Dumbledore sent all the Gryffindors along with me back to the Great Hall, where we were joined ten minutes later by the students from Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin, who all looked extremely confused.
"The teachers and I need to conduct a thorough search of the castle," Professor Dumbledore told them as McGonagall and Flitwick closed all doors into the hall. "I'm afraid that, for your own safety, you will have to spend the night here. I want the prefects to stand guard over the entrances to the hall and I am leaving the Head Boy and Girl in charge. Any disturbance should be reported to me immediately," he added to Percy, who was looking immensely proud and important. "Send word with one of the ghosts."
Dumbledore paused, about to leave the hall, and said, "Oh, yes, you'll be needing..."
One casual wave of his wand and the long tables flew to the edges of the hall and stood themselves against the walls; another wave, and the floor was covered with hundreds of squashy purple sleeping bags.
"Sleep well," said Dumbledore, closing the door behind him. The hall immediately began to buzz excitedly; the Gryffindors were telling the rest of the school what had just happened.
"Everyone into their sleeping bags!" shouted Percy. "Come on, now, no more talking! Lights out in ten minutes!"
"C'mon," Ron said to Harry, Hermione, and me; we seized four sleeping bags and dragged them into a corner.
"Do you think Black's still in the castle?" Hermione whispered anxiously.
"Dumbledore obviously thinks he might be," said Ron.
"It's very lucky he picked tonight, you know," said Hermione as we climbed fully dressed into our sleeping bags and propped themselves on their elbows to talk. "The one night we weren't in the tower..."
"I reckon he's lost track of time, being on the run," said Ron. "Didn't realize it was Halloween. Otherwise he'd have come bursting in here."
"Or maybe that was a distraction to get everyone in here." I suggested, making Hermione look around in fear and shuddered.
All around us, people were asking one another the same question: "How did he get in?"
"Maybe he knows how to Apparate," said a Ravenclaw a few feet away, "Just appear out of thin air, you know."
You can't apparate in or out of the school
"I bet you know from experience." I told him.
Yes, but also it's in Hogwarts A History
"Disguised himself, probably," said a Hufflepuff fifth year.
"He could've flown in," suggested Dean Thomas.
"Honestly, am I the only person who's ever bothered to read Hogwarts, A History?" said Hermione crossly to us.
"Apparently not." I said stifling a laugh.
"Why?" Asked Ron.
"Because the castle's protected by more than walls, you know," said Hermione. "There are all sorts of enchantments on it, to stop people entering by stealth. You can't just Apparate in here. And I'd like to see the disguise that could fool those Dementors. They're guarding every single entrance to the grounds. They'd have seen him fly in too. And Filch knows all the secret passages, they'll have them covered..."
"The lights are going out now!" Percy shouted. "I want everyone in their sleeping bags and no more talking!"
"Who died and put you in charge?" I said.
The candles all went out at once. The only light now came from the silvery ghosts, who were drifting about talking seriously to the prefects, and the enchanted ceiling, which, like the sky outside, was scattered with stars.
YOU ARE READING
The Weasley of Slytherin: The Prisoner of Azkaban
Fanfiction(Y/n) Wesley, only in his third year has already been possessed by Lord Voldemort , and since then has been hearing his voice in his head every since then. And now going in to his third year how will he cope with this new burden, and what mischief...
