Chapter 378: The Chase in the Castle
After spending too much time in the Room of Requirement, the group hurried toward the Great Hall as Cho and Kanna reminded them of the Halloween feast.
"I can't believe we're missing the Halloween party," Fred muttered, picking up his pace. "Pumpkin Pasties... Pork Chops... Sausage Rolls..."
"Shut up, Fred," George said, close behind him. "I wasn't even hungry, but now I could eat a cow."
They quickened their steps, reaching the end of the corridor in no time. Just around the corner and down the staircase was the Great Hall. But as Fred rounded the corner, he suddenly froze.
"Wait," he whispered, stopping the others in their tracks. "Is the feast already over?"
"No way," Kanna replied, confused. "It started barely ten minutes ago. You can't be that hungry."
"Then why are some people already back?" Fred pointed straight ahead.
The others peered around the corner to see what he was talking about. Down by the stairs, a shadowy figure stood in front of a large painting—recognizable even from this distance as the portrait of the Fat Lady, the entrance to the Gryffindor common room.
"That's odd," George whispered, squinting at the figure. "Who would be finished so soon..."
But before he could finish, the Fat Lady's voice echoed through the corridor with a blood-curdling scream.
"You... you're that Sirius Black!"