Pardon for the late posting, there have been many a cutback in productivity with the summer vacation. much needful sleep was had! Nevertheless, here is the next chapter, and I will strive to be more prepared ahead of time for the next one. please enjoy the next chapter! ~F

Chapter Eight

Hogsmeade Revelations

Two weeks before the end of term, the sky opened up its floodgates and let loose a downfall of dazzling white, leaving the muddy grounds covered in glittering frost in the morning.

Inside the castle, the Christmas spirit was taking over; holiday cheer heavy in the air. Professor Flitwick, the Charms teacher, had already decorated his classroom with shimmering lights that upon investigation turned out to be real, fluttering fairies. The students were all happily discussing their plans for the holidays. Draco had come and given both Harry and Faykan their formal invitations to the Malfoy Yule Tide celebration.

Harry wasn't completely happy with the idea. He liked Draco a lot, but he didn't know what to expect from the other boy's parents. The only times he had met Lucius Malfoy were in Diagon Alley last year and in Professor McGonagall's office, and neither had left him completely impressed with the man. He supposed there was no backing out of it since he and Faykan had already agreed to go earlier, so he would just have to watch his back. Faykan had agreed with him on that idea.

To everyone's delight except Harry's, there was to be another Hogsmeade trip on the very last weekend of the term.

"We can do all our Christmas shopping there!" said Hermione. "Mum and Dad would really love those Toothflossing Stringmints from Honeydukes!"

Resigned to the fact that he would be one of the only two third years staying behind again, Harry had preemptively borrowed a copy of 'Which Broomstick' from Oliver Wood, and decided to spend the day reading up on the different makes. He had been lucky that Faykan had allowed him to ride his custom broom during team practices, but Harry felt that he definitely needed a new broom of his own.

On the Saturday morning of the Hogsmeade trip, Harry bid goodbye to Ron and Hermione, who were wrapped in cloaks and scarves, then turned up the marble staircase with Faykan the fox, and headed back toward Gryffindor Tower. Snow had started to fall outside the windows, and the castle was very still and quiet.

"Psst… Harry!" someone whispered.

He turned, halfway along the third-floor corridor, to see Fred and George peering out at him from behind a statue of a humpbacked, one eyed witch.

"What are you doing?" Harry asked curiously. "How come you're not going to Hogsmeade?"

"We've come to give you a bit of festive cheer before we go," said Fred, with a mysterious wink. "Come in here..."

He nodded toward an empty classroom to the left of the one eyed statue. Harry followed Fred and George inside. George closed the door quietly after Faykan had slipped in and then turned, beaming, to look at Harry.

"Early Christmas present for you, Harry," George said.

Fred pulled something from inside his cloak with a flourish and laid it on one of the desks. It was a large, square, and much worn piece of parchment with nothing written on it. Harry, suspecting one of Fred and George's jokes, stared at it. Faykan jumped onto the table and sniffed it lightly.

"What's that supposed to be?" Harry asked, somewhat suspicious of the blank parchment.

"This, Harry, is the secret of our success," said George, idly stroking Faykan's fur softly.

"It's a wrench, giving it to you," said Fred, "but we decided last night, your needs are greater than ours."

"Anyway, we know it by heart," said George. "We bequeath it to you. We don't really need it anymore."

"And what do I need with a bit of old parchment?" said Harry.

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

George explain how they had stolen the parchment out of Filch's office their first year at Hogwarts.

"It's not as bad as it sounds, you know," said George. "We don't reckon Filch ever found out how to work it. He probably suspected what it was, though, or he wouldn't have confiscated it."

"And you know how to work it?" Harry supplied.

"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 looking at the ragged old bit of parchment.

"Oh, are we?" said George.

He took out his wand, touched the parchment lightly, and said, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

And at once, thin ink lines began to spread like a spider's web from the point that George's wand had touched. They joined each other, they crisscrossed, they fanned into every corner of the parchment; then words began to blossom across the top, great, curly green words, that proclaimed:

Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs

Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers are proud to present

THE MARAUDER'S MAP

They all watched as lines formed on the parchment, mapping out a perfect replica of Hogwarts, and four dots in the classroom they were in; Harry Potter, Fred Weasley, George Weasley, and… Faykan Undol, but for some reason Faykan's name kept shifting, as though trying to change to something else, then abruptly returning to normal.

"That's odd." said Fred

"The map has never done that before." George added.

"Hey… wait a minute; Fay's not here… unless!" Fred said, looking from Faykan the fox to the dot on the map.

"But that means…" George tailed off as they looked at Faykan in amazement.

"You're an Animagus!" they both cried together.

Faykan jumped off the table and changed back, to the cheers from both twins. "That is so cool Fay!" Fred said.

"Why didn't you tell us?" said George, slapping Faykan on the back good-naturedly.

"Anyway," Fred said, returning to the map and tracing one of the passages, "This one will lead you right into Hogsmeade, right into the cellar of Honeydukes. We've used it loads of times. And as you might've noticed, the entrance is right outside this room, through that one-eyed old crone's hump."

"Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs," sighed George, patting the heading of the map. "We owe them so much."

"Noble men, working tirelessly to help a new generation of lawbreakers," said Fred solemnly.

"Right," said George briskly. "Don't forget to wipe it after you've used it or anyone can read it," Fred said warningly.

"Just tap it again and say, 'Mischief managed!' And it'll go blank." They said in unison.

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

"See you in Honeydukes," said George, winking.

"And you young Faykie," Fred added with a cheeky grin, "Keep up with the surprises."

"We look forward to your future with great interest," said George with a mischievous smile.

They left the room, both smirking in a satisfied sort of way.

"Well," said Faykan, "That was unexpected…"

Harry just stood there however, gazing at the miraculous map. He watched the tiny ink Mrs. Norris turn left and pause to sniff at something on the floor. If Filch really didn't know... he wouldn't have to pass the dementors at all...

"Odd, isn't it, how my name is all fuzzy on the map though," Faykan commented, and Harry just nodded absently. He traced the secret passage to Honeydukes with his finger.

Then, quite suddenly, as though following orders, he rolled up the map, stuffed it inside his robes, and hurried to the door of the classroom. Faykan caught him by the arm. But even as Harry turned to protest, he felt Faykan press his invisibility cloak into his other hand, "Thought it would come in handy to keep this around…" Faykan said, waggling his eyebrows knowingly.

Harry opened the door it a couple of inches. There was no one outside. Very carefully, he edged out of the room and behind the statue of the one eyed witch.

"What do we do?" Faykan asked as they approached the statue. Harry pulled out the map again and saw to his astonishment, that the two ink figures of Harry Potter and Faykan Undol were right standing where they were in reality.

Harry watched carefully. His little Ink self appeared to be tapping the witch with his minute wand. Harry quickly took out his real wand and tapped the statue. Nothing happened. He looked back at the map. The tiniest speech bubble had appeared next to his figure. The word inside said, 'Dissendium.'

"Dissendium!" Harry whispered, tapping the stone witch again. At once, the statue's hump opened wide enough to admit a fairly thin person. Harry glanced quickly up and down the corridor, then tucked the map away again, hoisted himself into the hole headfirst, and pushed himself forward.

He slid a considerable way down what felt like a stone slide with Faykan right behind him, then landed on cold, damp earth. They stood up, looking around. It was pitch dark. Harry held up his wand, muttered, "Lumos!" and saw that he was in a very narrow, low, earthy passageway. He raised the map, tapped it with the tip of his wand, and muttered, "Mischief managed!" The map went blank at once. He folded it carefully, tucked it inside his robes, tossed on the Invisibility cloak over him and Faykan, then, hearts beating fast, both excited and apprehensive, they set off.

The passage twisted and turned, more like the burrow of a giant rabbit than anything else. Harry hurried along it, stumbling now and then on the uneven floor, holding his wand out in front of him.

It took ages, but Harry had the thought of Honeydukes to sustain him. After what felt like an hour, the passage began to rise. Panting, Harry sped up, his face hot, his feet very cold.

Ten minutes later, he came to the foot of some worn stone steps, which rose out of sight above him. Careful not to make any noise, Harry began to climb, Faykan right behind him. A hundred steps, two hundred steps, he lost count as he climbed, watching his feet... Then, without warning, his head hit something hard.

"Harry what was that?" Faykan whispered.

Harry felt around above him. It seemed to be a trapdoor. Harry stood there, massaging the top of his head, listening. He couldn't hear any sounds above him. Very slowly, he pushed the trapdoor open and peered over the edge.

They were in a cellar, full of wooden crates and boxes. Harry and Faykan climbed out of the trapdoor, replaced it, and wrapped the Invisibility Cloak around them tighter. Creeping toward the wooden staircase that led upstairs, Harry could definitely hear voices, as well as the tinkling of a bell and the sound of a door opening and closing.

Someone came down to collect something or other, but Harry and Faykan swept past him and up the stairs and found themselves behind the counter of Honeydukes. Honeydukes was so crowded with Hogwarts students that it was slightly difficult to maneuver two people through them, but Faykan and Harry managed. They edged among them, looking around, and suppressed a laugh as he imagined the look that would spread over Dudley's piggy face if he could see where Harry was now.

Harry and Faykan squeezed themselves through a crowd of sixth years and saw a sign hanging in the farthest corner of the shop, reading 'UNUSUAL TASTES'. Ron and Hermione were standing underneath it, examining a tray of blood-flavored lollipops. Harry sneaked up behind them.

"Ugh, no, Harry won't want one of those, they're for vampires, I expect," Hermione was saying.

"How about these?" asked Ron, shoving a jar of Cockroach Clusters under Hermione's nose.

"Definitely not," said Harry stepping out of the Invisibility cloak.

Ron nearly dropped the jar.

"Harry!" squealed Hermione, looking around. "What are you doing here? How did you…?"

"Wow!" said Ron, looking very impressed, "you've learned to Apparate!"

"Course he hasn't," said Faykan as he pulled the cloak off himself, causing both Ron and Hermione to jump again. Harry dropped his voice to that the nearby sixth years couldn't hear them and explained all about the Marauder's Map.

"How come Fred and George never gave it to me!" said Ron, outraged. "I'm their brother!"

"But Harry isn't going to keep it!" said Hermione, as though the idea were ludicrous. "He's going to hand it in to Professor McGonagall, aren't you, Harry?"

"No, I'm not!" said Harry.

"Are you mad?" said Ron, goggling at Hermione. "Hand in something that good?"

"If I hand it in, I'll have to say where I got it! Filch would know Fred and George had nicked it!"

"But what about Sirius Black?" Hermione hissed. "He could be using one of the passages on that map to get into the castle! The teachers have got to know!"

"I highly doubt Sirius Black is going to come across this map if Harry keeps it… Honestly, you'd think Black could walk around invisible and snatch it from us unawares or something, give us a break Hermione. We're not that dense." Faykan said rather hotly.

"Yes, but… but…" Hermione seemed to be struggling to find another problem. "Look, Harry and Faykan still shouldn't be coming into Hogsmeade. Professor McGonagall forbade both of them despite having their forms! If anyone finds out, they'll be in so much trouble!"

"Are you going to report us?" Harry asked her, grinning.

Hermione stiffened, "Oh... of course not, but honestly, Harry…"

But Ron had led Harry and Faykan away by the arm to show them the different sweets by that point, so Hermione just fumed silently and followed them around the store. When Ron and Hermione had paid for all their sweets, the three of them left Honeydukes for the blizzard outside.

Hogsmeade looked like a Christmas card; the little thatched cottages and shops were all covered in a layer of crisp snow; there were holly wreaths on the doors and strings of enchanted candles hanging in the trees.

Harry shivered; unlike the other two, he and Faykan didn't have cloaks. They headed up the street, heads bowed against the wind, Ron and Hermione shouting through their scarves.

"That's the post office…" one would say.

"Zonko's is up there…" the other countered.

"We could go up to the Shrieking Shack…" Faykan suggested.

"Tell you what," said Ron, his teeth chattering, "shall we go for a butterbeer in the Three Broomsticks?"

Harry was more than willing; the wind was fierce and his hands were freezing, so they crossed the road, and in a few minutes were entering the tiny inn.

It was extremely crowded, noisy, warm, and smoky. A curvy sort of woman with a pretty face was serving a bunch of rowdy warlock' up at the bar.

"That's Madam Rosmerta," said Ron. "I'll get the drinks, shall I?" he added, going slightly red.

Harry, Faykan, and Hermione made their way to the back of the room where a small, vacant table sat between the window and a handsome Christmas tree next to the fireplace. Ron came back five minutes later, carrying four foaming tankards of hot butterbeer.

"Merry Christmas!" he said happily, raising his tankard.

Harry drank deeply. It was the most delicious thing he'd ever tasted and seemed to heat every bit of him from the inside.

A sudden breeze ruffled his hair. The door of the Three Broomsticks had opened again. Harry looked over the rim of his tankard and choked.

Professors McGonagall and Flitwick had just entered the pub with a flurry of snowflakes, shortly followed by Hagrid, who was deep in conversation with a portly man in a lime green bowler hat and a pinstriped cloak, Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic.

In an instant, Ron and Hermione had both placed hands on the top of Harry's head and forced him off his stool and under the table, while Faykan ducked under from the other side of the table. Dripping with butterbeer and crouching out of sight, Harry threw the Invisibility cloak around himself while Faykan shifted into the large black fox, and they watched the teachers' and Fudge's feet move toward the bar, pause, then turn and walk right toward him.

Somewhere above him, Hermione whispered, "Mobiliarbus!"

The Christmas tree beside their table rose a few inches off the ground, drifted sideways, and landed with a soft thump right in front of their table, hiding them from view. Staring through the dense lower branches, Harry saw four sets of chair legs move back from the table right beside theirs, then heard the grunts and sighs If the teachers and minister as they sat down.

Next he saw another pair of feet, wearing sparkly turquoise high heels, and heard a woman's voice. "A small gillywater…"

"Mine," said Professor McGonagall's voice.

"Four pints of mulled mead…"

"Ta, Rosmerta," said Hagrid.

"A cherry syrup and soda with ice and umbrella…"

"Mmm!" said Professor Flitwick, smacking his lips.

"So you'll be the red currant rum, Minister."

"Thank you, Rosmerta, m'dear," said Fudge's voice. "Lovely to see you again, I must say. Have one yourself, won't you? Come and join us..."

"Well, thank you very much, Minister."

Harry watched the glittering heels march away and back again. His heart was pounding uncomfortably in his throat. Why hadn't it occurred to him that this was the last weekend of term for the teachers too? And how long were they going to sit there? He needed time to sneak back into Honeydukes if he wanted to return to school tonight... Hermione's leg gave a nervous twitch next to him.

"So, what brings you to this neck of the woods, Minister?" came Madam Rosmerta's voice.

Harry saw the lower part of Fudge's thick body twist in his chair as though he were checking for eavesdroppers. Then he said in a quiet voice, "What else, m'dear, but Sirius Black? I daresay you heard what happened up at the school at Halloween?"

I did hear a rumor," admitted Madam Rosmerta.

"Did you tell the whole pub, Hagrid?" said Professor McGonagall exasperatedly.

"Do you think Blacks still in the area, Minister?" whispered Madam Rosmerta.

"I'm sure of it," said Fudge shortly.

"You know that the dementors have searched the whole village twice?" said Madam Rosmerta, a slight edge to her voice. "Scared all my customers away... It's very bad for business, Minister."

"Rosmerta, dear, I don't like them any more than you do," said Fudge uncomfortably. "Necessary precaution... unfortunate, but there you are... I've just met some of them. They're in a fury against Dumbledore; he won't let them inside the castle grounds."

"I should think not," said Professor McGonagall sharply. "How are we supposed to teach with those horrors floating around?"

"Hear, hear!" squeaked tiny Professor Flitwick, whose feet were dangling a foot from the ground.

"All the same," demurred Fudge, "they are here to protect you all from something much worse... We all know what Black's capable of..."

"Do you know, I still have trouble believing it," said Madam Rosmerta thoughtfully. "Of all the people to go over to the Dark Side, Sirius Black was the last I'd have thought... I mean, I remember him when he was a boy at Hogwarts. If you'd told me then what he was going to become, I'd have said you'd had too much mead."

"You don't know the half of it, Rosmerta," said Fudge gruffly. "The worst he did isn't widely known."

"The worst?" said Madam Rosmerta, her voice alive with curiosity, "Worse than murdering all those poor people, you mean?"

"I certainly do," said Fudge.

"I can't believe that. What could possibly be worse?" "You say you remember him at Hogwarts, Rosmerta," murmured Professor McGonagall.

"Do you remember who his best friend was?"

"Naturally," said Madam Rosmerta, with a small laugh. "Never saw one without the other, did you? The number of times I had them in here… ooh, they used to make me laugh. Quite the double act, Sirius Black and James Potter!"

Harry dropped his tankard with a loud clunk. Ron kicked him, missing and hitting Faykan the fox in the side, who yelped loudly.

"Precisely," said Professor McGonagall. "Black and Potter. Ringleaders of their little gang. Both very bright, of course… exceptionally bright, in fact… but I don't think we've ever had such a pair of troublemakers…"

"I dunno," chuckled Hagrid. "Fred and George Weasley could give 'em a run fer their money."

"You'd have thought Black and Potter were brothers!" chimed in Professor Flitwick. "Inseparable!"

"Of course they were," said Fudge. "Potter trusted Black beyond all his other friends. Nothing changed when they left school. Black was best man when James married Lily. Then they named him godfather to Harry. Harry has no idea, of course. You can imagine how the idea would torment him."

"Because Black turned out to be in league with You-Know-Who?" whispered Madam Rosmerta.

"Worse even than that, m'dear..." Fudge dropped his voice and proceeded in a sort of low rumble. "Not many people are aware that the Potters knew You-Know-Who was after them. Dumbledore, who was of course working tirelessly against You-Know-Who, had a number of useful spies. One of them tipped him off, and he alerted James and Lily at once. He advised them to go into hiding. Well, of course, You-Know-Who wasn't an easy person to hide from. Dumbledore told them that their best chance was the Fidelius Charm."

"So Black was the Potters' Secret-Keeper?" whispered Madam Rosmerta.

"Naturally," said Professor McGonagall. "James Potter told Dumbledore that Black would die rather than tell where they were, that Black was planning to go into hiding himself... and yet, Dumbledore remained worried. I remember him offering to be the Potters' Secret-Keeper himself."

"He suspected Black?" gasped Madam Rosmerta.

"He was sure that somebody close to the Potters had been keeping You-Know-Who informed of their movements," said Professor McGonagall darkly. "Indeed, he had suspected for some time that someone on our side had turned traitor and was passing a lot of information to You-Know-Who."

"But James Potter insisted on using Black?"

"He did," said Fudge heavily. "And then, barely a week after the Fidelius Charm had been performed…"

"Black betrayed them?" breathed Madam Rosmerta.

"He did indeed. Black was tired of his double-agent role, he was ready to declare his support openly for You-Know-Who, and he seems to have planned this for the moment of the Potters' death. But, as we all know, You-Know-Who met his downfall in little Harry Potter. Powers gone, horribly weakened, he fled. And this left Black in a very nasty position indeed. His master had fallen at the very moment when he, Black, had shown his true colors as a traitor. He had no choice but to run for it…"

"Hagrid, please!" said Professor McGonagall. "Keep your voice down!"

"How was I ter know he wasn' upset abou' Lily an' James? It was You-Know-Who he cared abou'! An' then he says, 'Give Harry ter me, Hagrid, I'm his godfather, I'll look after him…' Ha! But I'd had me orders from Dumbledore, an' I told Black no, Dumbledore said Harry was ter go ter his aunt an' uncle's. Black argued, but in the end he gave in. Told me ter take his motorbike ter get Harry there. 'I won't need it anymore,' he says.

"I shoulda known there was somethin' fishy goin' on then. He loved that motorbike, what was he givin' it ter me for? Why wouldn' he need it anymore? Fact was, it was too easy ter trace. Dumbledore knew he'd bin the Potters' Secret-Keeper. Black knew he was goin' ter have ter run fer it that night, knew it was a matter o' hours before the Ministry was after him.

"But what if I'd given Harry to him, eh? I bet he'd 've pitched him off the bike halfway out ter sea. His bes' friends' son! But when a wizard goes over ter the Dark Side, there's nothin' and no one that matters to em anymore..."

A long silence followed Hagrid's story. Then Madam Rosmerta said with some satisfaction, "But he didn't manage to disappear, did he? The Ministry of Magic caught up with him next day!"

"Alas, if only we had," said Fudge bitterly. "It was not we who found him. It was little Peter Pettigrew, another of the Potters' friends. Maddened by grief, no doubt, and knowing that Black had been the Potters' Secret-Keeper, he went after Black himself."

"Pettigrew... that fat little boy who was always tagging around after them at Hogwarts?" said Madam Rosmerta.

"Hero worshipped Black and Potter," said Professor McGonagall. "Never quite in their league, talent wise. I was often rather, hard with him. You can imagine how I regret that now..." She sounded as though she had a sudden head cold.

"There, now, Minerva," said Fudge kindly, "Pettigrew died a hero's death. Eyewitnesses… Muggles, of course, we wiped their, memories later, told us how Pettigrew cornered Black. They say he was sobbing, 'Lily and James, Sirius! How could you?' And then he went for his wand. Well, of course, Black was quicker. Blew Pettigrew to smithereens..."

Professor McGonagall blew her nose and said thickly, "Stupid boy... foolish boy... he was always hopeless at dueling... should have left it to the Ministry..."

"Well, there you have it, Rosmerta," said Fudge thickly. "Black was taken away by twenty members of the Magical Law Enforcement 'Squad and Pettigrew received the Order of Merlin, First Class, which I think was some comfort to his poor mother. Blades been in Azkaban ever since."

Madam Rosmerta let out a long sigh.

"But what do you think he's broken out to do?" said Madam Rosmerta. "Good gracious, Minister, he isn't trying to rejoin You-Know-Who, is he?"

I daresay that is his… err, eventual plan," said Fudge evasively. "But we hope to catch Black long before that. I must say, You-Know-Who alone and friendless is one thing... but give him back his most devoted servant, and I shudder to think how quickly he'll rise again..."

There was a small chink of glass on wood. Someone had set down their glass.

"You know, Cornelius, if you're dining with the Headmaster, you'd better head back up to the castle," said Professor McGonagall.

One by one, the pairs of feet in front of Harry took the weight of their owners once more; hems of cloaks swung into sight, and Madam Rosemerta's glittering heels disappeared behind the bar. The door of the Three Broomsticks opened again, there was another flurry of snow, and the teachers had disappeared.

"Harry?"

Ron's and Hermione's faces appeared under the table. They were both staring in his general direction, lost for words. Faykan had his front paws resting on Harry through the Cloak, preventing him from leaving.

A moment later, Faykan changed and was holding Harry by the shoulders, as Ron and Hermione peeled the cloak off him. "Harry…" Faykan said, but Harry didn't hear him. Why had nobody ever told him? Dumbledore, Hagrid, Mr. Weasley, Cornelius Fudge... why hadn't anyone ever mentioned the fact that Harry's parents had died because their best friend had betrayed them?

"Look at me Harry…" Faykan said, shacking Harry slightly to pull him out of his stupor, "We need to get back to the castle. I know you must be in shock about this, but I need you to focus for the time being…"

Together they pulled the Invisibility cloak back over them, bade goodbye to Ron and Hermione, and slipped back through Honeydukes, down the secret passage, and back into Hogwarts…

Potential Spoilers Ahead, You Have Been Warned

So, much dialogue in this chapter, hence the low word count, and therefore little in the realm of changes. This is also one of the strange, and rare, chapters that are all one perspective. I was making a clear effort to work towards an entire chapter for a perspective in preparation for a publishable novel, where character perspectives would be one per chapter, instead of 3-5 per chapter. and yes, said novel is something I am still working toward, possibly as soon as other fanfiction is completed. Still, minor alterations to make sure speakers are clear, and some small dialogue changes to point out small things. otherwise, holding very true to the original. I'm getting the feeling that many of the chapters will be very similar until later in this book and into the 4th or even 5th book, where things with LotR start to become even more heavily involved.