The Weasley twins secretly snuck into the Forbidden Forest, hoping to get up close and personal with the dragon.
According to them, they wanted to get some fallen dragon scales, or even dragon dung would do.
But Hagrid caught them, flew into a rage, and punished them by making them clean the pigsty for half a month straight.
"Cleaning pig manure, scrubbing pigpens, and even bathing the little piglets..."
Fred laughed, "That's our job for the next half-month."
"Percy was furious, complaining that we disgraced the Weasley family."
George said while hosing down the ground, incidentally spraying a little pig nearby with water.
Fred asked, "Wade, what can we do for you?"
"Remember how last term, you told me about the secret passages out of Hogwarts?" Wade asked.
"Of course!" Fred said. "Don't tell me you've only just started using it."
"Yeah, I left school a few days ago, and the secret passage was even longer than I thought."
"Hogsmeade is interesting, isn't it?" Fred leaned on his shovel, chin resting on the wooden handle, and winked. "You didn't get caught by Flume, did you?"
"Flume?"
"The owner of Honeydukes," George explained.
"Oh, no, I didn't," Wade said. "I've just been wondering about something..."
He looked at the two and said, "You said you saw me come out of the corridor with the mirror, and then we met in front of Paracelsus's portrait..."
"Huh? Was that it?" Fred was a bit hazy on the details. He scratched his head and said, "Probably."
"But when I came out of the mirror corridor, I double-checked, and there were no other students around," Wade said. "Then someone told me you should have just come out of the Gryffindor common room at that time."
The one who told him, of course, was Zoe.
Not much in this castle could be hidden from the house-elves and the ubiquitous portraits.
"Hmm..." George tilted his head and asked, "So?"
"You must have a magical item that shows everyone's whereabouts, right? I heard it's a parchment?"
Wade said sincerely, "Can I borrow it to study the alchemy on it? I promise not to damage it! A Galleon a day for rent, is that okay?"
"A Galleon? That's not cheap!" Fred said, then shook his head. "But no."
Wade paused, then raised the price: "Then... two Galleons?"
"It's not about the money," Fred said solemnly. "The Marauder's Map is a precious gift left by our predecessors for those who come after..."
George nodded, sighing, "We owe them so much... how can we use it to make money now?"
"You can research the Marauder's Map for free," Fred nodded gravely, saying, "But there are conditions..."
"Don't let anyone else see it, especially professors and Filch..."
"And... we also need to learn from the spirit of our predecessors and help the new generation of rule-breakers..."
The twins burst into laughter.
Then Fred pulled out a square piece of parchment. It looked old and blank.
"We stole this from Filch's office. He had it locked in a drawer, labeled 'Confiscated, Extremely Dangerous'."
George said, "It taught us more than all the teachers in school combined."
"Remember the incantation." Fred pulled out his wand, lightly touched the parchment, and said, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!"
Fine lines of ink spread rapidly like a spiderweb, and a few lines of green text began to appear—
[Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs]
[Purveyors of Aids for Magical Mischief-Makers]
[Are Proud to Present]
[The Marauder's Map]
In a flash, the parchment formed a map of the entire Hogwarts, even down to every corridor and every room.
Tiny black dots, like sesame seeds, moved on the map, with very small letters forming names beside them.
These letters were much smaller than they appeared in the movies.
In places with more people, like the Great Hall, common rooms, and classrooms, it looked more like a swarm of ants lumped together, completely unreadable.
However, the Weasley twins probably didn't care about the students gathered together; they likely only focused on where the professors and Filch were patrolling during their nighttime escapades.
"When you're done, just tap it lightly and say 'Mischief Managed,' and it'll turn back into a blank piece of parchment," George said.
Wade looked at the twins; their smiles were a bit silly, as if they had no idea how valuable the item they had produced was.
Wade folded the parchment and smiled, "Then may I invite you to study it with me? I remember you two are also studying alchemy?"
At this, the Weasley twins perked up: "That would be great, of course! But the magic on the Marauder's Map is very complex!"
"We've been working on some prank candies recently, but they're a bit too harmful..."
Before George could finish, Hagrid's voice echoed: "Hey, I hope you've finished cleaning the pigsty while you were chatting!"
The twins stuck out their tongues and quickly started hosing down the pigpen.
"Hey, Wade. Don't you go learning from those two, treating your life like a game."
Hagrid came over with a large bucket of feed, gently nudged a piglet that had wandered too close to the trough with his finger, and then poured down the feed.
Wade asked him, "Is the dragon alright in the Forbidden Forest?"
"No worries, the creatures in the Forbidden Forest can't hurt Norberta."
Hagrid said fondly, "Ah, fortunately Dumbledore allowed her to stay... To Norberta, the most dangerous thing in this world is humans... Her original habitat was also full of people..."
As he spoke, he picked up a few grown piglets, looked at them closely, then placed them in the adjacent pigpen.
"Then... she won't harm the animals in the Forbidden Forest?" Wade asked.
"Dumbledore reached an agreement with the centaur tribe," Hagrid said. "Norberta lives very far away, and she promised not to hunt around the school or harm intelligent species. She's really a good girl, isn't she?"
Wade looked at some of the burn marks on Hagrid's arm and couldn't bring himself to nod against his conscience.
Hagrid invited him, "How about coming to my hut for a cup of tea? I just made rock cakes."
"No, thank you," Wade politely declined. "I still have homework to do."
Bidding farewell to Hagrid and the Weasley twins, Wade returned to the Room of Requirement. The first thing he did was unfold the Marauder's Map and look towards the Gryffindor common room.
If he wasn't mistaken, there should be an extra name there—
"Wormtail" Peter Pettigrew.
One of the Marauders, a close friend of James Potter and Lupin, and the true betrayer of that year.
It seems Wade has a strong interest in the Marauder's Map and its unique magical properties. This discovery will likely have significant implications for his understanding of Hogwarts' secrets and possibly even the unfolding events of the school year.
What do you think Wade will do with the knowledge he gains from the Marauder's Map?