The feast of Halloween was once again incredible. If Laura had jeans, she would have to unbutton her top button. As usual, the fifth years Hufflepuff had lit a candle for Morgan to blow. Their birthday was on the 26th and they had always said that a feast was enough for a birthday party. Especially Hogwarts' Halloween feast. So like each year, they celebrated Morgan a few days later, on the 31th. Ingrid had come and eat next to her partner, the both of them giggling together and casting long loving eyes to each other.
The fifth years were slouching in the common room, too full and sleepy to get up and actually go to sleep. That was when professor Sprout entered the room.
"Prefects! Gather every Hufflepuff and accompany them into the Great Hall. Quickly." The look on Sprout's face didn't made Laura and her friends wait any longer. They all got up to their feet, Cedric and Morgan the firsts of them, and went to every dormitories to wake up the students. They all made their way back in the Great Hall and found the Gryffindor students already there. Laura walked to the twins to ask them what was happening when the two other Houses entered the room too.
"Sirius Black is in the castle!" said Fred enthusiastically. Laura's face whitened.
"No, that's not true." she chuckled.
"You're that scared?"
"Pardon? Ghosts, okay. Spiders, okay. Bangshee, borderline but okay. But psychopaths? Absolutely not." She violently shook her head from right to left.
"Calm down, we're in Hogwarts, surrounded by teachers. He won't get to us." shrugged Fred. But that didn't calm Laura down. She had read the Daily Prophet, his story, why he had been sent in Azkaban, and that he was the first to escape. He had laughed after killing those people. He was clearly deranged. And he was in the castle.
Dumbledore clapped his hands and the Great Hall tables let place to hundredth of sleeping bags and pillows, leaving the students with Percy Weasley bellowing to them to get into their sleeping bags.
"Wanna stay with us? I'll protect you, I swear." George bowed and Laura felt herself relax.
"Oh, dear prince charming, defend my honour by staying at my side and snoring loudly."
"I don't snore." he held up his hands in defence.
When Laura went to get her sleeping bag, she was joined by Marina and Peggy.
"Morgan stays with Ingrid." Peggy explained. "And since the boys stay together, Marina wants to sleep with Fred."
Marina cheeks flashed apple-red in seconds "That's not what I said!"
They all placed their respective sleeping bags in a big circle and slid into them when the lights went off. They didn't sleep, though. And Percy went to their group once or twice to tell his younger brothers to stop cracking jokes and let the others sleep. He was clearly fooling himself; no one was sleeping. The students were either too scared or too curious, but very few found sleep before the light of the early morning cracked the night.
When the group had stopped chatting, Laura tried to sleep, in vain. When she opened her eyes, she saw George on his back, eyes open.
"George?" Laura whispered very quietly.
"Look at the ceiling."
Laura turned onto her back and looked at the sky. It was full of stars, the background very slowly changing from dark blue to light greyish purple.
"It's beautiful." Laura breathed.
"Why are you so afraid of Black?" George asked.
"I don't fear weird animals or mythical creatures. I'm afraid of people being so out of their mind, they cannot control what they're doing, and hurting others. And I think Black is one of them. Like his brain tells him to do stuff, and he just does them. Whatever if it's killing twelve people, or finding it funny."
George slid his hand out of his sleeping bag and reached near Laura. "You can hold my hand if that can comfort you."
Laura smiled. "Thanks. You're sweet." She took hold of his fingers and closed her eyes again.
In the morning, her hand was on top of his, lazily abandoned there.