Paragraph 10 : Taps And Traps

Arthur Fosty and Douglas Poofer were notorious for not being studious. None of them had ever handed over to a Professor an essay or a homework that they had done themselves. You could not either expect from them to have read a single schoolbook. Not that they were illiterate. They had after all written with correct grammar and spelling the notes they had sent to the four friends. They just found it boring to work. Their focus was rather on flying broomsticks, buying stuff from Zonko's and drawing caricatures of their schoolfellows. One other fine day of this spring 1984, both noticed they were facing a strange problem when using the bathrooms : when they needed clean water to flow through the bathrooms' taps to wash their hands, a dark grey liquid was flowing instead. They had tried a number of taps, in a number of different bathrooms across the castle. And they had had several schoolfellows try a few of these mysterious taps. Whenever a schoolfellow was putting their hand beneath the tap, water was running clean. But if Fosty or Poofer tried the same, only the dark gray liquid would exit from the tap. They found a quick fix though. They let the water run, and after a few minutes, they were able to access again pure water. Obviously somebody had played a prank on them. During the following week, things got nastier though. Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick and Professor Snape had given them failing grades for their latest essays - or rather, the essays that other students had written for them. In all three cases, the teachers had received an essay that was blank save for the top part where they had to write their name. Initially, Arthur and Douglas suspected their essay suppliers had played a trick on them to show their discontent. Soon, however, they found out what has happened. Actually, almost everybody in the castle did know. Somebody who had been unhappy that they had picked on a fellow Slytherin had collected the ink from their essays and bewitched the bathrooms' taps so that the collected ink would flow from them when they wanted to use the taps. Arthur and Douglas had therefore let go down to the sewage system the ink that their essay suppliers had used to write the essays for them. Not only almost every student of Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, but also many Slytherins were supportive of this revenge. Arthur and Douglas were therefore still angrier than if only the members of other Houses had validated this counterstrike. The only thing that the story did not mention was the name of the hidden avenger. The most widespread guess was that a Slytherin had done it. For it would have been far easier for a Slytherin than for a member of another House to get access to the essays at the right time. Arthur and Douglas envisioned going to McGonagall, Flitwick and Snape, to tell them they had been duped, but the reputation of the two Slytherins implied that all three Professors would be happy to give them for once the mark they deserved. Moreover, they had no proof that the ink had been removed after they had handed over the essays to the Professors, and it would have been ludicrous to accuse any of the three Professors that they could have been negligent in keeping the essays safe. Especially Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape. If the ink had been removed before they handed over the essays, it was their responsibility. Of course Arthur and Douglas suspected Ann, who indeed felt vindicated in her assessment of the personality of the two boys, and who probably had had the strongest motive to act. Yet, even Arthur and Douglas, who were not overly smart and subtle, doubted very much that Ann had been responsible for their latest woes, because she was not at all gloating about the event.