The Marauders: Year Seven Part One

Keep it Safe

Sirius's efforts to retrieve the map over the next several nights were most valiant.

Twice, Peeves got him busted, even though he'd declared that he was up to no good, simply by getting over excited and making too much racket for Sirius to make it all the way to Filch's office without attracting the attention of Mrs. Norris and Mr. Filch himself. Once, Sirius purposely landed himself there and attempted to open the drawer by magical means once Filch had left the office, chasing after Peeves who'd made up for his earlier transgressions by causing a distraction, but the lock that Filch used on the drawer was one he'd been given by the Bloody Baron and was quite impossible to undo without the key - even the alohamora didn't work. And when Sirius got aggravated and attempted a reducto on the drawer, it simply reflected and burnt his hand so that he ended up having to go to see Madam Pomfrey for some ointment.

It was with a heavy spirit that Sirius took out his mirror one night, sitting alone on the couch in the common room after Remus and Peter had gone to sleep and stared into it. "Oi, Prongs. Prooo-oooongs, Jamesiekins. Ickle Jamesssss. Hey Potter. Potter. Potter. Hey Potter. Hey..."

"Gods alive, Sirius," James's face suddenly swam in the mirror's reflection and Sirius grinned as he watched his mate lean over and get his glasses and shove them up his nose, "What the hell do you want? It's two in the bleedin' mornin'!"

"We need to talk," Sirius said.

"Can't we talk when it's daylight?"

"Why? Are you busy right now?"

"Yeah -- sleeping!"

"Lily keep you up late?" Sirius grinned.

"Did you wake me up to be an arsehole, because I swear to you, I'll go out back and chuck this ruddy mirror in the werewolf hole if you did."

Sirius snickered. "There werewolf hole! That makes it sound much more exciting than an old bomb shelter, doesn't it?"

James stared at Sirius.

"Alright mate, alright," Sirius drew a deep breath, "Let me just come out and say it. I've... I've done something terrible, and I need your brilliant mind to help me figure out what to do before Moony finds out."

James raised an eyebrow. "What'd you do?" his voice was low, afraid, already accusing.

Sirius bit his lip. "I've lost our map."

"What???" James sat up straighter.

"To Filch."

"Well knick it back, of course, you barmy idiot, what've you got to wake me up at two in the morning to tell you that for?" James rolled his eyes.

"Ferfucksakes, Prongs, do you not think I've tried at that already?" Sirius rolled his right back, even more exaggerated than James's had been. "OBVIOUSLY, I tried that already. It was the first thing I tried. Tried all week. I finally got in the office and I've been trying to break in the drawer  he's stowed it in, but I swear on Merlin's left tit, Prongs, he's got the thing locked up like it's the crown jewels he's got in there."

"Worth a bit more than the crown jewels, that map, isn't it?" James said. "Did you try alohamora?"

"AM I A FIRST YEAR, POTTER? Of course I tried alohamora. Gods."

"Sorry, I dunno what you have and haven't done."

"Done a reducto too --"

"You just love that one on things that can't be broken, don't you?" James teased, remembering how many times they'd had to tell him to stop using the reducto on the locket. James paused -- The bleeding locket. I forgot the locket! "Oi, have you seen Regulus about?"