Chapter 179: Overnight in Great Hall
"What?"
Harry and Arthur were both shocked.
The mention of Sirius Black startled Harry while Arthur was angry.
He had clearly told the other person not to act rashly, but he still managed to sneak into Hogwarts.
If it weren't for the current situation, he would have found Sirius Black and taught him a lesson.
Soon, Professor McGonagall and the other heads of houses arrived in the Great Hall.
"Silence!"
Professor McGonagall silenced the crowd, maintaining order in the hall.
Everyone quieted down when Professor McGonagall spoke, and Dumbledore appeared next to her along with Fawkes.
Arthur noticed that the professor looked a little messy like they had come back quickly from somewhere else.
This semester, Arthur hadn't seen Dumbledore much at the school. The last time they met was when Dumbledore was pleading for Hagrid.
Professor McGonagall whispered something in Dumbledore's ear, and he furrowed his brow.
Then he looked at the students and said, "The professors and I will conduct a thorough search of the castle."
At that moment, Professor McGonagall and Flitwick had waved their wands to close the doors of the Great Hall.
"I request that prefects guard the entrance of the hall, and the heads of the student council will be in charge."
Dumbledore continued to organize the events of the evening. Percy looked proud after hearing his assignment, as if entrusted with an important task.
He waved his wand and summoned hundreds of purple sleeping bags before leaving the Great Hall with the professors.
In an instant, the hall filled with excited chatter as the Gryffindor lion cubs passed on the information.
"Peeves told us. He said the Fat Lady refused to open the door for Black, so he destroyed her portrait,"
Fred described the scene to Arthur and Harry.
"Do you think Black is still in the castle now?"
Hermione whispered anxiously.
"I don't think so. No one would be stupid enough to stay at the crime scene, especially with Dumbledore around."
Cho clearly didn't believe that Black would stay here and casually answered.
"How do you think he managed to sneak in when there are so many Dementors at the school gates?"
A Ravenclaw girl joined in. It was clear that this had become a small gossip session.
"It must be Apparition!"
Ron confidently stated this but received scorn from others.
Harry pulled on Ron's arm, signaling for him to stop speaking.
"You forgot, Arthur mentioned before that it's impossible to use an Apparition at Hogwarts."
Ron's face turned red, as he had forgotten about that.
Everyone had their own thoughts, some said he flew in, others said he disguised himself.
The answers were all over the place.
"Now, lights out!"
Percy shouted, "I want every one of you in your sleeping bags and no more talking!"
"Look at the authority of our head boy."
George sarcastically remarked, earning a round of laughter.
Hermione and Cho noticed that Arthur hadn't spoken the whole time and called out to him.
"I'm fine, just thought Professor Dumbledore and the others were wasting their time tonight."
In reality, Arthur had just been communicating with Sirius, arranging to meet him at the Shrieking Shack this weekend.
He had to figure out why Sirius Black had come here.
After the lights went out, the students' conversations slowly shifted away from Black.
It was a rare opportunity for students from all four houses to gather and chat in the evening.
Fred and George livened up the atmosphere, telling everyone exciting stories that happened during their night adventure at Hogwarts.
Percy had come over several times but couldn't catch them in the act and could only weakly warn them.
Arthur came to the corner of the Great Hall with a few young witches and cast a barrier spell to ensure that the outside noise wouldn't disturb them.
It wasn't until late at night that most of the young wizards fell into a deep sleep.
Meanwhile, the professors appeared in the Great Hall every hour to check if everything was normal.
At three o'clock in the morning, all the professors gathered together, sharing the information they had gotten, standing not far from Harry...
"Has the Fat Lady's portrait been found?"
"She's hiding in the map of Argyllshire on the third floor. She was greatly terrified and temporarily unable to fulfill her duties as the guardian."
Professor McGonagall said this with concern. It was obvious that Sirius Black had inflicted great harm on the Fat Lady.
Dumbledore nodded.
"Severus, do you have any clues from your side?"
"No, I went to the west tower and all the classrooms below the third floor, but I didn't find any traces."
"As for the rest, you can ask Filch."
"Very well, I don't really believe that Black would stay. How did he get in? Have you considered Hogwarts' defenses? If no outsider..."
"Severus!"
Dumbledore interrupted Snape.
"I don't think there's anyone in this school willing to help him. You need to try to trust everyone."
Snape was somewhat resentful.
"Yes, I used to trust everyone, um, until you appointed Lupin."
He took a couple of deep breaths.
"You know, the relationship between Lupin and Black, don't you think it's too coincidental? One person escapes from prison, and the other arrives at Hogwarts. Their target is Potter."
"Enough, Severus. Lupin is currently resting in his office. Your potion seems to have some issues this time,"
Dumbledore tried to calm him down, obviously wanting to end the conversation.
"I need to go to the Dementors now. I've told them I will inform them," Snape stated.
"Are they willing to help, sir?"
"Yes,"
Dumbledore's voice was somewhat cold.
"But as long as I am the headmaster, I will never allow Dementors to enter this school. They have lost two of their kind recently, and I need to have a good talk with them."
After saying that, Dumbledore left, and Snape stood for a moment with deep anger on his face before leaving as well.
Little did they know, just nearby, Harry was listening with wide eyes, hearing every word of their conversation.
...
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