Harry shivered and pulled his cloak tighter around his body. Along with his godfather, he was standing just outside the Hogwarts gates, hidden behind a small gathering of trees. They had Apparated to the outskirts of Hogsmeade directly after Harry had lied to his mother and sister about where he was going. When the truth came out he knew he was in for a nice, long lecture, but he had decided to worry about that later. When they had arrived, it took all of the restraint Harry could muster not to throttle Sirius. He had, unbelievably, some how neglected to mention the fact that this part of Scotland was currently covered in almost two feet of snow. When Harry had confronted him, all Sirius had said was that he wanted to see how he could deal with adverse conditions. Harry strongly doubted the explanation, but seeing as it wasn't the best of times to start an argument, he let it go. Unfortunately, now they were left with the task of locating the tree stump that they needed to get inside the castle.
Sirius was down on his hands and knees feeling around in the area where he thought the stump was while Harry acted as a lookout. Harry thought they would find it faster if aided in the search because he doubted anyone could notice them in the cloaks they were wearing. The cloaks were infused with a disillusionment charm which made them blend into their surroundings—the cloaks had been nicknamed chameleon cloaks. Right now anyone looking their way would probably just see white, and if Harry moved they would mistake it for snow drifting around. Finally after another grueling five minutes, Harry heard a muffled shout of success from behind him.
"Found it," Sirius muttered. "Now I just need to clear it off so the hole doesn't fill in with snow when we open it." Harry watched as he pulled out his wand and began melting the snow. Harry couldn't understand that just because wizards and witches were capable of magic that they always had to use it when there were other options. Like right now, instead of just pushing the snow away with his hands, Sirius had to melt the snow. Harry looked up frustrated when he realized that by melting the snow, steam was rising over their position which had the possibility of drawing unwanted attention. He used his own wand to siphon the steam away from its intended path. Sirius looked over when he realized what was happening and offered Harry a sheepish grin.
"Sorry bout that Harry," Sirius apologized. "I should've realized that would happen." Harry just shook his head and waited for him to finish. Once Sirius had made a sufficient clearing, he tapped the top of the short stump with his wand. They watched as it looked if someone was taking a saw and slicing the top of the stump off revealing a hollow opening. "Alright Harry, we're going to travel down the tunnel until we hit the end. From there, we'll activate the map to check and see if the classroom is occupied. If it is, then we silently as possible neutralize them." Sirius moved to the hole, and began squeezing his body down the narrow opening. Harry took one last look around to make sure no one was watching and followed Sirius' lead. He stuck his feet inside first and then forced his body, which was thicker than normal from wearing body armor, down into the hole. He slid down on his back until his feet came into contact with level ground. Looking up he saw Sirius standing with his lit wand, surveying the area.
Getting his first good look at the passage, he saw that it was narrow, but rather well constructed. There were thick wooden beams that ran vertically along the sides and diagonally above them that prevented the tunnel from collapsing. There was the odd root sticking out every few feet, but otherwise there was no trouble getting through. It would be more of a challenge climbing back up out of the passage when the time came. As they walked on, Harry gradually felt the passage begin to rise up hill, and then the ceiling turned from soil to stone—no question they had reached the castle. They walked a bit further until the tunnel narrowed even more and above them laid the entrance to the classroom through the floor. Sirius stopped and leaned back against the wall, pulling the Marauder's map out of his cloak. He whispered the password and the map appeared, this time with little moving spots representing the castle's inhabitants. Harry could tell that Sirius recognized some of the people inside because he would occasionally scowl when he looked at a particular dot. Finally locating the room they were currently under, they were relieved to see it was completely empty.
Sirius reached up with his free hand and pushed the stone tablet above them. It stubbornly refused to budge at first, but eventually Sirius was able to move it out of their way. Harry watched Sirius crawl up into the room and then climbed up himself. Sirius was already moving towards the solitary door to the room and checking the map while Harry took a few seconds to observe the place they were in. It obviously hadn't been used in a long time; there was a thick layer of dust covering everything and the desks and chairs were stacked off towards one wall. Harry was forced to duck his head a few times to avoid dangling cobwebs as he took his place next to Sirius at the door.
"Most of the people are in the Great Hall," Sirius whispered. "I know a few short cuts that will limit the amount of time we spend exposed in the corridors. Try not to make any noise though—our cloaks give us good cover, but the portraits may report our presence if they see us."
"Actually, I have something that can hide us from the portraits." Sirius looked at Harry anticipating an explanation. "There's a charm my mum taught me that makes a person undetectable to any non-living object that's capable of interaction with the living—namely the portraits or ghosts which would be beneficial to our situation right now. I don't know exactly how long it last so I might have to cast it again later."
Sirius gave a soft laugh. "Remind me to give Lily a huge hug when we get back for passing on her intelligence to you. James is smart, but he sure as hell doesn't know that one." Sirius looked down at the map once again before turning his gaze back to Harry. "Alright, the coast is clear for now, so do the charm and then we'll head for Dumbledore's office."
Harry moved his wand in a few complicated flicks and both he and Sirius were engulfed in a bright blue light before it faded swiftly. Sirius nodded and turned the handle to the classroom door, pulling it back towards him. The two men left the room and made sure they quietly shut the door behind them. The halls weren't well lit, only a few rays of light permeated through the first floor windows. Harry and Sirius did their best to stick to the walls, traveling in the shadows.
As they moved, Harry couldn't help but admire his surroundings. He had seen pictures in books, but it was much more thrilling to see up close. He could look around and imagine his parents and their friends roaming the halls after coming from one of their classes. He could imagine sitting in the Great Hall for one of the legendary Holiday Feasts. His resentment towards Dumbledore and his followers only grew when he thought of the children who had missed a chance to experience such a large part of their magical heritage. He couldn't even fathom being one of the muggleborns still out there who was his age, no idea of the amazing gift that they possessed. It steeled his determination to get into Dumbledore's office and retrieve that book. It meant life or death for some of those who still remained in the United Kingdom.
They continued quickly down the various halls and up staircases. Sirius showed his immense knowledge of the castle when he would pull aside a tapestry and reveal another path. Harry felt they were extremely lucky as they hadn't even come into close contact with ay of the castle's residents. They did past by a few ghosts, but with Harry's charm they simply floated harmlessly past. He thought they were actually going to make it with no problem until Sirius raised his open hand, signaling for him to stop. While his godfather looked down at the Marauder's Map, Harry could distinctly hear footsteps approaching their position. Harry raised his wand, ready to defend himself, but Sirius turned around and gestured for him to lower it.
"There are five of them," Sirius whispered. "We'll cause too much commotion if we confront them. Quickly, get behind that statue and make sure your cloak is completely covering you—and don't move." Harry followed Sirius' instruction without question, taking the space behind a statue while Sirius took one on the opposite side of the hall.
Sound must have really echoed in the castle because it took several drawn out seconds for the figures to appear. The five were all dressed in full army robes, but all seemed to be around the same age as Harry. The one in front had extremely blond, almost white, hair that was slicked back. He walked in front of the others carrying himself as if he was God's gift to the world. Harry listened closely as the boy talked to the others.
"Did you hear the way that muggle screamed yesterday during training. Too bad he died so quickly, I would've liked to try a few more spells on him," the boy finished, showing no sign of remorse that he had killed someone.
"Don't worry Malfoy, as soon as the Dark Lord gives the word, we'll have plenty of muggle filth to have fun with," another boy in the group consoled. They had passed by and Harry couldn't decipher anymore of the conversation. Once he knew they were out of sight, he left his hiding spot behind the statue and waited for Sirius.
"Is that Lucius Malfoy's devil spawn?" Harry asked when Sirius joined him again.
"Has to be, it's the spitting image of the bastard," Sirius replied. He looked at Harry questioningly. "How do you know about Malfoy?"
Harry laughed quietly. "Are you kidding Sirius? Between Dad and Moody I've heard the Malfoy the duck story a hundred times."
Sirius chuckled. "Ah yes, how I wish I would have been there that day." Sirius kept smiling for a moment before he sobered. "Alright enough pleasant reminiscing, we're almost to the office. It's just around the next corner." Sirius looked down at the map and indicated to Harry that the path was clear. They walked down into the next corridor, stopping in front of a spot in the hall where two stone gargoyles stood.
"Let me check and see what's guarding the office," Sirius told Harry. Harry looked on as he waved his wand around and muttered what he recognized to be revealing spells. The situation must not have been good because Sirius turned back with a grim look. "Looks like we're going with the back up plan because Dumbledore's got some nasty stuff around his office door that we shouldn't mess with."
"How do we know he hasn't warded his windows the same way," Harry questioned.
"We don't, but I would doubt that Dumbledore is concerned enough to fortify his windows—only Moody would do that. Plus, he wouldn't be able to get any post through them—his wards would incinerate the owls if they were like the ones on the door. Either way we're going to find out. Hurry up, there's another classroom around the corner and it's empty for now."
They walked down the hall a few more paces until they reached the closed door to the classroom. Harry reached for the knob, turning it and slipping inside, Sirius following.
"Sirius, I'll put up a silencing charm then break the glass on that window," Harry stated pointing out the intended target. "At the same time I break it, you'll need to suck the glass back towards the room so no one sees it falling. When we come back in, we can repair it to cover our tracks."
Sirius stared at Harry looking impressed. "I like it Harry. See, all that training is paying off. Now let's put the plan into action. Break it whenever you're ready."
Harry raised his wand and stood to the side of the rectangular window as to avoid the glass when it shattered. One quick explosion curse later and the glass was out of the wall, lying in pieces in a neat pile in front of Sirius. Harry climbed up into the empty window and looked down first checking to make sure there wasn't anyone looking up at them. Then, he turned his vision left, toward the castle wall, scouting where Dumbledore's windows were. Once he had the window in sight, he cast a sticking charm on the tip of each of his boots and one more on his wand free hand. Reaching out with that free hand, he stuck it onto the exterior wall and pulled his body out, sticking his feet. He began moving over to the other window, allowing room for Sirius to follow him out. He was thankful that it wasn't snowing because it was hard enough that the cold was even more intense up high. Once he made it to the window he figured led to Dumbledore's office, he raised his wand and silence the area before breaking the glass. As soon as he had released the spell, he braced himself waiting for the repercussions. Luckily Sirius had been correct and there was nothing guarding over the windows. He refused to turn and look back at the smug smile that was surely on Sirius' face.
Harry removed the sticking charms on his limbs and pulled himself into the office. The window that he had entered was one right next to Dumbledore's lavish desk. He took time to look around and was surprised at what he found. The whole entire office was completely empty besides the furniture. There were no books, no swirling, buzzing objects.
"What in the name of Merlin?" Apparently Sirius had made his way into the office and noticed the emptiness as well. "He can't possibly clean this place out every time he leaves for a week."
"This is fucking great," Harry commented. "All that work getting in here and there isn't a book. We should've figured Dumbledore would be a step ahead of us."
Sirius started feeling around on different surfaces. "Maybe the stuff is still here and it's just hidden or invisible."
"The book might be in the Ministry, in which case every one of those muggleborns is dead because there's no way we sneak into there and leave with our lives," Harry said frustrated. He was just about to suggest that they get themselves out of the castle when he heard a rustling behind him. Harry turned around quickly with his wand raised, but then was forced backwards in a flash of flame. He opened his eyes and was amazed at what was in front of him.