First, he stopped by the Owlery and sent letters to several potion shops in Diagon Alley, inquiring whether they had Bicorn horns and Boomslang skin fragments, and asking about the prices of the two ingredients.
It took quite a while, and by the time he hurried back to the castle, night had already begun to fall.
As soon as he stepped into the corridor in front of the Great Hall, the sweet and enticing aroma of roasted pumpkin hit his nose.
"That smells wonderful!" Jon instinctively drew in a deep breath.
Inside the Great Hall, the place was brilliantly lit and festively decorated with candles and glowing ornaments. Bats fluttered along the walls and ceiling, while even more spun overhead like drifting storm clouds. Huge pumpkins had been carved into lanterns—some large enough to seat three people inside.
Just like the feast at the start of the term, the four long tables were packed with students from all four houses.
"Jon, over here!" Hannah Abbott waved at him enthusiastically.
He quickly made his way over and sat down between her and Ernie Macmillan.
"Long time no see, Jon!"
"Yeah, it's been a while."
As they exchanged greetings, plates piled high with delicious food suddenly appeared in front of them.
"I heard Professor Dumbledore invited a skeleton band to perform later!" Ernie leaned in, gnawing on a chicken leg as he spoke.
Jon was peeling a potato when something suddenly flashed past behind him, making him jump.
It was a moving skeleton, so close that he could clearly see its ribs and spine. It held a bass guitar in its bony hands, let out a strange laugh, and made its way to the front of the hall.
"Whoa…" Gasps and screams echoed through the hall.
Besides the bassist, there was a drummer, a guitarist, a pianist, and a lead singer. None of them were living beings—they were all skeletons.
"Welcome!" Dumbledore stood up first and applauded.
Following his lead, the teachers and students joined in with applause.
The skeletal frontman gave a theatrical bow in four directions before the band launched into their first song:
"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hogwarts.
Teach us something, please,
Whether we're bald old men..."
Their first song was, surprisingly, the Hogwarts school song.
...
The lively banquet lasted more than two hours.
The skeleton band's final song had an oddly stirring effect that filled everyone with excitement.
Ernie excitedly bragged that the Macmillan family had produced two Ministers of Magic. Hannah kept tugging Jon's sleeve, trying to point out Harry Potter of Gryffindor to him, but in the end, she failed—Mr. Potter was once again absent from the feast. The most outrageous, however, was Zacharias, loudly declaring that Professor Sprout was about to appoint him as Hufflepuff's Seeker. His booming voice could probably be heard all the way from the castle to Hagrid's hut...
Jon, however, didn't seem much affected by the music. At first, he felt a strong urge to show off, but he quickly suppressed the impulse.
Even Cedric Diggory, the standout fourth-year student, wasn't immune. He was busy boasting that no fewer than forty-six girls had secretly written him love letters over the years.
Perhaps this was a side effect of Occlumency?
Unfortunately, Jon couldn't be sure. The students were all caught up in the excitement, and he couldn't even see where the teachers were.
Eventually, Professor Dumbledore waved his wand, and everyone in the hall seemed to return to normal. The skeleton band slipped away quietly.
"What a marvelous evening, wouldn't you say?" Dumbledore smiled. "But now, I think it's time for everyone to head back and rest!"
The students began filing out… many of them red-faced.
The Hufflepuff and Slytherin students all headed down to the basement, their groups mixing together.
"Jon…" Astoria Greengrass squeezed her way over.
"What did you say just now, after the music started?" Her face was bright red.
Jon noticed her sister, Daphne, standing behind her. Daphne shot him a glance, then quickly walked away.
"I… I…" Before Jon could think of an answer, the crowd ahead suddenly stopped.
Everyone had bunched up at a hallway intersection.
"What's going on? Move aside…" Hufflepuff Prefect Gabriel Truman and Slytherin Prefect Gemma Farley began pushing through the crowd.
Jon tried to squeeze forward and managed to catch a glimpse of something glowing on the wall.
Between two windows, about a foot above the floor, there appeared to be writing faintly visible under the flickering torchlight.
The letters were bright red, looking ominous and frightening. The lively chatter had died down, and the corridor fell into silence.
"The Chamber of Secrets has been opened… Enemies of the heir, beware." Gabriel, now at the front, read aloud in a low voice.
"What's that hanging down there?" a student shouted, pointing at a dark shape beneath the writing.
There was a pool of water on the floor. Hanging upside down above it from a torch bracket was a cat… Mrs. Norris, Filch's cat.
Three students stood alone in the corridor between the crowd and the wall.
"Harry…" Hannah whispered. "Ron, Hermione… What are you doing here?"
Three second-year Gryffindor students… They usually had no reason to be in this part of the castle, except for Potions class!
...
"What's going on here? What's happened?" Hogwarts caretaker Argus Filch, apparently drawn by the noise, rushed over.
Then he saw Mrs. Norris. He stumbled back a few steps, clutching his face in horror.
"My cat! My cat! What happened to Mrs. Norris?" he cried.
At that moment, his bulging eyes landed on Harry.
"Potter, you!" he shrieked, his voice full of anguish. "It was you… You killed my cat… You killed her…"
"No… I didn't… I didn't… Don't say that…" Harry Potter stammered as he backed away.
Seeing his panicked face, Jon thought that if a real detective were present, Harry would probably be a prime suspect already.
"It was you…" Filch spat. "You saw that letter in my office, you know I'm a Squib, so you…"
"Wait, Argus!" A deep, firm voice came from the back of the crowd.
Albus Dumbledore had arrived, accompanied by several other teachers.
The students quickly parted to let them through. Dumbledore walked past Harry, Ron, and Hermione and gently took Mrs. Norris down from the torch bracket.
"Come with me, Argus," Dumbledore's voice was calm but full of authority. "And you three—Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, Miss Granger."