Chapter Nine: in which Sirius Black gets away

[Author's note: Sorry guys I got sucked into Stardew Valley. And prelims. And Covid. I will finish this, I promise.]

McGonagall didn't stop for explanations—we just sort of chased after her and pieced together the details from her shouted commentary as we went, with the whole entire faculty following behind us, which isn't easy to do when you are feeling about eighty-seven different emotions at once.

Apparently, Black had broken into the castle and into the Gryffindor common room—fortunately, the students had all snuck out to their own secret rager in an undisclosed location so no one was hurt, although apparently the portrait guardian was severely traumatized.

Black probably would have vanished into the night like a ghost, except that he happened to run past the Room of Requirement at the same time as the faculty were leaving the party. Black had darted down the secret passageway, and they had all followed him. He must have run right past us, but under the circumstances we didn't notice anything. From the sound of it, he was running so fast that he may not have noticed us either.

"What about the students?" I asked.

"They're in the Great Hall. Rosmerta and Firenze are guarding them."

"That's it?" It's not that Rosmerta and Firenze aren't formidable—but it certainly didn't seem like enough.

"The Great Hall is quite safe," panted Dumbledore, who was keeping up remarkably well for someone who was at least a hundred.

"Like hell it is," I said. We burst out of the secret passage, which split off into two directions—the little hall and stair up to the top of the faculty tower, and another way leading towards the infirmary and the great hall. The half-drunken search party split off into two groups.

I grabbed Remus by the arm. "You go find him—I'm gonna check on the students."

To his credit, he didn't protest or tell me that it was too dangerous. He just nodded, gave me one look, as if he was trying to fix my face in his mind. Then he darted off after the half of the group that was racing up the tower stairs. The other half of the group ran down the other hall.

"I'll go with you," said Poppy. "There's a floo shortcut around the corner."

My mind was reeling. Black was in the castle. Close enough to kill us if he hadn't been running. And now Remus was after him, trying to find him. What if he got killed? What if that was the last time I saw him? And how on earth would we protect the students?

"So," said Poppy, as she tossed Floo Powder into the empty fireplace. "You and Lupin?"

"Uh…yeah," I said, feeling my cheeks burning as the powder burst into flames. "That is, I mean…"

"I've had a bet on with Pomona," she said. She did not elaborate on what the bet was, but she must have won quite a lot, because she was still chuckling as she stepped into the fireplace.

I followed her. I can't use Floo Powder by myself, but if someone with magic casts it into the fire I usually manage to get there. It's efficient, but that's about all I have to say for it. It's rather like going down a dark, narrow slide with lots of soot in it. But in a few seconds, I stepped out of the massive fireplace in the Great Hall, coughing and spluttering. The hall was…sort of in control. Students were milling around in groups, talking anxiously, while the prefects attempted to keep the volume at a minimum. Firenze was guarding the doors, looking fierce. Hagrid had apparently also found his way to the hall and was guarding the back door. I felt a little better seeing his great form flickering against the shadows. Poppy quickly cast a ward on the fireplaces so that no one could use the Floo network to get inside.

Rosmerta had conjured up a few enormous kegs of Butterbeer and was doling it out to the students. "I couldn't think of what else to do," she said. "It won't hurt them, at any rate."

I sat down heavily beside her, and realized that my feet were aching. She poured me out a mug of it as well. I held it with both hands, grateful for the warmth. When the students were far enough away, I asked, "What are we going to do if—"

"We'll go to the kitchens," she said. "Dumbledore sent word. There's a spell that links the tables to the kitchens. If…something happens, all the students are to go to the tables. After that…I don't know."

My brain lurched drunkenly through possible scenarios. We had, of course, been briefed on fire escape routes and all that—I had insisted. "Of all the nights," I muttered. After the events of last year, I had taken to carrying a gun with me at Hogwarts (the regulations are more loose in the wizarding world than in the rest of Britain, presumably because no one uses them.) But of course I hadn't brought it to the party. It was in my bedroom, in a locked box in the wardobe. McGonagall had cast a spell over it to keep out the more basic break-in charms like "Alohomora." I wrung my hands in frustration.

"Where are the others?" asked Rosmerta, still in a low voice.

"Out hunting Black," I said. "He went right past us."

"Us?" said Rosmerta, perking up.

"Remus left with me," I said. She raised an eyebrow. "I'll tell you later," I said.

"The instant you get off work tomorrow," she said.

I tried not to think about the possibility that there might not be a tomorrow. I had gone through active shooter training back in grad school. It hadn't been particularly helpful. Well, it can't be worse than a demon and a giant snake.

More students came up to get butterbeer and ask questions. We did our best to reassure them. We had all sort of instinctively agreed to tell them that Black was mostly likely long gone by now. Which was probably true. But they stayed circled around us, watching. "Okay, um, well. I'm gonna ask you some questions," I said to a cluster of second-year girls. "Grace. What's your favorite book?"

Grace McApplethwaite looked startled. "Lord of the Rings."

"Okay," I said, taking a deep breath. "Tell me three things you like about it."

Grace looked at me as if I had gone mad.

"Come on," I said. "Tell me."

"I like the part where they take a bath," she mumbled.

Some of the students giggled. She looked embarrassed. "My mum would sing me the song when I was little."

"That's lovely," I said. "I've always liked that part. It's so homey. What's another thing?"

"When Merry and Pippin help the Ents," she said.

The cluster of students were starting to listen now. Or at least they were judging me for my silliness rather than thinking about anything else.

"That's funny," I said. "I usually think about it being the other way around, but you're right. They help each other. My third favorite part is Eowyn and Faramir."

"Oh good," I said. "That's my favorite part too." I turned to the next kid. "What about you, Angus? What's your favorite book?"

"Attack of the Clones!" said Angus. "They made a book, too."

"I bet they did," I said.

"I like the part where Mace Windu cuts off the bad guy's head," said Filiberto, with the eleven-year-old's bloodthirsty sense of justice. Some of the students gave little gasps of horror, and others agreed.

I steered him towards other favorite parts (most of which were equally violent, unfortunately, but at least it got their minds off Sirius Black.)

And so we waited.

After what seemed like years, the rest of the staff returned. I started off towards them, searching the crowd for Remus. He was there, beside McGonagall. He looked exhausted and disheveled but otherwise unhurt. Our eyes met, and I realized he'd been searching for me, too.

Dumbledore was announcing that Black was no longer in the castle, but that everyone would stay the night in the hall just in case. He and some of the other teachers began conjuring purple sleeping bags for everyone. In the melee, I found my way to Remus. I wanted to throw my arms around him, but I hesitated. "Are you all right?" he asked, coming close to me. He also reached out, and then, glancing at the students, drew back.

I nodded. "Are you?"

"Yes," he said. "We're safe for now."

"Okay," I said, relief flooding through me. "I'm glad you're okay."

We stared at each other. He was here again. It was going to be all right.

"I'm…glad you are too," he said helplessly. He opened his mouth to say something else, but Dumbledore called him over with a question about defense shields.

We herded the students into their sleeping bags—girls on one side, boys on the other. The torches were dimmed, so that the hall shone with the light from the stars on the enchanted ceiling. The magical teachers were organized into watches, and I was sent to bed. I was too tired to protest. I wriggled into my sleeping bag with a group of third years on one side and Rosmerta on the other.

I lay awake for a long time, staring up at the swirling galaxies and constellations. The fear stayed in my body long after the immediate threat was passed. But… running alongside it in my mind was—I had kissed Remus. Remus had kissed me! He wanted me!

It almost didn't bear thinking about in the middle of all these people, but I savored the memory of it all the same.

I wasn't sure we would ever live down being discovered by the entire staff. What would have happened if we hadn't been interrupted?

I cursed Sirius Black wholeheartedly.