At that, Neville drooped like a frostbitten eggplant. He was thinking that even Dean Thomas, who spent every day playing with him, had something special about him. What could Neville, who was so ordinary, careless, and unlucky, offer? His pure-blood status, and that was about it.
"Fred Weasley and George Weasley didn't make the list? That's a surprise!"
The speaker was a girl with golden curls.
"Uh, those two... I sat next to Fred Weasley last night, and I caught a glimpse of his answers. He wasn't taking it seriously at all. He wrote down fireworks, cannons, weird-flavored beans, prank horror cards, and stuff like that. If he'd made the list, something would definitely be fishy!"
"Fishy? The fishiest thing is that Robin Sear and Hermione Granger didn't make the list! One ranks first in their year and the other second, and they get top marks in every subject. Something's fishy, all right!"
Ernie stroked his chin as he spoke.
"There's nothing fishy about it. Hermione and I wrote the questions. We only entered the Riddle competition to make up the numbers!"
A deep, magnetic voice came from beside him, making Ernie jump. Once he saw who it was, he hurriedly asked, "Robin, that Ravenclaw boy last night—Harry was behind it, wasn't he? I don't believe those lousy excuses. How could it be a coincidence every time? He's always the first to reach the scene. That alone links him to the Chamber Monster. Maybe he rushed up to the fifth floor last night to tip the Monster off. Robin, take my advice and stay away from him before—"
"Before what?"
Harry had just entered the Entrance Hall when he heard someone bad-mouthing him. He strode over and confronted Ernie.
"N-nothing! I'm hungry. I—I need to get to the table!"
After