and handsome! Well boys, time to play treasure hunt.

As I make my way to the greenhouse group, I pass in front of the Great Hall and take a peek inside. McGonagall is conjuring decorations for the wall, Flitwick levitates them to their spot, and Filch sweeps the floor a bit farther from the bunch. Snape is currently handling some kind of a punch or cocktail for tonight, mixing liquids into a huge transparent bowl, with a long recipe floating in front of him, focusing and measuring carefully, with precision. The concentration on his handsome face seems even more appealing today, and I can't help but smile about the fact that he was asked to prepare the mix. It suits him perfectly! Dear Merlin, can he get any hotter?... Right as I think these words, the potioneer lifts his eyes to me, and I run off, embarrassed about him catching me. I just wanted to sneak a peek of him, but nothing escapes his notice!

13:00

I finally manage to find the hidden cabinet in the seventh greenhouse. After literally ruffling through every single one, checking every corner, each square inch, I finally find a trap door under the dirt in the seventh. The bell rang already, which told me lunch is over, but my focus is on this staircase, leading me down into a small underground cellar looking place.

"Lumos!" I make some light appear, so I can go down, but as soon as I reach the bottom of the stairs, rows of tiny bluebells light up magically, running all over the four walls, giving a sweet purple-blue light in the square-shaped locality. A strong scent of herbs mixed with flowery tones enters my nose, it's quite pleasant actually. This is not a cabinet! This is a whole cellar filled with shelves upon shelves full of dark green and brown bottles, the liquid in them filled with flowers, greenery and interesting-looking herbs, each shelf having a label. As I walk to said shelves, I start reading the labels; hair, skin, nails, face et cetera, et cetera... Holy Moly, this is truly a treasure hunt, seeing that I have found the Mecca of magical herbal solutions for beauty! There's a plethora of curious liquids around me, but I don't stand idling by, I quickly take a bottle for hair, skin and face, and I'm out the little trap door. Unfortunately, I don't have time to stay and examine the bottles more, otherwise I would have remained for sightseeing. I just hope Pomona won't be too mad at me, if she ever finds out who the thief was, there's more than enough of these anyways. And if she does, I'll compensate her with something...

14:00

I'm standing in the shower surrounded by a mesmerizing flowery scent as I wash my hair with the newly discovered solution; the liquid has a thicker consistency, just like a shampoo, and I can definitely smell rose, lavender and ginseng in here, paired with a magical plant in the bottle I can't quite recognize yet. I leave it in my hair for five minutes as per the instructions, and when I rinse it out, my jaw bangs the floor so hard, I don't think I'll be able to collect it. The effect is incredible, my slightly dry and damaged hair is transformed into pure silk to the touch as the warm water flows through; once I finish showering and use a drying spell on it, it shines brighter than any diamond in the world. I take my black lace lingerie on me and walk out to my bed, Drax looking at me and his eyes widening in shock.