Chapter 52: Chapter 52
"Fred, George, what are you doing here?" Albert asked, pretending to be oblivious to the current situation.
"We're mopping the floor," Fred said dryly.
"Since when did you two become so hard working and being to clean up after yourselves?" Lee Jordan said as he looked at the twins with a gleeful expression. Dung Bombs were difficult to clean, especially since Filch has forbidden the use of magic and not given them any good cleaning supplies.
"This is the consequence of throwing Dung Bombs in the corridor." Filch said as he supervised the twins' cleaning. "Don't think that you can get off Scot free when you're misbehaving."
"Don't worry, I'll tell Professor Brodt that you're missing his classes to clean the corridors," Albert said as he patted their shoulders. "You can borrow my notes later if you haven't finished cleaning and attend Defence Against The Dark Arts."
"Why do I feel you're mocking us?" George said.
"Are we?" Albert said as he turned his head to look at Lee Jordan.
"I thought they would at least throw the Dung Bombs secretly in the corridor. Not is his office," Lee Jordan said, showing clear signs of confusion towards the twins' actions.
If Filch was not there, Albert wouldn't mind using the Scouring Charm to help them reduce the amount of cleaning they would have to do. It's a pity that Filch is staring at them like a hawk, and if he did that, he would force them to help the twins. Although he liked the twins, he wasn't prepared to share their burdens.
It took several hours for Fred and George to clean up the Dung Bombs in the corridors and Filch's office. Because of this, they had also missed lunch.
As a result, the sore backed twins went to the kitchen to retrieve sandwiches from the house-elves, and dined under a tree near the Black Lake.
"Spill the beans. What did you get from the drawer?" George said as he stuffed the last bite of his sandwich into his mouth and waited for Fred to finish eating.
"I got something," Fred said as he took out the parchment from his pocket and handed it to George.
"What is this?" George said as he looked at this old-looking parchment and turned it over again. There was a note stuck to the other side. It read: 'I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good' and 'Mischief Managed'.
"What do you think it is?" Fred asked.
George looked at his brothers suspiciously, and they felt it contained a secret that could change their life. Otherwise, what reason would Filch have to place it with the other banned items in the 'Confiscated and Highly Dangerous' Items Drawer?
"Do you reckon it needs a password?" Fred asked when he remembered the two phrases on the note. "I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good."
Nothing changed the parchment, so the twins were dissatisfied. It was exactly the same before they said It. They felt downtrodden and were ready to be given up on it until George shot right up.
"My idiotic little brother, I have discovered thy secrets parchment beholds," George said.
"What are you talking about?" Fred asked, looking confused.
"It's a magic parchment. We need to use our wand when we say the password," George said as he drew his wand and pointed it at the parchment. "I Solemnly Swear That I'm Up To No Good."
A dark stain appeared where the wand had touched the parchment and slowly spread to the tree he four corners. The ink had created a spider web like trail in its wake.
"This is real, right? Because I was only joking about using my wand," George said as his face showed inconsolable excitement. Sure enough, there is a secret hidden in this parchment.
"I'm looking at the same thing you are," Fred said as he stared at the surface of the parchment and saw a line of writing appear.
{ Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs
Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers
are proud to present:
THE MARAUDER'S MAP }
"The Marauder's Map?" the twins said in unison.
"This old parchment is actually a map. George, look, the ink is moving," Fred said as he looked surprised.
The twins huddled around the map to study the secrets the parchment holds. They soon came to realise that it was a detailed map of Hogwarts Castle and also had locations of secret passages alongside its password.
There is no need to worry about how to locate the secret passageways and figuring out the password. The best thing about this map is that it also marks everyone's current location with their name above some footprints. When they tried to find Albert, they spotted him outside the library near Peeves.
"George..." "Fred..." they said at the same time.
"Are you thinking about what I'm thinking?" George said.
"Then, let's say it together," Fred said. "On the count of five. One..., two..., FIVE!"
"Night tour." The two looked at each other and couldn't help but laugh again.
"When we travel at night, we don't have to worry about being caught by Filch with these secret passageways. That means we don't have to wait for Albert to learn the Disillusionment Charm," George said.
"Yeah, that's great. There's so many hidden passages on it we haven't found and I'll bet we would never find. George, try the other phrase," Fred said.
George then again placed his wand on the map and said, "{Mischief Managed}."
In the next moment, the traces of ink on the parchment gradually disappeared, and within a few seconds, it changed back into a blank old parchment.
"The map's gone!" George said in surprise. "The creators must have been very well versed in magic to make this."
"If someone we tell lets word slip, and rumours mill around, we won't be able to hold on to it for long," Fred said as he thought for a while. "Nobody except us two will know about this, understood?"
"Yes. Do you reckon Filch knows about the secret passageway? After all, he had it for what I presume a long time," George said, as he doubted they were the only ones to know about it. "Also, why did he leave it in the 'Confiscated and Highly Dangerous' item drawer? If I were him, I would hide it so no one could find it."
"I don't know, and I don't care. It doesn't matter since the Marauder's Map is now ours," Fred said. "The question remains: do or don't we tell them about it?"
"No," After thinking about it, Fred said as he shook his head. "The fewer people know, the better."
"Don't forget, Albert was the one who told us to get it," George blurted. "He must have a clue about what we took from Filch."
"But let's not tell him about it. He should now the basics from ready a book in the library, but he shouldn't know what it really does," Fred said as he raised his eyebrows.
Actually, the two don't mind sharing the Marauder's Map with others, but they are also worried that they will lose such a good item because of their big mouth. Scratch that, Lee's big mouth.
"Don't think too much about it. Let's explore one of the secret passageway." The twins looked at each other, hooked their arms, and left.
~~~~~~~~
"The creators of the map were Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs. Who do you think they were?"
"I think they were students at Hogwarts." George said as he raised the head of the statue and opened a secret passage.
"Hurry, someone is coming here." Fred said as he looked down at the map in his hand. The twins rushed into the tunnel and the doorway closed in on them.
"Where does this secret road lead to?" George said as he lifted his wand and cast "Lumos". It's a pity he hadn't mastered the Wand Lighting Charm as the light on the tip of his wand unexpectedly went out.
"Come on, George. I thought you had learnt that charm already," Fred said as he huffed in annoyance.
"Why are you speaking like that? It sounds like you have learnt it already," George said in response. "I'll like to see you do better."
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