Apart from dates, Hogsmeade seemed like the perfect opportunity to spend time with people one normally didn't talk to all that often. Harry excluded his older friends, thinking that they'd likely often be the ones dating, but decided that going around the town with Slytherins could be interesting.
He was not disappointed.
For one, Theo seemed to know the complete history of the village by heart, and provided many interesting tidbits.
"The thing about Shrieking Shack," he said, "is that the mentions of it being haunted are really very recent. No more than thirty years or so. Until then, it was just an old ruin of a house. That's very rare, houses that are haunted this badly being so new..."
"Could it have something to do with the war?" Draco asked.
"Yeah, that's what some people say – that it was a result of some terrible war tragedy. The thing is, no one knows of anything particularly bad happening here...it's an interesting mystery."
Harry liked it, too. "What books did you read about it?"
"It's in the newest edition of History of Hogsmeade, and in Haunted Houses of Scotland Examined. I left the second at home, but I could lend you the first if you want."
"That'd be great, thanks!"
"Can I borrow it after you're done, Harry?" Daphne asked. "I'd like to read it, too."
"Sure," Harry replied easily, but at the same time he watched in some surprise as Theo flushed and said: "I didn't think you'd like it...I could have given it to you before we went here, that was stupid of me..."
Daphne blushed a little, too, to Harry's even bigger astonishment. "It's fine," she muttered.
"Speaking of decrepit old things," Draco interrupted loudly, "you had Defence yesterday too, right? Did you notice how half-dead Lupin was looking?"
Harry considered. "I wouldn't say half-dead," he said. "I'd say he was maybe a little nervous or not quite himself, but..."
"And those huge circles under his eyes!"
"He always has those," Daphne pointed out. "I wonder if that man never sleeps, or what is it."
"It would be fitting," Harry said with a grin. "The perfect Defence teacher, you know – always vigilant."
Daphne rolled her eyes. "It'd also explain why he pulls such stupid crap like that Boggart class, if he's constantly sleep-deprived!"
"Oh, right," Harry realized, "I never asked you about that. How did it go with you? It was an unmitigated disaster with us and Hufflepuffs both, as far as I know, but it was a bit better with Ravenclaw."
Draco smirked. "Hardly anyone was willing to participate, to be honest. Why the hell would I want to have my fears exposed to the entirety of my class? Only Daphne, Pansy and Millicent went."
"And no disaster?" Harry reassured himself.
"Unless you count Pansy fairly bullying Millicent into going for it, then no." Draco shrugged. "Those of us who have such messed up family histories like Bones or Longbottom opted out."
It was the first time in a very long time Draco hinted at anything to do with his father's past in Harry's presence, and Harry gave him a sharp look, but in a bigger group of people was hardly the time to pry. Besides, he didn't think Draco would be all that willing to share his fears.
"Well, it's not like Neville or Susan chose for theirs to be exposed," Harry pointed out instead of saying anything to Draco.
"For all he's a good teacher, that man is an idiot," Theo muttered.
Harry had to agree. "Honestly," he said, "as if it wasn't enough that we have our nightmares dragged out of us when we pass the Dementors..."
Theo shuddered. "Don't even remind me. I still can't do the Patronus charm worth a damn, and passing them just this once was terrible."
Harry nodded. "Let's go back all together," he said, "and I'll do it." Leaving, Harry had felt really ill and began to hear someone screaming in a distance before Neville dragged him away, pale himself, so he didn't hesitate in his intention to produce his Patronus to protect him once they would be returning. Even though it was just a bit more difficult to summon a cheering memory these days, since the last two Floo calls with Wynn had him in a bad mood, but then, the boy did manage to be cute even in the midst of that. Or Harry thought so, anyway. Alduin and Alexandra both insisted it was just exhausting.
They returned from the Shack to town and visited the nice bookshop, where they met Hermione and Su avidly browsing, their arms full of books they've already picked. "The selection here is so different than in Flourish and Blotts!" Hermione said.
Harry immediately felt guilty. "Remind me to show you some of the shops in Diagon Alley Alduin likes to go to," he said. "I'm sure you'd prefer them too. I don't know how I could have forgotten."
After this excursion, there was a Quidditch Shop to check out and a post office to admire, and then they headed to Honeydukes, where they met up with the Gryffindors. Seamus and Lavender were holding hands and muttered they were going back to the castle without waiting for anyone, but Parvati was nowhere to be seen. "She said she forgot she needed to buy something else and to go up to the castle without her," Ron muttered in response to Harry's questioning look.
"That doesn't sound like a very good sign," Neville said carefully.
"Oh, it was terrible," Ron admitted, shaking his head. "We spent the first part of it in Three Broomsticks all together," he added quietly after he made sure that the Slytherins were too distracted by the sweets to listen. "That was fine. But then Lavender dragged Seamus away and I was left alone with Parvati, and just...what was I supposed to do? So we went around some shops and I tried to talk but she didn't say anything and..."
"What did you talk about?" Harry asked with suspicion.
"I dunno, normal stuff. The League, the Canons, the strategy I'm devising for Wood..."
"Ron," Neville said, horrified, "you talked to Parvati about Quidditch? You know she doesn't care!"
"What was I supposed to talk about?"
"How about literally anything else?" Harry shook his head. Well, fortunately Ron hadn't cared too much about the date, and Seamus seemed to have done well.
Ron bought himself some of the wonderful sweets they saw on the shelves around them, and that seemed to cheer him up enough to almost forget about his disastrous date. They spent a long time in the sweetshop, and when they left, the sun was already near the horizon and it was time to head back to the castle.
"So, what did you like best?" Neville asked him.
"The Shrieking Shack was really neat," Harry replied.
"We have to go see it next time. You weren't at Three Broomsticks, were you?"
"No, Draco said it's better to go there in winter, when we won't feel like staying outside too much."
"He had a point. Though cold butterbeer won't be exactly refreshing then, I guess."
"Was it now?" Harry asked pointedly, looking at the overcast sky. It didn't rain, fortunately, but it was hardly the kind of weather when one would need a cold drink to be refreshed.
"No, not really," Neville admitted. "But anyway, I think the pub was my favourite part."
Ron chuckled. "That doesn't bode too well for your future," he said, "falling in love with the pub."
All the Gryffindors laughed, and Ron continued: "I liked the Honeydukes best, personally."
"So did I!" Sophie agreed, and even Dean seemed to prefer it, though he said the Quidditch shop was brilliant too.
The whole visit was a nice distraction from school, Harry supposed, and he figured it would even be nice to take a girl there one day.
The only mark against it in his mind was going around those Dementors. The Slytherin group followed closely behind the Gryffindors, and when they approached Hogwarts gates, they huddled more closely together, intermingling. Harry summoned his Patronus easier than usual when surrounded by them. It was as if they blocked out the Dementors a little. Maybe it was like Boggarts, that big crowds confused them?
They got back to the castle and changed into dry clothes to get ready for the Halloween Feast, a perfect end to a very nice day – well, for everyone except Ron and Parvati, Harry supposed. Parvati seemed not to be talking to him at the moment, and in fact, went to sit with her sister for the feast, since Lavender was fully occupied by smiling at Seamus.
But everyone else enjoyed the feast immensely, admiring Hagrid's pumpkins and discussing the wonders of Hogsmeade. Most Gryffindors seemed to agree that Honeydukes was the best place. Harry himself was torn. The Shack really was a wonderful mystery, and when he told his friends about the questions surrounding it, it did catch their interest.
"Maybe it was some secret Death Eater thing," Ron speculated.
Harry wanted to say that there was a good chance Theo and Draco would have known about it if that was the case, but then changed his mind. No need to remind Ron of who their fathers were.
They left the Hall and went up to the Tower in good spirits and amidst cheerful banter, surrounded by a crowd of Gryffindors. Their smiles, however, froze on their lips when they reached the entrance.
The canvas where the Fat Lady normally sat was torn to shreds, with her nowhere in sight. It looked horrifying.
"What happened?" Seamus muttered in an alarmed tone.
"I have no idea," Kiara, standing next to him, said. "This has never happened before, and it looks like a vicious attack."
"Do you think it's something like that troll in our second year?" Katie asked.
Harry fervently hoped not.
"Let me through, please," Percy's voice came from behind them. "What's the hold-up here? You can't all have forgotten the password – excuse me, I'm Head Boy-"
He reached the frame, and stared, dumbstruck, at the image it presented. "Somebody get Professor Dumbledore. Quick," he said after a long moment of silence.
Ginny appeared in that moment, along with Harriet and another girl Harry didn't know, but had seen them with before. She was a first year like Harriet, as far as he knew. "What's going on?" Ginny asked, and Harry just mutely pointed to the torn canvas.
"Oh Merlin," Ginny muttered. "How...what happened?"
"It looks like the Fat Lady was attacked," Harry stated the obvious.
"Does...does that kind of thing happen often?" Harriet's friend asked nervously.
"No!" Harry assured her, thinking a bit guiltily about the troll, and Quirell in general. He wondered if she was Muggle-Born. It must be discomfiting to come to a whole new world and then see things like Dementors and this.
Before anything more could be said, Dumbledore arrived, looking very grave. It wasn't until Peeves appeared, though, telling everyone that Sirius Black was behind this attack, that Harry truly felt like the floor had disappeared from underneath his feet.
Black was here, at Hogwarts.
Harry saw his Boggart as if it was there again. If his cousin's idea was right, if Riddle was really inside the castle again…
He took out his mirror and called Alduin immediately.
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The moment Alduin was off the mirror with Harry, he almost ran to the fireplace and stuck his head in to call Lupin.
However, no one was answering and the man was nowhere in sight.
Frustrated, Alduin sat down to write a letter instead.
What he needed to do now was arrange a date to meet Lupin. It was time for a nice, friendly chat. The first Quidditch match of the season was to take place on Saturday, which was very convenient, really. If Dumbledore was unwilling to pursue this connection, he would.
This duty done, he went in search of Alexandra, to give her the most recent news. She was lying down, as she frequently was these days, and she was reading a book, resting it on her pregnant belly. "What is it?" She asked, turning to him.
"Sirius Black is at Hogwarts," he said without preamble. "As in, inside the castle."
She frowned. "Do you want to pull Harry out?"
"I asked, and he doesn't want me to. Just as I expected," Alduin added, trying not to feel bitter.
"Do you think Lupin had anything to do with this?" Alexandra asked next.
Alduin hesitated. "I...don't want to think so, and yet. If he didn't, he might still know something. I already wrote to him to arrange a meeting, since he didn't answer my Floo call."
"Dumbledore probably has them searching the school," Alexandra said with a nod.
Alduin scoffed. "As if they could find Black when he doesn't want to be found."
"What was he doing inside the castle, anyway?" Alexandra wondered. "There are surely easier ways to capture Harry, if that's what he's after."
"Hard to tell. He tried to break into the Gryffindor tower during the Feast," Alduin explained.
Alexandra stared. "Why during the Feast? No one was there."
"Perhaps he wanted to lie in wait? Even for him, it might be hard to take a whole House head on. It's hard to-"
Dibby appeared in that moment, interrupting him. "Begging pardon, master," he said, "but Mister Abdullah is on the Floo, wanting to speak to you."
"Tell him I'll be right there," Alduin replied, and with a nod to Alexandra, trotted downstairs.
"Has Harry told you?" Abdullah asked without preamble.
"Yes," Alduin confirmed.
"Should I pull Abdulaziz out?" Was Abdullah's next question, and Alduin sighed.
"He's unlikely to be in any danger," he said heavily.
"Are you insane? Sirius Black is in that school, and you say he's not in danger?"
"Black is after Harry," Alduin admitted. "Abdulaziz is not even in the same year or house. He's unlikely to be caught in any attack."
"This would be more of a relief if we weren't talking about your ward," Abdullah replied grimly.
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The Gryffindors were exiled into the Great Hall, where they were joined by the rest of the school soon enough. There were sleeping bags on the floor, so apparently they were expected to spend the night there. Harry supposed it was easier to keep watch on them when they were all in one place.
Most of the third years gathered together, discussing what happened in hushed tones. The non-Gryffindors were all shocked by the news.
"But why is he here?" Draco asked insistently once he got over the initial surprise. "Why is he at Hogwarts? What if it's Slytherin he tries to break into next, and this time, he manages?"
Harry and Neville exchanged a look. Neville was the only one of his friends who knew the entire history behind Black, but now Harry decided it was time to talk.
"He won't," he said. "He's after me."
"What?" Draco stared. "That's nonsense."
"No, it's not. It makes sense, doesn't it. He's a Riddle loyalist." Harry would have liked to tell them he believed him to be possessed by Riddle, too, but knew he couldn't afford to do that. "Just before he escaped, he reportedly kept muttering in his cell 'he's at Hogwarts, he's at Hogwarts.'"
"Harry, mate, there are more people at Hogwarts than just you," Draco told him with a bit of an eye-roll. "It's not you, trust me."
"How can you know that?" Ron asked aggressively.
Draco paused. "I have to go call my father," he said abruptly.
He returned fifteen minutes later, insisting that he couldn't tell them anything but that it was definitely not Harry Black was after. This was all very curious indeed. Harry would have to call Alduin again.