Chapter Nine: The Stranger in the Night
Ermengarde sat up in the dormitory all night, hugging her knees, not able to stop the grin she had on her face. She heard Lily turn over in her sleep, mutter something, then lie still. Stifling a giggle, Ermengarde crossed over to the water jug and poured herself a glass, looking out onto the lawn as she did. Something caught her eye, and she put the glass down in a hurry.
She soared out of the dormitory, down the staircase, across the common room, and then up the boys' staircase and straight into their dormitory.
"Sirius!" she shrieked. "James! Remus! Peter! Wake up!"
"What's wrong?" groaned Sirius, sitting up and rubbing his face.
"There's a dementor out there! I saw it, it was out my window! It's on the grounds! It was there, I'm telling you!" Ermengarde's heart was fluttering.
"Calm down," said Remus. "Now, what was it you saw?"
"It was a dementor!" repeated Ermengarde. "It was hooded and all in black and...what? Don't you believe me?"
"Of course we do," said Remus quickly. "But...well, that's a bit odd, isn't it?"
"So was that letter! So was my getting throttled by someone I couldn't see!" said Ermengarde indignantly.
"Okay, relax," said Sirius. "We'll go look at it. Where did you see it? Out your window? We'll just go up and—"
"Nothing doing," said Remus. "Boys apparently aren't allowed in the girls' dormitories."
"Why not? She's allowed in here," said Peter.
"That's different," said Ermengarde.
"Anyway," said James. "How're we supposed to help if we can't even see who – or what – it was?"
"That, I think, is where Padfoot comes in," said Sirius. "Back in a flash."
Sirius leapt out of bed, opened James's trunk, and pulled something out. He hurried out of the dormitory and closed the door.
"What's he doing? What's he taken with him?" asked Ermengarde.
"My Invisibility Cloak," said James. "That – er – that was why you didn't see us come in earlier...we were under it, the three of us. Peter isn't normally under it. At least, not as a human...he usually transforms and we carry him. I know we gave you a bit of a turn earlier when you could hear him but couldn't see him, right?"
"Well, yes," said Ermengarde. "How did you get an Invisibility Cloak?"
"My dad," said James simply.
They sat in silence for a time, Ermengarde on James's trunk. Peter kept making little whimpering noises. Sirius returned a half-hour later, pulling off the cloak.
"What happened?" asked Ermengarde immediately.
"There was someone out there, walking around in a hooded cloak, like you said, but it definitely wasn't a dementor," said Sirius. "It was a human."
"Who was it?" asked Remus.
"I don't know," said Sirius. "As soon as I got close enough to see, he grabbed onto his arm and Apparated away."
"He grabbed his arm?" James repeated, frowning.
"He just latched onto his left arm," said Sirius. "Like it hurt or something...it was weird, you know?"
"Did you see anything else?" asked Remus.
"Yeah," said Sirius. "He was twirling a wand like a baton and had a chain around his neck...it looked like a sort of pendant, but I couldn't really see it well enough."
They all looked at Ermengarde, who had her mouth half-open and her eyes wide. From what Sirius had told her, it had to be...but it couldn't be...not here, twenty years in the past...
"What's up, Swi?" asked Sirius.
"N-nothing," said Ermengarde. "I just – I'm glad you're okay!"
But it certainly wasn't "nothing". Ermengarde would not meet their eyes for the next few moments as she thought about what she had just heard Sirius say: from what she could deduce, it sounded to her as though there was a Death Eater somewhere on the Hogwarts grounds.
Ermengarde sat up in the dormitory all night, hugging her knees, not able to stop the grin she had on her face. She heard Lily turn over in her sleep, mutter something, then lie still. Stifling a giggle, Ermengarde crossed over to the water jug and poured herself a glass, looking out onto the lawn as she did. Something caught her eye, and she put the glass down in a hurry.
She soared out of the dormitory, down the staircase, across the common room, and then up the boys' staircase and straight into their dormitory.
"Sirius!" she shrieked. "James! Remus! Peter! Wake up!"
"What's wrong?" groaned Sirius, sitting up and rubbing his face.
"There's a dementor out there! I saw it, it was out my window! It's on the grounds! It was there, I'm telling you!" Ermengarde's heart was fluttering.
"Calm down," said Remus. "Now, what was it you saw?"
"It was a dementor!" repeated Ermengarde. "It was hooded and all in black and...what? Don't you believe me?"
"Of course we do," said Remus quickly. "But...well, that's a bit odd, isn't it?"
"So was that letter! So was my getting throttled by someone I couldn't see!" said Ermengarde indignantly.
"Okay, relax," said Sirius. "We'll go look at it. Where did you see it? Out your window? We'll just go up and—"
"Nothing doing," said Remus. "Boys apparently aren't allowed in the girls' dormitories."
"Why not? She's allowed in here," said Peter.
"That's different," said Ermengarde.
"Anyway," said James. "How're we supposed to help if we can't even see who – or what – it was?"
"That, I think, is where Padfoot comes in," said Sirius. "Back in a flash."
Sirius leapt out of bed, opened James's trunk, and pulled something out. He hurried out of the dormitory and closed the door.
"What's he doing? What's he taken with him?" asked Ermengarde.
"My Invisibility Cloak," said James. "That – er – that was why you didn't see us come in earlier...we were under it, the three of us. Peter isn't normally under it. At least, not as a human...he usually transforms and we carry him. I know we gave you a bit of a turn earlier when you could hear him but couldn't see him, right?"
"Well, yes," said Ermengarde. "How did you get an Invisibility Cloak?"
"My dad," said James simply.
They sat in silence for a time, Ermengarde on James's trunk. Peter kept making little whimpering noises. Sirius returned a half-hour later, pulling off the cloak.
"What happened?" asked Ermengarde immediately.
"There was someone out there, walking around in a hooded cloak, like you said, but it definitely wasn't a dementor," said Sirius. "It was a human."
"Who was it?" asked Remus.
"I don't know," said Sirius. "As soon as I got close enough to see, he grabbed onto his arm and Apparated away."
"He grabbed his arm?" James repeated, frowning.
"He just latched onto his left arm," said Sirius. "Like it hurt or something...it was weird, you know?"
"Did you see anything else?" asked Remus.
"Yeah," said Sirius. "He was twirling a wand like a baton and had a chain around his neck...it looked like a sort of pendant, but I couldn't really see it well enough."
They all looked at Ermengarde, who had her mouth half-open and her eyes wide. From what Sirius had told her, it had to be...but it couldn't be...not here, twenty years in the past...
"What's up, Swi?" asked Sirius.
"N-nothing," said Ermengarde. "I just – I'm glad you're okay!"
But it certainly wasn't "nothing". Ermengarde would not meet their eyes for the next few moments as she thought about what she had just heard Sirius say: from what she could deduce, it sounded to her as though there was a Death Eater somewhere on the Hogwarts grounds.