Chapter 52: The Marauder's Map

"What are you two doing here, Fred and George?" Albert pretended to be surprised as he looked at his roommates who were mopping the floor with their butts sticking out.

"Mopping the floor," Fred replied dryly.

"I didn't know you two had become so diligent," Lee Jordan said with a gleeful expression. Cleaning up dung bombs wasn't easy, especially when Filch didn't provide them with any cleaning solution. Mopping and wiping with a cloth wouldn't make it clean enough.

"This is the consequence of throwing dung bombs in the corridors," Firch said to the onlookers who had stopped to watch. "Don't think you can get away with misbehaving."

"Don't worry, I'll get you guys excused from Defense Against the Dark Arts class," Albert reassured the twins, patting their shoulders.

"Why do I feel like you're enjoying this a little too much?"

"Do I?" Albert looked at Lee Jordan and said, "I don't think so. They were the ones who threw dung bombs in the corridors and got caught by Filch, after all."

"I thought they would secretly throw dung bombs in the corridors," Lee Jordan also couldn't understand. Wasn't that asking for trouble?

Albert knew the reason, of course. If it weren't for Filch being around, he wouldn't mind using the Scourgify charm to help them out. Unfortunately, Filch was right there watching, so he couldn't do that.

It took Fred and George several hours to thoroughly clean up the traces of dung bombs in the corridors and offices.

As a result, they missed lunch.

With sore backs and aching waists, the two of them had to settle for a sandwich from the kitchen and were now sitting under a tree, eating.

"Where is it? What did you get? Don't tell me you got nothing," George stuffed his entire sandwich into his mouth and looked at Fred, waiting for him to take out the contraband they obtained from the drawer.

"I got it. Look, it's right here," Fred pulled out an envelope from his pocket and handed it to George.

"What is this?" George looked at the old-looking envelope and turned it over. There was no sender, but on the envelope were written two sentences: "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good. Mischief managed!"

"Quick, see what's inside!"

George quickly opened the envelope and found a large, square, and very old... piece of parchment.

Hmm, it's just an old piece of parchment.

However, there's nothing written on the parchment.

"What's this?" George looked at his brother with confusion. They could both sense that there was some secret to this parchment, otherwise Filch wouldn't have kept it in the confiscated, highly dangerous drawer.

"Maybe it needs a password," Fred suddenly remembered the two sentences on the envelope. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

"You idiot, a wand, use a wand," George said, taking out his wand and pressing it against the parchment. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

Ink lines started to appear where the wand had touched, weaving and intersecting on the parchment like a spider's web, extending to every corner of the parchment.

"It actually needs a password!" The twins couldn't hide their excitement.

Indeed, this parchment held some kind of secret.

"Quick, let's see what this is!" Fred stared at the surface of the parchment and noticed a line of text appearing:

"The Marauder's Map, proudly presented by the suppliers of magical mischief: Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs."

"The Marauder's Map?" the twins said in unison. "This old parchment is actually a map."

"George, look, the ink dots on the parchment can actually move," Fred shared his discovery with his amazed twin brother.

"Of course, otherwise why would it be called the Marauder's Map?"

The two of them huddled together, studying the secrets of the Marauder's Map, and quickly discovered that the map detailed the Hogwarts Castle, its various secret passages, and the specific passwords to open them.

Finally, they didn't have to worry about finding a secret passage and not being able to open the door.

Most importantly, the map would mark the location of each person with ink dots.

Albert was coming out of the library, seemingly heading back to the common room, Filch was on the fourth floor, and Peeves the mischievous ghost was on the sixth floor.

"George..."

"Fred..."

"You go ahead..." they said in unison, but couldn't help bursting into laughter.

"Okay, let's say it together."

"Nighttime adventures."

They locked eyes and burst into laughter once again.

"We can go on nighttime adventures now, even without the Invisibility Cloak, without worrying about getting caught by Filch."

"Yeah, that's amazing. There are so many secret passages we haven't discovered yet."

"Let's try another password," Fred reminded, holding his wand against the map and whispering, "Mischief managed."

In the next moment, the traces on the parchment gradually disappeared, and within seconds, it turned back into a blank, old piece of parchment.

"The traces were actually erased!" George exclaimed in surprise. "The creators really thought of everything."

"If everyone knew about this, it would surely become widely known," Fred pondered and said, "It's probably to prevent others from discovering the secrets hidden on the parchment."

"Do you think Filch figured out how to use this parchment? He knows more about the locations of the secret passages than any student," George expressed his doubts. "And why did he keep the parchment in a drawer? If it were me, I would carry it with me."

"I don't know. Let's forget about it. The Marauder's Map is ours now. Should we tell the others?" By "others," George meant Albert and Lee Jordan.

"Not for now," Fred considered and shook his head. "The fewer people who know, the better."

"Don't forget, Albert knows about it," George suddenly said. "He definitely knows that we took something from Filch."

"But if we don't say anything, he won't know what it is," Fred raised an eyebrow.

In reality, the two of them didn't mind sharing the Marauder's Map with others, but they were also worried that someone with a loose tongue would make them lose this valuable item.

"Don't overthink it. Let's go, and check out the other secret passages," the twins exchanged glances and left, shoulder to shoulder.

"What do you think about the creators of this Marauder's Map: Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs?"

"I think they were probably former students at Hogwarts," George raised his hand and lightly tapped the head of a statue, quickly revealing another secret passage.

"Let's go, someone's coming this way," Fred reminded, keeping an eye on the map.

The two of them hurriedly entered the secret passage, and the statue returned to its original state.

"Where does this secret passage lead to?" George illuminated the way with his wand. Unfortunately, he hadn't fully mastered the Lumos spell yet, so the light would suddenly go out after a while.

"The fifth floor," Fred couldn't help but tease. "You still haven't mastered the Lumos spell!"

"You say it as if you've already mastered it."

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(End of this chapter)