By the time Brian and the other two had finished off all the Bullet Candy they had bought at Honeydukes, they finally reached the end of the secret passage leading from Honeydukes to Hogwarts-if whoever had dug this tunnel had an Animagus form, it was probably a cautious rabbit.
It twisted and turned, doubled back on itself, and was narrow and low. Crawling through it was exhausting, and it coated their clothes in gray dust, so Brian cast Scourgify three times the moment he stopped.
Looking mysterious, Fred pulled out a maplike piece of paper, studied it for a while, nodded, and tapped the great stone at the end of the passage with his wand. He spoke a short phrase that neither of the others could make out-he had eaten so much Bullet Candy that he could no longer control how fast he spoke.
George was no exception. So, under the light of Lumos, the brothers cheerfully gestured away, playing a little game of charades with Brian.
Fortunately, the password was not complicated. When the twins went from hugging each other to separating left and right with exaggerated expressions, Brian, who had already worked out the keywords "left" and "right," got the final word.
"Dissendium," Brian said at a normal speed.
The great stone slowly moved aside, and Hogwarts's magical air poured through the opening. Brian thought for a moment,
then held back the malfunctioning twins and pointed at himself, indicating that he would go first.
"Careful. Someone might be outside," Brian mouthed.
Only after squeezing through the narrow opening did Brian discover that he was on Hogwarts's third floor. Behind him, a hunchbacked One-Eyed Witch Statue with an odd expression watched him silently.
"Come on out." Brian made an OK sign, indicating that no one was around and it