After the feast, all the students were kept in the auditorium.
Professor Dumbledore came to explain a few things, "Prefects guard the entrances of the auditorium, and the Head Boy and Head Girl assist Professor Sprout in maintaining order. If there is any news, immediately send a ghost to report to me."
After speaking, he waved his wand, and the long dining tables flew to the sides of the hall, automatically standing against the walls. With another wave, hundreds of soft sleeping bags appeared on the ground.
"You will need these..."
Professor Dumbledore said before leaving the auditorium.
But not everyone liked sleeping bags.
With Professor Sprout's permission, a few senior students took out their wands and transformed the sleeping bags into single beds of about the same size, and their discarded robes became thick woolen blankets.
They had thought about it during the meal; if they had to spend the night in the auditorium, they certainly wanted to make themselves more comfortable.
Of course, it would be even better if Professor Sprout allowed them to make the beds even larger.
Afterwards, more and more students found it fun and began trying to transform their own sleeping bags.
Professor Sprout not only didn't oppose this decision, but even stopped Percy, who was about to intervene.
After all, the auditorium space was sufficient, and letting oneself be more comfortable, as long as it didn't affect others, was part of why they learned magic.
Moreover, it was still early, and giving the students something to do was better than letting them talk about Sirius Black.
Professor Sprout walked between the rows of sleeping bags...
"Very good Transfiguration, Miss Johnson," she said with a smile, "I bet that bed is very comfortable."
Gryffindor's Chaser, Angelina Johnson, proudly brushed her hair.
Unlike most stiff bed boards, she had added a thick velvet mattress.
...
When Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall re-entered the auditorium, they were surprised to see the lively scene before them.
The auditorium had turned into a huge Transfiguration classroom, and everyone was attending the same class.
"Minerva, it seems everyone knows how to entertain themselves," Dumbledore said with a smile. "I almost thought I'd walked into the wrong place."
Professor McGonagall also smiled, "Yes, Albus, you're quite right."
Since learning that Black had appeared in the castle, it was the first time she had relaxed.
"Then let's provide some assistance too."
Dumbledore took out his wand and waved it lightly, making the auditorium seem much larger. The previously cramped aisles were now spacious enough for two people to walk side by side.
This also meant they could make their beds larger.
Professor McGonagall wasn't idle either; she turned the sleeping bags of all first and second-year students into dormitory-type single beds.
As for the third-year students and above, who had learned about secondary transformation, they were not in her assistance scope.
And these sleeping bags had been transformed by Professor Dumbledore, with magical power said to be stable enough to be nearly indistinguishable from real sleeping bags.
So strictly speaking, this didn't even count as secondary transformation; it was simply transforming sleeping bags into single beds.
Third-year... if they couldn't even do this, they'd better stick with the sleeping bags.
There were quite a few like that, such as Gryffindor's Harry and Ron.
They struggled for a long time, only making their sleeping bags look uglier, and eventually, Hermione couldn't bear it anymore and helped them out.
Beside them, Neville had already willingly crawled into his sleeping bag, not even thinking of doing anything extra.
Kael had also completed his transformation on his sleeping bag, nothing too fancy, just an ordinary dormitory single bed, the same as those of the first and second-year students.
Fred, George, and Cho also came over.
"This feels really strange, like we're all staying in the same dormitory..." Fred lay there, looking up at the magically enhanced ceiling.
Despite the clouds outside, his mood was surprisingly good, "Too bad Cedric isn't here..."
As a Prefect, Cedric had to stay at the entrance of the auditorium and wasn't with them.
"It's all thanks to Blake..."
George turned his head and said, "Without him, we wouldn't have encountered such an interesting situation; honestly, this is the first time I've slept in a bed I've transformed myself... I wonder if it'll suddenly turn back into a sleeping bag in the middle of the night."
"If your Transfiguration grades can reach E (Exceeded Expectations), then it won't..." Kael said.
"That's awful..." Fred sighed, pretending to look troubled, "Our Transfiguration grades are O, which clearly doesn't meet the requirement, right."
"Maybe we can intentionally get a few questions wrong on the next exam, so we can get an E."
"Mom wouldn't be happy to hear you say that."
After speaking, the two laughed simultaneously.
Kael couldn't be bothered with them.
However, when George mentioned Black, they couldn't help but think of the recent incident.
"What do you think, how did Black get into the castle?" Conna asked.
This was also what most people wanted to know.
Now Kael could clearly hear several speculations around him.
"Disillusionment..."
"Flying in on a broomstick..."
"Turning into a blooming bush..."
They mentioned quite a few theories, though none of which seemed reliable.
The castle had special magical protection prohibiting Disillusionment, and it was apparent that the Dementors wouldn't just let someone riding a broomstick or a blooming bush slip into the castle.
"Is it possible that he came in through a secret passage?" Cho suddenly said, "Isn't there quite a few passages leading out of the castle?"
"No way, absolutely not," Fred said without hesitation.
George glanced around to make sure Professor Sprout and Percy were on the other side before lowering his voice, "There are only two passages that lead out of the school.
"One is in the warehouse of Honeydukes Sweet Shop; obviously, Blake couldn't break into there, remember? He doesn't have a wand."
"The other is in the Shrieking Shack; although it's unguarded, the entrance is just below the Whomping Willow."
Fred continued, "If Blake dared to go through there, he'd probably be crushed by the Whomping Willow as soon as he came out."
"We haven't heard any issues with the Whomping Willow tonight, have we..."
"Lights out now!" Percy said loudly, "I want everyone to stop talking!"
The candles immediately went out, leaving only a few silver ghosts emitting a faint glow, floating around discussing something seriously with the prefects.