As with every year's Halloween feast, the Great Hall was once again lavishly decorated with hundreds and thousands of candlelit jack-o'-lanterns.

This year, Hagrid no longer needed to sneakily use magic, so the pumpkins were even bigger—each one large enough to resemble a carriage compartment.

Because they arrived relatively late, the long tables were already packed with people. Only three seats near the staff table remained.

"You guys go ahead, I'll sit in the back," Harold voluntarily took the seat at the very end of the table, right next to the doors of the Great Hall.

"But if you sit here, you might not be able to see the performance clearly," Hermione said.

"That's fine. I'm not really interested in the ghost performance anyway," Harold replied. "Remember? I already saw it during last year's Halloween."

With his insistence, the trio nodded and headed toward the front.

Pumpkin-flavored dishes were the hallmark of Halloween, and they were delicious. Even those who had already stuffed themselves with Honeydukes sweets still grabbed a portion of everything.

Harold ate quickly. A piece of pumpkin pie was gone in a couple of bites. He kept glancing down at something, his attention seemingly divided.

On the staff table, Lupin was chatting cheerfully with Flitwick. Professor McGonagall wore a stern face, speaking seriously with Dumbledore.

The feast ended with a performance by the Hogwarts ghosts. Everyone's attention was fixed at the front... where Nearly Headless Nick was reenacting the moment of his botched beheading.

Harold, meanwhile, kept his eyes on the Marauder's Map.

Finally, a name appeared before him.

Sirius Black. He was in the castle!

Harold immediately stood and slipped quietly out of the Great Hall.

He had been sitting in the back anyway, and since everyone else was focused on the performance, no one noticed someone missing.

Once in the Entrance Hall, Harold quickened his pace and darted into a portraitless corner. Moments later, a black cat leapt out the other side, nimbly bounding up the stairs to the second floor, and in a blink, appeared on the third.

Thanks to his cat's agility and familiarity with the castle, Harold took just a minute to get from the Entrance Hall to the eighth floor.

Crossing a corridor, he approached the entrance to Gryffindor Tower.

"Fortune... shines... bright!"

Harold heard a hoarse voice, as if it hadn't spoken in years—muffled and unclear.

Then came the Fat Lady's voice.

"Who are you... you're not a student at Hogwarts, are you? I can't let you in!"

"Damn it... hurry... open the door!" A beast-like snarl echoed through the empty hallway.

"That's very rude, you—wait... you, you're Sirius Black!" the Fat Lady suddenly screamed, having recognized him.

Harold heard the sound of canvas being torn.

Sirius had gone mad, using sharp nails to slash through the Fat Lady's portrait, while she fled screaming.

"If I were you, I wouldn't have done that. The Fat Lady is very dutiful—you shouldn't have destroyed her painting."

Sirius froze, turning his head stiffly.

He saw a familiar young wizard, standing casually in the corridor, watching him.

"It's you…"

"You know me?" Harold raised an eyebrow. "Allow me to introduce myself—Harold Ollivander. A pleasure to meet you here, Mr. Black."

"You... you're not afraid of me?" Sirius instinctively stepped back. "Get lost—before I kill you."

"Afraid? Why would I be afraid of a thousand Galleons?" Harold grinned, pulling out a camera and snapping a picture of Sirius with a click.

"The Daily Prophet just issued a new wanted poster. Anyone who can provide solid leads about you will be rewarded with a thousand Galleons—not a small sum."

A typical Ministry employee earned around fifty Galleons per month; a thousand Galleons would take nearly twenty months of saving without spending a Knut.

Sirius hadn't expected this little wizard to try and capture him. He hesitated for a second before lunging at Harold.

He couldn't be caught—not before he killed that damned rat.

As for the boy, well... he'd just have to shut him up first. Hopefully Boss Tom wouldn't be mad.

But just then, a book floated in front of Sirius.

It hovered midair, pages fanned open and rustling. Each sheet was covered with intricate symbols.

Before Sirius could react, a flash of red light hit him squarely, blasting him backward and slamming him into the wall.

A Stunning Spell?

That book had cast a Stunning Spell!

Sirius couldn't believe what he was seeing. But there was no time to think—the feast could end any moment, and then he'd have no chance to escape.

He quickly got up and ran in the opposite direction, planning to use his knowledge of the castle to shake Harold off.

He was sure no one knew the castle better than he did—especially not a third-year.

It was a good plan—until he'd barely run a few steps and the book appeared in front of him again.

Another Stunning Spell hit him dead on, and he tumbled back to Harold's feet.

"Still want to resist?" Harold asked with a smirk.

"Move!" Sirius scrambled to his feet again.

Voices echoed from downstairs—the feast was ending.

Now completely out of options, Sirius transformed into a large black dog and lunged at Harold.

At the same moment, Harold also transformed—into a sleek black cat that nimbly dodged the clumsy attack.

The Horcrux Grimoire flew beneath Harold, catching him.

It was Harold's first time trying this maneuver and he was a bit unsteady, but his small cat form made it manageable. The book only wobbled slightly before stabilizing.

While Sirius was still unbalanced, Harold guided the Grimoire directly in front of him.

Sirius instinctively turned his head—right into a pair of glowing orange eyes.

Harold felt his magic surge uncontrollably, like a bucket of water being upturned all at once.

Seconds later, the large black dog froze—completely still, petrified in place.

Harold also involuntarily reverted to human form, collapsing and panting heavily.

So this is what it feels like to use Serpent's Eye on a full-grown wizard... He felt like all his magical energy had been drained; his head was swimming.

And that was when Peeves the Poltergeist arrived.

"Oh-ho! It's little Ollivander! Did you run into Sirius Black too?" Peeves spun midair with excitement. "I just saw the Fat Lady—she said Black was here!"

Harold tried to speak, but the dizziness overwhelmed him.

His eyelids drooped heavily. Summoning the last of his strength, he reached behind and touched the petrified black dog, opening his Chameleon Skin Bag with a flick of remaining magic.

And then, the black dog vanished—stuffed into the magical bag.

Normally, living creatures couldn't be stored in such bags. But a petrified Sirius Black didn't count as "alive."

With that done, Harold collapsed to the side and passed out.

…

(End of Chapter)