Finding Hope (Book 1)

Chapter 12: The truth

"Yes, Professor Dumbledore?" Hope asked while the trio ran off.

"Professors, I would appreciate if you would kindly leave for a moment. We will talk about it later. The teachers then trailed out of the room as well. "Hope is there anything that was untruthfully said?"

"Professor Dumbledore you must understand that Harry, Herminoe, and Ron had nothing to do with this." Hope pleadingly said.

"Yes. I assumed so."

"Well me and Harry can hear this voice... It says that it is going to Kill something. We heard it in Professor Lockhearts office first and just now for the second time. And then Miss. Noris turns up petrified." Hope explained. "But the strange thing is, is that only me and Harry heard it. Ron and Herminoe didn't hear a thing."

"I believe you Hope." said Professor Dumbledore. "Now off to bed to you."

For a few days, the school could talk of little else but the attack on Mrs. Norris. Filch kept it fresh in everyone's minds by pacing the spot where she had been attacked, as though he thought the attacker might come back. Hope had seen him scrubbing the message on the wall with Mrs. Skower's All-Purpose Magical Mess Remover, but to no effect; the words still gleamed as brightly as ever on the stone.

When Filch wasn't guarding the scene of the crime, he was skulking red- eyed through the corridors, lunging out at unsuspecting students and trying to put them in detention for things like "breathing loudly' and "looking happy."

Ginny Weasley seemed very disturbed by Mrs. Norris's fate. According to Ron, she was a great cat lover. "But you haven't really got to know Mrs. Norris," Ron told her bracingly. "Honestly, we're much better off without her." Ginny's lip trembled. "Stuff like this doesn't often happen at Hogwarts," Ron assured her. "They'll catch the maniac who did it and have him out of here in no time. I just hope he's got time to Petrify Filch before he's expelled. I'm only joking -" Ron added hastily as Ginny blanched.

The attack had also had an effect on Hermione. It was quite usual for Hermione to spend a lot of time reading, but they were now doing almost nothing else. Nor could Hope, Harry and Ron get much response from her when they asked what she was up to, and not until the following Wednesday did they find out. 

Harry had been held back in Potions, where Snape had made him stay behind to scrape tubeworms off the desks. Hope and Ron were in the library, and saw Justin Finch- Fletchley, the Hufflepuff boy from Herbology, coming toward them. Hope had just opened his mouth to say hello when Justin caught sight of her, turned abruptly, and sped off in the opposite direction.

Harry found Ron and Hope at the back of the library, measuring his History of Magic homework. Professor Binns had asked for a three foot-long composition on "The Medieval Assembly of European Wizards." 

"I don't believe it, I'm still eight inches short said Ron furiously, letting go of his parchment, which sprang back into a roll. 

"And Hermione's done four feet seven inches and her writing's tiny. "

"Where is she?" asked Harry, grabbing the tape measure and unrolling his own homework.

"Somewhere over there," said Ron, pointing along the shelves. "Looking for another book. I think she's trying to read the whole library before Christmas."

Hope told Harry about Justin Finch-Fletchley running away from her.

"Dunno why you care. I thought he was a bit of an idiot," said Ron, scribbling away, making his writing as large as possible. "All that junk about Lockhart being so great -" Hermione emerged from between the bookshelves. She looked irritable and at last seemed ready to talk to them.