Chapter 132
After the students returned yesterday from their trip to the village of Hogsmeade, a new school day began, filled with classes. The first was Care of Magical Creatures with Professor Hagrid, who finally granted Ron's request to ride the magical bird, just like Harry and Albert had done in the previous lesson.
Once that class ended, the students moved on to their next one: Professor Lupin's Defense Against the Dark Arts. This particular lesson was of great importance, as it focused on defending against the Unforgivable Curses and learning how to recognize when one was under the influence of such spells, such as the Imperius Curse or the Cruciatus Curse.
When the day's lessons were finally over, everyone returned to their dormitories to rest after the long schedule. Among Albert's friends, a playful agreement had been made: whoever arrived last to the Gryffindor common room would face a punishment.
Thus, Harry, Ron, Neville, and Seamus dashed up the stairs in a race to reach the common room first. But to their shock, when they arrived, the Fat Lady, the guardian of the portrait hole, was nowhere to be seen to ask for the password.
Seamus, who had reached the portrait first, halted in confusion and called back to the others. Ron quickly noticed deep claw marks slashed across the canvas, as though some beast had violently attacked it.
"Look—over there! What is that?!" Ron exclaimed, pointing at the ruined painting.
Everyone froze in horror at the sight. The portrait was completely shredded, and fear rose among them that the Fat Lady herself had been caught inside and killed.
The noise soon reached Professors Dumbledore and Snape, who rushed to the scene.
Upon seeing the wrecked portrait, Dumbledore's voice was grave:
"My children, what has happened here? Where is the Fat Lady?"
The students began searching frantically until Seamus spotted her hiding in a neighboring painting, trembling behind a large stone, weeping in terror.
Dumbledore stepped forward, concern etched on his face.
"Fat Lady, what has happened to you?"
Through sobs, she wailed:
"A great black dog attacked me! It was him, Sirius Black!!!"
A collective gasp of fear spread through the students. The escaped criminal had attacked their guardian and nearly killed her.
The meaning was clear: Sirius Black had tried to force his way into the Gryffindor common room. If the Fat Lady had refused him entry, it could only be because his intention was to kill Harry Potter, the boy who had once defeated Voldemort. If Black was indeed a servant of the Dark Lord, then he had come to avenge his fallen master.
Fear spread quickly as Gryffindors poured down the stairs, whispering nervously.
Dumbledore and Snape exchanged troubled looks. How could Black have entered the castle without being caught? The presence of such a dangerous criminal meant that Hogwarts was no longer safe.
Dumbledore immediately ordered Snape and Filch to increase security and lock the school gates with reinforced enchantments in order to contain Sirius.
As the students gathered, Dumbledore cast a quick glance at Albert, noticing him conversing calmly with Neville.
Albert gave Neville a subtle gesture.
"Do you still have that paper you always carry, the one with the common room password?" he asked quietly.
"Yes, of course," Neville replied.
"Could I see it for a moment?" Albert pressed.
Neville nodded. "Alright, just a second, it's in my bag."
But after rummaging anxiously through his things, Neville froze in shock. The paper was gone.
He looked up at Albert, pale and confused.
In that instant, Albert understood how Sirius Black had managed to infiltrate the castle despite the enchanted entrances requiring passwords: Black had stolen Neville's note.
Ever since childhood, Neville had suffered from a weak memory. The reason lay in a tragedy, he had once witnessed his parents being tortured by Bellatrix Lestrange and Barty Crouch Jr., followers of Voldemort. Neville's grandmother had later cast a memory charm on him to erase the traumatic vision. But the spell left him with a fragile memory, forcing him to write down even important passwords.
Albert chose not to tell Neville the truth, that his carelessness had allowed Sirius entry. He didn't want his friend to carry such a heavy burden of guilt.
Instead, Albert simply walked alongside him as Professor McGonagall led the Gryffindor students to the Great Hall to gather together for safety.
To be continued…