Chapter 30: Extra Help
Later that day, Claire met with Tonks and Jae in the Owlery after sending messages to them with her pet owl Eban.
Looking embarrassed, Jae said, "I'm guessing Chiara explained…what happened yesterday."
Tonks gave Jae a confused look. "What's this about?"
Before Jae could speak, Claire said, "It's a long story. Anyway, since Penny's Polyjuice Potion is nearly finished brewing I thought it would be good for us to talk about our actual plan for infiltrating 'R.'"
"Right, since we both offered to help you pull this off," Tonks recalled. "Now from what I understand, you're going to use the Polyjuice Potion to impersonate Rakepick in order to attend the upcoming meeting at Borgin and Burkes in Knockturn Alley."
"Yes, though you guys should come along as backup in case anything goes wrong on my end," replied Claire.
"In that case, maybe I'll change into a Dark Witch using my Metamorphmagus ability and keep an eye on things outside the Borgin and Burkes shop," Tonks suggested.
"And I could stand beside you using an Invisibility Cloak — that is, if you'll let me borrow the one you got from Alistair," Jae added, giving Claire a nervous look.
"Of course I'll let you borrow the cloak, since you offered to help me," Claire responded.
"So it looks like we've got a plan," Tonks declared.
"But what if we get caught?" Jae brought up. "I mean, we're literally entering a lion's den full of dangerous wizards and witches so we're putting our lives on the line for this."
"True," Tonks realized. "Maybe we should get someone else to help us, who doesn't fold under pressure easily and is super trustworthy."
Just then, Talbott came into the Owlery carrying strings of dead mice.
"Don't mind me," Talbott said, avoiding eye-contact with Claire. "I'm just here to feed the owls some dinner."
"Actually, your timing might be perfect," Claire said.
While Tonks and Jae left the Owlery, Claire asked Talbott to meet her at the Three Broomsticks for a private discussion which he reluctantly agreed to. At the Three Broomsticks, Talbott's usual cool demeanor was shaken as Claire sat across from him at the table they chose.
"Is there something you wanted to talk to me about?" Talbott guessed. "Does it have to do with…yesterday?"
Claire shook her head. "No, this is a more serious matter. You may be aware that I'm planning to infiltrate 'R' as Rakepick, though I won't be going alone. Jae and Tonks will be coming with me as backup, but I thought you could help as well."
Talbott frowned. "Are you only asking me to help because I'm an Animagus?"
"That's part of it, but it's mainly because I think you're one of my most trusted friends and Circle of Khanna members."
"But even if your plan was to succeed, what will you do if Rakepick is already at the meeting?"
Looking down at the table, Claire muttered, "I didn't even consider that…."
###
During the early hours of the morning, Claire snuck out of the Ravenclaw Dormitory using the Invisibility Cloak and made her way to the Lakeshore. There, she cast Red Sparks with her wand and Jacob Apparated in front of her.
"What is it, Pip?" Jacob asked. "Is something wrong?"
"Not exactly, but I would like your opinion on a plan I have to infiltrate a meeting 'R' has coming up," Claire explained. "However, I can only pull this off if Rakepick isn't there."
From there, Claire told Jacob about Jae, Tonks, and Talbott coming with her to using the Polyjuice Potion to impersonate Rakepick.
Jacob thought for a moment. "To my knowledge, Rakepick has been very sporadic in her movements. So I think she's not going to make a public appearance anytime soon, but that doesn't mean she won't show up at all. What will you do then?"
"I'll get out of the meeting immediately, because I wouldn't want to endanger myself or my friends," Claire said after a pause.
"A smart move, since it's better to live to fight another day than to die recklessly. Train your group well, Pip, because this is going to be a risky venture that could end with a great reward or disappointment depending on how you handle it."
Then Jacob Disapparated away, though Claire knew it was so he could keep following Rakepick.
###
Later that night, Claire had Tonks, Jae, and Talbott meet her on the Training Grounds with several metal dummies. The purpose of this was to practice their spell-work, which they agreed to do. After successfully casting several spells on the dummies, the four decided to pair off for Dueling. While Tonks dueled with Jae, Claire dueled Talbott. He turned out to be pretty decent, though Claire used the incantation Waddiwasi to send a piece of gum she was chewing into Talbott's eye which made him drop his wand.
"Nice job, Claire," Talbott admitted as he got the gum out of his eyelids. "I never would've thought to use that spell."
"Well, it only works if you have something that can be used as a projectile," Claire said as she helped Talbott.
"I just hope we don't have to directly confront 'R', since those guys probably won't mess around with a bunch of kids like us," Jae said.
The next day, Claire's Divination Class was about Dream Interpretation which reminded Claire of the visions she used to get from Jacob. Later, her Care of Magical Creatures lesson involved studying Doxies, which were similar to Fairies in appearance but were generally meaner according to Professor Kettleburn. After that, Penny informed Claire that the Polyjuice Potion was finally ready. So Claire met Penny in the Artefact Room after dinner wearing the Dragon Skin outfit that Andre gave her, carrying the strand of Rakepick's red hair she found in the Defense Against the Dark Arts Classroom.
"So, knowing the potion's taste reflects the character of the person you wish to become, I imagine Rakepick's essence will taste horrible," Penny speculated as she stirred the cauldron where the potion had been brewing for the past month. "But how bad do you think it'll be?"
"Probably as bad as overcooked cabbage, or Goblin urine at worst," Claire figured.
Hearing that made Penny's eyes widened. "That was more foul than I was expecting, coming from you."
"Maybe I was channeling Mad-Eye Moody," Claire guessed.
"How would you know what Mad-Eye Moody says?" Penny asked.
Realizing she was breaking her promise to keep her affiliation with Moody a secret, Claire responded, "Well, I just think that's something he would think."
Penny seemed satisfied by this answer as she gave Claire a vial of the Polyjuice Potion.
To be continued…
