Times Of Her Blood

Fifty Two | Polyjuice Potion

Really don't like this chapter but I don't have the motivation to rewrite it so... here it is I guess :)

Justin Finch- Flechley and Nearly Headless Nick.

They were the third and fourth victims of the petrifying demon that had begun to haunt the corridors at Hogwarts. Next to nobody knew what it was. In fact, there was only one student that had even a clue. Not that she had told anybody this.

Harry Potter had stumbled across these horrifying scenes on separate occasions, which certainly didn't help ease the suspicion placed upon him after the incident with the snake at the first, and last, meeting of the duelling club.

Draco Malfoy became even more full of himself as time went on, a very unusual attitude to have towards three petrified students and a cat (Filch was still giving Harry a hard time for that, despite the fact hat the boy had enough on his plate with being rumoured to be the heir of Slytherin etc). Laurel wasn't the only one who suspected it, having caught Ron glowering at the blonde boy, Hermione shooting glances at the Slytherin table every now and then and Harry nudging them, telling the two to stop making it so obvious that they were watching him.

She knew they were up to something from the very start, which wasn't something that went unnoticed by Hermione (the other two thought they were doing a better job at keeping their glances discreet and voices low). So when the girl finally approached Laurel asking for help with something, she didn't feel the need to elaborate. At all.

Laurel don't mind, though. The three could easily get by on their own, but she was having doubts when she was asked about a Polyjuice potion.

The kind of potion was advanced, tricky and most likely illegal or at least restricted to most, let alone three second years. That said, the right person could brew one easily. It took time and effort, plus a fair bit of concentration. It allowed the drinker to assume the form of anybody of their choosing, providing this said person had the specific DNA of one individual.

For example, if one were to take the wrong hair sample, it would be a disaster. Becoming the wrong person was one thing, but becoming an animal? The poly juice potion was very specific and certainly not complicated enough to be anything like an animagus transformation replica.

It wasn't advised that you carelessly took a strand of hair off anybody without clarification that it was theirs, else the consequences would be... unamusing.

"Be careful," she'd warned as she handed Hermione a slip over paper underneath the library table, "It's not easy."

Hermione frowned, "But you've done it before, right?"

Unable to hide her grin, she'd shrugged, "I'd have to be mad to pass up the opportunity to become a third Weasley for an hour or two, just to see the look on McGonagall's face she starts seeing triple."

Hermione had rolled her eyes, thanking her for her help as she stood up to leave.

"Mind telling me what you three are up to?"

Hermione paused, "I, well... do you mind if I don't, um, tell you?" She stumbled over finding the right words, afraid Laurel would take it the wrong way.

Instead, she'd shrugged, "Just don't do anything that'll make me regret helping you out, 'Mione," with a wink, she was gone, headed off to replace Snape's potions with some new substance herself, Fred and George had created.

***
About three weeks later...

Laurel was curled up on the comfiest chair she could find in the Slytherin common room, emerald green blanket draped across her. She was lost in a book, unaware of the fact that the room was almost empty by now.