PRONGS:
It was after dinner and
Sirius, James and Peter had gone to the library for some privacy. The
Maurader's Map lay open in front of the three students. James, who
had spent hours with his friends pouring over countless books with
spells into creating this magical map, which had proven its
reliability for quite some time now. James had thought of the last
spell in the completion in its perfection: nox.
It would turn the whole page blank as well as unreadable. It was the
inclusive map of Hogwarts School with all the secret passageways and
innumerable rooms and staircases. They would be taking one of them
that night, the one that led into an abandoned shack in Hogsmead,
where their friend Remus, would be when he is in his wolf
state.
James had hair as dark as coal, that stuck out in all directions. He
had a perfect build for a Seeker; skinny, fast and in good
physical shape. He was also the captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch
team. To James, risks were thrilling (which came to him as habit) and
there were many they've all taken together. But not like the one they
took every month at a full moon. With this, he thought of all the
times they roamed the grounds of Hogsmead, and it was how the
Maurader's Map came into the making. Of course poor Remus always
hesitated at times like this, but who can stop three people (or
animals) from barging in on him in the middle of the
night?
James
ruffled his hair, purposely making it messier than it was, and
studied the map closer. He was watching the map really carefully when
to his surprise; he saw a tiny black dot labeled 'Mrs. Norris' within
a group with Potter, Black and Pettigrew. All at once they looked
amongst themselves...but couldn't find the cat anywhere. If the map
says the cat is there, then the bloody cat is there! Mrs. Norris
belonged to the care taker Flich, a nasty confiscating, rulemaking,
detention giving old man, who will go out of his way to smell trouble
out of someone. When they didn't see the cat anywhere, a second
thought crossed James's mind, but Peter had mindlessly said it aloud.
"You don't think she's... invisible?" The three looked at
each other. (the map showed invisible people too) Not another second
went by when they felt something run from under the table, that made
them jump form their seats. Sure enough, it was the cat. It stopped
and turned to look at them and then continued stalking away.
James had a close idea of who would be coming in a second,
"Oh...no..." he groaned. They all scrambled and wiped the
map clean with the tap of the wand. They tried folding it up when
something barked from behind them...
PADFOOT:
Sirius
Black was stuffing the map down his robes when Mr. Filch had made a
noise that made the three jumped for the second time. His gaze met
Sirius's wide eyes that gave away everything and anything else they
didn't do. "What is that may I ask Mr. Black?" he roared.
"N-Nothing!" He continued to put it away when Mr. Filch
stepped closer. He knew what they were in for when he finds out what
the paper was. He heard Peter give out and involuntary squeak when
Filch reached for the map. "Give it to willingly or you will be
sent directly to the Headmaster, I've had enough of your
games..."
Sirius
thought quickly, and decided to hand it over. Better him than
Dumbledore, at least he will have a hard time trying to figure out
how to work the map. For Dumbledore, he could have easily uncovered
the secret behind the bank page (as far he knew, Dumbledore can do
anything) and uncovering it would lead to everything they had to hide
from the Headmaster...
He unfolded the paper and glanced at James's face contorted with
terror and total despair. He tensely handed it to the caretaker. Of
course if Filch finds anything that he needs to confiscate, all the
hard work for nothing... how could he find a blank page harmful? He
thought wrong...Mr. Filch looked at it, apparently confused. But he
shook it under his nose and yelled. "What kind of sick joke is
this, Black!"
He felt Peter shudder at his voice, and James tried to act cool with
hidden terror behind his eyes. Sirius tried to cover it up by saying
"It's just a piece of parchment...nothing else!" His
insides were boiling while Filch took his dear rime infuriating him.
He wanted to kill that stupid cat...
PRONGS
James
kept his mouth shut, all their plans would be thrown away, that map
was essential to their night prowls, and took about a half a year to
finish! He just had to keep his mouth shut...watching Sirius give it
to Filch, made his insides crunch. Just as long as he didn't know how
to work it...
Filch looked
at it again, and studied it for about a minute straight. He held it
up to his nose and even smelled it. That last thing he did was shake
it and stopped it in midair to see if anything happened. He looked at
it and shoved it back to Sirius, apparently satisfied with the
interrogation. He turned on his heel and walked off.
Just when the three of them started breathing again, Filch
stormed back and hastily stole it from Sirius's outstretched hands.
"I think I need to confiscate this!" He put it in his
robes when James had said "But sir, it's just a piece of
parchment!" Filch eyed him back and said "And so it is? You
have plenty more in your school bags, what's so important that if I
just borrow it, eh?" he grinned cavities and walked away,
with cat frolicking behind him.
Thunderstruck, James didn't know what to do but helplessly watch
Filch get away. He turned to look at Sirius and Peter who seemed lost
for words themselves. Then Sirius found something to say about
Filch, which wouldn't be very appropriate to be repeated again. He
was so angry at the thought of having worked on it for so long. he
sighed and fell into a chair, still cursing when James
stopped him and said, "We're going to have to steal it from
him, but tonight wont be our chance," He looked out the window
and saw that the sun had just gone down. He thought of Remus,
anxiously waiting for the giant orb to show it face. "We
have to go tonight, map or not, we'll use my invisibility cloak,"
He left it at that and the three of them walked back to the
dormitories, with Sirius still cursing under his breath.
MOONY:
Remus was on his to the Whomping Willow when Madam Promfrey raised her wand and did an Extension Charm to prod the knot that freezes the tree. It lashes and whips anything that comes near it. With its beating branches, it prevents any student that comes to wander in, and accidentally falls into the hole, walking straight into a passage that leads to the shack. It was planted there in Remus's first year, a way for him to transform safely, and come to school at the same time. Madam Promfrey had helped him get inside. She whispered, "Good luck, dear, and Ill see you in the morning." With a last smile Remus fell into a dark, damp cave under ground. He pulled out his wand and said Lumos, and a bright light grew on the tip of his wand. He continued his way towards the passage, through a narrow way. He held his wand in front of him and began his walk
He dreaded the pain that was up for him, turning into a werewolf was no fun, and it leaves him feeling exhausted. For what seemed like an hour or so, the passage ended in a door. He opened it to a dark, musty and lonely shack. In the corner of the room, the sofa was ripped and the cushions torn, windows smashed and shutters boarded up. They call it the Shrieking Shack because it was he who made the howling noises that the townspeople heard from within. Dumbledore backed the rumors so nobody would be able to find out what was really in there. Or who.
PADFOOT:
Sirius lay in his four poster bed, looking up at the ceiling. It would be fifteen minutes' time until James gets out his Invisibility cloak. So the three of them could walk off the school grounds, unnoticed. Sirius listened for Ballard and Lansing's drowning snores... and it's off they go to dream land. Breathing rather hard, Jemiah Lansing was of course, the world's hardest sleeper. As for Adonis Ballard, he likes to have conversations is his sleep, in some unknown language or else a jumbled English, as far as he could tell.
Anxiety and excitement hung in the air of the silent room. And Sirius lay staring at the ceiling as stiff as a bored, exploding inside. All he needed to hear was...
In the four poster next to him, was James ruffling out of his covers. Sirius slowly opened his curtains. James was rummaging through his trunk, and Peter across the room was pulling on an extra sweater and socks, and on his other side was Remus's empty bed. Sirius pulled a sweater over his pajamas, and slipped into socks and shoes. James hadn't even put on his shirt yet, and they waited while he tore apart his trunk, looking for the cloak... his silhouette was just a dark figure dipping and emerging from a large trunk. For a second, he thought James had lost it, but with a sigh of relief, pulled out a long silvery material from the depths of his baggage.
In five minutes' time, they tore across the grounds. The grass was dewey , and the courtyard looked majestic bathed in perpetuous moonlight. Under the cloak, they had gone invisible and the three of them had gotten as far as the Whomping Willow. Inbetween them, Sirius watched Peter disappear. Actually, shrinking rather fast. Peter was now a rat, and with his size, he can sneak under the Willow's slapping branches and touch the knot that freezes the tree. Altogether the Whomping Willow had frozen. No longer whipping, lashing or attacking. It swayed to a silent breeze in the darkness, and its branches drooped helplessly, so it was safe for Sirius and James to come near. Under the Invisibility cloak, Sirius walking faster, they crossed the wet grass into the hole by the over turned root. They were now inside the tree, under the ground. With Peter in the lead, they feel into a secret passageway leading into the shack. Sirius had tucked the cloak in a wedge in the roots as they headed for the passage. Anticipation grew inside Sirius as he motioned for the others to follow. "Lumos" and a light flashed at the tip of his wand. Two other wands ignited and the tunnel was luminated for them to see.
