Sketchbook ~ George Weasley

Chapter 32 - Ron Knows

"Someone was leaving you threatening notes and you didn't think to tell anyone?" Harry said. It seemed to be less of a question and more of a scolding.

The three of us sat in the library that was mostly empty as no one was willing to spend their holiday doing work, even if that means facing the wrath of Snape when everyone hands in awful potions essays.

"Well, I thought they were just a prank," I say. "A really bad one."

"It doesn't matter," Hermione says. "All that matters now is figuring out who left them."

"Well, at first I thought it was the twins paying someone in our dorm to leave them there, but I kind of abandoned that idea after I got maybe the third note."

"Well, it makes sense that it was a girl who left the notes," Hermione says.

"Because it was in the girl's dorm," I say.

"Yes, and because of Cedric Diggory," Hermione says.

"What does Diggory have to do with this?" Harry asks.

"Yeah," I say. "What does Diggory have to do with this?"

"A lot of girls fancy him, so that could put a target on Paige's back," Hermione explained. "When did you first start getting these notes?"

"Actually, I think it was a couple of days after I met Cedric when everyone was putting their names in the goblet," I say.

"A girl could have seen you two together that night and that's when she started putting the notes in your dorm," Hermione said.

"You mean like Cho?" I asked. "How would she have even gotten into the dorm?"

"Cho wouldn't do something like that," Harry said. "Cedric was also the one who asked her to the ball."

"Sure," Hermione said, "but Cedric did spend the ball with Paige."

Hermione picked the scattered notes laying on the table up again to examine them further, studying the details of the handwriting and looking for anything else that could hint towards who left them.

"That doesn't explain why she would have left them before that, though," Harry argues.

"Well, um, there's always the possibility that it's not some petty student, but something worse," I say.

Hermione looks up from the notes in her hands and finally towards me, and Harry shifts in his chair.

I fumble with the hem of my sleeve, not looking up from it, "The first note that I got said something like 'I know what you're doing and that was right after I told Harry about the book. What if someone overheard? Or if someone knows something?"

Hermione put the pieces of paper down and reached a hand across the table to put on top of mine. "We don't know that. Most likely it's just some jealous girl and we can just get it back, okay? It's going to be alright."

I nod slightly, remembering how my blood ran cold when I first thought of the possibility that someone out there could have potentially known about the book. All the while I feel my energy draining as if the book was taking it from me, not allowing me to get any rest and taking the little rest that I did get. I didn't know that when I started drawing I'd be signing away a part of my soul.

"Oh, so now you're all having secret meetings without me?" A voice boomed from behind us. The three of us turned to look towards an annoyed Ron Weasley walking towards us, and a fowl glare coming from Pince.

Hermione's hand dropped from mine. "It's not a secret meeting, Ron."

"Well, I didn't know about it so obviously it was meant to be kept a secret from me," Ron said.