Harry Potter and the Children of the Clan

Chapter 20

Chapter 20

James was two weeks into the school year. After a rather eventful first few days, things settled down into a routine. His talk with Kai had brought them to a nice equilibrium where her smiles and hellos were no longer a source of worry and confusion. They were now the affirmation of a friendship. With the nervousness gone, he had to admit the combined greetings of Vee and Kai in the morning could certainly brighten up a fellow's day. His encounter with Rutherford and his cronies had not had any immediate consequences other than a 'well done you' and some dark looks from Ted when he told him about it.

A small issue had developed between James and his father's godson. Based on what he heard at home and things that the now very observant young fellow had been seeing and hearing at school, James was convinced that Ted was the mastermind of a revival of Dumbledore's Army and he wanted in. From James' perspective he was more than qualified. He was, after all, trained by a Centaur in the arts of tracking and archery. He could identify every plant and animal that claims the Dark Forest as home. And he was pretty sure he was the only student available for recruitment that was actually battle tested against a dark witch or wizard.

Ted, however, didn't see it that way. His arguments centered on the fact that James had almost no magical training, which was true. He was underage as recruitment had been limited to fourth years and above. In a particularly galling revelation, Vee let it be known that she was involved in an ancillary manner due to her ongoing pre healer training that might prove useful in an emergency. James had his suspicions about this but kept them to himself.

But he didn't let it get him too discouraged. It was only two weeks into the term, so he thought he should still have time to work something out. He was buoyed by a bit of information that had been given to him by his cousin Fred one night when the two were sitting by the fire in the common room. As was usual with many of the students this early in the term, they were feeling a little homesick and were telling each other stories about events at home to ease the disquiet.

"Here's something you might find interesting, cuz. You know, my dad really misses Uncle Fred. My mum warned me that sometimes when he's talking to her about things, especially about when they were up here together, he'll turn to the side and say, 'do you remember that one, Fred'. When he realizes that Uncle Fred isn't there, he'll get real quiet and sometimes not say anything for days."

James nodded, unable to imagine what his Uncle George must go through every day, having someone who was basically the other half of you gone like that.

"Anyway, one day we were all sitting in the living room and they were sharing a story and he turned and said, 'do you remember that day, Fred?' and he was looking right at me, but not really at me, you know?"

James nodded again.

"Anyway, I was a little surprised, but not so much that I couldn't think, so I just said, 'No, Dad, I don't. Why don't you tell me about it?' And you know what, he did. He told me how he and Uncle Fred were using something called the Marauder's Map that they nicked from the old caretaker's office. Some kinda special map that if you said the right words would show you all the passages in the castle, including the secret ones and who was out walking around. When you were done you tap it with your wand and say 'Mischief Managed' and it would turn into a clean sheet of parchment again. And here's the best part, James. They gave it to your dad to use when he was doing all his stuff up here. I bet he still has it. Be dead useful, what with all that might happen."

Several things caught James imagination. One was that it was a map. The second was that it was a map of the castle. He had been trying to do some exploring but he had been very busy so far so there weren't many opportunities. And lastly, if it had helped his da in a time of need, maybe it could help him. His mind raced with the possibilities and he began to lay his plans for the coming holiday break.