9th Of September, 1993
Someone approached them as they were walking toward the Grand Hall after defence against the Dark Arts class. It was Luna Lovegood. She ignored everyone else and headed towards Damian.
"Hello Damian," she said in her usual dreamy voice, and to everyone's surprise, she stood on her toes and kissed Damian's cheek, turning him bright red. She then left as though nothing had ever happened.
"So, brother, is there anything you want to tell us?" Arcturus smirked. Damian simply avoided his eyes and stammered. Before he could explain anything to anybody, Iris ran past all of them, yelling. "I'll tell Mom and Dad that Damy has a girlfriend." Damian panicked and chased after his little sister.
"I honestly don't understand why people hide their feelings. They should just talk about it because you never know if the other person likes you back or not," Daphne sighed.
"I think you are correct, Daphne, so I will take your advice; will you accompany me to Hogsmeade?" said Harry, smiling.
Everybody stopped, all looking at Harry with eyes wide open. Daphne had a slight blush on her cheeks and could not form a word, so she just nodded her head. and went toward the Slytherin common room without saying anything.
Arcturus and Hermione exchanged a small, secret smile. During breakfast this morning, Arcturus asked Hermione out on a date. Hermione has no idea what he has in mind, but she is nevertheless excited. Their crushes on each other had not faded since the first year; in fact, they had grown stronger.
**********
Arcturus was standing outside the Gryffindor common room that night. He was waiting for Hermione to come out. He was nervous, even scared that she might not like what he had planned. As a safety precaution, he even borrowed Harry's cloak of invisibility so no one could see them outside of their dormitories at night.
After ten minutes or so, Hermione came out of the common room and approached Arcturus, who smiled at her and threw the cloak of invisibility over their heads.
Arcturus then leads Hermione to the Astronomy Tower, where there was already a blanket. "Arcturus, what is this?" Hermione asked, slightly breathless. "I wanted our first date to be special and a bit more private, so I thought I should bring you here."
Arcturus picked up a sandwich, which he gave to Hermione. Hermione smiles at him. So they spent the night talking till the early hours of the morning. They then set out to prepare for Hogsmeade.
**********
11th Of September, 1993
They ate breakfast at Gryffondor's table before going to Hogsmeade. Daphne looked nervous, but she dressed well. She was wearing an expensive winter cloak, a skirt, and thick leggings. She was ready for her date.
They were now waiting for Professor McGonnagal to finish checking everybody's permission slips outside the castle. They eventually left for Hogsmeade after she finished checking. Neither Luna nor Iris were able to attend because of their age.
Everyone went in a group except Harry and Daphne, who went out on their own for their date. Harry took her to the Three Broomsticks, where they had some butter and talked for a while.
They went to Honeydukes after they finished their butterbeers and bought plenty of sweets. Everything was fine till Harry and Daphne noticed Iris standing by the chocolate section.
Harry and Daphne rushed over to her and dragged her out of the shop and into an alley. "What in the world are you doing here? Wait, how did you get here and not get caught?" Harry inquired.
Iris did not answer. Instead, she took out a blank parchment from her robes "A parchment? Really?" Harry asked. Iris then drew out her wand and pointed it at the parchment.
"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." And at once, thin ink lines began to spread like a spider’s web from the point that Iris's wand had touched. They joined each other, they crisscrossed, they fanned into every corner of the parchment; then words began to blossom across the top, great, curly green words, that proclaimed:
Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makersare proud to present
THE MARAUDER’S MAP
It was a map showing every detail of the Hogwarts castle and grounds. But the truly remarkable thing were the tiny ink dots moving around it, each labeled with a name in minuscule writing.
Astounded, Harry bent over it. A labeled dot in the top left corner showed that Professor Dumbledore was pacing his study; the caretaker’s cat, Mrs. Norris, was prowling the second floor; and Peeves the Poltergeist was currently bouncing around the trophy room. And as Harry’s eyes traveled up and down the familiar corridors, he noticed something else.
This map showed a set of passages he had never entered. And many of them seemed to lead Right into Hogsmeade.
"Iris, where did you find this?" Harry asked amusingly. Uncle Ignotus once told him and his cousins about this map. He claims that Filch took it in the final year of his brother James and his friends at Hogwarts.
"Fred and George gave it to me. They said they already knew the map by heart, and that they wanted me to have it since I've helped them with a few pranks." Harry just nodded with an excited smile on his face.
"Alright, stay safe and try to find Damian or Arcturus," said Harry. Iris nodded and returned to the sweet shop. Harry and Daphne kept going with the date, talking about nothing and everything.
"Hey Daphne, do you want to do this again, perhaps during the next trip to Hogsmeade?" asked Harry. Daphne nodded and smiled. Harry's shoulders relaxed. They went back to Hogwarts to meet with friends.