Chapter 69: What Would You Do?

"Mr. Chopper, why didn't you grind the lionfish spines into powder before adding them to the cauldron, as the book instructs?"

In Potions class, Snape stared at Kyle, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "Are you trying to pretend you're some kind of potions genius, that you can alter the textbook?"

"Five points from Hufflepuff, for your arrogance."

Kyle looked up at the blackboard.

It was written clearly, in large letters: Lionfish spines need not be ground, boiled in water for five minutes, and cut into segments.

Such large letters, and were written by Snape himself. How could it be that he was altering the textbook?

"Professor…" Kyle took a deep breath and tried to say it normally. "That's what you wrote on the board."

"Oh, I made a mistake."

Snape calmly waved his wand and erased that sentence from the board.

"Does everything I write have to be right? Where's your judgment? If I said to add your heartstrings, would you do it?

Three points from Hufflepuff, for having no mind of your own."

…

Until the end of class, Kyle's hand was tightly clutching the Rock Cake in his pocket, wondering whether to throw it at Snape's back of the head.

Although Snape had been deducting points from him from the beginning for no reason, he was especially outrageous today. He was trying everything to deduct points. He even had no shame.

He even erased something he wrote himself?

This operation was shocking.

Of course, the effect was immediate. In just one lesson, Kyle had been deducted thirty points.

He hadn't been deducted that many points in all his other classes combined.

The other badgers came to comfort him. Even Kanna kindly handed him a licorice candy.

Kyle ignored it.

At dinner, Fred and George heard about what happened in Potion's class. They came over and patted Kyle on the shoulder, comforting him, "It's okay. Snape always deducts points from us. It's nothing."

"Yes, pfft… I mean, you have to take it easy."

They said comforting words, but their faces showed undisguised smiles.

It was obvious they were just there to see the show.

As Kyle was about to shoo them away, Fred leaned over and whispered, "Forget about those unpleasant things. I'll show you something good."

He looked around and carefully took out a square piece of parchment from his pocket.

"Remember I had something I wanted to tell you the other day? It's this." George leaned over and whispered, "A magical object. I dare you to guess what it is."

"Could it be…?" Kyle raised an eyebrow and asked with a puzzled expression, "Is it parchment that can automatically write homework?"

"..."

The twins, who had been so smug a moment ago, suddenly looked a bit stiff.

"If only…" Fred said wistfully, "I wish it was."

"But its true function is amazing." George said, "It's a Hogwarts map. Of course, not the ordinary ones you sell."

"We call it the Marauder's Map."

Fred took out his wand and lightly tapped the parchment.

"I solemnly swear..."

Instantly, fine lines of ink, like a spiderweb, spread from where the wand tip touched, connecting and extending to every corner of the parchment.

Then, green letters appeared at the top, in elegant cursive.

"Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs.

Proudly present...

The Marauder's Map."

Kyle took the parchment from Fred. He carefully examined the famous Marauder's Map.

It detailed every corner of Hogwarts Castle. It was even more detailed than a regular map. It was practically a miniature version of Hogwarts.

Anything that existed in the castle, whether it was a painting, a tapestry, or even a vase, could be found on the map.

Most unusually, many small black dots were moving on the map. Each dot had a name in tiny writing.

Kyle saw Dumbledore in the Headmaster's office. He also saw Filch and Peeves moving quickly from the fifth-floor corridor to the sixth floor.

All of this was shown clearly.

But if it was a crowded place… like the Great Hall now, it wouldn't work.

Lots of names overlapped. It was dark, and you couldn't see anything.

Besides, Kyle noticed that the map didn't seem to show the locations of all the secret passages.

The location of the Whomping Willow was empty, with nothing on it.

Kyle returned the map to Fred and asked, "How did you get this?"

"Back when we were first years, young, carefree, innocent…" Fred and George narrowed their eyes and fell into their memories.

"Because of some trivial things, Filch dragged us into his office and threatened to…"

"Put us in detention."

"Gut us."

"We couldn't help but take a peek at one of his file cabinets, it was labeled 'Confiscated Items. Highly Dangerous.'"

Fred suddenly grinned, "Kyle, what would you have done?"

Kyle thought for a moment and said, "I would have lured Peeves there and given him enough dung bombs and pepper bombs. Then I would have emptied the drawer while they were distracted."

"..."

Fred and George gaped. They couldn't speak for a while. After a while, Fred shook his head and said, "Kyle, it's no wonder Snape deducted thirty points from you. Seriously, you deserve it."

"Don't bring up what's past." Kyle glared at him and said, "So, you took this map from that drawer."

"Yes." George clicked his tongue, "We didn't have the guts you have. We just took this."

"But how did you know how to use it?" Kyle flipped through the parchment, "It's not written here."

"Speaking of that… we have to mention Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs." Fred sighed, "They were true prankster geniuses."

"They broke the password apart and hid it in every corner of the castle." George said, "As long as you found all the clues, you'd get the complete password."

"It's a pity we searched for a whole year…" Fred said regretfully, "But we never found the whole password."

"So, we can only use the map five times a day, and only for half an hour each time." George said with a smile, "It's a great undertaking. We're going to spend three years to complete it."

"What if you don't find it in three years?" Kyle asked.

"It means we don't deserve it." George shrugged, "We'll find a new owner for it then."

"Is that so?" Kyle said, "So, you showed me this, you want me to join you and find the clues?"

"No, no, no, Kyle." Fred shook his head, "The password is a test from our predecessors. We have to do it ourselves."

"So, this time you…"

"We're going to sneak out at night!" Fred and George said in unison.

…

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