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booksmarts and broomsticks
act ii , take a breath
chapter twenty-four , a polyjuice
purr-dicament

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➖PHOEBE and CECELIA➖
january 1993

        THE REMAINDER OF December and the early days of January passed all too quickly for Dria's liking, and it was safe to say that feeling was a first. 

        Following her less than joyful arrival at her Dad's cottage, she'd made the executive decision to bury herself under a blanket in the living room and eat as many sausage rolls as she could, as she read through her new books while Figaro was curled on her lap.

        Her mother had sent over her belongings via the Floo Network the next morning, and although Dria had no intention of going back to Westminster, the gesture still made her feel uneasy; as though she wasn't welcome back.

        New Year had been a bit of a turning point. Her dad had pulled her from the sofa, insisting she put on a coat and boots, before the two had proceeded down the snowy track into the centre of Ottery St. Catchpole.

       A large bonfire had been assembled in the village square, with various carts stationed around it selling hot pumpkins pasties and cups of Firewhisky. As soon as the clock ticked over the midnight, wizards and witches alike raised their wands to the sky and cast off a dozen enchantments to resemble fireworks.

Dria had then decided — as she stood in the snowy street, with her wand raised and casting fireworks into the sky — that she would start trying to move on.

The next morning, she'd sent off a letter with Gizmo to Oliver, containing her thanks and appreciation for the gifts he'd given her — just as he had requested in The Three Broomsticks — although she wasn't sure if he'd receive it before the start of the new term. Maisie and Michael also arrived at Mulberry Cottage that New Years' Day, to spend a couple of days with their dad before returning to school — as was the plan for all three to do, at least before Dria decided on an earlier arrival date.

        And so, two days later, on the third of January, Allan Lockaby took his three children to King's Cross and bid them goodbye as they returned for another term at Hogwarts.

       Dria thought she definitely could have used a bit more time in Ottery St Catchpole, but supposed that going back to school wasn't really that much of a chore.

        Another welcome feast ensued in which Tess told the blonde all the different ways she had planned, over the holidays, to try and catch Una's attention ("I might just collapse in the middle of corridor and just hope for the best!") — that had been Dria's favourite and she encouraged the girl to try it almost immediately.

         The New Year feast had then wrapped up and, with full stomachs, the students had been sent to bed to get a good night's sleep before Monday morning rolled around.

         That Monday morning also marked the beginning of mock exam weeks for the fifth, sixth and seventh years, meaning whatever tension Dria had managed to shake, during her stay at her father's, had ungraciously consumed her once more.

        Subsequently, Madam Pomfrey had told her that — in light of the mock exams — her assistance wouldn't be needed in the Hospital Wing, and should instead focus on her schoolwork instead.

        To say Dria was less than impressed would be an understatement, and was very disgruntled at the thought of her means of escapism being taken away, but was to an extent simultaneously grateful for the extra hours she'd obtained for studying.

        Although, she was still stuck to her lesson timetable which very sadly still contained Defence Against the Dark Arts — if it could be called a lesson — and on the Wednesday of exam week, she found herself walking up one of the moving corridors with a huff as she set off for another hour of wasted time with that idiot of a professor.

        "Dria!"

A shout of her name caught the blonde's attention, and she turned around to face an out-of-breath looking Amir who had narrowly managed to jump onto the moving staircase before it left the landing of the first floor.

"Amir." Dria smiled, holding her books to her chest as her gaze met his and he returned his smile. "Good Christmas?"

He made an undecided expression and gave a small shrug, as he stepped next to her, his hand holding tightly onto the bannister.

"As good as it could be with my family." He replied, at which Dria gave a humoured huff stemming from a feeling of mild agreement.

"Tell me about it."

        Her muttering however went unnoticed to her fellow Gryffindor, who shoved his hands into his pockets and arched an eyebrow in curiosity.

       "Where are you heading?" The boy asked, leaning back against the bannister, and the staircase came to a crunching halt at the next landing.

        "Defence with Lockhart," Dria answered, readjusting her bag on her shoulder as she walked onto the landing, the boy walking at her side as she explained. "I think this might be the time he actually pushes me to the point of knocking myself out on the desk."

       "I haven't exactly heard great things." Amir responded as he made a slight hissing sound, wincing at her words.

        "Well, you've heard correctly." Dria chuckled, as the staircase up to the third floor connecting itself to their landing. "What about you?"

       "Back to the Common Room. Free period." Amir told her with a glad grin, as they took a step onto the next staircase.

       Dria let out an involuntary groan at his words; what should would have given so as to not endure Lockhart's brainlessness.

        "Lucky sod."

        But Amir only grinned at her reaction, Dria noticed he always seemed to find a way to smile, no matter the situation.

       "Actually, that's why I thought I'd catch you." The boy spoke up again, as the staircase gave another crunch and moved away from second floor landing.

"Oh?"

"They've put up the sign up sheet for Apparition lessons on the notice board." Amir explained with an arched brow, as the two began advancing up the staircase.

When students reached their sixth years at Hogwarts, they were encouraged to sign up for a twelve week Apparition course during their spring term, so as to master the art of Apparating and Disapparating — a very popular mode of wizard transport.

       "Do you want me to put your name down?" Amir continued, as they reached the top of the staircase and he prepared to jump onto the next one in order to continue his journey to the seventh floor.

         "Amir, you're an angel." Dria smiled with a large breath of relief and a nod, as she looked after him, clutching her books to her chest. "Yes, that would be great, thank you!"

        "No problem."

        The boy jumped onto the next moving staircase as Dria turned on her heel, before another thought crossed her mind and she quickly whipped back around and called after Amir.

        "Could you do Tess as well?" The blonde cried, arching a brow in curiosity as the boy turned around to face her from where he was moving off. "She'll forget if I tell her!"

        "Sure thing!" He replied, giving her a big thumbs up, "Enjoy your lesson!"

        "Fat chance!"

       And with that final farewell between the two Gryffindors, Dria turned around once more and set out along the corridor towards the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom. She slipped through the open doorway with a tired sigh; most of the class were already in the room but were, by no means, settled and were engaged in multiple conversations around the room.

        Glancing at her desk, she saw that Tess had yet to arrive and silently crossed her fingers that her friend wouldn't have house points deducted for her tardiness — although she doubted that this teacher in particular would hardly notice, and that would be if he even showed up himself.

       Sinking into her seat with a soft sigh, Dria began unloading her equipment from her bag and drowning out the noise of the other students in the classroom. However, she help but overhear a certain conversation occurring behind her and became especially intrigued when she heard the word "Polyjuice" mentioned in Phoebe Rowle's voice, laced with confusion.

        The blonde soon found herself unable to fight the curiosity forming within her, and made the decision to not pretend as though she hadn't her the word and turned in her seat to face the two Slytherins.

        "Sorry, did you guys say Polyjuice?"

        Phoebe spared her a small smile as she noticed the Gryffindor sneaking her way into their conversation, however Cecelia was a little less welcoming — as was her nature.

        "Bit nosy, are we?" The platinum blonde retorted with a scoff and an arched brow, before her friend elbowed her in the side rather sharply.

        "Celia!"

        Although, Dria wasn't particularly phased by Cecelia's apparent standoffish behaviour and instead offered her a simple shrug, not denying that fact.

       "Just curious." Dria told her, which caused the Slytherin expression to soften a little, perhaps telling the truth had worked in the blonde's favour after all, but nonetheless Dria strove to reassure them of her relatability. "Tess isn't here yet, so if you're worried about it spreading around the school, it won't."

        Cecelia's eyes were narrowed ever so slightly as she tried to read the blonde Gryffindor in front of her and decipher as to whether she was telling the truth. She cast Phoebe a small glance and her friend's gaze seemed to convey the opinion that there was no reason why they shouldn't disclosure to the Lockaby girl a bit of harmless gossip. Cecelia Kennedy gave a small grumble.

        "Alright, but it's just a rumour." The platinum blonde told her with a nonchalant shrug, before leaning a little closer to her and keeping her voice low. "Apparently, over Christmas, some students brewed a Polyjuice Potion and got up to who-knows-what."

Dria's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, slight disbelief crossing her gaze as she looked between Cecelia and Phoebe.

"How do you know?"

"I found a cauldron of it in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom." Cecelia explained, her eyes wide as though mimicking the expression she must have made when she discovered the potion. "She flooded the corridor again so I thought I'd go in and give her a piece of my mind—"

"Which, of course, was a great idea." Phoebe interjected, with a light scoff.

"She threw a toilet seat at me." The platinum blonde clarified nonchalantly before continuing, "But it was just there in the middle of the floor, and Myrtle was going on about how some kids had been rule-breaking and trying to infiltrate Slytherin."

Dria's eyes were beginning to widen themselves, replicating those of Cecelia, as she began to piece together what the Slytherin girl was alluding to.

"You mean to—?"

"To probably find out who the heir of Slytherin is, yeah." Cecelia rolled her eyes as the words left her lips, leaning away from Dria and slouching back in her chair. "To be honest, I don't know why someone in our house has to be responsible. Potter's little display at the Duelling Club stacked a pretty big case against him."

The cogs that were turning in Dria's head took a momentary pause upon acknowledging the platinum blonde's words, and she straightened up with a defiant look.

"It's not Harry." She stated plainly.

"You sound sure." Phoebe told her, with a curious expression as to why the Gryffindor did.

"It's not." Dria simply repeated with a small sigh, turning back around her seat.

Her eyebrows furrowed once more as she let her brain refocus on the information that Cecelia and Phoebe had told her, but her moment of concentration didn't last very long as Tess happily threw herself into the seat on her Dria's right.

"Missed anything?" She asked with a bright smile, shooting her friend a quick glance as she began unloading her books onto the desk.

Tess' breathing was slightly laboured and her cheeks beheld a rosy tingle that easily informed the blonde that her friend had taken a jog to get to class on time.

Once again, Dria's concentration faltered and instead of answering her friend's question, she found herself asking her own as she noted the time.

"Where have you been?" Dria asked, her gaze flicking between her friends and the watch that sat on her left wrist which bore the time of 11:10am. Tess was ten minutes late for their lesson — as was their teacher, but that was no surprise.

"Chatting with Penny," Tess replied cheerily, her smile never once fading her lips. "She gave me some notes on Una!"

Upon her arrival back at Hogwarts after the Christmas holidays, Dria had also learned that Penny had been victim at least six letters from the Robbins girl over the holidays, urging the Ravenclaw to make friends with the red-headed Callahan.

        "I do find this whole arrangement a little stalker-ish, Tess." Dria told her the girl gently, yet it seemed nothing would dull Tess' sparkle that morning, as she swiftly changed the subject with an excited grin.

         "Guess what I've heard?" The Robbins asked, raising her eyebrows and twisting in her seat so as to directly address her friend.

        "Hagrid's setting up a hula hooping club?"

        "No, but can you imagine?"

        "What, then?" Dria asked with an amused sigh and a slight shake of her head.

       The blonde watched as her friend's expression changed from clearly pondering the idea of the Hogwarts groundskeeper starting a hula hooping club —  that she'd probably join — to one of increased excitement as she prepared to announce her real news.

        "Your little Granger girl's in the Hospital Wing." Tess told Dria, nodding as she did so to confirm it to the blonde's disbelieving look.

        "What for?"

        "God knows, but I heard Potter saying something about coughing up furballs." Tess shrugged, nonchalantly, the thrill of surprise having dulled quickly due to Dria's concern for the girl. "Probably turned into a cat or something."

         And then, for some reason, it all clicked.

        "I was just wondering if you had any notes on Polyjuice Potion?"

Hermione's voice rang in Dria's head as she noted the incident that had occurred between them in early November; when the girl had purposefully sought the blonde out in order to procure her Polyjuice Potion notes.

        "Apparently, over Christmas, some students brewed a Polyjuice Potion and got up to who-knows-what."

        Now, the voice of Cecelia rang out as the blonde suddenly began to understand.

        Hermione must have sought her out with the intention of actually brewing a Polyjuice Potion, not writing an essay on one — although that was a rather good cover on her part.

        Dria knew that her view regarding Harry not being the Heir of Slytherin — and therefore responsible for all the attacks on the Muggleborns — was not a popular one, but was one that was certainly shared by Harry's friend and, of course, Harry himself.

        "—to infiltrate Slytherin. To probably find out who the heir of Slytherin is."

        What better way to clear Harry's name — and discover the truth for themselves — than by infiltrating Slytherin and finding out who the real Heir of Slytherin was? Just as Cecelia had said.

         As for the furballs ... well, Dria knew — having highlighted it many a time in her risk assessment of that particular brew — that Polyjuice Potjon was strictly for human transformation only.

        "Oh, she didn't." The blonde muttered out loud, squeezing her eyes shut in realisation of what the girl's plan had been all along and how badly it had turned.

        Why was it those three were always up to something or other?

"What?" Tess asked suddenly in response to her friend's muttering, but Dria quickly dismissed her with a light smile as she found humour in the situation she'd uncovered.

"Oh, nothing." The blonde answers, pressing her lips together to suppress a smile. "Couldn't possibly let the cat out of the bag."

***

        "WHERE ARE YOU GOING?!"

        It seemed as though Dria darting out of Lockhart's classroom at the end of his lessons, and leaving Tess in the dust, was becoming somewhat of a habit for the Lockaby girl.

        Tess' unimpressed cry had followed her from the doorway of the room as she tore round to the right with her mind set on her destination, her pace not slowing as she turned around to respond.

        "To the Hospital Wing!"

        "Why!?"

        "I have a theory!"

        "Whatever!"

        And with those words of encouragement, Dria left Tess behind — she would have had no interest in coming with the blonde anyway — as she sped away towards the moving staircases and jumping upon one just as it began creeping away from the landing.

After a minute or so of tapping her foot against the step impatiently — much to the annoyance of the other students around her — the staircase finally connected to the next landing, and Dria, muttering apologies as she went, quickly bustled through the array of younger students so as to jump onto the next staircase that would get her to the first floor.

The sequence repeated itself again and as soon as the staircase connected to its landing, Dria made her way off the staircase and took a sharp right into the Hospital Wing corridor. A very sharp right.

"Oof!"

A right so sharp that she forgot to check for any other students and found herself forcefully colliding with another body, and repelling backwards, trying to keep steady on her feet as she tried to pardon herself.

"Holy Merlin, I'm so sorry—"

But her apologies fell short as her gaze lifted up to meet a pair of very familiar coffee coloured eyes that were creasing ever so slightly in amusement, as the owner of such eyes readjusted his bag on his shoulder, letting out a low chuckle.

"Watch yourself, Speedy." Oliver Wood chuckled, arching an eyebrow at the girl who let out a light laugh of relief upon releasing who it was that she so ungraciously barged into.

"Oliver." She greeted, her cheeks flushing red a little as she winced in slight embarrassment. "Sorry about that."

"It's fine, where are you going in such a rush?" He asked, brushing off her apology rather quickly, his brow still arched but now in curiosity.

"The Hospital Wing." She explained with a small nod, readjusting her bag on her shoulder.

A flash of worry crossed Oliver's face as his chuckle left him and his expression morphed into one of concern.

"Has there been another—?"

"No, not that I'm aware of." She assured him quickly upon realising what he had taken from her previous words, before quickly explaining her true reasoning. "But I think something's happened that'll make me feel really smug, so I'm going for that."

His face almost immediately relaxed as she explained the situation. Then, his expression began to change as he lifted his hand to scratch the back of his neck, bashfully.

        "Can I walk you there?" He asked, quirking a brow, nodding in the other direction where the Hospital Wing could be found.

        Dria's lips curved into a small smile, but her blue eyes furrowed in slight confusion as she lifted her hand and pointed behind her.

        "Weren't you going in the other direction?"

        "Well, I might need someone to check my shoulder out after you barged into it." The Keeper replied rather smoothly, however this response only earned a light-hearted scoff from Dria.

        "Okay, so you won't get it checked when a Bludger beats it up, but when I—"

        "Shut up and let me walk you there, Lockaby." He cut her off with a humoured laugh, turning his body in the other direction and casting a smug look at her.

        "Well, how could I say no to that?" Dria smirked with a small shake of his head.

Oliver mirrored her smirk before displaying a very over the top gesture for her to join him in walking. She rolled her eyes at his antics before stepping to his side and beginning to walk down the corridor with him.

"Did you like your present?" He asked after a few moments of comfortable silence had passed between the two.

"Was my letter of thanks not enough?" Dria quipped with a brow arched in humour, "Of course, I did!"

"I'm glad."

"Can I ask the same of you?" She asked, her lips pressing together in a mix of worry and anticipation as she worried whether he'd liked the signed photo she'd manage to get a hold of for him.

No answer came straight away, as Oliver's lips curved into a smile and his eyebrows furrowed in curiosity before he turned to face her and responded in the same way she had; with a question.

"How did you manage it?"

Dria gave a small shrug, struggling to read his reaction but deciding to assume the best as she feigned nonchalance.

"I know the right strings to pull," Dria smirked before quickly adding, "Although Jackie wasn't impressed."

        "I'll bet." He chuckled, before his tone took a more sincere tone and a light smile crossed his lips; Dria assumed he'd rather liked the gift. "You certainly know me."

"Well, I figured anything Quidditch related would be a safe bet—"

"I'm trying to say thank you." The Keeper cut her off with a roll of his eyes, as the doors to the Hospital Wing came into view.

"Alright, fine! Go ahead." Dria obliged, pressing her lips together so as to avoid interrupting and folding her arms before looking in him expectantly.

"Thank you." Oliver replied clearly, chuckling in the moments of silence that followed his sentiment.

"You're welcome." Dria said finally, thoroughly amused by the sudden sophistication of their interaction.

"You know you really didn't have to." He went on, bashfully, letting a soft sigh to pass through his lips.

"Well, you did the same for me, what's a girl to do?" Dria shrugged, unsure of what to make of the expression that was settling on his face, averting her gaze so as to tame the blush that threatened to rise up her cheeks. "You didn't have to get me a present."

"I wanted to."

His response was almost instantaneous and caught both Dria and himself off-guard. The blonde's gaze shot back to him in surprise and was met with the same expression on his face as he pressed his lips together as a small blush dusted his cheeks.

Dria's mouth had been ever so slightly agape as she tried to figure out what to say in response but, when she realised where they had stopped walking, the words soon came to her.

"Um, well it appears that we've arrived."

The pair had stopped right before the large doors of the Hospital Wing and were stood facing each other, dumbly, as they tried to recuse their conversation from the clutches of the awkwardness trying to claim it.

"Oh, right." Oliver mustered, looking the door up and down, nodding slowly. "Yep, there it is."

"The Hospital Wing." Dria clarified, as she also began nodding slowly, casting a few fleeting glances at the door.

"Yep."

The dumb silence continued as the two Gryffindors stood before one another, failing miserably to remedy their conversation.

"So, I guess I'll just go inside—" Dria started, her hand settling on the door handle slowly before the Keeper opposite cut her off.

"Oh, yeah. Yeah, sure thing."

With a few more polite nods, the two gradually began moving apart; Oliver turning on his heel and Dria beginning to push open the door to the Hospital Wing.

"Actually, Dria!"

The blonde's attention immediately left the task at hand — although her hand still remained on the door handle — as she whipped around to see Oliver retracing his steps back towards her.

"Yes?"

"I was wondering ..." He began, his hand reaching to scratch the back of his neck as it often did — the blonde wondered whether it was a nervous habit.

"Uh-huh?"

"Well, I've been slipping in Transfiguration a little over the last couple of weeks." The Keeper started, beginning to nod again as the words left his lips. "And wondered if you could do me a favour?"

Dria's features relaxed as his question seemed to bring the tension that once hung between them to a natural end, and a small smile crossed her lips as she began to understand what he was saying.

        "Revive our old tutor sessions, you mean?"

        "For old time's sakes?" He responded, with a light chuckle before wincing slightly. "And the sake of my grades, of course."

        "Oh, of course." Dria nodded in faux seriousness, as a small smirk began creeping onto her features. "Yeah, I can make that happen."

         "Great."

         "Great." Dria agreed with him, both of them beginning to fall back into the pattern of nodding at each other, before the blonde spoke up again and averted her gaze to the door once more. "Okay, I'm gonna—"

        "Great." Oliver repeated again, his face contorting into a mild expression of embarrassment upon realising his choice of words. "I guess I'll see you—"

        "Yeah, yeah." Dria nodded, with a light smile, pushing the door open a little further. "See you around."

        "Okay, bye."

        "Bye."

        And with that, the two finally parted ways. A light smile still upon Dria's lips as she entered the Hospital Wing, and slowly closing the door behind her.

The Hospital Wing wasn't particularly busy, a couple of the beds were taken by students awaiting treatment for a cold and one of the beds nearest the door had screens drawn around it — Dria had a feeling she knew who resided behind the screens.

"Miss Lockaby?"

The voice of Madam Pomfrey brought Dria out of her intent focus, causing her stop in place and spare the matron a small smile.

"What are you doing here?" Madam Pomfrey asked with her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Just visiting, Madam Pomfrey." The blonde assured her calmly, as she slowly began edging toward the screened bed while the matron merely shrugged and continued about her duties. "I'll be out of your hair in a second."

In the few moments it took for the blonde to walk from the centre of the aisle to the screened bed, a smug smirk had settled onto her face. Reaching forward, she clasped her hand around one of the screens and pulled it back harshly.

Hermione jumped at little at the sudden action, her book falling from grasp and a surprised squeak leaving her lips. Dria pursed her lips as she surveyed the girl, and crossed her arms with a shake of her head.

The girl was clearly nearing the end of her treatment for her Polyjuice mishap, all that remained — of what Dria had assumed was once a fully-fledged cat face — were a couple of whiskers and a few faint hair across her forehead.

"You know, the Polyjuice Potion only works for human transformation, right?" Dria mentioned casually, as she smirked down on the second year. "It was in my notes."

Hermione winced slightly as she reached for her book and closed it upon her lip, her mouth opening and closing ever so slightly as she searched for the right words to respond with.

"Cat got your tongue?" Dria quipped, a wide smile stretching across her face at her use of a pun.

Hermione's expression fell into one that looked deeply unimpressed with Dria's attempt at humour before she spoke up in an embarrassed tone.

"I may have been a little out of my depth."

Dria let out a light scoff, before beginning to nod in agreement with the girl's statement.

"Oh, I think you certainly were, Whiskers."

𝖙𝖗𝖎𝖓𝖆 𝖘𝖕𝖊𝖆𝖐𝖘!
hehe so many kat puns -
oh wait, there's another.

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