Looking back, Hermione had broken quite a few Hogwarts rules just to make this mission a success.
She'd deceived Professor Lockhart, who would agree to anything with a bit of flattery. She'd snuck into Professor Snape's office to steal potion ingredients. And worst of all, she'd brewed a Ministry-restricted potion completely in secret.
All of this, just to prepare for their plan. She had even pushed through the panic pounding in her chest and forced herself to act all coy and sweet—something she never imagined she'd do. And the target of all that effort? Draco.
Yet after sacrificing so much, Hermione hadn't expected her downfall to come from a single cup of pretty-looking tea...
Draco glanced over at "Pansy," who was sitting with her head bowed, her whole demeanor completely different from before. Her eyes wandered, and she looked thoroughly defeated. Draco, who seemed to have figured everything out already, leaned slightly toward her, a smirk playing on his lips.
The subtle pressure of that movement made the disguised Hermione flinch.
"If my memory's correct, our dear Pansy should know just how awful that tea tastes, shouldn't she?"
"..."
"So? Want another cup?"
"..."
Hermione, still keeping her head down, rolled her eyes so hard it almost hurt. In her head, she poked at a tiny mental voodoo doll of Draco with every word.
One more drink and I'm gone!
Watching "Pansy" pretend like she hadn't heard anything—eyes darting around like she was hunting for an escape route—Draco calmly took another sip of his strange, bitter Gurdyroot Infusion, looking pleased.
"So that's what the Restricted Section visit was about... And conveniently, the ingredients Snape reported missing happen to be core components of that advanced potion."
Hermione, who had just been mentally mapping her escape, froze. His words sounded casual—like he was talking to himself—but every word was aimed directly at her.
Her brain blanked out. She jumped up, driven purely by instinct.
She had to run.
Too bad Draco had no intention of letting her. After all, he was the villain.
"Eep!"
"And where do you think you're going, dear Lady Pansy?"
"L-Let me go!"
Hermione, caught by the head with one hand, wore the expression of someone who had just been caught red-handed—utterly helpless, struggling like a kitten grabbed by the scruff. Her pitiful little face made her look tragically adorable.
But Draco didn't budge. He pulled her closer. The warm breath brushing her face, the way his eyes slowly took her in—Hermione's limbs turned to jelly. Escape was out of the question.
"You really are identical, huh?"
"Ugh..."
"Hair, eyes, height—even the tone of voice. If I didn't already know this was from a potion, I'd never guess you weren't the real Pansy."
"I said—!"
"So, how was it? Taste really like overcooked cabbage? What did it feel like when the transformation hit? Any side effects?"
As Draco toyed with her hair and poked gently at her cheeks, Hermione's earlier embarrassment evaporated in an instant.
She wasn't just being teased now—she was being treated like some kind of lab rat.
And even if this face wasn't technically hers... it all felt far too real.
"Enough! The effects of Polyjuice Potion are already clearly written in Moste Potente Potions!"
Before she even realized it, her tiny fist had already landed squarely in Draco's side.
...
"..."
"..."
Silence.
Awkward silence.
Even though she knew Draco had likely figured everything out already, the shame of accidentally outing herself made Hermione bury her face in her knees like an ostrich.
Watching "Pansy" curl up on the sofa in silent surrender, Draco couldn't help but laugh quietly at the sight.
"So it really was Polyjuice Potion. Why go that far... Hermione?"
"Who's Hermione? I'm Pansy! Pansy Parkinson!"
"And those two just now—Goyle and Crabbe—that must've been the Chosen One and that Weasley. I'm not wrong, am I, Hermione?"
"I'm Pansy."
"..."
Faced with Hermione's stubborn refusal to admit the obvious, Draco let out a silent twitch of the mouth. Clearly, she'd decided to deny everything to the bitter end.
Still, it wasn't hard for Draco to guess her intent.
She was probably after some kind of intel. Either that, or she was hoping to catch him slipping up.
But now she'd overheard his suspicion about Harry Potter being the one who opened the Chamber of Secrets... and that made Draco glance sharply at her—only to be met with an equally sharp glare in return.
Except, with her cheeks bright red, Hermione didn't look threatening at all. If anything, she looked like a flustered kitten trying to be fierce.
"I... mmph..."
Just as Hermione prepared to bolt again, a burning sensation surged up from her stomach, quickly spreading through her limbs. A terrifying, melting feeling overtook her whole body.
She knew this feeling.
Her eyes widened in panic. All she could manage was a startled yelp before collapsing onto the sofa, breathless and shaking...
"Don't look... mm... ah... no~"
Her shoulder-length black hair suddenly lengthened, flowing down like time had fast-forwarded. The color changed as well, shifting to a warm chestnut brown that matched her eyes.
Her Slytherin robes, once snug, began to hang a bit looser—especially around the chest.
As the seconds ticked by, the "Pansy" from earlier vanished, and in her place sat a very different girl.
The effects of the Polyjuice Potion had worn off.
But the scene was... questionable.
Hermione lay there, breath shallow, robes tangled from her twisting, and patches of pink skin exposed to the cool air. Her hazy eyes glared in Draco's direction, filled with a mix of embarrassment and fury—yet from the outside, she looked almost alluring in her disheveled state.
To someone unaware of what had just happened, it would look like Draco had done something... indecent.
Draco, having just witnessed her transformation from beginning to end, could only stare—mouth twitching uncontrollably.
Whoever invented this potion... seriously had something wrong with them.