0242 Hanging by a thread

After a while, Bryan returned to his office and brushed off the ashes from his robe. He opened his hand to Sirius and said, “Filch said he will try to look for it again, but I don’t have much hope.” 

This result was expected, so Sirius was only slightly disappointed for a moment before regaining his composure. 

Perhaps because he had spent more time as an animal than as a human in the past few months, Sirius returned to the sofa, but instead of sitting down, he crawled on all fours like a cat or a dog. He felt more comfortable and natural in this posture, as if he had forgotten how to be a man. If it weren’t for Bryan’s strange gaze, he wouldn’t have noticed anything wrong.

“Whether it’s lost or destroyed, it doesn’t matter,” Sirius muttered to ease the awkwardness. “I just hope that thing doesn’t end up in Peter’s hands. Otherwise, he will be able to track all of us.” 

Bryan slowly returned to his desk. He had never seen the magical map that Sirius mentioned, so he lacked a certain understanding of its wonders. However, through the description, he could roughly understand how it worked. It was a map of Hogwarts that showed the location and identity of every person in the castle, regardless of their disguise or concealment.

Just like during the time when Voldemort was active many years ago, people were afraid to even say the name “Voldemort” because for a long time, Voldemort had placed a spell on his name. Names have power, and Voldemort used it to locate and brutally kill those wizards who dared to speak his name. 

Over time, these three words became taboo in the wizarding world. People referred to him as “You-Know-Who” or “He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named” or simply “the Dark Lord”. Only a few brave souls, like Dumbledore dared to utter his name.

“Names and Magic, you probably referred to this book’s knowledge–” Bryan mused, stroking his chin, lost in thought.

As far as he knew, among all the conventional concealment spells, the Polyjuice Potion and the Animagus transformation were probably the most outstanding, especially the Animagus transformation. Even with Bryan’s current eyesight, which was enhanced by his magic, it would be difficult to detect if he wasn’t on guard. But Sirius claimed that the map could expose the disguises of the Polyjuice Potion and the Animagus transformation, which was truly remarkable.

“I can’t tell you how we did it,” Sirius said, surprising Bryan with his level of wizardry. Sirius’s face regained a bit of color, and he looked proud. He had a mischievous grin on his face, as if he was recalling some of the pranks he and his friends had pulled with the map. But in the face of Bryan’s subsequent questions, Sirius regretfully said, 

“In order to make this map work, the four of us spent a long time. Just designing the magical corridors related to alchemy took us several months in the library. And when it came to the actual production stage, ‘Names and Magic’ was just the basic framework of the map. Each of us used our own expertise in magic on the map, some using incomplete ancient magic from the restricted section, some magic exclusive in our family library. You know, Bryan, considering our magical abilities at the time, it was beyond our capabilities to contain so much magic on a piece of ordinary parchment. Some tracking spells failed, some merged together, so…”

Sirius spread his hands, feigning innocence. He shrugged, as if to say that he didn’t know what they had done, or what they had created. 

Bryan nodded. One of the wonders of magic was its unpredictability. 

“So, there’s no way to evade the tracking of the map?” Bryan asked, feeling less pleased now that he might be the one being monitored. Especially after what happened with Cliodna, he was wary of any means that could mysteriously find him. 

“It’s not like that,” Sirius replied after a moment of contemplation. The long period of imprisonment had made his memory a bit fuzzy. He had forgotten some of the details of the map, and he had to rack his brain to recall them. He furrowed his brow and said, “We conducted experiments back then, and there were some specific spells for hiding names that could prevent detection. After all, the basic framework of the map is the power of names.”

“That reminds me,” Bryan said, suddenly realizing something. After July, both ‘Golden Viper’ and ‘Bryan Watson,’ the information for these two identities were protected by his magic. Even if someone had the map now, they probably won’t be able to detect his activities in the castle. But Sirius might not be so lucky. If the map wasn’t lost, but was held by someone, it would cause him unnecessary trouble.

A wisp of black smoke emanated from the tip of Bryan’s wand, darkening the room. The twisting smoke spun in mid-air, quickly forming chains that seemed both real and illusory, emitting a faint glow. The chains wrapped around Sirius’s limbs and torso, binding him to the sofa. He struggled and cursed, but the chains only tightened around him.

“Don’t worry, Black, it’s just a precaution,” Bryan said in response to Sirius’s panic, and he lightly waved his wand. 

Gryffindor and Slytherin’s Charms class ended, and students poured out of the warm and cozy classroom into the cold corridor, where the biting wind felt like iron hammers pounding on their rosy faces. They shivered and rubbed their hands, wishing they could stay inside the classroom. But they had to hurry to their next class, or face the wrath of their teachers.

Many people crowded in the corridor, hurriedly wrapping scarves around themselves. Harry glanced at Malfoy and his two lackeys, who were walking silently through the cold wind. They looked pale and subdued, unlike their usual arrogant and sneering selves. Harry wondered what had happened to them, but he didn’t care enough to ask. During this time, his mind was filled with thoughts of Black’s betrayal and the death of his parents. He came to his senses and realized that Malfoy and his two little followers had been strangely honest for a while. They hadn’t tried to provoke or insult him, or make fun of his scar.

“Harry!”

Harry frowned and stared at Malfoy’s back, then suddenly heard someone calling his name from around the corner of the stairs. He turned and saw Fred and George Weasley, the twin brothers of Ron. They were waving and smiling at him, as if they had something important to tell him.

“Fred and George?” Ron muttered, shivering. “That’s strange. They specifically came to find you, Harry?” Ron looked suspicious, as if he expected the twins to pull a prank on him. He knew his brothers well, and he knew they were always up to something.

“Why don’t we just go over and ask them directly!” Hermione, who had a bunch of things to do next, said impatiently. She was holding a stack of books and papers, and she looked eager to get to the library.

Fred and George dragged Harry and his two friends to the other side of the stairs, into an empty classroom. It was time for class, and there were many students coming and going. George stood at the door, guarding against anyone who might eavesdrop on their conversation. He had a serious expression on his face, which was rare for him. Fred, on the other hand, looked nervous, as if he had a secret to share.

“I don’t remember inviting you two?” Fred raised his eyebrows at Ron and Hermione. He didn’t seem happy to see them, as if they were intruding on his private talk with Harry.

“Black is still on the run, we don’t want you to use some crazy ideas to lure Harry out of the castle!” Hermione pursed her lips, displeased. She was worried about Harry’s safety, and she didn’t trust the Weasley twins.

To prevent the Weasley brothers from getting into trouble, they had exchanged information about what had happened before. So, Fred knew what Hermione meant, but he didn’t have time to argue with her. He just used as few words as possible to describe what they had overheard in Filch’s office.

“Professor Watson knows about the Marauder’s Map?” Ron looked puzzled. “But that’s not possible, right? Otherwise, he would have confiscated it that night.” 

“So, we came to ask,” Fred said seriously, looking at Harry. “Have you talked to anyone about the map?” 

Harry obviously didn’t make such a stupid mistake. He hadn’t mentioned it to anyone except Ron and Hermione. He shook his head, and said, “No, I haven’t. I swear.” He looked confused, and said, “But how did Professor Watson know about it? And if he knew about it then why did he let me keep it?”

Maybe Professor Watson found something related to the map, but the chances of that happening were slim. Harry had kept the map in his backpack, and he had never left it unattended. 

“Maybe it’s Professor Lupin,” After a moment of silence, Harry, who was thinking, suddenly raised his head and said to Ron and Hermione,

“Remember that strange question he asked me that night? He asked if I had any help in finding the passage under the Whomping Willow?” 

Harry’s guess was reasonable, but it raised a new question: how did Professor Lupin find out about the map’s existence? 

“Is the map on you, Harry?” Hermione’s question reminded Harry. He opened his backpack and hurriedly spread the parchment on the table, then tapped it lightly with his wand. He said, “I’ll show you. Maybe we can find some clues.”

In an instant, fine ink lines spread like a spider’s web from the tip of the wand, connecting and intertwining, expanding to every corner of the parchment. The lines formed words and symbols, names and locations, showing a detailed map of Hogwarts and its surroundings. The map was alive, and it showed the movements and identities of every person in the castle.

Even though Ron had seen the Marauder’s Map before, he still looked at it with awe. Hermione, on the other hand, instinctively averted her gaze, but after a moment, she suppressed her thoughts about the map’s mysterious origin and turned her head back. However, she suddenly noticed that Harry’s face had turned pale, and something seemed off. 

“What’s wrong, Harry?” Hermione’s heart raced, thinking of the notebook from last year.

“Nothing,” Harry said, pointing to the spot where Professor Watson’s office should be. He expected to see his name and location on the map, but there was nothing there, just a blank space. It seemed that Professor Watson and their suspected Professor Lupin were not in their offices. 

‘But the disappearing name… Was it my imagination???’ Harry thought, feeling a chill in his spine. 

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