The Cupboard Series 5: United We Stand ...

Chapter 21

They'd tried. Really, they had. But even their combined knowledge proved to be not enough. The devious minds of the twins were thwarted and Harry's added rune and arithmancy knowledge just couldn't unravel it. So, in the end, they'd caved, bringing them to stand outside the office door in front of them.

A gentle nudge from Fred prompted Harry to knock, a hint that he took.

"Come in," the Marauder called.

Opening the door, the three trouped inside with George being sure to close the door after them, ensuring that this conversation stayed where others couldn't hear it.

"Good evening, gentlemen. What is it that I can do for you?" Remus asked, leaning back in his chair as he surveyed the nervous three standing in front of his desk.

"Moony, we need your help," Harry blurted, eliciting a slight frown, but whether from the use of the Marauder name or due to the request, he wasn't sure.

"It's this," Fred said, pulling out a very familiar piece of parchment.

Moony eagerly leant forward, the corners of his mouth turning upwards at the sight of the Marauder's Map.

"I know that all three of you know how to work the map," Moony said, "although I would have thought that there was no use to using it at the moment."

"That's the thing, Moony, it's just a nice piece of nostalgia now, not the useful item that it once was," Harry replied.

"Which is why we've been trying to work out the spells that you used to make it," George added.

Once again Moony frowned as he connected the dots.

"The only reason that you would have to understand the spells is if you were trying to recreate it," he mused before his eyes snapped up and pierced each of them in turn. "That's it, isn't it? You three want to create a new map. For here."

Three sheepish nods and grins confirmed his suspicions.

"We figured that the only way that we could understand how the map was made was to come to the Marauder that did it in the first place," Harry said.

"I wasn't alone, you know. Your father had quite a bit of input in creating the spells that we used. Even Padfoot added an idea or two," Moony said.

"Yeah, but we know that you were the brains behind the group," Fred grinned.

Moony sat back in his chair, his eyes flicking between the three of them and the map laying on the desk. Finally, he nodded once before straightening.

"Alright," he said. "I'll teach you the spells. On two conditions."

"Anything, Moony," an ecstatically grinning Harry quickly agreed.

"Firstly, any map you make is only used for general prankness – no defiantly breaking rules or using it against any student here in a nasty way," he began.

"We can do that," Fred nodded.

"Exactly how we would have used it anyway," George agreed.

"Secondly, you make two maps, not one and I get to keep the second," Moony said.

The three shared hasty looks between them.

"Agreed," Harry said.

Moony stared intently at them for a few seconds before relaxing.

"Alright, pull up some chairs and I'll show you how we did it," Moony smiled. "I've got to warn you, though, it's not an easy undertaking. Took us the better part of a year to create the original and then we added to it over the next three years to get it to what it is today."