Chapter 22: The Art of Impersonation

After Claire placed Rakepick's strand of hair in the pocket of her school robe, the rest of the students arrived for Bill's private lesson. Once everyone was settled into their seats, he taught the Imperturbable Charm. This involved creating an invisible barrier around an object or person to prevent any sounds it made from being heard by others, much like the Muffliato Charm. In the Artefact Room the following day, Claire met Penny who confirmed that Jae had managed to deliver powdered Bicorn Horn to her through his associate Alistair. She also had the other ingredients assembled, including the jars of Lacewing Flies, the bundles of Knotgrass picked under the full moon, and the Boomslang Skin.

So Penny and Claire spent the next three weeks brewing the Polyjuice Potion, following the Moste Potente Potions recipe to the letter. Meanwhile, Claire practiced acting and sounding like Rakepick. Then a week before the Polyjuice Potion was supposed to be ready, she did an impersonation of Rakepick before Merula, Bill, Fred and George in the Defense Against the Dark Arts Classroom.

"You sound too nice, Krystal," Merula criticized. "Rakepick has more of an edge in her tone of voice."

"I think the key to a good impersonation is the element of surprise," said Fred. "While it's important to copy someone's behavior, you might want to consider aspects of their character that they may not show very often."

"And if all else fails, just throw some Dungbombs!" George added, causing him and Fred to laugh uncontrollably.

"That's enough advice from you two," Bill remarked. "If you weren't part of the Circle of Khanna, I would've told you to shove off a long time ago."

Seemingly understanding the hint from their older brother, Fred and George left the Defense Against the Dark Arts Classroom in a hurry.

"Glad I'm an only child, because having siblings like that would be annoying," Merula groaned. "Let's just hope they don't go telling everyone about Krystal's plan to infiltrate 'R' as Rakepick."

"They've been pretty good at not revealing any other secrets that Circle of Khanna members know," Claire pointed out.

"Well, I've got to get back to Gringotts soon," Bill mentioned. "But I think in a pinch, Claire could do a good impersonation of Rakepick."

"I suppose, but there's also the matter of clothes to think about," Claire realized. "After all, I should wear something that resembles what Rakepick usually wears."

"Don't you still have those Curse-Breaking clothes you wore in the Buried Vault?" Merula brought up. "Those were in a similar style to Rakepick's clothes."

Claire shook her head. "I threw them out when I went home this past summer, because they reminded me of the horrible things Rakepick did. Maybe Andre can help me…."

So during Free Period the next day, Claire went to the Training Grounds. There, she found Andre with Alanza, Badeea, and Barnaby. Standing in a half-circle with brushes and easels, they were painting images of Penny, who was standing on a table in front of them wearing the same yellow dress she wore at the Celestial Ball with various objects scattered at her feet.

"Olá (Hello), Claire!" Alanza waved. "Why don't you join us?"

"You look like you could use a break, even though you are a Curse-Breaker," Andre remarked.

Alanza looked at Andre with surprise. "Curse-Breaker? We had one at Castelobruxo not too long ago, and I think her name was Rakepick."

Hearing that, Andre's eyes widened.

"Why didn't you tell us that you met Rakepick before?" Andre asked.

"She wasn't at Castelobruxo for long, so I didn't think it was important to mention," replied Alanza. "The only things I remember about her was her pet Niffler, and she always smelled like cinnamon for some reason."

Keeping this in mind, Claire took up Alanza's offer and painted Penny along with the others. Afterwards, she made her way to the Potions Classroom and found Professor Snape alone. He was peeved about one of the students not preparing a Memory Potion correctly, so he decided to review it for that day's lesson. Claire then stayed behind, causing Snape to frown.

"You want to ask me something?" Snape asked in a sarcastic tone.

After a pause, Claire said, "Can you tell me what Rakepick was like when you first met her?"

"She refused to think of herself as an ordinary Witch, with as much to learn as any other student," Snape answered. "The same can be said of you, Miss Krystal."

This threw Claire off. "What do you mean?"

"You're more like Rakepick than you care to admit, given your blatant disregard for the rules of Hogwarts and tendency to cause trouble."

"But Rakepick murdered someone, which I would never do."

"Probably, though she could eliminate you if she ever got the chance. Remember that, and take it into consideration with whatever you're planning."

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Later, Claire met up with Andre in the Transfiguration Classroom where she explained her clothing situation regarding her plan to impersonate Rakepick. So Andre agreed to put together another outfit that was similar to Rakepick's usual attire, which included black boots, brown trousers, a black short-sleeved robe, and a brown Dragon Skin shirt.

"Now, if you were to enter a secret meeting of Dark Witches and Wizards, how would you introduce yourself as Rakepick?" Andre asked once Claire was wearing the outfit he had put together.

Folding her arms and rolling her eyes, Claire said in a bored tone, "When's the meeting going to start? I haven't got all day."

"Spot on, Curse-Breaker!" Andre smiled. "You'll be talking like Rakepick in no time."

Ben then showed up, and took Claire to the Forest Grove. There, they spotted a Thestral standing nearby preening its bat-like wings while its skeletal horse-like face looked at them indifferently.

"You brought me out here to see a Thestral?" Claire said quietly to not disturb the creature. "Even though Professor Kettleburn brought one to Care of Magical Creatures two months ago?"

"This one's been hanging out near the spot where Rowan died, which I've been drawn to lately," answered Ben.

Claire gave Ben a concerned frown. "Why?"

"Being here reminds me that Rakepick and 'R' must be stopped at all costs, and the Thestral confirms what I've lost to motivate me further. I thought if you saw the Thestral too, it would give you the strength to carry out your plan to infiltrate 'R' as Rakepick."

Unsure of what to say, Claire stared at the Thestral for a long time. Then she looked at the ground, picturing Rowan's fallen body lying at her feet. An involuntary shiver ran through her body, until Ben put a hand on her shoulder.

"Thanks, Ben," Claire said. "I know I've been hard on you as of late, but…you are a good friend to me."

"Well, now with Rowan gone, you are my oldest friend at Hogwarts," replied Ben, who smiled for the first time since Rowan's passing.

For a while, the two said nothing further and watched the Thestral until it trotted off into the nearby mists.

To be continued…