The enchanted ceiling was a part of the great hall in such a way that the students barely paid it any heed, except when they wanted to know what the weather was going to be like in the morning, or whether to bring cloaks and gloves to a Care of Magical Creatures lesson. So when something odd happen to the ceiling, it was not one of the students who first noticed, but the Japanese lady, Keiko. She shrieked and jumped out of her seat, pointing up.
The hall followed her finger toward the ceiling and gasped. It was no longer raining rain… it was raining cats and dogs! As if on cue, George completed his spell, and another wave of gasps were sounded from the students. For Keiko's robes were now completely see-through! Her purple underpants were exposed to everyone!
Quickly, trying not to laugh, Fred and George performed a simple hex each on Crabbe and Goyle, who happened to be passing by. This ensured that any teacher, who checked which spells were last performed by their wand, could not find any hard evidence that they had been the ones to make cats and dogs appear to rain, or make the Japanese woman's robes see-through. Of course, no one would believe otherwise, but this might prevent another Howler from Professor McGonagall from reaching the Borrow. Anyway, cursing Crabbe and Goyle was a hobby of theirs.
It was almost disappointing that McGonagall was not there to shriek, "Weasleys!" The poor Japanese woman was in shock, leaving her extremely vulnerable to the pointing students. What more, with the headmaster and two strictest teachers missing, none of the remaining teachers knew how to deal with the situation.
Finally, Professor Sprout stood up and grabbed the Japanese woman with bother her arms and pulled her back into her seat. She started shouting offenses in Japanese, apparently having snapped out of shock.
"Calm down!" Sprout insisted in vain. "Great Dumbledore, help!" she muttered.
And then someone came bursting into the great hall, but it wasn't Dumbledore. It was none other Argus Filch. "Mrs. Norris! Mrs. Norris!" he was repeatedly shouting. The poor squib hadn't been in so much distress about his cat since it had been petrified three years ago.
Little Professor Flitwick jumped out of his seat and ran as quickly as his little legs could carry him, to Filch. "Mr. Filch," he squeaked in an unnaturally high voice. The man ignored him, grabbed his own hair, and began to pull.
Having no other choice, Flitwick put a calming spell on the castle caretaker. Quickly, the spell took effect, as each of Filch's bodily functions slowed down.
At that moment, Professors McGonagall and Snape came sprinting into the hall, through the open doors. "What is the meaning of this?" McGonagall shrieked.
Snape's eyes sliced across the room, landing directly one Fred and George's guilty faces. "It was them," he spat at McGonagall. "I keep telling you that you have to really punish them, Minerva." He crossed over the high table and set down a small cauldron.
It was quite a while before things were sorted out. McGonagall forced Keiko to wear her cloak, and Snape forced her to take the potion. Her English began to develop in a matter of minutes.
The only problem left was dealing with Filch. He was sitting quietly at his seat at the staff table, staring upward at the enchanted ceiling. It was no longer raining cats and dogs, as Professor Flitwick had reversed the spell.
Keiko got up and moved to aid the quiet man who had been shouting before. She tested her language with an obvious uncertainty. "Excuse me."
Filch looked upon her, a deep sadness in his eyes.
"I can help?" she said. He shrugged and slumped deeper into his seat.
"Who is Mrs. Norris?" asked Keiko, beginning to understand how to phrase English sentence.
"His cat," replied Professor McGonagall. She was about to tell Keiko to sit down, but thought better of it.
"Is she missing?" asked Keiko.
Filch nodded. "Since… since," he pointed at the ceiling.
"The cats and dogs," she said, finishing his sentence.
"I don't see where this is going…" started Professor McGonagall.
"Hold on, Professor," she interrupted. "Please listen for a second." McGonagall was less then thrilled to be told what to do someone a third her age. She tightened her lips and narrowed her eyes, but followed Keiko toward the center of the great hall. Keiko half led, half dragged Filch with her.
"Where are we going?" demanded McGonagall.
Keiko responded with a question, ignoring the original one. "How many students have cats in Hogwarts?" she asked.
"Why… many!"
"Get them, they must get their pets back."
"Are you crazy?" McGonagall said, stopping in her tracks. They were three quarters across the great hall, moving toward the exit.
"Crazy?" Keiko stopped as well. She held Filch by the hand like a small child. The affect of the calming spell was starting to wear off, and he was trying to tear away from her grip.
"Professor McGonagall!" Flitwick came running across the floor. "All the cats and dogs have been summoned from the castle and made to rain," he gasped, massaging a stitch in his side.
"I know." Keiko said.
"There are no dogs in this castle," Snape said. He had with him Fred and George Weasley. Each teenager was trying to wiggle away from Snape's grasp. The Potions master held on tight to the back of their robes near the neck.
"Professor Snape!" McGonagall shrieked angrily. "What are you doing with my students?"
"Your students?" Snape chuckled evilly. "These two nit-wits started this whole thing."
"My cat!" moaned Filch.
"We'll sort this out later," McGonagall said sternly. She pulled out her wand and made another announcement to the hall. "Any student who has a cat or dog, please step forward."
"Well, we don't," Fred chirped.
"Yeah… we'll just go sit down," added George.
"I think not," McGonagall said sharply.
"Okay, or not," Fred said. Both boys stopped resisting Snape's death grip, and followed quietly as Flitwick and Keiko rushed toward the entrance hall. About twenty confused students trailed behind.
As they approached the front doors, an odd sound was audible over the howling wind. Keiko threw open the door, and at least two dozen drenched cats leapt through the entrance. They were howling and yowling, moaning and meowing. It was quite a sight!
The owners began calling names, "Fuzz Ball!" "Midnight! "Fluffy!" "Bu-Bu!" No reunion was as loud and emotional as that of Filch and Mrs. Norris. The cat leapt into his arms and the caretaker began to cry.
"Crookshanks!" Hermione pulled out her wand and performed a drying spell. Harry and Ron had followed her out of the hall, to see what was going on.
"I think he looked better wet," laughed Harry.
Millicent Bulstrode was holding an ugly fat cat in arms as if it were a baby, which gave Hermione the shivers. She thought back to her second year when a Polyjuice potion had gone wrong, and she had partly turned into the very same cat.
"Don't look at it," Ron said, regarding what was upsetting Hermione. Crookshanks hissed at the other cat and tried to leap out of Hermione's arms.
Before too many students could cast drying spells on their pets, Fred and George started up a little contest. "A cat-show!" Fred declared.
"We're the judges!" added George.
"Weasleys!" McGonagall shouted.
"Hold up, Professor!" But McGonagall grabbed the twins and began to yank them out of the hall. "Hermione! Crookshanks wins second place!" George shouted.
"Second?" Harry called back.
"Mrs. Norris wins first!" Fred explained. But his voice was smothered
by McGonagall's hand being clasped over his mouth.