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Pandora stood frozen, horrified by the sight before her. The Inferi were already crawling out from the stairwell, their rotting stench wafting toward the exit.
With a piercing scream, she yanked out her wand, aimed at the small package on the ground, and shouted with all her might, "Confringo!"
At the sound, Snape twisted his body midair, straining to see if Pandora was hurt.
Time seemed to slow. He watched, helpless, as the package trembled under the spell's power, then flashed white, swelling rapidly like an inflating balloon.
In that same heartbeat, Snape reacted on instinct, bellowing, "Protego Maxima!"
A shimmering, pale blue barrier sprang up, enveloping the three of them.
BOOM—
The explosion was deafening. The sturdy passageway tore apart like paper in an instant.
Stairs collapsed, walls crumbled, stones tumbled, and dust choked the air. The entire castle seemed to shudder under the blast.
The sheer force of the shockwave broke the magical grip on Snape's ankle, sending him hurtling sideways through the air.
Pandora, just ahead of him, was flung upward by the same force, like a leaf caught in a storm, hurtling toward the stone wall of the corridor.
"Incarcerous! Rope, bind!" Snape shouted, his voice laced with panic.
"Ahh!" Pandora screamed, her body jerked toward Snape, out of her control.
Using the counterforce of catching her, Snape managed to adjust his position midair.
Then, they crashed to the ground.
Pain exploded in Snape's back, as if he'd been struck by a sledgehammer. He could barely feel his spine.
"Are you okay?" he gasped through the pain, untying the ropes binding Pandora and patting her as she lay sprawled across his chest. "Are you hurt?"
Pandora seemed too shaken to respond. Her hair was caked with dust, her mouth open in a silent gasp.
With effort, Snape helped her sit up, then smacked his own head, trying to stop the ringing in his ears.
As the dust began to settle, the devastation of the passageway came into view.
The secret passage was riddled with holes. The stairs were gone, replaced by heaps of rubble and glinting shards of broken mirrors.
A few pale Inferi limbs twitched feebly. One half-torso Inferius, like a broken puppet, dragged itself toward them, leaving a deep black smear in its wake.
Snape pinned its remaining arm with a stone, trapping it in place, unable to reach them.
"James?"
His heart clenched as he remembered James was here too. He scanned the wreckage frantically.
Finally, in a corner, he spotted him.
James lay motionless on the ground, blood trickling from his forehead down his cheek, one arm bent at an unnatural angle.
"Episkey," Snape muttered, waving his wand over the wound.
The gash on James's forehead knitted shut under the healing charm.
Then, bending down, Snape tapped James's twisted right arm with his wand and incanted, "Brackium Emendo."
Bandages materialized, winding tightly around James's arm, securing it to a thin wooden splint.
James let out a faint groan, showing signs of consciousness.
Snape checked his breathing, then slapped his face. "Hey, wake up."
James's eyes fluttered open, his face pale with pain.
His gaze was unfocused, drifting hazily over Snape as he instinctively touched his face.
"Stop that. You just smashed your face," Snape snapped. "Do you realize you nearly got us all killed?"
"I saved your life, James Potter. You hear me? I saved your life!"
Before James could respond, hurried footsteps echoed toward them. The professors, clad in dressing gowns, rushed into view.
Professor McGonagall led the way, her face stern, lips pursed tightly, her eyes blazing with authority and worry.
The diminutive Professor Flitwick, the rotund Professor Slughorn, and the gray-haired Professor Grubbly-Plank followed close behind, striding quickly.
"What in Merlin's name happened here?" McGonagall demanded, staring at the chaotic ruins in disbelief. "Snape! Potter! Why is it always you two?"
"And Pandora, what are you doing here?"
"Who's responsible?"
She looked on the verge of fainting from fury, her trembling finger pointing accusingly between Snape and James.
The pinned Inferius twitched, making a faint noise.
"What is that?" McGonagall asked sharply.
"Inferi," Professor Grubbly-Plank said gravely, crouching to examine the struggling creature. "Not typical Inferi. These are weaker."
"What does that mean, Wilhelmina?" McGonagall pressed.
"They weren't made from fresh corpses," Grubbly-Plank said, wrinkling her nose in disgust. "These Inferi are practically rotting."
"This isn't something they could've done," she added, standing and gesturing at Snape, James, and Pandora. "I think you three need to explain exactly what happened."
"We should seal this place off first," McGonagall said.
Flashes of light sparked as magical barriers formed, isolating the collapsed passageway.
"Professor McGonagall," Filch wheezed, panting as he caught up, his sallow face flushed from running. "What's happened? More troublemaking students?"
His sharp eyes glared at James and Snape. "Utterly lawless! You never consider the work you make for me!"
Just then, urgent bell tolls rang out from the distance, piercing the quiet night.
They came from Hogsmeade.
The professors' expressions tightened instantly.
McGonagall paced anxiously, as if wrestling with a decision.
"Argus," she said firmly, resolve hardening her voice, "take these three to the Hospital Wing."
"Horace, Wilhelmina, the school is in your hands. Protect the students. Have the prefects gather them in the Great Hall."
"Filius, it's urgent. You're the dueling champion. Come with me to Hogsmeade."
The staff nodded, springing into action.
"Where's Professor Dumbledore?" Snape called after McGonagall's retreating figure.
But he received no answer.
McGonagall hurried away, her silhouette vanishing around the corner.
The bells of Hogsmeade still echoed over the castle.
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