I do not own Harry Potter and anything that you may recognize from another source within this story. Harry Potter is the property of the lovely J K Rowling, and I will never stop being grateful for the wonderful world and characters she created

September 11th, 1972

"I have never been so glad we found out where the Kitchens are last year!" Sirius said as he flopped back onto his four poster bed. Wiggling until he found a comfortable spot and then crossing his arms behind his head, he sighed contentedly. They had missed dinner when James had begged their help in setting up a prank in the prefect bathroom. With Peter acting as look out they'd bewitched the mirrors so that they wouldn't show reflections. Fairly tame, but it was only the second week of classes.

"And that shortcut to the dungeons," added Remus. "Makes getting to Potions so much easier."

"What about the staircase behind the tapestry on the ground floor?" said James, appraising himself in his reflection from the window. "It's saved me from being late to Transfiguration a time or two."

"How many different passageways are there do you think?" Peter wondered from his place on the floor. He was flipping through his Charms book and practicing wand movements.

"I don't know. Could be loads," said Sirius. So far they'd discovered just a few, but in a castle of this size and the amount of magic in the air, Sirius wouldn't be surprised if they'd be able to find dozens if they tried.

"We should make a list!" James said, standing abruptly. "There has to be more than we've found already. It wouldn't do if we forgot them just because we don't use them." Sirius and Peter just stared perplexedly, but Remus was nodding.

"We should, make a record that is. But instead of a list, why don't we make a map?" he suggested. "I mean, this is a physical place, may as well lay it out as we see it, right?"

"Brilliant! Great idea Remus!" James exclaimed. "We could make a map of all of Hogwarts and document all the passageways or secrets we find."

It was a pretty neat idea, and Sirius found himself sitting up and contributing as well. "We could add to it until we graduate and then leave it for the next generation. It could be our legacy to the school."

"With clues and hints, like having to tickle the pear to get to the Kitchens!" said Peter, abandoning his Charms book and hopping onto Remus' bed. Remus had pulled out a blank piece of parchment and was scribbling furiously.

"It's going to have to be fairly large if we want it to cover the grounds as well," he said. Sirius leaned over and saw that Remus was making a list of their suggestions. He looked up and chewed on the tip of the quill for a moment, eyebrows furrowed. "Do you think there are spells we could use instead of just drawing everything out?"

James' own eyebrows rose in surprise and he grinned. "It would certainly make things easier if there were, wouldn't it? We could go to the library and see if we can find anything," he suggested.

"More homework?" Peter groaned, but he was grinning and obviously excited. "I've heard of spells like that though. My aunt worked for the Daily Prophet and they have quills that write on their own."

"And based on the Daily Prophet there are ways to animate drawings and words as well so we could do that for the map! Make it so the clues appear and disappear." Sirius said, trying to envision what such a thing would look like.

He glanced down at his watch out of habit and grimaced when he saw the time. "Sorry guys, I have to go. Regulus wants to talk to me," he said, standing and pulling on his trainers. The last time Sirius had spoken to Regulus it had been a few days into term and painfully awkward.

"Good luck," James said sympathetically.

"Don't be too long. Curfew is in twenty minutes," Remus warned, still scribbling.

"Yeah, yeah." Sirius said, throwing a backwards wave over his shoulder and heading out the door. He went down the stairs and out the portrait hole, jogging a little as he peered down at his watch again. Regulus said to meet him outside the Great Hall and so Sirius made a beeline for the Grand Staircase.

By the time he had reached the Great Hall there was only ten minutes to curfew and Sirius was a bit short of breath. "Those stairs keep you in shape, that's for sure," he said quietly to himself.

"Sirius," said a voice behind him and he turned to see Regulus, who was standing in the shadow of the open doors to the Great Hall. Sirius approached and tried to prepare himself.

"What did you need, Reg?" he said, stuffing his hands in his pockets. He saw Regulus trying vainly not to show his disgust at Sirius' choice of attire, which consisted of muggle trousers and a plain dark grey shirt.

"I have a letter from Mother," Regulus said, holding out a slightly crumpled envelope. Sirius was half tempted not to take it, but he knew ignoring his Mother was a sure fire way to another summer like the last one. He took it slowly and glanced down to see his name on the front in his mother's harsh handwriting.

"Thanks," he said and then because he couldn't think of anything else, "Why didn't Mother's owl just give it to me before?"

"You weren't at breakfast yesterday," Regulus said dryly. "If I remember right you weren't at lunch either."

It was true. Sirius was the very opposite of a morning person and he had a tendency to sleep past noon on Sundays. "Right…"

They stood awkwardly for a moment before Sirius cleared his throat and motioned towards the staircase. "It's almost curfew. I better get going." Regulus nodded and Sirius turned and made for the stairs. As he turned the corner he saw a figure in the corner wearing Gryffindor robes. It was the boy whose sorting had, as far as Sirius knew, set the new school record. He debated with himself for a moment before deciding there was no sense losing house points over a lost first year.

"Hey kid!" he called, walking towards him. The boy turned towards him and Sirius motioned to the stairs. "Curfew is in just a few minutes." The boy nodded and glanced behind Sirius towards the Great Hall where no doubt Regulus was still standing. "Come on," Sirius said, again motioning towards the stairs.

The boy sighed and then started up the staircase, Sirius following him. "What was your name again, kid?" Sirius said, uncomfortable with the silence.

The boy glanced over at him with an amused look on his face. "You do realize you're maybe a year older than me, right?" he said.

"A year is a year, and I wasn't the one standing around waiting to get caught by Filch like an idiot," Sirius replied. The boy frowned but didn't reply. "Name?" Sirius prodded.

"Hadrian."

"Hadrian…?" Sirius said when the boy didn't volunteer any more information.

"Hadrian Moores."

"Well, Hadrian Moores, a word of advice," Sirius said as they neared the portrait of the Fat Lady. "If you're going to be out after curfew the very last place you want to be is outside the Great Hall. And better yet, don't wear your house colors. Makes it much harder for them to take points," he finished with a wink.

Hadrian rolled his eyes and gave the Fat Lady, who had a faintly disapproving look on her face, the password.