The Marauder's Map

"Mr. Green, time is precious. Stop wasting it. You two, pick up your brooms and join the rest of the class." Madam Hooch looked at Jerry and Neville and shook her head helplessly.

Jerry scratched his head in embarrassment. Ever since he had begun learning magic, he had excelled in every class. Nothing like this had ever happened to him before.

He began to wonder if he had picked up the wrong broom. Maybe it was an ordinary broom, not a magic one.

Madam Hooch raised the whistle hanging around her neck and addressed the students, who were all ready. "Listen for my whistle. When I blow it, push off hard to leave the ground. Remember, give it a strong kick, keep a firm grip on your broom, rise slowly, and then let..."

Before Madam Hooch could finish, Neville, overcome with nerves, pushed off the ground. His broom shot high into the air, climbing faster and faster toward the clouds.

"Come back, child!" Madam Hooch shouted anxiously. But the broom kept rising straight up. Pale-faced, Neville watched the ground fall away beneath him. His mouth hung open as he gasped for breath, and then he slipped off the broom.

"Arresto Momentum!"

At the critical moment, Jerry drew his wand and saved Neville's life.

Neville had given Madam Hooch quite a fright too. She hurried over and examined him. Nothing was broken; he had merely fainted from shock.

Madam Hooch let out a long breath, then turned to Jerry. "Beautifully done, Mr. Green! Five points to Slytherin!"

The Slytherin students erupted in cheers. They might not all like Jerry, but they certainly liked seeing their house gain points.

Hearing them cheer, the Gryffindor students held back their usual barbs. Jerry had saved someone from their own house, after all.

"I'm taking this child to the Hospital Wing at once. None of you are to do anything on your own! Put every broom back where it belongs. If I return and find anyone still holding one, they can forget about ever setting foot in Hogwarts again."

With that, Madam Hooch carried Neville off to the Hospital Wing.

As soon as she was out of sight, Malfoy burst out laughing. "Did you see what he looked like? That idiot?"

The Slytherin students beside him joined in.

Whatever slight thaw there had been between the two houses vanished under Malfoy's mockery, and students on both sides began trading insults again.

Jerry had no interest in getting involved. He took Hermione's hand and led her to a patch of grass, where they sat down. Once the Slytherin students saw him leave the crowd, they grew bolder and jeered even louder.

As the insults grew more heated, Parvati Patil and Pansy were practically spitting in each other's faces. Hermione looked worried. "Jerry, are they going to fight?"

"Don't worry. The two houses have been arguing for years, and they've never had an all-out fight. At most, they ambush each other when no one's looking."

"I'm still worried. If a fight breaks out, could Harry and Parvati be expelled?"

Jerry said, "That lot from Slytherin would mock a dog on the side of the road. If their taunts really led to fights, they'd have been beaten to death long ago."

Malfoy snatched Neville's Remembrall and quickly mounted his broom, rising off the ground. To get it back, Harry prepared to jump onto his own broom and chase him.

Hermione could no longer sit by and watch. She rushed forward and sternly warned Harry.

Jerry wanted no part of it. Let them make a fuss. Nothing much could happen at Hogwarts anyway. He stayed where he was, took out a book of spells, and began reading intently.

"Jerry, Professor McGonagall took Harry away! Do you think he'll be expelled?" Hermione ran over and asked anxiously.

"Don't worry. Unless Dumbledore jumps off the Astronomy Tower and falls to his death, Harry will be fine."

"What? You're going to be Gryffindor's Seeker?" Ron said, his face full of shock.

At dinner, Harry told them why Professor McGonagall had summoned him.

After hearing the news, Ron suddenly lost his appetite for the pie in his hand.

Jerry ignored their conversation. Instead, he used dinnertime to find the Weasley Twins.

"Hi, George, Fred. Good evening. I need to ask you something!" Jerry knew the brothers had the Marauder's Map and wanted to borrow it.

Seeing Jerry hesitate, the Weasley Twins exchanged a glance and understood at once. Grinning, they led him beneath the stairs around the corner.

George waggled his eyebrows. "What do you need, Jerry? Some prank supplies, or help pulling something off?"

"Do you have anything that would let me wander around at night without Filch catching me?"

The brothers cheered. Taking Jerry by an arm each, they led him into the corridor outside.

Once they were out there, they said in unison, "Jerry, we had you all wrong. We thought you were a good boy who followed the school rules. But nicely done! You came to the right brothers."

Then one of them—Jerry couldn't tell whether it was George or Fred—pulled a square-folded piece of badly worn parchment from his pocket.

Pretending he didn't recognize the Marauder's Map, Jerry asked, "What's that?"

The brothers proudly told him, "The secret to our success!"

"We found it in Filch's office in our first year." George drew his wand, pointed it at the map, and said, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

In an instant, fine lines of ink flowed from the tip of George's wand, crisscrossing the parchment like a spiderweb until they covered every corner. At last, the map's name and its makers appeared.

It was a detailed map of Hogwarts Castle and its grounds. Most striking of all, it showed everyone's location in real time.

Jerry cried out, "That's amazing! George, Fred, you have to let me borrow the Marauder's Map."

"Of course," George said. "You can have it now. Just return it when you're done. There are still plenty of places at Hogwarts we haven't been. Once we've explored them all, we'll give you the map."

"Remember, Jerry," Fred said. "When you're finished, tap the map with your wand and say, 'Mischief Managed.' The markings will disappear. And good luck tonight!"

Jerry put the map away and nodded to show he understood. Then he said goodbye to the brothers, returned to the long table, and resumed his dinner.