"AAAAAAAAAH..."
In the early hours at Hogwarts Castle, a series of incomparably shrill screams suddenly rang out, waking the students who had just fallen asleep.
"It's started, it's started!"
Listening to the commotion in the room, Albert lazily rolled over. Lee Jordan's voice came from the other end of the dormitory. Feeling around, he pulled aside the curtains surrounding his bed and watched the Weasley twins and Lee Jordan preparing to go watch the excitement. Covering a yawn, he muttered, "That woman should behave herself for quite some time after this."
"Get up!"
Grinning, Lee Jordan poured Albert a cup of strong tea.
Albert looked at the tea with considerable distaste. How was he supposed to get back to sleep after drinking that stuff?
He covered another yawn, climbed out of bed, took the cloak hanging beside him, draped it over himself, and followed the other curiosity-driven students to the Common Room.
A large crowd of students who had just climbed out of bed had already gathered there, dressed in pajamas and cloaks. They huddled together in twos and threes, whispering about the screams they had just heard.
"Quiet. Does anyone know what's going on?" Albert looked around and asked, "I heard screaming just now."
"It sounds like something happened in the castle," one boy said, raising his hand first.
"It sounded like a banshee screaming."
"I think it was more like someone was being severely tortured."
"I suspect it was the toad screaming?"
Everyone chimed in with their own theories. In the end, the idea that it had been the toad's screams received widespread agreement, because it was not the first time the toad had screamed in the middle of the night. This time, however, had been especially shrill.
"Prefects, are there any prefects here?" Albert raised a hand