When Harry woke up on Halloween morning he just knew something was going to happen. He didn't know what but he could feel it in his bones that this wouldn't be a normal day. Considering how the last two Halloweens had gone for him he didn't think that anyone could blame him for feeling that way. The feeling didn't go away even as he went through his morning workout followed by a shower before heading down to get breakfast.
"Good morning Harry" said Bobby as the two students met in the school kitchen. Hank and Warren were also there but Scott and the professor were not.
"Good morning" said Harry sounding a bit preoccupied as he got out his breakfast and began to eat.
"Is everything all right?" asked Warren, "you seem a little out of it." Harry raised his head.
"Hmm?" he said, "yeah I suppose I am. It's nothing you should worry about though. It's just the day."
"The day?" said Bobby, "you mean Halloween?"
"For you it might be Halloween" said Harry, "for me it will always be the day my parents were killed."
There was a silence around the breakfast table.
"I'm sorry" said Bobby finally, "I didn't mean to – "
"Don't worry about it" said Harry, "I was only a baby and I don't remember much. Besides, it was a long time ago."
"Even so" said Hank, "it's always good to be sensitive to the feelings of others, especially in regards to the loss of loved ones."
"I appreciate that" said Harry, "especially since at Hogwarts it's a big feast day."
"Understandable" said Hank, "All Hallow's Eve, or Samhain, or whatever you call it is very strongly connected to mother magic. It's no surprise to me that witches and wizards would celebrate such an auspicious occasion."
"I don't find it very auspicious" said Harry, "something always seems to happen on Halloween. Last year was when the Chamber of Secrets was opened."
"That was the basilisk, right?" said Hank, "how I would have loved to have seen such a remarkable creature."
"No, you wouldn't have" said Harry, "trust me on that. And the year before that was when a troll got into Hogwarts and Ron and I wound up fighting it. Every year before that for almost a decade I was stuck with the Dursleys and Dudley would always rub it in my face how he could go trick or treating but I couldn't and he would stuff his face with the candy he got, usually making himself sick in the process. Before any of that there was Voldemort killing my parents. As you can tell, Halloween isn't my favorite day. I'm just wondering what will happen this year." Before anyone could answer Scott entered the room.
"Hey guys" he said, "we have training soon. You should get ready."
"But it's Sunday" protested Bobby.
"I know" said Scott, "that's why we're having it. The professor wants to keep us on our toes so we don't get too used to routine. He'll probably let us have a day off some time during the week just to balance it out.
"Okay" said Hank, "in that case I recommend that we not disappoint our esteemed professor by being tardy to his lesson." Bobby grimaced but didn't protest again. He and the others finished eating before getting up to go get changed. Scott motioned for Harry to wait.
"The professor said you can skip class today if you want" Scott said, "he knows what day it is." Harry shook his head.
"If I do that" Harry said, "I'll probably just brood. I'll come to class. It'll be better for me."
"All right" said Scott, "if you're sure then go suit up."
Harry went to his room and changed into his uniform. Lightning then headed down to class.
In Scotland Hermione and Ron were on their way to Hogsmeade Village with many of their classmates. As third year students they were allowed to go there on certain days as long as their parents or guardians had given them written permission to do so. Halloween was usually a Hogsmeade day, especially if it was on a weekend as this one was.
Normally all the students would be more enthusiastic when they were visiting the village but this year a damper was hanging over the whole school because of the dementors. When anyone went through the school gates they had to pass a pair of dementors. Since dementors thrived by sucking the happiness out of an area it was never a pleasant experience to go past them.
"Ugh" said Ron after they had gone through the school gates and were heading down to the village, "why can't they remove the dementors just for today when they know so many students are going to be passing them?"
"I know what you mean" said Hermione, "I don't like them any more than you do, even if they're supposed to be here for our safety."
"I hope they catch Black soon" said Ron.
"Do you think he's even going to come here?" asked Hermione as they passed a big black shaggy dog that was scrounging in the dirt on the edge of the road, "it's no secret that Harry's not at Hogwarts."
"Maybe Black doesn't know?" said Ron.
"Maybe" said Hermione "well there's nothing we can do about it right now. Come on, let's go to the Three Broomsticks and get some lunch."
Neither of them saw the dog lift its head as they went by as if listening to what they were saying before going back to scrounging in the dirt again.
Professor Xavier's mind reached out through his school to all of his students.
"Attention X-Men! This is Professor Xavier calling" the professor's call ran, "Repeat: this is Professor X calling. You are ordered to appear at once! Class is now in session! Tardiness will be punished.
The professor had barely finished his call when the X-Men were entering the Danger Room to join him. Cyclops and Lightning both ran in, Beast bounded in, Angel flew in, and Iceman slid in and made an ice pole that he spun around several times. A regular training session followed. Since he was still the newbie Beast went first testing his balance, speed, and maneuverability. After that Angel was sent through a very precise and dangerous obstacle course which almost knocked him out of the air near the end but he was able to save himself from falling by hovering in place.
Lightning was up next. Today's challenge was to be able to shoot his electricity at multiple targets at once. He'd been working on this for a while to be able to shoot lightning bolts out of other parts of his body than just his hands. So far he had learned to direct bolts with his feet and his head. Now he added his elbows too. It took several tries but finally he was able to hit seven targets at once that had been ranged around him.
"Good work" the professor said to him, "eventually you may be able to fire electricity in all directions from your entire body."
"Is that even possible?" asked Lightning.
"I don't see why not" was the reply.
Normally Iceman would have gone next but the professor told him that he was going easy on him today and didn't have a specific task for him despite Iceman's desire for one.
"Some things cannot be rushed Iceman" said Xavier.
"You didn't go so easy on Lightning" said Iceman, "and he's younger than me."
"That's true" said the professor, "but Lightning has a certain amount of combat experience that you don't have yet."
"Well" said Lightning out loud in a wry voice, "I suppose that's one way to describe facing a 12 foot troll, a huge Cerberus, a bunch of giant spiders, a 60 foot long basilisk, and an evil wizard who wants me dead. I never looked at it as combat experience though. I was just trying to stay alive!"
"I really have to see that school before I die" said Angel.
"Nevertheless" said the professor, "my point stands. Iceman, you may have five minutes of free play, doing what you wish."
"Hey Iceman" said Lightning coming up to him, "if that's the case I have an idea that could be fun" he whispered something to Iceman who laughed and nodded. It was a childish thing to do but they were the two youngest X-Men and it did break up the seriousness of training. Taking some buttons, a carrot, an old hat, and a broom Iceman turned around and:
"TA TA TA TAAAA!" he said while Lightning tried to stifle his own laughter from where he was standing nearby, "look at me... I'm a snowman! I'm gonna go stand on someone's lawn if I don't get something to do around here pretty soon!"
Iceman got his wish. Unknown to him the professor had communicated to Beast that as soon as Iceman was off guard they would test his reflexes. At the professor's signal Beast hurled a bowling ball straight at Iceman who was delighted by the test. He made a curving ice shield and sent the ball right back at Beast who caught it as it flew past the professor's chair.
Cyclops was tested next and the professor had him attack first Beast (whom he practically blasted through a wall) and then Iceman before Xavier sent Angel and Lightning into the fray. Lightning used his telekinesis to lift Cyclops up into the air and got a mild optic blast in his torso for his trouble but Angel caught him as he shot backwards and then everyone was piling on each other in a free for all as the professor let them blow off steam for a few minutes.
"Enough!" Professor Xavier's voice boomed loudly in all of their minds bringing them to a sudden stop, "The lesson is over." He called for all of the X-Men to return to their places.
"Woo-wee" said Lightning, "that was loud."
"He almost bowled me over with that one" Beast said in agreement as they all lined up in front of their mentor who wrapped up the lesson with a few well chosen words and then announced that a new student was about to arrive to join them. "A most attractive young lady" was what the professor said and so she proved to be when the five X-Men stepped out of the Danger Room and saw her through a window looking out of the front side of the school. She was getting out of a taxi near the front door. She was a pretty redheaded girl and Cyclops, Angel, and Beast were immediately attracted to her. Iceman less so simply saying that he was glad he wasn't a wolf like the three older boys. Lightning took it in stride. He knew he was still a little young for that stuff although it wouldn't be long before puberty hit him and that started to change.
By mutual consent the team decided to change into normal clothes before meeting their new classmate. Not long after that the professor summoned them all to his office.
"Boys" said Professor Xavier when they arrived, "this is Miss Jean Grey. She will be known as Marvel Girl."
"Welcome to the X-Men, Miss Grey" said Warren speaking for all of the others. Jean Grey looked to be about the same age as the three oldest X-Men. She was dressed rather formally when she arrived but she quickly proved she could handle herself when dealing with the older boys.
"You'll learn more about me, boys" she said to their initial questions, "in time."
"Well, no time like the present" said Hank and asked Scott to bring Jean a chair. This was unnecessary as the chair slid out of Scott's hands and right over to Jean who sat down in it.
"Wicked" said Harry, "you're telekinetic, like me."
"Yes I am" Jean's voice sounded in Harry's head, and by the looks on the faces of the other boys, in their heads too, "among other things."
"You're a telepath too?" said Bobby, "like the professor?"
"Indeed she is" said the professor, "which will be very useful to you all when you're in the field." Professor Xavier then told Jean about his school and himself – basically all the information that he'd given Harry and the others – and then told them all to get better acquainted with each other. Unfortunately Hank took this as an opportunity to get a little fresh with Jean and tried to welcome her to the school by planting a kiss on her cheek. She responded by telekinetically launching him into the air and spinning him around until he was dizzy while he protested that he was "just being friendly" before abruptly dropping him on a couch while the others all laughed.
"And let that be a lesson" said Harry as he wagged a finger at Hank, "to never mess with a redhead."
"You have experience with that?" asked Jean turning his way.
"My best friend at my old school has red hair" said Harry, "along with his five older brothers, younger sister, and both of his parents. You don't want to cross any of them, especially their mother. And my own mum was a redhead too. She was a very sweet person but if you tried anything with her you would quickly regret it."
"That sounds about right" said Jean giving Harry a smile before turning to the professor, "I hope I wasn't too rough on the poor dear."
"Not at all Jean" said the professor, "we don't use kid gloves here." He went on to explain why they had to make their training rough and what their mission was, telling her about how the X-Men were being formed to protect the world from mutants who might hate regular humans and / or feel that mutants were superior to normal humans and should rule them. Although the others had heard all of this before Harry could still relate as it sounded just like how Voldemort and his minions viewed anyone who wasn't a pureblood wizard.
Unknown to Harry, the professor, or any of the other students, their first confrontation with an evil mutant was just coming around the corner.
"Did you notice that Malfoy didn't come to Hogsmeade today?" Seamus asked his fellow Gryffindor year mates. They were all having lunch together at the Three Broomsticks.
"I heard Professor Snape wouldn't let him come" said Parvati Patil, "he took the first Hogsmeade visit away from him as punishment for what happened with Harry's howler. Supposedly he said something about a true Slytherin never putting himself in a position where he can be publically embarrassed."
"Why did he even write to Harry?" asked Dean, "they've never liked each other."
"Who knows what goes on in Malfoy's mind?" quipped Hermione, "that Howler was a bit much though."
"You enjoyed it" said Ron, "you were struggling not to laugh."
"I didn't say I didn't enjoy it" said Hermione primly, "just that it was a bit much."
"Malfoy deserved it" said Neville which was a sentiment that everyone at the table agreed with, "it's just a pity that it won't keep him humble forever. He's already starting to get some of his attitude back."
"Yes" said Hermione, "but if you ask him about being 'The Slytherin King' he still turns red and looks away."
"I wish I knew what the Slytherin upperclassmen did to him" said Lavender Brown after taking a sip from her butterbeer.
"So do I" said Ron, "so we could threaten him with the same thing the next time he tries to throw his weight around."
After lunch Ron, Hermione, and their other friends wandered around Hogsmeade enjoying the day. They visited Honeydukes and bought sweets. Fred and George were seen leaving Zonko's Joke Shop with a large bundle of items that everyone knew would soon be used to liven up the castle. They walked past the Hog's Head but didn't go in because of its reputation as a place where a shadier crowd gathered. Finally they all went and looked at the Shrieking Shack which was said to be the most haunted building in all of Britain even though, so some of the locals said, it had been many years since there had been any noise from the shack.
In the late afternoon the friends returned to Hogwarts to get ready for the Halloween feast. It had been a pleasant day for Ron and Hermione marred only by Harry not being there with them and by having to pass the dementors again. As they walked back up towards the castle neither of them noticed the big black shaggy dog that they had passed earlier. It followed them with its eyes as they headed towards Hogwarts before turning and trotting off in the other direction.
"Attention X-Men!" came the call, "this is Professor Xavier! Report to my study immediately..."
It took less than fifteen seconds before all six students were assembled before the professor who had a stern look on his face. It had happened a lot sooner than anyone had expected but the first evil mutant had just made his appearance at the U. S. military base of Cape Citadel in Florida where he had taken over the base.
"This will be your baptism of fire" said the professor, "you are to go to the Cape... and defeat him!"
'Yep' Harry thought to himself as he and the others rapidly headed back to their rooms to get changed into their uniforms, 'the Halloween jinx strikes again! I wonder if I'll ever have a peaceful one?'
"They must be after our missiles" said Scott.
"Since the fall of the Soviet Union two years ago" said Hank, "you would think we wouldn't need so many weapons of mass destruction."
"Doesn't matter if it's a lot or only a few" said Bobby, "any one of them can kill way too many people!"
"Sorry about this" said Warren to Jean, "you only just got here a few hours ago and already we're heading into action."
"That's all right" said Jean, "I know evil mutants don't have the consideration to wait for the good ones to be ready to face them. I'll be fine."
In his room Harry quickly changed back into his X-Man uniform and looked at himself in the mirror as he took a moment to reflect on what was happening. This would be his second mission but the first one in which they were going up against an actual evil mutant. Conquistador had not had any superpowers of his own but this mutant, whoever he (or she) was, would and he had to be quite powerful to be able to take over an American military base all by himself. This wouldn't be like training in the Danger Room where, despite the potential for things to turn bad, there were controls in place to minimize risk. This time they would be working without those safety precautions against a powerful foe who would fight back and would likely try to hurt or even kill them.
Lightning took a deep breath and hardened his resolve. He'd been training for this for four months. Now it was time to put his training to use as the professor intended. He turned away from his mirror and, taking only an extra few seconds to pick up an extra item he thought he might need, left his room to join the team. The Rolls Royce was waiting for them and they were quickly driven to the airfield where they all boarded Xavier's private jet. They were soon airborne and Marvel Girl expressed amazement when she heard that the professor was flying the plane by remote control with only his thoughts from back at the school but quickly accepted from the others that this was normal when one joined the X-Men. After that they settled down for the flight to Florida.
"Harry" asked Marvel Girl a little while later, "what do you have stuffed in your belt?"
"This?" said Lightning touching the object in question, "this is my invisibility cloak."
"Your what?" asked Marvel Girl with raised eyebrows. Lightning pulled his cloak out from his belt and demonstrated it.
"Wow" said Marvel Girl as she saw Lightning vanish while the other X-Men smiled.
"Yes" said Lightning removing it again and stuffing it back in his belt, "I thought it might be useful so I brought it. However carrying it in my belt is not going to be convenient in the long run so unless I can come up with some other way I doubt I'll be able to bring it with me on missions very often."
"That might be just as well" said Cyclops, "the professor doesn't want you to rely on your magic too much."
"I know" said Lightning, "but today I had a very strong feeling that I should bring it. It's said that if you're magical you should listen to feelings like that."
"You have magic?" asked Marvel Girl.
"Yes" said Lightning who held up his right index finger and said "lumos." To Marvel Girl's surprise the tip of his finger lit up. Lightning then said "nox" and the light went out.
"Wow" said Marvel Girl, "that's amazing."
"We'll bring you up to speed on Harry's unusual background once the mission's over" said Cyclops, "for now we should concentrate on our task."
They were silent for the most part for the rest of the flight and eventually they landed in Florida right outside of Cape Citadel.
"All right everyone" said Cyclops, "this is it, our first mission as a full team."
"Let's do this" said Angel putting out his hand. The other five all placed their hands over his for a moment before they broke apart.
"Lead on fearless leader" said Beast as they all followed Cyclops out of the plane.
As their leader Cyclops was also their spokesman and he was the one who made a deal with the general commanding the base to give them fifteen minutes to try to stop the person who had taken over the base before a full weapons strike would be launched against him. The central part of the base was surrounded by a strong magnetic force field that none of the military's weapons had been able to penetrate so far. The first challenge would be to take down that force field.
The X-Men all arrived at the force field in different ways. Cyclops was ahead of everyone else and was the first to get there but the others were not far behind. Beast leap frogged right over the soldiers in front of him while Marvel Girl used her telekinesis to move people out of her way. As Iceman ran through the crowd he temporarily made the people he passed start to freeze (but they warmed up again as soon as he was gone). As for Angel and Lightning they both flew over the crowd and arrived at the force field without any trouble.
Cyclops was already pounding at the force field with his optic blasts by the time the others arrived and the field showed signs of giving a bit but it wasn't enough yet.
"Lightning" said the professor, "help Cyclops bring that shield down. Your electricity should help to repel it."
"Okay professor" said Lightning who, even after several months was still a little amazed that the professor could contact him from over a thousand miles away. Lightning put that thought aside for now and began blasting the shield with lightning bolts. The effect was immediate as the force field weakened more rapidly than before.
"When the shield is down" the professor said and now he was saying it to all of the X-Men, "I want Lightning to use his invisibility cloak and scout ahead. Your foe is in that building right ahead of you. Marvel Girl keep in constant touch with him and the others so that any information Lightning finds out you can relay to everyone. And Lightning, when you find our foe DO NOT attempt to engage him by yourself. Stay hidden and wait for everyone else to arrive."
Under the combined power of Cyclops and Lightning the force field finally fell. Once it was down Cyclops looked at Lightning.
"Thanks for the help" he said, "I would've been out of it for a bit if I'd had to take it down alone."
"What else are teammates for?" said Lightning as he pulled out his invisibility cloak and wrapped it around himself saying "time to go scouting" as he vanished from view.
"Be careful" said Cyclops.
"Marvel Girl" Lightning called, "are you there?"
"Yes Lightning, I'm here" was Marvel Girl's response, "I'll keep you connected with everyone."
"Thanks" said Lightning as he walked forward quickly. After a few seconds he levitated himself a few inches into the air and floated forward instead of walking so that whoever was inside the building wouldn't hear him coming. Fortunately the front door of the building behind the shield was ajar. Lightning nudged it open wider and floated through it into the entrance hall. It seemed to be a command building of some sort and Lightning heard someone moving around in the room at the end of the hall. The door to that room was open all the way so Lightning floated himself through it and landed silently as he looked around.
'Who is that?' Lightning thought to himself when he saw the occupant of the room. He was a large man dressed in a red and purple costume with a purple cape hanging over his back and a mostly red helmet over his head. He had his back to the door so Lightning couldn't see his face. He was watching some TV screens which showed the other X-Men outside in the base.
"Professor? Marvel Girl?" Lightning called, "I think I've found our foe."
"Lightning stay back" said the Professor, "I repeat, do not attempt to engage him by yourself. Wait for the others to reach you."
"No problem there" said Lightning, "just please don't take too long."
"We'll be as quick as we can" said Marvel Girl, "keep watch and let us know if he does anything."
"Right" acknowledged Lightning as he remained where he was watching the man watching his teammates. Suddenly the man turned and pressed some buttons on a nearby control panel.
"I will let the base's Hunter Missiles do my fighting for me"Lightning heard the man say, "they will hunt the five down attracted by their body heat."
"Guys!" Lightning called in alarm, "there are missiles headed your way!"
"We see them" called back Marvel Girl. Lightning watched on the screen as five missiles shot out and headed towards the other X-Men.
'He thinks there are only five of us' thought Lightning, 'he doesn't know about me. But what can I do?' Lightning briefly considered attacking their foe but quickly decided against it. Even without the professor's warning not to do so it occurred to him that if this guy was powerful enough to seize the base all by himself it would be very stupid to try to fight him alone. He might be a true Gryffindor but despite what some people at Hogwarts thought he wasn't suicidally reckless.
On the TV screens Lightning watched as the missiles focused on Angel first but Iceman managed to freeze four of them and knock them out. The last one was dealt with when Angel flew down lower and Beast caught it with his feet after which Marvel Girl telekinetically seized it and tossed it into the nearby sea where it harmlessly exploded. This seem to impress their foe who had also been watching.
"Round one to them" he said, "but there are plenty more missiles to use. They can't beat them forever."
'I hope the American military forgives me for this' Lightning thought as he made a small opening in his cloak so he could send electricity at the machine before closing his cloak again. The machine shorted out before the man could launch more missiles at his teammates. Naturally the man noticed this.
"What was that?" he said, "how could the machine just short out?" he began to look suspicious, "unless something made it. Is there someone else here?"
'That's my cue to get the hell out of here' Lightning thought and quickly floated himself back up and out of the room. Unfortunately he brushed the door as he did and made it move which immediately attracted the man's attention.
"Bollocks!" said Lightning to himself. He abandoned stealth and just turned and flew back through the building as fast as he dared. He was vaguely aware that the man was probably following him but he didn't stop to check. He soon made it back outside and flew over to join his teammates.
"I think he's coming out here" called Lightning as he landed and removed his invisibility cloak.
"You're right" said Angel pointing behind Lightning who turned to see the man coming out of the building.
"So there are six of you after all" said the man who pointed at Lightning, "you must have been the one who sabotaged the missile launcher. It's impressive that you managed to do that without me seeing you."
"Thanks, I think" said Lightning.
"Nevertheless" the man continued, "no matter how strong your powers may be all of you together are still no match for Magneto, master of magnetism!" With that Magneto reached out with his power and every nearby metal object that wasn't secured rose up into the air and began pelting toward the X-Men.
"See how easily I can stop [you]" said Magneto, "by magnetically hurling every nearby object which is not bolted down!"
"Don't congratulate yourself too soon Magneto" said Cyclops as he blasted away all of the metal objects with his optic blasts, "See how easily I can remove your magnetized junk with my energy beam!"
"Well done" said Magneto, "but not good enough." He set a tank of rocket fuel on fire and sent it hurtling towards the X-Men knowing it would soon explode.
"Lightning, Marvel Girl" came the professor's voice in their heads, "push it back with your telekinesis. Together you can do it. Iceman make a shelter and prepare to close it when I give the word."
Lightning and Marvel Girl combined their telekinesis and pushed back against the fuel tank as hard as they could. They were able to slow it down, stop it, and quickly send it rolling back toward Magneto who was looking at this in disbelief. Meanwhile Iceman began making a thick ice dome to protect them all from the inevitable explosion.
"Now" said the professor and Lightning and Marvel Girl retreated inside the dome which Iceman quickly closed. It was only just in time as they both heard and felt the explosion from the fuel tank when it came.
"If that had been any closer" said Iceman, "it would have destroyed my dome."
"And probably us with it" said Cyclops. They waited for a few moments before Cyclops blasted an opening in the dome and the X-Men all looked out. A fair distance away the fire from the explosion was burning fiercely but Magneto had escaped the blast and was airborne, flying away from the base. When Angel flew after him he ran into another magnetic force field which stopped him from going any further. The force field was eventually breached but by then Magneto was gone although they all had a feeling that they would see him again sooner or later. On the bright side they'd recaptured the base from him and it hadn't even taken the whole fifteen minutes they'd been given. They quickly turned the base back over to the military. The commanding general was very pleased.
"You call yourselves the X-Men" he said to the team, "I will not ask you to reveal your true identities, but I promise you that before this day is over the name X-Men will be the most honored in my command."
"Thank you sir" said Angel as he shook the general's hand, "and should America's security ever again be threatened the X-Men will be back!" (1)
With that the X-Men returned to their jet and began the flight home.
'Well' thought Lightning to himself as they winged their way back north, 'it's not a magic related disaster but having to fight a villain with a similar mentality to Voldemort does qualify as a normal Halloween by Harry Potter standards. I wonder how things are back at Hogwarts?'
At Hogwarts the Halloween feast had just finished up and all of the students were heading back to their dorms. Ron, Hermione and all of their house mates were walking back to Gryffindor tower.
"Great food, as always" said Ron.
"I should hope you liked it" retorted Hermione, "considering how you stuffed your face with fifth helpings of everything."
"I'm a growing boy" replied Ron.
"That you are ickle Ronniekins" said Fred, "but if you keep eating the way you do – "
"You'll soon stop growing upwards –" said George.
"And start growing outwards" said Fred.
"Shut up" mumbled Ron while the twins laughed. By now they'd arrived at the entrance to the tower and found the corridor jammed with students.
"Why isn't anyone going in?" said Ron curiously. For some reason the portrait of the Fat Lady seemed to be closed. As they all got closer it became very obvious what was wrong.
The Fat Lady had vanished from her portrait, which had been slashed so viciously that strips of canvas littered the floor; great chunks of it had been torn away completely.
"We need to get the headmaster" called one of the older students but even as he said it Professor Dumbledore was arriving along with McGonagall and Snape. Dumbledore took one look at the portrait and ordered McGonagall to tell Mr. Filch to search all of the portraits to find where the Fat Lady had gone.
"You'll be lucky!" said a cackling voice. It was Peeves the Poltergeist, bobbing over the crowd and looking delighted, as he always did, at the sight of wreckage or worry.
Dumbledore didn't rise to the bait as others might have when dealing with Peeves. Instead he calmly asked the poltergeist what had happened and if he knew who had slashed the painting. It seemed Peeves did know as the Fat Lady had named her attacker as she fled through the castle.
"Oh yes, Professorhead," said Peeves, with the air of one cradling a large bombshell in his arms. "He got very angry when she wouldn't let him in, you see." Peeves flipped over and grinned at Dumbledore from between his own legs. "Nasty temper he's got, that Sirius Black."