THE TRUTH UNTOLD | Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban [3]

𝘅𝘅𝘃𝗶 | 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝗶𝗿𝗶𝘂𝘀 𝗯𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸

  Then it was her hair. It had gone pitch black, her eyes as dark as black diamonds, as dark as Black's soul--

  This is it, she thought, this is where I die--

  Black, as shocked and startled as she was, raised a bony finger to his lips, his grey, dull eyes pleading--

  Gwen screamed.

  She screamed louder than she'd ever screamed before, and, no longer in control of her own body, she was running-- books from the bookshelf threw themselves at Black-- he ducked, raised a hand at Gwen--

  She sprinted forward, leapt over the sofa and tackled Black to the floor--

  She had no idea what she was doing-- taking on Sirius Black, of all people-- he threw her off him almost as easily as if she were nothing-- she jumped up, suddenly unable to speak--

  'I'm sorry!' Black cried, his voice raspy and hoarse, and then he was gone, shoving open the portrait hole as Gwen continued to scream, cry, shout, no noise coming from her mouth as she watched helplessly as Black disappeared into the night.

  The common room began to fill. Gwen still could not speak, her voice had stopped working. She hadn't lost it, no, she had been charmed. The Silencing Charm-- but Black hadn't had a wand--

  'Who screamed?'

  'What're you doing?'

  The voices began to fog Gwen's mind. She was rooted to the spot, staring, tears rolling down her cheeks, at the spot where Black had disappeared.

  'I'm telling you I saw him!'

  Ron. That was Ron. Gwen forced herself to look up, her eyes fixated on his pale face, his look of fear and shock that probably mirrored hers.

  'What's all the noise?'

  'Professor McGonagall told us to go to bed!'

  Hermione was there, walking down the stairs, pulling on her dressing gown and yawning widely.

  'What's going on?' she murmured.

  'Excellent, are we carrying on?' said Fred Weasley brightly, appearing behind Hermione.

  'Everyone, back upstairs!' said percy, hurrying into the common room and pinning his Head Boy badge to his pyjamas as he spoke.

  'Perce-- Sirius Black!' said Ron faintly. 'In our dormitory! With a knife! Woke me up!'

  The common room went very still.

  'Nonsense!' said Percy, looking startled. 'You had too much to eat, Ron-- had a nightmare--' He stopped when Gwen grabbed his arm, her mouth moving but no sound coming out. She begged him to reverse the charm, but he couldn't seem to understand--

  'Gwen, what are you--'

  'Now, really, enough's enough!'

  Professor McGonagall was back. She slammed the portrait behind her as she entered the common room and stared furiously around. 'I am delighted that Gryffindor won the match, but this is getting ridiculous! Percy, I expected better of you!'

  'I certainly didn;t authorise this, Professor!' said Percy, puffing himself up. 'I was just telling them to get back to bed! My brother Ron here had a nightmare--'

  'It wasn't a nightmare!' Ron shouted.

  '-- and Gwen, here,' Percy continued, 'seems to have got herself muddled with a Silencing Charm.'

  McGonagall pulled her wand from her dressing gown and waved it almost lazily. Her face was still tight with fury.

  'Professor--' Gwen started.

  'Now, this is enough,' McGonagall stated sharply. 'Back to bed, all of you--'

  'You have to listen--' Ron cried.

  'That's enough, Weasley.'

  'But, please, Professor--'

  'Enough, Everill,'

  'Listen!'

  'Weasley!'

  'SIRIUS BLACK WAS HERE!' Gwen yelled.

  Professor McGonagall stared at her. 'Don't be ridiculous, Everill.'

  'I'm not being ridiculous, he was here, he was standing right THERE!' She shouted the last word, pointing at the spot that Fred Weasley currently occupied.

  'He had a knife!' Ron cried. 'Slashed my curtains-- I woke up and he was there!'

  McGonagall stared between the two of them. 'Would either of you care to explain to me how he could have possibly got through the portrait hole?'

  'Ask him!' Gwen said, pointing a shaking finger at the back of Sir Cadogen's picture.

  Glaring suspiciously between Gwen and Ron, Professor McGonagall pushed the portrait back open and went outside. The whole common room listened with bated breath.

  Sir Cadogen, did you just let a man enter Gryffindor Tower?'

  'Certainly, good lady!' cried Sir Cadogen.

  There was a stunned silence, both inside and outside the common room. Gwen's body trembled and beside her, Ron was shaking the same.

  'You-- you did?' said Professor McGonagall. 'But-- but the password!'

  'He had 'em!' said Sir Cadogen proudly. 'Had the whole week's, my lady! Read 'em off a little piece of paper!'

  Professor McGonagall pulled herself back through the portrait hole to face the stunned crowd. She was white as chalk.

  'Which person,' she said, her voice shaking, 'which abysmally foolish person wrote down this week's passwords and left them lying around?'

  There was utter silence, broken by the smallest, terrified squeak. Neville Longbottom, trembling from head to fluffy slippered toes, raised his hand slowly into the air.