Chapter 13
10 am the next day.
- Andromeda, wake up, you missed breakfast. - Hermione tried to wake her friend.
"I don't want to," the blonde answered, wrapping herself more tightly in the blanket and turning over onto her other side.
- But... - the girl was confused, not understanding what was happening to her friend. After all, not only Andromeda refused to get up, but also her male half Regulus was still sleeping, while the others had long since left, leaving the Blacks alone in the rooms.
- But what about magic? - Hermione tried to tempt with her favorite topic with obvious concern in her voice. To which Andromeda nevertheless responded, so as not to disturb the Girl even more. She sighed, slightly threw off the blanket and turned around to look straight into her friend's face.
- Hermione, today is our day off, we are not going to do anything, because, frankly, we are tired. - and it was the pure truth. Since the age of six, we have been diligently training in magic, studying well and training physically. As much as we did not like magic and as much as it seemed that we would never get tired of it, this morning suddenly came the realization. Today we are going to do nothing. Just like that, yesterday you are thinking about how you will freeze time itself with one wish, and today you suddenly understand that you need to rest or you will burn out. Perhaps Andromeda's first period could also be attributed to this state. But given that we have two bodies, this is doubtful. So we decided to arrange total idleness today, just a day of sleep, and tomorrow we can return to the usual rut and maybe even try to talk to Potter to fulfill our part of the agreement with Dumbledore.
"And I also started having red days," I added.
- Oh, so it's because of my period? - Hermione immediately perked up, apparently ignoring the words about fatigue or taking it for one of the symptoms, and pulling the blanket off me began to try to lift me up. - Come on, get dressed quickly, you can get a potion from Madam Pomfrey that will ease your period, then it will pass, just like any other day!
- Calm down, Hermione. - Andromeda sighed heavily and as soon as the girl let her go, she immediately lay down, covering herself with the blanket again. - This is my first period, so I can't ease it with magic if I don't want to risk having problems in the future.
- Huh? So that's why she asked me if it was my first period, - it occurred to Hermione before she asked. - What about Regulus? Why didn't he get hard?
- I already told you, we're tired. - Andromeda sighed once again, before saying slightly guiltily. - I'm sorry, but today we really just want to lie down and rest. Just please, if you suddenly decide to talk to Potter, don't take him to the Room of Requirement, I'll explain why later.
- Oh, okay. - the girl sighed in disappointment, and her appearance made our hearts clench so much that for a moment we even thought about postponing our rest and going with her, but the understanding that we needed this rest more than ever stopped us.
"I'll go read something then," Hermione said and headed out of the room before stopping to ask one last question. "You're coming to dinner, aren't you? The Weasley brothers were looking for you."
- Yes, we will come.
An hour later, in the boys' dorm, Regulus sat with a tired expression on his face, wearing Gryffindor fan gear and house paint, while the Weasley brothers chuckled at his reaction.
- So, what did you want? Waaah. - he asked, yawning sleepily.
- Do you remember last night you asked me to get something from Filch's bins? - Fred asked with a victorious smile.
"It can't be," Regulus immediately perked up.
"Of course it can," the twins said in unison, and George pulled a bundle out of his pocket.
"Your uncle is a real genius," George said admiringly before placing the tip of his wand on the parchment and saying, "I solemnly swear I'm only up to mischief."
As soon as the words were spoken, thin ink lines began to appear one after another from the tip of the stick. The lines connected, crossed, spread like a web along the edges of the parchment, and soon the words written in green ink blossomed like flowers at the top:
Gentlemen Lunatic, Tramp, Elk and Tail!
Suppliers of aids for naughty wizards proudly present their latest invention
MARAUDERS MAP.
- Actually, we found her in our first year. Thanks to her, we learned a lot and also got out of many scrapes unscathed.
- To tell the truth, we don't really need it anymore, we already know its contents by heart, so you can take it. - they said, taking turns, before handing the card to Regulus.
"Thank you," we said, fully aware that parting with such an artifact would not be so easy.
- It's not worth it, - George waved it off. - We didn't give her to you for nothing.
- By the way, do you know who each of the marauders was? - Fred asked.
- Yes, - Regulus nodded. - If you want, I can tell you who is who.
- You still ask? Of course yes! - they said at the same time.
"Okay then," Regulus shrugged.
- I'll start from the beginning, I suppose. First, the moonwalker, this is Remus Lupin, although I'm not sure you know him. Next comes the tramp, this is my uncle Sirius Black, you've probably heard of him. - At this point, they nodded in agreement. - The moose is James Potter, Harry Potter's father...
- Oh, come on! Seriously?! – the twins immediately exclaimed.
- Aha. Waaah. - Regulus yawned. - And finally the last Tail. Peter Pettegrew he is... well, it doesn't matter.
For a moment we had a flash of desire to tell that this rat was alive, but considering that he was still part of the Marauders and a Death Eater, there was too much chance that even a hint of disclosure would be dangerous for the Weasley family, and in fact not only for them, but for us as well.
- Why haven't we handed him over to the Director yet? - Regulus muttered out of habit, our thoughts that were now actively preventing our female half from sleeping. But there was a plus in this, because the desire to sleep retreated before the motivation to protect ourselves.
- Peter Pettigrew... a familiar name, - Fred drawled.
- One of the first years has the same name, right? - George asked. - Is he also related to one of the marauders?
"Fuck." Regulus groaned before quickly unfolding the map to find the name he was looking for and luckily he was now next to Ron Weasley in the company of Seamus Finigan and Dean Thomas, but what was more interesting was that Hermione and Harry were standing next to each other in the library some distance away. It seemed she had actually decided to talk to Potter herself and it was quite possible she had succeeded.
"Phew, thankfully he wasn't around." Regulus sighed in relief before looking seriously at the twins. "You'll come with me to see the Headmaster."
- ...- the twins looked at each other silently, their expressions were no longer so cheerful when they simultaneously demanded. - Spill it.
- Peter Petegrew, a Death Eater who pretends to be dead. And there are definitely no first-years with that name, but there is a rat that would be a dead ringer for his animagus form, so we need to…
- Wait, - Fred stopped Regulus. - Karosta has been living in our family for 10 years. Do you realize how wild it sounds, what you're talking about?
- Okay, you don't have to believe that Scabbers is Petegru. - Regulus shook his head and got out of bed to get ready to go to the headmaster.
- You know, I'd like to joke about how Percy has been sleeping in the same bed with a man for so many years and that explains why he acts like he has a stick up his ass. But it's still too creepy. - George sighed, while we were tidying ourselves up with magic. This time, the plan was to go only Regulus, while Andromeda continued to rest, but considering the period, it would be more profitable for us to simply redirect all attention to the male half.
- So decide quickly. Will you come with me? - Regulus, who had quickly gathered himself, addressed the twins.
- Of course! - they answered in chorus, not intending to miss the emerging movement.
Leaving the common room, we headed up the stairs to the principal's office. However, having climbed to the eighth floor, instead of calmly walking further, we ran into a familiar guy whose face resembled the face of the troll Marcus Flint. He was alone, but, from a logical point of view, a pure-blooded sixth-year would hardly be afraid of two third-years and a first-year.
"Black," he said calmly, ignoring the twins completely. "I think we should have a little chat in private."
- Really? - We raised an eyebrow, not even trying to hide our contempt for the man who, according to the canon we knew, was so talentless that he was even held back a year. - I don't think so. Although, perhaps, I wouldn't mind knowing how you found out that we would be here.
- Do you really think that your daily forays to the eighth floor can be kept a secret? I don't care what you do with that muggle-blood, but you should reconsider your behavior. Otherwise, purebloods will stop tolerating you just out of respect for your family name.
- Really? And who of my relatives do you respect so much, if it's not a secret? Surely not my crazy aunt, who voluntarily accepted the slave brand and is now vegetating with the rest of the idiots in Azkaban? - Regulus asked sarcastically.
Flint turned purple with rage.
"Psst, Fred, I think someone's going to explode," George whispered loudly. This, of course, did not escape the attention of the Slytherin, who turned out to be surprisingly hot-tempered.
"It looks like you need to be taught a lesson in respect for your elders," Marcus Flint said ominously, pulling out his wand.
Boom!
Before he could do anything, a dung bomb exploded right underneath him, covering him from head to toe in stinking goo.
- Ha-ha-ha! Got you! - the Weasley brothers exclaimed triumphantly and gave each other high fives.
- Hmm. Now you not only look like a troll, but you also smell like one, - Regulus teased, grimacing demonstratively and waving his hand in front of his nose.
Flint, initially stunned, quickly came to his senses - shock was replaced by animal rage. Judging by the expression on his face, he was about to use a spell that was not at all harmless.
- Edrit... - he began, but did not have time to finish. Before we managed to stun him with a non-verbal spell, his wand flew into the air and ended up in Professor Dumbledore's hand, albeit old, but still strong.
"I think we should stop there, my boy," the director said calmly, returning the magic wand to its owner.
"Professor, I..." Flint began to justify himself, but as soon as his half-glasses sparkled with reflected light, he froze in fear, not knowing what to say.
- Professor, we were just discussing the difference in our views on the actions of our relatives, and Flint got a little angry. I'm sure he wouldn't do anything bad, - we hastened to defuse the situation, while mentally adding "after all, he would have kissed the ground with his face before he managed to finish the spell."
"Is that so, Mr. Flint?" the director smiled good-naturedly.
- Yes, sir.
"In that case, I will leave this incident without consequences," Dumbledore nodded and with one wave of his wand cleared the student and the corridor of the consequences of the dung bomb explosion.
"I recommend you take a walk in the yard. The weather is especially nice today," he added before starting to leave.
The twins sighed with relief - it's not every day that the director himself catches you in mischief. It took them so by surprise that they seemed to have even forgotten the original purpose of our arrival.
"Professor Dumbledore, wait!" Regulus called out to him quickly.
- Did you want to ask something, Mr. Black? - asked the director, turning around.
- Actually, we were just on our way to see you. We need to talk about something important. It concerns my uncle Sirius Black.
As soon as he heard about the topic of the future conversation, a hint of sadness flashed in the old man's eyes, but he quickly pulled himself together, after which he carefully looked at the twins' faces and finally said:
- Let's go to my office. We'll discuss everything there.