"How did you get it?" Becky grinned excitedly once they were safely in their dormitory. Millie grinned and pulled out the now-familiar dog-eared piece of parchment.
"Easy - I saw it, and hid it, made sure Sirius saw me take something-"
"Why?" Becky asked.
"So he'd want to test it out," Millie smiled. "Look - I charmed the paper he THOUGHT was the map!"
There was a quick silence, Becky's face suddenly lightening up, "So... so when he said the thing that opened the map, you-!"
"Basically got it recorded!" Millie grinned gleefully, "Using magic!"
"Oh how I love Hogwarts" Becky said gleaming.
Millie tapped her wand and suddenly a bits of ink began to spread up the page.
"Millie-"
"I wasn't expecting this.."
The map revealed an inscription saying; Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief - Makers are proud to present THE MARAUDERS MAP.
"Whoa.." Becky said, grapping the map out of Millie's hands. "Hey wait!" Becky quickly said.
"What?" Millie asked looking over her shoulder.
"It's saying something else!"
The inky words began to spread again.
Moony doesn't believe this map belong to either of you two.
Both Millie and Becky looked at each other, more words began to appear.
Millie tapped her wand and suddenly a bits of ink began to spread up the page.
"Millie-"
Mr Pettigrew agrees with Mr Moony and wonders how two girls got hold of their map.
Becky let go of the map so it fell onto the desk they were standing over and took a step back, Millie also stepping back. The words were still visible, even from their distance, and they saw as a new sentence appeared.
Mr Prongs thinks that the two girls in question should hand back this map at once or be in DIRE CONSEQUENCES. They have witnessed a Marauders pack secret.
Becky's face suddenly lifted, "They want it back..!"
"No shit, Sherlock-"
"Shh!" Becky interrupted and beckoned for Millie to take a step forwards again to see the map.
Mr Padfoot thinks that Miss Fumagall and Miss Johnston are two untrustable thieves and need to get OUT of their dormitories!
Mr Prongs agrees with Mr Padfoot and knows the girls should stop being COWARDS.
"Oi!" Millie shouted towards the unresponsive map and Becky looked unusually NOT confused.
"You know what this means? We have 'witnessed a Marauders pack secret'?"
Millie looked up, "It can't be..!"
"Yes!" Said Becky excitedly, "We've got to become a Marauder now!"
"Oh my gosh yeah! - Wait! No!"
"What?" Becky said, still looking over the map.
"We cant be Marauders! What about Lily?"
"Yes we… Oh.."
Millie looked back at the map. "We're not giving it back!" Millie finished by sticking out her tongue like a child.
"Millie you looked so stupid" Becky giggled.
On this rare occasion I, Mr Prongs agrees with Miss Fumagall
I, Mr Padfoot want our map back!
"I, Miss- Oh look! Now you've got me doing it!" Becky started.
"How can you hear us?" Millie finished.
I, Mr Moony, can answer that.
"Well go on then!" Becky exclaimed.
I, Mr Prongs, think that's another trade secret that we DON'T WANT TO SHARE, thank you!
"Fine," Millie grinned, "But think - if we're capable of getting the Marauders map, and then succeeding in opening it, why can't we figure out how a little wittle gang of boys can hear us?"
There was a pause, and Becky smiled at Millie, both of them knowing right now the boys, or the boys in the map, where trying to figure out what to write next.
Both Becky and Millie smirked. "Got you now" Becky said.
Shut-up
"Okay, who was that?" Millie said agitated.
It doesn't matter. Just give us back the map! (this is James by the way)
"NO!" Both Millie and Becky said. At this point Millie decided to close the map to try and snap what ever connection there was. Millie was adamant that she was keeping the map.
(With the boys - Down in the common room)
"Your seriously hurt my legs when you fell on me Prongs" Sirius said rubbing his left leg.
"Sorry," James said grudgingly, "blame Fumagall and Johnston"
"How are we going to get the map back?" Sirius queried.
"I don't know yet!" James exclaimed, a little angrily, "I need to figure out what to do."
"Well, first, we got to set the map up so we can write these little messages, even if we AREN'T here," Sirius mused, and James looked up, surprised.
"Um... yeah, okay," He agreed, and there was a hint of a smile.
"I'm going to write back something-" Sirius said, "-Pass the quill."
James gave him the quill he was holding, and Sirius pulled a mysterious bit of parchment towards him. It seemed blank and normal, as did the quill, until Sirius pointed his want at the quill and muttered a charm.
"Why did you do it again?" Asked James.
"It had worn off," Sirius said in a 'duh' tone.
He leant over and scrawled a message onto the paper. Both boys watched as the ink gleamed on the parchment for a few seconds, then seemed to disappear through the paper.
(in the girls dorm)
Millie and Becky were looking rather proud of themselves. Millie was just about to put the map down when it started to say something, again.
Becky leaned over to see why Millie had stop folding it.
I, Mr Padfoot think that ONE of you is going to have to come down, at some point.
Millie gulped, now it was there turn to be stumped at what to write.
"Oh dear," Becky mumbled, "Millie?" Becky said nervously.
"Shh!" Millie said scribbling something down, she then showed it to Becky.
'Don't Worry. Just don't say anything and they can't hear us!'
Becky nodded, still not having a good feeling about this.
It was around 3:00am when Becky woke with a jolt. Rubbing her eyes blearily, she yawned, stretched and lay in her bed, staring at the ceiling. She'd had a weird dream that she was going to the shop to get some milk for Millie's cat, but her broom had broken, so she was on a bike, and then fell. That's why she had a jolt.
Suddenly Becky had this freaky craving for milk. Really badly. So she simply got up, put on her yellow - fluffy bunny slippers, and walked out the dormitory.
She slipped out the portrait hole, to a grumpy fat lady who wanted her sleep, and tiptoed along the corridors until she got to the picture of a pear. She tickled it and it let her inside.
To her surprise, it wasn't lit by the half-moon in the sky, the lights were on, and a familiar smell of-
"Waffles?" Becky said, waking up properly. At once, a dozen house-elfs surrounded her, asking her what she wanted, and piling her arms with food.
Meanwhile in the girls dormitory Millie had woken. She'd left her window open and it was letting in little green-flies. Millie shut her window and walked over to Becky's bed looking for the bug spray. Only till she found it did she notice Becky wasn't there.
Quickly Millie patted on the duvet making sure she wasn't being silly, but nothing. Millie's thoughts were going one mile a minute. "The Marauders!" Millie quickly shoved on her matching pink bunny slippers and began to make a run for the stairs.
Millie reached the top and stopped. She'd heard something. She craned her neck, adrenaline pumping when just as Millie was about to shout she saw Becky carrying A LOT of food. Millie sighed, laughing to herself.
"Becky!" Millie said in a hushed tone.
Becky looked up and grinned, she passed the waffles, big bar of chocolate, and placed the butter beer bottles and sandwiches on the floor.
"I was hungry! Look I got some for you"
Millie grinned, realisation hit. "The boys!"
"Shit!" Becky replied.. Loudly.
There was a sudden bang, and the sofa near to Becky moved. Becky screamed, and Millie ran down a few stairs to help with the food when something strange happened.
Imagine a towel was covering James and Sirius and it slipped off. Now imagine that towel was invisible.
"The invisibility cloak, you idiot-" Sirius started, but looked at the two girls, who were froze in shock. It was quite funny, because Becky was clutching a bag of Cheese Puffs, while Millie was holding a plate of waffles and reaching for some butterbeer.
"Got hungry?" James grinned.
"Run!" Millie shouted, dropped the butterbeer and ran upstairs with the waffles, syrup dripping down her wrist and onto the stairs. Becky squealed and tried the grab all the food and running simultaneously.
Both James and Sirius ran to the staircase and jumped onto the first step, which instantly melted, the boys quickly jumping back. Becky, not even halfway up the stairs, shrieked, tripped and fell, the bottle of butterbeer opening, drenching the 'slide' with the insides of the sandwiches. She slid down and barged into James's and Sirius's knees, knocking them over too.
Millie had made it to the top of the stairs, she was trying to look down and see if Becky was okay but couldn't otherwise she would fall down too.
Becky on the other hand was drenched. She was about to scream when she felt someone's hand clamp down on her mouth. Becky quickly made eye contact and glared.
"I really suggest you don't scream right now.. Considering you're covered in food" Sirius said smirking.
Soon James came into Becky's view holding some material and a small little bag. James kneeled down and got out a little bit of this stuff that looked like dust. Soon enough Becky realised what it was…Sleeping Dust.
She was just about to struggle away when Sirius grabbed one of her wrists and James grabbed the other.
James suddenly released the dust into Becky's face. Becky yawned and fell limp into a peaceful slumber..
Becky's head lolled to the side, and at once she woke up. Blinking quickly, she tried to take in the room around her.
It was a smallish room, probably the size of half of her dormitory. The walls were plain white, and Becky was sitting on a chair, with a table in front of her. Two lamps were lit, but strangely, there was no door. It wasn't exactly hostile, but it certainly wasn't as homely as the rest of Hogwarts. If I'm even in Hogwarts, She thought.
As she adjusted to the room, Sirius, who was leaning against the wall, stood up straight and took a step forward. James muttered, "Finally," to himself and moved closer too.
"Oi!" Becky shouted, fully alert. She tried to stand up from her chair, but as much as she tried to move her feet and legs, she felt as if a heavy weight was being pressed down on her, "What have you done?"
"Simple sticking charm," Sirius grinned coyly, "Wouldn't want you running away, huh?"
"And the better question is what have YOU done," James replied.
Millie hadn't heard anything, she was getting worried. She was just about to call Becky's name when the stairs came back up.
Millie quickly ran down, nearly tripping over her own feet. She landed on the bottom step and looked around, nothing, she thought.
Millie looked up the stairs and saw the mess that had been created and quickly muttered scourgify - cleaning spell. It was clean in an instant.
She continued to look around the room, she had no idea where they were gone, and she had no idea how many secret passages the Marauders knew. Probably more than her!
"I haven't DONE anything!" Becky argued.
"Hmm, not like, I don't know," Sirius mock-thought, "Stealing the Marauders Map?"
"Becky?" Millie whispered, then thought, What the hell, and shouted, "BECKY!"
No answer.
Suddenly Millie had a brilliant idea and ran up the newly clean stairs. She gently pushed open the dormitory door, and went to her bedside table, where the map lay, folded up, but not wiped. She needed to learn how to do that.
Taking the map into the bathroom, Millie locked the door, lit the candles with her wand and muttered, "Muffliato!" to the doors, so no one could wake up and then hear her.
She unfolded the map and scanned it quickly for the name tag reading, "Rebekah Fumagall" - but she couldn't find it!
She leaned closer and looked properly - over and over and over for at least 10 minutes - but to no avail! Becky was not on the map and therefore, NOT IN HOGWARTS!
"Fumagall-" James started, only to be met back with a smile and,
"Potter"
"Where is the map?" James tried again.
"Where is your brain?" Becky asked back.
James rolled his eyes. "Just tell us where it is and you can go"
Becky was fidgeting around, "where's my wand?" She asked dryly.
Sirius pulled it out of his pocket and held it slightly over her head, Becky went to reach for it only for Sirius to tug it away again, she huffed.
"We're the Marauders, you don't think we really would of let you have your wand. Do you?" He asked.
Becky decided to fold her arms and not say anything.
"Where is it?" James asked again. Becky stayed silent.
"In the kitchens. I left it in there on the way to get food."
"Really?" Sirius asked.
"No, you dumb shit, why would I tell you?"
"Oi-" Sirius raised his voice but James stopped him and muttered something in his ear. Becky tried to act like she didn't want to know, but she was straining her ears trying to hear. Sirius nodded and stepped away from James and towards a painting.
"Becky-" James started.
"What?" She snapped her head around to his, when he placed both hands over her eyes. She yelled and tried to get her head out of his grip, and for a moment she saw a glimpse of what looked like Sirius's feet going through the wall! There was a passage behind the painting, which slammed shut and Becky moved her head forwards where James's grip relaxed, and tried not to act as though she'd seen. Now she just needed to get her wand, remove the curse, and get out.
Sirius ventured back into the common room, he was looking for Millie.
He knew there was no point in even trying to go up to the girls dormitories, so he just sat down on the sofa hoping Millie would come back soon.
Millie folded the map angrily and shoved it in her bunny slipper. She was going to go find them, whatever it took. As Millie went into the common room she saw Sirius.
She went up and poked him. Sirius jumped in surprise, and then realised who it was.
"I was looking for you!" They both said.
"What? Where's Becky?" Millie asked confused.
"I'll show you...Eh, you've got to be blind folded though" He said sheepishly.
"WHAT? No! Do you really think I would come with you if I was blind folded?"
"Do you want to see Becky or not?" He asked simply.
"Why are you acting like this is a trail for murder? You've effectively KIDNAPPED my friend - and may I remind you, it's around four in the morning?"
"Because this is serious, okay?"
"Really? I had the impression YOU were Sirius," Millie chuckled and Sirius huffed, pulling out a dark handkerchief.
"Put this on," He ordered. Millie opened her mouth, but he just took her wrist, turned her around and quickly tied on the material. Millie protested, but he had tied it in a special knot and grabbed her hand, pulling her across the room.
"SIRIUS! GET OFF ME!" She shouted. Sirius yanked her hand really hard so they both stopped and only she could hear him if anyone was around. Which they weren't.
"Look, THIS is the easy way, got that? I know a spell which can stick your tongue to the roof of your mouth, so I suggest you shut up!"
"Acting all hard, eh Black?" Millie said venomously, but he yanked her arm again a which she winced. They left the portrait hole.
Becky at this point was ignoring James.
James looked like he had given up, he was leaning against the wall again while Becky just looked stubbornly off into the distance.
"Becky.." James coxed, she didn't reply. "You're acting like a child"
"You're the one who just kidnapped me over a map!"
James glared moving closer to Becky. "It's an important map!" He argued back. Becky could see her wand in James pocket, Sirius must have given it to him, if she could get him to come slightly closer she could grab for it.
"It doesn't even do anything special!" Becky shouted, "Take your bloody map back!" and idea was forming in her head, if she could pull it off.
"What?" James asked incredulously, "NOW you're giving it back?"
"Yes, James." Becky replied as if she were talking to a two-year-old. James narrowed his eyes, and picked a wand out of his pocket; his own. He flicked his wand and a wooden chair from the corner of the room slid across the floor and next to him, where he sat.
Becky yawned.
"So..." James asked, and put his arms on the desk, leaning towards Becky, "Where is it?"
"You see my hand?" Becky asked quietly, holding out her palm.
"Yeah?" James answered, leaning in.
"Well-" Becky paused and suddenly slapped him round the face!
Millie was humming, loudly. She had decided while walking that she was going to annoy Sirius as much as possible.
"Johnston stop it" Sirius muttered pulling her along again.
Millie stopped humming for some brief seconds, but then just started up again.
"Johnston-"
"Blaaaaack" Millie whined. Millie could see Sirius is her mind rolling his eyes. "Next time we do this during the day, not at four in the morning"
"Millie shut-up"
"Who made you so mad? Calm down, don't bite my head off" Millie said innocently.
"Who do you think? And remember that spell?" Sirius muttered bitterly.
Millie at this very moment had a strong urge to push him. She raised her hand (like how you would if you were going to push someone when-)
"Don't even think about it" Sirius said warningly.
Millie dropped her hand, "I have no idea what you're talking about"
Sirius rolled his eyes again and carried on along the corridors. There was a little silence, as Millie tried to figure out where she was, while concentrating on not tripping.
"...Blaaaaaaaaaaaack?" Millie asked again after a silence and Sirius grinded his teeth. He stopped and faced her, letting go of her arm.
"What?" He asked and Millie held her hands out in front of her, trying to feel for a wall. Sirius stepped back smartly.
"Where are we going?" She asked, and he took her arm again, leading her.
"To a portrait-" Shit! He thought in his head, "I mean, never mind."
"Oh..." Millie thought. It was bound to be a secret passage or something, the Marauders had to have somewhere to hide when being chased by Filtch.
"Blaaaack?" Millie asked AGAIN.
"WHAT?" Sirius almost shouted, and winced as the phrase echoed and reverberated against the walls.
"Woah, calm down," Millie giggled, "Are we there yet?"
"Yes," Sirius said crossly.
"Really?"
"Yes!"
"Okay." Millie thought again. Sirius still had her arm, so, calculating it in her head, she'd need to push a bit higher than her shoulders to reach his chest. She was going to make a break for it!
"WRAAAGH!" She shouted, and shoved her arms forwards, glad to collide with what seemed like a boy, and was a boy. Sirius yelped and stumbled backwards, not expecting the push, and tripped over his foot. Millie grabbed her wand, shoved it at her head to undo the knot, tugged the blindfold off and made a run for it.
James looked stunned for a second, it wasn't a hard slap, well it wasn't meant to be. Becky took James's shock as chance and grabbed her wand, in a flash muttered the counter-curse and escaped James' grasp. She put a table between them.
Becky's plan was still forming in her mind, fight or flight, she thought.
"Becky, what the hell?" James said from the other side of the table.
Becky giggled, "don't be a baby it wasn't THAT hard" In a swift movement she faked left and ran right, while James ran to his right, still a table between them.
"God James thought you were meant to have a good sense of direction" Becky laughed.
"Seriously?" James moved round the table, Becky seeing this went the other way, however James knew she was going to do this and ran round the other side to get her.
Becky quickly squeaked, ran under James arm to the painting. It would of all gone fine, apart from Becky looked behind her and didn't see someone else running until - SMACK.
"OUCH!"
"Ahh! Ah, ah, AH!"
"Woah!"
"What the hell?"
The last on was James as he watched the scene before him. He saw Becky running to the Portrait, but it opening, and out coming a blonde - Millie. They smacked heads comically and Millie fell out and onto the floor, clutching her head. Becky seemed to bounce straight off Millie and onto the floor as well, and started to hold her head. If that wasn't bizarre enough, a fraction of a second later, Sirius himself tumbled out of the hole in the wall, too.
"Ow, Millie, you have a massive head!"
"Becky, you made the picture hit me back in MY head!" Millie cried out.
"You idiots!" Sirius shouted and got up woozily.
"It. Really. Hurts" Millie moaned.
"And you said I didn't have a good sense of direction," James laughed.
"Shut up." Becky said weakly pressing her forehead into her arm.
"Ow.." Both girls muttered.
"Are you just going to lay there?" Sirius asked.
"It hurts.." Millie groaned.
The boys taking pity on the two girls asked if they wanted help getting up, they took that help. Eventually all of them were sat around the table.
Millie kept removing her hand from her head, certain it was bleeding, while Becky applied pressure to hear head. James was trying to be sympathetic considering he had once bumped heads with Sirius, boy had that hurt! Even so it was hard to be 'sympathetic,' considering he could see Sirius out of the corner of his eye trying not to laugh.
"Then what happened, Dad?" A seven-year-old grinned from his broomstick-patterned bed. He was clutching a little teddy bear, and looking up gleefully at his father who was sitting next to the bed on a wicker chair and smiling at his son. James Potter leaned back in the chair and glanced at the watch with no ordinary hands. Stars and moons littered the surface, yet one particular hand was pointed towards a note saying, "Harry's bed time".
"James-" Lily Potter stood in the doorway, bright red hair shining in the candlelight and emerald eyes sparkling, "-Finished?"
"Yeah," James grinned, and ruffled his hair, then Harry's, who giggled, "That's enough for tonight, son."
"Aww!" Harry groaned, shuffling in his bed, "But what about the rest of the story?"
"That's for another night," Smiled James, "I will someday finish the story of the Marauders' Map, don't worry!"
Harry Potter grinned, and snuggled down in his duvet. "Tomorrow?" He asked.
"Tomorrow," Agreed his father, and James moved to the candles by the bedside table, putting them out with his wand.
"And Dad?" Harry asked, suppressing a yawn. James stopped by the door, and turned around.
"Yes?"
"Can you teach me all the cool magic you know when I'm older?"
Lily smiled from the doorway and felt proud for her husband, and to what her son would become; no doubt a great wizard.
"Of course," Smiled James.
Harry yawned again, "Night, Dad. Night, Mum."
"Night," They both smiled, and Lily closed the door carefully.
"One question," Lily smiled, taking James's hand and walking down the landing, "Why did I never notice any of this going on in Fifth year?"
James grinned, "A Marauder can never tell his secrets!"