'Mike, have you seen my reading glasses?'

'No. Tony, have you seen my eagle-feather quill?'

Anthony rummaged around desperately, looking for his glasses, throwing his robes, some parchment, a pair of underpants and his flute out of his trunk.

'Ouch! That bloody flute case is hard!'

'Sorry, Mike! Oh...I think I might have found your quill.'

'Cheers, Tony. No luck with your glasses though.'

The Third Year Ravenclaw Boys' Dorm was a mess.

(Terry's area was the only one that could be considered remotely neat.)

While Anthony was obsessive about his books and his homework, and Kevin just had to have his dinner set out in a certain way before he'd eat it, and Stephen always had to wear blue pyjamas the day before a Quidditch match, unfortunately, their obsessive qualities didn't extent to neatness.

Michael tossed his favourite jumper over his shoulder, now looking for one of his notebooks.

Anthony carefully sorted various items into piles, one pile containing the things he'd sifted through in search of his glasses, and one that he'd yet to search.

Michael practically glared at the combined bedside table and bookshelf beside Terry's bed. Tidy shelves, with books and homework organized by subject, and an alarm clock on the table with a sketchbook and a notebook resting beside it.

How is he so bloody neat? It's inhuman!

Familiar voices floated through the half-open door.

'I'm not an artist like Dean Thomas, Pad. I sketch.'

'What's the difference? They both involve drawing...'

'Thomas draws things from his own mind. I draw things that are there.'

The door opened fully, and Padma and Terry got an eyeful of the mess.

'Don't you boys ever tidy up?'

'It is even worse than this morning, though how that's possible, I don't know. What are you looking for?'

'Umm...my notebook, Tony's reading glasses, Kevin's comic book, Stephen's favourite shirt and Mandy's Charms assignment. Is that all, Tony?'

'You left out the Holyhead Harpies poster.'

'Oh, yeah, Morag's Holyhead Harpies poster too.'

'What are Mandy's Charms assignment and Morag's Holyhead Harpies poster doing in the boys' dorm?

Terry sighed.

'Mike borrowed Mandy's assignment, and Stephen and Kevin thought it'd be funny to steal Morag's poster.'

'She'll kill them. We'd better find it.'

Anthony groaned.

'We can't find anything in here! How come the girls never seem to be losing stuff?'

Padma waved her wand and muttered an incantation, and Anthony's clothes began to fold themselves and return to his trunk.

'Because Su and I like things neat and tidy, Morag restricts her mess to her part of the dorm and we convinced Mandy and Lisa to clean up once a week.'

Michael watched as his socks began pairing themselves up.

'And because you know more cleaning spells than my mother!'

Padma smiled.

'I got my mother to show me the incantations and wand movements the summer before First Year. It took me until the start of this year to master them, but they're very useful indeed.'

'You've got to teach us, Pad. Oh, thanks, Terry!'

Anthony's reading glasses had flown into his lap, courtesy of Terry's Summoning Charm.

'You're a wizard, Tony. Just Summon them whenever you lose them.'

Soon, the dorm was neat and clean, clothes folded into trunks, beds made, rubbish in the bin.

'I'm sure things will stay much tidier now that we know some household spells, right everyone?'

Michael snorted in disbelief.

'No, they won't, Tony. We'll just get even lazier.'

Padma sighed.

'How do you all stand it? I mean, mess isn't too bad, but always losing things...'

Terry shook his head.

'I gave up trying to keep this place tidy a term into First Year, Pad.'

They heard pounding footsteps from the stairwell.

'She's gaining on us, Kev!'

'Entwhistle! Cornfoot! Come back here!'

Terry grabbed the Holyhead Harpies poster, tossing it to Michael, who was nearer the door.

'Morag has noticed that her poster's missing. Mike, can you go save Kevin and Stephen?'

The two boys burst into the room, panting.

They did a double take.

'What- what happened?'

'I must be dreaming!'

'Are you sure this is our dorm?'

'I wonder where they've gone? Oh, look, maybe I should try the Third Year Boys' Dorm!'

Kevin and Stephen gulped.

They were so dead.

Michael handed Stephen the poster.

'Here. Now go, before she kills all of us.'

Kevin looked pleadingly at Padma.

'Please? Help us?'

She shook her head.

'I'm not getting involved; I live with Morag, and I know her temper.'

Kevin turned to Terry.

'Please, mate?'

Terry glanced at the door, then at Kevin.

'You got yourselves into this mess; I'm not talking you out of it. Perhaps it may prove an incentive to keep this room relatively tidy from now on.'

'You'll come to the funeral, right?'

'I'd prefer to be cremated rather than buried.'

With that, Kevin and Stephen braced themselves and left the sanctuary of the dorm to confront the scariest girl in Ravenclaw Tower.

Padma turned to Terry.

'Should we have helped them, Terry? Morag won't actually kill them, will she?'

'No, we shouldn't have. She might.'