MAGIC AND MYSTERY

Part 13 of the Chamber of the Secrets

The screen changed to show Ron and Harry starting up the stairs towards Gryffindor Tower.

„Is Lockhart the smarmiest bloke you've ever met, or what?" Ron said to Harry.

"Yes," everyone who has ever been taught by, went to school with, taught, met, or breathed in the same direction as Lockhart answered.

"I'm impressed he can fit that inflated ego of his in the school," Hermione scoffed.

Snape had given them so much homework. Ron was just saying he wished he had asked Hermione how many rat tails you were supposed to add to a Hair-Raising Potion when an angry outburst from the floor above reached their ears.

„That's Filch," Harry muttered as they hurried up the stairs and paused, out of sight, listening hard.

"Of course you did," Ginny nodded.

„You don't think someone else's been attacked?" said Ron tensely.

"Don't go any closer!" Molly squeaked.

"Filch doesn't care enough about anyone to scream like that, and if it was him he can't scream because he'd be petrified," Halley pointed out

They stood still, their heads inclined toward Filch's voice, which sounded quite hysterical. „...even more work for me! Mopping all night, like I haven't got enough to do! No, this is the final straw, I'm going to Dumbledore..."

"Complaining about doing his job that he is paid to do. That sounds like Filch," Fred nodded.

"Why not just ask the house elves to lend a hand? I understand classrooms, but with big messes, the house elves would love to help," Maliana suggested. When Hermione opened her mouth, she added quickly, "if they want to of course, don't force them."

His footsteps receded along the out-of-sight corridor and they heard a distant door slam.

They poked their heads around the corner. Filch had clearly been manning his usual lookout post: They were once again on the spot where Mrs. Norris had been attacked.

"If that's his usual lookout post, how did you guys managed to visit enough to brew Polyjuice in their without being seen once," Neville frowned.

"Polyjuice doesn't actually require much attention except for the addition of ingredients. It was a bit tricky to make sure the corridor was clear at the exact times we needed, but Filch is easily distracted," Hermione informed him. Several adults raised their eyebrows, wondering what exactly Hermione meant by 'easily distracted'

They saw at a glance what Filch had been shouting about. A great flood of water stretched over half the corridor, and it looked as though it was still seeping from under the door of Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Now that Filch had stopped shouting, they could hear Myrtle's wails echoing off the bathroom walls.

"Moaning Myrtle strikes again. Filch really should be used to that," Tonks pointed out.

"Yeah, but he's easier upset this year because his cat still isn't back. He's been missing his beloved pet for months because the school will not order Mandrake Restorative Draught instead of growing mandrakes from scratch," Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Not to mention the amount of schooling missing. Colin and Maliana have been petrified for months. It's a miracle they didn't need to repeat the year," Bellatrix noted.

Narcissa chuckled. "Bella, you know just as well as I that Maliana's time at Hogwarts was useless in the academic sense. She knows everything she needs to before she was even enrolled at Hogwarts," she reminded her sister.