NOTE: THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN RE-UPLOADED DUE TO SEVERAL ERRORS I ONLY FOUND AFTER POSTING. Also, please read the A/N at the very end.
A word from the author before the chapter begins: Now, I know staying at home and following Social distancing is a pain, but please for the love of everything you hold dear, follow them. Bear with it. Only if we do all the necessary steps and persevere can we finally rid ourselves of the Coronavirus. It did not magically go away by April, as some people promised, and it will probably go on well into the summer months and beyond. It is now at a critical level. So please stay at home as much as possible and only go out when you really have to. Thank you for wasting a few minutes reading this. Let's get on with the story.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
It was another fine Saturday morning in the Dursley household. The two seated at the dining table were in rather high spirits as they downed their not-so-subtle breakfast. Well, actually one of the two persons' breakfast was subtle, the other's breakfast consisted of a sizable mountain of bacon, sausages, hash browns, toast and scrambled eggs.
Vernon and Petunia Dursley were in rather high spirits. So far, none of the neighbours questioned their excuse as to where the unnatural freak had gone to. They recalled how heads almost rolled several years prior, when their respectable new neighbours, the Grangers, inadvertently revealed the unsavoury details about the Potter boy's treatment.
They had justified their condescension by stating several falsities, such as that the boy was a delinquent and a troublemaker, a belief enforced by the boy's appearance as a result of the treatment, which was close enough to the truth, that the boy was a freak and none of their lot should be allowed in society. But when they invited the Grangers over for tea and to get on favourable terms with the family of three, it ended up becoming a heated confrontation, overheard by several neighbours and retold to the rest via gossip, about their son, Dudley's, treatment towards their daughter and their combined treatment of Harry.
That prompted quite a few heated and almost heated discussions with several disturbed neighbours, in which parts of the truth came out. After that, the neighbours were more sympathetic to the boy, something that Vernon and Petunia did not like, but had to deal with. Thankfully, they accepted the explanation that the boy was indeed off to an obscure government boarding school. Even better, the freak himself was not coming back yet, which was always a plus.
What's more, Dudley was finally coming home! It's been months since they'd seen 'Little Diddykins', and they, especially Petunia, were really keen on having him back and spending the holidays to the fullest. Even better, the Grangers, if the gossip held true, were moving back to their old house in Crawley which they originally put up for rent, meaning that once the boy got back all would return to normal.
The doorbell rang. The couple shared a curious look. They weren't expecting anyone, especially not this bloody early. Reluctantly, Vernon stood up from his seat and waddled over to the front door. He forced it open and glared at the person before him, before recoiling slightly at the cold, indifferent gaze of none other than Daniel Granger.
"Mr. Granger," Vernon said, somewhat surprised. "How may I help you this fine morning?"
"Mr. Dursley," Dan replied, his gaze unrelenting and voice steady, betraying little emotion. "May I come in? I have a matter to discuss with you and your wife, and it will be a while,"
Vernon narrowed his piggy eyes at the taller man in front of him. "Very well then. But you're interrupting our breakfast. Petunia makes quite a fine one. I assume you have had yours? Or have you done a runner?" His light tone at the end would have made it sound like a friendly, harmless joke about spouses, but Dan knew the pig before him meant every word. This was another attempt from Vernon Dursley to be as passively hostile as possible, and this one stung. Nobody could just insult his wife like that.
"I actually had mine earlier. Emma knows how to cook up a storm. Who wouldn't want to try her cooking?" He said in a casual tone. "I did offer to cook today, but she insisted," He shook his head. "Sometimes, I feel like I don't deserve her, like she's too good for me,"
"Maybe she is," Vernon mumbled snidely under his breath. Dan heard it, and forced a laugh.
"Ah well, I'm very lucky to have such a brilliant woman reciprocate my affections, as well as the best daughter a man could ever wish for," Dan said lightheartedly.
Vernon winced. Most people would not recognise the retaliation in Dan's statement, but Vernon understood the jab. How could he not, when it was directed towards a painful memory of his?
"Petunia," He called, struggling to keep his voice steady after having certain undesirable memories brought forth. "We have a guest!"
Petunia looked up as the two men entered the kitchen, frowning slightly as she noticed Dan Granger being her guest. "To what do we owe the pleasure of this early morning visit, Dan?"
Dan mentally braced himself for a long heated negotiation as he placed the file he was carrying on the kitchen table. He wanted this done, but knowing the Dursleys, this would mean enduring quite a load of shit before anything concrete is achieved. He was going to need a very strong brandy once it was all over.
The euphoria of Gryffindor's first win over Slytherin in half a decade loitered the castle well into November and December. The defeat of Slytherin was not celebrated solely by the House of Lions, as Harry and Hermione soon found out. As they sat down for breakfast in the Great Hall with Neville the day after the match, their friends from Hufflepuff, accompanied by the veterans of the Badger's matches against Slytherin, came over to congratulate him.
This was followed by Padma, Parvati Patil's twin sister in Ravenclaw, with several of her friends. Apparently, routing the House of Snakes in a game of Quidditch was a big thing, made even bigger, apparently, considering that he had won Gryffindor house not just a victory over its historic rival, but also a considerable amount of house points and lots of gambling prize money.
This meant that he was still the nexus of attention at Hogwarts, something that really grated on him and his friends' nerves. Eventually, even Harry's Hufflepuff friends had to sometimes seek refuge in the more remote parts of the castle grounds during breaks. It was currently December, and by now the excitement had worn down, especially in other houses. That allowed Harry, Hermione and their other friends to finally have some peace, though they would be occasionally pestered by the occasional housemate.
Harry had dragged Hermione out of the library, proclaiming that he could not endure any longer and that Hermione needed to stay out of the library for a while. This was considering that both Harry and Hermione often sought refuge in public and school libraries in the past. Hermione, who was on a rough four hours of sleep, having read nearly double the books Harry had looked through in search of 'Nicholas Flamel', eventually complied, conceding that Flamel and the Stone were both none of their business and thus not worth the effort researching.
Harry really felt he and Hermione could use at least a few days out of the Library. They had been using every minute of their free time thus far poring over books in the library and the common room for any mention of 'Flamel'. Now that she agreed that they had done what would be the equivalent of a year's worth of studying on something irrelevant to them, Harry's thoughts turned slightly depressing.
There was only a week left before the winter break began. He knew that the Dursleys would not be expecting or welcoming him during this coming holiday. He was going to be staying at school, where he could at least get a hot meal, rather than at the Gulag that was the Dursley residence. What really had him in a mopey mood was that even Hermione was heading home. In just a week, he was going to be alone at Hogwarts, with not even his best friend around. It would be eleven days, but to Harry, that was an eternity in isolation.
He tried to pull himself together. After all, he had faced lonely, depressing Christmases with the Dursleys before. At least this time, he would not be worked to the bone and beaten to a pulp. But no matter how he tried to cheer himself up, the fact remained that he had grown accustomed to at least having his best friend just a street away during Christmas, and now he was going to miss her. A lot.
"Oh, cheer up you prat!" Hermione snapped at him from her seat in the common room. He blinked. Apparently, he was completely hopeless at hiding his sadness from Hermione.
He sighed. There was no point trying to deny it. "I'm going to miss you, Hermione,"
Hermione gave him a confused look. "What do you mean? You're coming with me, aren't you?"
Now it was Harry's turn to be confused. Hermione looked at him incredulously. "Did my Mum not explain it in her letter this morning?"
"Erm, Hermione," Harry said, still pretty confused. "I didn't receive any letter this morning,"
Hermione's expression turned to one of disbelief and deep thought. "That's weird. Mum sent me a letter about certain changes in my holiday arrangements. She also said in her letter she sent one to you as well about these changes,"
"What have I got to do with your family's holiday arrangements?" Harry questioned.
Hermione's eyes held a certain gleam that Harry could not exactly interpret. "She's inviting you to stay with us over this Christmas break,"
Harry, needless to say, was surprised and touched by this offer. However, he reined in his excitement before it showed. Hermione was his best friend, and her parents were the nicest people Harry has ever met. To impose on their family during one of the most festive and coveted holidays of the year therefore gave him an awful taste in his mouth.
"Harry, you're not imposing on us," Hermione said. "It's not like we were going to vacate in Hawaii or the Bahamas. Even if we were, we'd still try to bring you along,"
"Christmas is for family, Hermione," Harry replied. "I can't-I won't place a burden on you and your family and disrupt your holidays,"
Hermione rolled her eyes. "A: Christmas is for family AND, if they desire, close friends to celebrate together. B: you are family to me, Harry Potter," She said, flushing slightly as she realised what she let slip in the last sentence.
Harry felt very touched by her adamance. "Alright," he decided to joke. "Which book did you read all that from?"
Hermione playfully swatted him. "It's a simple book titled 'Why Harry Potter should shut up and stop being so bloody selfless as it's ruining him internally', authored by Hermione Granger and co-authored by her mother Emma Granger. It's yet to be published, though I feel it's a rather good read,"
Harry chuckled slightly. "Alright, tell her I accept. Though expect me to pay it back,"
"Harry, you don't have to pay us back," Hermione said, rolling her eyes. "It's just what family does for each other,"
Harry sighed. "I just feel like I owe you and your parents for all that you've done,"
"Well, if I find that you've transferred your entire Gringotts vault's money into my parents bank accounts, you best hope Mum gets you before I do," She said in a mock warning tone.
"Oh, I don't know," Harry said teasingly. "You kind of look cute when you are angry,"
He desperately fought a blush that threatened to surface as he said that last bit. He chanced a glance at Hermione and found that her face was starting to get a little red. Whether from blushing or from anger, he could not tell.
"Cute, you say?" Hermione mumbled dangerously. Harry gulped as Hermione's hand twitched towards her wand. It was definitely the anger. "I'll show you cute, Harry James Potter,"
Moments later, after having chased Harry down the stairs of Gryffindor tower into a secluded section of the tower and hexing some intriguing spells on him, Hermione stood victoriously over a leg-locked Harry, who now had two bunny ears and whisker marks.
"Well?" Hermione said.
"Fine, I'm sorry for saying you look cute when you're mad. Now can you undo this," Harry forced out.
Hermione's eyes had an evil gleam. "No, I don't think I will. You look kind of cute as a bunny," she said. Her smirk faltered slightly as she saw that Harry had one of his own. She did not notice that Harry began to move a little, a sign that her binding spells were fading.
"Not that you don't look cute as you are already- really, you are. All the time-" Harry said, prompting Hermione to blush a little. "But I wonder how cute YOU are as a bunny," He launched himself at Hermione, tickling her and causing her to drop her wand. Harry took out his own and repeated what Hermione did to him. Seconds later, Hermione too had bunny ears and whiskers.
A loud clicking noise forced them to cease their tickle war. Standing a few feet away with a camera in their hands were Fred and George, Harry's teammates and notorious Gryffindor troublemakers.
"Oh no, don't mind us," one of the twins said.
"We'll just snap a few more shots and we'll leave you two love bunnies to your frolicking," The other said.
Harry and Hermione felt their faces burn at these statements. Hermione immediately brandished his wand at the twins and muttered an incantation. Seconds later, the twins' looks of glee and mischief turned to horror. They looked at each other, then down to their pants.
"I've just switched your underwear out with each other," Hermione said. "I could switch it out with something else just as easily. Unless you want a hornets nest I saw near the Forbidden forest to replace them, I suggest you hand over the camera and all the photos and never speak of this to anyone,"
The twins looked at each other. "I don't think this is worth a hornet sting to the privates,"
"You said it brother of mine," They handed the camera and the photos to the two. "We were actually looking for you, Harry,"
"We wanted to hand you an early Christmas present,"
"Early because we wanted to keep it privy from everybody else,"
"Including Hermione,"
"But seeing as she just gave us a threat worthy of a master prankster,"
"We suppose she could be trusted with the holy secret,"
"The divine artifact of mischief,"
"Our secret to success,"
"It is with great pleasure,"
"And honour,"
"That we, Gred,"
"And Forge,"
"Hang on, those aren't our names,"
"Does it matter, brother of mine?"
"Guess not, brother of mine,"
"Hereby present to you," the twin they presumed was Fred unfolded a piece of parchment, tapping his wand and muttering something.
"The Marauders' Map," They said simultaneously. Immediately, writing began to form on the parchment. This was followed by several lines, eventually forming a detailed map of-
"Hogwarts?" Harry asked incredulously.
"Every classroom, broom cupboard, loo and dorm on every single floor of the castle," Fred said.
"Including every secret hidden corridor,"
"Pathway,"
"Entrance,"
"And tunnel,"
"What's more, if you look closely,"
"It also displays every person in the castle,"
"Where they are,"
"And who they are,"
Indeed, there were many moving dots on the map, with a small ribbon displaying the person's name.
"We nicked this from Filch's Cabinet in our first year,"
"And it has helped us ever since,"
Harry took the map in his hands, gazing at it with wonder. Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see Hermione too was stunned by the map. As their eyes roamed the map, something caught Harry's eye. He nudged Hermione and pointed at it, and she too looked confused.
"Uh, Fred? George? Does Hogwarts employ cleaners to tidy up the dormitories?"
"They usually use House elves to do that," Fred said.
"But they're not shown on the map," George lamented.
Harry lowered the map so they could all see it. "Then why," he said, pointing to the first year Gryffindor boy's dormitory. "Is there a 'Peter Pettigrew' in our dorm?"
Harry saw the twins' eyes land on the name and froze. Their expressions turned dark and serious, something uncharacteristic of them.
"In all our years of using this marvel,"
"It has never failed,"
"It had never malfunctioned,"
"We even checked what few charms we knew existed on the parchment,"
"For any signs of age,"
"So it is unlikely the map is broken,"
"But that man in your dorm,"
"Is supposed to be long dead,"
"Which begs the question: How did he survive?"
"And what's he doing in your dorm?"
Harry and Hermione shared a glance. They knew what they had to do, but they doubted the twins were going to enjoy it. They hoped that they would understand.
"Fred, George," Harry said.
"I think we need to tell someone,"
"Are you sure of this?"
"Yes, professor," Harry. "I know that the map may not strictly be allowed, but you've got to hear us out on this,"
Professor McGonagall visibly sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. They managed to find her in the mostly abandoned staff room and told her about the situation. They only hoped she would listen- they already modified the story by saying the map was found by Fred and George in an old classroom.
"We'll discuss the map later, Mr. Potter," She said curtly. "Now as for this man-"
"The map says it's someone by the name of 'Peter Pettigrew'," Harry said. Professor McGonagall squinted at the name on the map, her face darkening. "Fred and George said he was supposed to be dead,"
"Indeed he is," a voice behind them said. They jumped, recognising the voice as none other than Professor Snape. "Did you say he was in your dormitory, Potter?"
Harry met his unnerving stare and shuddered. "Y-yes sir," he said, showing the map. He swore he could see recognition in both Professors' eyes.
"Professor Snape, Professor McGonagall," Hermione continued, "If this 'Peter Pettigrew' really is hiding in the Gryffindor dormitory, then it is important that we rat him out. A grown man creeping around the Gryffindor dormitory who by all means should not be there. I mean, even if he really is not there, it would not hurt to check, would it?"
"I would have to go to the headmaster first-"
"No," Professor Snape interjected, strolling over to Professor McGonagall.
"Excuse me, Severus?" The Scottish lady asked, her eyes narrowed.
"If it turns out to be nothing, there should be no need to interrupt the headmaster. I suggest we investigate before going to him," the potions master said emotionlessly. Harry could have sworn he saw the man mouth 'I'll explain later,' to the Deputy Headmistress.
And so they went. And upon finding the dormitory empty, professor McGonagall was a little annoyed. "Well, there is nobody here. That means your map is faulty, Mr. Potter, Miss Granger,"
"Potter, pass me the map," Professor Snape suddenly said. Harry hesitated. "Potter, pass me the map before I dock a hundred points from your house,"
Reluctantly, Harry handed the map to the potions master, thinking it was now confiscated. He was surprised when the Professor glanced at the map, before pointing his wand at Ron Weasley's empty bed. He levitated the covers, revealing a very fat, sleeping rat.
Professor McGonagall wrinkled her nose. "I'll have a word with the house elves on pest control," she made to leave before Professor Snape put a hand on her shoulder.
"Professor McGonagall, I believe you know how to reverse an animagus transformation?" The professor said icily. The professor whipped around, evidently insulted.
"Of course I do! Why would-" she paused, realisation dawning on her. "You don't think?"
Snape did not say anything. The transfiguration teacher sighed, before pointing her wand at the rat and casting the spell, evidently expecting nothing to happen. It was therefore a surprise when something DID happen.
The rat gave a squeak as it began to enlarge, twisting and turning. The tail was disappearing, and so was its fur. After a good few seconds the rat was no more. In its place a very jittery, shabby, grimy fat man.
Hermione screamed. Both of the professors in the room, noticing the wand Pettigrew had, disarmed him and fired leg locker curses. Harry looked on stunned. He did not know what to make of all this.
"Good morning, Pettigrew," the Potions master snarled sarcastically. "Had a nice rest?"
"S-severus! W-what are y-you doing-?" The man squeaked.
"You know, I always wondered why one of your friends would betray his best friend, who was also your other friend. Black and Potter were the same. Two peas in the same pod of arrogance. Everyone thought you died after confronting Black. Everyone thought you died bravely trying to bring a traitor to justice,"
Harry was lost for words. This man was friends with his father and someone who betrayed his father, who happened to be his father's best friend? What on earth? He had no idea what to make of it. It was Snape's next statements that floored him.
"But it was you who screamed out to the entire street that Black was the traitor. But if you survived, why did you not show yourself to the ministry? Also, of your merry band of marauders you were the coward and the idiot of the lot, not someone who could easily track down the second best scoring student during the OWLs of '75,"
"The dark lord had many spies and operatives within his enemy's ranks. One such spy was a rat animagus who delivered crucial information, including the whereabouts of the Potters," He took out a vial from his cloak and forced its contents down the man's throat.
"The spy once interrupted one of the dark lord's meetings in animagus form to deliver an envelope, before scurrying away." He grabbed one of Pettigrew's arms, pulling back the sleeve to reveal an intricate tattoo. Professor McGonagall and Hermione audibly gasped. "And you also bear a genuine dark mark on your forearm, something only the dark lord's servants possess. Which begs the question: were you the one who sold the Potters out to the dark lord?"
A/N: Please drop a review and tell me what you think. Someone said this was Debauchery in response to the original chapter. I honestly laughed. M8, chill. It's just tickling, not anything more serious. What do you take me for? I have morals, alright? I know where the boundaries are and I don't intend on crossing them. This story will remain "T" rated.
Anyway, thanks for reading this story, and as for the people what dropped a review, you guys are awesome. Please stay tuned for the next chapter. Cya!