Sanctuary

Chapter 20

Friday, 15th October 1971, 5:55 pm

Remus climbed through the portrait hole after Sirius and stood up straight. 'Oh, my gods.'

'Yeah,' Sirius said.

James emerged from the portrait hole next. 'Merlin, is the whole school here?'

Sirius nodded. 'Looks like it.'

Peter climbed out last. 'Woah! How are we going to get to the door?'

That was a good question. The landing and the staircase were packed with students. There was barely an inch of space to be seen. The noise was horrendous, and Remus was glad it wasn't closer to the full moon.

'Like this,' James said, before cupping his hands around his mouth and screaming at the top of his voice. 'Make way! Make way! Finders of the birthday cake room, coming through!'

Those closest to them looked around, and the crowd began to part like a pair of curtains.

'Walk in between us, Remus,' Sirius said. Remus nodded and manoeuvred himself between Sirius and James, with James in the lead of course. Peter took up the rear of their procession through the dense crowd. When they reached the right painting, they stopped and James glanced around. The crowd had fallen silent in anticipation.

'We're looking for Alastor Moody. Has anyone seen Alastor Moody?' James yelled into the silence.

'I'm right here,' a deep voice said beside them. 'You should be more aware of your surroundings. Constant vigilance!'

James coughed and looked up at the towering seventh-year prefect. 'Yeah. Right. Um. We're just waiting for Professor McGonagall and the Headmaster. They want to be present when we unlock the reward room.'

Moody nodded solemnly. 'Very wise.'

The teachers arrived a few minutes later, having waded through the crowd to reach them from the other direction.

'Looks like the word spread,' Dumbledore said with a chuckle. 'Let the show begin.'

'Er, yeah. Moody, if you could tell the door it's your birthday.'

Moody turned to the door. 'It's my birthday.'

The door swung open with a quiet fanfare, and the four Marauders, the birthday boy and the two teachers proceeded into the room. Professor Dumbledore asked the crowd to please wait outside for a few minutes. His request was met with disappointed groans.

Once inside, Moody blew out the candle and the usual Happy Birthday message appeared on the wall along with the twenty-eighth glowing white light. The lights flashed a multitude of different colours in quick succession and blinked out. The fanfare sounded again, much louder than before, and a new message appeared on the wall.

Congratulations on completing the task! I hope you have learned the importance of hard work and perseverance and perhaps even made some new friends. This room will remain open for the rest of the current school year. All possible safety precautions are in place. It is not possible for anyone to be hurt inside this room. Have fun!

Helga Hufflepuff

'A founder's secret. How very exciting,' Professor Dumbledore said. 'Shall we see what it is? I think you boys should lead the way since you did all the work.'

'Go on, Remus,' James said. 'You did all the hard stuff.'

Remus stepped forward, pushed the door open and walked through into... blazing sunshine? What?