~ Chapter Six : Polyjuice Potion ~
Moaning Myrtle's Bathroom
It was Friday night and Harry was watching the gently bubbling potion as he stirred it. It was just about done. All that had to be added were the bits of the people they wanted to turn into. That was Draco's department. While he waited for the blonde to return with these crucial ingredients Harry cast his mind back over the past month.
It had been the most fun he'd ever had at Hogwarts. Draco had a wicked streak a mile wide and he and Harry had a lot of fun playing pranks on the other students, mainly Pansy Parkinson. It was cruel to pick on her, Harry knew, but she asked for it by being so incredibly stupid.
It wasn't always sunshine and roses. They still had fierce arguments every now and again. But these were most often about this wild plan they had come up with. And although Harry was loathe to admit it, Draco was usually right. It was lucky that he had the Slytherin there to reign in his more Gryffindor moments. Harry may have been re-sorted into Slytherin but he retained the foolhardiness of his former house.
They had decided to use Moaning Myrtle's deserted bathroom to brew the potion because it was the only place they could be assured of privacy. The only other people who would ever think to come in here were Ron and Hermione and they were so busy trying to make their relationship work while in different houses that they didn't have much time for anything else, apart from studying of course.
Harry sighed as he thought of Ron. The red-head had noticed Harry's changed relationship with Draco and was not at all happy about it. Another reason why they hadn't really spoken in the last week.
Draco slipped into Moaning Myrtle's bathroom then and held up a paper bag triumphantly. In his other hand was his school bag which he dropped by the door.
"I'm not going to turn into a girl, am I?" Harry asked, suddenly remembering something he'd been obsessing over while stirring the potion.
"What?" Draco said, starting to laugh.
Harry started to get defensive. "Well, I've been thinking while I've been waiting and you didn't say who you were going to get the bits from and I really don't want to be a girl."
"Don't worry, these are all male, trust me," Draco said the last part with a wicked twinkle in his eyes that Harry had learnt spelt trouble for some poor unsuspecting soul. He just hoped Draco was trying to freak him out.
"Alright, well the potion is done," Harry announced.
"Well, if we're really doing this, we'd better get on with it," Draco said, arching an eyebrow at Harry, as if daring him to back out.
Harry didn't reply. He merely ladled some potion into two vials and handed one to Draco.
Draco lowered his eyebrow and felt his admiration for his new housemate grow even more than it already had in the last month. Out of the paper bag he had brought with him, he pulled two hairs, one dark brown and one blonde.
"Where did you get these?" Harry asked, accepting the blonde hair Draco handed him. He dropped it into his vial and stirred it in as Draco did the same with the dark brown one.
"A couple of Ravenclaws whose loyalties are questionable," Draco replied vaguely.
"Why not Hufflepuff?" Harry asked seriously. Draco shot him a look that told him exactly how stupid that question was. As if the Dark Lord would accept Hufflepuffs into his ranks. Besides, they were all far too loyal to Dumbledore.
"Bottoms up," Draco said, raising his vial to his lips and he downed the lot.
Harry glared at his own vial for a second before mimicking Draco. He gasped and bent over, bracing his hands on his knees. He had forgotten how much the potion burned as his body adjusted to its new form.
At last he looked up to find Draco staring at him with an amused, indulgent expression that would have seemed right on his own face, but on the boy currently standing in front of him, it really didn't fit.
Harry wheeled around to look in the mirror. He raised his hand to touch the yellow-blonde hair on his head, so different from his own black hair. His face too, was different. Blue eyes, longer nose. He looked older. Well, they were seventh year students now. Harry recognised the faces but really couldn't recall the names.
"This is wrong," Harry whispered, still staring at himself in awe.
"Shit," Draco swore, biting back more profanities. "Please tell me you're talking about the fact that your hair colour now matches your intellect."
"What? No. I mean, we are going to totally ruin the reputation of these boys. I don't know their names but they are going to be mud by the time we're finished," Harry explained.
"The point is that their loyalties are uncertain, otherwise we'd never get in. And if someone questions the real guys later, well, they won't have the dark mark so it shouldn't affect them," Draco explained patiently, eyeing his own changed appearance in the mirror. He now had chocolate brown eyes and matching dark brown wavy hair. He didn't look half bad. Not as good as he usually looked of course.
"So what do we wear?" Harry asked cautiously.
"Plain black robes, black clothes underneath. It's all the Death Eaters wear, apart from those ridiculous masks. Plus it will make it easier to escape if we need to, we can blend in with the shadows," Draco said, turning away from the mirror. "Now, we need to bottle this, so we can use it another time if we need to."
They worked quickly and silently to bottle the rest of the potion and stored it, along with the bag of hair in one of the toilet cubicles with an 'out of order' sign on the door.
"How long will we stay like this?" Harry asked, doubts and questions swirling in his mind.
"Twelve hours," Draco replied.
Draco picked up his school bag then and turned to Harry. "I hope you don't mind but I've brought some of your clothes for you to change into."
Harry stared as Draco pulled out Harry's black jeans and a black t-shirt and then pulled out some of his own black clothes. Harry shrugged and picked up his clothes. They couldn't just waltz into the Slytherin common room now that they looked different. Harry just hoped that his clothes would fit him.
They changed quickly, both sneaking glances at the other when they thought they weren't looking.
"Got the portkey?" Draco asked as they prepared to leave the bathroom and Hogwarts.
Harry patted his robe, feeling the reassuring presence of the portkey against his body. It was their ticket back to Hogwarts if they had the chance to grab Wormtail or if they needed a quick escape. He nodded.
The Hog's Head, Hogsmeade
Harry and Draco entered the pub at the opposite end of town to the Three Broomsticks at about ten o'clock that night. They walked over to the bar and Draco ordered two glasses of mulled mead. Harry watched as the busty barmaid poured the drinks while Draco casually turned around to survey the crowd. He accepted the glass Harry handed him and took a swig before turning to Harry.
"Just sip it if you haven't had mead before. I don't want you coughing and spluttering like a child in front of these people," Draco whispered quickly, ignoring Harry's indignant gaze as he questioned Harry's drinking ability. He swallowed the smirk that threatened to appear as he saw Harry grudgingly taking his advice. "My contact is over in the corner. We'll go over there now, but let me do the talking. Come on."
With that, Draco sauntered over to where a man sat at a booth alone, glaring around at anyone and everyone. He slid into the seat opposite him and Harry sat beside him.
The man arched an eyebrow at this intrusion but did not utter a word.
"I hear that you're the man to see about joining the Dark Lord," Draco said respectfully.
The man's eyes narrowed. "Who wants to know?" he growled.
"I'm Michael Abbot and this is Alex Bones," Draco said easily.
"How old are you?" he asked, glaring at them as if trying to scare them off.
"Eighteen," Draco said, glaring back at him.
"And what makes you so eager to join Lord Voldemort?" the man observed their reactions to the Dark Lord's name. Neither of them so much as batted an eyelid.
"We believe in his cause and we want to help him fight against the Mudbloods and the Muggles," Draco said, taking another swig of his mead.
"And how do you feel about Harry Potter?" the man asked causing Draco to choke on his mead.
"Don't get me started on Harry Fucking Potter," Harry drawled, jumping into the conversation since Draco appeared to be out of commission at the moment. "I hate the bastard. Especially the way he prances around Hogwarts like he owns the place."
"Ah, Hogwarts students, are ya?" the man said, suddenly smiling.
"Yeah, is that a problem?" Harry asked, narrowing his eyes.
"Nah. The Dark Lord will be well pleased. He's been looking for some young recruits for a while now," the man said, grinning at the two of them.
Harry suddenly had serious misgivings about this whole plan. This really did not sound good but they had come too far to back out now.
"Let's go. There's a meeting tonight in the forest," the man said, standing up.
"Tonight?" Draco repeated, staring up at him.
"Not having second thoughts, are ya?" he said, leering down at them.
"Of course not," Harry said firmly, standing up. Draco followed and the three of them left the pub.
Forbidden Forest
The three of them reached the meeting place in the forbidden forest after most of the Death Eaters had already assembled. Most did not have their masks on and were chatting amongst themselves as they waited for the Dark Lord to arrive.
Draco paled slightly at the sight of his father, talking to Nott. Harry shot him a reassuring glance and they followed their contact over to Lucius Malfoy.
"Malfoy, got a couple of Hogwarts students who want to join," he said.
"Well, well, well, Hogwarts students. What house are you in?" Lucius asked coldly.
"We're both in Gryffindor but we were in Ravenclaw until Dumbledore decided to re-sort everyone," Harry said, trying to sound like he thought Dumbledore was an idiot.
"Dumbledore did what?" Lucius asked, amazed. Frankly, Harry was amazed that the Death Eaters didn't know about it yet.
"He got the sorting hat to sort everyone again. Most people are in new houses," Harry explained. Draco couldn't bring himself to speak in front of his father just yet.
"And what house is my son in now?" Lucius asked icily. Draco shivered, thanking god he was still in Slytherin.
"Draco? Oh, he's in Slytherin. He's one of the few to still be in his original house," Harry replied easily. Lucius seemed pleased to hear that.
"And Crabbe and Goyle?" Lucius asked with a smirk.
"Uh, Crabbe is in Gryffindor and Goyle is in Ravenclaw," Harry said quickly, hoping that he'd got it right. He really hadn't taken that much notice of them.
"Cra-" Lucius stopped abruptly in the middle of calling to Vincent Crabbe's father. Voldemort had arrived with Wormtail by his side.
TBC
Moaning Myrtle's Bathroom
It was Friday night and Harry was watching the gently bubbling potion as he stirred it. It was just about done. All that had to be added were the bits of the people they wanted to turn into. That was Draco's department. While he waited for the blonde to return with these crucial ingredients Harry cast his mind back over the past month.
It had been the most fun he'd ever had at Hogwarts. Draco had a wicked streak a mile wide and he and Harry had a lot of fun playing pranks on the other students, mainly Pansy Parkinson. It was cruel to pick on her, Harry knew, but she asked for it by being so incredibly stupid.
It wasn't always sunshine and roses. They still had fierce arguments every now and again. But these were most often about this wild plan they had come up with. And although Harry was loathe to admit it, Draco was usually right. It was lucky that he had the Slytherin there to reign in his more Gryffindor moments. Harry may have been re-sorted into Slytherin but he retained the foolhardiness of his former house.
They had decided to use Moaning Myrtle's deserted bathroom to brew the potion because it was the only place they could be assured of privacy. The only other people who would ever think to come in here were Ron and Hermione and they were so busy trying to make their relationship work while in different houses that they didn't have much time for anything else, apart from studying of course.
Harry sighed as he thought of Ron. The red-head had noticed Harry's changed relationship with Draco and was not at all happy about it. Another reason why they hadn't really spoken in the last week.
Draco slipped into Moaning Myrtle's bathroom then and held up a paper bag triumphantly. In his other hand was his school bag which he dropped by the door.
"I'm not going to turn into a girl, am I?" Harry asked, suddenly remembering something he'd been obsessing over while stirring the potion.
"What?" Draco said, starting to laugh.
Harry started to get defensive. "Well, I've been thinking while I've been waiting and you didn't say who you were going to get the bits from and I really don't want to be a girl."
"Don't worry, these are all male, trust me," Draco said the last part with a wicked twinkle in his eyes that Harry had learnt spelt trouble for some poor unsuspecting soul. He just hoped Draco was trying to freak him out.
"Alright, well the potion is done," Harry announced.
"Well, if we're really doing this, we'd better get on with it," Draco said, arching an eyebrow at Harry, as if daring him to back out.
Harry didn't reply. He merely ladled some potion into two vials and handed one to Draco.
Draco lowered his eyebrow and felt his admiration for his new housemate grow even more than it already had in the last month. Out of the paper bag he had brought with him, he pulled two hairs, one dark brown and one blonde.
"Where did you get these?" Harry asked, accepting the blonde hair Draco handed him. He dropped it into his vial and stirred it in as Draco did the same with the dark brown one.
"A couple of Ravenclaws whose loyalties are questionable," Draco replied vaguely.
"Why not Hufflepuff?" Harry asked seriously. Draco shot him a look that told him exactly how stupid that question was. As if the Dark Lord would accept Hufflepuffs into his ranks. Besides, they were all far too loyal to Dumbledore.
"Bottoms up," Draco said, raising his vial to his lips and he downed the lot.
Harry glared at his own vial for a second before mimicking Draco. He gasped and bent over, bracing his hands on his knees. He had forgotten how much the potion burned as his body adjusted to its new form.
At last he looked up to find Draco staring at him with an amused, indulgent expression that would have seemed right on his own face, but on the boy currently standing in front of him, it really didn't fit.
Harry wheeled around to look in the mirror. He raised his hand to touch the yellow-blonde hair on his head, so different from his own black hair. His face too, was different. Blue eyes, longer nose. He looked older. Well, they were seventh year students now. Harry recognised the faces but really couldn't recall the names.
"This is wrong," Harry whispered, still staring at himself in awe.
"Shit," Draco swore, biting back more profanities. "Please tell me you're talking about the fact that your hair colour now matches your intellect."
"What? No. I mean, we are going to totally ruin the reputation of these boys. I don't know their names but they are going to be mud by the time we're finished," Harry explained.
"The point is that their loyalties are uncertain, otherwise we'd never get in. And if someone questions the real guys later, well, they won't have the dark mark so it shouldn't affect them," Draco explained patiently, eyeing his own changed appearance in the mirror. He now had chocolate brown eyes and matching dark brown wavy hair. He didn't look half bad. Not as good as he usually looked of course.
"So what do we wear?" Harry asked cautiously.
"Plain black robes, black clothes underneath. It's all the Death Eaters wear, apart from those ridiculous masks. Plus it will make it easier to escape if we need to, we can blend in with the shadows," Draco said, turning away from the mirror. "Now, we need to bottle this, so we can use it another time if we need to."
They worked quickly and silently to bottle the rest of the potion and stored it, along with the bag of hair in one of the toilet cubicles with an 'out of order' sign on the door.
"How long will we stay like this?" Harry asked, doubts and questions swirling in his mind.
"Twelve hours," Draco replied.
Draco picked up his school bag then and turned to Harry. "I hope you don't mind but I've brought some of your clothes for you to change into."
Harry stared as Draco pulled out Harry's black jeans and a black t-shirt and then pulled out some of his own black clothes. Harry shrugged and picked up his clothes. They couldn't just waltz into the Slytherin common room now that they looked different. Harry just hoped that his clothes would fit him.
They changed quickly, both sneaking glances at the other when they thought they weren't looking.
"Got the portkey?" Draco asked as they prepared to leave the bathroom and Hogwarts.
Harry patted his robe, feeling the reassuring presence of the portkey against his body. It was their ticket back to Hogwarts if they had the chance to grab Wormtail or if they needed a quick escape. He nodded.
The Hog's Head, Hogsmeade
Harry and Draco entered the pub at the opposite end of town to the Three Broomsticks at about ten o'clock that night. They walked over to the bar and Draco ordered two glasses of mulled mead. Harry watched as the busty barmaid poured the drinks while Draco casually turned around to survey the crowd. He accepted the glass Harry handed him and took a swig before turning to Harry.
"Just sip it if you haven't had mead before. I don't want you coughing and spluttering like a child in front of these people," Draco whispered quickly, ignoring Harry's indignant gaze as he questioned Harry's drinking ability. He swallowed the smirk that threatened to appear as he saw Harry grudgingly taking his advice. "My contact is over in the corner. We'll go over there now, but let me do the talking. Come on."
With that, Draco sauntered over to where a man sat at a booth alone, glaring around at anyone and everyone. He slid into the seat opposite him and Harry sat beside him.
The man arched an eyebrow at this intrusion but did not utter a word.
"I hear that you're the man to see about joining the Dark Lord," Draco said respectfully.
The man's eyes narrowed. "Who wants to know?" he growled.
"I'm Michael Abbot and this is Alex Bones," Draco said easily.
"How old are you?" he asked, glaring at them as if trying to scare them off.
"Eighteen," Draco said, glaring back at him.
"And what makes you so eager to join Lord Voldemort?" the man observed their reactions to the Dark Lord's name. Neither of them so much as batted an eyelid.
"We believe in his cause and we want to help him fight against the Mudbloods and the Muggles," Draco said, taking another swig of his mead.
"And how do you feel about Harry Potter?" the man asked causing Draco to choke on his mead.
"Don't get me started on Harry Fucking Potter," Harry drawled, jumping into the conversation since Draco appeared to be out of commission at the moment. "I hate the bastard. Especially the way he prances around Hogwarts like he owns the place."
"Ah, Hogwarts students, are ya?" the man said, suddenly smiling.
"Yeah, is that a problem?" Harry asked, narrowing his eyes.
"Nah. The Dark Lord will be well pleased. He's been looking for some young recruits for a while now," the man said, grinning at the two of them.
Harry suddenly had serious misgivings about this whole plan. This really did not sound good but they had come too far to back out now.
"Let's go. There's a meeting tonight in the forest," the man said, standing up.
"Tonight?" Draco repeated, staring up at him.
"Not having second thoughts, are ya?" he said, leering down at them.
"Of course not," Harry said firmly, standing up. Draco followed and the three of them left the pub.
Forbidden Forest
The three of them reached the meeting place in the forbidden forest after most of the Death Eaters had already assembled. Most did not have their masks on and were chatting amongst themselves as they waited for the Dark Lord to arrive.
Draco paled slightly at the sight of his father, talking to Nott. Harry shot him a reassuring glance and they followed their contact over to Lucius Malfoy.
"Malfoy, got a couple of Hogwarts students who want to join," he said.
"Well, well, well, Hogwarts students. What house are you in?" Lucius asked coldly.
"We're both in Gryffindor but we were in Ravenclaw until Dumbledore decided to re-sort everyone," Harry said, trying to sound like he thought Dumbledore was an idiot.
"Dumbledore did what?" Lucius asked, amazed. Frankly, Harry was amazed that the Death Eaters didn't know about it yet.
"He got the sorting hat to sort everyone again. Most people are in new houses," Harry explained. Draco couldn't bring himself to speak in front of his father just yet.
"And what house is my son in now?" Lucius asked icily. Draco shivered, thanking god he was still in Slytherin.
"Draco? Oh, he's in Slytherin. He's one of the few to still be in his original house," Harry replied easily. Lucius seemed pleased to hear that.
"And Crabbe and Goyle?" Lucius asked with a smirk.
"Uh, Crabbe is in Gryffindor and Goyle is in Ravenclaw," Harry said quickly, hoping that he'd got it right. He really hadn't taken that much notice of them.
"Cra-" Lucius stopped abruptly in the middle of calling to Vincent Crabbe's father. Voldemort had arrived with Wormtail by his side.
TBC