The Potter Twins and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Chapter 4: Fear and Mischief

At the clock tower door, great groaning tumblers fall. Spindles rotate. Cylinders, one after another, fire into place.

At the windows, iron spikes, sharp as razors, rise instantly. One by one, deep in the distance, the lights of the Great Hall go out. Dementors appear, around the grounds, searching for Sirius Black.

….

In the great hall, an ocean of sleeping bags, we see Michael and Harry lying awake, staring at the net of stars glimmering beyond the highest window.

A gentle creak is heard and their eyes shift, seeing Snape pass through the great doors, converging with Dumbledore.

Snape, "I've done the dungeons, Headmaster. No sign of Black. Nor anywhere else in the castle."

Dumbledore, "I didn't really expect him to linger."

Snape, "remarkable feat, don't you think? To enter Hogwarts castle on one's own, completely undetected…."

Dumbledore gazes at the students, refusing to take the bait.

Snape, "you may recall, prior to the start of term, I did express my concerns when you appointed Professor-"

Dumbledore, "I do not believe a single professor inside this castle would have helped Sirius Black enter it, Severus."

As Snape's eyes glitter darkly, Dumbledore gazes out over the slumbering students.

Dumbledore, "no…. I feel quite confident the castle is safe. And I'm more than willing to let the students return to their Houses. But tomorrow. For now, let them sleep…."

As Dumbledore's gaze finds the twins, they shut their eyes, feigning sleep.

Dumbledore, "it's astonishing what the body can endure when the mind allows itself to rest…."

….

The Whomping Willow idly casts off a few withering leaves.

….

"What villains are these that trespass upon my private lands!"

The Fat Lady has been replaced by a painting of a tiny knight named Sir Cadogan. Stalking a bare stretch of grass as his pony grazes nearby, he brandishes his sword wildly as a group of Gryffindors regard him warily.

Sir Cadogan, "who dares challenge Sir Cadogan! Back, you scurvy braggarts! You rogues!"

Seamus, "he's barking mad!"

Dean, "what d'you expect? After what happened to the Fat Lady, none of the other pictures would take the job."

Neville, "but he keeps changing the password. Twice just this morning! I've taken to keeping a list."

As Neville holds up a wrinkled piece of parchment, Harry, Michael, Ron and Hermione begin to exit.

Sir Cadogan, "farewell, comrades! If ever you have need of noble heart and steely sinew, call upon Sir Cadogan!"

Ron, "yeah, we'll call you…. If we ever need someone mental."

Michael, "and I thought Peeves could get annoying…."

….

SNAP!

Snape pulls down a screen over the blackboard and turns.

Snape, "turn to page 394."

As the students eye Snape with guarded curiosity, Malfoy finishes scrawling something on a bit of parchment and balls it up in his hands. As he opens them, a moth flutters from his palms.

Harry, "excuse me, sir, but…. Where's Professor Lupin?"

Michael, "yeah, is he sick?"

Snape, "that's not really your concern, is it, Potter's? Suffice it to say, your Professor finds himself incapable of teaching at the present time. Page 394."

Snape waves the moth away, blows out a candle and a slide show begins. An ancient woodcut of a horrific beast flickers at the front of the room. Ron frowns down at his book.

Ron, "Werewolves?"

Michael, "we weren't studying Werewolves."

Hermione, "Michael's right, sir, we've only just begun learning about Red Caps and Hinkypunks. We're not meant to start nocturnal beasts for weeks-"

Snape, "quiet!"

Ron whispers to Harry, "when did she come in? Did you see her come in…?"

Michael, "no, I didn't!"

Snape, "now. Which of you can tell me the difference between an Animagus and a werewolf?"

Michael seems genuinely intrigued by whatever an Animagus was.

As the class stares mutely at a slide of an attacking Werewolf, Hermione waits desperately for someone to respond to Snape's question, the moth flutters by Harry.

SWAT!

He pins it to his desk. A tiny cloud of moth dust mushrooms into the air and Harry lifts his palm. Malfoy's parchment has reappeared.

Snape, "no one? How…. Disappointing."

Michael hated how Snape disregarded Hermione's immense knowledge.

Hermione, "please, sir, an Animagus is a wizard who elects to turn into an animal. A werewolf has no choice in the matter. Furthermore, the werewolf actively hunts humans and responds only to the call of its own kind…."

Michael grows more intrigued by what Hermione said. Michael had always lived and gotten close to animals. Turning into one seemed so amazing to him.

Malfoy lets out a low howl.

Snape, "quiet, Malfoy! Though one must admit to feeling your pain. That is the second time you have spoken out of turn, Miss Granger. Tell me. Are you incapable of restraining yourself? Or do you take pride in being an insufferable know-it-all?"

Ron whispers, "he's got a point, you know."

Michael, "maybe she just wants to show how much she's learned from the people here at Hogwarts."

Everyone grew tense as Snape looked at Michael and said, "don't think, just because you're my best student in potions, that I'll tolerate any more of your incolense. One more word out of you, and it's fifty points from Gryffindor."

Michael kept silent as Harry stares at the parchment. Malfoy has drawn a crude caricature of Harry in his Quidditch robes being struck by lightning over and over, with Michael crying in the corner.

Snape, "five points from Gryffindor! As an antidote to your ignorance and backtalk, I prescribe two rolls of parchment on the werewolf by Monday morning, with particular emphasis placed on recognizing it…. Passing notes, Harry?"

Snape snatches the drawing from under Harry's nose and eyes it.

Snape, "not exactly Picasso, are you? I hope you demonstrate more talent on the Quidditch pitch this weekend then you do as an artist. If not, I fear you'll perish, given the weather forecast. Until that time, however, you'll forgive me if I don't let you off your homework. Should you die, I assure you…. You need not hand it in."

As Snape turns away, Malfoy sniggers with Crabbe, Coyle and Pike. Harry glances down at the drawing once more and we hear a true rumble of thunder and….

….

…. A stitch of lightning strikes one of the Golden Quidditch Rings and the xlouds bloom with icy blue light. Far below, in the stands, rain lashes the sea of umbrellas. As one flies free, soaring end over end into the sky, the crowd explodes and two Quidditch squads, Gryffindor in scarlet, Hufflepuff in canary-yellow, shoot into the air. Twin bludgers fire skyward, and the match is on.

We see Harry, rising like a rocket through the mist, his robes snapping violently in the wind. As he flies, rain is falling like needles before him, every dark cloud concealing potential danger. Beaters criss crosses his path. A bludger whizzes past, then a second rockets directly at him.

SWOOP!

Harry ducks, watches the bludger shatter the broom of a Hufflepuff beater. The Beater goes into a wild spiral and vanishes in the mist.

….

In the stands!

Ron squints upward, the players little more than streaking blurs from his vantage.

KA-SSSST!

A stitch of lightning strikes the tail of Angelina Johnson's broom.

As it bursts into flames, she plummets to the pitch. Ron looks down at his own hand.

In the highly-charged air, the hair above his knuckles rises.

In the sky, Harry flies fearlessly, searching for the Snitch as Bludgers pierce the clouds above him and chasers flit in and out of view far below. Suddenly, in the stands, a black umbrella flies from the hand of a Ravenclaw girl. For a moment, it sails wondrously through the heavy air, a Magritte dream, then….

WHOOP! WHOOP! WHOOP!

It abruptly picks up speed, rotating like a hatchet. Harry ducks, turns, and watches it disappear into a bank of clouds. Then…. Something glimmers: the Snitch. Instantly, Harry jets off closing fast on the tiny, glimmering ball, chasing it through one cloud…. Then another…. And another…. Until…. He breaks into a clear patch of sky…. Only to find the Snitch is gone.

Angrily, Harry whips the Nimbus back around, searching the horizon frantically, when he spies something:

In the stadium's highest tower, something enormous flickers briefly in silhouette, then is obscured by a veil of mist.

Harry turns. In the distance, the stray umbrella spins around and harpoons a player. Harry's eyes shift. The Snitch shimmers like a firefly in the dark underbelly of a cloud. Harry begins to go…. When the veil of mist shrouding the high tower shifts and, for one brief moment, a great dog or wolf is revealed. As this mist closes, Harry frowns and jets away. As Harry pelts after the Snitch, the crowd rises to their feet, roaring. Ron grins over the binoculars, watching Harry shred the mist as he urges his broom on.

Harry, "come on! Faster!"

The trace of a smile forms on Harry's lips as he closes on the Snitch…. Only yards away…. Raching out…. When…. A thin glaze of ice clouds his glasses. He wipes at them, then flinches: blood trickles down his cheek. The rain is turning to needles. Needles of ice. Harry glances at the handle of his broomstick. The water sluicing through the grain is freezing. Vapor streams from his mouth and nose.

SWOOSH!

A dark figure passes on his right. He turns.

SWOOSH!

A twin figure passes on his left.

Harry sees neither and looks down. The layers of mist are parting below. Lightning strikes to reveal an army of floating figures drifting onto the pitch. A vast legion of them…. DEMENTORS.

A distant whistle weaves into the wind, rises in pitch, not a whistle at all, but a…. A woman's scream!

Harry's eyes flutter, and wisps of silvery white light float from his mouth. His glasses glaze over completely. His fingers, rigid, can no longer grip the broom and…. He falls!

Hermione, "no!"

Harry and the broom tumble in opposite directions.

The Nimbus soars end over end, tossed by the currents, then drops…. Right into the Whomping Willow.

FLOOMPH!

Harry, in freefall, drops through one cloud, then another. Plummeting through the circling Dementors.

Then…. A tall figure rises from the crowd. He raises an open hand to the heavens. Eyes angry but clear.

Dumbledore.

An explosion, more powerful than thunder, rocks the air.

A flash, more fierce than lightning, shocks the sky.

And then….

Darkness….

….

Meanwhile, during the Quidditch match….

Michael was trying to get back to the match after leaving to use the bathroom.

As he hurried along, he couldn't help but notice the room began to get cold…. And colder…. And colder….

Michael felt the cold all around him, and saw his breath in front of him.

Michael, "why is it so…. Oh no…."

Michael turned to see a Dementor coming through the hall behind him!

Michael thought, 'and on the one day I forgot my scarf at the dorms…."

As Michael tried to slowly back up, the Dementor turned to stare at him. It gave an unholy noise as it began to chase after him! Michael ran as fast as he could in order to escape the frightening creature!

But he found himself arriving at a dead end!

Michael grew terrified as he slowly turned towards the Dementor.

It began to suck the silvery white light our of him as he crashed to the ground in pain and sorrow, seeing the green lightning sparking all around him.

But before the Dementor could suck any more, Michael could barely hear the enraged yell of, "EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

The Dementor was hit with a blinding white light that made it fly off in fear!

Before Michael passed out, he managed to see the face of his savior…. Snape….

….

Not a sound. For the longest time. Then…. Voices.

Ron, "looks a bit peaky, doesn't he? And not just him. Both of them."

Fred, "Peaky? What d'you expect them to

look like? One fell fifty feet. The other was cornered in the school!"

George, "yeah, c'mon, Ron. We'll walk you off the Astronomy Tower and see how you come out looking, then trap you in a room with Snape or Peeves!"

Harry managed to mutter, "probably a right sight better than he normally does."

Harry opens his eyes and Ron, Fred, George, and Hermione slowly come into focus, standing at the foot of his bed in the hospital wing.

Hermione, "Harry! How're you feeling?"

As Harry edges up against his pillow, we see a nurse removing the spokes of an umbrella from a Hufflepuff player's neck. Harry doesn't look so good himself.

Michael is laying in a bed next to him, still unconscious.

Harry, "brilliant."

Fred, "gave us a right good scare, mate."

Harry, "what happened? To me…. And Michael?"

Ron, "you fell off your broom while Michael was cornered by a Dementor in the school…. Snape was able to scare him off and being him here."

Harry, "really? I'm glad he's okay. I meant the match. Who won?"

Silence. Uncomfortable glances.

Hermione, "no one blames you, Harry. The Dementors aren't meant to come on the grounds. Dumbledore was furious. After he saved you, he sent them straight off."

Harry nods grimly and stares at the rain lashing the window.

Ron, "there's something else you should know, Harry. Your Nimbus…. When it blew away? It sort of landed in the Whomping Willow. And well…."

He tips a bag of splintered wood and twisted twigs onto the bed. Harry stares in sorrow.

….

Lupin, "I'm sorry about your broom, Harry. There's no chance of fixing it?"

Harry shakes his head in response to Lupin's question, then….

WHOOSH!

He sets Hedwig free of her traces. As she soars into the sky, Harry, Michael and Lupin watch from the lake's edge.

Michael, "I'm so sorry Harry…. Guess we both went through a lot that day…."

Harry, "why do they affect us so, Professor? I mean, more than everyone else…?"

Michael, "yeah. What makes us so special?"

Lupin, "Dementors are among the foulest creatures that walk this earth. They feed on every good feeling, every happy memory, until a person is left with nothing but his worst experiences. You're not weak, boy's. The Dementors affect you most, because there are true horrors in your past. Horrors your classmates can scarcely imagine. You have nothing to be ashamed of."

Harry, "I'm scared, Professor."

Michael, "me too…."

Lupin, "I'd consider you fools if you weren't."

Harry, "we need to learn how to fight them."

Michael, "you could teach us, Professor. You made that Dementor on the train go away…. And Snape did so in the castle!"

Lupin, "there was only one that night, and in the castle…."

Harry, "but you made it go away."

Lupin, "... I don't pretend to be an expert, boy's. But yes, I can teach you. Perhaps after the holiday. For now, though, I need to rest. I'm feeling…. Tired."

Harry and Michael turn and study Lupin's haggard face. A weary smile appears as Hedwig's reflection glides over Lupin's irises.

Lupin, "beautiful…."

The twins look up and watch Hedwig pinwheel through the blue, past the clock tower and so on….

….

Snow begins to fall. We see Hogwarts castle, weeks later, dusted in white. Harry, framed in the window, stares out, looking forlorn. Michael sits nearby with Fleet snuggling inside of a stocking.

In Harry's reflection, snow falls on the glass.

A ragged line of students follows McGonagall toward the bridge.

….

We see footprints appear in the snow, moving quickly to join the other students.

Suddenly, Fred and George appear, heading the opposite way and…. The footsteps reverse themselves, as if

Fred and George were escorting an invisible person.

Fred, "clever, Harry."

George, "but not clever enough, Michael."

Fred, "besides, we've got a better way."

The great doors open and Fred and George enter. The invisibility cloak drops and Harry and Michael are revealed, looking cross. Instantly, Fred slaps a worn roll of parchment into Harry's hand. Harry unfurls it. He and Michael frown. It's blank.

Harry, "what's this rubbish?"

Michael, "there's nothing there!"

Fred, "rubbish and nothing they say. That there's the secret to our success."

George, "it's a wrench giving it to you two, believe me."

Fred, "but we've decided your need's greater than ours. George, if you will…."

George, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

George touches his wand to the parchment and intricate ink lines surface in the fiber of the paper, spread like veins. Harry reads the curious words at the top:

Harry and Michael, "'Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs are proud to present The Marauder's Map'...?"

George, "ah…. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs. We owe them so much."

Harry, "hang on. This is Hogwarts! And that…. No. Is that really…."

Harry points to a small moving dot labeled "Dumbledore."

Fred, "Dumbledore."

George, "in his study."

Fred, "pacing."

George, "does that a lot."

Michael then noticed a second name across from him and smiled.

The name was….

Michael, "Newt Schamander is visiting Dumbledore!?"

Fred, "yeah. Provides most of the books about animals for the school…."

Harry, "you mean, this map shows…."

Fred, "everyone."

Harry, "everyone?"

George, "everyone."

Michael, "everyone?"

Fred and George, "everyone."

Fred, "where they are."

George, "what they're doing."

Fred, "every minute."

George, "of every day."

Harry, "brilliant! Where'd you get it?"

Fred, "nicked it from Filch's office, of course, first year. Now listen. There's seven secret passageways out of the castle. But we'd recommend…."

Fred and George, "this one."

George, "the One-Eyed Witch on the third floor."

Harry, "the One-Eyed…."

Michael, "on the…."

Fred, "Witch, third floor, right. But you best hurry. Filch is heading this way", as they go, they say, "oh. And, Harry? Michael? When you're done, make sure to give it a tap and say, 'Mischief managed.' Otherwise, anyone can read it."

The map suddenly vanishes….

….

Reviews:

Canadude2029: thanks. And yeah, Buckbeak rocks.

Bailey Radcliff: thanks! Happy to hear all that.

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