Emergency
“Woooo!” Lee cheered from the corner, Fred however did not look as amused.
The now official couple made their way back and rejoined their friends, giggling like idiots.
“I am officially the luckiest man in the world.” George cheered, as he sat back down. “Thanks for the help Freddie.”
“Anytime mate.” Fred grumbled, snatching what used to be George’s mug of butterbeer.
“Oh Merlin! We’ve got to get back to the castle or we’ll miss the feast!” Lirum said, looking out to see how dark it had gotten outside. The group of fifth years grabbed their things and headed out of the pub, joking around as they returned to the castle.
They made it back just in time for the Halloween feast. The Great Hall was decorated in candle filled pumpkins, swarms of bats, and flaming orange streamers. Lirum found their way to the Ravenclaw table in their normal seat. Happy beside the best scraggly haired blond, and across from their favourite Gryffindors. Now with the boyfriend special feature.
“How was your trip to Hogsmeade?” Luna asked, dreamily.
“It was wonderful. I am officially in a relationship.” Lirum bragged, hearing someone choke behind them at the Gryffindor table. Was thay Fred, George, or Percy?
“Are you alright?” Luna asked, turning behind.
“Everything’s fine Luna. You can just ignore him.” George said, motioning her back to their original conversation.
“You and George made it official then?” Luna asked, looking up at Lirum.
“Why yes we did!” Lirum grinned, proudly. “I did have to do the actual asking out though, guess Gryffindors aren’t that brave after all.”
“Oh so you’re allowed to do it but not me?” George joked, looking back at Lirum.
“That would be because I’m joking.” Lirum teased, while George rolled his eyes. “Are you ready for our study session tomorrow Luna?”
“I’ll be so fun with all of us there.” She answered happily.
“All of us?” They probed.
“Me, you, Ginny, Neville, and Cedric, of course.” Lirum was beyond confused, Cedric never studied. “Cedric said he wanted to come, and that it was going to be fun.”
Of course he had, he wanted to see whatever drama was unfolding between the underclassmen. Lirum glanced at him across the room who in return looked up and waved. Lirum let out a sigh; they couldn’t hold it against him as long as he didn’t interrupt the actual studying being done. Neville definitely still needed the tutoring, even if the girls didn’t.
Lirum looked around the room. It was the first Halloween in three years. Nothing bad had happened. They’d actually had a good day this time. The only sign of anything bad happening was Harry boarding on frenzied watching the Professors table as if something was about to explode. Hopefully it was a poorly executed prank and nothing else that would actually ruin the day.
The feast came to an end and the Ravenclaws headed back to their dorms. Lirum only had a few hours to rest before they’d be expected to go out on patrol, but they’d happily do it if it meant their streak of awful Halloween’s was finally over. Setting in their bed for a quick nap their door suddenly flung open.
“There’s been an emergency, all students are to report to the Great Hall!” Professor Flitwick announced, watching Lirum stumble out of bed. “All prefects are to help gather the students.”
“Y-yes sir!” They replied, grabbing a jumper from their floor over their nightshirt.
Lirum dashed out of their room struggling to get the jumper over their head, running into the next door, and attempting to knock before swinging it open.
“All students to the Great Hall!” They shouted, scanning the room for students and waving them out.
“I’ll get the rest of the boys. Can you go to the girls dorms?” Flitwick called down the hall, waving students out of their rooms.
“Uh, I-I can try sir!” Lirum answered, stumbling towards the stairs. They rushed down to the common room and across to the girls' dorms. “Never have I wanted to run into Penelope so bad.” They grumbled to themself.
They took the first careful step into the stairs hoping they wouldn’t slide. When it didn’t slide they quickened their pace running up the girls stairs. Stopping at the first door pounding on it.
“Who’s there?” A girl’s voice game through the door startled “I’m trying to study!”
“All students to the Great Hall, Flitwick’s orders!” Lirum explained as the door swung open.
“Why, what’s going on?” The fist year asked.
“Sorry don’t have time to chat have to get all the students!” Lirum said, rushing toward the next flight of stairs. “Just head to the common room and follow the crowd!”
“Who’s shouting out here?” A second year called out looking down the stairwell.
“I’m a prefect, I swear! All Students to the Great Hall!” Lirum answered, rushing up towards her.
“Is that Lirum?” Luna said, following her dorm mate.
“Oh great, a friend of Loony Lovegood.” The second year girl spoke.
“You are so lucky there’s an emergency right now!” Lirum shouted as they rushed past. “I’m going to ignore that this one time, so long as you gather your dorm mates and go down stairs like you’re meant to, but If I hear you say it again you’re getting detention!”
As Lirum hit the next landing they began pounding on the next door. It swung open to a tan girl with dark hair wearing a face mask.
“You might want to take that off all students are to report to the Great Hall.” Lirum panted out after running up and down so many stairs.
“Who is making all this racket! Don’t you know there’s class tomorrow! You’ll have detention when I-“ Penelope clearwater was marching down the stairs. “Lirum?! Why are you in the girls' dorms?!”
“Perfect! It’s an emergency, all students to the Great Hall, Flitwick’s orders!” Lirum panted out, laying down on the floor.
“Well, don’t just lay there!” Penelope shouted. “We have to get the students!”
“I’ve gotten my share!” Lirum argued. “I’m sure they can hear us screaming!”
“We still have to check their rooms!” She snapped back, as if she hadn’t just been mad at Lirum for disrupting her nap.
“I just want you to know that I never liked you. Truly as a person I despise you.” They groaned, not wanting to get up again. Whatever emergency was happening could take them now if they didn’t have to run up and down more stairs.
“You’ve made that very apparent.” Penelope sassed back. “Now get up!”
“Make that hate.” Lirum grumbled, scraping themself off the floor.
“The feelings mutual!” She said marching back up the stairs. “Your only wearing my Ex that you stole’s jumper!”
“I what?!” Lirum said, looking down to realise which jumper they’d picked up off the floor.
They thought for a moment what the best plan would be. It was too cold not to wear one but they also didn’t want to run all the way back to the boys dorms. Lirum rushed through banging the doors down making sure all the students had left. All the while they thought how they’d be better off if Cedric hadn’t pulled it out. Any other one would’ve been alright, but now they’d be out wearing Percy’s jumper.
The Great Hall was full with students as Ravenclaw arrived. Lirum scanned over the room of confused, awkward, and scared teenagers collecting together. They couldn’t see George, or Fred, or even Cedric though the crowd. They were distracted from their search when Dumbledore began to speak.
“The teachers and I need to conduct a thorough search of the castle. I am afraid that, for your own safety, you will have to spend the night here. I want the prefects to stand guard over the entrances to the hall and I am leaving the head boy and girl in charge. Any disturbances should be reported to me immediately.” Percy was the first person they’d been looking for they actually saw, aside from Luna.
He looked overly proud of himself. He beamed, as if he hadn’t noticed there was an emergency bad enough to warrant all the students sleeping in the great hall. They hadn’t even done that for the giant snake going around and petrifying students. Didn’t he see that? Was this some fake confidence to keep the students calm? If it was, they needed to tell him it was more off putting and concerning than calming.
“Send word with one of the ghosts.” Dumbledore finished, looking between Percy and Gemma. He began to leave but stopped and turned back with a flick of his wand. “Oh, yes you’ll be needing…”
The long tables flew aside, suddenly replaced by hundreds of purple sleeping bags.
“Sleep well,” he finished, leaving the hall. The was filled with whispers of what happened, some not even bothering to hide it. The second the door closed the news spread. Sirius Black had entered the castle. Worse even still, attacked Gryffindor tower.
“Everyone unto their sleeping bags!” Percy shouted, trying to stop the spread. It was too late, it caught like wildfire. “Come on, now, no more talking! Lights out in ten minutes.”
His struggle was futile. Students from Gryffindor had already told Hufflepuff, who gossiped to the Slytherins, who in turn informed all of Ravenclaw. The rumour mill had already begun to churn the story of how he’d gotten in.
“Prefects! You heard the headmaster to the Entrances!” Gemma ordered, directing them towards different entrances. “Slit up by year, seventh years you take the main doors, you're most prepared. Sixth to the courtyard entrance and fifth the garden entrance!”
“Wouldn’t it make more sense to send us by house or pick three from each house Gemma? I mean, putting all the fifth years, the least experienced students together seems like a bad idea doesn’t it?” Penelope argued.
“I put you there by likelihood of risk. I doubt Black is going to come all the way down from the seventh floor, into the dungeons, and back up.” The head girl argued, glaring. “Now while you offer a good point don’t think I don’t know you only said that to get out of any possible danger. Sacrificing kids to save your own skin? Rather Slytherin if you Clearwater.”
“What’s the history there?” Lirum heard from behind them. It was Cedric! He was alright, now they just needed to find their Gryffindors on the way out to make sure everyone was alright.
“It’s good, I’ll tell you when we get to the door.” Haneda’s voice was almost inaudible.
“Haneda participating in gossip?!” Adrian gasped. “I never thought I’d love to see it.
What followed was the distinct sound of someone being kicked. The group began to split apart and head towards their doors. The Slytherins weren’t so bad. They had far more in common with Cedric and Lirum than George would ever acknowledge. They were just teens trying to make it work. Lirum the only Ravenclaw prefect for fifth year, Cedric and Patricia the Hufflepuff prefects, and the Slytherin Haneda and Adrian came to a stop in front of the door in the far back of the Great Hall.
“So I need to know… what was that? Because… it was kinda hot.” Cedric said leaning against the doorway looking back at the fifth year prefects.
“That is a long and juicy story of academic rivals.” Haneda started.
“So all that was about schooling?!” Cedric replied baffled.
“No I wouldn’t have said juicy if it was only about grades keep up!” She corrected, as Alicia and Kenneth the Gryffindor prefects arrived.
“Ooo, are we talking drama?” Alicia asked, getting closer.
“Of course we are! What do you think Slytherins and Hufflepuffs do as friends?” Patricia chimed in for the first time.
Lirum could feel someone staring. It was Kenneth, he was looking at them with an odd expression before he spoke.
“Isn’t that Percy’s?” He asked, he was staring at the big letter P on the front. All attention turned to them and Alicia looked angrier than she had hearing Malfoy say Mudblood.
“Well if we’re talking drama, why your wearing Percy Weasley’s jumper the night you became official with his brother?”