like a redheaded stepchild

Chapter 3: The Plot Arrives

Chapter 3: The Plot Arrives

The Weasley twins' dorm had been converted into a prankster's paradise, with the supplies Harry had given them strewn about the room. Various schemes had been drawn on parchment and nailed to the wall, everything from Mrs. Norris the caretaker's cat locked in a barrel and thrown in the lake, to enchanting the hallways floors so that they became frictionless. Beneath their pillow fort (which explained how half the pillows in Gryffindor house had gone missing) Fred and George had dragged Harry and Ron, where they were showing off their prized possession.

"This," George said, flourishing a blank piece of parchment. "Is the Marauder's map."

Fred nodded Siriusly. "It's the secret to our success."

"It's blank," Harry said helpfully.

Ron eyed his older brothers skeptically. "Have you two finally gone mental?"

"It's only blank to those of clean minds and innocent hearts," George explained.

"Too right. Which means we have to properly corrupt the two of you before you can make any use of it."

"Exactly. To be able to partake of this ancient and most sacred document, you must first prove yourselves as real Weasley pranksters."

"Well, there was that one time where we tricked McGonagall into making Ron seeker," Harry mused.

Fred and George sighed. "Look, that doesn't count, because it was mostly an accident."

"Exactly; not a proper prank at all."

"Therefore, you need to do something really brilliant to prove yourselves worthy of the map."

"So we have a mission for you: find out how to get into the 3rd floor corridor on the left hand side."

"Isn't that the place the headmaster said was off limits unless we wanted to die a most horrible and painful death?" Ron asked.

"Well of course! That's how we know it's got to have something absolutely brilliant in it."

Harry and Ron both considered their older brothers words, and decided that this perhaps made just the right kind of twisted sense for them to investigate.

"Ooo, Harry, why are you doing this?" Hermione demanded as they made their way through the castle after curfew with the invisibility cloak over the three of them.

"Shhhh," Harry said. "The cloak isn't sound proof."

"You didn't have to come along you know," Ron whispered. "You can always just go back."

"Someone has to keep an eye on you two morons," Hermione hissed. "And Ginny said I had to keep the two of you from killing yourselves."

"Admit it, you're just as curious as we are," Harry teased.

Ron elbowed both of them. "Shh, someone's coming!"

Professor Quirrell was sneaking through the corridors as well it seemed. Far from his usual timid self, he was stalking forward, limping slightly and carrying a magical harp.