Chapter 243
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-Hogwarts - Just before the students leave for Hogsmeade-
[POV - Third Person]
As the students boarded carriages for Hogsmeade, Harry watched them through one of the many windows in the corridor that led to Gryffindor Tower.
His sadness was perceptible, and it didn't take a genius to figure out the reason for his sadness.
Many people at school knew that Harry did not have his parents' permission to go to Hogsmeade, and obviously the one who told everyone about it was Malfoy, who wasn't going to miss the chance to mock Harry for being one of the few third years and above who would have to stay at the school.
But surprisingly this school year Harry didn't seem to mind Malfoy's taunts. On the contrary, actually having to listen to Malfoy's constant scoffing and retorting accordingly managed to take Harry's mind off certain matters that plagued him.
But now that everyone was heading to Hogsmeade Harry realized that he would be alone in this big castle, and at this point he realized that he unfortunately didn't know much about the other students who would also be staying at the castle, not even his second and first year housemates.
'If I hadn't been annoyed with Aunt Marge maybe Uncle Vernon would have signed my permission form' Harry thought, frowning at the memory of when he had blown up his aunt and threatened his uncle.
Looking one last time at the students departing for the famous village of Hogsmeade, Harry sighed sadly.
"Psst... Harry" and while he was lost in thought, Harry heard someone calling him in a low voice.
Turning around curiously, he saw that hidden behind a large statue of a centaur were Fred and George, who were waving their hands calling to him, looking discreetly to the sides.
Looking at them strangely, Harry walked over to them, and as soon as he got close enough the twins grabbed him and pulled him towards the statue.
To Harry's surprise, instead of hitting the statue he and the twins walked through it, and now they found themselves in a small, empty, dusty room.
"What the hell?" Harry blinked in confusion.
And ignoring Harry's confusion, George took a parchment out of his pocket and handed it to Harry, who was looking at them blankly.
"Well my dear friend, we've noticed that you're a little downcast about not being able to go to Hogsmeade" Fred started to say, catching Harry's attention.
"And seeing that, we decided it would be our duty to cheer you up, so consider this an early Christmas present." George added, pointing to the parchment in Harry's hand.
Harry glanced at the parchment in his hand before turning to the twins suspiciously, thinking this was probably another prank on their part.
"And what is this supposed to be?" Harry asked, and the twins smiled.
"This, my friend, is the secret of our success and fame" Fred replied.
With Harry looking strangely at the twins, they then proceeded to explain how they got the map, much to Harry's amusement.
They then proceeded to explain its functionality to Harry, teaching him how to use the map, and at the end of the explanation the black haired boy could only look shocked at the activated map in his hand and at the twins, who smiled seeing his reaction.
"This is…Wow" was the only thing Harry managed to say.
"Yes my friend... Wow" George nodded in agreement, "But remember Harry, this map is a very amazing item, however it can also be a very dangerous item if it falls into the wrong hands" he said with a serious face.
"So please don't show this map to anyone you don't trust, and always keep it safe with you" George said also with a serious look, "I know you will show it to Hermione and our brother, but try show the map only for these two"
"Yes, and also don't forget to tell them to keep the map secret" Fred continued.
"And tell our dear brother that he shouldn't talk about the map to anyone else, and that if he does, we know where he lives." George added, and Fred nodded.
"Well, I think you understand the seriousness of being the new bearer of the Marauder's Map, right?" Fred asked.
"Yes…" Harry said, looking down at the parchment in his hand with a frown.
He then shook his hand, holding the map tightly.
Seeing this, the twins nodded to themselves in satisfaction.
"Well, now that we've explained everything to you, all that's left for you to do is make the most of the map" George said with a mischievous smile, "And as good friends, I say... Get into a lot of trouble"
"Yes, and have fun visiting the village Harry" Fred said winking at him, and the twins could see an excited glint in Harry's eyes as they said that, making them smile.
Then without another word they turned and walked out of the secret passage, leaving behind a boy who was now imagining his friends' reaction when he showed up in Hogsmeade.
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-Corridors - With the twins-
"I hope Harry heeded our warnings" George commented, walking down the hall to the carriages.
"Yeah, I don't even want to imagine what Ethan would do to us if he found out that the map fell into the wrong hands because of us" Fred said as he shivered in fear, and George next to him shivered too.
"Neither do I" George said. He then put a finger to his chin in thought, "Now that I think about it, what do you think Ethan would have said to Harry?" he asked his twin brother.
"What would Ethan have said?" Fred snorted, "He would have threatened Harry by saying he'd rip his arms off, transfigure them into iron batons, and use them to beat him to a pulp if he lost the map or revealed its secret to someone he couldn't trust." said.
"That was an oddly detailed and very aggressive description," George said.
"But I'm not wrong" his twin commented.
"Obviously not"
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-Hogsmeade – In front of the Shrieking Shack-
"No matter how many times I look at it, this place is still scary," Anthony said, looking at the Shrieking Shack in the distance.
The only thing separating us from the Shrieking Shack was a broken fence, but the boys wisely decided not to go over that fence.
"What do you think is there?" Terry asked.
"A ghost?" Stephen replied, and we turned to him, "What? Ghosts are scary" he defended himself.
"Stephen, we see ghosts every day in the castle... How can you still find them scary?" I asked.
"And who said I don't find castle ghosts scary?" he asked back.
"Touché"
"Hmm, maybe it's some deadly creature with sharp claws and teeth that is waiting for its next victim" Michael said with a shrug.
'Well... That assumption isn't entirely wrong' I thought.
"Or maybe Sirius Black is there," Anthony said, looking fearful.
'In another world this assumption would not be entirely wrong either'
"What about you Ethan? What creature do you think is haunting the Shrieking Shack?" Stephen asked turning to me.
"I don't know" I shrugged, "Maybe Michael's future girlfriend"
"Hey!"
"I'm kidding" I said raising my hands in surrender to Michael who was scowling at me.
Hearing this he snorted in disdain, turning around and crossing his arms.
"Even because I'm sure you'll end up marrying the Giant Squid" I added.
And I then immediately dodged a Stinging Jinx, and turning around I stuck my tongue out at Michael, who growled as he held out his wand that was pointed at me.
He then started chasing me across the snowy terrain while I laughed and dodged his hexes.
"Stand still you bastard!" he yelled at me.
"No way," I said amusedly, picking up some snow off the ground and balling it up, throwing it at Michael.
And he, who hadn't expected a counterattack, received the snowball in the face, causing him to stop in his tracks.
Taking advantage of this moment I turned and ran, laughing the entire way.
Michael, shivering from both annoyed and cold, brushed the snow off his face, only to hear some laughter coming from behind him.
Terry, Anthony and Stephen were chuckling as they held their stomachs, but then they noticed that Michael started to turn towards them slowly.
"I might not be able to hit Ethan, but you guys are easy targets," he said with narrowed eyes.
Hearing him, the boys tensed, and then they looked at each other, and nodding to each other they turned to Michael.
"""Run!""" they said, reaching down and picking up some snow to throw at Michael, taking advantage of the distraction to run too, running in the same direction as me.
Wiping the snow off his face again, Michael wasted no time and started chasing the boys, wand in hand as he cast jinx at them.
"Come back here you cowards!" Michael yelled, but even he couldn't contain the smile that started to break out on his face.
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After having a little fun playing with the boys, they got tired, and so we decided we were going to eat and drink something at Three Broomsticks, so we started heading there.
But halfway through I remembered that I needed to replenish my stock of parchment, so I said that they could go to Three Broomsticks without me, and that as soon as I finished buying my parchments I would join them.
Parting ways, we then went in different directions, with me heading to the Hogsmeade scrolls and quills shop.
After a few minutes I finished buying everything I needed, and then I left the store.
Leaving the store I felt the cold winter air hit my face, but in addition to the cold I also felt some troubled emotions coming from someone in front of me.
The emotions carried sadness, anger, hatred, suffering, and revenge, and when I looked for the source of those emotions I saw no one, and I was confused.
'Huh? I can feel the emotions coming from that direction and moving away, but I don't see anyone' I thought confused, but then I noticed some footprints appearing in the snow.
Looking at the footprints I realized who these emotions were from, and to confirm my suspicions I felt the magic of this person, and feeling the familiar magic I frowned.
I then heard some hurried footsteps coming from the other side, and turning around I saw Ron and Hermione coming from the direction of the Three Broomsticks with worried looks, looking around as if looking for something.
Looking back in the direction Harry had left I sighed, and shaking my head I started to follow him.
I knew where Harry was going, so I followed him silently at a distance, realizing that the path he was taking would lead us to the edge of the forest at the bottom of Hogsmeade, where there was a clearing that had a frozen lake and a few stone benches.
Arriving at the clearing I stood behind a tree, and then I heard sniffling sounds, and looking in that direction I felt Harry sitting on one of the large stone benches covered in snow.
Sighing again, I slipped out from behind the tree I'd been hiding in, approaching Harry without him noticing.
"You look a little sad," I said, startling Harry and causing him to turn to me, dropping his Invisibility Cloak.
"Ethan?" he asked surprised and confused, quickly wiping the tears from his eyes with the sleeve of his coat.
"Yes" I said, and then I got a serious look, "I think we need to talk Harry"
End.
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(End AN: I never watched or read The Hunger Games, but I was a little curious to know about the history of this saga.
Would you recommend this saga to me? And which is better, the books or the movies?)