(no subject)
McGonagall surveyed the small group of students and she heard the sound of disorder, hot on the tail of fear. "What seems to be the problem, Miss Granger?" she asked, doing her best to look authoritative in a nightgown.
"It's, well." Hermione grimaced. "It's that boy. In our classes." She looked hesitantly at Ron and Harry.
"Yeah," Dean said. "He won't let us alone. He's blo- he's really weird."
"What boy?" McGonagall asked.
"It'd be one thing if he just took classes but he was in my bed," said Ron, a look of abject horror on his face.
"What boy?" she asked again. "What's his name?"
"Erm. Well. That's just it. We don't actually... know," said Hermione.
"Miss Granger, could you be any more specific? What House is he in?"
"Gryffindor!" said Seamus. "He dresses like one, anyway."
"And he knows the password," Neville said. "But I didn't write it down this time I swear," he added.
"He'd better not have been in the girs' dormitory, that would be... eugh," said Lavender. "Hermione, you don't suppose he was, do you?"
"I don't know," said Hermione.
"OhnoIjustremembered my necklace was missing!" Parvati said, a shocked hand at her mouth.
"Your necklace oh no he must have taken it!" Lavender squealed.
"Oh no."
"That isn't the poi -"
McGonagall cut off Hermione's hissed remark with a wave of her hand. "What does this boy look like? When did he show up?"
"Er." Hermione bit her lip. "He's black, and he's sort of, well, fat, and he -"
"He was in all of our classes since third year," said Ron. "Harry and me, he was in all of them."
"About this tall," Harry said, holding up a hand.
"And he knew the answers to everything," Hermione said. "I mean everything." The others nodded.
"Once I was about to answer a question in Herbology and he said it first," said Neville.
"Yeah, and he knew everything about banshees, too," said Seamus.
"Professor Snape wouldn't call on me in Potions so he said everything that I was going to," Hermione said. "The same words and everything!"
"So weird," muttered Ron.
"And now he's in the dorms," Harry said worriedly. "...you don't think he's some sort of -"
"Some sort of spy?" Hermione asked him, frowning. "You wouldn't think so, I mean, he's only our age, he's a student at Hogwarts."
"Well, there are no records of any other boys in your year," said McGonagall, looking concerned. "And we didn't get any O.W.L. results for anyone else. Did he take them?"
"...I don't know," Hermione said, worried. "But he uses the stupidest metaphors," she added, somewhat randomly. Ron snickered. "Well he does! Who ever tried to catch smoke with their bare hands, anyway? Nobody I know."
McGonagall frowned. Albus had been afraid this would happen - that Voldemort would send a Legilimens to the school. And so he'd checked the background of every Defense teacher backwards and forwards, to make sure that their loyalty was either absolute or that their actual abilities were so minute as to be unable to manage such magic. But they'd never thought to search the student body...
"I will tell the Headmaster to have the grounds searched at once," she told her students. "Now everyone excepting Prefects, please, go to bed. We at least know he isn't here."
"It's, well." Hermione grimaced. "It's that boy. In our classes." She looked hesitantly at Ron and Harry.
"Yeah," Dean said. "He won't let us alone. He's blo- he's really weird."
"What boy?" McGonagall asked.
"It'd be one thing if he just took classes but he was in my bed," said Ron, a look of abject horror on his face.
"What boy?" she asked again. "What's his name?"
"Erm. Well. That's just it. We don't actually... know," said Hermione.
"Miss Granger, could you be any more specific? What House is he in?"
"Gryffindor!" said Seamus. "He dresses like one, anyway."
"And he knows the password," Neville said. "But I didn't write it down this time I swear," he added.
"He'd better not have been in the girs' dormitory, that would be... eugh," said Lavender. "Hermione, you don't suppose he was, do you?"
"I don't know," said Hermione.
"OhnoIjustremembered my necklace was missing!" Parvati said, a shocked hand at her mouth.
"Your necklace oh no he must have taken it!" Lavender squealed.
"Oh no."
"That isn't the poi -"
McGonagall cut off Hermione's hissed remark with a wave of her hand. "What does this boy look like? When did he show up?"
"Er." Hermione bit her lip. "He's black, and he's sort of, well, fat, and he -"
"He was in all of our classes since third year," said Ron. "Harry and me, he was in all of them."
"About this tall," Harry said, holding up a hand.
"And he knew the answers to everything," Hermione said. "I mean everything." The others nodded.
"Once I was about to answer a question in Herbology and he said it first," said Neville.
"Yeah, and he knew everything about banshees, too," said Seamus.
"Professor Snape wouldn't call on me in Potions so he said everything that I was going to," Hermione said. "The same words and everything!"
"So weird," muttered Ron.
"And now he's in the dorms," Harry said worriedly. "...you don't think he's some sort of -"
"Some sort of spy?" Hermione asked him, frowning. "You wouldn't think so, I mean, he's only our age, he's a student at Hogwarts."
"Well, there are no records of any other boys in your year," said McGonagall, looking concerned. "And we didn't get any O.W.L. results for anyone else. Did he take them?"
"...I don't know," Hermione said, worried. "But he uses the stupidest metaphors," she added, somewhat randomly. Ron snickered. "Well he does! Who ever tried to catch smoke with their bare hands, anyway? Nobody I know."
McGonagall frowned. Albus had been afraid this would happen - that Voldemort would send a Legilimens to the school. And so he'd checked the background of every Defense teacher backwards and forwards, to make sure that their loyalty was either absolute or that their actual abilities were so minute as to be unable to manage such magic. But they'd never thought to search the student body...
"I will tell the Headmaster to have the grounds searched at once," she told her students. "Now everyone excepting Prefects, please, go to bed. We at least know he isn't here."