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"Are you ready?" Seeing Snape pull out a piece of parchment and squint at it for ages, Pandora couldn't help asking.

"I'm ready," she patted the small bag on the table and said, "Everything's in here."

"Wait a moment," Snape said without looking up, his eyes still fixed on the Marauder's Map. "Let me check again."

He had been tracking the movements of the little black dot representing Mulciber, waiting for it to disappear from the map before making his move.

At this moment, the setting sun slanted through the high windows of the Room of Requirement, casting a dim light into the room.

The two of them had just hastily nibbled a few slices of bread here, with no intention of going to the Great Hall for dinner.

Time ticked by, and Snape's eyes suddenly lit up: Mulciber had finally slipped back into the Secret Passage, the little black dot vanishing from the map.

"Come here, I'll cast a Disillusionment Charm on you." He quickly waved Pandora over.

With that, Snape raised his wand and tapped her on the head with practiced, gentle precision. "Done."

"Well done, Severus." Before blending into the background, Pandora looked down at her body and said admiringly.

At this point, her body didn't seem to belong to her anymore.

It wasn't complete invisibility, but the color and texture had become identical to the walls and instruments around her, like a human chameleon, cleverly hidden within the environment.

"Let's go." Snape was about to tap himself with his wand when he suddenly saw a translucent wand floating in the air land on his head.

A cold sensation flowed from the spot where he'd been tapped into his body.

"Thanks, Pandora." Snape grabbed the small bag and said, "This bag's pretty heavy; I'll carry it."

The room door opened silently, then closed just as quietly, perfectly disappearing into the stone wall.

The two of them carefully descended the stairs to the fifth floor.

When the coast was clear, Snape opened the mirror leading to the Secret Passage.

"Go, get in quickly," he whispered to the air around him, afraid of being overheard.

Unsure if his companion had already entered, he waited a few more seconds before pulling his foot back from blocking the entrance.

A faint glow appeared in the air, like a firefly flickering in the night sky, drifting around and illuminating the uneven stone walls.

"This place isn't bad," Pandora's voice echoed in the passage. "It's great for experiments—why did you want to destroy it?"

"Uh..." Snape was momentarily at a loss for how to answer. "Well, this place could be used by bad people. Don't you already have a lab? So this place isn't important anymore?"

"That's true. Alright, I'll start then." Pandora didn't dwell on it. "Put the bag on the ground; I can't see it."

"Oh, oh, right." Snape set the small bag on the floor. "Let's cancel the Disillusionment Charm."

As the spell took effect, they reappeared.

Once visible, he watched Pandora take out various small jars from the bag, filled with powders and liquids.

To the sound of Pandora's song-like incantations, the magical materials rose into the air, slowly merging together and layering themselves over the walls and stone steps of the passage.

As she chanted, glowing Runic Symbols emerged on the walls, shining with a mysterious light as if they were about to leap out of the stone.

After a moment longer, they truly broke free from the stone walls, flickering faintly in the air before slowly dissipating into nothing.

"A rare piece of ancient magic," Pandora said, her voice tinged with satisfaction. "I tried all sorts of reducing agents and spells to clear them out.

"They also gave me some new ideas. That Runic symbol 'ᚦ'—I always thought it meant explosion, but it turns out it was used as a protective charm."

"What?"

"ᚦ."

"Never mind," Snape said, starting to doubt whether his Outstanding grade in Ancient Runes was even real. "What do we do next?"

"Let's use Bombarda Maxima," Pandora suggested, her eyes sparkling with eagerness.

As she uttered the first syllable, Snape quickly stopped her: "Wait! Let me do it, you step aside."

He was a bit uneasy—what if something went wrong with her? He didn't want an accident to happen to Pandora on his watch.

Just then, Snape caught a whiff of a pungent, fishy wind drifting from the stairwell, and a sudden chill ran down his arm.

Before he could identify the smell, a slimy, pale hand grabbed the stone steps and pulled itself up.

He looked up and gasped: a horde of corpses was swarming up from below.

All below were pale heads and hands emerging from the darkness—men, women, children—all with sunken, sightless eyes, pressing toward them.

"Inferi!" Snape shouted. "Bombarda Maxima!"

A surge of powerful magic slammed into the stone wall, cracking it in several places, but it was far from enough.

They didn't have time to destroy the passage.

"Petrificus Totalus!"

The first Inferi to appear tumbled down with a thud.

"Impedimenta! Binding Charm!"

Backing away, Snape swung his wand fiercely through the air, but more Inferi kept climbing up.

Their withered hands gripped the cold rock, their hollow, misty eyes stared blankly at them, faded, moldy rags dragging behind them, their sunken faces twisted with contempt.

"Pandora, run!" Snape pulled her to the entrance, trembling as he traced a small owl with his wand: "Wingardium Leviosa!"

The Inferi, mindless and unfeeling, continued to press forward step by step, reaching out with their withered hands.

He prayed for the exit to open quickly, so he and Pandora could escape safely.

"Wait, Severus." Pandora stumbled as he yanked her along. "I have an idea."

She tried to break free from Snape's grip, but he held on tightly, refusing to let go.

"Forget about that, just go, find the professors!" Snape shouted urgently, his voice cracking.

The entrance finally opened.

Before Snape could drag Pandora out, a flash of light streaked past, and he felt his ankle seized, then he was hoisted upside down into the air.

"Got you! Snivellus, give it back!"

James's twisted face stared back at Snape upside down, his eyes brimming with fury and hatred.

Thank you to Tofu's True Colors, Book Friend 20210605180554745, and the monthly ticket from Fang of the Tiger Tearing the Soul of the Coward.