A Few Snippets

After weeks of procrastination, I finally settled on a name for my new company.

Fawley's Arcane Solutions.

The name seemed to resonate with what I envisioned my company doing now and in the future.

Unfortunately, my reward for buckling down and coming up with a name left a lot to be desired. Namely paperwork, gobbling heaps of it, delivered every morning in a seemingly never-ending stream of owls. I swear, there must be half-a-dozen rumors floating around the castle about all the owl deliveries.

In fact, I'm getting so much paperwork to sign. I'm starting to suspect the real reason Grandma was so insistent about me naming the company was so she could send the paperwork to my doorstep rather than deal with it herself.

Still, I have to admit, Grandma never does anything halfway. Fawley's Arcane Solutions had already grown past my initial expectations. Already I had over a dozen enchanters under my employ with more on the way. Once the contracts with the other broom companies were signed and sealed, they would be dispatched.

It didn't surprise me that she had even hired a goblin accountant from Clan Sharpclaw to keep an eye on the books. After all, goblins make some of the best bookkeepers, and no sane wizard would try and cheat one.

Speaking of my newly employed goblin bookkeeper, Larpick. He sent me the copies of contracts Grandma had worked out with Comet, Cleansweep, Universal, and even with Dad's new company, the Firebolt Racing Broom Company.

Each contract had slightly different terms. Dad's contract was the most favorable. I had tried to convince him and Grandma that they could use the spell for free. But, they insisted we put a line in the sand between our two companies. Still, Dad got the best terms for the slipstream charm by far. His contract specified that he would receive the rights to the spell for a period of fifty years, with Fawley's Arcane Solutions receiving 3.9 percent of the sales of any Broom with slipstream enchantment attached.

While Grandma had apparently given Dad's company a good deal, she had gone for the throat with the rest of them. The Comet Broom Company had the next best contract, at a rate of 6.85 percent over the next ten years.

Cleansweep and Universal Brooms got worse rates because they didn't want to commit to a ten-year deal. Cleansweep settled at a rate of 7.9 percent over seven years, and Universal got a rate of 8.4 percent over a period of five years.

Dad had warned me that this would happen. No broom company would want to be on someone else's hook forever. While they wouldn't have a clear understanding of how my spell worked. Now that they knew it was possible, they would be experimenting with their own spells, hoping to create a charm similar to mine.

While my spell wouldn't be used by these companies forever, I was still looking at five to ten years of significant profits. Even after paying my employees, I would be raking in the galleons. Larpick had sent me some early projections, and the number of galleons per month I would be pulling down was massive. I was going to be rich! Well, richer than I already was right now.

Wiping the sweat from my brow, I made sure to clamp down on my amusement as I watched my dueling partner hop like a frog around in a circle.

"Alex, undo the curse," Anna demanded from her frog-like position on the floor.

Against her will, she made a frog sound. "Ribbit."

Unable to hold it in any longer, I nearly collapsed as laughter escaped me.

Anna's purple eyes blazed at me from behind her blond hair, which was also soaked with sweat. We had just had an intense dueling session. She spent most of it taunting me because I had been spamming the shield charm blocking every one of her spells. After a few suggestive nicknames, I retaliated by introducing her to a petty curse I discovered in the Fawley Tower.

While its official name was the Frog curse, I had mentally dubbed it as the Frogger. It didn't actually turn you into a frog. It merely made you imitate a frog's movements and habits.

"I mean it," Anna warned as she hopped around a few more times.

"I don't know," I said with a smirk. "I think your new movements might improve your dueling skills. Think about it. You can hop out of the way of any incoming spells."

Anna replied with a growl.

I tilted my head, "Was that sound intentional? Or is there some type of growling frog out there that I don't know about?"

"Alexander Fawley! If you don't remove this spell right now, I'll…"

Anna's voice trailed off for a moment as she mentally searched for a worthy threat.

Her eyes lit up as something occurred to her.

"If you don't remove this spell right now, I'll write to your mother." She threatened.

I leaned back as if I was warding off a blow.

"You wouldn't."

"Ribbit."

Her face turned red as the unplanned sound slipped out once again.

I let out a laugh. "You know, it could be worse. I could always whip up a batch of flies and really test the limits of the Frogger Curse."

Hearing my musing, Anna paled, and forcibly clamped her mouth shut with her hands and promised vengeance with her eyes.

"Alright, alright," I surrendered. "I'll undo it."

Freed from the curse, she got up from her crouched positions and silently marched over to her wand that I knocked across the room.

Sensing I was in trouble, I remained out of her way. I would need to be careful for the next few days. Anna had been known to hold a grudge.

She gave me the silent treatment as we left the Room of Requirement behind.

Looking back, I should have had my guard up. I should have known Anna wouldn't wait for her revenge.

Just as we were parting to go in different directions, I heard Anna call out, "Alex."

Glad I wouldn't be subject to any more of her silent treatment, I turned around, and my eyes widened in panic as I saw a pair of purple eyes framed by blond hair glaring gleefully at me.

Anna had somehow snuck her wand out without my noticing and had it pointed right at me.

Before I could say anything, she chanted, "Somnum."

Unable to get my wand out in time or dodge out of the way due to our closeness, my world went black as the spell hit me.

The next thing I knew, I woke up on the hard stone floor of a classroom I had never been in before.

"Merlin's Beard," I grumbled. "She needs to learn how to take a joke."

Pushing myself up, I checked myself and my surroundings, looking for anything out of place. I wouldn't put it past Anna to get real creative in her revenge.

Satisfied that everything was normal, I turned to the window in the classroom. From the low position of the Moon, I knew it was late, probably only a few hours to dawn. Not willing to get caught out of bed, I made sure to cast the Disillusionment Charm to make sure I could get back to the tower without being caught.

As I made my way back through the castle, my heart nearly stopped when I nearly ran into the Astronomy professor, Professor Sinistra.

Panicking, I ducked behind a suit of armor, closed my eyes, and held my breath. My heartbeat was so loud. I figured I was done and would be spending the next few days in detention.

Whether it was a lack of attention, or my Disillusionment Charm working so well, Professor Sinistra walked right by me, not noticing a thing.

I gave it a few minutes to make sure everything was clear before making my way to the Ravenclaw tower. On my way back to my room, I decided it was about time for me to enact my plan in getting a hold of my own version of the Marauder's Map.

It wasn't until the following day that I realized that Anna had indeed gone the extra step in her revenge. I was late for breakfast but noticed that I was getting some odd looks on my way to the Great Hall.

The second Roger caught sight of me. He burst into laughter.

Jessica turned to see what he was laughing at. When she saw me, she exclaimed, "Alex, what have you done to your face?"

Confused, I reached up and felt my facial feature. "What are you talking about?"

Pulling out a small mirror from her robes, she showed me my reflection with compassion in her blue eyes.

As soon as I caught a glimpse of my face, I swore, "Dragon Shit."

Apparently, Anna hadn't been satisfied with knocking me out. She had covered my face in makeup. My grey eyes were darkened with eyeshadow, and blush covered my cheeks. Worst of all was the cherry colored lipstick that adorned my lips.

Furious, I turned to the Slytherin table to glare at the person responsible.

Anna flashed me her pearly whites and mockingly waved her fingers at me.

Realizing that I was drawing more attention to myself, I turned back to the Ravenclaw table and tried to wipe the makeup off my face with the edge of my robes.

"Is it off?" I asked Jessica.

She shook her head, "I think whoever did it may have used a permanent charm."

Roger's laughter doubled, and he fell off his seat.

I shot him a furious glare.

Dammit, Anna. This was not a proportionate response.

I knew a few spells that could possibly take care of this, but I was wary of pointing my wand at my face and unleashing magic. If I screwed something up, it could make everything worse.

After a few moments, the best option presented itself to me, but at the same time, it was the most embarrassing.

Knowing that waiting wouldn't help, I stormed off, heading to the hospital wing muttering dark promises of revenge. Madam Pomfrey would surely be able to get this crap off my face.

As I stormed into the Hospital wing, Madam Pomfrey took one look at me and said, "Oh dear."

It didn't take long for Madam Pomfrey to get rid of the makeup. It seems like this isn't the first time she has seen someone in my condition. She quickly whipped up a magical solution and applied to my face. Thirty minutes later and the makeup was gone. While I waited, I plotted my payback.

Having gathered all the necessary materials needed to make my own Hogwarts map, I set out to track Fred and George Weasley down to get the Marauder's Map.

Of course, tracking down Fred and George may be the trickiest part in all of this. Outside of class, they're like invisible wraiths of chaos. Although, perhaps a better term would be a poltergeist.

I swear, they have so much in common with Peeves I'm beginning to think they're his secret apprentices, or maybe it's the other way around.

I finally found them on the third floor, in the Far East corridor. They had opened a window, and they were both seemingly focused on something below.

As I got closer, I noticed one of them had a wand out and the other hastily checking a piece of parchment before returning beneath his robe. Probably using the Marauder's Map to ensure no one was sneaking up on them while they enact whatever prank they were about to pull.

Confirming my suspicions, Fred called out without looking in my direction, "Hey Alex."

Curious about what they were doing, I approached them to see what George was pointing his wand at. Outside, a dozen feet from the castle, was a slimy greenish-brown substance hovering in the air. Even from that distance, a foul, rotten sewage smell invaded my nose, almost making me gag.

"Is that Stinksap?" I asked, trying to hold my lunch.

Fred gave me an evil grin. "Maybe. It depends on who's asking."

I couldn't help but feel a moment of pity for their chosen victim. Stinksap smelled awful, and the smell took forever to get out.

Fred pulled the map out and rechecked it.

"We've got incoming." He warned. "It's Snakehead."

George hissed, "Dammit, what's he doing up here? He's supposed to be in the dungeon."

George sent the ball of floating stinksap flying off into the distance with a flick of his wrist. Mere seconds after the twins got the window closed. Professor Snape rounded the corner, his dark robes billowing out behind him as he purposefully strode in our directions.

His gaze paused on me for a brief second as if he were wondering why I was here. But his dark eyes and carefully blank face refused to give away his inner thoughts.

Deciding to ignore me, he turned towards the twins. Professor Snape snapped, 'What are you doing up here?"

"Nothing," the twins declared in unison.

I wanted to shake my head in despair. They said that in a tone that was about as convincing as a toddler trying to deny some wrongdoing. Knowing Fred and George, they did it on purpose. They were taunting Professor Snape, knowing he couldn't prove what they had been doing.

Professor Snape locked eyes with George for a moment, then sneered, "Why do I detect a hint of Stinksap in the air?"

George's face morphed into innocence. "Does it?" Looking around the empty hallway, George remarked, "I don't see any. What about you, Fred?"

"Nope," Fred cheekily replied.

Glaring at both of them in frustration, Professor Snape warned, "If I hear of any tomfoolery involving Stinksap, I'll have your hides."

Ignoring me, Professor Snape glided away.

Once he was gone, Fred whistled, "That was close."

"It's like he has a sixth sense about these things," George complained. "He's been dogging our footsteps all year."

Weighing in, I said, "I know how."

Fred and George both looked at me. "How?" They demanded.

I wagged a finger, "Uh-uh. Nothing is free."

George cocked a red eyebrow, "What's it going to cost."

I pointed at Fred, "I want the map."

Before Fred could protest, I added, "Just for a night."

Fred and George made eye contact, having a wordless conversation.

"Deal." They said in unison.

Then George added, "But, you have to sweeten the pot."

My guard went up as suspicion welled up within me. "What do you want?" I asked.

"We need access," Fred replied.

"To the Ravenclaw Tower," George clarified.

"What? Why?"

"Your friend, Roger Davis, snuck some Mud Molasses into our drinks. It took days to get that crap out of our teeth."

Thinking quickly, I defended, "Yeah, but wasn't he just paying you guys back for what you did to his Quidditch gloves."

"Doesn't matter," Fred said, waving away my argument. "Since he wants to play, we can only accommodate him."

"Why now?" I questioned. "I would have thought you would have immediately retaliated."

George smirked, "Sometimes the anticipation of something bad happening is actually worse than what you're expecting. He's been a nervous wreck, anticipating our revenge."

For a moment, I weighed my obligations as both a friend and member of Ravenclaw. Then, I remembered how Roger had yet to stop poking fun about the makeup incident.

I nodded my head, "Deal. Access to the tower for a night with the map."

Fred added, "And you have to tell us how Snakehead is discovering our deeds before we actually do them."

"That's the easy part," I replied. "He can read your minds."

Fred and George both froze in shock.

Smirking at the nervousness on their faces, I clarified, "Well, it's not really mind reading. But, it's a close enough example without going into detail."

After giving them a brief explanation on how Legilmency and Occlumency worked, George swore, "So, that's how he's been doing it. That… Cheater."

"Well, at least the Map gives us the advantage." Fred reasoned. "If he can't catch us in the act, then it doesn't matter."

Inwardly, I wondered what Professor Snape's reaction would be if he found out that Marauders and their creation were still messing with him today. My guess is that a few dark spells would be involved.

As Fred handed over the map, he asked, "What do you even need the map for?"

For a moment, I considered telling him the truth. But then I figured they would bug me endlessly for a second copy. And I think the twins only having one map made the world fair. Who knows what would happen if they each got their hands on a map. I shuddered at the thought of how much chaos that would unleash.

So, I just winked and said, "What? You think you're the only ones who can get into mischief."

That night, I gathered all the materials to make the map and headed down the Ravenclaw Sanctum. Gently, I pulled out the Marauder's Map to admire its craftsmanship. There were two main pieces to the map creation.

The first, while technically the easier part, would have required a great deal of time to complete. James, Sirius, Lupin, and Peter had to physically chart out every inch of Hogwarts and the grounds, not leaving one stone unturned. While this sounds easy, Hogwarts is enormous, and that's not even including all the secret passages included on the map.

The other main piece of magic came after they had mapped out the Hogwarts and the grounds. It was what made the map so special, the Homonculous Charm. The spell tracked the movement of every living thing at school. How the spell accurately labels everyone is still a mystery to me. The charm even bypasses every known method of concealment, from Invisibility Cloaks to Polyjuice Potions. Not even animagus could fool the map. The charm-crafting that went into making the map is beyond impressive. It's no wonder that James, Sirius, and Lupin were at the top of their class.

The final piece of enchantment that went into the map involved erasing the map, turning it into an old blank piece of parchment. It required a password to unlock the secrets within, and the map tended to insult any who didn't know the password.

While I am reasonably sure if I spent the time, I could recreate the map on my own. I've learned it better to work smarter than harder. My plan to create my copy involved the use of Protean Charm. The same charm Hermoine used to create the D.A. coins in the fifth book that were used to communicate with one another. Voldemort also used the same spell on the Dark Mark, the tattoo all the death eaters had on their forearm. When a wand touched it, it would send a burning sensation to the others.

The Protean charm was a NEWT level charm. Its primary purpose was to forge a connection between two or more objects. I plan to forge a connection between the Marauder's Map and my own map. It should turn out to be a mirror image of the original.

The interesting thing I've learned about NEWT level spells is that there is so much variation that a single spell can have. A skilled Charm-Crafter can twist a spell in so many different ways. Since the December break, my level of skill in charm-crafting has skyrocketed.

After preparing my new map to receive a permanent enchantment, I set both the Marauder's Map and my empty, blank sheet of folded parchment next to one another. I mentally focused on imagining lines of energy connecting both pieces of parchment. What was on the original would be on the new edition.

"Coniunctionem."

I felt the spell take effect, and I picked up my map to see if I was successful. Touching my wand to the surface, I said, "I solemnly swear I am up to no good."

Ink lines began appearing, spreading out like spiderwebs until the school's layouts fully appeared. Eager to see if the original's primary enchantment transferred over. I opened the map to the Ravenclaw Tower, looking for my dot and name.

An unconcealable grin emerged on my face as I caught a glimpse of me. Weirdly enough, my dot and name were in a blank spot on the map. I guess even the marauders couldn't find every secret place in Hogwarts.

I spent the next half hour checking names making sure the map was working correctly. I briefly paused when I saw Peter Pettigrew's name in the Gryffindor area. I hadn't forgotten about that little rat. I had to fight the urge to storm the Gryffindor area and kill that little traitor.

But, after a few deep breaths, I calmed down. I needed him alive, at least for now. I had plans for him, plans that counted on things unfolding how I remembered in the books. But, I hadn't forgotten that it was him who killed Cedric in the books. Peter Pettigrew was destined for a terrible ending. He just didn't know it yet. Nobody touches my friends or family and gets away with it. Nobody.

The rest of the semester seemed to fly on by. In my free time, outside of learning 6th-year magics. I divided my focus into a few different areas. My skills with nonverbal spells were improving at an exponential rate. Once I figured out the necessary amounts of concentration required, nonverbal spells became easier to master. I was looking forward to my showing at the International Dueling Competition. It will be interesting to see the looks on my opponent's faces.

Of course, I kept up with my dueling practice. Probably not as much as I should, but enough to satisfy my fellow Silver Spears. I also made time to

practice enchanting. I had a feeling that charm-crafting was going to be a huge area of focus for me in the future.

Fawley's Arcane Solutions was doing well, but as much as we kept the secret, whispers began emerging in the flying community of a game-changer. Delvin Whithorn tried to take advantage of the rumors and announced that they would be releasing the Nimbus 2001 in the summer. I couldn't wait to see the look on his face at the Flying Convention that was rapidly approaching. Dad and I were both unveiling our new companies. In preparation, I had already contacted Rita Skeeter and informed her what she would be writing. It should be quite a hoot to read.

Finally, I spent time with Athena, trying to deepen our bond. What we discovered is she is way better at it than me. She was able to understand almost everything I told her. We even tried experimenting with reading and arithmetic. But, I discovered unlike me, she had no love for numbers. Anytime I bring them up, she closes her eyes and pretends to sleep. She even growled at me when I tried to explain Arithmancy.

Before I knew it, it was the end of March, and it was time for the Flying Convention. Luckily for me, it was being held in Hogsmeade all weekend, and we just so happened to have a Hogsmeade Pass.