Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and events from J.K. Rowling's wonderful Harry Potter books. I am writing this for my own enjoyment and hopefully for the enjoyment of readers. Anything you recognize belongs to JKR. The rest belongs to me.
Chapter 62: The Map's First Mission
Lily felt guilty. She had been walking down the main street of Hogsmeade trying to smile and nod at the appropriate moments during Gilderoy's latest tall tale, when she caught sight of James ahead casting a hex into an alleyway. Sirius had been standing next to James with a self satisfied smirk on his face. When Lily got close enough to see Snape on the ground in the alley, Lily jumped to the immediate conclusion that James and Sirius had chosen another opportune moment to pick on Snape. Her annoyance overcame her and she immediately jumped down James' throat, accusing him of malice. She had been shocked at his anger and thought she had detected a hint of hurt in his voice before he had stormed off with a girl Lily didn't recognize.
Over the next several days a nagging voice in Lily's head kept urging her to apologize to James for her false accusations. It seemed the fair thing to do, however she dreaded having to face him. As different scenarios played out in her head she imagined two situations: 1) He would see her apology as some kind of admission that she liked him and start pursuing her again, or 2) He would not accept her apology and look at her with contempt. Lily dreaded either scenario.
During the next few weeks, Lily kept trying to build the courage to apologize but each time she had prepared herself to face James she had chickened out, finding an excuse to do something else. As time passed it became easier to find excuses. She either had too much homework or was too involved helping the younger students who were struggling with their classes. Besides, James and his friends were usually either at Quidditch practice or holed up in their dormitory 'sleeping' as they put it. This gave Lily fewer opportunities to have an 'accidental' meeting and quickly apologize.
Sirius, James, and Remus had not taken lightly what the Slytherins had done to Peter. He was a Gryffindor, a Marauder, and most importantly their friend and they felt it was their duty to teach them a lesson. At every opportunity Sirius and James found ways of irritating or hexing the Slytherins involved, especially Snape. After Professor McGonagall had assigned them a detention for transfiguring Snapes nose into an actual hook, Remus finally convinced them to back off so they could properly prepare an elaborate prank where they had less chance of being caught.
While they brainstormed the best method of avenging Peter's attack, they spent all of their spare time working on two important tasks: the continuation of the Animagus training and the construction of the Marauder's Map. Many nights were spent wandering the corridors of the castle under the invisibility cloak, making sure they had as many of the shortcuts and passages mapped out as they could remember. Sirius even spent several evenings stalking the professors just to find out where their quarters were. He reasoned that it was important to try to avoid those areas of the castle if they were going to properly sneak around.
Peter's job was to find out where the common rooms for the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs were. The Marauders had long ago found out the location of the Slytherin common room.
James snuck into the Restricted Section of the library and was able to locate some old maps of the castle. They didn't have all of the secret corridors however they did have a few new ones that the Marauders hadn't seen before. They reckoned that if these new corridors were that easy to find in the Restricted Section then it would be easy enough for Filch to know about them. Still, it was valuable information and it made the map more complete.
Remus' job was to draw the final draft and cast the identification charm which would identify all the occupants of the castle. It did not take him long to research the charm so he decided to work on something extra which he was certain would please the other Marauders. He wanted it to be a surprise.
As the month of March faded and the snow was melting, the boys finally finished the map. Remus insisted on placing the final touches away from the prying eyes of his mates.
"C'mon Moony!" shouted Sirius, banging on the door to the bathroom. "You've been in there for two hours!"
"I'm about ready to use Alohomora and break the door down," complained James.
"Yeah, but knowing Moony he probably booby trapped the door," said Sirius.
"Well Padfoot, I'm getting bored sitting here waiting. It would almost be preferable to take the chance on a booby trap than to try and count the number of bricks on the wall again," said James.
A clicking sound drew their attention as the bathroom door finally opened. Remus walked out, his face impassive yet his eyes sparkling with anticipated mischief. He casually strode to his bed and sat down, amusedly waiting for his friends' impatient comments.
"Well?"
"Where is it?"
"Is it finished?" were the combined comments of Sirius, James, and Peter.
Remus smiled and pulled a folded piece of parchment from the pocket of his robes. He held it out to the others, who stared at the blank sheet.
"How do you activate it?" asked Sirius, practically drooling over the opportunity to wreak havoc without the hassle of getting caught.
Remus took out his wand and tapped the map, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth as he said, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."
No sooner had he said the words before the invisible ink became visible, spreading from the point where Remus' wand had touched. The result was an intricate map of the castle and the surrounding grounds up to the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Across the top of the parchment, it read:
Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs
Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers
are proud to present
THE MARAUDER'S MAP
James grinned as he saw the tiny ink dots that indicated the whereabouts of everybody within the castle. "This is great!" he said. "I like the password."
"It seemed appropriate," commented Remus. "I think Padfoot was my inspiration behind it - I thought of it after he got detention for transfiguring Marlene's earrings into earwigs."
"I feel so honored," gushed Sirius.
"How do you wipe it clean?" asked James.
Remus tapped the map and said, "Mischief managed." The ink disappeared much the same way as it had previously appeared. Looking up at his friends, he said, "I thought something concise would be best in case we are in a hurry to hide it from an authority figure."
"Good thinking," said James. "So are we on for tonight - our first official use of the map?"
Remus held up his hand and said, "Wait. Before we do that, there are a few more things I added to the map that I think you will find valuable and enjoy. First, I placed an inflammable charm on the parchment. I also placed a strengthening charm on it to make it difficult to tear. There is an impervious charm to protect it from water damage."
"Wow," said Peter. "Good thinking, Moony."
Remus smiled and said, "Ah, but I saved the best part for last. Imagine, if by some chance, a Slytherin gets a hold of the map while it is deactivated and tries to crack the code. Why don't we suspend reality for a moment and pretend that I am Lucius Malfoy and have just found the map." Remus tapped the wand and said, "I, Lucius Malfoy, command you to show your secrets."
After a moment, writing scrawled across the parchment, very similar to Remus' neat handwriting. It said, "Mr. Moony would like to commend Mr. Malfoy on his noble attempt to break the code, and ask that he remove his abnormally pale eyes from business that does not concern him!"
Sirius and James glanced questioningly at Remus while Peter stared at the map in confusion. Before they could say anything, another sentence appeared in James' tiny scrawl.
"Mr. Prongs seconds that motion and would like to add that Mr. Malfoy looks like an albino freak!"
James' eyebrows shot upward as Sirius doubled over in laughter. His laughter paused when he saw his own writing flash across the page.
"Mr. Padfoot would like to wave his hand in greeting to Mr. Malfoy, minus four fingers."
James nodded, thinking that sounded like something Sirius might say. Finally, Peter's choppy writing scurried across the parchment.
"Mr. Wormtail would like Mr. Malfoy to bugger off!"
Remus watched the reactions of the other three Marauders as they stared at the map which was once again blank.
"What was that?" asked Peter.
"I thought I would add a little bit of personality to the map," replied Remus. "I used a spell related to the one that is used to animate portraits. What do you guys think?"
"Bloody brilliant!" exclaimed Sirius.
"It's like the icing on the cake - a great way to seal the deal on our masterpiece," said James.
"When do we get to test it?" asked Peter.
Sirius grinned evilly and said, "No time like the present."
James caught his eye and grinned back. "I agree, Padfoot. I think it's time we do that little project we've been planning."
Remus looked at the two boys cautiously and asked, "Don't you think we should start with something a little smaller to test the map?"
Sirius shook his head and said, "If we're going to use the map, we might as well go all out."
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An hour later, James returned to the boys' dormitory.
"Did you find him?" asked Peter.
James waved the map and replied, "Of course. He was on the map."
Peter shrugged and said, "I wasn't sure he would show up."
"Did you ask him?" asked Remus.
James nodded and said, "It took a moment. I had to jump out of the way. His aim was impeccable." James looked down at his drenched robes. Shaking his head, he added, "Peeves sure loves his water balloons."
"Is he up for the job?" asked Sirius.
James grinned and replied, "He said he'd do it."
"Then that means we need to get started or we won't have time to get everything ready before tomorrow," said Remus.
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The next morning, four boys sat at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall, tired but eagerly anticipating the day's upcoming events. They had been up most of the night gathering supplies and getting things set up. Remus had helped find the appropriate spell and he, James, and Sirius snuck around the castle with the aid of the Marauder's Map so that they could place the spells in the appropriate locations. Peter's job was to set up the props which had been handed off to Peeves earlier that morning.
"Good morning!" chirped Alice as she sat next to Sirius. He leaned over and gave her a kiss while Lily and Marlene reluctantly sat down next to them.
Soon after the January Hogsmeade trip, Sirius and Alice officially started dating, much to Marlene's dismay. Not only was Alice dating her rival, but in order to spend time with her best friend she was often forced to be in proximity to Black. She and Alice had had several arguments over the subject, however Marlene did not want to lose one of her best friends so she tried to be civil toward Black. He, in turn, also tried to be civil, however when Alice's back was turned he would find some way to provoke Marlene and set off her famous temper.
Lily was not too thrilled with the situation either. She didn't care to witness the arguments that passed between Alice and Marlene. She was happy that Alice was happy, but she also empathized with Marlene to some extent. While Marlene was not happy to be near Sirius, Lily was not happy to be near James. Ever since the January Hogsmeade trip, James had made a point of ignoring Lily. At times, Lily would feel as if someone was watching her, but when she would turn she would see James studying or hanging out with his friends.
After his date with Beverly, James noticed an increase in his popularity. Sirius told James that girls were flirting with him now that he was no longer chasing after Lily. At first, James was completely baffled by the sudden interest several girls showed him, and he wasn't quite sure what to do about it. Several came to watch the Quidditch team practice and some even went as far as ruffling his hair, commenting on how it made him look like he just got off his broomstick. This played with James' nerves, causing him to run his hand through his hair, and that would send the girls into fits of giggles.
While Lily had noticed that James was ignoring her, James had also noticed that Lily continued to ignore him. Her accusations in Hogmeade had hurt, and he was rather annoyed. What was wrong with him, anyhow, he wondered. Why didn't Lily even look at him or talk to him, and why did she always jump to the conclusion that he had done something wrong, he thought. With each day that passed those questions gnawed at him and he found that the attention he received from other girls made him feel like maybe he wasn't so bad after all. He decided to flirt back and try to forget about the one girl who had continued to invade his thoughts for almost four years.
Now, that morning, James and Lily, as well as Sirius and Marlene, made a point of ignoring each other. Alice noticed the tension but was used to it and opted to make conversation with her boyfriend. Every so often, she noticed Sirius or one of the other boys glance upward or over at the Slytherin table.
"What's going on?" Alice whispered to Sirius.
Sirius gave her an innocent look and asked, "Whatever do you mean?"
"Why do you guys keep looking at the ceiling?" she asked.
"We're just interested in the weather, that's all," replied Sirius.
Suddenly, there were several shouts across the hall. When the Gryffindors looked over, they saw Peeves floating above the Slytherin table, hurling balloons at the Slytherin students. This was not unusual as Peeves loved to pelt water balloons at students. What was unusual was that the balloons were filled with glitter, which dusted over the Slytherin students as the balloons exploded.
Eventually, Filch stormed into the Great Hall yelling at Peeves to stop messing up the area. Peeves responded by blowing a raspberry and sending a balloon straight at the caretaker's head, causing him to inhale a bunch of glitter and start sneezing. When the Bloody Baron floated into the hall and gave Peeves a murderous glare, the poltergeist finally floated out of the Great Hall, cackling as he launched the last of his balloons.
"That was interesting," chortled Marlene, as she watched the Slytherin students who were trying in vain to brush off the glitter.
While attention was drawn toward the side of the hall, the students and teachers failed to notice a sudden difference in the appearance of the ceiling. Only when the hall darkened did they look up.
"That's strange," said Lily, noticing the dark clouds hovering above them. "I thought it was supposed to be a beautiful day outside."
No sooner had she said this when a drop of rain landed on the table in front of her. It was soon followed by more drops as they fell on the heads of the surprised students and teachers. They looked up, not believing that the enchanted ceiling was raining on them. The force of the rain picked up and soon puddles were forming at their feet.
Cries could be heard across the hall and the students had to hold back their laughter as they watched the glitter on the Slytherins changing and growing into different types of plants. Whenever a droplet of rain came into contact with the glitter a sprout would grow.
Sirius grabbed his side, bent over in hysterics as he watched a rose bush grow and climb its way up Regulus, the thorns catching his robes and tearing them, causing several scratches. Next to Regulus, Bellatrix was avidly trying to remove the dandelions which were growing throughout her hair.
The puddles in the hall were quickly becoming larger, and the teachers finally ushered them toward the doors before they were forced to swim. Professor Sprout tried helping as many of the Slytherins as she could, trying to uproot some of them.
James prodded Peter in the shoulder as they approached the exit, nodding toward Lucius Malfoy who was a few feet away. Malfoy glared at James, trying to appear intimidating and failing as he had an apple tree growing out of his head. James approached Malfoy and with a grin reached up and picked an apple off of the small tree. He casually took a bite and then spit it out, saying that it was too bitter for his taste.
Once the students piled through the exit, hoping for some respite from the torrential downpour, they were disappointed to find that the storm was in the corridor as well.
Filch, who was trying to weed his nose, angrily reported back to Professor Dumbledore that the entire school was besieged with the storm. Dumbledore announced that, due to the weather and also to the state of one quarter of the student population, classes would be cancelled for the day until the matter could be straightened out.
The students all hurried outside, surprised to see the sun shining over them with a few clouds spotting the sky. They cheered and proceeded to perform drying spells on themselves as well as the younger students. The day was spent enjoying the outdoors and one of the first warm spring days of the year, while the Slytherins were forced to hang out in the makeshift hospital wing that had been conjured outside near the greenhouses.
James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter all grinned at each other, realizing that the first official use of the Marauder's Map had been a grand success, and that Peter's attack had been avenged.
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A/N: Ah, what a fun chapter to write! So what are you thoughts on the construction of the map? Was the prank elaborate enough?
I'm thrilled to have mixed reviews on the whole Sirius/Alice situation (I love sparking debate) - though most of it is positive. Makes me want to laugh because it almost seems like there are more Sirius/Marlene shippers out there than there are for James and Lily - for this story, at least. I suppose that could be because we all know that in the end James and Lily will get together. As for Sirius and Marlene, who knows…?
Thanks to my latest reviewers: nanopy, lilly flower (x2), Nyscat, mystical cah, Golden Phoenix, Alicia, delpheena (x2), Anu, Remus'sweetie, Mani12191, Chayse, James Potter (x4), tigerfairy, spanish gurl, A New Reader (x2), sista7 (x2), and Jo Bob (x2).
Next chapter: The Marauders work on their other project.