Up To No Good

Chapter Twelve

"What are you four doing in the pouring rain?"

Professor Flitwick glowered up at them as they entered the castle, soaking wet and clutching their wands. The thrill of transforming still had each of them out of breath, but it didn't matter.

"Forgot something on the pitch, Professor," James lied.

It didn't seem to be a very good lie, either, because Flitwick narrowed his eyes at him, pointing at them in a threatening sort of way. It didn't really work, because Professor was quite a few heads shorter than them, especially to James who was tallest.

"Twenty points from Gryffindor, Mr. Potter."

"Oh Professor, come on--"

James didn't finish his sentence as Flitwick had turned around, his robes sweeping after him. The other Marauders only snorted.

"Didn't think it was a crime to go outside," Sirius huffed.

The coming weeks were the best they ever had. Triumphant that, after 4 years, they were able to transform, it was only a matter of time until the next full moon when they would be able to accompany Remus at last for his transformation. Even Remus, who always (and understandably so) dreaded his monthly "furry little problem" as they still managed to call it, was delighted and intrigued at the idea of at last having his friends with him to make the process any less frightening.

They were sitting in a dark room, lit only by their wands. As far as they knew, they were the only ones who knew of its existence, as it was located behind a mirror in Hogwarts's fourth floor.

"Madam Pomfrey always comes with me," he explained. "She immobilizes the Whomping Willow so I can climb through the passage."

"Under the roots?" Peter asked.

"Yeah, there's a knot underneath."

"We can't let Madam Pomfrey know we're coming with you," James insisted. "How can we get her off your--" he smirked, "tail?"

Remus shook his head in amusement. "I dunno, just ask her to teach me the spell?" He looked thoughtful. "No, it's best if I don't bring my wand."

"Wait a minute," Sirius said. "If Wormtail can transform into a rat, maybe he can press the knot."

Just like Moony, they had already begun calling each other Animagus nicknames, which everyone else thought quite odd. But they didn't need to know. This was their secret.

"Could he, if he's so small?" James queried.

"The full moon isn't for another week," Remus reminded them all. "We don't need to worry until it starts approaching. I'll just--casually mention it to Madam Pomfrey. I'm fourteen now, maybe she'll trust me enough to go alone."

Sirius looked as though he tried to smother a joke that he had been about to tell. Remus saw this but he only grinned.

"Look, I may be a werewolf, Padfoot, but I'm not about to go romp around the grounds when the moon's already out," he chuckled.

"Yeah, that would be unfortunate."

At this, Sirius picked up a bit of parchment, brandished it at them from under his nose, and spread it out in front of them. "I had an idea," he explained. It was a map of Hogwarts, most likely torn from an old textbook. He looked up at each of them. "I thought that maybe there's a way we can make a map of all the secret passages in Hogwarts. I mean, how many have we found?"

"Three," Peter held up his fingers helpfully.

"This one," James nodded at the ceiling.

"Yeah, and the one from the one-eyed witch statue," Remus nodded. "The one that leads to Honeyduke's. And my passage makes three."