Ch. 382A Lively Day at Hogwarts
Ron searched Hogwarts all day for Scabbers and grew convinced that outsiders or Vaughn had taken him, while Harry tried to calm him. At the welcoming feast, Harry and Ron saw the transformed Great Hall, and Draco covertly alerted Harry to Lucius Malfoy and two unfamiliar pure-blood guests seated at the staff tables.
- Ron woke Harry and the other boys to report that Scabbers had vanished, then accused the visiting foreigners of taking him.
- Hermione dismissed Ron’s theory, explaining that McGonagall had awakened the castle statues to guard its entrances and that Fred and George had been caught wandering at night.
- Professor Sprout and Hagrid explained that Dumbledore had asked them to bring flowers for the Great Hall, and Hagrid suggested asking Vaughn’s cat to help find Scabbers.
- Harry, Ron, and their friends searched the castle without success, while Ron increasingly suspected the foreigners, Vaughn, and other Gryffindors.
- Harry and Ron entered the lavishly decorated Great Hall, where Draco mocked them and claimed his father and two pure-blood families had lent the decorations.
- Draco signaled Harry to notice Lucius Malfoy and two strangers at the staff seating, and one of the unfamiliar wizards turned to stare at Harry.