The War Hammer of Hogwarts - Harry Potter

Ron Needs Two More Inches

For a few days, the school could talk of little 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.  We 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 through the corridors, lunging out at unsuspecting students and trying to put them in detention for things like "breathing loudly" and "looking happy".  He tried to get Pieck and I for "standing too close together", but we just ignored him and kept walking. Ginny Weasley seemed very disturbed by Mrs Norris's fate.  According to Ron, she was a cat person.

Ron: But you hadn't really got to know Mrs Norris.  Honestly, we're much better off without her.

Ginny's lip trembled.

Ron: Stuff like this doesn't often happen at Hogwarts.  They'll catch the nutter 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.

Ginny looked horrified.

Ron: I'm only joking.

YN: Are you?

The attack had also had an effect on Hermione.  It was quite usual for Hermione to spend a lot of time reading, but she was now doing almost nothing else.  None of us could get much response from her when we asked what she was up to, and not until the following Wednesday did we find out.  Harry and I found Ron 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".

Ron: I don't believe it, I'm still eight inches short!

He let go of his parchment, which sprang back into a roll.

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

YN: I got like three and a half feet.  The key is having a little extra space between each paragraph, and writing your letters slightly larger than you're supposed to.  They can't be mad at you for having large handwriting.

Ron sighed.

Harry: Speaking of Hermione, where is she?

Ron: Somewhere over there, looking for another book.  I think she's trying to read the whole library before Christmas.

Hermione emerged from between the bookshelves.  She looked irritable and at last seemed ready to talk to us.

Hermione: All the copies of "Hogwarts: A History" have been taken out.  And there's a two week waiting list.  I wish I hadn't left my copy at home, but I couldn't fit it in my trunk with all the Lockhart books.

YN: You can borrow mine when we get back to our rooms tonight.

Hermione grinned at me.

Harry: Why do you want it?

Pieck: The same reason everyone else wants it.  To read up on the legend of the Chamber of Secrets.

Pieck came marching over to us, a smirk on her face, holding up a copy of the book Hermione was looking for.

Hermione: How did you-

Pieck: Swiped it from FIlch's office.  You'd be shocked the amount of stuff people are taking, he's never there anymore.

Hermione looked horrified, but her tone quickly changed when Pieck held the book out to her.  After a few seconds of staring at it, Hermione snatched it from Pieck's hands and began flipping through the pages.