Months passed with absolutely no sign of Myrtle. There were no sightings of her anywhere, despite Mr and Mrs Meek putting up a poster in the window of the library.

Of course, they wanted their daughter back safely. Life just wasn’t the same without her, even though now they didn’t have to carry the great lump to school. Now they didn’t have to buy a tonne of chocolate every week. Now they could read their beloved poetry books in peace. Now they could wake up in the morning to the birds singing in the trees rather than the sound of Myrtle howling. Now they could watch things other than CARTOONS on the television.