by my side¹ - d. malfoy

Eighteen

LAURA FINALLY decided that she needed to figure out the egg.

Her life had finally calmed down, meaning she had time to take Cedric's advice and go, "Take a bath."

It was around ten, definitely past the time the prefects would like her to be out, but Laura figured that would be the best time.

After putting on a swimsuit, Laura grabbed her invisibility cloak, egg, and a map of the school she had gotten from Harry. Thankfully, she had learned Fred and George had owned the map before it landed in Harry's possession; the two had shown her how to use it.

"I solemnly swear I am up to no good," Laura muttered.

It revealed the words:

"Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers are proud to present

THE MARAUDER'S MAP"

Laura furrowed her eyebrows. She looked over the names as they all looked familiar. Her eyes then fell on another name credited at the bottom.

"A very special thank you to Qukkorn, who aided in the creation of this map."

Qukkorn was her dad's nickname in school since his Patronus was a Quokka. His nickname went hand in hand with her Uncle James' nickname, Prongs.

She had met Padfoot, or Sirius Black, while he was in Azkaban before her first year. Her dad wanted her to meet him and make sure she knew that he was a decent person. She had been scared of him, but he was kind to her.

She had also met Remus Lupin, but it had been so long since she'd seen him. Though, he was the only one her dad had her call 'uncle' of his friends.

Peter Pettigrew was the only one she hadn't met, but for good reason. He had betrayed her parents' trust, so he wasn't high on her list of people to meet.

But, this was her dad's friend group while he attended Hogwarts. This was a part of their legacy.

Laura finally opened the map up. She saw Draco and Blaise were in the common room. The Prefect bathroom was empty, with no signs of anyone going in.

"Mischief Managed," Laura muttered, closing the map up and putting it in her robes.

She carefully walked down to the common room, opening the portrait.

"Oi!" she heard Blaise exclaim, causing her to quickly leave. "Who just left?"

Laura quickly stood against the wall as Draco and Blaise walked out of the portrait, glancing around.

Laura watched as Draco looked directly at her. She glanced down to see her shoes exposed, causing her to crouch slightly, covering them. Laura had been so distracted earlier that she hadn't realized her cloak had folded a bit.

"There's no one out here, mate," Draco smirked, his eyes lingering on where Laura stood. "I'm not sure why the portrait opened."

Laura quickly left and made her way up to the seventh floor. She was out of breath, her calves exhausted as she reached the top of the stairs. The added weight of the egg didn't help her case.

"Why are there so many stairs in a magical school," Laura panted as she walked over to the Prefect's bathroom. "Pine fresh."

Laura walked in to see a posh-looking bathroom. In the center, she found the bathtub, which was more of a swimming pool. She turned the faucet on, and her mind wandered, thinking about why Draco lied.

Before she got to a conclusion, she was ready to get in. She quickly undressed and got into the water. She could barely touch the floor, but the water was warm.