Author's Notes: This story is the effort of a group of dedicated Gryffindors, written for the house fan fiction contest at Third Floor Corridor. In this chapter, Pennilyn Novus was the author.
While we wish Harry Potter belonged to us, we do not own him, nor the books, nor the movies. They are owned by J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Books, Warner Brothers, and possibly a few others. No harm is intended, and no profit is being made.
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Chapter Twenty-Five
It turned out that getting into the private quarters of professors was definitely a task for a rat, as Peter had no problems slipping through the various cracks and holes in the walls. It was problematic for him to carry his wand and the map with him, but they quickly discovered that so long as he had them with him when he transformed, everywhere he walked as the rat automatically transferred to the map.
"So all that's left now is the other houses' common rooms," James whispered excitedly to Sirius and Peter on their way back to their common room. "And that won't be a problem for us at all, not with Wormtail, here."
Peter beamed happily but then froze. "Someone is coming!" he whispered urgently before transforming into the rat and scurrying away around the corner. James quickly pulled the cloak over his and Sirius's heads, and they stepped back into a nook, listening as a group of voices approached.
"Very worrying, indeed," McGonagall was saying as she hurried through the corridor, escorting half a dozen unfamiliar looking witches and wizards.
"My contact was quite vehement that Voldemort is trying to recruit members of this school," one of the unfamiliar wizards said.
"We'll discuss this more in the meeting, Arthur," McGonagall said. "Professor Dumbledore is waiting for you. And he'll be relieved to see you, Fabian, and Gideon. The Order was quite worried about you."
"No need to worry about us, Minerva," said one of the redheaded men Professor McGonagall had just addressed. "Gideon and I always land on our feet. We're like cats that way."
Professor McGonagall paused for just a moment, a hint of a smile on her face, and James felt himself seize up with humor. Not just anyone could get away with making a cat joke to Professor McGonagall. He felt Sirius shaking slightly beside him.
"Yeah, especially when we have Marlene watching our backs," the man named Gideon said.
A young looking witch following the group smiled as she walked past James and Sirius.
"Yeah, McKinnon is scary with that wand of hers in battle," Fabian said, glancing back at the witch.
"You're scary with your wand, period," she quipped as the group moved away from James and Sirius and rounded the corner.
Sirius grabbed James's arm and started after the group. "Come on," he whispered.
"What?" James asked, startled, scrambling to keep up with him.
"Voldemort is recruiting people in our school," he said, and James looked at him, surprised to see his face set in a serious expression. Suddenly, he understood Sirius hadn't been shaking with mirth. "My brother…" Sirius trailed off.
"Right," James said, catching on. "Let's go then."
However, when they turned the corner, they discovered their quarry had disappeared.
"Where the hell did they go?" Sirius whispered, looking agitated.
"I don't know," James said, turning in a slow circle. There was nowhere they could have gone, but they were definitely gone.
"I want to know what they're talking about! What's this 'Order' thing McGonagall is talking about? What's Voldemort doing recruiting people from our school? He's a Dark wizard!" Sirius ranted. "They can't keep us in the dark like this!"
"Padfoot, be quiet!" James hissed, putting a hand over his friend's mouth. "Are you trying to get us caught?"
Sirius glared at him until he removed his hand, and then he gestured sharply that they continue on to the common room.
Once they were safely behind the painting of the Fat Lady, Sirius shot out from under the cloak and began to pace rapidly. "That's my brother, Prongs. He's going to try to get my brother."
James didn't want to say anything, but he didn't think that Voldemort would have to try to get Regulus. He figured Regulus would go gladly.
"It's because Reg hangs out with Snape. He never was like he is now before he started hanging out with Snape."
James continued to hold his silence as Sirius ranted.
"Sure, he wanted to make our mother and father proud, so he wouldn't talk to me at home, but don't you remember our second year? How he would still talk to me here at school? And then he started hanging out with Snape and that all stopped. It's all Snape. I just wish…" Suddenly Sirius went quiet, and he got a strange look on his face.
"Padfoot, what is it?" James said, finding this silence more frightening than the rant.
"Nothing," Sirius said. "Forget I said anything. I'm going to bed."
James followed him upstairs, rolling his eyes when he discovered Peter already tucked away in his bed, feigning sleep. Privately, James had no idea how Peter had ended up in Gryffindor. James knew some Hufflepuffs that were braver than Peter was.
The following day, Sirius's strange silence continued, prompting Remus to ask James at lunch what had happened the night before. James filled him in as best he could.
"You're sure she said 'the Order'?" Remus asked, looking pale.
"Yeah," James said. "Do you know what that is?"
Remus didn't say anything for a moment. "Yeah, I do, Prongs. It's the Order of the Phoenix."
"The what? How do you know that?"
"Lily and I stumbled across strange people in the corridors during one of our patrols. When we asked them to identify themselves, one of them told us they were members of the Order of the Phoenix. Right after that Professor McGonagall appeared and sent them on their way and then she told Lily and me not to say anything to anyone. But I don't know why they were here or what they actually do."
"I think they're fighting Voldemort," James said.
"Well, that does make sense," Remus said softly, no trace of sarcasm in his voice. "And so Sirius overheard all of this and came to the conclusion that Snape is leading Regulus to Voldemort?"
"Yeah," James confirmed.
Remus sighed. "He's probably right, at least, partially. I'm sure being a part of the Black family doesn't help."
James paused, thinking about the way Sirius could have been, if he hadn't been so desperate to rebel again his family. He thought about life without his best friend, without his brother, about how it could have been if Sirius had ended up being like Snape and Regulus, and in Slytherin. He sighed, pushing his plate away.
Remus, too, pushed away his plate. James looked at him questioningly.
"I'm not feeling too well today," Remus admitted.
The full moon was the next night, James knew, and he smiled at Remus. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, we'll be finished with the you-know-what tonight."
Remus smiled brightly. "That is good news!"
That evening, Sirius's odd silence continued, but he came out with them to finish the map. And though Remus was exhausted, he also ventured out with them as they snuck into each common room behind unsuspecting first years. Inside the Slytherin common room, James spied Snape with his friends, and Regulus, crowded around a table in a far corner. He felt Sirius tense next to him.
Not here, James mentally pleaded with his friend, who remained under the cloak, clenching and unclenching his fists. Peter returned from his quick tour of the Slytherin dorms, and crawled up James's trouser leg. The map now finished, the boys had to wait for someone to let them out of the common room, and once outside and safely away, they began to celebrate.
Even Sirius broke his strange silence to whoop and laugh and jump around with the rest. "It's finished!" he crowed.
"Almost," Remus said. "Let's go apply the last potion and charms, and then we'll be done."
They hurried to the abandoned girls' bathroom on the second floor, where Moaning Myrtle sat on a sink and wept softly to herself.
"Boys in my bathroom!" she said, scandalized.
They ignored her, which only served to annoy her and make her weep louder.
"Myrtle," James said winningly. "Have you done something new with your hair?"
"Are you making fun of me?" she demanded, swooping across the bathroom and stopping in James's face. "Are you?"
"Leave the ghost alone, Prongs," Remus said, retrieving his potion vials and cauldron from where he'd stored them in the last stall.
While Myrtle continued to fuss and wail, Remus dropped the map into the cauldron and paused, looking around at the others. James met his gaze with a smile, barely able to breathe. They'd never gone to so much trouble on anything before, not even for their studies.
"This is it!" he said, uncorking the final vial.
He poured the potion onto the map, which smoked and hissed and was then silent. Still holding his breath, James reached into the cauldron and pulled out the map. He folded it open, suddenly confused. It was blank. "What the…?" he asked, showing the others.
Remus grinned and said clearly, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."
James watched, hardly able to believe it, as words and images began to appear on the parchment.
"'Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs, Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers are proud to present The Marauder's Map!'" he read aloud, looking up at Remus in amazement. "That's great! Why didn't you tell us you were doing that?"
"It was a surprise," Remus said, looking pleased. "Do you like it?"
"It's brilliant!" Sirius exclaimed, glancing down over James's shoulder and briefly looking up at Remus. Then he turned away again quickly, and he didn't say anything again for some time. Remus shot him a confused look, but then bent to examine the map again.
James watched, enthralled, as the tiny figure that represented Filch, following behind an even more miniscule figure that represented his cat walked down a corridor. James let his eyes roam in the direction it appeared Filch was heading, and found the bathroom where he and his friends were represented by four little figures labeled with their names were huddled together.
"Oh!" he exclaimed excitedly. "Look!" He pointed to themselves on the map, and they bent in wonderment.
Suddenly Remus scrambled to his feet. "Mischief Managed!" he said hurriedly, gathering their supplies and Banishing them. "Filch is coming!" he told them, stuffing the map in his pocket and waiting for James to catch up and cover them with the cloak. Just in time, he draped it over them, and the bathroom door banged open, revealing an out of breath Filch, panting and wheezing as he leaned against the door.
"Where are they?" he demanded, looking around the bathroom wildly. He lurched forward, ripping open each stall door. James ushered the others toward the door, and when Filch was occupied with the last stall, he opened the door and they slipped out silently.
They heard Filch bellow angrily and they took off at a run, heading back to the common room.
"That was brilliant!" James repeated again, leaning against their dorm room door a few minutes later. "Bloody brilliant! This was the best idea ever, Moony!" He crossed the room, pacing without direction. He paused and glanced at the map, which the other boys were studying with interest. "Do you see that? Anyone we would want to see, on our map! We'll never have to worry about Filch again!"
They stayed up a good chunk of the night, watching Filch and the professors roaming the halls. James watched with interest as Dumbledore paced back and forth in his office, pausing occasionally before starting to roam again.
More interesting to James, however, was the presence of people who didn't belong at the castle, like Fabian and Gideon Prewett, or Marlene McKinnon, or Dorcas Meadows, who was motionless at the front gates of the castle.