With Sean's confirmation, Draco finally felt reassured. Although losing the bet to Blaise left him feeling humiliated—and gave Blaise a chance to strut around smugly for days—Draco comforted himself.
"I didn't lose. I just gave Sean face."
Somehow, news spread faster than expected. What had originally been known only among a few Slytherin students became common knowledge across other houses by the very next day—especially catching the attention of the Gryffindor trio.
Harry spoke with conviction, looking at Ron and Hermione. "Draco wouldn't make a bet like that without reason. I think he definitely knows something about the Philosopher's Stone."
Ron thought for a moment. "You still think Draco is after whatever's in that third-floor room?"
Hermione analyzed calmly, "The fact that Draco dared to accept the bet means he was confident. But then he suddenly gave up last night. You both know what kind of person he is—he'd never admit defeat so easily. It's too embarrassing for him. That's not his style."
Harry and Ron nodded in agreement.
Suddenly, Harry's eyes lit up. "What if… we ask Draco directly?"
"Forget it," Ron said immediately. "He never says anything nice to us. Why would he tell us anything?"
"He won't tell us—but Crabbe and Goyle might," Harry replied.
"They follow Draco around like shadows," Ron pointed out.
"Exactly," Harry said, glancing at Hermione. "So if they ask Draco, he won't refuse them."
The moment their eyes met, Harry and Hermione spoke at the same time.
"Polyjuice Potion."
It wasn't surprising that Hermione knew about it, but Harry did too—thanks to the unusually peaceful school term, which had forced him to actually pay some attention in class.
Snape had only briefly mentioned Polyjuice Potion in Potions class. Its recipe was in Moste Potente Potions, a book kept in the Restricted Section.
"That's a potion only advanced students can brew," Hermione said, raising her voice slightly.
"I believe in you. You're the best," Harry said confidently.
Hermione said nothing at first. Then the three of them exchanged sly smiles.
But someone even more interested in the bet was a scrawny black rat.
Voldemort had already abandoned the gray rat and possessed a new black one. When he returned to the castle, he happened to overhear Slytherin students discussing Draco and Blaise's wager.
To him, this was a stroke of luck.
"Lucius is useless… but his son might be of some use," Voldemort thought. Though he couldn't yet confirm whether Hoff was truly at Hogwarts, at least he now had a lead.
As a small rat, he could move unnoticed anywhere. Instead of returning to the Chamber of Secrets, Voldemort altered his route and headed toward the Slytherin common room.
That night, by following Draco, Voldemort finally got what he wanted.
"I'll say it again," Draco said impatiently from the sofa. "Nicolas Flamel's student is in the school. But for certain reasons, I had to concede the bet."
Crabbe and Goyle exchanged glances and nodded. "That makes sense. You wouldn't agree to a bet you knew you'd lose. There must be a reason."
"Obviously," Draco scoffed. "If I hadn't promised Sean, I would've found Flamel's student and rubbed it in Blaise's face."
Hidden in the corner, Voldemort listened carefully. "So Hoff really is at Hogwarts… Sean. That student—Helbo mentioned him before."
But Draco didn't know much. He didn't even know Hoff's name, let alone where he was.
Until Wormtail returned, Voldemort could only wander the castle daily, searching for Hoff Stark.
Ironically, Voldemort and Quirrell had already seen Hoff during Chris's kidnapping—but he had no idea that was him.
Twenty-one days later, Friday, January 31, 1992, Hermione finally succeeded in brewing the Polyjuice Potion using ingredients stolen from Snape's storage.
"This… sticky mess is safe to drink?" Ron asked, pinching his nose in disgust.
Hermione shot him a glare. "Add something from the person you want to become—like hair or fingernails—then drink it. You'll take on their appearance for one hour."
Harry and Ron each held a vial containing a strand of hair.
"This is Crabbe's," Harry said.
"And this is Goyle's," Ron added.
Hermione took out a long strand of hair. "Pansy Parkinson."
The plan was simple. For the next hour, they would become Draco's closest companions and extract whatever information they could.
"How are they?" Hermione asked before drinking the potion.
"Uh… Crabbe and Goyle are unconscious from the drugged cake. But Pansy didn't fall for it—she's probably already back in the Slytherin common room," Harry said.
Hermione hesitated briefly. "Then we don't have much time. It'll be harder to get in later."
"What about you?" Ron asked.
"I can't go. If I run into the real Pansy, we're finished," Hermione replied.
Harry and Ron exchanged uneasy looks. Without Hermione, they weren't sure they could pull this off.
Seeing their hesitation, Hermione rolled her eyes. "Just go!"
Holding their breath, the two gulped down the foul-tasting potion. Their faces began to contort, muscles shifting as their features transformed. Even their hair changed color.
Five minutes later, in the corridor outside the Slytherin dungeon, two fake Crabbe and Goyle stood awkwardly, glancing around as they waited.
It was just after dinner. Students were returning to their dorms. Since Harry and Ron didn't know the password, they had to sneak in behind someone else.
"Harry, someone's coming," Ron whispered.
Harry looked up—and froze.
It was Sean, along with Cassius and Chris.
The two stood stiffly, their movements unnatural.
"What are you two doing here? Not heading back?" Cassius asked casually.
"Uh… we ate too much. Just walking it off," Harry—disguised as Crabbe—said nervously.
Cassius chuckled. "These two first-years eat as much as Graham."
Sean glanced back as he walked. "You're not much better."
Harry and Ron quickly followed. When Sean and the others entered the Slytherin common room, they slipped in behind them.
Sean felt something was off about Crabbe and Goyle.
But Polyjuice Potion was powerful—even Dumbledore could be fooled. With the naked eye, Sean couldn't spot anything unusual.
So, as usual, he activated his Magic vision.
Under its gaze, the "Crabbe" in front of him emitted magical energy far stronger than any first-year should.
That wasn't Crabbe's level.
Sean's eyes narrowed slightly.
"So… this trick is happening early?"
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