Fred and George and the Toilers of Trouble (Year 1) ✔

Chapter 19:6

As Lexington Parsimonae strolled indifferently through the rows of desks, Fred checked his pockets to make sure the map was still in their possession. He unfolded the square of parchment and was relieved to see their ink dots in the Ancient Runes classroom. Outside they found 'Nymphadora Tonks' walking alongside a dot labeled 'Alastor Moody'.

"That must be him. The one with the wonky eye. Look, George," said Fred, gesturing to the map.

But his brother was not at all interested in the Auror's name. He was presently enthralled with a seemingly insignificant stone that was jutting out from beneath the window ledge, and particularly with the worn engraving that cut through its flattened surface. Fred was uncertain if it was another runic stone, until he peered across George's shoulder to read the inscription.

TREASURE OF HOGWARTS

"Tell me you see this, Fred..."

"Oh, I do."

"I knew it!"

"Is there anything else?" he questioned, looking fascinated.

"No, but I think it was part of a larger engraving," said George, tracing his finger across the rough edge of the stone. "There had to be more to the message. This is all that's left."

"Five points to Aria Keane of Ravenclaw," said the distant voice of their professor, as a swell of frustrated sighs traversed the room. "The answer to the riddle was the house-elf. The house-elf did it! Now, please open your books —" He stopped and gazed back at the twins. "Boys, I believe the floor is dry now. Although...if you have an interest in tidying up classrooms, I can always remedy that with a detention or two."

To accentuate his message, Parsimonae transformed the towels back to their original parchment. And without an excuse to study the markings on the stone, Fred and George returned to their seats.

"For those who've been inquiring about the cases I needed to solve when the Dark Arts were employed, today is your lucky day."

The investigator reached into his top hat and produced what looked to be a small white creature with a thin, cylindrical body. They soon came to realize that it was made entirely of chalk, and was not only capable of crawling up to the blackboard, but used its wriggling tail to illustrate their professor's explanation.

"In the past ten years, one of my more challenging cases was made exceedingly problematic when the perpetrator employed a very complex method of dark wizardry." The four-legged chalk creature drew out the words 'POLYJUICE POTION'. Their professor measured the blackboard with a penetrating gaze and continued. "When properly brewed, drinking Polyjuice Potion enables one to possess the likeness of any witch or wizard in existence."

"Even if they're dead?" asked Cedric.

"That is debatable," Parsimonae responded, as the other students were engrossed in the notion of stealing someone else's identity. "But like many dark works of magic, their purpose is to deceive and evade others in order to realize their ends. You will learn in this class that deception is at the heart of dark sorcery. While many evil wizards utilized Polyjuice Potion in the eighteenth century, it is no longer common practice. According to my research, it takes far too long to brew, its effects are short-lived, and it is nearly impossible to stomach."

George and Angelina swallowed involuntarily, recalling the potion that Snape had forced on them before the holiday break.

"Have you tried it, Professor?" Fred asked intently.

"The Alchemists I know who have tried Polyjuice Potion claim that it tastes like death itself. I'll take their word for it. Speaking of death, in terms of the Dark Arts, let us approach the rather contentious topic of ghosts. What are ghosts exactly?" the Magical Investigator asked, as the creature wrote out his question in a bold white script. "And which behaviors can be implemented to protect oneself from an infestation of spirits?"