The Potter Timeline
Chapter 59 - Gathering Evidence
Harry, Hermione, and Professor Lupin left Sirius at the Shrieking Shack and returned to the castle. The teenagers went to the Great Hall for lunch, then split up after. Harry had Quidditch practice and Hermione headed to the library. The professor, meanwhile, went to see Dumbledore.
Lupin tasked Hermione with researching archived editions of the The Daily Prophet printed at the time of Harry's parents' murders. The idea was to compile facts from any articles on the event to make a case for Sirius's innocence, and Peter Pettigrew's guilt. Harry, meanwhile, had a task of his own.
As the Gryffindor team headed out to the pitch, he stepped over to the twins.
"Hey guys," he said quietly, "would you mind meeting Hermione and me privately later, say...at our Spellroom on the fourth floor? We want to ask you a favor."
The redheads looked at each other.
"Ooh! A private meeting!" Fred uttered.
"Another favor!" George added, "this sounds intriguing!"
"Did Hagrid get another dragon, per chance?" Fred asked.
Harry chuckled.
"No. It's nothing that dangerous," he replied.
The Weasleys both sighed as though disappointed.
"But," Harry went on, "it will require getting around a dorm room password and acquiring something from your younger brother."
The twins brightened up.
"Snatching something from our dear Ronald? Now that's a noble cause indeed!" Fred exclaimed.
"You're a wizard after our own heart, Harry! The fourth floor it is, then!" George uttered with a slap on Harry's back.
Harry chuckled again as the three joined their teammates. The Gryffindor practice session got underway.
Later, Harry met Hermione in the library and found her at the table in the back working on their Herbology essay.
"Hey," he said pleasantly while placing his satchel on the floor, "what did you find on The Prophet?"
Hermione stopped writing and looked up at him with a sad expression.
"I found several editions that report what happened and used Geminio to make duplicates for us. But I'm not sure you'll want to read them, Harry. What they describe is...horrible."
Harry frowned. He pulled out a chair and sat down across from her.
"Well, I need to face it sometime. I need to know the truth, whatever it is," he said solemnly.
She nodded then retrieved a stack of newspapers from her satchel and placed them on the table in front of him.
"This was the first one," she said while pushing the top copy toward him.
The Daily Prophet - SPECIAL REPORT
Sunday, 1st November 1981
MAYHEM AT GODRIC'S HOLLOW!
Harry read the article out loud.
"The Prophet received word early this morning that at least twelve muggles are dead after a horrific series of events took place in a small, sleepy village in the West Country on Halloween night.
Godric's Hollow, famed birthplace of Godric Gryffindor, one of the four founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, was rocked by a tremendous explosion late in the evening on All Hallows' Eve. Initial reports indicate the blast decimated a half-block of houses and several muggle automobiles. Twelve muggles who were in the vicinity of the explosion are reported dead and numerous others injured.
Barty Crouch Sr., head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, arrived on the scene with a contingent of his Aurors. They joined several muggle constables who were already in the process of investigating the destruction. As the village is also known to be the home of several wizards and witches, Ministry officials scoured the vicinity in search of who might be responsible for the blast or who themselves might have been its victims. The Prophet will report more as we receive further information on this tragic event..."
Harry grimaced then set this one aside to gaze at the headline on the next one. As he did, Hermione got up and sat down next to him, giving him a sorrowful look.
The Daily Prophet - SPECIAL REPORT
Monday, 2nd November 1981
WIZARDS FOUND DEAD IN GODRIC'S HOLLOW EXPLOSION!
THE MASTERMIND BEHIND THE CURRENT WAR AMONG THEM!
Harry's own expression became sorrowful as he read this article out loud.
"The Prophet has learned that along with twelve muggle victims killed in the blast that destroyed a half-block of Godric's Hollow village, three wizarding citizens were found dead inside a cottage near the location of the explosion. The upper floor of the cottage was nearly obliterated and the remains of two bodies were discovered among the wreckage. On the lower floor, however, an intact and unblemished body was found lying in the foyer near the entrance. Ministry Aurors indicate the body belonged to one James Potter, an alumnus of Hogwarts and a well-respected member of the community around the Hollow, according to his muggle neighbors. The Aurors also determined one of the bodies on the upper floor to be James Potter's wife...Lily Evans Potter..."
Harry paused and felt a lump in his throat. Hermione wrapped her arm around his. Harry read on.
"...In a stunning turn of events, the other body, found in a much degraded state, has been attributed to He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named, the mastermind behind the present war.
'Upon examining one of the corpses on the upper floor, the bone structure and shape of the skull indicate a bizarre deformation consistent with reports of You-Know-Who's physical appearance,' Crouch informed the press, 'there is no question that he himself was a victim of this mysterious event.'
Crouch wouldn't comment further on what he believes might have occurred at this cottage and its relationship to the explosion. However, he did reveal that a survivor was found among the wreckage.
A one-year-old child was discovered crying in his crib on the upper floor not far from the bodies. According to Crouch, Aurors determined the child, who was miraculously unscathed by the destruction save for a single scratch on his forehead, to be Harry James Potter, the infant son of James and Lily Potter..."
Harry's shoulders dropped and he became downcast. Hermione gently squeezed his arm. Harry read the article underneath.
BLAST SUSPECT APPREHENDED!
"The Prophet has learned that Ministry officials arrested a suspect of the devastating blast who was at the scene the night of the terrible event. According to a Department spokesman, a wizard by the name of Sirius Black was found sitting on the kerb in front of the Potters' cottage. He was bleeding and appeared delirious from shock.
'All attempts at questioning Black proved fruitless as he ignored our Aurors and kept mumbling to himself about it 'being all his fault',' said the spokesman.
Muggle eyewitnesses at Godric's Hollow reported Black and another man, who the Ministry has confirmed was a wizard by the name of Peter Pettigrew, were arguing outside the Potter residence shortly before the explosion. Pettigrew was himself destroyed in the explosion, his only remains being that of a single finger. Due to the circumstances, Crouch invoked the Ministry's wartime emergency powers and had Black sent straight to Azkaban.
Meanwhile, the whereabouts of the Potter's child, Harry James, is not known. Ministry officials questioned about the infant would only reveal that he had been taken to a safe but top-secret location.
Stay tuned as The Prophet reports more information on the blast, Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew, and young Potter in the days to come..."
Harry frowned, returned the paper to the stack, and pushed it away, staring at it blankly.
"I'm sorry, Harry. I told you it was horrible," Hermione said quietly.
Harry nodded.
"It's one thing to hear it from Dumbledore. But reading it like that makes it feel...real, like it happened just yesterday," he said.
Hermione squeezed his arm once more. After a moment thinking about his parents and the sadness this information gave him, Harry sat up straight and stared at the papers with a determined look. Hermione let go and gazed at him.
"But it makes me angry, Hermione," he uttered, "we need to capture Pettigrew and get this cleared up once and for all. Not only for Sirius' sake, but for my parents as well."
"Right," the girl replied.
He stared into those pretty brown eyes of hers.
"Let's go meet Fred and George."
"Okay," she told him with a soft look.
The pair packed everything up and headed for the Spellroom.
~HP~
"So, what do you two need us to snatch from our little brother?" George asked excitedly as the twins sat on top of the teacher's desk.
Harry and Hermione exchanged glances before Harry answered.
"You know Ron's pet rat, Scabbers?" he asked them.
"Oh yeah. Been in the family for ages," Fred responded.
"Used to belong to Percy, before he became too serious about school and couldn't concern himself with rodents," George added.
"Is that what you want us to do? Grab Scabbers?" Fred asked.
"Yes," Harry answered.
"Easier said than done, I'm afraid," George replied.
"Yeah, Ronald is pretty protective of his mangy pet," Fred finished.
Harry and Hermione again exchanged looks. Harry nodded at her. She looked at the twins.
"Would you believe us if we told you that Scabbers isn't actually a rat, but an unregistered animagus by the name of Peter Pettigrew?" she asked.
The Weasleys stared at one another wide-eyed.
"So, that's who Peter is!" they exclaimed at the same.
Harry and Hermione looked at them puzzled.
"You two knew about Peter Pettigrew?" Harry asked.
The pair nodded.
"We knew about him, but didn't know he was Scabbers," George said.
"So how do you know that name?" Hermione asked with intense curiosity.
"Show 'em the map, brother," Fred said to his twin.
"Right," George replied.
The two hopped off the table. George retrieved something from his robes and laid it on the desk. Harry and Hermione stepped forward to look. It appeared to be a worn-out, folded-up piece of parchment. George then retrieved his wand.
"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!" he uttered while tapping the parchment with the tip of the wand.
In the next moment, ink markings slowly appeared and fanned out across the parchment in a similar fashion to the writing in Tom Riddle's diary. Harry and Hermione both stared at the words dead center of the parchment face.
Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs
Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers
are proud to present
THE MARAUDER'S MAP
"What is this?" Harry asked.
"This is the secret to our success, Harry," Fred replied.
"Yeah, it's saved our scrawny necks from getting nicked by Filch ever since our first year," George told them.
"What does it do, exactly?" Hermione asked.
"Show 'em Fred."
"My pleasure," the redhead replied.
He unfolded the first layer of the map which revealed a building schematic of some sort. Numerous dots, which looked like tiny shoe prints, were moving around this schematic. And above each pair of dots a small banner flew with a name etched on it. It took only a moment to recognize "Rubeus Hagrid" over a set of dots moving across an enormous space which was labeled...the Great Hall!
"This is Hogwarts?" Hermione asked the twins in amazement as she stared closely at several other dots moving down the main corridor, a banner above one labeled "Percy Weasley" and the one next to it "Penelope Clearwater".
"That it is, young lady," Fred replied.
"Wow! So, this shows everyone inside the castle!" Harry asked excitedly.
"Yep," George replied, "whether they're an actual person, a ghost, hiding under an invisibility cloak, or...an animagus. This map shows 'em all."
"And this is only the main level," Fred added.
George unfolded it further to reveal several layers on top of one another, a layer for each floor of the castle and one of the first dungeon levels. When the teens stared at the latter, they saw a banner above a set of shoe prints which sat perfectly still inside an oval chamber: "Severus Snape". And directly in front of Snape's banner, three more sat perfectly still: "Draco Malfoy", "Vincent Crabbe", and "Gregory Goyle". The potions professor was having a discussion with his Slytherin charges in his office.
"This is amazing!" Harry uttered with a huge grin.
"Where did you two get this?" Hermione asked.
"We filched it from Filch our first year while he was busy going on about our detention once," Fred answered.
"Yeah, there we were, minding our own business - while the old grouch threatened us with disembowelment - when what do we notice to our delight?" George said with a look at his twin.
"A drawer in his file cabinet labeled 'Confiscated and Highly Dangerous'," Fred replied, "one distracting dungbomb later and this valuable document was in our possession."
"We guessed it was something written with invisible ink, and it turns out we guessed right."
"So, after we nicked it, it took us an entire day..."
"...and about three hundred guesses..."
"...to figure out the password and finally get the bloody thing to work."
"But work it did, and from that point on, it's been our means of sneaking 'round the castle without getting caught."
Harry and Hermione smirked and shook their heads. Fred then turned several layers over.
"Now, let's take a look at the Hufflepuff dorms," he stated.
The four leaned in close. Harry and Hermione saw the word "Hufflepuff" inside a large chamber which sat next to Hogwarts' kitchens. Several students were inside, some moving about, others sitting, apparently. One of them was Cedric Diggory. He appeared to be sitting on a sofa near the fireplace, and next to him sat a girl Harry had never met before: "Cho Chang".
"So, Ronnie's dorm should be right about...here," George informed them while pointing to a chamber several corridors away from the Hufflepuff common room, "and look who's inside it all by his lonesome."
Harry and Hermione stared slack-jawed at the little banner.
Peter Pettigrew
They exchanged amazed looks.
"To answer your question, Hermione," Fred started, "we noticed Peter's name in each of Ron's dorm rooms since his first year."
"And until now just thought he was one of our brother's dorm mates."
"Who knew he'd been that greasy rat in our family this entire time?"
But this was astonishing. This map was bonafide evidence that Peter Pettigrew was alive. Harry looked at Hermione to find the same amazed look staring back at him. They needed to show the map to Lupin, Sirius, and Dumbledore.
"Guys, do you mind if we borrow this?" Harry asked while staring back at the map wide-eyed.
"You can have it, Harry," Fred informed him with a grin.
"Really?" the dark-haired teen asked with surprise.
"Oh, yeah," George replied, "with Hagrid and Filch roaming about these days..."
"...not to mention Hagrid's new assistant..." Fred added.
"...Fred and me are done with our sneaking ways."
"Right. We're moving on to bigger and better things," Fred said with a look at his twin brother.
"Wait. Hagrid's new assistant?" Hermione asked with a furrowed brow.
"Oh yeah. Started yesterday," George answered, "we ran into him on our way to the seventh-floor last night."
"Who is he?" Harry asked.
"A cheeky bloke by the name of Stan Shunpike," Fred replied, "said he's been working as conductor on the Knight Bus for that nutter Ernie a couple of years and wanted to try something new."
"A strange fellow, that one is," George said with a look at his twin.
"Yeah, a bit slimy and odd. So, we'd keep our eyes peeled while sneaking about the castle if we were you."
Harry and Hermione nodded.
"Anyway, the map is yours now. Use it wisely," George finished with a wink and smile.
"Thanks," Harry responded with chuckle. He was just about to snatch up the map before Fred stopped him.
"Hang on a minute, Harry. Before you take it, there's one more thing you should know."
The redhead pointed his wand at the parchment once more.
"Mischief Managed!" he uttered.
The writing and drawing on the map suddenly disappeared as the various layers folded themselves back into a blank sheet of parchment.
"Say that to close the map so no unworthy souls..."
"...like Professor Snape, for example..."
"...can open it or figure out what it is."
Harry nodded while picking up the parchment.
"Got it," he said.
"Now, then, how to go about nabbing Scabbers," George said while looking at his brother.
"Right. What excuse could we give our little brother to let us into his dorm room?"
"Well, before you two come up with some crazy scheme, let Harry and me check with Professor Dumbledore first," Hermione said.
The Weasleys looked at her as though she'd gone mad.
"Dumbledore! What's he got to do with Peter Pettigrew?" Fred asked.
"Yeah, what's this all about anyway?" George added while folding his arms and staring at the two.
Harry grimaced.
"Peter's the one who betrayed my parents to Voldemort. He also framed Sirius Black and caused the explosion that killed twelve muggles," he told them.
Neither Harry nor Hermione had ever seen Fred and George so stunned before. Their normal good humor was replaced by wide-eyed pale looks.
"Wait. You're saying Sirius Black is...innocent?" George asked.
Hermione and Harry nodded. The twins gawked at one another then stared at the teens.
"This is serious business, then," Fred said, "no pun intended."
"Yeah, guys. Very serious," Harry said, "and with this map as proof that Peter is still alive, we're hoping Dumbledore can apprehend him without a lot of fuss."
"And without any of us getting into trouble," Hermione added.
The Weasleys nodded.
"Right. Makes sense, even though it is a bit boring," Fred said.
"Yeah, we were looking forward to breaking into our little brother's room and wreaking a bit of mischief. But, oh well. Maybe next time," George replied.
Harry and Hermione chuckled.
"Well," Fred started as the twins headed for the door, "if you do need our specialized services to gain access to Ron's dorm, just let us know."
"Yeah, always glad to help," George finished with a smile.
"Thanks, guys. We will," Harry told them.
The Weasleys waved at them and exited the Spellroom.
Harry stared at the Marauder's Map.
"This might be all we need to clear my godfather after all."
Hermione nodded and smiled.
"Hopefully so. Once Dumbledore sees it, he'll have to do something about it."
"Right."
~HP~
That evening, the pair were back in the Spellroom, working on class assignments and even giving their dance exercise another go to prepare for Flitwick's next lesson. Afterwards, curiosity got the best of them. So, they opened the Marauder's Map and poured over it.
It was fascinating to see everyone in the castle and where they were at a glance: Dumbledore pacing inside his study, the ghost of Filch standing near Madam Pince in the Restricted Section of the library, Harry and Hermione's Gryffindor friends packed inside the common room, and even the footprints of Hagrid and his new assistant, Stan Shunpike, walking the corridors on the third floor.
"This is incredible," Harry said, "though it does feel like we're eavesdropping too."
"I know," Hermione replied, "I wonder if Dumbledore will confiscate it after we show him Peter."
"I don't know. I can imagine several reasons he'd do so, though."
"Right. Like a servant of Voldemort getting hold of it, for example. After what Lupin told us, I confess I'm feeling a bit paranoid."
"Me too. However, on the flip side, if a servant of Voldemort did enter the castle, with this map we'd know where they were and could turn the tables on them."
"Right," Hermione said with a nod. They stared at the map for a moment before Harry had a thought.
"Hermione, could we make a duplicate to keep for ourselves before handing this to the headmaster, just in case?"
The girl thought for a moment.
"I'm not sure if the doubling spell can copy something this complex, but we can try."
Hermione pulled out her wand and pointed it at the right side of the map. She then held her left hand over top of the map's left side. Harry was puzzled by this. Hermione looked at him.
"After Mandy and I accidentally filled the room with thousands of copies of our paper on Lockhart, I did some research and learned how to control the doubling process. That's how I was able to copy The Daily Prophet papers successfully."
Harry smiled and nodded, once again proud of his smart friend. Hermione returned her attention to the map.
"Geminio!" she uttered.
There was a brief yellow flash across the parchment. But instead of another copy appearing, the map suddenly folded up, its Hogwarts schematic disappearing along with any writings. The teenagers were stunned and Harry was afraid they'd accidentally erased the thing. But then, a small paragraph appeared on the face of the parchment. Harry read it out loud.
Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs
present their compliments to
Mr. Harry Potter and Miss Hermione Granger,
but is sorry to inform them that duplicating this map is strictly forbidden!
The teens gawked at one another. They then gazed at the map once more. The paragraph faded, the map reopened of its own accord, and Hogwarts school reappeared with all its inhabitants.
"Well, there's the answer to your question," Hermione said.
"Yeah," Harry replied with a shrug, "it was worth a shot anyway."
But despite this, the two couldn't wait to show the map to Lupin, Black, and Dumbledore at the Shrieking Shack the following morning, especially curious what the headmaster would say and what he would do...about Peter Pettigrew.