Ginny was furious, glaring fiercely at Ron.
When they were in Hogsmeade, her brother had originally been with Harry, but as soon as Cho Chang showed up, he ran off to find Fred and George.
She only found out from others that Harry and Cho Chang had spent the entire afternoon sitting together in the Three Broomsticks.
And now, after she had finally mustered up the courage to come over, he was telling her to leave?
This backstabbing brother was unbelievable!
Not helping his own sister was one thing, but constantly holding her back was another!
Seeing Ginny's indignant expression, Ron realized what he'd done and immediately fell silent.
Ginny assessed the situation. The four sleeping bags were arranged from left to right. Hermione, Sherlock, Harry, Ron.
She really wanted to kick Ron aside and take his spot. But doing so would be too obvious and might even scare Harry.
She could only settle for second best, placing her sleeping bag next to Ron's.
At least it was closer to Harry.
Ron hadn't minded at first, but seeing Hermione beside Sherlock, he suddenly realized something.
He remembered what he'd said to Harry that morning in Hogsmeade village.
"If she's so capable, let her sleep next to Sherlock!"
Well, now she really was sleeping next to Sherlock!
Thinking back to what he'd said earlier: "Surely something won't happen every Halloween" Ron fell into deep thought.
Could he really have some prophetic talent?
He should find an opportunity to consult with Professor Trelawney about this.
Meanwhile, the surrounding students were discussing heatedly.
"How did Black get in? There are dementors guarding the school entrance!"
"Maybe he knows how to Apparate, so he could just appear out of thin air."
"Perhaps he disguised himself through some special method."
"I think he might have flown in."
"I think he turned himself into a flowering shrub."
"What nonsense, you might as well say he turned into an animal and ran in!"
...
Listening to these discussions, Hermione propped her head up with her elbow and said irritably.
"What are they all talking about? Am I the only one who spent time reading Hogwarts. A History?"
Ginny also propped herself up on her elbow, looking past Ron toward her. "Probably... but so what?"
"The castle isn't just protected by walls—there are all kinds of magic preventing people from sneaking in. Apparition is one of the prohibited spells.
Disguises couldn't fool the dementors guarding the entrance either. Professor Dumbledore already said that no matter how skillful the stealth magic or invisibility cloaks, they won't work.
As for Animagi, we all learned in Professor McGonagall's class that the Ministry of Magic keeps records of wizards who can transform into animals. There's a registry showing what animals they can become, along with markings and such...
I checked the registry and found Professor McGonagall. There have only been seven Animagi this century, and Sirius Black's name isn't on it at all."
"Did Professor McGonagall teach us this?"
Hearing Hermione say this, Harry looked at Sherlock and Ron somewhat puzzled. "I don't remember it."
Ron also shook his head. "I... I don't know."
"She didn't teach it."
Sherlock said with certainty, "This is something Hermione found while researching for homework. It's knowledge from outside the classroom."
Harry and Ron couldn't help but give Hermione a thumbs up for her solid study habits.
Hermione looked proudly at Sherlock. "Sherlock, you agree that I'm right, don't you?"
"In theory, that's correct, but Hermione, I think you may have forgotten something."
"What?"
"Black escaped from Azkaban."
With Sherlock's statement, the friends all fell silent.
Right, no matter how tightly Hogwarts was guarded, it was just a school.
Azkaban was a prison!
Breaking out couldn't be harder than breaking into school, could it?
As for the number of dementors, Azkaban had the most.
If Black could escape from there, it wasn't strange that he could infiltrate the school.
Thinking of this, Hermione shuddered and moved closer to Sherlock.
Ginny looked at this scene with some envy, secretly wondering if she should learn from Hermione.
Sherlock, however, seemed completely unaware of what Hermione's action meant. He turned to the other side and said to Harry, "It's time to take some action..."
"Lights out now!"
Just then, Percy spoke up loudly again. "I want everyone in their sleeping bags, no talking!"
With his words, all the candles immediately went out.
The entire hall was left with only the silver ghosts emitting some light, floating about and conversing solemnly with the Head Boy, Head Girl, and prefects.
However, there was still whispering in the hall.
Sherlock wasn't surprised by this. After what had happened, expecting everyone to fall asleep immediately was unrealistic.
Every hour, a professor appeared in the hall to check that all was well.
By three in the morning, most students had finally fallen asleep.
Sherlock listened to the breathing of his friends beside him and knew that none of them were asleep.
At this time, Dumbledore also came to the hall and spoke in low voices with Gemma.
"Everything all right here, Miss Farley?"
"All normal, Professor. Still no sign of him?"
"None. And Mr. Weasley?"
"Sir, I'm here!"
Percy had been patrolling among the rows of sleeping bags, reprimanding students who were still talking.
Hearing Dumbledore call him, he immediately rushed to Dumbledore and Gemma's side with lightning speed.
From Sherlock's angle, he could only see Dumbledore's back, but he could see Gemma and Percy's faces.
However, that was enough for him.
At this moment, Gemma's brow carried a trace of faint worry, while Percy was standing tall with his chest out, looking extremely excited.
"It's too late to disturb them now."
Dumbledore said to the two Head Students.
"The Fat Lady has been found. She's hiding in a map of Argyllshire.
From what we can tell, she didn't hear the password, so she wouldn't let Black in.
Black became furious and simply attacked her.
Her emotions are still very poor. Once she calms down, I'll have Mr. Filch restore her."
"If that's the case, what about the Gryffindor students? Do they have to sleep here again tomorrow night?"
As Gemma asked this question, she glanced in Sherlock's direction.
"I was just getting to that. I've found a temporary guardian for the Gryffindor portrait hole.
Tomorrow morning, you and Mr. Weasley, along with the two Gryffindor prefects, can organize their return."
As Dumbledore said this, the hall doors opened again, and Professor Snape strode in quickly.
"Headmaster, the entire fourth floor has been searched. Filch checked the dungeons—no one there either."
"What about the Astronomy Tower, Professor Trelawney's room, the Owlery?"
"All searched. Nothing."
"Very good, Severus. I don't think Black would continue to linger here."
"Then... have you thought about how he got in, Headmaster?"
"I have many ideas, Severus," Dumbledore glanced at Snape, "unfortunately, none of them hold up."
"Then, do you remember our conversation before the start of term, just before... er... the term began?"
Sherlock sensitively caught Snape's micro-expression.
His lips barely moved when he spoke, and combined with this vague phrasing, he clearly didn't want Gemma and Percy to participate in their conversation.
"I remember, of course, Severus."
"I believe Black couldn't have broken into the school without help from someone," Snape's eyes were cold as he said slowly, "I expressed my concerns about this matter, especially when you appointed..."
"I do not believe there is anyone in this castle who would have helped Black gain entrance, Severus and I still think so now."
When Dumbledore said this, Snape also realized the topic should end here.
Seeing Snape stop talking, Dumbledore smoothly changed the subject. "I'm going down to see the dementors now. We'll inform them after we've finished searching."
"Aren't they here to help, sir?"
Hearing Percy's question, Gemma raised an eyebrow.
Although this Head Boy was indeed excellent in his studies, he seemed not very bright at the moment.
"Oh, yes."
Dumbledore said coldly. "But as long as I am Headmaster, I'm afraid no dementor will cross the threshold of this castle."
At this point, Percy also realized something, an embarrassed expression appearing on his face.
However, Dumbledore paid him no more attention, nodding to Snape and Gemma before leaving the hall.
Professor Snape stood in place for a while, his gaze fixed on Dumbledore's back, saying nothing for a long time.
Percy wanted to say something to him but was directly ignored.
This made him even more embarrassed.
Snape said two words in a low voice to Gemma, and after she nodded in agreement, he also left the hall.
After Snape left, Gemma turned toward Sherlock, moved her lips, and silently mouthed "goodnight" to him.
Having been watching Sherlock, she had already discovered that he wasn't asleep.
Sherlock nodded slightly to her, then withdrew his gaze.
Beside him, Harry and Hermione were both lying with their eyes open, reflecting the starlit ceiling.
"Go to sleep. We'll talk about everything tomorrow."
Hearing Sherlock's words, both friends nodded and closed their eyes.
Over the next few days, the entire school's topic couldn't escape Sirius Black.
For some unknown reason, Hannah Abbott, the first to wear the Sorting Hat, told everyone she met that Black could turn himself into a flowering shrub.
Quite a few people believed her, including Neville Longbottom.
As for the Fat Lady's damaged portrait, it was taken down from the wall.
Just as Headmaster Dumbledore had said, a knight named Sir Cadogan and his fat gray pony replaced her position.
This exchange made the little lions very unhappy.
Because the new Sir Cadogan was unreliable—he spent half his time challenging people to duels, and the other half coming up with passwords so complicated they were nearly absurd.
Things like "odious cur," "newt eyes in the mire," "weird Merlin's beard," "bat dung polished armor," and so on.
That wasn't all—sometimes he changed the password twice in a single day.
For little lions like Neville, who couldn't even remember simple passwords like "fortuna major," this was practically killing him.
He had to write down a week's worth of passwords on a slip of paper to help him remember.
"This fellow is a madman!"
Finally, someone couldn't stand it anymore and went to Percy to complain. "Can't we get a more normal portrait?"
Percy spread his hands, showing a helpless expression.
"Because none of the other portraits would take the job—they were all scared by what happened to the Fat Lady. Only brave Sir Cadogan volunteered."
With things having come to this, the Gryffindor students had no choice.
However, for Harry, Sir Cadogan was nothing.
Because he had now encountered an even bigger problem.
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