A Halliwell at Hogwarts: The Prisoner of Azkaban

XI - You're A Terrible Teacher

No one in the Gryffindor Tower slept that night. They knew that the castle was being searched again, and the whole House stayed awake in the common room, waiting to hear whether Sirius Black had been caught. Professor McGonagall came back at dawn, to tell them that he had again escaped. Persephone's body, which had been tense since Professor McGonagall had left, relaxed at the news.

Surprisingly nobody in the Common Room mentioned the 'niece-of-a-murderer' topic during the lass of time they spent there. Persephone knew perfectly that it was mainly because of the glares that the Quidditch team and Ginny were sending around the room.

It was amazing how quick they had accepted the fact that Persephone was related to Sirius Black. It had been a shock, but they had decided they didn't care about it; Persephone was Persephone, their friend, their third Chaser and, for Ginny, her honorary big sister.

Persephone felt conflicted about this. She was glad they didn't change the idea they had of her, but if they could accept her, then why Harry and Ron couldn't? Her teammates were amazing and she loved Ginny like a little sister, but Harry and Ron were her best friends. They, along with Hermione, were her first true friends, she loved them and it pained her that they had turned their back on her.

Throughout the day, everywhere she went she saw signs of tighter security; Professor Flitwick could be seen teaching the front doors to recognize a large picture of Sirius Black; Filch was suddenly bustling up and down the corridors, boarding up everything from tiny cracks in the walls to mouse holes. Sir Cadogan had been fired. His portrait had been taken back to its lonely landing on the seventh floor, and the Fat Lady was back. She had been expertly restored, but was still extremely nervous, and had agreed to return to her job only on condition that she was given extra protection. A bunch of surly security trolls had been hired to guard her. They paced the corridor in a menacing group, talking in grunts and comparing the size of their clubs.

Ron had become an instant celebrity. For the first time in his life, people were paying more attention to him than to Harry, and it was clear that Ron was rather enjoying the experience. Though still severely shaken by the night's events, he was happy to tell anyone who asked what had happened, with a wealth of detail.

"... I was asleep, and I heard this ripping noise, and I thought it was in my dream, you know? But then there was this draft... I woke up and one side of the hangings on my bed had been pulled down... I rolled over... and I saw him standing over me... like a skeleton, with loads of filthy hair... holding this great long knife, must've been twelve inches... and he looked at me, and I looked at him, and then I yelled, and he scampered.

"Why, though?" Ron added as the group of second year girls who had been listening to his chilling tale departed. "Why did he run?"

Persephone watched the two boys from the couch near the fireplace. It was obvious to her why her uncle had run away; instead, she wondered what he was looking for in the boy's dormitory. It was the second time he had tried to enter the Gryffindor Common Room. Why look in Ron's bed?

Neville was in total disgrace. Professor McGonagall was so furious with him she had banned him from all future Hogsmeade visits, given him a detention, and forbidden anyone to give him the password into the tower. Poor Neville was forced to wait outside the common room every night for somebody to let him in, while the security trolls leered unpleasantly at him. None of these punishments, however, came close to matching the one his grandmother had in store for him. Two days after Sirius Black's break-in, she sent Neville the very worst thing a Hogwarts student could receive over breakfast — a Howler.

The school owls swooped into the Great Hall carrying the mail as usual, and Neville choked as a huge barn owl landed in front of him, a scarlet envelope clutched in its beak, a Howler.