Harry, Masey, Ron and Hermione all walked the stairs to the Gryffindor common room.
"Honeydukes Sweetshop is brilliant," Ron rambled about Hogsmeade. "But nothing beats Zonko's Joke Shop. We never got to go to the Shrieking Shack. You heard it's the most-"
"Haunted building in Britain. I know," Harry cut him off. All the Gryffindors were piled outside of the common room. "What's going on?"
"Probably Neville's forgot the password again," Ron said.
"Hey," Neville said from behind them.
"Oh, you're there," Ron said, turning around.
"Let me through, please," Percy said, pushing his way through the crowd of people. "Excuse me, I'm head boy."
"Trust me, we know," Masey mumbled as they made it to the top of the stairs, ending up behind Fred and George, who chuckled.
"Get back, all of you," Percy told everyone. "No one is to enter this dormitory until it's been searched."
"The Fat Lady, she's gone," Ginny told the group.
"I'm sure she's fine, Ginny," Masey said. "It's not like she can go far. She is stuck in the paintings."
"Keep calm, everyone," Percy said. "Break into fours. Back to your common rooms."
George put his hand out backwards and gently grabbed Masey's. This went unnoticed by everyone, except Hermione, who looked at Masey questionably.
'We'll talk later,' Masey mouthed.
Hermione nodded and looked back up at the painting that was torn.
"Come on, move," Dumbledore said as he pushed his way past people.
"You heard," Percy said. "Move!"
"Such a suck up," Masey mumbled again, getting another chuckle from Fred and George.
"Mr. Filch, round up the ghosts," Dumbledore told him. "Tell them to search every painting in the castle to find the Fat Lady."
"There's no need for ghosts, professor," Filch said. "The Fat Lady's there."
Filch pointed at the painting. Everyone started to run up the stairs, ignoring Percy, who was telling them to stop.
"Dear lady, who did this to you?" Dumbledore asked once he made it to the painting.
"Eyes like the devil, he's got, and a soul as dark as his name," The Fat Lady told him. "It's him, headmaster. The one they all talk about. He's here, somewhere in the castle. Sirius Black!"
"Secure the castle, Mr. Filch," Dumbledore said. "The rest of you, to the Great Hall."
🌺
The students of Gryffindor laid in sleeping bags on the floor of the Great Hall. The boys were on one side and the girls on the other, except for Masey, who was in between Harry and George, per Harry's request.
"I've searched the Astronomy Tower and the Owlery, there's nothing there," Masey and Harry overheard Mr. Filch.
"Thank you," Dumbledore said.
"The third floor's clean too, sir," Mr. Filch said.
"Very good," Dumbledore said.
"I've done the dungeons," Snape said. "No sign of Black, nor anywhere else in the castle."
"I didn't really expect him to linger," Dumbledore said.
"Remarkable feat, don't you think?" Snape asked. "To enter Hogwarts Castle on one's own, completely undetected?"
"Quite remarkable, yes," Dumbledore said.
"Any theories on how he managed it?" Snape asked.
"Many, each as unlikely as the next," Dumbledore said.
"You may recall, prior to the start of term, I expressed some concerns about your appointment of Professor-"
"Not a single professor inside this castle would help Sirius Black enter it," Dumbledore cut Snape off. "I'm quite convinced the castle is safe. And I'm more than willing to send the students back to their houses."
"What about the Potters?" Snape asked. "Should they be warned?"
"Perhaps," Dumbledore said. "But for now, let them sleep. For in dreams, we enter a world that is entirely our own. Let them swim in the deepest ocean or glide over the highest cloud."
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Dumbledore is like Santa. He sees you when you're sleeping and he knows if you're awake, he knows if you've been bad or good.
