Chapter 56: Seven Secret Paths

"An important thing?" Dumbledore looked even more surprised than before.

He was sitting there thinking about what Ginny Weasley's lost thing could be, or what the Horcrux could be.

Unexpectedly, two guests came.

"Do I have to say it now?"

"We thought it would best to say it before the next attack happens." The twins shook their shoulders at the same time.

This obviously piqued Dumbledore's interest, and according to the twins, it seemed to be related to the attacks.

Perhaps the doubts that are bothering me at the moment will be solved soon.

"Please sit down, gentlemen." He stood up and poured them a cup of black tea himself. "I think I can listen to you slowly describe what happened. It's best not to leave out any details."

"This matter has something to do with our sister,"

"Headmaster, you may not know that there was a thieft in her dormitory not too long ago. Something very important was lost."

"It's a magic item."

Fred and George spoke looking at each other one by one.

"Oh, I had heard something like that had happened." Dumbledore said with a smile on his face, "So, do you know what she lost?"

Who would have thought that a second ago, he was pondering over doubts that he had no clue about..

Now the answer was delivered to him.

that evil thing must be

——Horcrux!

The secret horcrux will be revealed soon!

Dumbledore's eyes showed anticipation, but his expression did not change much.

"Of course, we know. In fact, it was ours." The twins said at the same time, but this made Dumbledore confused.

"Your stuff?"

When did they manage to get their hands on a Horcrux..?

"It can't be considered ours, but we did discover its secret."

He sat upright and emphasized again: "Please talk about it carefully! Don't leave any details."

The twins had to start from the beginning again.

...

"So, when you were in first grade, you discovered a Marauder's Map. And you are saying that it could mark the location of everyone in the castle, right?" Dumbledore finally figured out what the twins wanted to talk about.

It was not the true identity of the Horcrux he imagined, but another magical item that could be called "great".

Moreover, this is indeed a very important piece of information!

"That's right."

"Even my name?" Dumbledore confirmed.

"Everyone's name!" Fred and George nodded in unison.

"Padfoot, Prongs, Moony, and Wormtail made them. They are great people! They are specially made for those of us who encourage and violate school rules for fun. It was such a great map!"

"But now this map may have fallen into the hands of that successor."

"Yes, Ginny wanted to use the map to find the attacker, but not long after, her dormitory was searched and the map was stolen." Fred said, "We were worried that if the attacker used this map, he could do more.... attacks than previously."

"Or if he used it carefully, we won't be able to catch him," George added.

"Your worries are very reasonable." Dumbledore agreed very much. "I am very happy that you are willing to share this important secret with me, an old man." His eyes flickered.

After hearing what the twins said, he already knew who made the map.

It's just that he didn't expect that the four Remus Lupins' group actually had such abilities. A magic item that even he was marked on - what would happen if Riddle got this map?

He can confirm his location at all times to ensure that he can choose the right path and leave Hogwarts safely.

Who can find him then?

"Let me confirm again, can the Marauder's Map only mark the locations of people who are only inside the school?"

"That's right," Fred replied.

"However, we also found that the map cannot mark every location in the castle. For example, the location of the secret room of Slytherin is not displayed on it."

"Obviously, those four who created Marauder's map had not found the location of the secret room. Hogwarts always has so many surprising secrets." Dumbledore smiled, "Then, can you please tell me? Now, what are some unknown secret passages someone could take if he wanted to roam freely or leave the castle?"

"There are seven in total. Filch knows four of them - but we think the attacker might not care about Filch," they said.

"The remaining three, one is behind the mirror on the fourth floor, and the other is behind the statue of the one-eyed old woman, leading directly to Honeydukes' cellar. We usually used these two when sneaking out before."

"Hey, George! Don't say what 'we' did!" Fred patted George on the head.

"Sorry, I spilled the beans."

"Don't worry, I won't punish you for this." Dumbledore laughed, "I think sometimes you have to take a little adventure to make life interesting enough, right?"

"Yes, Absolutely!"

"I can not agree more!"

the twins exclaimed exaggeratedly.

"We don't think many people have used the last one. It's located next to the Whomping Willow. But if the successor is strong enough, he might not care much about the Whomping Willow. As long as he doesn't care about making a big noise." they said.

Dumbledore knew this passage better than anyone else.

He originally planted the whomping willow tree, and he prepared the passage under the whomping willow for a special student.

The twins thought that there was a dangerous Whomping Willow guarding it, and that the heir to the Chamber of Secrets would never escape from there, but Dumbledore thought exactly the opposite.

It would be easy for Riddle to kill the Whomping Willow, not to mention that it was not impossible for the majestic Dark Lord to not even know how to subdue the Whomping Willow.

Just touching the scar of the Whomping Willow can silence the terrifying willow tree.

"I have to say that the information you provided me is really important. Perhaps it will be directly related to whether we can catch the culprit in the end." Dumbledore was not shy about his thanks.

""Oh, don't mention it!""

The twins were also very happy that they could help.

"In return, I think I can promise you that if I find the map, it will be returned to the school prankers, I mean, back to your hands. And I will keep this secret for you until you graduate. "Dumbledore winked playfully.

"Really?"

"You are not pranking us, right?"

"Ah, you can trust this old man" He gave them some chocolates and shooed them.

After sending Fred and George away, the relief on Dumbledore's face immediately disappeared.

He returned to his chair, bowed his head, and pondered.

"Which secret passage will you choose to leave? Or -"

"Can you beat that boy?"

_____

Advance chapters- Patreon.com/HornyFBI