The Secrets of the Map

The Invisibility Cloak

   James raised his hands in surrender as Teddy stared in disbelief from James to the fabric in his hands. Sure enough, it as Harry's Invisibility Cloak.
   "Look, I know this looks bad-" James started.
    "Are you mad?" Teddy interrupted in disbelief. "You know you're not supposed to be in here-you'll get expelled for this! Especially in a bloody lockdown with a killer on the loose."
     "Technically I was already under the Cloak when they called it," James pointed out.
    Teddy ignored him, rubbing his forehead. "You stole this from Harry?"
    "Borrowed without permission-there's a difference."
     Teddy resisted the urge to smack him. "How did you get past Filch?"
      James rolled his eyes and pointed to the Cloak dramatically. "Honestly, I didn't really need it, though. Filch looked kind of out of it in the hall."
      For a snooping man who was constantly on the alert to catch kids in the act,  this was a surprise to Teddy. "What?"
      "Yeah-he kept staring off blankly. Henri was sneaking around too, and walked right past him."
      "Henri was out too?" Teddy demanded suspiciously.
      "Pretty suspicious, right? Had no idea what that bloke was up to...we should probably report him."
      "We can't do that without getting you in trouble, mate," Teddy sighed in exasperation. "What are you doing in here, anyway?"
      "I needed to talk to you about something," he admitted, his hands still raised. "You still have that map, right?"
       "No, I turned it into McGonagall," Teddy admitted reluctantly.
      "What?"
     "You heard me." Teddy couldn't help feeling annoyed at the horrified look James gave him. "What d'ya need it for anyway?"
     James glanced around, then lowered his voice ominously. "I think there's someone else who isn't supposed to be here."
    "Who?" Teddy demanded, but at that moment he heard voices approaching.
"Tell me later," he whispered back, throwing the cloak back over an annoyed James. "Don't let them see you, okay? You've got a bad enough record as it is." With growing dread, Teddy realized that any moment now McGonagall would be going back to the room to do role call, but he didn't want James running around the halls unsupervised either. "Just...stay here for now, alright? Try to sneak back when everything's calmed down."
     "Wait, Ted, I wanted to ask you something else-" James hissed impatiently, and Teddy leaned in close to hear his whisper. "What happened with Fiona?" Startled, Teddy met his determined gaze, and realized that James was not accusing him, but rather demanding trust as a friend.
    Heart in his throat, Teddy whispered, "I'll tell you that later too," and stepped out of the corner to see Alejandro. For some reason, a worried expression took over his face, along with a look of pity. For a guy who was never serious, it was pretty unnerving for Teddy. "What?"
    "You better get out here," was all he said.
    Slowly, Teddy stepped back out and froze at the crowd in the Common Room. Every eye was directed on him. "What?"
    "We need to know what really happened during your first year," a girl near the front said, and the others nodded in agreement. Teddy's face flushed at the wary looks they all gave him. "I'd rather not," he stalled, when suddenly Ed crossed the room to meet him. Standing a foot taller than Teddy, he was quite intimidating.
     "You were friends with Fiona your first year," he accused. "You two were best mates. Then one night during a full moon, both of you disappeared into the Forbidden Forest, and all we know is that people heard screams. And then, the search party found her with her throat torn open, and you beside her, covered in blood. Sound familiar?"
       A boy began glaring at Teddy in anger and fear, and he realized that this boy had been the bitten boy's friend. "I'm not a werewolf," Teddy denied through gritted teeth. "And I never bit anybody, but Fiona was bitten because of me." Suddenly the memories all came flooding back-the trees rustling in the darkness, the white moonbeams streaming through the branches.
    His chest began heaving as he continued. "Her owl had flown off, and she couldn't find it in the Owl Tower so she tried searching in the Forbidden Forest. I tried to convince her not to go, she said she was going with or without me, and I figured I'd better watch her back." He took a deep breath to steady his nerves. "And...well, everything was fine until I heard a howl. Now, I wasn't stupid, and at that point I told her that I was leaving with or without her. I didn't mean it if course, I was just trying to get her to follow me back, but she just screamed and cried and stayed right where she was. And then she screamed louder, and...when I turned around there was a werewolf with his jaws around her neck." He closed his eyes to try to block out the screams, but it only sharpened the image. The yellow eyes, the silver fur on its broad, haunching body, fangs tearing her throat to ribbons. And blood-so, so much blood. "I tried to save her, but I didn't make it in time." By the time he had gotten there, his friend's eyes had become empty and abandoned. He inhaled a shaky breath before glaring at everyone, whose reactions were a mix of horror and disbelief. "She died because of me," he announced in a shaking voice. "Alright? So if you want to blame me, then go ahead-I deserve it. But don't ever call me a werewolf."
With that he turned and started up towards his bunk, trying hard to ignore the stares. Honestly, he almost would have preferred it if they had gone on believing he was an uncontrollable monster. Because even that would be better than a coward.

Kinda gave you guys a heavy chapter hehe😅but I thought he deserved a backstory. Some QOTD's:

1. how was the chapter?

2. If you could own any magical pet from the Wizarding World, what would it be?