Chapter Nine – A Halloween to Remember

Harry's hopes of not having to fight another troll this year seemed to be coming true, but something else spoiled his Halloween mood instead. He was coming from breakfast in the Great Hall with Daphne, Hermione and Ron – Ron had just made a joke about McGonagall's tights and cat hair that made even Daphne crack a smile – when the voice of his most hated classmate rang out.

"So, scarhead, are you looking forward to the feast today?"

The laughter on their faces died instantly as they turned to Draco Malfoy. He was standing at the edge of the Entrance Hall, flanked by his gorilla cronies Crabbe and Goyle, giving them a haughty look. Harry knew he shouldn't get involved, that it would be much wiser to just keep walking and ignore Malfoy, but he couldn't bring himself to listen to that inner voice of reason.

"It's going to be hard to top last year's feast," he replied. "Do you remember? When you nearly wet yourself with fear?"

Beside him, Ron nodded resolutely. "Not nearly. I saw the stain on his trousers."

"That was pumpkin juice!" Malfoy's face did not turn red, but there was a hint of pink on his pale cheeks. Accompanied by his two bodyguards, he approached them. "I'm sure I'm going to have a lot of fun this year, Potter. After all, it was eleven years ago today that a blood traitor and his Mudblood whore met their just end. If you ask me –"

Before he could finish, two wands pointed at his face, Harry's light brown and Daphne's pitch black. Malfoy winced before his cocky grin reappeared on his face.

"What, Potter? Do you need a girl to help you?"

"I can handle scum like you myself!"

"Then do it, Potter. Go on, hex me and get yourself kicked out of school. Who knows, maybe that stupid idiot Hagrid will let you stay in his hut."

"Harry is far too clever to fall for your provocations," Hermione said with folded arms.

Daphne, who had been silent until then, added in a cold voice, "We'll get you one day, Malfoy."

"Oh no, I'll get you, Greengrass," Malfoy said, and Harry didn't like the creepy grin he gave Daphne at that.

At that moment, Professor Flitwick and Professor Sprout entered the hall from outside, and Malfoy took a few hasty steps back. No wonder he didn't dare open his mouth in front of the teachers. Harry and Daphne slowly lowered their wands.

"Happy Halloween, Potter," Malfoy said in farewell. "I'll toast your parents."

The three Slytherin boys walked away laughing, but that didn't make Harry feel any better. His mood was completely down after that, and even Ron's attempts to cheer him up couldn't change that.

"His mother must have given him rat poison instead of breast milk. She probably couldn't even look at him without puking. Or he was dropped on his head too often as a baby..."

Daphne, on the other hand, was unusually quiet. Harry glanced at her and her amber eyes locked onto him. Harry had already seen many different emotions in them, from confusion and coolness when they first met, to fiery determination and unexpected warmth as they got to know each other better. But at this moment, there was neither in his best friend's eyes, but rather a tense anticipation.

"What are you going to do?" she asked quietly, as if only he should hear her, but the others fell silent as well.

"What do you mean?"

"Will you go to the feast?"

"Of course he will," Hermione said. "We can't let people like Malfoy influence us, otherwise they'll have won."

Daphne clicked her tongue. "That's not your decision to make, Granger."

"I didn't say it was. But maybe you're just having a hard time listening. In the end, it's all about whether –"

"What would you advise me to do?" asked Harry, turning to Daphne.

Hermione snorted, clearly unhappy at being ignored like that, but Harry wanted to hear Daphne's opinion. The fact that Hermione and Daphne didn't get along – apart from a very brief period at the beginning of term that had lasted less than a day – was nothing new to him. And secretly, he had to admit that it was getting tiresome.

"I think you'd feel better if you didn't go."

"Of course you're going to tell him the exact opposite of what I said," Hermione said angrily. "You're so predictable and –"

Daphne paid no attention to Hermione's tirade. Keeping her gaze fixed on him, she continued, "At the same time, I'm telling you not to listen to me."

Harry blinked. "...Pardon?"

"Don't listen to anyone. Think about it yourself. Think about it yourself, all on your own. Don't let anyone else decide for you how to face the abysses of the world. You have to choose; you have to make the decision! Dammit, Harry, for once stop being a selfless fairytale prince and think only of yourself this time!"

Ron snorted. "Harry and a fairytale prince?"

Daphne rolled her eyes, but immediately turned her gaze back to him. Harry felt as if her golden irises were trying to see into the depths of his soul. He could even see his reflection in them, but distorted, as if he were a grotesque creature. He didn't want Daphne to see him like that. But... wasn't that exactly what Daphne was trying to tell him? That he shouldn't care what others thought. She thought he'd feel better if he didn't go to the feast, but at the same time she was telling him not to listen to her. The advice was so fitting for his friend that he almost laughed. The corners of Daphne's mouth turned up slightly, as if she had guessed his thoughts. Her expression said she would accept his decision, whatever it was.

So what did he want? Go to the feast, ignore Malfoy's words and have a nice evening? Or let it go and do something else? If he went, he would keep looking at the Slytherin table, he knew that, partly because Daphne would be sitting there. It would be a very lonely evening for her, having no one to talk and laugh with. But she had told him to think only of himself, so not of her. So what about him? Would he bear to look at Malfoy's smirking face all evening? No, that was the wrong question. He could bear anything. The question was, did he want to bear it?

He looked at his friends.

"It's your choice, mate," Ron said.

Harry nodded slightly. He had made his choice. Whether it was the right one, he couldn't say, but maybe that didn't matter. It was the decision that made him feel better.

"I don't want to go to the feast..."

A sympathetic smile appeared on Daphne's face at his words. She took his hand and squeezed it. Hermione, on the other hand, snorted.

"Do what you want, Harry. I, however, will show Malfoy and the other Slytherins!" With that, she turned and walked away with quick steps and her hair blowing.

"You know Daphne's a Slytherin too, don't you?" called Harry after her, but Hermione didn't answer.

"Oh, she knows," Daphne said quietly.

It was a little later in the day when Daphne's legs carried her down a long corridor. Although it was in the underground part of the castle, it was brightly lit by numerous torches. Daphne had often seen the place she was looking for on the Marauder's Map, but she had never been there. But it could not be far now. She just hoped she could carry out her plan.

Harry's decision had surprised her. She would have thought he would decide to go to the feast, driven by well-meaning notions of selflessness and sacrifice.

Oh God, I'm such a bad influence on him ...

Daphne shook her head. Harry deserved a nice evening. For everything he had given her since they had met. She had never thought it could be so nice to have a friend, but now that she knew the feeling, she never wanted to miss it again. Even if her friendship with Harry meant that she had to spend a lot more time with Granger and Weasley than she would have liked. Well, it didn't help, but at least tonight she wanted Harry all to herself.

By now she had reached her destination; she was now standing in front of a huge painting of a fruit bowl. Behind it, she knew, was the Hogwarts kitchen. But how would she get in?

"Um, I want to go in here," she said to the painting. "Please?"

But nothing happened. The painting didn't move an inch. Maybe she needed a password, like the painting that blocked access to the Gryffindor common room? But what password could there be for a kitchen?

"Banquet," she tried at random. "Delicacy. Treat. Gourmand. Onion, bacon and pumpkin juice."

Still, nothing moved. Daphne sighed. Then, once again, the only way was direct. She raised her wand and –

"Can Essy help the young missy?"

Daphne started. She hadn't even noticed anyone approaching, but now she felt an aura at her back, old and deep, clearly not another student. She turned to see a house-elf looking up at her. The house-elf had long grey hair, wrinkled skin and was dressed in a brown robe that looked a bit like a monk's habit. The house-elf looked at her with yellow eyes the size of tennis balls, obviously waiting for her answer.

"Um, I'm looking for the kitchen. Am I in the right place? I don't know the password."

The house-elf nodded eagerly. "Yes. Yes. The kitchen is here. But missy doesn't need a password. Young missy just needs to tickle until the guard giggles. Essy will show you."

With that, the house-elf stretched out her arm as far as it would go and began to tickle a pear in the painting. And sure enough, the pear began to giggle! The next moment it turned into a door handle. Essy, the house-elf, pushed the handle down, opening the door to the kitchen, from which a delicious aroma wafted towards them.

"Come along, missy."

Daphne entered the kitchen with Essy and what she saw took her breath away. It was a huge, immaculately clean room with countless kitchen appliances lining the walls, from small ovens to hotplates with pots hanging from the ceiling to a huge hearth the size of Hagrid's hut at the end of the room. In the middle of the room were four large tables, exactly like those in the Great Hall. And everywhere, house-elves were swarming about, preparing for tonight's feast. It was a wild but productive mess, and one that gave Daphne a headache after only a few moments of watching.

"Would missy like something to eat?" came Essy's voice from beside her.

Daphne turned to face her. "Essy – may I call you Essy?"

The house-elf nodded so eagerly that her bat ears wiggled. "Oh yes, that's Essy's name. Actually, Essy's name is Esmeralda, but everyone calls her Essy. Except Headmaster Dumbledore."

"Esmeralda, can I ask you a favour?" asked Daphne, leaning slightly towards her.

"What can Essy do for young missy?"

"I have a friend who doesn't want to go to the feast today. I wonder if you could bring us both some of the food to one of the deserted classrooms?"

Essy tilted her head. "Not attend the feast?"

"It's not an easy day for him. Today is also the anniversary of the death of his parents."

Daphne didn't know why she was saying this, but Essy's eyes widened. "Missy's friend is Harry Potter!"

Instantly, all the house-elves in the kitchen stopped what they were doing. Countless pairs of eyes turned to Daphne as if she were Morgana reborn.

"Missy's friend is the great Harry Potter!" repeated Essy in awe.

"Um, yes, he is."

Essy began to jump up and down with excitement. Her ears wiggled even more than before. The other house-elves did the same, some squealing with delight, others clapping their hands loudly. Daphne felt like she was in a circus.

"We would be honoured, honoured, honoured to help the great Harry Potter and his missy!" cried Essy.

"I'm not his –" Daphne started, but Essy cut her off.

"But deserted classrooms aren't nice. Harry Potter can't eat on dusty desks. No, no, no. We'll serve Harry Potter and the missy here! As our guests of honour!"

The others joined in. "Yes, yes, yes! Guests of honour!"

"But won't it be a bit noisy in here?" asked Daphne sceptically. "And we don't want to disturb you while you're working."

Essy frowned, and the other house-elves also made thoughtful faces. "Yes, it would be noisy. We have hundreds of dishes to prepare, yes, yes, that is our duty. But a deserted classroom isn't nice either."

"How about the Come and Go Room?" a voice called from the crowd of house-elves.

Essy's ears perked up. "Yes! Yes, that would work!"

"Come and Go Room? What's that supposed to be?"

"A magical room. Not many know about it, but we house-elves see a lot at Hogwarts. My great-great grandmother was there when Mistress Rowena created this room. Some people call it the Room of Requirement. It can be anything you wish it to be."

It could be anything you wished it to be? That sounded very interesting indeed. "Where can I find this room?" asked Daphne excitedly.

"On the seventh floor. Opposite the tapestry with the wizard and the trolls in tutus. You have to go back and forth three times and think about what you want. Then the door to the room will open. Once inside, you can make further changes to the room and make the door disappear again. No one can enter the room if you do not want them to. Harry Potter and missy can eat there in peace. Essy can take missy there."

It sounded too good to be true. Daphne felt her heart quicken. Everything in her wanted to get to the seventh floor as soon as possible. She smiled at the house-elf. "Thank you, Esmeralda. I'll try it myself first." She preferred to draw as little attention as possible. "But if I have any problems, I'll come back. You've helped me – and Harry – a lot."

With that, Daphne said goodbye to the house-elves, but only after they had taken her promise to return soon, and to bring the great Harry Potter with her. The little creatures truly adored her friend. Perhaps that would come in handy one day, Daphne thought. Power always included power over others...

Shortly afterwards, as Daphne stood in the Room of Requirement, which had taken on the appearance of the throne room in the long-destroyed Camelot, she couldn't help but grin broadly. Oh yes, Harry would like that!

"Why don't you tell me where we're going," Harry said, not for the first time. But Daphne just shook her head and pulled him along behind her. She had kept her destination a secret ever since she had dragged him away from the others. She had only said that she had a surprise for him, but what could it be?

"You'll see," Daphne said in a slightly trembling voice. Harry knew her voice well enough to recognise the anticipation in it.

By now they had reached the second floor, which was completely deserted at this time of day. All the other students would have been on their way to the Great Hall by now. However, one creature was still wandering around.

Harry and Daphne were just rounding a corner when Mrs Norris suddenly came towards them. The cat stopped, as if remembering their last encounter at the beginning of the year, which had not ended well for her. Harry would have let it go, but Daphne drew her wand and sent a curse at the cat, which flew just over her head. Mrs Norris hissed, turned and ran away.

Harry looked at his friend with a raised eyebrow.

"What? I didn't hit her, did I?"

Harry shook his head. Cats and crows really didn't make a good match, he guessed. And if Daphne had wanted to hit her, she probably would have. For Daphne to deliberately avoid hitting Mrs Norris with her curse might have been the height of her kindness.

Then, without further interruption, Daphne led him to the seventh floor, where they stopped in front of a tapestry of a wizard teaching a group of trolls to dance. Apart from them, there was not a human or cat soul in sight.

"Daph, what –"

"Just a moment more. I promise it will leave you speechless."

With that, Daphne let go of his hand and began pacing in front of the stone wall opposite the tapestry, her face tense as it always was when she was thinking hard. Confused, Harry watched her. Three times she had paced up and down when suddenly a door appeared in the wall.

This castle and its endless wonders, Harry thought. He should stop being surprised by it all the time.

A smile played on Daphne's lips. She walked over to him and took his hand. Her own hand trembled noticeably.

"Let's go in," she said.

Harry turned the doorknob, opened the door and stepped into the room with Daphne at his side. The sight that met their eyes took his breath away. They were standing in a meadow, a meadow unlike any Harry had ever seen. The colours were rich, the air warm, and above them a blue sky arched with a brilliant sun. He let his eyes wander. The meadow was surrounded by tall trees with lush crowns that seemed to welcome them like outstretched arms. They stood in a clearing, an island in a sea of glorious summer. Harry felt like he had stepped into a dream.

"Do you like it?", Daphne's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. He glanced at his friend who was smiling at him. She brushed a strand of her black hair out of her face and her smile grew even wider. Her amber eyes sparkled in the sunlight. It was too good to be true. "Do you like my surprise?"

Harry nodded, speechless. "What... what is this?"

"Magic, Harry. This is magic with all its might. This is the Room of Requirement."

"Room?"

"Oh yes, we are not really standing in a clearing and the forest beyond is not infinite either. The sky above us is also limited. We are still in Hogwarts. But apart from those physical limitations, this room can be just about anything you can imagine or wish for. And I've wished for it to become that clearing I once saw in a book."

"But how did you find this place?" asked Harry. "This room isn't even on the Marauder's Map."

"The house-elves showed it to me." Without explaining what she meant, Daphne stepped into the middle of the clearing. She threw her bag on the ground and fell backwards onto the grass.

Harry lay down beside her. He felt the sun's rays caress his skin and sighed comfortingly.

"You're amazing, Daph."

"I know."

"Of course you do."

"What can I say, I'm perfect."

Harry sat up on his elbows and looked down at Daphne. She had her eyes closed. Her chest rose and fell gently. Her lips were slightly parted, as if she were asleep, were it not for the small, amused smile at the corners of her mouth.

"Really?" he asked. "Then you wouldn't mind fighting me again? Last time you were far from perfect afterwards, quite upset even, if I remember correctly..."

Daphne's eyes snapped open. "That was only because you fought unfairly! Who would have thought you would throw sand in my face?"

"Someone who taught me to fight unfairly."

"I'm too good a teacher..." Daphne also straightened and looked at Harry. "But does that mean you'll challenge me to a duel?"

"You can count on it. Do you accept or are you afraid?"

Harry asked only in jest. He knew that Daphne loved their practice fights as much as he did. Especially since she usually won. But not today, he resolved.

"Only in your wildest dreams," Daphne replied with a devilish smile that sent a comforting shiver down Harry's spine.

And so the two of them stood in the clearing, a good ten metres apart, their wands drawn and their eyes fixed on each other. The seconds dragged on, the moment frozen in time. But Harry had learned that patience was the key to victory. And patience was not Daphne's strong point.

A slight smile played around Daphne's lips, as if she was thinking the same thing, but it was not a mocking smile, it was an expression of genuine joy. Then suddenly she jerked her wand up and shouted, "Stupefy!"

Harry jumped aside and the stunner shot past him. It died in the woods behind him, but Daphne was already hurling the next one at him.

"Protego," Harry shouted hastily, the stunner bouncing off his magical shield. Without it, Daphne's spell would have hit him right in the chest.

Harry responded with a cutting spell, which Daphne deflected with her own shield charm, only to summon a swarm of bees and unleash them on him. But Harry knew this spell from one of their last battles; he created a gust of wind that threw the bees against a tree trunk, at the foot of which they lay motionless.

"Is that the best you can do, Daph?"

Daphne did not answer, but moved on to the next attack. Harry saw the ring on her finger glow, then Daphne threw the most powerful fire spell he had ever seen her use, fed by the life power of tortured animals stored in the ring. Harry just managed to draw some of the life power from his own ring to strengthen his shield charm before he was engulfed by the flames. He began to cough. Fire and smoke dominated his vision, and when the smoke cleared he saw that the grass around him was completely charred.

Before Harry could even think of his next move, he heard Daphne's voice, "Venticula!

The next thing he knew, Harry was swept off his feet and enveloped in a sphere of flowing air. The sphere trapped him and prevented him from moving. His wand arm hung helplessly from him.

"Are you giving up?" asked Daphne.

"Never!"

"Then I'm sorry, but you leave me no choice. Incendio!"

Again Harry was engulfed in flames. This time it wasn't a shield charm that protected him from burning, but Daphne's sphere, but it didn't protect him from the heat. Harry could feel it getting hotter and hotter inside the sphere. Beads of sweat ran down his body.

"You can end this now, Harry," Daphne's voice came to him through the flames. "All you have to do is admit defeat."

Harry didn't answer. His mind was racing. He didn't think Daphne would actually roast him alive, but if he waited until Daphne lifted the spell to avoid killing him, that would be tantamount to admitting defeat. He would not let that happen!

By now the heat inside the sphere had become so intense that Harry could barely breathe. Every breath felt like lava flowing through his lungs. Even keeping his eyes open was painful. But perhaps that pain was his salvation...

Harry stifled a groan as another stream of lava seemed to tear his lungs apart. He couldn't cry out in pain or Daphne would end the duel and he would lose. With defiant determination, he clenched his jaws to keep from making a sound.

He tried to block everything out, the smoke, the smell of the flames, Daphne's voice. They all faded to a background murmur of his wildly pounding heart. The pounding accelerated. It was the only thing left, driven by the heat and the pain inside him. Within him. Every breath fed the pain. However, there was something else as well. Deep inside him, where even the most terrible pain could not reach, something powerful pulsated within Harry. It was his magic, his soul, the anchor of his life. It didn't matter what you called it, they all said the same thing. The magic that started in his heart was hope. His hope.

He tried to redirect his pain, from his lungs to his heart, as he had done before with the pain of the animals he and Daphne had maimed. It was easier and harder for him at the same time. For now it was he who felt the pain, but at the same time the pain was already in his body and the path to his heart was shorter.

The pain poured into his heart like a flood into a dry valley, or like oil into a fire. His magic reared up like a wild animal about to burst from his chest. Harry screamed.

"AARRRGH!"

There was a huge bang and Harry was thrown to the ground. His whole body ached, but he was also filled with deep satisfaction. He had managed to break Daphne's spell.

Suddenly there was a laugh, a boisterous, almost maniacal laugh, but it brought a broad grin to Harry's face. He sat up. The flames had gone out, but the clearing had burned down and ashes covered the once green ground. And in the midst of the ashes, Daphne lay on her back. His magic must have knocked her off her feet as well. But Daphne didn't seem to care, for she was still laughing.

Harry slowly approached her, wand in hand, but Daphne made no move to continue the fight. He pointed the wand at her and said with satisfaction, "I won.

Daphne lifted her head and grinned at him. "Yes, you did. That was impressive. We haven't had this much fun together in a long time!"

Harry held out his hand and helped her to her feet. They looked at each other.

"You look terrible," Daphne said.

"You've looked better too."

Daphne's face was flushed, her clothes and hair covered in soot. Blood ran down her chin, she had bitten her lip. But none of this seemed to bother her, for she was still beaming at him with joy.

"You're such a charmer, Harry. You just know how to take a witch's heart by storm."

Harry felt the blood rush to his cheeks. He cleared his throat. "Well, would you like me to help you?"

"If you'd be so kind."

With practiced routine, they began to cleanse each other with their wands and heal the small wounds they had suffered. It wasn't the first time they'd done this after one of their fights, but never to this extent. Maybe they had overdone it this time, Harry thought. But Daphne was right, it had never been as much fun as it was today.

"Thank you," Daphne said at last.

"I have you to thank. This has been a great evening."

"The evening's not over yet." Daphne closed her eyes for a moment, and from one moment to the next, the sky above them darkened. The bright blue gave way to a much darker, almost black, and the sun gave way to the moon and the stars. A campfire appeared in the middle of the clearing, around which logs had been laid as benches.

"I don't know about you, but I'm hungry." With that, Daphne took his hand again and together they sat down on one of the logs by the campfire. "Good thing I brought something to eat."

"Treacle tart?" Harry asked hopefully.

Daphne shook her head. "No, I don't like those. But I have something else for that." She let her bag fly towards her. From it, she pulled out a plastic bag containing white sweets. "Mashmalalows!"

"Marshmallows," Harry laughed. "These things are called marshmallows."

"You know them?"

"Well, by sight. I've never eaten them."

"Then this will be a first for both of us. The house-elves told me you have to spear them on a stick and hold them over the fire."

With that, Daphne conjured up two wooden sticks and speared one of the marshmallows on each. She handed one of the sticks to Harry and together they held it into the campfire.

Soon a sweet aroma began to waft through the clearing. Harry's mouth was already watering, for their fight had made him hungry too. But first he wanted to see how Daphne would like such a treat.

Daphne took the stick away from the flames and eyed the marshmallow doubtfully. Then she bit into it. After a moment of silence, she took another bite.

"This is quite strange ... or rather ... yes ... it's so very ... sticky ... and as sweet as pure sugar." Now she put the whole marshmallow in her mouth, eating with relentless vigour. In no time at all, she had finished and was smacking loudly. "That was tasty!"

Daphne smiled, her face gleaming with satisfaction, as if to praise herself for her idea. For a moment, Harry envisioned a pair of cat ears flapping atop her silky black hair. Daphne would probably skin him alive for that notion, he thought with amusement.

Now he bit into his marshmallow as well. It tasted as sweet as he had imagined. After a few bites he was finished and placed the next marshmallow on the wooden stick. Daphne did the same. It didn't take long for the two friends to finish all the marshmallows.

When they had finished, they sat down together on the meadow, which had greened up again, and looked up at the starry sky together. Peacefully, the distant, nearby, artificial lights shone down on them, and in that moment, Harry knew that this moment, even if it wasn't a dream, could be just as beautiful.

"Thank you, Daphne," he said softly. Daphne looked at him and he continued to speak. "Thank you for doing all this for me."

"So I've managed to take your mind off things?"

"You did. I think if I'd gone to the feast, after what Malfoy said, I don't think..." He faltered. He didn't know how to express his conflicting feelings in a way that anyone else would understand.

Daphne put a finger to his lips. "It's all right. I understand enough."

She pulled away and raised her head to the night sky. Confused, Harry brushed his lips where Daphne's finger had left a tingling sensation.

"Your parents were amazing people, Harry. Don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise."

Harry's stomach felt like it was sinking into a deep pit. Still, he nodded. "I know. They sacrificed themselves for me..."

"Above all, they loved you. They loved you more than their own lives, as only parents can love their children."

"I'm surprised you would say such a thing."

Daphne tucked a strand of black hair behind her ear. She smiled weakly at him. "Just because my parents are cowards doesn't mean I can't see how much your parents loved you. And you know what?" Her eyes flashed.

"What?"

"If it happens to me one day, I want it to be the same. They died fighting. They didn't give up until the end. If I could choose one way to die, that would be it."

Harry swallowed hard. He didn't want to think about either of them dying, but at the same time, Daphne's words stirred feelings in him that he thought had been buried long ago. A lone tear ran down his cheek before he could wipe it away.

Daphne's hand cupped his gently. He squeezed it back.

When Harry returned to the Gryffindor common room late that night, he was greeted by Ron and Hermione's worried faces.

"Oh, Harry," Hermione cried, throwing her arms around his neck. "We were so worried. Where have you been?"

Harry froze. "Um, I was out with Daphne." He looked over Hermione's shoulder at Ron, who was also looking at him with relief. "What's wrong?"

Hermione pulled away from the hug, but continued to hold his shoulders. "Didn't you hear?"

"Hear what?"

"Filch was found petrified," Ron said. "On the second floor. And on the wall was written in blood that the Chamber of Secrets has been opened..."