Harry asked quietly, "Why?"
George and Fred turned serious. "This map—we also call it the Adventurer's Map." "It helps you explore every corner of Hogwarts." "There are still plenty of dangerous places here. The Forbidden Forest, Moaning Myrtle's bathroom..." "Oh, George, you forgot the Defense Against the Dark Arts office..."
At that, Harry couldn't help but laugh. He immediately chimed in, "Don't forget the Potions classroom and Snape's office..."
The twins gave him a pair of enthusiastic thumbs-up. "Genius!" "The perfect successor!"
"But," George continued, "through this game, we wanted to teach you something: an adventurer isn't a gambler. You only get one life. When things get tough, you have to learn to control your emotions—never act rashly!"
"We're doing this for your own good," Fred added.
Harry looked them up and down, feeling a strange sense of irony. Since when did Gryffindors talk like this? And why did these words sound so familiar?
He eyed them suspiciously. "Don't tell me the creator told you that too?"
George and Fred exchanged a sly wink. "Sharp as ever, Harry!" "To be honest, we don't really agree with it." "As a Gryffindor, you probably don't either." "Feel free to curse the creator all you want—he can't hear you anyway!"
Harry tilted his head, smirking. "Why don't you two start? Let me hear it."
The twins snickered. "We already did our share of cursing when we played. Now it's your turn!"
Harry rolled his eyes. "Let me guess—the creator's name is Douglas Holmes, isn't it? That 'control your emotions' line—I must've heard it a hundred times over summer, and wrote it in who knows how many apologies last term... You're right, I did lose my head just now. But I've calmed down, so... ha."
Before he could finish, Fred pressed the box into his hands, abruptly changing the subject. "Harry, from today on, this box is yours—the symbol of a new generation's inheritor! Of course, the box's secrets are for you to discover. We can't pass them on."
George placed the map atop the box. "And from now on, the Marauder's Map belongs to you too. May it always be passed among students—and never fall into a professor's hands!"
Harry couldn't help but smirk at their awkward attempt to dodge the subject. Still, he was delighted. He set the wooden box aside and eagerly opened the Marauder's Map, dropping the previous topic altogether.
As the map revealed its true form, Harry finally saw the inscription in full:
Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs
Seeing Padfoot's name, Harry looked up in surprise, a trace of worry in his voice. "Is this map really connected to my uncle?"
The twins shrugged, regret in their eyes. "It must be. We noticed the map never shows any trace of him. He's the only person in Hogwarts who doesn't appear on it—not even Dumbledore is left out."
"Last year, the map was confiscated by a professor for nearly a whole year. Ever since then, the location of the Defense Against the Dark Arts office has been wiped from the map—along with everything inside."
Harry quickly scanned the map for the Defense Against the Dark Arts office. Sure enough, that area was blank—no labels, no ink dots. He could tell that Dobby must be in there now.
He found the Headmaster's office, where Dumbledore was marked, unmoving.
He realized that while the map wasn't quite as all-powerful as he'd imagined, it was still brilliant.
He spotted Peeves making mischief in the trophy room; Mrs. Norris (Filch's cat) patrolling the fifth-floor corridor; Ron and Hermione in the library. Besides the familiar places, there were also passages he'd never seen before—each one leading beyond the castle.
Harry stared at the twins in astonishment.
They immediately slung their arms around his shoulders. "Those are secret passages to Hogsmeade—seven in total. Filch knows about four..."
"And he went and told the Dementors about the exits. We checked—the Dementors are always stationed at those four passage exits outside the castle."
"As for the other three, the one behind the fifth-floor mirror collapsed—completely blocked."
"That leaves the Whomping Willow and the one-eyed witch on the fourth floor."
"We watched them for two months—never saw a sign of Black. He must not know about those two passages, which is why he hasn't gotten into Hogwarts."
Harry nodded, but didn't dwell on the secret passages. After all, he could walk right out the main gates to Hogsmeade if he wanted.
As he scanned the second floor, he noticed the Chamber of Secrets—the basilisk's lair—wasn't marked on the map either.
But that made sense. When the map was created, his uncle hadn't discovered the Chamber yet.
Finally, he found his own location. He took a few steps, watching the ink dot move with him—utterly fascinated.
He even thought of an even better use: combining the map with his Invisibility Cloak. He could sneak around the castle, guided by the map, never needing a light, and always able to dodge trouble in time.
Just as he was about to try navigating back to his dorm using only the map, George and Fred noticed him grinning at the parchment like an idiot and exchanged a look.
"We weren't this bad, were we?"
"I wasn't, but you were..."
At that moment, Harry suddenly demanded, "George, Fred, is this map really real-time?"
The twins blinked, then answered in unison, "Of course! Why?"
They leaned in to see where Harry was pointing—his dormitory.
There was an ink dot there, with a name written beside it—Peter Pettigrew.
Anyone in the Charon Detective Society would recognize that name—the hero who'd faced Black alone more than a decade ago.
Why would his name appear at Hogwarts? The three exchanged bewildered glances.
George was adamant. "This map has never glitched."
"Except for Professor Holmes," Fred added.
Harry frowned. "You never noticed him before?"
The twins shook their heads. If they had, this information would've been out long ago—maybe even traded for something valuable.
Without another word, Harry stowed the map and raced off toward his dorm.
Why would the name of a dead man appear in his dormitory? Had he returned to Hogwarts as a ghost?
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