Hello, darlings! Just want to let you know right off the bat that after this chapter, the next two might be a bit delayed. I'll be on vacation for the next two weeks, and I'm not sure what the wifi situation will be like, but I have them written, so hopefully they should be posted like usual on Mondays.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Part Two: takes place after Sirius has managed to get into the school and tried to get into the Gryffindor common room.
She tries to sleep, she really does, but it's just not that easy. Lying there on the floor of the Great Hall, she can't help it that her mind is flying over the events of that day. Sirius Black had somehow managed to break into Hogwarts and tried to get into the Gryffindor common room. She was pretty sure that everyone knew what he was after. By now, the rumors had made their way around the school. They'd started with a few students who had parents in the ministry with loose lips, until the whole castle had heard the news that Sirius Black, the mad escaped murderer and former Death Eater, was after Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived.
So many things made sense to her when she found out. She understood why they had been given Ministry cars to get to the train (something they had definitely never had before,) why there were such intense security measure focused on Hogwarts specifically rather than out scouring the country for any sign of Black. It also answered the question of what her father had been telling him on Platform 9 ¾ before they left for Hogwarts. She wondered how he'd handled this information. He hadn't seemed too troubled by it from what she'd seen.
She wished she could be so calm. The knowledge that You Know Who's most devout supporter was targeting her hero had kept her up at night. Her only comfort was that Dumbledore was here, and so surely nothing could touch him inside the castle. But now it seemed that wasn't so. If Black had managed to get inside, to get so close to Harry already, how could anyone be sure that he was safe?
She looked over to where Harry, Ron and Hermione lay, a few feet away. Somehow, even though it had to be nearly 3 o'clock in the morning, she was pretty sure he wasn't sleeping either. As she faced him, trying to imagine what was going through his head right now, she saw Dumbledore approach her brother Percy, and they began to whisper.
"Any sign of him, Professor?"
"No. All well here?" Dumbledore replied softly. Her stomach dropped. So he was still out there, who knows where, and would certainly try again. She strained to hear what they were saying.
"Everything under control, sir," Percy was reassuring the headmaster.
"Good. There's no point moving them all now. I've found a temporary guardian for the Gryffindor portrait hole. You'll be able to move them back in tomorrow."
"And the Fat Lady, sir?"
"Hiding in a map of Argyllshire on the second floor. Apparently she refused to let Black in without the password, so he attacked. She's still very distressed, but once she's calmed down, I'll have Mr. Filch restore her."
She heard the door open, and a new set of footsteps approached. "Headmaster?" It was Snape. "The whole of the third floor has been searched. He's not there. And Filch has done the dungeons; nothing there either."
"What about the Astronomy Tower? Professor Trelawney's room? The Owlery?"
"All searched…"
"Very well, Severus. I didn't really expect Black to linger." He sounded very weary, though. She had never heard Dumbledore sound so resigned, and it frightened her.
"Have you any theory as to how he got in, Professor?" asked Snape.
"Many, Severus, each of them as unlikely as the next." That truly sent a jolt of fear through her. Dumbledore was the most brilliant wizard there was, everyone knew it, and if he didn't know how Black had done it, then maybe she was wrong to think that Harry was protected at Hogwarts.
"You remember the conversation we had, Headmaster, just before – ah – the start of term?" Snape asked, so quietly she had to hold her breath to hear.
"I do, Severus." An unspoken warning was plain in his tone.
"It seems – almost impossible – that Black could have entered the school without inside help. I did express my concerns when you appointed -" She was listening very intently, now. The only people Dumbledore had appointed this year were Hagrid and Professor Lupin, but Hagrid had been here for ages. Why would Snape think Lupin would help Sirius Black get into Hogwarts?
"I do not believe a single person inside this castle would have helped Black enter it." His tone was firm. "I must go down to the dementors. I said I would inform them when our search was complete." It was clear that he meant for this to be the end of the conversation.
Ginny rolled over as quietly as she could. What she had just heard filled her head. She didn't know what to make of Snape's apparent suspicion of Lupin. Was it just because Snape wanted his job, and because he was an outsider? That must be it, because she couldn't come up with any other reason not to trust him.
To be fair, she thought, it was true that the last two Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers had both ended up attacking students. Everyone knew Hogwarts did not have a good track record in that department. A niggle of fear formed at the back of her mind. What if Snape was right and Lupin was helping Black? What if Dumbledore was wrong to trust him, as he had been wrong to trust Quirrell and Lockhart?
But Lupin hardly seemed the type for that. Older students said that it was the first time they were actually learning how to defend themselves against the Dark Arts after the string of shoddy teachers they'd had before. Unlike Quirrell and Lockhart before him, Professor Lupin was a brilliant teacher, and a friendly person. Though she hadn't ever met Professor Quirrell herself, she had heard from her brothers that he wasn't well liked, and despite the adoration of much of the female student body, no one could say that Lockhart had been much better in the teaching department. But then, for all people may have disliked Quirrell, she'd gotten the impression from Ron that his working for Voldemort had been a complete surprise to everyone but Snape. So if he'd been right once…
She couldn't believe it, though. Lupin was too good a teacher, and Snape was not exactly a fair judge of character. He was horrible to all the Gryffindors, ignored the Slytherin bullies, and singled out special students, some to torment, and others to favor. She knew for a fact that he loathed Harry, so she wasn't particularly inclined to believe that his apparent concern for his welfare when it came to Sirius Black was in any way genuine. And she definitely believed Dumbledore's judgement as a whole was better, and less biased, and he certainly seemed to take more of an interest in Harry's wellbeing. Snape was probably just hoping Dumbledore would sack Lupin so he could take his job. Slimy git.
But where did that leave things? Dumbledore didn't seem to have any very substantial theories of his own as to how Black had made it into the castle. Her mind seemed to be spinning in circles. She wondered if she should say something to Harry, Ron and Hermione about what she'd overheard. But what had she overheard, really? Snape suspected Lupin, and Dumbledore was sure he was innocent. If she was choosing to trust Dumbledore's judgement, then there was nothing to tell, and between the two professors, Dumbledore still seemed more worthy of trust, even if he had missed the signs once before.
And even if she wanted to tell them, would they listen? Ron definitely wouldn't, if she was judging by history, and this seemed like information that would make Hermione exceedingly nervous and flustered, since it called into question the absolute authorities of at least one of her teachers. That only left Harry, and as far as she was concerned, he had quite enough on his plate.
Still, she couldn't shake the feeling that there was something more to that exchange that had been left unsaid. She silently decided that while she wasn't going to say anything to the others just yet, she couldn't just forget what she'd heard. She would keep an eye on Snape and Lupin, and if she learned anything else, she'd tell someone immediately. For now, though, it seemed there was nothing to do but wait.
So I started this chapter not really knowing where it would go, and here is the result. I personally think Ginny would be smart enough to figure out Lupin's secret the same way Hermione did (after all, being mysteriously "sick" on the full moon combined with Snape's lecture on werewolves isn't super subtle if you're actually paying attention,) but I'm interested to see what you think. Hopefully I'll succeed at reconciling this knowledge with the cannon in a way that makes sense. Hope to see you all next Monday!
Also, in case anyone missed it up front, the next two chapters may be delayed or uploaded at weird times because I'll be on vacation. They are already written, though, so if you don't see them on Monday, the worst case scenario will be that I just post two at once when I get back.
