Willowbranch

As far as the others knew, Connie had let the subject go. They went about their business as usual, hardly noticing that Whipple had fits during all their classes, and during mealtimes. They had nearly forgotten everything in regard to the whole matter when one night in the common room Connie slammed a large timetable in front of her friends on a table that was already submerged under books.

"You know, all we really need is one set of books to do homework. But look at this before you go any further." Josh, Brian, and Judy leaned inward.

"It's a chart," Josh said in mock amazement. "And it's so pretty, too. I'll give you an A plus and a gold star."

"Ignorant much? For the past few weeks, I've been observing Whipple very closely. I've written down the time whenever she starts coughing and drinks from that bottle. Looks pretty regular, doesn't it?"

"Probably medication. I mean, the times are far enough apart..."

"We've been through this already, Bri. No cough suppressing potion would work that fast on that hack. Besides, taking it at breakfast, then in the middle of the next class? It doesn't make any sense. Even a mediocre potion would give three hours."

"It is suspicious," Josh said as the idea dawned on him. "It'll need more looking into, though. Hey, isn't there a Quod game tomorrow?"

"Oh yeah. Us versus Swallowtail." Quodpot is the most popular wizarding game in America. The game consists of two teams of eleven players. The Quod, or ball, is enchanted to release a foul-smelling liquid at random into the face of the player holding it. Any player holding the Quod when it goes off is out of the game. The object of Quodpot is to throw the ball to your teammates and try to get it into a pot filled with potion at each end of the field. The potion deactivates the Quod. One of the reasons Connie was so good at it was because she knew when the ball was about to go off, so she would throw it to an opposing team member. To divert suspicion, she would often toss it to a teammate, or even take the fall herself. Her psychic powers were between her and her friends. Not even Isabelle or Onderwater knew.

The stadium was packed with students as the two teams walked onto the field. She could hear shouts of 'Longsworth sucks' and other rude things directed at her, but as usual she paid no attention. She didn't want to break her concentration, and she knew she was good. Why else was she team captain? After shaking hands with the Swallowtail captain, she mounted her Cleansweep 6 and waited for the whistle. The referee tossed the Quod and the game was on. A member of the Swallowtail team grabbed the Quod and made for the Windham goal. He meant to toss it to a team member, but Connie intercepted it.

As she streaked down the field, she got the feeling the Quod was going to blow and threw it over her shoulder. Whoever caught it let out an exclamation.

"And it's Jenkins, Tanya Jenkins of Windham House who takes the Quod as it goes off. Windham Warriors down one player, score nothing to nothing." A new ball was put into play, Swallowtail in possession. The ball was passed from one player to another, and Windham couldn't get a hold of it. Finally, one of the Swallowtail misdirected a throw, and it came in Connie's direction. Not feeling an explosion anytime soon, she grabbed it and turned her broom in the opposite direction. A few seconds later, she had placed it neatly in the cauldron, barely splashing the potion inside. The Windhams in the crowd applauded unenthusiastically.

"Longsworth intercepts, and brings it home for five; Five-nothing Windham. The game continues, Windham still in possession." The rest of the Windham team started taking the Quod at any possible moment, not allowing any of the Swallowtails get anywhere with it. They never passed it to Connie, and as a result, soon had only five players left, while Swallowtail still had a full squad. Connie sighed.

"When will they ever learn?" she muttered under her breath. She then proceeded to hog the Quod herself. Swallowtail after Swallowtail went down. Soon, there was only four of them, and Connie had scored six more times, bringing the score to thirty-five, nothing. Connie was beginning to get tired, and Swallowtail soon came back with three goals. Two more Windham players were soon out, leaving three players against four. The crowd began chanting rudely at Connie, and she quickly decided that this wasn't the day to share the glory. Now whenever she felt the ball about to go off, she just tossed it into the air and hoped someone caught it.

Eventually, it was down to her and two Swallowtails, and the score was forty-five to twenty, in favor of Windham. Connie flew; dodging attempts at the ball until the Quod was about to burst. Then, she simply stopped and held the ball out to the nearest player. As he grabbed the ball, he looked at her like she was crazy. His expression quickly changed to one of surprise and anger as he suddenly found himself smelly, wet, and out of the game.

The game was nearly over. Connie and the Swallowtail played furiously, each scoring several times during the next half hour. Neither of them would take the fall. Finally, the Swallowtail grabbed the Quod from under Connie's arm. She didn't care, because she had just earned an extra seventy-five points for Windham, and won the game. The other Windhams didn't appreciate the game being won by 'that Longsworth girl' however, much to Connie's expectations, and evil pleasure.

~

Exciting as the match was, Judy, Josh, and Brian opted to pass on it. Instead, they took advantage of the school being empty and broke into Whipple's office. Judy closed the door behind them.

"All right," she said in a business-like manner, "we're in. Where do we start?"

"Forget where to start," Brian exclaimed. "What the hello Bob are we looking for?"

"Something to suggest what she might be up to," she responded a little exasperatedly.

"What that means, Brian, is basically anything suspicious," Josh told him sarcastically. Brian took a fake swipe at him. "I'll search her desk," he added.

"I'll get the cabinets," Judy put in quickly. Brain looked forlorn.

"That leaves me with the wardrobe. Just what I need to see, old lady Whipple's unmentionables." Brian shuddered as grasped the handle of the wardrobe door. Josh pulled out a desk drawer an rummaged through it.

"I can't believe this," he said in awe. "All these order forms, all for the same things. Lacewing flies, knotgrass, boomslang skin. What's she doing with this stuff?"

"Obviously, Josh, she's making a potion." Brian had unearthed a simmering cauldron in the back of the wardrobe.

"Well, whatever kind it is, she's making a lot of it. This whole cabinet has more of the stuff than the world's largest Apothecary. And she's growing some sort of plant in here."

"Take a little, so we can find out what it is. Anybody got a jar? We should take a sample of the potion."

"Are you nuts, Josh? There is no way in hell I'm drinking that stuff," Brian cried.

"Not to drink, to analyze. I can't tell what it is, can you?" Brian had to admit he could not.

"Well, what do you suggest we do? Take it to Professor Crow so he can tell us? If I'm not mistaken, it could be a little difficult to explain."

"It's a simple matter, Brian. Connie. If she doesn't know from looking at it, she'll definitely drink it," Judy said knowingly. "Why don't you go make a note of the ingredients. Josh, get that potion sample." Brian went over to the desk and spotted something of interest on top of it.

"Hey, check it out. It's a lunar calendar."

"What's so suspicious about that?" Judy asked impatiently.

"All the full moon dates are circled pretty heavily."

"Maybe she's a werewolf," Josh guessed, wiping potion off the side of the jar with his robes.

"A werewolf?" Judy exclaimed incredulously. "You think Onderwater's insane? He wouldn't let a werewolf teach here."

"Well, maybe she found a cure and she has to take it a lot."

"You'd think it would be all over the papers if it was, wouldn't you, Josh?"

"Not to interrupt anything, but we'd better get out of here. The game could end any minute now, and we don't want to be found in here." Following Brian's orders, they retreated to the Windham common room, where they discussed all sorts of unlikely possibilities until Connie returned from the game.

"What's up? You three look guilty."

"We found something out about Whipple," Josh said excitedly.

"For that I'll forgive you for not coming to the game. What'd you get?"

"Order forms for potion ingredients she already had a full decade's supply of, some plant growing in the closet, and some sort of potion brewing in her wardrobe." Brian ran off the list, ticking off on his fingers.

"Anything else?"

"Ummm, oh yeah, a lunar calendar with all the full moon dates circled," Josh added.

"Josh thinks she's a werewolf and found a cure. But I told him; Onderwater would never let a monster teach here, no matter how nice she was in human form. They can't be trusted, no matter what shape the moon is." Connie's eyes flashed and she looked ready to scream at Judy.

"What?" she asked blankly.

"Nothing, Judith. I'll just ignore that ignorant remark. Did you get any of the potion? And what about the plant?"

"Yeah," Brian answered, handing her the bit of foliage they had taken. "We don't know what it is, just what's probably in it."

"This is Fluxweed. So what else in it?" Connie asked impatiently. "We know it's not poison, she's probably drinking it. It may be illegal, though." They could no longer talk about it, as the rest of Windham house had returned. Connie went up to her dorm and sent an owl to England.

Dear Jay, Lil, Ray, and Petey,

You asked me to tell you about anything suspicious so here goes nothing. I've noticed lately that one of my teachers has been acting not like herself. Today, Judy, Josh, and Brian snuck into the old bat's office. They found a plethora of potion ingredients, order forms for more of those same ingredients, fluxweed growing in the closet, and a lunar chart with full moon nights circled. I doubt she's found a cure for lycanthropy, but it could be something illegal. Why else would she brew it in her wardrobe? No idea yet as to what it is, but I'll let you know what's in it as soon as everyone else goes to bed and Bri tells me what's in it. If I don't get back to you by then, Merry Christmas.

-Miss you

Connie.

~

"You lost the list?" Judy cried incredulously. "I can't believe this. You were supposed to keep it in a safe place."

"Brian, you really are an idiot," Josh said angrily.

"No, Josh, he isn't an idiot," Connie said calmly. "HE'S A BLOODY IMBECILE!"

"I'm sorry, but I swear I can remember the ingredients."

"Then stop swearing and start telling," Connie said threateningly.

"Ummm...fluxweed."

"We know that."

"Lacewings...knotgrass."

"Keep it coming, there's more," Judy snapped.

"If I have to tell you the ingredients, how do you know there's more?"

"Stop stalling." Brian looked a little damp with perspiration.

"Boomslang skin. Bicorn horn."

"Anything else?" Connie asked, scribbling furiously.

"I can't remember," Brian said desperately.

"I think that's it," Judy said. Brian let out a grateful sigh of relief.

"You lucked out this time, Bri. We won't disembowel you. Just remind me never to let you perform surgery on me."

"So, Connie, what's the potion?" Josh asked. "And how does the lunar calendar tie in?"

"The full moon, you mean? Probably one of the plants, judging from what you told me it's the fluxweed, has to be gathered during that time. As to the potion, I have no idea what that could be." Connie then turned to the library. Refusing all help, she spent hours pouring through book after book on potions. Somehow, she managed to get all her schoolwork done as well. It was piling ever higher in the months before the TEBOs. She had gotten nowhere when Christmas came three weeks later.

Connie had woken up to a rather large pile. As she expected, she didn't receive any from Isabelle. But her friends form Hogwarts made up for it, especially James. His gift was a book, a rather old one at that, but his letter explained everything.

Dear Connie,

Merry Christmas! I wasn't sure how your potion search was going, so I took the liberty of procuring this book for you. The only thing I ask is that you send it back when you're through. You see, I nicked it from the Restricted section of the library. If you find what you're looking for, let us know. There's no need to thank me, just do me a favor. Please don't let Lily know about this, all right? She'd have a conniption.

Keep in touch, James.

"Moste Potente Potions?" Judy read off the cover. "Wonder why it's restricted." She opened the book to the middle, then snapped it shut. "Now I know. You don't think you'll find it, do you? Even if it is in here, you'd keel over form nausea before you found it." Brian snatched the book from Judy's hand and began flipping through the pages enthusiastically.

"Bri, while you're doing your medical research, would you mind looking for the potion?" he immediately handed the book to Connie, who glared at him occasionally as she perused the stained pages. Near the end of the book, she stopped dead and stared at a page for a long time.

"Hey Josh," she said finally after the long silence. "You still have that potion sample?"

"Yeah, it's in my trunk. I'll go get it."

"You found something?" Judy asked excitedly.

"I think so, I just want to make sure." Noticing the looks on her friends' faces, added, "Don't worry, I won't make you try it. I'll drink it." Josh returned soon after with the potion. As he handed the jar to Connie, she reached and pulled out a few strands of hair. Josh let out a yelp of pain.

"What'd you do that for?" he exclaimed.

"For science," she answered simply as she poured some of the potion into a cup she had conjured. When she added the hair, it bubbled and turned from a mud color to blood red.

"Are you really going to drink that?" Brian asked unbelievingly. "It looks evil."

"You know what?" Josh said, "I think I want to try some. I'm ripping out Connie's hair. Pay back." Connie made another cup and poured some potion into it. The potion turned a nice shade of purple.

"Come on, Josh. It's not like it's going to kill us." They each took a swig of the potion and swallowed. Nothing happened for several seconds. Suddenly they both retched and leaned way over. Judy and Brian watched in amazement. When they finally sat up, they were indistinguishable from the original Connie and Josh; it was as though they had only switched seats.

"It's Polyjuice Potion." Connie looked down at herself, then at Josh, and started to laugh.

"If someone comes in here, we could get into big trouble," Brian said anxiously.

"Don't worry so much, Brian, everyone's home for Christmas. So what's so funny, Connie?"

"See for yourself, Jude," she answered as she tried to conjure two more cups. Nothing happened when she pointed her finger. "Josh, would you mind? I don't have a wand." Josh conjured two more cups, into which Connie divided the remaining potion. Judy ripped out some of her hair, then some of Brian's. Within a minute, they too had switched appearances. Judy finally discovered what was funny. It was strange to see yourself sitting across from yourself when you were someone else. They spent the next few hours having fun taking on each other's appearances. They spent the time between transformations looking at each other and laughing hysterically. They couldn't help it. Brian even stopped worrying. Finally, they had all been each other. Connie picked up the glass that held her hair. It was her favorite shade of purple.

"What d'you think would happen if I drank the potion with my hair?" she asked after examining it for a few moments.

"I wouldn't do it. You never know, you might end up splitting your personality. Imagine an evil you running around? It would be as bad as having a second Montgomery around. Well, it wouldn't AS bad."

"Brian, who the hello Bob is Montgomery?" Judy asked.

"Oh, I don't know, the evil guy terrorizing the entire UK and at this moment is no where to be found," he replied sarcastically.

"How the hello Bob do you get Montgomery from Voldemort?" Josh asked him slowly.

"Forget that," Connie exclaimed, "How could you not think I could take him?"

"Look, remember what your friend said? This is one seriously evil wizard we're talking about. You wouldn't last two seconds before he hit you with Avada Kedavra," Josh reasoned.

"Not if I get him first. Dumbledore said I had a natural advantage. I could waste him before he even got his wand out."

"Stop being ridiculous. There is no way he's ever going to come here. They'll stop him in England before long and we won't have anything to worry about. Besides, what we want to do now is figure out who's disguising himself as Professor Whipple," Judy said logically.

"Crap, I almost forgot. I've got to let the Marauders know, and get the book back to Jay. They should be able to put the info to good use."