Bella and the Chamber (Book Two)

Chapter Twenty

I gaped at him in shock. Less able players? Who the hell does he think he is? Harry made an indistinct noise in his throat and dragged me away towards Ron and Hermione before I could say anything.

"Less able players? What the hell! We're the best players the team have seen in ages!" I growl.

Harry looks at me. "He's the less able player!"

"I bet he's never been apart of any team," I scoff as we catch up to Ron and Hermione.

"I don't believe it," Harry said as we examined the note. "He didn't even look at the book we wanted"

"That's because he's a brainless git," I said. "But whatever, we got what we needed and that's what counts"

"He is not a brainless git," Hermione scolded, as we half-ran towards the library.

Ron glanced at her. "Just because he said you and Bella were the best students in the year..."

Wow, jealous much? 

We dropped our voices as we entered the muffled stillness of the library. Madam Pince was the librarian and she was a thin, irritable woman who reminded me of a vulture.

"Moste Potente Potions?" She asked us suspiciously, trying to take the note from Hermione hut Hermione wouldn't let go.

"I was wondering if I could keep it," Hermione said breathlessly.

"Oh, come on," I said, wrenching it from her grasp and giving it Madam Pince. "We can get you another autograph. Lockhart will sign anything, including your forehead if you wanted him to"

Pince held the note up the light, as though she was determined to find any signs of forgery, but it passed the test. She stalked away between the shelves and returned several minutes later carrying a large and mouldy-looking book. I put it carefully in my bag and we left, trying not to walk quickly or look guilty. Which was not easy with Hermione. Her and lying don't mix.

Five minutes later, we were barricaded back in Myrtle's bathroom. I had overridden Ron's objections by pointing out that it wasn't a place where anyone would go, so we were sure to get the privacy we needed. Myrtle was crying loudly in her toilet, but we were ignoring her, and she us.

I handed Moste Potente Potions carefully over to Hermione and she opened it. The four of us then bent over the damp-spotted pages. It was clear even from a glance why it belonged in the Restricted Section. Some of the potions had effects too gruesome to think about, and there were some very unpleasant illustrations, which included a man who seemed to have been turned inside out and a witch sprouting several extra pairs of arms out of her head.

"Oh, that's just gross," I shiver in disgust. 

"I'm not gross!" Myrtle wailed even more and I rolled my eyes. I wasn't talking about her.

Hermione turned the page. "Here it is!"

The page was headed with the words Polyjuice Potion and it was decorated with drawings of people halfway through transforming into other people. I hope that whoever drew these had imagined the looks of intense pain on their faces. I don't do well with pain.

"This is the most complicated potion I've ever seen," I said as I examined the recipe. Hermione agreed with me. "Lacewing flies, leeches, fluxweed and knotgrass." I sighed. "Well, they're easy enough, they're in the student store cupboard, we can help ourselves."

"Yeah but what about the powdered horn of Bicorn and the shredded skin of a Boomslang? They're going to be difficult to get," Hermione muttered.

I nodded. "They are. But once we've got them, all we need is a bit of whoever we want to change into"

"Excuse me?" Ron exclaimed. "What d'you mean, a bit of whoever we're changing into? I'm drinking nothing with Crabbe's toenails in it..."

Hermione continued as if she never heard him and I rolled my eyes. 

"We don't have to worry about that yet, though, because we add those bits last," I tell him.

Ron turned to Harry speechless. Harry looked worried. 

"D'you realise how much we're going to have to steal guys? Shredded skin of a Boomslang, that's defiantly not in the students' cupboard. What're we going to do, break into Snape's private stores? I don't know if this is a good idea..."

Hermione shut the book with a snap and I jumped. 

"Well, if you two are going to chicken out, fine," she hissed. "I don't want to break the rules, you know. I think threatening Muggle-borns is far worse than brewing up a difficult potion. But if you two don't want to find out if it's Malfoy, I'll go straight to Madam Pince now and hand the book back in..."

"I never thought I'd say the day when you'd be persuading us to break rules," Ron grinned. "All right, we'll do it. But not toenails, Ok?"

I laughed and nodded. I don't want to be drinking toenails either...

"How long will it take to make, anyway?" Harry asked. 

"Well, as the fluxweed has got to be picked at the full moon and the lacewings have got to be stewed for twenty-one days...I'd say it'd be ready in about a month, if we can get all the ingredients," I say to them. They didn't look happy.

"A month?" Ron repeated. "Malfoy could have attacked half the Muggle-borns in the school by then!" I narrowed my eyes dangerously at him and he added swiftly. "But it's the best plan we've got, so full steam ahead, I say"

However, when Hermione was checking the coast was clear for us to leave the bathroom, Ron muttered to me and Harry, "It'll be a lot less hassle if either of you can just knock Malfoy off his broom tomorrow"

I laughed but quickly covered it up with a cough as Hermione glanced questionably at us.