Dumbledore nodded, paying no mind to Filch's passionate accusations.
He surveyed the scene, examining the damaged door, then stepped inside to inspect the missing potions.
After a few moments, his expression turned serious. "Who was the first to arrive at the scene?" he asked.
Professor Tywin stepped forward. "It was me, Headmaster, but I didn't see the culprit. They fled quickly."
Dumbledore narrowed his eyes, tapping his forefinger against his thumb as he pondered for a few seconds, then smiled. "It seems Hogwarts is harboring some rather skilled students."
Professor McGonagall asked, "What should we do next?"
Dumbledore, ever gentle, replied, "Seal off the common rooms. We should be able to catch a few students sneaking around. It's too dangerous to be wandering the castle this late, so a bit of discipline is in order. As for Snape's potion storage... I'll seal it until his return."
Meanwhile, on the fifth-floor corridor, William and his friends were still hiding.
"All the professors are on alert. We need to get back to our dormitories quickly, or we'll be caught for sure," Charlie said, his experience showing through.
"But how am I supposed to get back?" Cedric groaned. "All the professors are downstairs, and now the ghosts will be patrolling too."
The others could take side paths and likely make it back to their dormitories before the professors sealed everything off. But Cedric's Hufflepuff common room was on the first floor—there was no way he'd avoid being caught.
"Why not try the Disillusionment Charm?" Cho suggested.
"Using the Disillusionment Charm in front of Dumbledore is like walking down there in broad daylight," Charlie responded with a shake of his head.
William thought for a moment. "What if we ask the Room of Requirement to create secret passageways to the common rooms?"
"William, you're a genius!" Cedric threw an arm around William's shoulders, clearly relieved. He looked like he wanted to hug him.
William quickly pushed him away with a look of disdain.
The four of them hurried back into the Room of Requirement, where Fluffy had already woken up. The three-headed dog was busy tearing apart the blanket Hagrid had made for him.
One of Fluffy's heads eyed a large medieval bed with a Gryffindor crest, clearly thinking it would make a perfect chew toy.
William closed his eyes and concentrated, silently asking, I need three secret passageways to the common rooms!
As expected, the Room of Requirement answered his call. Three passages appeared along the wall, each leading to the respective common rooms of Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Gryffindor.
"See you tomorrow!" they said their goodbyes, heading down their separate paths.
Fluffy, seeing Boba Tea, tried to follow him toward the Ravenclaw Tower, but William gave the dog a swift kick back inside.
After they left, the secret tunnels vanished. Professor Flitwick hadn't reached the common room yet, so William and Cho hurried back to their dormitories.
Just as Charlie had predicted, the professors soon began sweeping the common rooms, conducting roll calls and a thorough search.
Dumbledore stood by a window, gazing out at the thick moonlit night, silent.
Professor McGonagall stood behind him, asking, "Headmaster, it wasn't a student, was it?"
"No, I doubt it was. No student could have bypassed the defenses Severus put in place—he set quite a few clever spells," Dumbledore replied.
Professor McGonagall's brow furrowed. "Do you think someone broke into Hogwarts?"
"I have my suspicions, but nothing is certain yet," Dumbledore said gently. "We should be more vigilant. Make sure the students refrain from sneaking out at night—it's too dangerous."
"Understood." McGonagall nodded and left to carry out his orders.
The heads of the four houses worked quickly, rounding up all the students caught wandering the castle at night.
Gryffindor had three students caught, Ravenclaw and Slytherin a couple who were sneaking into the forest for a date, and two Hufflepuffs were caught raiding the kitchens for a late-night snack.
The consequences were harsh. Each student lost fifty points from their house, and they were assigned two weeks of detention with Filch.
Filch was disappointed that the Weasley twins weren't among those caught.
The next day, the whole school was buzzing with the news of Snape's potion storage being broken into. Everyone was excited, speculating who could have pulled off such a daring heist.
Most people suspected the Weasley twins!
It was no secret that Snape had a long-standing feud with Gryffindor, and with the Weasley twins especially. Just days earlier, the twins had joked about vandalizing Snape's office while he was away.
Now that it was his potion storage room that had been targeted instead, it seemed like a natural assumption, right?
Wrong.
For the past few weeks, in an effort to avoid losing Gryffindor more points, George and Fred had been on their best behavior. They'd even stopped their nightly mischief, avoiding activities they considered "beneath them," like sneaking around the castle.
More importantly, Snape's potion storage room was far beyond the capabilities of a couple of second-year students. No way could they have broken into it.
Why did every misdeed get blamed on them?
And as for Filch's claim that he could "smell" the Weasley twins' involvement—what, did he have the nose of a bloodhound now?
As they sat in the library, George angrily clutched a book, loudly ranting about Filch's unfairness. His voice was so loud that it began to draw the attention of other students.
William, Cedric, and Fred all turned their heads away, pretending not to know him.
Sure enough, Madam Pince, the stern librarian, appeared behind George without a sound, holding a feather duster. She grabbed George by the ear and dragged him out of the library!
William, Cedric, and Fred exchanged amused glances, packed up their books and ink, and followed them out.
Outside the library, Fred laughed as he looked down at George, who was still rubbing his bright red ear. "You never learn, do you?"
George scowled, clearly annoyed. He'd gotten too caught up in his anger and had momentarily forgotten he wasn't in the Gryffindor common room.
Madam Pince was a strict and rule-abiding Hogwarts librarian. She spent nearly all her time in the library, guarding her precious books while keeping a close watch on the students using them.
She was known for her strictness toward any students who broke Hogwarts rules, and she couldn't tolerate any breach of library etiquette.
Even Dumbledore himself had to respect Madam Pince's authority when he was in the library.
William knew better than to ever anger her.
"Who in their right mind would mess with the librarian? That's just asking for trouble!"
[A/n: Some readers might wonder, while inside the Room of Requirement, can it create secret passages leading to other Houses?
The Room of Requirement is more powerful than you think. In Book 7, Chapter 29, when Neville was hiding in the Room of Requirement, at first there was only a hammock. As more members of Dumbledore's Army joined, it automatically expanded.
When Neville was very hungry, the room automatically created a passage to the Hog's Head pub.
This room truly fulfills one's needs]
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