章 44: Chapter 48: 3-5: Map
Disclaimer: Being neither British nor Japanese, it should therefore come as no surprise that I own neither Harry Potter nor Naruto, nor anything from their respective franchises.
Discussing Harry's clandestine visit to Hogsmeade would have to wait a while longer, as the Hogwarts Express took the students back to London for their winter break the very next morning. Several Patronus-capable staff members took the train as well, to defend against further "searches" by the Dementors. Harry would be met at the platform by Xeno and Pandora Lovegood, accompanying them to the Rook for a while before being taken home to the Grangers'.
After giving the kids a couple of days to settle in and spend with family (something the Granger parents were very gradually becoming for Harry), Iruka decided it was time to have a talk with his briefly-wayward student. A walk beyond the castle's wards, one Apparition, a walk and a knock later, he was face-to-face with Wendell Granger. "Professor, what a pleasant surprise! Or at least I hope it's pleasant; there's no trouble, is there, Black-sightings or the like?"
"Nothing so dire," the ninja chuckled lightly, "though I do need to have a few words with Harry and possibly Hermione, something you or your wife should probably be part of as well."
"Well in that case, you'd better come in. Actually, you'd better come in regardless; it's bloody cold out today. Harry! Hermione!" the dentist called deeper into the house as they walked in, "Professor Umino in the kitchen!"
The two children descended the stairs with a sound reminiscent of the world's most uncoordinated pony at a canter before half-jogging into the kitchen. "What is it, Iruka-sensei?" Hermione asked, before visibly halting herself from launching into one of her streams of interrogation.
Iruka favored his student with a small proud smile before addressing both teens. "Well, it starts during the most recent school visit to Hogsmeade." Harry's upbringing, such as it was, showed here as the boy showed no hints of nervousness that could be caught by most untrained eyes. "Several of the staff were having a drink with Minister Fudge in the Three Broomsticks when one of the Christmas trees apparently decided to relocate itself. I asked Professor Sprout about it, of course, when I got back to the castle. After all, I wasn't aware of any form of ambulatory shrub that would be safe around students, and she couldn't think of one that fit either. We checked with Madam Rosmerta, and she swore up and down that she'd just cut some ordinary firs, and I was going to ask you if you'd seen any details that would be useful given how close you were, but I should probably stop before your father sprains something."
Sure enough, Wendell Granger was sitting there very obviously trying not to burst out laughing at Iruka's affectedly-innocent delivery, and finally let loose with a brief bit of cackling once it was clear the jig was up. His daughter simply crossed her arms and huffed, "Honestly..."
"But yes," the ninja continued, "I saw you and Neville, along with a gap that I'm reasonably certain held Harry until around the time we came in. Your idea of gaining some cover wasn't a bad one, necessarily, but moving a brightly-decorated tree is the kind of thing that draws attention, exactly what you wanted to avoid right then. I suppose I'll be working a lesson on concealment and misdirection into an upcoming group practice. Anyway, Harry, I wanted to know how you managed to get down to the village and back without getting caught by Filch or attacked by Dementors."
Harry and Hermione looked at each other, before the bespectacled boy said to his teacher, "I'll go get it." A dash out of the room and upstairs was followed a minute later by a dash back, with Harry holding a folded piece of parchment. "I was going to show you this after Christmas hols, but now works too." He laid the parchment out on the table, pulled out his wand, and touched its tip to the sheet, intoning, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."
Lines began to spread outward from the wandtip, splitting, turning, crossing, and rejoining, and began to form into what was recognizable as a map of some sort. As this happened, green ink wrote words at the top of the page in a florid script:
Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs
Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers
are proud to present
THE MARAUDER'S MAP
As the map filled out, showing what was unmistakably Hogwarts, Iruka could see several small dots labeled with the names of students, staff, and even ghosts. Remarkably, the movement of these dots suggested that not only did the map show the layout of Hogwarts, it also tracked the movements of the castle's occupants in real time. His mind spun wildly at the immense tactical and security advantages such a map could represent, depending on how accurate it truly was. Still, he was more than a little concerned...
"Where did you get this, Harry? And are you sure it's safe, after that diary last year?"
"I got it from Fred and George, they've had it for a couple years already and they're- well, I think they've always been like that, at least. Anyway, I also know who made it, from Professor Lupin's stories about my parents. My dad had a group of friends that did pranks kinda like the twins do, and they were called the Marauders, or that's what they called themselves at least. Prongs is my dad, and Moony is Professor Lupin, so it's actually sort of like a family heirloom. It even shows a bunch of secret passages, like this one from the statue of the one-eyed witch to the cellar of Honeydukes was the one I used that day." It was a sign of how much Harry was beginning to recover from his time with his relatives that he'd spoken so long and with such enthusiasm.
"Sounds like you've got that covered, at least," Iruka replied, "but it was still reckless of you to leave the castle without telling someone, even if it was just me. If something had happened to you, even something innocent like falling and hurting your leg, we wouldn't have known where to look for you. Even when you don't have an escaped murderer hunting you, remember that we adults are responsible for your safety."
"I'd also like to borrow this map starting before you all get back to the castle," he continued, "just until Black is dealt with. I'm sure you can see how useful it could be for spotting him if he tries to get at you again?" Harry nodded. "I'd also like your permission to have Professors Lupin, Flitwick, and Dumbledore see if they can copy the enchantments, both so that there can be spare maps while you keep the original safe and so the staff can use them when there's a problem, like if a student goes missing or there's an intruder in the castle."
Hermione's eyes were sparkling with excitement. "They could even use them at night to watch for students out of bounds, without having to leave their rooms unless they see something they need to deal with! It would be a huge help to safety and discipline!" she defended from her father's and teacher's amused looks, not noticing Harry leaning back from her with an aghast expression on his face.
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Returning to Hogwarts, Iruka quickly contacted the three professors he hoped to speak with, and soon all four men had gathered in the Headmaster's office. "So, Iruka," Albus began, "your note indicated that you had something which we might find both interesting and useful to large degrees. Would you care to enlighten us?"
Smiling, the chuunin pulled the currently-blank Map from his robes and laid it on the Headmaster's desk. Seeing the hint of recognition in Remus's eyes, he smirked. "Perhaps Mister Moony would like to do the honors?"
After a blink of surprise, the younger man smiled and placed his wandtip on the parchment. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."
Albus and Filius watched in amazement as the Marauder's Map took shape. Soon both of them were casting various diagnostic spells over the item and bombarding their werewolf colleague with both praise for his and his friends' ingenuity and questions regarding how they'd created such a marvelous device. Lupin apparently knew a great deal about the Map's creation, having been the most academic among the four, but his knowledge lacked key elements.
"I could reproduce the map aspect of it right away, and the hide-and-reveal function pretty quickly afterward." His expression turned sheepish. "It's also got some minor defenses, in that it's designed to refuse to function for Severus Snape and to insult him if he tries to activate it or learn its secrets. Something like that could take a few days, longer for a more complex set of scripted responses. What I can't help you with is actually tying it into the castle's wards. Without that link the Homonculous Charm gets scrambled by the castle's Unplottable wards, fouling the tracking and identification functions, and the passwords to things like secret passages won't update if they're changed. Unfortunately, the ward-related magic was Black's work, and at least some of the spells he used were family secrets."
Behind them, a portrait of a particularly unpleasant-looking individual scoffed. "An ingenious use of the family magics, if disappointingly frivolous."
"I don't suppose you might be able to shed some light on the spells involved, Phineas?" Albus addressed the portrait, which simply sneered in response. "I thought not. Well then, I think that we should create prototype copies for the moment for at least Filius and myself to tinker with, as our schedules permit. Between our knowledge of magic beyond that of a quartet of Hogwarts students and my access to the castle's wards, perhaps we might be able to find an alternative solution. Of course, with the school year on and Black still skulking about, how much time we will actually have is anyone's guess."
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As the Hogwarts Express pulled back into Hogsmeade Station, returning the students after their winter holidays, Iruka was watching over the activated Marauder's Map alongside Filius, while Remus was among several staff members guarding the station and the path to the castle. Harry and the other students would be particularly exposed and vulnerable between the train and the castle's wards, and beyond that the mass confusion of so many children on the move would present a golden opportunity for Black to sneak in. Thus, the two gazing at the map served as overwatch, monitoring the castle and grounds for intruders.
Iruka was splitting his attention between scans of the grounds and looking over the stream of returning students that manifested as small clusters of moving dots spread out in a line between train and castle, each cluster representing the occupants of one of the school's carriages. It was one of these clusters that caused his brows to furrow, or more accurately one name attached to said cluster. "Filius," he said, "did Peter Pettigrew have any younger relatives, perhaps a nephew or niece that might be of Hogwarts age?"
The Charms Professor shook his head. "No," he replied, "other than his mother, who passed away several years ago, he was the last member of his family."
"Then we may have a very big problem. Look." The ninja pointed to the cluster of dots that had drawn his attention - Dean Thomas, Seamus Finnegan, Ronald Weasley, and Peter Pettigrew.
Filius's eyes widened. Patronus messages were soon sent off to both the Headmaster and the Defense Professor, both of whose dots began to move rapidly towards the antechamber off the Entrance Hall in which the two Professors were watching the Map. Iruka, meanwhile, was keeping his eyes on the anomalous dot and label, his instincts telling him that whoever this was would prove to be of vital importance.
Headmaster Dumbledore arrived first, having somewhat less distance to cover, but Remus wasn't far behind. "You said you'd seen something on the Map," the Defense Professor said quickly, "is it Black?"
Iruka shook his head. "No, not Black, something more mysterious. There's no way to break this gently: Peter Pettigrew appears to be alive." He pointed toward the cluster of dots on the Map.
Remus dashed forward, gaping in disbelief at the name on the enchanted parchment. Albus followed at a more sedate pace, his expression one of concern and deep thought. "How could this be?" the elder wizard asked, "Remus, you would have seen those students boarding the carriage. Surely you would have recognized Peter and reacted to his presence, had he been visible, so he must be Disillusioned or otherwise hidden."
A flicker of emotion flashed across the lycanthrope's face. "You know something," Iruka stated, "something you haven't told us. Whatever it is, we need to know, and we need to know now."
Lupin sighed. "Our names as Marauders weren't random. Mine is presumably fairly obvious, but the other three... In our fifth year, all three of them completed the Animagus transformation so that they could stay with me during the full moon. Werewolves are aggressive towards humans, but they tend to ignore animals, so as long as they remained in their Animagus forms they'd be fairly safe. It made things easier on me, since the wolf tended to go berserk when it was confined alone, resorting to attacking it surroundings and even itself, but having company caused it to relax."
"As for their forms," he continued, pointing to the relevant names at the top of the Map, "James was a stag, Black a large black dog, and Peter a common brown rat."
It took only seconds for Iruka to put the pieces together. "Flippy!" he called. His assigned elf appeared with a crack. "There is an old Daily Prophet from this past summer on the table beside my desk in my office. Please bring it here immediately." Less than a minute later they had the paper laid out beside the Map. "Remus, look at the photo on the front page, focus on the youngest Weasley boy."
Confused, the werewolf did as he was bid. "Wormtail!" he cried out moments later.
"I thought so," the chuunin said. "I remembered that he had a pet rat, since Hermione Granger's cat has been hunting it all term, resulting in no small amount of friction between Ronald and my students. The cat is half-Kneazle; it must have known something wasn't right about that rat."
"And you picked up this archive copy of the Prophet after our chat with the Minister just before the holidays," Filius stated. "I'm guessing you wanted to look over the issue that had seemingly prompted Black's escape, in hopes of finding clues as to what could rouse him so after twelve years of inaction?"
Iruka nodded. "Ronald Weasley is closest to Pettigrew in the carriage, he has a pet rat, Pettigrew could become a rat, and the boy and his pet appear on the front page of the issue of the Daily Prophet that Minister Fudge handed to Sirius Black during his inspection tour of Azkaban. It's not Harry that Black is here for, it's Pettigrew."
"One mystery solved," Albus said seriously, "only to prompt more questions. Chief among them is why Peter has not revealed himself since that fateful day, and what his motives are in hiding as a child's pet. We will need to retrieve him, discreetly, as soon as we can without frightening or endangering the students. As much as I hope that he is innocent of any wrongdoing, I fear that we must act on the presumption that he might prove violently uncooperative."
"Our biggest advantage is that he has no idea that we've noticed him," Iruka stated. "That, combined with the fact that he's been in hiding for twelve years already, means that we're not being forced to act hastily or desperately. I doubt that we could be as ready as we'd like before Weasley and the others reach the castle and head into the Great Hall for dinner, and we definitely do not want to make our move when Pettigrew is in the midst of dozens or hundreds of vulnerable, unpredictable students."
"Indeed," the Headmaster nodded, "the more contained we can keep things the better. Here is what I propose..."
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To an average observer, Minerva McGonagall was approaching the entrance to the Gryffindor common room alone. A more extraordinary observer would see that she was flanked by Albus and Filius, with Iruka marking the rear corner of a tight diamond formation. Several paces back, Remus Lupin and Severus Snape were following behind. All five wizards were under a number of concealment charms, including Disillusionment, Silencing, Notice-Me-Not, and some sort of scent-suppression spell.
Minerva and her three followers stepped through the doorway behind the Fat Lady, while Lupin and Snape took up positions against the corridor walls just outside, wands in hand. The Gryffindor Head had been brought in as the person most able to enter her House's dorms without potentially spooking Pettigrew; her ability to become a cat at a moment's notice was more of a bonus. If Pettigrew did spook, they would rely primarily on Albus and Filius for their wandwork and Iruka for his speed and agility. The two outside were a final backup, but kept farther back as the ones most likely to provoke an unwanted reaction from their target. Snape in particular had been brought in to provide Veritaserum if it was deemed necessary to get answers in a hurry.
Just as the portrait door closed behind the Professorial quartet, Harry descended the stairs from the dorms wearing a serious expression. Surprisingly, he made a beeline for his Head-of-House. "Professor, could you come up and check on something for me? There was an unlabeled Christmas present on my bed when I got in, and I don't know who it's from, and with Black after me, you know..."
Iruka was torn between pleasure at the benefit of a good reason for Minerva's presence in the dorm, pride that his student was learning due diligence, and worry over the suspicious gift and the potential complication in their plans. The Transfiguration teacher simply smiled tightly at her student. "Lead the way, Mister Potter."
Up in the third-year boys' room, Iruka saw Harry's four roommates milling about, casting occasional nervous glances towards the still-wrapped present sitting untouched on the young Potter's bed. Minerva cast several diagnostic spells over the package before nodding in satisfaction. "I can detect nothing outwardly dangerous about it," she stated, "though I feel it may be best if I were to bring it to those on staff who would know better just how to check it thoroughly."
Harry shrugged self-consciously. "Whatever you think is best, Professor."
The Gryffindor Head proceeded to conjure a metal box, levitate the gift into it, then seal on a lid of the same metal before shrinking and pocketing the whole mess. Returning to their original purpose, she then scanned the room with her eyes as if looking for contraband, before fixing her gaze on Ronald Weasley and his 'pet'. "Mister Weasley," she said, "is your pet unwell? It looks rather distressed." She wasn't lying: The rat was twitching and frequently glancing around the room, visibly nervous; its hair was patchy and thinning, giving it a very sickly appearance.
The redheaded boy nodded. "Yeah, Professor, Scabbers's been sick or something ever since summer. I tried some rat tonic from Magical Menagerie, but it didn't work."
Minerva gave her student a sympathetic look. "Would you mind if I took him for a while? I know some people that might be able to determine what's wrong." When he nodded again and wordlessly held his rat out towards her, she quickly conjured a cage into which he placed the animal. "I shall inform you as soon as is practical regarding his prognosis," she stated reassuringly before leaving the room, her three shadows in tow.
As they descended the stairs, several spells shot from Albus's and Filius's positions in the formation, causing the cage (and on one occasion its occupant) to glow a variety of colors. This was, per the plan, the two wizards magically sealing and reinforcing the cage to prevent easy escape, as well as indicating that the rat was indeed a human being in disguise. The latter result was further confirmed by said rat's sudden frantic attempts to escape its confinement. "I would not recommend attempting to transform, Mr. Pettigrew," Minerva spoke quietly but coldly, "as your cage has been charmed strong enough not to break in such a circumstance." To this, 'Scabbers' responded by cowering in one corner of his tiny prison.
Once the portrait doorway had closed behind them, all five men lifted their Disillusionment Charms, shimmering into view to the visibly ever-escalating terror of the caged rat-man until a Stunner left him insensate. The six then proceeded to the Headmaster's office, where the rat was removed from its cage while all present had their wands leveled. A spell from Minerva caused the rodent to transform into a short, portly, balding man whose facial features strongly recalled his Animagus form. His hair and clothing were badly disheveled, and he was distinctly grimy from head to toe. The eyes of Iruka's colleagues hardened further as they saw visible proof of the rat's true nature and identity. Remus's face was stony and unreadable, but Snape's glare at their prisoner held nothing but burning hatred.
Several spells (and a physical search by Iruka) later, and they felt confident that Pettigrew was now thoroughly disarmed. Of the two wands recovered, one belonged to the man himself while the other Albus and Snape were able to confirm belonged to the semi-late Dark Lord Voldemort. At a suggestion from Filius, Iruka pulled up their captive's left sleeve, baring a faded but still clearly present Dark Mark, which elicited a low growl from Remus.
"A clearer picture begins to resolve itself," Albus stated. "Minerva, please summon Amelia Bones and her Aurors with all due haste. You may use the fireplace in this office. Severus, have the Veritaserum ready. All of you, keep your wands ready; it now seems possible, if not probable, that our guest was the one to murder those Muggles twelve years ago. Should that be true, it would mean that he is able - and possibly inclined - to use extremely destructive magic in attempting to escape; it would also suggest that Sirius Black badly underestimated him that day, and twelve innocent people died as a result." As the Headmaster spoke, he had conjured a sturdy-looking wooden armchair, seated Pettigrew, and bound him to it with conjured ropes, making sure his Dark Mark was uncovered and facing upward. He also cast several other spells, though Iruka wasn't certain of their purpose other than presumably to further secure the now-revealed Death Eater.
The Floo soon disgorged Madam Bones, flanked by a pair of Aurors. One was a tall, dark-skinned man whose powerful stride and professional air contrasted with a congenial face; the other was an attractive young woman with her pink hair up in spikes. The latter exited the Floo smoothly, before promptly tripping over something and stumbling into one of the nearby tables, upsetting several of the delicate instruments it bore. Both of her colleagues and several of the staff present quirked small smiles of fond amusement. "Amelia, Kingsley, Nym-" "OY!" "-Miss Tonks," the Headmaster greeted smoothly despite the female Auror's outraged shout. "A pleasure to see you all, though I wish it was under better circumstances."
"Albus," Bones greeted, "Minerva said that you'd caught an intruder you wanted me to see. I take it this is him?"
"Indeed," Dumbledore replied, "Madam Bones, might I introduce you to the supposedly-late Peter Pettigrew, Order of Merlin, First Class, unregistered rat Animagus, and marked Death Eater. He has apparently spent the last several years as the pet rat of one of Harry Potter's dorm-mates."
All three of the newcomers' eyes widened in shock. "How..." the DMLE Head began.
Albus briefly recounted the sequence of events, beginning with Iruka's overwatch role and ending with the search that revealed Pettigrew's second, highly incriminating wand. "We were just about to wake and question him, and I felt that it would be best if you were present."
"Why yes," she responded somewhat acidly, "it would be best to have actual law-enforcement personnel present when interrogating a suspected mass-murderer. May I use your Floo to call in a few more of my people? If your theory about the actual events surrounding his confrontation with Black is correct, he's slippery enough and dangerous enough that we'll want backup to keep him properly secured." At the Headmaster's assent, she moved to the fireplace, which several minutes later disgorged four more Aurors.
After a bit of confusion and cajoling, everyone was positioned within the increasingly-crowded office. Spells were cast to seal every door, window, or other potential exit that could be seen. Wands were readied. Given their working theory, nobody wanted to take any chances.
A quick spell roused Pettigrew to wakefulness, and his gaze zigzagged around the room as his fear became almost palpable. Finally, his eyes snapped to the Headmaster. "P-Professor!" he cried out, "You've got to help me! It's Black, he wants to kill me!"
"I am certain he does, Peter," Albus replied so calmly he might have been discussing the weather. "However, certain information has come to light that leaves me wondering precisely why," now he smiled benignly at the bound man, "but I'm sure that we'll be able to figure it out together. You wouldn't mind answering a few questions for myself and Madam Bones, would you?"
At this moment the office's Floo flared again, causing nearly every head in the room to turn towards the fireplace. Only Iruka's gaze and that of one of the Aurors present remained on Pettigrew, who found himself Stunned and placed in a Full-Body Bind partway through attempting to transform back into his rat form. Ninja and wizard met each others eyes and nodded respectfully before looking over to where Cornelius Fudge was standing, flanked by Dolores Umbridge and yet another Auror. Even as well-lit and open as the Headmaster's office was, with this many people present it was beginning to get distinctly cramped, especially considering how much space was occupied by bookshelves and other furniture.
"Albus!" the Minister cried out, clearly nervous given the number of wands that had reflexively swiveled towards his unexpected arrival, "I've just heard the most alarming rumour and- why are you all standing around a rat in a chair?"
A/N: I'm sorry, but that just seemed like the best place to break the chapter. A scene I'd expected to be fairly brief just kept getting longer and longer, to the point where it just wouldn't have comfortably fit into one chapter.
It will likely not surprise anyone that I've gotten almost no writing done since last posting, outside of a new chapter posted to my ideas-file Leicontis's Laboratory that just wouldn't leave me alone until I wrote it. Holidays are busy, but I hope you all have enjoyed yours, and that you have a happy New Year!
Fic Recommendation: "Hands Off!" by MoonClaimed - a fun, fluffy little one-shot about Winry finally making her feelings about Ed clear to the boy in question. It was either that, or start beating other girls off with her wrench...
Posted 30 December 2018
Current WIP Chapter: 69
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