Harry's PoV
Percy sipped at his hot chocolate as the twins spoke quietly to the Slytherin prefect. Our dinner was finished and Percy kept rubbing his eyes and suppressing yawns.
"Did you know that we had a dog?" He asked after taking another sip of his drink.
"You never mentioned that you had a dog," I replied and he shook his head a little.
"Before, with Lily and James," he clarified, "when we were babies." That surprised me.
"Who told you that?" I asked, why did no one tell me that?
"I had a dream. Pretty sure it was a memory. We were really little, barely crawling and just starting to speak. Lily was singing as I played on the floor and the dog would drag me over to her on my blanket when I wanted her to pick me up. James would make funny faces at me. You fell asleep as someone named Mooney read you a book. The dog was named Padfoot." He spoke softly, a broken smile on his face. "We were a family. We had a family, and now..." he took a shuddering breath. "Now, what are we, Harry?"
"We are still family, Percy, just...smaller," I told him hesitantly, not wanting to upset him even more, "we'll be alright." He gave me a sad smile.
"I hope so," he whispered brokenly. The others came back over to us at that moment.
"Alright, time for you to get to bed, Mini Marauder," Fred announced, gently ushering Percy from his seat.
"Come along Harry," George spoke from behind me, pulling me up as well. "We don't want to get detention for being caught roaming around after curfew."
"Like that hasn't happened before," I said and gave him a cheeky grin.
"Harry, how could you," Fred said, clutching his chest as if hurt.
"How dare you accuse us of rule breaking," George added.
"The horror,"
"The scandal!" George put his hand, dramatically, to his forehead.
"Why do we even associate with the likes of you?" Percy giggled at their antics while the Slytherin prefect glared.
"Are you two done yet?" she asked, "I would like to get my housemate back to the dorms sometime this week."
"As you wish," the twins spoke together, giving her ridiculously exaggerated bows.
"Come, Percy, we should go," the Slytherin girl spoke, sounding like she was trying not to roll her eyes. My brother gave me a small wave as he followed the older girl. I followed behind them, the twins trailing behind. The twins came up on either side of me as I watched my brother disappear into the dungeons.
"So, how do you know the Marauders?" the twins asked once we were alone.
"I'll show you," I told them with a grin. "The notes are with my dorm."
We quickly made our way up to Gryffindor tower. The halls were nearly empty, we only passed a Ravenclaw student hurrying to her common and a couple of ghosts. Reaching the entrance to our common room I gave the Fat Lady the password and we climbed through. Glancing around I saw all my dorm mates in the common room. Ron, Dean, and Seamus were playing exploding snap while Hermione helped Neville with his homework. The two of them looked up as we came in. I nodded at the stairs to signal them to come. They nodded and gathered their things. I lead the twins to my dorm.
"Welcome to the third year boy's dorm," I told the twins, "don't mind the mess." They snorted and made themselves at home on Ron's bed. Neville and Hermione came in as I dug the notes and book from the Marauders out of my trunk.
"Harry, what's going on? Why weren't you at dinner? What are the twins doing here? Is Percy alright?" Hermione started shooting off questions.
"Merlin, Hermione, breathe," I said jokingly. She glared at me so I gave her a sheepish smile, and she rolled her eyes. "Percy is tired but uninjured." Both she and Neville let out relieved sighs and smiled.
"That's good," Neville said, Hermione nodded in agreement.
"And the twins know something about the Marauders," I told them with a winning smile. They stared at me and the twins.
"You're...going to tell them about...that?" Hermione asked hesitantly, looking concerned.
"Not all of it," I said, chewing my bottom lip as I thought. The twins watched us in silence for a moment.
"Did you do something illegal?" Fred asked suddenly.
"If you did, why were we not invited?" George added.
"We haven't done anything yet," I told them, feeling my face turn red.
"Yet?" They echoed.
"Sounds intriguing," George said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
"What illegal thing are we planning?" Fred asked conspiratorial like, crossing his legs with his elbows resting on his knees and fingers drumming together, evil grin included.
"It has to be good if little book worm Hermione is alright with it," George spoke with a smile like his brother. I shared a look with my friends before handing the notes to the twins. We waited as they read through the notes, their eyes getting wider the more they read.
"These notes are talking about werewolves and animal transfiguration," Fred pointed out, sounding slightly confused. George looked like he had the same confusion. I grinned and showed them the book.
"This was with those notes." There eyes shot wide with surprise.
"They're animagi!" They exclaimed excitedly. They shared a look with each other.
"Do you think..."
"the names?"
"It would make sense."
"And they were talking about a werewolf..."
"Could one of them be..?" There was a beat of silence as they thought about something. I shared a look with Neville and Hermione. After a moment I couldn't take it any longer.
"Alright, your turn to share," I told them, breaking them from their thoughts. They looked at me before sharing a devilish smirk.
"My dear Harry," began Fred.
"It is with the greatest pleasure," George continued.
"To present to you,"
"And your friends,"
"Our greatest possession,"
"And the secret of our success," they paused here and Fred drew a bit of parchment from his pocket with a great flourish.
"Behold!" They said together and dramatically presented the parchment to me. I took it and looked through all the parchment. It was blank. I looked back up at them. They were still smirking.
"It's blank," I told them, unimpressed. They both grimaced.
"Harry, now really," said George, "do you have so little faith in us?"
"Besides, if it wasn't hidden then everyone would be able to use it," Fred added.
"Of course," Hermione gasped, "whatever is on there is concealed. Harry, use your wand." She nudged my arm until I pulled out my wand. Both Neville and Hermione watched with rapt attention as I tapped the parchment with my wand. Nothing happened. Hermione sighed. "You're going to have to use a spell or password." She pointed out.
"Oh, er, right," I muttered, blushing. "Revealio." Still nothing. "Um, speak to me?" I asked hesitantly, feeling foolish. That made something happened. Writing started to appear.
Mr. Mooney would like to point out that you are talking to a piece of parchment.
Mr. Wormtail would also like to point out that you might look crazy by doing so.
Neville stifled a laugh as the writing continued.
Mr. Padfoot would like to know why we should talk to you?
Mr. Prongs wonders why someone is desperate enough to have to talk to parchment?
I stared at the writing. Mooney and Padfoot. Didn't Percy just mention those names from his dream memory? Did they really know my parents? Were friends with them?
"Harry, are you alright?" I heard Neville ask, he sounded worried. I looked up at the others. They all looked concerned.
"Percy said he had a dream," I told them softly, "he said that it was most likely a memory of our family before..." I paused and they shared worried looks. "He said there was a man named Mooney," I swallowed a lump in my throat, "and a dog named Padfoot."
"You think this might be them?" Hermione asked carefully. "That they knew your parents?"
"It's a stupid thought, isn't it?" I looked away from all of them.
"You can ask them," George offered. I looked back up at him, confused. "They can interact with you in a limited capacity." He pointed at the parchment. "I don't think they can tell you anything from after it was made, but if they knew them at the time they might be able to tell you a little bit about your parents."
"Well, that is if they don't spend the whole time insulting you," Fred added, "as they do that quite often." I looked at my friends, Neville gave me an encouraging nod and Hermione smiled.
With a breathe to steady myself, I tapped my wand on the parchment and asked, "Do you know James Potter?" Figuring they might know him before my mother. Almost immediately the previous writing disappeared to be replaced with more.
Mr. Mooney would like to say that Mr. Potter is a nuisance and a disturber of the peace.
Mr. Wormtail would like to add that Mr. Potter's hair is a complete mess. Mr. Wormtail believes that he has never been introduced to a hair brush.
Mr. Padfoot would like to say that Mr. Potter has an atrocious appearance and will never look as good as Mr. Padfoot.
Mr. Prongs would like to say that Messers Mooney, Wormtail, and Padfoot are gits and wonders why he is friends with them. Who is inquiring about the wonderful, handsome Mr. Potter?
I blinked, feeling conflicted, before showing the others what was written.
"Does that mean they know him?" Hermione looked at the twins. From the look on her face I could tell that she was confused and that she doesn't like the feeling.
"Well it's interesting that the first three are insulting Mr. Potter," Fred answered.
"But Mr. Prongs insulated the others as if he was insulated," George added.
"Usually they all insult the same person,"
"So this is new." They finished and shared a look with each other as if communicating silently.
"Introduce yourself," Hermione urged me when the twins didn't offer any more information.
"I'm Harry Potter," I said, tapping the parchment. "James is my father."
The parchment went blank for a moment before the writing started again.
MERLIN'S SAGGY BALLS!
Mr. Wormtail would like to remind Mr. Mooney to stick to the format that he insisted on when writing replies.
Who the bloody hell cares, Wormtail! Prongs has a son! I'm a godfather!
I HAVE A SON!
