When Kael saw Professor Dumbledore, he knew right away that this whole thing was basically out of their hands now.
Soon, the other professors arrived as well.
A tabby cat leapt gracefully down from a pillar by the stairs, transforming mid-air into Professor McGonagall.
Snape hurried over in a panic, finally relaxing when he saw Conna was unharmed.
Professor Lupin followed close behind, gripping his wand tightly.
"Chasing Black… what kind of nonsense were you all up to?" Professor McGonagall's lips were pressed white with anger, her voice icy cold.
"Black is one of the most dangerous criminals in Magic Realm history. Do you have any idea how reckless that was…? You're lucky he didn't kill you!"
Snape shot a piercing glare at Kael.
"So, can any of you explain to us what happened?" Professor Dumbledore's face was equally grave.
"It's like this, Professor…" Fred and George immediately stepped forward, describing in detail what had happened earlier.
Of course, they left out any mention of the Room of Requirement and deliberately ignored the Mist Gem, just saying they were playing with some new prank items in an empty classroom.
"By the time we noticed the time, the feast had already started…"
"On the way to the Auditorium, we saw Black…"
"He was standing in front of the Fat Lady's painting, trying to break into the Gryffindor common room…"
"If we hadn't shown up right then, he might've succeeded…" Fred couldn't help but pat himself on the back at the end, "Really close call, that was."
"In fact, only the Fat Lady can open the entrance to the common room." Professor McGonagall kept a stern face, but her tone wasn't as cold as before.
"Without the Fat Lady's consent, Black couldn't get in, even if he tunneled through the wall."
Fred and George were momentarily lost for words, looking a bit embarrassed as they turned away.
"Then why did you chase after him once you saw he'd run off!"
At this, Professor McGonagall got heated again. "Why couldn't you do what Miss Cho Chang did and go straight to the Auditorium to inform the professors!"
"We were worried he'd attack other students…" Fred said. "Just wanted to catch him before that happened."
"Black didn't have a wand—this was the best chance."
"Mr. Weasley…" Professor McGonagall said, "can you guarantee Black hadn't managed to steal someone else's wand from another wizard already?"
"Then why'd he run…" George muttered under his breath, "I mean, we're just a bunch of students—if he had a wand, why run from us…"
"Maybe he just wanted to make you all lower your guard, and then kill you one by one."
Snape said darkly, "That scum among wizards…"
Hearing Snape's words, Professor Lupin's expression grew complicated. He didn't argue, only sighed painfully.
"Which way did he run?" asked Professor Dumbledore.
"I lost him, Professor," Kael said. "He knows the school really well—I couldn't keep up."
"Exactly, there's no one who knows this place better than him."
Lupin stepped to Dumbledore's side. "Professor, we need to search the castle top to bottom."
"Eager to catch Black, are you?" Snape sneered. "Or is there something else on your mind?"
"You should know, Severus," said Professor Lupin quietly. "I want to catch him more than anyone."
"Let's hope so…" Snape moved his lips as if unwilling to let Kael and the others hear more.
"Professor McGonagall…" Dumbledore interjected at just the right moment. "I believe these students must be starving. Since the feast isn't over yet, could you take them to the Auditorium?
Also, we'll be conducting a thorough search of the castle, and the students may have to stay in the Auditorium for the night, so it's all right if the feast runs a little longer."
"Understood," Professor McGonagall nodded, leading Kael and the others away.
As they passed the Fat Lady's painting, Kael noticed a large chunk of the canvas had been completely torn away.
The Fat Lady wasn't in the picture—she'd probably hidden herself in another painting somewhere.
Professor McGonagall noticed this too, her face growing even darker.
"See? That savage Black doesn't even spare a painting. Do you have any idea how foolish your behavior just now was…"
When they reached the Auditorium, she pushed open the doors and let them in.
Professor Flitwick and Professor Sprout were standing guard at the entrance.
"Minerva, how did it go…" Professor Flitwick asked, setting aside his wand.
"It was Black," Professor McGonagall said quietly.
Professor Flitwick clutched his chest, breathing heavily. "How did he get in? Didn't those Dementors at the gate see him?"
"We don't know, but those things already let Black slip past once…" said Professor McGonagall. "We'll be searching the castle shortly, and the students will spend tonight in the Auditorium."
"Come in quickly."
She turned to the group behind her. "Because of your recklessness, Gryffindor and Hufflepuff will both lose ten points… Ravenclaw gains twenty points, since Miss Cho Chang was the only one who made the right choice."
With that, Professor McGonagall left again.
Kael and Conna, along with Cedric, headed over to the Hufflepuff table.
The table was piled with delicious food, but no one was eating—every eye was on them, and everyone was asking what happened all at once.
"Quiet!" Professor Flitwick shouted. "Don't worry, everything's fine. The feast goes on…"
The Auditorium grew a bit quieter, but soft whispers were still everywhere.
"Are you all okay?"
Cho had somehow snuck over to the Hufflepuff side and, hiding between Conna and Cedric, poked her head out to ask.
"We're fine," Cedric replied. "The professors got there after about two minutes. But how did you do it—get from the eighth floor to the Auditorium so fast?"
"Of course I didn't just run," Cho said. "I went back to the Room of Requirement, grabbed a broom, and flew straight to the Auditorium."
"Oh… genius," Cedric gave her a thumbs-up. "Leave it to Ravenclaw."
"Don't flatter me—I haven't even called you out yet." Cho looked at them crossly. "We all agreed to find a professor, but you lot ran faster than anyone."
"Didn't really think it through at the time…" Cedric rubbed his hair. "Just went after him on instinct."
"Then why'd you drag me back—don't deny it, I saw you!" Cho glared at Cedric. "What, you think I'm too weak and would hold you back?"
"Someone had to go get help, you know…" Cedric said awkwardly.
"And turns out, I was right. Both us and Gryffindor lost ten points, but Ravenclaw got twenty."
"Hmph…" Cho sneered, still glaring at Cedric, "As if Ravenclaw's that desperate for twenty points?"
"Ahem… Ravenclaw's in first place now." Kael pointed to the house point hourglasses and said quietly, "By exactly five points more than Slytherin, too."
Whatever Cho was about to say next got stuck in her throat.
"That's right, exactly," Cedric nodded quickly. "Now you're neck and neck with Slytherin. Maybe, thanks to those twenty points, Ravenclaw might just win the House Cup in the end."
...