When Hermione Had a Bad Idea
"Are you sure about what you're saying?" Harry asked seriously as he looked at Percy, who had just finished telling him everything he'd seen: Cedric's strange behavior and the suspicious object he'd been carrying.
"Why would I lie? More than anything, I just can't shake this weird feeling I get every time I see Cedric. At first, he seemed like a nice guy, but... well, you know how the last friendly guy I met turned out. He tried to kill me and all that," Percy said simply, perhaps a little too simply considering what he was talking about.
Hearing that, Harry's expression tightened, though he also seemed thoughtful.
"I get that Luke left you with some trauma, but every nice guy you meet doesn't automatically become suspicious. Even if he has a weird snake-shaped key and seems to be searching for something around the castle while... a Heir apparently released one of Slytherin's creatures and..." Harry stopped halfway through the sentence as he looked at Percy's expression, which said more than enough.
"Yeah... I know," Harry admitted with a sigh. "It is really suspicious."
"But you said he was still looking for something. If he opened the Chamber, what would he still be searching for?" Harry frowned, thinking it over carefully.
"I don't know... Maybe he isn't even the Heir. Or maybe there are two of them," Percy offered.
Harry frowned even more.
"That would only make everything more complicated."
"And right now we're only going by suspicions. It reminds me of last year, when we were convinced Snape was trying to steal the Philosopher's Stone, and the whole time it was Quirrell," Harry said, clearly annoyed by the memory.
Percy didn't answer.
After all, he'd been one of the students who had defended Quirrell the most...
And the professor had ended up carrying Voldemort on the back of his head.
"The Polyjuice Potion should be ready soon, right? Then you, Hermione, and Ron keep focusing on Malfoy. Neville, Tyson, and I will handle Cedric. Like they say, conquer and divide," Percy declared proudly.
"It's divide and conquer. And you're using it wrong. Very wrong, actually, but..." Harry let out a sigh. "I'm probably going to regret this."
"But it's a good idea. Once we question Malfoy, we'll have a better idea of what to do," Harry said, rubbing his forehead for a moment.
Before Percy could say anything else, the bell announcing the next period rang.
Harry glanced toward the dungeons.
"We'd better go. Snape already hates us enough without giving him another excuse."
Percy grimaced.
"Yeah... I'd rather fight a Chimera... again... than show up late for Potions," he said as the two of them started walking toward the dungeons.
...
Before Harry and Percy could reach the Potions classroom, Hermione, who seemed to have been waiting for them with a rather nervous expression, hurried over the moment she saw them, with Ron following behind her.
"Harry, we have a problem," Hermione said as soon as she reached them, shooting Ron an irritated look. "The bicorn horn and the shredded boomslang skin have both been ruined, and we need to replace them as quickly as possible, or the entire batch of Polyjuice Potion could become useless," Hermione said in a low voice, though she was clearly agitated.
"What? How did they get ruined?" Harry asked in disbelief.
As far as he remembered, the last time he'd seen Hermione handling the ingredients, they'd been perfectly preserved, worth every single Knut he'd... well, Sirius had spent on them.
"It was Myrtle," Hermione said irritably, though she immediately shot Ron another glare sharp enough to stab him. Ron looked thoroughly guilty.
"Myrtle got very offended when Ronald asked whether it was comfortable living inside a toilet."
"What did she say?" Percy asked, genuinely interested.
But after receiving the exact same glare Hermione had just given Ron, he immediately shut his mouth, deciding to save the question for later.
"Myrtle got angry because of the question and flooded the girls' bathroom. The jars containing those two ingredients ended up soaked with toilet water," Hermione explained, still sounding irritated.
"Well... it's not like it was completely my fault. And I think the ingredients could still be used once they dry," Ron quickly muttered.
"Really? So you'd be willing to drink a potion made from ingredients that soaked in sewage water?" Hermione asked sarcastically.
Ron opened his mouth...
But he had no answer.
Really, none of them did.
"So what do we do? Do we have time to ask Sirius to send another set of ingredients?" Harry cut in, focusing on the problem.
"No... actually..." Hermione seemed to struggle with the words. "I... may have found some replacements," she added.
"If there are already replacements, then we don't need to worry that much," Percy said calmly.
But Harry kept his eyes fixed on Hermione's face, his expression still serious.
"They're in Snape's private stores, aren't they?"
"...Yes," Hermione answered quietly.
Ron and Percy immediately looked at her with a mixture of disbelief and fear, both feeling that Hermione had finally gone completely insane.
"Then yes, we do need to worry that much," Percy added, earning himself a smack from Harry because this wasn't the time for his nonsense.
Even Harry would rather fight a Chimera again than deal with Snape if he found out they'd stolen from his private ingredients.
Or Echidna...
...No, alright. Echidna was taking it a bit too far.
"Isn't there anywhere else?" Harry asked before his thoughts could wander any further.
"It's the final step, and the most important one. We have a double Potions class today. We just need to keep him distracted with something. Then one of us can sneak into Snape's office and take what we need," Hermione said enthusiastically.
Even Harry couldn't help looking at Hermione nervously, just like Percy and Ron, watching as the little mini-McGonagall seemed to have finally been corrupted by the darkness.
And maybe...
Most likely...
It was their fault.
"It'd be better if I handle the theft. If any of you get caught—especially Percy or Harry—Snape would probably expel you without a second thought. My record is still spotless," she added.
That made all three boys feel rather uncomfortable.
It really sounded like none of them had exactly been model students at Hogwarts.
But then again... after Percy beat up Malfoy, caused chaos in the Black Lake, and Harry took down the entire Slytherin Quidditch team, neither of them was anywhere near Hermione's level of respectability.
Even Ron probably had a cleaner record, though Snape hated him enough to put him in the same category anyway.
"I just need you three to create a big enough commotion to keep Snape occupied for five minutes," Hermione finished.
Those words made the three boys look at one another.
Because, no matter how they looked at it, the task Hermione was asking of them was just as dangerous.
At least for their mental health.
All it took was one word Snape didn't like for any of them to be punished before they could even say, "That's unfair." And saying that would only make the punishment worse.
"So, just to be clear... you want us to be the sacrifice?" Percy asked in a resigned tone, as if he already knew the answer but still wanted to hear her say it.
"Well... yes," Hermione answered without hesitation.
"Ah... right. I just wanted the confirmation, I guess," Percy couldn't help saying.
Harry could only give an awkward smile, while Ron still looked completely bewildered, as though he were reconsidering every life choice he'd ever made while trying to predict how this day was going to end.
Though, in truth...
He already knew the answer.
If they weren't careful, they were all going to end up in detention.
Or worse...
Expelled.
And with everything settled—
At least as far as Hermione was concerned—
The four of them had no choice but to head toward the Potions classroom.