Chapter 79: Filch's Advance
Chapter 79: Filch's Advance
Having retraced their steps back to the castle, George and Fred were ready to take a shortcut back to the Gryffindor common room as soon as they reached the third floor.
Before emerging from the secret passage, the twins had already planned their route and triple-checked that their number one "arch-nemesis" for their after-hours stroll was still resting in his room.
"Achoo!"
Fred quickly clamped his hand over George's mouth as he felt a sneeze coming, preventing any loud noises that could give them away.
"It's fine, just an itchy nose," George said, rubbing his nose and stifling a yawn. He was already missing his soft bed.
"Maybe you caught a chill!" Fred said sympathetically, looking at his twin brother. "Let's head back."
The two made their way up the stairs to the fifth floor, intending to take a direct secret passage to the eighth floor.
"Meow."
A strange cat's meow caught their attention.
Fred froze, wand raised as he peered around the corner, only to spot a familiar black shadow—none other than Filch's cat, Mrs. Norris.
The cat turned tail and ran upon spotting them.
Fred and George exchanged a glance, and then they both burst into cheerful laughter. They knew exactly what that cat was up to, and it wouldn't be long before Filch was scouring the castle for them.
But the twins didn't care; by then, they would already be back in their common room, safe and sound.
The thought of the sick Filch stumbling around the castle in the middle of the night brought a smile to Fred and George's faces.
"Let's go; I want to get back to bed," George said, yawning repeatedly.
They made their way through the secret passage on the fifth floor and arrived at the eighth floor, traversing the dark and quiet Gryffindor corridor until they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady.
However, their cheerful mood took a dive as they found the painting empty. The Fat Lady was out visiting, it seemed.
In that moment, Fred and George realized they were locked out of the Gryffindor common room.
"Now what?" Fred's face fell. They had no idea when the Fat Lady would return, and to make matters worse, Filch was already up and about, making his way to the fifth floor with Mrs. Norris by his side.
That sneaky blighter was taking shortcuts through the secret passages, moving faster than they had anticipated.
"Albert really is a jinx," George sighed. "I don't want to spend the night out here; I'll definitely catch a cold. Should we find somewhere to rest?"
Find a place to rest?
It made more sense to wait it out in a safe spot rather than continue their night stroll and risk running into Filch.
But where could they hide?
The answer was simple: the secret passages.
There were several passages on the eighth floor, but Fred wasn't sure if Filch knew about them all. Using the Marauder's Map, they could see that Filch had already arrived on the fifth floor and was searching for the students wandering after hours.
"Let Filch search all he wants!" George said with a dismissive wave of his hand.
"Be careful, though. We don't want to get caught," Fred warned.
He had no desire to be caught by Filch. If they were captured, the consequences would be unpleasant, to say the least.
Not only would they have to deal with Filch's nasty demeanor, but they would also face Professor McGonagall, Percy, and the disdain of their fellow Gryffindors after losing a substantial amount of house points.
For now, they could only hope that Filch would give up his search soon and that the Fat Lady would return promptly.
Fifth floor, corridor of portraits—Filch patrolled the corridor with his lamp, his mood as foul as it could be. He had accidentally caught a cold, and his head was feeling dizzy. All he wanted was a peaceful night's rest, but it seemed that wouldn't be happening anytime soon.
Nothing, nothing, still nothing.
Filch swept his lamp across the abandoned classrooms, ears perked for any sounds. Even his beloved Mrs. Norris, who was assisting in the search, hadn't managed to catch any of the mischievous students or heard any signs of movement.
"They got away?" Filch muttered to himself. "No, that's impossible!"
It had only been a few minutes since Mrs. Norris had raised the alarm. There was no way those pesky kids could have gotten far so quickly.
"They can't have gone far. I will catch them!" Filch was certain that no one knew the Hogwarts castle and its secret passages better than he did. No one could escape his grasp.
However, what Filch didn't know was that the twins were watching his every move. Their eyes were glued to the dot representing Filch on the Marauder's Map as he moved through the various floors via the secret passages, with Mrs. Norris splitting off to search separately.
"Filch certainly knows these passages well. It would be hard for students wandering at night to avoid him," George remarked.
"Now's not the time for musings," Fred said, realizing their situation was turning dire. "We can't stay here; Filch might know about this passage. We need to find a hiding spot he doesn't know about."
"Why don't we check if the Fat Lady is back?" George suggested. If they could get into the common room, they wouldn't have to worry about Filch anymore.
"Let's go see," Fred agreed.
They left the passage once more and made their way to the portrait of the Fat Lady at the end of the Gryffindor corridor, only to be disappointed yet again. She still hadn't returned.
"We have to leave; if Filch searches the eighth floor, we won't be able to hide. Let's go to the seventh floor, to the passage with the suit of armor. I'm sure Filch doesn't know about that one. We can hide there, and he'll never find us," Fred said.
However, Mrs. Norris was patrolling the seventh floor, and they might be caught if they weren't careful.
As the twins planned to use the passage with the eagle-headed lion statue on the eighth floor to move to another floor, they spotted Filch making his way up through the same passage.
"Run!" Fred whispered urgently, quickening his pace. As they hurried down the stairs to the seventh floor, Filch emerged from the eagle-headed lion statue passage and immediately heard the sound of their footsteps.
"I've found you! Don't even think about getting away!" Filch muttered, holding his lamp as he began his pursuit. Mrs. Norris quickly joined him, leading the way to find the students roaming the castle at night.
"This won't do; Filch is heading this way!" Fred didn't attempt to open the suit of armor statue, as Filch was moving too quickly.
If they didn't close the secret passage in time, Filch would surely discover them.
This was not a scenario the twins wanted to face, especially since they had the Marauder's Map, which allowed them to keep track of Filch's movements.
Getting caught?
With a map that showed their opponent's movements, there was no way they should be caught.
Just then, George sneezed loudly, the sound echoing in the corridor and immediately catching Filch's attention.
"Hurry, Filch is coming this way," Fred said, his expression conveying his exasperation with George as he urged him to move faster.
"What do we do now?" George asked, quickening his step to keep up.
"What else can we do?" Fred shrugged helplessly. "He chases, we run."
And so, the game of cat and mouse officially began.
(End of Chapter)
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