Halloween Eve (Part Two)

Jon first went to the Owlery and mailed letters to several potion shops in Diagon Alley, asking whether they had Bicorn horn and fragments of African tree snake skin, as well as the prices of each ingredient.

This took quite some time. By the time darkness fell, he hurried back to the castle.

As soon as he reached the corridor outside the Great Hall, he caught the sweet, enticing scent of roasted pumpkin.

"Smells amazing!" Jon could not help taking a deep sniff.

Inside the Great Hall, everything was festively decorated, candles gleaming in dazzling splendor. A thousand bats fluttered along the walls and ceiling, while another thousand clustered together like low, dark clouds. Many enormous pumpkins had been carved into lanterns, each large enough to seat nearly three people.

Just like at the opening feast, students from all four Houses packed the four long tables.

"Jon, over here!" Hannah Abbott waved eagerly at him.

He quickly made his way over and sat between her and Ernie Macmillan.

"Long time no see, Jon!"

"Yeah, it has been a while."

As they exchanged greetings, all kinds of delicious food suddenly appeared on the golden plates before them.

"I heard Professor Dumbledore invited a Skeleton Band to perform later!" Ernie said, leaning over while gnawing on a chicken leg.

Jon was peeling a potato when something suddenly darted past behind him, startling him badly.

It was a moving skeleton. From this close, he could clearly make out every rib and joint... It carried a bass guitar in one hand, let out a strange cackle, then headed toward the front.

"Wow..." Cries rang out across the entire hall.

Besides the bassist, there was a drummer, guitarist, pianist, and lead singer. Without exception, none of them were alive—they were all skeletons.

"Welcome!" Dumbledore rose to his feet first and applauded.

Following his lead, the teachers and students began clapping together.

The skeletal lead singer bowed in each of the four directions, and then the performance began:

"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hogwarts.

"Please teach us knowledge,

"Whether we are bald old men..."

The first song they performed was actually the Hogwarts school song.

The lively feast continued for over two hours.

The Skeleton Band's final song seemed to possess a strange, rousing power that filled everyone with passion.

Ernie excitedly boasted at the feast that two Ministers of Magic had appeared in the history of the MacMillan family. Meanwhile, Hannah stubbornly dragged Jon along, wanting to point out Gryffindor's Harry Potter to him, but ultimately failed—Mr. Potter had once again not shown up for the feast. The most outrageous, without question, was Zacharias, who loudly declared that Professor Sprout was about to appoint him Hufflepuff's Seeker. His booming voice could have carried all the way from the castle to Hagrid's hut...

Jon, however, seemed barely affected by the song. When he first heard it, he did feel a powerful urge to show off, but he quickly suppressed the feeling himself...

Even Cedric Diggory, a top fourth-year student, could not avoid being affected by the music. He was bragging that forty-six girls had secretly written him love letters since childhood.

Could it be the effect of Occlumency?

Unfortunately, Jon could not be sure. All the students were celebrating together, and he could not even see where the teachers were.

In the end, Professor Dumbledore waved his wand, and everyone in the hall came to their senses. The Skeleton Band quietly departed as well.

"A wonderful evening, wasn't it?" Dumbledore said with a smile. "But now, everyone should probably return to rest!"

The students began filing out... Many of them were red-faced.

The Hufflepuff and Slytherin students all had to return to the Dungeon, and their crowds mingled together.

"Jon..." Astoria Greengrass squeezed her way over.

"What did you say after hearing that song just now?" Her face was flushed red.

Jon saw Astoria's sister, Daphne, behind her. She glanced at him, then quickly left.

"As for me..." Before Jon could decide how to answer, the crowd ahead came to a stop.

Everyone was packed around an intersection.

"What's going on? Make way..." Hufflepuff Prefect Gabriel Truman and Slytherin Prefect Gemma Farley began trying to push their way through the crowd.

Squeezing forward as much as he could, Jon saw something gleaming on the wall ahead through the mass of people.

It was on the wall between two windows, about a foot above the ground... There seemed to be writing smeared there, faintly visible beneath the burning torches.

The writing was bright red and looked grim and terrifying. The lively chatter had vanished, and all the students fell silent.

"The Chamber of Secrets has been opened... Enemies of the heir, beware." Gabriel had already pushed to the front and read it aloud softly.

"What's that hanging underneath?" a student shouted, pointing at a dark shape below the message.

There was a puddle of water on the floor. Above it, hanging upside down from a torch bracket, was a cat... Mrs. Norris, caretaker Filch's cat.

Three students stood alone in the corridor, between the crowd and the message.

"Harry..." Hannah said quietly. "And Ron, Hermione... why are you here?"

Three second-year Gryffindors... Other than for Potions class, they normally would not pass through here!

"What happened here? What happened?" Argus Filch, the caretaker of Hogwarts Castle, seemed to have been drawn over by the noise.

Then he saw Mrs. Norris. He staggered back several steps and clutched his face in horror.

"My cat! My cat! What happened to Mrs. Norris?" he screamed.

Then his bulging eyes caught sight of Harry.

"Potter, you!" he shrieked, his voice utterly miserable. "It was you... you killed my cat... you killed her..."

"No... it wasn't me... I didn't... don't talk nonsense..." Harry Potter stammered as he backed away.

Seeing his panicked expression, Jon suspected that if they brought in a detective, the case would practically be solved on the spot.

"You did this..." Filch sprayed spittle as he spoke. "You saw that letter in my office. You knew I was a Squib, so you..."

"Wait, Argus!" An aged yet resolute voice came from behind the crowd.

Albus Dumbledore had arrived at the scene, accompanied by several teachers.

The crowd quickly made way for them. He walked past Harry, Ron, and Hermione, then took Mrs. Norris down from the torch bracket.

"Come with me, Argus." Dumbledore's voice was full of authority and gravity. "And you as well, Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, Miss Granger."