"Harry Potter- Ravenclaw"Chapter 169: Cauldron on the Loo—Hermione and Ron's Midnight Adventure
Inside the stall sat a cauldron—balanced precariously atop the toilet, the base crackling with the first licks of magical fire.
The cauldron held clear water, only a few bubbles rising from the bottom—clearly, the brew had just begun to heat.
"Heh!" Snape let out a cold, almost satisfied laugh. "Ingenious—using a toilet as a cauldron stand…"
"Seems the brewer has some… unique tastes. Wyzett, take a look at what's in the cistern."
Dumbledore and Snape stepped aside, clearing a path. Wyzett entered, drawing his wand and casting a soft Lumos.
He picked up a series of transparent jars perched on the cistern. "Lacewing flies… live leeches… knotgrass… fluxweed… It's almost certain—these are ingredients for brewing Polyjuice Potion."
Snape appeared to be waiting for something, his tone casual as he asked, "Tell me why you've reached that conclusion."
Though his posture was languid, his grip on his wand was tight, body coiled and alert.
Meanwhile, Dumbledore wandered the room, eyes sweeping every corner as if searching for secrets.
With two of the most powerful wizards in Britain present, Wyzett felt no pressure. He answered Snape's prompt without hesitation.
"Leeches possess the property of 'absorption,' so they're widely used—usually crushed for juice, or specific parts extracted…"
"For example, in Shrinking Solution, if you don't use leech juice that's been left to settle for at least a week, you can't achieve the 'shrinking' effect."
"But if you need them alive, you're harnessing the 'extracting' property. That fits the logic of Polyjuice Potion—the drinker, like a leech, absorbs the essence from someone else's hair, and transforms into their likeness."
"To balance the 'extraction' and 'transformation' properties…" Wyzett pointed to two jars. "You need knotgrass and fluxweed, or the potion won't stabilize."
"Heh… brewing Polyjuice Potion…" Snape narrowed his eyes, a dangerous glint flickering within. "Trying to uncover some secret? Or… infiltrate somewhere?"
"Maybe corridor attacks are too slow, so they're planning to sneak into a common room—deal with a crowd at once. That was a favorite tactic, a decade ago!"
Dumbledore was about to speak when faint voices drifted in from outside the abandoned bathroom.
All three fell silent at once, wands gripped tightly and eyes fixed on the door.
"We don't have any bicorn horn powder, or shredded boomslang skin…"
"I asked Percy in secret… Polyjuice Potion isn't an ordinary brew—those ingredients are strictly controlled… What do we do now?"
"This is tricky… Let me think… Snape's private stores… That's the only place I can imagine. He must have both!"
It was Hermione and Ron—their voices growing closer.
"Snape's private stores…" Ron sounded hesitant. "D'you think the whole Chamber thing… might just be a prank?"
"Think about it—from Halloween until now, nearly a month's gone by, and there haven't been any more attacks. Maybe we should just…"
But Hermione's voice was resolute, her mind made up. "But what if it's real?"
"If there really is a Chamber, and a monster that attacks students—what about all the Muggle-borns?"
They entered the bathroom, Ron's voice growing firmer. "I almost forgot! You're brilliant—I'd forgotten the danger. Let's do it! We've got the Invisibility Cloak anyway!"
"Don't say things like that!" Hermione's voice softened, a hint of bashfulness creeping in. "If we start tonight, it'll be ready by Christmas!"
"How touching…" Snape's voice cut through the air.
"Ah!" Hermione and Ron shrieked, dropping the Invisibility Cloak into a puddle.
Snape's face split into a wide, wolfish grin—like a fisherman who'd just landed a prize catch. "Shall I fetch you some gingerbread? You could dip it in Polyjuice from the loo."
"Oh, and… my stores do in fact contain bicorn horn powder—and shredded boomslang skin. How about I send them over as Christmas gifts?"
Hermione and Ron turned scarlet, cheeks blazing like sunrise.
"Sna—I—no—don't—Wy—?"
They couldn't string together a full sentence, hands fluttering in panic, sweat beading on their brows. Tears shimmered in Hermione's eyes.
"Out after curfew, attempting to steal from a professor—one hundred points from Gryffindor!" Snape's smile vanished, voice turning to ice. "As a… reward."
Dumbledore stepped forward, his tone gentle. "Miss Granger, Mr. Weasley, perhaps you'd care to explain why you're here? And why you're brewing Polyjuice Potion?"
Dumbledore's calm seemed to steady them. Hermione took a deep breath and managed, "Headmaster Dumbledore… we wanted to investigate the truth about the Chamber. That's why we tried to brew Polyjuice Potion."
"For your honesty—ten points to Gryffindor," Dumbledore nodded, his voice encouraging. "And who, exactly, is your target?"
Hermione glanced nervously at the glacial Snape, then at Ron. Both began to stammer.
Dumbledore stroked his beard, murmured softly, then said, "Severus, I'll take them outside for a word."
"Do as you like." Snape pursed his lips, clearly disgruntled. "And no need to thank me. I deducted points strictly by the rules."
"I know you did…" Dumbledore couldn't help but laugh, leading Hermione and Ron out of the bathroom.
No sooner had they left than a mournful wail echoed through the room. "Why do you always have to disturb me? Why…"
Wyzett and Snape spun around. Floating in mid-air was a girl in school robes, her face clouded with misery.
It was Moaning Myrtle—the ghost the Grey Lady had once mentioned to Wyzett.
Snape arched an eyebrow, and Myrtle shrank back, fear written plainly on her face.
No one could intimidate a ghost quite like Professor Snape.
Wyzett sighed inwardly and stepped forward. "Excuse me, are you Miss Myrtle Warren?"
Myrtle still eyed Snape warily, drifting further back before nodding. "That's me! It's been ages since anyone called me that… You're much more polite than the others…"
Snape folded his arms, brow deeply furrowed. He gave Wyzett a look that clearly said, "You handle this."
Wyzett stepped closer. "Miss Warren, I've heard… you… well… you died in this very bathroom, didn't you?"
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