The Writing on the Wall

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

Having been attracted by Draco's shout, Filch made his way through the crowd and when he saw Mrs Norris, he fell back, clutching his face in horror.

"My cat! My cat! What's happened to Mrs Norris?" He shrieked before his eyes fell on Arthur.

"You! You! You've murdered my cat! You've killed her! I'll kill you! I'll -"

"Argus!"

Dumbledore had arrived with a number of other teachers with him. Within seconds, he swept past the trio and detached Mrs Norris from the torch bracket.

"Come with me, Argus. You too, Mr Pendergast, Mr Merlon, Miss Ranger." He then said calmly. The trio looked at each other, hoping they wouldn't get into trouble as they'd only just come across this not long before the crowd of students did.

"My office is nearest, Headmaster, just upstairs, please feel free…." Lockhart stepped forward eagerly.

"Thank you, Gilderoy." Dumbledore said.

The silent crowd then parted to let them all pass. Lockhart, who looked excited and important, hurried after Dumbledore, as did McGonagall and Snape.

Once they've all entered Lockhart's darkened office, there was a flurry of movement across the walls. Arthur saw that several Lockharts in the pictures dodged out of sight, theri hair in rollers.

The actual Lockhart lit candles on his desk and stood back. Dumbledore then laid Mrs Norris on the polished surface and began examining her. The trio exchanged tense looks and sank into chairs that were outside the pool of candlelight, watching it all play out before them.

The tip of Dumbledore's long and crooked nose was barely an inch from Mrs Norris' fur, looking at her very closely through his half moon spectacles. He then poked and prodded her gently with his long fingers.

McGonagall was bent almost as close, eyes narrowed. Then there's Snape, who loomed behind them, partly covered in shadow, wearing a particular expression on his face. It was like he was trying not to smile. Arthur narrowed his eyes, thinking that it was because Snape believes this can get Arthur into trouble.

Then there's Lockhart, who was hovering around them all, making suggestions to make himself useful, though Arthur thought he was just making stuff up.

"It was definitely a curse that killed her, probably the Transmogrifian Torture. I've seen it used many times, so unlucky I wasn't there, I know the very counter curse that would have saved her…."

His comments got punctuated by Filch's dry, racking sobs. He slumped in a chair by the desk, just unable to look at his cat, face in his hands.

Arthur may detest Filch, but he did feel sorry for him at this very moment. Of course, Dumbledore knows all and therefore won't believe Filch.

Speaking of the Headmaster, he was now muttering some strange words under his breath, tapping Mrs Norris with his wand, though nothing happened; she still looked as though she was recently stuffed.

"...I remember something very similar happening in Ouagadougou, a series of attacks, the full story's in my autobiography. I was able to provide the townsfolk with various amulets which cleared the matter up at once…."

The various photographs of Lockhart on the wall all nodded in agreement as he talked, making Arthur roll his eyes as this was just adding fuel to his ego.

Finally, Dumbledore straightened up.

"She's not dead, Argus." He said softly. This made Lockhart stop abruptly in the middle of counting the number of murders he apparently prevented.

"Not dead?" Filch choked, looking through his fingers at Mrs Norris. "But why's she all… all stiff and frozen?"

"She's been Petrified." Dumbledore said.

"Ah! I thought so!" Lockhart said, trying to not look more like an idiot than he already is.

"But how, I cannot say…."

"Ask him!" Filch shrieked, facing Arthur, who threw his arms up in exasperation.

"No second year could have done this." Dumbledore told him firmly. "It would take dark magic of the most advanced -"

"He did it, he did it! You saw what he wrote on the wall! He found… in my office… he knows I'm a - I'm a - He knows I'm a Squib!" Filch spat, his pouchy face purpling up.

"I have never touched Mrs Norris! I don't even know what a Squib is!" Arthur defended himself to everyone, who all looked at him, even the Lockharts on the walls.

"Rubbish! He saw my Kwikspell letter!" Filch snarled.

"If I might speak, Headmaster." Snape said from the shadows, increasing the sense of foreboding that he felt as Snape was going to say and do whatever to make Arthur look guilty.

"Pendergast and his friends may have simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time…" He then said with a slight sneer, clearly doubting it. "...but we do have a set of suspicious circumstances here. Why were they in the upstairs corridor at all? Why weren't they at the Hallowe'en feast?"

The trio all explained how they were invited to Nearly Headless Nick's Deathday Party and went there and not the feast, not wanting to break the promise of going.

"But why not join the feast afterwards? Why go up to that corridor?" Snape then asked, his black eyes glittering in the candlelight.

"Because we had food with us to have at the Deathday Party. And after seeing all of the rotten food there, we lost any appetite we had for more food. So we were just making our way up to the common room when we found Mrs Norris and the message on the wall." Arthur replied, omitting the fact that he heard a voice, knowing that it would raise more questions.

In response, Snape grew a nasty smile before turning to Dumbledore.

"I suggest, Headmaster, that Pendergast is not being entirely truthful. It might be a good idea if he were deprived of certain privileges until he is ready to tell us the whole story. I personally feel he should be taken off the Gryffindor Quidditch team until he is ready to be honest."

Arthur's rage at Snape spiked much higher than ever.

"Really, Severus." McGonagall said sharply. "I see no reason to stop the boy playing Quidditch. This cat wasn't hit over the head with a broomstick. There is no evidence at all that Pendergast has done anything wrong."

Arthur felt grateful for her to slap some sense and logic at the biassed, bullying and petty Snape.

Dumbledore then gave Arthur a searching look. Those twinkling light blue eyes made him feel like he was being X-rayed and that he knew he omitted something, though for good reason.

"Innocent until proven guilty, Severus." He then said firmly, making both Snape and Filch furious.

"My cat has been Petrified! I want to see some punishment!" Filch shrieked, eyes popping.

"We will be able to cure her, Argus." Dumbledore assured him patiently. "Professor Sprout recently managed to procure some Mandrakes. As soon as they have reached their full size, I will have a potion made which will revive Mrs Norris."

"I'll make it." Lockhart butted, annoyingly trying to get involved again. "I must have done it a hundred times, I could whip up a Mandrake Restorative Draught in my sleep -"

"Excuse me, but I believe I am the Potions master at this school." Snape icily cut him off, creating an awkward pause.

"You may go." Dumbledore then said to the trio.

The three went as quickly as they could without running. By the time they've reached the floor above the DADA classroom and Lockhart's office, they entered an empty classroom and closed the door quietly behind them.

"It's a good thing you didn't mention the voice you heard, Arthur. Because even in the wizarding world, hearing voices ain't a good sign." David started off the conversation.

"But you do believe me that I heard something, right?" Arthur asked for reassurance.

"Of course I do. It's just that it's weird." David replied, sounding offended at the question.

"I know that. The whole thing has been getting weirder by the minute. I mean, what was up with that writing on the wall? And what chamber has been opened?"

"I don't know… but I do remember Rob telling a story about a secret chamber at Hogwarts." David scratched his head, trying to remember what he was told.

"Also, what the hell's a Squib?" Arthur then asked, which resulted in David snorting, much to his surprise.

"Mind you, it's not really funny, but because it's Filch…." He said before he could explain. "A Squib is someone born into a wizarding family but doesn't have any magical powers at all. They're like the opposite of Muggle-Born wizards, but they're unusual. It may even explain why Filch hates all the students. He's bitter and jealous."

A clock then suddenly chimed somewhere.

"It's midnight. Let's just get to bed before Snape finds us and frames us for something else."

All the school would talk about for the next few days was the attack on Mrs Norris. It was partly because Filch kept it fresh in everyone's minds by pacing the spot where she was attacked, as though he expected the attacker to come back. He was also seen scrubbing the message on the wall with 'Mrs Skower's All Purpose Magical Mess Remover', yet there was no effect on the blood as the words still gleamed brightly on the stone.

Whenever he wasn't guarding the scene of the crime, he'd skulk red eyed through the corridors, lunging out at students to try and get them in detention for even the smallest of things like breathing loudly or looking happy, which Arthur thought was just ridiculous.

Mary Merlon seemed to be really disturbed by what happened to Mrs Norris. David explained that she was a cat lover.

"Mary, Mrs Norris isn't even cute. She's a menace." He tried to explain but her lips started trembling.

"Hey… it's okay, they'll catch whoever did this." He then tried to calm her down. Arthur watched the exchange and he didn't know why, but she looked as though she was guilty about something.

The attack definitely had an effect on Chrys as she ended up reading more than she normally did. Neither Arthur or David could get a response from her when asking what she's doing. It was only on the following Wednesday that they finally knew.

Arthur was held back in Potions thanks to Snape who made him stay behind to scrape tubeworms off the desks. He just can't stand Snape torturing him any chance he had.

Then after a quick lunch, he went upstairs to meet with David in the library. He had seen Justin FInch-Fletchley, who he remembered from Herbology, catch sight of him and turn abruptly and sped off in the opposite direction before Arthur could say anything to him.

Arthur had found David at the back of the library, measuring his History of Magic homework, which was supposed to be a three feet long composition on 'The Mediaeval Assembly of European Wizards', as asked by Professor Binns.

"Just an inch more…." David muttered as he continued writing.

"Do you know where Chrys is?" Arthur asked him as he grabbed the tape measure and unrolled his own homework.

"Over there." He pointed to other shelves. "I swear she's about to read the whole library before Christmas rolls around."

Arthur would go on to explain Justin running away from him.

"That's odd. He was a decent chap excluding the fact that he thought Lockhart was brilliant." David said as he finally wrote the last inch of his parchment.

Chrys had then emerged from between the bookshelves, looking frustrated.

"Every copy of Hogwarts: A History has been taken out. And there's even a two week waiting list. If only I bought my copy from home. But no… I had stuff Lockhart's stupid books in." She ranted, finally talking to them.

"Is it because of the Chamber of Secrets?" Arthur asked, as he couldn't think of any other reason to read that book.

"Yes. It seems everyone wants to read up on the legend of it."

"Well, why don't you ask Professor Binns about it? We all know how legends come to be." David suggested and it was like a lightbulb went off over Chrys' head.

Arthur had been able to finish his homework right before the bell rang.

The three went off to History of Magic together.

History of Magic had to be the most dull subject on their timetable, when it really shouldn't. It's all thanks to the teacher, Professor Binns, who taught it. He's the only teacher at Hogwarts that happens to be a ghost and the only thing in his class that can be considered exciting is him entering the classroom through the blackboard.

He was ancient and shrivelled, many people explaining that he never noticed he was dead. He just simply got up to teach one day, leaving his body behind in an armchair in front of the staff room fire. It was clear his routine has changed since then.

Today was just the latest of boring lessons. Binns opened his notes and began to read in his regular flat droning voice like an old vacuum cleaner, which made nearly everyone in the class fall into a deep stupor, occasionally coming around to write down a name or date before falling asleep once more.

He spoke for half an hour when something happened that had never happened before in the class. Chrys put her hand up.

Binns glanced up in the middle of him lecturing on the International Warlock Convention of 1289 when he noticed, looking amazed.

"Miss, er?"

"Ranger, Professor. I was wondering if you can tell us about the Chamber of Secrets?" She asked clearly.

Dean Thomas jerked out of a trance, gazing out of a window and Lavender Brown's head came up off her arms. Neville's elbow slipped off his desk and Mike sat up straight after leaning lazily in his seat.

Professor Binns blinked at her question.

"My subject is History of Magic." He said in his dry and wheezing voice. "I deal with facts, Miss Ranger, not myths and legends." He then cleared his throat, which sounded a lot like chalk snapping. "In September of that year, a sub committee of Sardinian sorcerers -"

He stuttered to a halt as this time, Arthur put his hand up.

"Mr Pentergass?" He mispronounced his name.

"Don't all legends have a basis in fact, sir?" He asked the ghost, making him look at the boy with amazement as it seemed that no student had ever interrupted him, dead or alive, before.

"Well…" He said slowly. "...yes, one could argue that, I suppose." He then peered at Arthur as he'd never seen a student properly before. "However, the legend of which you speak is such a very sensational, even ludicrous tale…."

Yet the whole class was hanging on every word he said. He looked at them all dimly, clearly thrown off by the show of interest.

"Oh, very well." He said slowly. "Let me see… the Chamber of Secrets…."

"You all know of course, that Hogwards was founded over a thousand years ago, the precise date is uncertain, by the four greatest witches and wizards of the age. Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hulffepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytherin. They built this castle together, far from prying Muggle eyes, for it was an age when magic was feared by common people, and witches and wizards suffered much persecution."

Arthur felt a swell of pride when Godric Gryffindor was mentioned and bitterness when Salazar Slytherin was mentioned.

Binns paused, gazing blearily around the room before continuing….

"For a few years, the founders worked in harmony together, seeking out youngsters who showed signs of magic and bringing them to the castle to be educated. But then disagreements sprang up between them. A rift began to grow between Slytherin and the others. Slytherin wished to be more selective about the students admitted to Hogwarts. He believed that magical learning should be kept within all magic families. He disliked taking students of Muggle parentage, believing them to be untrustworthy. After a while, there was a serious argument on the subject between Slytherin and Gryffindor, and Slytherin left the school."

As Binns explained the backstory, Arthur found himself having an image in his head of that mediaeval figure he saw in the Mirror of Erised with the long beard and clad in red facing against a bald wizard clad in grey and with a beard that reached below his neck.

This made him frown. Why would this image come into his head? And why that figure he saw in the Mirror of Erised?

Binns had paused again, pursing his lips, making him look like a wrinkled old tortoise.

"Reliable historical sources tell us this much, but these honest facts have been obscured by the fanciful legend of the Chamber of Secrets. The story goes that Slytherin had built a hidden chamber in the castle, of which the other founders knew nothing. Slytherin, according to the legend, sealed the Chamber of Secrets so that none would be able to open it until his own true heir arrived at the school. The heir alone would be able to open the Chamber Secrets, unleash the horror within and use it to purge the school of all who were unworthy to study magic."

There was nothing but silence as he finished the story, though it wasn't the usual sleepy silence.

Arthur now found himself in disgust at the founder of Slytherin house. He really left behind a legacy of bullying, bigotry and racism. And that's not even mentioning the Chamber of Secrets.

There was now an unease as everyone continued watching Binns, wanting to know more. Binns, however, looked annoyed.

"The whole thing is arrant nonsense, of course. Naturally, the school has been searched for evidence of such a chamber, many times, by the most learned witches and wizards. It does not exist. A tale told to frighten the gullible." He shot down the idea of the Chamber's existence.

Arthur, though, knew that if Slytherin is as smart as he seems, he'd go to any lengths to hide the Chamber of Secrets and also that his descendants/heirs would do additional things to ensure it's hidden.

"Chrys shot her hand in the air a second time.

"Sir, what did you mean by the 'horror within' the Chamber?"

"That is believed to be some sort of monster, which the heir of Slytherin alone can control." Binns replied in his dry, reedy voice.

This of course made the whole class exchange nervous looks.

"I tell you, the thing does not exist. There is no Chamber and no monster." He then said, shuffling his notes.

"But sir…" Seamus Finnegan said. "...if the Chamber can only be opened by Slytherin's true heir, no one else would be able to find it, would they?" Arthur was shocked by the actually good question.

"Nonsense, O'Flaherty." Binns now started getting aggravated. "If a long succession of Hogwarts headmasters and headmistresses haven't found the thing -"

"But, Professor…" Parvati Patil piped up. "...you'd probably have to use dark magic to open it -"

"Just because a wizard doesn't use dark magic doesn't mean he can't, Miss Pennyfeather." Binns now snapped at her. "I repeat, if the likes of Dumbledore -"

"But maybe you've got to be related to Slytherin, so Dumbledore couldn't -" Dean Thomas was beginning but Binns had had enough.

"That will do." He sharply silenced everyone. "It is a myth! It does not exist! There is no shred of evidence that Slytherin ever built so much as a secret broom cupboard! I regret telling you such a foolish story! We will return, if you please, to history, to solid, believable, verifiable fact!"

Within five minutes, the class sunk back into the usual state.

"Just when I thought Slytherin was a loon already." David spat as he, Arthur and Chrys fought their way through teeming corridors at the end of the lesson to drop off their bags before dinner came.

"So he's the one who started everything his house would be known for. I already mentioned that I'd leave Hogwarts if I got sorted into Slytherin and I now have more reasoning for it." He continued on with Chrys nodding in agreement.

Arthur, however, didn't say anything as his stomach dropped, remembering how the Sorting Hat considered putting him in Slytherin. He never even mentioned it to either of them as he didn't want to admit something that made him angry now that he thought about it. Just the very idea of being in Slytherin just disgusted him to no end.

It was bad enough knowing that the house spawned many dark wizards, including Voldemort, but that the founder of the house created a chamber that housed a monster to purge the school of all Muggle-Borns is just going way too far.

As the trio went on along the throng of students, Colin Creevey went past.

"Hiya, Arthur!"

"Hi, Colin." Arthur said, sounding bland and annoyed. Clearly yelling at him before didn't deter him away.

"Arthur, Arthur, a boy in my class has been saying you're -" Colin was just so small that he couldn't fight against the wave of people heading to the Great Hall. They heard him squeak "See you, Arthur!" before he was gone.

"What do you think that boy in his class was saying about you?" Chrys asked.

"That I'm the heir of Slytherin, probably." Arthur grimly replied, remembering how Justin reacted upon seeing him earlier.

"It seems people here are stupid enough to believe anything, no matter how ridiculous." David agreed in disgust.

Eventually, the crowd thinned and they were able to climb up the next staircase with ease.

"So, do you really think the Chamber of Secrets is real?" David asked both Arthur and Chrys.

"For sure. Binns may deny it but just because there's no evidence doesn't mean that it doesn't exist. Any of Slytherin's heirs would've found ways to ensure the Chamber isn't found over the centuries." Arthur explained his logic.

"And there's also the fact that Dumbledore of all people couldn't cure Mrs Norris. So whatever attacked her ain't human. Especially based on the voice you keep hearing, Arthur." Chrys added.

As she finished her point, they turned a corner and found themselves at the end of the very corridor where the attack happened.

The three stopped and looked. It was exactly as it was that night, just there was no stiff cat hanging from the torch bracket, and there was an empty chair up against the wall where the message was written.

"Filch has been keeping guard here." David said.

They looked at each other, realising that the corridor was empty and deserted.

"Let's take this chance and see what we've missed." Arthur said, dropping his bag and got on all fours to see if he could find more clues.

"Hey, there's some scorch marks here." Arthur said.

"Hey, get over here. Look!" Chrys said. Arthur got up and crossed to the window next to the message on the wall. Chrys pointed at the topmost pane, where roughly twenty spiders scuttled, seemingly fighting to get through a small crack in the glass. A long silvery thread was dangling like a small rope, clearly being used by the spiders to get outside.

"Have you ever seen spiders act like this?" Chrys asked Arthur, who looked so tense that he clenched his fists as he still isn't a fan of spiders.

"No. David?" He said, looking over to the silver haired boy, who was standing further back, looking as though he's fighting an instinct to just run.

"I. Hate. Spiders." He said with tension.

"Really? You use them in potions many times…." Chrys pointed out, surprised by this.

"That's because they're dead. I hate it when they move…." David replied, keeping his eyes away from the window.

"Why are you even afraid of them?" She asked him.

"One time, when I was three, me and Jack walked through the forest around our home and Jack decided to pull a prank on me with a spider on my shoulder. He scared me so much with it that I couldn't speak for a week and had nightmares for a month. It's why he and Kevin don't go too far with their antics." He explained, earning looks of sympathy from Arthur and Chrys.

Arthur then realised something.

"Wait, do you remember the water on the floor? Where'd it come from?" He said.

"It was around here." David said, able to recover himself to walk past Filch's chair and pointing. "It's level with this door, here."

He reached for the brass doorknob but he very suddenly withdrew his hand like it touched something hot.

"Great, this must be a girl's toilet." He hissed, holding his hand close to his chest.

"It's Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Come on." Chrys pointed out.

And so ignoring the large 'Out of Order' sign, she opened the door and led the boys in.

It had to be the gloomiest, most depressing bathroom Arthur ever entered in. What lay in front of them was a stand where all the sinks were situated in a circular way. As they walked further in, they saw that on the right, windows surrounded the sinks and to the left were cubicles with wooden doors that were flaking and scratched.

The floor was also damp and reflected the dull light from the few candle stubs that burned low in their holders.

Chrys placed her finger to her lips and had set off to the cubicle to the right at the end, directly under a circular window.

"Hello, Myrtle, how are you?" She asked when she reached in.

Both Arthur and David went to look and saw Moaning Myrtle floating on the cistern of the toilet, picking a spot on her chin.

"This is a girl's bathroom. They're not girls." Myrtle said, eyeing them up.

"I know, but I just wanted to show them just how charming this place is." Chrys agreed, waving around the bathroom.

"Did she see anything?" Arthur whispered to Chrys.

"What are you whispering?" Myrtle asked, staring at him.

"To ask Chrys to ask you -"

"I wish people would stop talking behind my back!" Myrtle said, choked up with tears. "I do have feelings, you know, even if I am dead."

"Myrtle, no one here wants to upset you. Arthur just wants -"

"No one wants to upset me! That's a good one!" Myrtle howled. "My life was nothing but misery at this place and now people come along ruining my death!"

"We just wanted to ask if you'd seen anyone odd lately. Because a cat got attacked right outside your front door on Hallowe'en." Chrys said quickly.

"Yeah, did you see anyone near here that night?" Arthur asked.

"I wasn't paying attention. Peeves upset me so much I came in here and tried to kill myself. Then, of course, I remembered that I'm - that I'm -" She said dramatically.

"Already dead." David finished for her, though he regretted it instantly.

Myrtle gave a tragic sob before rising in the air, turned over and dived headfirst into the toilet, which splashed water all over them and vanished from sight and went to rest in the U-bend, based on the directions of her muffled sobbing.

Both boys stood with their mouths open in shock, though Chrys just shrugged.

"That was almost cheery for her, let's go." She said.

Arthur had barely closed the door when a voice shouted, making them all jump.

"DAVID!"

It was Sam Merlon who had stopped at the head of the stairs, looking a bit stunned.

"Why were you in a girl's bathroom?" He asked his younger brother with a gasp.

"Trying to with Moaning Myrtle to see if she saw anyone here when the attack happened. She just cried off elsewhere." David explained.

"Well… if I were you, I'd be more careful. People will truly think Arthur in particular is responsible. I've heard the rumblings around the school. Now let's go and have dinner." Sam said, sounding stern but caring.

The trio chose seats in the common room that were as far away from everyone else as possible that night. They of course did their Charms homework, but they found their minds thinking about other things, mainly who the heir of Slytherin could be.

It was all so much that they all slammed their Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2.

"Just who could it be?" Chrys muttered. "Who would want to get rid of all the Squibs and Muggle-Borns out of Hogwarts."

"Oh, I don't know, perhaps a certain pale git who thinks every Muggle-Born is scum." David suggested in mocking puzzlement.

"Really, Draco?" Chrys said, not entirely convinced.

"Come on, you heard what he said, 'You'll be next, Mudbloods!'" David reminded her.

"But Draco Malfoy, the heir of Slytherin?"

"Well, it's not that far-fetched. I'm sure his entire family has been in Slytherin for centuries. And Draco is just the type to use something or someone else to do his dirty work." Arthur pondered on the idea.

"Yeah, they could've passed the key to the Chamber of Secrets through the centuries from father to son!" David nodded.

"Fair enough." Chrys couldn't argue against them.

"But the issue at hand is how do we prove it?" Arthur then asked. They were silent for several seconds until Chrys snapped her fingers.

"There's one way." She said, dropping her voice lower to ensure no one was listening. "Mind you, it will be difficult. And very dangerous. We'd be breaking around fifty school rules in fact."

"What do you suggest?" David asked her.

"We need to get into the Slytherin common room and talk with Draco and ask him questions, though without realising that it's us."

"But how do we do that?" Arthur questioned, knowing that they wouldn't let any Gryffindors in there.

"By using some Polyjuice Potion." She revealed.

"Didn't Snape mention that in class a few weeks ago?" Arthur asked for confirmation. Despite hating Snape, he always paid attention.

"He did. We can use it to transform into other Slytherins and no one would know the difference, other than behaviour if we don't act just like them. Draco would tell us anything, no doubt boasting about it." Chrys explained.

"Are you sure about that? What if we end up looking like the Slytherins we turn into for the rest of our lives?" David asked, not exactly thrilled with the idea of turning into someone else.

"Don't worry, it wears off after a while. The real difficulty would be getting the recipe as it's very difficult. Snape said that it's in a book called Moste Potente Potions and it's in the Restricted Section." Chrys replied, making Arthur groan.

"And the only way to get a book out from there is with a signed permission note from a teacher." He said.

"The only way to get it is if we seemed like we were only interested in the theory, which can get us a permission note." Chrys pointed out. David then grinned as he came up with something.

"Then it's a good thing we have a teacher so thick, they'd fall for it easily."

The other two realised who he was talking about and grinned as well.

So we now know how David became afraid of spiders and it ties with how different Jack and Kevin are to Fred and George. That after that prank with the spider, Jack and Kevin decided that this was too far and would not go too far from that point on.