Chapter 16
Christmas was here at last, but this year, everyone in the group was staying behind. Cassidy was telling Harry about the time her father had almost blown up Honeyduke's by accidentally shipping Dungbombs instead of Chocolate Frogs when Hermione sat down at the group's table.
"Everything's set. We just need a bit of who you're changing into." She whispered, looking at the three conspiratorially.
"Crabbe, Goyle, and Daphne." Harry said, nodding at the other two.
"We also need to make sure that the real Crabbe, Goyle and Daphne can't burst in while we're interrogating Malfoy."
"How?" Ron asked.
"Maybe we could knock them out. Daphne Greengrass will be easy, she's a wisp of a girl-" Cassidy started, but Hermione silenced her with a look.
"There won't be any knocking out. I've got it all worked out, anyway." Hermione pulled out three chocolate muffins, setting them on the table.
"I've filled these with a simple sleeping draft. Simple, but powerful."
"So we're still knocking them out, just in your way." Cassidy replied incredulously.
"Now," Hermione continued, ignoring Cassidy, "once they're asleep, hide them in the broomstick cupboard and take out one of their hairs. And put on their uniforms."
"Whose hair are you ripping out then?!" Ron asked Hermione.
"I've already got mine." She replied, holding up a vial. "Millicent Bulstrode. Slytherin. I got this from her robes."
"Efficient, I'll give you that." Cassidy said, making Hermione beam with pride.
"Make sure that Crabbe, Goyle and Daphne find these. She's always hanging about them, anyway." Hermione pushed the three muffins over to them.
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"Stop stepping on my foot, Harry." Cassidy whispered as they snuck about, muffins in hand.
As he apologized, Ron pulled out his Spellotaped wand, clearing his throat. Harry gently put it down.
"Uh- Ron, maybe I should do it." whispered Harry, while Cassidy snickered.
"Oh. Yeah, right." He stuffed the wand in his pocket, glaring at a still-laughing Cassidy.
"Give me the muffins, Cass." Harry beckoned for them with his hand, and she put them in. He set them down in the floor.
"Wingardium Leviosa." He said, swishing his wand. Slowly but surely, the three muffins started to float in the air. They hid when they heard incoming footsteps, one of them light and two of them heavy.
"Really, Crabbe, you shouldn't be eating that much," the airy voice of Daphne Greengrass could be heard, and the three came into view. Crabbe grunted something in response, which made Daphne giggle and Goyle roll his eyes. Their arms were full of treats from the feast.
Suddenly, they caught sight of the three levitating muffins, and their eyes lit up.
"Cool!" Crabbe exclaimed, snickering with Goyle and stepping closer to the muffins. Daphne stayed behind, her pretty face slightly worried.
"Ain't you comin', Daphne?" Crabbe's rough voice called to her. She hesitated.
"C'mon, c'mon..." Cassidy whispered.
"Oh, alright." Daphne agreed, smiling as she walked over to where the two larger boys were standing.
The three of them took hold of the floating muffins, Daphne taking delicate little bites while the boys stuffed their faces, gleeful.
"Good, ain't it?" Crabbe said to Daphne, who nodded enthusiastically before chewing a bit more slowly, a look of discomfort on her face. The other two did the same.
"Say, this muffin...it's quite..." Daphne said slowly, before looking at the other two and collapsing at the same time they did.
"How thick could you get?" Ron said, shaking his head while Cassidy laughed.
"Let's go." Harry said, and they ran over to where the three unconscious bodies lay.
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After they had hid the bodies, (gruesome, I know), the three had gone back to the dark gloom of Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, where Cassidy helped with the potion making once more.
"We have exactly one hour before we change back into ourselves." Hermione explained as Cassidy scooped the mucky substance that was the Polyjuice potion into some cups. She grimaced at the slop before handing Ron, Harry and Hermione their cups. She took her own, retching at the sight of it.
"Add the hairs." Hermione instructed, and Cassidy dropped Daphne's beautiful blonde hair into her cup of the potion.
"Ugh, essence of Crabbe." Ron complained. Cassidy found her own to smell quite like flowers, though she got a whiff of Crabbe as well since Daphne was always following him around. She didn't know what that girl saw in him.
"Cheers." Hermione said, and the four clinked their cups together before downing it all. They immediately retched at the taste.
"Ugh, this stuff tastes like-" Cassidy started.
"I think I'm gonna be sick!" Ron exclaimed, running off, and leaving the glass to break on the floor.
Hermione downed a second helping, then dropped her glass as well.
"Me too." She ran off to the nearest stall.
"I second that." Cassidy mumbled, holding her stomach before running to a stall.
Once inside, she didn't throw up. Rather, she felt herself changing. Cassidy grimaced as her arm started to bubble, like a potion in a cauldron, and she watched in horror as her dark brown skin changed its pigment to that of a very pale white girl. She felt her nose growing longer and narrowing, and her braids loosened themselves into pin-straight blonde hair. Her body felt a bit taller, and her lips a bit smaller.
Cassidy's body stopped changing, and she stepped out of her stall just as Ron (who was now Crabbe), stepped out as well. He looked up at Goyle (who was really Harry) in astonishment, before turning to Daphne (who was actually Cassidy).
"C-Cassidy?" Ron said in shock, looking back at Harry. "Harry?"
"Ron." They said in unison.
The three of them stepped closer to each other, still inspecting the handiwork of the potion.
"Bloody hell." Ron/Crabbe said.
"We still sound like ourselves," Harry pointed out. "You need to sound more like Daphne and Crabbe."
"Oh, Crabbe." Cassidy/Daphne swooned, doing an incredibly uncanny Daphne voice. She held onto Crabbe/Ron for more emphasis, making his face turn a blotchy pink. He cleared his throat and tried to imitate Crabbe's voice.
"Bloody hell." He said again, but deeper.
"Excellent." Harry grinned while Cassidy nodded.
"Where's 'Mione?" Cassidy asked suddenly, looking around. "She should be out here by now."
"I-I don't think I'm going!" Hermione called out from her stall, catching the group's attention. "You three should go on without me!"
"Hermione, are you okay?!" Harry (did I mention that he's Goyle)? called out.
"Just go! You're wasting time!" Hermione yelled yet again.
The three looked at each other, confused.
"C'mon." Harry said, rushing off with Ron. Cassidy hesitated, looking at Hermione's stall on last time.
"I know you're still there, Cassidy, go!" Hermione yelled, and Cassidy ran off with the other two.
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"I think the Slytherin common room's this way." Harry pointed to the group's left, and they followed him.
Cassidy shifted uncomfortably in Daphne's body, trying to keep her shoulders back and her posture as graceful as she could muster. It felt wrong—unnatural. She caught Ron (as Crabbe) glancing at her, his cheeks flushed from the awkwardness of her earlier mimicry, and she almost felt embarrassed. Was she really pulling off Daphne's essence, or was she just making things even more bizarre?
Before she could think further, the stern voice of Percy Weasley, Ron Weasley's older brother, drew the group's attention.
"Excuse me."
"What are you-" Cassidy smacked the back of Ron's head. "I mean, what are you doing down here?" Ron repeated in a deeper voice as Percy strode towards them.
"I happen to be a school prefect." Percy cocked an eyebrow. "You, on the other hand, have no business wandering the corridors at this time of night."
"We're terribly sorry," said Cassidy, batting her blonde eyelashes quite awkwardly at Percy.
"...Right. What are your names again?" Percy asked, looking very uncomfortable.
"I'm.." Harry/Goyle started, apparently forgetting the identity of the very person he was mimicking.
"Crabbe! Goyle! Daphne?!" An annoying voice called out. The three whirled around to see Draco Malfoy striding towards them. "Where have you all been?"
"Oh, fiddlesticks." Cassidy/Daphne muttered, before plastering on an award-winning smile.
"Pigging out in the Great Hall all this time?" He said, eyes flickering towards Cassidy, who was Daphne. "And you must've been chatting to Crabbe the entire feast." He teased.
Cassidy's face flushed involuntarily, same time as Ron/Crabbe's did. He looked away from them, turning to Goyle.
"Why're you wearing glasses?" Malfoy asked suspiciously. Daphne grabbed them off, startling Draco.
"U-um, he borrowed them from me, for some, er, light reading." Daphne blurted out. Draco scoffed, looking at Cassidy/Daphne incredulously. "Reading?" He then turned to Crabbe. "I didn't know you could read."
It took the power of all her ancestors for Cassidy not to burst into laughter at that moment. Instead, she watched silently as Draco stepped towards Percy.
"And what're you doing down here, Weasley?" He asked, a sourness in his voice.
"Mind your attitude, Malfoy." Percy replied, jaw tensed. Draco simply glared at him, before going off with the other three. Daphne/Cassidy winked at Percy before she left, wanting to keep up the persona. Percy cringed as she skipped off.