Miss Brightside

Chapter 8

   After dinner, the four friends had made their way up to the Gryffindor common room, their stomachs full and feeling closer than before. As they approached the portrait hole, however, they were halted by a crowd gathered in front of it.

   "What's going on?" Harry asked. 

   "Probably Neville's forgotten the password again," Ron grumbled from the step below Harry and Addi.

   "Hey!" An offended voice rang from behind Ron. They turned their heads to see Neville.

   "Oh, yeah," Ron said, giving an awkward smile and turning back around.

   "'Scuse me! I'm Head Boy!" Was the first thing Addi heard from ahead. 'Percy' she thought while moving up the steps to where Fred and George were standing. "Get back, all of you. No one is to enter the dormitory until it has been fully searched."

   "The Fat Lady, she's gone!" George told the younger girl as she appeared next to him. Fred looked down at her, sending her a small smile which she returned.

   Finally, Addison was able to get a glimpse of the painting that was now empty of the opera singer. Three large rips ran diagonally across the painting, making the stone wall behind visible. A dreadful feeling washed over Addi at the sight of it, and she reached over to hold Fred's hand for comfort. The older boy jumped lightly when a tiny, cold hand slid into his own, but held on tight when he saw that it was Addi, a light blush resting on his cheeks. 

   The whispering was make the young blonde anxious, Percy was trying to send the students who weren't in Gryffindor back to their own house with little luck. Professor Dumbledore pushed through the crowd of students only to stop upon seeing the empty portrait. 

   "Mr. Filch. Round up the ghosts. Tell them to search every painting in the castle for the Fat Lady," Dumbledore told the caretaker, who was looking out at the other paintings.

    "There will be no need for ghosts professor," Filch muttered, pointing a crooked finger at a painting on the landing above them.

    All at once, the students ran up the landing, clearing a spot for the headmaster as well. Fred tugged Addi along as they scurried up the stairs. Dumbledore stopped in front of a picture of some hippos grazing in a field, Fred and Addi a step behind him.

"Dear lady, who did this to you?" Dumbledore asked her as she quivered behind a large hippo. Her head popped up over the creature, and she sobbed dramatically.

"Eyes like the devil, he's got. Soul as dark as his name. It's him, Headmaster. The one they all talk about. He's here, somewhere in the castle. Sirius Black!" Then she dissolved into more dramatic sobs, sinking behind the hippo in fear. Hushed talking erupted from the surrounding students as Professor Dumbledore turned to Filch.

"Secure the castle, Mr. Filch," He spoke to the caretaker, then shouted to the rest of them, "the rest of you, to the Great Hall."

Fred tugged Addi back down the stairs, pausing when she stopped next to Harry, who was staring at the painting as people pushed past him.

"Come on, Harry. We need to go," Addi spoke desperately, grabbing her best friend's hand and tugging him along. Fred glanced at their entwined hands and glared slightly, dodging people in order to catch up with his twin.

~~~

   That night , all the students were herded into the Great Hall; it was cleared of the four house tables and sleeping bags littered the ground. Addi was tugged toward a sleeping bag  in between Harry and Hermione, Ron on the other side of Harry. Percy had shouted 'lights out' a few moments prior. It had been a few hours, and most students were alseep. Addison Tyler was not one of them.