Chapter 409: Sir Cadogan, Keeper of the Password

Just as Mikel had anticipated, by nightfall, a lively celebration was underway in the Hufflepuff common room, carrying on late into the night.

At one point, Ratton flew out of a window with a suitcase clutched in his claws, and when he returned, it was brimming with Honeydukes sweets in place of the gold coins it had held. This sent the atmosphere soaring to new heights of excitement. Kyle was certain their laughter must have been echoing all the way to the kitchen next door, as the House-elves kept their plates perpetually stocked with snacks, replenishing them the instant any went empty.

Late into the night, one by one, the partygoers began to tire out. Someone finally gave in, setting down a cookie, stifling a yawn, and heading back to their dormitory. Slowly, the gathering was winding down. Kyle climbed into bed and soon drifted into a deep sleep.

...

He didn't know how long he had been asleep—maybe only a couple of hours—when suddenly there was a knock on the dormitory door.

Cedric, still in his pajamas, walked in, switched on the light, and woke up the two others in the room.

"What's going on, Cedric? Is the party still going?" Ryan asked, rubbing his eyes as he sat up.

"It's not the party…" Cedric's face was grave. "Sirius Black just broke into Gryffindor Tower and tried to kill a student."

"Black broke into the dormitory?" Ryan was instantly wide awake, his face filled with disbelief. "You're joking!"

"I'm not," Cedric replied, shaking his head. "Professor McGonagall has already confirmed it—it's true."

Ryan stood there, frozen in shock.

"Get up. None of us are getting any sleep tonight," Cedric continued. "Professor Sprout was just here. She's ordered everyone to stay in the common room until the professors finish searching the castle. You should head there. I'll go alert the others."

When they arrived in the common room, quite a few people were already gathered. Kanna was sitting on one of the sofas in the corner and waved Kyle over.

"Have you heard?" she whispered, "Sirius Black broke into Gryffindor's dormitory."

"Yeah," Kyle nodded. "Cedric filled me in."

"Do you think he'll…" Kanna trailed off, casting a worried glance toward the door.

"Don't worry, he won't," Kyle assured her. "To get into the Hufflepuff common room, you need a wand. You can't open those barrels without one."

...

More and more students were gathering in the common room, all dressed in their pajamas and chattering about what had just happened. No one could figure out how Sirius Black had managed to break into a dormitory.

"I thought Gryffindor used a password," someone muttered, stifling a yawn but unable to resist asking.

"And I heard Sir Cadogan changes the password constantly—sometimes two or three times a day. How did Black manage to guess it?"

"Maybe he tricked the portrait somehow... Sir Cadogan always seemed a bit silly, didn't he?" another student suggested.

Everyone huddled in the common room, anxiously chatting as they waited for any news of Black's capture. At dawn, Professor Sprout returned to inform them that Black had escaped yet again. She instructed everyone to return to bed, but many remained where they were, feeling that they wouldn't be able to sleep even if they tried. It felt safer to stay by the warm fire in the bustling common room than to lie alone in the dark dormitories.

Ryan was among those who stayed, making Kyle the only one left in their dormitory that night.

The following day, security across the castle was tightened. Professor Flitwick, carrying a large picture of Sirius Black, joined the caretaker at the castle gates, while Filch was kept busy running up and down the corridors, stuffing every gap and sealing every crack in the walls.

"You won't believe what happened…" "It was absolutely terrifying…" At the Hufflepuff table, Fred and George were recounting the night's events with dramatic flair.

"Black was standing right there, in front of Ron, holding a knife in his hand…"

"Poor little Ron! He must've been petrified…"

"Wait—who did you say? Ron?" Cedric interrupted, looking puzzled. "But wasn't Black supposed to be looking for Harry? Everyone knows Harry defeated his master."

"His target was definitely Harry at first, no doubt about it," Fred replied. "But I think he got the wrong bed."

George shrugged. "Everyone pulls the curtains shut at night, so Black couldn't see who was who and had to check each bed one by one. Ron's bed just happened to be closest to the door…"

"He probably didn't expect to be spotted so quickly," added Fred.

"There's another thing," Cedric said, adding some cornflakes to his plate. "How did Black get in, anyway? Didn't Sir Cadogan notice anything?"

At that, Fred suddenly slammed his hand on the table, his face clouding with anger. "Oh, he noticed all right! That idiot knight actually let him in."

"We thought he was quirky, but he's a complete dunce," George said bitterly. "He even saw Black's face but didn't think twice—he just let him through with the password."

"Thankfully, they've replaced him with the Fat Lady again…"

"That fool deserves to be stuck in a corner of the North Tower," muttered Fred.

"Wait, Black knew your passwords?" Kanna asked, looking alarmed.

"He knew all the passwords for the entire week," George replied. "Because…"

"Oh!"

He was interrupted by a sudden gasp. Everyone turned to see Neville bolting from the Gryffindor table, clutching a Howler. The Slytherin table burst into laughter as Neville dashed out of the Great Hall, his expression panicked. Moments later, the Howler exploded in the entrance hall, filling the air with his grandmother's voice, magnified a hundredfold, scolding him furiously for the disgrace he had brought upon the Longbottom family. The Slytherins' laughter grew even louder.

Hermione quickly left the Great Hall as well, apparently to comfort Neville.

"As you can see," Fred said with a shrug, "Neville wrote down all the passwords for the week on a piece of paper and lost it…"

"Black must've found it somewhere," George explained. "Then he just walked right up to the tower and read it out."

"Professor McGonagall was livid," Fred continued. "She banned Neville from visiting Hogsmeade again and forbade anyone from telling him the new passwords."

"Poor Neville," George added, shaking his head. "He can only get back into the common room if someone else brings him along."