Harry, unbeknownst to Hermione, used Lockhart's signature to enter the Restricted Section once more. This time, he didn't check out any books. According to Most Potente Potions, brewing Polyjuice Potion required a significant amount of time, and Halloween was fast approaching. In the end, Harry merely made a note of the Polyjuice Potion's distinguishing features and left the library.
Legal potion shops in Diagon Alley wouldn't sell such a concoction. Knockturn Alley certainly would, but Harry didn't have the contact information for any relevant establishments. So, Harry logically set his sights on a particular person, someone who definitely had Polyjuice Potion readily available. But he'd need Fred's help to pull it off.
"No problem," Fred readily agreed. He even seemed a little excited after hearing Harry's plan. Seeing Fred's eager expression, Harry cautiously reminded him, "Just make sure you don't get caught." Fred gave an OK sign and left; he still had a few things to prepare.
That evening, Snape, looking stern, arrived at the entrance to the Gryffindor common room. Snape looked left and right, but Harry was nowhere in sight. Just as Snape was growing impatient, the Fat Lady's portrait finally swung open, but it was Neville Longbottom who emerged.
Neville crawled out, head bowed. He looked up and immediately saw Snape. Neville was clearly startled; he stammered, unable to speak, and simply stood rooted to the spot. Because Neville was blocking the exit, a red-haired head soon peeked out from behind him, then quickly recoiled upon seeing Snape.
"Bloody hell, Snape's blocking the common room entrance. Did he lose the Quidditch match or something...?" Ron's supposedly quiet voice clearly carried from the tunnel.
Hearing Ron muttering about him, Snape remained expressionless. Neville, standing there, was practically in tears, silently praying for Ron to shut up.
Once Ron's voice was no longer audible, Snape addressed Neville. "Longbottom, fetch Potter." But Neville had lost all capacity for thought at this point. He dumbly replied, "Alright, Professor Snape, I'll go get Ron for you..."
Snape couldn't believe his ears. He looked at Neville incredulously. "Longbottom, I thought you were dull enough already, but I didn't realize you could rival a troll."
"You're right, Professor Snape. I'll go get Ron for—"
Snape was starting to lose his temper, his voice unconsciously rising. "It's POTTER! Not WEASLEY!! Can you not even understand English?! Should I perhaps fetch you a translator?!"
Neville finally snapped back to reality. He said, bewildered, "But Professor Snape, it was clearly Ron just now, Harry didn't—"
"NOW! GET POTTER OUT HERE, IMMEDIATELY!!!" Snape roared.
Neville jumped, frantically blurted out the password, and scrambled back inside.
Ron, Seamus, and Dean were standing in the corridor, chatting. Seeing Neville return, Ron immediately asked, "Neville, has Snape gone?" But Neville ignored Ron, rushing straight into the common room.
Inside the common room, Harry and Fred were quietly discussing something, while Hermione sat nearby, reading.
"Harry, don't worry, that attacker couldn't possibly get to me. I have special methods..." Fred whispered, reassuringly.
"Still, it's safer to take this," Harry subtly handed over his Invisibility Cloak.
Neville rushed over to Harry, breathless. "Harry, S-Snape's waiting for you o-outside."
Ginny, eavesdropping from a corner, heard Neville's words and immediately worried about Harry. But to Ginny's surprise, Harry didn't look nervous at all, and Hermione didn't even lift her head. They already knew why Snape was there.
"Thank you, Neville. I understand." Harry said, raising an eyebrow at Fred, then bid Hermione farewell and walked straight out of the common room.
Neville hesitated for a moment, unsure if Snape still expected him to return. But in the end, Neville followed Harry out.
Snape finally spotted Harry. "Potter, I hope you have some sense of punctuality."
"You're just too early, it's not even dark yet."
Hearing this, Snape couldn't be bothered with any more wasted words on Potter. He was already prepared to 'help' Potter thoroughly in their magical practice.
Neville, though a little confused by the scene before him, understood that Snape wasn't simply venting his anger on Harry. "Professor Snape, may I go now?" Neville asked, relieved.
"You go back and tell Weasley that for insulting a professor, Gryffindor will lose ten points, and he'll be cleaning the Gryffindor common room fireplace for a week," Snape said with a cold sneer. Neville left, a miserable look on his face.
Harry silently followed Snape to his office. Inside the office, the usual barrels of potion ingredients were gone, replaced by jars filled with brains. Snape placed a brain on the table, then opened the jar and poured an unknown potion into it. The brain immediately began to twitch slightly. Harry felt as if the brain had come alive.
"Is that a human brain?" Harry couldn't help but ask.
"The Saviour is so clever, wishing to practice magic with fresh human brains. Unfortunately, the humble Potions Master could only procure monkey brains," Snape sneered. "Stop wasting time. Use Legilimency on this," Snape said, pointing at a spot for Harry.
Harry didn't rush to cast the spell; instead, he asked, puzzled, "I thought you'd start with the theory."
"Heh, I'm not in the mood to baby-sit. Besides, you've already successfully used Legilimency on Granger, haven't you?" Snape said impatiently.
Hearing this, Harry wasted no more words. He pulled out his wand and pointed it at the spot Snape indicated. "Legilimens!"
Just like before, Harry smoothly entered the monkey's brain. He expertly navigated to the ocean of memories. Knowing it was a monkey brain, Harry chose to indulge his desires, channeling his magic without restraint. Harry suddenly felt as if he had transformed into a monkey, swinging carefree through a forest...
Outside, the brain's tremors grew more intense, and Snape's brow furrowed. Before long, the brain began to steam as if it were cooked, and Harry withdrew from the monkey's memories. Snape bent down and poked the brain with his wand, attempting to read its memories, but failed. Harry stood quietly to the side, savoring the feeling he had just experienced.
"Again." Snape said, taking out another fresh brain. This time, he poured in two bottles of potion. This brain lasted longer than the previous one, but eventually, it too began to steam. Snape's expression grew even darker.
After Harry's consciousness withdrew from the brain, he heard Snape's mocking words. "If this is how you've been using Legilimency before, Granger should be an imbecile by now." With that, Snape retrieved another brain. This time, however, he only poured in one bottle of potion.
"Don't behave like a troll; learn to control your urges! Imagine it's Granger's brain!" Snape roared.
Harry knew Snape had realized he was carelessly blasting the brain with magic. So, for this Legilimency attempt, he controlled his impulses. This time, the brain didn't get destroyed. When Harry ceased casting, Snape successfully read the monkey's memories.
"It seems only Granger can make you serious, doesn't it? Now, again," Snape commanded.
Harry outwardly complied, but this time he used very little magic, not even fully entering the monkey's brain. He figured the timing was just about right...
Suddenly, a scream echoed from the corridor outside the office. "Ah! Help me!"
Another attack? Snape didn't think twice; he rushed out, remembering to close the office door behind him to prevent the attacker from reaching Harry.
Harry heard Snape close the office door, immediately straightened up, and began rummaging around. Because Snape often gave students detention in his office, Harry had easily found out the office's layout for just 10 Galleons. Soon, Harry discovered a locked drawer. Since they were at Hogwarts, Snape wasn't overly cautious (Hermione easily stole African Tree Snake skin in the original story). So, Harry simply used "Alohomora" and successfully opened the drawer. The drawer contained many small bottles. Harry quickly found the Polyjuice Potion and restored the drawer to its original state.
In the corridor, Snape looked at the wailing doll on the floor, fuming. Suddenly, a Dungbomb flew from afar. Snape immediately rushed over but found nothing. In a corner, Fred, covered by the Invisibility Cloak, dared not move.
Snape suddenly remembered something and quickly turned back to his office. Fred was forced to throw out another Dungbomb, hoping to draw Snape's attention. But Snape didn't turn back. He walked straight into his office and found Harry still seemingly absorbed in the monkey's brain. Snape's gut told him that this Dungbomb had to be connected to Harry.
Harry pretended to finish casting and looked up. "Snape, what are we doing next—" Before Harry could finish, Snape hit him with a sudden Legilimency spell. Harry involuntarily began to recall: Nimbus 2001, Restricted Section, Most Potente Potions...
Snape had barely seen half of it before he was forced out of Harry's mind. This was because Harry had struggled and sent a Cutting Charm at him, forcing Snape to abandon his spell. The two were at a stalemate, neither willing to back down first.
Finally, it was Snape who broke the silence. "Get out!"
Harry was about to leave when Snape called him back. Snape stood there, panting heavily, then said stiffly, "I'll escort you back."
Harry looked at Snape's disgusted expression and felt a strange flicker of awkwardness. After all, he had just stolen something from Snape, and yet Snape was willing to escort him back to the common room, seemingly putting aside their previous animosity.
However, Snape's next words shattered any awkwardness Harry might have felt, though there wasn't much to begin with, it vanished entirely. "Gryffindor, fifty points from you!"
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