Chapter 142: Something Happened Again
After returning to the dormitory, Harry found himself too preoccupied to engage in a game of wizard chess with Ron. Ron, sensing Harry's mood, was at a loss for words. Unable to persuade Harry, Ron reluctantly sought out Neville as a chess partner instead.
Meanwhile, Harry lay on his bed, pulling the quilt over his head, his thoughts consumed by the strange sound he had heard.
It was unlike Peeves' typical antics. Harry had an unsettling feeling that this was something entirely unrelated to him.
Observing Ron playing chess with Neville, Harry bit his lip, quietly slipping out of the dormitory.
Returning to the fifth floor, where he had first heard the sound, Harry pressed his ear against the wall. As he descended to the second floor, the noise resurfaced.
"I'm very hungry!"
"Come... come... come – here I am..."
Desperately seeking the source of the disturbance, Harry pressed against the wall, following the sound until he reached the fourth floor.
Suddenly, a piercing scream echoed through the corridor—a cat's cry.
Knowing Mrs. Norris was the sole occupant of the fourth floor at this hour, Harry hurried towards the commotion.
Turning a corner, Harry was met with a shocking sight.
A pool of blood stained the ground, and a ghost with a stony expression floated before him.
Harry recognized him as Bloody Baron, the Slytherin ghost feared by Peeves and Nearly Headless Nick. Baron often spoke to himself in the Astronomy Tower, his empty gaze unsettling those who crossed his path.
But now, his eyes seemed even more vacant.
Harry was alarmed to find Baron suspended in the air, unnaturally still, lacking the ethereal transparency of ghosts, but rather appearing gray-white.
"Harry Potter! What are you up to!" Filch's voice, drawn by the commotion, reached them as he dashed over, immediately recognizing Harry. Their history was rife with conflicts, owing to Harry's frequent nocturnal excursions under his Invisibility Cloak.
"I swear, I didn't touch him, Mr. Filch!" Harry protested, hastening to explain his arrival upon hearing Mrs. Norris's distressing cries, only to find Baron in such a gruesome state.
"You're lying!" Filch roared, his eyes darkening at the sight of the blood pooling on the ground, nearly losing his balance.
"What have you done to Mrs. Norris!" Filch confronted Harry with a vice-like grip on his arm, his voice quivering with rage.
"Let go, Filch! Release me!" Harry demanded, fearing Filch might fracture his arm in his fervor.
Filch's iron grip relented as Snape's authoritative voice resonated from the stairwell entrance. Snape, assessing Harry's unharmed state, turned his attention to Filch.
"As a staff member, you should refrain from such treatment of a student..."
"He killed my cat! He murdered Mrs. Norris!" Filch's usual deference to Snape waned in light of the tragedy. With Mrs. Norris missing and only bloodstains left behind, suspicion fell squarely on Harry.
"I demand his expulsion! Harry Potter! He's responsible for my cat's death!" Filch pointed an accusatory finger at Harry, his resolve unyielding.
"I swear, it wasn't me! I just got here! I heard Mrs. Norris scream..." Harry vehemently denied Filch's accusations, his voice tinged with desperation.
"You're lying! You killed her to cover your nightly antics!" Filch's suspicion stemmed from Mrs. Norris's keen sense of smell, which had led her to Harry on numerous occasions, even under his Invisibility Cloak.
"I'm innocent! I had nothing to do with it!" Harry pleaded, his protestations falling on deaf ears.
The heated argument attracted a crowd, drawing the attention of many students who approached in curiosity and apprehension. They gasped at the sight of the blood-stained floor and the floating ghostly figure of Nearly Headless Nick.
"What's going on here?"
Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore hurried over, accompanied by Artel, Hermione, and Nagini.
They had been discussing upcoming spells in Nagini's office when the commotion reached their ears.
Concerned about a potential accident, Nagini stopped a passing student to inquire. Learning of the incident on the fourth floor, Nagini promptly summoned Artel and Hermione to investigate.
Dumbledore regarded the spectral Baron with a solemn expression, exhaling softly.
"Filch, Harry couldn't have done this. He lacks the magical ability to transfigure a ghost like this..."
McGonagall nodded in agreement:
"Indeed, petrifying a ghost... even I couldn't achieve that."
"Even if he didn't do it, he's surely involved!" Filch retorted, gesturing accusingly at Harry. "Why were you on the fourth floor? What were you up to? Where are your friends? And that Weasley boy?"
Harry faltered, feeling the weight of Filch's scrutiny.
"I... I was just... taking a walk," Harry stammered. "Ron was resting in the dormitory, and I was bored..."
"A walk? What business do you have on the fourth floor? It's deserted up there! I suspect you were up to no good, and Mrs. Norris caught you in the act, so you silenced her!" Filch exclaimed, turning to Dumbledore. "I demand he be expelled! He's been wandering about day and night, flagrantly flouting school rules, and now this..."
Dumbledore furrowed his brow, scanning the scene before turning his gaze back to Harry.
"Harry, tell me, did you see what happened here?"
"I... I was on the third floor, and then I heard Mrs. Norris scream. When I arrived, I found her like this," Harry explained.
Dumbledore contemplated, then motioned to Snape, who approached and examined the bloodstain, sniffing it cautiously.
"It's cat blood, fresh... likely from Mrs. Norris," Snape concluded.
Filch, overwhelmed, slumped against the wall.
Snape drew his wand, conjuring a spell that revealed a set of footprints on the ground. Mrs. Norris's prints abruptly halted near the bloodstain before vanishing altogether. Other prints belonged to the curious students and professors, along with Harry and Filch.
"What more proof do you need? No one else is here but him!" Filch accused, glaring at Harry.
Harry, feeling the weight of suspicion, shook his head earnestly:
"I'm telling the truth..."
"Harry Potter, take out your wand," Snape ordered suddenly, catching Harry off guard. Harry complied, and Snape cast a Flashback Charm to inspect Harry's wand for any recent spells. Finding nothing, Snape nodded to Dumbledore.
"It's clear Harry didn't do this," Dumbledore reassured Filch, addressing the onlookers. "Let's return to our activities. I advise everyone to refrain from wandering at night and to exercise caution..."
....
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