The New Marauder

Twenty Seven

Cedric and I spent about another ten minutes talking before Fred and George finally joined us. From then until we heard two loud bangs rocking through the always quiet library, we joked around, not getting an ounce of homework done. I was so caught up in the moment I had completely forgotten about the paintballs, but when they went off, I couldn't help but throw the twins a triumphant smirk.
"What was that?" Cedric asks, looking up from the Map that's still sprawled out on the table.
"Dunno, but I don't think Madam Pince is happy." I answer acting innocent, then wincing slightly when her shrill voice hits us.
"Hey," Cedric slams his hand down on the table catching us all off guard. "Why don't we wait until Halloween weekend to go through the passage." He says, pointing to the statue on the third floor. "It looks like it's heading into Hogsmeade, and if it does, then we can use the kids—"
"As cover." I finish, nodding my head. "I agree. Less risk of getting in trouble and more freedom to roam the village."
"What about you two?" He looks to the grinning twins.
"The risk makes it worth it, though—"
"But mum would have our heads if we get caught out of bounds." George smiles, agreeing with us.
"The vote passes." Cedric laughs, knocking on the table. "I gotta get back to my stuff, but if you want to explore more—"
"I'll know where to find you." I grin, folding up the map and stashing it away. I haven't attempted to wipe it yet; I know kinda reckless but I was afraid that it wouldn't appear for Cedric.
"I can't help but feel a little creeped out by that." He responds, leading us back to his table.
"Imagine when we figure out how to copy—Dude." I mumble, running straight into his back. "What was that- Oh."
All four of us stand frozen along with almost the entire library; Cedric's table is completely covered with neon blue and purple paint. It was so bad that even got on the group of tables surrounding them, pretty much everything in a twenty-foot circle, save for Cedric's stuff, was drenched, including the students. And at the very center are two figures looking at the ground while Madam Pince holds them hostage under her high-pitched rage for all of us to watch.
"Merlin's Beard." Cedric says still in shock.
"I'll say." Fred murmurs, flashing me a smile.
Just as I'm trying to figure out which one is who under all that paint, familiar brown eyes meet mine. Do I feel bad for being behind all of this? Maybe just for a second. Well, to be honest, I do until Jonathan looks up, shooting me a glare. I can't help the laugh that erupts from my mouth, nor can I help the thirty other students joining in; it is a really funny sight, but all our laughter does is renew Madam Pince's anger at the two in front of her.
Letting out a final snort, I turn to Cedric. "Well, this looks fun, but we gotta go, see you in class Ced." I pat him on the back, then blow the two Hufflepuffs a sarcastic kiss before walking away, laughing with the twins.
"Man, I wish we were there to see it happen." Fred muses as we hit the corridor.
"I don't. Did you see how far the paint went?" I shake my head.
"It was like six meters." George says. "I wonder if we would make something like that. Maybe find a way to add glitter or a trick into it too. Paint is fun but kinda boring after a bit."
"You think we could tweak it so that the paint is also a dye?" I ask out loud, thinking about the possibilities while pulling out the map again, giving it a look over.
"That would be something." George says with a dreamy voice.
"I'll add it to the research list." I grin as we come upon a bookshelf on the fourth floor that has a line behind it that leads up to the Fat Lady corridor. "Look." I point to the map then to the half-full bookshelf that's seen better days.
"Another shortcut?" Fred asks, walking forward, nudging it a bit, revealing a lowly lit stairway.
George and I move forward to follow but stop when we hear a loud angry voice shout. "There they are."
Leaning over the bannister, I laugh at a group of Hufflepuffs climbing the stairs after us, the two in front are still covered in paint so much so that they are leaving a dripping trail behind them.
"Oi, Filch will have your knickers for leaving that mess behind you." I call out in my best British accent causing everyone on the stairs to lean over and gawk at them before booking it for the hidden staircase, pulling Fred and George with me.
"Did you see his face?" Fred gasps out in between laughs.
"More like both of them." George agrees.
"Gotta thank old Padfoot for the help though, imagine if we were stuck running up the staircase."
"They looked like they were gonna bash our heads in if they caught us."
As we walk up the stairs, I let my laughter fade and can't help but think how Sam was still next to him. Before coming here, he used to know how to take a prank, then shoot one back; we had done it our entire friendship. But I guess that's changed now, really sucks.
"Yeah, maybe for the best that—What in the world?" I shout, sticking my hands out to catch my fall before my face does for the second time today. Looking down at my trapped ankle, I mutter a string of curses while Fred and George start laughing again.
"Hold on, Ori." George chuckles, stepping over the trick stair, grabbing ahold of one arm, gesturing for Fred to grab the other from above. "Ready? One. Two. Three." They both grunt, pulling me forward until it gives way, and we stumble up the stairs.
"Best to remember that one." I mutter, trying to catch my breath, giving the step a glare.
The rest of the way to the common room was silent, well I was. I kept my eyes on the map while Fred led us through a tapestry at the top of the stairs. I wasn't sure what I was looking for until I found our Head of House leading the group of Hufflepuffs back down the Grand Staircase.
"They're so getting detention." George says looking over my shoulder.
"You think?"
"Oh yeah. Madam Pince is one thing, but Professor McGonagall, completely different story." He smiles back.
While the goal wasn't to get them into too much trouble, I felt a sense of happiness bloom when his words finally processed in my head. "I hope they have to clean bedpans for a month." I mutter, putting the map away. "Gigglefish." I say once we get in range of the Fat Lady.
"There you three are." We pause at Charlie's booming voice calling out across the common room before rushing into our, as Cedric puts it, super-secret dorm slamming the portrait closed behind us.
"There's no way he could know, right?" I ask his confused twins, rushing to take off my satchel to toss it under my bed.
They look to one another before shrugging. "No way to tell."
"No way to tell what?" His voice comes from the doorway, making us all jump.
Nervously I look all around me, avoiding his eyes. "Um, no way to tell what you want for Christmas." I mutter, rubbing the back of my neck.
"Uh-huh." He answers in an I don't believe you kind of tone. "I was trying to find you three to tell you there's a notice posting about schedule changes."
"Huh?" "What?" "Why?" The three of us say at once.
"Dumbledore told us to spread word that there's a new Professor starting after Christmas. And that it shouldn't change much, other than you might have a few less free periods. You'll get an updated schedule after the break, though." He shrugs, dismissing our huffs. "Make sure you wash up; supper will be soon." He says pointedly, walking back out the door.

Instead of joining the twins for dinner, I spread the map out on the center table, making sure to unfold every single bit of it until the entire thing laid flat. "Okay, boys, show me what you got," I mumble rubbing my palms together as I start to trace the lines of the spellwork that made up the major red ink lines of the castle. Most of them were repeated spells with a few others here and there. Grabbing a piece of parchment, I start jotting down every single spell so I could ask Professor McGonagall about the ones I couldn't find in either our dorm or the library. It took a long time, and quite frankly, my hand felt pretty numb by the time the list was complete. Despite the tingling sensation in my hand, I took out my own books before moving over to the bookshelves surrounding the fireplace and searched until I was able to find a few on advanced Charms, Magical Principalities and Transfiguration. I thought about the Potions and Dark Arts books that looked like it was hidden away on the very top shelf but shrugged it off, mostly because I didn't feel like climbing at the moment.
It didn't take long for my mind to slip into its own little happy place; it happens sometimes when I get lost in my studies. I know some people don't understand the vast, endless library that is my brain, and that's okay. I mean, I know it's hard to comprehend how I can read or hear something once, then it's burned into my memory forever.
Years ago, when I was five, I was sitting out in the humid summer air helping Uncle Charlie fix the radiator in Anna's car. I remember how funny Uncle Theo found it when I was able to recite the manual enough to tell him that he was installing the new one wrong. From then on, Anna, Aunt Sarah, and Aunt Sue took my studies more seriously, and Uncle Theo assumed control over the practical side of my learning, basically giving me his wand and teaching me more defensive magic on top of the stealth lessons. Uncle Charlie made sure that while I learned all that I could, I still had a childhood. He taught me how to appreciate the small things in life that people normally overlook or take for granted.
Also, after the three of them sat me down to talk about my genetic makeup, he made me go see a therapist because my mind couldn't stop the obsession of learning everything it could about how I came to be and how I could pass it on to my children, if I were to have any. For a while, it felt like I was dirtied, like a mistake that wasn't meant to be there. However, after about four months of twice-a-week therapy, I started to feel different. Uncle Charlie and Anna helped me see that I'm not a freak like that Mike kid and his friends called me the one time Uncle Charlie tried to get me to socialize with the other kids in Forks. I'm special, just like my mind, and after all this time I can finally appreciate it. Just like Uncle Charlie taught me to.
I was deep into spell translation when the door opened with a loud bang, causing my hand to jump, marking up my parchment. "What was that about?" I ask the two grumpy-looking twins who look like they've had a battle with their entire meal. "Wait, what happened to you two?"
"Spratt." Fred shot out angrily, taking off his soaked robe and tossing it to the floor.
"Who?"
"Uley's friend, the one who keeps messing with you."
"His last name is Spratt?" I snort. "No wonder the guy is such a prat. Oh-"
"Spratt the prat." George shouts, laughing.
"That's got to stick." Fred says.
"Yeah." I agree, glancing quickly at my notes before taking in the gravy spilled all over Fred's sweater. "You didn't answer, by the way." I tell him using my quill to point out the stain.
"Spratt started yelling at us during dinner-"
"Charlie tried to stop him-"
"But Fred threw his plate at him when he brought up your parents."
"Then his friends started throwing theirs."
"Uley included-"
"And now we all have a week's detention."
"With them." George huffs, slipping out of his own dirtied sweater.
"You know," I sigh, flopping my head against the back of my chair. "I can't wait for Halloween." Giving my research another glance, I yawn and toss my books back in my bag.
"You guys really want to wait until then?" George asks, looking to both of us.
"Yeah. If it leads to where we're thinking, then between it being a holiday on top of the older kids being there, it will give us enough coverage." I answer, thinking of how Uncle Theo would give me stealth lessons so we could beat Uncle Charlie when we played cops and robbers, then later when he would sneak me out to go on adventures.
"You really think it could lead to Hogsmeade?"
"I mean, it makes sense. What else is in that direction?" I say, glancing at the small line leading away from the school. "If it does and we succeed, then we should be able to blend in, well in plain sight, that is. We're young enough to look like one of the villagers' kids. So no wearing school clothes or colors."
"Got it." They respond in unison.
"One more week." I sigh.
"But what are we gonna do about them?" Fred asks, looking angrier than I've ever seen him.
After thinking about it for a minute, I shrug. "Uncle Theo has said that when a snake is angry, they lash out. So for now, let him lash."
"We can't do nothing." George bursts out.
"That's exactly what we need to do. If he continues to target us, then it will only make the Professors see that if we react, it will be in self-defense. We got lucky in the Library; by the time the paintballs went off, we were nowhere to be seen. But now we just have to be patient and endure for a little bit. If it will help, take your frustration out on the Slytherins on the pitch." I shrug, standing to my feet and stretching.
"That's something a Slytherin would say."
Laughing, I walk towards the bathroom. "The Sorting Hat mentioned putting me in Slytherin, but he said my refusal to place others before myself would make me a terrible asset to the House. He was right though; I can't let you two get in trouble because he wants to have a go at me. So we wait, we wait until he is mad in the head, then we pounce." I grin, looking to the lion above our fireplace.