The next few weeks went by slowly, each day characterized by an unholy amount of schoolwork, followed by an equal amount of homework, with the occasional evening being spent on Quidditch practice, as the first match of the season was barely a month away now.

Life at Hogwarts wasn't quite like I expected it to be, but goddamn, I still loved it.

Towards the end of September came the first Hogsmeade weekend of the year. I was looking forward to that for a number of reasons. Firstly, I could get a new wand at last. Secondly, the DA meeting in the Hog's Head. And lastly, fricking Hogsmeade, y'all.

I wasn't gonna go spy on the Hog's Head straight away. I knew the meeting would be taking place and obviously, I couldn't exactly waltz in and join; I hadn't gained that level of trust yet. But that was okay, I only really needed to catch the latter end of the meeting.

We had had some sunshine again in mid-September, but after that it had been back to cloudy and occasionally rainy. Today was no different, and a cold breeze blew on my face as I made my way to Hogsmeade, tailed by Crabbe and Goyle as usual.

The village of Hogsmeade was certainly a sight. A small, cheerful-looking picturesque village consisting of dozens of cozy cottages and shops. Contrary to the movies, it wasn't snowing here right now, though I imagined it would be in a couple months' time.

I told Crabbe and Goyle to wait for me in the Three Broomsticks. They merely nodded and slumped off.

Now, first order of business. I made my way up High Street to Ollivanders, passing Honeydukes on the way. The warm, sweet smell coming from the shop was certainly alluring, especially in this chilly weather.

Perhaps buying a new wand could wait a couple more minutes…

I emerged from the shop five minutes later, enjoying a gigantic bar of Honeydukes' Best Chocolate – with an assortment of other delicious treats stashed in my jacket pockets – and finally made my way to Ollivanders.

The Hogsmeade branch was the same on the outside as the one in Diagon Alley, though the interior was much more cramped. Behind the counter was an old man reading the Daily Prophet. It was not Ollivander himself, but he looked similar, a relative maybe.

He looked up from his newspaper when I entered.

"Hi, er, I need a new wand," I said.

He raised an eyebrow at me, then held out his hand, "Your current wand?"

I took it out from my pocket and handed it to him.

"This is a liquorice wand," he said, not looking very amused.

"Right, my bad," I said sheepishly as I took it back, then fished around in my pockets for my real wand and handed it to him.

"Hmm, let's see here… Hawthorn. 10 inches, and a unicorn hair core. Reasonably springy. Why do you wish to replace this?"

"It doesn't work properly anymore," I said. "Like, I have to try multiple times even with spells I've been doing for years."

"When did the wand first start malfunctioning?" he asked.

"A few weeks ago," I replied.

"Has your wand sustained any damage that may have caused it to malfunction?"

"Not that I'm aware of."

"Did you perhaps experience any kind of trauma that may have-"

"No," I said quickly. A bit too quickly, probably, as he was eyeing me in a suspicious way now.

"Right… well, let's find you a replacement then. Hold out your wand arm."

I did so, holding out my right arm. He took measurements, from my shoulder to finger, then wrist to elbow, knee to shoulder and around my head. Then he went to the back of the store, returning a few moments later with a box. He opened it and handed me a wand. "Try this one. Beechwood and dragon heartstring, nine inches. Nice and flexible."

I gave it a wave, but it just fizzled a couple of sparks, much like my old wand would.

Shaking his head, the shopkeeper pulled out another box, this time from the shelves behind him.

"Maple and phoenix feather, seven inches. Quite whippy, try it."

I tried again, but had hardly even raised the wand when he snatched it back and gave me a different one.

"No, no, that won't do! Here – ebony and unicorn hair, eight and half inches, springy. Go on, try it."

I tried it, again, to no avail.

"No matter, no matter," the shopkeeper said, picking out another box. "Ah, here. Alder wood, dragon heartstring, 13 inches. Slightly springy."

Holding this wand, though… it felt right. It wasn't like an object I was holding in my hand, it felt like an extension of my arm. A pleasantly warm feeling rushed through my body, and I couldn't help but smile a bit. I gave it a wave, and a stream of brilliant blue light shot out the end, circling around me before disappearing.

"Yes, yes, there we go," the shopkeeper said with a smile too. "May it serve you well. Now… cough up, that'll be seven galleons."

After paying him, I left the shop with my new wand – and my old one as well, I decided to keep it around just in case.

My next stop was the local bookshop, Tomes & Scrolls. The Casebook of Leonidas Black had been a pretty good book but the one Nott had been reading was like, the third in the series. For now, I only wanted the first one; An Observation in Orange.

At last, I began walking towards the Hog's Head, where the meeting should be taking place currently. On the way I passed Harry, Ron and Hermione, who were chatting excitedly.

Wait… Harry, Ron and Hermione?

Oh fuck…

I needed to stop Willy Widdershins from snitching to Umbridge about the DA, I could still catch him if I hurried. I began sprinting down the High Street as fast as I could. When I took a left turn however, I hit something and fell back on my ass. That something happened to be Daphne, who also fell back on her ass.

"Oh God, I'm so sorry, Daphne," I said quickly, but I helped her get up nonetheless.

"It's okay-" she trailed off as I bolted past her. I took another left turn, and arrived at the small, dingy pub that was the Hog's Head, located on the outskirts of town.

I peeked in through the window to see if Widdershins was still there. There only two people inside, a man covered in bandages sipping a Firewhisky, and a veiled witch drinking gin. If I recalled correctly, Widdershins was the bandaged man; the veiled witch was Mundungus Fletcher, after all.

Or… was it the other way around?

Fuck, I can't remember!

As I was debating internally, trying to remember who was who in this scenario, the bandaged man finished his drink and left the pub. I peeked around the corner of the pub, to see where he was going. Instead of making his way back to High Street, he began walking in the opposite direction, down the road that led out of town to the castle.

Yep this was him, on his way to snitch, the little snitch.

I waited a few minutes till he had left the village, then started tailing him, while making sure that I wasn't being followed. I tried to be as quiet as possible as I quickened my pace. When I got within range of him, I raised my wand but stopped.

Man, I really should have practiced this spell beforehand, oh god what if I screw up?

In my moment of hesitation, Willy turned around and saw me. I saw his eyes widen from between his bandages. Realizing it was now or never, I muttered, "Obliviate!"

I saw a stream of images flash before my eyes; a couple of regurgitating toilets, some biting doorknobs, and a bunch of Hogwarts students – including the golden trio – gathered in the Hog's Head. These were Widdershins' memories, I realized. The spell had worked!

Okay, okay, remember what you read about Obliviating, focus on the memory you want to eliminate.

I focused with all my might on the memory of the students, gathered in the pub. After a moment or two, the image started to fade, before vanishing completely.

I broke the spell, blinking a bit to readjust to my surroundings.

Whew, that was trippy.

Willy Widdershins was standing in front of me, his eyes completely blank, mouth slightly ajar.

He stood like that for a few seconds, and I was starting to worry I may have screwed something up, but then he came back to reality.

"Wha- what's… going on? What am I doing here?" he asked perplexedly.

I just shrugged, but also, I was relieved. Thank God I didn't just end up giving a dude permanent memory loss or something.

He looked at me for a few moments, confused, before heading back to the village.

Fuck yeah, mission accomplished! Take that, Educational Decree Number Twenty-Four!

Mental note for next time though, practice beforehand, lest I screw something up royally.

[…]

The warmth of the Three Broomsticks' interior was a wonderful contrast to the chilly, windy atmosphere outside.

A quick look around told me that Crabbe and Goyle weren't in the pub. Even though it was pretty crowded, those two would have stood out.

Maybe they were raiding Honeydukes. It was weird though. I didn't think they had it in them to do something of their own volition, instead of having Draco tell them.

I went up to the bar and ordered a Butterbeer. I wish I could say I averted my eyes like a gentleman as Madam Rosmerta bent over to get the Butterbeer from one of the lower shelves… but then I'd be a big, fat liar.

Almost as fat as that ass, because goddayum!

Butterbeer in hand, I spotted Theodore sitting in the corner of the pub by himself, and Daphne in the opposite corner, also sitting by herself.

Naturally, I chose Daphne.

"Mind if I join you?" I asked.

"Be my guest."

"Thanks," I sat down. "Sorry about earlier."

"It's fine, don't worry about it."

"What were you doing in that part of town, anyway?" I asked. "Not much there, is it?"

"I… fancied a walk?" she replied.

"…right."

"Anyway," Daphne said abruptly. "Er, Pansy was looking for you, by the way."

I groaned.

"Excuse me?" Daphne said, eyebrow raised.

"Ah… did I do that out loud?"

"Yes," she said. "So… wait, all this time you've actually been avoiding her? You weren't dense?!"

She punched me in the arm.

"Ow! What the hell-?" I said, rubbing my arm.

"You just lost me five galleons!" She exclaimed, before quickly adding, "Also, it's really messed up you've been playing with her feelings like that!"

"I've not been playing with her feelings! I've just…" I trailed off.

"Avoiding her?"

"Because I don't wanna break the bad news to her, yeah, I guess so," I admitted.

Yes, I know I'm a hypocrite for calling Draco a coward because he wouldn't Pansy the truth, but in my defense…

Oh god, I'm a coward as well.

"Also, what do you mean, I lost you five galleons?" I asked.

"I had a bet with Mafalda, she thought you were avoiding Pansy. I thought you were just dumb."

"Well, serves you right then," I said. "Also, who's Mafalda?"

"Never you mind," she said grumpily. "So… do you ever plan on telling her?"

"Eh… I'm working on it," I said.

"Preferably do it soon," Daphne said coolly.

"Why do you care so much?" I asked perhaps a bit too aggressively.

"Pansy's my friend. Also, Jesus Christ, it's been over four years now!"

"Yeah, you're right. I'll do it… eventually."

Another thing for the to-do list.

[…]

(That night in Gryffindor Tower)

The common room was again empty, save for Harry, Ron and Hermione, who were up discussing the day's proceedings, specifically the meeting in the Hog's Head.

"You said there'd be only a couple people!" Harry said for the umpteenth time.

"Harry, I told you, the idea turned out to be quite popular," Hermione said.

"A bit too popular, I reckon," Ron said darkly. "How do we know we can trust that Slytherin girl?"

"Because Hannah Abbott vouched for her, and I trust Hannah," Hermione replied. "Apparently, she's one of the few Slytherins that get along fine with the other houses."

"How do we know she hasn't tricked Hannah into believing her though?" Ron said.

"Because," Hermione said impatiently. "The two of them are cousins. Hannah's known Daphne her entire life, they're really close."

Ron opened his mouth to retort, but ultimately didn't say anything.

"Now, to a more important matter," Hermione said. "We need a place where we could meet."

"How about an unused classroom?" Ron suggested. "McGonagall let Harry use hers when during the Triwizard Tournament."

"I don't think she'll be so accommodating this time," Hermione replied. "This particular activity might be considered a bit more rebellious…"

A few moments of thoughtful silence passed. Harry looked at his watch, then got down to his knees near the fireplace.

"What is it?" Hermione asked, looking alarmed. "Did you see Sirius again?"

"No, but he should be here soon. I forgot he was supposed to meet us tonight," Harry replied.

Harry kept looking at the fire, and sure enough, a few moments later the face of Sirius Black appeared.

"Hi," he said, grinning. "How're things?"

Harry looked at Hermione, then back at Sirius. "Good. The idea we had was, well… popular. Quite a few people signed up."

Sirius beamed. "Excellent. Oh, speaking of that, by the way, you ought to choose your meeting places a bit more carefully. The Hog's Head, I ask you!"

"How do you know about that?" Harry asked. "Sirius, you weren't-"

"No, no, I wasn't there. I didn't leave the house," Sirius said, a bit of bitterness in his tone. "It was Mundungus, of course. He was the witch under the veil."

"See, Ron, I told you it couldn't be Umbridge," Hermione said. Ron merely rolled his eyes.

"What was Dung doing there in the first place?" Harry asked.

"Keeping an eye on you, of course," Sirius said.

"I'm still being followed?" Harry said, half-exasperatedly, half-angrily.

"Yeah, you are," Sirius replied. "If the first thing you do on your weekend off is organize an illegal defense group, then it's just as well."

Harry, Ron and Hermione exchanged glances. They knew this talk wasn't coming from Sirius himself, since he had been the one who egged them on in the first place. What Sirius said next confirmed this.

"That reminds me, Ron – I've got a message from your mother."

"Ah well, we had a good run," Ron said, shaking his head.

"She said that under no circumstances are you to take part in a secret, illegal Defense Against the Dark Arts group. She says that you'll be expelled and your future will be ruined, that you'll have plenty of opportunity to learn defense later, and that you're too young to be worrying about this sort of thing," Sirius said with half a smirk. He went on, "She advises Harry and Hermione the same thing, though she admits she has no authority over either of them and simply begs them to remember she has their best interests at heart.

"Do tell her I passed on the message, won't you?" Sirius said to Ron. "She would have told you lot all this herself by letter, but she was on duty for the Order. Plus, letters can be intercepted."

There was another pause, before Sirius spoke again.

"But enough of that," he said, a smirk creeping back onto his face. "How are you organizing this group? Where are you meeting?"

"That's the issue," said Harry. "We don't know where were gonna be able to go."

"How about the Shrieking Shack?" suggested Sirius.

Hermione made a skeptical noise. "Sirius, there were only four of you meeting in the Shrieking Shack when you were at school. You could transform into animals, or fit under a single Invisibility Cloak if you wanted. But there are thirty of us, so we'd need an Invisibility Marquee rather than a Cloak."

"Fair point…" Sirius said. "Well, there used to be a pretty roomy secret passageway behind that big mirror on the fourth floor, that might work."

"Fred and George said it was blocked," said Harry, shaking his head. "Caved in or something."

"Oh…" said Sirius. "Well, I'll have a think and get back to you. Night."

And with that, he vanished from the flames.

[…]

(With Draco)

The following couple weeks were much of the same thing. Classes, homework, etc.

No Educational Decree Number 24 had come so far, so that's good. On the other hand, I had zero clue regarding the DA's movements. I didn't even know if they'd found the Room of Requirement yet. I couldn't monitor the thing twenty-four-seven, after all.

As luck would have it, today in Professor McGonagall's class we learnt about Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration. The principle that, I assumed (not without reason), the Room worked according to.

As I was noting down the rules, I happened to notice the fourth one.

"Only those artefacts can be conjured, which have already been invented. An artefact that exists only in theory, and has not yet been assembled in physical form successfully, cannot be conjured."

That gave me an idea.

When the bell rang, signaling the end of the lesson and also the day, I ran up to the seventh floor instead of dinner.

I paced three times in front of the door of the Room, thinking, "I need to get into the Room of Requirement," repeatedly. Sure enough, the entranced materialized on the third try. Inside, I decided to put my theory to the test.

The Room could conjure any device that had been assembled physically. The Marauder's Map fit that criterion. Meaning that, it should be able to create an exact copy. If this worked then that would make it a helluva lot easier to keep track of what's going on in the castle. I might even be able to secretly help out the DA a bit too, who knows.

"I need a copy of the Marauder's Map," I repeated to myself a few times as I paced inside the Room.

Just then, I noticed a piece of old parchment lying around in the corner. I picked it up, and the following words appeared on it.

"Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs
Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers
are proud to presentTHE MARAUDER'S MAP"

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," I said.

As I said those words, the whole map of Hogwarts appeared on the parchment, complete with all the names of students and staff.

FUCK YEAH! IT WORKED WOOO-

Another idea popped into my head. What about Harry's invisibility cloak? Other invisibility cloaks go opaque after some time but Harry's could stay the way it was forever. That would be pretty handy. So, I gave it a shot.

Nothing.

I tried again.

Again, nothing.

So, I guess for some reason the Cloak couldn't be duplicated. Maybe that had something to do with the fact that the Cloak may or may not have come from Death itself?

Who knows, man, who knows…

I pocketed the map and headed off to the Great Hall for dinner.

[…][…][…]

Sorry for the month-long delay. Studies have kept me busy.

Let me know what you guys thought of the chapter. The next one is gonna be a bit more Quidditch-centered.

Stay safe, everyone!