News had spread around the castle of a double attack on Justin and Nearly Headless Nick. Unfortuntly Harry had been caught in the wrong place at the wrong time as he had been the first to discover the two. The news turned what had hitherto been nervousness into real panic. Curiously, it was Nearly Headless Nick's fate that seemed to worry people most. What could possibly do that to a ghost? people asked each other, what terrible power could harm someone who was already dead? There was almost a stampede to book seats on the Hogwarts Express so that students could go home for Christmas.
"At this rate, we'll be the only ones left," Ron told Harry, Y/n and Hermione. "Us, Malfoy, Atticus, Crabbe, and Goyle. What a jolly holiday it's going to be."
"My Grandmother was upset to hear I would not be back for Christmas but I told her that I had a lot of school work to go through. Thankfully she seemed to accept this, the large parcel I sent with my letter no doubt helped. I am unsure as to why Atticus is staying though. It also puts damper in our Polyjuice plans."
"What why?" Hermione asked worried that her hard efforts were going to waste.
"Atticus may like to deny it but we are brothers, We have grown up together. He will be able to tell it is me whether I am disguised or not." Y/n pointed out.
"I suppose that makes sense." Hermione nodded in thought. "We don't all need to need to interrogate them."
"We'll just share what ever we learn with you." Ron said. "Besides it will be easier with those idiots staying as well." Ron said referring to Crabbe and Goyle.
Crabbe and Goyle, who always did whatever Malfoy did, so they had signed up to stay over the holidays, too. But Harry was glad that most people were leaving. He was tired of people skirting around him in the corridors, as though he was about to sprout fangs or spit poison, tired of all the muttering, pointing, and hissing as he passed.
Fred and George, however, found all this very funny. They went out of their way to march ahead of Harry down the corridors, shouting. "Make way for the Heir of Slytherin, seriously evil wizard coming through..."
Percy was deeply disapproving of this behavior. "It is not a laughing matter." he said coldly.
"Oh, get out of the way, Percy." said Fred. "Harry's in a hurry."
"Yeah, he's off to the Chamber of Secrets for a cup of tea with his fanged servant." said George, chortling.
Ginny didn't find it amusing either. "Oh, don't." she wailed every time Fred asked Harry loudly who he was planning to attack next, or when George pretended to ward Harry off with a large clove of garlic when they met.
Harry didn't mind, it made him feel better that Fred and George, at least, thought the idea of his being Slytherin's heir was quite ludicrous. But their antics seemed to be aggravating Draco Malfoy, who looked increasingly sour each time he saw them at it.
"It's because he's bursting to say it's really him." said Ron knowingly. "You know how he hates anyone beating him at anything, and you're getting all the credit for his dirty work."
"Not for long." said Hermione in a satisfied tone. "The Polyjuice Potion's nearly ready. We'll be getting the truth out of him any day now."
At last the term ended, and a silence deep as the snow on the grounds descended on the castle. Y/n always found it strange to hear the castle this quiet but he didn't dislike it, In fact he rather enjoyed the fact that he, Hermione, and the Weasleys had the run of Gryffindor Tower, which meant they could play Exploding Snap loudly without bothering anyone, and practice dueling in private. Y/n was proving to be quite adept at it as he practiced with Fred and George who both taught him a lot of higher level spells they had learned in their previous years. The twins and Ginny had chosen to stay at school rather than visit Bill in Egypt with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. Percy, who disapproved of what he termed their childish behavior, didn't spend much time in the Gryffindor common room. He had already told them pompously that he was only staying over Christmas because it was his duty as a prefect to support the teachers during this troubled time.
Christmas morning dawned, cold and white. Y/n, Harry and Ron, the only ones left in their dormitory, were woken very early by Hermione, who burst in, fully dressed and carrying presents for the three of them.
"Wake up." she said loudly, pulling back the curtains at the window.
Y/n let out a groan as he woke up. "It is still early..." He said sitting up. Noctis noticing he was awake quickly got up and moved to sit in his lap as she pawed at his hand. Y/n sighed and gave in as he began to stroke her fur. He now looked up at Hermione and gave her a smile. "Merry Christmas." He said to her.
"Hermione!" Ron blurted out now. "You're not supposed to be in here!" he continued as he was shielding his eyes against the light.
"Merry Christmas to you, too..." said Hermione, throwing him his present. "I've been up for nearly an hour, adding more lacewings to the potion. It's ready."
Harry sat up, suddenly wide awake. "Are you sure?"
"Positive." said Hermione, as she handed Y/n his present and sat down on the end of his four poster bed. "If we're going to do it, I say it should be tonight."
At that moment, Hedwig swooped into the room, carrying a very small package in her beak.
"Hello." said Harry happily as she landed on his bed. "Are you speaking to me again?"
She nibbled his ear in an affectionate sort of way, which was a far better present than the one that she had brought him, which turned out to be from the Dursleys. They had sent Harry a toothpick and a note telling him to find out whether he'd be able to stay at Hogwarts for the summer vacation, too.
Y/n looked down at Hermione's gift in his hands now and he smiled. "Hermione yours and the others gifts are in a bag under my bed could you get them please? I am afraid Noctis has made herself quite at home in my lap.
Hermione just nodded as she got up from Y/n's bed now and crouched down to grab the bag that was under it. She quickly lifted it up and placed it on Y/n's bed before sitting back down on it herself.
Y/n pulled the bag up to him now. It was a simple brown leather bag that rather looked like a sack. He reached his hand into and drew out a first present wrapped in blue paper with snowflakes upon them. "Ah this would be yours Ron." He said.
"Mine?" Ron said shocked as he got off his bed now and stood beside Y/n's.
"Merry Christmas Ron, It is my hope that you will enjoy these." He said and handed Ron the present.
Ron wasted no time in ripping open the paper.
"No way..." Ron said as he held in his hands a brand new set of Chudley Cannon robes.
"I remembered you staring at them quite a bit back in the summer and thought you might like them." Y/n said now.
"I've never owned a brand new set of the Chudley Cannons before..." Ron said unable to tear his eyes away from them out of fear they might disappear if he looked away for a second.
Y/n just smiled and reached into the sack this time producing a parcel wrapped in red with golden snitches on it. "Harry's." Y/n said looking down at it. "I know how much you love Quidditch so I thought these could come in handy. In fact I might need to get some myself now." Y/n chuckled as Harry got up and Y/n handed him his present. Merry Christmas Harry."
"Merry Christmas Y/n." Harry said back with a smile as he took the parcel and began to unwrap it. Inside was a pair of brand new pair of leather gloves for him to wear during Quidditch. Harry ran his hand over the palms which had a different colour to the rest of the leather and could feel the grip increase immensely, something that would help him a lot when trying to catch the snitch.
"They're wonderful Y/n." Harry grinned as he began to try them on.
"I am glad you like them." Y/n said as he reached back into the bag now and took out a large parcel wrapped in pink with small owl quills on them. "These are for you Hermione, I only hope they will give you something to enjoy during the summer break." Y/n said handing her the present as she gracefully took it.
"Thank you Y/n, and Merry Christmas." Hermione said before unwrapping her present.
"Merry Christmas Hermione." Y/n said as he began to unwrap his own gift from her. She had bought him a book on famous chasers in Quidditch.
Hermione looked down at a large selection of books by various different authors and soon she began to scan through them. "Y/n these are all... first editions." She said surprised.
"I know you are someone who treasures books and knowledge so I do not have to worry about them being in bad hands." Y/n said.
Y/n looked to see Harry had opened the rest of his gifts now. Hagrid had sent him a large tin of treacle fudge, which Harry decided to soften by the fire before eating. Ron had given him a book called Flying with the Cannons, a book of interesting facts about his favorite Quidditch team, and Hermione had bought him a luxury eagle feather quill.
Y/n opened his last present to find a new, hand knitted sweater from Mrs. Weasley and a large plum cake. He read her card with a fresh surge of guilt, thinking about Mr. Weasley's car which hadn't been seen since its crash with the Whomping Willow, and about of the rule breaking he, Harry and Ron were planning next.
No one, not even someone dreading taking Polyjuice Potion later, could fail to enjoy Christmas dinner at Hogwarts.
The Great Hall looked magnificent. Not only were there a dozen frost covered Christmas trees and thick streamers of holly and mistletoe crisscrossing the ceiling, but enchanted snow was falling, warm and dry, from the ceiling. Dumbledore led them in a few of his favorite carols, Hagrid booming more and more loudly with every goblet of eggnog he consumed. Percy, who hadn't noticed that Fred had bewitched his prefect badge so that it now read "Pinhead," kept asking them all what they were sniggering at. Harry didn't even care that Draco Malfoy was making loud, snide remarks about his new sweater from the Slytherin table. With a bit of luck, Malfoy would be getting his comeuppance in a few hours' time. Y/n would catch Atticus glare at him from their tables.
Harry, Y/n and Ron had barely finished their third helpings of Christmas pudding when Hermione ushered them all out of the hall to finalize their plans for the evening.
"We still need a bit of the people you're changing into." said Hermione matter of factly to Harry and Ron, as though she were sending them to the supermarket for laundry detergent. "And obviously, it'll be best if you can get something of Crabbe's and Goyle's, they're Malfoys best friends, he'll tell them anything. And we also need to make sure the real Crabbe and Goyle can't burst in on us while we're interrogating him.
"We could use a sleeping draught. It would make things much simpler." Y/n suggested.
"That's what I thought too." She nodded and held up two plump chocolate cakes. "I've already filled these with a simple Sleeping Draught. All you have to do is make sure Crabbe and Goyle find them. You know how greedy they are, they're bound to eat them. Once they're asleep, pull out a few of their hairs and hide them in a broom closet."
Harry, Y/n and Ron looked at each other.
"That is certainly quite risky..." Y/n started.
"Hermione, I don't think..." Harry began.
"That could go seriously wrong!" Ron told her
But Hermione had a steely glint in her eye not unlike the one Professor McGonagall sometimes had. "The potion will be useless without Crabbe's and Goyle's hair." she said sternly. "You do want to investigate Malfoy, don't you?"
"Oh, all right, all right." said Harry. "But what about you? Whose hair are you ripping out?"
"I've already got mine!" said Hermione brightly, pulling a tiny bottle out of her pocket and showing them the single hair inside it. "Remember Millicent Bulstrode wrestling with me at the Dueling Club? She left this on my robes when she was trying to strangle me! And she's gone home for Christmas...so I'll just have to tell the Slytherins I've decided to come back."
When Hermione had bustled off to check on the Polyjuice Potion again, Ron turned to Y/n and Harry with a doom-laden expression. "Have you ever heard of a plan where so many things could go wrong?"
"Come on we better get ready, we have only got one shot at this." Y/n told them as he started to get up now.
To Y/n's, Harry's and Ron's utter amazement, stage one of the operation went just as smoothly as Hermione had said. They lurked in the deserted entrance hall after Christmas tea, waiting for Crabbe and Goyle who had remained alone at the Slytherin table, shoveling down fourth helpings of trifle. Harry had perched the chocolate cakes on the end of the banisters. When they spotted Crabbe and Goyle coming out of the Great Hall, Y/n, Harry and Ron hid quickly behind a suit of armor next to the front door.
"How thick can you get?" Ron whispered ecstatically as Crabbe gleefully pointed out the cakes to Goyle and grabbed them. Grinning stupidly, they stuffed the cakes whole into their large mouths. For a moment, both of them chewed greedily, looks of triumph on their faces. Then, without the smallest change of expression, they both keeled over backward onto the floor.
"We need to move them quickly before we get found." Y/n said to Harry and Ron as moved now and they followed.
By far the hardest part was hiding them in the closet across the hall. Once they were safely stowed among the buckets and mops, Harry yanked out a couple of the bristles that covered Goyle's forehead and Ron pulled out several of Crabbe's hairs. They also stole their shoes, because their own were far too small for Crabbe and Goyle-size feet. Then, still stunned at what they had just done, the three sprinted up to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.
They could hardly see for the thick black smoke issuing from the stall in which Hermione was stirring the cauldron. Pulling their robes up over their faces, Y/n, Harry and Ron knocked softly on the door.
"Hermione?" Y/n called out.
They heard the scrape of the lock and Hermione emerged, shinyfaced and looking anxious. Behind her they heard the gloop gloop of the bubbling, glutinous potion. Three glass tumblers stood ready on the toilet seat.
"Did you get them?" Hermione asked breathlessly.
Harry showed her Goyle's hair.
"Good. And I sneaked these spare robes out of the laundry." Hermione said, holding up a small sack. "You'll need bigger sizes once you're Crabbe and Goyle."
The four of them stared into the cauldron. Close up, the potion looked like thick, dark mud, bubbling sluggishly.
"I am quite glad I do not have to drink this now..." Y/n said as he looked at in disgust.
"I'm sure I've done everything right." said Hermione, nervously rereading the splotched page of Moste Potente Potions. "It looks like the book says it should... once we've drunk it, we'll have exactly an hour before we change back into ourselves."
"Now what?" Ron whispered.
"We separate it into three glasses and add the hairs." Hermione ladled large dollops of the potion into each of the glasses. Then, her hand trembling, she shook Millicent Bulstrode's hair out of its bottle into the first glass.
The potion hissed loudly like a boiling kettle and frothed madly. A second later, it had turned a sick sort of yellow.
"Urgh...essence of Millicent Bulstrode." said Ron, eyeing it with loathing. "Bet it tastes disgusting."
"Add yours, then." said Hermione.
Harry dropped Goyle's hair into the middle glass and Ron put Crabbe's into the last one. Both glasses hissed and frothed. Goyle's turned the khaki color of a booger, Crabbe's a dark, murky brown.
"Hang on." said Harry as Ron and Hermione reached for their glasses. "We'd better not all drink them in here... Once we turn into Crabbe and Goyle we won't fit. And Millicent Bulstrode's no pixie."
"Good thinking." said Ron, unlocking the door. "We'll take separate stalls."
Y/n moved out into the bathroom now as Harry and Ron entered different stalls.
"Ready?" Y/n heard Harry call.
"Ready." came Ron's and Hermione's voices.
"One...two...three..."
And then there was silence. A few moments went by before Y/n could hear the sounds of the glasses being dropped as they shattered on the floor.
"Are you all alright?" Y/n called out a little worried.
"Just about..." Came a reply in Goyle's low rasp of a voice.
"Yeah." came the deep grunt of Crabbe from his right.
Harry unlocked his door and stepped out now.
"It worked..." Y/n said deeply impressed.
Harry moved to stand in front of the cracked mirror. Goyle stared back at him out of dull, deep set eyes. Harry scratched his ear. So did Goyle.
Ron's door opened now and he and Harry stared at each other. Except that Ron looked pale and shocked, Ron was indistinguishable from Crabbe, from the pudding bowl haircut to the long, gorilla arms.
"This is unbelievable." said Ron, approaching the mirror and prodding Crabbe's flat nose. "Unbelievable."
"You had better get going, You only have an hour." Y/n reminded them now.
"Right, We've still got to find out where the Slytherin common room is. I only hope we can find someone to follow..." said Harry, loosening the watch that was cutting into Goyle's thick wrist.
Ron, who had been gazing at Harry, said, "You don't know how bizarre it is to see Goyle thinking." He banged on Hermione's door. "C'mon, we need to go..."
A high pitched voice answered him. "I...I don't think I'm going to come after all. You go on without me."
"Hermione, we know Millicent Bulstrode's ugly, no one's going to know it's you..." Ron told her.
"No...really...I don't think I'll come. You two hurry up, you're wasting time..." Hermione told them now.
Y/n's brow furrowed now with concern.
Harry just looked at Ron, bewildered.
"That looks more like Goyle." said Ron. "That's how he looks every time a teacher asks him a question."
"You two go." Y/n said to Harry and Ron now. "I will stay with Hermione."
Harry and Ron nodded as they took off now.
Y/n slowly approached the stall Hermione was in now and gently he knocked on it. "Hermione, are you okay?" He asked softly.
"Fine...I'm fine...just go on..." Hermione said but Y/n could tell this wasn't the truth.
"You know...When most people say 'I'm fine.' It really means that they are not." Y/n said but Hermione said nothing back.
Y/n just let out a sigh now as he began to take a seat on the floor leaning back on the stall door frame. Y/n remained patient and quiet as time passed by and soon he looked at this watch to see nearly an hour had passed.
"I know something is wrong Hermione..." He began to say. "You do not have to tell me what it is...but are you okay at least?" Y/n asked now.
"I...I don't know." Hermione said.
"Can you talk to me about it maybe?" Y/n asked.
"I was an idiot...I made a mistake with the potion." Hermione said quietly.
"You are not an idiot Hermione..." Y/n said now. "In fact, you are one the brightest people I know."
"That's all books..." Hermione said flatly.
"No it is not." Y/n told her. "It is true anyone can read a book, but to retain that knowledge and be able to work out things out quicker than others. Not everyone can do that. I really mean it when I say you are a talented witch."
"If I was so smart... then I wouldn't have mistaken cat's hair for human hair..." Hermione said now.
Y/n began to understand what the problem was now. "I...I see. he said in thought for a moment.. "Well... it is a mistake anyone could of have made Hermione." Y/n said. "Would you... possibly let me see what the damage is?" Y/n asked carefully.
"You'll just laugh at me...I look hideous." Hermione said sadly.
"Hermione...I promise not to laugh and not to say anything. You are one of my closest friends, I would never do something to upset you. You have my word." Y/n told her now.
Hermione gave no reply as the bathroom stayed silent but after a few moments Y/n heard the clicking of the stall lock.
Y/n braced himself for a moment as he reached to the stall handle of the stall and slowly he began to open it. Once it was open he was met by a face that was covered in black fur. Hermione's eyes had turned yellow and there were long, pointed ears poking through her hair.
"...Do you feel okay at least? Nothing hurts?" Y/n asked not sure what else to say.
Hermione began to sniffle now and Y/n entered the stall. "Hey...everything is going to be just fine okay?" He told her as he wrapped his arms around her to try give her a comforting hug. "Whether it's a little potion mishap or these school attacks that are happening, I will not let anything happen to you. I promise." Y/n said.
"Well, it wasn't a complete waste of time," Y/n heard Ron's voice pant, as he and Harry entered the bathroom and closing the bathroom door behind them. "I know we still haven't found out who's doing the attacks, but I'm going to write to Dad tomorrow and tell him to check under the Malfoys' drawing room."
Hermione quickly locked the stall door again now. "I don't want them to see me like this..." She said as she looked at Y/n tearing up.
Y/n just nodded and began to take off his robes. "Here, use these." He said handing them to her and immediately she covered her face with them.
Ron hammered on the door of Hermione's stall now ."Hermione, Y/n come out, we've got loads to tell you..."
"Go away!" Hermione squeaked.
"What's the matter?" said Ron. "You must be back to normal by now, we are..."
But Moaning Myrtle glided suddenly through the stall door. Harry had never seen her looking so happy.
"Ooooooh, wait till you see." she said. "It's awful!"
They heard the lock slide back and Hermione emerged, sobbing, Y/n's robes over her head.
"What's up?" said Ron uncertainly. "Have you still got Millicent's nose or something?"
"There was... an accident with Hermione's potion. Unfortunately the hair she used was not a human hair. It was a cat hair... Which has led to some difficult complications." Y/n delicately told them as he began to guide Hermione out the stall.
"Uh oh...." said Ron.
"You'll be teased something dreadful." said Myrtle happily.
"If you having nothing nice to say Miss Myrtle then perhaps you would like to return to your toilet to sulk like usual." Y/n said and Myrtle began to wail as she soared through the air and shot down her usual toilet.
"It's okay, Hermione." said Harry quickly now. "We'll take you up to the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey never asks too many questions..."
It took a long time to persuade Hermione to leave the bathroom.