The trio pushed open the Fat Lady's portrait and climbed out of the hole.
"Who is it, going out at this hour?" the Fat Lady muttered, opening her hazy eyes to scan the three shadowy figures before grumbling in discontent.
Albert and the twins said nothing, hurrying down the hallway toward the tapestry of bargain basement barbecue.
"Is this the place you mentioned?" George whispered, eyeing the wall opposite the tapestry.
"Yes. Focus on the kind of room you need, walk past the wall three times, and a door will appear." Albert motioned for the twins to step aside, then concentrated, pacing back and forth.
But no door appeared.
"No door?" Fred and George exchanged puzzled looks.
Albert frowned at the blank wall, then quickly urged them onward.
"What's going on?" Fred asked once they had walked some distance.
"Someone's inside," Albert said firmly. "If the Room of Requirement is occupied, you can't open it from outside—unless you guess the exact room they're using."
"Are you sure you didn't do it wrong?" George asked skeptically.
"Impossible. I've been in there several times. And why would I lie? It'd be pointless."
The twins exchanged glances. Albert wasn't joking.
"Who do you think is inside?" George asked curiously.
"No idea. Could be a couple—it's a perfect place for a date, no interruptions." Albert shrugged. "But only a handful of people know about it."
"Why?" Fred asked.
"Would you share a secret with too many people?" George rolled his eyes.
"Exactly," Albert agreed. "The Room of Requirement is magical. Whatever you need, it provides."
"Is it really that powerful?" the twins asked together.
"Otherwise?" Albert whispered. "We'll try again another time. If you don't believe me, assume I'm lying."
"Why not believe it?" Fred said. "That'll be our secret base."
"How would you use it?" Albert asked.
"No idea," George admitted. "At least we wouldn't be stuck outside the common room at night."
"Pathetic," Fred scoffed.
"What about you?" Albert asked.
"Me… haven't thought about it yet," Fred muttered.
"How dare you mock me," George retorted.
"And you?" they asked Albert.
"Brewing potions, practicing spells, doing homework, inventing things—it's perfect for all that," Albert said.
"And for a urinal," Fred added.
"Or dates," George teased.
"Tell me, do you have a girl you like? Planning to abandon George?" Albert asked solemnly.
"Why make it sound like I'm the one being abandoned?" George said, exasperated.
"Stop messing around." Fred rolled his eyes. "Let's show you other places. We know plenty of secret passages. Let's head to the library later."
"Good idea." Albert nodded. Exploring Hogwarts was always worthwhile.
Still, he doubted the Room was occupied by a couple. His suspicions leaned elsewhere. Who was the most suspicious person at Hogwarts? The Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.
Though Bard Broad had left a good impression, every Defense Against the Dark Arts professor was suspect: Voldemort's servant, a fraud writer, a werewolf, a false Auror, a meddling Ministry toad, a double agent, even Death Eaters. Albert suspected Broad because they had encountered him there before. Could it be another of Voldemort's minions? He shook off the thought. Death Eaters hated Muggle-borns—few would bother speaking to him.
"This way…" Fred led them to a knight statue. He and George showed Albert how to open the secret passage with a password.
The trio spent the rest of the night wandering the castle. Albert was pleased with their progress. When George revealed a passage leading outside, Albert wondered if Sirius Black had once used it to infiltrate Hogwarts.
"Peeves is on the third floor. Should we use him to wake Filch?" Fred suggested, checking the map. "It'd be fun to make Filch get up and chase us. He probably just fell asleep."
The twins looked at Albert expectantly.
"Alright. But where will you hide? Don't tell me you plan to play hide-and-seek with Filch," Albert said.
"We'll cause trouble, and with your Disillusionment Charm, he'll never catch us." Fred pulled a bag of dungbombs from his pocket and winked. He was clearly prepared.
"Alright. What's the plan?"
"You two go invisible first, then watch me." Fred vanished in a flash.
"Come on!" Albert tapped George's head with his wand. George shivered, then gasped as his body blended with the surroundings.
"That's amazing." He checked himself with Lumos, grinning. "I bet I could stand right under Filch's nose and he wouldn't see me."
"Don't risk it. My Disillusionment Charm isn't perfect. If Filch looks closely, he'll spot you," Albert cautioned, casting the charm on himself.
Just then, Peeves's shrill voice echoed down the hallway: "Students not sleeping, wandering around in the middle of the night!"
"Last time we were out, Peeves did the same thing," George whispered, forgetting he was invisible.
Moments later, Fred dashed back and George yanked him into the secret passage behind the portrait.
"That's incredible—I didn't even notice you two," Fred said excitedly. "Albert, quick, use the Disillusionment Charm on me!"