𝐕𝐈𝐕𝐀𝐂𝐈𝐎𝐔𝐒 - the wizarding world

XII. FRIDAY THE THIRTEENTH

XI. FRIDAY THE THIRTEENTH
___________

Ivy ran faster than she ever did before, her feet slapping harshly on the stone beneath her. Turning the corner of a corridor she stopped abruptly in front of a manky wooden door, the iron hinges rusted beyond recognition. She knocked rapidly.

The door swung open in a big swoosh, the face it revealed riddled with annoyance and malice. "What?" Argus Filch, the Hogwarts caretaker, said gruffly, his greasy hair sticking to the sides of his face.

Ivy breathed harshly, her own red hair sticking up in every direction. "There's—" she gasped for air and pointed down the corridor she came from, "there's students trying on the knights' armour! They're making a mess!" she exclaimed, concern spreading across her face.

"Not again!" Filch screeched and grabbed a violent-looking bat and set off toward where Ivy had been pointing, a look on his face that made her fear for the safety of whomever he would run into.

She hadn't actually seen anyone mess with the armour stands, of course.

Ivy waited a tick and as she reached five, she chirped loudly into nothingness and within seconds, Fred and George appeared from the other side of the corridor.

"You absolute wonder!" Fred said loudly and ruffled her already-messy hair. "We've gotta use you as a distraction more often!"

George grinned and held the door to Filch's office open with an inviting nod of his head. "You see, he doesn't like us very much anymore—"

"I wonder why," Ivy said.

"So we can't really be used to lure him, or trick him for that matter. But you," George spoke and bopped Ivy on her nose. She scrunched her face together and tried to bite his finger. He quickly moved his finger away to avoid getting rabies, or whatever disease the girl carried with her to make her act like a wild animal. He continued, "you're just an innocent little thing, aren't you?"

"Come off it, Georgie," Ivy said and moved inside the office, eyeing the shackles that hung on the wall with a horrified glance.

"Yeah, George," Fred added as he threw an arm around Ivy, "show some respect to the Hogwarts champion. We're in the company of a celebrity now."

Ivy rolled her eyes, still looking around the cramped office that contained too many obscure torture devices for her liking. "What're we looking for? Better make it quick, mates, we've got Defense in a few minutes and I reckon we've used all our luck for today," she shuddered, "Friday thirteenth."

George, with his hand grabbing into a high-up drawer of the closet that stood against the entirety of the back wall of the office, looked back at her. "Never took you for the superstitious one."

Ivy folded her arms and snapped back, "I'm not, I've simply learned not to push my luck."

"And that worked out so well with you when you got expelled, I see."

"Alright," Fred interrupted loudly. "Have you found it?"

George smirked, his hand reaching into a drawer and holding a folded up piece of parchment in the air. "I've got it, Forge!"

"Absolutely wicked, Gred!"

Ivy frowned at the two as she grabbed the parchment. "What's this? I didn't know you two even knew what parchment was?" she said jokingly.

"Oh, but our dear Ivy, this is not just an ordinary piece of parchment," George said as he took the parchment back and put his wand to it. Then, he said, "I solemnly swear I am up to no good."

Ink began spreading in swirls and spirals on the parchment, forming letters and lines and slowly coming together to make something readable.

"The Marauders Map?" Ivy read. "Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs... I've heard those names before."

"Oh, I'm sure you have. This map was made many, many years ago by a group of magnificent prankers. Marauders, if you will. Sirius, James, Remus and... Peter," he said the last name reluctantly.

Ivy frowned but decided to let it be for now. "A map?"

Fred grinned. "Harry wanted to show you earlier, but somehow he managed to get caught with it." He opened the map, the parchment almost covering Filch's entire desk. "The map shows the entirety of Hogwarts, including the secret passageways."

"But," George said. "That isn't even the best part. The map is charmed to show the location of everybody inside the castle."

Ivy's mouth fell open as she spotted Albus Dumbledore along with a pair of footprints pacing within his office. "This..." she said slowly, her eyes raking across every name and footprints until it landed on herself and the twins. "This is a game-changer. We'd never be caught again!" she exclaimed. Her mind showed her the countless possibilities of what could have happened if she had a map like this at Beauxbatons.

"Now that you are..." he searched for the right word. "revealed to be a relative of one of Hogwarts' original mischief makers—we, of course, are honorary—you are allowed to summon the map whenever you feel the need to spark some mischief."

"And, honestly, your lack of navigation skills were becoming painful to experience."

"I—" she said, at a loss of words. "Thank you. I will protect this map with my life. Also," she pointed to the corridor she had run through just moments ago, "it seems that Mr. Filch is returning and I can't imagine he's a happy chap."

"Oh, fu—" George cut himself off, tapping his wand to the map. "One last thing, when you're done with the map, just tap your wand to it and say; 'Mischief Managed' and the ink will disappear."

As he said the words, the ink indeed receded from the page. Almost like water was splashed on top of it, the ink spread out and slowly become more and more opaque until it vanished entirely.

"Now," Fred began calmly, "Run!" he yelled and grabbed Ivy's hand, dragging her along as they ran for their lives from a furious and red-faced Filch.