Chapter 100 I Solemnly Swear I Am Up To No Good

Evan suddenly lifted his head. Harry had not mentioned it yet. How could Ron know that this old parchment was the Marauder's Map? This sounded really suspicious.

"How did you know, Ron?" Harry looked surprised and said, "Oh, Fred and George told you, didn't they?"

Ron nodded hurriedly, looking somewhat strange.

"Well, you two, who can explain to Evan and me what this tattered parchment is?" Hermione said impatiently.

"Hermione, this Marauder's Map was found by Fred and George in Filch's office. It can unveil all the details of Hogwarts Castle and all its locations, including every secret passageway. It can also identify the location of each person on the grounds." Harry glanced cautiously around, observed the surroundings, and then whispered, "With its help, I can use the invisibility cloak and evade others to join you in Hogsmeade."

"What?!" Hermione exclaimed, surprised.

"Don't get too excited, Hermione," Harry quickly quenched her enthusiasm.

"If it is indeed as you say, Harry, you should hand over this map to Professor McGonagall!" Hermione said anxiously.

"No, I won't give it to her," Harry said sharply. "If I do that, I would have to explain where I got it from, and Filch would find out that Fred and George took it!"

"But what about Black?" Hermione said through gritted teeth. "With this Map, the Professors will know if he uses any of these secret passages to enter the castle..."

"He cannot enter through those passages," Harry quickly interjected. "Fred and George said that Filch knew most of them, and the remaining entrances and exits are also well hidden. It is impossible for Black to know them."

"You are taking a risk. What if he does know them?"

"Black cannot go to Hogsmeade, Hermione!" Harry stated firmly. "You told me last time you came that there were Dementors patrolling at night. If Black showed up, they would discover him."

"But..." Hermione bit her lip, looking worried.

"It's alright, Hermione, are you going to report me?" Harry asked, smiling.

"Oh, of course not, but honestly, Harry..."

"It's almost Christmas, Hermione; let me unwind," Harry pulled out his wand from under the cloak and looked excited. "I'll show you the map later. If Black appears on it, we will be the first to know."

Upon hearing his words, Evan had a sudden realization.

Is it only Sirius Black? He didn't want to say it, but Peter Pettigrew was still in Ron's coat pocket. If Harry uses the Marauder's Map right now, he will find Peter's name among them.

Evan's initial impulse was to stop Harry, but he quickly realized. This doesn't seem like a bad idea. Why should he stop him?

He had gotten entangled and could not resolve the issue of this year. The main reason he could not hand over Peter Pettigrew to Dumbledore was that he could not explain, without raising suspicions, how he knew that Peter was an Animagus.

After all, this matter is not known to others.

If he were to acknowledge that the rat was none other than Peter Pettigrew, it would be too suspicious.

It was the same with Tom Riddle's diary last year. In fact, unintentionally, he informed Dumbledore that he knew it was a Horcrux. Luckily, he had returned to Hogwarts a thousand years before that, so he could always claim that the Four Founders had told him about it.

Dumbledore is so clever. Besides being the greatest white wizard in the current world, he is also a complete schemer.

Evan did not want to lay his cards on the table and then foolishly wait to be countered.

His stubbornness did not give him much progress, so he must be very cautious this year. That's why he had not dared to get involved until he came into contact with Sirius Black.

But now, with the help of the Marauder's Map, this problem can be perfectly resolved.

If the four were to discover that Peter Pettigrew was still alive, then he could easily hand him over to Dumbledore.

Once the whole truth is revealed, he will go to the forest to search for Sirius Black, and things will probably turn out well.

"How foolish, why didn't this idea occur to me earlier?"

Evan looked towards the teachers' table and saw Snape and Professor Lupin there.

He nodded happily and reached out his right hand towards the wand at his waist, his eyes fixed on Ron's pocket. He focused his mind and prepared to cast Petrificus Totalus just at the moment when Peter's name appeared on the map.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." Harry raised his wand gently, ready to aim at the parchment.

"Wait a moment, let's not show it here." Ron hastily stopped Harry and said in a frantic voice, "There are too many people around us, so if we get caught..."

"It doesn't matter, just be cautious, and all will be well. I want to see if this map is as magical as Harry said." Evan looked at Ron with a certain insight.

Ron turned his head and gazed at Evan's face. He couldn't decipher the strange look in his eyes and quickly looked away, focusing back on the map.

"As Evan said, we just need to be cautious, and we won't be found out," said Harry, tapping his wand on the parchment. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

"Oh, my goodness!" Hermione exclaimed, covering her mouth with her hands.

All eyes were fixed on the parchment, and Evan watched as thin lines of ink began to spread like a spider web from the point where Harry's wand had touched. They intertwined, spread out into every corner of the parchment; then words began to bloom at the top, large green curly words proclaiming:

"The Marauders, Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs, purveyors of aids to mischief-makers, are proud to present:

THE MARAUDER'S MAP"

Although he already knew, Evan was stunned by the transformation on the parchment.

In his past life, he didn't know how Harry's father had created such a map. Now, with his current knowledge, he speculated that its creation required not only a great knowledge of Hogwarts' grounds but also an extremely advanced understanding of magical spells, Transfiguration, ancient magical literature, and other magical mechanisms.

And this theoretical knowledge is only a foundation required for its creation. The most critical aspect is the need for a source that provides a great deal of magical power. That is the only way to implement such fine magic into a simple parchment and give it life, just as with the Sorting Hat.

Needless to say, the creators of the Sorting Hat had enough magical power to do such a thing.

Although making the Marauder's Map doesn't require as much magical power, it still needs a fair amount that ordinary wizards shouldn't be able to provide.

However, recalling that James Potter, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew learned Animagus during their school days, having a map made by them becomes much less strange. Evan, having mastered Animagus, knows how much magical power is required during the first transformation; therefore, he relied on magical potions to complete it.

What did James Potter, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew base their calculations on?

Especially Peter Pettigrew, that man is by no means a talented wizard. Yet, he managed to complete his Animagus transformation and become a rat seamlessly.

Initially, Evan thought that they had completed this spell by relying on a large number of potions to supplement their magical power, but now it seems that was not the case. Simply relying on potions is not enough to create living objects like the Marauder's Map.

They must have found other ways. Perhaps later on, he can inquire with Sirius Black.