Miss Holmes, A Harry Potter Fan fiction

Chapter 27: Marauder's Map

Despite what Dumbledore had said, I couldn't stop thinking about the Philosophers Stone. I knew the teachers were protecting it, but were the teachers more powerful than Voldemort?
The only teacher that could compete against him directly was Dumbledore, so the stone couldn't be that safe.

It didn't raise my spirits when I heard the so dubbed 'Golden Trio' discuss the stone. If three first years could discover the secrets of the stone, how far would Voldemort be?
After overhearing this conversation, I decided to confront the three first years. Waking up early, I sat on the same, familiar sofa in the Gryffindor common room.
During the daytime I hated the room, it was full of rowdy people who wouldn't know silence if they heard it. Yet after midnight it felt eerily barren, the stark contrast apparent.
The serenity was perfect.

On this particular night, an old volume lay in front of me. Over the past week the same book followed me, despite not seeming too distinctive, something bothered me.

I had sound the family name 'Holmes' in this book- I had found it in a few, yet this one was continually updated. Several of my classmates names appeared in the book, however the 'Holmes' tree had not been updated for two generations. That would have been when when my Mother was born- a squib. It all fit.
It felt like I was getting somewhere, but really it was futile. It was useless finding out old, dead relatives.

In a pencil, I faintly drew in the lines I knew: two lines coming off my Grandmother, one to the left, one to the right- a question mark by each; down from the left line I drew my Mother and Father, with Mycroft and Sherlock down from that- though I knew I couldn't draw my name. My name had to come from the right. The side of questions. A question for my Grandfather, a question for my Mother, a question for my Father, and Me.

*** {   I've got a visual cue above, hope that helps   } ***

By Morning I was no closer to the truth. The only links I had found had been generations ago so had no affect at all. Students gradually trickled down the stairs until I found who I was looking for.
Harry Potter looked more tired than anyone else, a dishevelled appearance of nightmares and worry. Despite this my sharp glare called him over. I glance around the room, no one seems on listening distance, and even if they were, they look too tired to remember anything.

In whispered tones I tell him, ''Meet me on the seventh floor with Ron and Hermione at 8:00 tonight, that gives us plenty of time before curfew.''
He looked a little confused and worried but nonetheless nodded in agreement before heading towards the exit.

................. .................. .................

At exactly 8:00 I arrived to meet Harry, Ron, and Hermione. They hadn't noticed my arrival so I took a moment to analyse the scenario. Hermione and Ron appeared to have had a quarrel recently, their feet both angled away from the other.
All three of them were nervous however, Hermione was muttering quickly under her breath, Ron was eating from a packet of sweets in his pocket, and Harry stared at his tapping foot.
I waved, alerting them of my presence, before signalling them to step back. I paced in front of the seemingly empty wall three times before a large wooden door appeared. I pushed it open, walking into the room.
It was exactly how I was used to it, a perfect combination of the three common rooms.
It had the dark colour scheme remnant of the Slytherin dorms, luxurious silks coating every surface. This complimented the gothic windows which seemed to lead to an endless constellation sky, the creamy acrylic colours swirling in intricate spirals.

Bookshelves towered up to the ceiling, similar to the Ravenclaw dorm, but this room felt more personal. The books were old favourites, classics, laden with sentiment, memories pressed between the pages like flowers.
The Gryffindor aspect was less materialistic and more atmospheric. The sofas, despite being of expensive quality, looked and felt used and loved- deep wrinkles etched into their old faces. The room too smelt like the same cinnamon. The same warm fire roared at the centre.
I sat on one chair and faced the people who sat opposite who couldn't hide the awe and confusion they felt.
Ron, as usual, spoke up first, ''How the bloody hell did you find this place?''

A small smile curved my lips as I recounted the story.

*I know this isn't technically accurate but it makes it easier to explain how she found it*

''I suppose it was thanks to your brothers. Between us we managed to find it- well between us, Filch, and the Marauders. Remember the paint prank the twins pulled, when they wrote 'Gryffindor's the Best' on the wall in the great hall?''
Ron and Harry seemed to look back on the memory with amusement, yet Hermione seemed more angry.
I continued regardless,
''That wasn't just for the sake of pranking, it was a diversion. It is difficult to get much done around the school with students and Filch wandering the halls, so we needed a way to get them in one place.''

I pulled a piece of parchment from my pocket.
''How else would I get something like this?''

They didn't seem impressed yet.
''I got this from Filch's office. He confiscates all the best items, so I decided to go snooping, hence finding this.''

I flicked my wand at the parchment, with the words,
''I solemnly swear I'm up to no good.''
The words of the Marauders came to life as I handed the map over.
It took them a minute to look at the map before,
''Is this a live map of Hogwarts?'' Hermione enquired, unfolding the pages carefully. I nodded.
''Wicked!' Ron exclaimed, pulling it closer to him roughly.
''Careful Ronald!'' Hermione replied sharply, admiring the clever charms man-ship.
I took the map back from them, folding it away.
''But that's not what I'm here to discuss, I want to know everything you've learned about the Philosopher's Stone.''
They all gasped in shock, clearly they thought they were the only ones to know about it, bar the teachers.

''We realised with the help of Hagrid, our intelligence, and some library books- but how did you know?'' Hermione recovered quickly.
''Dumbledore told me at the beginning of the year. I wanted to discuss the topic sooner, but I needed to be more confident in my occlumency skills first.''

My occlumency lessons had been going well, I could almost perfectly shield my mind after 10 lessons, yet I knew Dumbledore was learning too much about me. I had to act fast.
''Occlumency is a very skilled and particular branch of magic, I've read it requires a lot of mental strength. I can't believe you have mastered it at your age.'' Hermione said, almost as if she was reciting a book directly.

''Is that all you know about the Stone? It's very important I find out all the details.'' I tried to get back to the topic I cared for.

Harry spoke up this time, ''We know that Voldemort is after it, we think that Snape is trying to get it for him- to help him rise back to power. He doesn't know how to get past the three headed dog at the entrance on the third floor corridor.''

I questioned whether or not I should tell them what I knew, but decided against it- it would only put them in more danger.
I knew most of that information, I had deduced that the third floor was the entrance as well, but I hadn't actually been inside. A three headed dog hardly seems a match for Voldemort.

''Thanks for all the help, it's clear you've all put in a lot of time and effort. Please tell me if you find out anything else, we all want the stone away from Voldemort.''
After agreeing with my proposal they all left, heading back to the dorms.

I think I'm going to have to try those puzzles.

Yay, another chapter up. This story now has over 1.5k reads- that's insane. Thank you all for reading the story, I hope you enjoyed. Once again, I'd love a vote if you did.
Byeeee :)