{3rd Floor Corridor, Hogwarts}
{18th Sep 1991}
{3rd Person POV}
Neville Longbottom, supposedly the other candidate for the prophecy, was quite possibly built from the same mold as Harry. Both of them are withdrawn and used to being alone, and Harry has to adapt since he is thrown into his new life as a muted celebrity. Neville didn't have those distractions.
Neville Longbottom was withdrawn and alone. That much Rigel could see easily. He was looking at the map, tracking the boy's movement. In the three days he had spent preparing for this heist, he had easily seen Neville's dilemma. In canon, he was a lot more withdrawn, and easily bullied by Draco, and his self-confidence was quite low.
Freed from Draco's torment, at least the boy wasn't worse off now; he still was more used to being alone, but Neville here wasn't an 11-year-old boy but an 18-year-old. He's a lot more mature, not enough to escape the shadow of his own loneliness but enough that it wasn't crippling.
He still had the wrong wand, so he was the perfect target to emulate. But Rigel had to be sure that, among his long list of precautions for this operation, not being seen by Neville Longbottom was one of them. For this purpose, he was hiding in a broom cupboard in an isolated hallway, watching the footsteps of Neville Longbottom come closer and closer.
For a brief moment, Rigel considered not tormenting the boy to this ordeal, but from all his research into stunners, a mild one was shown not to have any adverse effects. Overuse of the stunning spell, on the other hand, could lead to diminished control over magic and a fairly troublesome concussion.
'Just need to hit him once from the back; there are no paintings nearby and no ghosts in sight...' Rigel thought as he once again checked the playing field; he watched as Neville walked over to the footsteps named 'Rigel Black' and continued on.
"Nox~" Rigel whispered. He still hadn't figured out reliable silent casting yet, and he didn't want to waste time right now. He pushed open the door, and as light flooded the enclosed space once again, he carefully walked out and simultaneously whipped his wand toward Neville's retreating back.
"Stupefy~" Rigel chanted, this time in a slightly louder voice. He was afraid something bad would happen, but Neville's form crumpled without any hint of resistance. Rigel winched as Neville's head collided against the floor with a crunch. He resisted the urge to run away and quickly approached the fallen boy.
At least there was no blood. Rigel quickly grabbed Neville's shoulders and dragged him toward the broom closet. It wasn't as easy as he had expected. Neville was one of the larger boys, and stuffing him in the closet took a few moments. Rigel heaved a deep breath from the exertion as he looked around.
'Thankfully, it is one of the rarely visited corridors.' Rigel quickly opened the map again and checked once again, and sure enough, no one was on the collision path with the closet for a while. He looked back, and at worst, Neville would have to deal with some neck pain.
'Should I come back for him?' Rigel thought. He didn't plan to, but he did feel a little bad now. The question of morality was pushed aside for now as he reached for one of Neville's hair and, with a sharp tug, plucked a couple of them.
After looking at Neville's crumpled form one more time, Rigel closed the door and walked away. He had already mapped his escape route, and there was a hidden entrance through which he had arrived in this corridor. Making sure that he wasn't seen, Rigel slipped into the small tunnel, a narrow escape way flanked by walls on both sides.
He reached into his inventory and pulled out a vial. The thick, dark sludge that looked like mud was a little revolting to look at as bubbles rose through it. Rigel gulped, the process far more difficult as his appetite didn't agree with his actions. He opened the cork and put one of Neville's hair into it. As he looked at the potion, a small window appeared over it, describing its effects.
...
[Polyjuice Potion{Rare}: Lv - 7]
[The Polyjuice Potion is a complex concoction that enables the consumer to assume the physical appearance of another person, and their magical signature as long as they have first procured part of that individual's body to add to the brew.]
[Keyed to - {Neville Longbottom}]
[Maximum Effect Duration - 7 Hrs]
...
The change was immediate as the bubbling mess of dark brown sludge changed color, it was still as viscous as before but the potion stopped bubbling as it changed color from brown to red. Rigel stopped himself from smelling the potion as he closed his nose with one hand and gulped the potion down.
The potion wasn't as horrible as he assumed. It tasted a little sweet and salty at the same time, which puzzled him. At the same time, it wasn't as murky as it looked, as the whole vial simply slipped down his throat without any problems. The change wasn't as immediate as he assumed. There was a moment of waiting as Rigel thought about the plan when it happened.
The situation went from zero to a horrible, melting reality in an instant. The change wasn't progressive, as described in his potion book; everything happened in an instant as he was assaulted by different horrible sensations, one after the other. His stomach rumbled as he felt his insides shift. The rumbling, though, was overwhelmed by the feeling of his skin melting, and a sense of vertigo made it difficult for him to stand.
As he used his hands to stabilize himself against the wall, his eyes were frozen as he stared at his hands. His fingers felt hot, the tips unbearably so as he watched them lengthen. His skin was bubbling and shifting, as shown in the movie, as he slowly watched his hand enlarge slightly.
The weird feelings stopped suddenly as Rigel panted, and as the normal sensations returned, he realized that everything was a little tight. His T-shirt felt a little restrictive, but it was his trousers that felt off. The belt was too tight, and his hands immediately latched onto the buckle, giving him much-needed relief.
'Okay, that wasn't so bad. Other than being stretched a little bit, it wasn't as bad as it was described in the notes.' Rigel thought as he opened his inventory and pulled out another set of robes and pants. This one had a reddish trim compared to his green one, and he immediately began changing into his new clothes.
'What would the twins think if they find Neville Longbottom changing from Slytherin robes into Gryffindor colors?'
...
-----------------------------
AN—Sorry about the late chap! Let's sneak into Gryffindor Tower! Does anyone have any ideas why Rigel chose to use Polyjuice instead of his own Metamorphmagus powers?
P.S- 42+ chapters on P.atreon!