Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
Chapter 30 – Flight of the Fat Lady
Harry couldn't wait to tell Ginny, Ron and Hermione everything and the four friends stayed up well into the night talking. It was nice to see Harry so excited about something, that none of his friends could find it in themselves to stop him, even though it meant they would be exhausted in class the following day. Harry's good mood continued throughout the day and not even Snape's foul mood during training, or Oliver calling for a last-minute practice after dinner, could ruin it. That weekend was the third Hogsmeade weekend of the year and probably the last one without snow until spring, so Harry, Ron and Hermione decided to explore the area around the village while they could before not even water repelling charms could keep them dry in the deep Scottish winter snows. They went up to look at the Shrieking Shack – supposedly the most haunted building in Britain – and had the usual run in with Malfoy and his cronies before making their way back into the village and towards Honeydukes; Harry carrying a list of sweets Ginny wanted, since as a second year, she was not allowed into the village. They were halfway there when Hermione stopped suddenly next to an alley.
"Hermione?" Harry asked. She shushed him and slowly made her way into the alley towards a trash bin. Harry and Ron shared a look wondering why she found trash so interesting, though a moment later they saw that it wasn't the trash Hermione had been looking at. With a loud clang that startled them, a large orange ball of fur jumped onto one of the bins, a half-eaten, mouldy piece of something, that it had no doubt just scavenged from the bin, in its mouth.
"Can we go now?" Ron asked, sounding disgusted as it finished off whatever its meal was.
"Ronald!" Hermione admonished. "This is the same cat we saw last Hogsmeade weekend." Harry vaguely remembered Hermione pointing out an orange furball that was wandering the streets during last month's trip, but he wasn't sure if he'd have called it a cat, for it looked more like someone had charmed an actual ball of fur, it was so unidentifiable.
"So?" Hermione shot Ron a dirty look.
"So, it clearly doesn't belong to anyone like we thought last time. Not if it's scavenging for scraps and looking like no one's groomed it this whole time."
"Again I ask: so?"
"So we can't just leave it here to starve and freeze!" Her voice had taken on the tone it did when they stood no chance of changing her mind. Harry and Ron sighed in resignation and Hermione smiled triumphantly. She reached out and slowly approached the cat, not wanting to scare it. The cat eyed her but didn't run and began rubbing against her hand when she got close enough. Hermione took the cat into her arms and smiled when it settled down.
"So what do we do with it now?" Ron asked, trying not to sound too put out, though Hermione still glared at him.
"The pet shop is down the road." She replied. "It's a small village so they are likely to know if it belongs to someone, or know where we can take it." The boys trudged along after her, Harry muttering that it wouldn't be a total waste of time, as he did need to get treats for Hedwig. Entering the pet shop they were greeted by a myriad of sounds and smells. A couple other students were milling about looking at the animals, but otherwise the shop was empty of customers, which meant Hermione could walk right up to the counter.
"Excuse me?" She said to the witch who was concentrating on getting a group of tiny frogs back in a tank. "We were wondering if you knew this cat? We found it scavenging in the trash, and I think it's lost." The witch held up a finger and managed to get the last frog back into the tank before slamming the lid shut and using several spells to keep it closed before turning towards Hermione.
"You!" She immediately cried upon seeing the orange cat. "I thought I was finally free of you when you up and disappeared a month ago." She grumbled as she reached for the cat, but Hermione held it back.
"What do you mean you were finally free of it?!" She demanded. "It's just a cat! It was out there freezing and starving and you didn't even look for it?" Harry and Ron took a step back, both knowing that tone of voice as well.
"Crookshanks is half-kneazle actually, and the bloody thing's a menace!" The witch insisted, not at all apologetic. "He terrorizes the other animals, not to mention the number of times he's scared off my customers." The glare Hermione sent the woman actually had Harry and Ron muttering excuses and disappearing outside.
"Bloody hell, I almost feel sorry for the witch." Ron said and Harry nodded his agreement. "Wait, didn't you need owl treats?"
"Yeah, but there's no bloody way I'm going back in there." Ron nodded his own agreement. The two didn't have to wait long for Hermione to come out, though they were horrified to see she was still carrying the cat, though this time he'd been put inside a carrier.
"What do you think you're doing?" Ron asked.
"What does it look like I'm doing, Ronald?" She asked primly as she began to make her way towards Honeydukes.
"You didn't buy that thing did you?"
"Of course not." Ron almost breathed a sigh of relief. "The shop keeper gave Crookshanks to me, along with the carrier and set of charmed combs to help get all that matted fur out."
"What?!"
"Honestly, Ronald, we couldn't just leave him there. The witch said he'd been in the shop for years, no one wanted him, the poor dear." She crooned lovingly at her new pet.
"But…I…what about Scabbers?" Ron tried a new tactic. "He's been ill ever since we got back from Egypt, having a cat around won't help that."
"Scabbers stays with you in the boy's dorm and Crookshanks will be with me in the girl's. He'll be fine." Ron went to protest again but Harry put a hand on his shoulder and shook his head. "Thank you for your support, Harry." Hermione said, turning around and giving him a brilliant smile, though how she took him stopping one of her and Ron's famous arguments as support for the beast he didn't know. "Oh, and I got you your owl treats, since you left without them." Harry said thank you and the two boys followed Hermione into the sweet shop where she purchased a few sugar quills before standing off to the side to wait as Ron and Harry spent most of their pocket money.
-H/G-
The next few days were hard on Harry and Ginny. The second year had taken to Crookshanks immediately and it seemed that he adored both girls. Harry had to admit that once Hermione had removed the matted fur, given him a trim and brushed him out that Crookshanks wasn't as bad looking a cat as he'd thought, though the squished face still left much to be desired. The real problem though was that it appeared that Ron had been right, for no sooner had Hermione brought Crookshanks down to the common room for the first time that the half-kneazle began stalking Scabbers. This, of course, began arguably the biggest row Ron and Hermione had ever had, and it didn't seem to have an end, which put Harry and Ginny in the middle. The two escaped as often as they could, Ginny attending several of Gryffindor's practices in the lead up for their next game. They were facing Hufflepuff, which usually wouldn't pose much of a problem, but the new Captain this year – sixth-year Cedric Diggory, who Harry had to admit was a rather good seeker – had managed to put together a rather good team.
When they weren't at quidditch practice, Harry took Ginny to meet Professor Lupin, properly, not merely as a teacher. The first time he had brought her to tea the professor had a knowing twinkle in his eye and commented that Harry was eons ahead of James, for while both had met their mates at an early age, it took years before Lily would give James the time of day. Harry and Ginny blushed and took it as mere teasing, though the twinkle in Lupin's eye remained. The two were returning to the common room, hoping they could sneak in without Ron or Hermione noticing them, but it appeared they wouldn't be getting into the common room at all.
"What's going on?" Harry asked no one in particular. The hallway was crowded with Gryffindors, none of them going through the portrait hole.
"What's going on here?" A more authoritative voice asked as Percy pushed his way forward.
"You can't all have forgotten the password. Let me through please, excuse me, I'm Head Boy!" Harry and Ginny followed in her brother's wake to get to the front, all three gasping at what they saw. The Fat Lady was gone, and rightfully so, given the state of her painting. Three slashes were viciously cut across the canvas, pieces of it littering the floor.
"Sweet Merlin…"
"Stay back everyone! And someone get Professor Dumbledore. Quickly!" Percy ordered. It was barely a minute before the Headmaster arrived, McGonagall, Snape and Lupin hot on his heels. Dumbledore moved forward and touched the canvas where it had been slashed before turning to the professors.
"We must find her. Professor Snape, please go to Mr. Filch at once and tell him to start searching every painting in the castle until he finds the Fat Lady. Professor Lupin, the ghosts can help, please round them up."
"You're in luck!" A voice everyone in the castle recognized cackled.
"What do you mean, Peeves?" Dumbledore asked calmly and the poltergeist's smirk disappeared; even he didn't dare taunt Dumbledore.
"I know where she is, Your Headship, sir. She's a horrible mess. Saw her running through the landscape up on the fourth floor, sir, dodging between the trees. She's hiding with the hippo now, she is."
"Did she say who did this?" Peeves shook his head and did a summersault mid-air, landing upside down.
"Crying something dreadful, she was." He said happily from between his own legs. "Poor thing." He added unconvincingly. Dumbledore looked to McGonagall before taking off down to the fourth floor. The entire congregation followed him until he stopped in front of an unassuming portrait of a hippo that Harry didn't remember, though he'd passed it many times before.
"Dear Lady," Dumbledore spoke gently when the Fat Lady poked her head out from behind the hippo. "Who did this to you?"
"Eyes like the devil he's got!" She sobbed. "And a soul as dark as his name. Took a knife to me when I wouldn't let him in!
"Who?"
"Him, Headmaster, the one they all talk about. He's here, somewhere in the castle…Sirius Black!" Gasps were heard and terrified chatter broke out. Even Dumbledore looked worried.
"Secure the castle." He instructed and both Snape and Lupin rushed off. "The rest of you, to the Great Hall!" The students began to move, though not quickly enough as far as Percy was concerned.
"You heard, move it! This is no time to dawdle!" Luckily the students seemed to agree with him for once and Percy didn't have to bring his Head Boyship into it. Harry and Ginny were among the last to start heading downstairs when they had a thought.
"Ron and Hermione were in the common room!" They said together and turned as one to go back up to the seventh floor.
"And where do you two think you're going?" Percy's hand shot out and he grabbed his sister's arm.
"Ron and Hermione!" Said Ginny. "They were in the common room, we have to get them!" Percy didn't find that excuse acceptable and began pulling Ginny towards the Great Hall.
"You do not have to go anything but get down to the Great Hall as instructed." He said.
"But Percy-"
"Professor McGonagall has already gone to get those inside the common room. They will join you in the Great Hall." Their fears somewhat alleviated, Ginny allowed herself to be led downstairs, Harry following behind. It wasn't for several more minutes, though, until they actually relaxed when Ron and Hermione did indeed join them.
"What happened?" Was the first thing they asked. "We heard a scream from outside the portrait hole, but the Fat Lady wouldn't let us out!" Harry and Ginny explained what they knew and were relieved to see that their friends' fighting hadn't gone beyond the superficial. When she heard the name Sirius Black, Hermione instinctively reached out and grabbed Ron's hand, but instead of shaking her off he grasped her hand in return, neither letting go for several minutes. Not long after the other houses joined the Gryffindors and Harry watched as Percy and the Head Girl, a Ravenclaw named Penelope Clearwater, rounded up the prefects and had them stand guard at all of the entrances. Dinner was a subdued affair and as night fell the teachers, who had been making a thorough search of the castle, returned and cast the tables and benches aside, before conjuring sleeping bags. They were instructed to grab a sleeping bag and go to sleep. No one was sure what time it was, and several of the older students complained that they weren't children to have a bedtime, but Percy and Penelope quickly shut them down.
"Lights out in ten minutes!" Percy shouted. "Get into your sleeping bags and no more talking!" Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny grabbed bags and pulled them over to an empty space that they claimed for themselves. They laid down, but they knew none of them would sleep.
"How do you think he got in?" Ron whispered, pretending to sleep when Percy came around to check on their area. "Apparated?"
"Honestly, am I the only one who has read Hogwarts: A History?" Hermione huffed.
"Probably." Ron replied. "Why?"
"Hogwarts is protected by more than walls, you know. There are all sorts of enchantments protecting the castle, most of them cast by the Founders themselves when Hogwarts was first built."
"So then how?" Hermione sighed.
"I don't know." If Harry had bothered to look, he would have seen Ron's hand reach out this time, and Hermione allowing hers to be held. He was more focused though on Ginny, who scooted closer to him, cuddling against his side. Without thinking he wrapped an arm around her as he had many times before, murmuring that it would be alright. They all fell silent then perhaps Ron and Hermione drifted off, though neither Harry nor Ginny could sleep. They were awake when a teacher returned each hour to check on things, and still unable to sleep when Dumbledore himself came back near dawn.
"Any sign of him, Professor?" Percy's whisper carried in the dead quiet from his spot several feet away.
"No. All well here?"
"Everything under control, sir." Percy sounded immensely proud and important.
"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?" Dumbledore sighed.
"She's still very distressed, but once she's calmed down, I'll have Mr. Filch restore her."
"Very good, sir." Harry could almost feel Ginny rolling her eyes.
"Headmaster." Snape had arrived, his footsteps having been so silent that Harry hadn't heard him approach, though he heard the footsteps that followed.
"I've searched the Astronomy Tower and the Owlery, sir, and there's nothing there." Said Filch.
"The third floor's clear too, sir." Flitwick added.
"And I've done the dungeons, Headmaster. No sign of Black, nor anywhere else in the castle."
"I didn't really expect him linger." Their voices were getting closer, and Harry quickly closed his eyes.
"Remarkable feat, don't you think?" Snape asked, his tone sounding rather pointed. "To enter Hogwarts Castle on one's own, completely undetected."
"Quite remarkable, yes."
"Any theories as to how he managed it?"
"Many, each as unlikely as the next."
"You may recall, prior to the start of term, I did express concerns about your appointment of-"
"Not a single person inside this castle would have helped Sirius Black to enter it." Dumbledore cut Snape off, his tone so final that Snape didn't reply. "Now, I must go down to the dementors, I said I would inform them when our search was complete."
"Didn't they want to help, sir?" Percy asked, somehow still there.
"Oh yes," said Dumbledore coldly. "But I'm afraid no Dementor will cross the threshold of this castle while I am Headmaster." You could almost hear Percy gulp. "Get some sleep, Mr. Weasley. You and Miss Clearwater have done very well here, but the professors can take over now." Percy bid the Headmaster goodnight and for a moment all was silent again.
"What about, Potter?" Harry had to stop his eyes from flying open. Of all the things Snape could have said, he was not expecting his own name. "Should he be warned?"
"Perhaps. But for now let him sleep. Now I really must go to the dementors." A swish of a cloak and Dumbledore was gone. Harry could feel Snape's eyes boring into him and he was sure the professor knew he wasn't really sleeping, though he said nothing as he too departed. When he was sure they were gone Harry opened his eyes. Ginny grasped him tighter, letting him know she had heard everything, and a quick glance to Ron and Hermione saw that they had too.
"What was all that about?" Ron whispered. Harry shrugged as the dread he'd felt over the last two years when something strange happened returned.
A/N - Review please!