Chapter 152: Dream
Phineas ignored the surprised and curious glances directed at him as he walked straight over to the twins and Lee Jordan.
"George, Fred, Lee—come with me. I've got something to show you."
There was no way he was going to discuss the Marauder's Map in front of half the school in the Great Hall. Under the eyes of so many students from all four houses, it would have drawn far too much attention. What could've remained a hidden strategic tool would instead become a widely known magical item.
And worse, it would definitely attract the interest of the professors. From a certain perspective, the map had real strategic value—especially for anyone with questionable motives regarding Hogwarts.
Phineas led the trio to an empty classroom on the second floor of the castle. They had been there many times before—this was even the room they had used during those early visits to Phineas's hidden box. Their other secret base, of course, was the Room of Requirement.
Seeing where they were headed, George and Fred realized this had to be something serious—and private.
"What is it, Phineas? Did you find something?" George asked.
Just yesterday, they had approached Phineas about that strange piece of parchment. Today, he had come to them—claiming it was unrelated. George, however, didn't buy that.
Fred seemed to come to the same conclusion, and looked at Phineas eagerly, hoping for answers.
Phineas nodded, took out the Marauder's Map, and handed it to George.
"This is a map. You've finally found the treasure."
Lee Jordan took the parchment from George and stared at it, confused.
"This? A map? All I see are some snide remarks written on it…"
Fred and George were equally baffled, looking at Phineas expectantly for an explanation.
Phineas smiled, drew his wand, and tapped the parchment.
"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."
As the words left his mouth, ink spread across the page, slowly forming a detailed layout of Hogwarts Castle. The map shifted and changed with the castle itself.
More than that—there were moving footprints all over the map, each labeled with names. For instance, Dumbledore could be seen pacing back and forth inside the Headmaster's office.
"What is this?" George asked, astonished, eyes fixed on the parchment in Lee's hands.
Phineas nodded. "Exactly what you think it is: the Marauder's Map."
Fred quickly caught on. "So the names and their locations are all accurate?"
"See for yourself," Phineas replied, pointing to their own location on the map—four names clustered together in the same classroom.
"And there's Dumbledore," he added, "still walking in circles in his office."
George let out a low whistle. "This is incredible."
Fred, however, had noticed something else. "George! Look at that name!"
George glanced where Fred was pointing, and immediately understood. "It's Filch. This means we'll never have to worry about running into him during our night rounds again!"
Phineas shook his head, exasperated. He had figured that the twins' first thought would be using the map for late-night wanderings.
Lee Jordan, on the other hand, was focused on something else entirely.
"Hey, Phineas, are these markings mistakes?" he asked, pointing at some odd parts of the map.
Phineas leaned in. "Those are secret passages. Whoever created the map must've discovered them and recorded them here."
That immediately caught Fred and George's interest. They crowded around the parchment to examine the hidden passages.
"These lead to Hogsmeade!" George exclaimed.
Fred nodded eagerly. "That means we could go there on weekends!"
George grinned slyly. "And buy prank supplies from Zonko's to resell at school…"
Phineas chuckled. "You're really trying to turn a profit already. But yes, thanks to these passages, you could visit Hogsmeade a year earlier than the other students. It's a clever opportunity."
Fred's eyes lit up. "Exactly! We could save up and use the money to develop our own prank items—or even open a shop one day."
Phineas looked at them with mild surprise. "A shop?"
George nodded. "We want to open a joke shop—bigger and better than Zonko's."
Phineas nodded again, thoughtful. He had known that the twins opened such a store in the original timeline, but he'd assumed the idea came to them much later—maybe in their third or fourth year. He hadn't expected them to already have such an ambitious dream.
Turning to Lee Jordan, he asked, "And what about you? What's your dream, Lee?"
Lee thought for a moment. "I love Quidditch, but I know I don't have the talent to be a player. Still, being a commentator wouldn't be bad. Actually, I already applied to Professor McGonagall—I'll be the Quidditch commentator this year."
Phineas blinked, surprised. "Really? You're the Quidditch commentator?"
It wasn't entirely his fault that he hadn't noticed. When the season started, he'd been preoccupied with the whole conflict involving the Flint family and the search for Gryffindor's legacy. He hadn't had the time—or interest—to pay attention to the school's games.
Truth be told, Phineas had never liked Quidditch. The rules always struck him as flawed, especially the role of the Seeker. It often felt like the entire match existed solely to show off that one position's skill.
Ever since he mastered flight magic, he hadn't touched a broomstick—not since that one accident in flying class last year.
George and Fred, however, had joined the Gryffindor Quidditch team this year. Thanks to their natural skill and perfect coordination, the twins had quickly become the team's Beaters.
Hearing Phineas's question, the twins both nodded.
"Yep," George confirmed. "Lee's handling commentary this year."