Chapter 20: Strategies and Risks
"My years of Auror training tells me you're up to something dangerous again," Mad-Eye Moody said to Claire in a harsh whisper. "It's no good planning things out in the open, like what you were doing with your mischievous friend from detention. You should be looking for the final Cursed Vault, Claire Krystal, or have you forgotten?"
"That's what I was trying to achieve in Knockturn Alley," Claire argued. "I found out 'R' might be using the Whomping Willow to communicate with other Dark Wizards, and I have a scroll to prove it."
Moody's actual eye widened. "You survived the Whomping Willow? That is no easy task."
"No, it wasn't," Claire confirmed. "The scroll described an upcoming meeting that's supposed to take place at Borgin and Burkes, so my plan is to sneak into the meeting using either a Concealment Charm or disguise while Tonks and Jae come with me as backup."
"I see. Then I assume you plan to listen in and figure out what 'R' is planning," Moody guessed. When Claire nodded, Moody remarked, "While I admire your sense of strategy, let's not forget that Rakepick and her ilk are very powerful. They could easily break through a Concealment Charm or see through your Invisibility Cloak like I did."
Frowning, Claire remarked, "That would not be good…."
"Exactly," remarked Moody. "So it's a good thing I did interfere, because you need a more advanced strategy to pull this off."
"Okay, what did you have in mind?"
"To really get to know 'R' and its members, you need to become one of them."
"What?" Claire exclaimed.
"Now I don't mean you should walk right up and join them," Moody clarified. "But I'm suggesting that you disguise yourself as one of their members."
"Ah, I know what you're saying."
###
The next day, Claire invited Penny to the Three Broomsticks for Butterbeers. While Penny was happy to oblige, she looked increasingly nervous as Claire explained her plan.
"You want to use a Polyjuice Potion to infiltrate 'R'?" Penny exclaimed. "I'm not sure if I want to be involved in this."
"But we've done the Polyjuice Potion before," Claire reminded Penny. "Remember when I transformed into Snape so you could get revenge on Merula for taking credit on your Wit-Sharpening Potion?"
"Yes, except that was different. You could get killed if 'R' finds out that you're impersonating one of their members."
"I know I'm asking a lot from you, but think about the suffering 'R' has caused us. Don't you want to avenge Rowan's life as much as I do?"
"Of course, though I don't want to be responsible for your death."
"Don't worry about that. If the potion starts wearing off, I'll get right out of Borgin and Burkes. Besides, Tonks and Jae will be with me to help."
"Well, that does make me feel a little better. Now if you recall, this potion takes a month to brew. So depending on when 'R' will be holding their meeting, it might not be ready by then."
"The date for it is about a month from now, but I trust you will be able to brew it before the meeting. After all, you are one of the best potion makers in our year."
Penny smiled in response. "Give me some time to get into the Restricted Section, and I'll have the Moste Potente Potions book that has the Polyjuice Potion recipe."
###
Two days later, Penny got the Moste Potente Potions book and asked Claire to help her collect ingredients for the Polyjuice Potion. First, they gathered Lacewing Flies that buzzed around the Training Grounds and put them in jars. Next, the girls went to the Potions Classroom for Boomslang Skin but were caught by Professor Snape.
"What are you two doing here?" Snape asked.
"Gathering ingredients for a potion," Penny said. "You said I could use the Potions Classroom anytime I wanted, since I'm one of your most gifted students."
"Indeed, Miss Haywood," Snape nodded respectfully. Then he looked at Claire, "But that doesn't explain why Miss Krystal is with you, or why you're gathering ingredients for the Polyjuice Potion."
Realizing she held the Boomslang Skin in her hand, Claire glanced away nervously.
"Even someone as gifted as you, Miss Haywood, should recognize the risks of making such a potion," Snape reminded Penny.
"Like what?" Penny asked.
"For instance, the potion's flavor changes depending on the character of the person being imitated," Snape responded. "It is also a very difficult potion, and can be temperamental if not brewed properly."
"Ah, that would…explain a lot," Claire remarked, thinking back to how bitter the Polyjuice Potion tasted when she became Snape.
"Thank you for the information, though," Penny interjected.
"It's better to warn you of the perils of unnecessary magic than to see you get in trouble again," Snape insisted, and walked away.
"You know, it just occurred to me that we're going to need our friends to distract Snape and Dumbledore from what we're doing," Claire said once Snape was out of the classroom. "They're obviously keeping an eye on us, which will be problematic for one of the ingredients we have to collect."
"And what's that?"
"For me to successfully infiltrate 'R,' I'm going to have to become Patricia Rakepick."
###
After a lesson on the Moly Herb the following day, Claire, Penny, Chiara, and Diego stayed in the greenhouse after Herbology was over to collect Knotgrass for the Polyjuice Potion. But Chiara reminded Penny that it could only be Knotgrass picked under a full moon.
"How do you know that?" Diego questioned. "We haven't covered the Polyjuice Potion in any of our classes."
"You could say I'm kind of an expert when it comes to full moons," Chiara replied cryptically.
"Speaking of that, I think there's a full moon coming up," Claire brought up. "At least, according to the star charts I looked at in Astronomy last night."
"But if you're planning to go into the Forest Grove to pick the Knotgrass on the night of the full moon, aren't you worried about running into Werewolves again?" Diego questioned. "I heard about your encounter from Chiara."
"She'll be fine," Chiara assured. "And may have backup this time."
Then Chiara winked at Claire, who smiled back knowingly.
To be continued…