That night, the Great Hall had been turned into a temporary dormitory again.
Long rows of sleeping blankets covered the floor beneath the enchanted ceiling, which showed a dark night sky drifting with slow clouds.
Most students were already asleep after the chaos from earlier, the hall quieter than usual except for the occasional whisper or movent.
Harry lay awake staring upward.
Sleep wasn't coming easily.
Not after hearing again that Sirius Black had sohow entered Hogwarts.
Ron, lying nearby, shifted slightly before lowering his voice.
"Harry," he whispered, "why do you think Sirius Black even ca to Hogwarts?"
Harry didn't answer imdiately.
His thoughts had already been there long before Ron said the na. Sirius Black. The man everyone believed had betrayed his parents to Voldemort. The man responsible for giving them away.
The man connected to their deaths.
Before Harry could say anything, another voice ca quietly from beside him.
"Ron," Victor said, not loudly but enough to cut through the whispering, "it's the middle of the night. If you can't sleep, at least let other people try."
Ron turned his head slightly.
"I was just asking—"
"And this isn't the ti for it," Victor interrupted calmly. "Let Harry sleep without reminding him about things he already thinks about enough."
Ron frowned in the darkness.
"Why the hell are you even on Gryffindor's side?" he muttered, lifting his head slightly from the pillow.
Victor looked at him with visible confusion.
"I'm not on Gryffindor's side," he said. "I'm beside Harry. That happens to be where the Gryffindor sleeping bags are."
He glanced around the hall.
"And this is the Great Hall, Ron. There aren't exactly walls separating people."
A few nearby students shifted slightly at the conversation, but most remained asleep beneath the dim light of the enchanted ceiling.
"So lower your voice," Victor muttered, already turning onto his side. "Unless you want Snape to appear out of nowhere and start assigning cauldron cleaning."
Ron shut his mouth imdiately.
That threat sounded realistic enough.
The hall slowly settled again after that, whispers fading one by one until only the occasional movent of blankets or distant crackle of torches could be heard. Above them, the enchanted ceiling remained dark and clouded, mirroring the late night outside.
Harry stayed awake a little longer, staring upward.
Sirius Black kept circling back into his thoughts no matter how much he tried to stop it.
Eventually, exhaustion won.
One by one, the students drifted asleep across the Great Hall.
Much later into the night, the large doors opened again.
Albus Dumbledore entered first, robes moving softly as he crossed the hall, with Severus Snape close behind him. Both spoke quietly enough not to wake the students.
"There is no sign of him inside the castle," Snape said in a low, controlled voice, though irritation was clear underneath it.
Dumbledore's expression remained calm, but thoughtful.
"Searches will continue at first light," he replied quietly.
Snape's eyes swept across the sleeping students.
"He was inside Hogwarts," Severus Snape said quietly, his eyes moving across the sleeping students. "That alone should concern everyone."
His expression darkened slightly.
"I also find it difficult to believe Black managed this entirely alone," he continued. "Soone inside the castle may have helped him."
The implication wasn't hidden.
Not even slightly.
Snape didn't bother disguising where his suspicion leaned. Remus Lupin had been Sirius Black's friend during their school years, and Snape clearly hadn't forgotten any part of that history.
Albus Dumbledore remained calm.
"You believe Professor Lupin is assisting Black?" he asked, his tone asured rather than surprised.
Snape's jaw tightened faintly.
"I believe," he said carefully, "that old loyalties have a tendency to survive longer than they should."
For a mont, only the sound of distant rain against the windows filled the hall.
Then Snape spoke again, quieter this ti.
"And we must also consider Potter."
Dumbledore's gaze shifted slightly toward where Harry slept among the other Gryffindors.
"If Black truly is after him," Snape continued, "there is every possibility the boy may eventually attempt to involve himself directly."
There was clear disapproval in his voice at the idea alone.
"Potter has shown remarkable talent for ignoring instructions when he believes himself involved," he added coldly. "One day that recklessness may place him directly in Black's path."
Dumbledore remained silent for a brief mont, watching the sleeping students beneath the enchanted ceiling.
Then he answered softly.
"That is precisely what we must prevent."
Albus Dumbledore remained quiet for a mont after Snape finished speaking.
His gaze rested on Harry, who was finally asleep among the rows of students, the tension that had followed him all evening faded for now.
The enchanted ceiling above reflected a dark, clouded sky, faint silver moonlight passing slowly across the hall.
"Children's dreams are precious things, Severus," Dumbledore said softly. "Especially in tis such as these."
Snape said nothing.
Dumbledore's expression remained calm as he looked across the sleeping students spread through the Great Hall, blankets scattered everywhere, so students half-curled beneath them, others still clutching pillows or school robes.
"For tonight," he continued quietly, "let them sleep in peace."
*****
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