Loyalties | Barty Crouch Jr

The Polyjuice Potion

October 19, 1977 - Wednesday

The morning of October 19, Barty came to Leonora to let her know that the lacewing flies were done stewing, meaning that they could start brewing the polyjuice potion.

Leonora's conversation with Illyria a month ago had provided them with the perfect location to brew it. She had already plucked a strand of hair off of one of Thalia's dirty jumpers a few days ago, containing it in a small phial that she hid in her chest.

October 20, 1977 - Early Thursday Morning

Around midnight, Leonora and Barty snuck out of the Slytherin common room, maneuvering through the darkness of the castle to the secret room. Leonora led the way, as she wanted the secret room to be a surprise to Barty.

He felt the need to complain the entire journey, claiming he was losing his "beauty sleep." Leonora would only playfully roll her eyes as he droned on and on about it. She didn't want to risk Illyria catching them in the secret room, which is why she insisted on them brewing the potion so late at night. She would much rather be sleeping as well.

"You've brought us to a wall, Nora," Barty remarked as they reached the entrance to where Leonora remembered the room to be. "It took you a month to come up with this 'super-secret' spot?"

"Give it a minute," she answered, staring at the wall. Why wasn't the door revealing itself? "I thought it was right here."

"What are you talking about?" he asked. He couldn't remember anything ever being in this spot.

"Illyria brought me to this spot to talk last month. We just stood in front of it and a door appeared. The door isn't appearing again for some reason."

"A hidden room? My fifth year here and I'm still learning new things about Hogwarts," the boy mused.

"I had no idea about it either," Leonora agreed, placing her hands on her hips. "I suppose I should've asked Illyria how exactly you're supposed to get in." 

"Maybe she pushed some sort of hidden button, and you just didn't notice?" Barty suggested as his eyes scanned over the wall.

Leonora shrugged, before tracing her fingers along the wall, trying to feel for some sort of button, the boy copying her actions.

"I can't feel anything!" she exclaimed after a few moments of searching, dropping her hands back down to her sides in frustration.

"Me either," Barty frowned. The two backed up from the wall. "Did Illyria say anything to you that might help?"

Leonora thought back to that day, trying to remember their conversation. "She just told me that she was trying to get away from Thalia, and it sounds like the room just appeared out of nowhere."

"Hmmm," Barty thought. "Maybe she was so desperate to get away from Thalia, and the room could somehow sense that and appeared for her as a place to hide. It makes sense when you think about it."

Leonora thought about it for a moment. "I mean, maybe. So, what, we just image that we desperately need like a potions classroom or something?"

"It's worth a shot."

The two closed their eyes and thought about the potion, and how they desperately needed a secret spot to brew it. At first, nothing happened, discouraging the two, but then, a loud scraping noise could be heard.

The pair opened their eyes and watched in amazement as the large double doors formed. Leonora turned to Barty with a large smile on her face.

"You're a genius, Barty!" she exclaimed excitedly before pushing the doors open.