Sad Nick

Filch whipped his head around. When he saw that the soles of Robin's shoes were as clean as if they had just come out of the box, his tightly knitted brows eased a fraction.

He muttered, "It's no use. Those troublemakers won't read the signs, much less follow the rules. Their feet ought to be chained up and hung from the ceiling overnight. Then they'd learn."

Corporal punishment was out of the question!

According to Fred and George, Filch kept plenty of chains and burlap in his office. If Albus Dumbledore ever gave the word, he would put those "brutal" punishments into practice at once. No wonder the students feared and hated him!

Several minutes passed, and Filch had cleaned only five meters. He worked so carefully and thoroughly that the floor could have served as a mirror!

"Filch, those muddy footprints and water drops are unpleasant to look at. I need to cross this corridor to get to the library, and I don't want to dirty my new shoes, so..."

"So what?"

Filch glared at Robin with bloodshot eyes.

"So... I'd like all this mess to disappear!"

Robin drew his wand and cast Scourgify. In the blink of an eye, the corridor was clean and tidy.

Filch stared at the wand, jealousy and anger churning in his eyes before giving way to something else. "Thank you, Robin Sear. You didn't have to do that for me. Come on, there's a lot more work ahead!"

Few people offered to help Filch, and few gave Mrs. Norris dried fish. In Filch's eyes, Robin was probably the only student at the school who didn't need chaining up.

Sure enough, a trail of muddy footprints and water drops ran up the stairs at the end of the corridor. Mrs. Norris rubbed against Robin's