Author's note: First and foremost, I wanted to thank everyone for their patience in waiting for this chapter to be reviewed. Second, please give all the love to my beta who has been swamped and dealing with so much personal stuff in her life. She deserves so much love for helping me with this!
*Trigger Warning*- Petrification described in detail. If you do not wish to read this chapter, then a summary will be posted at the bottom.
During the last week of classes, Lockhart decided to start a dueling club for any students interested in learning extra defensive magic. None in the quartet wanted to participate, thinking that the entire event would be a disaster given Lockhart's incompetency. Plus, the club was being co-hosted by Snape, making it an even less appealing option. When Lockhart saw that Harry didn't sign up, the professor cornered the boy-who-lived outside of his class, begging him to come to the first meeting that night. It was clear the man would not be taking no for an answer, forcing Harry to reluctantly accept the invitation and drag Draco and Ron with him. Hermione, who had been lucky enough to escape, quite gleefully rubbed in the boys' faces that she would be spending her evening in the library doing extra research on Salazar Slytherin. At about ten minutes to eight, the boys made their way down to the Great Hall.
"This is the last time I let you rope me into one of these 'engagements,'" Ron griped as they entered the room. The Great Hall had been completely transformed. There was now a long dueling stage near the fireplace and safety mats spread evenly across the rest of the stone floor.
"Gather round!" Lockhart called from atop of the stage. He was wearing ostentatious protective padding that was lined with gold over which he had draped an emerald green cape that he threw in the crowd. Draco noticed that Alicia Spinnet had caught the cloak, smiling and lovingly caressing the fabric like one would pet a cat.
"Can everybody see me? Can you all hear me?" Lockhart paused to survey the room, "Excellent! In light of recent events, Professor Dumbledore has granted me permission to start this little dueling club to train you all up in case you ever need to defend yourselves as I myself have done on countless occasions. For full details, please see my published works."
Draco failed to suppress a groan when Lockhart winked at a group of sixth-year girls. Harry gently nudged his arm, successfully quieting his friend as Snape stepped up onto the platform.
"Allow me to introduce my assistant, Professor Snape. He has sportingly agreed to help me with a short demonstration before we pair you off. Now, I don't want any of you youngsters to worry. You'll still have your Potions master when I'm through with him, never fear!"
"Imagine how amazing it would be if they finished each other off," Ron muttered to his friends with an unholy gleam in his eyes.
"Please, Flophart doesn't stand a chance against Snape," Draco quietly shot back, causing Harry to chuckle softly.
The professors had just bowed to one another before performing a quarter turn and walking to opposite sides of the stage when Ron whispered, "2 knuts that Snape disarms Lockhart in five seconds."
"3 knuts that Lockhart falls on his arse in four seconds," Draco countered.
"And five knuts if both happen in three seconds," Harry chimed in.
Shaking on the bet, the boys turned their attention toward the impending duel. Lockhart was still counting down when Snape's disarming charm slammed into Lockhart's chest! The force of the spell knocked the pretentious man flat on his back. Order of Merlin Third Class aside, the ridiculous wizard had been unable to maintain his hold on his wand, the slightly bent 9-inch cherry wood went flying across the room and into Hannah Abbot's hands. The crowd gasped with mixed reactions of concern and astonishment as Lockhart slowly rose to his feet. No one noticed Harry pocketing his winnings when the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher spoke.
"An excellent idea to show them that, Professor Snape, but if you don't mind me saying, it was pretty obvious what you were about to do. If I had wanted to stop you, it would have been only too easy. Now, let's pair off and practice."
When Draco saw that Snape was assisting with the pairs, he realized that the boys were in quite a predicament being an odd number and was cursing Hermione for ditching them. Harry and Ron tried to sneak off to a corner mat, but Snape blocked their path.
"Oh, I don't think so, Mr. Weasley and Mr. Potter. Pairs are to be with those of another house. Let's see, Mr. Malfoy, I believe you can pair up with Miss Greengrass. Weasley, you can partner with Finnigan. Potter…" the Potions master sneered at Harry, "You can partner with Mr. Nott."
The boys gave Harry a sympathetic look as he walked slowly toward Nott like a man on his way to the gallows. Ron was fortunate enough to have a good rapport with Seamus, since the boy was good friends with Dean and Neville, despite his sorting. Draco, however, was cautious in his approach to Daphne Greengrass.
"Hello, Draco," she greeted, raising her wand out in preparation. Daphne was lean, fair-skinned, and had striking green eyes, traits that legend indicated she shared with her namesake. Her stick-straight champagne hair, which she usually wore in a headband, was pulled back in a ponytail to keep it out of her face.
"Daphne," Draco returned, mimicking her movements.
"Interesting that we were partnered, don't you agree?" She inquired, ignoring Lockhart's minimal instructions.
"Is this some kind of tactic to distract me? Because, if it is, it won't work," Draco retorted, not in the mood for a Slytherin mind game. She may have looked the part of a dainty, future pureblood heiress, but Draco knew from their shared past that Daphne could be just as ruthless as any other member of her house.
Daphne rolled her eyes before she bowed. Draco followed suit. They copied the demonstration, keeping their wands raised, as they stood by for Lockhart's signal to begin.
"What are you waiting for, Draco?" Daphne taunted lightly.
"Ladies first," he replied in the same tone.
She snorted, "Such a gentleman. Expelliarmus!"
A bolt of red light flew from Daphne's wand in Draco's direction. The Gryffindor instinctively reacted, ducking to the side and narrowly avoiding the spell.
"What was that for, Greengrass?!" Draco yelled at her.
"Lockhart said to disarm. I was merely following directions. Don't get yourself in a tizzy just because you didn't think to block it," Daphne answered, perturbed.
Draco's anger was in full force as he stalked closer to the Slytherin, getting in her face, "You think you're so clever, don't you? Just sitting back in that dungeon you call a common room, letting the Heir of Slytherin pick off muggleborns one by one? I don't know what type of game you think you're playing, Greengrass, but you aren't going to win. You're just like the rest of them: conceited, detached, and prejudiced."
"Oh, you get sorted into Gryffindor, and all of a sudden, you are more righteous than Godric himself," she spat back in a low tone, "Never forget where you come from, Draco Malfoy. Your blood is no different than mine. For all I know, you could be the heir."
He snorted, "Please, that's not possible."
"Isn't it? Your father was one of the Dark Lord's most trusted and loyal servants. Maybe you tricked the hat into putting you in Gryffindor? Wonder how Granger would feel if she found out that was your plan all along?"
"You are insane," Draco growled, clenching his fist to try and keep himself in check.
"Am I? I'm surprised you haven't heard the rumors. Most of the school is talking about it… how it was a Malfoy who opened the Chamber all those years ago, and you, his progeny, have now returned to finish the task."
"It's not true!" Draco shouted, getting the attention of some of the other students nearby.
Daphne let out a long breath, attempting to defuse the situation, "See? It's not nice to be stereotyped, now, is it? Maybe you will remember how that made you feel the next time you start thinking of me as a blood supremacist. You don't know me, Draco Malfoy. So, don't you dare stand there and judge me!"
Draco stood there stunned as he watched Daphne walk away with a Slytherin girl he did not recognize. Her words left him with more questions than answers. Was there really a rumor going around that he was the Heir of Slytherin? What did she know about the Chamber's past? Had she just openly admitted to Draco that she didn't believe in the pureblood ideology, even though her family was one of the sacred twenty-eight? Was this someone he could potentially trust with their mission, even though she was a possible suspect?
"Mate, you okay?" Ron asked, tapping Draco on the shoulder.
"Daphne just said… some really bizarre things," he confessed, "We should go over them with Hermione in the common room."
"Good idea," Harry said, walking up to the boys, "Nott had some interesting things to say as well."
"Oh, Merlin, did it have anything to do with the supposed rumor going around that I'm the Heir of Slytherin?" Draco guessed.
"Yeah," Harry admitted reluctantly.
"This isn't going to make you feel any better, mate, but Seamus had heard it too," Ron added.
"Well spotted, Weasley. Because who wouldn't be thrilled to know that people think they're a descendant of an incestuous, homicidal bloodline that wants to kill muggleborns?!" Draco's voice was dripping with sarcasm by the time he finished his rant.
Shrugging slightly at the worried look Ron shot him, Harry tried to soothe their friend on the way back to the dorms. "I wouldn't worry too much about it. Nott probably started the rumor out of spite. Besides, everyone knows you and Hermione are best friends. Why would you be friends with someone you are trying to kill? It doesn't make any sense!"
"Exactly! Nott's trying to get under your skin, and people believe it. Don't worry, mate. We got your back," Ron reassured, patting his shoulder.
"Thanks, guys," Draco sighed, relieved, "Glad to know you at least believe I have a brain and know how to think for myself."
The boys' laughter came to a sudden halt when McGonagall approached them, "There you three are! You need to come with me this instant. There is something you should see."
Wasting no time, the students followed their head of house briskly up the stairs and into the hospital wing. Immediately to Draco's right was a bed blocked from view by a curtain. He presumed it was Colin who was lying petrified behind the green fabric.
McGonagall stopped them as they came near the end of the row, "This might be a wee bit of a shock."
"Hermione…" Ron stuttered out, stunned at the sight of her stiff, cold body. Her right hand was clenched into a tight fist, as if she was holding something. Her face was pale and hard as stone. Hermione's once bright and intelligent brown eyes were dim and unmoving like a corpse.
"What happened?" Harry asked, coming to stand by her side. Draco shuffled his feet to the other side of her bed, reaching out to gently brush a curl back from her cheek. Even her hair had transformed, making it feel brittle and coarse to the touch. What disturbed Draco the most was that the simple action had not elicited the blush that he had come to expect when he touched her face, that in fact her skin lacked any color at all and appeared to be completely devoid of live.
"She was found outside the library along with this," McGonagall held up a simple, silver hand mirror, "Does it mean anything to any of you?"
The boys shook their heads.
"Please return to Gryffindor Tower. I'll be along shortly to address the students," she ordered.
They walked back in silence, approaching the portrait of the fat lady with grim, vacant expressions. Draco snapped out the password. The painting reluctantly swung open to let them pass, commenting on their lack of manners. Most of the house was already gathered in the common room, speculating nervously about what McGonagall was going to say. As if summoned, the regal witch strolled in with a roll of parchment.
"May I have your attention, please? I need to inform you that there has been another attack. Hermione Granger was petrified outside the library this evening. Since this is the second attack, Professor Dumbledore has decided to implement a curfew. All students, including prefects, will retire to their house dormitories every evening by 8:00, no exceptions."
"Professor, what about quidditch practice?" Oliver Wood spoke up.
"Silence, Wood!" McGonagall ordered sternly, "This new curfew will be strictly enforced. Any student caught outside of the timeframe without being escorted by a teacher will face serious consequences."
After McGonagall left, everyone in the house cornered Harry, Ron, and Draco to ask them what had happened. Questions came pouring in from all sides, overwhelming the young Gryffindors. Not able to speak or deal with the crowd, Draco stormed off towards the dorm room, plopping on his bed. He was furious with himself. Had he skipped the dueling club like he wanted, then she wouldn't have been by herself in the library. Hermione might have been less vulnerable to attack. Hadn't their experiences last year proven they needed to stick together; that they were stronger as a group? He knew it wasn't helping anyone, but he couldn't help but torture himself with visions of how terrifying it must have been to be attacked, all alone, with no way to get help. Unable to expel his rage in the way he wanted to, Draco screamed into his pillow for several minutes, just letting the emotion wash over him until he had no more energy to give. He was still lying on his bed, panting, when he felt his mattress dip. Harry and Ron were sitting at the foot, looking at him with concern.
"Are you okay?" Harry asked.
"No…" Draco's voice broke as he answered honestly.
"Yeah, neither are we," Ron stated, looking as exhausted as Draco felt. "What do we do about the Polyjuice Potion? It was only a few days away from being completed, but now…"
"I can finish it," Draco announced flatly.
"You can?" Harry quirked an eyebrow at Draco.
The blond wizard scoffed, "Of course I can. I do have higher marks in Potions than Hermione. But this was her plan. At one point, she even offered to have me take over the process, but I couldn't focus on the potion and teach you two at the same time."
"Valid point," Ron commented.
"If I remember correctly from the check-in this morning, the potion will be ready in a week. Before then, you need to get a piece of the person you are turning into," Draco instructed.
"A piece? How am I supposed to cut off part of Crabbe's flesh?!" Ron cried out.
Draco rolled his eyes, "Don't be so dramatic. Just pull a hair."
Harry and Ron sighed in relief as Draco continued, "Another thing to keep in mind is that you will have to hide the real Crabbe and Goyle. It won't work if they suddenly walk in while you're talking to Nott."
"How do we do that?" Harry asked.
Softly smiling, Draco explained, "Hermione figured that out as well. She started brewing a Sleeping Draught this morning. I can lace a few muffins with it, and then you will be set. It shouldn't be too difficult to get those two oafs to take the bait."
"And, you're sure that will work?" Ron wondered.
"It's simple, but powerful," Draco assured, "One thing that Hermione and I hadn't quite figured out yet was how to get you into the Slytherin common room once you changed."
"We know it's in the dungeons, but no idea the exact location," Harry agreed, thinking through the problem.
"I wonder…" Draco pondered.
"What?" Ron prodded, "Go on. Don't leave us hanging."
"Daphne said something to me earlier that implied she wasn't on board with the muggleborn attacks. She basically admitted to me that she didn't believe in all that pureblood crap and got upset when I implied she could be the heir."
"Bloody hell," Ron gasped.
"Do you think we can trust her? She's sacred twenty-eight and a suspect," Harry replied skeptically.
"I guess we'll have to find out," Draco asserted, forming a plan of how to get Daphne alone.
As luck would have it, Draco caught Daphne studying alone in the library's Herbology section a couple of days later. With it officially being winter break, hardly anyone wanted to visit the dusty stacks, which meant Draco could easily sneak in, talk to Daphne, and sneak back out without being noticed. Time was running out, leaving no room for failure in the Gryffindors' mission. The pressure was on.
"Greengrass," Draco greeted.
She sighed, a bit annoyed, "What do you want, Draco?"
"Did you mean what you said at the dueling club?" he outright asked her. Subtlety was sometimes overrated.
Daphne mumbled something under her breath that Draco couldn't quite make out. It sounded vaguely, like, "no tact at all," before she looked up from her textbook and replied, "And what, exactly, did I say to you during the dueling club?"
"Don't do that," Draco asserted.
"Do what?" Daphne retorted.
"Play dumb. It doesn't suit you."
She remained silent, analyzing Draco to ascertain his motives. Truth be told, she didn't truly know Draco all that well. Their fathers were associates, and their mothers were friendly, resulting in the occasional childhood playdate, but they hadn't exactly been friends. As one of the few female heirs born to a sacred twenty-eight family, Daphne did not have many expectations in her privileged life except to marry well when she came of age. Her father, well before she was born, already had his sights set on the Malfoy Scion, that was until the little rebel went and got himself sorted into Gryffindor.
She was supposed to be everything a Slytherin girl ought to be: beautiful, ambitious, and cunning. She had been born with a natural beauty (thank Merlin for that), but that hadn't made it any easier to make friends or reduced the need for her to watch her back, especially once she started Hogwarts. Daphne never got along with Pansy Parkinson. She thought the girl was shallow, self-centered, and couldn't hold an intellectual conversation unless it had to do with fashion, decor, or make-up. But what Pansy lacked in critical thinking, she more than made up for it in her ability to exploit someone's weaknesses. The moment Daphne declined Pansy's friendship, she had sealed her fate as being Parkinson's arch-rival. She spent her entire first year at Hogwarts being the victim of Pansy, Millicent Bulstrode's, and Tracey Davis's taunts or pranks, each progressively worse than the last. The day she found her bed completely covered in mud was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back.
She hit Pansy with a tickling spell in retaliation, but it did nothing to deter the girl from screaming like a banshee, spewing curses at Daphne. The bullying went on until Aurora Runcorn walked into the dorm and hit Pansy with a silencing charm. The fellow Slytherin threatened to curse the pug-faced witch's mouth shut permanently if she ever did anything so unhygienic as to have Millicent bring mud into the dorm room again. That was the day Daphne and Aurora became friends.
Having been raised in a pit of snakes, Daphne learned that trust was difficult to earn and to never take anything at face value. It was a draconian lifestyle that could chip away at the soul and harden one's heart. It was a path she and Aurora complained about, both admitting that they didn't want to follow their families' legacies. She berated herself when she accidentally let it slip to Draco that she didn't support the muggleborn attacks like others in her house. While it wasn't a very cunning thing to do, maybe she had done it as a cry for help? Maybe Draco and his friends were people who could stop the attacks. They had, after all, helped prevent the Dark Lord's return last year. Deciding to hear Draco out, Daphne spoke.
"Okay. You're right. It's upsetting to see the muggleborn students targeted. Speaking of, I'm sorry about Hermione. I know you two are close."
Draco faltered for a moment before responding, "Thanks."
"You and your gang are trying to figure out who the heir is, aren't you? That's why you confronted me when no one was around? To see if I would spill the house secrets?" Daphne theorized.
"Something like that…" Draco answered.
"Honestly, Draco. Don't you think if I knew who the heir was, I would have reported them to the headmaster by now?" she spat.
"Don't know. Don't Slytherin's protect their own?" Draco countered.
"Touché. But the lives of other students are a bit more important than house loyalty," Daphne answered firmly, "I don't think blood status matters. Nor do I think it's a reason for someone to be hurt or killed over."
Her resolute attitude was enough to convince Draco that Daphne could keep a secret and aid them in their mission to gain access to the Slytherin common room. Emerging from the stacks, Harry and Ron stood behind Draco, looking down at Daphne, impressed at how well their friend's plan had worked. While he didn't one hundred percent agree that they could trust Daphne, Harry felt that this was their only option with the loss of Hermione.
"What's this?" Daphne trembled a bit, intimidated by being outnumbered.
"How would you like to help us stop the Heir of Slytherin?" Harry asked, offering her a hand with a friendly smile.
"I just want it on record that I don't like this. She may not be a blood supremacist, but she's still a snake," Ron hissed quietly. After confronting her in the library, the boys had taken Daphne to the girl's bathroom and showed her where the Polyjuice Potion was brewing.
"Objection noted," Harry said wryly, keeping his voice low, "But we don't exactly have a choice, now, do we?"
"If you boys are done conspiratorially whispering about me, do you mind explaining what this foul concoction is?" She calmly demanded from the other side of the room.
Sheepishly, the boys took turns describing their theory and what the plan was. They told her everything from Hermione brewing the Polyjuice Potion to how they would interrogate Nott about the heir. Daphne listened with rapt attention until they finished the tale.
"Run that by me again one more time," Daphne ordered, "You're saying you can actually transform into another person? With this?"
"The Polyjuice Potion will turn Harry and Ron into Crabbe and Goyle for an hour," Draco patiently explained, "We need you to take Goyle-Harry and Crabbe-Ron to the Slytherin common room so that they can find out what Nott knows about what's going on."
"What about the real Greg and Vin?" she asked.
"Got it taken care of. Hermione and Draco brewed a Sleeping Draught that we are going to mix into a dessert," Harry revealed, "Those two will eat anything."
Daphne snorted, "You aren't wrong."
"Once we are in the common room, you don't have to stick around. We can keep track of time and get out before we start changing," Ron said dismissively.
Daphne laughed, "Oh, that's funny, Weasley. Theo isn't going to tell you two anything."
"Why not? He is friends with them!?" Ron defended, indignantly, "Surly even Slytherins are capable of friendship."
"Friend is a loose term. More like Theo uses Vincent and Greg when he doesn't want to do something. Those two are so daft, I don't think they know anything besides how to be a minion," Daphne informed the Gryffindors.
"So, you're saying if Ron and I walk up to Theo and ask him about the chamber, he's just going to ignore us?" Harry clarified.
"Exactly. If you want Theo to reveal what he knows, then you need to employ a more advanced interrogation technique than just directly asking him."
"Then what do you suggest, Daphne?" Draco asked.
"You and Theo used to be close. What's the one thing that he always tries to achieve but can never really seem to do?" She posed the question to Draco. As soon as the words left her mouth, it was like a light bulb went off inside Draco's mind.
"To make his father proud," the blond wizard responded.
"Precisely. Nott, Sr. is an old-school pureblood bully who supported the Dark Lord. He's most likely warned Theo that this year is going to test that loyalty and to do whatever it takes to end up in the good graces of the heir," Daphne explained.
"How is this helpful?" Ron questioned, annoyed.
"Be patient, Weasley. I'm getting there," She paused for a moment before continuing, "While what Theo desires the most is his father's praise and approval, he also has one fatal flaw…pride."
Seeing where Daphne was going with this, Draco chimed in, "You get Theo to talk about the heir by stroking his ego in front of a bunch of other people."
"Yep," Daphne popped the ending, "except, you two won't be doing the talking. I will."
"Come again?" Harry raised an eyebrow at her.
"Like I said… Theo isn't friends with Vin or Greg. But he will socialize with them when they are in the same group. The potion's going to be ready in a few days, right?" She continued when Draco nodded, "That's Christmas. I can easily set up a card game or something like that to walk into and join. It will present the perfect opportunity to ask Theo questions without arousing suspicion while you two conveniently play the doting, admiring audience that is required."
"Strategically, that's actually… brilliant," Ron added, reluctant to admit his admiration of her plan.
"Oh, don't look so surprised, Weasley. This is why you have a token Slytherin on the team," Daphne joked.
Draco chuckled before returning to business, "So, once Harry and Ron take the potion, they will meet you in the entrance hall so you can guide them to the Slytherin common room."
"And that's where the real fun begins," Ron said sarcastically.
Summary for the trigger warning: Hermione was petrified, forcing Harry, Draco, and Ron to seek the assistance of Daphne Greengrass.