...that I am up to no good

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"How do you know that this paper is the Marauder's Map?" Lana asked Rakepick that evening on the Training Grounds.

"Because I saw it years ago when I was a student at Hogwarts. Because I attended Hogwarts with it's creators, who sometimes referred to themselves as the Marauders. They were younger than myself, but we shared some common interests. Namely, breaking the rules. Not to mention that Severus Snape was as fond of them as he is of me." the woman explained with a smirk.

"What is it a map of?"

"All of Hogwarts. Including the castle grounds. Not only rooms and secret passages, but the location of every person in the grounds, identified by name."

"How is that possible?" Lana asked with wide eyes.

"With every advanced magic performed by very talented wizards. I will do my best to explain." Rakepick told the girl.

Lana listened to her, telling her about the "Marauders" and their excursions. Snaps hated them, just like he hated everyone else, Rakepick in particular.

"I think I understand enough about the map to use it, but how will it help us save Jacob and Beatrice?" Lana asked.

"It should show us the location of the man who attacked Mundungus Fletcher. That man will have the vault portrait, which will give us access to the Cursed Vault, and allow us to break its curse." Rakepick told her.

"How will we know who he is just by his name?"

"Oh, I'll know." Rakepick answered firmly.

"You said earlier that there were magic words that made the map work?"

"In a matter of speaking. We cannot lose this map, Miss Riviera. If Mr Filch, or worse, someone who understands its value, gets their hands on it,new will most likely never see it again. What will you do if someone tries to take the Marauder's Map?"

"I'll probably just run away at the first sign of trouble. It should be easy to hide when I can see everything in the castle." Lana answered honestly with a chuckle.

"I don't support running from anything, but if it helps to protect the map, I suppose your cowardice can be forgiven. To view the Marauder's Map, you must tap it with your wand, and recite these words..."

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

"To hide the contents of the map once again, you must tap once with your wand, and recite, 'Mischief Managed'." the woman finished.

She told Lana to take out her wand and try out the words on the map to see how it works. The girl pulled out her wand, took a deep breath, and did as Rakepick had said.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." she said aloud, tapping her wand on the parchment.

"Amazing..." she gasped as the map revealed its contents before them, "Woah, I can see what everyone is doing! Kettleburn wandering about in Care of Magical Creatures, Dumbledore pacing in his office...Barnaby in the Slytherin common room..." she smiled to herself.

Then she noticed an anomaly amongst the names. A pair of footprints moving too fast for her to read...

"Look at this person! How the heck are they moving so fast?! I can't even make out their name..." she said, squinting her eyes at the old map.

"I can." Rakepick said, snatching the map off of Lana.

"Why'd you take it from me?"

"For your own good, Miss Riviera. Feel free to run away." Rakepick told her, "The person we're after will kill you to protect his secret, and I will not allow you to die under my watch. I will contact you again when I've located the vault portrait..." she finished, walking away.

Barnaby Lee x Reader - Year 5Where stories live. Discover now