[Note: Read up to Chapter - 186 on P patron at: p-atreon.com/Knockturn_Alley]
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Late at night. Filch's office.
Though he was only the castle's caretaker, Filch had a surprisingly roomy office. Its drawers were crammed with all sorts of dodgy magical contraband he'd confiscated over the years. Half of it he didn't even understand, but that hadn't stopped him from chucking it all into his collection like a magpie.
The office door creaked open ever so quietly.
Yet no one walked in.
After the door clicked shut again, Aris lifted the Disillusionment Charm and stepped out of thin air, his true form revealed.
After coming back from the Forbidden Forest, he'd only stopped by the dormitory for a bit of rest before sneaking out again. His target tonight was clear: an artefact tucked away in one of Filch's drawers—the Marauder's Map.
With Voldemort likely to make a move soon, Aris knew he had to be ready. And what better than the Map? In theory, it could track every single person in the castle. In other words, the perfect magical CCTV.
With the map, Aris could at least keep track of Quirrell's whereabouts—and be far better prepared for whatever cropped up next.
"This should be it!" he muttered under his breath.
He remembered clearly: the Weasley twins had once nicked the Marauder's Map from a drawer in Filch's office. That meant the map ought to still be there. Yesterday, he'd quietly tested the waters with the twins, dropping a question or two about secret passages. They'd shown interest, sure—but hadn't acted like lads who already knew half the castle's hidden routes.
So Aris was fairly certain they hadn't laid hands on the map yet.
"Lumos!"
The tip of his wand glowed, casting light over the cluttered office.
His eyes landed on a cabinet with an extra lock bolted on, looking suspiciously out of place. Too obvious, really. That sort of defence might keep first-years out, but it was hardly enough to stump him.
"Alohomora."
With a neat flick, the lock clicked open.
Aris pulled the drawer wide and began rifling through its contents at speed.
There were loads of drawers, each stuffed with all sorts of dodgy magical trinkets. Clearly, Filch had gone to great lengths to hoard them all. Judging by the state of some items, a few poor sods had probably learnt the hard way what happened when you didn't know what these contraptions did.
One object caught Aris's eye—a crystal ball.
The moment he picked it up, he could feel the residue of a Black Fog Curse clinging to it. Anyone daft enough to rub the surface would trigger the charm, filling the place with thick smoke—perfect for chaos and cover.
Without hesitation, Aris tossed the crystal ball into his system space.
"Not much use in a scrap," he thought, "but handy for throwing folk off when things get messy. Sure, I could whip one up myself, but why waste the effort when this one's just lying here? Might as well let Filch's loot work for me."
"Found it!"
After rummaging for a bit longer, he finally pulled a folded piece of parchment from the bottom of the drawer.
He knew instantly what it was—the Marauder's Map.
Even without opening it, he could feel the deep, layered enchantments worked into its fibres. Concealment charms, name-binding magic, and—if his senses were right—even a hint of contractual magic tied directly to the castle itself.
…
From the magic woven into this map, it was clear the creators were nothing short of geniuses—bold, clever, and meticulous. They'd likely uncovered some of the castle's core secrets, the sort tied to its authority wards.
Take protective magic, for instance—permissions bound into the very stones of Hogwarts.
Dumbledore had once explained to Aris that, as headmaster, he enjoyed certain privileges: the ability to Apparate within the castle, to shift portraits at will. All of that stemmed from the castle's own authority protections.
And then there was that scene in the original tale—Professor McGonagall summoning the stone pillars to fight Voldemort's army. That was no ordinary transfiguration; that was privilege, pure and simple, granted only to the senior staff of Hogwarts.
"Who's in there?"
The office door suddenly swung open, and two shadowy figures slipped inside.
All three froze on the spot.
"Aris?"
"Fred? George?"
They stared at one another, dumbstruck.
"Well… we just spotted Filch skulking about on the fourth floor, so we ducked in here," Fred said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Didn't expect to find you here as well, Aris. Talk about a coincidence…"
Fred glanced around, let out a sigh of relief, then hurriedly shut the office door behind him.
"And what are you doin' here?" Aris thought, rolling his eyes inwardly. Typical—these two were absolute masters of sneaking about. Not a whisper of footsteps, not even a creak on the floorboards. He hadn't clocked them until the door swung open. Some sort of natural talent, no doubt.
"We got lumped with cleaning Filch's office this afternoon," Fred explained with a shrug. "Noticed a drawer all locked up. Figured it had to be hiding something tasty, so we thought we'd pop back."
"Yeah," George added, matching his brother's shrug. "So we hung about, waited till Filch buggered off on his rounds, then slipped in. Didn't think we'd find anyone else here…"
"So we're late to the party then?" Fred's sharp eyes had already landed on the open drawer. He spotted the parchment in Aris's hand and leaned in with open curiosity.
"What's that you've got there?"
Aris didn't bother to hide it and said straight out, "It should be… a map."
He raised his wand, tapped the parchment, and murmured softly,
"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."
At once, words began to crawl across the surface where his wand touched.
Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs, gentlemen devoted to aiding mischief-makers, proudly present the Marauder's Map.
The moment Fred and George read the line, their faces lit up with excitement.
"Blimey, looks like whoever made this lot's got the same taste as us—sneaking about and pulling magical pranks. What are the odds?" Fred grinned.
"I reckon this has to be a brilliant invention," George said with mock solemnity.
"Maybe so." Aris unfolded the parchment fully. As the ink spread like spilt tea, a tangle of intricate lines formed, until the entire layout of Hogwarts stretched before their eyes.
"A map of Hogwarts?" Fred's eyes widened, positively gleaming.
"This is more than just a map!" George's voice was trembling with excitement. "Did you see that? Our names are on it—right here!"
"It even shows us in Filch's office!" Fred leaned in, eyes wide. "And here, in the dorms… every single person's name is on this thing!"
"It's bloody incredible!"
"Pure genius!"
The twins stared at each other, their faces alight as though they'd just discovered treasure beyond their wildest dreams.
"This is tailor-made for us!" Fred breathed, practically giddy.
Aris, watching their over-the-top delight, gave a small cough and slipped the map into his robe with deliberate calm.
"Sorry, lads… but this one belongs to me now."
Without so much as a backward glance at their crestfallen faces, he strode out of the office.
The twins stood frozen for a beat, then the jealous fire in their eyes ignited.
"Oi! He's not keeping that from us!" Fred hissed.
"Not a chance," George agreed, and the pair bolted after Aris, clearly unwilling to let the Marauder's Map slip through their fingers.
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Drop Power Stonessssssssss!
[Note: Read up to Chapter - 186 on P patron at: p-atreon.com/Knockturn_Alley]