The castle's stone walls gleamed a cold white beneath the moonlight. When Harry and Ron slipped in through a side door, the corridor torches had already burned down to their lowest. Their robes were torn in several places by branches, with fallen leaves and cobwebs tangled in their hair and Forbidden Forest mud caked over their boots.
"You go to the Hospital Wing and check on Hermione. I'll find Dumbledore," Harry said quietly.
Ron nodded without saying anything else, then turned and hurried toward the Hospital Wing. His boots clattered urgently over the flagstones, the sound growing fainter until it vanished around the corner. Harry headed for the third floor. The staircase slowly turned beneath his feet, and with every rotation, his heart sank a little deeper. The gargoyle guarding the entrance to the Headmaster's Office stood with its hands on its knees and head bowed, as though dozing.
"Honeydukes Toffee," Harry said, giving the morning's password. The gargoyle glanced at him but did not move.
"Fizzing Whizzbees." He tried another password. The gargoyle still did not move. Perhaps tired of the boy standing there for so long, it simply blocked the doorway, turned around, spread its wings, and faced its back to Harry.
The password had changed. Harry clenched his fists and turned to head downstairs. Someone was in the corridor. Percy stood at the foot of the stairs, clutching a roll of parchment, his prefect badge flashing in the torchlight. When he saw Harry, he frowned.
"Potter, where have you been? What happened to your clothes? Professor McGonagall has ordered all students to gather in the Great Hall. Go. Now." There was no room for argument in his voice.
Harry opened his mouth as if to say something, then closed it again. He followed Percy toward the Great