The Marauders - Order of the Phoenix - Part Two

LIX: 23 June, 1994

Remus laughed, "That's a new one. I hadn't heard that before. Who told you that?"

"One of the blokes in Gryffindor that Charlie and Bill hung about with - Chauncey Strikes. He was a prankster, though, not the sort that you could trust to be telling you a story like that."

Remus looked at her for a long moment, then reached into his suit coat liner pocket, drawing out a spare bit of parchment. "Well, you couldn't trust him with the details at least, but I suspect that he was only repeating what he was told by the previous holders, who I know were the sort that would have embellished the story quite a lot when handing it down..."

I'll be it was Wally that came up with that bit, he thought.

"What's that?" Tonks asked, looking at the spare bit of parchment Remus was laying out on the floor before himself.

He raised his wand. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

Tonks laughed, "What are you -- WHOA!" she sat forward, eyes wide, watching the ink pour up and criss cross and draw out the spidery lines of the cover of the Marauder's Map. She gasped as the words came into view.

Messers Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs proudly present.... The Marauder's Map.

Tonks jaw was dropped completely and she gaped at the map laying on the floor between them. She looked up at Remus. "Wh --?" She paused, "That's - thats you. That's you and - and Sirius and --" she looked at him, her fingers pointing at the names. "YOU were one of the MARAUDERS? I mean, I knew you called yourself Marauders but I didn't think -- I don't know what I thought, I just -- whoa, wow, wow, mind blown, Remus Lupin! You're the stuff of Hogwarts LEGENDS. Hats off to you!"

Remus's face flushed, but he was grinning at the map, then he said, in a rather mighty tone unlike his usual demeanor, "I'm the one that drew it, actually."

"Get out of town!"

"I did!" 

Tonks grabbed the map up from the floor and she laughed, looking it over, "Look at this thing!" she opened it up and her eyes roved all over the place, wide and excited, "My goodness, just LOOK at it! What kind of -- you and your friends must've been geniuses! Look at this!"

"Sirius helped," Remus said. "Was his idea originally."

Tonks laughed and ran her finger over the DADA corridor. "Look, there's us! Hi us!" Tonks's eyes moved all over the place, reading all the different little labels with fascination.

"And see here, Dumbledore in his office..." Remus laughed pointing to the tower. Then his eyes registered surprise. "Newt Scamander is here?" he tilted his head. "What on earth is Newt --" he paused. "Oh... I bet Mr. Scamander is here to advocate for the hippogriff!" he looked excited, "Oh! Of course, why didn't I think of contacting Newt myself? If anyone could get that hippogriff off, it'll be Mr. Scamander!" Remus looked up at Tonks, "We ought to go and say hullo to Mr. Scamander, he is absolutely the most brilliant --"

"Remus!"

"-- wizard that ever lived. I spent a couple summers with him growing up and he --"

"REMUS!" Tonks shrieked.

Remus shut up and looked down where Tonks was jabbing her finger against the Map. "REMUS! LOOK!"

She was pointing at the grounds.

At the Whomping Willow.

At a cluster of labels.

Harry Potter.

Hermione Granger. 

Ronald Weasley.

Petter Pettigrew.