Spells and Visions

Chapter 6: Potions and Bludgers

When the class of Professor Lockhart ended, (and to our joy, he didn't bring any animals) the five of us stayed behind. We decided the easiest way to ask for permission for the book from the Restricted Section, was to ask Lockhart.
"Professor Lockhart?" Hermione stuttered. "I wanted to get this book from the library. For background reading. But, it's in the Restricted Section, so I need a teacher to sign for it. I'm sure it would help me understand what you said in Gadding with Ghouls..."
"Ah, that's possibly my favourite book. Did you enjoy it?"
"Yes, I did," Hermione answered.
"Well, I don't think anyone will mind that I'm helping my best student of the year," he said, as he pulled out a quill and signed the note.
I sighed softly in relief. That was easy.

With the signed note we now only had to get past the librarian, Madam Pince.
"Moste Potente Potions?" she asked with a raised eyebrow when we told her about the book we wanted. Ron impatiently gave her the note, and she studied it by holding it against the light, but luckily led us to the part of the library where the book was.
"Where do we go now?" Neville asked, who had bravely decided to stay with us.
"Moaning Myrtle's bathroom," Hermione said.
"No way," Ron said. "I am not going back there again. What if Percy finds out?"
"Fine, then you don't go," Hermione said. "Whoever does want to join me, you know where to find me."
"I'll go," Harry said.
"Me too," I agreed.
"I've never been to a girl's toilet before," Neville said a bit scared.
"Well I hope you haven't," I said. "But this one's abandoned, so no one will see us except a ghost. P.S., don't say too much to her. Anything will offend her."
Neville sighed.
"Then I'll come too."
"Fine," Ron said, rolling his eyes.

~

We now understood why the book had been in the Restricted Section. The effects most of these potions had were horrible, and so were the pictures.
Hermione was examining the recipe.
"This is the most complicated potion I've ever seen," she said. She read aloud all kinds of ingredients I even had never heard of.
"-and of course a bit of whoever we want to change into."
"Excuse me?" Ron said. "I'm drinking nothing with Crabbe's toenails in it." Hermione continued as if she hadn't heard Ron.
"And do ypu realise how much we're going to steal?" Ron added. "What are we going to do? Break into Snape's private stores...?"
Hermione shut the book hard which made me jump a bit.
"I don't want to break rules, you know," she said angrily. "I think threatening Muggle-borns is way worse than brewing some potion. But if you don't want to prove it's Malfoy, fine, I'll bring the book back to Madam Pince..."
"I never thought I'd see the day that you would be convincing us to break the rules," Ron said, almost in disbelief. I agreed with him in my head.
"Fine, we'll do it," he said with a sigh. "But no toenails, okay?"

"How long will it take to make?" Neville asked. "We don't know how much time we have."
Hermione did some calculations, and then said: "A month, if we can get all the ingredients we need."
"A month?!" Ron said. "Malfoy could've attacked half the school by then." Hermione narrowed her eyes and gave a disapproving look, so Ron said quickly: "But it's the best plan we've got, so let's just do it."

~

The next day, it was the Quidditch match between Slytherin and Gryffindor. And it was raining. I sat in the crowd with my friends and brother. This time Malfoy wasn't here to annoy everyone, because he was the other team's Seeker, so he was in the air, annoying Harry. The game started well, but then a strange this happened. Harry was soaring through the air, probably looking for the Snitch, when a Bludger came flying straight towards him. He managed to avoid it, but when George hit it hard to the other direction, it almost stopped mid-air to make it's way to Harry again.
Last year, Professor Quirrell tried to kill him by turning his broom in all kinds of directions, but he was dead, so who was trying to kill Harry this time?

Everytime Fred or George hit the Bludger the other way, it came back to Harry. It was like it had been jinxed. After a while I saw Madam Hooch rang her whistle, and everyone came back to the ground, probably to discuss what was going on. Two minutes later they were in the air again, and Fred and George focused on the other Bludger, while Harry was trying to avoid the rogue one and search for the Snitch with Malfoy beside him. Slytherin already stood sixty points to zero, so if Harry did manage to catch the golden ball, we won.