When they left the castle, Ron was still clutching his head and yelling that it hurt.
Fred and George had quietly thumped him twice with some ingenious prank gadget.
Their technique was, in fact, recorded in A Hundred Ways to Prank Ron.
"So how are we supposed to avoid Snape on patrol?"
Ron asked, still rubbing his head. Even when he knew exactly who hit him, there wasn't much he could do about it.
At least the twins knew their limits—they'd hit him right up to the point where he could just barely hold back a yell.
"Not everyone is worthy of being a devout follower of the Great Green,"
Fred said grandly, pulling something out from under his cloak and placing it into Sean's hands.
It was a large, square, very worn piece of parchment. Completely blank.
"What's that supposed to be?"
Ron asked, baffled.
"This, Ron,"
George said, patting the parchment with deep affection,
"is the secret of our success."
"If it weren't for the summons of the Great Green, we wouldn't be taking it out at all."
Fred added.
"But I… what's Sean want with an old piece of parchment?"
Ron muttered.
"An old piece of parchment!"
Fred screwed his eyes shut and made a pained face, as if Ron had deeply wounded him.
"Explain it to him, George."
"Right. So. Back in first year—we were young, carefree, innocent—"
Ron snorted. He doubted there had ever been a time when Fred and George were "innocent."
"Oi!"
He paid for that laugh immediately.
Ron glared at the twins. Sean had laughed too, but somehow the twins never hit him.
The next second Ron let it go. Well, Sean was always… different.
"—ahem, more innocent than now,"
George corrected smoothly.
"We'd had a bit of a disagreement with Filch."
"We set off a Dungbomb in the corridor. For some reason, that upset him terribly—"
"So he dragged us into his office and launched into the usual routine of threats—"
"—detention—"
"—disembowelment—"
"And we couldn't help staring at one of his filing cabinet drawers. It was labeled 'Confiscated and Highly Dangerous.'"
"So—"
Sean already knew where this was going.
"Well, if it were you, Great Green, what would you have done?"
Fred said.
"George chucked another Dungbomb to distract him, I popped the drawer open, and grabbed—this."
"It wasn't as bad as it sounds, you know,"
George said,
"We figure Filch never did work out how to use it. But he probably guessed what it was, or he wouldn't have locked it away."
"You two do know how to use it, right?"
"Oh, yes,"
Fred grinned,
"This little beauty has taught us more than all the Hogwarts staff put together."
They drew their wands and tapped the parchment, saying:
"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."
At once, thin lines of ink spread like a spiderweb from the point where George's wand had touched, connecting and criss-crossing, spilling into every corner of the parchment;
Then, across the top, green, flowing letters appeared:
Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs
Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers
are proud to present
THE MARAUDER'S MAP
The Marauder's Map…
"I can—"
Sean had barely opened his mouth when Fred held the map up like an offering.
"Great Green, your loyal followers proudly present to you—"
"—the Marauder's Map—"
George finished smoothly,
"We've memorised it anyway."
He winked.
Sean took the parchment. The map showed every detail of Hogwarts castle and grounds, but the strangest part was the many tiny moving dots on it, each labeled with a name in minute writing.
In the upper left, a marked dot showed Dumbledore pacing in his study; Filch was prowling along the third floor; Peeves the Poltergeist was bouncing around the trophy room.
Sean and Ron's eyes tracked up and down along the familiar corridors, and soon spotted things they'd never seen before. There were passages all over the place they'd never walked, many seemingly leading—
To Hogsmeade.
And halfway along one of them, a footprint labeled "Gert" was pacing back and forth.
"Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, Prongs,"
George said, patting the title,
"All thanks to them."
"Noble lads, tirelessly working to help a new generation of rule-breakers,"
Fred intoned solemnly.
Sean fell quiet for a moment. Those four names, reversed, were exactly the order the Marauders had died in.
James, Sirius, Peter, Remus…
The magical world always seemed wrapped in something like fate. Every story felt as though it had been laid out long ago and was already on its way to its end.
He found it hard to believe that was just coincidence—especially after learning astronomy. But his centaur teacher had told him:
"The herd has believed in fate for over seven centuries, but if one day fate demanded our extinction, then it would cease to be fate at all.
It would just be something that requires courage to resist."
"All right, let's get moving!"
Fred said cheerfully.
The boys set out.
By moonlight, Sean could see a name flickering right beside Ron's:
"Peter."
Sean felt an odd twinge. If he could see it, there was no reason Fred and George didn't know.
So they'd been looking at their map all these years, seeing Ron constantly sharing a dormitory with a man named Peter… and said nothing? Never asked?
Sean suspected they'd just never taken it seriously—or assumed "Peter" was some sort of ghost.
It wasn't like they were staring at the map every second.
Once Ron had gone off, Sean, Justin, and Neville headed back into the castle.
In the morning, Gert would deliver Ron back safe and sound.
As for paying for the wand, the twins had insisted on funding that themselves.
"Great Green, we must remind you,"
George said lightly,
"Don't forget to wipe it clean after you use it—"
"—or anyone could read it."
Fred warned.
"Just tap it again and say, 'Mischief managed!' and it goes blank."
With that, the twins zipped off down the corridor, leaving Sean in the shadows, quietly watching each dot on the parchment.
Until he saw Ginny's name suddenly appear, returning to Gryffindor Tower.
He understood then—Tom was even more cunning, and more impatient, or perhaps more arrogant, than he'd thought.
Sean tucked the Marauder's Map away—Fred and George always managed to help him without even meaning to—then turned toward the depths of the castle.
Now, while Tom hadn't yet made his move, it was time for Sean to make his.