Over the Edge [ Lupin x Evans ]

Chapter 15: Marauders' worst nightmare

James, Sirius, and Remus were making their way through the dark corridors of Hogwarts. Fortunately, they were hidden under the irreplaceable Invisibility Cloak, which was their constant companion on all their Marauder outings. Due to their age and height, they barely fit under it, with their shins sticking out. Still, they hoped their plan would succeed.

"Could you stop stepping on my foot, Padfoot?" James snapped sharply, feeling another burn around his toes.

"Sorry, Prongs, but I can't see anything!" Sirius muttered.

"Quiet, or your plan's going to fail," warned Lupin, who was starting to feel more and more guilty. He had a strange sense that he was betraying his real tutor this way. Moreover, he could bet that Lily wouldn't be too happy about their plan to break into Slughorn's potion lab in the dungeons.

"Don't worry, we've got this, Moony," James reassured. "If anyone catches us, you stay under the cloak, and we'll take the heat."

"Oh, how chivalrous," Padfoot laughed.

"Yeah, Moony has to stay clean for his OWL retakes," James said boldly.

As they were actually heading toward the dungeons, Remus felt like he was going to vomit from stress. The approaching full moon, which was just a few days away, wasn't helping either. In short, he felt awful.

"Maybe we should turn back?" Lupin whispered hopefully. "I'll somehow manage to cram for those potions. I won't complain any more."

"Now you've got no say in the matter," Sirius growled.

"Don't spoil our fun," James added, his voice laced with excitement. Remus sighed heavily and looked over their shoulders. They had just reached the door to the Potions classroom.

"Alohomora," James whispered, leading the way.

The lock clicked twice, and the door creaked slightly with an ominous sound. Sirius looked around, and at his signal, they swiftly pulled the cloak off their heads. The corridor was pitch black, with only a faint glow from torches on the dungeon walls. Needless to say, this part of the castle felt exceptionally cold, damp, and dreary. Probably only Slytherins liked to linger here longer than necessary.

"Come on," James whispered, pushing the door open.

Unfortunately, at that very moment, someone from the opposite direction was trying to pass through the door. Sirius and the stranger collided headfirst, both crashing to the wet floor with a loud thud. There was a moment of silence, broken only by the bubbling of potions left simmering on the fire.

"Padfoot, you okay?" James half-whispered, and Lupin was already leaning over to see what had happened. It was only after a moment that they realized the wizard who had bumped into Sirius was none other than Severus Snape.

"You..." Snape hissed, getting up from the stone floor. He immediately raised his wand. "What. Are. You. Doing. Here?"

"We could ask you the same thing, Snivellus," James puffed out his chest in a proud gesture.

"We're here on Professor Slughorn's orders," Padfoot added confidently, flashing an arrogant grin. Snape measured them all with a sharp gaze. His black eyes were narrowed so much they looked like slits. It was obvious from a mile away that Black was openly lying to his face.

"That's interesting, because I have a written permission from the Head of my House to be here today in this classroom. You, on the other hand, are just plotting," he spat venomously. "You've broken in!"

"Us? No way!" James shouted.

"We need to get out of here," Lupin whispered to Sirius. "This is going to end badly. It's after curfew."