DISCLAIMER: I do not own Negima or Harry Potter. Negima is the property of Ken Akamatsu, and Harry Potter is the property of J.K. Rowling.
Italics text = character thinking to themselves.
Underline+Italics = character communicating with telepathy
Bold text = shouting
Bold+Italcs = Casting Spell/Ability
Chapter Twenty-eight
The Order of Twilight and the New Marauders Map
"Alright, let me get this straight." Luna said "Not only has Dumbledore been keeping Harry in the dark about almost everything he could think of and has been endangering our lives every year, sometimes even before we reach the castle, but now you're telling me he actually stole the Philosopher's Stone?"
"Yep, annoying bugger, 'ain't he?" Harry sighed.
"That and you haven't seen the records of gold transfers he probably made from your trust vault over the years." Zabini pointed out casually.
"Gee, thanks for the moral boost, Blaise." Harry deadpanned.
"At any rate, does any of you have any idea what exactly we need to open those two gates? There are some really valuable resources behind them." Negi asked the group assembled in the Room of Requirement.
"There are many small objects with triangles on them in the wizarding world. But I don't know of any associated with Slytherin though." Daphne said thoughtfully.
"Then we should drop the subject for now." Eva sighed. "Negi, you said yesterday that you had an idea how to find the Stone, or at least the vaults it might be placed in. Care to enlighten us?"
"Why yes, actually. I got the idea yesterday when Harry used his map to make sure noone got caught when returning to the Common Rooms." Negi smiled.
"Sorry to break it to you professor..." Fred began.
"... but the Marauders Map doesn't ..." George picked up.
"... show any of those vaults ..." Fred continued.
"... nor any of the four hidden chambers of the founders." George finished.
"Indeed. It only shows parts of the castle known to the creators of the map." Negi agreed. "What we need is a complete map of Hogwarts castle and grounds." he let the words sink in.
"Oh. My. God." Hermione said eyes wide. "Is that really possible? And if it is, isn't it too easy? It would almost be like cheating!"
"Well, in theory it should work." Luna caught on as well. "But there might be some limits."
"What ARE you talking about?" Ginny asked.
"The Room of Requirement! We simply ask for a complete map." Hermione beamed.
"With several other specifications." Negi nodded. "No offence Harry, but there's a reason why maps are made on only one piece of paper instead of a notebook."
"None taken, but the reason why there are several pages is…" Harry began.
"Because each page shows a different floor or level of the dungeon, I know. It's quite ingeniously made, but the final form, even protected by password, is too obvious and could easily be destroyed, lost or stolen." Negi explained.
"What do you have in mind?" Luna inquired.
"I was thinking of making it in the form of a 3D hologram." Negi replied.
"What's a 3D holo…" Zabini began with a frown.
"Sorry, muggle term. Hm, well it would look like a pensive image, if you know what that is." Negi scratched his head.
"I heard that pensives store memories, but I've never seen one before." Fred frowned.
"Chachamaru, show them a hologram." Eva suggested.
With a nod Chachamaru went in front to the group and projected trough her eye a few scenes recorded from Negi and Eva' demonstration match.
"So we're gonna store the map in a small object and call it out only when needed?" Harry asked.
"Yes, I was thinking of having them as rings." Negi confirmed.
"I think I have few ideas for several features that would be useful on those rings." Yue said thoughtfully.
"Yes?" Negi urged her to continue.
"The rings should have localized a Fidelius Charm on it, as well as fireproof, waterproof, self-cleanable, untraceable and unbreakable charms." Yue listed her ideas.
"Good, anything else?" Negi grinned.
"It would be nice to use them as mediums instead of wands." Chisame said thoughtfully.
"That would be good when it comes to the element of surprise." Eva admitted. "The enemy would think you're casting wandlessly and it would intimidate them."
"Good, but what about the map itself? I mean the Marauders Map shows where everyone is, but maybe we can add some more features." Negi suggested.
"Oh, I have quite a few ideas in that category." Chao grinned "First of all it should have a search feature. It would be really troublesome to look all over the projection to find only one person. Also, it will have to be able to show only portions of the map and in different sizes. It would have to be able to lock on a target and follow its course through the map." Chao took a few seconds to think before adding with a smile "Now that I think about it, we should ask for it to be able to track not just people, but objects as well. Also, it should show what spells are on people or objects, as well as give a complete or short description of said spell. It should also be able to identify magical artifacts as well as magical and non-magical creatures." she finished.
"Well, if it makes the magic cast with is untraceable, I think that I won't need a Christmas present this year." George said with a wide grin.
"Just two more things to add." Eva said after a few moments of thought "Make sure it can absorb something, no mater what it is until the user decides to bring it out. Also, make it an instant translator to parceltongue once the command was given."
"And, as a final touch, all the commands must be done mentally." Haruna grinned.
"Then I guess all that's left is how it should look like." Negi smiled.
"It should be made of silver." Chisame said thoughtfully. "It's the most valuable conjurable metal, as well as a good magic conductor. And, even though Evangeline is a vampire, she's a Shinso. More so, she's a Daywalker so she has immunity to the purifying powers of the metal from two sources. Ordinary vampires and werewolves don't have that kind of protection." she finished and noticed the looks she was getting. "What? I've had nothing better to do then read in the last few weeks!"
"Hm, if you think of it as a protective talisman, then we should add a powerful invisibility charm and a crystallized Patronus as a gem. If you simply channel magic in it, it will make a basic Patronus shield. And it also helps in conjuring and maintaining a corporal Patronus." Negi decided.
"All we need now is a crest to put on the stone. Come to think on it, our little group doesn't even have a name." Luna remarked.
"Any ideas, Evangeline?" Negi inquired.
"Hm, well we're definitely a dark group, even though we're gonna eliminate the Death Eaters. And we're not light either, since Dumbledore' forces are right blinded by the light." she said thoughtfully.
"The Order of the Twilight." Luna smiled.
"I like how it sounds." Harry admitted.
"So, who will be in charge?" Hermione inquired as she looked towards Harry.
"Oh no, you're not making me the leader. You know how I rush into things!" Harry said as he met her gaze.
"Me neither. We need someone decisive and you know that I overthink things." Negi defended as all eyes turned to him.
"Don't even think about it unless you want to go through the same training as boya." Evangeline said quickly.
"I have a better idea." Asuna said evilly. I say all three of them lead us. Each of them is particularly good in some areas, so they should be like a Council."
"Who is for Asuna' suggestion?" Haruna asked as she raised her hand and was quickly followed by everyone except Negi, Harry and Eva who were staring at them blankly.
"Majority approves. Lead us well!" Fred and George said in one voice.
"Fine." Eva groaned after exchanging a resigned look with the other two.
"Well, we still haven't chosen the crest." Hermione reminded.
"Dragons." Yue suggested. "Asian dragons, one white and the other black, positioned in a circle and holding a ball of the opposite color in their jaws. Like a Yin-Yang theme."
"Okay time for the moment of truth." Hermione said after everyone agreed with the design.
"We need 36 of those rings, one for each of us. Oh, as a last feature, they should bond to the first person that puts them on. That way we won't mix them up." Negi added.
"I don't think I'll take it off too often." Harry commented. "It's too useful."
"Well, I think you should be the one that asks room for them, Harry, since you have more authority then us as Gryffindor' heir." Hermione suggested.
"Yes, that would have the biggest probability of success." Chao agreed.
"Oh, okay." Harry nodded a little surprised and closed his eyes to concentrate.
There was a slight tremble and the Room seemed to fade for a fraction of a second as they felt huge amounts of magical energy rushing around and putting some serious pressure in them. Then there were numerous POPs and 36 identical rings appeared on the table before them.
"Let me give it a try first." Negi requested and put on the nearest ring. The stone glowed for a second and then the ring disappeared. Then, as Negi willed it, it reappeared before a silvery image of a partially transparent Hogwarts appeared. "It works."
A.N.: I hope you liked the chapter, I know that it was shorter then the previous one but not all of them can be the same length.
I know what most of you are thinking: overpowered.
That's the point, Negi and his group coming to Hogwarts to be awesome and kick ass!
Make sure to review and guess the locations of the two remaining Chambers.