October 24, 2026
The glass of polyjuice potion was sitting on the bathroom counter. A single dark hair had been added and it was a calm, enticing blue colour. Still, the thought of drinking it left Rose feeling woozy. It was one thing to be disguised as someone else and another to completely transform into their body.
"Why can't we just modify my appearance? With spells?" she had asked Scorpius when the hair was initially added moments before.
He just gave her one look with a raised eyebrow as his eyes ran up and down her. "You are much too feminine to pull that off."
That sent her running to the bathroom where clothes that were much larger were stacked on the counter by the sink. She didn't really have a feminine frame; she always considered it more boyish, but hearing him say that made her mind go to some dark places. Her face and neck were very red.
It was late. Close to midnight. An empty silver flask was on the counter where she would store the extra potion and take it as often as she needed. They weren't planning on being at Pemty Tavern for longer than 3 hours, so the flask would hold more than enough. Scorpius had already changed his appearance: he added a large, bushy, blonde beard and changed the colour of his eyes. Luckily for him, he looked a lot different with just those few changes. She had to be the one to take Polyjuice potion and completely change her appearance to resemble the opposite sex for the night. It was going to be bizarre and probably unsettling, but at least the potion didn't look murky.
There was a knock at the door. "Have you changed yet? We should get going."
"Not yet … Give me a few more minutes."
The potion was not going to be pleasant. She stripped off her own clothes and left them laying on the floor at her feet. Standing naked in front of the mirror, she picked up the potion. Her eyes went from her reflection to the glass. She had never taken polyjuice before.
Do I want to see the transformation? See what happens? Watch my body change into someone else's?
She had no idea whose hair Scorpius had given her. Judging from the size of the clothes though, it was someone taller and much larger than her – if she held up the trousers, the legs went up to her bellybutton.
No, she did not want to watch herself morph and contort to a different shape. Plugging her nose she inhaled deeply, gulped down a full mouthful, set the glass down on the counter, and turned around so her back was towards the mirror.
She could feel a shift almost instantly as her bones ground together and started moving. Her legs felt wobbly before they started increasing in size. Her hands were growing before her eyes and her whole body was blitzing – it felt like a herd of centaurs was running over her. She stumbled to the ground in momentary agony and then it was over.
The first thing she noticed was her toes – the few long strands of hair that covered them, and then her ankles and legs. And fuck, she was definitely a male.
Temporary male. Only temporary.
It's going to be a long night, Marta said. Keep your wits about you.
She stood up and almost banged her head on the dangling light above her.
"Scorpius! What the hell? Whose hair did you get me?" Her voice was so low. Rose raised a giant hand to her throat. It was unnatural. She felt out of place – her body didn't feel right. The proportions were off.
Scorpius' voice sounded strange – as if he was trying to contain a laugh, which he probably was. That bastard. "Just someone from Kazakhstan – he's an Auror for the Ministry there."
Rose, not in her own body, was easily over 6'7" and had well-muscled arms, legs, and a stomach. "Scorpius – how am I going to fit through the fucking doorway? And this guy has bigger boobs than me!" Holy hell, the muscles. Rose flexed her arms in the mirror. She felt enormous. Massive.
"Pectoral muscles. He worked hard for those – I've heard his workout plans! Come on out, let's see." She heard his footsteps away from the door.
Why the hell did she agree to this plan? Clumsily she got dressed in the dark coloured clothing. She would be swimming in them if she was back to her own body. Her armspan could touch wall to wall in the bathroom. Her wrist that normally contained the blood bracelet was finally normal coloured and not swollen. There was no physical remnant of the binding and contract.
Her hand engulfed the doorknob and she went out in the hallway. Walking was weird. Her legs and hips were a lot different than what she was used to. She felt unbalanced. Making her way to Scorpius she stumbled into the wall twice.
He had his hand over his mouth in an obvious attempt to hide a grin. He shook his head. "We've got to work on your walk. And try not to fall over getting from point A to point B. Swing your arms a bit more, and take larger steps."
She did just that in a spin around the living room and a peal of laughter came from him. "Now you're just flouncing," he said. He got out of the chair and stood next to her. Rose was taller and much bigger than Scorpius in this unknown body and it felt wrong. Not that Scorpius wasn't fit, but this man she was encompassing had an incredible amount of muscle mass on his arms, shoulders, and chest. She felt sure she could just push Scorpius over with a small nudge. "Walk with confidence. Like you own the room. Keep your head up, toes slightly pointed out. Yes – like that. Don't tense your shoulders. I know it's a new body but pretend that you've been in it for years." He adjusted her arms and pulled her shoulders back, raising her chin up higher with a finger.
Rose finished her lap around the room and stood next to him again. He grinned up at her. "A little better."
A low sound emerged from her chest that could only be a snort-like noise. "This body is ridiculous," Rose grumbled, feeling the vibrations from her voice in her chest. "I'm going to kill you when I'm normal again."
He smirked. "When you stand, keep your feet spread out more so you have a sturdy base. And cross your arms to give yourself a presence." He demonstrated for her.
She sure as hell was glad that Molly and Lucy had been spending nights away from the flat. They would take the piss out of her if they were to see her right now.
"Are you ready to go?" he asked. "I'll apparate us to an alley nearby and we'll head in. Don't worry about talking too much and just try to listen to conversations around you. Use your wand discreetly to transform all your alcohol into water so you don't get intoxicated. And be aware of what's around you at all times. Good?"
Tonight was going to be crazy. She gave a thumbs up to him with her new oversized thumb. "As ready as I'll ever be. Let's go."
The wizard tavern was almost a déjà vu moment from the last time she was out for a night on the town. The flashing lights, crowds of people – mostly male this time – and flowing drinks were the similarity. She was the difference. She seemed to attract attention in an entirely different way than she would have as a woman. The bouncers standing at the door eyed her up but didn't accost her like they did Scorpius – checking him and almost everyone else who had less muscle mass than them, checking for potions, weapons, and warning them against wand use inside the establishment.
"Friendly place," Scorpius said after he straightened out his clothes when his interrogation was finished. "Let's find seats."
He immediately went to the wall and followed it to the front of the bar, avoiding the crowds who were gyrating and dancing, drinking and laughing. The lights were dim and the tables and floor were grimy. Rose felt her feet sticking to the floor. There were wooden tables, stained and scarred from decades of use. There were lanterns standing at all the poles that were only half lit. Flagons of beer were littered all over the tables.
Rose could barely take it all in, she was struggling to keep up to Scorpius who was speed walking. Rose felt a hand grope her arm and pushed it away. Another hand to the left grabbed her arm.
"Are those all yours?" a voice purred and Rose was dismayed to find a red-headed woman in blue robes that matched her brilliant blue eyes caressing her bicep. Rose practically ripped her arm out of the grip and jogged over to where Scorpius was standing – looking back at her like a rat bastard with a smug grin. She missed a step on the floor as she was looking at him and fell to the ground with a boom that shook the immediate area.
"Step right there," Scorpius said unhelpfully with a wry grin on his bearded face. Asshole. He turned to the barkeep and ordered two drinks. Rose peeled herself from the sticky floor and tried not to touch anything. Scorpius handed her a mug and Rose sniffed it. It was already water. Everything would be turned to water. Unfortunately turning it to water made it somehow less appealing to drink. Rose made a face at the drink and Scorpius shrugged. "Remember you're acting. You can't forget to drink from your flask. And any drinks you get after this try to do spell – at any point. He's on my tab," Scorpius said to the barkeep, who nodded his head admist an influx of customers.
Rose took a drink of her water. Could she act like she was drunk with none the wiser? Do the spell with her shoddy magic skills.
You have to worst acting skills. Don't give yourself away, intoned Marta. Just sit in the corner and hope nobody approaches you.
That's stupid. You need to integrate into the crowd. If you mess up your spells, one drink won't harm you. You have a lot more body mass and won't be intoxicated near as fast, said Greg.
As it was, she was drinking water for now. Scorpius slithered off to a back table, obviously seeing someone who he was familiar with for the hearty grin on the bearded man's face. He gestured his head to Rose, which she took to mean 'follow' but instead, hands were closing around her arms again and she found herself being pulled over to a bar stool by a petite five foot nothing brunette girl. Rose slopped half her water over the floor by the surprise of it all, but trailed behind because she didn't know what else to do. She took one more gulp of water and it was empty.
"Hey Mick, 2 of Marley's finest," she called to the barkeep, then she turned to Rose. "This one's on me. You can do the next. So how have you been? I haven't seen you in so long!"
Shit! Rose thought. Did Scorpius use someone's body who frequented London a lot? What an idiot. Gig's up already.
Well answer her, love, don't just stare! said Marta.
"Umm, well – you see. I … well – "
The girl smirked and flipped her hair over her shoulder. "My name's Ariel, by the way. And we've actually never met before, but I like making big lads like you flounder. Works every time."
Two mugs were set before them and Ariel pushed one to Rose.
Was I just picked up by a girl?
"I'm actually here with a bachelorette party and was dared to buy you a drink and dance a number with you. So cheers to meeting new people." There was a twinkle in her eye as she lifted her mug and Rose had no time at all to contemplate a spell to turn the alcohol to water – or even figure out how to do it on the sly. She raised her glass and checked the back table where Scorpius was seated. He wasn't even looking her way.
"Cheers," Rose said in her deep voice. And then they were drinking and the voices in her head were telling her it was stupid, but Rose finished the alcohol anyway, letting it warm her throat and then the voices were totally gone. No longer present. Her head seemed empty. With the sudden intake, she felt her mind relax in a way that it hadn't for months. She felt so light – like a reverberating pounding had abruptly ceased inside her head. It was marvelous. Alcohol was about to become dangerous.
"What's your name anyway?"
Rose's mind suddenly blanked and she couldn't recall if she and Scorpius even discussed a name for her. "Danny," she said and then cursed under her breath. Of all names to pick! "Dan for short though. Uh, thanks for the drink."
Rose's throat was still smarting from the burning alcohol and she turned to go find Scorpius.
But Ariel was having none of that and reached out and stopped her. The dress Ariel was wearing was low cut and either inadvertently or advertently her cleavage was right there and she was showing lots of leg, picking up one of her feet to wrap it around Rose's calf and slide up and down. If Rose was in her regular body – she'd be blushing. It was awkward and she didn't even know what to do and where the hell was Scorpius! Rose moved her leg out of reach and desperately wanted another drink.
"Are you a dancer? Let's just dance to this song! Then I promise I'll leave you alone to enjoy the evening," Ariel said, raising an eyebrow and smirking. She was good-looking and she knew it.
There wasn't anything Rose could think to say to politely decline, or avoid creating a scene, so she went to the dance floor.
Don't give away anything. Don't forget, she reminded herself. The song was some electronic, harmonica mixture with strobe lights flashing and bodies grinding. The singer was chanting something about twisted wands.
Rose was out of her element. It wasn't like she could dance great in her own body, and now a body that was twice her size in width and super tall! Yeah, it wouldn't be pretty. She felt like an elephant among the field mice. But then she started swaying and bending her knees and Ariel didn't seem to notice the inelegance. She was dancing around Rose and on her, super awkward, and Rose could see Scorpius in the corner and it looked like he was laughing – though if it was at her she wasn't sure. She seemed to catch his eye and he gave a wicked grin at her, and a thumbs up. Ariel got up close in Rose's space again, pushing her back into another couple and she lost eye contact with Scorpius as she fell over backwards and landed on the floor with a large thump.
"You're really clumsy," Ariel chided. She waved at someone across the room. Rose had her hands raised around her head to protect her from the people crowding around. It was dark and she could barely see anything and ow! people kept stepping on her legs. She turtled up to protect her limbs.
As the song ended there was finally space to get to her feet. She felt dizzy – and she wasn't sure what from.
"I think I'm going to sit," Rose said and went towards the open bar stool she spotted. Ariel tagged along beside her and Rose used all her will power to not say something cruel to get left alone. The barkeep seemed to sense Rose's aggravation, for she sat in the seat, raised her index finger, and immediately a drink was pushed her way. For good measure, she also took a swig of the polyjuice potion. She couldn't quite tell how much time had passed.
Her drink was about half done by the time a swarm of women appeared around Rose. Ariel was chattering away, but Rose had completely zoned her out. One quick glance around and Rose was shaking her head and cradling the rest of her drink. All of them were grinning – this seemed like trouble of a kind she'd never experienced. The brunette on the end was talking to the barkeep, who pulled out 8 shot glasses and started pouring an amber liquid inside them all.
It took Rose about five minutes (and Ariel about three minutes of tapping her shoulder) for her to look over again at the grinning girls.
"Dimitra bought some shots for all of us – she lost the bet with Ariel since you danced with her! And I'm getting married in a week – we heard your name was Dan. Here." A short girl with glasses was indeed wearing a sash saying 'Bride-to-be' that Rose had selectively ignored. Dimitra shoved glasses over the rough counter, liquid teetering but not spilling over.
Oh where the hell are you Scorpius? Rose thought. Mayday, mayday! Once again she was in a position where she couldn't sneak in the spell to turn the alcohol to water. She peered over to his last known location and he was no longer sitting there. Did he leave then? Rose felt a prickling on the back of her neck, in anticipation of some danger, but before she could look, she was turned back to the girls by a jabbing in her side. Ariel seemed to give her a warning look.
"Ready? We have limes as a chaser," said the Bride-to-be, looking very eager.
Rose looked down at her glass. She felt as if she couldn't say no. The limitations to this body and her boundaries were skewed. And then mixed in with the dizziness, she already felt as if she were drunk.
At the count, she did the shot and immediately picked up the lime to null the taste of icy fingers crawling from her stomach up to her throat. The women had a quick recovery and they were ready to do the second shot by the time Rose pulled the peel from her mouth.
It was muggy in the tavern, and with the low visibility and countless numbers of people Rose wasn't sure how she was supposed to keep track of conversations. She couldn't even hear what Ariel was seemingly shouting right now. But it became obvious when the bridal party pulled at her arms and tugged her back into the haze of gyrating bodies. Song and song went by and they continually went from dancing to the bar and back. Rose stepped on toes and accidentally let go of one of the girls when she dipped them too low, but she was starting to have fun in the body she was momentarily occupying. She could be a male. It was all cool. She could forget her troubles and just be for the moment, with these strangers.
Scorpius apparently was still in the area because he swung in once to the center of the dance floor and hauled her to his level by her ear, his face flushed and his hair askew. "Slow down your drinking! You need to pay more attention to everything around you. Canwood's entered the building – don't do anything rash." Unreservedly, he reached into Rose's back pocket and pulled out the flask to put it in her hands. "Have another drink," he hissed. "Don't forget."
His anger was compounded by his nervousness at being in crowds - the bachelorette party tried to pull him in and he avoided their reach and was back by the wall in no time. It was quick and Rose wasn't even sure if it had been him who came up to her, or her imagination. She took a drink from her flask nonetheless, and managed to spill some of it down her front and onto the floor with hands that were maybe feeling the effects of too much alcohol.
Time meant nothing to Rose. She did a circle around the tavern in search of her target and strained her ears to catch, even a glimpse, of conversation – to no luck. The faces blurred around her. And she hadn't seen Canwood in so long she wasn't sure if she would even recognise him. The bachelorette party departed at some point and didn't come back.
She went back to the bar after not even spotting Scorpius and somehow found herself sprawled onto the ground – an action she had done far too much of this evening. Her instincts were screaming at her intoxicated mind when a blonde woman was in front of Rose, helping her back up. She had eyes that were piercing and intelligent and she escorted Rose to a stool where she was sitting beside this huge man with an iguana tattoo snaked around his neck.
Rose barely noticed as she was looking at her own cut and bruised fingers. She was bleeding and she didn't know from what. Instead of staying, she stood up and pushed herself through throngs of people, careless of who was in front of her as she made her way to the washrooms and barged in.
The screaming from the girls chased her from the loo and she charged into the one adjacent, the men's washroom this time, without thinking too much about it.
She turned on the tap and started washing her hand. When she looked up, she jumped in fright. It wasn't her face looking back at her – it was a man's face.
"What am I doing," she muttered to herself. Her vision was blurred and she felt a little unsteady on her feet – but her thoughts were still lucid. It was lucky she was in the body that was so much larger than hers, for the alcohol she consumed would surely done her harm otherwise. There was no chance she could have performed any spells to turn alcohol into water. There were always too many people around and the drinks kept coming too quickly. She hadn't seen Scorpius in hours – how the hell did he do it?
Merlin, she was polyjuiced into a man!
She couldn't remember her last drink of polyjuice potion and felt in her pockets. They were all empty. Rose felt a little prickle of fear. When was her last drink? When did she last see the flask?
There were no voices in her head prattling away at her because alcohol seemed to provide that barrier. How long ago did she take it? That was the biggest concern, for if she changed back into a woman then – Canwood! Scorpius said something about Canwood a while ago. And Rose was sure she'd seen him. Didn't she just sit beside him? An iguana tattoo was forming in her vision. That was him, right? Pictures were a lot different than reality. And if that was Canwood, then the blonde haired woman was … Box? Rebecca Box? Rose couldn't recall the face, just the blonde hair.
"Oh fuck," she breathed loudly. The door clattered loudly behind her as men came in and out of the loo. "I messed up. I'm clearly not ready for this."
She had to find Scorpius. Had to find the polyjuice potion. Time was ticking.
She ran out of the bathroom with paper towel wrapped around her bleeding fingers, ducking under the doorframe just in time to save her head, and was taken up in a sea of people and jostled around. She pushed and fell through the throngs. Around the bar – no Scorpius or flask anywhere. The lights were dim and she could barely see. On the dance floor, she fell to her hands and knees and was blindly feeling around. Her fingers were getting crushed and people fell over her. The flask, the potion, those were more important.
Nothing.
She was up and looking around for blonde hair, the blonde beard that Scorpius modified. She stood in one spot and went around and around and around. It was long past midnight, but she didn't know what time it was. Scorpius wouldn't leave without her, there was no way.
It couldn't have been more than ten minutes of searching before she felt the physical changes happening to her. She felt slightly queasy and ran from the middle of the crowd, going to one of the walls to lean against it and sit down, slouched.
"I am never drinking again," she said to herself as her body seemed to shrink, hands going small, hair on arms disappearing into her skin, legs shrinking in size. "I hate alcohol. I don't like being drunk. And I get into the worst situations when it happens."
The clothes she was wearing were like a giants. She could fit another two people in her pants and shirt. And the shoes. There was no way she could walk in them now. If the floor wasn't sticky, messy, full of cups and some broken glass she would be going barefoot. As it was, she was going to have to make do. She wished she had an elastic to tie her hair back from springing about her head. She also now wished she hadn't drank quite so much.
It was fifteen minutes before she could feel her way up the wall to get upright – holding her pants upright so they didn't pool around her ankles. Then another ten minutes before she could move without feeling like she was going to vomit or fall over again. The only thing she could think of was Scorpius, and finding him.
She wandered out into the open, stumbling in the clown shoes and ginormous clothing. The neck of her shirt was wide and slipping over her shoulders. The crowd in the tavern had lessened dramatically – it was the wee hours of the morning. She dragged her feet towards the bar and was about to slur her way to asking to barkeep about Scorpius when someone grabbed her left hand and wrenched it up and behind her back, causing instant pain. Black spots appeared in her eyes. She was bent over now trying to alleviate the pain of her arm and shoulder. It felt like it was going to be pulled out of the socket. She was marched forwards and couldn't see where she was going. Her right hand was holding her pants up still and she struggled with trying to keep her shoes on. The floor was bobbing up and down in her field of view and the pain took over. It didn't even occur to her to yell for help.
Before she knew it she was breathing fresh air. It was dark still. Dirt and small tufts of grass were on the ground and there was some moonlight in the air. She was in an alley – had to be. Gravel ground under her feet.
Rose was shoved forwards and fell onto her one free arm and face, skinning her cheek on a rock. She laid sprawled on the ground and tried to move her arm that had been wrenched. It was painful, still behind her back because it hurt to move it. Her reality was still wobbling to and fro, but she was sobering up quickly.
"So this is the red-headed wench who's been on our tail, none too discretely. Tall, and incompetent. Showing up where she's not wanted … and stealing from us," a woman's voice said, turning dark.
"Doesn't look like too much to me," said a male voice. "You sure this is the one?"
"Positive."
Rose slowly tried to bring her arm to a more comfortable position, easing it slowly down her back and to her side.
"Oh no you don't," said the male. Then he put an immense amount of pressure on her back from his knee, and her ribs were straining under the weight, while her arm was wrenched back up into a locked position behind her back.
Rose gave a cry of pain. "What do you want?" she cried out. "It's hurting, stop!"
If anything, more weight was added and her arm was wrenched higher. It felt like it was going to rip out of her body. Her ribs creaked. She was staring at a brick wall, her face smashed into the gravel below her. She still couldn't see who it was behind her and hurting her.
The man snorted loudly. "It hurts? Awh, poor bird. Maybe you'll learn to keep your nose out of our business," he said. Rose was counting the bricks on the wall, anything to keep her mind focused and to avoid sobbing uncontrollably. "Where's the potions you stole from us? Where's the Spiff?"
The potions? It hurt to think through the pain. Scorpius was going to take it to the Ministry – but had he yet? It was probably still at her house, unfortunately.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Rose said through gritted teeth. "You've got the wrong person."
She felt a crack in her ribs and a throbbing pain started up. It hurt to breath, but she couldn't help taking in quick, loud breaths that were torturous to suck in through her compressed, cracked ribs.
The woman, whom Rose had forgotten about, laughed a high maniacal laugh and Rose got a chill. "Oh you're the right person. Where are the potions?"
"I don't have them. They're at the Ministry – Aurors have it all."
The woman walked around to Rose face and grabbed her hair, pulling her head back sharply. "You have a week to bring the potions back to where you stole them from. We know where you live," she whispered, her face shaped in shadows. A spell was whispered and a sharp, sudden agony started up on her right shoulder. She could smell burned flesh and hair – a nauseating smell. Footsteps walked away. A door opened and closed.
It only took a few seconds before the man got up from her back, thank Merlin, and she was able to take a deeper breath even though it still hurt to breath and she couldn't move her arm at all.
His foot came right before her face and he kneeled down in front of her. It was Canwood. "Poor bird. Next time I see you I won't be so nice. I believe this is yours." He dropped her flask on the ground within view. "If the Ministry gets involved I'll know where to look."
He stood up and walked away, leaving Rose laying on the ground. The door slammed shut and she was alone.
Rose stared at the flask. Her body couldn't move; it felt like everything was burning. She couldn't even bend the fingers on the hand behind her back. But she couldn't stay in the alley with the moonlight above and not even a whisper of wind.
She used her good arm to prop herself up, ribs protesting, and slowly bringing in her left – her wand arm – to the front of her body and cradling it. Thankfully her shoulder wasn't dislocated, but it would be very swollen. To stand up required all her will power to ignore the pain in her side. And what did Canwood do to her other shoulder? It burned. She held the flask in her hand as she stumbled over to the brick wall and vomited over and over, tears running down her face, and hand trying to hold her throbbing ribs in. Eventually she was dry heaving and then she could finally breath normally again.
She shouldn't trust the flask since Canwood had it, but she didn't care if she lost her life right now. She felt cold. She felt like an idiot. Scorpius would know something happened if she didn't show up in her disguise back in the tavern. "I'll know where to look," Canwood had said. He was watching her. Maybe even right now still.
It only took a few moments and she filled out the clothes she was wearing again. She was the giant Kazakhstani, with an unmaimed body. It was like she wasn't hurt underneath. Her great disguise failed. She failed.
Rose trudged back inside. Of course Scorpius was right there now, waiting for her at the bar, talking with a man on his left. The tavern was closed. Only a few lingering people stood around or were outside. As soon as he spotted her he grinned. She didn't reciprocate. He left the man he was talking to and went to her.
"Ready to go? We'll be kicked out in the next ten minutes. Everything is shutting down"
"Where were you?" Rose said. Her voice was emotionless and she felt like it could slice through skin.
"What do you mean?" He seemed to catch her mood and frowned at her.
"Where have you been all night? I was looking for you."
Scorpius shrugged. "Well, I've been everywhere. Here, outside, in one of the backrooms. I don't think I left the bar for more than twenty minutes at a time."
Twenty minutes. That was all it took. Rose walked to the door leaving Scorpius staring at her. He jogged to catch up to her. "What happened? What's wrong?"
She didn't look at him. It wasn't his fault at all, but she was so angry at herself and it was easy to take it out on him. "Nothing. I'm leaving. Don't fucking follow me." And she didn't look back.
A/N: Rather dark of a chapter. :/ Sorry I've been absent. Excuses are for losers and I have a plethora of them, but I won't waste your time. Next chapter will be up within a week (it's already written).
