Curiosity Is Not a Sin

Family Secrets

As they neared the castle after class, they could hear more explosions. A particularly deafening one came just after they'd gotten inside.

Once Albus was sure they could here again, he jerked his head toward the corridor. "Come on, let's find a classroom and see what they're up to." Rose looked at Scorpius, who was standing on Albus's other side. He saw where her gaze was directed and scowled. "Rose, he's my friend, and I say he can come."

She decided that getting into an argument about it in the hallway was not going to change the outcome anyway, so she turned without challenging her cousin. Instead, she stretched her arms over her head and glanced out one of the tall windows. "Today's such a good day, don't you think?"

"Maybe your cousin should send a package to her every day," she heard Scorpius mutter to Albus.

"Remember that part where it's probably better for all of us if you don't see this side of her very often?" Albus also kept his voice low, but Rose, who was listening carefully, caught it anyway.

"Yeah. I do." They caught up with her as she started humming an old Weird Sisters song.

Her cousin nudged her. "Are you sure no one spiked your drink or your food this morning?"

"What, am I not allowed to be in a good mood?"

"Rosie, you are always allowed to be in a good mood." He peeked into a classroom. "No one's in here right now."

Once the door was closed, Rose crossed her arms and looked at Scorpius. "Will he tell anyone?"

Scorpius's eyes flicked from her to Albus. "Al, what exactly are you getting me into? If you have to kill me if you tell me or something like that, please just don't tell me."

Al ignored him. "No, he won't." He looked at Scorpius. "Will you?"

"I don't know! I have no idea what you're talking about!"

Albus looked back at Rose. "No, he won't."

"Do I not get a say in what I will or won't do?" his friend demanded.

"You won't," Albus said. "Come on, Rose. It's lunch, and I'm sure they'll be taking advantage of it to put that stuff all over the place. I want to see where so I can laugh at people rather than fall into the trap myself."

"Fair enough." She watched as he pulled the book out of his bag and slid the parchment out from between its pages. After he'd laid it on a table, Rose pulled out her wand. "If you tell anyone about this, it's war," she told Scorpius.

"Look, I'll just leave. I don't need some deep dark Weasley secret to keep."

"It's actually a Potter secret," Albus said, only half-listening. "You're fine. Ignore Rose."

"If he tells someone and James kills you both, tell him it wasn't my idea before you croak." Scorpius was now eying the piece of parchment like he expected it to explode. Given the morning, Rose couldn't exactly blame him. She pointed her wand and whispered as she tapped it, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

"What a surprise," Scorpius muttered, looking at the parchment. Lines began to appear on the paper, and his eyes went wide. "What the—"

Rose looked at Albus expectantly, and Albus sighed. "It's the Marauder's Map."

"What the hell is a Marauder's Map?"

"The," Rose corrected as she rummaged in her bag for a chocolate frog. "There's only one."

He rolled his eyes. "What's the Marauder's Map, then?"

"It's a Potter family secret," Albus repeated. "Go ahead," he told Rose. "You understand it better than me." She swallowed the head of her frog, and he grinned. "You keep eating that much chocolate, it's going to go straight to your hips."