The Marauders: Year One | #Wattys2016

Exploring the Tunnel

The four boys snuck along down the corridor and 'round a corner, where they clustered 'round James as he pulled out the list of passageways they'd gotten from the little alcove in the Trophy Room passage and he muttered, "Lumos," illuminating the words on the page.

"We should've brought our map," Sirius groaned.

James grinned and reached in his book bag, producing the map and the quills they'd been using to create it. "I was thinking ahead," he said.

"You bloody genius!" Sirius hissed and passed the parchment and quills on to Remus, who they'd all decided was best at drawing the actual details after Remus had spent some time adding in the Trophy Room corridor the other night in the common room. "Here you are, Cartographer," Sirius said.

Remus tucked the quills into his pockets and unfolded the map carefully. "So where are we off to, then?" he asked, looking over the map.

"I'd like to do the humpbacked witch," James replied, "But I reckon there's probably a ton of people 'round it right now trying to get into the common room." He peered 'round the corner of the bend in the corridor they'd ducked down, listening for the sounds of anybody on the stairs but it sounded as though everyone might've gotten past those by now.

"It's too bad we couldn't see where people are on the map, that would be dead helpful," Sirius said, "Imagine if we could see where Filch was all the time?"

Remus said, "Well that would take some sort of advanced charm, I'd imagine, linking the map to the actual floor somehow."

Sirius looked at Remus with a raised eyebrow, "What?"

"Sure," Remus said, "If there was a charm that could somehow tell the map to project the floor itself... maybe some sort of detection charm's on the floor, like in the carpets, and the carpet sort of relays the information onto the map...?"

"There's a spell that could do that?" Peter asked, incredulous.

"Dunno," replied Remus.

"That would be ruddy brilliant," Sirius said.

"An alternative would be to put some sort of tracing spell on everyone in the castle," Remus said.

"That would take forever," James said. "Imagine, having to put a spell on everyone in the castle? It's not as though they'd line up for it and pass by us one by one." He laughed at the thought of it.

But Remus shrugged, "You'd cast it on a door way so that everyone who passes through the doorway is sort of registered and then the map is charmed so that anyone who has the spell on them is projected onto the map."

Sirius's eyes widened, "You know how to do that stuff?"

"This is all theoretical," answered Remus, "I dunno if any of it is even possible."

"Well it would be quite spiffing if it was!" James said.

Peter squeaked, "Well that doesn't help us tonight and if we stay here much longer Mrs. Norris is sure to sniff us out. What are we doing right now?"

"Hold onto your knickers Peter," James answered, "Bloody hell, how are you a Gryffindor, being such a coward?"

"I'm not a coward," muttered Peter moodily.

Sirius grinned, "What if Remus showed us the passageway in the Whomping Willow?" he suggested. "We could add that onto the map."

"Yeah!" exclaimed James, lighting up.

Remus however didn't look nearly as excited. "I don't know if that's such a good idea," he mumbled.

"Why?" James asked.