Turning into Draco

After getting the Marauder's Map, Cyrus could not help studying it.

It was something a few students had developed, yet it was unexpectedly powerful. Cyrus could not help marveling at how different students were in wartime.

Just look at what the students at Hogwarts were busy doing now.

A prefect who was supposed to set an example was actually dating!

And snogging in the Girls' Bathroom, at that!

Yes, you, Percy!

Cyrus stood at the entrance to the Bathroom on the Third Floor. He had only intended to check on the progress of the Polyjuice Potion, but now his eyes narrowed at the boy and girl inside the Girls' Bathroom.

"G-Ginny?" Percy's face flushed, and his hands sprang away from Penelope's arms as though he had been electrocuted. "What-what are you doing here?"

"Using the toilet. What about you?" Cyrus took a step back and turned to look at the sign outside. After confirming once again that this was the Girls' Bathroom, he casually turned his gaze back to the couple whose relationship would ultimately go nowhere.

"Dating in the Girls' Bathroom? I really don't understand you two. It's not as though Hogwarts forbids dating. Why sneak around?" As he spoke, he turned his gaze to Penelope.

"Penelope Clearwater. I'm in Ravenclaw-hello, Ginny-" Penelope was no better off than Percy. Her face was red as though it had been painted, and her lips trembled as she spoke.

"Hello, Miss Clearwater." Cyrus greeted her as well. Right now, he just wanted to keep these two lovebirds away from the Bathroom on the Third Floor, lest they cause trouble at a critical moment.

"Listen, Ginny-" Percy seemed to have recovered from his nerves and immediately spoke up. "Could you please-"

"Keep it a secret?" Cyrus asked.

The couple immediately nodded.

"You know, if George and Fred found out-" Merely imagining the scene filled Percy with dread.

They would definitely write to Mum, then hang countless banners in every corner of the school, proclaiming: Congratulations to model student Percy on finding a girlfriend!

Or worse.

"I can, but I'd suggest finding somewhere else," Cyrus said. "Hiding in the Girls' Bathroom-honestly. Don't you know Ron comes here all the time? If he finds out, practically the whole school will know."

At that, Percy looked even worse.

"Thank you, Ginny. Then we'll, er, we'll be off."

The two hurried away as though fleeing for their lives. Cyrus even heard Percy complaining to Penelope.

"I told you this place wasn't safe. We got caught on our very first visit."

"Then find somewhere yourself!" Penelope sounded a little annoyed.

"I saw Percy and the Ravenclaw prefect on my way here. They didn't catch you, did they?" Ron rushed into the bathroom and immediately looked anxiously at Cyrus.

"They did, but what's so strange about me being in the Girls' Bathroom?" Cyrus asked.

"As long as the Polyjuice Potion is all right." Hermione pushed open the last cubicle. The potion in the cauldron was almost ready. "Now we just need to add a little hair from some Slytherin students. Preferably Goyle and Crabbe."

She turned to Harry and Ron.

"That sounds good, but what about you two?" Harry asked.

"I've already got mine!" Hermione said happily. She took a little bottle from her pocket and showed them the hair inside. "Remember when Millicent wrestled with me at the Duelling Club? She left this on my clothes while she was trying her hardest to choke me! She's gone home for Christmas-I'll just tell the Slytherins I decided to come back."

"I've got mine too.

"Cyrus took out a few hairs as well. "All right." Ron and Harry had no choice but to go and get Goyle's and Crabbe's hair.

"Oh, Ginny, I'm going to steal some clothes from the Laundry Room. You keep stirring." Hermione rushed out as she spoke, leaving Cyrus to keep stirring the cauldron. Black smoke had begun rising from it, filling the entire cubicle until he could barely see anything.

"Good thing it wasn't smoking when Percy came over, or he'd definitely have caught us."

Before long, Hermione returned with several cups and four sets of clothes, with Harry and Ron close behind.

Hermione poured the bubbling potion from the cauldron into the cups, then added "Millicent's hair." The mixture made a loud noise like a boiling kettle and foamed vigorously. A second later, it turned an ugly yellow.

"Oh-essence of Millicent Bulstrode," Ron said, eyeing it with disgust. "I bet that tastes awful."

"All right, add yours," Hermione said.

Harry dropped Goyle's hair into the middle cup, and Ron put Crabbe's hair into the last one. Both cups hissed and bubbled. Goyle's turned a tank-like khaki, while Crabbe's turned a murky dark brown.

Cyrus also put the little tuft of white hair in his hand into his potion. In an instant, it turned a color somewhere between black and white, yet somehow not gray.

"Even looking at it feels wrong." For a moment, Cyrus almost wanted to give up on drinking the Polyjuice Potion.

He should have taken a little risk and used Human Transfiguration.

"Wait," Harry said. "We'd better not all drink it in here. Once we turn into Crabbe and Goyle, there won't be enough room. Millicent isn't exactly petite, either."

"Good thinking." Ron opened the door as he spoke. "Let's each take a cubicle."

Cyrus chose a cubicle off to one side. He had wanted to simply pour the potion away, but achieving a perfect transformation with Human Transfiguration required a detailed knowledge of the person he was turning into.

Their height and weight, body proportions, the details of their facial features...

But his impression of Malfoy was not nearly that precise.

That was right: Cyrus intended to turn into Malfoy. He had decided on it earlier, and on the Thursday when he stole the potion ingredients, he had grabbed a few of Malfoy's hairs along the way.

So he tilted his head back and drank the Polyjuice Potion.

Surprisingly, it did not exactly taste bad, but its flavor was very strange. It seemed sweet, yet also bitter, a little sour, yet perhaps spicy too. Whatever the case, he had already swallowed the potion.

The Polyjuice Potion began to take effect.

He felt something constantly writhing beneath his skin, as though something alive had burrowed into him. It was like a snake slithering beneath his skin, tearing it away from the flesh underneath and eating his flesh!

But the pain passed in an instant.

The next moment, he could already see his own platinum-blond fringe.