The Marauder's Map - Part 2

He twins left the room, smiling contentedly to themselves.

Harry remained there, contemplating the miraculous map and thinking about the older Gryffindor student who had simply vanished into thin air.

Standing there now, brimming with excitement, he recalled something he had once heard Mr. Weasley say: "Never trust anything that can think if you can't see where it keeps its brain."

The map was one of those dangerous magical objects about which Mr. Weasley had warned him.

But then, Harry reasoned, he only wanted to use the map to go to Hogsmeade, he didn't intend to steal anything or harm anyone.

And Fred and George had been using it for years without anything terrible happening. Harry traced with his finger the secret passage to Honeydukes.

Afterward, he rolled up the map, tucked it into his robes, and hurried to the classroom door. However, in the corridor, he encountered someone.

"In a hurry, Mr. Potter?" Professor Nathaniel's cold voice interrupted his plans of escaping the castle midway.

Harry seemed to freeze for a moment.

"Ah... professor..." He couldn't form a coherent sentence.

"Is there a problem, Potter?" Nathaniel, now suspicious, asked.

Harry was afraid, but he also wanted to leave the castle, so this time his mind worked as swiftly as Hermione's when she raised her hand in class to answer a question.

"No, professor, I just wanted to thank you for helping during the Quidditch match accident," the response came to his mind.

Nathaniel, still somewhat suspicious, decided not to intimidate the young wizard.

"I did my part, Harry," his voice now warmer, knowing the boy might still be affected by the Dementors.

Harry, relieved to have diverted the professor's suspicion but still anxious because the map was in his possession, said, "Ron said it was spectacular," a bit more enthusiastic. "Did you use the Patronus charm?" he took the opportunity to ask.

Nathaniel, now surprised that the young wizard knew about an advanced spell, said, "Yes, Harry. Did someone tell you about the spell?" he asked.

Harry now imagined that besides Lupin, he could also seek more help to learn the spell he so desperately wanted to keep himself safe. "Professor Lupin, I asked him to teach me because of the recent attacks," Harry recalled the attacks, and his enthusiasm diminished.

"I see, it could be a good defense for you, but it won't be easy," Nathaniel understood but also cautioned the boy.

"Could you help me?" he asked hopefully.

Nathaniel considered and found no issue. "I'll check with Lupin to see if I can join," he agreed. "Goodbye, Potter," he bid farewell and went on his way.

Harry was now happy because he would have two teachers to learn from.

But with the professor's departure, his main goal resurfaced. Leaving Hogwarts.

Carefully, he sneaked around the room to the back of the one-eyed witch statue.

'What was it that I was supposed to do?' he thought. He pulled out the map again and saw, to his amazement, that a new ink figure had appeared on the parchment, labeled Harry Potter.

It stood exactly in the same place as the real Harry, roughly halfway down the third-floor corridor. Harry observed it closely. His tiny ink self seemed to be tapping the witch with a tiny wand. He immediately took out his real wand and tapped the statue. Nothing happened.

He checked the map again. A speech bubble appeared next to his figure. Inside the bubble was the word "Dissendium."

"Dissendium!" Harry whispered, giving another tap to the stone witch.

Instantly, the hump of the statue opened just enough to admit a very skinny person. Harry quickly glanced both ways down the corridor, stashed the map away again, and slipped inside the opening with a forward push.

He slid for a good while, descending what felt like a stone slide, and landed on damp, cold ground.

Standing up, he looked all around.

It was pitch black. Harry raised his wand and murmured, "Lumos!", and could see that he was in a very narrow, low, and earthy passage.

He then lifted the map, touched it with the tip of his wand, and quietly said, "Mischief managed!" and the map immediately went blank.

Harry swiftly made his way through the passage, stumbling here and there on the rough ground, holding the wand firmly ahead of him.

It seemed to take an eternity, but the boy was resolute about reaching the exit.

Ten minutes later, he arrived at the foot of some extremely worn stone steps that seemed to climb endlessly. Careful not to make any noise, Harry began to ascend.

Then, without warning, his head hit something hard. It felt like a trapdoor.

Harry stood there, massaging his head, listening intently. He couldn't hear any sound from above.

Very slowly, he pushed the trapdoor and peeked over the edge. He was met with a cellar, filled with crates and boxes. Harry climbed up through the trapdoor.

Suddenly, Harry heard the sound of a door opening very close by.

Harry jumped behind a huge crate and waited for the footsteps to fade away.