Chapter 17: Trouble at Hogwarts

Time, once again, seemed to fly by at Hogwarts. Padma was working hard as usual and reading in her spare time, and soon enough Halloween arrived.

The Ravenclaws trooped down to the Great Hall that evening, chattering excitedly, and when they entered the enormous room they found that it was as impressive as the previous year; live bats swooped about the ceiling and giant pumpkins, carved with grimacing faces, floated above the house tables.

Padma sat down at the Ravenclaw table between Luna and Terry. Luna was wearing earrings that were tiny carved pumpkins, and she had her necklace of Butterbeer corks on around her neck.

"I hope that the feast isn't interrupted this year," Terry said.

Padma nodded in agreement, vividly recalling Professor Quirrel making the announcement that there was a troll in the dungeon. Professor Dumbledore stood at the front of the Great Hall, smiling out at the sea of pupils. They immediately fell silent.

"I have nothing to say apart from tuck in!" he cried.

Next to Padma, Terry gave a small cheer as the food appeared on the tables. Padma helped herself to some pumpkin soup and settled down to enjoy the evening. Lisa and Mandy were sitting a little further down the table, at a distance from Terry. Mandy looked sulky, most probably because Harry had failed to turn up for the Halloween Feast. The animosity between the three Ravenclaws was starting to wear on Padma and she ate her soup in silence.

"What's wrong, Padma?" Anthony asked from across the table.

"It's nothing, Anthony," Padma said.

"Are you sure? You look a bit…"

"It's nothing!" Padma said firmly, frowning at her classmate.

Anthony stared at his plate and mumbled something under his breath. Padma sighed and pushed her soup around the dish, glancing up momentarily to see Anthony push his glasses back up his nose, looking utterly miserable.

"I'm sorry," Padma said. "I didn't mean to snap at you, Anthony. It's just Lisa and Terry…" She paused and smiled at him. "It really doesn't matter, but thanks for asking."

Anthony nodded shortly and returned to his food, but he definitely looked more cheerful. Padma looked over to the Gryffindor table. She found Parvati and Lavender giggling shrilly as they watched two of their male counterparts throwing mint humbugs into the air, catching them in their mouths. Padma frowned deeply and turned back to the Ravenclaw table as the first course disappeared from the plates and was replaced by dessert.

"How are you enjoying the feast?" she asked Luna, helping herself to a Cauldron Cake.

"It's quite nice," Luna replied. She adjusted her necklace and picked up a Liquorice Wand. "Has Terry got Gobbler's Gout?"

"Not that I'm aware of," Padma said, puzzled. "Why do you ask?"

"I read about it in the Quibbler," Luna explained. "It makes you very hungry, and I think that Terry is displaying all of the symptoms. Oh look," she said mildly, "skeletons."

Padma turned in her seat and found that Luna was correct; a group of moving skeletons was trooping up the middle of the house tables, several of them juggling with their own ribs as they went. Professor Dumbledore stood up in his seat and waved his hands for silence.

"I do believe that entertainment is required as we digest this delicious food," he said clearly, eyes twinkling. "I present to you the Balancing Bones Acrobatic Troupe!"

The pupils clapped and cheered enthusiastically as the skeletons took up positions in front of the teachers' table. Padma watched in awe as they danced and tumbled to music played by a skeletal band. They juggled their skulls, tossing them with ease high into the air and catching them deftly on their necks. A pair of them tumbled down the aisle, their bones clattering noisily on the stone floor, whilst the others played a tune on their ribs.

Padma cheered, joining in the rapturous applause as the Balancing Bones left the Great Hall. The food on the house tables disappeared, much to Terry's annoyance.

"Well, that concludes another Halloween celebration," Professor Dumbledore said to the students. "Now it's time for bed. Off you go, then!"

Padma joined the throngs of students flooding out of the Great Hall. She watched as Luna disappeared into the crowds, pumpkin earrings bobbing, and she managed to catch up with Terry as they headed up the marble staircase.

"Great food," Terry concluded as they walked. "Absolutely delicious. I think…"

He stopped mid-sentence and grabbed hold of Padma's arm. His face was pale. Padma's jaw dropped as she saw what had struck Terry dumb. They both stood as still as statues and Padma could feel the crowds of students pushing behind them, and silence washed back over them all.

Harry and his two best friends, Ron and Hermione, stood apart from the rest of the crowd. They looked shocked and scared, staring up at what was written between two of the windows in foot high, blood-red letters:

THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED. ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE.

Beneath the ominous words, hanging from a torch bracket, was Filch's cat. Padma blinked, unbelieving, at what she was seeing before her very eyes. Next to her, Terry swore softly under his breath. His hand tightened on Padma's arm.

"What does it mean?" Padma asked him.

"I don't know," Terry whispered.

The students were muttering now, wondering what had happened, and those further back were pushing forward, trying to see what was happening. Padma was roughly shoved aside and she turned to find Malfoy staring at the scene, his usually pale face flushed and a grin across his pinched features.

"Enemies of the Heir, beware!" he sneered and said, almost gleefully, "You'll be next, Mudbloods!"

Padma stared at him. He was staring at the blood-red writing with a gleam in his eyes and he seemed unaware that many of the students around him, much like Padma, was staring at him with expressions of utter disbelief on their faces.

"What's going on here? What's going on?"

The voice of the caretaker, Filch, cut through the murmuring of the students. He elbowed his way through the crowd, stopping in his tracks as he spotted his beloved cat, Mrs Norris, hanging from the bracket. Filch hurried forward and clutched at his face, eyes widening in horror.

"My cat! What's happened to Mrs Norris?" he shrieked and turned to find Harry staring at the immobile cat. The horror on his face changed quickly to anger. "You! You! You've murdered my cat! You've killed her! I'll kill you! I'll…"

"Argus!"

Professor Dumbledore swept through the students who parted before him. Padma could see that his bright blue eyes were mournful, and he gently removed Mrs Norris from the bracket as more of the staff moved through the students. They looked at the writing on the wall, clearly confused.

"Come with me, Argus. You too, Mr Potter, Mr Weasley, Miss Granger," he said coolly.

Professor Lockhart burst through the crowd, looking almost excited. He was bouncing on the balls of his feet and clasped his hands together.

"My office is nearest, Headmaster – just upstairs – please – feel free."

"Thank you Gilderoy."

The Headmaster of Hogwarts and the three Gryffindors, followed by Lockhart, Professor McGonagall and Snape, walked off in silence. As they passed, Padma observed that the three second years looked worried. She turned to Terry who had finally let go of her arm and was now staring at the writing again.

"Ravenclaws, back to the Common Room!" Professor Flitwick was shouting over the chatter that had suddenly started again. "Prefects, accompany them! Quickly now!"

"Follow me, Ravenclaws!" Penelope cried clearly.

The Ravenclaws followed their Prefects back up to the Common Room in silence, but once they arrived in the sanctuary of the book-filled room, excited and enthusiastic debate broke out at once. Padma, on the other hand, took her favourite seat by the fireplace and crossed her legs, staring deep into the flickering flames. Lisa and Mandy sat down on the sofa, talking softly, but when Terry walked over to Padma, Lisa got to her feet.

"Let's go upstairs, Mandy," she said shortly.

Padma looked up from the fire and frowned as Lisa grabbed Mandy by the hand and dragged her to her feet. Without thinking, she stood up and blocked their path.

"Lisa, don't you think this has gone on long enough?" she asked.

Lisa frowned, brushing her hair from her eyes.

"Not for Boot, it hasn't," she snapped, her blue eyes flashing dangerously. "Now can we get past?"

"No." Padma stood her ground and looked evenly at her dorm-mate. "You need to let Mandy fight her own battles. As I remember from the train, she did a pretty good job of it. Let her deal with this problem."

Mandy stood, dumfounded, watching Padma and Lisa closely. Terry was hovering at Padma's shoulder, looking worried. Lisa sighed and let go of Mandy's hand.

"Fine," she said. "Mandy, are you still angry at Terry for what he said to you."

There was silence for a moment. Padma watched Mandy carefully, feeling her heart pounding in her chest.

"I'm still annoyed," Mandy said. Lisa looked triumphant until she continued, "But I'm not angry any more. If Terry doesn't like Harry that's fine. Just as long as he doesn't pick on me for thinking that he's great…" she paused as Terry smiled, "…because he defeated You-Know-Who, of course."

Lisa frowned deeply and folded her arms across her chest. Padma watched as her dorm-mate flopped down onto the sofa in resignation and gave a faint, reluctant smile. Terry grinned and lent close to Padma's ear.

"Thanks a lot, Padma," he whispered.

Padma patted him on the shoulder.

"It's fine," she said warmly.

She sat back down in her seat and crossed her legs, breathing deeply. The triumph at the successful reconciliation managed to subdue the worry that was rising inside her. Padma watched as Terry and Mandy set about playing a game of Exploding Snap, glad that she was able to push the image of Mrs Norris and the ominous message out of her thoughts.

o0o

The next Saturday, Padma and her fellow Ravenclaws stood in the stands about the Quidditch pitch, the events of the previous week far from their thoughts. Instead, all attention was focused on the nail-biting match between Gryffindor and Slytherin. The atmosphere in the stadium was electric; the sounds of cheering from the stands rose all around, the rain pounded against the stands and the jeers of the Slytherin students cut through the air.

Padma had the hood of her cloak pulled up over her head and she peered through the rain, while beside her Mandy was chewing on her knuckles nervously. Luna Lovegood, on the other hand, had a large floppy hat on her head and was reading the latest copy of the Quibbler. At that moment, Harry Potter was being chased by what could only be described as a rogue Bludger.

"What's the score?" Padma cried over the roar of the crowd as Harry dodged the Bludger.

"Sixty to zero!" Terry yelled. "Gryffindor better win. Slytherin are a load of…"

Padma didn't hear the end of Terry's insult. At that moment, the crowd let out a combination of moans and laughter as Harry swerved wildly in order to dodge the Bludger. The Slytherins cheered loudly and gleefully. The Gryffindor team swooped down to the ground for a team talk. Terry was watching the rogue Bludger circling in the air above.

"I'm surprised Madam Hooch hasn't stopped the game!" he shouted.

Padma nodded in agreement.

"It's even more of a risk in this weather!" Terry added. "It'll be really difficult to see the Bludger through all of the rain!"

The crowds cheered as the Gryffindor team took to the air once more. As soon as they were back up there, the Bludger shot at Harry and he had to quickly accelerate to escape it. As he shot past the Ravenclaw stand, Mandy cheered enthusiastically, her hood flying back from her face. Terry grinned at her and Mandy turned, spotting his expression.

"Say nothing, Boot!" she snapped. "I'm allowed to think that he's great because he defeated You-Know-Who…as well as the fact that he's a fantastic Quidditch player!"

Terry grimaced and turned his attention back to the Quidditch game. Padma smiled, watching as Harry twirled in the air near Malfoy, the new Slytherin Seeker, and shot past him. Suddenly, he stopped mid-flight, seemingly staring at Malfoy's ear. Something golden glittered through the rain.

"He's seen the Snitch!" Mandy cried. "Go Harry, go!"

Before the Gryffindor Seeker could move, the Bludger slammed into his right elbow and the crowd moaned as one, except for the Slytherins who cheered at the top of their voices. Harry slumped sideways on his broom as the Bludger swerved around for another attack. Next to Padma, Mandy was clutching to the front of the stands and biting her bottom lip. Nobody in the stands seemed to be watching the rest of the game; all attention was on Harry and the Bludger.

Luna looked up from her magazine, noticing that everyone was watching the drama in front of her. The rain dripped of the brim of her hat and she stared at Harry with wide eyes.

"He doesn't look too happy, does he?" she said loudly.

"I think he's broken his arm!" Padma shouted back.

"Oh," Luna said. Confusion briefly passed over her face. "I thought that maybe he'd come down with a case of German Grumbling Gut."

She turned back to her magazine. Padma smiled turned back to the game, finding that Harry had dodged the Bludger once more and was now looking down at Malfoy. He suddenly swooped down at the blonde-haired Slytherin. He took his remaining hand off the broom handle so that he was now only gripping onto it with his knees and he snatched madly at the Snitch. The sound of the crowd was a mix of jeers, cheering and screams as Harry plummeted to the ground and lay quite still on the muddy grass.

"Is he alright?" Mandy asked. She was hanging over the edge of the stand.

Padma pulled her away from the edge by grabbing onto the back of her cloak. The Gryffindor team had landed around Harry, shielding him from view.

"I'm sure he'll be fine," she said in a reassuring tone. "Madam Pomfrey will have him fixed up in no time."

Terry nodded in agreement.

"Come on," he said to his classmates as the stands began to empty, "I want to get back to the Common Room before we get drowned."

The Ravenclaws left the stands, hurrying along with the crowds that swarmed up towards the castle. Padma kept an eye on Luna who kept getting swept towards one side as she insisted on continuing to read as they walked. They eventually reached the warmth of the Common Room and took off their wet cloaks before huddling around the fireplace.

"I hope we can beat Slytherin," Terry said.

Michael Corner frowned and shook his head gravely.

"Ravenclaws may be known for their intelligence, but that isn't much use on the Quidditch pitch is it?"

"Don't let Davies hear you say that!" Terry hissed.

Padma looked around. Roger Davies, a dark haired and broad shouldered fourth year, stood by the boys' staircase with a couple of dorm-mates. He was the most dedicated player on the team and it seemed obvious to the whole house that he would become Quidditch Captain when Everage left at the end of the year. Michael looked worried and sat down with his back to the fourth year.

Sitting down in her favourite chair, Padma took a book from the pile at her elbow and started to read. She became totally immersed and the next time she looked up, the Common Room was almost empty and none of the second years remained. Padma yawned and stumbled up the spiral staircase, falling asleep almost as soon as she flopped down onto her bed.

o0o

The next morning at breakfast, Padma turned in her seat as someone called her name. Parvati ran over from the Gryffindor table, her plait bobbing behind her. She looked worried.

"What's wrong?" Padma asked.

"Another person has been Petrified!" Parvati gasped. She threw her arms around her sister's neck and hugged her furiously. "Colin Creevy. He's a first year Gryffindor. Oh it's horrible, Padma!"

Padma hugged her twin tightly.

"It'll be alright," she said reassuringly.

Parvati nodded shortly and hugged Padma one last time before hurrying back over to the Gryffindor table. The second year Ravenclaws were quiet. Lisa looked up from her porridge.

"I wonder how bad it's going to get."

Padma swallowed back a lump rising in her throat and stared at her toast. She was no longer hungry and so gathered up her bag, hauling it onto her shoulder.

"I'm going to do my History of Magic homework in the library," she said. "Does anyone want to come with me?"

"I will," Terry said, picking up his things. "I could use some help from you anyway."

The two Ravenclaws left their classmates and headed up to the Library. Inside, it was almost empty as many of the pupils wouldn't bother getting up until lunch. There were a couple of fifth years in one corner and a solitary Slytherin sat reading, looking rather grim. Padma found a desk near the History of Magic section and she set out her things, unfurling her parchment. Terry watched as it rolled onto the floor.

"How much have you written?" he asked, aghast.

"Three feet four inches," Padma replied. She unscrewed the lid of her ink bottle and dipped her quill in. "I still have the conclusion to write."

"I've only done two feet nine inches," Terry moaned. "Could I borrow your notes for a minute? I won't use them too much."

Padma nodded and handed over a couple of scrolls of parchment. The two Ravenclaws worked solidly for an hour, Terry measuring his essay now and again. Padma turned as someone hissed at her. It was an older Ravenclaw who moved to sit in front of the two second years. He glanced around.

"Are you two interested in some protection?" he asked in a low voice.

"What do you mean?" Terry asked, looking up from his essay.

The older boy rolled his eyes and reached into his robes. He pulled out numerous objects and piled them on top of Padma's notes. Padma picked up a claw on a chain and held it before her face, examining it carefully.

"Protection from the Heir, of course," the boy said matter-of-factly.

"What does that do?" Terry asked, pointing to a purple crystal.

"Oh all sorts," the boy said. "It protects the user from…curses and hexes and things. Interested? Only four Sickles for a fellow Ravenclaw."

Terry reached for his pocket.

"Don't bother," Padma said, pulling out her wand. "I bet it couldn't even protect you from a Tickling Charm. He probably got it from an owl-order service for three Knuts!"

The Ravenclaw frowned deeply.

"I'll have you know that this crystal comes from…Chile, and it's…"

He trailed off as Padma poked the crystal with her wand. It immediately crumbled into dust and Padma smiled at the boy, while Terry struggled to disguise his laughter. The older boy gathered up his things and stuffed them into his pockets.

"Have it your way then!" he snapped, "But don't come crying to me if you're both attacked!

"I think if we were attacked, we couldn't cry," Padma said coolly.

The Ravenclaw blushed and scurried off around a bookshelf without a backward glance. Terry grinned at Padma.

"Thanks for that," he said. "I could've lost four Sickles if I'd been on my own. You don't think we'll get attacked, do you?" he added as an afterthought.

"From what Malfoy said on Halloween, it sounds as though only Muggleborns will be attacked," Padma explained. "We're unlikely to be in any danger."

The two Ravenclaws turned back to their work, but when Padma looked back across at Terry, it didn't seem as though he'd found her words very comforting at all.