ᴛʜʀᴏᴜɢʜ ᴛʜᴇ ꜰᴏᴜʀᴛʜ ᴡᴀʟʟ | ᴍᴀʀᴀᴜᴅᴇʀꜱ ᴇʀᴀ

xxxix. viaportum

"Mundungus Fletcher?!"

But how?! How on earth was Mundugus Fletcher in her world?! Because, yes, he may look like Andy Linden but not exactly. And Callie knew well what Mundungus Fletcher looks like. And that old man is him!

She needed no more confirmation, Fletcher made a run for it. Callie ran too and the boys followed. Sam, not knowing what to do, ran too.

Why would he run if he wasn't the Fletcher who was known for his conduct of illegal activities? And if he was Andy Linden, why was he in a dark alley opening a door?

Because he wasn't. He was Mundungus Fletcher! And he knew they recognized him. And he recognized James Potter despite his cap. It never appeared in his mind how James Potter came to life and followed him.

A tall gate halted him for a few moments. He tried to crawl up of it to pass to the other side. But Mundungus Fletcher was a man with some weight; he wouldn't be able to carry himself over the gate fence. Yet still, he tried. Only to massively fail.

The group caught up to him. James pulled him down and he landed on the ground. When he faced them, Regulus was pointing a wand at him, Sam's wand. He took it from Callie earlier while they were running. The rest of them surrounded him while Sam chose to stay behind like a lookout, asking herself what on earth just happened right in front of her nose. And why wasn't her best friend freaking out like this was normal?!

Sam gasped at the action. She looked at her best friend and Callie wasn't even batting an eye that Regulus was pointing a weapon at someone. And did her best friend say, Mundungus Fletcher?! The guy from the series? He bought the Marauders Map from someone from a different world?!

"Are you the one who sold the Marauders Map to Sam?" Callie asked.

"Y-y-yes," he stuttered, shielding his face with his hands and arms.

"Where did you get that map?"

"I-I-I stole it from P-Potter."

"Me?"

"From Harry Potter," he clarified and specifically looked at James. "You're supposed to be dead."

"And you're supposed to be in the Wizarding World," Callie said back. "What are you doing here? How did you get here?"

Sam thanked the heavens that they were in a dark alley. Because it looked like her best friend was harassing someone to talk.

"I discovered this world after the Second Wizarding War ("Second?" Sirius whispered in disbelief) and hid here- can you stop pointing the bloody wand at me?"

"Not until you answer all our questions," Regulus' voice did not waver.

Fletcher rolled his eyes and continued his explanation, fixing his seat. "I enchanted what I had and made good money out of them. Including what transported me here."

"So you turned the Marauders' Map into a sort of," Callie couldn't find the right word, "like a portal?"

"A one-way bridge," he rephrased. "A bridge that'll connect this world to mine but can only be used once." He raised a finger to show the number. "After that, the object is no use."

A one-way bridge. That must be the reason it didn't work when she attempted to back into her room. She sighed. But they still had him, they could still get back, one-way bridge or another.

"Do you have anything else like that?" she asked after much thinking. It was a great idea she took the cash Bria pushed to her, they might need it with this man.

"No. You see, girl I don't know, I am retired now. I already have enough muggle money to live long. And I'm living well in this world." He relaxed, still finding Regulus' wand a threat but there was a feeling in him that he had leverage.