Filch, who had hurried to the Fat Lady's portrait with a lamp in hand, suddenly grinned; the gatekeeper to the Gryffindor common room entrance was gone.
Being unable to enter the common room meant that students out after hours could only linger outside.
No one could slip away from him.
No one!
"Ah…choo!" George sneezed again.
Fred, who was ahead, stopped and looked at him with a speechless expression.
"Which way?" George rubbed his nose, leaning closer.
Fred moved his wand over the Marauder's Map, observing Snape's and Filch's positions, and involuntarily quickened his pace. He planned to circle the eighth floor to evade Filch's search while also avoiding Snape and Madam Norris.
But Filch did not pursue the sound. Instead, he turned back, blocking a corner of the hallway, waiting for Snape to appear—intending to stop them from escaping through a nearby passage.
"When did that guy get smart!" Fred muttered, stopping short. Seeing Filch's strategy, his heart sank.
Snape was nearly at the eighth floor. Once he arrived, they would be trapped.
"Professor, they should still be on the eighth floor. I just heard a sound," Filch said with unconcealed excitement. "You go this way, and I'll go around the other; they can't escape."
"It's over, we're cornered!" Fred whispered despairingly. There wasn't enough room to maneuver anymore.
But as Fred and George anxiously passed the Barnabas the Barmy tapestry for the third time, they suddenly noticed a door had appeared on the opposite wall.
"How did it appear?" George stared in surprise.
They hadn't known of any door there, and the Marauder's Map showed no marking for it.
"Never mind, let's hide inside first!" Fred said through gritted teeth.
The two opened the door and slipped inside, only to find a dusty broom closet with a few old brooms.
By the time Filch and Snape surrounded the area from both sides, the entrance to the Room of Requirement had already vanished.
They had come up empty-handed.
"Where are they?" Filch muttered, bewildered. He had just heard a sneeze from this direction—so why was there no one?
Had they hidden? Or escaped?
"No, they couldn't have gone far. I just heard someone sneezing," Filch growled, his cheeks twisting with anger. He had thought he could corner those Gryffindor brats and teach them a harsh lesson, but they had slipped through his fingers. The frustration was unbearable.
Inside the broom closet, Fred and George covered each other's mouths, terrified of making even the slightest sound. Filch and Snape were standing just outside; if they opened the door, disaster would follow.
As if fortune favored them, Snape and Filch eventually left, searching other parts of the eighth floor.
Of course, they found nothing.
"If anyone is wandering around at night next time, report it to me immediately," Snape instructed before leaving.
Hearing their footsteps fade, Fred and George finally breathed a sigh of relief, though neither dared come out immediately.
They waited until the Marauder's Map showed Snape and Filch had given up the search. Only then did they cautiously push open the door, careful not to make a sound.
"That was close—we almost got caught. But what's with this broom closet?" George raised his wand to examine it, only to find the door had vanished.
"What's going on?" Fred was equally perplexed. He knocked on the wall twice, then checked the Marauder's Map. Nothing.
"Hogwarts still hides many secrets. Even Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs didn't know all of them!" George exclaimed. "By the way, how did that door just appear?"
"I don't know!" Fred admitted, giving up after fruitless investigation. "Never mind, let's go back. I hope the Fat Lady's returned."
Back at the portrait, they sighed in relief.
The Fat Lady, dressed in her pajamas, looked them over. "Where have you two been?"
"A walk," George said quickly, giving the password.
"That was well sung." The portrait swung open, and they climbed inside, collapsing onto armchairs. They looked at each other and burst into laughter.
"Tonight was really thrilling," George said, still excited.
"I think Filch must be furious," Fred laughed. To be honest, he really didn't like the caretaker.
It was nearly five o'clock when they returned to the dormitory. Though exhausted, neither could sleep until morning.
"Ah…" Fred yawned, too lazy to open his eyes.
"When did you two get back?" Albert asked, pulling on his robe and opening the window to let in the cool morning breeze.
"Around… five… in the morning…" Fred yawned again. "What time is it now?"
"Seven-thirty."
Albert shook his head at his sleepy brothers. "I told you not to go out after hours. We have two Herbology sessions this morning in the greenhouse—don't be late."
"I'm telling you…" George picked up his pillow and threw it at Fred, who slumped back onto the bed, utterly drained.
"You're saying the Fat Lady wasn't there, you almost got caught by Filch, and finally escaped by hiding in a broom closet on the eighth floor?" Lee Jordan listened to George's account, incredulous. He was curious how they had managed to evade both Snape and Filch.
Or perhaps George was lying.
"Later, when you looked, the broom closet was gone?" Albert asked immediately. He knew exactly what they were describing.
The Room of Requirement.
The twins had hidden there, which explained their narrow escape.
After they left, the broom closet had vanished without warning.
That day, Fred and George skipped Herbology and slept until they naturally woke in the afternoon.