The two Gryffindor boys spent twenty minutes travelling from the Common Room to the Great Hall. They didn't usually take this long since on a normal morning they weren't craving chocolate cake. Not one pupil went passed them with out being questioned.

'Do you have any chocolate cake?'

The small Ravenclaw girl shook her head, making her pig tails fly in the air.

'Do you have any chocolate cake?' Ron asked a group of fifth years, who mumbled each a 'no'.

'Man, doesn't ANYONE have any?' Harry cried, as he and Ron entered the Great Hall.

'Dunno, mate…'

The first thing they noticed when sitting at the Gryffindor table was that no-one was paying any attention to them. All the pupil and staff were talking rapidly amongst themselves. Harry and Ron looked at each other, sharing confused looks. Harry turned in his seat to face the Hufflepuff table.

'Hey, you!' Harry said, rather rudely, to a Hufflepuff boy. The boy looked at him.

'What?' then realizing who it was who had called on him he suddenly changed his annoyed expression to a sympathetic one. 'Oh, I'm so sorry to hear about Hermione, everyone knows how close friends you three were.'

Quite a few people turned their gaze on Harry, who was getting irritated for two reasons. One, he had know idea what the boy was on about. Two, there wasn't any cake whatsoever in sight.

'What? What are you on?' Ron said crossly.

The boy was taken back. 'Haven't you heard of the news?'

'Haven't you heard of the boy who went to hospital after withholding information from another?' Harry said, gritting his teeth.

It took a moment for the Hufflepuff to get the message. 'Hermione's been attacked.' He sniffed.

'Again?' Ron cried, remembering their second year.

'Yes,' said a girl, 'but this time by a vampire.'

'WHAT!' Harry and Ron both yelled.

Before there were more details, a prefect approached them. 'Potter, Weasley, Dumbledore wishes to see you.'

'But…but…'Harry stumbled.

'Now!'

'Ah, Mister Potter, Mister Weasley, do come in.' Dumbledore welcomed. 'do sit down, I have terrible news.'

Harry took the only spare seat in the office. Ron was left to look around and settle himself on the floor next to the desk. 'If this is about the lack of chocolate cake then we already know.' Harry said.

Dumbledore shook his head. 'No, it's about the horrible incident concerning Miss Granger.'

'Oh yeah, we know that too.'

'but not all the facts,' Ron piped up. 'Headmaster, how did a vampire get in? when and where did the attack happen?'

'and where's all the cake?' Harry said, slamming his fist into the table before pulling it up to his chest to nurse away the pain.

Ignoring Harry, Dumbledore answered, 'Miss Granger was returning from the library around eight o'clock, I believe. She was found this morning, drained of blood, but still alive!'

'Hallelujah!' Harry shouted.

'Yes, quite…' Dumbledore said. 'We expected no-one to own up to it, but to our surprise Mister Mal-'

'Sir! I shall make it our duty to find out who's behind this!' Ron cried, standing up.

'Er, Ron?' Harry said, 'I think the headmaster was saying someone already confessed.'

'Oh, right, ok…' Ron said quietly, trying to hide his embarrassment while returning to his 'seat'.

Dumbledore was quite annoyed now. 'ANYWAY, Mister Malfoy has already told me he did it.'

'Ah, crumble under all the pressure did he?' Harry said happily.

'Well, no, not really. In fact, he seemed rather proud to be a blood-sucking creature…'

'Never fear, headmaster!' Ron said, standing once more. 'Harry and I will clean up this one-horse town, I mean, castle and return it to the safe, interesting place it once was!'

'Gee, Ron.' Harry said, 'When has it ever been safe AND interesting?'

'Point taken.'

'But anyway sir!' Harry said, turning to the headmaster. 'Ron is right, to a certain extent; someone needs to help the pupils of Hogwarts. And we're just the right people for the job!'

'Oh, no…' the headmaster sighed.

'Ron!' Harry cried, 'Let's solve this, erm, mystery!

'Yeah!'

They ran to the door. Harry's arm accidentally hit the pensive and there was a loud smashing noise.

'And I will pay for that!' Harry said before shutting the door.

On the way down the steps from Dumbledore's office, Ron asked, 'Harry, will you really pay for the damage?'

'ptth, no.'