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December in what felt like no time and before Saffron knew it, Professor McGonagall was collecting names for who was going to stay at school during the holidays. Without a second thought, Saffron, Maya, Rachel and Rowan signed the list, in order to extend their time away from Squire and to have their first chore free Christmas.

On top of them, Harry predictably signed his name as he had no longing to return to his aunt and uncle to celebrate. Hermione and Ron both signed the list too but for different reasons. They noticed that Draco and his older brother Cygnus had both signed the list and they saw it as very suspicious. Thus, they figured it was the perfect time to take advantage of the Poljuice potion still brewing in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom and to solve the mysterious case of the Chamber of Secrets once and for all.

But in order to complete the potion, they needed to steal some crucial ingredients from Snape's private stock. The thought of it scared them all but they knew that they had to do it, there were no two ways around it.

"What we need," Hermione told Saffron, Harry and Ron as they walked through the corridor. "is a diversion. Then one of us can sneak into Snape's office and take what we need."

Saffron exchanged anxious glances with the group.

"Don't worry," continued Hermione in a warm tone of voice. "I think I'd better do the actual stealing. With my record, I'll have less of a chance of getting expelled than the three of you would. So all you need to do is cause enough mayhem to keep Snape busy for five minutes or so."

During their class on that Thursday afternoon, the plan was put into action. It wasn't actually too complicated. Harry was going to throw one of Fred Weasley's Filibuster fireworks into one of the Slytherins cauldrons and hope that pandemonium occurred after that.

On Hermione's signal, he did so. Saffron watched as he lit the firework and aimed it in the direction of Goyle's cauldron. Seconds later his Swelling Solution exploded and splattered around to hit almost the entirety of the classroom. Screams, wails and crashes were to be heard all around the dungeon. Saffron got lucky seeing as she was far enough away from it, but once Snape asked everyone who had been splashed to go up to him to get a Deflating Draft, she hastily dipped her hand in a puddle of it on the floor and watched it swell.

The reason she did so was to give Hermione every second that she needed to get the requirements for the potion. Harry and Ron caught her drift and did similarly. Just as Saffron received her antidote, she saw Hermione slip back into the classroom, with a noticeable bulge in her robes. Luckily, Professor Snape was focussed on applying the potion onto her to take notice.

Once everyone had been sorted out, Snape hurried over to Goyle's cauldron and pulled out the remains of the firework Harry had thrown into it just minutes before. The class was dead silent as they awaited his words.

"If I ever find out who threw this," hissed Snape, "I shall make sure that person is expelled."

Saffron merely exchanged a confused expression with Dean who sat at the stand opposite them, trying not to look guilty by association in the slightest.

Christmas came early when the bell rung ten minutes later and they could all escape, save from the wrath that Snape was able to bring upon them.

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"He knew it was me,"

Harry was certain that Snape knew that it was he who was behind the firework in the cauldron. Saffron felt like Snape was always going to suspect Harry, it was just Snape being Snape.

"He has no proof," Saffron assured him as Hermione pushed open the door to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. "It's just like the night he found us with Mrs. Norris, if he can't prove it he can't do anything,"

They hurried into the toilet with the potion and Hermione looked at it with a satisfied expression, as she got to work with the next steps to be completed. Saffron, Harry and Ron just watched her until she finally said:

"It'll be ready in two weeks,"

Harry and Ron high-fived each other whilst Saffron beamed across at Hermione.

"Are we going to have to steal anything else?" Saffron asked her sarcastically. But when Hermione answered with a 'yes', Saffron's face dropped. Surely Hermione being as smart as she was would have stolen everything they needed in one go, rather than for one specific section of the potion. "Why didn't---?"

"But not from the Snape's private stock," Hermione told her briskly. "No, we're going to need a bit of the people we're turning into," She paused. "I've been thinking a lot about how we're going to plan that part, ideally we're going to use Crabbe, Goyle, Pansy and Millicent, but it's the process of getting a part of them that's going to be tricky. We're also going to need clothes that'll fit us, and we'll need to ensure that Crabbe, Goyle, Pansy and Millicent don't burst in on us either, which will be equally as tricky, if not more so,"

"Do we not want to try to use his brother?" Saffron asked Hermione. "Surely Draco will tell him anything,"

"That would be too difficult," said Harry, likely speaking with experience seeing as he had encountered Cygnus on the Quidditch field. "He's older than us, so he'll be harder to trick and Malfoy will know all about him, while we know very little. He'll know somethings off straight away,"

"Exactly," nodded Hermione. "Cygnus would be perfect if we could pull it off because surely Draco would tell him what he wanted to hear. But I think the four we've chosen are safer because we know enough about them, and it'll be easier to get a part of them,"

"What do you mean by a part of them?" Ron asked Hermione blankly. "We're not going to have to get their blood, are we?"

"No, of course not," said Hermione as though it was obvious. "Have you not read the instructions?"

Ron shook his head with a confused look on his face.

"A hair will do the job," Hermione informed him. "A hair of each off of each of them, and then we'll be able to transform into them,"

"Should be no problem," said Saffron bracingly, with a mental image of her yanking Pansy Parkinson's jet black hair in order to get a strand of her hair.

"Piece of cake," said Ron, who too seemed to be envisioning likewise with one of Crabbe or Goyle. Although, it became clear a moment later that that was not what he was envisioning. "On that note, can we go now, I want some cake and George says they're doing some tonight,"

Saffron, Hermione and Harry laughed but obliged. The promise of cake seemed very appealing after the day they had endured.