Benjamin Potter put down his quill and leaned back in his chair. His muscles, once hardened from hours of repeatedly hitting bludgers, now ached from old age. As he stretched his arms over his head, his eyes wandered around the headmaster's office. As they always have, the pictures of his predecessors hung from the walls, the inhabitants either snoozing or entertaining themselves in some way. Behind him, the sorting hat, the sword of Godric Gryffindor, and pensieve all sat in their respective places. The window showed an inky black sky, the shining stars being the only source of light for anyone walking across the grounds. The headmaster looked at his watch, one o'clock in the morning. "Merlin's beard, is it that time already?"
Just as he was about to get out of his chair, there was a knock on the door. He sighed in exhaustion, giving the headmasters and head mistresses time to feign sleep or to wake up and feign sleep again. "Enter."
Professor Rheburg entered, followed by three students, all in their night clothes, walked in. Benjamin sighed again, this time in exasperation. One of the students, sporting untidy jet black hair, was his grandson, Ezekiel Potter. 'Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later,' Benjamin thought to himself.
The other two students were Lois and her cousin Robert; the flaming red hair on top of their heads marked them as members of the legendary Weasley family.
"Sorry to disturb you, Benjamin, but I caught these three out of bed."
"Obviously," he replied, his voice dripping in playful sarcasm, "but why are they here? As their head of house, you should be the one to discipline them."
"Normally I would; however, I found them carrying something I think you should look at."
She reached into the pocket of her dressing gown, pulled out a blank sheet of parchment, and placed it on the desk. Recognizing it instantly, Benjamin looked up at the woman he had known since his first trip on the Hogwarts Express. The corners of her mouth were twitching into a minuscule smile as the mischief of their youth shone behind her eyes.
"Thank you Judy, I'll take it from here. Would you wait outside please?"
"Of course headmaster." She turned and left without another word.
Benjamin then turned his attention to the three first year Gryffindors in front of him. All three of them had varying degrees of panic on their faces. As expected, Ezekiel spoke first. "Hey Gramps, how's it going?"
Benjamin looked down at his grandson, feigning sternness. "While you are here at Hogwarts, you are to address me as professor or sir, do you understand Mr. Potter?"
The nervous smile that had been on the young boy's face disappeared. "Yes sir."
Benjamin proceeded to unfold the incriminating piece of parchment. He then pulled out his wand and placed the tip on the parchment. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."
From the tip of his wand, tentacles of ink started to appear and spread across the parchment, as if dozens invisible quills were zooming across the surface at once. After a few seconds, the parchment was full of scrawls, revealing the seal of the Marauders Map. The faces of fear in front of him had changed to shock.
"Y-you know how it works," Robert asked incredulously.
"Of course I do," Benjamin beamed at the students, "I used to own it. Haven't you looked at the back yet?"
All three shook their heads. Benjamin turned it over to reveal a list of names. Since its creation, the map had gone under a number of changes. It now changed automatically if there was a change in the castle's infrastructure. At some point in its history, someone had added the feature of adding the list of names of everyone who ever owned it.
"There I am right there," Benjamin turned the map and pointed at his name.
"Woah," Ezekiel whispered.
Lois pointed to the names in the top left hand corner. "Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs? What kind of names are those," she asked.
"Allow me to demonstrate."
The headmaster tapped the names with his wand. The list disappeared and was replaced with a biography:
Moony, Wromtail, Padfoot, and Prongs were the nicknames of the Marauders Map's creators and original owners. Remus Lupin, Peter Petigrew, Sirius Black, and James Potter are ranked as the most troublesome students whoever attended Hogwarts. As a werewolf, Remus Lupin had to be smuggled out of the castle every month so as to undergo his transformation without harming anyone. His three friends eventually found out his secret and decided to become animagi so as to join him on his full moon excursions without risking their lives. It was during these times that the four of them explored the grounds of Hogwarts, more so than anyone else ever has. This inspired them to make this map, not just for themselves, but for future generations of trouble makers. The map was eventually confiscated by the caretaker of the time and remained in his office until it was snatched by its next owners.
With another tap of the wand, the list of names reappeared. All three first years gasped: not only had they seen the name 'Weasley' on the list, but their eyes had skirted down to the name of the map's third owner.
"This map has been owned by Harry Potter? THE Harry Potter," Lois exclaimed.
"Indeed it has," Benjamin chuckled.
"I told you it was safe to use," Ezekiel said smugly.
"Oh shut up."
"Can we read his bio too," Robert asked.
"You can on your own time," Benjamin replied as he pointed his wand at the map once again. "Mischief Managed." The map went blank. "Now, about your punishments."
Robert stared at Benjamin in shock. "What? You're still punishing us?"
"Yes Mr. Weasley, I am. You three were out of bed after hours after all."
The trio begrudgingly accepted their fate as he wrote up their detention slips. "Now off to bed, all of you, and make sure you take good care of this."
He folded the map back up and handed it to his grandson. "We will gramps...I mean, sir."
Benjamin smiled as they left the office.
"So," said a sneering voice, "the map has found its way back into the hands of a Potter."
"It seems so, Severus," Benjamin replied. The current headmaster opened a drawer in his desk and pulled out an old, dusty cloak.
"You're going to give it to him then," asked the occupant of the largest portrait in the room.
"Indeed, Albus. His father should have been the one to give it to him. But…" Benjamin took a shuddering breath, "…becoming an auror has never been a safe choice."
He walked over to a full length mirror leaning up against a wall and flung the cloak over his head. Memories flashed before his eyes as he watched himself disappear: sneaking down to the kitchens for a midnight snack, breaking into professor's offices to steal the answers to upcoming exams, and nearly being caught by Peeves on more occasions then he could count. He slipped the cloak off.
"They're all magically bound to each other now, aren't they? The invisibility cloak, the Marauders Map, and Hogwarts. They've all been together for so long, that no matter who owns them or how far they travel, they will always find each other again, won't they?"
"Excellent observation, Neville," Dumbledore agreed. "May I suggest something, Benjamin?"
"What do you have in mind, Albus?"
"Wait until Christmas to give it to him. Getting caught in the act a few more times will give him more of an appreciation for it."
"I'll take it into consideration."
Benjamin put the cloak back into its drawer. As he headed for bed, a single thought floated through his mind. 'The Map, the Cloak, and the Castle. The legacy continues…'