Harry Potter and the Prince of Slytherin

Chapter 35: Petrifications, Patronuses & Picnics

14 February 1993

The petrification of Cormac McLaggen sent shockwaves through the school, and not just for the petrification itself. Everyone seemed to know that McLaggen had openly accused Jim Potter of being the Heir of Slytherin, and then, just hours later, the Heir of Slytherin (whoever that was) had petrified the young Gryffindor just like Mrs. Norris before him. Needless to say, nearly everyone assumed that Jim was responsible, particularly after it came out that he had no alibi for the time of the attack on McLaggen. Increasingly reluctant to spend time in Gryffindor Tower where most of his house-mates were suspicious and occasionally hostile, Jim had been up in the Astronomy Tower brooding by himself when the petrification took place.

It took Professor Snape about a week to convert the small vial of Mandrake extract provided by Gilderoy Lockhart into enough Restorative Draught to cure young Cormac. Upon awakening, Cormac could remember nothing about how he came to be petrified except a memory of "big yellow eyes." At dinner the first night after Cormac was released from the Infirmary (and during which, young McLaggen continually gave Jim a glare that somehow combined both fear and hatred), Dumbledore publicly thanked Lockhart for his extraordinarily generous contribution. As Neville explained to the other Gryffindors, Mandrakes are incredibly difficult to grow, as most of the Herbology students could attest. But even worse, while every part of the mature Mandrake was useful for potions, the Restorative Draught required fairly large quantities of distilled Essence of Mandrake, which required pulping the entire plant to produce. Some of the more expensive Mandrake-based curatives might require a few drops of the precious fluid, but most Mandrake-based potions just needed a pinch of powdered Mandrake leaf or a slice of Mandrake bulb. The specific formula used to revive McLaggen, however, required an astonishing five drams of purified Essence (a little less than four teaspoons) which would have required the complete distillation of a half-dozen adult Mandrakes at a cost of tens of thousands of galleons on the open market.

Indeed, the reason Professor Sprout devoted so much class time to the cultivation of the dangerous and ill-tempered plants was that the Herbology class's annual Mandrake harvest provided almost five percent of the school's annual budget, as Hogwarts was the only site in Britain that could cultivate Mandrakes in any significant quantities. Raising Mandrakes to maturity was an exacting process that required regular repotting and careful soil adjustment all performed without the use of magic (which would spoil the cultivation). Furthermore, the adjustments had to be made at regular intervals determined by complex astrological conjunctions. Professor Sprout consulted with Professor Sinestra, the Astronomy professor, almost weekly to ensure that every modification to the plants would be performed at the most auspicious time. It didn't help that the plants were so inherently dangerous due to their potentially lethal screams that by February only NEWTs level Herbology students were still allowed to handle the increasingly truculent humanoid plants.

After Cormac's revivification, McGonagal ordered that a prefect accompany Jim to and from all his classes, in part to ensure that he had an alibi if there were any further petrifications, but also for the boy's safety, as the number of hexes and jinxes directed towards the suspected Heir of Slytherin increased significantly. She also docked scores of points from her own house for the Lions' mistreatment of the boy, but Jim eventually stopped reporting harassment against himself because he felt guilty over costing the House so many points.

After Cormac, however, there were no further petrifications, or at least so far. The rest of January passed without incident, and by Valentines Day, the students were just beginning to relax. On the day in question, Lockhart, with the aid of some of his more adoring female students, had decorated the Great Hall with pink streamers and heart-shaped balloons as a way of cheering up the school. At breakfast, Professor Sprout had jokingly asked if he'd considered hiring dwarves to dress up as cherubs and deliver Valentine's messages. Lockhart replied mischievously that he'd looked into it but the dwarves charged too much and anyway the surly hirsute little creatures wouldn't be nearly as endearing in diapers with little wings on their backs as the depictions of Cupid might suggest.