"This way, this way!" Fred ran, feeling his heart pounding and his blood boiling. Playing hide-and-seek with Filch was more fun than he had imagined.
Filch had just gone through the secret passage to intercept them, but Fred wasn't worried. Before Filch could reach the front through the secret passage, the two of them had already gone in the opposite direction from him.
Filch will never be able to catch them in advance, and besides, the other side's stamina is not as good as the two of them!
The only troublesome one is Mrs. Lorris, who is even more difficult to deal with than Filch. She is fast and smart, and it's not easy to shake her off.
Filch's cat alerted its owners and kept a close eye on them. Fred wanted to kick it, but they knew they didn't have time, and kicking Mrs. Lorris would only make Filch more violent.
"I hear footsteps again. How come Filch is faster than us?" George complained breathlessly.
"Don't worry, he can't catch up, this way!" Fred was far less familiar with the castle than Filch, and he needed the Marauder's Map to keep the enemy firmly behind.
"He's out of the secret passage," Fred suddenly laughed. "Turn right ahead, go down the stairs, and we'll go to the fourth floor."
"I bet… he's absolutely furious!" George said cheerfully.
Filch did know many of the castle's secret passages and was more familiar with the castle's environment than the Weasley brothers, but so what? They had the Marauder's Map. Even if Filch circled around to intercept them, as long as they headed that way, Filch's detour would only cause him to lose track of them.
Fred slowed his pace, took a breath, and looked away from the Marauder's Map. He said cheerfully, "Filch has stopped. I reckon he's still confused."
"Actually, it's quite fun, going around in circles with Filch." George was wide awake during the chase with Filch and was now a little excited. "We can brag about this for months."
"Tsk, tsk, annoying freshman, wandering around in the middle of the night." Mischievous Ghost suddenly jumped out of the prize display room, blocked the two of them, and happily shrieked.
"Good evening." George raised his hand to greet Pippi. "Filch's cat is chasing us. Do you want to cause him some trouble?"
"I'd rather you were caught by Filch." Pippi's eyes gleamed mischievously.
"We won't. Filch is still looking for us everywhere." Fred shrugged, picked up his wand, used a unlocking charm to open a wooden door leading to another corridor.
"Oh, perhaps I should tell Filch," Peeves said seriously. "It's for your own good."
"Then tell him," George said dismissively, slamming the door shut behind him. "But I've heard you two don't get along. You'd be happy to see Filch in a good mood."
Fred waved at Peeves and said, "I also have my own opinion on that."
"Students aren't sleeping!" the mischievous boy, who had been teased by the two, suddenly shouted. "They're wandering around outside the prize display room."
"Petty is so annoying," George muttered, his eyelids twitching.
"If he doesn't shout, he's not Peeves." Fred immediately glanced at the Marauder's map; Filch was rushing towards them at an extremely fast speed.
"Quiet Mischievous Ghost".
Fred and George returned the way they came, but Peeves was still in the corridor and hadn't left immediately.
"No, you should make Peeves shout louder," Fred muttered. "Shout it out loud!"
"As you wish."
When Peeves saw the two return, he suddenly appeared in front of Fred and shouted, "Here, here! Those nasty freshmen brats are right here!"
Before leaving, Fred made a rude gesture at Peeves and disappeared around the corner of the corridor with George.
"Mischievous Ghost"
A moment later, Filch arrived, panting, and said, "Tell me quickly, which way did they run?"
You should say 'please'.
Filch had no intention of wasting words with Peeves and prepared to follow his cat as they chased after him. He was furious tonight; those guys dared to play hide-and-seek with him.
Never!
Filch had never suffered such humiliation; he was determined to catch those students and punish them severely.
"What's going on?" Snape, dressed in his pajamas, appeared in the hallway.
"Professor, there are people wandering around at night, and I'm trying to catch them," Filch said through gritted teeth. "Peggy knows who it is, but he won't say."
Snape looked up at Peeves and asked, "Peeves, who is that?"
"Two pesky Gryffindor freshmen," Peeves said sarcastically, staring at Filch. "Those two brats said you can't catch them!"
Peeves watched Filch's face contort with rage and flew away gleefully, without revealing Fred and George's names.
"Professor, those two Gryffindor students must be heading back to the common room after being startled by Peeves. We must intercept them on the eighth floor. I know a shortcut to the eighth floor…" Filch, with his rich experience, quickly came up with a way to catch the night-roaming students and hurriedly followed Snape's instructions.
Snape agreed, not minding at all catching the two Gryffindor freshmen and deducting a hundred points from their marks.
At that moment, Fred and George, who were heading to the eighth floor, also noticed Snape's addition to their search. They frowned slightly and said, "We must get back to the lounge quickly."
If it were just Filch alone, the two wouldn't be worried about being blocked, but now that there's Snape as well, the situation is hard to predict.
Nobody wanted to fall into the hands of this Potions professor; it would definitely end badly. Everyone knew that Snape hated Gryffindor students.
The two walked around outside for a while, and when they returned to the eighth floor, the plump lady still hadn't arrived.
Fred and George were both disappointed, as it meant they would have to continue wandering the castle, evading Snape and Filch's search.
"Oh no, Filch is coming to the eighth floor through the secret passage. We have to find a place to hide as soon as possible!" Fred, who was studying the Marauder's Map, suddenly said. He immediately realized that something was wrong and quickly took the lead in preparing to run away.
"Be careful not to get blocked by Snape," George quickly warned.
"I know." Fred felt a pang of anxiety and quickly retreated back into the corridor. Going to the seventh floor now would likely mean running into Cat and Snape, a combination that was even more dangerous than Filch.
"There's a room over there; maybe we can hide in there," George said, pointing to an abandoned room on the right side of the eighth floor.
"No, we'll definitely be found that way. Filch's cat is more agile than we think. We need to be patient, circle around Filch, and get out through the secret passage carved with the griffin." Fred stopped to catch his breath, realizing they might be caught, and his mood suddenly soured.
An:sorry I had a test today and I forgot to publish the chapters so I gave you here today's and yesterday's 👍