Ariadne's Thread ⭒ h. potter

The People v Crookshanks

"What was that all about?" Harry asked her when they returned to the Common Room. It was empty besides the two of them, with the rest of Gryffindor evidently having gone to bed. Or snuck off to Merlin knows where.

"The Marauders?" Ariadne clarified, though she was quite sure she knew what Harry was referring to. He nodded impatiently.

"Yes, the Marauders. How do you know them?

"How do you know them?" Ariadne countered.

"I've got this map," Harry admitted, reaching into his pocket robe. He pulled out a blank sheet of paper before tapping it once. Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs are proud to present... "The Marauder's Map. Fred and George gave it to me, said they nicked it from Filch's office. It shows everyone at Hogwarts – where they are, where they're going. And it's got secret exits as well. It's their Map, the Marauders. They're wicked, but I don't know who they are."

"I do," Ariadne said, amazed at the bit of spellwork their parents had managed in their school days. "At least, I'm quite sure of most of them. I'm certain about your dad and mine, that they were the Marauders. That's what they called themselves in school, at least. And Professor Lupin too, after tonight. My mum used to tell me stories about them– the pranks they pulled, the grades they received. They were quite popular, I think. And quite loud. I'm not quite sure who's who, though."

Moony was Professor Lupin, obviously. Not too inventive as boys, considering they'd just made a semi-sentient magical map. But who could her dad have been? Wormtail? Padfoot? Prongs?

"My father?" Harry asked, voice hushed with reverence. Ariadne nodded, but Harry's brows furrowed at an apparently unpleasant reminder. "My father," he repeated, whispering now. "When I heard his voice tonight..." Harry trailed off. "I've never heard my dad before. Or my mum, for that matter. And all I've got is the Dementors, of them being murdered. But I can't help but want to hear it, I think. It's all I've got." Harry shook his head. "It's stupid."

Ariadne placed a hand on his. "It's not stupid," she insisted. "I can hear my mum when the Dementor gets near. I'm not sure what it is that I'm hearing, exactly. That's why I think the memory's been Obliviated. But I'm afraid that the Dementor might be the only way to get it back. That's why I didn't want the Patronus lesson. And that's stupid."

"It's not," Harry disagreed, but he smiled when Ariadne tilted her head at him, narrowing her eyes at the same time. "Alright, maybe a bit. But we'll get your memory back," Harry insisted. "And then I'll teach you the Patronus. You won't need it anyhow, if I can do it. I mean, you'll have to stick near me, but–" he reddened.

"Just have to stick near you, will I?" Ariadne grinned. "'Course, that won't do me too much good when my dad comes skulking back to Hogwarts, and you're his number one target."

"Hey!" Harry laughed good-naturedly. "You're his target too! You got a cursed gift, same as I did." The teasing intonation that Harry placed on the word 'cursed' was telling about the stance he still took on Hermione's decision to report their gifts to McGonagall. But his smile stilled as Ariadne's did, and he nudged her in concern.

"I'm more concerned that the ring's not cursed," Ariadne admitted after a moment, finally voicing aloud what she had implicitly forbidden Hermione from saying all those weeks ago. She hadn't been ready then, hadn't wanted to admit the other possibility to herself. But this was Harry, and he was her best friend. He deserved to know all of her. And she deserved to let him. "Because if it's not..." she trailed off. "What if the Ministry's right? That he doesn't want to hurt me. That he wants me to join him. What if– what if he thinks I'm like him? What if I am like him?"