𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝘆 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗱 | 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿

Stray Hairs & Blank Stares

CHAPTER SEVEN:

Third Person P.O.V.:

By the time the holidays came around, students were rushing to book seats on the Hogwarts Express so that they could return home. Everyone had become immensely panicked since the double attack on Justin and Sir Nicholas.

As the snow fell and majority of the students had been taken to the train by carriage, Harry, Charlie, Ron and Hermione all sat in a nearly empty Great Hall for Christmas dinner. The brown eyed boy sat next to Hermione, as always, while Ron and Harry sat on the opposite side of the table. It was the first holiday where they were all together. Not to mention, it was when they were planning on using the polyjuice potion on Crabbe, Goyle, and Zabini.

Charlie looked around the Great Hall and spoke sarcastically, "At this rate, we'll be the only ones left. Us and Malfoy and his goons. Oh, what a jolly holiday it's going to be."

Harry and Ron laughed while Hermione looked around to make sure no one was listening to what she was going to say next.

"Everything's set," Hermione whispered, "We just need a bit of who you're changing into."

"Crabbe, Goyle, and Zabini." Harry nodded.

"We also need to make sure that the real Slytherins can't burst in on us while we're interrogating Malfoy," Hermione continued.

"How?" Ron inquired.

"I've got it all figured out," The bushy haired girl explained as she took out three cupcakes from her robes, "I filled these with a simple sleeping draught. Simple, but powerful. You guys know how greedy they are, they're bound to eat them. Once they're asleep, hide them in the broom closet, pull out a few of their hairs and put on their robes."

The three boys looked at one another curiously. They didn't know whether to be relieved that Hermione had thought everything through or scared that the girl was capable of talking about such activity with so much ease.

"Hermione, I don't think - "

"That could go seriously wrong - "

"Are you mad -"

But Hermione had a steely glint in her eye not unlike the one Professor McGonagall sometimes had.

"The potion will be useless without their hair," she said sternly. "You do want to investigate Malfoy, don't you?"

"Oh, all right, all right," said Harry.

"But what about you?" Ron asked, nervously, "Whose hair are you ripping out?"

"I've already got mine!" said Hermione brightly, pulling a tiny bottle out of her pocket and showing them the single hair inside it. "Millicent Bulstrode. Slytherin. I got this off her robes. And she's gone home for Christmas - so I'll just have to tell the Slytherins I've decided to come back." She paused for a moment, before gathering her things, "I'm going to go check on the polyjuice potion, make sure that Crabbe, Goyle and Zabini find those cupcakes."

With that, Hermione got up from the table and walked out of the Great Hall in a hurry, so she could get back to working on finishing the potion.

When the girl was out of sight, Ron spoke to his two friends with a worried expression, "Have you ever heard of plan where were so many things could go wrong?"

Charlie laughed as he picked up his water glass, "Well, you heard her. The potion won't work unless we do this. We have no other option."

The brown eyed boy took a sip from his glass as Harry nodded in agreement with him, "Come on then, let's get to work then."