- CHAPTER SIX -

In Case of Emergency

The following day was a Saturday and a Hogsmeade weekend to boot, much to nearly the entire student body's delight. I say nearly because I don't include myself in this group. Due to my idiocy the night previous I had no choice but to skip out on the trip to Hogsmeade. My awkwardness on my feet hadn't quite subsided, and I knew I wouldn't be able to walk all the way there without looking like a complete moron. After the escapade where Fred nearly had to carry me back to Gryffindor tower I wasn't in the mood to be further embarrassed.

So, due to my misfortune I was forced to sit in the common room for the majority of the day. Mercifully though, I wasn't alone. Fred had shockingly volunteered to stay behind so as not to leave me by myself. When I asked him why, he replied with a simple shrug, stating that he didn't have the money to spend in Hogsmeade this weekend. I didn't quite buy this story, but I wasn't going to argue with him if it meant I'd have some company throughout the day. Perhaps he was just being a good friend. There is a first for everything, after all.

Fred and I ended up having quite an enjoyable day together. He promised not to use me as a test subject for his inventions, and even brought me up to his dormitory so I could help him with a new prototype he and George were working on. In reality, this consisted less of me helping Fred and more of him attempting to explain how he comes up with the recipes for all of his strange creations.

"So, what's the plan once you and George have gotten all of your tricks up to par?" I asked, watching from Fred's bed as he stirred a cauldron full of bubbly purple goo on the floor below me.

"It's all very hush-hush, Juliet," he replied. "We're playing this very close to the chest."

"But I'm your best mate," I objected.

He cast a glance up at me and smirked.

"We're going to sell them," he said simply. "I thought that much was clear."

"Oh," I replied, a bit surprised. "I guess that makes sense. I always thought you two just enjoyed making them."

"Well we do," he said, turning his attention back to his cauldron, "but we'd enjoy it a lot more if we could make a few Galleons doing it as well."

I let out a surprised laugh.

"What's funny?" he asked.

"I just didn't realize you two actually had a true ambition," I admitted.

"I'm more than just rugged good looks, Juliet," Fred said, feigning offence.

I rolled my eyes at him and let out a laugh. "You certainly do think highly of yourself."

Fred chuckled, his eyes still on the bubbling cauldron. He bent low as if to smell the contents, and then stuck a finger into the mixture, removing a purple-covered index finger.

"Do me a favour," he said, holding his finger towards me. "Taste this."

"No way," I responded quickly.

"Oh, come on Jules. Just one little taste," he encouraged. He had an evil grin on his face that warned me not to trust him.

"I'm not stupid," I said.

"I beg to differ," he countered, getting up from his seat on the floor.

I hardly had time to squeal before he had tackled me on the mattress, waving his offensive purple finger in front of my face. He quickly pinned me down as I tried in vain to escape his firm grip.

"Fred!" I yelped through my growing laughter, "Gerroff me!"

Fred was laughing almost as much as me, and despite my flailing limbs managed to smear the purple goop all over the left side of my face. I screamed out in surprise, trying to fight my way out from underneath his weight.

"What is that?" I asked, horrified that I may be turning into chicken or lizard before his eyes. "Is it poisonous? Do I have feathers? What did you do to me?" I panicked as Fred broke down into a fit of giggles and I wrenched myself out of his grip, hobbling for the mirror in the boys' bathroom.

"It's nothing, Juliet!" he said with difficulty through his laughter. "I just wanted to see your reaction."

I monitored myself in the mirror and saw no feathers or anything else unusual occurring on my face. In fact, the purple goop had hardened and pealed right off my skin in one firm lump. Holding it in my hand, I noticed it regained some of its fluidity. I rolled it around in the palm of my hand.

"What is this?" I asked again. My shock had worn off and was replaced by curiosity.

"It's a recipe George and I came up with," Fred answered, sitting up straight on his four-poster bed. "It doesn't have much of a function, but it takes the form of whatever you want it to be."

He reached his hand into the cauldron (which had now stopped bubbling) and pulled out another handful of the goopy substance. As soon as he removed it from the pot it changed shape entirely. It became a purple miniature of me.

"Whoa," I said, astonished. I looked down at the small ball in my hand and pictured a Snitch. The purple blob immediately transformed to match my imagination.

"We haven't figured out how to change the colour," Fred explained, "but we thought this would be a potential product for our line. Kind of a child's toy – a version of Muggle modelling clay."

"This is brilliant," I said, looking up at him with an expression of awe. "You're brilliant."

"You're too kind," he said, handing me the small model of me. As soon as it transferred into my hands it merged with the piece that was already in my palm and reformed to become Fred's face.

"It's a little touchy," he said, peering at the replica of himself in my palm. He met my gaze with a slightly teasing glint in his eye. "It changes to exactly what's on your mind while you're holding it."

I laughed a little uncomfortably. I suddenly wanted to put the clay down. The idea of someone seeing my thoughts was a little disturbing, and the fact that Fred's grinning face was what was on my mind was a bit embarrassing. Of course, it had to simply be because I had just spent a full day laughing with him.

"This would sell," I said honestly.

He grinned at me proudly.

"Keep that. When we've got a polished batch I'll give you the real thing," he told me, still staring at his face in my hand. I wished it would change. I tried to think of something else.

"Purple's not really your colour," I joked, tucking the ball of clay into my pocket.

Fred gave me a smirk as he tidied up his potions supplies.

"I'm feeling a bit peckish," he said. "Reckon it's almost dinner."

"Probably," I agreed. It wouldn't be long before the others would be making their way back from their busy day of shopping and eating sweets.

When Fred and I returned to the common room, we were met by Lee and George who triumphantly showed off a new Zonko's product they had discovered on their trip. Fred looked on in interest. I wasn't nearly as impressed after seeing the work Fred and George had done. I guess I had never really given the lads enough credit for their handiwork.

By the time dinner rolled around, my foot was feeling much more normal. I managed to make it down to the Great Hall for the feast with minimal difficulty, and hardly any teasing from the blokes.

"Were the Dementors still stationed at the entrances when you left for Hogsmeade?" I asked curiously as we all tucked in to the delicious meal in front of us.

Lee nodded, a look of disgust on his face. "They didn't come near us," he said, "but they were there."

"It's a wonder we're even allowed to go to Hogsmeade," Fred pointed out. "What with Sirius Black crawling around out there."

"I still don't think he'd come anywhere near the castle," George said. "He would have to be really thick to risk facing Dumbledore."

"Why didn't you come with us today?" Lee asked Fred, as though he had just thought of it now.

Fred shrugged and gave an explanation that was entirely different from the one he gave me earlier. "Couldn't leave Juliet here alone with a bum leg. What if there was an emergency?"

"Emergency," George scoffed as I looked at Fred in curiosity, mulling over what he had just said. "What kind of emergency would happen in the middle of the day under the supervision of the teachers?"

George's question was answered as we made our way back to Gryffindor tower. The four of us were chatting happily feeling very full after a satisfying meal. It was just as George and Lee were describing a particularly hilarious run-in they had had with a few Slytherins that we made it to the Fat Lady portrait. We were met by a bizarre scene. There was a huge crowd of Gryffindor students standing in the corridor, seemingly unable to get through to the common room.

"What's going on?" I asked, looking around. Fred and George, being the tallest of the four of us, tried to see over the heads of the students, but saw nothing.

"Let me through, please," came Percy's arrogant voice.

I turned around and saw him pushing himself importantly through the crowd.

"What's the hold up here? You can't all have forgotten the password—excuse me, I'm Head Boy."

An eerie silence went through the crowd as Percy reached the front of the crowd of confused students. I looked up at Fred and George's perplexed faces before hearing Percy's voice again.

"Somebody get Professor Dumbledore. Quick."

Just as his name was spoken, Dumbledore showed up and started moving swiftly through the students. Looking forward again I saw what everyone was fussing about. The crowd had parted and I had a clear view of what was wrong: the Fat Lady had vanished from her portrait. Her canvas had been slashed and bits of it had been torn away.

"What happened?" I asked, staring at the empty canvas in fear and awe. Who would do something like this? Surely it wasn't a student…

Dumbledore took one look at the portrait, and then turned to Professor McGonagall, Professor Lupin, and Snape who had just arrived. "We need to find her," he said, "Professor McGonagall, please go to Mr. Filch at once and tell him to search every painting in the castle for the Fat Lady."

"You'll be lucky!"

I turned my head once again, this time to see that it was Peeves the poltergeist. He spoke in his cackling voice, sounding just as mad as usual.

"What do you mean Peeves?" said Dumbledore calmly.

"Ashamed, Your Headship, sir. Doesn't want to be seen. She's a horrible mess. Saw her running through the landscape up on the fourth floor, sir, dodging between the trees. Crying something dreadful," he said happily.

There was a hush as Peeves' words settled in.

"Poor thing," the poltergeist added unconvincingly to end his description.

"Did she say who did it?" asked Professor Dumbledore.

"Oh, yes, Professorhead," said Peeves. "He got very angry when she wouldn't let him in, you see. Nasty temper he's got that Sirius Black."

There was a great intake of breath at Peeve's last words and then a loud murmur of worried students whispering. I looked up at Fred, Lee, and George. They looked absolutely shocked, though so did the rest of the surrounding students.

"Quiet!" Dumbledore yelled over the talking. "I want everyone to return to the Great Hall. We will give you further instruction later," he said calmly.

"Come on," George said to me, taking a firm hold of my arm and tugging me along. "You're foot good? You can walk quickly, right?"

I nodded. It was a good thing I was feeling better, because clearly there was no time for foolish hobbling now. The crowd of students was making their way swiftly to the Great Hall, and we definitely didn't want to be left behind.

The Gryffindors had all begun to panic as they made their way back to the hall. George released his grip on me and everyone began bustling about, talking to each other in scared voices. Had Sirius Black really attacked the Fat Lady? How did he get into the castle? What about the Dementors? There was a loud chatter amongst everyone.

Ten minutes after arriving back at the Great Hall, the Gryffindors were joined by very confused Slytherins, Ravenclaws, and Hufflepuffs. Most of them were clad in their pajamas. Apparently they were already on their way to bed when they heard the news. I thought vaguely how bizarre it was for students to be heading directly to bed after dinner, but the thought was driven from my mind. Now was not to time to analyze the strange behaviour of students in other houses.

"Do you think he's still in here?" Fred asked looking at me with what was unmistakeably worry on his face.

"I don't know…" I replied.

"How did he get in?" Lee questioned.

This left me absolutely puzzled. Despite what I had said on the train about Black being stealthy enough to make it into the castle, there was no way I could think of that would allow him to pass over the threshold undetected. Dementors were guarding all of the entrances to the castle…and even if he snuck in through an unknown passage, he certainly wouldn't have been able to go wandering through the school unseen or heard.

Someone surely would have noticed him. And with Dumbledore around…

Why would Black dare enter the school that holds the one person the Dark Lord himself fears?

"Do either of you have the map?" I asked suddenly. If Sirius Black was still on school grounds we would be able to see him.

George shook his head. "Left it in the dormitory."

I scrunched up my face in disappointment, but said nothing more, as Dumbledore had entered and was beginning to speak.

"The teachers and I need to conduct a thorough search of the castle," he announced as the other teachers slammed the Great Hall doors shut.

"I'm afraid that, for your own safety, you will have to spend the night here. I want the Prefects to stand guard over the entrances to the Hall and I am leaving the Head Boy and Girl in charge. Any disturbances should be reported to me immediately," he added to Percy, "Send word with one of the ghosts."

Dumbledore was about to leave when he turned around and waved his wand causing the tables to fly to the edges of the Hall and stand themselves up. With another wave the floor was covered with hundreds of squashy purple sleeping bags.

"Sleep well," he said exiting and closing the door behind him.

Everyone immediately began talking again. I exchanged worried glances with Fred, George and Lee.

"Everyone into their sleeping bags!" shouted Percy, "No more talking, lights out in ten minutes!"

The four of us pulled our sleeping bags over to one of the walls of the Hall near to where Katie and Alicia were already situated. I clamoured into my bag while Fred and George positioned themselves on either side of me.

"Dumbledore obviously thinks that Black is still in the castle," George whispered as the girls shifted their squashy sleeping bags so they could get in on the conversation.

"You don't think he's come after Harry do you?" Katie asked.

"I wouldn't think he would do that, but I don't see any other reason for him being here…" I answered slowly.

"How do you think he got in here?" George asked.

"I dunno, I mean, you can't Apparate in Hogwarts grounds, and the castle is greatly protected, and now with the Dementors…" I said. The idea of him breaking in seemed impossible.

"The lights are going off now, I want no more talking and everyone in their sleeping bags!" yelled Percy as the lights went out.

The group of us grumbled, but lay down in our sleeping bags nonetheless, each of us with our heads on our pillows. We shifted in a way that our heads were in a circle, allowing us to hear each other talking without raising our voices enough to be heard by Percy.

"Do they actually expect us to go to sleep after that?" Alicia whispered.

"D'you think there's any chance the teachers will find him?" Katie asked.

"No idea," George replied.

"He's probably long gone by now," said Lee, "Don't imagine he'd be sticking around."

I fell silent, listening to the others as they continued to whisper amongst themselves. My thoughts wandered back to the first day of school when the Marauder's Map had showed Peter Pettigrew on the edge of the forest…Nothing made any sense.

"You ok?" Fred whispered. He had huddled in close to me and I could feel his breath on the back of my neck. It made my hair stand on end and my pulse start to race. I wasn't sure if it was solely him causing it, or if my nerves were just shot after such a shocking event.

"I'm fine," I replied, although it was far from the truth.

Fred snaked one arm around me and my sleeping bag and gave me a squeeze. I thought vaguely of how surprisingly protected I felt with him holding on to me…but with thoughts of Sirius Black and the disturbing appearance of Pettigrew's name on the map lingering in my mind, I found it hard to concentrate on the warmth of his breathing on my neck and the proximity of our bodies.

Sleeping definitely proved to be an impossible task, as I remained awake for hours in Fred's arms. He and George had fallen asleep long ago—or at least I thought they did. They could have been faking it. However, Fred's arm gave a little jolt every once in a while as though he were dreaming. As I hadn't heard a word from the rest of the group either, I assumed they had all been claimed by their exhaustion.

Every hour a teacher would come in to check on the students and to make sure everyone was asleep and well, but it wasn't until around three in the morning that I heard any news of what was going on.

Dumbledore came into the Hall and walked up and down the aisles between the students talking to Percy. I listened intently, trying to pick up some information as they spoke.

I turned my head slightly and saw Harry a few feet away from me adjusting himself so that he too could hear what Dumbledore was saying.

"Any sign of him, Professor?" asked Percy in a whisper.

"No. All well here?"

"Everything under control, sir."

"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."

Percy and Dumbledore stopped talking when Snape entered and asked to speak with Professor Dumbledore.

I couldn't hear what they were saying and I could no longer keep my eyes open. I strained to hear more, but sleep finally claimed me.