Written for ladyoftheknightley's School Subjects Competition
The common room was full of students studying for their upcoming exams, the beautiful sunlight taunting them as it filtered through the windows and the wind carrying sounds of birds and the scent of flowers making their work even harder. Hermione had built a wall of textbooks and papers around her and was secluded in a corner, while everyone else wisely gave her space to study. She had nearly hexed the last person who disturbed her, and given her skill this was not a fate any of the other students wanted to experience.
"Harry have you seen Arnold?" a mildly worried looking Ginny asked entering the Gryffindor common room.
"I can't say I have" Harry answered truthfully "maybe Ron knows?"
"Thanks" Ginny nodded and hurried over to where Ron sat surrounded by a pile of books and crumpled paper.
"Hermione have you seen Arnold?" Ginny asked "I can't find him anywhere"
When Ron shook his head and went back to his studying Ginny went on in search of her pygmy puff.
She asked everyone else in the common room and got the same response, her worry growing with every minute she couldn't find her pet.
Ginny returned to the girls dormitories and began checking under the beds and behind the trunks meticulously, shaking his bag of food as she went.
"Where are you Arnold?" she wondered aloud. Her stomach dropped as she saw a cat bed. Surely her precious puff hadn't been eaten?
Ginny gulped. She hadn't seen Crookshanks all day.
Her worry grew tenfold and her searching became more frantic. When the girl's dormitories revealed nothing to her she moved on to the boy's dorm, not caring as she caught Seamus without a shirt on.
"Merlin Ginny, what's gotten in to you?" he asked shrugging on a shirt quickly and backwards at that.
"I can't find Arnold, and I haven't seen Crookshanks all day she explained hurriedly, emptying her brother's trunk on to his bed.
"I'll help you look" Seamus decided and the two tore apart the boys dorm until it looked like the girls room, clothes strewn everywhere and bedding on the floor.
"He isn't here" Seamus informed the younger girl sadly "maybe we should go down to dinner, he might turn up by himself" he suggested gently leading Ginny down to the great hall.
When they got there however, they were treated to quite a show. Crookshanks was running around the great hall being chased by none other than
"Arnold!" Ginny cried scooping up her precious pet "I've missed you" she told him.
Arnold gave a squeak in agreement and curled up in his mistress's hair where he promptly fell asleep.