plans for the evening.
"We still need a bit of the people you're changing into," said
Hermione matter-of-facdy, as though she were sending them to the
supermarket for laundry detergent. "And obviously, it'll be best if you
can get something of Crabbe's and Goyle's; they're Malfoys best
friends, he'll tell them anything. And we also need to make sure the
real Crabbe and Goyle can't burst in on us while we're interrogating
him.
"I've got it all worked out," she went on smoothly, ignoring Harry's
and Ron's stupefied faces. She held up two plump chocolate cakes.
"I've filled these with a simple Sleeping Draught. All you have to do is
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make sure Crabbe and Goyle find them. You know how greedy they
are, they're bound to eat them. Once they're asleep, pull out a few of
their hairs and hide them in a broom closet."
Harry and Ron looked incredulously at each other.
"Hermione, I don't think -"
"That could go seriously wrong -"
But Hermione had a steely glint in her eye not unlike the one
Professor McGonagall sometimes had.
"The potion will be useless without Crabbe's and Goyle's hair," she
said sternly. "You do want to investigate Malfoy, don't you?"
"Oh, all right, all right," said Harry. "But what about you? Whose hair
are you ripping out?"
*213*
"I've already got mine!" said Hermione brightly, pulling a tiny bottle
out of her pocket and showing them the single hair inside it.
"Remember Millicent Bulstrode wrestling with me at the Dueling
Club? She left this on my robes when she was trying to strangle me!
And she's gone home for Christmas - so I'll just have to tell the
Slytherins I've decided to come back."
When Hermione had bustled off to check on the Polyjuice Potion
again, Ron turned to Harry with a doom-laden expression.
"Have you ever heard of a plan where so many things could go
wrong?"
But to Harry's and Ron's utter amazement, stage one of the
operation went just as smoothly as Hermione had said. They lurked
in the deserted entrance hall after Christmas tea, waiting for Crabbe
and Goyle who had remained alone at the Slytherin table, shoveling
down fourth helpings of trifle. Harry had perched the chocolate
cakes on the end of the banisters. When they spotted Crabbe and
Goyle coming out of the Great Hall, Harry and Ron hid quickly
behind a suit of armor next to the front door.
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"How thick can you get?" Ron whispered ecstatically as Crabbe
gleefully pointed out the cakes to Goyle and grabbed them. Grinning
stupidly, they stuffed the cakes whole into their large mouths. For a
moment, both of them chewed greedily, looks of triumph on their
faces. Then, without the smallest change of expression, they both
keeled over backward onto the floor.
By far the hardest part was hiding them in the closet across the hall.
Once they were safely stowed among the buckets and mops, Harry
yanked out a couple of the bristles that covered Goyle's fore
* _2 14 *
head and Ron pulled out several of Crabbe's hairs. They also stole