"Do you know how to use it?" Harry asked curiously.
"Oh, yeah," Fred chuckled, sounding like a lunatic, "this little pretty thing taught us far more than all the teachers at school combined."
"Let me see," Harry said.
The twins took out their magic wands together, gently touching the parchment paper, and said in unison, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."
Thin lines like a spider web immediately began to appear from where the wand had touched, merging and crossing with each other, stretching to every corner of the parchment; then words began to appear above the parchment, in twisted green capital letters: Messers Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs, Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers are proud to present — the Marauder's Map.
Padfoot and Prongs?
Harry felt like he had heard these names somewhere...
Wait,
Prongs?
Harry remembered the memory he saw in the Meditation Basin that belonged to his mother...
By the Black Lake Shore, after his mom scolded his dad, she turned around to leave, and that black-haired boy teased Harry's dad James Potter with that nickname...
"Having bad luck, Prongs?"
Is this an heirloom left by Dad?
"We don't know whose this is, but the person who made it must be a genius," Fred and George continued, "You see, the map covers Hogwarts, and even people not belonging to Hogwarts are marked on it — look, Nicolas Flamel is in the Headmaster's Office, sitting next to the Pig Head Bar's owner Abufosi Dumbledore. I had no idea Mr. Flamel would be at Hogwarts, I always thought he was in France."
"If someone not belonging to Hogwarts were here, they'd show up on the map too," George added, "I reckon if Black were to enter the school, you'd certainly see him on the map —"
"So did you notice anything unusual last year?" Harry asked, scratching his chin.
"Of course, we also found Gellert Grindelwald, right? That's our assistant Gael Scamander," Fred and George said in unison, "That's why we always thought the greatest prank master of our time must be our Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. Who else could get the world-famous Dark Wizard to come to school and be an assistant? Even to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts?"
"How can you teach Defense Against the Dark Arts without knowing Dark Magic?" Harry shrugged.
"Right on, Harry!" Fred showed an expression of 'great minds think alike.'
"Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, Prongs," George sighed, patting the title of the map, "We owe them a lot."
"Noble people, tirelessly working, all to help the new generation of rule-breakers," Fred said solemnly.
"I think they're great people too," Harry said, reaching out to touch the map, feeling a bit sentimental.
Hearing Harry's tone, the twins were even more satisfied.
"I'm glad you can empathize with us and these four gentlemen, it shows we didn't hand this map to the wrong person," Fred and George handed the parchment paper to Harry with solemnity, like fathers marrying off their daughters.
"Thank you," Harry said earnestly, whether he needed the map or not, he appreciated the twins' heartfelt care.
He carefully put the map away, planning to study it thoroughly when he had the time.
But...
Who is Moony? And who are Padfoot and Wormtail?
Could they be the "Banban" and "Chongchong" from the memories?
With such doubts, he entered into a dream.
The next morning, he received a letter from Professor Sprout, informing him that he could harvest the leaves of Sweet Mallow tomorrow.
Harry was pleased, feeding Hedwig some Owl Supplement before sending her off again.
When he got out of bed, he heard a commotion from downstairs.
"Keep your coffee cup away!"
It was Percy's voice, sounding quite angry.
Harry went down to see the Weasley family sitting at the long table along with Hermione. Parrot Jack was perched on Hermione's shoulder, meticulously grooming her hair.
He sat down on the bench and curiously asked, "What's up, Ron, what's going on?"
"Because I dirty his beloved Penelope's photo," Ron said, crinkling his nose, "Just because my coffee spilled a little, gosh… He's so petty."
"Congratulations, Little Ronnie," Fred and George said in unison, "Getting Percy so upset… I'd say you share some qualities with us."
"I don't want that," Ron still crinkled his nose, "Like you? Oh gosh, I bet Mom would be furious."
Mrs. Weasley quickly interjected, "Yes, you two are enough to make me worried for a lifetime, may Merlin bless me!"
Throughout breakfast, they gossiped about Percy and Penelope Kriwatt, the Ravenclaw class prefect.
Percy blushed, ultimately accepting the family's teasing, given it was his dad, Mr. Weasley, who led the teasing.