The New Marauder

Twenty Three

"Ori, wait up!" My feet pause just as they hit the soft grass outside of the entrance hall once I hear my name being called out, allowing Cedric to catch up.
Fred and George look back confused until I give them a wave. "Go on, I'll be right behind you guys," I assure them with a smile. "Hey Ced." I grin as he reaches me, looking red-faced, out of breath, dressed in a loose t-shirt and jeans with an equally out-of-breath Jonathan and Sam clutching onto his broom right next to him.
"Hey," he breathes out. "You heading to the pitch?"
"Yeah. Gryffindor try-outs are until after Ravenclaw's and yours, but Charlie wants me down there early to watch," I nod, ignoring the looks on Jonathan's face.
"That's cool. You mind if I sit with you?" He asks, nervously looking to Jonathan.
"Uh, sure," I mutter, uncertain of this dude's intentions as I start to walk again. "How's lessons going?" I ask, realizing that outside of Herbology, which was spent mostly worrying about what plants were going to eat us, we haven't had many chances to talk and catch up throughout our first week.
"Good," he replies happily. "We have most of ours with the Ravenclaws, so not much going on. They're a sulky, serious group when you disrupt their studying. Especially that Davies kid, doesn't know how to take a joke," he laughs. "And don't get me started on Snape; how he is able to still teach after being so mean to everyone is a mystery to me."
Letting out a laugh, I nod my head. "Yeah, he's a real hoot," I grin sarcastically while rolling my eyes. "Gave me my first detention last week-"
"You already got detention?" Sam asks loudly from behind us. "How come you didn't tell me?"
Rolling my eyes again, I let out a sigh. "Hard to tell you anything when you avoid me like the plague," I call out, not bothering to look at him.
"But I'm your best friend-"
"You stopped talking to me, remember?" I argue, cutting him off.
"I didn't mean to," he says, grabbing the back of my Mariners jersey, pulling me to a stop. "Give us a minute," he nods to Cedric and Jonathan, gesturing for them to move on, while I yank him off my favorite shirt. "I'm sorry," he mumbles once they're out of earshot. "Some of the boys in my dorm got fed up with me talking about you all the time and told me I would be better off making friends within my own House. Then the Owlery happened last week, and I let what they said about Gryffindor get to me."
"What did they say about Gryffindor?" I ask, squinting my eyes against the sunlight.
"They said that you guys are a really rowdy bunch who always gets in trouble but everyone still sees you guys as heroes," he sighs and looks over my shoulder, probably to the two Hufflepuffs still waiting for us. "And when Jonathan told them what you said about joining the Quidditch team, the whole house was up in arms. Some of them were really mad that a professional Quidditch player's kid was getting special treatment over all the other first years."
"Did you tell them that, just like you, I am from the US too and just like you, I have yet to meet that famous Quidditch player?"
"I didn't get the chance to," he mumbles looking guilty.
"Wow," I whisper, not believing what I just heard. "Really, Sam, just wow," I shake my head.
"What do you want me to do, Ori? I'm new too, and I live with them. They can make my life hell if they really wanted to."
"Yeah, they could, but instead of defending me like a true best friend would, you let them call you my nickname," I argue, shuffling my feet, feeling an emptiness start to grow in my heart.
"I guess I was trying to get them to like me enough because my best friend wasn't there. I didn't really realize what I was doing until now. I really am sorry, Ori," he whispers.
"You know what, don't worry about it, Sam," I sigh, not wanting to deal with this right now. "Have fun with your friends. When you realize how badly you messed up, come find me, I guess. Until then, just give me some space," I growl as I brush past him, nodding to Cedric.
While walking the rest of the way to the pitch, I let Cedric talk my non-listening ears off about going to an actual Quidditch match while sulking in the fact that I think I lost my best friend. Maybe I'm being overdramatic, but it really hurts that he didn't defend me. Is there something about me that screams run away to everyone that gets close to me? Maybe it is the older kids, but still, if we were in each other's shoes, I would never turn my back on Sam.
"Hey Ced," I ask, stopping us both and his rant about the history of Quidditch just as we're about to reach a bend in the path.
"What's up?"
"Are the older Hufflepuffs really that mean?"
I watch in worry as he lets out a breath and looks around nervously. "It's really just the seventh years. They're nasty to us first years and Sam, always telling us that it's their job to teach us who to talk to and what not. Apparently, some of them are really close with the older Slytherins. None of the sixth years really bother to tell them off except Tonks; she's the best, doesn't put up with any of their crap. She said she'll be here today; I can introduce you to her."
Shaking my head at the offer, I turn to look at the bright blue sky. "They don't bother you, though?"
"I mean, they get on me about being friends with you, Fred, and George, but I just brush them off," he shrugs, pulling the sleeve on my shirt so we could walk again because of who's catching up to us. "Jonathan is the worst, though. He's smart, but he has bought into all that separate Houses shouldn't mix stuff unless the older kids say it's okay stuff," he whispers lowly as Sam and Jonathan run past us racing each other.
"That sucks," I whisper, thinking of him and Sam becoming fast friends, but if Cedric can brush him off, then what's stopping Sam? I mean, what's the point of changing schools to a point where you're on the opposite side of the world from your family just to not be friends anymore. "Maybe if I just give him time, he'll come around."
"I think he will. You two seemed pretty close on the train," he assures me with a pat on my back as we finally round the bend.
Two weeks at this place and one of the best things I have heard about since being here comes into view, wiping Sam completely from my mind for the briefest of moments. Settled on an expansive ground of bright green grass was a huge oval made up of rickety wooden stands with towers that looked like they were over five stories tall filled with even more seats. The whole thing was decorated with what looked like a pattern that was made up of the four House banners sectioning it off to give each House a spot to cheer on our teams.
Cedric leads us down the slope where a bunch of people standing in groups wearing emerald and dark blue robes with numbers on the back. As we pass some stragglers dressed in gold and black, they start calling out to Sam, wishing him good luck ahead of us. Rolling my eyes at his cockiness, we turn away from what I think is the locker rooms. Instead, we walk into the door that leads to two creaky wooden stairs. As soon as we start going upwards following Fred and George, Cedric starts talking about the history of the pitch and how it's had to be replaced a couple of times due to different Headmasters wanting it certain ways.
It wasn't until we reached the actual stands that he stopped talking, opting to take in the wide pitch with three tall gleaming silver hoops on each side. "This is so cool," I whisper, walking to the section covered in red and scarlet where Fred and George are heading, taking up seats so the other kids around them don't sit too close.
"It is, isn't it? I can't believe you, out of everyone here, have yet to attend an actual Quidditch match," Cedric says from behind me. "But I guess when you take into account what you've been through, it's understandable." He nods when he notices the scowl on my face.
Once again, I feel anger start to rise in my chest at his words. Knowing that he means well, I take a calming breath and nod my head as we take a seat next to Fred.
"Did you bring it?" He asks, smiling.
"Bring what?" Cedric asks.
"This," I answer, pulling out the parchment and my wand. "I'm so close to cracking it," I mumble to myself.
"What is it?"
"We think it's a map of some sorts," I answer. "I've been working on it for a week, but just when I'm about to get somewhere, it stops responding."
"Responding?" Cedric's voice quickly turns worried. "Are you sure you should be messing with something that responds to you? It could be dangerous."
Letting out a laugh, I look to the Hufflepuff beside me. "Yeah, we found it in one of the unused cupboards in our dorm," I say, glancing to Fred, who nods in agreement easily.
"When you unfold it all the way, it looks like a map of Hogwarts, well, kind of, that's what we think," George pipes up, taking a bite out of a muffin.
"And when you tap it with your wand, it comes to life, sorta," Fred finishes.
"Lately it's been giving us clues; we think there's a riddle you have to solve in order for it to reveal itself," I mumble, tapping my wand to its center.
"Maybe we should ask Angelina," Fred suggests, smiling wickedly to his blushing brother.
"No, we shouldn't," George shakes his head frantically, making us all laugh. "She is so smart though. I bet if anyone could solve it, it would be her," he says in a sort of daze.
"Plus if someone from Ravenclaw figures it out, then they'll want to keep it for themselves, and we didn't go through all that for nothing. I swear Filch has been glaring at me all week," Fred mumbles, looking out to the pitch where a bunch of blue robes are gathered.
"I thought you said you found it," Cedric says as George and I glare at his twin.
"Uh. Well technically—"
"Shut up," George snaps, smacking him on the back of his head.
"What? I didn't say nothing," Fred whines, holding up his hands, trying to swat his twin's hands away until he wraps his arm around Georges's neck, bringing him to the floor of the stands.
"Ori, what's going on?" Cedric asks, trying not to laugh at the now wrestling twins.
Meeting his kind eyes, I swallow hard, trying to fight the urge to tell him the truth. After a moment of fighting against my conscience, I give up, letting out a sigh. "Remember how I said Snape gave me detention? Well, after when it was over, Filch brought us to his office—"
"Don't tell him, Ori," Fred pants out, holding his brother in a headlock.
"It's Cedric; he's not going to tell. Are you?"
"Um, no?" He answers confused, glancing from Fred and then back to me nervously.
"Promise," I state firmly, holding out my pinkie to him.
After a minute of confusion, he reaches out and wraps his pinkie around mine hesitantly. "Promise."
"See, we can trust him," I sass, rolling my eyes at the twins before telling him all about the drawer and how we got ahold of the parchment in the first place.
"So you're telling me that you guys see a drawer that's literally marked dangerous and got the grand idea to break into Filch's office to look inside of it, then steal one of the confiscated items that was in the same drawer that was marked dangerous. And now you are trying to unlock the stolen parchment that responds to you?"
"Well, when you put it like that—"
"There's no other way to put it!" Cedric almost shouts. "This thing should go back inside the drawer."
"It's harmless, Cedric," I sigh, tapping the center of it with my wand. "See."
Spreading out in the center of the parchment on my lap, I point to the red lines spreading out. "They take a while to form any words, but it really doesn't seem dangerous. I mean, they won't tell me how to crack their code outright, but we've had small conversations here and there. Well, more like I ask a question and they give me a half answers of some sort."
"And your Uncle Theo knows about it?" He asks, meeting my eyes.
"Yeah, he's tried to help, but it didn't seem to like him much, especially after he told it he's a Professor and demanded them to reveal whatever it is they're hiding," I laugh, remembering the short argument he had with it. "I swear if you two don't stop, I'll stuff your pillowcases with dung bombs," I call out to the twins after one of them kicked my leg.
"Who is Padfoot?"
"What?" I ask, turning back to Cedric.
"Look." He points down to the parchment in my lap where words are forming as if they were being freshly written. "This Padfoot person says you should stuff their pillowcases even if they do stop." He laughs, shaking his head.
"Oh, I told you that they respond but don't work they're harmless. They just seem to like pranks of all kinds," I nod, reading over the parchment.
"Hey Ori, look, Hufflepuff is up!" Cedric shouts, standing to his feet and running to the edge of the stands to watch.
Watching the Hufflepuffs take to the sky, my heart hurts as I watch Sam and Johnathan laugh together as they try to push each other off their brooms. "Why is he being such a freaking jerk?" I ask, then almost jump out of my seat when the parchment starts to vibrate in my hands once more.
"Messr Prongs wishes to know what mischief you have caused so far." The red words spread out along the front pages of the parchment as if someone were writing them in real time.
Looking around nervously, I let out a breath and move up the stands to sit at the top away from the twins and a cheering Cedric. "Well, we broke into Filch's office and stole you; then Fred set off a bunch of dung bombs," I laugh quietly. "Before coming here, though, I would always prank my Uncles Charlie and Billy. Though the last time I got the chance to do anything was when Sam and I accidentally broke Uncle Billy's wheelchair when we tied fireworks to it, hoping it would help him go faster."
"Messr Wormtail wishes to know if it worked."
"I wish it did," I sigh. "They just exploded his wheels off; we did find different kinds of fireworks in Diagon Alley. I brought them here to try out first."
"Messr Moony wishes to know how you will try them out."
"I was thinking about throwing them off the Astronomy Tower next lesson, but I think I might use them against Snape," I answer, remembering our last lesson when he took five points from Fred cause he coughed while Snape was talking.
"Messr Prongs approves of the use of mischief against Snape."
"Messr Padfoot agrees and suggests finding a way to sneak a firework into his pumpkin juice."
Letting out a laugh, I look up just in time to watch Sam dodge a Bludger heading straight for his head. The nagging feeling of losing my best friend resurfaces in my mind, making my heart hurt once again. "Can I ask you guys something?" I mutter, glancing at the map, trying to keep my angry tears at bay.
"Messr Moony wishes to know what is on your mind."
"If you had a best friend who moved schools so that you wouldn't be alone in a new place, stop talking to you because his new friends say so. What would you do?"
"Messr Prongs suggests that you turn all of his uniforms pink to teach him a lesson."
"Messr Padfoot agrees and suggests you fill his bed with wood lice also."
Laughing again, I shake my head. "I can do that; he's in a different House. Plus, he's been my best friend for as long as I can remember; we did everything together. Now that we're in different houses and I think he's mainly upset because Charlie wants me to try out for the Quidditch team, which is awesome but himself and the rest of the Hufflepuffs think the reason why I'm getting away with breaking the rules is because of who my mom is." I rant on, not meaning to.
"Messr Prongs is asking who your mother is and why she is so special that the rules are being bent for you."
Letting out a sigh, I look up to the crystal blue sky. "Her name is Joanna Potter; she's a super famous Quidditch player. I haven't even met her, and it's a really long story of why. However, I knew who she is before coming here, but it seems like everyone here likes to compare me to her and my stupid father."
For a long time, the map stays quiet, well, as quiet as any spare parchment could be. I knew this was a possibility; last time I talked to the parchment, it was only for a moment before it clammed up and stopped responding. But before now, I really didn't feel any sort of connection to it, and for some strange reason, I really want to know what they think. The hope of them continuing to talk to me diminishes slowly until I gather the courage to put it away for now. Just as I'm about to fold it back up, the red lines appear, making my heart pick up its already nervous pace.
"Messr Padfoot wants to know who your father is."
"Messr Prongs wishes to remind Messr Padfoot that it is none of his business. And that you do not have to answer if you don't want to."
"Messr Moony believes Messr Prongs is correct and believes that you should probably talk to your friend without others present to get to the bottom of his issues."
"Messr Padfoot thinks Messr Prongs should keep his nose out of this and you should answer Messr Padfoot's question."
"Messr Prongs feels like Messr Padfoot is in the wrong by continuing to—"
"It's okay, I don't mind answering," I say finally interrupting the little argument between them. "My father, if you could even call him that, his name is Sirius Black."
Instead of answering my question, the lines on the paper go crazy, mainly with Prongs and Padfoot arguing more aggressively with every word they write to one another, making my head spin due to not being able to keep up with what they're writing before the angry words disappear. Instantly, I feel bad that they are now fighting instead of being friends like how they've been every time I talk to them.
"Ori, Gryffindor is up, let's go!" I hear Fred call out, forcing my eyes upwards away from the angry words bleeding into the parchment.
"I'm sorry for making you guys mad. I have to go; try-outs are starting; I guess I'll talk to you later." I sigh, folding up the parchment and sticking it in my back pocket before carefully walking down the stairs so I don't trip.
"Did you figure it out?" Fred asks, hope lacing his voice.
"Uh no," I say, clearing my throat. "Not really. We just talked."
"Did the Padfoot guy start making jokes again?"
"Not this time," I sigh, walking down the wooden stairwell. "But I think the code has something to do with causing mischief. They seemed more interested in pranks."
"Did you tell them about Filch's office?" He laughs, pushing the door open, leading us around to one of the wooden buildings attached to the side.
"Yeah, that and I told them about my fireworks. They said we should find a way to sneak one into Snape's pumpkin juice," I answer, not telling them how they ended up fighting because I told them who my parents were.
"That would be hilarious," George laughs, coming up beside us. "You think Kreacher would help?"
Shaking my head, I give him a smile. "No. I'm not bringing him into this. He's been through so much already."
"What if we sneak down to the kitchens and do it ourselves?"
"How would we know it would work?" I shoot back to Fred. "Not to mention it would bring heat onto us if we aren't at our table when it goes off."
"I didn't think of that," Fred mumbles just as Charlie pops his head out from behind a door, motioning us towards him.