Amelia Potter and the Chamber of Secrets PART 1

186

Harry, Ron and Dean bringing up the rear, Ron still trying to get loose. Neville held Amelia's wrist firmly as she squirmed and grumbled under her breath, trying to escape. It was only safe to let go of them when Snape had seen them out of the castle, and they were making their way across the vegetable patch towards the greenhouses.

The Herbology class was very subdued; there were now two missing from their number, Justin and Hermione.

Professor Sprout set them all to work pruning the Abyssinian Shrivelfigs. Harry went to tip an armful of withered stalks onto the compost heap and found himself face to face with Ernie Macmillan. Ernie took a deep breath and said, very formally, 'I just want to say, Harry, that I'm sorry I ever suspected you. I know you'd never attack Hermione Granger, and I apologise for all the stuff I said. We're all in the same boat now, and, well –'

He held out a pudgy hand, and Harry shook it.

Ernie and his friend Hannah came to work at the same Shrivelfig as Harry and Ron.

'That Draco Malfoy character,' said Ernie, breaking off dead twigs, 'he seems very pleased about all this, doesn't he? D'you know, I think he might be Slytherin's heir.'

'That's clever of you,' said Ron, who didn't seem to have forgiven Ernie as readily as Harry.

'Do you think it's Malfoy, Harry?' Ernie asked.

'No,' said Harry, so firmly that Ernie and Hannah stared.

'He's too stupid to get away with stealing a cookie nonetheless attempted murder.' hummed Amelia happily as she snapped a twig off. 'I hope we get to work with mandrakes again soon. I want to see what they do if you scream back,' 

A second later, Harry spotted something that made him hit Ron over the hand with his pruning shears.

'Ouch! What're you –'

Harry was pointing at the ground a few feet away. Several large spiders were scurrying across the earth.

'Oh, yeah,' said Ron, trying, and failing, to look pleased. 'But we can't follow them now ...'

Ernie and Hannah were listening curiously.
Harry watched the spiders running away.

'Looks like they're heading for the Forbidden Forest ...'

And Ron looked even unhappier about that. Amelia grinned.
At the end of the lesson Professor Sprout escorted the class to their Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson. Harry, Ron, and Amelia lagged behind the others so they could talk out of earshot.

'We'll have to use the Invisibility Cloak again,' Harry told them. 'We can take Fang with us. He's used to going into the Forest with Hagrid, he might be some help.'