For the first time in his life, Harry hated Percy from the bottom of his heart. Using the authority of the Head Boy, Percy barred everyone from talking to each other. This is why Harry couldnt go to Ronan and ask about what Malfoy was trying to say. The good thing was, his friends were with him.

"Do you think that Sirius Black is really after you?" Hermione whispered. They were all in their pajamas and in their sleeping bags.

"Could be," He replied, "After all, why would Sirius go to Gryffindor Tower when clearly everyone knows that Ronan is in Slytherin."

"Sirius might not be after you, maybe he is after Neville," Ron suggested.

"That also makes sense," Hermione said, "Sirius and you are not connected in any way. Hell, as that man is a pretty loyal follower of You-know-who, maybe he had come to the tower to finish off the child that defeated his master,"

"Great," Neville exclaimed sarcastically, "Another killer is after me. Yippee."

"I think you might be wrong there Hermione," Harry said, "Because look at Malfoy for example. He said that I should watch my back. It was as if, he knew that Sirius was after me. He specifically mentioned that Neville will not be able to save him…" They all fell silent after a while, thinking about why Sirius could be after Harry.

It is only after a few minutes of silence, that Hermione asked anxiously, "Do you think Black's still in the castle?"

"Dumbledore obviously thinks he might be," said Ron. "That is why we are here,"

"Luckily, he picked tonight, you know," said Hermione "The one night we weren't in the tower. …"

"I reckon he's lost track of time, being on the run," said Neville. "Didn't realize it was Halloween. Otherwise, he would have come bursting in here."

"I think the main question should be, how did he get in?" Ron asked.

"Maybe he apparated," Neville suggested.

"Or maybe he could have flown himself in," Ron said.

"Honestly, am I the only person who's ever bothered to read Hogwarts, A History?" asked Hermione.

"Probably," Ron said. "Why?"

"Because the castle's protected by more than walls, you know," said Hermione. "There are all sorts of enchantments on it, to stop people entering by stealth. You can't just Apparate in here. And I'd like to see the disguise that could fool those dementors. They're guarding every single entrance to the grounds. They'd have seen him fly in too. And Filch knows all the secret passages, they'll have them covered. …"

"The lights are going out now!" Percy shouted. "I want everyone in their sleeping bags and no more talking!"

As Percy's sleeping bag was not too far away from them, they couldnt talk after that point, Percy made sure of it. The candles all went out at once. The only light now came from the silvery ghosts, who were drifting about talking seriously to the prefects, and the enchanted ceiling, which, like the sky outside, was scattered with stars. What with that, and the whispering that still filled the hall, but resulted in Percy hissing at students from time to time.

Once every hour, a teacher would reappear in the hall to check that everything was quiet. Most people, including his friends, fell asleep by three in the morning. Only Harry stayed awake, thinking about what could Sirius want with him. When he heard the hall's main door open again, he pretended to have fallen asleep. He heard some footsteps near his head, there were two people walking around him.

"Any sign of him, Professor?" came the sound of Percy, whispering.

"No. All well here?" came the voice of the old man, Dumbledore.

"Everything under control, sir."

"Good. There's no point moving them all now. I have 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 her. She's still very distressed, but once she's calmed down, I'll have Mr. Filch restore her."

Harry heard the door of the hall creak open again, and more footsteps. "Headmaster?" It was Snape. Harry shifted in his bed, trying to find the best angle so that he could hear what they were talking about.

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"The whole of the third floor has been searched. He's not there. And Filch has done the dungeons; nothing there either." Snape said.

"What about the Astronomy tower? Professor Trelawney's room? The Owlery?"

"All searched …"

"Very well, Severus. I didn't expect Black to linger."

"Have you any theory as to how he got in, Professor?" asked Percy.

"Many, Percy, each of them as unlikely as the next."

Snape then butted in, "You remember the conversation we had, Headmaster, just before… ah…. the start of term?" said Snape, who was barely opening his lips, as though trying to block Percy out of the conversation.

"I do, Severus," said Dumbledore, and there was something like warning in his voice.

"It seems… almost impossible… that Black could have entered the school without inside help. I did express my concerns when you appointed…"

Does he mean Lupin?

"I do not believe a single person inside this castle would have helped Black enter it," said Dumbledore, and his tone made it so clear that the subject was closed that Snape didn't reply. "I must go down to the dementors," said Dumbledore. "I said I would inform them when our search was complete."

"Didn't they want to help, sir?" said Percy.

"Oh yes," said Dumbledore coldly. "But I'm afraid no dementor will cross the threshold of this castle while I am headmaster."

He heard footsteps going out and soon heard footsteps of Pecry going back to his sleeping bag, which was not far away from his. Harry opened his eyes and looked around. He saw that all of his friends had opened their eyes as well, and were looking at twinkling stars of the ceiling, just like him.

"What do you reckon all of that about?" Ron mouthed…

For the next few days, Harry tried his best to corner Ronan and ask him about what was going on. He clearly knew something. But somehow that man was able to stay clear of all of his friends. Even Hermione was not able to get hold of him in the Library. Every time she would try, he would have either left already or would have never stepped foot in the Library that day. The only other person who knew the truth was Malfoy, and there was no way they were asking him.

Sirius remained the main topic of conversation for the first initial days. But that soon changed when Ronan started attending lectures meant for fifth years. It was the talk of the whole school, and soon the word got out that Ronan was giving OWLs that year, with fifth years. Some people knew about it from the start, but most of them didnt believed it as it was never heard of before. But it was indeed true.

To cap it all, one-day Professor McGonagall summoned him into her office, with such a somber expression on her face Harry thought someone must have died.

"There's no point hiding it from you any longer, Potter," she said in a very serious voice. "I know this will come as a shock to you, aurors of the ministry believe that Sirius Black might be after you,"

"I know that Professor," Harry simply, and then added, "Malfoy gave me the hint that Black might be after me. But what I dont understand is, why? Why is he after me?"

Professor was taken aback by his response, she then regained her composure and spoke, "Potter, we have seen that followers of You-know-who… as evil as he was, he was also a very charismatic person that could charm just about anyone. His loyal followers can get to any extent in order to complete his command. We believe that as You-know-who ordered Sirius to kill you and your family before perishing, Sirius is just trying to honor his last request,"

Professor then shifted in her seat, "In that case, Potter, you'll understand why I don't think it's a good idea for you to be practicing Quidditch in the evenings. Out on the field with only your team members, it's very exposed, Potter…"

"We've got our first match on Saturday!" said Harry, outraged. "I've got to train, Professor!"

Professor McGonagall considered him intently. Harry knew she was deeply interested in the Gryffindor team's prospects; it had been she, after all, who'd suggested him as Seeker in the first place. He waited, holding his breath.

"Hmm …" Professor McGonagall stood up and stared out of the window at the Quidditch field, just visible through the rain. "Well … goodness knows, I would like to see us win the Cup at last … but all the same, Potter … I would be happier if a teacher were present. I will ask Madam Hooch to oversee your training sessions."

And Madam Hooch was more than happy to oversee their training. The only thing that dampened the quidditch spirits was the weather, which only got worse by the time the Saturday rolled around. The day before the match, the winds reached a howling point and the rain fell harder than ever. It was so dark inside the corridors and classrooms that extra torches and lanterns were lit.

The weather conditions were very challenging, so much so that Oliver Wood, the captain of the Gryffindor Team kept hurrying up to him between classes and giving him tips. Wood was under a lot of pressure, considering that was this was his last year in the school. And he really wanted to win the Quidditch Cup this year.

Wood was especially nervous because of Ronan, the Weasley twins had managed to spy on the training of the Slytherin team, and see what Ronan could do. And according to them, Ronan might turn out to be a problem in the upcoming game. Which meant a lot coming from the twins. According to them, Ronan had improved a lot since they had played the game last summer. And he could potentially have a higher skillset than Angelina, their best chaser…

On the day of the match, Harry woke up before anyone else in the dorm. After freshening up, when he was going downstairs, he bumped into none other than Crooshanks, the orange cat of Hermione. Since the start of the term, Ron and Hermione have been fighting that Crooshanks is after Scabber's life. Most of the time Hermione dismisses the claim saying that the Crookshanks is a very intelligent animal.

But seeing the cat there, Harry didnt know what to think, "You know, I reckon Ron was right about you," Harry told Crookshanks suspiciously. "There are plenty of mice around this place… go and chase them. Go on," he added, nudging Crookshanks down the spiral staircase with his foot. "Leave Scabbers alone." With that he got downstairs, ready for today's match.