*Chapter 3
We had left the curtains open last night so I was woken up by a stream of light at 6:15am coming from the window between Lavendar and Pavarti's beds. I am not a morning person and I really don't like to wake up at all never mind at this time. Note to self, ensure the curtains are closed. This does however provide an opportunity to go and find that map that Uncle Remus was telling me about. I get ready for the day quickly and head downstairs before any of the others are awake.
"What are you doing up so early?" I am caught by Katie Bell, my cousin.
"I'm going for an explore." I fib with an innocent smile. "What about you?"
"I'm always up this early." Katie regards me suspiciously. "Shall I join you?" I weigh up my options, I don't exactly know where Filch's office is only that it's near the first-floor girls bathroom. I'm sure she could be convinced to be my lookout.
"That would be a huge help, I wouldn't want to get lost." She looks at me dubiously as I grin. "I want to go to the first floor." Katie decides to accept the situation and leads the way out of the Gryffindor Common Room and down several staircases. We chat about Quidditch and how wonderful it is me becoming a Gryffindor, how great her Dad is doing these days. She agrees to speak to Oliver Wood about letting me practice my Quidditch skills at some point.
"So, this is the first floor, there is a girls bathroom just here." She informs gesturing to door. "But nobody uses it unless they are desperate, there is a ghost of a girl who died in there called Moaning Myrtle, she has no sense of personal space even when you're trying to use the facilities." Katie pulls a face and then goes on. "Professor McGonagall's office is down there and so is Madam Pomfrey's, she is the Matron and an incredibly good healer. The Hospital Wing is just down this corridor if you're ever not feeling well." She pauses at a small staircase going down to another corridor. "Down there is Filch's office, it's best to avoid him and there at all costs."
She doesn't notice me divert down the stairs away from her as she continues with her tour, there is a funny smell in this cramped gangway. I follow it around a corner straight into Katie. "Merlin!" I hiss in shock.
"What are you doing?" She both shouts and whispers. We stand next to the door of Filch's office, I try the handle, it's locked. "Have you had something confiscated already?" Katie shakes her head at me and sighs. "I'm going to regret this. Alohamora." The door unlocks with a click.
"Stand guard." I order as I push the door open. It's a small, simple room with a single oil lamp hanging from the ceiling. It smells vaguely of fried fish. There are several filing cabinets against the walk around a desk that has strewn several papers over it including Punishment Records and a list of Forbidden items at Hogwarts. One of those filing cabinets was marked 'Confiscated and Highly Dangerous', I try to pull open the top draw labelled, '1960's and 1970's' but it too is locked. "Damn it." I whip my wand out to have a go "Alohamora." The top draw bounces open slightly, I pull the draw out and flick through the year dividers up to 1978. In the 1978 section is a bottle of Skele-Gro, a frisbee which seems to have eyes, several paint fireworks, a colour changing quill and a bouncing water grenade. Those water grenades are super fun, I pocket that and a couple of the fireworks, I'm certain these belonged to Uncle Remus and his friends back in the day anyway. But what I'm after is under the bottle of Skele-Gro, a seemingly inconspicuous wadge of parchment papers.
Suddenly there is a knock at the door, I stuff the paper in my pocket and push the draw shut at lightening speed and join Katie in the corridor. "We need to get to breakfast and it's too stressful just waiting out here. Are you sorted?" She asks at my nod she points her wand at the door again. "Colloportus. Come on." She grabs me this time and tows me towards the Great Hall and plonks me at the Gryffindor Table in a huff across from the Weasley Twins. The boys exchange a look.
"What's up with you?" The ask Katie in unison.
"Nothing." She replies as she starts filling her plate with sausages and eggs. "Though I think you've got competition. Rory tried to get me in trouble before the first lessons had even begun."
"Don't be daft, we were in and out. You offered to come." I point out.
"Which is not something I would have done if I had known what you were actually planning to do Aurora-Shaw." Kate grumbled. I pull out my best doe eyes and pout, it would not work on anyone else in the family, except perhaps for Mum. But they don't actually like me.
"I'm ever so sorry Katiekins." I apologize and bat my eyes. Katie softens as predicted and we get on with our breakfast, the Weasley twins grinning at my show. "I could never do the twin talking with Allie, I wonder what it would be like not to have a twin that sucks." Katie whacks me on the arm with a look. I spot Harry, Ron and Hermione as the enter the Hall so I wave them over, Hermione slides in next to me.
"You were up early this morning, where did you get off to?" She asks as she spreads marmalade on her toast.
"Katie just took me on a bit of a tour of the First Floor…" I am interrupted by someone clearing their throat behind me, I turn to see my haughty twin stood there. "Good morning Allidora, to what do I owe the pleasure." We are almost exactly alike in looks my twin and I apart from our eyes, I have mum's lovely blue eyes, the same as Katie's actually whereas Allie has Father's dark brown eyes. Allie always keeps her hair perfectly straight whereas mine tends to do as it pleases. You could hardly tell us apart when we were little, looking at her now, I think her nose is slightly turned up unlike mine.
"Good morning Kat, I hope Uncle Joseph is well." Allie gives Katie a brilliant smile before turning back to me. "I need to use the owl, Aurora, to write Mummy and Daddy and tell them the good news." Shoot, I never wrote Uncle Remus last night like I planned.
"Sorry Allie, I wrote Uncle Remus last night." I lie, her face screws up in a glare. "You can send it as soon as he gets back, or you could ask to use Abe's owl."
"You wrote to Uncle Remus before our parents." Allie scorns. "Father will not be happy about that. Father let you have Dionysus on the condition that I could use him whenever I want."
"I don't know what to tell you sis, I'm not a seer. Perhaps you should have chosen a more useful pet than a cat." I retort. "And Father will only know if you tell him." I turn back to my breakfast as Allie stomps off. "Which you will."
Fred and George turn to one another. "It must be like having Percy as a twin." The boys shiver. "Don't worry." Fred continues. "We'll be your twin. If you tell us what naughty little things you got up to this morning."
"Sorry lads." I reply. "I already asked to join the Weasley clan and was declined by Ron, something about six is more than enough." We all descend into chuckles.
"Well its true." Ron laughs. "And I don't care what you say, we will not like her more than you. Not bloody likely." That cheers me up a bit.
"Thanks Ron." I say.
"I hardly even see if family resemblance if I'm honest." Harry goes on. "Are you sure that you're twins?" Our laughter is interrupted by Professor McGonagall as she hands out our timetables revealing what our first lesson will be at Hogwarts. Hermione eagerly pours over her paper.
"We have Potions first." She looks up at me and pulls a face. "In the dungeons?" Fred and George chuckle.
"Yeah he's the Head of Slytherin, their rooms are in the dungeons too." I reply.
"How ghastly. Herbology straight after Potions. Then we have Charms followed by Transfiguration after lunch." Hermione continues. Harry looks very unsure as to what any of what Hermione has just said means.
"Don't worry Harry, we'll find our when we get there." I grin. "Rubbish though, no bloody flying lesson until next Thursday." I grumble standing. "I'll meet you outside the Great Hall at 10 to 9 and we can find our way down to the dungeons together." I receive various goodbyes as I head back up to the Gryffindor Common Room and to my bedroom.
I go to my trunk to stash the firework and grenades then retrieve the books I'll need for this morning as well as some parchment plus a quill and ink. I had better write Uncle Remus and send the letter before Allie spots Dion in the owlery, I grab Dionysus some treats as well. He's gorgeous, my owl, he is a Eurasian Eagle Owl with peppered black and white feathers. And he has the most beautiful amber eyes, Allie is right though, they only let me have an owl so Allie could use. I rush back downstairs to a table and start writing my letter.
Dear Uncle Remus,
Sorry I didn't write you last night, I was so stuffed after the feast and had only laid on my new bed for a moment and before I knew it, it was morning. I woke up incredibly early and so I snuck into Filch's office with help from Katie and stole back the Marauders Map.
I paused for a moment and put my quill down, I hadn't actually checked it was the Marauders Map. Uncle Remus had instructed me on the whereabouts of it, he and his friends created it when they were at Hogwarts. I pulled out my wand along with the stolen parchment papers and opened them flat on the table.
"I solemnly swear I am up to no good." I recited as I tapped the parchment with my wand. The cover page exploded with swirls and decorations began to appear around the edges then a header.
Messrs
MOONY, WORMTAIL,
PADFOOT & PRONGS
are proud to present
The sketching of four animals appear below this; A Wolf, A Rat, A Dog and A Stag. The dark red sketches encircle the title.
The
MARAUDERS
ANIMAGUS GUIDE
This was certainly not what I was expecting, Uncle Remus never told me about this. Maybe he didn't know it had been taken as well. I flick though the pages, it seems like almost a handwritten diary of what they did to become animagus's. All four of them seem to have wrote in it. What books to read beforehand. The various steps. What you would need. How to make the Animagus potion that completed the transformation.
It would be difficult. It took the Marauders years. It would be so worth it though, I could help Uncle Remus and I would be an animagus like they were. And they didn't have a guide, it might not take me as long. And they might have completed it sooner if Uncle Peter hadn't kept swallowing his mandrake leaf, one of the had wrote;
In the end we had to use a sticking charm on the mandrake leaf and stuck it under Wormtail's tongue for the whole month.
"What have you got there?" I hear suddenly making me jump. The Weasley Twin's are stood at the end of the table trying to peer over my shoulder.
"Mischief Managed." I whisper quickly and stow the guide back in my pocket. "I'm just writing the letter a letter to my Uncle before Allidora notices that my owl is actually still here at Hogwarts. If you don't mind." They exchange a look then hold their hands up in a sign of peace and walk away. I quickly return to writing my letter.
Dear Uncle Remus,
Sorry I didn't write you last night, I was so stuffed after the feast and had only laid on my new bed for a moment and before I knew it, it was morning. I woke up incredibly early and so I snuck into Filch's office with help from Katie and stole back the Marauders Map.
It's not the Map, it's an animagus guide, you never told me about this! I am definitely doing this, you must help me. I will not take no for an answer. I am so excited and I could help you just like they did. I'm not sure where the map is, it wasn't where you said it would be.
I can't believe I've not told you about the sorting yet, Allidora of course went to Ravenclaw and I, your Marauder Protégé, am in the house of my forefathers. I am a Gryffindor just like you and I have already met some amazing friends, there is no way I am going to want to return home and leave here at the end of the year. Not a chance.
I've got Potions first this morning, I'd better get down there early, I'd hate to get on Snape's bad side so soon. I love you most.
I almost forgot, one of my amazing new friends which I met on the train. Harry Potter.
Write Soon, Rory xx
I sealed it and ran for the owlery, it was getting late, I was supposed to be meeting the guys in less than five minutes. There are so many staircases in this building especially from the Owlery Tower all the way down to the dungeons. I whistle Dion down, bribing him with a treat. I tie the letter to his leg and send him on his way.