CHAPTER 6
Harry set all his purchases in one corner right next to the door, and then looked at the entry hall. The floor was dark green marble, with smears or speckles of grey. The walls were dove grey, with black trim at the top and bottom. A massive black staircase was dead ahead, leading to the second and third levels of the house. Two hallways on the ground floor went in opposite directions. I have a feeling I'm going to get lost in here, Harry mused. So before he went to explore, he reopened the Marauders' Box. He found the vial Sirius had mentioned, and downed its contents. It tingled while it slid down his throat, and was extremely cold. Harry got goose bumps as the potions spread through his body, fizzing like soda pop all the while. The feeling of ice water running through his veins slowly wore off, the process had only taken about one minute, and Harry felt something float away from him already. Must've worked, Harry thought with a grin, wait 'till Dumbledore finds out, if ever.
Harry found an envelope with Moony on the white seal, and the two letters 'R.L.' Inside was a letter from Lupin, and it was much shorter than Sirius', nevertheless, Harry read it.
Dear Harry,
Sirius told me about his plans for our old box, so I now find myself writing this letter. I don't know how I'll take Sirius' death, so I won't talk about it. Instead, I'm going to tell you about the Marauders' Map.
We Made it in our third year, and I must say I'm rather proud of it. Accompanied by this letter, is a piece of parchment already spelled for making another map. So all you have to do, is come up with closing and opening phrases, key it to your wand, and walk around through the area you want to map. Try to find every hall, every door, and every room-- it'll help. As for adding people, well, picture them in your mind, then speak their name. If someone you don't know comes into the area you've mapped, they'll just appear.
When you find a secret passageway, tap the spot on your map, then speak the password, if there is one, you'd need to open it; quite simple if you ask me.
I'm hoping you won't have to read this, and I can tell you in person. Hopefully, both Sirius and I, and you of course, will live long enough to talk about it. If not, I'm sorry for both our losses.
Good luck Harry, and have fun. Yours truly
-Remus Lupin a.k.a. Moony
Harry closed the letter, and looked inside the envelope once more. Sure enough, there was a new piece of parchment, a bit smaller than Harry's other map. Harry sat on the ground, trying to think of some phrases that might work for the map. Just then, Harry remembered the sentence Sirius had asked him to pass on to Remus: 'The Marauders take care of their own.'
One down, Harry thought, in memory of them. Harry continued to think about possible closing phrases, eventually he came up with 'Once in a blue moon.' Because of the adventures the Marauders had were on nights of the full moon.
He unfolded the paper, tapped it with his want and said, "The Marauders take care of their own." Instantly, black lines began to appear on the parchment, forming the entryway Harry stood in. He was amused to see a black dot labeled 'Tallon' right where he was standing. The map must have given them their nicknames, he thought, but why am I called 'Tallon'?
Shaking his head, Harry walked down the hallway to the left, new lines appearing on the map with every step. He didn't open any doors then, instead he touched them so as to mark them on his map, then continued on-promising to finish all the hallways first. He came across several empty portraits, but blank with canvases. Several doors were very tempting, but Harry pressed on. It turned out that the ground floor was a square with an 'X' in the middle, made by two hallways. All the ground was covered with the green marble, but Harry saw a change in color underneath one of the doors, maybe it leads to a lower level? Harry thought as he marked it, then moved on. Upon returning to the entryway, Harry decided to go up the stairs to the second level.
Harry's suspicions, that each level was a different color floor, was proven correct- as the floor was now a black marble. This floor was the same as the level below, but it didn't have the two diagonal hallways, it probably had more rooms. Back at the staircase, he climbed up to the final level, it's floors were a dark red, with speckles of gold. Interesting, Harry thought, if the red was brighter, the floor'd be in Gryffindor color. What was strangest about this floor though, was that it only had one, if very wide, hallway. Two doors were on each side, and a large window took the place of a wall at the end of the hall.
About to go down stairs to further explore the rooms on the ground floor, Harry stopped. Voices were coming from the second door on the left. Wand out, Harry silently walked up to the wooden door. It had a brass knocker on it, in the shape of a creature Harry'd never seen before. The animal had a snake's body and a bird's tail. Four legs of a lion, ended in a badger's paws. The scaled markings were also like that of a badger, and it had a bird's black wings. The head was a lion's, and it had two extremely sharp fangs sliding down from its upper jaw. Above the door was a Latin inscription. "Those who pass all barriers, pass this." Harry read out loud, Whoa, where'd that come from? He thought. Nervously, but curiously, Harry touched the knocker with a finger, then opened the door.
Coming Up:
The Four Founders
The Riddle of the Chimera
Decoration of Black Manor
Then:
Transfer from bank to Black
Lessons with the Founders
(animagus training included!)
