Gryffindor’s common room was circular.
Located high within the eighth-floor tower, it overlooked nearly the entire Hogwarts Castle and surrounding grounds.
At exactly midnight, three small figures arrived as promised.
“Twenty should be enough.”
“I wanted to go bigger.”
“Mate, don’t be like that.”
Fred spoke earnestly:
“If you get caught, Gryffindor is finished.”
“We haven’t won the House Cup for six straight years.”
George sat in a soft armchair in the darkness.
“Six years.
We’ve lost to Slytherin for six whole years!”
Vincent immediately realized the severity of the situation.
“Then maybe we should go back?”
“If we get caught…”
“NO!” ×2
The twins grinned wickedly.
“My dear brother…”
“You think we came unprepared?”
Vincent stared blankly at the worn old parchment in front of him.
It looked ordinary.
Dirty, even.
“This is your big treasure?”
George jumped down from his chair.
“Exactly.”
“This is our secret weapon.”
“Ahem—”
Vincent awkwardly opened the parchment.
“Oh…
it probably requires a special incantation to reveal its true form?”
The twins instantly stared at him.
“Wait.”
“I guessed right?”
Fred snatched the parchment away.
“Mate, you truly are Gryffindor’s rising star.”
“We found this in Filch’s office during first year.”
George pulled out his wand and pointed it toward the parchment.
“For two years.”
“We spent two whole years researching this thing.”
“And only during summer did we finally crack the password.”
He tapped the parchment gently.
“I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.”
Under the faint light, Vincent watched ink slowly spread across the paper.
Written across it appeared:
“Messrs.
Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs,
Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers,
Are proud to present…
The Marauder’s Map!”
After the rough introduction from the four creators, a map of a building slowly appeared.
“Albus Dumbledore…”
The tiny footprints under the name kept walking in circles.
“This is navigation?”
Vincent stared in shock.
Apparently the Headmaster was pacing inside his office.
Maybe his old legs were acting up.
“What navigation?”
George pointed toward the tower section.
“It’s a map.”
“A map recording everyone’s movements in Hogwarts.” This chapter is updated first at g.com.
In Gryffindor Tower, all three of their names appeared exactly where they sat.
With this thing—
There wasn’t even a need for scouting.
As long as they remained careful enough, nobody would ever know what they planned.
“Hehehe…”
Three sinister laughs echoed out from the tower.
Avoiding Filch and his cat Mrs.
Norris during patrols, they descended marble staircases all the way to the dungeons.
Vincent dragged a finger across the wall.
“When was this place last cleaned?”
George raised his lantern.
“About a thousand years ago.”
Not funny.
Not even slightly.
Living in a cold, damp place full of puddles and spiders—
No wonder every Slytherin walked around like the world owed them money.
“Potions classroom is down here too?”
“You know.”
George shrugged.
“Bats like damp caves.”
Vincent shivered and stopped before a stone wall.
“Thank goodness I only need to come here once a week.”
“Amazing.”
First-year Gryffindors had two Potions classes together each week.
Third-year Fred and George looked incredibly jealous.
“I should’ve worn another coat.”
Vincent glanced at his Blue Fatty pajamas.
“This place is so damp.”
“No wonder Professor Snape always looks like he never washes his hair.”
The twins burst out laughing while examining the wall.
Living here long enough—
Maybe hair washed itself.
“I think my shampoo works pretty well.”
Vincent rubbed his chin.
“Should we leave a bottle by his bed?”
“Uh…”
“Old Bat loves taking points from Gryffindor.”
“Then never mind.”
Behind this wall lay Slytherin’s common room.
After several minutes of examining it, both twins sighed and shook their heads.
Vincent narrowed his eyes.
He slowly raised his head.
“I’m not falling for the same trick twice.”
“Don’t be angry.”
George instantly returned to his cheerful grin.
“We were joking.”
Passwords?
They’d figured that out ages ago.
Fred dragged out his words dramatically:
“Pureblood.”
Immediately, a doorway appeared in the cold stone wall.
The three exchanged glances and quietly slipped inside.
The long underground room had rough stone walls and ceilings.
Outside the windows lay the depths of the Black Lake.
Moonlight filtered through the water and cast faint green glows from hanging lamps overhead.
The place still felt dark and cold.
“Hurry.”
George hugged himself and shivered.
“This place seriously isn’t fit for human life.”
Fred’s lips trembled.
“M-Maybe…
we should just give y-you the stuff and let you go alone?”
Vincent honestly wasn’t doing much better.
Everything felt damp and sticky.
Pointing at a name on the Marauder’s Map, he whispered:
“Of course we’re going together.”
“I can’t set everything up by myself.”
The twins straightened up and pushed open the boys’ dormitory door.
“Turn left.”
Vincent lowered his voice further.
“We’re here.”
“Can either of you cast silent spells?”
Both shook their heads.
“Hopefully their ceiling isn’t as high as ours.”
After quietly using the Unlocking Charm, the three slipped inside.
The young master of the Malfoy family truly lived like nobility.
The room was filled with antiques.
And hanging from above—
A crystal chandelier.
The twins pulled out round little objects hidden on them.
Each Dungbomb was wrapped inside a school robe taken from a hanger.
Vincent used a string to suspend everything beneath the chandelier.
“That rope is way too thick.”
George tied the other end around Draco’s bed frame while grinning darkly.
Fred used Transfiguration to thin it slightly.
“Can I try?”
Under two horrified stares, Vincent thinned it even further.
Now it looked thinner than a strand of hair.
Touch it lightly—
And it would probably snap.
“Let’s go.”
“Filch just headed toward the fourth floor.”
The three arrived quietly.
And left just as quietly.
“Mate…”
George stared at him.
“How do you know so many spells?”
“I mostly self-studied first-year material over summer.”
“Interested in second-year books?”
Back in Gryffindor common room, Vincent handed over the map.
“Absolutely.”
Fred took it.
“But not tonight.”
He tapped it gently with his wand.
“Mischief managed.”
Then looked back at Vincent.
“What about tomorrow?”
“Want to explore the fourth-floor corridor?”
“We’ll see.”
“Then we wait until all of us learn Disillusionment Charms.”
At Hogwarts, there were thousands of rules.
Rule number one:
Don’t get caught.
Freshly enrolled Vincent already deeply understood this truth.