Chapter 2 Backfire
Malfoy almost laughed out loud as he sped through the corridors, brushing through other students. He had big plans for being Hermione Granger, and he was almost giddy in carrying them out. Yet before he could even do the slightest damage, someone behind him began calling her name.
"Hermione! Hermione!"
It took him a few seconds to comprehend that he was Hermione now, and he turned around to look at the source of the voice. Neville Longbottom, the excuse of a wizard from Gryffindor, was running to catch up with him.
Malfoy glared at him in disgust, "What is it, Longbottom?"
Neville stopped abruptly and his eyes widened in surprise. The look of hurt crept up his face, and it was a while before he found his voice again, "Erm… You weren't in Charms today, and Professor Flitwick gave me your homework." He handed over a stack of parchment, sounding unsure.
"Why don't you keep it?" Malfoy said, a smirk creeping up his mouth.
"S-Sorry?"
"I'm sure you could use the extra work." Malfoy said in Hermione's kind voice, though it sounded malicious and unsympathetic, "How else are you ever going to pass, right?" Laughing at the shocked look on Neville's face, Malfoy left him standing there with the parchment still in his hands.
The more he walked, the more light-hearted he felt. Maybe it was the Felix Felicis, but he immediately caught sight of a group of Gryffindors that could lead him to their common room. Following the bunch of dim-witted Gryffindors, Malfoy pursued to curse anyone who was in his way. With a lazy flip of his wand, he caused a fourth-year Ravenclaw to get a heavy nosebleed. Smirking at her furious expression, he walked on.
The Gryffindors finally led him to a portrait with a fat lady on it.
"Mimblewimble." One of the girls in front said, and the portrait swung open to reveal an entrance into the Gryffindor common room.
"Well," Malfoy said quietly to the lady in the portrait after the girls had went through, "You could do with some weight loss."
"I beg you pardon!" She gasped at him, but he had already climbed in.
Intrigued by the sight in front of him, Malfoy straightened up. But before he could take a look around, an attractive Weasley girl flung herself at him, grabbing his hand in a rush, "Oh, Hermione, thank God you're here." She said breathlessly, "I have Charms class in an hour and I still can't master Cheering Charms, can you help me?"
Malfoy pulled his hand back, repelled by her touch. It took him a moment to think of her name, "Look, Jenny – "
"Ginny." The girl corrected suspiciously.
"Whatever." Malfoy said, "I'm a little busy right now, but I suggest you practice with Longbottom. He might need a little cheer-me-up: I think he just realized that he had no brains."
"What's the matter with you? That's not funny." Jennie, or Genie, or whatever her name was, said coolly and looked at him in hostility.
"Well, I think it is." Malfoy drawled lazily, "And I think it's impolite for you not to laugh. So on second thoughts, yeah, I will help you with Cheering Charms." He waved his wand at her, purposely overdoing the charm.
The Weasley girl burst into hysterical laughter and the entire common room stared at them. She looked at him angrily, but the laughter wouldn't stop. It was a very entertaining sight: the top part of her face was livid with anger, but the bottom part cannot stop laughing. Finally, she climbed out of the portrait hole and ran down the corridor, no doubt towards the Hospital Wing. Malfoy was shaking with laughter as her frantic giggles drifted away.
When he could finally push himself up to a standing position, he looked at his watch: 15 minutes had passed. This immediately sobered him up. He didn't have time for frivolous jokes; he had a task at hand.
Some people in the common room were still looking at him, but most had gone back to their usual business. He found the staircase up to the dormitory and walked over to it. There were two in total, and he guessed that one of them was the girls' and one was the boys'. Taking a wild chance, he took the one to the left.
"Hermione!" Someone called.
Malfoy's steps faltered and he whirled around angrily. It was one of the Gryffindor sixth years whose first name he couldn't remember. Something Finnigan.
"That's… that's the boys' dormitory." Something Finnigan said, embarrassed.
A sneer curled up on Malfoy's lips, "Well, you go up there, don't you? And you seem like less of a guy than I am." And he took a second to see how red Finnigan's face would go before going up the stairs again.
When he finally made his way to the top, he saw five four-poster-beds with long drapes around them. Three of them were unoccupied, but on the other two sat Ron Weasley and Harry Potter. Malfoy's smirk widened at them.
"Hermione!" Ron exclaimed, climbing up from the bed so quickly that he almost lost his footing, "What are you doing up here?"
"Oh, you know," Malfoy waved a hand dismissively, "Just trying to find you guys." And he walked around the room aimlessly, ignoring the thunderstruck look on their faces. He saw Potter's suitcase propped open in a corner and inconspicuously dropped his golden wrist-watch inside. Worst comes to worst, he can still frame Potter for stealing his watch.
"Is there something wrong?" Harry asked, concerned.
Malfoy took a few seconds to force his expression to a solemn look instead of his previous gleeful one, "There's something you have to know." He said as gravely as he could.
"What?" Asked Ron.
"I can't explain. I have to show you." Malfoy said somberly, hoping the severity of his voice would mitigate the questions they were going to ask.
Harry and Ron exchanged a look of unease. However suspicious they were though, they both scurried to put on cloaks and didn't ask him to clarify. Within seconds, they were standing in front of him.
"Lead the way." Ron said simply.
That had been easier than he had anticipated. Surprised but pleased, Malfoy led them out of the boys' dormitory and out of the Gryffindor common room. His eyes were dancing with a wild, devilish look. Thanks to Potter and Weasley having pea-sized brains, this was going to be even more simple than it already was. They had followed him without questions or doubts, the pair of morons. No wonder they were such good friends.
"Why are we heading to the Forbidden Forest?" Harry said to Ron, completely bewildered as Malfoy walked faster and faster across the school grounds.
"Dunno… I guess we'll see. It better not be Grawp, though." Ron replied nervously.
"Grawp?" Malfoy asked tersely.
"Yeah, Hagrid didn't make you promise to babysit or something, did he?" Ron gave a fidgety laugh that sounded more like a grimace, as if the thought of that would kill him.
"Well…maybe…" Thinking that the best way to find out about Grawp was to play along, Malfoy feigned a tint of furtiveness in his tone.
Ron's entire face froze, "No way, Hermione. If we get too close, he'll probably stomp us to death!"
Malfoy was feeling very interested as to who this "Grawp" was. If he could indeed stamp people to death, then he definitely doesn't need a babysitter. And even if he did, what was the relationship between Grawp and Hagrid, that awful oaf?
Before he could make further inquiries, they had reached the edge of the woods. Biting back his additional questions, Malfoy turned to face Harry and Ron, "I have to go in first." He invented, as though this all made perfect sense, "But when I send red sparks up, you two come find me."
They both looked at him anxiously but nodded all the same.
Malfoy turned away quickly to hide his sneer. This was all just too easy. It must be the Felix Felicis helping him. Why else would they trust him so blindly?
As he trudged along the wild trees and bushes, Malfoy pulled out his wand and raised it in front of him like a sword. He didn't want to risk getting attacked by the foul creatures that lived in here.
"Incendio." When he finally reached a clearing not far from the edge, Malfoy prudently aimed the orange red flames at a nearby bush. Carefully, he traced his wand in a circle, setting everything in sight on fire. It didn't take long for the dark smoke to be almost insufferable, and he backed away to watch his burning masterpiece.
Grinning wickedly, he sent up three jets of red sparks and waited. He had thought of the idea as soon as he changed into Hermione Granger. In order to get the trio expelled, he had to do something abominable, and the destruction of school property would be just that. Malfoy first thought of the Whomping Willow, but was timorous that it might strike him with its many branches. Demolition of classrooms didn't seem that impressive either – McGonagall and Flitwick could probably fix it in a second. Trying to do harm within the castle seemed foolish and ludicrous. But damage outside the castle grounds, however…
The Forbidden Forest appeared to be the perfect option: it was the home to many magical creatures, not to mention the classroom for Hagrid's "teaching". It was also a respected and preserved capital of the school. An unfixable impairment to it, with the three culprits caught red-handed, would surely get all of them expelled.
Rushed footsteps told him that Potter and Weasley had found him.
"Hermione, what happened?" Ron panted, coming over to drag him from harm protectively.
Malfoy stiffened for a second. He hadn't known that Weasley fancied Granger. But then again, what better combination is there besides a blood-traitor and his Mudblood? "Erm…wand malfunction." He shrugged.
"Aguamenti!" Harry said immediately, pointing a stream of water at the roaring flames, "Quick, Ron, help me!"
"Aguamenti!" Ron repeated, and the two of them stood on either side of him, blocking him from the flames, as if scared that he might get hurt.
"What in the name of Merlin is going on here?" A sharp, stern voice demanded.
All three of them faltered under McGonagall's deathly gaze. Malfoy looked away, afraid that she might recognize him for who he really was. He had counted on this happening, though. The red sparks and the smoke from the flames were bound to attract at least one Professor, but he had hoped that it would be Snape.
McGonagall raised her wand, and a wave much like the one seen during a boisterous storm at the sea came crashing from the sky, instantly washing out all the remaining fires licking the sky.
"Explain." She said in quiet anger, her nostrils flaring.
"Professor, Hermione's wand malfunctioned." Harry said at once, "It wasn't her fault."
"And what were you doing in the forest in the first place?" She asked as her eyes narrowed dangerously.
Malfoy opened his mouth but was cut off by Ron's hasty explanation.
"We brought her along." Ron said quickly, "We wanted help with – with – the Fire-Making Spell in Charms class."
McGonagall looked furious, "And you thought making fire in the woods would be a good idea?"
None of them said anything.
McGonagall put her want away and stared at them, "The Forbidden Forest is a treasured estate of the school. You should feel lucky I am not expelling you, since I don't have that authority. But eighty points will be taken from Gryffindor, and you three will have detentions every Friday until Halloween."
"But Professor – "
"Be glad it's not suspension, Potter." She strode away with her cloak whipping at her heels.
As soon as she was out of earshot, both of them wheeled on Malfoy.
"What the hell happened?"
"What were you doing, Hermione?"
"Well, like I said," Malfoy said crossly, heading back to the castle as well, "Wand malfunction."
He could see Potter and Weasley exchange looks behind his back, but he didn't have much time. He had put his watch in Potter's luggage so he didn't know precisely how many minutes he had before he would change back, but it wouldn't be long. He wasted too much time in that forest accomplishing nothing.
Malfoy scowled and broke into a run, leaving the other two behind. Well, it wasn't nothing. At least they would get detention. And he even managed to scrape eighty points off Gryffindor when it was only the first week of school.
"Hermione?" Ron called.
"I have to get to class!" Malfoy said over his shoulder, and he ran quicker still until both Harry and Ron were just distant dots to him. This had not worked the way he wanted it to at all. He blamed Slughorn a little – the Felix Felicis was nowhere as good as he set it out to be. He blamed Crabbe and Goyle too – if they weren't so stupid to get themselves hexed by the Mudblood, they could have helped him with the arson. Most of all, he blamed Potter and Weasley. He had not expected them to protect Granger like they did.
But it didn't matter. He had enough Polyjuice Potion for one more transformation. Next time, he would meticulously plan a strategy and carry it out flawlessly. Next time, he will make sure those three never set foot in Hogwarts again.
Gasping for breath, Malfoy made it to the prefect's bathroom. Crabbe and Goyle were standing guard at the door. They both gaped as they saw him, probably forgetting that he looked like Hermione again.
"It's me." Malfoy hissed, "Let me in, I don't have much time!"
They realized who he was and parted to let him through.
"Go back to the common room, it will look suspicious if we exited with Granger!" He said to them.
"What happened?" Goyle asked eagerly, "Is she expelled now?"
"I'll tell you later." Malfoy said bitterly. Irritated, he closed the bathroom door and locked it behind him. The clock on the wall indicated that he had less than a minute. Hastily, he locked himself in a changing room and waited for the transformation. From the bottom of the stall, he could see the real Hermione Granger's feet in the neighboring stall. She looked awfully still.
Probably less than twenty seconds now. Malfoy clutched his side and panted. He supposed it was quite lucky that he got back in time. Maybe the Felix Felicis wasn't a complete waste. He pushed the bushy hair out of his face for the millionth time – how Granger managed to see through this jungle of hair was beyond him. He checked the clock again. The hand had gone over 12, but no transformation took place.
Malfoy felt panic rise within him as he double-checked the time. It had definitely been more than an hour. What was the holdup?
He looked down at his hands; they were still tiny, feminine, and slender. And his hair showed no sign of shooting back into his skull.
For the first time since Malfoy took the Polyjuice Potion, he felt fear. This was just supposed to be a practical joke. If the teachers in the school found out about this, he would be expelled. And if he can't change back to who he was, he was bound to go to the Hospital Wing, or worse, St Mungos. Stealing illegal potions, impersonating another student, setting the forest on fire… He didn't know if those charges qualified for a sentence in Azkaban.
Malfoy looked up at the clock. Ten minutes had passed after the hour. Unnerved by the lack of transformation, he walked out of the changing room and paced around the sinks in the bathroom. He caught sight of himself in the mirror and saw Hermione Granger's kind brown eyes staring back at him, her brows knitted together in concentration. The sight of that made him even more anxious, and he tore his gaze away.
It must have been the Felix Felicis. He shouldn't have taken the two potions together, and that was why he couldn't change back. But then did that mean he had to look like her forever? There must be an antidote somewhere. But if there were anyone in this school (other than the Professors) that could make an antidote like this one, it would be Hermione Granger.
His heart sank. Once the Imperius Curse is lifted off her, she will have no intention of helping him in any way. In fact, she might just get him expelled before he could even ask for help.
Unless…
Malfoy's cold eyes lit up for a second. Suddenly the bushy hair didn't seem too bothersome. A second plan formed itself in his mind, like a web slowly sewing itself together. It was risky, but it was also feasible. And given his current condition, there really wasn't much choice. If either him or Hermione goes missing for any longer, people will start to look for them, and then it won't be long until someone realizes something fishy.
Making up his mind at last, Malfoy took out his wand and pointed it at the locked changing room that contained the real Hermione, "Alohomora."
The door sprang open to reveal her empty face.
"Imperio." He flicked his wand at her.
Obediently, she walked towards where the potions were set down. Malfoy focused to keep his wand steady; he had never performed the Imperius Curse before. He hoped the use of the curse wouldn't be penalized. It was, after all, "unforgivable". Gradually, Malfoy directed Hermione to the golden goblet he used earlier. Luckily, there were some of his white blond hairs stuck to the robes he was wearing previously. He dropped a few into the remaining Polyjuice Potion, where it hissed and spluttered and turned into a color of brilliant chrome.
Malfoy watched in anticipation as Hermione tipped the goblet back into her mouth, her glassy eyes still unseeing.
If he couldn't change back, he'll make sure she was in the same boat with him.
.
.
.
Thanks for your time!