Trial of Time: A Hogwarts Legacy Story

(P1) Chapter 21 - Professor Black's Not Too Good, Very Odd Day

"You think I should do what?"

My jaw is practically on the floor. Professor Fig and I are discussing our next steps in his office after recently learning the location of Professor Fitzgerald's trial.

In Professor Black's office, of all the bloody places in the Highlands.

"Cirilla, you know I would never encourage such... deviance, were we not finding ourselves in this grim situation," Fig sighs, rubbing his temples. "But we really have no other choice. It's unwise to alert the Headmaster to our current activities, as I'm not entirely sure of his political alignment at the moment."

I gawp at him, jaw still on the floor. "Wait, what?! You think Black is working with Rookwood? Or Ranrok?"

"Not necessarily, but I also do not trust him."

"What about Professor Weasley? Couldn't she help us?" I ask, fidgeting with a parchment weight on his desk.

Fig shakes his head. "Professor Weasley does not have special access to the Headmaster's office. She would have to get the password from Black, and even then, I'm not sure she would allow it unless we give full disclosure of the situation."

Damn it. I sigh in defeat, trying to shake the anxiety from my voice. "Okay... I guess I can try my best. Do we have any polyjuice potions on hand?"

"Ah! Yes. In fact," Professor Fig flicks his wand, and a case appears from under his desk. He props it on top of the desk and opens the latches, grabbing a small potion vial.

"Sir, why do you have-"

"No time to explain! I will tell you everything later. For right now, you need to take this and try to find Black's house elf, Scrope. He will know the password." Fig pulls what is presumably Black's hair from another small container, dropping it into the potion. He closes the vial and presses it into my palm.

"It will last exactly one hour. After that, you need to get out of sight as quickly as possible. Oh, and try as hard as you can to keep the potion down, at least until you transform completely. It's a rather... nasty one."

"Very well, sir."

I take a deep breath, opening the vial and drinking the whole thing in a giant swig.

Ugh! This is the grossest thing I've ever tasted in my life!

I try not to vomit as I feel my skin bubbling around my face, hands, and throughout my body. My legs seem to elongate as I grow slightly taller. Fig flicks his wand again, transfiguring my robes into Professor Black's clothing.

"How do you feel?" He asks, with a slight chuckle.

"Brilliant. Don't think I'll forget that taste any time soon," I say with a burp. It's incredibly weird to feel myself speaking and hear Black's voice come out.

"You've got one hour, Ciri. Make it quick. Last I heard, Scrope was cleaning up around the Grand Staircase. Oh, and put your wand away! Make sure you don't use it, or else someone might recognize it."

"Good thinking!" I agree, tucking my wand deep within my coat. I nod to Fig, and make my way out of his classroom.

I'm not even six feet away when I'm stopped in the hall by Professor Sharp, who wants to talk about something discreet. Turns out, Sharp has secretly been making remedies for Black's countless oozing boils. I manage to refrain from giggling as I instruct Sharp to have a student hand-deliver it to the Headmaster's quarters when I return back to my office.

This could actually be fun, I suppress a laugh. Turning a corner in the Defense Against the Dark Arts tower, I bump directly into Garreth Weasley, whose face drains of all color as he sees me.