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"What a mess… far too lenient… absolute chaos… I've had enough…"
Filch muttered under his breath as he trudged along, his face etched with displeasure, dragging James by the arm with a look of someone who'd just suffered a great blow.
Severus supported Pandora as they followed behind.
When they reached the entrance to the Hospital Wing, Madam Pomfrey was already waiting.
"Come in quickly," she said. "Professor McGonagall told me you lot need treatment."
After helping Madam Pomfrey settle the three of them onto hospital beds, Filch shuffled off.
Noticing the bandage on James's arm, Madam Pomfrey's eyes lit up. "Potter, your arm's wrapped rather well. All those times before, why didn't you ever patch yourself up first?"
"That was me," Severus said. "I don't know how to set bones, so I just did what I could."
"Well done," Madam Pomfrey said approvingly. "Finally, a student who knows basic first aid."
But then her gaze hardened as she glared at Severus. "It'd be even better if you lot stopped getting yourselves injured!"
With practiced efficiency, Madam Pomfrey set James's bone in a mere second.
She then carefully examined Severus and Pandora, concluding that neither had serious injuries.
However, Severus had bruised his tailbone in a fall, requiring him to lie face-down for treatment.
After his vehement protests, Madam Pomfrey reluctantly agreed to draw the curtains during the procedure to spare him the embarrassment of being seen by the other two.
"Madam Pomfrey, we're fine now," Severus said, lifting his head after the treatment. "Can we go?"
"No," Madam Pomfrey said firmly. "Professor McGonagall's orders were clear: you're to stay in the Hospital Wing and go nowhere else."
When Severus opened his mouth to argue, she cut him off. "If you don't behave, I'll give you a Sleeping Draught. It'll knock you out dreamlessly until morning."
"No need," Severus said, shaking his head vigorously like a rattle. "I'll stay right here."
Time dragged on, and Severus felt his mind grow foggy, lulled by drowsiness.
The ward was eerily quiet, his eyelids drooping heavily. Everything around him blurred, the ward's lamps seeming to wink at him kindly through the curtains.
His body felt as though it were sinking deeper into a warm, feathery mattress…
"We need to ask them."
"Can't it wait until morning?"
"It'll wake them up!"
Severus stirred, overhearing hushed voices outside the door.
The room was still dimly lit, and he figured it was still night. He doubted he'd slept for long.
Madam Pomfrey, visibly irritated, pushed open the ward door and ushered Dumbledore inside.
"We meet again," Dumbledore said kindly, his face lit with a gentle smile. "Quite the eventful evening, isn't it?"
"Professor," Severus said, propping himself up. "You're back. Is everything alright?"
"No need to worry, Severus. You, James, and Pandora—if you're rested enough—come with me to my office."
Ignoring Madam Pomfrey's silent objections, the group left the Hospital Wing and made their way to the Headmaster's office.
The password for the stone gargoyle at the entrance hadn't changed; it was still "Lemon Drop."
Severus and James were no strangers to this place, but it was Pandora's first visit.
She looked around curiously, pausing before a portrait of a former headmaster feigning sleep. Mimicking him, she squinted one eye to peek, only to snap it shut when she noticed someone watching her.
She even tried to touch Fawkes, forcing the phoenix to flutter off its perch, circle the room, and finally land gracefully on Dumbledore's shoulder, preening its feathers.
"Sit down," Dumbledore said. "Pandora, you start. These two aren't always the most reliable."
"Alright, Headmaster," Pandora said, still visibly sleepy, struggling to keep her eyes open. "Severus and I went to a passageway on the fifth floor. We were planning to—"
"I was going to blow the place up," Severus cut in. "I asked Pandora to help."
"It's not your turn yet, Severus," Dumbledore said sternly, fixing him with a look.
So Pandora continued. "I found traces of ancient magic there and managed to clear them.
"But just as we were about to destroy the passage, Inferi—like the ones Professor Sprout showed us in class—started crawling out from the stairwell.
"There were more and more of them, so we tried to get out. But when we opened the door, Mr. Potter was outside. He hung Severus upside-down.
"We were running out of time, so I hit my bag with a spell, hoping it'd destroy the passage. Then we… well, we flew."
"Is that so?" Dumbledore turned to Severus. "Why did you want to destroy that passage?"
"Professor," Severus said, "Mulciber's been sneaking out of the dormitory at night this term. I followed him through the passage to Hogsmeade.
"But I don't know what he's up to. So I had a bold idea: if he's using the passage for something nefarious, why not just destroy it?"
"That's a rather extreme solution, Severus," Dumbledore said calmly. "You should have come to a teacher. Speaking of which, how did you find out how to access the passage?"
"Sir!" James shot to his feet, now fully awake, his face flushed with indignation. "The Marauder's Map! He used the Marauder's Map to get into the passage!"
Clearly, James no longer cared about keeping secrets. Understandably so—since it was confirmed Severus had the map, it was better to have it confiscated by the Headmaster than let Severus keep it.
Severus was furious at James's petty betrayal.
Reluctantly, he pulled the parchment from his pocket and handed it to Dumbledore.
Dumbledore took the parchment, examining both sides. "A blank piece of parchment," he said softly.
Then, holding his wand between his fingers, he spread the parchment flat on the desk.
"Reveal your secrets!" Dumbledore said, tapping the parchment with his wand.
Nothing happened.
Severus suddenly felt a spark of anticipation for what might come next.
James looked nervous, his hands twisting tightly in front of him.
"Show yourself!" Dumbledore commanded, striking the map again.
The paper remained blank.
Severus was inwardly gleeful, struggling to suppress a grin.
"Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts, commands you to reveal your hidden information!" Dumbledore declared, tapping the map with his wand.
As if an invisible hand were writing, words began to appear on the map's smooth surface.
Beads of sweat broke out on James's forehead.
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