After an entire afternoon of searching, the professors came up empty-handed.
Still, out of caution, dinner that day was delivered straight to each House's common room.
Over the next few days, fear spread rapidly among the students.
On Halloween, almost none of the students had given the matter much thought.
After all, the victim had only been a cat—and not just any cat, but the cat belonging to Filch, the caretaker they all hated: Mrs. Norris, who had caught so many students sneaking around at night.
As long as they weren't in danger themselves, everyone felt it had nothing to do with them. Some even watched the whole thing for entertainment.
After all, standing at a distance and mocking poor Filch as he prowled the corridor looking for the culprit was an activity most students found rather enjoyable.
But now things were different. A student had been attacked.
He was only a first-year, and he was Muggle-born, but that was enough to make everyone afraid.
If Muggle-born students could be attacked today, would Half-bloods be next?
So far, the victims had only been petrified. Would someone end up dead next time? Or be tortured before they died?
Nobody knew, and nobody had an answer.
When disaster might strike them personally, most people panicked.
Harley found the situation very familiar.
Back when the Evernight Goddess had targeted the Mithraic Order, the Order had begged the Demoness Sect for help.
But the Demoness Sect had ignored them completely. They had a True Deity on their side and were far too pleased with themselves, acting as though they were above everyone else.
Later, the Mithraic Order managed to survive, more or less, by cozying up to Intis's intelligence service. Then it was the Demoness Sect's turn to be targeted by the Red Gloves.