Chapter Twenty-Nine – The Polyjuice Potion

Dobby had made it clear that Mr. Malfoy sent something evil to the school, and Harry would not have been surprised to learn that the dark relic once belonged to Lord Voldemort himself. But he still didn't know what it was, much less how it was used to open the Chamber of Secrets and control the beast within.

Blaise believed that Mr. Malfoy sent the item to school with his son, and that Draco stayed at Hogwarts over the holidays to further his nefarious plans. Harry was having trouble reconciling his image of Draco with the enigmatic persona of the Heir of Slytherin, but he could no longer deny the probability of Blaise's opinion being true.

Dying to share everything with Millie, their steps led them immediately to the Slytherin common room. They asked a couple of second year girls to fetch their friend from her dormitory, but the girls informed them that Millie hadn't been there when they took up their things. They had no idea where she was.

Harry and Blaise were faced with a moment of indecision. They could simply wait in the common room for Millie's return, but without knowing when she would be back, they were faced by the prospect of many precious minutes wasted.

Then Harry had the sudden realization that Draco had been conspicuously absent since their return. He felt his stomach tighten when he recalled that Millie had been left in a near-empty school with him all break. What if Draco caught her keeping tabs on him, at Harry's request, and even now she was laying petrified in some hidden corridor?

He didn't need to voice half of these worries for Blaise to understand his concern. They quickly agreed that splitting up in search of their friend was the best course of action. Harry chose to venture out to Hagrid's, while Blaise opted to check the library.

They planned to meet in the common room in an hour, then they parted ways. Harry knew he had plenty of time to search, but his anxiety to find Millie caused him to jog most of the way to Hagrid's cabin, ignoring the large drifts of snow that settled across his path at this time of year. He couldn't help but notice that his were the only footprints headed down to Hagrid's hut, but he hoped that the wind had covered any tracks Millie might have left coming down for a morning cup of tea.

He was destined to be disappointed. Hagrid was home, but there was no Millie in sight. Hagrid was pleased to see Harry, though he noted with a touch of sadness that Millie had hardly visited him at all during break. Harry asked when he last saw her, and Hagrid thought it had to have been during the Christmas Feast, a small affair this year between Dumbledore, some select faculty members, and the few students, including Millie, who chose to remain for the holidays.

"Was Malfoy there, too?" Harry asked, trying to sound casual but unable to hide some of the worry in his voice.

"He weren', come to think on it," Hagrid said, thoughtfully stirring a ladle around a porcelain jug that served as his teacup, "An' Millie didn' stay long, either. I remember she was lookin' mighty pale that night, an' said she had summat to do back in her dorm. Poor thing. She been so down after Mammon... Well, can' say I blame her. Don' know what I'd do if the same thing happened ter Fang."

Hagrid's boar-hound gave a low whine and rested his head against Harry's knee. Harry wasn't sure if this was a sign of sympathy or if he was merely begging for one of Hagrid's rock cakes. He surreptitiously dropped his cake to the ground, where the dog began to gnaw on it as he would a bone.

Harry thanked Hagrid and made his apologies for the short visit, but his hour was already nearly spent. The fact that Hagrid hadn't seen Millie since Christmas, nearly a week ago, had Harry deeply concerned. Without classes to attend on a regular basis, perhaps Millie's absence could have gone unnoticed an entire week.

His fear for Millie's safety needed an outlet, and Harry was just starting to think he would like a chance to give Draco a piece of his mind, or better yet, a punch to his face, when the object of his dislike appeared before him. Draco emerged from the Great Hall just as Harry passed by its massive doors, and upon seeing Harry in the corridor, his face darkened. He made a beeline toward Harry, looking very much like he had a similar quarrel to pick with the Boy Who Lived.

"Did you send a letter to the ministry about my father?" Draco demanded without preamble.

Harry's anger was momentarily checked by surprise. He had indeed sent a letter, but it contained only an anonymous tip about the location of Mr. Malfoy's dark magic artifacts. He didn't expect Draco to have heard about it already.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he lied.

Draco's pale face flushed red with anger. "My mum said that the ministry sent officials to raid the manor. My manor!"

"Well, they've been raiding plenty of homes lately," Harry said, remembering the conversation he'd heard between Yaxley and Mr. Malfoy over break, "Perhaps it was your father's turn."

"This is an absolute outrage, and a slanderous attack on my family's name!" Draco continued, sounding as if he were quoting directly from the letter he'd received from Mrs. Malfoy, "If I find out you had anything to do with this, Potter, I'll..."

"You'll what?" Harry asked, dropping his voice as low as his twelve-year-old vocal chords would allow. He took a step toward Draco and stared directly into his eyes, silently daring him to make a move.

Draco lowered his gaze and immediately backed down, taking a few steps backward. Harry felt nearly revolted to think that this shrinking coward was in fact the Hair of Slytherin. It was still too hard for him to accept. He might have revealed his suspicions then and there, demanding from Draco the truth about his family's hand in the attacks at Hogwarts, but other figures were beginning to approach them, trickling into the hall for afternoon tea.

Once voice cried out in tones of shock and dismay, "What? Still here, Potter?"

Harry and Draco both turned to see who it was, and were met with the bright red hair, long nose, and freckled face that was unmistakably Ron Weasley. He was flanked on either side by two of his Gryffindor companions, boys that Harry now recognized as Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas. Behind them was Ron's younger sister, Ginny, who gazed at Harry and Draco as if they were demons to be hated and feared.

Bolstered by the support of friends and family at his side, Weasley continued, "I thought they wouldn't allow you back after the holidays. Haven't you caused enough trouble?"

His friends chuckled at Weasley's barbed comment, but it sounded forced. They were looking at Harry with as much fear as young Ginny.

"I can't speak for Potter, but I would have left myself if I'd known you Weasleys would turn up again," Draco spat quickly. Harry's mouth nearly fell open in shock. A moment ago, Draco had been threatening him. With what, Harry wasn't sure. But now, in the presence of a common enemy, Draco was quick to jump to Harry's defense. The reversal was dizzying.

And Draco hadn't finished. While the color mounted on Weasley's face, Draco continued, "I'd have thought blood-traitors such as yourselves would be too frightened of the Heir to return."

In his anger, Ron's eyes flashed toward Harry and settled there.

"Is that why you're here now?" Weasley asked, his question directed more toward Malfoy than Harry, "Asking the Heir himself to take care of a few enemies for you?"
"You aren't my enemy, Weasley," Draco said drolly, "You barely have my attention as it is."

Weasley's hand twitched, and Harry knew he was itching to draw his wand on them both. Harry wasn't interested in a fight with Weasley, but he wasn't about to stand there and take a curse lobbed at him for an argument he hadn't started. Harry was faster at drawing his own wand, and he pointed it threateningly at Weasley's group.

Perhaps a fight would have broken out then and there, had not Ginny stepped forward. She was staring at Harry, his wand lowered at her brother, with absolute terror, but still she jumped between them, headless of her own safety.

"C'mon, Ron," she muttered quietly, "Let's just go."

Harry could tell that the stereotypical Gryffindor bravado was urging Weasley to fight. Harry had as good as challenged him to a duel. But as Ginny continued to urge him, tugging at his arm and adding, "Please, for me," he relented. With a silent motion to his friends to follow him, Weasley trudged past Harry and Draco, not deigning to give them a backward glance.

Harry stuffed his wand back into the pocket of his robes as Draco rolled his eyes.

"I tried to tell you about him last year, didn't I?" he asked, "Bet you wish you'd listened to me now."

He must have caught the dark look Harry directed toward him, because Draco quickly shut his mouth before saying more. He seemed to recall that only moments before Weasley's arrival, he had been attempting to threaten Harry, himself.

"Look," said Draco, changing his tactic, "I didn't mean all that stuff I said before, alright? I was just upset about the raid. But well, that's all Weasley's fault anyway, isn't it? I mean, that father of his! I'm sure Blaise would understand what I'm saying. I mean, how would he feel if someone came snooping around his mother's house? I mean, with all those dead husbands of hers..."

"Shut up," Harry said, his voice now flat. "Don't talk to me. Don't talk about Blaise. And you sure as hell shouldn't talk about his mother."

"Calm down, Potter," Draco said, his familiar sneer returning to his pointed features, "You can stop with the tough act now. We both know you'd never sick the beast on a pure blood wizard."

"How do you know? You don't know a thing about me," said Harry, "But the one thing we both know is that I'm not the Heir of Slytherin."

He didn't wait to see if Draco had caught his insinuation. The whole ordeal with him and Weasley had wasted too much time, and he still hadn't found Millie. Harry made his way back toward the common room, hopeful that Blaise had had more luck, and furious about the conversation he'd just experienced.

He was relieved to see Blaise and Millie together as he approached the hidden common room entrance. They were standing in the hall, sharing a quick, quiet conversation as Harry approached.

"Thank god you're both here! You won't believe what Draco just did!" Harry exclaimed as he drew close.

His friends practically jumped out of their skins, and they turned to look at Harry with wide, almost panicked eyes.

"Potter!" shouted Millie, taking a few steps back.

Harry was so happy to see her he had almost given her a hug. Instead, he now dropped his arms, looking at her in confusion. He knew Millie wasn't a fan of public displays of affection, but her reaction seemed a little over-dramatic.

"Potter?" he repeated, more hurt than insulted.

"Erm, hello Harry," Blaise said awkwardly, trying to smooth over the strange greeting.

"Hi?" Harry said. There was something wrong with his friends, but Harry couldn't understand what had happened. He found himself deeply curious to know what they had been whispering about before his arrival.

Harry decided not to inquire directly, and instead asked them, "What are you two doing standing in the hallway? The common room is right there."

He pointed to the tapestry that hid the common room entrance from sight.

"We, uh, don't know the password," Blaise said.

"It's been changed after the holiday," Millie added, sounding slightly out of breath.

"It's boomslang," Harry said, looking at Blaise in particular, "Gemma told us when we got off the train, remember?"

Blaise gave an uneasy laugh. "Oh, right! I forgot. Silly me."

Harry stared at him and Millie both. He couldn't shake the feeling that his friends were hiding something from him, and the anger he felt a moment ago when talking with Weasley and Draco was overshadowed by the pain he felt thinking that his friends might not trust him.

"Right..." Harry said slowly before turning to face the common room door. He gave the password, and the hidden door soon revealed itself, the stones reforming themselves into a hard wooden door. Harry led the way into the Slytherin common room, and his friends soon followed.

Harry tried to ignore their strange behavior, too angry with Draco to stay silent toward his friends for long. He needed to talk about what just happened, and he didn't have anyone else to confide in but these two. After all, the rest of the school thought he was the Heir of Slytherin.

But as Harry approached the fire, turning his back to the flames to warm himself, he saw the expressions on the faces of his two friends, and wondered if they too were now starting to suspect him.

"What were you talking about?" Harry asked, attacking the issue directly.

"Nothing," Millie said, a bit too hurriedly. "What did you want to tell us, Harry?"

"In a minute," said Harry, gathering his thoughts for a more thorough assault. If his friends suspected him, he wanted to know for sure before he confided his worries to them. "I want to know what your thoughts are."

"About what?" asked Millie.

"About everything," Harry said with a wave of his hand, as if this simple gesture could encompass everything that had happened in the school since the Chamber of Secrets was opened. "What do you think we should do?"

Blaise exchanged a glance with Millie, then he said cautiously, "We were just talking about that. If only we knew who the heir was, we could put a stop to it."

"You don't have any ideas about who it could be, do you?" Millie asked.

"You know I don't," said Harry, watching her face for some sign of her true thoughts.

They exchanged another glance. Then Millie said, "Well, most of the school thinks it has to be a Slytherin. It's Salazar's house, after all. Maybe one of our housemates is the suspect. Has anyone said anything suspicious?"

"You're more talkative than usual," Harry commented. He was growing more suspicious. Something was definitely wrong. Blaise seemed to be deferring to Millie on everything, and he had none of his usual swagger. And Millie was acting far too bold, though her tone was softer than usual.

Harry was about to question them more, when the door to the common room suddenly swung open, and Harry stared at another Blaise and Millie, identical to the two in front of him.

As Harry tried to make sense of what he was seeing, Blaise and Millie turned to stare at their newly arrived doppelgangers.

"The hell?" Blaise said, staring at his own face.

The Millie who had just walked through the door was quicker to act. She hit her double in the face with a well-aimed curse, and the first Millie fell to the floor in a full-body bind.

"Hermione!" cried the first Blaise, unable to stop himself, and the real Blaise hit him in the chest with another spell.

The impostor fell back, having been struck by a stunning jinx. He was knocked unconscious by the force of the spell, and for a moment, Harry, Blaise, and Millie stood staring at one another, in shock over what had just happened.

"I thought they were you," Harry said numbly, "You are you, aren't you?"

"I'm me," Blaise said shakily, "But who are are they?"

He pointed his wand at the image of himself, murmuring, "Revelio..."

Nothing happened. The doppleganger remained unconscious on the common room floor, unchanged.

"Well, it's not a spell," said Blaise, "Could be a potion. We'll have to wait for the effects to wear off."

"This one is Granger," said Millie, referring to the bossy Gryffindor student from their Potion's class.

"How can you be sure?" asked Harry.

"He said Hermione," she replied, "How many Hermiones do you think go to this school?"

"What is she doing looking like you? Blaise asked.

Harry looked around the common room. Thankfully, they were alone in the chamber, but he knew it was a tenuous privacy at best. Any moment now, someone could come down from their dormitory, or walk through the common room entrance.

"I don't know what they were doing, but we're too exposed here. We have to move them."

"How are we going to move two people out of the common room without anyone noticing?"

"I have an idea," said Harry. He ran up the steps to his dormitory and threw open the top of his trunk. He searched quickly among his belongings, pulling his invisibility cloak from its hiding place. He was back in the common room before his friends could even begin to regret his absence.

"Levitate them," Harry commanded his friends. Without objection, Blaise pointed his wand at the double of himself, while Millie did the same to the girl they suspected of being Hermione Granger. They cast the charm, and soon the bodies were hovering eerily a few feet above the ground. Harry directed them to move the bodies closer, and once they were hovering a few inches from each other, side by side, Harry threw his cloak over the two forms, and they vanished from sight.

"Alright," said Blaise, tucking his wand into the roomy pocket of his robes without breaking his concentration. Millie followed suit. "Now they're hidden. But where are we taking them?"

Harry thought quickly. They needed a place where they wouldn't be interrupted, and where no one was likely to come in unexpectedly. Their dormitory was not an option, as Draco would probably interrupt them right in the middle of an interrogation. An empty classroom was equally risky, as any passing ghost or teacher would find them out. They needed to find someplace outside of the school grounds...

Then the idea hit Harry.

"The forest," he said.

Blaise and Millie exchanged skeptical looks. The Forbidden Forest was, well... Forbidden. Like the third floor corridor last year, the forest surrounding Hogwarts was off-limits to students. Harry knew that Hagrid, as gamekeeper, would sometimes troop off into the woods, but it was said to be filled with many creatures that would happily devour a few tiny students.

It was precisely because students were not allowed, and most too afraid to go near the woods, that Harry was certain they would not be discovered. His friends agreed, seeing the logic of this plan, though Millie hesitated a moment, suggesting that they take the impostors to Snape to be dealt with instead.

"No way!" Blaise argued, "Not until I know who stole my face!"

And so Harry led the way. Blaise and Millie followed, their wands still trained on the invisible forms they in front of them. With Harry in front, it was easy enough for them to maneuver through the castle without their invisible charges being detected. Most students cleared a path for Harry these days.

They were soon on the grounds, Harry following the same footprints he'd made before while going to Hagrid's. If anyone spied them now, he could simply say that he and his friends were on their way to visit the gamekeeper. Just before reaching Hagrid's door, Harry veered right, directing his friends into the nearby cover of trees, and using his own wand to blast away the footprints left in the snow.

The thick covering of trees overhead kept the forest floor mostly clear of snow, though there were wet patches on the ground where some of it dripped down from the branches. Harry found a dry spot sufficiently deep in the trees to avoid detection by any curious eyes, but close enough to Hagrid's cabin that he felt safe from any prowling beasts. Once stopped, he moved his hands through the air near where Blaise and Millie's wands were pointed. He felt the light material of his cloak brush his hands, and whipped off the thin covering.

It was only then that he realized they hadn't stunned Granger. She was still stiff as a board, the full-body bind Millie used as strong as when it was first cast, but her eyes swiveled in her head, looking at them all with dread. Harry cursed. Now she knew about his cloak, and that was not something he was sure he wanted anyone to know about, outside of Blaise and Millie. If the student body knew he had a way of moving about the school undetected, the rumors about him would spread even further.

There was no helping it now. He reached into the pockets of their robes, removing their wands, then motioned to Blaise and Millie to release them from their jinxes. Millie waved her wand dismissively while muttering a counter-curse, and Granger came falling to the ground, at the same time shouting "Ow!"

Blaise was more gentle with his doppelganger, perhaps not liking to cause harm to something that bore such a striking resemblance to him. He lowered the body gently to the ground, and at another sign from Harry, uttered a charm to revive a stunned body.

He came to with a groan, and Harry could see that the effects of whatever potion they had used were already wearing off. The hair of Millie's double was starting to frizz, while the skin of Blaise's double grew lighter by degrees.

"Longbottom!" Blaise gasped as the transformation reached a point where the Gryffindor student could be recognized. "Riders of Rohan! What in bloody hell are you doing looking like me?"

Neville Longbottom cringed and rubbed the back of his head. It had smacked the ground after Blaise hit him with the stunning spell. Rather than answer, he looked at Granger sheepishly, as if deferring to her leadership.

Granger was busy glaring directly at Harry, and he could already guess what they were doing.

"They think I'm the Heir," Harry said to his friends, not breaking eye contact with Granger, now wholly herself again. "They were trying to get information from me."

"I know it's you," Granger said, her usual bossy tone ringing loud and clear in the quiet forest, "I just don't know how you've done it yet."
Harry turned from her to look at Longbottom.

"Neville," he said, "Is that what you think too?"

There was a time last year when Longbottom had helped Harry with a spell to defeat a Devil's Snare. He hadn't talked much to Longbottom before, or since, but he remembered the Gryffindor student's help, and hoped that Longbottom had more faith in him than Granger.

Unlike his companion, Longbottom couldn't meet Harry's gaze for long. He quickly looked away, and muttered something about helping Hermione.

"But how did you do it?" Millie asked, referring to their strange transformation.

Granger hesitated, but seeing as they had been found out, she shrugged her shoulders and said, "Polyjuice Potion."

Harry had never heard of this potion before, but Blaise perked up.

"Hold on," he said, "My mum's mentioned that before. It's supposed to be really difficult to make."

"Hermione made it," Longbottom said. He appeared slightly more confident now, as if proud to brag about the accomplishments of his friend, "It took months, but she did it perfectly."

"Well, not perfectly," Granger said modestly, "I had hoped the effects would last a bit longer."

"You need a bit of the person you want to turn into, right?" Blaise said. Harry thought he actually looked impressed, "How'd you manage that?"

"I took a strand of your hair off your robes during the dueling club," Granger told Millie, tossing her mousy brown hair with a look of defiance, as if daring Millie to jinx her again. Harry could see why she'd been sorted into Gryffindor. If he had no wand, and Millie was directing hers right at him, he'd be too terrified to admit to something like stealing her hair.

"What about me?" asked Blaise.

Longbottom looked embarrassed. He stared at his feet and pulled at the dead leaves resting on the forest floor.

"W-Well... Remember when Willowby knocked out your tooth? It landed near my feet, so I..."

"Disgusting!" Blaise said. His look of admiration was gone. Now he looked as if he wanted to hit the Gryffindor. Longbottom scooted closer to Granger, as if relying on her for his protection.

"Leave him alone!" Granger commanded, "I asked him to do it. I wanted to put a stop to the attacks on muggle-borns!"

"And you thought getting me to confess was the surest way to do it." Harry stated with a sigh. "Well, I'm sorry to disappoint, but you have the wrong guy."

"You're a parselmouth, just like Salazar," Granger countered.

"And?" said Harry, prompting her for more evidence. When she paused, he continued, "My mother was muggle-born, you know. I have no reason to hate them. Or you."

Granger continued to glare at him, clearly not convinced. Harry sighed again and rubbed the back of his neck. He looked at Blaise and Millie for support.

"We've been trying to find out who the Heir is, too," Blaise stated, "And over break, we learned something that suggests it could be Malfoy."

Granger's powerful glare faltered.

"How do we know we can trust you?" she asked, her eyes still on Harry.

Harry thought it over. There wasn't much he could say or do to change her mind. But she had already seen and heard too much. He could threaten her, say he would go to Snape and reveal her polyjuice hijinks. But somehow, Harry felt that having Granger as an ally would be wiser than making any more enemies.

"I can tell you something no one else knows," Harry said, deciding to take a chance on the pair of Gryffindors, "Only Blaise and Millie have heard me mention it before."

Granger stared at him, her silence an agreement that he should continue. He saw some of the hate die in her eyes, and felt hope that maybe she would believe him.

"I've heard a voice. Not all the time, but a few times now. When I hear it, an attack always seems to follow. I think it's related to the Chamber, but I haven't told anyone, because I seem to be the only person who hears it. I thought people would think I was crazy."

"It does sound crazy." Granger agreed.

Longbottom spoke up, his face partially hidden behind Granger, "I believe you."

Harry was surprised. He couldn't help but ask, "You do?"

"Sure I do. You can talk to snakes, right? So if it's a voice only you can hear, maybe it's a snake, and that's what's guarding the chamber."

"Neville, you're a genius!" Granger gasped. Longbottom blushed and lowered his face again.

"Yes!" Granger continued, "I thought it was possible before, because the serpent was Salazar's familiar and his crest. And he was a parselmouth, so it would make sense for him to have a creature only he could control. That's why I thought it was so likely to be you, Harry, but now I'm not so sure... Oh, but if you heard a voice, then that must be it!"

"But what sort of snake could do that kind of damage?" Blaise asked.

Harry thought back to Lockhart's book, Gambling with Gorgons. The image of the woman, her hair alive with serpents, came to mind again, and he gave an involuntary shudder.

"I'm not sure, but I bet I could find out. I might even be able to discover how it's getting around the school undetected," said Granger. She seemed thrilled at the prospect of so much to research. But just as quickly as it appeared, her enthusiasm cooled, and she looked at Harry shyly.

"That is... If I'm not expelled first."

Harry stared at her in mute silence before he realized what she was implying. He quickly returned her and Longbottom's wands, apologizing as he did so.

"I'm not going to report you guys," he said reassuringly, "Not if you think you can help us."

Granger and Longbottom accepted their wands, twirling them between their fingers in an embarrassed silence. Longbottom turned to Granger, a look of indecision on his face.

"What do you think, Hermione?"

Granger bit her lip, staring at her wand before looking up toward Harry again.

"What's that you were saying about Malfoy?"