Chapter 8 (An Old Piece of Parchment)
Ella and Sophie walked back to their common room, bursting into laughter whenever they thought about Snape.
Their little tricks had been a success! The whole school was talking about it. Ella and Sophie were celebrities!
Sure, they had about three weeks of detention and had lost their house 25 points each. But it was worth it. It was so worth it. Now no one could say they were just the Weasleys' accomplices.
Speaking of those two. Where were they? Ella and Sophie hadn't seen Fred or George all day. They hoped the twins weren't sore that they had been left out on the mischief.
Sophie and Ella gave the knight the password and entered their common room. What a day it had been!
They were surprised to see the twins sitting on the couch, grinning.
"How did you-" Sophie began.
Fred held out a hand.
"We just wanted to congratulate you guys on a job well done," he said. "And to show you this." He pulled a rather old looking piece of parchment out of his pocket.
"You see," continued George, "we've been wanting to show you this for ages, but we never felt you had earned it. Sure, you guys are amazing at pulling pranks, but there's more to it than that."
"You have to be master-minds," finished Fred. "Like us."
"But now-"
"We think you've earned it."
"What is it exactly?" asked Ella. "It just looks like a piece of parchment."
"And an old one at that," added Sophie.
"This," said Fred with a flourish, "is the Marauder's Map. Watch." He tapped the parchment with his wand and muttered, "I solemnly swear I am up to no good."
Ella and Sophie leaned over the couch, trying to see. Slowly a map of Hogwarts began to appear.
"Oh my gosh!" cried Ella. "There's me! And Fred . . . and George . . . it shows everyone in Hogwarts! Where on earth did you get it?"
"Stole it from Filch," said Fred matter-of-factly.
"Amazing," whispered Sophie, her eyes wide. "It shows all of the secret passages too!"
"Yup," said the Weasleys in unison. "The secret to our success."
"And when you're done with it," said Fred.
"You just tap it and say 'Mischief Managed' and it's wiped clean," finished George. Indeed, as soon as he touched the map with his wand the ink began to fade and it was a piece of parchment once more.
"And don't forget, or anyone can read it," added Fred.
"And that would be bad," said Sophie and Ella, catching on.
Fred handed Sophie the map.
"Well, we'd best be off," he said. "Loads of homework to do."
With that the Weasleys exited the room, leaving Ella and Sophie standing there, gaping.
