As they slipped out of the castle, Ron was still clutching his head and groaning like he'd been hit by a Bludger.
Fred and George had, of course, snuck up behind him and whacked him with some ridiculous prank gadget. The exact move was probably listed in their mental handbook, 101 Ways to Mess with Ron.
"So how exactly are we supposed to dodge Professor Snape on patrol?" Ron muttered, rubbing the sore spot. Sometimes he knew exactly who the culprits were and still couldn't get revenge.
The twins, at least, had shown restraint; they'd only hit him hard enough that he could bite back a yell.
"Not everyone gets to be a devoted follower of the great Glenn," Fred said dramatically, pulling something out from under his cloak and slapping it into Sean's hand.
It was a big, square piece of parchment, battered and worn, completely blank.
"Uh… what is this?" Ron asked, squinting at it.
"This, Ronnie, is the secret to our success," George said, patting the parchment like it was a beloved pet.
"We wouldn't even be bringing it out if the great Glenn hadn't summoned us," Fred added.
Ron frowned. "But… why would Sean need a ratty old piece of parchment?"
"A ratty old piece of parchment?!" Fred gasped, clutching his chest and squeezing his eyes shut like Ron had mortally wounded him.
George took over. "All right, story time. First year, we were young, carefree, innocent little angels—"
Ron snorted so hard he nearly choked. Innocent? Fred and George?
"Ow!" He paid for that laugh instantly when one of the twins elbowed him again.
Ron glared. Sean was laughing too, but somehow he never got punished for it. Typical.
"—Anyway," George continued, "we may have had a tiny disagreement with Filch."
"We let off a Dungbomb in the corridor. For some reason he took it personally—"
"He dragged us into his office and started the usual threats—"
"—detention—"
"—disembowelment—"
"—and that's when we noticed a drawer in his filing cabinet labeled 'Confiscated Items, Highly Dangerous.'"
Sean already knew where this was going.
"So," Fred grinned, "tell me, O Great Glenn, what would you have done?"
"George lobbed another Dungbomb as a distraction, I yanked open the drawer, and bam, grabbed this beauty."
"It wasn't even that big a deal," George said modestly. "We figure Filch never figured out how to work it. But he must've known it was trouble, or he wouldn't have confiscated it."
"You guys know how to use it?" Sean asked.
"Oh yeah," Fred said, smirking like a cat that ate the canary. "This little darling has taught us more than all the professors at Hogwarts combined."
Both twins drew their wands, tapped the parchment lightly, and said in perfect unison:
"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."
Instantly, thin ink lines spider-webbed out from where their wand tips touched, crisscrossing and spreading until they filled every corner of the parchment. Then, in looping emerald-green script, words appeared across the top:
Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs
Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers
are proud to present
THE MARAUDER'S MAP
Sean's breath caught.
"Here you go," Fred said, bowing theatrically as he offered it up. "Your loyal followers proudly present—"
"—the Marauder's Map," George finished. "We've pretty much memorized it anyway."
Sean took the map carefully. Every detail of Hogwarts Castle and the grounds was drawn in exquisite miniature, but the truly incredible part was the tiny labeled dots moving around in real time.
In the upper left, a dot labeled "Albus Dumbledore" was pacing in his office. "Argus Filch" was prowling the third-floor corridor. Peeves was bouncing around the trophy room. And there were secret passages Sean had never even heard of, lots of them leading straight to Hogsmeade.
Halfway down one passage, a dot labeled "Kettleburn" was pacing back and forth. (Probably waiting for Ron.)
"Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs," George said fondly, tapping the names. "We owe those legends everything."
"Noble souls," Fred agreed solemnly, "tirelessly laboring to help the next generation of rule-breakers."
Sean went quiet. If you read the names in reverse order, it was the exact order the Marauders had died: James, Sirius, Peter… then Remus left behind.
The wizarding world always felt tangled up in fate, every story circling back to where it began. After everything he'd learned about divination and the stars, Sean couldn't believe it was coincidence.
But he also remembered what the centaur had told him:
"We centaurs have believed in fate for over seven centuries.
But if one day fate demands our destruction,
then it stops being fate,
and becomes just something we have to be brave enough to fight."
"Come on, let's move!" Fred said cheerfully.
They headed out under the moonlight.
As they walked, Sean glanced at the map again and saw, right next to Ron's dot, another name flickering:
Peter.
A chill ran down his spine. If he could see it, there was no way Fred and George had missed it all these years.
Yet they'd never said a word about Ron sleeping inches away from a man named Peter.
Maybe they'd just assumed it was a ghost? Or maybe they didn't check the dorms that often.
Sean decided not to ask. Not yet.
After dropping Ron off safely with Mr. Kettleburn (who'd smuggle him back tomorrow morning, wand purchase fully sponsored by the twins), Sean and the twins headed back to the castle.
"One last thing, O Great Glenn," George said with a grin.
"Don't forget to wipe it when you're done," Fred warned.
"Otherwise anybody can read it."
"Just tap it again and say, 'Mischief managed!' and it goes blank."
With that, the twins vanished into the shadows, leaving Sean alone with the map.
He stood there for a long time, watching the tiny dots move.
Until, suddenly, a new dot appeared, Ginny Weasley, slipping back into the Gryffindor common room.
Sean's jaw tightened.
Tom was moving faster, and faster than he'd expected. Arrogant, impatient, cunning as ever.
Sean folded the map carefully. The Weasley twins had, once again and completely by accident, handed him exactly what he needed.
Then he turned and headed deeper into the castle.
Tom wasn't the only one who could make a move tonight.
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ilham20
lots harry potter story