Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.
Harry McGonagall - Chapter 6 - Conspiracies
As Harry was sitting at the completely empty Ravenclaw table in the Great Hall, he looked around. The four Weasleys were at the Gryffindor table, and there were a couple Hufflepuffs and Slytherins, but apparently not one Ravenclaw had elected to stay at Hogwarts for the break. The staff, including Aunt Minnie, were at the Head Table. Harry had arrived with her about an hour before, and they were waiting for the other vacationing students to arrive. He knew that they were due back any minute. Snape and Dumbledore were looking anywhere but at him.
The doors opened, drawing everyone's attention to the crowd of students that were entering the hall and separating into their houses. After about fifteen seconds, he heard a female voice call his name. After a few moments, he spotted the origin of that voice as his bushy-haired friend broke through the crowd and ran toward him.
"Hi, Hermione!" he said happily as she sat down next to him. "How was the train ride?"
"Great, except that Draco Malfoy had to visit us." She grinned, "He was awfully mad." She chuckled, "I guess he's even madder now."
Harry couldn't help smiling as she was laughing, even though he didn't know what happened. "Why was he mad?"
"You know that news about C.A.R.E. that I have?"
"Yeah."
"Mandy Brocklehurst showed her mum, who works at the Daily Prophet, all our pictures, including the one that clearly shows that Lucius Malfoy was the man beating his elf."
"So?"
She huffed impatiently, "So he doesn't want to ruin his reputation as a benevolent creep. She showed him the photos and got him to give clothes to that elf, Dobby, in exchange for keeping his name and picture out of the article she wrote about elves."
"That's great about Dobby! Mrs. Brocklehurst wrote an article in the Daily Prophet?" Harry asked wide-eyed.
"Yes! It was a really good one! It even mentioned C.A.R.E! She's gotten several people that want to get involved with it, at least to stop the physical abuse of elves. Of course she got some negative responses as well."
"She didn't get in trouble at work did she?" he asked, worried.
"No, no. Her editor feels that if there's a major response to something, it's a good thing. He even wants her to write a follow-up article every few months."
"That is great!"
"We got a few hundred more members - all adults! I had to order more badges for them!"
"That's great! Do you need some money to cover that?"
"No, enough sent the money in advance that I was able to take care of it!"
"Terrific!"
"Yeah, and Amelia Bones is drafting a bill to make House Elf abuse illegal. She's not sure if it will pass or not, but she's going to try. Neville Longbottom's grandmother has a seat on the Wizengamot, and she's actually joined C.A.R.E! A lot of the new members will be placing our literature out in their places of business - Flourish and Blotts, The Leaky Cauldron, and even a bar called the Hogg's Head that's located in Hogsmeade!"
He smiled broadly. "That's wonderful!"
"Yes!" She then looked at him more closely. "You've got new glasses."
His ears turned pink. "Yeah, my dad had me get my eyes checked."
"I really like those gold frames. They match your hair, even your eyes, better than the black frames."
Whispering, he said, "Actually, the black frames match my original hair color."
Smiling and still whispering, she said, "I suppose, but I just have a hard time picturing you with dark hair. It doesn't seem right to me."
"Me neither. I've seen a few baby pictures taken before that night, but they just don't seem like me. I've always had dirty-blonde hair, and I think I always will - unless I get found out." He then spoke in a normal voice as another friend approached the table. "Hey Padma! How was your Christmas?"
"Terrific! Thanks for the chocolate frogs, by the way."
"You're welcome. Hermione tells me that Draco visited on the train."
Both girls started chuckling. "Yes, he did."
Feeling left out of the joke, Harry insisted, "What happened?"
-
Hermione and Padma were sitting in a compartment with Anthony Goldstein, Neville Longbottom, Hannah Abbot, and Susan Bones. They were discussing their recent success with C.A.R.E. when the compartment door opened, revealing Draco and his body guards. Hermione subtly drew her wand.
"Well, well, what do we have here?" Malfoy sneered, "The mudblood and her little study group." He then glared at Hermione. "You and your little boyfriend, along with Brocklehurst, cost my family one of our servants!" He looked around. "Looks like McGonagall isn't here to protect you." He pulled his wand slowly out of a holster.
"Expelliarmus!" Hermione said, knocking Draco backward as his wand flew into the air. "Accio Wands!" All three Slytherins' wands flew into Hermione's left hand. "Looks like I don't need Harry to defend me against squibs like you," she said calmly with a smile on her face.
"I AM NOT A SQUIB, YOU MUDBLOOD!" Draco's face was red while his 'bodyguards' looked confused. Hermione's friends were laughing, though they had their wands out. "Give me our wands!"
"Susan," said Hermione with an evil smile, "Do you have your camera?"
Giggling, Susan pulled a wizarding camera out of her purse.
"Be ready to take a picture. You three goons, one at a time - Draco first - will kneel before me as Susan takes a picture. You will say, 'I, Draco Malfoy, am a squib, and Hermione Granger is my hero."
"I WILL NOT BOW TO A MUDBLOOD!!!!"
"Then I will snap all three of your wands, and I don't care how much detention I get! I'll tell everyone in the school what happened!"
"I'll break one of them," said Padma, "then you'll get less detention."
"I'll break the other!" said Neville, "then it won't just be Ravenclaw losing points."
Draco was breathing hard, while Crabbe and Goyle were looking at him for guidance, with fear written on their faces. "Put the camera away," he said calmly. "Then it'll be just your word against ours, you mudblood!"
"Do it," said Hermione. Susan replaced the camera in her purse with a frown. Hermione handed the wands to Neville. "You wait by the door. If Draco does it right, give him his wand as he walks out. Same goes for the other squibs."
-
"And so each of them did it," said Padma, laughing, "and when they were all gone Hermione said…"
"I guess they don't know pictures can be taken inside a Pensieve."
By this time Harry was laughing so hard he almost fell off the table. He glanced over at Draco to see him glaring back. He obviously knew what they were talking about. "I wish I'd have been there! When we get those pictures, we need to send a copy to each of their dads. I'll bet they give the worst howlers this school has ever seen. Just to be certain, we'll send a note that explains that you're muggleborn. Those bigots will take that as the worst disgrace their pathetic families ever had!"
"And we'll hang a picture in the Great Hall," said Hermione.
"Not to mention our common room," said Padma. "And I'm sure Neville will want one for Gryffindor and Susan will hang one in Hufflepuff."
At about that time, food started appearing in front of them, so they tucked in.
-
Later on in the Ravenclaw common room, Hermione gave Harry his second year books, and they started studying them. After about a half hour, he smiled at his best friend. "You know, over Christmas Break I heard a song about a long Quidditch match on muggle radio."
She looked at him like he'd grown a pig's tail out of his forehead. "Impossible."
"Oh yeah, it went like this.
"When I was a Seeker,
I sought both night and day
I asked the Lord to help me,
And he showed me the way."
"That is NOT a song about Quidditch, and you know it!" Hermione argued, obviously fighting the urge to laugh.
"What? Don't you like 'Go tell it on a broomstick'?"
She ignored the question and went back to her studies as he whispered,
"Over the hills and everywhere
Go tell it on a broomstick
The Quidditch game is here."
She simply shook her head. "Boys!"
-
The next day, Harry and Hermione were allowed to use Minerva's Pensieve, for the stated purpose of sharing holiday memories. To be safe, they did share a few happy scenes that Hermione took pictures of with Susan's camera (which she'd borrowed). Harry watched Hermione meeting her parents at the station, opening presents, and reading the 'House Elf rights' article in the Daily Prophet. Hermione watched Harry arrive at the airport, have the party and Quidditch game, and open presents.
Finally it was time for the memory they'd really wanted to watch. They watched the whole scene unfold until finally the part Harry had wanted to see arrived.
-
With a red face and a look that could have burned through a wall, Draco stood in front of Hermione and slowly got on his knees.
"IsqbHrGrhro," he said quickly and got up.
"Where are you going, you filthy squib?" she said, getting into the part. "Speak slowly and clearly if you don't want your wand broken. Now get back on your knees."
"Fine, you filthy…" At that moment Hermione did a hex that covered Draco with mud.
As he looked at himself in disgust, Hermione said, "Don't call me filthy. It could have been manure instead of mud. Now, since I don't want your filth on me…" She scourgefied him and pocketed her wand. "Now, bow!"
He complied and said, "I, Draco Mal…"
"Louder!"
"Fine! I, Draco Malfoy am a squib, and Hermione Granger is my hero," he said through gritted teeth."
-
Harry laughed hysterically as Hermione snapped the pictures of Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle all bowing to her.
-
Harry arrived at the owlry extremely early one morning with four envelopes in his pocket. He knew that Hedwig would get jealous if he sent a package with a different owl than her, but he didn't want to send his beloved pet into the home of Malfoy, Crabbe, or Goyle. She immediately flew onto his shoulder.
As he petted her, he said, "Hi girl. How are you doing?" He gave her an owl treat and pulled an envelope addressed to Quality Quidditch Supplies. He decided to order a pair of Seeker gloves, as well as a Snitch. He had a plan about how to sneak his broom into Hogwarts that Brianna had already started. He wanted to practice this term. He tied the order form to Hedwig's leg and sent her away.
Once she was out of sight, he called down three school owls and sent a picture of each of their sons bowing to Hermione, who was identified simply as a muggleborn. Harry loved the way the magical picture showed them keep kneeling before her over and over. He chuckled at the thought of the reactions those fathers would have.
The same day, the Weasley twins got a Slytherin in their year who can't stand Draco and his goons to stick the photos to the bulletin board in their dormitory with a variation of the sticking charm that the twins had invented. No teacher had yet unstuck anything they'd used that charm on. The only problem with it was that it only lasted twenty-four-hours. Harry felt that was plenty of time for every Slytherin to see it.
Ravenclaw would keep the photos up for the rest of the year. Penny promised that no Ravenclaw prefect would pull the picture down, and they didn't think the Hufflepuff prefects would either. Gryffindor, however was different because of one prefect - Percy Weasley. Fred and George decided to use the same sticking charm that was being done in the Slytherin dorm.
It was decided that a picture in the Great Hall would be pointless since every student would see it anyway. The cover story they came up with was that the three Slytherins were asking Hermione to date them. Since no wands were shown in the photos, they couldn't prove that anyone was forcing them to bow. Draco knew that if he insisted on using a Pensieve, he'd be the one in trouble. He made up a ridiculous story about begging the mudblood not to touch them.
-
At breakfast that morning, Harry noticed that Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle were sitting alone at one end of the table, and getting glared at by most of the other Slytherins. He also noticed that Draco was glaring at Hermione, and he promised himself to be ready to defend his friend. While he was thinking about this, an owl landed in front of him. After removing the letter from the bird, he found out that he'd received a letter from Sam Gordon, the lawyer. He quickly opened the envelope and read it.
"Dear Mr. McGonagall,
I thought I'd let you know that I'm currently in Europe. I have associated myself with a local lawyer named Matthew Marcus. I've sent your aunt more details. I just thought I'd let you know in case he contacts you. I've interviewed a few of Mr. Snape's former students, and they all agree with you and your aunt about him. You'll hear from me before Easter break.
Sincerely,
Sam Gordan."
As Harry was pocketing that note, another package arrived for him. Before he could open it, however, three howlers arrived at the Slytherin table. Draco received the first.
A calm, yet clearly displeased voice said, "Draco, I have just received a photograph of you kneeling before the Granger girl. We WILL speak of this during your next break from school." Draco's already pale face got even whiter.
The next howler arrived in front of Goyle. It wasn't calm. "HOW COULD YOU, A PUREBLOOD, KNEEL TO A MUDBLOOD!?! DON'T YOU HAVE ANY PRIDE? I AUGHT TO CRUCIO YOU!"
The third one went to Crabbe. "WHY WERE YOU ON YOUR KNEES IN FRONT OF THAT FILTHY MUDBLOOD!?! I TOLD YOU THAT THEY SHOULD BOW TO US!"
Smiling to himself, Harry picked up the other package that he'd gotten. It was from Brianna, and he knew what it was. He was about to open it when his aunt stood behind him.
"Hello Harry."
"Hi Aun, Professor McGonagall. Is there something I can do for you?"
With a half-smile, she said, "Yes. Open that package from Brianna. It looks like it's the size of your broom's case."
He looked at her with an innocent expression as Hermione kept silently eating her breakfast. "Why would she send me my Lightning Bolt? She probably wants to sneak it out and fly herself."
"Because her brother can provide her with a lot of Galleons. Open up the package."
He shrugged his shoulders and opened it up, revealing a small cardboard box containing a Superman action figure. He shook his head in anger. "I told her to send Spider-Man! Can she ever get it right?" He pulled out the toy and handed it to his aunt.
"I apologize. I was convinced you were sneaking your broomstick here."
"It may not be a broomstick, but I can get him to fly." He then levitated the action figure and had Superman fly a quick lap around the table.
With a small smile, Minerva said, "From now on leave your toys in Ravenclaw Tower. I have to prepare for class. I'll see you later."
After the professor had left, Hermione looked at Harry. "I was convinced it was your broom, too."
He smiled slyly at her. "Not yet." Her eyes widened at this pronouncement. He quickly changed the subject. "I finished 'Return of the King' last night. That scene in the volcano was great! I thought Frodo was gonna…"
He succeeded in temporarily distracting Hermione. He'd tell her his plans, but not in the middle of the Great Hall.
-
Later that day, Harry pulled out his mirror to call his sister. Once he saw her face, he said, "Phase one complete. Thanks a lot."
"Don't thank me, Big Brother. Just send money. It costs to ship things this way. First I pay for international floo mail and then for owling the package to Hogwarts."
"Don't worry, Brianna. You'll be paid once I get my Lightning Bolt."
"I'd better," she said with a grin.
"I told Aunt Minnie you were shipping Spider-Man next."
"Ok. Expect him in a few days."
"Once I've gotten a package she doesn't inspect…"
"Then I'll have to send the Lightning Bolt."
Harry smiled broadly. "I can't wait! I'll talk to you later."
"Bye Harry."
"Bye Sis."
"Harry?" said the voice of Hermione from behind him. "You are going to…"
"Shhh. Can we talk quietly?"
"Fine." She looked worried.
"Yes, I am gonna sneak my broom here."
"But what about…"
"No one's gonna catch me. I'll be flying where no one can see me. I need you to keep this a secret. I was gonna tell you about it. I thought you might want to have a go on my Lightning Bolt. It's a lot better than the school brooms."
As a smile formed on her face, she said, "According to Flyfree's Quidditch Encyclopedia, our school brooms were donated to Hogwarts while your aunt was a student."
-
The weeks went by quickly after that, and two more packages arrived from Brianna. Minerva did not inspect the second of those two, so he told Brianna to send the broomstick. She'd told him that she'd gotten one of her magical friend's older brothers to transfigure a rock into a good imitation of the Lightning Bolt case, and had switched it with the real one. She was ready to mail it.
-
Harry did some very minor Transfiguration on his Superman action figure, changing the colors, and carried it to breakfast in a wrapped package on the morning of the Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff Quidditch match. While he was eating his bacon and eggs, another owl from Brianna arrived.
"She's still sending you more dolls, Harry," asked Professor McGonagall from behind him.
Harry jumped slightly. "Oh, Aun…Professor. You scared me. Yeah. Brianna sent me the wrong one last time. And they're Action Figures, not dolls."
"I stand correc…"
"Sorry, Professor McGonagall!" said Hermione as she 'accidentally' spilled her drink onto her shoe. "Let me help you."
As Hermione grabbed a napkin and wiped pumpkin juice off of the Deputy Headmistress' shoes, Harry switched the package that had just arrived with the package he'd brought with him. His aunt didn't see him sneak the box into his pocket. He then opened the package and said, "Good. She sent Camouflage Superman." He showed off his Superman figure with green and tan instead of blue and red. "It's for when he's flying in a forest so no one knows he's there."
"Of course," said Minerva indulgently, knowing that toy manufacturers do make slight modifications to sell multiple copies of the same thing to children. "He certainly wouldn't want to be caught."
"Exactly!" he said with mock enthusiasm. He then put it in a different pocket. "I know I can't play with it here. I don't think I'll need anymore."
"That's good. Carry on. I need to make sure Gryffindor's team shows up." She sighed. "Harry, I really wish you were a Gryffindor. I just know you'd catch the Snitch. The Seeker we've got couldn't…Never mind. I'll see you later Harry, Hermione."
"Bye. Good luck. We'll be rooting for Gryffindor."
"I'm sorry again, Professor," said Hermione repentantly.
"It's quite alright, Hermione. Everybody spills their drink on occasion."
Once Minerva was gone, Hermione looked at her best friend and whispered, "I can't believe I let you talk me into doing that! I was sure I was going to lose house points! And I'd have deserved it!"
"If it had been Snape, he'd have had you executed," said Harry with a smirk.
"Or worse - expelled!" she said before a smile crossed her lips. Harry chuckled. "Seriously, this isn't a joking matter. I purposely spilled pumpkin juice on my favorite professor to provide a distraction so you could break another school rule. We could both be big trouble."
Harry took a deep breath. "Hermione, I promise that if I'm caught, I won't bring your name into this. Thank you very much for helping me."
She sighed. "You're welcome, I suppose."
"Are you still gonna help us tonight?"
"Of course. Filch deserves it. Besides, Fred and George will be with us, and they never get caught, right?"
"Not anytime this term."
"Okay, I hope."
"I guess we should hurry up if we want to get good seats.
-
Harry and Hermione sat in the bleachers watching the game, realizing that aside from a pathetic Seeker, Gryffindor's team was better than Hufflepuff's. Five minutes into the game, Harry pointed his finger. "There's the Snitch, Hermione! Why aren't the Seeker's going after it?"
She squinted in the direction her best friend was pointing. "Oh, you're right! I guess they don't see it."
"Now it's gone! What's wrong with those idiots? Are they wearing blindfolds out there? Aunt Minnie was right!" Harry was obviously frustrated. "That Seeker wouldn't catch the Snitch if it flew up his…"
"Harry, language!" She then tried to calm her friend down. "At least Gryffindor's Chasers are doing well. The score is…What's going on in the stands over there?"
Harry looked where Hermione was pointing and saw that a fight had broken out. He pulled out a pair of binoculars and soon observed, "It looks like Draco, Crabbe and Goyle are fighting Neville and I think Ron Weasley. Oh look. A few more Gryffindors have gotten involved. Uh oh. Some of the older Slytherins are joining too."
For about five more minutes, more and more Gryffindors and Slytherins were joining the fight until finally Professor Dumbledore approached the area. His normal eye twinkle was missing. Minerva looked like she wanted to leave her post next to Lee Jordan, but knew that someone needed to keep the commentator from showing too much bias. The fight was over very quickly, and all of the participants marched quietly off the stands as Hermione watched through Harry's binoculars. He started watching the game once the fight was over.
After a while, Harry said, "Hermione, the game is over. The Snitch appeared right next to the Hufflepuff Seeker. She caught it but Gryffindor won. One-hundred-sixty to one-hundred-fifty points."
"Oh, well I guess we should be going now."
"Off the stands anyway," said Harry mysteriously.
-
Once they were on the ground, Harry looked at Hermione. "You go on back. I'm gonna try out my Lightning Bolt."
"But you'll get caught, Harry."
He smiled. "Not in the forest."
"But it's forbidden for a reason. There are all kinds of dangerous animals, not to mention werewolves."
"I'll be fine, I promise. Go to the dorm. I won't be that long."
"If you're determined…"
"I am."
"Then I'm coming with you. It's been a long time since I've been on a broom."
Harry's jaw dropped. "But you…"
"If you do run into trouble, two wands are better than one, right?"
"If you insist."
-
They carefully made their way into the forest without anyone seeing them. They quickly found a clearing and Harry opened the package Brianna had really sent him that day. Hermione picked up the cardboard box Harry had thrown on the ground and put it in her pocket. Harry placed the case on the ground. "Watch this."
Hermione was mesmerized as she watched the case expand and become clear. He opened it, pulled out his broom, and reshrunk it. Then he put the case in his pocket. He was going to mount the broom, but then decided to be considerate. "Would you like to try it first?"
"Well, if you don't mind. But it is your…"
"Then fly it. I have already used it."
"Thanks." She put her hand over it. "Up!" she exclaimed, and it went straight into her hand. She took off immediately, enjoying herself immensely thanks to the help Harry had given her during their flying lesson those months ago. She didn't do any stunts like Harry enjoyed, but she flew between the trees for a good ten minutes before landing next to Harry, smiling broadly. "That was fun! This broom is easier than the school brooms."
"I know," he agreed as he took off on his broom, doing loops and dives, scaring Hermione as he convinced her he'd lost his mind.
When he finally landed, she started on him immediately. "Are you mad? That was dangerous!"
"It was fun! I haven't even started using my Snitch yet. Do you want to ride with me?"
"Not if you're doing that, I don't."
"I promise not to flip or dive. Will that make you happy?"
She took a deep breath. "I suppose."
She got on behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. He took off.
True to his word, he didn't do any dangerous stunts as they enjoyed the wind blowing through their hair. After they'd been up ten minutes, they noticed an angry Snape talking to a terrified Quirrel nearby. Harry flew a bit closer to listen, but made sure no one could see them.
"…Students aren't supposed to know about the Philosopher's Stone, after all," said the greasy-haired git as Hermione softly gasped behind Harry.
Quirrel seemed to have mumbled something, but Harry and Hermione couldn't hear.
"Have you found a way to get past that three-headed dog of Hagrid's yet?"
"B-b-but Severus, I…"
"You don't want me as your enemy, Quirrell," said Snape, taking a step toward him.
"I-I don't know what you…"
"You know perfectly well what I mean."
At that moment, an owl on the opposite side of the professors hooted, drawing their attention. Hermione whispered, "Let's go now before we're caught!" Harry complied and they quickly made it to their clearing and Harry put the broom in its case. Hermione insisted they run back into the castle. She didn't speak until they were in the library. "Get us a private table. I'll be right back."
"Okay," Harry said, confused. He had no idea why they were there.
A few minutes later, Hermione found him. She was carrying a huge book, and was flipping through the pages as she walked. When she got to their table, she put the open book down in front of Harry, smiled, and pointed at an entry.
He whispered what was written there. "The Philosopher's Stone! That's what the three-headed dog is guarding!" Harry and Hermione went on to read the details, including the fact that a man named Nicolas Flamel was the only known maker of the unique stone. While they were still in the library, Harry remembered that he'd seen Flamel's name on Dumbledore's chocolate frog card and was sure they were friends.
"Do you think we should tell your aunt that Snape wants to steal it?"
Harry looked thoughtful for a few seconds. "Probably not. She'd ask us how we know and take away my broom. Besides, she already doesn't trust Snape. She's probably onto him now."
-
That night, at exactly one a.m., both Harry and Hermione snuck into their common room, which thankfully was empty, and out the door. (Al the portrait was sleeping.) They walked into the nearest classroom, and were relieved to find a pair of twin redheads waiting for them.
George Weasley was looking down at an old piece of parchment while Fred whispered. "Are you two ready?"
"Of course," whispered Hermione. "Why would we be here if we weren't?"
"Is it clear, Forge?"
"All clear, Gred."
"What's he looking at?" asked Harry.
"How does he know it's clear?" added Hermione.
"Trade secret," both twins said together.
"Come one," said Harry. "We're all in this together. It's only fair. You know my secret."
"We could show them."
"It's not like they could get into Gryffindor Tower to take it."
"And we are working together."
"I suppose."
Together the twins said, "This is the Marauders' Map." They then explained what it did and where they got it from while the others stared at the map in amazement.
"So that's how you knew my secret," said Harry.
"Exactly," they said together.
They soon carefully walked to their destination with George making sure no one caught them. They got to the closet Filch kept his cleaning supplies in and Harry magically unlocked it. Fred passed a small vial to both Hermione and Harry, and handed two types of cleaning fluids to each. "You know what to do."
While George watched the map, Harry and Hermione emptied their vials into the bottles they'd been given. Fred performed a spell on the mop bucket. It took less than sixty seconds.
"He's coming!" George announced.
"We're done. Let's get out of here. We'll see the results of our work tomorrow."
The twins kindly guided the Ravenclaws back to their portrait and left.
Al didn't appreciate being woken up, but let them in, saying it wasn't his job to make sure they followed curfew. He then winked at them, which caused them to blush. They did hear him mutter something about them being a bit young as they closed the door.
"Goodnight, Hermione."
"Goodnight, Harry."
-
The next morning, everybody saw the results of their prank. The floor in the halls and classrooms had random stripes of various bright colors spread out. Many people thought it looked great. The prank was that it would go away by itself if it was left alone for twelve hours. However, Filch himself was spreading the colors around with his mop. They simply didn't show up until a half-hour after it dried. The more he'd clean, the longer it would stay.
As they approached the Great Hall, they saw Percy Weasley yelling at a first-year girl for saying that the floors looked better than before. The Great Hall was no different, although Dumbledore seemed to enjoy looking at the results of the prank. Snape was unhappily attempting to remove the colors from the floor in one corner of the hall. He quickly got frustrated and sat down to breakfast.
Filch was looking at the Headmaster, apparently oblivious to the fact that Albus found it amusing. "It wasn't like this when I finished mopping professor, I swear! I can't wait to catch the kids who did it! Probably the Weasley twins! I wanna see some punishment! I've still got the old chains oiled in my office." He then went to a corner with his mop and bucket trying to clean the color off the floor in the hall again.
Harry whispered in Hermione's ear. "I wonder how long Filch will spend trying to remove it before he leaves it alone."
"He'll wonder what's wrong when it disappears this afternoon at every place but where he's cleaning." They both laughed as they sat down at Ravenclaw table and tucked in to breakfast at what was promising to be an amusing day.
-
Please review. Thank you to the many that have.
Observation: I wonder why Fred and George never noticed Pettigrew on the map for the more than two years he was at Hogwarts before they gave the map to Harry