2.6. Ron becomes Crabbe

“Oh Potter, you rotter, what have you done?”

When we last left off, Harry was beginning to question if he could really be the heir - he can speak Parseltongue AND the Sorting Hat wanted to place him in Slytherin. But before investigating anything else, Harry decides to find Justin Finch Fletchley and explain what happened the previous night. When attempting to find Justin, Harry overhears a bunch of Hufflepuffs discussing the possibility of his being the heir and attacking Muggleborn students.

Angry, Harry decides to return back to Gryffindor Tower - on his way back, he stumbles across a petrified Justin Finch Fletchley, just the person he was looking for, and the blackened shade of Nearly Headless Nick. When Peeves alerts everyone to the proceedings, McGonagall clears the corridor and escorts Harry to Dumbledore’s office.

While waiting for Dumbledore, Harry pokes around his office and finds the Sorting Hat that tells him that it stands by its decision and he’d have done well in Slytherin. Just as he’s looking around for something to distract him, Dumbledore’s bird catches on fire but Dumbledore assures him that it’s alright because it’s a phoenix. Hagrid rushes into Dumbledore’s office to proclaim Harry’s innocence and Dumbledore reassures him that he doesn’t think that Harry’s responsible. When Dumbledore invites Harry to confide in him, Harry declines.

It’s Christmas Day by the time the Polyjuice potion is ready. Hermione makes a plan to knock Crabbe and Goyle out with a Sleeping Draught so that Ron and Harry can assume their identities - her plan is to use the hair she plucked off Millicent Bullstrode’s robes from the Dueling Club. The plan goes off without a hitch and Harry becomes a replica of Goyle, Ron of Crabbe. Hermione refuses to come out of her stall, so Harry and Ron set off alone.

Unfortunately however, they find out that all the effort is for vain because Malfoy said he doesn’t know who the heir is. They nearly get made but they manage to make it out of the Slytherin Common Room before their identities are revealed. Hermione however is still in her stall because the hair she added to her potion turned out to belong to a cat.

PREPARATION

You can prepare for this episode by reading:

• Chapter 11: The Duelling Club

• Chapter 12: The Polyjuice Potion

of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

You can also listen to this podcast on iTunes, Google Podcast, or any other favorite podcast app. Just search for Mimblewimble - The Harry Potter Podcast.

NOTES

• Aishwarya loves this scene because it’s her favorite Dumbledore plus look how cute baby Fawkes is!!

• Prashanthini would like to note that Lucius Malfoy is a consummate politician who tries to use everything to make sure his wishes are met. Mr. Weasley has a flying car? Surely, he must be sacked and ALL the policies he enforced should be removed. Aishwarya concurs and would like to add that Lucius probably sent Draco the clipping so he could use it against Ron.

• The episode is pretty short and it’s not just because we didn’t have as much to discuss as we usually do but also because there was some kind of electrical work going on in the building we work in. So, if you hear some distant shouts and thuds that the editor (Aishwarya) missed, apologies. It’s also the reason we practically hurry through the Slytherin common room bits.