Mon Cher (Severus Snape Daughter FF)

Ch. 6 // COS

For a few days, the school could talk of little else but the attack on Mrs. Norris. Filch kept it fresh in everyone's minds by pacing the spot where she had been attacked, as though he thought the attacker might come back. Harry had seen him scrubbing the message on the wall with Mrs. Skower's All-Purpose Magical Mess Remover, but to no effect; the words still gleamed as brightly as ever on the stone. When Filch wasn't guarding the scene of the crime, he was skulking red-eyed through the corridors, lunging out at unsuspecting students and trying to put them in detention for things like "breathing loudly" and "looking happy."

Ginny Weasley seemed very disturbed by Mrs. Norris's fate. According to Ron, she was a great cat lover.

"But you haven't really got to know Mrs. Norris," Ron told her bracingly. "Honestly, we're much better off without her."
Ginny's lip trembled.
"Stuff like this doesn't often happen at Hogwarts," Ron assured her. "They'll catch the maniac who did it and have him out of here in no time. I just hope he's got time to Petrify Filch before he's expelled. I'm only joking -" Ron added hastily as Ginny blanched.

Clara had been spending more time with Draco. Harry knew that they were practically family, but when she wasn't with him, she talked about him as if he were a flea on a rat — more so an amoeba on a flea on a rat.
"If you don't like him so much, why do you still talk to him?" Harry asked her one Thursday on their way to Transfiguration.
"It's not that simple," Clara replied. "He may be an arse most of the time, but he and Lucius had been sending letters back and forth. We're trying to learn what the plot is that Dobby told you about."
"I thought you said no more meddling."
"This is serious. The Chamber of Secrets is a well known rumor amongst the students and staff and everyone is worried. What if whatever petrified Mrs. Norris goes after a student next?"

The attack had also had an effect on Hermione. It was quite usual for Hermione to spend a lot of time reading, but she was now doing almost nothing else. Nor could Harry, Clara, or Ron get much response from her when they asked what she was up to, and not until the following Wednesday did they find out.

Harry and Clara had been held back in Potions, where Snape had made them stay behind to scrape tubeworms off the desks. After a hurried lunch, they went upstairs to meet Ron in the library, and saw Justin Finch-Fletchley, the Hufflepuff boy from Herbology, coming toward him. Harry had just opened his mouth to say hello when Justin caught sight of him and Clara, turned abruptly, and sped off in the opposite direction. Clara was rather hurt. He didn't say hi to her either. Surly he didn't believe that she would even think about --

They found Ron at the back of the library, measuring his History of Magic homework. Professor Binns had asked for a three foot long composition on "The Medieval Assembly of European Wizards."

"I don't believe it, I'm still eight inches short said Ron furiously, letting go of his parchment, which sprang back into a roll. "And Hermione's done four feet seven inches and her writing's tiny."

"Just make the words bigger." said Clara as if it were obvious.

"Where is Hermione?" asked Harry, grabbing the tape measure and unrolling his own homework.

"Somewhere over there," said Ron, pointing along the shelves. "Looking for another book. I think she's trying to read the whole library before Christmas."

Harry told Ron about Justin Finch-Fletchley running away from him.

"Dunno why you care. I thought he was a bit of an idiot," said Ron, scribbling away, making his writing as large as possible. "All that junk about Lockhart being so great--"

Hermione emerged from between the bookshelves. She looked irritable and at last seemed ready to talk to them.

"All the copies of Hogwarts, A History have been taken out," she said, sitting down next to Harry and Ron. "And there's a two-week waiting list. I wish I hadn't left my copy at home, but I couldn't fit it in my trunk with all the Lockhart books."