A certain Hogwarts professor of runes

Chapter 281 Maps and Magic

Half an hour later——

Sirius sat on the sofa with a dark expression. He had heard terrible news: Peter Pettigrew had run away, or rather, was hiding somewhere where no one knew him and pretending to be dead.

He thought dejectedly, "Has all my work over this long period of time been in vain?"

Felix picked out another book from the shelf, which surprisingly mentioned a complete ancient spell. The portrait of Headmaster Phineas Black hadn't lied to him; the library here was indeed extraordinary, even though some of it had been moved from the Forbidden Section of Hogwarts.

It seems that when the old man was the principal, he did a lot to benefit his family.

Unfortunately, life is unpredictable, and the Black family has fallen to this state...

"Have you tried Marauder's Map?" Sirius suddenly asked.

"Marauder's Map, what's that?" Felix looked up from his book.

Sirius Black said in a low voice, "It was a moving map that showed the locations and secret passages of Hogwarts. It looked like a stack of folded parchment that we made together when we were in school—me, James, Remus, and... Peter Pettigrew."

"The Marauder's Map can mark the whereabouts of everyone within the Hogwarts area, even Dumbledore."

Felix blinked; he already knew what Lupin wanted from Filch. He said confidently, "Filch must have confiscated this map."

"We did it on purpose." Sirius pouted. "We were about to graduate and desperately wanted someone to carry on our sacred pranks, so we found the perfect opportunity to attract Filch's attention and get him to take the map."

Felix nodded slightly; so that's how it all happened.

Sirius asked, puzzled, "Didn't Remus tell you?"

Felix said softly, "The map is lost. Filch admitted it himself."

"That old idiot!" Sirius shouted in frustration, slamming his fist against the wall before dejectedly adding, "Even with a map, it might not be useful. Peter Pettigrew can hide his own name."

"Shielding? You used a tracking spell?"

"Not only that, but also Tracking Charms, Footprint Manifestation Charms, Name Magic, Miniature Simulation Charms, Concealment Charms, Disruption Charms, and Protection Magic. Later, they even incorporated Transfiguration, Divination, and Alchemy... There are just too many things."

Felix looked at Sirius in surprise; he himself had only mastered a portion of the spells.

Sirius explained, "Initially, James brought a book on making magical maps from home, and we used it to create the basic Marauder's Map—of course, it didn't have moving names back then. Later, we searched through the entire library, finding spells to track locations in every nook and cranny, and kept adding them until, in the end, even we ourselves could hardly remember how many spells we used."

He spread his hands. "You know, when we saw Dumbledore's name on the map, we thought we were invincible. No one could escape the Marauder's Map, because you could evade one spell, but you couldn't defend against a second, a third, a fourth..."

Felix couldn't help but clap his hands in admiration. If Sirius hadn't spoken up, who would have known these things? He even saw the shadows of the other three creators through Sirius.

A truly stunning magical artifact thus appeared in the hands of four students who had not yet graduated.

Their subsequent fates were even more poignant. The war disrupted their normal life trajectory, and if Sirius hadn't mentioned it, the existence of the Marauder's Map itself might have been quietly lost to history.

"How did the four of you divide the work?" Felix couldn't help but ask for more information. If it could be replicated, it would definitely be no less than any known magical item.

Sirius gave him a strange look. "Jaime is good at Transfiguration, I'm good at spells, especially silent spells. I added many spells after I learned them. Remus knows everything; he assembles a bunch of scattered things. As for Peter Pettigrew..."

He frowned, forcing back his displeasure, and said, "He's more meticulous, checking for omissions and filling in gaps."

After Sirius finished speaking, he paused thoughtfully. After a long while, he looked at Felix and slowly said, "Perhaps he can't necessarily block the Marauder's Map."

Why?

"I remember—there was a spell that only James and I knew. During our seventh-grade Halloween break, we went home separately, and James found a fun magic spell in the old house."

He looked at Felix, his eyes lighting up. "It's a curse, or rather, a enslavement spell. No, not quite," he frowned, "it should be called a contract."

"A magic contract?"

“That’s right,” Sirius said confidently. He glanced at the study door and said in a low voice, “It’s a very old book. The author of the book was involved in the war between house-elves. The wizards at that time invented a spell specifically to enslave house-elves.”

Felix raised an eyebrow and said in a tone inquiring about magic, "What does this have to do with the Marauder's Map? Wait—I've got it, it's the connection between master and servant?"

Sirius was surprised by his keen insight. "You're right. There is a close bond between house-elves and their owners. This bond is deep in their blood and passed down from generation to generation. Nowadays, very few people know about it. That's why house-elves will never betray their owners."

That's not necessarily true...

Felix thought to himself that relying on magic to enslave is always a inferior approach. There is no such thing as eternal, unbreakable magic; Dobby is a prime example. Even the side effects of the Cruciatus Curse, one of the three unforgivable curses, were overcome by him, weren't they?

Following this line of thought, the Crucifixion spell was no longer effective for him. Pain? He had too many ways to block out pain. What was truly terrifying about the Crucifixion spell was that it transcended the physical body and reached the deepest recesses of the mind, causing unbearable suffering.

When he protects his memories layer by layer, the Cruciatus Curse has very limited effect on him; it can only serve as a disguise, though…

Sirius continued, "—Think about it, no matter where you are, your master can summon house-elves. Oh, not in Azkaban, I tried, maybe the distance is too far..."

"Perhaps the Ministry of Magic has collected this information and taken corresponding precautions," Felix guessed.

"Anyway, James and I tried to add a part of this magic—when the master summons, the house-elves sense the master's location because of the contract—to the map. We devised a little trick," Sirius laughed happily, "When you walk into Hogwarts, you're automatically signing a temporary blank contract, with no binding force. You can even refuse!"

Felix smiled and said, "That is, assuming that person discovers the contract, but I think you won't make it take effect at all; instead, it'll remain in a waiting state..."

"That's it!" Sirius exclaimed excitedly, letting out a strange cry. "Completely harmless, but your location will be completely exposed."

"The best part is that Peter Pettigrew didn't know this. A few days after we returned from the Halloween holiday, we decided to leave the map at Hogwarts—to find its next owner through Filch. Only the most adventurous students would appear in his office, and we even set some restrictions for that."

Sirius was lost in happy memories, his eyes narrowed, and he murmured softly.

After a long pause, he said with a somber expression, "It's a pity the map is lost."

Felix pondered, "If you were asked to recreate a Marauder's Map, could you do it? Lupin is at the school; perhaps he could help."

"I know he's here," Sirius said, after thinking for a long time. "It would be very difficult to rebuild; I don't remember many things..."

"We can try it together; I'm very interested in it."

"Us?" Sirius stared blankly at Felix.

Felix didn't answer. He glanced at the time. "There are still two hours until ten o'clock. There's plenty of time."

He said cheerfully, "I'm going to take you to Hogwarts, but of course, I need to contact Headmaster Dumbledore first. Hmm, we might also face questioning from the Ministry of Magic. I'll lie and say I didn't catch you and you got away. I wonder if anyone will believe me..."

Sirius stared at Felix, feeling utterly mocked.

"Excuse me, where is the portrait of Phineas Black? I don't see him in that row of portraits on the wall."

"...in the second bedroom on the right side of the second-floor platform."

Felix walked away, and returned a few minutes later. "It's all settled. Dumbledore wants us to be discreet." He touched the ring on his left hand with his wand and took out a box of sweets with the name Honeydukes printed on it.

"What is this?"

"A little wizard gave me this Christmas present. I haven't finished eating it yet, it's a bit too sweet... But I think I could use it to hold a person."

"Did you cast a Seamless Stretch Charm?"

“Oh, no,” Felix asked doubtfully, “who would cast a Seamless Stretch Charm on a candy box?” He looked at the bewildered Sirius and said, “I just happened to think of a suitable spell—”

He pointed his wand at Sirius, and a strong blue light burst forth from the tip of the wand.

(End of this chapter)