"There's no need for ghosts, Professor," Filch replied. "The Fat Lady is there." He pointed up to a painting, and there she was hiding behind a hog. All of the students ran up the stairs towards her.
"Hey! Mind where you're going!" Percy shouted as people clamored around him. "Slow down! You listen! I'm Head Boy! Come back here!"
"Keep moving!" Dumbledore said, following the students upwards.
"Make way. Make way! Go, go, go!" Filch shouted.
"Dear Lady," Dumbledore said softly, "who did this to you?
"Eyes like the devil, he's got," she said between sobs. "And a 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!"
As the name left her lips, I felt my chest tighten. Everyone began muttering to their neighbors. I stood there in total shock as my breathing picked up.
"Secure the castle Mister Filch," Dumbledore commanded. "The rest of you, to the Great Hall."
"Harper, you okay?" Ron asked, noticing my pale complexion.
"Y-yeah," I stuttered, tearing my gaze away from her and toward Ron. He squeezed my hand reassuringly as we made our way to the Great Hall.
We all clamored down the steps and into the Great Hall. McGonagall was there, removing the tables and placing sleeping bags all over the floor. People began claiming their bags as Percy yelled at everyone to get to bed before he turned out the lights.
"Sirius Black...in the castle," I said as the four of us stood there.
"How on earth did he get in?" Hermione wondered.
"No idea," I replied, still in shock.
"2 minutes!" Percy shouted.
We all crawled into our sleeping bags and I tried to sleep, but all I could do is stare at the ceiling.
"I've searched the Astronomy Tower and the Owlery, sir," Filch said as he entered the room. "But there's nothing there." I stayed quiet and pretended to be asleep as I listened to their conversation.
"Thank you," Dumbledore said.
"Third floor is clear, too, sir," another professor added.
"Very good," Dumbledore replied.
"And I've done the dungeons, Headmaster," Snape said, "No sign of Black, nor anywhere else in the castle."
"I didn't really expect him to linger," Dumbledore said.
"Remarkable feat, don't you think?" Snape questioned. "To enter Hogwarts Castle on one's own, completely undetected."
"Quite remarkable, yes," Dumbledore agreed.
"Any theories on how he might have managed it?" Snape asked.
"Many. Each as unlikely as the next."
"You may recall, prior to the start of term, I did express concerns about your appointment of Professor Lupin..." Snape went on.
"Not a single professor inside this castle would help Sirius Black to enter it. No, I'm quite convinced the castle is safe. And I'm more than willing to send the students back to their houses," Dumbledore concluded.
"What about Potter? Should he be warned?" Snape asked.
"Perhaps," Dumbledore responded, "But for now, let him sleep. For in dreams, we enter a world that'd entirely our own. Let him swim in the deepest ocean. Or glide over the highest cloud."
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golden quartet | ron weasley
Fanfiction[*NEW*] Harper Potter was there that night her parents were murdered and her brother was almost killed. But she wasn't the one that survived the killing curse, so most people don't even know she exists. She spends her years in the shadow of the gold...
year 3 | chapter 4
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