Chapter 171 It's time to test your acting skills
After Aaron left, Harry glanced at Draco, who was still eating, then winked at Hermione. "Time to act."
Hermione nodded and went to the laundry room without hesitation.
"So what do we do next?" Ron asked in a low voice. "Crabbeand Goyle are just gluttons, easy to fool, but Malfoy isn't an idiot."
"So we need a plan."
"What plan? That's Malfoy!"
"He hates the two of us the most. If we sent him a cake, he'd probably just throw it in our faces." Ron said, somewhat exasperated. "How about we try to duel him again? Maybe a food-eating contest?"
"No, he won't accept that kind of challenge."
"Besides, we need to find a way to make them stay in the Great Hall as long as possible. The fewer people there are, the easier it is for us to act."
Ron was about to say something when he saw Malfoy stand up, looking like he was about to leave.
"Uh oh! I think we need to hurry."
Harry also noticed Malfoy's movement. "We can't let him leave. Whatever it takes, keep him here."
"But we don't have a plan yet!"
"Improvise!" Harry placed three chocolate cakes on a tray and went to the Slytherin long table.
Ron sighed and followed him.
"Malfoy, wait a moment. We have something we want to talk to you about."
"Potter, and Weasley." Draco frowned, somewhat surprised, and sneered, "How unusual! Isn't Granger with you?"
"This is private, and it has nothing to do with Hermione," Ron said.
"Oh, but I don't think I have anything to talk about with you." Draco smiled meaningfully. "Crabbe, Goyle, let's go."
"It's Quidditch," Harry quickly said. This was the most suitable topic he could think of.
Draco immediately stopped. "Now that you mention it, you've piqued my interest."
"Actually, I came specifically to apologize." Harry forced a smile. Although he was seething with anger inside, he tried his best to make his expression appear friendly.
"You apologize?" Draco looked at Harry in surprise, somewhat disbelieving, but for some reason, he felt inexplicably pleased.
"Is it that surprising?" Harry sat down and said seriously, "I was too impulsive on the Quidditch pitch, otherwise you wouldn't have gotten your arm injured because of me."
Draco thought back to the situation at the time and couldn't help but tease, "I remember you seemed more hurt. Lockhart made your bones disappear, didn't he!
And in the end, we still won. Slytherin defeated Gryffindor."
"That's two different things. At the time, I wanted to drag you down with me to share the pressure."
"No need to explain, Potter, anyone could see that."
"However, your apology is quite interesting. I reluctantly accept it."
Harry suppressed the frustration in his heart, gritted his back teeth, and said, "Thank you."
"Now, please move out of the way. We need to return to our common room."
Harry immediately winked at Ron, signaling, "It's your turn."
Although Ron was reluctant, he didn't want any mishaps to occur on his part.
And Harry had already set an example for him; as long as he was thick-skinned enough and brave enough, delaying time was not impossible.
"Wait a moment."
"What now?" Draco asked impatiently. "Don't tell me you're here to apologize too?"
"As a matter of fact, I am." Ron pursed his lips. "But not to you, to Goyle."
Pfft!
Goyle spat out half-eaten cake, pointing at himself incredulously. "Me? You're apologizing to me?"
Ron nodded. "Yes."
"But why?"
"Duel Club." Ron said, somewhat embarrassed, "I don't know what got into me then, I didn't follow the Wizard's dueling rules and beat you up with my bare hands."
"That was a sneak attack, and it seemed like I had the upper hand." Goyle said, unconvinced. "If someone hadn't pulled me away in time, I would have beaten you so badly your own mother wouldn't recognize you."
Hearing this, Ron's breathing suddenly quickened, and his fists clenched involuntarily. He wished he could punch Goyle in his fat face.
Just then, Harry coughed and gave him a warning look, conveying two messages: the bigger picture is important, finding out about the Chamber of Secrets is urgent; they outnumber us, so we're likely to suffer if we fight.
"Perhaps!" Ron suppressed his anger. "But no matter what, I was wrong then, so I came to apologize to you tonight and hope you can forgive me."
Goyle was stunned and turned to look at Draco.
If it were anyone else, he would have accepted, but this was Weasley, the family his boss Malfoy despised the most.
Draco hesitated for a moment, then nodded slightly. "Consider it an unexpectedly interesting Christmas gift!"
"Since Malfoy has spoken, I will reluctantly forgive you."
Harry and Ron exchanged glances, and feeling the time was right, they pushed the tray with the three chocolate cakes in front of Draco.
"As a token of our apology, we also prepared one for Crabbe."
The three of them didn't think much of it; each picked up a cake and stuffed it into their mouths.
"Don't say it, the taste is really good."
Draco chewed and nodded, a smug smile on his face.
Potter and Weasley had actually caved on the same day; his vanity was satisfied to an unprecedented degree.
But soon, he couldn't smile anymore, because he felt an unprecedented drowsiness and slumped directly onto the table. Crabbe and Goyle did the same.
"Merry Christmas," Ron said blandly.
"Don't waste time, act now!"
Harry helped Crabbe up, Ron pulled Goyle, and they took them to the broom cupboard, followed by Malfoy.
They weren't so polite with these three; they roughly shoved them into the cupboard and were done with it, but before that, they took off the three boys' shoes.
Harry and Ron, carrying three pairs of shoes, rushed to Myrtle's bathroom.
"Hermione, we're back."
"Did you get them?" Hermione came out of a cubicle, holding two oversized uniforms.
"Three pairs of shoes, they're all here," Ron said, panting, then looked at Hermione's Wizard robe with some surprise. "Don't tell me that's Malfoy's?"
"I don't want to pretend to be a fat person."
"No, you misunderstood me. I think Harry should ask."
"If he asks, it's easy to give us away. We need to inquire indirectly, not interrogate directly."
"That makes sense." Harry nodded. "It doesn't matter who we pretend to be, what's important is to find out the truth."
"Alright, I have no objections."
Harry and Ron changed into Goyle and Crabbe's clothes and shoes respectively, and Hermione also put on Malfoy's shoes.
Everything was ready, and the three of them simultaneously looked at the three glass cups.
"I bet they taste especially awful," Ron said with a look of disgust.
"We still have to drink it." Harry handed the Polyjuice Potionto the other two, keeping the one that would turn him into Goyle.
None of the three wanted to taste the Polyjuice Potion. After clinking glasses, they pinched their noses and drank it down in one gulp.
"I'm going to throw up." Ron's cup dropped to the floor, and he quickly ran to a cubicle, locking himself inside.
Hermione had the same feeling, dropping her cup with a pale face and rushing to another cubicle.
Harry's endurance was slightly stronger, but he was also so nauseated that he couldn't stand steadily.
The potion's effects quickly became apparent. His whole body gurgled, and dense bumps rose and fell inside him, like a thick soup boiling.
Harry gasped in discomfort. He found his hands rapidly thickening, and his fingernails widened considerably.
His shoulders, skull, even his hair and eyebrows were changing. Soon, Harry looked at himself in the mirror in disbelief; his face had completely transformed into Goyle's, though his vision was a little blurry.
Harry then realized that Goyle didn't wear glasses, so he placed his glasses on the sink, and the world became clear.
"Are you two okay?" Harry asked, but Goyle's voice came out.
"I'm fine." Ron emerged from the cubicle. He walked to the mirror and touched his face. "It's truly magical, exactly like Crabbe."
"Even the voice is the same." Hermione, with Draco's face, slowly walked up to the two. "I really didn't expect my first attempt at brewing Polyjuice Potion to be successful."
"It just feels strange looking like this, I'm not quite used to it."
"Let's hurry!" Harry said. "We only have an hour, we need to try to act as convincingly as possible."
"Draco Malfoy has to walk in front, with a defiant look on his face," Ron said. "Crabbe and Goyle have to follow behind him like bodyguards."
"You two, it's time to test your acting skills."
"No need to remind me." Hermione shrugged and was the first to walk out of the bathroom.
The three quickly descended the stone steps, going deeper and deeper into the dark corridor.
Harry checked his watch from time to time. After almost ten minutes, he asked with some concern, "We're not going the wrong way, are we?"
"No, the Slytherin common room is harder to find, but I specifically looked into it."
"We're almost there," Hermione said, stopping in front of a damp stone wall.
"Um..." Ron pursed his lips. "If this is a door, how do we open it?
Alohomora?"
"Alohomora won't work, we need a password," Harry said helplessly. "It looks like we'll have to wait for a real Slytherinto come and let us in."
"Hopefully, our luck is good, otherwise it'll be bad once the potion wears off."