- CHAPTER FIFTEEN -

The Roomy Passageway

Ten minutes later they were back out of the common room and ready to do some exploring.

"What was the point of giving me the password, then?" called the Fat Lady grumpily, watching them hurry down the corridor. But none of the boys paid her any attention. They were far too immersed in the excitement of their plan.

"So we're going to follow Filch again," said James, pulling the invisibility cloak from under his robes. "I just hope we have more luck than last time."

"We won't get caught," said Sirius confidently. "We're not even going to make a distraction. Filch can't exactly blame us for breaking rules."

"I wouldn't bet on it," said James. "That man would frame us for anything."

"Well, we've got the cloak, haven't we?" Remus asked impatiently, gesturing to the bundle of silvery material in James' arms. "We should be fine."

They waited until the coast was completely clear before putting it on. The only things moving were the portraits on the walls, all of whom were watching the boys curiously. One witch had actually slid into her neighbour's portrait to get a better look.

"Damn, this is weird," said Sirius, once all four of them were invisible. "But it's really cool too."

"I know, right?" James laughed. He slung an arm around Peter to stop him toppling out from under the material. They could all fit surprisingly well under the cloak's folds, but they were forced to move slowly to avoid detection. "Now, come on. Let's go and find Filch. He's bound to be prowling the corridors."

"Where shall we look first?" asked Peter anxiously as they crept along.

"Let's try near his office," said Remus. "That seems like the most sensible place to start."

"Where even is his office?" asked James. He'd never seen it before and couldn't even remember it being mentioned.

"One of the ghosts told me it was up here somewhere," said Remus, gesturing to the corridor ahead. "Apparently, Filch keeps all his files and confiscated objects in there."

But, when they reached Filch's office, there was no sign of the caretaker or his cat.

"We need a map," grumbled Sirius. "We really need a map."

"A map wouldn't tell us where Filch is," James pointed out, but Sirius shook his head.

"Actually, it could," he said. "If we enchanted it to."

"Whatever," said James, turning away. "That's not really relevant, right now, we just need to-" He broke off, listening hard. The other three looked at him questioningly.

"What're you-?" began Sirius.

James stood on his foot.

"Ouch!"

"No, shh!" whispered James, still straining his ears for another sign of the caretaker's approach. He was sure that the footsteps approaching them belonged to Filch.

They all fell silent.

A wheezy voice was coming from up ahead. "Better prowl the castle, my sweet, and see what the nasty beasts are up to now. Spreading chaos and filth... Dropping dungbombs and stink pellets... All this mess and I'm the one who's got to clear it up..."

James' heart began to pound with excitement. It was definitely Filch. And he was talking to Mrs Norris. He cast an excited glance Sirius' way, just as Filch's shadow loomed around the corner and the caretaker himself came hobbling into view, his cat slinking around his ankles.

Peter whimpered and clutched at James. "He- He's... Filch is right there!"

"Shh!" hissed James, his eyes on Mrs Norris. "He'll hear us."

The cat's eyes, like yellow lamps, were fixed on the exact same spot where they were standing. James was reminded horribly of the night he and Remus had gone for a midnight stroll; he'd been certain Mrs Norris could see them then, too.

Peter's breathing came loud and ragged as the four boys stood there, their eyes still locked on the cat.

Filch, meanwhile, had noticed nothing. He was coming closer and closer - so close that he was going to walk into them unless they moved.

Trying not to make any sound, James nudged Peter and Sirius. Sirius caught James' eye and passed the message to Remus. Then, inching across the floor, the boys backed into the wall to let Filch pass.

As the caretaker moved into the exact spot where they'd been standing, James let out a sigh of relief. Phew! That was close! Filch continued past them, still muttering about mud and mess... James wondered if they'd got away unnoticed, but Mrs Norris was still staring at them as though transfixed. She even stopped to sniff the place where they stood, mewing loudly, beseeching her master to notice that something was wrong...

"What is it, my sweet?" Filch turned, frowning, and the four boys clutched each other, breathless.

Mrs Norris miaowed again.

Sirius and James pulled the others further into the wall. There was a mirror directly behind them and Sirius could feel the cool glass pressing into the back of his neck. He shivered, horribly aware that the cloak didn't stop them from being solid. If Filch decided to investigate and accidentally walked into them... There would be nowhere to hide.

"Who's there?" wheezed Filch, his eyes darting all around the corridor. "Is that you, Peeves?"

Peter whimpered and James clamped a hand over his mouth.

Filch, although he didn't know it, was staring straight at them. "I said, who's there? Show yourself, you filthy blighter!"

James could feel Peter's quick, short breaths on the palm of his hand. Remus, at the other end of the row, was trembling, but James tried hard to think logically. What could they do to get out of this? As far as he could tell, their only option was to try and inch along the wall without being detected. If they got far enough down the corridor, they'd be out of Filch's way.

But before he could convey this idea to the others, Filch had turned around.

"Never mind, my sweet," he said to Mrs Norris, bending down to gather her into his arms. "We'll catch them eventually."

Mrs Norris still did not seem keen to leave, but Filch carried her away while she stared back over his shoulder.

James shivered and, as soon as Filch was out of sight, removed his hand from Peter's mouth.

Peter slumped back against the mirror, white-faced and quivering. "Phew! Thank Merlin! That- That was the worst... Never- Never again..."

"Close one," said Sirius, grinning at Remus, who was also leaning against the wall. "I honestly thought Filch was going to reach forwards and grab us."

"Yeah," said James. "So did I." He had almost recovered from their encounter with Filch now and was very keen to get back to their plan. "Come on, let's follow him quickly before we lose him again."

"Give me a minute," said Peter weakly. "I just need to-"

CRASH!

The whole mirror suddenly gave way, and Peter and Remus went tumbling backwards out of sight. Wide-eyed with shock, James and Sirius leapt forwards and threw the cloak off themselves.

"Remus!" yelled Sirius into the silence. "Peter?"

"We're- We're in here," came Remus' hoarse voice from somewhere behind the mirror. He sounded shaken but otherwise unscathed. "It's a huge room... James, I think- I think we've found a passageway!"

"W-What?" cried James, trying to push the mirror aside. It didn't budge.

Peter's voice floated towards them. "Ouch, Remus! Get off! You're squashing me!"

"Sorry!"

James and Sirius heard a scuffling sound as Remus pulled himself to his feet.

"James? Sirius? I think you have to push really hard on the mirror to get in. Peter and I were leaning on it before, and I think that's why we fell through."

Sirius pushed against the mirror too, shoving it as hard as he could until it finally caved He only just managed to stop himself from falling. Once inside, he and James straightened up and looked around them. The first thing they noticed was the outline of Peter, lying on the floor, then James' eyes adjusted to the gloom and he made out Remus, standing a meter or two in front of him.

The rest of the passage was bathed in darkness.

"What is this place?" asked Sirius in an awed voice, stretching out a hand to touch the nearest wall. The stone slid beneath his fingers, cold and worn and ancient.

"Dunno," said James. He raised his wand. "We could do with some light, though - lumos!" The wand tip illuminated their excited faces and the cobwebs on the high stone ceiling.

"It's pretty big in here," remarked Remus, helping Peter to his feet. He peered down into the darkness of the passage beyond. "Where d'you think it leads to?"

Sirius pushed his hair out of his face, his grey eyes gleaming with excitement. "There's only one way to find out, isn't there? Come on!"

"N-Now?" asked Peter, casting an apprehensive look at the darkness.

"Yes, of course now," said James, who couldn't wait to get going. He glanced at the smaller boy's pale face. "You're not scared, are you?"

Peter almost tripped over himself in his haste to back away. "N-No. Of course I'm not s-scared..."

"Well, hurry up, then!" Sirius led the way into the gloom.

Peter turned to Remus as soon as James and Sirius were out of sight. "I- I don't really want to go down there," he whispered desperately.

Remus put an arm around Peter's shoulders. "It's all right to be frightened," he said kindly. "There's nothing to be ashamed of. I used to be afraid of the dark too when I was younger..." Without thinking, he traced one of the scars on his cheekbone.

"Stay with me?" asked Peter, his whole body shaking under Remus' arm.

Remus smiled. "Of course." Releasing Peter, he led his friend after James and Sirius.

"Hurry up, you two! What kept you?" asked James, when Remus and Peter finally caught up with them.

"Nothing," said Remus, squeezing Peter's arm. "We were just admiring the scenery."

James looked Remus up and down, his eyes questioning. But, when neither Peter nor Remus elaborated, he didn't press the subject. "Come on," he said. "I think we're going downhill."

They turned a corner and slipped a little on the steep slope. 'Downhill' was apparently an understatement. The passageway had narrowed into what appeared to be a stone slide.

James sat down on the edge, using his hands to stop himself sliding down. Peter hesitated before doing the same, and Sirius and Remus sat down just behind.

"Right," said James, turning to look back at the others. "We've got to go down. I'll go first and I'll see you at the bottom, okay?" He took a deep breath and tucked the invisibility cloak up the front of his robes. "Here goes..." He let go of the slide and felt the walls drop away. He was zooming down... down... down into darkness and he gripped his wand, hoping that he wouldn't meet any obstacles. If they crashed, they'd be stuck down here, injured and lonely, with no way of getting back to the school.

Above him, Peter was preparing to follow. His watery eyes were very wide and he was shaking from head to foot.

Remus leant over him encouragingly. "Just let go when you're ready, Pete," he said. "Sirius and I will be right behind you. And James will be waiting at the bottom. You'll be fine."

Peter nodded feebly. "All right. I think I'm ready..." Closing his eyes, he let go of the floor and slid down after James. The other two heard him squeal as he began to pick up speed.

Sirius glanced at Remus. "I'll go down next," he said, once Peter was completely out of sight. "You give it a couple of seconds before following, yeah?"

Remus nodded and Sirius swung his legs over the slide.

"See you in a bit." He slid down too and Remus let ten seconds elapse before going after him, feeling the cold air sailing over his head. He zoomed down and down, just like the others, and was wondering when it was going to end when... Thump! Remus landed on something cold and hard and he looked up.

He was in another underground passageway, except this one had torches dancing in bright blue flames along the walls. James, Sirius and Peter were looking down at him.

Sirius helped him to his feet. "You made it down here all right, then?"

"Yes," said Remus calmly, brushing dust off his robes. "Although I'm not sure how we're going to get back up."

"We can probably climb," said James, glancing up the stone slide. "It doesn't look too steep. It'll be difficult, though." He wasn't sure he was looking forwards to making that journey.

Sirius pointed down the passageway. "I think we're almost at the other end," he said, squinting. There was some kind of red light flickering in the distance and it reminded him of torches. "It looks like there's a door ahead."

"We must be miles underground," said Remus, looking interestedly at the stone walls. Some of the bricks were damp and slimy. "I wonder when this place was built."

"Probably at the same time as the rest of the school," said James, shrugging. The wooden door was now clearly visible, old and weathered and ancient. He fumbled under his robes. "Time to put the cloak on again, d'you reckon?"

They stopped for a moment to throw it over themselves, then cautiously approached the door. There was no keyhole.

"Is it locked?" asked Peter faintly, still very pale.

Remus pulled out his wand. "I don't think so. Anyway, we can use 'alohomora'." He reached forwards and grasped the rusty doorknob. "Ooh! It's cold!"

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Is it open or not?" he asked and Remus turned it slowly. The door clicked open, its hinges creaking.

James grinned. "I guess it is open then," he said, leading the way through it.

They emerged in a large, dingy cellar, full of barrels and the smell of stale alcohol.

Peter wrinkled his nose. "It smells really weird in here."

"Where are we?" asked James, looking around at the cellar. A set of wooden steps led to the room above and there was a crate full of empty bottles in one corner. There were no windows or doors.

"Hogsmeade?" suggested Remus. "Maybe, if we go up the steps, we'll be in the village. It looks like we're in some sort of pub."

"We'll put the cloak back on and have a look," said James, throwing the material over them as he spoke. "We can look around the village for a bit, too, and then we'll have to go back to the castle."

Trying not to make a noise, the four boys crept up the wooden staircase, wincing every time it creaked. As they reached the top, the buzz of loud voices reached them and they emerged behind a long bar. A woman in glittery heels was serving pints of mead to her customers.

James looked around at the crowded room. "I think this is the Three Broomsticks," he whispered as they inched past the barmaid. "My dad told me about it. And that woman must be Madam Rosmerta."

"It is Madam Rosmerta," agreed Remus. "I can see her name tag."

"She's surprisingly attractive," smirked Sirius and Remus gave him a stern look. "What? She is! And I like her shoes."

"You're hopeless," muttered Remus, while James laughed. They ducked out from behind the bar and made their way between the many tables, trying hard not to step on anyone.

Sirius grinned. "I know."

At last, they emerged into daylight and found themselves in a small, old-fashioned village. The cobblestones of the high street were damp from the recent rain and a couple of late-afternoon shoppers hurried past, carrying bags.

"Ooh," said Peter as they spotted a shop window full of sweets and chocolate. "It's Honeydukes!"

They all looked.

Remus sighed longingly. "I heard they have the most amazing chocolate bars..."

"I wish we were in third-year," said James sadly, eyeing up the boxes of Sugar Quills and Drooble's Best Blowing-Gum that he could see from their distance. "It's a bit pointless having a secret passage to somewhere you're not supposed to go. If we go in any of the shops, the owners will know we're not supposed to be there."

"I guess we could try stealing something," suggested Sirius lightly.

But Remus gave him a very indignant glare. "Excuse me? We are not going to be stealing!"

"Relax!" said Sirius hastily, catching the look on James' face too. "I know we're not going to be stealing. Why would I want to steal anything, anyway? It's wrong! It was just a joke."

Remus and James didn't look entirely convinced.

Sirius sighed. "Do I honestly look like a thief to you?"

"No!" said Remus at once. "Of course you don't!"

"Good. Because I'm not. And, I swear, I was only joking."

"We weren't accusing you of anything, mate," said James as they moved up the high street. "All right, let's have a look around and then go back. It'll be dinner soon."

The headed back along the street for twenty minutes, looking in all the shop windows - until it began to rain again in fat, heavy droplets and they decided to return to the castle. Climbing the stone slide was, just as James had predicted, painfully difficult and they were all warm and sweaty by the time they reached the top. They stopped just outside the mirror and donned the cloak again. They didn't want to be seen by anyone who might be lurking outside. Specifically, not Filch.

But they met no one at all until they reached the staircase leading up to Gryffindor tower. Then, to the four boys' horror, they ran slap-bang into Lucius Malfoy.

A/N:

Hello, and thanks for reading! I hope you liked the chapter.

I'd love to hear your thoughts, so please don't be shy about reviewing - I won't bite you for having an opinion, even if it's negative :)

Also, I've been meaning to ask you about the Marauders' eye colours. I know Peter has blue eyes and James has hazel eyes... I've already given Sirius grey eyes (that's what most people seem to accept as canon), but I don't know about Remus. What do you think?

Thanks!

~ Lacy