Crazy Ideas - Part 2
Mark stepped out of the magical laboratory, though he was also a little interested in Sally's magic. Becoming a guinea pig wasn't remotely on his list of interests, so he escaped while he had the chance and ducked into a nearby office at the Knights' headquarters.
"So then, what are you plotting this time?" Mark asked immediately, looking back at the two-way mirror, where Hermione, Harry, and Ron could now be seen standing in a quiet corner of one of the castle's emptier corridors. "It's strange not seeing Percy around. Did he get himself into trouble and you're trying to save him with some kind of antidote or something? If that's the case, I can't help you. If I end up turning into a guinea pig, his mother will kill me instead," Mark said at once in a serious tone.
"No, we're not plotting anything. And Percy is just wandering around the castle with Tyson," Harry replied.
Mark raised an eyebrow, making it clear he didn't believe them in the slightest.
"I was just wondering if you had the recipe for Polyjuice Potion," Harry said, getting straight to the point.
"Polyjuice Potion, huh? Yes, I have it. Several improved versions too, all developed by me," Mark said with a proud smile.
The three of them couldn't help perking up immediately.
"Then..."
"I refuse," Mark said without hesitation.
Harry's hopeful smile instantly fell apart, and he let out a sigh as he rolled his eyes, feeling like this was exactly the same as last time with Mark.
Naturally, Mark noticed and shot him a look of disdain.
"Don't do that. This time I really mean it. I'm refusing. It's not a potion a bunch of brats can brew easily, no matter how good your grades are," he said, looking toward Hermione.
"How do you know...?" Ron asked in genuine surprise.
"I'm observant," Mark replied calmly. "But you'd better listen to me this time. Polyjuice Potion isn't something to mess around with. If anything goes wrong, you could end up turning into some strange, hairy, deformed animal, so..."
Mark stopped mid-sentence, and his expression suddenly turned puzzled as he looked past them.
"Lockhart?" he said.
Harry and the others immediately turned around.
They saw the masked professor walking down the corridor with his usual smile. He seemed to notice the three of them staring at him, so he turned, greeted them with a charming smile, and continued on his way.
Harry then looked back at the mirror and saw Mark's confused expression.
"You know him?" he asked. With that mask covering most of his face, he should've been difficult to recognize, yet Mark had identified him immediately.
"Yeah. He's an idiot who..." Mark stopped himself. "What's he doing at your school?" he asked.
"He's our Defence Against the Dark Arts professor," Hermione replied, frowning as she heard Mark call her idol an idiot.
"What?" Mark said in disbelief. "Him? A professor? He can barely cast a spell."
His expression was a mixture of disbelief and contempt.
Ron and Harry exchanged a brief glance.
"Well, he's pretty famous in the wizarding world. He wrote several books about fighting dangerous creatures..." Harry paused for a moment, as if an idea had just come to him. "A lot of people are even starting to compare him to Merlin himself," he added casually.
"What?" Mark said immediately in a serious tone, and he even looked like he was starting to get genuinely angry.
"Right?" Harry said, glancing at his friends. Ron and Hermione looked confused for a second, but Harry's expression was enough. They immediately realized he wanted them to play along.
"Oh, yeah. They even awarded him an Order of Merlin for his achievements," Ron chimed in immediately.
"Some people even say he could be a descendant of Merlin himself," Hermione added right after.
Without realizing it, those words only seemed to make things even worse.
Mark's eyes filled with anger, and he looked like he was on the verge of doing something insane.
"Who dares?" he roared.
Hermione and Ron had no idea why he seemed so furious over something like that.
Harry, of course, knew exactly why.
"To be honest, we don't like him that much either. Lately his classes are just stage plays where he makes us act out the beasts he supposedly fought, and he even calls himself Merlin reborn. So we were thinking about giving him a few problems... maybe with a few potions," Harry said slowly.
Still fuming, Mark stared at him for a long moment.
"Send your owl. I'll send you one of my books," Mark said immediately.
"Sure," Harry replied, trying to suppress his smile, then ended the call through the two-way mirror before Mark could realize how obvious his plan had been.
"Wow... I feel like I'm turning into Percy," Harry admitted, realizing that what he'd just done was exactly the kind of thing his brother would pull.
"Why did he react like that? Is that guy trustworthy?" Ron asked.
"Yeah. After all, Mark is a real descendant of Merlin," Harry said calmly.
Ron froze on the spot, his mouth falling open in shock.
Hermione looked just as stunned.
"What?" Ron asked, as if his ears had stopped working.
After all, Merlin was considered almost a legendary figure in the wizarding world.
And no one had ever heard that he'd left behind any descendants.
...
Meanwhile, on Mark's side, the moment the call through the two-way mirror ended, he couldn't help making a rather annoyed face.
"You let them manipulate you far too easily," a calm voice said from inside the office.
Mark turned around and saw Dorien sitting behind a nearby desk, watching him with that usual smile of his that always looked fake.
"Funny coming from the first one who fell for them," Mark replied with disdain.
Dorien didn't answer.
He simply gave him that same fake smile as always.
But unlike before, Mark didn't seem afraid of him in the slightest.
"Still... you saw him too, didn't you?" Mark said, his expression turning much more serious. "I thought you'd killed him," he added before frowning slightly. "And why would he be teaching at a magical school where Sally's children happen to be?"
"You make it sound like I'm some cold-blooded murderer," Dorien said, casually waving one hand. "But you're right. It might be best to keep an eye on him," he continued, looking back at Mark. "After all these years, we have plenty of wizards loyal to the Order. You go."
"What?" Mark said, genuinely surprised, unable to hide the spark of excitement in his eyes. "Are you serious?" he asked immediately.
"You had to turn down the Hogwarts letter that arrived all those years ago because of your contract, and technically this mission requires a wizard," Dorien said calmly. "Good luck."
He casually waved his hand, as though shooing him out of the room.
Meanwhile, Mark couldn't help feeling a growing curiosity about finally seeing Hogwarts—the school where Merlin, the ancestor from whom he descended, had once studied centuries ago.