Chapter 11: The Polyjuice Potion
I don't own Digimon or Harry Potter
The double attack on Nearly Headless Nick and Justin Finch Fletchley had resulted in panic engulfing the castle, everyone was asking questions about who would be next and what sort of dark power could have harmed a ghost such as Nearly Headless Nick, someone who was already dead and therefore shouldn't have been able to have been attacked.
"I wouldn't be surprised if we're the only ones left at school over the holidays," Ron muttered one day upon hearing the news that almost every other student had decided to go home for the holidays to get away from the castle and the risk of being attacked.
"Yeah, just us, Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle," Veemon muttered, walking beside Daisuke with a scarf around his neck.
"A few other students are staying behind as well, which is good for Hermione and me. We need someone for our batch of the potion too." Daisuke muttered softly.
"I'm just glad almost everyone's leaving," Harry grumbled. "I'm sick of all the glares and hisses whenever I walk around the castle."
"Don't let them get to you mate. None of them are worth your time if they're so quick to believe rumours and not ask you." Ron told him, patting him on the back.
Up ahead the four could see Fred and George marching down the corridor. "Make way for the Heir of Slytherin, seriously dangerous and evil wizard coming through!" both shouted, making several students scurry off in fright.
"How long has that been going on?" Daisuke asked with a frown.
"Since the attack." Harry huffed. "I get why they're doing it, but I feel it's only making things worse." Hermione rubbed his back gently as they watched Jun and Percy chase the twins off down the corridor.
"I wish some other people would get the joke," Daisuke said, noticing Draco Malfoy nearby glaring at the fleeing Weasley twins. "Doesn't he seem a bit grumpier than usual?"
"Definitely. Think he's upset he's not getting all the credit for the attacks?" Ron asked. "I bet he's just dying to tell everyone it's really him."
"Well, he won't be waiting much longer," Hermione said with a triumphant tone. "The potion is almost ready; we'll be getting the truth out of him any day now."
The others nodded before they hurried off to another class. A few days later, the term had ended and all the students who were leaving for the holidays had left, leaving the castle in a deep silence now that there was hardly anyone there.
The Weasley children had all chosen to stay at the castle that holiday rather than go with their parents to visit one of Ron's brothers who worked in Egypt. This meant that they along with Harry, Daisuke, Jun, and Hermione had the entire Gryffindor Tower to themselves, allowing them to play various games and fool around without worrying about bothering anyone else.
Soon it was Christmas morning and Daisuke and Hermione walked into Harry and Ron's dormitory, fully dressed, and carrying their presents. "Wake up you two." Daisuke chirped, pulling back the curtains to Harry's bed with a smile as Veemon jumped onto Harry's bed with a cheer.
"Ugh, you're not supposed to be in here." Ron grumpily said as he looked at them.
"Merry Christmas to you too," Hermione replied, tossing a present to him. "We've been up for nearly an hour adding more lacewings to the potion. It's ready."
Harry sat up in his bed now fully awake. "Are you sure?"
"Of course. If we're going to do this, it's going to be tonight." Daisuke answered with a smile, sitting on the edge of his bed just as Hedwig flew into the room.
"Hey, there girl," Harry said, holding out his arm for the owl to land on gently and he saw something clutched in her beak. He realised it as his present from his aunt and uncle, a simple toothpick and he huffed. "Great…" he sarcastically muttered.
"Look on the bright side, you won't be spending any more time with them after this year is up." Veemon told him happily.
Harry smiled and nodded in agreement and soon he was opening the rest of his presents. Hagrid had sent him some treacle fudge, Hermione had given him an eagle feather quill, Ron had given him a book about his favourite Quidditch team and Daisuke had given him a brand-new broom maintenance kit and he had also been given a new jumper from Mrs Weasley.
Despite the fact they would be taking the Polyjuice potion later that evening, nothing could put a dampener on the Christmas dinner in the Great Hall.
After some Christmas carols and several helpings of deserts, Daisuke, Hermione, Ron, and Harry sat alone at the Gryffindor table far from everyone else. "Alright, what's the plan?" Daisuke whispered to Hermione.
"We still need a bit of whoever we're changing into. And we need to make sure the real Crabbe and Goyle don't barge in on us while we're questioning Malfoy." Hermione told them softly.
"How are we going to do that?" Ron asked and Hermione smirked.
"I've already planned for that." She held up two large chocolate cupcakes. "I've laced these with a potent sleeping draught, it'll knock them out for a while, you'll just need to make sure that the real Crabbe and Goyle find them. Once they are asleep, hide them in a broom closet and pluck out a few of their hairs." She told Harry and Ron.
"Ugh." Ron groaned. "Whose hairs are you pulling out then?" he asked her.
"I've already got mine," Hermione said, pulling a small vial from her robes. "Millicent Bulstrode, I took these off her robes." She said, showing a few strands of hair in the vial.
"And I'm planning on taking some hairs from Daphne Greengrass, I already have a plan for how I'm going to do it. So, I'll meet you guys in the bathroom." Daisuke said with a smile.
"What about Veemon?" Harry asked softly.
"He'll be waiting in the bathroom the entire time, if he's spotted wandering about without me someone is bound to ask questions. And unfortunately, Veemon can be pretty loose-lipped if bribed with sweets." Daisuke answered, making her friends all share a look.
"Do you realise how many things can go wrong with this plan?" Ron asked softly.
"I know, but we've got to do this," Daisuke reassured her friend. She then left the Great Hall and hurried off, soon reaching the library and saw Daphne Greengrass sitting alone at a desk working on some homework from what she could see as she approached.
Daphne looked up at the girl and smiled as Daisuke sat down across from her. "Hello Daisuke, what brings you here?"
Daisuke returned the smile. "I just wanted to bring you something." She answered before looking at what Daphne was writing. "What're you working on?'
"The potions homework Professor Snape gave us," Daphne answered, shaking her head as she scribbled something down. "I can't believe he thought giving us this much homework would somehow make us forget about the recent attacks."
Daisuke giggled and nodded. "Yeah, luckily it's not that difficult." She replied.
Daphne nodded before rubbing her eyes. "I'm getting tired though, I'll be heading off to bed soon. Now what were you going to give me?" she then asked her friend.
Daisuke tapped her chin and gasped in shock. "Oh, that's right, I almost completely forgot about that." She giggled before she set down a tin and opened it. "I wanted to give you the rest of these."
Daphne looked at what was inside the tin, and she gasped. "Are these…"
"Yep. My mother's peanut snickerdoodles. I've eaten as many as I can and I didn't want the rest of them to go to waste and I remember you love them as much as I do, so I thought you'd like to have them." Daisuke explained.
"Thanks, Daisuke," Daphne said, pulling one of the biscuits out of the tin.
"No problem. Good luck with your homework, see you tomorrow." Daisuke said as she got up and walked away from the girl who ate the biscuit and a few moments later, she heard a thud and walked back over to see Daphne was completely unconscious, her head resting on the desk.
"Sorry about his Daphne, I hope you'll understand," Daisuke whispered, plucking some hairs from Daphne's head before she took a few more of the biscuits to make it seem like Daphne had eaten more than it seemed.
She quickly left the library and rushed off to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. She pushed open the door and walked in quietly and saw the cauldron bubbling and spewing thick smoke with Harry, Ron, Hermione and Veemon waiting for her. "How did you guys get on?" she asked Harry and Ron.
"Brilliantly. It's amazing at how thick those two can be." Ron said with a grin, holding up some hairs in his hand.
Daisuke nodded and saw a stack of clothes on the floor. "I snuck some clothes out of the laundry, you'll need different clothes once we've changed," Hermione said.
"Thanks, Hermione," Daisuke said, and her friend nodded with a smile. Veemon kept an eye on the door just in case as the four quickly walked into separate cubicles to change into their respective sets of Slytherin robes. Once that was done Hermione began to pour the potion which looked like thick, black sludge into four separate glasses.
"Once we change, we'll have exactly one hour before we change back to ourselves," she explained.
"Then we'd best not get lost whilst searching for Malfoy," Daisuke said, nodding to her friends as they added the hairs to the potion in their glasses which hissed and turned a sickly yellow.
"Ugh, essence of Crabbe." Ron groaned in revulsion looking at his potion.
"Bottoms up." Harry groaned, and the four quickly drank the potion. Daisuke paled and shuddered once she finished hers.
"Ugh it tastes awful…" she muttered before she clutched her stomach which she felt begin to gurgle and turn upside down.
"I think I'm gonna be sick…" Ron groaned, running off to a cubicle, dropping his glass which shattered on the floor.
"Me too…" Hermione said, running off to another cubicle while Harry and Daisuke leaned against the sinks to keep themselves upright. A burning sensation shooting throughout their entire bodies, Daisuke looked up at her reflection to see herself slowly transforming into Daphne Greengrass.
"Whoa…" Veemon gasped in awe as he stared at the two transformed students who stepped back from the sinks and looked at each other.
"Harry…" Daisuke whispered, her voice now sounding like Daphne's own voice.
"Daisuke…it worked," Harry said in Goyle's deep, low voice. Daisuke nodded and smiled.
"Ron, Hermione, are you both okay?" she asked.
"Yeah, I think so." Came Ron's reply sounding just like Crabbe as he walked out of his cubicle. "Bloody hell." He said once he saw Harry and Daisuke.
The three then looked at the cubicle Hermione had run into. "I…I don't think I'm going to come, after all, you both go on without me."
"Hermione are you alright?" Daisuke asked.
"Just go, you're wasting time," Hermione answered. The three frowned but decided she was right and began leaving the bathroom.
"Veemon stay with Hermione and keep an eye on her, okay?' Daisuke asked.
"You got it." Veemon said, shutting the door and locking it behind them. And with that, the trio set off down into the dungeons searching for the entrance to the Slytherin Common Room. They headed down the stairs and soon were wandering aimlessly through the dungeons of the castle.
"I think the Slytherin Common Room is down that way," Harry said, pointing down one corridor and he began walking down it with Daisuke and Ron behind him.
"Excuse me." The three of them froze and turned around to see Percy and Jun walking towards them.
"What're you doing down here?" Ron blurted out in surprise, staring at his older brother who narrowed his eyes at him.
"We are Hogwarts Prefects, and that is none of your business. You three shouldn't be wandering the school at night." Percy said with a scowl.
"He's right, it's dangerous. What with the recent attacks, so shouldn't you three be hurrying off to your house?" Jun asked them, raising an eyebrow suspiciously at them.
"Um well, you see…" Daisuke started before a voice from behind them called out.
"Crabbe, Goyle, there you are!" they turned and saw Draco Malfoy walking towards them. "I've been looking everywhere for you two." He said before noticing something on Harry's face. "Why're you wearing glasses?"
Harry, who hadn't realised his glasses were still on his face, quickly removed them. "Oh um…uh reading." He answered.
"Reading?" Malfoy asked with a surprised look. "I didn't know you could read." He muttered and then looked at Daisuke. "And what're you doing with them, Greengrass?"
"Oh, I caught up to them as I was leaving the library, I thought we'd all go together. Safety in numbers and all that." Daisuke answered quickly.
"Right…" Malfoy said before he sneered at Percy and Jun. "And what're you two doing down here?"
"Mind your tongue Malfoy, you'd better have a bit more respect towards two Hogwarts Prefects," Jun told him. Malfoy snorted and walked off, leading Daisuke, Harry, and Ron away down another corridor.
"Those two have been sneaking around a lot lately." He said to the three. "I bet I know what they're up to. They think they'll catch Slytherin's heir all by themselves. I can't wait for them to be attacked next."
Daisuke grit her teeth, clenching her fist before they stopped when Malfoy turned to face a damp stone wall. "What's the new password again?" he asked, looking at Harry and Ron.
"Uh…" Harry trailed off, not sure of how to answer but it seemed Malfoy wasn't expecting him to.
"That's right, I remember now. Pure Blood." He said and a stone door concealed in the wall slid open and they walked through it quickly.
The Slytherin Common Room was a long, low, underground room with rough stone walls and a ceiling with green lamps hanging on chains. The fireplace was crackling softly with several Slytherins sitting around it in carved wooden chairs.
Malfoy then sat down laying on a comfy sofa before looking at Harry and Ron. "Well sit down." He told them and the two sat on another sofa across from him and Daisuke sat in a small armchair nearby. "You know, you wouldn't know the Weasley family were pure-bloods. Not with the way they behave, they're an embarrassment to the Wizarding World, all of them."
Ron gritted his teeth and clenched his fists tightly. "What's with you, Crabbe?" Malfoy asked curiously before Harry elbowed Ron in the elbow.
"S…stomach-ache."
"Well go up to the hospital wing and give those Mudbloods a good kick from me," Malfoy told him, giggling to himself. "I'm surprised the Daily Prophet hasn't done a piece on these attacks yet, I bet Dumbledore is trying to hush it all up. You know my father says he's the worst thing that has ever happened to Hogwarts."
"You're wrong!" Daisuke blurted out before covering her mouth in shock at her outburst and Malfoy looked over at her and she quickly stammered out a response. "I…I mean wouldn't Potter be worse than Dumbledore?"
Malfoy blinked before he sneered and stood up. "Good one Greengrass, you're exactly right. Saint Potter…" he spat in disgust. "And people here think that he's the Heir of Slytherin? I can't believe all the Mudbloods here are so scared of that idiot." Harry, Ron, and Daisuke shared a quick look.
"But surely you have some idea who the Heir of Slytherin is," Daisuke said, probing further for information.
"No, I don't. As I told these two yesterday." Draco said, pointing to Harry and Ron. He got off the sofa and walked towards a small table. "How many times do I have to say it?" he picked up a small present and shook it about. "Is this yours?" he asked, holding the present out to her and she shook her head which Harry and Ron did as well.
Malfoy shrugged and put the present in his robes. "But my father did tell me this, it's been fifty years since the Chamber of Secrets was opened. He wouldn't tell me who did it, only that they were expelled. He also told me before they caught the one opening the Chamber, a Mudblood died." He explained making the three share a concerned look. "It's only a matter of time before another one dies this time; I hope it's Granger." He said coldly and Daisuke and Harry had to keep Ron from lunging at Malfoy in anger.
"Come on Crabbe, let's get you to the hospital wing. Your stomach-ache must really be bothering you." Daisuke said softly, quickly pulling him away with Harry helping her and they walked towards the door, leaving before anyone could stop them.
They hurried down the corridor and around a corner before they stopped. "Honestly Ron, you almost blew our cover," Daisuke told him.
"He shouldn't have said that stuff about Hermione," Ron grunted.
"Agreed," Harry said. Daisuke sighed and rubbed her eyes before she looked at her friends and gasped.
"Harry, your scar." She whispered seeing Harry's scar beginning to reappear on his forehead while Ron's hair began turning back to its original colour.
"Your eyes," Ron said as Daisuke's eyes were flickering between Daphne's eye colour and her own.
"Come on, we've got to go," Harry said and they ran off quickly aiming to get out of the dungeons before they had completely turned back. A few minutes later, the three rushed into Moaning Myrtle's Bathroom.
"That was way too close." Ron sighed in relief, panting as Veemon looked at them in concern.
"How did it go?" he asked them.
"We'll tell you in a moment. Where's Hermione, she needs to hear this." Daisuke answered, rushing over to the cubicle. "Hermione!"
"Go away!" her friend shouted from inside as Moaning Myrtle flew out of the cubicle with a smirk.
"Wait until you see, it's going to be such a surprise." The ghost cooed floating off. The trio blinked before slowly, Daisuke pushed open the cubicle door to see Hermione with her back turned.
"Hermione?" she asked.
"The Polyjuice Potion is meant to only transform people into other people, but it was cat hair that I pulled off Bulstrode's robes." Slowly, Hermione turned around showing her friends that her face had been covered in cat fur, her eyes were golden yellow, two cat ears could be seen through her hair and a long tail waved behind her. "Look at my face…"
"Look at your tail," Ron said with a small grin as Moaning Myrtle cackled in the background.
The end of the chapter
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