Polyjuice Party

Chapter 2: Preparation

The next morning, Hermione woke up to the sound of girls chattering excitedly.

"Who do you think you'll end up with?" someone asked? It was Pavarti Patil. After a giggle, there was a reply.

"I hope I get Ron Weasley. He's so cute" it was Lavender Brown. Hermione squeezed her eyes tightly shut and bit down on her cheeks to stop herself from yelling out.

"Ooh yeah, you two are perfect for each other. Unlike him and Hermione. They're like the couple from hell." Pavarti's voice replied dreamily. "I don't know who I want to get with, I guess only time will tell." With that, the two of them walked out of the dorm room, Hermione not caring at all where they were headed. She took a deep breath and stomped down stairs, being greeted by Mcgonagal holding out a small plastic bag marked 'HERMIONE'.

"Can you donate me one of your hairs for the Polyjuice party?" She asked. Hermione stuck out her bottom lip and yanked off a strand of her hair, shoving it in the bag. "Thank-" the Professor started, but Hermione had already sulked over to the armchair, where she grabbed a book and pretended to read. Again, zillions of thoughts whizzed through her head, about Lavender, about Ron, about this stupid 'Polyjuice Party'.

Maybe Pavarti and Lavender were right. Maybe it would actually be a good thing if her and Ron met other people at the party.

"Good morning, 'Mione" Harry pushed the nose of Hermione's book down, greeting her with a warm smile. "You donated your hair yet?"

"Yes" Hermione replied bitterly, tugging on her soft hair while she thought about it. "Have you?" Harry smiled cheekily.

"Later. Me and Ginny are helping brew the potions so we're making sure that I drink the one with her hair in it and she drinks the one with my hair in it" he flops down next to his friend.

"So you're going to turn into each other?" Hermione asked, the thought of Harry as Ginny and Ginny and Harry making her laugh. "You do know you're not allowed to mix up the genders" Harry winked in response.

"They'll never know" he said. "What are you reading?" He leant forward to read what was on the cover of the thick book Hermione was pretending to read. "Everything You Need to Know About the... Male Body?" his eyes squinted from behind his glasses. Flustered, Hermione slammed the book closed and shoved it back on the shelf where she found it. "Wow, 'Mione, you're really taking this Polyjuice Party seriously" he snickered. Hermione was fuming.

"It's not mine, I was just taking a look" she huffed, embarrassment prominent on her pinkish cheeks. Harry picked up the book himself and with an innocent expression on his face, he wrapped his arms around it and looked longingly to the sky.

"It's not mine, I was just taking a look. A long, in-depth little peek!" he mimicked in a high, breathless voice. "Please believe me! Oh please, please bel-"

"What on earth did I just walk in on?" It was Ginny, all dressed in her robes. Harry looked sheepish and dropped the book, laughing slightly.

"Shut up, scar head" Hermione wasn't in the mood for jokes. "He was just being an idiot" she said to Ginny, who shook herself.

"Well... Ok. I'm going down to help brew the potions. You can help us if you want, Mione" Hermione, who was glad that she was needed, nodded.

"Yeah ok, see you down there. Potions room, right?"

"Yeah" Ginny did a curt nod and Hermione went up to the dorm room to get dressed.

She walked down to the dungeons and into the potions room where she met hundreds and hundreds of small little vials of steaming potions all in a neat array.