Book I
Chapter 4
The Marauder's Map
Harry's life at Hogwarts developed a comfortable routine after his acceptance onto the Quidditch team. Classes and homework took up a lot of his time, and when he wasn't busy with those he was out getting into trouble with his friends or serving detentions for getting into trouble with his friends. He had lost more house points than he cared to remember and spent more time in McGongall's office than the library. On top of that he still had Quidditch practice, which wasn't as fun as he'd thought it would be. Wood made them practice at ungodly hours of the morning for hours on end. As the Quidditch season neared the practices only got more intense. Harry figured it wouldn't be so bad if he could at least get some recognition, but Wood was determined to keep him a secret. Since no one even knew he was on the team he didn't get the same respect from his housemates that the other players did.
His mother continued to write him a letter everyday. She checked up on him to make sure he hadn't hurt himself in Qudditch practice and also to chastise for his latest trouble making venture. Sometimes his father would add postscripts in invisible ink encouraging him to stay the course.
All in all, the month of October passed in a blur and before Harry knew it it was almost Halloween.
"Ater Aduro!"
Harry watched as black flames leapt from his wand and attacked the small wooden block before him. There was no noise, no smoke, no smell of burning wood but in a matter of seconds the wood had burned down into nothing but ashes. It's job done, the black flames dissipated and left no sign they had ever existed. The desk on which Harry's block of wood had sat was completely unharmed by the curse. Harry looked up from the pile of ashes on the desk to Professor Rätsel, who regarded him with his usual stoicism.
"Potter," Rätsel said, dragging out every syllable, "Since the start of term you are the only student to master the Ater Aduro curse."
Harry nodded as a nervous weight began to settle in his chest. It was hard to for to judge Rätsel's emotions and he couldn't shake the feeling that the German professor was angry at him. Maybe he suspected Harry of cheating? But, how could you cheat at a curse? And why would Rätsel ask Harry to perform the curse in front of the class if he suspected him of cheating?
Rätsel continued to stare at Harry as if sizing him up. The entire class was silent and Harry wished someone would say something. Then Rätsel did something that made Harry feel even more uneasy, he smiled. It was a small twist of the lips, barely noticeable, but it was the first time Harry had seen the man smile and it looked foreign on his face. Rätsel probably intended for it to be a soothing gesture, but it made him look like a hungry wolf staring at a piece of fresh meat.
"Good job, Potter," Rätsel said, clapping his wrinkled hands together. The rest of the class joined in, some more enthusiastic than others.
"Take a bow!" Seamus shouted, clapping the loudest of them all. The large grin on his face let Harry know he was joking, but it still caused a blush to rise in his cheeks. A glare from Rätsel silenced Seamus and the rest of the class.
"You could all learn something from Potter," Rätsel said. He turned to Harry, still bearing that awkward smile. "Would you like to share your secret with the class, Potter?"
"I-er-I just concentrated really hard, sir," Harry said. The truth was that every time he cast Ater Adurohe imagined his least favorite professor, Snape, and the black flames seemed to leap out of his wand of their own volition.
"Of course," Rätsel said, and there was a knowing twinkle in his beady black eyes, "Return to your desk and open your book to page fifty-three. Begin reading about the Ater Aduro counter-curse. The rest of you continue to practice your curses!"
Harry nodded and made his way back to his desk. Many of his classmates ignored him as he walked back to his desk, preferring to practice their curses, but one of his classmates seemed to be very interested in him. It was Hermione Granger and she was giving him a glare so intense that he was afraid she was about to cast Ater Aduro on him. He avoided her glare as he sat down and tried to wrap his mind around why she would be so angry with him.
Jealously because he had mastered the curse and she hadn't? That couldn't be right because ever since her first outburst in Dark Arts class she had refused to practice the spell. Everyday she would come to class and do nothing and everyday Rätsel would give her detention for it. She was coming close to breaking the Weasley Twins' record of consecutive detentions, though the Twins were quick to point out that their detentions had been accrued through multiple professors.
Rätsel had explained to them during their first class period that there were still some who saw the Dark Arts as evil. Maybe Granger was one of those people, but that still didn't explain why she was so angry with him. They were in a classroom filled with students trying to master the spell, it didn't make sense for her to be so angry with him just because he was the first to master it. Maybe the girl really was nuts, as Ron had often tried to convince him.
Harry cautioned a look over his shoulder and saw that the whole time he'd spent trying to figure out why Granger was mad at him, she'd been glaring at the back of his head.
"What's wrong, mate?" Ron asked, causing Harry to almost fall out of his chair.
Harry shook his head free of thoughts about the girl. "Nothing," he said, "Just...hungry."
Ron nodded. "Me too. These Dark Arts spells really take a lot out of you, huh?"
Harry just nodded. It was true. Dark Arts spells could be physically taxing, and he thought it would be best not to tell his friend about the look Granger had given him. Ron didn't need another excuse to hate her. When class ended, Harry gathered up his things and prepared to head to the Great Hall for lunch, but Rätsel called his name.
"Potter," he said, "Stay after class, I need to speak with you."
Harry turned to his friends and gestured for them to go on without him. He waited until the class had emptied out before approaching Rätsel's desk.
"What is it, sir?" he asked, feeling a bit nervous.
"I thought it prudent to remind you that while you have made great progress, you have not mastered Ater Aduro yet," Rätsel said.
Harry fronwed. Had he not just set a block of wood on fire? "What do you mean, sir?"
"I mean there is more to the curse than setting small blocks of wood on fire," Rätsel said, and Harry found himself wondering if the man could read minds. "You'll need to continue practicing the spell if you want to get better. You'll need to practice on … bigger objects."
"You mean bigger blocks of wood, sir?"
Rätsel seemed to hesitate for a moment before nodding. "Yes," he said slowly, "Bigger blocks of wood."
"Okay, sir, I'll do that," Harry said, not entirely sure where he was going to find an ample supply of wood to burn.
"Good. You may go now, Potter."
Harry turned to leave, but froze when he heard Rätsel yell.
"Granger! What are you still doing here?"
Harry turned around and sure enough Hermione Granger was still sitting at her desk with her arms crossed. How had he not noticed her before?
"I was waiting for you to tell me about my detention, Professor," Granger said, her voice icy, "Or am I off the hook today?"
Rätsel sneered, "Your detention will be at the the same time and place as it is everyday. I figured you were smart enough to know that by now."
"My apologies, Professor," Granger said, but she obviously didn't mean it. She gathered her things and made her way out of the classroom, pushing past Harry as she did so.
Rätsel's sneer followed the girl all the way out the classroom and even once she was gone he continued to sneer at the empty doorway.
"You were dismissed, Potter." Rätsel said without looking at Harry.
Harry left the classroom and found Granger in the hallway waiting for him. Once again she had that hateful glare directed at him. Harry knew his best option was to ignore the girl, but he just couldn't let it go. First she had glared at him in class, then she had pushed him on her way out the door, now she was waiting for him in the hallway and for what? Just so she could glare at him some more?
"Do we have a problem?" Harry asked, trying to sound imposing.
Granger continued to glare at him. She almost looked like she was sizing him up. Harry's hand slowly drifted to the pocket where he kept his wand. He'd never dueled a girl before. He'd never dueled anyone before, and he was starting to wish he'd just ignored her.
"Yes," Granger said coldly, "We do have a problem."
And then she spun on her heel and marched down the hallway, not towards the Great Hall but toward the Gryffindor common room. When she was gone Harry let out a deep sigh and ran a hand through his hair.
"Girl troubles, lad?" One of the portraits hanging on the wall asked in an amused tone.
Harry just shook his head, turned and made for the Great Hall.
"She tried to attack you?" Ron exclaimed, causing half the Great Hall to look his way.
Harry shook his head and sighed. He knew that telling Ron was a bad idea, but he'd done it anyway. "No," he said, trying to hide the exasperation in his voice, "But she was waiting for me after class with a mean look on her face, and apparently she's got a problem with me."
"She's a nutter," Ron said, sounding triumphant.
Dean rolled his eyes. "We know Ron, you've only been telling us that for the past month."
"Because it's true!" Ron said, "She always eats alone, she never talks to anyone, she gets detention everyday because she refuses to even try in class, and now she's giving Harry the evil eye. She has to be nuts."
"She's not nuts," Harry said, though he wasn't sure if he believed it himself, "I didn't tell you about this so you could make a big deal out of it, so let's just drop it and talk about something else."
"Fine," Ron said, "So what did Rätsel want to talk to you about anyway?"
"He just told me to keep practicing," Harry said.
"Keep practicing?" Seamus asked. "What for? If anything you should be helping the rest of us."
Harry shrugged. "There's not much I can do to help you guys. I already told you my 'secret'."
"Then you just have to teach us how to hate Professor Snape as much as you," Dean said with a smile.
Harry's eyes widened. "Don't say that so loud," he whispered, and his four friends laughed.
"What? Are you afraid he'll hear you?" Ron asked.
Harry turned to the High Table and was relieved to find that Snape wasn't looking his way. "Yes," he said, "I am afraid he'll hear. He already hates me enough, I don't want to make things any worse."
The boys laughed some more, except for Neville. "I tried to picture Professor Snape," he said, "but I don't really hate him. I'm just afraid of him."
That caused everyone to laugh some more, even Harry.
"Weasley, Potter!" someone shouted, interrupting their good time.
Both Harry and Ron turned and saw Draco Malfoy approaching their table, flanked on either side by his cronies Crabbe and Goyle. Malfoy didn't look very happy.
"I need to speak to you two," he said. When Harry and Ron didn't move he added, "In private."
Harry looked to Ron, who merely shrugged. Together, the two of them stood up and followed Malfoy out into the Entrance Hall. Students were passing in and out of the Entrance Hall, but it was mostly empty. Malfoy lead them to a statue of armor near the main staircase.
"What's this all about, Malfoy?" Ron asked.
"Your brother," Malfoy spat. "The git docked me twenty house points and gave me a weeks worth of detentions with Flich."
"For what?" Harry asked.
Malfoy sneered. "That's not important. What is important is that I get back at him, and I want you two to help me."
Harry didn't like the sound of that. He barely knew Malfoy, but he knew enough to know that if Percy had saw fit to punish him that severely he had probably done something to deserve it. Malfoy was a bully who liked to use his large friends Crabbe and Goyle to abuse weak students. Harry imagined that if he wasn't friends with Ron, Malfoy probably would have picked on him as well.
"You want me to help you get back at my own brother?" Ron asked.
"I know you don't like him anymore than I do," Malfoy said. "Plus I know you Gryffindor's are always getting into trouble. Slytherin's are usually against such stupid behavior, which is why I've got to recruit you dopes."
Harry frowned. He certainly didn't like being called a dope or having his House insulted. Ron didn't seem to care, so Harry decided not to say anything.
"What do you have in mind?" Ron asked with a mischievous grin.
Malfoy responded with a grin of his own. "Crabbe here," he said, jerking his thumb towards his bodyguard, "Overheard one of the Slytherin Prefects talking. Turns out Prefect's have their own private bathroom on the fifth floor. I was thinking we could break in there and wreck up the place."
Harry's frown deepened. He had broken the rules with his friends plenty of times, but he did it for fun not for petty revenge like Malfoy was suggesting. However, his protests died before he could voice them when he saw Ron's smile widen.
"Sounds like a great idea," Ron said. He turned his enthusiasm on Harry, who responded with a weak smile.
"Good," Malfoy said, "When should we do this?"
"Tonight," Ron said, "Harry and I have Astronomy. We can sneak off after class and meet you on the fifth floor."
"Excellent," Malfoy said, clapping his hands together and licking his lips in a way that creeped Harry out.
"Get to class boys," Professor McGongall ordered as she swept into the Entrance Hall. She gave Harry and Ron piercing looks, "I don't want to see either of you in my office any time soon, understood?"
"Yes, Professor," they chorused. They separated from Malfoy, who gave them a not so subtle nod of the head, and made for the doors to the grounds.
"Ms. Granger," McGongall said, causing Harry and Ron to turn around. Hermione Granger had been sitting on the main staircase reading a book, not too far from where they had been discussing their plans with Malfoy. "I would like to see you in my office," McGonagall continued.
"I've got Herbology in just a few minutes, Professor," Hermione said, putting away the book she had been reading.
"Then after class."
"Yes, Professor."
McGonagall nodded and made her way up the stairs. Granger walked past Harry and Ron, this time instead of glaring at Harry she pointedly ignored him. Ron, however, glared at her.
"Do you think she heard?" Harry asked after Granger had walked out through the entrance doors.
Ron shook his head. "She couldn't have. She was too far away. We weren't talking very loudly."
"Maybe we should call the whole thing off just to be sure," Harry said, hoping Ron would agree so he wouldn't have to spend any more time with Malfoy than was absolutely necessary.
"If she had heard us she would have told McGonagall right then and there," Ron said, "We've got nothing to worry about."
Ron's point made sense, but Harry still didn't like it. Even if their little plan hadn't been compromised by Hermione Granger, he still didn't like or trust Malfoy. Of course, he didn't tell Ron that.
"If you say so," was all he said, and the two of them walked to Herbology class together.
Astronomy class had been long. They had been studying the phases of the moon or something else that Harry didn't understand the importance of. Even if he had been interested in whatever Professor Sinistra had been trying to teach, he wouldn't have been able to focus. His mind was too caught up in the 'adventure' he and Ron had planned with Malfoy. Specifically, all the ways it could go wrong. Sneaking out at night to have some fun with your friends was one thing, but Harry couldn't imagine McGonagall being lenient if they snuck out to wreck the Prefects bathroom. Not that she was ever lenient to begin with.
Ron still didn't understand Harry's worries and now it was too late for Harry to voice them. Astronomy class had come to an end just after midnight and the entire group of first year Gryffindor's were being escorted from the Astronomy Tower back to the Gryffindor common room by Professor Sinistra. The whole point of the escort was so students wouldn't wonder off and roam the castle so late at night, but Harry and Ron were prepared.
They'd told Neville, Seamus and Dean about their plans and their three friends were nice enough to help them out. They worked together to distract Sinistra while Harry and Ron slunk to the back of the group. When they were sure no one was looking, they broke away from the group and darted into a side passage. They waited and listened to make sure their absence had gone unnoticed.
"Alright, let's go," Ron whispered.
As silently as possible, they made their trek through the castle to the fifth floor. As they descended the stairway from the sixth floor to the fifth, it occurred to Harry that Malfoy hadn't told them where on the fifth floor the Prefects bathroom was.
"Did Malfoy tell you where the Prefects bathroom was?" he asked as they reached the fifth floor corridor.
Ron scratched the back of his head as he looked up and down the fifth floor corridor. There was no sign of Malfoy or his cronies. "Um...No," he said.
"You don't think he was just setting us up, do you?" Harry asked, already a pit was forming in his stomach and he wanted to go back upstairs to the Gryffindor common room before things got worse.
"Malfoy wouldn't do that." Ron said. He craned his head around, looking for any signs of the Slytherin boy. "I think I hear voices this way. Come on."
Ron lead the way and Harry followed, and indeed there were voices coming from the other end of the hall. However, the closer they got it became apparent that those voices didn't belong to the Slytherins.
"You sure they're going to be here?" asked the gravelly voice of Filch.
Harry and Ron froze.
"I was told they'd be here," said the posh voice of Percy Weasley.
Two figures appeared at the end of the hallway and Harry's fears were confirmed. Argus Filch stood with a lamp in his hand and Mrs. Norris at his feet; Percy Weasley was standing next to him.
"Ron!" Percy shouted, but Ron had already turned tail and ran back down the corridor; Harry wasn't too far behind him. Percy didn't plan on letting them get away though. He chased after them, his longer legs easily making up for their head start.
They reached the main stairs and Ron made to go up but Harry grabbed him and dragged him down the stairs, figuring it would do no good to run straight for Gryffindor tower with Percy right behind them. They jumped down the stairs three at a time and just as they reached the fourth floor landing Ron lost his footing and fell. Harry picked him up and dragged him to a nearby tapestry.
"Stop running!" Percy shouted. Harry was glad to hear that the Prefect was still some distance behind them.
Behind the tapestry was a narrow set of rickety stairs. Ron and Harry haphazardly made their way down and burst through the tapestry on the other end out into an empty hallway.
"We should...split up." Ron said, breathing heavily.
Harry didn't' think that was a good idea, but before he could protest Ron was already belting down the hallway alone. With a mumbled curse under his breath Harry ran in the opposite direction and ducked behind another tapestry. Unfortunately for him, this tapestry didn't lead to a secret passage, it just covered up an alcove in the wall. Getting out from behind the tapestry wasn't an option as he heard footsteps in the corridor.
"Ron! Harry!" Percy said, panting. When he got no answer the Prefect started running again in the same direction that Ron had gone.
Just when Harry was beginning to think it was safe, another set of footsteps entered the hallway. The person was wheezing hard.
"Which way did they go, Mrs. Norris?"
Harry's blood froze. Would Mrs. Norris be able to find him? His entire body tensed as Flich's heavy footsteps approached the tapestry he was hiding behind. A moment passed where Harry didn't dare to breathe, and finally Filch plodded in another direction. When the caretaker and his cat were gone, Harry let out the breath he had been holding.
And then he heard two more voices.
"Why would he hide it in the school?" one voice asked, and Harry instantly recognized it as the slimy voice of Professor Snape.
"Why does the man do anything, Severus?" the other voice answered, and the raspy, high-pitched tone made it clear it was Headmaster Riddle. "He thinks he's smarter than everyone else. He no doubt thought it was very clever to hide it right under my nose."
"When could he have done it?" Snape asked. Their voices were getting closer. "I saw him leave myself right after the Welcoming Feast, and he hasn't been in the castle since."
"I'm perplexed by it myself."
The two men's footsteps came to a stop right outside the tapestry. Harry held his breath.
"No matter, I'm sure the thing will be easy enough to find. There's only so many-"
"Just a moment, Severus," Riddle interrupted and suddenly the tapestry was thrown aside. Harry pressed his back against the wall, hoping it would swallow him. As Headmaster Riddle loomed over him, he realized just how tall the Headmaster was.
"Potter," Snape said.
"Mr. Potter," Headmaster Riddle hissed, "Would you like to explain why you are out of bed after hours?"
Harry looked to his feet. "I-er-I got lost, sir. On the way back from the Astronomy Tower."
Riddle's hand clamped around Harry's jaw and forced him to look up. Harry had no choice but to stare into his blank white mask. "Do not lie to me, Mr. Potter."
"I snuck away from my group, sir. I just...I thought it would be fun."
"If Potter's here then Weasley and the rest of his gang probably aren't very far," Snape said.
"Are you alone tonight, Mr. Potter?" Riddle asked. Before Harry could answer, Riddle squeezed his jaw so tight he couldn't speak. "I would like to remind you that you are already in trouble for sneaking out after hours, and you've already tried to lie to me once. Do not try again."
The fingers constricting his jaw relaxed. "Ron was with me," Harry said, feeling terrible for ratting out his friend, "But I don't know where he went."
Riddle's mask hovered over Harry for a moment before he released his grip on the boy's jaw. Harry rubbed his sore jaw. Riddle turned to Snape.
"I think a weeks worth of detention is enough, don't you Severus?" he asked.
"Personally, I'd have him expelled, Headmaster," Snape said with a sneer in Harry's direction.
"Then two weeks then," Riddle said, "And fifty house points."
Harry wanted to protest, but he knew it would be useless.
"Escort him back to his dormitories, Severus. I'll find the Weasley boy myself."
Snape motioned for Harry to follow him while Riddle walked down the hallway in the same direction Harry had seen Ron go. Harry silently followed Snape to Gryffindor Tower, making sure to keep his distance the whole way. He glumly gave the Fat Lady the password and crawled through the portrait hole.
"I expect you in the dungeons at seven, Potter," Snape said once Harry was on the other side of the portrait.
"For what, sir?"
"For your detentions, of course."
The portrait swung close and Harry's heart fell to his feet. It hadn't occurred to him that he'd have to serve his detentions with Snape. He walked into the common room with his head hung and found Ron waiting for him in one of the armchairs by the fire.
"What happened to you?" Ron asked.
Harry plopped into a chair. "Managed to ditch Percy and Filch. Then Snape and Riddle caught me."
Ron's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "What'd they do to you?"
"Riddle docked me fifty house points and set me up with two weeks worth of detention with Snape."
"Fifty?" Ron groaned. "We'll never win the House Cup at this rate."
Winning the House Cup was the least of Harry's worries now. "I told Riddle you were out there with me. He said he was going to find you. Guess he's not going to now."
Ron let out a sigh of relief. "Good thing too. If we lost 100 points in one night..."
"Yeah..." Harry said. He stared into the fireplace and reflected on his fate. Two weeks of detention with Snape. He wasn't sure if he could survive something like that. He wasn't sure if he wanted to survive something like that. Suddenly, he remembered why he was in this mess. "I guess Malfoy set us up," he said, trying to keep the 'I told you so' out of his voice.
Ron shook his head, "Draco wouldn't do that. It must have been someone else."
"Who else could have done it?"
Ron thought for a minute and his face morphed into a grimace, though there was a hint of triumph in his eyes."Granger," he said.
Harry buried his face in his palms. Of course, it was Granger, it made the most sense. He was actually disappointed. At least if it had been Malfoy he would have had a reason to never talk to him again.
"What's the matter?" Ron asked.
"Nothing," Harry said. He let out a deep sigh, "Let's just go to bed. I'm ready for this night be over." Then he stood up and made for the boy's staircase.
"Are you all right?" Ron asked.
"No."
At breakfast the next morning Harry was feeling a little better about his fate. Or at least he was trying to. He kept telling himself that detention with Snape couldn't be that bad, but even he didn't believe himself.
"Cheer up, mate," Seamus said, "It's Halloween!"
Harry grimaced, "You'll have to excuse me if I don't get in the holiday spirit."
"Come on, detentions with Snape can't be any worse than detentions with McGongall," Seamus said.
"McGonagall doesn't hate my guts," Harry said.
Seamus laughed.
"That was real bad luck, Harry," Neville said, "What were Headmaster Riddle and Professor Snape doing walking the halls at that time of night?"
Harry suddenly remembered the conversation Snape and Riddle had been having. He had forgotten all about it in his depression.
"They were talking about something hidden in the castle."
"You didn't tell me that," Ron said, "What's hidden in the castle?"
Harry shrugged. "I didn't hear them say. They said it was hidden the night of the Welcoming Feast. Riddle didn't sound too happy about it."
"If someone wanted to hide something from the Headmaster, why would they hide it in the castle?" Dean asked.
"Yeah, who would be stupid enough to do something like that?" Seamus asked.
The five boys lapsed into thought, each of them trying to think of what could be hidden in the castle and why it would be hidden. Together, the five of them all came to the same conclusion, but it was Ron who first voiced it.
"We should find it."
Harry nodded slowly. "I think it could be fun."
"And Riddle would probably give us a hundred house points if we found it," Seamus said. "That would make up for all the points we've lost already."
"But we don't even know what it is," Dean said.
"Or where to start looking for it," Neville said, "The castle's a big place. If Headmaster Riddle can't find it what makes you think we can?"
Smiling, Ron said, "I think I might know someone who can-"
"Potter! Weasley!"
Harry and Ron turned to see Draco Malfoy and his two cronies, and they didn't look happy.
"Come with me," the Slytherin said.
They stood up and followed the angry Malfoy out into the Entrance Hall. This time, Harry made sure there wasn't anyone eavesdropping. Once they'd stepped away from the Great Hall's doors, Malfoy spun around and leveled them with an accusatory glare.
"You sold us out," he hissed. Crabbe and Goyle cracked their knuckles in an attempt at intimidation.
"It's not like that," Ron said, holding his hands up in a placating gesture.
"Then tell me how it is, Weasley," Malfoy said.
"It was Granger. She was sitting right there yesterday while we were talking. She must have heard us and warned Percy."
"It's true," Harry said.
Malfoy took a step back and crossed his arms. "Granger? That mudblood?" he spat.
Harry flinched at the derogatory term.
"You don't even know the half of it," Ron said. "She crazy. Shes got it out for Harry and me."
Malfoy scowled. "So what do you plan do about her? Because of her your git of a brother took ten house points from the three of us and now we've got more detention with Filch."
Harry frowned. Malfoy had gotten off easy compared to what he'd got. Though he imagined the Slytherin wouldn't mind serving two weeks of detention with Snape as much as he did.
"We'll take care of her," Ron said. He turned to Harry, "Right?"
"Er...yeah." Harry said, though he had no idea what Ron had in mind.
"You'd better," Malfoy said. He motioned to his two bodyguards and the three of them stalked away.
Harry turned to Ron. "What do you mean, 'we'll take care of her'?"
"We'll figure out a way to get back at her later. Now, let's get back to breakfast, I'm still hungry."
Ron spent all of Transfiguration class glaring at the back of Hermione Granger's bushy brown head. During Dark Arts class he managed to make significant improvements with his Ater Aduro curse. When Harry asked him how he'd done it, he rather loudly proclaimed that all he'd had to do was picture Granger. If Granger heard him she had no reaction.
Harry's bad mood returned in full force by dinner that night, and even the festivities of the Halloween Feast couldn't bring him out of his funk. The Great Hall was decorated in orange, yellow and black and the tables were laden with all sorts of Halloween treats, but all Harry could think of was his detention with Snape which was taking place in a mere half an hour.
"Come on, Harry," Neville said, "It can't be that bad."
"You've said that already." Harry muttered, staring at the plate of food before him. Indeed his friends had spent the entire day trying to convince him that detentions with Snape wouldn't be bad. Harry remained unconvinced.
"Harry," Ron whispered and Harry looked up at him, wondering what words of encouragement he had to offer. Instead, Ron tried to surreptitiously tilt his head toward the entrance of the Great Hall where Hermione Granger was leaving the Great Hall alone.
Harry sighed, "What about her?" he asked, making it clear by his tone he wasn't in the mode to deal with any of Ron's muggleborn conspiracy theories.
"We promised Malfoy we'd take care of her." Ron said.
"So?"
"She's alone. Now's our chance."
Harry frowned, "Ron, I don't think now's really the-"
But Ron had already focused his attention on the door Granger had gone through. He stood up from the table and followed after her. Harry rolled his eyes and rose from the table to follow Ron.
"Where are you guys going?" Neville asked.
Harry shook his head and continued after Ron.
"Ron, seriously, can we do this another time?" Harry asked when they reached the Entrance Hall.
"Now's the best time," Ron said, his focus completely on Granger, who was trotting up the main staircase.
"But I don't even know what we're doing," Harry said. "What do you mean, 'We're going to take care of her'?"
"We're just going to find out why she snitched on us," Ron said. "And why she keeps giving you the stink eye."
Harry wanted to tell Ron he didn't care about Granger glaring at him in the halls, but Ron seemed determined and he figured it would be useless to argue. They followed Granger up the stairs at a distance until she got off on the third floor. The third floor corridor was empty.
"Oy!" Ron said, "Hold up a minute."
Granger turned back to see who had called her, and when she saw Harry and Ron she turned back around and kept walking.
"Lousy mudblood," Ron said under his breath. Before Harry knew what was going on, Ron had pulled his wand out and pointed it at Granger. "Locomotor Mortis!"
Harry had just enough time to throw his shoulder into Ron, knocking him off balance and sending his spell into the wall. Granger had heard the incantation and whipped around with her own wand out, her eyes were livid.
"What is your problem?" she shouted.
"My problem?" Ron asked, "What's your problem? First you threaten Harry in the halls and then you rat us out to Percy and get us in trouble!"
"I wouldn't have had to 'rat' you out if you hadn't been breaking the rules!" Hermione said. Her face was flushed red and she jabbed her wand at Ron with every word she spoke.
"So you admit it!" Ron said, he had a white knuckled grip on his wand and his ears were bright red.
Harry watched this exchange in fear, afraid that the two would curse each other into oblivion.
"I never lied about what I did!" Hermione said, then she turned to Harry, "And if your friend has something to say to me, he can say it himself!"
Ron turned to Harry expectantly, but Harry didn't know what to say.
"What's the meaning of this?" came a voice that caused relief to flood through Harry. Professor Lupin strode up with a look the likes of which Harry had never seen on his face. "Wands away!" he said. Hermione quickly stowed hers in her robes and Ron reluctantly lowered his.
There was silence in the corridor for a moment as Moony studied the faces of his three students. "Who would like to explain what's going on here?" he asked in a soft, scary voice.
"They tried to curse me!" Hermione said.
"Did not!" Ron said.
"Did to!"
"Quiet, both of you!" Moony said. He turned to Harry. "What's going on here, Harry?"
Harry gulped and shared a furtive look with Ron. "We-uh-Ron and I, that is. We wanted to talk to Hermoine about something."
"And then she pulled her wand on us and started shrieking like a banshee," Ron said.
"That's not true, Professor!" Hermione said.
Moony held up a hand to silence them. "Harry?"
Harry looked to his feet. "That's right. She pulled her wand on us," he said. When he looked back up Moony looked shocked.
"Are you lying to me?"
Harry shook his head.
Moony's eyes narrowed. "I want you all in my office. Now!"
Ron groaned and glumly began walking towards Moony's office. Granger followed at a distance. Moony turned to Harry.
"I meant you too."
"I know, sir," Harry said, unable to meet his uncle's eyes, "But...I've got detention with Snape in a few minutes.
Moony took a moment to consider this before nodding. "Very well then, I want you in my office immediately afterward, understood?"
"Yes, sir," Harry said. He watched Moony walk off after Granger and Ron and then slowly made his way down to the dungeons for detention with Snape.
Harry arrived at Snapes office at almost exactly seven, but the Potion's Master still saw fit to deduct a house point for tardiness. To Harry's surprise that was the worst part of the entire detention. He spent the rest of the hour scrubbing out disgusting cauldrons while Snape graded papers. The potion's master would look up from his papers periodically to criticize Harry's cleaning methods, but otherwise left him alone.
When the hour was over and Harry was preparing to leave, Snape stopped him.
"One more thing, Potter," he said. He stood from his desk and walked to a smoking cauldron at the end of the room. He dipped a ladle into the potion and funneled it into a glass flask. He put a stopper in the flask and handed it to Harry. "Take this to Professor Lupin. I trust you can handle that?"
"Yes, sir," Harry said.
"Keep in mind that if anything happens to this potion, I will make sure you are expelled."
"Of course, sir."
Snape returned to his desk and continued grading papers. Harry left quickly before Snape saw fit to deduct more house points or saddle him with more detentions. He made his trek to Lupin's office quickly with the bottled potion carefully cradled in his hands. Upon arrival he found Moony's door open and walked in without announcing himself.
Moony sat at his desk with a pair of reading glasses perched on his nose as he looked through class papers.
"Take a seat, Harry."
Harry did as he was told, and offered Moony the bottle of potion. "Snape wanted me to give this to you."
Moony looked up from his papers. "Ah, thank you," he took the bottle from Harry, uncorked it and downed it's content without any hesitation. The face he made once he'd drank the entire potion made Harry think he'd been poisoned. "Ugh. You never get used to the taste."
"What is it?" Harry asked.
"Wolfsbane. It helps me with my...transformations. Professor Snape has been kind enough to brew it for me."
Moony took out his wand and vanished the flask, then he simply stared at Harry. It took Harry a moment to realize that he was waiting for him to say something.
"I'm... really sorry," Harry said because it was the only thing he could think to say.
"It's not me you should be apologizing to."
"I know, it's just... I didn't know what to do. Ron said he just wanted to talk to Hermione and next thing I know they're trying to curse each other."
"Harry," Moony said, "You knew exactly what you should have done, what I'm wondering is why didn't you do it?"
Harry was taken aback, "What was it I was supposed to do?"
"You should have stopped it. Stopped Ron from pulling out his wand, or stopped him from following Hermione in the first place."
"I tried," Harry said, though he knew he hadn't tried very hard. "I couldn't get Ron to listen to me."
"Ron's your friend, he should listen to you."
"He wouldn't."
"Then maybe he's not a very good friend."
Harry was once again taken aback, and this time he didn't know what to say.
"Listen, Harry," Moony said, "I'm not going to tell your mother about this because I don't want to put you through the embarrassment of getting a howler. I'm not giving you detention because I figure detention with Professor Snape is already punishment enough for you. And I don't want to know what you had to do to get those detentions with Snape, either."
Harry had a relieved smile on his face.
"I am going to take ten house points," Moony continued, causing the smile to fall off Harry's face, "And I want you to apologize to Hermione Granger, understood?"
"Yes, sir."
"Good. Now, get back to Gryffindor Tower and try to enjoy the rest of your Halloween without getting in trouble."
Once he arrived at the Gryffindor common room, Harry was immediately met by Ron.
"Did you talk to Lupin?" he asked.
Harry nodded.
"What'd he do to you?"
"Took off ten house points."
"That's it?" Ron asked, "He gave me detention!"
"I've already got two weeks worth of detention with Snape, he figured that was bad enough."
"Sounds like favoritism to me."
"Well, he also told me to apologize to Hermione."
Ron frowned. "He made me do that to. Practically had me on my knees in front of her. Then she apologized to me and you could tell she didn't mean it."
"I guess I better get that over with now."
Harry scanned the common room for the familiar bushy brown hair, but Ron grabbed his arm and pulled him towards a table.
"Don't waste your breath on her. We've got more important things to worry about."
"Like what?" Harry asked.
"Remember when I said I knew someone who could help us search the castle for that thing that's hidden?"
"Um..." Harry had forgotten all about the thing in the castle and his friends' decision to find it in the mess of the hectic day.
"Well, Fred and George know every secret passage in the castle, and they've already agreed to help us." Ron came to a stop and let go of Harry's arm. The table they'd stopped at was occupied by the Weasley Twins, who sat with their arms crossed and with mischievous smiles on their faces.
"Take a seat," Fred said in a businessman's tone.
Harry made sure to check the chair for any kind of pranks before he sat. Ron sat next to him.
"Word is you need help sneaking around the castle," George said.
"Er...yeah," Harry said.
"It'll cost you," Fred said.
"You're going to charge us?" Ron asked.
"Of course not," George said, "We wouldn't charge one of our Quidditch mates." He reached across the table and gave Harry a punch to the chest. Harry tried to hide his wince with a smile.
"But you, little brother," Fred said, "You'll have pay us. And we want our gold upfront."
"This is ridiculous!" Ron said.
"If you don't like it you can always just find someone else who knows all the castle's secrets," George said.
Ron groaned. "Okay, I'll pay you whatever you want."
"Excellent," George said.
"So, you'll help us?" Harry asked.
"Oh, no," Fred said, "We're much too busy."
"Then what were you just talking about?" Ron asked.
"We can't help you directly, but we can give you something that will help you," George said. He pulled out a blank piece of parchment and laid it on the table.
"A piece of parchment?" Ron asked, displeased.
George smirked and pulled out his wand. He touched the parchment with the tip of his wand and whispered, "I solemnly swear I am up to no good." Lines of ink appeared from George's wand tip and spread out onto the rest of the parchment. The lines of ink formed shapes on the parchment and before long Harry and Ron were staring at a map.
"What is it?" Harry asked in awe.
"The Marauder's Map," George said.
"We nicked from Filch's office in our first year," Fred said.
"Shows all of Hogwarts, even the secret passages," George said.
"Are those...people?" Harry asked, pointing to the dots moving about the map.
"Yep. Can even show you their names if you want it to," Fred said.
"It's amazing," Ron said.
"And it can be yours for the low, low price of ten Knuts a night," Fred said.
"We'll take it," Ron said with an awestruck smile.
"Great. Pleasure doing business with you gents," George said.
Harry and Ron took turns shaking the Twins' hands. The Twins departed, leaving Harry and Ron to study the incredible map.
"What's this bit at the top say?" Ron asked. "...Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs are proud to present..."
Harry's jaw dropped as he read over the names. "No way."
"What?"
"Nothing. I just remembered I need to talk to my dad about something."