Jane Fizzle and the Chamber of Secrets

Chapter 14

    Jane, Scarlett, and Gavin have always known that Robin has an unfortunate liking for large and monstrous creatures. During their first year at Hogwarts, he has tried to raise a dragon in his little wooden house, and it will be a long time before they forget the giant, three-headed dog he'd christened "Dandelion." And if, as a boy, Robin has heard that a monster is hidden somewhere in the castle, Jane is sure he'd have gone to any lengths for a glimpse of it. He probably thinks it is a shame that the monster has been cooped up so long, and thought it deserved the chance to stretch its many legs; Jane can just imagine the thirteen-year-old Robin trying to fit a leash and collar on it. But she is equally certain that Robin would never have meant to kill anybody.

    Jane half wishes she hasn't found out how to work O'Holly's diary. Again and again, Scarlett and Gavin make her recount what she has seen, until she is sick of telling them and sick of the long, circular conversations that follow afterwards.

    "O'Holly might have got the wrong person," Gavin suggests."Maybe it was some other monster that was attacking people..."

    "How many monsters d'you think this place can hold?" Scarlett asks dully.

    "We always knew Robin had gotten into some trouble," Jane says miserably. "And the attacks must've stopped after Robin was kicked out. Otherwise, O'Holly wouldn't have got her award."

    Scarlett tries a different tack. "O'Holly does sound like Philip — who asked her to squeal on Robin, anyway?"

    "But the monster had killed someone, Scar," Gavin reminds her.

    "And O'Holly was going to go back to some Muggle orphanage if they closed Hogwarts," Jane adds. "I don't blame her for wanting to stay here..."

    "You met Robin down Knockturn Alley, didn't you, Jane?" Gavin asks her, not meeting her eyes.

    "He was buying a Flesh-Eating Slug Repellent," Jane nods quickly.

    The three of them fall silent. After a long pause, Gavin voices the knottiest question of all in a hesitant voice. "Do you think we should go and ask Robin about it all?"

    "That'd be a cheerful visit," Scarlett snorts. "'Hello, Robin. Tell us, have you been setting anything mad and hairy loose in the castle lately?'"

    In the end, they decide that they will not say anything to Robin unless there is another attack, and as more and more days go by with no whisper from the disembodied voice, they become hopeful that they will never need to talk to him about why he had gotten into trouble.

    Rachel comes out from a row of books, holding about ten in her hands. "Oh, hey, guys," she smiles warmly at them, setting them down on a nearby table.

    "Hey,"' the three of them mumble.

    "Whatcha doing?" Jane asks.

    "More research about what's happening. I looked in almost the entire library, but there isn't really anything here," she sighs, rubbing her eyes with the backs of her hands. "I've been here a lot during my breaks."

    "Yeah, I noticed you disappear whenever we have a break," Scarlett tells her. "Did you find anything at all, though?"

    Rachel sighs and shakes her head. "No, nothing. It's like it wasn't written at all, other than the Legends book, which is what Professor Work told us about. But I'll continue to look, for my fellow Muggle-borns."

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    It is now nearly four months since Dillon and Nearly Headless Nick have been Petrified, and nearly everybody seems to think that the attacker, whoever it was, has retired for good. Peeves has finally got bored of his "Oh, Fizzle, you dizzle" song, Edward Davis asked Jane quite politely to pass a bucket of leaping toadstools in Herbology one day, and in March, several of the Mandrakes threw a loud and raucous party in greenhouse three. This makes Professor Linder very happy.