At dinner in the Great Hall, Jerry saw Harry and his two friends and clearly heard them complaining at length about Professor McGonagall. Just as Jerry had predicted, no matter how many times Harry applied, how earnestly he pleaded, or what reasons he came up with, Professor McGonagall refused to budge. She would not allow him to go to Hogsmeade.
Laughter and cheerful chatter filled the Great Hall. Almost every student was excitedly discussing their plans for Hogsmeade, while Harry could only listen quietly from the sidelines, feeling helpless and dejected.
Seeing that Harry was in low spirits, Ron tried to cheer him up. "We still have the feast, after all," he said with an encouraging smile. "You know, the Halloween feast. It's a big event in the evening."
Harry forced a faint smile. "Yeah," he replied, though he still sounded distinctly miserable. "It does sound nice."
The Halloween feast was certainly something to look forward to, but what Harry really wanted was to spend a pleasant day in Hogsmeade before attending it, just like everyone else. That would make the experience all the better, all the more memorable. No matter how the others tried to comfort him, his disappointment refused to fade.
"Dean Thomas is brilliant at copying handwriting. We could have him copy one of the Dursleys' signatures on the permission form. How about that?" Ron suggested.
Harry shook his head firmly, rejecting the idea. "No, Ron, that won't work," he explained. "I already told Professor McGonagall that Uncle Vernon hadn't signed it."
Ron and Neville then thought of the Invisibility Cloak, reasoning that Harry could wear it to sneak out. Hermione immediately shot down the suggestion, reminding them, "That won't work at all. Dumbledore said Dementors can see through Invisibility Cloaks."
After spending ages discussing bad ideas