"So whats the plan" Sirius asks excitedly
"What if there was a way to see the entire castle? Every person. Every passage. Every hidden corridor."
"What if…We made a map?"
James sat up suddenly, "A map of Hogwarts. A magical map".
"One that could show us everything—even the secret tunnels, so we can move Remus safely before every full moon".
"It's Impossible." Remus said out loud. "No one knows the map of Hogwarts, I tried looking it up."
"Hmm, well we will be the first ones then", Sirius says and stands next to James. they both look at each other and then at sitting peter and remus and then back towards each other giving out a mischievous laugh.
The next morning, James nearly dragged all of them up to the Astronomy Tower.
Peter, still rubbing the sleep from his eyes, yawned. "What's so important that we had to sneak out at dawn?"
James grinned, his eyes glowing. "Boys, I have an idea. A proper adventurous idea."
That got Sirius's attention. He leaned against the railing, arms crossed. "Go on."
James took a deep breath. "We make a map."
Peter frowned. "we talked about it didn't we? No one knows the map of the hogwarts"
James's smile widened. "I said, we MAKE a map"
Remus raised an eyebrow. "Define 'everything'."
James's voice dropped, his excitement growing. "Secret tunnels. Hidden doors. Moving staircases. And most importantly—every single person in the castle. Real-time. Their names, their exact locations.
Silence.
Sirius chuckled. "That's… insane. We are definitely up to no good"
Remus, however, looked intrigued.
James smiled. "We already know there are hidden passages in the castle," James continued. "Remember that time we found the one behind the tapestry on the fourth floor?"
Sirius smirked. "Oh yeah. Filch never figured out how we disappeared."
Peter shifted. "But… how would we even make it?"
That was the real question, because Magic like this didn't exist. Atleast they didn't know about that. But then again, they were the most intelligent and the most mischievous students. If anyone could even think of pulling off the impossible, it was them.
James leaned in, "We start with the castle's enchantments. The castle already knows where people are, right? The staircases move based on where students are going. The suits of armor whisper about professors coming before they even arrive."
Sirius nodded slowly, catching on. "So we find a way to tap into that magic."
James snapped his fingers. "Exactly. And not just that—we make sure it sees everything. Even the secret passages that no one talks about."
Peter still looked unsure. "But how?"
James exhaled. "that's what we need to sort out. So lets go to the hogsmeade…"
The four of them sat in silence for a moment, looking at each other, until Sirius spoke up.
"We need a teacher."
James blinked. "What?"
"Think about it. This kind of magic isn't something we can just 'figure out' overnight. But some of the old professors? They've been around long enough to know about enchantments like this."
James hesitated. Going to a professor… wasn't exactly their style, but then again neither was failing.
Peter, finally interested, tilted his head. "Who do we ask?"
A pause.
Then James and Sirius said the same name at the same time.
"Professor Merrythought."
Peter looked between them, confused. "The Defense professor?"
James nodded. "She's been here for quite a long time. She knows things."
Sirius chuckled. "And she likes us."
James tilt his head, "Huh… She tolerates us."
"but lets first do a trip to the hogmeade."
But its not time for the hogsmeade! Peter interrupted. We will go on our own. Replied Sirius.
how? Before peter could say more Sirius put a hand on his mouth and all 4 go out of the building.
….
The Whomping Willow loomed before them, its gnarled branches twisting in the cold evening wind.
Remus hesitated, his fingers twitching at his sides. He looked toward James, eyes uncertain.
James, ever the fearless leader, took his hand, giving it a firm tug. "Come on. Trust me."
With a flick of his wand, Sirius froze the tree, the branches stilling instantly. The four of them stood before the small, knotted opening at its base.
Peter gulped. "We… we are entering this? Why?"
Sirius slung an arm over his shoulder, "You'll see."
One by one, they climbed through the tunnel. The narrow passage was damp, the air thick with dust and the faint scent of old wood. The ground sloped slightly, and they had to crawl at times, but James pushed forward eagerly, leading the way.
The tunnel stretched for what felt like forever, until, finally, they emerged inside a dimly lit room. A house. Or, at least, what was left of one.
Peter stared, wide-eyed. "Is this—?"
James, spreading his arms wide. "Welcome to our new hideout, we're in the Shrieking Shack!"
Peter's mouth fell open. "But… the Shack is in Hogsmeade!"
James waggled his eyebrows. "Exactly."
Remus was staring at the cracked floorboards, the walls covered in deep scratches, the windows boarded shut.
He knew this place. This was where he transformed every month, where Dumbledore sent him to become the monster.
But how had they found it?
Sirius gave him a nudge. "you must be thinking how we know, right?"
Remus nodded. "well, that night when I took you away, I went inside the willow and entered here. James also came shortly and we found out that this was a secret passage from willoe to the shack from Hogwarts to the hogmeade."
James smiled. "That's right, mate. And that's how we got the idea."
Remus frowned. "Idea? What idea?"
James slung an arm around his shoulder, pulling him into a half-nelson before ruffling his hair.
"This passage. This place. We realized, there must be others like it."
Then He let him go, turning to face them all. "What if we had a way to track them? To mark them down? To know where they all lead?"
Peter scratched his head.
James turned to Remus. "as I said earlier, the one that shows everyone in the castle. Every single person, in real-time. So you'd always know if someone was near before… y'know."
Remus stared at him.
For once, he was speechless.
Determined to bring their idea to life, they began their search for anything that could help them in real time navigation. They went into the valley and entered all sorts of shops and stores.
They found old compasses, enchanted maps, magical detection objects; trinkets that revealed locations of places but not people.
Peter held up a map that glowed faintly, tracing his fingers over the enchanted ink. "This one shows hidden doors… but only the ones that already exist."
Sirius sighed, tossing aside a golden compass. "This one shows magical hotspots, but not who's near them."
James frowned, thinking hard.
They were close, but something was missing.
Somewhere in Hogwarts, there had to be magic that could track people, because the castle already knew where they were.
The trick was harnessing it. But they couldn't find anything.
Sirius thoughtfully said. "I think it's time we had a chat with Professor Merrythought."
Later that evening, after much deliberation (and bribing Peter with extra chocolate to keep quiet), the four of them approached Professor Galatea Merrythought's office.
She was one of the oldest professors at Hogwarts, her face lined with deep wrinkles, but her eyes sharp as ever.
When they knocked, she looked up from her desk, her expression wary.
"Potter. Black. Pettigrew and LUPIN! A fresh addition I might add"
James said, "Actually, Professor, we were hoping for your wisdom."
That made her snort. "That's a first."
James leaned forward. "We have an idea. A brilliant one."
Sirius cut in. "A magical map of Hogwarts. One that tracks everyone."
Professor Merrythought raised an eyebrow. "You want to track people? That sounds vaguely illegal."
James looked down and said, "Only vaguely?"
She chuckled, but there was curiosity in her eyes now. "And why, pray tell, do you need such a thing?"
James hesitated—should he tell her?
Then he looked at remus.
At sirius.
At peter.
Then he took a deep breath. "We want to protect a friend."
Something flickered in Merrythought's expression.
She studied them for a long moment before leaning back in her chair.
"Magic like this isn't easy," she said finally. "Hogwarts is built on ancient spells. Tracking every person inside it? You'd need enchantments tied to the castle's very foundations."
Sirius grinned. "So it's possible?"
She smiled. "Anything is possible if you're clever enough."
"We are." James continues
Merrythought looked at them again, then exhaled, shaking her head.
"Alright. Do your research, check the library and see the history of Hogwarts, and bring me something worth my time. The most I can do is guide you and direct you".
Finally Professor merrythought was on their side. The first step was accomplished.