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Chapter 52: The Marauder's Map
Chapter 52: The Marauder's Map
"Fred, George, what are you two doing here?" Albert feigned surprise as he looked at his roommates, who were bent over, mops in hand, cleaning the floor.
"Cleaning," Fred replied dryly.
"When did you two become so diligent?" Lee Jordan asked with a schadenfreude-filled smile as he watched the twin brothers. Dung bombs were no easy task to clean up, especially without cleaning supplies. Filch hadn't provided them with anything but mops and rags, which were ineffective against the mess.
"This is what happens when you throw dung bombs in the corridors," Filch said to the onlookers who had gathered, "Don't think you can get away with mischief."
"Don't worry, I'll get you both excused from Defense Against the Dark Arts class," Albert said, patting the twins' shoulders reassuringly.
"Why do I get the feeling that you're enjoying this a little too much?"
"Me?" Albert turned to Lee Jordan, "I'm just stating the facts. They threw dung bombs in the corridor and got caught by Filch. What did they expect?"
"I thought they would've learned their lesson and stopped throwing dung bombs in the corridors," Lee Jordan said, equally puzzled. "Are they trying to make their lives more difficult?"
Albert, of course, knew the reason behind their behavior. If Filch hadn't been there, he wouldn't have minded helping them out with a Scouring Charm to reduce their trouble. Unfortunately, with Filch's watchful eye on them, he couldn't do that.
It took Fred and George several hours to thoroughly clean up the mess left by the dung bombs in the corridor and office.
As a result, they missed lunch.
The two, sore and exhausted, managed to get themselves some sandwiches from the kitchen and were now sitting under a tree, eating their late meal.
"Well? What did you get? Don't tell me you got nothing," George said, stuffing the entire sandwich into his mouth and looking at Fred, waiting for him to produce the contraband item he had surely retrieved from Filch's drawer.
"Got it. Here, take a look," Fred said, pulling an envelope from his pocket and handing it to George.
"What's this?" George examined the old envelope, turning it over in his hands. There was no sender's name, only two sentences written on it: "I solemnly swear I am up to no good" and "Mischief managed!"
"Open it and see what's inside," Fred urged.
George hastily opened the envelope and pulled out a large, square piece of ancient-looking... parchment.
Yes, it was a rather aged piece of parchment.
However, there was nothing written on it.
"What's this supposed to be?" George looked at his brother, confused. They both sensed that this parchment held some secret; otherwise, Filch wouldn't have kept it locked away in his highly dangerous drawer of confiscated items.
"Maybe it needs a password," Fred suddenly recalled the two sentences on the envelope. "I solemnly swear I am up to no good."
"You idiot, use your wand," George said, rolling his eyes. He took out his wand and pointed it at the parchment, saying, "I solemnly swear I am up to no good."
Where the wand had touched the parchment, ink lines began to appear, forming a spiderweb-like pattern that spread across the entire surface, reaching into every corner.
"It really does need a password!" The twins exclaimed, unable to hide their excitement.
Sure enough, this seemingly innocuous piece of parchment held a secret.
"Look what's appearing on it!" Fred stared at the parchment, and words began to materialize:
"Suppliers of magical mischief-makers, moonshine, trick wands, joke cauldrons, and invisible ink, proudly present the Marauder's Map."
"The Marauder's Map?" The twins chorused, astonished. "This old piece of parchment is a map?"
"George, look! The ink dots on the parchment are moving!" Fred exclaimed, sharing his discovery with his brother.
"Of course, they're moving. That's why it's called the Marauder's Map," George replied.
The two brothers huddled together, studying the map's secrets. They soon discovered that it meticulously detailed the layout of Hogwarts Castle, including the locations of secret passages and the passwords required to open them.
Finally, they wouldn't have to worry about finding a secret passage only to be unable to open it.
Most importantly, the map also marked the location of every person in the castle with a moving ink dot.
Albert emerged from the library, seemingly on his way back to the common room. Filch was on the fourth floor, and Peeves, the mischievous poltergeist, was wreaking havoc on the sixth.
"George..."
"Fred..."
"You first..." they said simultaneously, bursting into laughter after their unspoken, mutual understanding.
"Then together," they said.
"Night stroll."
They looked at each other and laughed again.
"From now on, we can go on night strolls without worrying about Filch catching us, even without the Disillusionment Charm," Fred said.
"Yes, it's fantastic! There are so many secret passages we never even knew about," George added.
"Try the other password," Fred suggested, pointing his wand at the map and whispering, "Mischief managed."
In the next moment, the ink lines on the parchment began to fade until, within seconds, it returned to its previous state—a blank, aged piece of parchment.
"The traces disappeared!" George exclaimed, "The creators really thought of everything."
"If everyone knew about this, it would be common knowledge," Fred mused. "They probably wanted to keep the secrets of the parchment hidden."
"Do you think Filch knows how to use this map? He seems to know more about the secret passages than any student," George wondered aloud. "And why would he keep the map in a drawer? If it were me, I'd carry it with me at all times."
"Who knows? It doesn't matter now; the Marauder's Map is ours. Should we tell the others?" George referred to Albert and Lee Jordan as 'the others.' "Not yet," Fred shook his head after a moment's consideration. "The fewer people who know, the better."
"Don't forget, Albert knows about this," George suddenly realized. "He must know what we took from Filch."
"But if we don't tell him, he won't know about the map," Fred pointed out, raising an eyebrow.
In truth, the twins didn't mind sharing the map with others, but they also worried that someone with a big mouth might cause them to lose this valuable tool.
"Don't overthink it. Let's go explore the other secret passages first," the twins said, giving each other a look before leaving, shoulders bumping in camaraderie.
"Who do you think the creators of this map are: Moonshine, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs?"
"I think they must be former Hogwarts students," George said, raising his hand to lightly tap the statue's head, and a secret passage opened.
"Hurry, someone's coming this way," Fred warned, keeping watch with the map.
The two quickly slipped into the passage, and the statue returned to its original position.
"Where does this passage lead?" George asked, trying to illuminate the way with his wand. Unfortunately, his Lumos spell was still unstable, and the light would flicker and die out after a while.
"The fifth floor. Can't you even master Lumos yet?" Fred teased.
"You talk as if you've mastered it," George retorted.
(End of Chapter)
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