In the end, the business with the amulets failed to escape the professors' notice. Once they learned that someone had tried to sell them, they cracked down especially hard.
At dinner, Professor Dumbledore even addressed the matter in the Great Hall, soothing the students' fears over the earlier attack.
And so, the amulet-wearing craze died out almost as soon as it began, and the students of Hogwarts returned to their usual lives—all except Hermione!
Over the next few days, every time Jerry saw Hermione, she had her head bent close to a few of her roommates, whispering about who knew what.
"Are you all right? What were you talking about with Parvati and the others just now?"
At the long table in the Great Hall, Jerry waved a hand in front of the rather distracted Hermione's eyes.
"Nothing much. There were just a few things I didn't understand, so I asked Parvati and the others!"
"Are you sure you were asking them, rather than the other way around?" Jerry gave Hermione a puzzled look.
Parvati and her friends weren't exactly the "Professor, I'm hopeless! Please carry me!" type, but their grades were a far cry from those of Hermione, the queen of overachievers.
"Never mind! We've got Professor Snape's class next. We can't be late!" Hermione flushed slightly, then pushed Jerry toward the Potions Classroom.
They had barely entered the corridor, one behind the other, when they ran into Harry and his friends. The three boys were arguing with Filch.
"Mr. Filch, I've explained this so many times already. What happened to Mrs. Norris really had nothing to do with me!"
"Harry Potter, you'd better pray I never get my hands on you, or I'll make you pay for what happened to my cat!"
As more and more students gathered