The two of them hurried into Gryffindor Tower, rushed through the still-lively common room strewn with streamers, and dashed up to the boys' dormitory.
After confirming that their roommates were all still downstairs celebrating, George finally pulled the parchment out of his pocket.
"This?" Fred raised an eyebrow at the blank sheet. "A piece of scrap not even worth blowing your nose on?"
"I found it in the drawer labeled Confiscated Items — Highly Dangerous," George said, eyes shining. "My gut tells me this parchment is anything but ordinary. Filch wouldn't lock up a useless scrap of paper."
With the noise outside masking them, the twins spent ages experimenting on the parchment in their dormitory, wands in hand.
"Specialis Revelio!"
"Revelio!"
"Alohomora!"
After half an hour of effort, breathless and exhausted, the parchment remained stubbornly blank—mockingly so.
"I give up."
Fred flung the parchment onto the bed and collapsed into his pillow. "What if it really is just parchment? Maybe Filch confiscated someone's love letter written in special ink only the intended person can see?"
George refused to give up. He picked it up again, rubbing the worn surface thoughtfully.
"No… I still don't think it's that simple."
He tapped the parchment gently with his wand as if speaking to it.
"Think about it. If Filch considers it highly dangerous, I'd bet the person who owned it wasn't exactly well-behaved."
The moment George finished speaking, something miraculous happened.
As if responding to his words, ripples spread across the parchment's surface.
Fine ink lines burst from the point touched by George's wand, spreading like living spiderwebs across the page. They twisted, wove, and formed patterns until the entire parchment was covered.
"Fred! Look!"
At the top of the parchment, elegant green script slowly appeared, ornate and mischievous:
Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs
Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers
are proud to present
THE MARAUDER'S MAP
---
The next morning, dark circles under their eyes, Fred and George eagerly shared their discovery about the surveillance book in the common room.
After heated discussion, the Gryffindors confidently concluded that Filch's "eyes" were most likely the crude stone busts that had suddenly appeared in corridor corners at the start of the school year.
The rumor spread across Hogwarts in less than half a day.
At first, many were skeptical. The statues looked ordinary—just ugly.
So a brave student decided to test the theory.
At lunchtime, he went to a deserted dead-end corridor on the fifth floor with no portraits nearby. Standing before a dusty stone bust, he took a deep breath and used his wand to spray red smoke into the air:
FILCH IS A BRAINLESS OLD FOOL
He even stuck his tongue out at the statue.
Less than three minutes later, before the letters had even faded—Filch came charging down the corridor as if Summoned.
"Ha! Caught you!" Filch wheezed, face twisted with rage.
The student received a day of detention, but the rest of the school celebrated as if they'd won a victory. The rumor was confirmed: the statues were surveillance devices.
Students already knew the portraits watched the corridors, but portraits were lazy—usually napping, gossiping, or arguing. And if they reported anything, it went to Dumbledore, not Filch.
These statues, however, were practically Filch's clones. The idea of him constantly watching them made students deeply uncomfortable.
Thus began a silent war between Filch and the students.
Over the next few days, William noticed the surveillance book kept malfunctioning—not due to technical issues.
He would suddenly see a feed covered in ink, slime, or chewed gum. Moments later, a rough hand would appear, furiously scrubbing a statue's eyes clean. Then Filch's furious face would fill the screen, glaring as if he wanted to crawl through it.
"So energetic," William chuckled, watching Filch fume.
For now, the students were winning the guerrilla war.
But not for long.
Within days, the Heads of House intervened.
Professor McGonagall firmly explained that the statues existed solely to prevent corridor spell-casting.
"They are only placed in public areas—corridors, staircases, and passageways. None are in dormitories, common rooms, or bathrooms. This is about safety and order, not spying."
With the Heads backing the system and Professor Snape threatening detention and point deductions—the conflict quickly ended.
Students might annoy Filch, but few dared defy the Heads of House.
Soon, the statues became just another part of castle life.
Meanwhile, William gained a new daily pastime: returning to his office, making tea, opening the surveillance book, and enjoying the ongoing cat-and-mouse games between Filch and the students.
No one seemed to notice that the arrival of the new professor and the appearance of the surveillance statues had happened at exactly the same goddamn time.
====================
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