28/10/21

With the promise of Anti-Dementor lessons, plus the fact that Ravenclaw beat Hufflepuff in their match at the end of November, Harry and Jack's moods rose.

Gryffindor was not out of the running for the Quidditch Cup, but they couldn't lose another match. Something Wood repeatedly said to the team as he tried to get them to practice every free moment they all had together in December.

One morning, two weeks into December, the school woke up to its first frosted grounds and there was a chill in the air silently saying that snow was soon on its way.

On said morning, at breakfast, Archimedes came back with a small parcel and a note to Jack from Freddy.

.

'Dear Jack,

I hope your friend can use this Moonband to help him with his problems.

However my father says there's a slightly less than 50% chance that it will work in keeping a Bitten Wolf's mind and human form.

Good luck, would like the results.

Freddy Lupin.'

.

Unwrapping the bracelet to check if there were any instructions inside explaining how to work it, Jack rewrapped it and told Archimedes to deliver it to Professor Lupin.

"What was that then?" Harry asked once Jack had turned back to his porridge.

"Let's say an early Christmas present for someone," Jack said leaving it at that.

"Speaking of Christmas, who's doing what this year?" Elisa, who was sitting with them that morning, asked.

"Well I'm staying, as usual," Harry said not saying why.

"Means I'll be staying too," Jack said smiling "And I bet Hermione and Ron will be staying too, just to keep you company."

"Well Annie and I will be going home," Elisa said frowning a little. "Our cousin's will be coming to visit, meaning we have to put up with them and hide the fact that we're magic all holidays."

"Aww... but Christmas is the time for magic," Jack said in a small whine.

"We know... but we can't let them see any wizard magic, there are rules..." Elisa said slowly trying to explain this.

o0o

As the first day of the holidays got nearer, the usual Christmas decorations were put up around the school and in the classrooms, such as Professor Flitwick's 'Fairy' lights (something that got Baby Tooth grumpy towards the little Professor, but Jack kept her calm).

To everyone 3rd year and above's delight except Harry's, there was to be another Hogsmeade trip on the last weekend of term.

"We can do all out Christmas shopping there!" said Hermione sounding excited. "Mum and Dad will love those Toothflossing Stringmints from Honeydukes!"

Not wanting Harry to be alone again, Jack said he had some homework to do and that if Harry didn't mind the company asked if he could stay with him while he looked through the latest copy of Which Broomstick he borrowed from Wood, reading up on the different makes and hopefully looking for a new broom he could purchase and practice on before the next Gryffindor Quidditch match.

On the Saturday morning of the Hogsmeade trip, Jack and Harry said goodbye to Ron, Hermione, while Annie was saying goodbye to Elisa (making sure she had her Christmas shopping list) all of the older students who were going were all wrapped up in scarf's and cloaks, Jack saying if there was time after he was finished with his homework, he'll come looking for them, then went up the marble staircase heading back towards the Gryffindor Tower, Annie rushing off ahead of the boys.

"Psst – Harry!"

They turned, halfway down the third floor corridor (now Fluffy free thank-goodness) to see Fred and George peering out at them from behind a statue of a humpbacked, one-eyed witch.

"Oh Jack, you're here too," George said calmly "Good we could do with a witness."

"A witness for... what?" Jack asked looking around and looking at the witch's hump, curiously.

"You'll see," Fred said smiling "Come in here."

He nodded towards an empty classroom, and all four of them went inside.

"What are you still doing here? Why aren't you at Hogsmeade?" Harry asked curiously.

"We've come to give you an early Christmas Present, Harry," George said as Fred pulled something out from his pocket.

Seeing what it was Jack stopped him.

"Wait. You guys are really giving that to Harry?" Jack asked his hand on Fred's wrist to stop him from showing Harry the item "When Harry can get into enough trouble without it?"

"Sure we are," Fred said pulling his arm away and turning to Harry. "This Harry, is the secret to our success."

"It's a wretch giving it to you," said George "But we decided last night, your needs are greater than ours."

"Besides we know it off by heart," said Fred "We bequeath it to you. We don't really need it anymore."

"And what do I need with a bit of old parchment?" Harry asked finally seeing what the item was.

Jack, Fred, and George all gasped at that.

Fred and George because of how precious this thing is to them, Jack because he wouldn't want to think of what the Marauders' would say, if they heard Harry insult their work like that.

"A bit of old parchment?" said Fred, closing his eyes with a grimace as though Harry just offended him. "Explain, George."

"Well... when we were in our first year, Harry – young, carefree, innocent –"

Harry snorted at this.

"Yeah... No offence guys but I doubt either of you have ever been innocent" Jack said leaning against the wall, crossing his arms and waiting for the story to get to the part of what this thing is.

"-well more innocent than we are now – we got into a spot of bother with Filtch."

"We let off a Dungbomb in one of the upper floor corridors and it upset him for some reason-"

"So he hauled us down to his office and started threatening us with the usual –"

"- detention -"

"- disembowelment -"

"- and we couldn't help but notice that one of the drawers in his filing cabinet was labelled 'Confiscated and Highly Dangerous'."

"Don't tell me –" said Harry starting to grin.

"Harry, have you met these two?" said Jack already hearing this story "Of course they did. Besides: It's Flitch's fault for labelling his drawer like that."

"Yeah, so George created a distraction by dropping another dungbomb" said Fred "And I opened the drawer, reached in and pulled out – this."

"It's not as bad as it sounds," said George. "We don't think Filch ever got to work out how to use it."

"Well him being a Squib probably didn't help there," said Jack reminding them of this being found out last year.

"Point taken," said Fred "But he probably suspected what it was, though, or he wouldn't have confiscated it."

"And you know how to work it?" Harry asked looking at all three of them.

"Oh yes," said Fred smirking "This little beauty's taught us more than all the teachers in this school."

"You're winding me up," said Harry still thinking it was just an old spare piece of parchment.

"Oh are we?" said George, taking out his wand the holding it to the parchment. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

From where George's wand touched the parchment, inky lines started drawing all over the it, joining, criss-crossing, fanning out, and then words started forming.

.

Messers Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs

Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers

are proud to present

The Marauder's Map

.

As Fred and George explained more about how to use the map to Harry, Jack wondered if he should tell him that Prongs was actually his father and the others were actually his friends.

Saying to himself, that he will when the Weasley Twins weren't there, Jack promised to tell Harry that night in the dormitories.

"So young Harry," said Fred, in an uncanny impersonation of Percy, "mind you behave yourself."

"See you both in Honeydukes," said George, winking and they both left.

Jack watch Harry look at the map for a bit before saying "So we going to the common room so I can do my homework or..."

"We're going to Hogsmeade" said Harry folding up the map "If Filch really doesn't know about these tunnels," he pointed to the ones the twins had shown him "Then we can leave the school without anyone knowing – it's a big place and there are no cameras so no one will know we're gone, plus if we go underground, then we won't need to pass the Dementors at the front gate."

Trying to stay calm and make Harry see scene Jack said:

"Filch might not know about them, but someone might, these people who made the map obviously know about it. And they might still be around, if they see you – whoever they are – someone who doesn't have permission to be out of school, then you might get into trouble."

"It's the last school weekend of term before the Christmas holidays," Harry said arguing "If this tunnel lets out in Honeydukes' cellar then if I'm sneaky about it I would be a needle in a hay-stack among the other students."

Seeing that there was no point trying to get Harry to change his mind, Jack just rubbed his head and said "At least lets go to the dormitory, for me to get dressed up and get my money, and you to get your Invisibility Cloak, just in case."

Frowning a little, but agreeing to this compromise, the two of them headed there and then back to the third floor corridor.

"You go down there, and I'll go the way student's with permission are meant to go." Jack said calmly "Oh and if you find anything scary or dangerous down there, you know like something that might want to kill you, don't blame me."

Saying he understood, Harry went up to the statue's up and after reading the map, tapped it with his wand, said the password, and climbed in.

Sighing, Jack turned to head out the front door, wondering who would get to Honeydukes first.