Author's note: So this chapter is very short, but in contrast, the next chapter (which I will put up directly after this) is fairly long. I considered combining the two, but as they deal with separate events, I thought they'd be better standing alone. Sorry about the strange imbalance of length. I hope that you enjoy this chapter regardless. Please review!

Author's note #2: As a side note, I've changed my username to Allyswrites, to match my username on AO3.

Warnings: Swearing

Disclaimer:I do not own Harry Potter. I referenced pages 199-204 of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban while writing this chapter.

The Second Break-In

Neville Longbottom was an absolute idiot. Much to the Potion Master's displeasure, he had been woken—a mere two hours after falling asleep—by a silvery phoenix manifesting at the end of his bed.

"Come to the entrance hall," said the bird in Dumbledore's voice. "Sirius Black was in the Gryffindor Tower tonight."

Severus pinched his fingers to the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut. Why was there always a fucking crisis? He wanted to go back to bed.

Wasting no further time, he hurried away, slamming the door to his chambers on his way out. Dumbledore was already dispatching teachers to search various ends of the castle when Severus arrived. Minerva stood at his side.

"How," Severus began without preamble, "precisely did Sirius Black gain access to the Gryffindor Tower?"

"Longbottom has been writing down the passwords so he wouldn't forget them, and then proceeded to lose the paper with the passwords," Minerva replied, her acerbic tone making clear exactly what she thought of this. "Black got into the third-year boys' dormitory. He slashed Ronald Weasley's curtains. Ronald woke up, and he fled in the resulting confusion."

Severus briefly closed his eyes again. Black had been looking for Potter—that was obvious and didn't need to be said—and had very nearly found him. This was the second time, and it was a closer call than the last, and it infuriated Severus that Black had twice managed to get past all of Hogwarts's defences and they didn't know how. He was still betting on the assistance of a certain werewolf.

A few minutes later saw him doing a thorough sweep of the dungeons with Minerva. The darkness, the unused corridors and classrooms, and its distance from the scene of the crime made the dungeons an ideal place for Black murderer to hide, if he was sting hanging around, which was why Dumbledore had sent both of them. He occasionally heard Minerva mutter under her breath about Longbottom and of all the foolish things and have some common sense. It gave him a strange satisfaction that she was so put out with the boy, as he suspected she had a softer-than-usual soft spot for Longbottom, despite his lack of aptitude, seeing as he was the son of Frank and Alice.

But it was thanks to said son of Frank and Alice that it wasn't until dawn that the search was complete and Minerva went to tell her lions that Black had again escaped.

Security was tightened further in response to the second break-in: Filius spent the next day teaching the front doors to recognize a large picture of Sirius Black; Filch was suddenly very busy, bustling up and down the corridors and boarding up everything from tiny cracks in the walls to mouse holes; and Sir Cadogan, the stupid portrait who'd been substituting for the Fat Lady, was sacked immediately. It took Dumbledore quite a while to persuade the Fat Lady to return to her post, but she eventually did so, extremely nervous despite the bunch of surly security trolls hired specifically to guard her. The trolls paced the hall in a menacing group, talking in grunts and comparing the size of their clubs.

Students from other Houses were informed of the event at breakfast the morning after, although by the time Dumbledore stood up to make the announcement near the end of the meal, the news had already made the rumour mill, passed along from friend to friend over eggs and bacon and glasses of orange juice. Severus was spared being bombarded with fearful inquiries from his House, as Filius and Pomona had been, as the majority of Slytherins didn't feel very threatened. Half of them were probably cheering for Black, considering the families from which they came.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Longbottom was walking around even more terrified than usual. Minerva was so furious with him she banned him from all future Hogsmeade visits, gave him detention, and forbid anyone to give him the password to the Tower. Best of all, two days after the break-in, Neville received a Howler from his grandmother: everyone looked up as he seized the scarlet envelope and, holding it before him like a bomb, sprinted out of the Hall. They heard the Howler go off in the Entrance Hall.

"Neville Longbottom!" came Augusta's voice, magically magnified to a hundred times its usual volume. "I dare say I should pull you out of Hogwarts this instant, perhaps that would teach you something! I resigned myself long ago to being disappointed in you, but this latest lapse of yours brings shame on the whole family! Imagine what your parents would say…."

The Slytherins were practically doubled over laughing. Severus was quite entertained himself.