Hogwarts: I am Snape

Chapter 27 Secret Passage
"Excuse me," Snape called out to the team captain who was about to leave.

Monta stopped and looked at Snape.

He was a burly man with thick, coarse hair and large forearms that looked like hairy hams.

The broom in his hand looked like a small twig in comparison to him, making one wonder how the broom managed to lift him into the air.

"What do you need?" Monta asked in a muffled voice.

"Hello, I'd like to ask if non-Quidditch players can use your training room."

“Yes, you can,” Monta said, looking Snape up and down. “A bean sprout like you really needs to work out more. Today’s selection results were terrible; there wasn’t a single candidate as sturdy as me.”

Snape suppressed the urge to directly criticize, thinking to himself that a big, dumb son like Snape should indeed have his head stuck in the toilet.

"Wait for me a moment." Meng Tai walked into the captain's office.

When he came out, he had changed out of his team uniform and was carrying a black package.

"Have you ever eaten chocolate frog?" Monta asked mysteriously, though his expression looked more like he was constipated.

"What are you saying, Monta?"

"It's one of those candies that jumps like a real frog."

Monta made an exaggerated outstretched arm gesture, startling Snape, who almost thought a gorilla was pouncing on him.

“I know what that is!” Snape took two steps back.

“Oh, that’s good,” Monta said, beckoning Snape closer. “Take a look at this.”

The package contained some glass bottles filled with a dark red liquid.

"what is this?"

"Compound Dragon's Blood Decoction".

"Can it turn a person into a fire-breathing dragon?" This undoubtedly confused Snape even more. "Why are you showing me this?"

"Haven't you seen the picture cards?" Monta asked impatiently. "Dumbledore's picture cards, the twelve uses of dragon blood."

"You mean-"

“Yes, it’s good for your health.” Monta nodded. “If you want to exercise properly, you might as well have some.”

"It contains the blood of nine species of fire dragons, including the Norwegian Spinosaurus, the Hungarian Tree Beetle, the Chinese Fireball, the Welsh Green Dragon, the Swedish Short-nosed Dragon, the Ukrainian Iron-belly Dragon, the Australian Protein Eye Dragon, the Peruvian Venomous-toothed Dragon, and the Romanian Longhorn Dragon."

"One bottle costs only ten Galleons. If you buy five or more bottles at once, I can give you a 10% discount..."

“No, I don’t need it,” Snape jumped back a great distance. “I don’t use technology.”

“What technology? This is magic!” Monta said discontentedly. “If it weren’t for the fact that you’re from the same academy and interested in getting fit, I wouldn’t have told you.”

Snape subconsciously glanced at the top of Monta's head: Merlin's beard, it's only 1976, is the Quidditch circle already this advanced?
“Mundo—oh, no, Monta, thank you so much. But I don’t have any money! Just let me use your training room. My friend is waiting for me…”

Snape made his escape.

……

After finishing his meal in the Great Hall, Snape walked reluctantly toward Professor McGonagall's office.

He's going there again tonight to be locked up with James.

So far, he and James have sorted through Filch's old files, washed the sheets and blankets for Ms. Pomfrey at the school hospital, dusted Tom Riddle's medals, and done a few other trivial and boring things.

It's quite a miracle that they've never fought after all these collaborations. At least, that's what Snape thought.

He knocked lightly on the door.

"Please come in," came Professor McGonagall's stern voice from inside the door.

This was a room befitting her personality. Compared to the fantastical nature of Dumbledore's office, it was devoid of any fancy items, even bordering on sparse. Apart from a Gryffindor banner and a few House Cups, her bookshelves and desk contained only some books and parchment scrolls.

"Good evening, Professor," said Snape. "It seems Mr. Potter hasn't arrived yet. What shall we do tonight?"

“Good evening, Severus.” Professor McGonagall handed him a stack of parchment. “Today is the last day. You need to write the sentence: ‘I want to get along well with the students of the other colleges and unite as one.’”

"Once you've finished writing on these sheets of paper, you can begin."

Snape took the parchment, sat down at a small table, and began writing sentences over and over with a quill.

This was much easier than he had expected. It wasn't like that perverted old toad, Umbridge, was making him write sentences; there was nothing to be afraid of.

A little while later, James arrived. He sat on the side furthest from Snape and joined the group writing sentences.

Professor McGonagall, meanwhile, was browsing the latest issue of "Transformation Today" under the lamplight.

Almost two hours later, Snape finally finished writing.

He checked his work with satisfaction, only to find that his handwriting became increasingly illegible and larger as he went on.

Snape nervously handed the parchment to Professor McGonagall, hoping she wouldn't be too particular.

Fortunately, Professor McGonagall didn't make things difficult for him; she simply frowned and said, "That's fine."

Before leaving, Snape suddenly remembered something and said to James, "Mr. Potter, the parchment that will compensate you will arrive in a few days."

"squeak--"

The chair beneath James made a screeching sound. He struggled to stay upright, but the quill in his hand kept pausing on the paper, the ink spreading across the parchment.

"Potter, what are you doing? You need to rewrite this paper."

Upon hearing Professor McGonagall's voice, Snape closed the door with satisfaction.

Standing in the corridor, Snape pulled the Marauder's Map from his pocket.

With a light tap of the wand, fine lines of ink spread out like a spider web from where the tip of the wand touched, connecting and crisscrossing, extending to every corner of the parchment.

Snape casually observed the numerous moving black dots on the map. His gaze swept up and down the familiar corridors.

Suddenly, he recognized a familiar name—Mursayber.

Mursab is moving near the library on the fifth floor of the castle.

Then, the black dot representing him completely disappeared from the map.

Snape immediately felt a jolt of alarm bells.

Unless Murseb is a completely different person like himself, he has no chance of getting into the library.

Moreover, right where he disappeared, the Marauder's Map marked a secret passage leading to Hogsmeade.

Seeing Filch quietly sitting in his office behind the marble staircase, Snape quickly ran upstairs.

He cast a Disguise spell on himself, carefully hiding among several suits of armor like a human chameleon, watching the crowds disperse as the museum closed.

Snape only came out from behind the wall after Mrs. Pince closed the door.

He went to a large mirror not far from the library, and following the instructions on the Marauder's Map, used his wand to draw strange patterns on it, muttering to himself:

"Soar on wings".

Instantly, the mirror separated into two parts and disappeared into the wall.

A wide passageway appeared before him.

(End of this chapter)