Chapter 21: A Piece of Rakepick

Two nights later, Claire made her way into the Forbidden Forest in her Animagus dog form while the full moon shone overhead. Upon reaching the Forest Grove, she became human and saw a golden eagle swoop down which became Talbott.

"Glad you could make it safely," Claire said.

"I could say the same to you," Talbott remarked. "So if I understand the letter your owl Eban sent me earlier today, Penny is going to collect powdered Bicorn Horn from Snape's office while we're out here collecting Knotgrass under the full moon for a Polyjuice Potion you're brewing to make yourself look like Rakepick to infiltrate an upcoming meeting being held by 'R' at Borgin and Burkes."

Claire nodded in response.

"We should be quick about this task," Talbott insisted. "Given it is the full moon, there are probably Werewolves about. But I didn't see any when I scouted the area earlier. I actually haven't been here since Rowan died."

Frowning, Claire responded, "Ben, Merula, Bill, and I came back here after Valentine's Day, though I had hoped to not return."

"Losing someone is never easy to get over," Talbott said sympathetically. "I'll never forget the night my parents were taken away by Death Eaters, and I regret not saving them when I escaped…."

"But I don't think they would have wanted you to die, just like Rowan did when she saved me…" Claire turned away to wipe her eyes.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to make you upset," Talbott apologized. "I just thought it would help the both of us if we talked about our loses."

"No, you're fine. Let's pick the Knotgrass, and get out of here."

Without saying anything further, Talbott and Claire found patches of Knotgrass around the clearing. Claire heard odd sounds and saw flashes of silver fur in the bushes, but she ignored them while collecting the Knotgrass. After collecting enough, she and Talbott left the Forest Grove. The next morning, Claire checked in with Penny, who wasn't able to get the powdered Bicorn Horn from Snape as he was always present in his office.

"This confirms my suspicion that he might know what we're up to, or at least sense it," Claire whispered to Penny in the Hogwarts Library while Madam Pince was being more watchful than usual around the Restricted Section. "But I'm sure we'll figure something out. In the meantime, I've got someone to meet in detention."

Claire then stood up and cast Blue Sparks, which was a blue-colored variation of the Red Sparks Spell, into the air. This got Madam Pince flustered as she immediately sent Claire to detention. In the Kitchens, Claire found not only Jae making sandwiches but also Merula.

"Looks like you're becoming a regular troublemaker like I am," Jae joked.

"Heard you used Blue Sparks in the library," Merula sneered.

"Only so I could get in here to talk to Jae," Claire explained. "But why are you here? Is it because Jae makes the best sandwiches?"

Nearby, one of the House-Elves gave Claire the stink-eye while Merula blushed slightly.

"You know, you are quite clever — for a Ravenclaw," Merula responded. "But yeah, I admit I came here to sample Jae's sandwiches. He makes the best bacon and pickled eel ones I've ever tasted."

"Eww," Claire remarked in disgust. Then she turned to Jae, "Speaking of recipes, though, Penny and I are brewing a Polyjuice Potion to make me look like a member of 'R' to infiltrate an upcoming meeting of theirs. Unfortunately, Snape might be onto us and is keeping Penny from accessing powdered Bicorn Horn, which is one of the main ingredients. Do you think an 'associate' of yours could procure some powdered Bicorn Horn for us, like Alistair?"

"Well, Al seemed pleased when I asked him how the Love Potion worked out," Jae responded. "So I think he'll be more willing to do business with me."

"How come you didn't tell me about the Polyjuice Potion plan before now?" Merula questioned.

"Because we have to work fast if we want to brew it in time before the upcoming 'R' meeting, so I didn't have time to tell everyone about it," Claire answered.

"Now given the only member we know who's in 'R' is Rakepick, that means you'll have to get something of hers for the potion to work, right?" As Claire nodded, Merula continued, "So where do you plan to get it? Because the only place I can think of is—

"The Defense Against the Dark Arts Classroom," Claire finished, much to Merula's irritation.

"Yes, that's what I was thinking too," Merula muttered. "And that's why I'm coming with you."

###

After serving detention, Claire and Merula went into the Defense Against the Dark Arts Classroom where they found Bill and Ben.

"Oh, hello, Claire and Merula," Bill greeted. "My lesson won't start for another thirty minutes."

"We're not here for that, Weasley," Merula corrected. "Though I don't get why Copper is here."

"I just want to be extra prepared for tonight's lesson," Ben said.

Merula chuckled. "You're such a geek, Copper. You know that?"

While Ben didn't say anything, Claire explained to Bill about the Polyjuice Potion plan and that they were looking for something of Rakepick's in this room.

"It's a good thing I'm here, then," Bill said after Claire finished. "Because if you find a piece of hair, I can confirm whether it's mine or not."

Realizing the redness of Bill's hair was indeed similar to Rakepick's, Claire said, "That is a fair point. Plus you can help, Ben."

Ben nodded and immediately started searching the classroom with Lumos while Merula, Claire, and Bill followed his example. After twenty minutes, though, not a single strand of hair or anything similar was found. In frustration, Claire kicked the desk and saw something beneath it. Kneeling down, she picked up a long strand of red wavy hair.

As Claire showed this strand of hair to the others, Merula looked unconvinced. "How can we be sure it's not Bill's?"

"My hair isn't as long as this," Bill said as he held the strand of hair next to his shoulder-length red hair. "And it's more ginger-colored than the typical orange Weasley hair."

"Ginger is how I would describe Rakepick's hair," Merula concurred and smiled triumphantly. "So there we go! A piece of the Dark Witch herself is finally in our hands."

To be continued…