Don't Act Like You Know Me

Year 2 - Skele-Gro

Hermione's interaction with Malfoy had been resting in the back of her brain all day, but she was thinking about something much larger. The Chamber of Secrets. She devised her plan all throughout the day. She was in the library with Harry and Ron, hoping that her plan would work. 

The trio was huddled around a book called Moste Potente Potions. The illustrations would be quite upsetting to a child or a non-magical person. The pages were splotched with brown. Every book in the Hogwarts library was quite old. "Here it is, 'The Polyjuice Potion. Properly brewed, the Polyjuice Potion allows the drinker to transform him or herself temporarily into the physical form of another,'" Hermione read.

"You mean, Harry and I drink some of this stuff and we turn into Crabbe and Goyle?" Ron asked.

"Yes."

 "Wicked! Malfoy'll tell us anything!"

 "Exactly, but it's tricky. I've never seen a more complicated potion. Lacewing flies, leeches, fluxweed. And, of course, we'll need a bit of whoever we want to change into too."

 "Hang on now. I'm drinking nothing with Crabbe's toenails in it."

 "How long will it take to make?" Harry asked.

 "A month," Hermione said.

"A month? But if Malfoy is the heir of Slytherin, he could attack half the Muggle-borns in the school by then!"

"You didn't have to tell me that," Hermione said.

"I'm sorry, Hermione."

"It's alright. I just have to be cautious. After all, I am Muggle-born."

"I keep forgetting," Ron said.

"Of course you would," Harry scoffed. "Well, I have to be off to my Quidditch game. The first one I'm playing where the fucking Heir of Slytherin is my direct opponent. Check out that book, Hermione, will you?" Hermione nodded.

"Good luck, Harry," Hermione said.

"Hermione and I will be watching for any foul play," Ron laughed.

"Don't remind me," Harry rolled his eyes and sulked off.

"How long do we have til the Quidditch game?" Ron asked.

"Probably about an hour," Hermione said.

"Should we read more about the potion before we go?"

"Sure." Hermione was pleasantly surprised that Ron actually wanted to help productively. Hermione cracked open the book again. "'A complex and time-consuming potion, best left to highly skilled witches and wizards,'" Hermione read. 

"We're definitely not highly skilled witches and wizards."

"It'll be alright, as long as we follow the recipe exactly. We can't cut any corners." Hermione read again. "'It enables the consumer to assume the physical appearance of another person, as long as they have first procured part of that individual's body to add to the brew such as toenail clippings, dandruff, or hair.'"

"I told you, I'm not consuming Crabbe's toenails."

"I don't think you'll even be able to get Crabbe's toenails. Hair will be easier. I'll devise a plan for that."

"Why do you get to make all the plans?"

"Why do you think? 'The effect of the potion is only temporary, and depending on how well it has been brewed, may last anything from between ten minutes and twelve hours. You can change age, sex, and race by taking the Polyjuice Potion."

"You mean if we brew it wrong, we'll only have ten minutes?"

"Depends. I'd hope that I could brew it better than that. We might have thirty minutes at the most."