Growing Up

Part 69.

Getting back into the school schedule was always a challenge, given that late nights and random interactions seemed to disrupt any kind of order. A soldier's outpost it was not, but life was war and this was home. Harry was now approaching grade three, an age Remus didn't quite remember and an age Sirius was too traumatized to process. So to speak, Harry's behavior was a hot topic in conversation, and something they bickered about constantly. Harry carried on as children do, but he knew of the trouble he was causing. It helped his curiosity being in the castle often. Harry would stay late while Sirius graded papers, he stayed for meetings, wandering the halls and watching intently at the students who passed. He would use his map to get around with the least bit amount of trouble he could grasp. It would be nice to be prepared for a change, to be the newest student with a full rounded education of the school.

This is what he thought, at least.

He must've had the map under his pillow before he fell asleep, or maybe it had fallen off the side of his bed. He patted his hands frantically on the cotton sheets, his eyes wide like bright lights in the dark.

"Harry!"

"Unhumain!" Sirius laughed, mocking the scene.

Moony walked out with the parchment firm in his hand, watching him with his head tilted. Harry could feel the sinking shame, his hands starting to sweat. He knew they would find out he had taken the map, he knew Remus would notice before anyone. He just didn't think it would be this soon.

"Harry." He said sternly.

"Moony?" Harry smiled with his teeth, his eyes squinting like a guilty dog. He couldn't do much more, Sirius was the one he could convince with a smile. All he could do was flash his bright eyes across the room, they usually got him out of a lot.

"Any idea why this was in your room?" He asked, walking closer with a cautious stride. "Because last I checked, it was in mine."

Sirius walked out with his toothbrush in his mouth, humming the guitar tune to some rock song, and noticed the tension in the air as soon as his foot hit the parlor floor. Seeing the map in Remus' hands, he quickly ran up and mumbled excited nonsense as he tugged on the paper.

"No," Remus responded, somehow understanding what Sirius had said though it was nearly some language Harry didn't know.
"I found it in Harry's room."

Something along the lines of a disagreement coming from him seemed to diffuse Harry's nervousness slightly, but he still knew. He would be grounded, or reprimanded, some kind of discipline would be dished out to him like vegetables at the dinner table. He stood, lips pursed and pouting as Remus wandered and spoke quickly to himself.

"How have you been getting into it?" Remus asked as he looked around for his wand. He patted his sides emotionlessly, his eyes catching on every small surface as they scanned for the key.

"Huh?" Harry responded as he got off the couch. He walked closer to Remus and hung off his arm to watch him open the map. This caught his attention. There was a passcode? Why hadn't he known this after keeping it so closely so that no one would find it? Perhaps it was more of an amenity that he didn't know, it kept him from losing it.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." Sirius flicked the paper as it twinkled with writing, handing his wand to Remus. He grinned slightly as it twinkled in his hands, feeling the familiar pixie and rogue state of mind flooding back to his memory, then turned around to leave.

Harry shrugged, uninvolved once again.
"It's always let me, I've never asked."

"He's the chosen one," Sirius beamed from the bathroom, hacking a white cloud of toothpaste into the sink.
"-Of course it would let him in!"