Chapter 17
In the Slytherin common room, Malfoy relaxed on one of the couches while the other three stood, watching him awkwardly. Malfoy looked at all of them, curious.
"Well, sit down." He ordered. They obliged, Cassidy/Daphne sitting next to Ron/Crabbe to keep up the facade. They shifted uncomfortably, avoiding eye contact with one another.
"You'd never know the Weasleys were pure-bloods, the way they behave. They're an embarrassment to the wizarding world. All of them." Cassidy felt fury flare up in her chest, but she held her tongue, only clenching her fist.
She looked over, and saw Crabbe (Ron), had done the same. His little fat fist cracked as he clenched it tighter. Taking a quiet breath, she reached over and put her hand over his. It was only to stay in character, of course. Only because Crabbe and Daphne were a thing.
Right?
"What's wrong with you, Crabbe? Your girlfriend's got to comfort you about something, eh?" He teased. Ron/Crabbe looked down at Daphne's hand, and his face got all blotchy red again.
Harry/Goyle nudged him, and he cleared his throat. "Uh. Stomachache." He muttered, looking away.
"Honestly, it's been so terrible for him." Daphne/Cassidy agreed, using that high, airy voice of hers.
Draco furrowed his brow, shrugging and looking away.
"Y'know, I'm surprised the Daily Prophet hasn't done a report on all these attacks," Malfoy continued. "I suppose Dumbledore's trying to hush it all up."
Daphne/Cassidy nodded slowly.
"Father always did say that Dumbledore was the worst thing that had ever happened to this place. Same way that Sickly Sweet's shop is the worst thing to happen to the Diagon Alley-"
"You're wrong!" Harry/Goyle shouted suddenly, taking Draco by surprise. Harry blinked, realizing his mistake. The other two slowly turned to him in horror. Draco arose from his couch, a very angry look on his face.
"Er, Draco, he was only joking, you know-" Daphne/Cassidy started nervously, but Draco ignored her, narrowing his eyes on Harry/Goyle.
"What?! You think there's someone here who's worse than Dumbledore?!" Draco shouted. He clearly wasn't used to being disagreed with. Ron/Crabbe and Daphne/Cassidy shook their heads furiously while Harry/Goyle hung his head.
"Well?! Do you?!" He shouted yet again.
There was silence.
"...Harry Potter?" Harry said timidly. Cassidy had to stifle a laugh yet again, keeping her face as straight as possible as the three stared at Draco, waiting for his reaction.
He scoffed, smiling.
"Good one, Goyle. Absolutely right."
Cassidy and Ron let out a breath they didn't know they'd been holding.
"Saint Potter." Malfoy spat, disdain all over his face. "And people actually think that he's the heir of Slytherin?" Draco said incredulously.
"That scrawny git could never compare to Salazar." Cassidy/Daphne chipped in, voice trembling a bit.
"You're right, Daphne. Oi, Crabbe, you picked a good one." Draco nodded to Ron, who'd gone a slight shade of pink.
"But then, you must have some idea who's behind it all." Harry/Goyle blurted out.
"You know I don't, Goyle." Draco said sadly, starting to pace. "I told you yesterday."
"What?" Cassidy muttered.
"What was that, Daphne?" Draco asked.
"Nothing." She said quickly, batting her eyelashes at Crabbe/Ron and grabbing his arm.
"Anyway, how many times do I have to tell you lot?" He picked up a small green present box, shaking it next to his ear. "Is this yours?" He asked Harry/Goyle. He shook his head, then Draco pocketed it. Cassidy wrinkled her nose in disapproval as Draco kept speaking.
"But my father did say this. It's been fifty years since the Chamber was opened. He wouldn't tell me who opened it, only that they were expelled. The last time the Chamber of Secrets was opened, a Mudblood died."
Cassidy's mind instantly flew to Hermione, and she held Ron's arm tighter to ground herself.
"So it's only a matter of time before one of them is killed this time." Cassidy's necklace warmed up slightly as Draco continued. "As for me, I hope it's Granger."
That was the last straw.
Cassidy/Daphne and Ron/Crabbe sprung up, enraged as Harry tried to hold the two back.
"What's the matter with you three?! You're acting very...odd." Draco said, alarmed. Cassidy glared at him, but regained her composure, holding Ron.
"It's that terrible stomachache." She crooned, hating how she sounded. "Making him go mad." Turning to Ron, her eyes softened.
"Calm the hell down." Cassidy/Daphne whispered, as Harry nodded. "He'll get what's coming to him." Ron's face warmed, realizing how close their faces were to one another. Cassidy didn't notice, looking back at Draco.
Draco had turned away, unwrapping the present he'd stolen. Ron looked up at Harry, and his eyes widened.
"S-scar." He trembled. Cassidy looked at his forehead, and sure enough, Harry's scar was reappearing. She looked down at her pinky, which was quickly darkening in color. Ron's hair was becoming red again.
"Merlin, it's over." She sighed. "Thanks for everything."
Ron grabbed Cassidy's arm and they started to run, ignoring Draco's shouts.
"Hey! Where are you going?!" He yelled after them, confused.
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The adrenaline from the escape coursed through Cassidy's veins as she and Ron bolted through the corridors, Harry hot on their heels. The discomfort of the Polyjuice Potion still lingered, the sensation of being someone else stuck in her body, and Cassidy could hardly wait to get back to the bathroom.
"Come on, we need to make it to the bathroom before the potion wears off completely," she urged, feeling her pulse quicken. "Ron, hurry up!"
Ron was right beside her, though he seemed even more flustered than before. "I—I'm trying, but it's not easy running when I'm shape shifting, y'know?" he mumbled, almost tripping over his own feet as he tried to keep up.
Cassidy shot him a sympathetic look. "Yeah, I know. I'm the one stuck being part-Daphne." She rolled her eyes, her voice softening. "Not that I mind the blonde hair, but everything else is just... wrong."
They rushed around the corner, nearly slamming into a group of first-years who squealed in surprise before scattering. Cassidy shot them an apologetic look, hoping that none of them had recognized her voice.
"Which way now?" Harry asked, looking around, his face full of concern.
Cassidy squinted down the hall. "The bathroom should be close—just a bit further."
As they rounded the next corner, she felt the first telltale signs of the potion's effect completely fading. The dark hue of her skin had returned, and her hair was tightening back into its usual braids. But even as the transformation finished reversing, there was a strange sense of urgency building in her chest. She couldn't shake the memory of Draco's words—the hope that someone would die. Granger. Hermione.
Her breath hitched.
"Cassidy?" Ron said, his voice catching her off guard. "You okay?"
She forced a smile, trying to mask the worry threatening to surface. "Yeah. Just... thinking."
"It's what he said, isn't it?" Harry asked, his brow furrowed.
She glanced at the two of them, knowing they could feel the tension in the air. "Just that Draco Malfoy is... he's sick. There's something wrong with him, and I'm pretty sure we're going to have to stop the heir of Slytherin sooner or later."
"Bloody hell, and to think we were just trying to spy on them," Ron muttered under his breath. "What a mess."
They were almost to the bathroom, the echo of their footsteps the only sound between them now. Cassidy's heart was still pounding, but it wasn't just from the adrenaline—it was from something else. Something darker.
"Let's just get back to Hermione first," Cassidy said, trying to push the darker thoughts away. She didn't want to burden them right now. "Then we can figure it out."
They reached the door of the girls' bathroom, and as Cassidy opened it, she heard the familiar sound of someone in one of the stalls.
"Looks like Hermione is still here," Harry commented, rushing up to Hermione's stall.
"Let's just get this over with," Cassidy replied, following Harry.
"Hermione! Come out, we've got loads to tell you!" Harry yelled.
"Go away!" She yelled back, voice trembling.
"'Mione, what're you-" Cassidy stopped speaking as Moaning Myrtle's ghostly form flew over to the three, smug. "The hell are you grinning for?" Cassidy asked, suspicious.
"Wait till you see. It's awful." Myrtle replied, gliding around them gleefully and giggling.
"Shut up, Myrtle." Cassidy snapped, turning back to Hermione's door with worry.
"H-hermione? Are you okay?" Harry asked uncertainly, slowly pushing the door to the stall open.
Cassidy's jaw dropped open.
"Oh. Oh." She exclaimed, hands flying to her mouth as Ron's face took in the scene before him with horror. Silently, Cassidy handed Harry's glasses back to him, and he put them on.
"Do you remember me telling you...the Polyjuice potion was only for human transformations?" Hermione asked slowly. "It was a cat's hair I plucked off Millicent Bulstrode's robes."
Hermione fully turned around, revealing herself as a humanoid-looking cat, green eyes gleaming in the moonlight.
"I thought I'd seen everything." Cassidy breathed, still staring.
"I thought I'd seen everything." Cassidy breathed, still staring.
"Look at my face." Hermione said helplessly.
"Look at your tail." Ron said, while Myrtle laughed in the background.
"Shut it, Ron, you were the equivalent of a human pug mere minutes ago, and don't let me start on you, Myrtle. Tell me, when was the last time someone was happy to see you?" Cassidy snapped, looking back at Hermione sympathetically before taking her hand.
"C'mon, 'Mione. Madam Pomfrey will know what to do." She said softly.