Parchment

"Mm... Myrtle, thank you for telling me all that. It was very helpful." Snape felt a little regretful. If only her gift for languages had been as good as Ron's.

Still, he was quite satisfied with what he had gained from this trip. Even if he had to ask Dumbledore to act as a "doorman" later, he at least had a suitable excuse now.

"Will you come visit me in my bathroom again?" Seeing Snape heading for the door, Myrtle said sadly, "It's the first time anyone has talked to me this much."

"We'll meet again," Snape said. He would definitely return here, so that could not be considered a lie.

"Goodbye," Myrtle said wistfully.

Snape gripped the handle and pulled the bathroom door open a narrow crack.

Just as he was about to poke his head out and check whether anyone else was in the corridor, the hairs on the back of his neck suddenly stood on end. A powerful sense of danger crashed over him.

Without time to think, he rolled sharply to the side, heedless of the filth and standing water on the floor.

The instant he rolled away, there was a loud bang. The door flew open, and a searing red beam shot through the air.

The spell struck an already mottled mirror. With a crash, fragments scattered across the floor.

"Ah—" A shrill female scream rang out. Myrtle pressed herself against the wall in terror, her eyes wide.

"Murder! There's murder in the bathroom! Murder!"

"Stupefy!"

A gust of wind burst in, continuing to fire spells.

The spell missed by a little and shattered the toilet cistern behind Snape. A jet of water gushed out, flooding the surrounding floor.

It was James Potter's voice!

But Snape could not see anyone. James must have been wearing that Invisibility Cloak!

Snape rolled where he was, sprang to his feet, and darted behind the sinks. He drew his wand and fired back.

"Sectumsempra—Sectumsempra!"

With a bang, the candle stand near the door twisted out of shape and toppled to the ground.

The candle stub rolled into the water. With a faint sputter, its flame flickered out.

The bathroom plunged into darkness.

Spells flew wildly through the air, whistling as they passed.

"Stop fighting! Stop fighting!" Moaning Myrtle shrieked, her voice echoing through the pitch-black bathroom. "My bathroom! Stop it! Don't fight anymore!"

"Petrificus Totalus!" Snape waved his wand frantically.

Suddenly, the spells flying at him stopped. Then he heard something splash down into the standing water.

"Lumos."

By the light from his wand, Snape reached down and felt around the floor.

At last, he found an invisible bump protruding above the floor.

He yanked the transparent Invisibility Cloak covering James away and saw that hateful face.

James lay flat on his back in the water, his mouth hanging wide open, completely unable to move.

After kicking the wand beside James far away, Snape lowered his head and studied him closely.

"Potter, how dare you come after me alone?"

"How should I reward your bravery?" He stared into James's eyes. "Let me guess. How did you know I was here?"

"And before that, how did you know Lily and I were together in Slughorn's office..." Snape put particular emphasis on Lily's name.

He bent down and searched through James's robe pockets.

"What treasure is this?"

Snape held a blank piece of parchment with only a few creases in it, looking at James with amusement.

"Mr. Potter, why would you carry a blank piece of parchment with you?"

Then he walked over to an intact toilet cistern and pressed the flush button so James would not hear what came next.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," he said softly, tapping the parchment lightly with his wand.

A small black dot was moving toward Myrtle's bathroom.

"Mischief managed." Snape tapped the map again with the tip of his wand, and it immediately turned blank.

"All right, it's about time." He tucked the parchment into his robes and looked at Myrtle. "Myrtle, we're friends, right?"

Myrtle was still hiding in the corner, quietly sobbing.

At Snape's words, she looked up in surprise, her face full of disbelief. "Ah... you're willing to be my friend?"

"Why not?" Snape said.

At that moment, the door banged open behind him. Professor McGonagall rushed in with her wand raised.

She wore a tartan dressing gown and a hairnet, her expression extremely stern.

"Snape, what are you doing here in the middle of the night?"

Then she saw James lying on the floor. "Potter! What is the meaning of this?!"

"Professor, Myrtle and I were talking here when Potter suddenly attacked me—"

"—Yes, I can testify to that." Myrtle happily flipped through the air. "Severus and I were having a party, and he barged in and wrecked my bathroom. Professor McGonagall, just look at the state of this place!"

"Be quiet," Professor McGonagall said sternly as she lifted the petrification spell from James. "And you be quiet too, Potter."

"Wandering around in the dead of night, casting spells on a fellow student!" Her lips were white, and cold fury filled her voice. "You two, come with me to see the Headmaster!"

They silently followed Professor McGonagall along the moonlit corridor.

When they reached the Seventh Floor and turned a corner, Professor McGonagall stopped before an enormous, hideously ugly Stone Monster.

This was already Snape's second visit here that year. Last time, besides James, pale-faced Remus Lupin had come along as well.

"Lemon Drops," Professor McGonagall said.

The monster suddenly came to life and leapt aside. The wall behind it split in two, revealing a moving Spiral Staircase. It slowly rose upward like an escalator.

The three passed through the opening in the wall. The moment they stepped onto the stone stairs, they heard a rumble behind them as the wall closed again.

The staircase spiraled higher and higher, finally delivering them before a gleaming Oak Door with a Brass Knocker shaped like a griffin.

Although it was nearly midnight, voices drifted from beyond the door, noisy and chaotic, as if Dumbledore were entertaining at least a dozen people.

Professor McGonagall knocked the beast-shaped knocker three times. The voices abruptly stopped, as though someone had switched them off.

The door opened by itself, and she led Snape and James inside.

It was a spacious, beautiful circular room filled with all kinds of comical little noises.

The room was dimly lit. Strange silver instruments on the tables whirred and spun, puffing out clouds of smoke.

Portraits of Old Headmasters snored in their frames along the walls, their chests rising and falling gently.

Behind the door, a large bird as big as a swan, with magnificent golden-red feathers, stood on a perch and swayed its long tail feathers, blinking at them amiably.