SIRIUS POV
"See if you can find the Remembrall then," I announced. Remus scowled. "That's not a good look for you, Moony," I laughed. "Oh, and I'll warn you now, I've put a few charms on it...just in case you tried summoning it." Remus, who had been standing with his wand outstretched, stowed it away, trying and failing to look genuinely angry. James roared with laughter. I shrugged. "What? I'm not going to make it easy!"
"Just let Wormtail find it himself," James said, from the couch where he was lounging.
"You could get up and help me," Remus suggested, clearly racking his brains for a spell that I wouldn't have thought of. I shot a warning glance across the room.
"Oi, Prongs! Don't even think about it. Or you know what I'll do to that Snitch of yours." James shook his head.
"Sorry Moony, mate. Can't risk it." We both smirked. Remus, knowing full-well when he was beaten, sat down and frowned.
"OK, so where exactly did you put it then?" I tapped the side of my nose in the irritating fashion that he often did when we wanted answers to the History of Magic homework ten minutes before it was due. "Padfoot! I'm not trying to find the Remembrall now!"
"Sorry, but it's another unwritten Marauder rule. NEVER reveal the truth behind a prank, even when it's over." I spoke with a serious tone. James nodded.
"We haven't got this far in seven years by revealing our secrets."
"Alright," Remus shrugged. "Three can play at this game." I raised an eyebrow, trying not to burst out laughing. He raised his wand, pointed it in the direction of the dormitory and a few seconds later, a long strip of something that resembled a belt flew out of the doorway and into his hand.
"What in the name of Merlin is that?" James laughed. I eyed it warily.
"Where the hell did you get that, Moony?" I demanded. Remus smirked.
"Owl-order."
"What is it?" James cried. I scowled as Remus threw the item at him.
"A dog lead," Remus announced. James cracked up laughing. "I've got a matching collar upstairs too, Padfoot." I shook my head.
"I don't do leads," I reminded them. "I chewed right through the last one." They both continued to laugh at me.
"Yeah, but it took you two hours." I growled as well as I could when I was still in my human form.
"Well if you hadn't bought such a leather one…"
"Anyway," Remus continued. "I'm sure that the three of us could force it on next time Snuffles comes out to play." I considered that for a second. I was sure that they could too.
"Damn it, Remus," I complained. "Why do you have to outwit me all the time?" He smirked again.
"That's what I do," he replied, with a slight hint of complacency. "So where is it? Wormtail's Remembrall?" I sighed.
"You know Moaning Myrtle?" I couldn't escape the laughter which came alongside my confession.
"Yes…" Remus replied slowly. I could almost hear his brain frantically trying to work it out.
"Well, I'd take her some flowers if you go looking in her bathroom," I suggested. "She'll probably be very offended with whoever goes looking for the Remembrall." I grinned.
"You didn't…" Remus began. I nodded.
"I may have accidentally thrown it at her. Rumour is, you get awarded fifty points for that...which I may have shouted when it went through her head." James laughed harder than ever and even Remus looked slightly amused.
"I'll leave Peter that particular task," he said eventually.
About fifteen minutes later, the portrait hole opened and Wormtail climbed through, managing to trip over in the process.
"Seven years, Wormy," James pointed out. "You'd have thought that you'd learn to avoid falling over by now." Wormtail nodded as he blushed slightly and in a very awkward manner, shuffled off towards the dormitories. James and I exchanged a glance. He was acting even more strangely than usual.
"Hey, I know where your Remembrall is!" Remus called across the room. Peter hardly nodded his head in acknowledgement before starting up the stairs as fast as his short legs could carry him.
"Wormtail, what's the matter?" I called to him. "Get down here!"
Very reluctantly, he turned and almost tiptoed across the room. He sat on the sofa furthest from us and avoided all of our gazes.
"What's wrong?" James asked him, leaning forward. "What's happened?" Remus immediately joined Peter on the sofa and the latter edged away, almost as if he was scared of what we might do.
"I...I didn't mean to…" he began, as tears threatened to spill out of his eyes.
"Didn't mean to do what?" I asked. James shot me a warning glance, as if I wasn't being tactful enough. "Sorry," I muttered.
"It was getting dark and I thought that I'd better start heading back and I...I didn't have time to run when I saw him coming...all I could do was stuff it in my pockets...but they weren't very big and he saw it...Filch saw it. He asked me what it was but I couldn't think of any good excuses. I'm rubbish in a tight spot, not like you three. Then he-" Peter gulped loudly. "-he confiscated it. I'm so sorry. I'm useless." A single tear rolled down his cheek.
The three of us looked at each other.
"What did he confiscate?" Remus asked softly.
"It wasn't my cloak?" James demanded, looking quite petrified. I shook my head.
"No, that's on my bed upstairs." Then, a sudden thought occurred to me and everything seemed to click in my brain. "Wormtail, where's the map?"
Peter broke down completely as James and Remus gasped in horror.
"The...the map's gone?" James repeated. Peter nodded, his face shining with tears.
"Did you clear it?" Remus questioned. "What if he takes it to Dumbledore?" I shook my head.
"Filch is a Squib. He'd never figure out how to work it."
"I didn't even have time to say 'mischief managed'," Peter sobbed. I surprised everyone by shrugging.
"Ah well. At least we managed to go nearly seven years without it being confiscated, right?" James and Remus stared at me as if I had gone mad.
"Padfoot..this is the map. We're leaving Hogwarts forever in three days. We don't have time to distract him with an amazing prank and get it back. Plus, I'm Head Boy now. I'd never get away with it." I shook my head. A small part of me that I could hardly explain was actually glad that the map had been confiscated.
"What were we going to do with it outside Hogwarts anyway?" I reminded them. "At least this way, we get to leave behind the Marauders' legacy." James rolled his eyes.
"Sirius, we're leaving it in Filch's office. I don't want to wait a hundred years until the next person finds it." James looked sorrowfully at the ground. "I wanted to send my kid to Hogwarts with that map and the cloak." I raised an eyebrow.
"So did I. Now, I guess it'll be a race between our kids. Whoever is the best troublemaker gets to steal the map." Remus laughed.
"That'll be a good challenge for their first few weeks of school. Break into Filch's office and steal an old map before someone else does." Both James and I looked delighted at the idea.
"So...you...don't mind?" Peter sniffed. I clapped him on the back.
"The Marauders had to leave something at Hogwarts, right?" James finally nodded his agreement.
"I'm not annoyed," he assured Peter. "I just...never had the chance to say goodbye."
"Me neither," Remus added. I sighed. I would miss that map, without a doubt.
"I just wish that I could have held it again," I said sadly. "One last time…"