Not Again//Harry Potter [2]

14

Autumn, Hermione, and Ron were in the girls bathroom again, making the potion, when footsteps were heard.

"Harry!" Autumn whispered loudly as she saw the familiar face walk into the room.

"You gave us such a fright, come in, how's your arm?" Hermione asked, as he squeezed Harry into the stall.

"Fine," said Harry plainly. An old cauldron was perched on the toilet, and they had lit a fire beneath it. Conjuring up portable, waterproof fires was a speciality of theirs.

"We'd've come to meet you, but we decided to get started on the Polyjuice Potion," Ron explained as Harry, with difficulty, locked the stall again. "We've decided this is the safest place to hide it."

Harry started to tell them about Colin and how he had been petrified, but Hermione interrupted. "We already know, we heard Professor McGonagall telling Professor Flitwick this morning. That's why we decided we'd better get going—"

The thought of someone she knew getting petrified was terrifying to her -- she barely knew Colin, heck he was annoying, but she knew him. She knew he was going to be okay because there was a cure, but she didn't know what she could do if Hermione was Petrified. She was Autumn's best friend. Whoever the Heir of Slytherin was, had it coming to them.

"The sooner we get a confession out of Malfoy, the better," snarled Ron. "D'you know what I think? He was in such a foul temper after the Quidditch match, he took it out on Colin."

"There's something else," said Harry, all of them watching Hermione tearing bundles of knotgrass and throwing them into the potion. "Dobby came to visit me in the middle of the night."

"Wait- Dobby? House elf?" Autumn held her hand up to her waist. "About this tall?"

Harry nodded, while Ron looked confused.

"Yeah, how do you know that?" Harry asked.

"He came to visit me during the summer, the day I left for Hogwarts. How do you know him?"

"He almost got me suspended -- and he was the one who kept Ron and I from entering the school. And not to mention, he was the one to nearly kill me in the Quidditch game."

After that conversation, a new one occurred. Harry told them everything that Dobby said to him in the hospital wing.

"The Chamber of Secrets has been opened before?" Hermione said.

"This settles it," said Ron in a triumphant voice. "Lucius Malfoy must've opened the Chamber when he was at school here and now he's told dear old Draco how to do it. It's obvious. Wish Dobby had told you what kind of monsters is in there, though. I want to know how come nobody's noticed it sneaking around the school."

"Maybe it can make itself invisible," said Hermione, prodding leeches to the bottom of the cauldron. "Or maybe it can disguise itself -- pretend to be a suit of armor or something -- I've read about Chameleon Ghouls—"

"You read too much, Hermione," said Ron, pouring dead lacewings on top of the leeches. He crumpled up the empty lacewing bag and looked at Harry.

"You're lucky Hermione reads so much, or else we wouldn't be getting a confession out of Malfoy," Autumn spat, sending a glare his way. 

"So, Dobby stopped us from getting on the train and broke your arm. . ." Ron shook his head. "You know what, Harry? If he doesn't stop trying to save your life he's going to kill you."

>>>

Ginny Weasley, who sat next to Colin Creevey in Charms, was distraught once the new was out about Colin. Percy told them he was going to write to Mrs. Weasley and tell her Ginny was having nightmares.

She felt bad for Ginny. It was just her first year and a deadly killer out on the loose wasn't a good first year to have, Autumn can relate.

In the second week of December, Professor McGonagall came around as usual, collecting names of those who would be staying at school for Christmas. Harry, Autumn, Ron, and Hermione signed her list; they had heard that Malfoy was staying, which struck them as very suspicious activity from him. Was he going to attack the Muggleborns wanting to stay? The holidays would be the perfect time to use the Polyjuice Potion and try to worm a confession out of him.

Unfortunately, the potion was only half finished. They still needed the bicorn horn and the boomslang skin, and the only place they were going to get them was from Snape's private stores. 

"What we need," said Hermione briskly as Thursday afternoon's double Potions lesson loomed nearer, "is a diversion. Then one of us can sneak into Snape's office and take what we need."

"I think I'd better do the actual stealing," Hermione continued in a matter-of-fact tone. "You two," Hermione pointed at Ron and Harry. "will be expelled if you get into any more trouble, and I've got a clean record. And we need Autumn to have a clean record so she can sweet talk more Professors. So all you need to do is cause enough mayhem to keep Snape busy for five minutes or so."

Autumn smiled. Snape didn't like her at all, but he can't deny that she was the best in the class, even in front of Hermione. Potions were Autumn's specialty. They were easy to follow, unlike spells. Spells required a certain thought or action, which wasn't as clear as potions. 

When Snape turned and walked off to bully Neville about his potion in class, Hermione caught Autumn's eye and nodded.

Autumn nodded at Harry, who pulled out one of Fred's Filibuster fireworks from his pocket. Autumn lit it with her wand, then Harry threw it into Goyle's cauldron.

Goyle's potion exploded, showering the whole class. People shrieked as splashes of the Swelling Solution hit them. Malfoy got a faceful and his nose began to swell like a balloon; Goyle blundered around, his hands over his eyes, which had expanded to the size of a dinner plate. Snape was trying to restore calm and find out what had happened. Through the confusion, Hermione slipped quietly into Snape's office.

"Silence! SILENCE!" Snape roared. "Anyone who has been splashed, come here for a Deflating Draught, when I find out who did this—"

It was very hard not to laugh for Autumn, as Malfoy looked so stupid with his huge nose; it weighed his head down.

When everyone had taken a swig of antidote and the various swellings had subsided, Snape swept over to Goyle's cauldron and scooped out the twisted black remains of the firework. There was a sudden hush. 

"If I ever find out who threw this," Snape whispered, "I shall make sure that person is expelled."

Autumn stared at the object with interest. Although her stare was fake, she hoped it looked real. Snape stared at Harry and Autumn, who were sitting right next to each other.

"He knew it was us," Harry told the others as they hurried back to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. "I could tell."

Autumn agreed. "It's like he stared into my soul."

Hermione threw the new ingredients into the cauldron and began to stir feverishly. "It'll be ready in two weeks," she said happily.

"Snape can't prove it was you lot," said Ron reassuringly to Harry. "What can he do?"

"Knowing Snape, something foul," said Harry as the potion frothed and bubbled.