"How do you know that this paper is the Marauder's Map?" Lana asked Rakepick that evening on the Training Grounds.
"Because I saw it years ago when I was a student at Hogwarts. Because I attended Hogwarts with it's creators, who sometimes referred to themselves as the Marauders. They were younger than myself, but we shared some common interests. Namely, breaking the rules. Not to mention that Severus Snape was as fond of them as he is of me." the woman explained with a smirk.
"What is it a map of?"
"All of Hogwarts. Including the castle grounds. Not only rooms and secret passages, but the location of every person in the grounds, identified by name."
"How is that possible?" Lana asked with wide eyes.
"With every advanced magic performed by very talented wizards. I will do my best to explain." Rakepick told the girl.
Lana listened to her, telling her about the "Marauders" and their excursions. Snaps hated them, just like he hated everyone else, Rakepick in particular.
"I think I understand enough about the map to use it, but how will it help us save Jacob and Beatrice?" Lana asked.
"It should show us the location of the man who attacked Mundungus Fletcher. That man will have the vault portrait, which will give us access to the Cursed Vault, and allow us to break its curse." Rakepick told her.
"How will we know who he is just by his name?"
"Oh, I'll know." Rakepick answered firmly.
"You said earlier that there were magic words that made the map work?"
"In a matter of speaking. We cannot lose this map, Miss Riviera. If Mr Filch, or worse, someone who understands its value, gets their hands on it,new will most likely never see it again. What will you do if someone tries to take the Marauder's Map?"
"I'll probably just run away at the first sign of trouble. It should be easy to hide when I can see everything in the castle." Lana answered honestly with a chuckle.
"I don't support running from anything, but if it helps to protect the map, I suppose your cowardice can be forgiven. To view the Marauder's Map, you must tap it with your wand, and recite these words..."
"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."
"To hide the contents of the map once again, you must tap once with your wand, and recite, 'Mischief Managed'." the woman finished.
She told Lana to take out her wand and try out the words on the map to see how it works. The girl pulled out her wand, took a deep breath, and did as Rakepick had said.
"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." she said aloud, tapping her wand on the parchment.
"Amazing..." she gasped as the map revealed its contents before them, "Woah, I can see what everyone is doing! Kettleburn wandering about in Care of Magical Creatures, Dumbledore pacing in his office...Barnaby in the Slytherin common room..." she smiled to herself.
Then she noticed an anomaly amongst the names. A pair of footprints moving too fast for her to read...
"Look at this person! How the heck are they moving so fast?! I can't even make out their name..." she said, squinting her eyes at the old map.
"I can." Rakepick said, snatching the map off of Lana.
"Why'd you take it from me?"
"For your own good, Miss Riviera. Feel free to run away." Rakepick told her, "The person we're after will kill you to protect his secret, and I will not allow you to die under my watch. I will contact you again when I've located the vault portrait..." she finished, walking away.
Lana stood there for a minute, thinking to herself.
"I couldn't make out the name, but I saw the rooms that person visited..." she thought, "I'll need help to work out what they were doing..."
********************************************************************
Lana told Barnaby to meet her in DADA classroom the next day, as it was where she saw the mysterious person the previous night...
"Thanks for your help, Barny." she said, hugging the tall boy, "I need to work out what Fletcher's attacker was doing in here."
"I bet he was studying DADA. That's what I usually do in this room." Barnaby answered as they pulled away, "Actually, I don't. But it's what I'm supposed to usually do in this room."
"I doubt he was sitting alone in the middle of the night with no teacher." Lana chuckled.
"The plot thickens..." Barnaby commented.
"Let's search everything. Hopefully, he left some-"
"Clues!" Barnaby grinned, finishing her sentence.
"Exactly! You read my mind." she grinned back.
"We make a brilliant detective due, Lana." he winked.
"We do indeed." she smiled, kissing him quickly before beginning her search.
After an hour or so, Lana was beginning to give up, until she dug though Rakepick's desk, and found something of value.
Barnaby had fallen asleep on a desk about halfway through the search, resting his head on his hand and snoring.
"I found a Black Quill in Rakepick's desk!" she exclaimed.
Barnaby bolted up from his nap, eyes wide with shock.
"You know what that means..." he started.
"What?"
"Oh, I have no idea. I was just wishfully thinking aloud." he answered honestly.
Lana shook her head with a chuckle, looking at him and sighing.
"You're so adorable..." she cooed, pinching his cheeks mockingly, making him chuckle as she let of him.
"Not as adorable as you." he smiled, planting a kiss on her lips, "But seriously, why would Rakepick have Black Quill in her desk?" he wondered.
"Maybe someone's trying to frame her by making it seem like she's 'R'...or maybe she's searching for 'R' herself? I'm not sure..." she sighed.
"Who would frame her though?"
"I have no idea..."
"I have no ideas too..." Barnaby added, making her giggle.
"I should see if this Black Quill is actually a secret message..." the girl said, pulling out her wand.
"Reparifarge!"
...but nothing happened.
"The Black Quill turned into an Ebony Feather!" Barnaby exclaimed.
"No, Barnaby. Nothing happened..." she frowned, looking at the quill.
"The plot is getting too thick for me..." Barnaby said, furrowing his brow.
"Maybe Rakepick or someone else was gonna use the quills as messages, but hasn't yet..." the girl wondered aloud. Fletcher's attacker went to Filch's Office after this. I should search there next."
"I wanna help you, Lana, but I'm also sleepy..." Barnaby sighed.
"Aw, it's ok, baby. You can go to bed, and I'll find someone else to help." Lana smiled, holding her hand out for him to take.
"As long as you're sure?" he asked, taking her hand and standing up next to her.
"Of course, hun. You do look pretty tired, actually..."
"Thanks, babe. I'll walk you out, then I'm gonna sleep." he yawned.
Lana giggled again and leant into his side, wrapping her arms around his waist, hugging him as they walked.
"Good luck in your search, Lana. I'll catch you later." he smiled as they got to the corridor that Filch's Office was on.
"Thanks, Barny. Go get some rest." she smiled back, kissing his cheek.
"I love you!" he called as she walked away.
"Love you too!" she yelled back, blowing him a kiss as she turned around.
She decided that she'd try and find Tonks, she knew that knew the office better than anyone.
***********************************************************************
"Thanks for this, Tonks." Lana smiled when they broke into the office.
"I'm always happy to help you, Lana! I'm even happier to mess with Filch's stuff." the pink-haired girl grinned, "What are we looking for?"
"Someone else came here before running off to my brother's room. I want to work out what they were doing." Lana told her.
"Well, let's have a look around..."
The girls searched the office for a short while, until Lana noticed something that caught her eye.
"I found something!" she grinned.
"Did you find a heartfelt letter from Filch professing his unrequited love for Madam Pince?!" Tonks asked excitedly.
"No..."
"Disappointing..." Tonks sighed.
"I found a stack of reports on Rakepick. All the way from when she was a student to as recent as last week..." Lana told her friend.
"Why is Filch keeping records on Rakepick?"
"Most of the teachers don't trust Rakepick. Flitwick was the only one that came to her defence." Lana suggested.
"Dumbledore must trust her if he hired her as the DADA teacher..." Tonks added.
"They say that position is cursed." Lana chuckled lightly.
"A lot of people say you're cursed." Tonks laughed.
"Good point..." the Gryffindor mumbled sadly.
"What do the reports say?" Tonks asked, changing the subject when she saw Lana's expression change.
"All sorts of things - theft, disobedience, destruction of property, pretty much breaking every rule there is." Lana listed.
"I hope she doesn't turn out to be evil because I really like Rakepick..." Tonks told her.
"I should search Jacob's room, and try to work out what Fletcher's attacker is doing in the castle..." Lana said.
"I'd love to help you, hun, but I'm already late for detention...which is only gonna get me more detention." Tonks laughed.
"It's alright, Tonks - I'll find someone else. Thanks for your help, hun." she smiled, hugging the Hufflepuff girl before leaving the office.
She met up with Tulip...and Merula, unfortunately. They hurried to Jacob's room to see if they could catch the culprit in action.
"I was hoping he'd still be here..." Lana sighed when there was nobody inside.
"Your brother?" Tulip asked.
"Poor Riviera. I knew it was only a matter of time before you went completely mad." Merula teased, "To be honest, you lasted a lot longer than I thought you would."
"Shut up, Merula. No, not my brother. The man who attacked Mundungus Fletcher. This is the last room I saw him enter..." Lana explained.
"On the magical map that no one else has ever seen..." Tulip commented.
"Poor, poor Riviera..." Merula teased again.
"I have to find this person to save Beatrice and Jacob. Let's see if he left any clues..."
The girls searched the room for anything that could be of interest, when Lana found something...
"I found a Black Quill!" she exclaimed, picking up the feather.
"You and your Black Quills..." Merula said, rolling her eyes.
"Do you think it's a secret message?" Tulip asked.
"The last one I found was just an ordinary feather, but let's see..." she wondered, pulling out her wand.
"Reparifarge!"
And this time something did happen! The quill turned into a navy blue notebook.
"A notebook..."
"What does it say?" Tulip asked.
"Lumos!" Merula cast, letting more light in the room.
"'Rakepick is the only reason I'm still alive, but I can't help feeling like she keeps me alive for her own reasons. I just wish I understood what those reasons are. I don't understand why we need a third person to break the curse on the buried vault. Especially him. I don't understand why the Cabal is after me, and went after my little sister. She'll never know that Rakepick saved her too. I mostly don't understand why Rakepick is afraid of the cabal. If I didn't know better, I'd say she isn't afraid of anything. Everything would be simpler if she couldn't keep me from knowing exactly what's on her mind. It's the only thing she and Snape have in common.'" Lana read aloud, her mind filling with all these thoughts, but only one came out of her mouth.
"Rakepick was working with my brother all along..."
"And she saved your life years ago without you even knowing it..." Tulip added.
"And the only thing she's afraid of is some mysterious cabal..." Merula continued, "I finally understand the appeal of these Black Quills..."
"Lana Riviera always keeps things interesting..." Tulip chuckled.
"It's possible that the message was forged and planted by this mystery attacker." Merula suggested.
"Maybe, but it seems much more likely that Rakepick has been lying to me from the very beginning..." Lana frowned.
"What are you going to do, Lana Riviera?" Tulip asked.
"I'll tell my head of house. McGonagall will know how to handle Rakepick..."
"Rakepick will find out you told on her..." Tulip worried.
"I'll wear something nice to your funeral, Riviera." Merula smirked.
Lana left the room, unable to take all the stress and teasing from Merula.
She ran down the corridors, tears threatening to fall down her cheeks. She ran to the dungeons, and approached the Slytherin house door.
"Hey, do you know if Barnaby's walked out the door yet?" she asked a Slytherin boy with dark hair and even darker eyes.
"Nah, sorry, chick. He's in his dorm asleep - why? D'you need him or something?" he replied.
"It's not urgent..." Lana mumbled.
"I'll go get him for ya." he smiled.
"Are you sure? I don't wanna cause any trouble..."
"No stress, chick." he smiled, "I'm Ryan. Ryan Long." he said, sticking out his hand for her to shake.
"Lana Riviera." she smiled, shaking Ryan's hand.
"I know." he chuckled, "Stay here. I'll be right back." he told her, jogging into the common room to find Barnaby.
They both walked out the doors a few minutes later, Barnaby looking worried.
"Lana! Are you ok? What's wrong?" he pressed, taking her hands in his and looking into her eyes.
"What did you tell him?" Lana asked Ryan, who was smirking with amusement.
"Told him you were in trouble." he shrugged.
"She's fine!" Barnaby frowned, glaring at Ryan.
"It was the only way to get you out of bed, dude." Ryan laughed.
"Yeah, but you worried me." Barnaby frowned again, pulling Lana into a hug.
"I'm ok - I just needed to see you..." Lana mumbled into his chest.
"Is everything ok?" Barnaby asked, looking down at her.
"I'll leave you two alone. Bye, guys." Ryan smiled, walking through the doors.
"He seems nice." Lana smiled as they walked out of the dungeons to find a bench to sit on.
"Yeah. Ryan is one of the only decent Slytherin's you'll meet. What happened, Lana?" Barnaby asked.
"A lot has happened since you left. It's all messing with my head, and I don't know what to think..." Lana stressed, holding her head in her hands.
She told him about the notebook, and what it said inside. She expressed her worries of Rakepick lying to her, and that she believes she was working with Jacob the whole time.
"Woah, that's a lot to take in..." Barnaby said after Lana had finished her rant.
"I'm sorry for dumping it all on you..." the girl sighed.
"Hey, that's what I'm here for, right? You ever have a problem, you come straight to me." Barnaby told her, putting his arm around her.
"Thank you, Barny." she smiled sadly, leaning her head on his shoulder.
"Everything's gonna be fine, babe. We're gonna free Beatrice, save your brother, and work out what this Rakepick lady really wants. I know it all seems tough now, but every problem starts out that way. We're all here to help you through it." he told her, kissing the top of her head.
They sat there talking, feeling safe when the other was with them. Barnaby tried making her laugh to cheer her up, not being able to take it when she was upset. Lana felt a lot better after being with her favourite Slytherin, and she thought that things would start looking up for her.
What could go wrong, right?
hi friends! I'm so happy that I updated this book after like 10 years!
sorry for the wait, I had dodgy internet problems :')
anyhoo, thanks so much for reading my lovelies, and I'll see you in the next one!
byeee <3