Everyone nodded. She sat a square of old, yellowed paper down on the table.
After a moment, Tess spoke. "What is it? Just parchment?"
"I find those all the time!" Renee piped up, nodding at them.
"It's not... Look..." Wendy flipped the paper square over and everyone gasped.
Right before them was...
... the piece of paper's other side.
It was still blank and crinkled with age, but had two flaps on it. After a moment of silence, Danny lifted the parchment flaps up. "I don't notice anything... What is it?" he asked.
"That was a bit of a let down, to be honest," Renee said disappointedly, leaning back on her arms on the rug. Selena had to agree. She was expecting a little more than just parchment - she'd seen enough of that with her homework.
Wendy rolled her chocolate eyes and took her wand from her robes, pressing it against the paper. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," she spoke clearly.
Ink suddenly flooded from the tip of her wand, spreading across the page like ebony veins. Small letters formed, some scrunching together in groups and shapes In a box were the words: Messrs Mooney, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs/ Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischeif-Makers/are proud to present/ THE MARAUDER'S MAP.
Selena's dark eyebrows rose. That was something. Renee leaned forward with Alisson, the two of them staring at the paper. Sasha and Tess exchanged a fascinated look, Tess seeming rather wary.
"Okay," Danny eventually said as Wendy smiled smugly. "So that was cool. But still. It doesn't explain much."
"You have to open the map, dummy!" Wendy said, prying open the parchment flaps with her wand.
The Gryffindors gathered around gasped. Inside the map was a diagram, seemingly endless pieces of paper that could be lifted to reveal more, tiny words making up walls. Little black splotches were moving across the map by magic, their ink trails vanishing behind them without staining the parchment. Loopy names were scrawled above the traveling dots.
"What is this?" Tess asked, amazed, mesmerized by the artifact.
"It's a magic map. Every passageway and every person from Hogwarts to Hogsmeade is listed. it shows where everyone is at this moment." She motioned to a round room marked 'GRYFFINDOR COMMON ROOM.' Inside were several black spots, all their names floating above. "It's amazing, isn't it?" Wendy asked. She twisted her wand in her hands, giving them all a hopeful look.
"Yes. But... how did you get it? And how did you get that Time-Turner?" Renee asked, looking up from the map.
Everyone turned to face Wendy, who tilted her head, her face shifting from a smile.
"Nuh-uh! Renee, don't get smart now!" Wendy said, plucking up the Time-Turner and dropping it safely into her pocket.
Renee made a face. "Um... thanks?"
"Wendy..." Selena said, glancing at her older friend as Wendy moved to pick up the map. "Seriously... How did you get this stuff?"
Wendy looked at them all, her hand hovering above the inky parchment. Silence settled in the dark Common Room, the fire hissing quietly. Finally, Wendy sighed in defeat. "The Time-Turner is mine, like I said... but the map... ireajhdekunt..." Wendy slurred the last word and no could hear it, tucking down her chin.
"What?" Tess asked.
"The map isn't exactly humehrj..." Wendy slurred the last word again.
"Wendy!" Renee exploded.
"Fine!" Wendy held up her hands in surrender. "The map isn't mine. George Weasley was down here and left it. At first, I went to return it to him... but then I found out what it was, he thought it was somewhere in his trunk, and I started to like this map. I've already been outside of Hogwarts at night. Night. I went down to Hogsmeade. Only Seventh Years can do that! I got to do that!" she gushed, her face lighting up as she beamed.
"You stole Fred Weasley's magic map?" Alisson asked, her teeth gritting together. "You told us you found it."
"Yeah. I did find it. Not stole. Borrowed. Without... him exactly... knowing I had it..." Wendy looked at them guiltily.
"Wendy, you have to give it back," Danny said, shaking his head.
"Fine. But not tonight. After I go one more place. Then, I'll give it back." She tapped the paper with her wand again. "Mischief managed," she said. Then, before Selena's eyes, all the ink dissapeared and it was like a normal piece of parchment again.
Wendy stood quickly, tucking the map into her pocket before anyone could stop her. "Goodnight. Sweet dreams." Hurriedly, she rushed to the stairs, climbing like she was running from Peeves. The ones left at the coffee table looked around at each other, still slightly stunned.
"I can't believe Wendy did that... She's not mean, she's not a liar, she's not a cheater. But she stole a map?" Selena asked them all, breaking the hush.
Danny shrugged. "I don't know. She said she'd give it back."
"Well, we'll hold her to that," Tess said. "I've had enough excitement for one day. Just... go to bed too." She yawned, standing up with Sasha.
"Agreed," Alisson replied. She stepped around the two girls without waiting for them, trudging up the staircase.
"Night," Danny said, heading to the opposite steps.
"Get Ree," Selena said quietly as she stood, stretching her arms.
Tess looked down at the curled form of their dorm mate. "She's asleep."
Selena thought for a moment. "Eh. She'll be fine." Taking a scarlet blanket from a squashy chair, she draped it over Renee. "Goodnight." With that, she, Sasha, and Tess all left the Common Room, thoughts of Time-Turners and maps swirling in their heads.
The Next Day
Selena woke up, stirred by a bird crowing outside her window. Feeling uneasy about going back to bed, she rolled over and swung her feet from the cozy covers. Early morning light filtered into the Dorm Room, gray beams catching dust motes floating through the air. Selena stepped over to the window, pressing her fingertips against the chilly panes. Saturday was off to a misty start, the grounds rolling with fog. Still, auburn, purple, and orange trees were beginning to cover the green lawns.
Crescent curled around Selena's ankles, purring happily. She smiled down at her pet, stroking his soft ears. Trying to be quiet as to not wake the others (or Shorty, for that matter,) she quickly changed into a red jacket and some jeans. It was cold out, so warm black boots and a Gryffindor scarf were necessary. Selena left the Dorm Room, pulling her hair back with an orange scrunchie. Perhaps a walk outside would help calm her. Maybe she could even stop by the Owlery and deliver a letter to her family.
Drifting towards the staircase, Selena's charm bracelet jingled merrily.
"Harry, you can't be going out alone. In plain sight! Well, someone could hurt you..." a strained voice said from the Common Room.
Selena stopped walking, recognizing the voice. Annabeth Black.
"Anne, I'm not... Like I said, I'm going to go to Hogsmeade with the cloak. Are you coming? Ron is still asleep, but what about Hermione?" Harry Potter replied.
Selena crouched down, peeking over the stone banister at them. Renee had somehow moved over to the couch during the night, slumbering through the whole conversation.
Harry had a nice-looking cloak on over his sweater and trousers. Annabeth was still wearing her blue nightgown, the dress hem reaching her toes. Her curly, fiery hair was lying around her shoulders, tangled in knots, probably from a restless sleep.
"Hermione is asleep as well. So, she could wake up. Lavender and Pavarti are, too. Ron, well, I have no worries that he'll stay asleep," Annabeth said, rubbing her arm.
Harry nodded and adjusted his glasses. "Alright. I'll be back in about in about... an hour. If they ask... say I'm at Hagrid's." Selena watched as the two Third Years hugged goodbye. Then, Harry walked out of the Common Room, the portrait swinging closed behind him. Annabeth sighed, shaking her head. She sat down on the couch, picking up a heavy book from a side table, beginning to read.
Selena stood up and swallowed. Just... don't look at her... Descending the pale steps, she let her hair sweep in front of face like a curtain, thankfully walking past without a problem.
She didn't look back as she left the Common Room.
20 Minutes Later
Selena walked around the craggy stone ledge to the Owlery, her hands stuffed in her jacket pockets, one of which contained a letter to her parents. Chin snuggled into her scarlet-and-orange scarf, she braced herself against the cold. The Owlery, up at the tippy-top of the West Tower, was drafty everyday. Being as cold and gray as it was, the wind was as biting as a Howler. Kicking a rock aside, Selena stepped through the Owlery doorway and just about ran into someone. The other person caught herself, smiling slightly as Selena. She scanned the young First Year as if sizing her up.
Selena did the same, sweeping the student in front of her. The girl's red hair billowed around in the chilled air, the strands seeming dyed. Blue eyes sparkled, bright and contrasting compared to the band T-shirt, leather jacket, dark skinny jeans, and biker boots she wore. A second student walked up behind her, a petite ginger girl bouncing on her toes to keep warm.
Recognizing them both from her own House, Selena cocked her head. "It's Ginny and... Alexanda, right?"
"Yes," the edgy first girl - Alexanda - replied. Her smile grew, dimples appearing. "Remind me again, is it Selena? You sit with Wendy and Danny a lot."
"Yeah," Selena replied, grinning. "They're pretty great. They showed me around the first few weeks of school."
Ginny nodded. "Wendy's a sweetheart."
A scuff of rock behind Selena made her turn to see a tall, red-headed boy with freckles like Ginny walking around the corner clutching a wrapped parcel. He looked up, noticing the three girls.
"Hello, sis," he said jovially. "Hullo, Alexanda... and... sorry, what was it again?" the boy asked, shivering in the Owlery doorway. Selena recognized him as one of the Weasley Twins (after just a month of attending Hogwarts, she'd been told of their legendary pranks) though whether it was Fred or George, she wasn't sure.
"Selena," she told him politely. "Nice to meet you..."
"Fred," he replied, a smile dancing across his face.
"Hello, Fred," Alexanda said sweetly as if he hadn't already greeted her, a light blush covering her face. Ginny rolled her brown eyes.
"Come on, Alexa... Let's go," Ginny started, grabbing her friend's wrist before she paused. "Oh, Selena, be careful up there. It's a bit slippery from the rain." With that, she rushed down the steps, Alexanda in tow, chattering away. Selena pulled her scarf up further to cover her nose, walking into the Owlery. Fred stopped at a particularly waspish owl at the bottom of the stone building, but Selena continued continued up the narrow steps, trailing a hand along on the rough rock for balance. A noise met her ears, a lovely sound, weaving through the hoots and screeches of the owls. Selena moved up the last steps, shivering by a window. A light-olive-skinned girl was crouched, tying a letter to an owl's clawed foot.
"The night is cold, and I am far from home..." she sang, and slowly stopped as she finished the letter's bow with a flourish. She smiled at her owl, lifting him through another open window. The barn owl spread his wings, leaping from her arm, and flew off. The girl brushed her hands on her shamrock sweater, turning around. She jumped, startled.
"Oh, um," Selena began awkwardly, realizing she'd been staring, "I'm sorry... I didn't mean to frighten you!"
The girl shook her head, hair swinging. It was an interesting color, reddish-light brown, wavy and shoulder-length. It was pulled back, a small pouf on top. The girl adjusted her over-sized tote bag.
"It's fine, no need to worry," she replied, even her normal voice melodic. "I'm Maryana Callahan. You're in my Potions class, I think."
"Yeah, that's right," Selena replied, smiling. "I'm Selena Malast."
"Ah, well, nice to meet you, Selena. I'd better get go-" Maryana stopped talking as she noticed Selena's Gryffindor scarf. Her luminescent green eyes narrowed before she shoved past Selena. "Out of my way."
Selena stumbled in surprise, catching herself on the wall. She glanced down the stairs, watching Maryana leave.
"Probably a Slytherin..." Selena whispered, shaking her head.
FINALLY! Sorry I haven't posted anything, I have a really sore throat and I was at the beach and school is uber-busy! So, thanks to you guys that check to see if I had updated. And I swear, I will NEVER take this long on another update. And sorry this chapter was a little long. But, it makes up for me missing so much time AND I introduced 2 new people! You'll want to remember their encounters with Selena though. That will come up later.
Alright, down to business! JemichanSeddie (Sorry If I spelled that wrong, I'm a tad tired right now) got the 100th review! So she chose the plot of what's going to happen later on in the story with the Map. AND I have no idea how she guessed that it was the Marauders Map! I think I had you all guessing that it was a photo of Annie and Sirius, right? Well, kudos to you all for guessing so well! Actually you all supplied my fire, because you all gave me the idea to make it seem like it was a photo! Haha!
Alright, Well, story recommendation: I Hate You by xbRiDgEt8319x
So, yup. There you have it.
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. If I DID, I would be rich and famous and adored. Haha. But, none of you think that I own it though. If you do though... awkward... Also, if I owned Harry Potter, Dobby and Fred wouldn't have died... Ah! Fred. Why, oh cruel fate? And, Crookshanks would have defeated Voldemort single pawed-ly! Ah-HaHaHa! I SOO picture that! Alright, well enough of my craziness,
Bye!
~Meghan
12/11/16: Editing again, here. I'd originally misspelled "awkward" in this A/N as ackward and "swear" as sware... awkward.