Part Twenty-Two
Lily- Okay, I think that this chapter might be a little more light-hearted.
Sirius- Why do you say that?
Lily- The title is The Marauder's Map
James- All right, Harry finds our map.
Others- (cheer)
Madam Pomfrey insisted on keeping Harry in the hospital wing for the rest of the weekend. He didn't argue or complain, but he wouldn't let her throw away the remnants of his Nimbus Two Thousand. He knew he was being stupid, knew that the Nimbus was beyond repair, but Harry couldn't help it; he felt as though he'd lost one of his best friends.
James- Wow, he's really attached to his broom. I wonder who gave it to him.
He had a stream of visitors, all intent on cheering him up. Hagrid sent him a bunch of earwiggy flowers that looked like yellow cabbages,
Sirius- Good old Hagrid.
and Ginny Weasley, blushing furiously turned up with a get-well card she had made herself, which sang shrilly unless Harry kept it shut under his bowl of fruit.
Lily- Well, it's the thought that counts, anyway.
The Gryffindor team visited again on Sunday morning, this time accompanied by Wood, who told Harry (in a hollow, dead sort of voice) that he didn't blame him in the slightest.
Remus- Sure sounds like he means it, too.
Ron and Hermione left Harry's bedside only at night. But nothing anyone said or did could make Harry feel any better because they knew only half of what was troubling him.
James- That doesn't sound good.
He hadn't told anyone about the Grim, not even Ron and Hermione, because he knew Ron would panic and Hermione would scoff. The fact remained, however, that it had now appeared twice, and both appearances had been followed by near-fatal accidents;
James- That is true.
Sirius- But, Harry, you didn't see the Grim. You saw me. I've been told I look like one in my animagus form. I can't tell you why those accidents happened, but it's a coincidence.
the first time, he had nearly been run over by the Knight Bus; the second, fallen fifty feet from his broomstick. Was the Grim going to haunt him until he died?
Lily- Now, Harry, you're being silly.
Was he going to spend the rest of his life looking over his shoulder for the beast?
And then there were the dementors. Harry felt sick and humiliated every time he thought of them. Everyone said the dementors were horrible, but no one else collapsed every time they went near one. No one else heard echoes in their head of their dying parents.
Lily- (gasps) No wonder he collapses. That would traumatize anyone.
Because Harry knew who that screaming voice belonged to now. He had heard her words, heard them over and over again during the night hours in the hospital wing while he lay awake, staring at the strips of moonlight on the ceiling.
James- Now, Harry, you can't dwell on this. You need to get some sleep and try to put this behind you so that you don't go insane.
When the dementors approached him, he heard the last moments of his mother's life, her attempts to protect him, Harry, from Lord Voldemort, and Voldemort's laughter before he murdered her...
Sirius- Don't worry, Harry, we are going to change things so this never happens.
Others- Too right.
Harry dozed fitfully, sinking into dreams full of clammy, rotted hands and petrified pleasing, jerking awake to dwell again on his mother's voice.
Lily- Well, I can kind of understand why he wants to think about it.
James- (puzzled) Why?
Lily- Because it's the first time he's heard my voice in twelve years.
Others- Oh...
It was a relief to return to the noise and bustle of the main school on Monday, where he was forced to think about other things, even if he had to endure Draco Malfoy's taunting.
Lily- Malfoy has no right to talk. He acted like a girl when he got hurt by Buckbeak.
Others- (laugh)
Malfoy was almost beside himself with glee at Gryffindor's defeat. He had finally taken off his bandages, and celebrated having the full use of both arms again by doing spirited imitations of Harry falling off his broom.
All- (glare at the book)
Malfoy spent much of their next Potions class doing dementor imitations across the dungeons; Ron finally cracked and flung a large, slippery crocodile heart at Malfoy, which hit him in the face and caused Snape to take fifty points from Gryffindor.
Lily- Well, Snape, if you had put a stop to it in the first place, Ron wouldn't have acted like that.
"If Snape's teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts again, I'm skiving off," said Ron as they headed toward Lupin's classroom after lunch.
Remus- Don't worry, Ron, I've had all weekend to recuperate.
"Check who's there, Hermione."
Hermione peered around the classroom door.
"It's okay."
Sirius- See, Remus wouldn't miss two days in a row.
Professor Lupin was back at work. It certainly looked as though he had been ill. His old robes were hanging more loosely on him and there were dark shadows beneath his eyes;
Remus- That's the problem with Lycanthropy, one of them, anyway, the fact that as soon as you recover from the last full moon, you have another one to contend with. The only times I don't look terrible right after the Full Moon, is when you guys are with me. The first morning after we spent the night together as animals, you should have seen Madam Pomfrey's face. It was priceless.
nevertheless, he smiled at the class as they took their seats, and they burst into an explosion of complaints about Snape's behavior while Lupin had been ill.
Sirius- Typical, I doubt many of them actually did the essay.
Remus- (nervously) Hermione will have.
Lily- Don't worry, Remus. Hermione will not judge you because of what you are.
"It's not fair, he was only filling in, why should he give us homework?"
James- Now, children, even substitute teachers are allowed to give out homework. Remember Professor Bane?
Others- (shudder)
"We don't know anything about werewolves-"
"-two rolls of parchment!"
"Did you tell Professor Snape we haven't covered them yet?" Lupin asked, frowning slightly.
James- Remus, you're taking this lightly.
Remus- Probably because I knew that he would try something like this.
The babble broke out again.
"Yes, but he said we were really behind-"
"-he wouldn't listen-"
Sirius- Not that that's a big surprise.
"-two rolls of parchment!"
Professor Lupin smiled at the look of indignation on every face.
"Don't worry. I'll speak to Professor Snape. You don't have to do the essay."
James- And I can just imagine the words that you will be having with Snivellous, too. Telling him in no uncertain terms to stick to your plans in future, and keep his big mouth shut.
Others- (nod)
"Oh no," said Hermione, looking very disappointed. "I've already finished it."
Remus- Why am I not surprised?
They had a very enjoyable lesson. Professor Lupin had brought along a glass box containing a hinkypunk, a little one-legged creature who looked as though he were made of wisps of smoke, rather frail and harmless looking.
Sirius- (bitterly) Looks can be deceiving.
Lily- How do you know?
Sirius- Let's just say my dear brother thought it would be funny to send me to a swamp-filled place and I had to find my way out.
James- (curiously) How old were you?
Sirius- Seven.
Others-...
"Lures travelers into bogs," said Professor Lupin as they took notes. "You notice the lantern dangling from his hand? Hops ahead-people follow the light-then-"
The hinkypunk made a horrible squelching noise against the glass.
All- (shudder)
When the bell rang, everyone gathered up their things and headed for the door, Harry among them, but-
"Wait a moment, Harry," Lupin called. "I'd like a word."
Harry doubled back and watched Professor Lupin covering the hinkypunk's box with a cloth.
"I heard about the match," said Lupin, turning back to his desk and starting to pile books into his briefcase, "and I'm sorry about your broomstick. Is there any chance of fixing it?"
James- Unfortunately not. It's gone for good.
"No," said Harry. "The tree smashed it to bits."
Lupin sighed.
"They planted the Whomping Willow the same year that I arrived at Hogwarts. People used to play a game, trying to get near enough to touch the trunk. In the end, a boy named Davey Gudgeon nearly lost an eye, and we were forbidden to go near it. No broomstick would have had a chance."
Lily- Now, Remus, I know that tone, and you are not to blame yourself for this. It was not your fault! It was the dementors.
Remus- (opens his mouth)
Lily- No arguments, Remus. Repeat after me. This is not my fault.
Remus- (reluctantly) This is not my fault.
Lily- Good.
Sirius/James- (stifle laughter)
"Did you hear about the dementors, too?" said Harry with difficulty.
Lupin looked at him quickly.
"Yes, I did. I don't think any of us have seen Professor Dumbledore that angry. They have been growing restless for some time... furious at his refusal to let them inside the grounds... I suppose they were the reason you fell?"
Lily- What else would it be?
"Yes," said Harry. He hesitated, and then the question he had to ask burst from him before he could stop himself. "Why? Why do they affect me like that? Am I just-"
Lily- (in exactly the same tone she had used on Remus) Harry, you will not talk like that.
"It has nothing to do with weakness," said Professor Lupin sharply as though he had read Harry's mind. "The dementors affect you worse than the others because there are horrors in your past that the others don't have."
James- Gee, whatever gave you that idea?
A ray of wintery sunlight fell across the classroom, illuminating Lupin's gray hairs and the lines on his young face.
Lily- Goodness, Remus, those last twelve years must have been really hard for you.
Remus- Yeah, losing all my friends who didn't care about my being a werewolf would do that.
"Dementors are among the foulest creatures that walk this earth.
Lily- What are the foulest?
James- People like Voldemort.
Lily- Oh.
They infest the darkest, filthiest places, they glory in decay and despair, they drain peace, hope and happiness out of the air around them. Even Muggles feel their presence, though they can't see them.
Get too close to a dementor and every good feeling, every happy memory will be sucked out of you. If it can, the dementor will feed on you long enough to reduce you to something like itself… soulless and evil. You'll be left with nothing but the worst experiences in your life. And the worst that happened to you, Harry, is enough to make anyone fall off their broom. You have nothing to be ashamed of."
James- Wow, Remus, I didn't know all that about dementors.
Remus- I must have learned all this when I got out of school. But I wonder why.
"When they get near me…" Harry stared at Lupin's desk, his throat tight. "I can hear Voldemort murdering my mum."
Lupin made a sudden motion with his arm as though to grip Harry's shoulder, but thought better of it.
Lily- Why?
Remus- A teacher can't do that to one of the students.
Lily- I suppose…
There was a moment's silence, then—
"Why did they have to come to the match?" said Harry bitterly.
Sirius- I expect it was because they sensed me there.
"They're getting hungry," said Lupin coolly, shutting his briefcase with a snap. "Dumbledore won't let them into the school, so their supply of human prey has dried up…
All- (shudder)
I don't think they could resist the large crowd around the Quidditch field. All that excitement… emotions running high… it was their idea of a feast."
"Azkaban must be terrible," Harry muttered. Lupin nodded grimly.
Lily- You've been there?
Remus- Must have been after Sirius was taken there.
"The fortress is set on a tiny island, way out to sea, but they don't need walls and water to keep the prisoners in, not when they're all trapped inside their own heads, incapable of a single cheerful thought.
Harmony- But what about thoughts of revenge? That isn't cheerful, but it's strong.
Sirius- Did you say something, Harmony?
Harmony- No.
Most of them go mad within weeks."
"But Sirius Black escaped from them," Harry said slowly. "He got away…"
Lupin's briefcase slipped from the desk; he had to stoop quickly to catch it.
James- Remus, whatever they are hiding from Harry, it seems that you know it, too.
Remus- Yeah. (And I think I might know what it is, or part of what it is. I just hope I'm wrong.)
"Yes," he said straightening up, "Black must have found a way to fight them. I wouldn't have believed it possible… Dementors are supposed to drain a wizard of his powers if he is left with them too long…"
"You made the dementor on the train back off," said Harry suddenly.
Lily- Maybe you can teach him how to do that, Remus.
Remus- I'd be happy to.
"There are—certain defenses one can use," said Lupin.
Remus- All of which wouldn't do Sirius much good, as he doesn't have a wand.
"But there was only one dementor on the train. The more there are, the more difficult it becomes to resist.
"What defenses?" said Harry at once. "Can you teach me?"
"I don't pretend to be an expert at fighting dementors, Harry… quite the contrary…"
Lily- Now, Remus, out of all of us, you were the first one to produce a Patronus.
"But if the dementors come to another Quidditch match, I need to be able to fight them…"
Remus- No arguments there.
Others- (nod)
Lupin looked into Harry's determined face, hesitated, then said, "Well… all right. I'll try and help. But it'll have to wait until next term, I'm afraid. I have a lot to do before the holidays. I chose a very inconvenient time to fall ill."
James- Now, Remus, you can't choose the time for a Full Moon.
Remus- I know, but I can't tell that to Harry, can I?
What with the promise of anti-dementor lessons from Lupin, the thought that he might never have to hear his mother's death again, and the fact that Ravenclaw flattened Hufflepuff in their Quidditch match at the end of November, Harry's mood took a definite upturn.
Lily- Thank goodness. I hated hearing about him being depressed.
Others- (nod)
Gryffindor was not out of the running after all, although they could not afford to lose another match.
James- That won't happen. Remus will help him arm himself, and Dumbledore won't let them anywhere near the field.
Wood became repossessed of his manic energy, and worked his team as hard as ever in the chilly haze of rain that persisted into December. Harry saw no hint of a dementor within the grounds.
Dumbledore's anger seemed to be keeping them at their stations at the entrances.
Sirius- That's where they need to stay.
Two weeks before the end of term, the sky lightened suddenly to a dazzling, opaline white, and the muddy grounds were revealed one morning covered in glittering frost. Inside the castle, there was a burst of Christmas in the air. Professor Flitwick, the Charms teacher, had already decorated his classroom with shimmering lights that turned out to be real, fluttering fairies.
Lily- How beautiful.
The students were all happily discussing their plans for the holidays. Both Ron and Hermione had decided to remain at Hogwarts, and though Ron said it was because he couldn't stand two weeks with Percy, and Hermione insisted she needed to use the library, Harry wasn't fooled; they were doing it to keep him company, and he was grateful.
Remus- I remember when you did that our second year. I should have realized that you were there because that was the year that the full moon was on Christmas and you wanted to reveal that you knew what I was.
Lily- How did they do that?
Remus- Well, Sirius was up waiting for me when I got back to the Common Room the next morning. When I saw him there, I knew that everything was out in the open. I was so scared. I just knew that they would hate me. But they didn't.
Lily- (turning to the others) How long had you known, by that time?
James- We had known since November's full moon. We had been told by Remus that he would be in the Infirmary for the day because of a stomach-ache, but that day we had a detention in the hospital wing and he wasn't there. That got us to thinking. We thought back on all the times that we had known Remus to be gone and realized they all coincided with the full moon.
Sirius- I went to Remus and asked him straight out. I could see in his eyes that he knew that we knew. That's when the others came down and we convinced him that we didn't care that he was a werewolf. That he was a decent person who had a terrible experience once a month. After that we
tried to find out as much as we could about Lycanthropy and what we could do to help.
Lily- Wow, is there anything you wouldn't do to help a friend?
Others- No!
To everyone's delight, except Harry's, there was to be another Hogsmeade trip on the very last weekend of the term.
"We can do all our Christmas shopping there!" said Hermione. "Mum and Dad would really love those Toothflossing Stringmints from Honeydukes."
Lily- It would certainly interest them as they are Muggles.
Resigned to the fact that he would be the only third year staying behind again, Harry borrowed a copy of Which Broomstick from Wood, and decided to spend the day reading up on the different makes. He had been riding one of the school brooms at team practices, an ancient Shooting Star, which was very slow and jerky; he definitely needed a new broom of his own.
Sirius- Don't worry, Harry, I will probably get a Firebolt for you for Christmas.
Others- (stare at him)
Sirius- What!
On the Saturday morning of the Hogsmeade trip, Harry bid a good-bye to Ron and Hermione, who were wrapped in cloaks and scarves, then turned up the marble staircase alone, and headed back toward Gryffindor Tower. Snow had started to fall outside the windows, and the castle was very still and quiet.
"Psst-Harry!"
He turned, halfway along the third-floor corridor, to see Fred and George peering out at him from behind a statue of a hump-backed one-eyed witch.
Marauders- Excellent!
Lily- What?
James- You'll see.
"What are you doing?" said Harry curiously. "How come you're not going to Hogsmeade?"
"We've come to give you a bit of festive cheer before we go," said Fred with a mysterious wink. "Come in here..."
He nodded toward an empty classroom to the left of the one-eyed statue. Harry followed Fred and George inside. George closed the door quietly and then turned, beaming, to look at Harry.
James- They have it.
Lily- What?
James- Our map.
Sirius- Sweet. Harry will be able to get to Hogsmeade after all.
"Early Christmas present for you, Harry" he said.
Fred pulled something from inside his cloak with a flourish and laid it on one of the desks. It was a large, square, very worn piece of parchment, with nothing written on it. Harry suspecting one of Fred and George's jokes stared at it.
"What's that supposed to be?"
"This, Harry, is the secret of our success," said George, patting the parchment fondly.
Marauders- Ours, too.
Lily- A blank piece of parchment?
Marauders- (laugh)
"It's a wrench giving it to you," said Fred, "but we decided last night, your needs greater than ours."
"Anyway, we know it by heart," said George. "We bequeath it to you. We don't really need it anymore."
James- Rubbish. Just because you know all its secrets, doesn't mean you don't need it anymore.
"And what do I need with a bit of old parchment?" said Harry.
"A bit of old parchment?" said Fred, closing his eyes with a grimace as though Harry had mortally offended him. "Explain, George."
"Well... when we were in our first year, Harry- young, carefree, and innocent-"
Marauders- (snort)
Harry snorted. He doubted whether Fred and George had ever been innocent.
"-well more innocent than we are now- we got into a spot of bother with Filch."
"We let off a Dungbomb in the corridor and it upset him for some reason-"
Lily- (sarcastically) I can't understand why.
"So he hauled us off to his office and started threatening us with the usual-"
"-detention-"
-disembowelment-"
"-and we couldn't help noticing a drawer in one of his filing cabinet marked Confiscated and Highly Dangerous."
Lily- (looking at the Marauders) How much of the stuff in that drawer is yours?
Marauders- (whistle innocently)
Lily- (snorts in disgust)
"Don't tell me-" said Harry, starting to grin.
"Well, what would you have done?" said Fred. "George caused a diversion by dropping another Dungbomb, I whipped the drawer open and grabbed- this."
"It's not as bad as it sounds, you know," said George. "We don't reckon Filch ever found out how to work it. He probably suspected what it was, though, or he wouldn't have confiscated it."
James- Either that, or he knew it was possibly dangerous because we had it with us, when he confiscated it.
"And you know how to work it?"
"Oh, yes," said Fred, smirking. "This little beauty's taught us more than all the teachers in this school."
James- Imagine that.
"You're winding me up," said Harry, looking at the ragged old bit of parchment.
Sirius- It looks like that so that no one would ever think twice about it.
"Oh, are we?" said George.
He took out his wand, touched the parchment lightly, and said, "I solemnly swear I am up to no good."
Remus- I wonder how long it took them to figure it out.
And at once, thin ink lines began to spread like a spider's web from the point that George's wand had touched. They joined each other, they crisscrossed, they fanned into every corner of the parchment; then words began to blossom across the top, great, curly, green words, that proclaimed
Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs
Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief Makers
are proud to present
The Marauder's Map
Marauders- (cheer)
It was a map showing every detail of the Hogwarts castle and grounds. But the truly remarkable thing were the tiny ink dots moving around it, each labeled with a name in minuscule writing.
Lily- (sounding impressed) How long did you work on this?
James- About a year.
Lily- Wow.
Astounded Harry bent over it. A labeled dot in the top left corner showed that Professor Dumbledore was pacing his study; the caretaker's cat, Mrs. Norris, was prowling the second floor; and Peeves the Poltergeist was currently bouncing around the trophy room. And as Harry's eyes traveled up and down the familiar corridors, he noticed something else.
The map showed a set of passages he had never entered.
James- Of course not, they are secret.
And many of them seemed to lead-
"Right into Hogsmeade," said Fred, tracing one of them with his finger. "There are seven in all. Now, Filch knows about these four"- he pointed them out- "but we're sure we're the only ones who know about these. Don't bother with the one behind the mirror on the fourth floor. We used it until last winter, but it's caved in- completely blocked.
Sirius- Awww, I liked that passage.
And we don't reckon anyone's ever used this one, because the Whomping Willow's planted right over the entrance. But this one here, this one leads right into the cellar of Honeydukes. We've used it loads of times. And as you might've noticed, the entrance is right outside this room, through that one-eyed old crone's hump."
"Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs," sighed George, patting the heading of the map. "We owe them so much."
"Noble men, working tirelessly to help a new generation of law-breakers," said Fred solemnly.
James- Nice to know we still have fans.
Lily- (smiles)
"Right," said George briskly. "Don't forget to wipe it after you've used it-"
"-or anyone can read it," Fred said warningly.
Sirius- Yeah, it was only meant for Gryffindors, and only if they were up to no good.
"Just tap it again and say,'Mischief Managed!" And it'll go blank."
"So, young Harry," said Fred, in an uncanny impersonation of Percy, "mind you behave yourself."
James- They are so good. Who here votes that they become official members of the Marauders? Lily, you can vote, too.
Lily- Aye!
Sirius- Aye!
Remus- Aye!
James- It's unanimous, then. Fred and George Weasley, though they aren't born yet, are official members of the Marauders.
"See you in Honeydukes," said George, winking.
They left the room, both smirking in a satisfied sort of way.
Harry stood there, gazing at the miraculous map. He watched the tiny ink Mrs. Norris turn left and pause to sniff at something on the floor.
James- Wait, I've never seen the map show what the person is actually doing before.
Remus- Me either. Maybe it is the fact that Harry is your son.
James- Maybe.
If Filch really didn't know... he wouldn't have to pass the dementors at all...
All- (smile)
But even as he stood there, flooded with excitement, something Harry had once heard Mr. Weasley say came floating out of his memory.
'Never trust anything that can think for itself, if you can't see where it keeps its brain.'
Lily- That's good advice.
James- Yeah, but we made that map, there is nothing dangerous about it.
Lily- We know that, but Harry doesn't.
This map was one of those dangerous magical objects Mr. Weasley had been warning against... Aids for Magical Mischief Makers... but then, Harry reasoned, he only wanted to use it to get into Hogsmeade, it wasn't as though he wanted to steal anything or attack anyone...
James- It wouldn't work then, anyway.
Lily- What?
Remus- We safeguarded it so that no one could use it for truly evil designs.
James- Pranks don't count. You need to be trying to torture or kill someone to not be able to use it.
Lily- Oh.
and Fred and George had been using it for years without anything horrible happening...
Harry traced the secret passage to Honeydukes with his finger.
James- Oh, Harry, just go, you need to have a little fun.
Then, quite suddenly, as though following orders, he rolled up the map, stuffed it inside his robes, and hurried to the door of the classroom. He opened it a couple of inches. There was no one
outside. Very carefully, he edged out of the room and behind the statue of the one-eyed witch.
James- Yeah, he's going to go to Hogsmeade.
Others- (smile with delight)
What did he have to do? He pulled out the map again and saw, to his astonishment, that a new ink figure had appeared upon it, labeled Harry Potter. This figure was standing exactly where the real Harry was standing, about halfway down the third-floor corridor. Harry watched carefully. His little ink self appeared to be tapping the witch with his minute wand. Harry quickly took out his real wand and tapped the statue. Nothing happened. He looked back at the map. The tiniest speech bubble had appeared next to his figure. The word inside said, "Dissendium."
Sirius- It took us a month to learn how to do that. Get into the statue, I mean. After that, you couldn't keep us out of Hogsmeade.
"Dissendium!" Harry whispered, tapping the stone witch again.
At once the statue's hump opened wide enough to admit a fairly thin person. Harry glanced quickly up and down the corridor, then tucked the map away again, hoisted himself into the hole headfirst, and pushed himself forward.
He slid a considerable way down what felt like a stone slide, then landed on cold, damp earth. He stood up, looking around. It was pitch dark. He held up his wand, muttered, "Lumos!" and saw that he was in a very narrow, low, earthy passageway. He raised the map, tapped it with the tip of his wand, and muttered, "Mischief managed!" The map went blank at once.
Lily- Did you guys ever get caught with the map?
Sirius- Yes, but we had already wiped it blank and we told Professor Flitwick that it was just some old parchment.
Lily- He believed you?
Marauders- (nod)
Lily- Strange.
He folded it carefully, tucked it inside his robes, then, heart beating fast, both excited and apprehensive, he set off.
The passage twisted and turned, more like the burrow of a giant rabbit than anything else. Harry hurried along it, stumbling now and then on the uneven floor, holding his wand out in front of him.
It took ages, but Harry had the thought of Honeydukes to sustain him. After what felt like an hour, the passage began to rise. Panting, Harry sped up, his face hot, his feet very cold.
James- It only takes about twenty minutes to get to Hogsmeade by this route. But when you are excited, it seems to take forever.
Sirius/Remus- (nod)
Ten minutes later, he came to the foot of some worn stone steps, which rose out of sight above him. Careful not to make any noise, Harry began to climb. A hundred steps, two hundred steps, he lost count as he climbed, watching his feet... Then, without warning, his head hit something hard.
Sirius- That hurts. I remember when I did that the first time.
Lily- What the first time you went through that tunnel, or the first time you hit your head.
Sirius- No comment.
James/Remus- (snicker)
It seemed to be a trapdoor. Harry stood there, massaging the top of his head, listening. He couldn't hear any sounds above him. Very slowly, he pushed the trapdoor open and peered over the edge.
He was in a cellar, which was full of wooden crates and boxes. Harry climbed out of the trapdoor and replaced it- it blended so perfectly with the dusty floor that it was impossible to tell it was there.
James- Which would make it a great escape route if someone needed to get away from another person in a hurry and back to the safety of Hogwarts.
Lily- (Sarcastically) Wow, James, that made sense.
James- Well, I think that is what it was for, initially. But over the years, people have forgotten about it. Though I'm not too sure that Dumbledore has. We have had some close calls with him by that statue.
Harry crept slowly toward the wooden staircase that led upstairs. Now he could definitely hear voices, not to mention the tinkle of a bell and the opening and shutting of a door.
Wondering what he ought to do,
Sirius- Well, that should be obvious. You should go upstairs and lose yourself in the crowd.
he suddenly heard a door open much closer at hand; somebody was about to come downstairs.
All- Hide!
"And get another box of Jelly Slugs, dear, they've nearly cleaned us out-" said a woman's voice.
A pair of feet was coming down the staircase. Harry leapt behind an enormous crate and waited for the footsteps to pass. He heard the man shifting boxes against the opposite wall. He might not get another chance-
Remus- So get going already.
Quickly and silently, Harry dodged out from his hiding place and climbed the stairs; looking back, he saw an enormous backside and shiny bald head, buried in a box.
Sirius- The man must like sampling his merchandise.
Others- (snicker)
Harry reached the door at the top of the stairs, slipped through it, and found himself behind the counter of Honeydukes- he ducked, crept sideways, and then straightened up.
James- Yeah, he's in.
Honeydukes was so crowded with Hogwarts students that no one looked twice at Harry. He edged among them, looking around, and
suppressed a laugh as he imagined the look that would spread over Dudley's piggy face if he could see where Harry was now.
Lily- Thank goodness, Dudley will never go there. Those people would be able to retire on what Petunia and Vernon would spend on Dudley and then there wouldn't be a candy store in Hogsmeade anymore.
There were shelves upon shelves of the most succulent-looking sweets imaginable. Creamy chunks of nougat, shimmering pink squares of coconut ice, fat, honey-colored toffees; hundreds of different kinds of chocolate in neat rows; there was a large barrel of Every Flavor Beans, and another of Fizzing Whizbees, the levitating sherbet balls that Ron had mentioned; along yet another wall were "Special Effects" sweets Droobles Best Blowing Gum (which filled the room with bluebell-colored bubbles that refused to pop for days), the strange, splintery Toothflossing Stringmints, tiny black Pepper Imps ("breathe fire for your friends!"), Ice Mice ("hear your teeth chatter and squeak!"), peppermint creams shaped like toads ("hop realistically in the stomach!", fragile sugar-spun quills, and exploding bonbons.
Lily- (turns and sees that the boys are drooling) Guys, it's just a candy store.
Marauders- (stare at her as if she's crazy)
Harry squeezed himself through a crowd of sixth years and saw a sign hanging in the farthest corner of the shop (UNUSUAL TASTES). Ron and Hermione were standing underneath it, examining a tray of blood-flavored lollipops.
Sirius- (makes a face) Ugh!
Lily- (disbelievingly) You tried one!
Sirius- Those two dared me.
James- You didn't have to take us up on it.
Sirius- (snorts in disbelief)
Harry sneaked up behind them.
"Ugh, no, Harry won't want one of those, they're for vampires, I expect," Hermione was saying.
"How about these?" said Ron, shoving a jar of Cockroach Clusters under Hermione's nose.
Lily- Ugh! Gross!
Boys- (laugh)
"Definitely not," said Harry.
Ron nearly dropped the jar.
"Harry!" squealed Hermione. "What are you doing here? How-how did you-?"
"Wow!" said Ron, looking very impressed, "you've learned to Apparate!"
"Course I haven't," said Harry. He dropped his voice so that none of the sixth years could hear him and told them about the Marauders' Map.
"How come Fred and George never gave it to me!" said Ron outraged. "I'm their brother!"
"But Harry isn't going to keep it!" said Hermione, as though the idea were ludicrous. "He's going to hand it in to Professor McGonagall, aren't you, Harry?"
Sirius- Uh-oh, here comes another fight.
Others- (groan)
"No, I'm not!" said Harry.
"Are you mad?" said Ron, goggling at Hermione. "Hand in something that good?"
James- Besides, it would get Remus in trouble as they would know who wrote it and he's the only one around that can still get in trouble.
"If I hand it in, I'll have to say where I got it! Filch would know that Fred and George had nicked it!"
James- That, too.
"But what about Sirius Black?" Hermione hissed. "He could be using one of the passages on that map to get into the castle! The teachers have got to know!"
Sirius- One, most of the passages require a wand, and two, Remus would have thought of that.
"He can't be getting in through a passage," said Harry quickly. "There are seven tunnels on the map, right? Fred and George reckon Filch already knows about four of them. And of the other three- one of them's caved in, so no one can get through it. One of them's got the Whomping Willow planted over the entrance, so you can't get out of it. And the one I came through- well- it's really hard to see the entrance to it down in the cellar, so unless he knew it was there..."
Sirius- The passage with the Whomping Willow on top of it wouldn't work anyway, because it doesn't go into the castle.
Harry hesitated. What if Black did know the passage was there?
Sirius- It doesn't matter, Harry. I would never hurt you.
Ron, however, cleared his throat significantly, and pointed to a notice pasted on the inside of the sweetshop door.
BY ORDER OF
THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC
CUSTOMERS ARE REMINDED THAT UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE, DEMENTORS WILL BE PATROLLING THE STREETS OF HOGSMEADE EVERY NIGHT AFTER SUNDOWN. THIS MEASURE HAS BEEN PUT IN PLACE FOR THE SAFETY OF HOGSMEADE RESIDENTS AND WILL BE LIFTED UPON THE RECAPTURE OF SIRIUS BLACK.
Sirius- Wow, I have always wanted to be famous. But this is ridiculous.
IT IS THEREFORE ADVISABLE THAT YOU COMPLETE YOUR SHOPPING WELL BEFORE NIGHTFALL.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
James- It doesn't sound like Harry, Ron, and Hermione have much time left then.
Others- (nod)
"See?" said Ron quietly. "I'd like to see Black try and break into Honeydukes with dementors swarming all over the village. Anyway, Hermione, the Honeydukes owners would hear a break-in, wouldn't they? They live over the shop!"
James- Not necessarily. Sirius is a Marauder. We've gone there several times after hours, they don't hear a thing.
Lily- James!
Remus- Relax, Lily, we always pay for the stuff we take. It's not really stealing.
Lily- Hmph!
"Yes, but- but-" Hermione seemed to be struggling to find another problem. "Look, Harry still shouldn't be coming into Hogsmeade. He hasn't got a signed form! If anyone finds out, he'll be in so much trouble! And it's not nightfall yet- what if Sirius Black turns up today? Now?"
Lily- She has a point.
Sirius- (looks at her in alarm)
Lily- Now, Sirius, I'm not saying you would do anything. But if there really was a killer after Harry and he was out in plain sight. It would be easy for the killer to hurt Harry before Ron and Hermione could get help.
Sirius- (begrudgingly) I guess you're right.
"He'd have a job spotting Harry in this," said Ron, nodding through the mullioned windows at the thick, swirling snow. "Come on, Hermione, it's Christmas. Harry deserves a break."
Lily- That and the fact that Sirius isn't after Harry, is the only reason that I'm not mad at Harry for going.
Hermione bit her lip, looking extremely worried.
"Are you going to report me?" Harry asked her, grinning.
"Oh- of course not- but honestly, Harry-"
"Seen the Fizzing Whizbees, Harry?" said Ron, grabbing him and leading him over to their barrel. "And the jelly slugs? And the Acid Pops? Fred gave me one of those when I was seven- it burnt a hole right through my tongue.
Lily- I bet his mother was furious.
James- Why? It was just a joke.
Lily- (sighs)
I remember Mum walloping him with her broomstick." Ron stared broodingly into the Acid Pop box. "Reckon Fred'd take a bit of Cockroach Cluster if I told him they were peanuts?"
Sirius- Doubtful. It's hard to prank a prankster.
When Ron and Hermione had paid for all their sweets, the three of them left Honeydukes for the blizzard outside.
Hogsmeade looked like a Christmas card; the little thatched cottages and shops were all covered in a layer of crisp snow; there were holly wreaths on the doors and strings of enchanted candles hanging in the trees.
Lily- How beautiful. I love Hogsmeade weekend just before Christmas.
Harry shivered; unlike the other two, he didn't have his cloak. They headed up the street, heads bowed against the wind, Ron and Hermione shouting through their scarves.
"That's the post office-"
"Zonko's is up there-"
"We could go to the Shrieking Shack-"
Remus- It's not that great. Why does everyone keep bringing it up?
"Tell you what," said Ron, his teeth chattering, "shall we go for a butterbeer in the Three Broomsticks?"
James- Yeah, Madame Rosmerta won't tell on you. She liked us.
Lily- Really?
Sirius- Yeah, she never cared what time of the day or night we showed up, she always let us in.
Harry was more than willing; the wind was fierce and his hands were freezing, so they crossed the road, and in a few minutes were entering the tiny inn.
It was extremely crowded, noisy, warm, and smoky. A curvy sort of woman with a pretty face was serving a bunch of rowdy warlocks up at the bar.
"That's Madam Rosmerta," said Ron. "I'll get the drinks, shall I?" he added, going slightly red.
James- Ooohh, I think someone has a crush.
Sirius- That was a long time ago, and you promised never to mention it.
Remus- Uh, Sirius, he wasn't talking about you.
Sirius- I... (blushes)
Others- (snicker)
Harry and Hermione made their way to the back of the room, where there was a small, vacant table between the window and a handsome Christmas tree, which stood next to the fireplace. Ron came back five minutes later, carrying three foaming tankards of hot butterbeer.
All- MMMmmmm...
"Merry Christmas!" he said happily, raising his tankard.
Harry drank deeply. It was the most delicious thing he'd ever tasted and seemed to heat every bit of him from the inside.
James- That's the good thing about Butterbeer. I'm sure that it's a remedy for something.
Lily- It is.
James- What?
Lily- Frostbite.
A sudden breeze ruffled his hair. The door of the Three Broomsticks had opened again. Harry looked over the rim of his tankard and choked.
Professors McGonagall and Flitwick had just entered the pub with a flurry of snowflakes, shortly followed by Hagrid, who was deep in conversation with a portly man in a lime-green bowler hat and a pinstriped cloak- Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic.
All- Uh-oh.
James- This is so not good.
Lily- They'll be seen.
In an instant, Ron and Hermione had both placed hands on top of Harry's head and forced him off his stool and under the table. Dripping with butterbeer and crouching out of sight, Harry clutched his empty tankard and watched the teachers' and Fudge's feet move toward the bar, pause, then turn and walk right toward him.
Sirius- Do something, Hermione.
Lily- Why Hermione?
Sirius- She's the one that has all the good ideas.
Somewhere above him, Hermione whispered, "Mobiliarbus!"
Lily- Thanks, Hermione.
The Christmas tree beside their table rose a few inches off the ground, drifted sideways, and landed with a soft thump right in front of their table, hiding them from view.
James- Good, now no one will see them.
Others- (breathe a sigh of relief)
Staring through the dense lower branches, Harry saw four sets of chair legs move back from the table right beside theirs,
Sirius- Wow, within touching distance. I remember a time when we all were that close to Filch while under the Invisibility Cloak. We were sure we'd be caught.
then heard the grunts and sighs of the teachers and minister as they sat down.
Next he saw another pair of feet, wearing sparkly turquoise high heels, and heard a woman's voice.
James- (sarcastically) No he heard a male's voice and almost died from the shock of a man wearing high heels.
Others- (snicker)
"A small gillywater-"
"Mine," said Professor McGonagall's voice.
(AN What is gillywater?)
"Four pints of mulled mead-"
Remus- (sarcastically) Gee, I wonder who that would be for.
"Ta, Rosmerta," said Hagrid.
"A cherry syrup and soda with ice and umbrella-"
Lily- Mmmm.
"Mmm!" said Professor Flitwick, smacking his lips.
Others- (stare at Lily)
Lily- (blushes) What!
"So you'll be the red currant rum, Minister."
James- What else would he have?
"Thank you, Rosmerta, m'dear," said Fudge's voice. "Lovely to see you again, I must say. Have one yourself, won't you? Come and join us..."
Lily- Wow, she sure is popular.
"Well, thank you very much, Minister."
Harry watched the glittering heels march away and back again. His heart was pounding uncomfortably in his throat. Why hadn't it occurred to him that this was the last weekend of the term for the teachers, too?
Lily- Because you were having too much fun.
And how long were they going to sit there? He needed time to sneak back into Honeydukes if he wanted to return to school tonight...
Lily- Where else would you go?
Hermione's leg gave a nervous twitch next to him.
"So, what brings you to this neck of the woods, Minister?" came Madam Rosmerta's voice.
Remus- Yeah, he hardly ever goes to Hogsmeade, especially in this weather.
Harry saw the lower part of Fudge's thick body twist in his chair as though he were checking for eavesdroppers.
James- Which means one of two things. Either he thinks what he has to say is a state secret. Or he wants to make himself look important.
Lily- (disgustedly) Or both.
Then he said in a quiet voice, "What else, m'dear, but Sirius Black? I daresay you heard what happened up at the school at Halloween."
Sirius- Yeah, Hagrid probably told her.
"I did hear a rumor," admitted Madam Rosmerta.
"Did you tell the whole pub, Hagrid?" said Professor McGonagall exasperatedly.
James- Probably. He can't keep his mouth shut after a couple of drinks.
"Do you think Black's still in the area, Minister?" whispered Madam Rosmerta.
Sirius- If I haven't got what I came for in the first place, probably.
"I'm sure of it," said Fudge shortly.
"You know the dementors have searched the whole village twice?" said Madam Rosmerta, a slight edge to her voice. "Scared all my customers away... It's very bad for business, Minister."
Lily- I can imagine.
"Rosmerta, m'dear, I don't like them any more than you do," said Fudge uncomfortably. "Necessary precaution... unfortunate, but there you are... I've just met some of them. They're in a fury against Dumbledore- he won't let them inside the castle grounds."
James- (disgustedly) I wonder why. After what they nearly did to my son.
And Harry's not the only one there that has a terrible past, I'm sure.
"I should think not," said Professor McGonagall sharply. "How are we supposed to teach with those horrors floating around?"
"Hear, hear!" squeaked tiny Professor Flitwick, whose feet were dangling a foot from the ground.
"All the same," demurred Fudge, "they are here to protect you all from something much worse... We all know what Black's capable of..."
Remus- I think we are now going to learn what it is that they are keeping from Harry. And I have a feeling that we won't like it at all.
Others- (shudder)
"Do you know, I still have trouble believing it," said Madam Rosmerta thoughtfully. "Of all the people to go over to the Dark Side, Sirius Black was the last I'd have thought... I mean, I remember him when he was a boy at Hogwarts. If you'd told me then what he would have become, I'd have said you'd had too much mead."
Lily- There was a mistake, Sirius would never do what they accused him of.
He's innocent.
"You don't know that half of it, Rosmerta," said Fudge gruffly. "The worst he did isn't widely known."
Remus- Uh-oh. I have a really bad feeling about this.
Harmony- (crawls into Sirius' lap, purring)
"The worst?" said Madam Rosmerta, her voice alive with curiosity. "Worse than murdering all those poor people, you mean?"
Lily- What could be worse than that? If he did it, that is.
"I certainly do," said Fudge.
"I can't believe that. What could possibly be worse?"
James- That is the worst question that you can ask someone. There is always something worse.
"You say you remember him at Hogwarts, Rosmerta," murmured Professor McGonagall. "Do you remember who his best friend was?"
Remus- They better not be inferring what I think they are.
"Naturally," said Madam Rosmerta, with a small laugh. "Never saw one without the other, did you? The number of times I had them in here- ooh, they used to make me laugh. Quite the double act, Sirius Black and James Potter!"
James- Of course, he was my best friend.
Harry dropped his tankard with a loud clunk. Ron kicked him.
"Precisely," said Professor McGonagall. "Black and Potter.
Ringleaders of their little gang.
James/Sirius- Hey!
Both very bright, of course- exceptionally bright, in fact- but I don't think we've ever had such a pair of troublemakers-"
James- You'd miss it if we weren't the way we are. After all, school would be rather boring without the Marauders.
Other Marauders- Here, here.
"I dunno," chuckled Hagrid. "Fred and George Weasley could give 'em a run fer their money."
Sirius- I wonder who has more detentions.
James- Us, naturally.
"You'd have thought Black and Potter were brothers!" chimed in Professor Flitwick. "Inseparable!"
Remus- Actually, they are closer than any brothers I've ever seen.
"Of course they were," said Fudge. "Potter trusted Black beyond all his other friends. Nothing changed when they left school. Black was best man when James married Lily. Then they named him godfather to Harry.
Lily- (worriedly) I don't like where this is going.
Harry has no idea, of course. You can imagine how the idea would torment him."
"Because Black turned out to be in league with You-Know-Who?" whispered Madam Rosmerta.
"Worse even than that, m'dear..." Fudge dropped his voice and proceeded in a sort of low rumble. "Not many people are aware that the Potters knew You-Know-Who was after them. Dumbledore, who was of course working tirelessly against You-Know-Who, had a number of useful spies. One of them tipped him off, and he alerted James and Lily at once. He advised them to go into hiding. Well, of course, You-Know-Who wasn't an easy person to hide from.
James- You're telling me!
Others- (shaky chuckles)
Dumbledore told them that their best chance was the Fidelius Charm."
Lily- No, that's not possible.
James- Lily, what's wrong?
Lily- You'll see.
"How does that work?" said Madam Rosmerta, breathless with interest. Professor Flitwick cleared his throat.
"An immensely complex spell," he said squeakily, "involving the magical concealment of a secret inside a single, living soul. The information is hidden inside the chosen person, or Secret-Keeper, and is henceforth impossible to find- unless, of course, the Secret-Keeper chooses to divulge it. As long as the Secret-Keeper refused to speak, You-Know-Who could search the village where Lily and James were staying for years and never find them, not even if he had his nose pressed against their sitting room window!"
Sirius- (went rigid)
James- No, there is no way that Sirius would even think of doing such a thing. I don't care what they say, he didn't do it.
"So Black was the Potters' Secret-Keeper?" whispered Madam Rosmerta.
"Naturally," said Professor McGonagall. "James Potter told Dumbledore that Black would die rather than tell where they were,
James- Which he would. Why does everyone think that he would betray us? It's not possible.
that Black was planning to go into hiding himself... and yet, Dumbledore remained worried. I remember him offering to be the Potters' Secret-Keeper himself."
"He suspected Black?" gasped Madam Rosmerta.
"He was sure that somebody close to the Potters had been keeping You-Know-Who informed of their movements," said Professor McGonagall darkly. "Indeed, he had suspected for some time that someone on our side had turned traitor and was passing a lot of information to You-Know-Who."
Sirius- But why would they suspect me? There are many people who are close to you guys.
"But James Potter insisted on using Black?"
"He did," said Fudge heavily. "And then, barely a week after the Fidelius Charm had been performed-"
"Black betrayed them?" breathed Madam Rosmerta.
Remus- Okay, something doesn't make sense here. Why would Sirius, if indeed it was Sirius, which I doubt, wait a week to betray them? Voldemort is even more impatient than Sirius. If Sirius had told Voldemort as soon as he became their Secret-Keeper, then Voldemort would have attacked then, not a week later.
"He did indeed. Black was tired of his double-agent role, he was ready to declare his support openly for You-Know-Who, and he seemed to have planned this for the moment of the Potters' death. But, as we all know, You-Know-Who met his downfall in little Harry Potter. Powers gone, horribly weakened, he fled. And this left Black in a very nasty position indeed. His master had fallen at the very moment when he, Black, had shown his true colors as a traitor. He had no choice but to run for it-"
Sirius- But, I would never run from my actions. Even with the thing with Snape I came forward and told Dumbledore what happened. I would not try to get out of the consequences.
"Filthy, stinkin' turncoat!" Hagrid said, so loudly that half the bar went quiet.
Sirius- (sadly) Even Hagrid believes it.
"Shh!" said Professor McGonagall.
"I met him!" growled Hagrid. "I musta bin the last ter see him before he killed all them people! It was me what rescued Harry from Lily an' James's house after they were killed! Jus' got him outta the ruins, poor little thing, with a great slash across his forehead, an' his parents dead... an' Sirius Black turns up on that flyin' motorbike he used ter ride. Never occurred ter me what he was doin' there.
Sirius- (had gone white) I must have done it. How else would I know where they lived and that they were dead! I must have done everything they say I did!
James- Sirius!
Sirius- (backing away from the others) I must get out of here before I endanger all of you.
As he spoke, the chalky white of Sirius's face was creeping up into his hair.
Soon all of Sirius's hair was chalk white except for a a single lock of black.
With a quiet pop he turned into his animagus form and fled from the room.