We Met In The Shadows.

Butterbeer Bliss

“-The location of-”

“-Every single person-”

“-Within the castle.”

Harry was momentarily taken aback, before turning sceptical again. A magical item that showed every person’s location within the Hogwarts castle would be a highly sought after artefact, not something that could be in the hands of the twin pranksters.

“Georgie, he still doesn’t believe us. Do the honours, please.” Fred encouraged.

“Certainly, Freddie. I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.” said George, tapping the parchment with his wand.

Suddenly, the parchment came alive. Ink began to shift all over the yellowed pages, forming all sorts of shapes before twisting into words.

Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot & Prongs are proud to present The Marauder’s Map.

The twins opened the Map, revealing a silhouette of what looked like Gryffindor tower. A pair of feet with the hovering tag ‘Hermione Granger’ seemed to be in the Common Room.

Harry was gobsmacked, to say the least. A map with such abilities was priceless… and incredibly dangerous in the wrong hands.

“Woah, does it show where everyone is at the moment?” asked an astonished Harry, as he stared at the pacing feet of Hermione.

“Yes, my dear, it does. Want to see us on the Map?” asked George.

Two firm nods from Harry were all the affirmation that he required. As George tapped his wand away on the Map, Harry noticed Fuhrer staring intensely at the three of them. Before Harry could do anything, George asked him to look on the Map. Harry noticed a fourth name near their names huddled together. He squinted to read it and was shocked by what he saw.

“Hey guys… You see that fourth name near us?” asked Harry, cautiously.

“Sirius Black. Wands out, both of you!” snapped George, facing away from the rest of them, wand aimed high.

Harry’s heart was thumping fast in his chest. The adrenaline in his blood caused his senses to work on overdrive. He darted his eyes from high in the branches to low in the snowy roots, but Black was nowhere to be found. They stayed in that formation for nearly five minutes, before Harry spoke.

“Maybe the Map is broken, if it’s still showing Sirius Black’s name,” said Harry.

“NO! We’ve used this map for five years and it hasn’t malfunctioned once.” said Fred urgently.

“And it couldn’t have been tampered with either. It’s always with me or Fred.” said George, aiming high in the branches.

Harry grabbed the map from George and scanned it. Black’s name was in front of where Harry stood at that moment. Right… where Fuhrer sat.

“Guys, I reckon my dog is Sirius Black. The name’s floating exactly where he’s sitting right now.” said Harry, trying to keep the fear out of his voice.

The three boys aimed their wands at the dog, who sat still. Fred shouted, “The jig is up, Black! Show yourself!”

The black dog did nothing but stare back at them, before laying down and licking the snow.

“You think this is a joke? INCENDIO!” George made a wall of flames behind the dog.

Harry’s heart jumped into his throat, as he witnessed the dog he had come to love grow and transform into a scruffy looking pale man with long hair and rags for clothes.