A Map of Mischief
February 6th, 1972
A few days after the full moon, the four boys were lounging in the Gryffindor common room, each absorbed in their own activity. Remus was curled up in an armchair near the fire, half-heartedly flipping through one of his textbooks while James and Sirius played an impromptu game of Exploding Snap. Peter sat on the floor, sorting through a pile of Chocolate Frog cards he’d been collecting.
It was a quiet moment until James, his voice brimming with curiosity, piped up. “Oi, Remus, what’s that?”
Remus froze, his heart sinking as he realized what James was pointing to—the edge of parchment sticking out of his bag.
“Oh, nothing,” he said quickly, but James was already on his feet, reaching for it.
“Come on, Remus,” Sirius added with a grin. “If it’s nothing, why do you look so guilty?”
Reluctantly, Remus pulled the parchment from his bag and handed it over. “It’s just a map,” he muttered, his cheeks flushing.
James unfolded it with the reverence of someone unearthing buried treasure. His brow furrowed as he took in the intricate lines and markings. “This is a map of Hogwarts,” he said slowly, his voice tinged with awe.
“It’s more than that,” Sirius said, leaning over James’s shoulder. “Look at all the hidden passages!”
Peter scrambled up from the floor, peering over James’s other shoulder. “You’ve been marking all of these? How’d you find them?”
Remus shifted uncomfortably in his chair. “I’ve been mapping them out since we got here. It helps me… get around. You know, when I’m not feeling great.”
James looked up, his hazel eyes alight with curiosity. “This is brilliant, Remus! I didn’t even know half of these existed. How long have you been working on this?”
“Since the start of term,” Remus admitted. “I just… thought it would be useful.”
Sirius gave him an approving nod. “Useful? This is a bloody masterpiece, mate.”
Despite their enthusiasm, Remus still felt a twinge of embarrassment. “It’s not that special,” he said, staring at the fire. “I just needed a way to keep track of everything. I’m not great at remembering where things are.”
James dropped the map onto the table and flopped into the seat beside him. “Remus, you’re underestimating this. Do you realize what we could do with this map?”
Peter’s eyes gleamed with excitement. “Imagine the pranks we could pull! If we know where all the passages are, we could get anywhere in the castle without being caught!”
“Not just pranks,” Sirius added, his tone suddenly serious. “Think about it—this could help us avoid Filch, dodge prefects, even get out of sticky situations if we ever need to. This isn’t just a map; it’s a tool for survival.”
James leaned back in his chair, a thoughtful look on his face. “We could make it even better. What if we enchanted it so we could see who’s in the castle? Like… if we knew where everyone was at any given time, we’d be unstoppable.”
Peter’s jaw dropped. “You can do that?”
“With enough research, probably,” James said, grinning.
Remus blinked, startled by how quickly the conversation had shifted. “I don’t know,” he said hesitantly. “It’s just a map. I wasn’t trying to… I didn’t think about turning it into some grand project.”
Sirius clapped him on the shoulder. “Well, you’ve accidentally created the foundation for the greatest tool of mischief Hogwarts has ever seen. Congratulations.”
The boys spent the rest of the evening poring over the map, debating what to add and how to make it even more useful.
“We’ll need to figure out how to track the staircases,” Sirius said, tapping his quill against his chin. “They move around so much, it’s impossible to predict where they’ll end up.”
“And the ghosts,” Peter added. “Imagine knowing where Peeves is before he decides to chuck something at us!”
“Or Filch,” James said, his grin widening. “We could avoid him entirely—or lead him into a trap if we wanted to.”
Remus frowned, watching them with a mix of amusement and apprehension. “You lot do realize this is going to take ages, right? Enchanting something like this isn’t easy.”
James waved a hand dismissively. “Details, Lupin. We’ll figure it out. Besides, you’re the cleverest of us—you’ll crack it in no time.”
Remus snorted. “Thanks for volunteering me.”
“Anytime,” James said, smirking.
As the hours ticked by, the map began to take on a new life in their minds. It wasn’t just a tool anymore; it was a symbol of their bond, their mischief, and their shared determination to make the most of their time at Hogwarts.
“We need a name for it,” James declared, leaning back in his chair.
“The Marauders’ Map,” Sirius said immediately, his eyes glinting with mischief.
Peter looked confused. “Why Marauders?”
“Because that’s what we are,” Sirius said, grinning. “We explore, we disrupt, we create chaos. It fits.”
James nodded thoughtfully. “The Marauders’ Map. I like it.”
Remus couldn’t help but smile. Despite his initial hesitation, he felt a strange sense of pride in their newfound project. “Alright,” he said, folding his arms. “Let’s do it.”