Neville parted ways with them on the second floor and headed down another corridor to find Professor McGonagall.
After helping Ron carry Filch up to the fourth floor, Harry turned and raced back down the stairs toward the exchange group's quarters on the third floor to find Hermione.
"Stay in the Hospital Wing, Ron! Hermione and I will come find you later!"
Harry shouted, and the portraits whose sleep he had disturbed immediately began cursing at his retreating back.
Filch had been attacked. Without a doubt, Malfoy had done it.
And Malfoy had taken the wand Harry had hidden in Filch's office!
Everything was exactly as Harry had expected. Malfoy intended to find a way to get the wand out of Hogwarts while Professor Breen was away!
But how would Malfoy do it?
As he ran through the corridor with archways on either side, Harry cast several hurried glances toward the school gates.
Filch was the castle caretaker, and he managed the keys to both the castle and the school gates. It was possible that Malfoy had already gotten the keys and swaggered right out through the gates.
The thought made Harry even more anxious.
Apparition was a skill young wizards only began learning in their sixth year. Like Harry, Malfoy could not Apparate yet.
That meant that even if he left the school, he could not get very far—unless Voldemort's lackeys were lying in wait outside the school to receive him!
Skipping several steps at a time, Harry turned into another corridor.
Where would Malfoy go?
That was hard to say. It depended on what Voldemort had instructed him to do.
Hogwarts looked far more weathered at night than it did during the day.
The cold, hard stones piecing together the corridors, the torch brackets steeped in verdigris, the