Gryffindor Princess and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Harry Potter Fanfiction)

Chapter Ten: The Dementors

When she'd returned to the Common Room entrance she found a large crowd of students, clearly unable to get inside. Her father, McGonagall and Filch were all standing amongst them.

"We need to find her", her father was saying, "Professor McGonagall please go with Mr. Filch and once, search every painting in the castle for the Fat Lady."

"I found her", Hope called, running forwards, "she'd in a landscape on the fourth floor, she's a mess."

"Did she say who attacked her?", Her father asked.

"Yes", she replied, feeling the eyes of the entire house looking at her, "she said he was angry she wouldn't let him in. She said it was - that it was Sirius Black."

There was a collective gasp around her as people took in what she'd said. Sirius Black was in the castle. He'd tried to get into the Gryffindor Common room.

Dumbledore sent all the Gryffindors back to the Great Hall where they were joined minutes later by the students from Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin, who all looked very confused.

"The teachers and I need to conduct a thorough search of the castle", Professor Dumbledore said, as they shut the 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."

He turned to leave the hall, but paused at the doorway and said,

"Oh yes, you'll bee needing..."

He gave a 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.

As soon as Dumbledore closed the door behind him the hall began to buzz excitedly. Hope was swarmed by people wanting to know what had happened and where the Fat Lady was now. She had to recount what had happened to ten different groups of people before Harry, Ron and Hermione pulled her away. They 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 they climbed fully dressed into their sleeping bags, "the one night we weren't in the tower..."

All around them people began to discuss how Sirius Black could have entered the castle.

"Maybe he knows how to Apparate", said a Ravenclaw a few feet away, "just appear out of thin air, you know."

"He could've flown in."

"The castle's protected by more than wall's you know", Hermione said.

"She's right", Hope agreed, "there are all sorts of enchantments on the school to stop people entering by stealth. You can't Apparate inside the school grounds -"

"The lights are going out now!", Percy shouted, "I want everyone in their sleeping bags and no more talking!"

The candles went out all at once. The only light in the room now came from the silvery ghosts who drifted around the room, serious looks on their faces. The enchanted celling showed the dark night sky outside covered in stars, which made Hope feel almost as if she was sleeping outside, camping in sleeping bags with Harry, Ron and Hermione.

For the next few days no one seemed to talk of anything except Sirius Blacks attack on the castle. As the days went on, theories of how Black had entered the castle seemed to get wilder and wilder.