XI
Up to No Good
"Harry, are you OK?" Hermione asked.
"What? Oh, right! Yes," Harry replied, still staring directly at Teddy, and realizing what he was seeing when no one else could:
Harry could see right though his own Invisibility Cloak! Just like Dumbledore could, Harry realized.
"Have there been any other reports of anything odd?" Professor McGonagall asked, and the Heads of Houses all agreed that no, there had not.
"We need to make a list of suspects," Harry then pointed out. "Anyone we can think of, not in Azkaban, who might still have it in for some of us - or our children."
"Didn't Shacklebolt say we'd rounded up most of them?" Ron asked.
"Most, yes," Harry replied, watching with some amusement as Teddy stared back at him in shock. "But it's really impossible to get a full roster, you know. It's not like they all signed a list, like we did with Dumbledore's Army," Harry pointed out.
Malfoy shook his head. "That's what you get for writing things down."
"You know what?" Ron stood up, his face going pink, but Hermione grabbed his arm and pulled him back down.
"Malfoy's right. And," she added, "We don't know the extent of their influence on the continent, either. After all, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang weren't involved in the final battle here."
"Trust me, HE had a foothold on the continent," Malfoy informed them.
"How do you know?" Ron asked, somewhat rudely.
"He knows," Harry said, with a look that silenced Ron. "All I'll say is our mutual contact can confirm that; he's a verygood source. The rest is a matter of Ministry Security," Harry continued. "Anything else? I hear the boys are fine?"
"Back in their House," Madame Pomfrey nodded. "Now, about the dog, Potter?"
Harry grinned at her.
"And while we're at it, let's discuss the rumor about what happened in your class, Harry?" Hermione put in, "Rumor is that Teddy can morph into a white wolf?"
Harry laughed and shook his head, noting the desperate look on Teddy's face. "No, that was his dog, Argos," Harry explained. "When Teddy was very little, a stray dog adopted us. It seems he subtly changes form. He followed Teddy to school one day, and he seems to pop up here and there. When Teddy was in danger from my demonstration, he and Argos switched places, much like the old shell game. What the students saw isn't really what happened."
"Well, you need to squash that rumor," McGonagall told him. "I was about to award points to Gryffindor for the transformation!"
"So, uhhh, is anyone else worried about a shape-shifting-Apparating dog?" Dean asked. "'cause that's not normal? Don't you find it a bit...odd, Harry?"
"No," Harry replied, "If he was a threat, I don't think he'd have waited - in my house - all these years to attack."
"Teddy says the dog told him that it was his Familiar," McGonagall informed them.
"He can talk to dogs?" Dean asked.
"Makes sense," Neville agreed.
Malfoy made an indelicate sound.
"And about the potions marks?" Harry glared at him, changing track abruptly.
Malfoy gasped, looking scandalized.
"Fine, fine!" Malfoy conceded, "Full marks. I was just trying to toughen him up, is all. After all, he is a Black."
Teddy blinked in surprise.
"Speaking of, I think it's time you had a chat with your mother," Harry then told Malfoy. "See if she has some tips?"
Malfoy looked very uncomfortable with that suggestion, but he nodded. Slightly. "I'll contact Narcissa when it's convenient," he said.
Teddy gasped, and several of the teachers looked around.
"Gas," Harry covered for him, patting his chest. "I think it must have been the meat pies? Too much pepper?"
The ladies glared at him.
Under the cloak, Teddy couldn't believe what he was hearing. Narcissa? He thought, AUNT Narcissa?Then that makes HIM my COUSIN? EWWWWW!
"Other topics?" McGonagall asked.
"The wolfsbane is doing well, blooming nicely," Neville put in. "I've secured the greenhouse, and I'll make sure Teddy and Jack don't get in there."
"You needn't worry about little Lupin, he won't go near it." Malfoy added, as he and Harry exchanged a look. "Well, actually, you do. He can't take the wolfsbane potion."
"WHAT?!" Everyone gasped.
"What are you saying, Mr. Malfoy?" McGonagall breathed in surprise.
"He's deathly allergic to it," Malfoy explained.
Hermione looked stricken.
"With your permission, Potter?" Malfoy then asked Harry, and it sounded like asking for that permission hurt. Harry nodded.
"Must be a doozey?" Dean wondered.
"Oh it is," Malfoy went on. "You see, when Lupin reported getting sick off of Granger...sorry...Mrs. Weasley's brew," he shook his head, "Not Ron's mum...Hermione's potion, there," he clarified, and Hermione nodded her assent.
"I thought to do some tests. As it turns out, Lupin is not only allergic to it, as in vomiting, sneezing, itching; the potion actually attacks and destroys his tissues and fluids. Those I've been able to test so far. I could use some more samples?" He asked Madame Pomfrey. Teddy cringed.
Everyone just stared at Malfoy, Teddy included. While he was glad he wouldn't have to take the nasty stuff anymore, he was also worried about what might happen if he didn't. So far, he'd never had a mean change, like Jack called it. And he didn't want to take that chance.
Looks like the Shack for me, too, he groaned inwardly.
"So, what do we do with him?" Neville asked, "A heavier, common sedative?"
"I still say turn him loose with Fang and Fluffy, and Jack fer tha' matter, and let ‘em run the forest. Send Argos with ‘em. He's smart enough to track ‘em when the sun comes up, that, or lead ‘em back before? You can't just box ‘em up and wait! It's cruel!" Hagrid declared.
"What's cruel is the curse that they spread when they bite someone else," Malfoy disagreed. "We're lucky that Lupin made it past early childhood," he deferred to Hagrid and Harry, "Let's not endanger him further by exposing an amateur werewolf to what's really out there - to say nothing of the hunters?"
"Hunters?!" Teddy gasped again. Everyone looked around.
"Hunters?" Dean asked at the same time, inadvertently covering him.
"What with the steady rise in werewolf attacks, the Ministry has dispatched roving patrols of hunters at each full moon to, errr, shall we say, ‘take care of' any loose werewolves not in proper care?" Harry offered.
"You mean ‘kill them'?" Hermione snapped.
"Any of them not smart enough to ‘sit' or ‘heel' when told to, that is," Malfoy joked, but no one laughed.
Teddy resented that crack, too, as he just stood staring at his Uncle Harry in disbelief. Hunt us down and kill us?He wondered.
"That's just wrong," Hermione complained. "You're telling me that when you look at Teddy or Jack, the first thing that comes to mind is ‘kill him'?"
"The first thing that comes to mind," Malfoy corrected her, "is ‘wear gloves when treating them, as boys or wolves'. The key to this problem is in their saliva and blood cell reactions," Malfoy started to say, but Harry kicked his shin - hard - under the table. He found that oddly satisfying; he'd wanted to kick Malfoy for years!
"The first thing that comes to mind," Harry said in a very low and dangerous voice, "Is to get to the bottom of this! I've exhausted every possible resource, even looked in some pretty damn dark corners, and I still don't have an answer as to why this is all happening! You think I like what we're doing?" He snapped, his voice rising and trembling just a bit. "You think some part of me doesn't die every time an Auror takes down a rogue werewolf?" He shook his head, looking away. "Ron, do you remember the Mirror of Erised? Do you remember what it did to us?"
Ron nodded slowly.
"Imagine some dark mirror just like it; some horrible window into your worst nightmares, or your deepest fears? You'd think if there was one, that I'd see Voldemort winning, conquering the world, and drowning it in darkness?"
"Harry," Hermione cut in, but Harry held up his hand.
"NO! That's not what I'd see - what I DO see every time the full moon rises! What I see is my Godson - TEDDY! -" he choked, "-out of control and being ... being ... exterminated!" Harry quickly turned away from them as he said it.
From his hiding place, Teddy bit his lip and swallowed a cry that threatened to expose him. More than anything, he wanted to tell his Uncle Harry that it was OK, that he would never do that; that he somehow knew that he just couldn't do that.
But he had to remain still.
"Well, we've still got time," Ron reminded them. "And there's always the Shack. And Teddy remembers the changes, Harry said?"
"So did Remus," Hagrid sighed, "But he still di'n't have no control over the wolf when it came."
"But Teddy seems to," Harry mused, as he and Malfoy exchanged looks. "He's always been a happy puppy, and he's remembered it for a long time - he just thought it was a dream until a few years ago. And Jack can remember his, too?"
"It's a start," Malfoy agreed.
"What are they talking about?" Dean wondered.
"No idea," Neville shook his head.
"Longbottom, how's your supply of dittany?" Malfoy then asked.
"All of the healing herbs are well stocked," Neville replied.
"I've got potion going for Jack now, and extra to ship out to the Ministry for distribution," Malfoy concluded, as he got up to go. "I have nothing more to add, and if there's nothing else?"
Everyone shook their heads.
"Fine, let's proceed normally, then," McGonagall decided. "We'll work on a list of suspects, and then try and whittle it down some. Harry, you contact Kingsley and let him know?" Harry nodded. "And Mr. Weasley, Sibyll is telling me we're in for an early winter, so what say we bump Quidditch up a few weeks? I'm too old to sit out in the snow to watch?"
Harry groaned, as did Hermione. If Professor Trelawney was predicting rain, you could count on a sunny day.
"Yes, Ma'am!" Ron agreed with a smile.
"I thought you might, Mr. Weasley," McGonagall grinned primly. "Friends," she dismissed them, "Goodnight!"
When everyone had filed out, Harry walked over to where a shocked Teddy was standing and grabbed him in a tight embrace, not bothering to pull the Cloak away.
And as there was no one left but for Teddy, Harry held him, going to his knees and fighting not to break down in front of the boy. He wasn't entirely successful. Harry held the boy for quite some time, until it passed.
"It...It's bad, isn't it?" Teddy finally asked. "More than the papers let on?"
"Bad enough," Harry countered, slowly getting a grip on his emotions. Teddy sensed the awkwardness of it, and he tried to change the subject.
"How can you see me?" Teddy then asked. "Or was that a joke? The Cloak's a fake, ain't it?"
"No," Harry grinned at him, wiping his face, "It's real. Dumbledore could see through it too, and I think I know why," he said, feeling the Elder Wand move inside his breast pocket.
"I'm glad to see you're getting the hang of this, son. Up to no good already?! You got in on some pretty intense information, you know?" Harry encouraged him, leading him towards the door. "Let's go to my office and talk, that is, if you don't want to go to bed?"
"I want to stay here," Teddy fudged, once they arrived in Harry's office. "That's one of my problems. I need a new room," Teddy declared. "You just want me and Jack to move into the Shack now?"
"WHAT?!"
"Nobody wants us around," Teddy said, with a little catch in his voice. "Jack told me it's the same with him, too. Ciaran almost wets himself every time he sees me, and...and...Freddie...well, he said some things?" Teddy shook his head. "It's just like you said down there. Everyone hates us - they'd just as soon kill us."
"Do they know about Jack, too?" Harry asked, and Teddy shrugged.
"They suspect it."
"I'll have words with them," Harry retorted. "You are not setting up housekeeping in the Shack, and no one is going to kill you!" He paused. "Why is Freddie in on this?" Harry then asked, "He knows better?!"
Teddy shrugged. "It started when he started talking to Lee and Ciaran, and those older kids," Teddy told him. "It's not like he ever saw me change; he was never around. Now he's just ignoring me, then...then he, like, started siding with them."
"I did warn you?" Harry reminded him, and Teddy nodded.
"I know, but...it still hurt. I guess you can't be ready if somebody just decides to hate you, or even try and kill you?"
"You think the broomstick curse was aimed at you?" Harry asked him, wondering at what Teddy was getting at. It seemed a big jump, but then again, it wouldn't have surprised Harry if Teddy had already worked it out.
"Yes. Or any one of us. Sir Nicholas thinks so too!" Teddy informed him.
Harry had to laugh at that. "Well, that trick you and Argos played in my class didn't help, either," Harry reminded him.
"It was his idea," Teddy justified it, settling down into a comfortable chair. "Besides, you can talk to snakes?"
Harry didn't know what to say to that one. He figured it must be the same thing, though?
"So, you think I'm right?" Teddy asked.
"I think your theory has merit," Harry agreed, realizing that he sounded just like Hermione!
"You can sleep in my bed tonight, until we sort this roommate thing out," Harry told him, and Teddy yawned. "I'll inform the Fat Lady. Then I'm going to have a talk with those boys."
"Please, don't!" Teddy squeaked. "You'll just make it worse, Uncle."
-‘Uncle' - not ‘Professor' or ‘sir', as Teddy had been instructed to address his teaching family members while at Hogwarts.
Harry heard the suffering in his Godson's voice. It had to be hard, he realized, coming to school and having most of your family there as teachers.
But in that voice, Harry also heard something else as he took Teddy's hand and pulled him into a hug. The boy's grip and little gasp confirmed just how much he was starving for affection. After all, Teddy had never been truly alone or left on his own before. He held him until the boy fell asleep, just as he'd done for so many years already.
"I'm sorry, Teddy," He whispered.
Argos met him at the door as Harry was leaving.
"Protect him," he told the white wolf, as Harry went off to inform the Fat Lady and do his rounds of roaming the corridors, looking for students out of bed.
He took the Cloak with him, and it made him think of the three Deathly Hallows as the Elder Wand gave a twitch when he pulled the Cloak over his head.
Where could the Stone have fallen when I dropped it that night? But why think of that now? He wondered to himself, And how could I have said that in front of Teddy? Stupid! He told himself. And these emotional outbursts? What is WRONG with me?!
In all actuality, Harry seldom thought about the Stone. Granted, the final battle was never too far from his mind, and it often haunted his dreams. On impulse, he stopped and pulled out his wallet - a Muggle affectation, he knew, but he liked it. He then skipped through several images of Teddy, smiling in all of them, hair shifting colors, until he came to a group photo of Dumbledore's Army taken in the Room of Requirement.
Colin had taken it, Harry recalled, as he stared at the somber faces looking into the camera. Always on the other side of the camera, Colin, Harry thought, staring at Dennis in the image. Dennis - so small, like Professor Flitwick, he thought. Dennis was the only one who smiled briefly in the image.
And now you never smile, Harry thought, wondering that he seldom heard from the boy - young man now - he corrected himself. The last time he'd seen Dennis, the young man had been crying. I never found out who desecrated Colin's grave, Harry recalled.
As he looked at the pictures of Teddy, he wondered if the days of endless smiling were coming to an end. Upstairs in his suite, Teddy was asleep with Argos to guard him. And I should be there, Harry thought, Preferential treatment or not!
Harry was brought out of his reverie by the sound of scraping stone, and he realized that he had wandered up several floors. He stopped to stare for a moment, and was it his eyes playing tricks on him? Or were there really children running for a door that had appeared out of nowhere in the wall?
That's all they are ... all we really were ... children... ‘There is a magic in children...' Harry recalled.
One boy with wild black hair and glasses stopped and beckoned to him, and right on his heels came another dark-haired boy that just exuded the sense of "trouble-walkin'!" Following them were a sickly and sad-looking boy, and another short little lump of a boy who seemed to just be tagging along.
"Marauders, up to no good!" Trouble-maker-boy yelled, as into the room they all went. "We have work to do!"
"Apparently I needed you tonight, old friend?" Harry asked, touching the doorjamb at The Room of Requirement, wondering that its power had spilled out into the corridor. "You've never done that before," he added.
As if in reply, the doors opened wider, beckoning him to come inside. There were smells of warm cocoa and cookies drifting out of the room, spiced sweets and more, and the smell of evergreen and holly. Sounds of wand-fire and childish laughter echoed from the room, and it was suddenly so appealing.
And since there was not even a ghost to be seen in the corridors, Harry stepped in.
But the mysterious children had gone.
The room was just as he had seen it during the last meeting of Dumbledore's Army. Props for their training were standing around the room, and the air almost shimmered, as if the memories of shining Patronuses were still lingering, waiting for someone to come and call them back from the magical ether.
There was a bright flash of blue/white light, and Harry jumped, his hand going for his wand.
CLICK!
It couldn't have been?
It had been so long since Colin had sneaked up on him and taken a flash photo of him. Yet for as annoyed as Harry knew he'd always been with that, his heart ached to see that flashbulb going off in his face just one more time...
But there would be no more photos.
The camera had fallen silent years ago.
Fallen onto the cold and debris-littered stone floor of the very castle, its last roll of enchanted film rewound and never processed...Dennis had told him...
...Fallen, when its master had fallen in battle.
"Oh, Colin, I'm so sorry," Harry whispered.
Harry took off his glasses, then realized that there was no need of the Cloak; not in there. He pulled it off and buffed his lenses on it. He wiped his eyes before putting them back on, but as he did, he gasped in shock.
"Argos!" He breathed, "Why aren't you with Teddy?"
But the shining silver-blue wolf at the Christmas tree in the far corner was not Argos, Harry realized.
It was a Patronus.
And it was a wolf.
"No!" Harry breathed, as the Room brought him a memory so tangible that it physically hurt.
Colin had been so proud the first time he'd ever produced a successful Patronus Charm. Harry could see it all replayed before him like a Muggle video - that smiling face, the exuberant laughter and chatter...
"Harry! Harry! Look! I did it! It's a puppy!" Colin had squealed in delight.
Harry recalled seeing the Patronus - a rather bouncy and vicious looking puppy that attacked people's ankles. One that Luna had said was a...
"...Wolf?" Harry gasped, and the Patronus nodded.
But Harry also knew that a Patronus could not exist without its master.
And Colin Creevey was twelve years dead.
There was another flash of that same light, and a familiar boyish voice called out, "Hiya, Harry!"
Harry's heart almost stopped.
He turned, and standing before him, camera hanging around his neck and wand in hand, was Colin Creevey. Harry's blood ran cold, and his chest tightened.
It was no ghost, either. Colin was standing there in living color, looking just like Harry remembered him: smiling impishly, so happy, all of fifteen years old and just hitting that awkward teenage phase. The tip of his wand was glowing blue, and the wolf was gone - replaced with...
"Harry! Harry! Look! I did it! It's a puppy! A corporeal Patronus!" Colin squealed in delight.
"Y-you can't be here?" Harry asked. "Colin, you didn't become a ghost, like Nick and the Grey Lady?"
Colin blinked, then looked around, a bit confused. "How did I get here? This is the Room of Requirement?" he observed, as his face grew serious. He lowered his wand, and the Patronus vanished. As he stared at Harry, one single tear ran down his cheek.
"Please don't call me back, Harry," Colin begged. "They said you were The Master of Death, but I'm happy, honestly! I miss Dennis, though! Can you tell him...tell him how much? How much I...I love him?"
"Colin," Harry managed, "I didn't call you back! I'm no ‘Master of Death'! I don't even have the Stone anymore! I lost it that awful night that...you...,"
"It's closer than you know, Harry," Colin interrupted him, "Even this Room can't bring back the dead," he added, pointing to the large and dusty mirror that had appeared near the fireplace.
Harry glanced at it, but fearing what he might see now, he refused to look at it. Especially not after having just mentioned it, or its imaginary dark counterpart that now haunted his nightmares.
"Colin, who was it?" Harry asked, not able to say the words, not able to ask, "'Who killed you?'"
But Colin seemed to understand. "I don't know; I never heard the curse, Harry. All I saw was the red light when Greyback took me down. I thought he'd bitten me, but there was only a slight sting, and no blood? Then I just sort of went limp and...laid down and died?" Colin struggled, as if not sure what HAD happened. "Harry, a werewolf doesn't kill by licking, does he?"
"No," Harry almost laughed, as Colin flickered. He then began to lose his coloration, like a fading photo brought to life in weak chemicals. Then he began to take on the look of a Patronus himself. He suddenly looked very shy, almost embarrassed, Harry wondered?
Then, more like a ghost.
Colin's voice was now sounding hollow and distant, as if calling from some long corridor down which Harry could not pursue him.
"Harry! You did it! Don't be sad, please!" He then said. "It was worth it, to be rid of them, Harry! They were so bad to us the year that you left us..." he faded even more, and Harry reached out to him. "But we knew you'd come back! It's under his bed, Harry, that's where he hid it! Find it and develop it!" Colin added. "Give Dennis my love?"
And then he was gone.
"COLIN!" Harry screamed.
But Colin was gone.
Harry found himself alone in an empty Room then. Even the props had gone, and the door was open.
Harry just stood there, staring at the floor.
"Harry?" A familiar voice asked, and Harry turned to see George Weasley standing behind him.
But it wasn't George. This Weasley had two ears.
"Fred?!" Harry gasped.
"Chin up, Harry!" Fred said happily. "The boy's stronger than you know!"
"Harry?" Another familiar voice called, and Harry turned towards the door. When he turned back, Fred was gone.
"Ron?" Harry croaked, his voice betraying his emotions. "What are you doing here?"
"Blimey, Harry! Your tour ended half an hour ago! I just caught some Hufflepuffs in the kitchens, you know?" He then looked slyly at Harry. "Care to join me?"
"In the kitchen?" Harry asked, recalling that kitchen raiding was something of a tradition, especially for younger students. Some hot coffee did sound good, since he wasn't going to sleep anyway.
"Fred'n'George told us about it, recall?" Ron offered, taking in the look on his best friend's face. "Harry, what's just happened in there? You look ill?"
"How long was I in here, Ron?"
"No clue, mate?" Ron replied.
"Colin was in there," Harry mumbled.
"Creevey?" Ron breathed, and Harry nodded.
"And so was Fred."
"Bloody hell!" Ron gasped.
*****
That next morning, Harry gave Teddy the Cloak back so that he could sneak into Gryffindor Tower unobserved.
"Where did you come from?" Freddie asked him, as Teddy walked into the dormitory, "And where did you go last night? You sneaked out without me?"
"Since when did you wanna hang out with me anymore?" Teddy snapped at him.
"Teddy...,"
"NO! I spent the night in Uncle's suite," Teddy explained a bit testily, looking at Ciaran and Lee. "It was no big adventure. I'll probably be moving in with him, if they'll allow it," Teddy informed them, "That or see if I can be a dayboy and live in the village. So you can all rest easier."
He then set in to telling them about what he'd overheard about Hunters, but not how.
When he was done, Teddy saw Jack jump from his bed and run from the room.
The other three boys just stared at Teddy in disbelief. Freddie looked to be on the verge of tears. "They'd...they'd do that?" He gasped, "If you...got loose?"
Teddy nodded, then began getting ready to face the day. Neither he nor Jack said a word as they showered, dressed, and headed to breakfast.
"For all we know, the broom thing could have been a Hunter, getting the jump on things," Ciaran finally said. "But...I don't wanna see you or Jack get hurt, honestly!" He paused. "But you still scare me!"
"Hopeless," Freddie muttered, taking in the stunned look on Jack's face. "We know," Freddie added awkwardly.
Jack moved behind Teddy, but still, he said nothing at all.
"No, it's OK, really," Teddy assured them, but his heart wasn't in it as they turned to go. "C'mon, Jack."
Teddy and Jack arrived a bit early for breakfast, taking a seat at the far end of the table. He knew he hadn't really acted in their own best interests just then, and he knew that Ciaran was trying to apologize. But part of him just wouldn't accept it. His hair had turned blue without him knowing it.
He was still thinking about what he'd just said to their roommates when other students began filing in. Amazingly, Flint of Slytherin spoke to him.
"Hey, Lupin," he said in passing.
Teddy just nodded at him, though, watching as Goyle, Moon, and Parkinson cut him a wide berth. Jack just stared. Teddy almost smiled, but he also realized that they were acting that way out of fear. No doubt, Flint had told them that puberty might be coming at any moment, along with the chance of a full-blown werewolf attack.
"You should try for green hair," Moon suggested from the far end of the Slytherin table.
"Or white?" Goyle put in, "Hey wait! Why don't you just go for the whole change again? Then you could like, fetch our newspapers and slippers?"
Teddy rolled his eyes. If there was one thing he couldn't stand, it was dog jokes. "I can't turn into a dog, or wolf, or anything else!" Teddy yelled at him. "That was my dog, followed me here, and traded places with me to freak out Uncle Harry! That's all it was!" Jack just stared at Teddy as if he were quite mad.
Flint just smiled, though, and Teddy couldn't help but look at him. It seemed like Flint's whole demeanor had changed. I wish it were that easy, Teddy thought dismally, as he got more than a few strange looks from the arriving students.
"Well if you can, then you have to be registered, you know," their Prefect reminded him, giving him a pat on the head again. Teddy's hair turned brilliant magenta, and he groaned. The Slytherins laughed and students whistled.
Teddy was surprised, though, when his roommates came in and sat down with him and Jack as the Hall continued to fill up. It was, of course, Freddie who told him about what they'd decided and offered a sincere apology.
"So if someone's out to get us all," Freddie finished, "Then we gotta stick together, Teddy! What'd'ya say?"
Teddy shrugged. "I don't know what to say, or do, to prove to you guys that I'm not dangerous," Teddy answered. "Thing is, I don't know if I will be, two weeks from now, or not. I can't take the potion; it makes me ill. But they're taking steps to keep us locked up so the School will be safe."
Jack cleared his throat. "G-guys?" He asked shyly, "You really mean it?"
"Hey, I'm sorry," Lee said to Jack, "But they said you were ill with pyroferia, or somethin' and not to get you excited? We never meant to...,"
"'til we guessed, that is," Ciaran nodded.
"'s'OK, never mind," Jack shook his head, taking in Teddy's deadly stare.
Not long after, the post owls arrived. Nightwing dropped a large box for Teddy, then began happily eating his breakfast for him. No one dared interrupt the owl, either! The box contained sweets, along with a note from Grandma Andromeda:
"This should smooth things over with those nasty little Gryffindors!"
"That's a dirty Slytherin trick," Freddie pointed out, but it didn't stop them from begging sweets from Teddy! He didn't bother to tell them that the sweets were actually made with a Muggle-invented sugar substitute.
*****
Classes went surprisingly well that week, even Potions, and Ron was pleasantly surprised when none other than Oliver Wood showed up with a veritable fleet of traded-in broomsticks that he had reconditioned and certified to be curse-free. All of the school's old broomsticks were subsequently destroyed, and even Malfoy couldn't find fault with the ‘new' ones. He was particularly melancholy over the sight of a few old Nimbus 2001's, however.
The next day, Ron announced tryouts for the House Quidditch teams, as well as the B-teams.
"I bet we could make the B-team," Freddie told the others.
"Yeah, but what's the point? Nobody cares about the B-team; you're lucky if even your mum comes to a B-team game," Lee sighed.
"First Years never make the House teams," Ciaran sighed. "That's what me da' said."
"There's been a couple," Teddy corrected him, "But we're not that good. Besides, a lot of my family is already here!" He grinned, "So they have to come!"
"Let's just hope nobody gets to those new brooms," Freddie put in. "I ain't up to it."
"You don't look too good," Teddy agreed, taking in Freddie's pale complexion.
"Thanks, awfully," Freddie retorted.
"Well I ain't spyin' on the sheds! It's getting' cold out at night," Jack said.
"It has been cold in our room," Lee agreed.
"But what IF?" Ciaran asked, "They did it once - what if whoever gets in here again? I mean, if they wanted to kill one of us, won't they just try it again?"
"There's got to be a way, or a ward, that you can set up," Teddy shook his head. "I'll ask Uncle later."
"Why don't you get an old bit of blank parchment and just brainstorm, you know, write it all down?" Harry suggested, "When you file away your mail, or write to Grandma and thank her for the sweets?" (Harry didn't bother to mention that they'd all been made with a sugar substitute and fake chocolate, either.)
That night, Teddy sat up late wracking his brain for ideas as they struggled with homework. What had his uncle meant by brainstorming on old parchment?
He was still thinking hard when he reached into his drawer and pulled out the envelope marked ‘letters from home'. "Ah-hah!" He exclaimed, pulling out the old parchment. "OK, ideas, ideas...," He muttered, nibbling at his quill in thought as the others struggled to catch up homework. He lowered the quill, his left hand ready to write, but nothing came to mind.
"Keep it down over there," Lee said. "Why does it matter if the potion is shaken and not stirred?"
"Flavor?" Teddy scratched his ear, and a drop of ink fell onto the old parchment that he had yet to write a single idea upon. He almost touched his quill to the parchment, and the Fire-Wolf wand by his side twitched. Teddy picked it up, and tucked it back into his left sleeve where it seemed to like to stay.
Teddy gasped as he then saw it. Was it a trick of the light? He held the parchment up, and sure enough, there were now words on it:
"Messr. Moony kindly asks that you WATCH IT with that drippy quill, thank you very much!"
"Uh, I'm sorry?" Teddy whispered in shock. Nothing happened. "I'm sorry," he then printed on the parchment.
"No harm done!
Oh, dear, Padfoot! It looks as if we've fallen into the hands of a nervous Hufflepuff!"
Teddy blinked. What HAD his uncle given him? Or was it a joke parchment, designed to just mess with him? But the parchment wasn't done:
"I think you're right, Moony.
Prongs, old boy, come have a look at this!"
"Moony? Padfoot? Prongs?" Teddy whispered to himself. "Who ARE you?" He scribbled.
"You may call us ‘The Marauders'! And we don't talk to ‘good' boys! Good boys should keep their noses OUT of other peoples' affairs!" - Prongs.
Something clicked over in Teddy's head just then, as he tried to remember what his Uncle Harry had said. He dug the note out that had come with the parchment. He had an idea. He wrote again, and the parchment answered him!
"But I'm not a good boy!" - Teddy
"Aren't you?" - Moony
"I'm a Gryffindor!" - Teddy
"So are we!" - Padfoot
"Congratulations!" - Prongs
"So are you often up to no good?" - Moony
"Yeah!" - Teddy
"Do you swear?" - Padfoot
"Solemnly swear?" - Prongs
Teddy gasped. It was just like what his uncle had told him! But of course Uncle Harry knew how to use the parchment! Silly, he told himself - of course HE would!
"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!" - Teddy
"You got a wand, kid? Use it!" - Prongs
"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!" Teddy said aloud, as the other four boys looked up at him as he touched the Fire-Wolf wand to the parchment.
The parchment then began to change. It went blank, then lines of mysteriously appearing ink began to spread from the tip of his wand where it touched the paper. Curly and decorative artwork began to spread all over the paper, and a sketch of the front of the castle then began to draw itself! Teddy gasped in wonder as more words appeared:
"Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs
Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers
are proud to present
THE MARAUDERS' MAP"*
Teddy also noticed that "Wormtail" was crossed off. "Apparently, he's no longer with the company?" Teddy wondered, as he unfolded the parchment.
It was a map of the castle and surrounding grounds!
But what made Teddy's jaw drop were the notes! Beside hundreds of tiny moving dots on the paper was a note - a name! He flipped the map and looked for Gryffindor Tower. Sure enough, there it was, and in one box which was labeled "First Year Boys' Dorm", there were five dots labeled:
Teddy Lupin
Jack Abbott
Freddie Weasley
Ciaran Finnigan
Lee Jordan, Jr.
"Guys! LOOK AT THIS!" Teddy yelled, which scared Ciaran so bad that he fell off of his bed!
They all clustered around Teddy, unable to believe what they were seeing.
"How'd you do that?" Jack gasped.
"I dunno!" Teddy said, "It just asked me, and I wrote on it, and it answered me? Then there it was?"
Ciaran pulled back. "It's Dark Magic!" He fretted. "Turn it in! Now!" He breathed, his eyes wide in fear.
"Uncle gave it to me," Teddy assured him.
"Oh," Ciaran mumbled, leaning back in for a look and adjusting his glasses. Teddy thought he looked like a nervous bald owl.
"This must show where everyone in the castle is!" Freddie observed. "Look! There's people in the common room. Hang on!" He ran to the door and down the stairs. The dot labeled "Freddie Weasley" moved with him.
"He's comin' back," Teddy nodded, pointing at the Freddie-dot.
"It's correct!" Freddie exclaimed.
"It tracked you!" Ciaran gasped. "How?"
"Magic," Teddy shrugged. He then grinned. "Check this out - broom sheds!" He pointed at the map. "See? Quidditch Pitch? And look, there's Sir Nicholas in the shed?"
"Peeves is on the front lawn?" Ciaran observed.
"There's McGonagall, in her office," Lee pointed.
"Uncle Ron's in the kitchen," Freddie laughed. Then his eyes lit up. "HEY! We can use this to sneak out at night and nick food!"
"Or go anywhere!" Lee snapped his fingers. "Guys, do you know what this means? If we see a name we don't know, then we've caught the would-be killer! The Map will expose him!"
"Look, it's Argos! It even shows animals!" Teddy laughed. Argos was by the dots for "Hagrid" and "Fang", and both were at Hagrid's cabin. Argos' dot then began to move, fast, then disappeared as Argos appeared on the bed with the boys. Ciaran jumped. Teddy dropped the map.
"What have you got there?" Argos then asked, and Teddy translated it for them as Ciaran handed the map back to him. Sure enough, the Argos-dot was now among their own dots. "Ahhh," the dog panted happily. "Uncle gave this to you! One saw him pack it! A very useful thing?" He wondered, his tail wagging slowly.
"There's just one problem," Teddy yawned. "How do we stay up to monitor the Map?"
"Guess we didn't think of that?" Freddie groaned.
"Yeah, but we could still use it to explore!" Ciaran smiled. "Me da' told me there's lot'sa stuff here you just can't believe, if'n yeh know where to look?"
"Like these lines that go off the Map?" Jack pointed, "But look! They're all broken!"
"Escape tunnels," Teddy told him. "Uncle told me they were all collapsed during the war."
Then Teddy saw a sketch of a tree on the opposite fold labeled "The Whomping Willow". He quickly moved his hand over that, as he didn't want them to see the line extending out from under it that read "To the Shrieking Shack."
"Let's finish the homework and get back to this later?" Teddy suggested, as he put the Map on the nightstand.
"How do you turn it off?" Freddie asked. "I mean, we can't leave it just lying about?"
"I'll figure it out later," Teddy assured him, as he stowed the map in the drawer again.
Teddy fell asleep that night before he could think about it anymore, and since the Map was put up, he didn't see a name on it that he would not have recognized.