The markings scattered his back, interlocking and over-layering to weave a tapestry of anguish and indescribable pain.
As she opened her eyes, the comforting smell of coffee and parchment filled her nose. For the first time in 5 years she had opened...
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Remus rested his head on the table and listening to the morning chatter around him in the Great Hall.
"What's with Mr. grumpy, today?" Sirius nudged him with his elbow. "I'd just like the earth to swallow me is all." Remus murmured into the table. "Oh so nothing new then?" Remus groaned into the table as Sirius sighed at his friend's despair.
"I thought you were great again, you and Harper were getting along. Remember Christmas and New Years? What happened?" Sirius asked.
"She's avoiding me again." "You're avoiding her." "Only because she doesn't want to see me." "You're insane." "Thanks." "Go talk to her." "She doesn't want to talk to me." "How do you know?" "If she wanted to talk, she'd talk to me."
Sirius rolled his eyes at his friend's ignorance.
"Have you ever seen any relationship ever? Do you know what a girl is?"
"Guys! Guys! I have news! Big news! Huge news! The news! Gu-" James shouted as he and Peter bounded towards them. "Shut. Up." Remus snarled.
"Didn't realise it was your time of the month already, Moony." James chuckled as he sat down opposite them at the table.
"Prongs, mate." Sirius glared at him, "What news?" "So I was chatting with Harper-"
Sirius threw a piece of bread at James.
"Who were you chatting with?" He asked James. "Harp-" James began again.
Sirius threw another piece of bread at James.
"Did you say Helen? I love Helen, great girl, really cool. What did she say?" Sirius asked, directing James' gaze down to Remus. "Oh, right... Helen..." James furrowed his eyebrows.
"The news?" Remus asked, mumbling into his sleeve as his head continued to lie on the table.
"Well... Helen er... She finished the ma-the work we-I gave her. Over the holidays I gave her the Charms homework and she finished it. Look I have it here!" James stumbled over his words as he tried to continue Sirius' lie. "We don't have Charms homework. There is no Helen. If there was, why would you have her work?" Remus sat up now.
"Okay, Harper finished the map. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot." James turned to each one of the boys in turn. "May I present to you... the Marauders Map!" James tore the piece of parchment from his robe pocket and slammed it onto the table.
"That's a plain piece of parchment." Peter stated. "Well done." Remus clapped once.
"Simmer down boys, there's a password so only we can see it." James grinned. "We spend all summer working on becoming animagi and the map we've been planning for a year has a secret password? What is it? Something like please or I'm an idiot let me in?" Sirius raised his eyebrows.
James pulled out his wand and tapped the parchment, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."
He unfolded the map as ink erupted onto the pages in a variety of shapes. They boy's jaws dropped open as a map of the school grounds appeared before them and name labels moved around in the corridors.
"It's real... it's actually real..."
"Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers are proud to present The Marauder's Map." James read proudly as they all watched the ink on the parchment move about.
"She did it? She actually managed to do it?" Sirius stared dumbfounded at the map. "And... look who's name she put first!" James pointed at Remus' nickname on the map. "That doesn't mean anything."
But, Remus couldn't deny he was amazed. The map was real and Harper had managed to actually create it. The furthest he'd gotten into creating the map was knowing that he didn't know how to do it.
Sirius folded open the parchment, "It has all the secret passages! This is brilliant! Filch will never know what hit him!" He jumped into the air and held his hands over his head.
"Check it out! Check it out!" James composed himself and once again tapped his wand against the parchment, "Mischief Managed."
The ink on the map slowly faded and the parchment returned to its plain, original state as if nothing had happened.
"Woah..." Remus, Sirius and Peter all said in unison. "Revelio..." James tapped the paper again and a small paragraph of writing emerged on it.
"Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs request that you keep your nose out of other people's business." James read to the boys before laughing obnoxiously loudly. "This. Is. Gold!" Sirius shrieked, chasing everyone in the vicinity to turn to the boys.
"Hush, hush!" James wafted his hand at Sirius. "This is our key to not only escaping the castle every month during the furry little problem we have... But also to becoming the best pranksters in the history of the Wizarding world!"
Remus couldn't believe it. Harper had not only created the one thing the four boys had been planning for three years but she had beaten them at their own game. She had created the ultimate pranking secret and hadn't even put her name on the front of it.
