Prologue: The Lost

So many good people are dead, thought George Weasley as he lay on his bed.

Colin Creevey. He was so young. George smiled as he remembered when the boy was in his first year, taking all of those pictures of Harry. It was his camera that had saved him that year when the Basilisk had attacked him. His thoughts turned to Colin's younger brother, Dennis, and how he must feel now. He knew what it was like to lose a brother.

Remus Lupin. The former Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher was not exactly young, but had been through so much. The werewolf bite, the monthly transformations, the horrible prejudice. He had pushed Tonks away for so long, but in the end, he had embraced her and let their love flourish. Remus had been good; very good, but Voldemort had been better.

Nymphadora Tonks. She was so brave, so talented. Only the bravest and the best spies could stay at the Ministry during the Second War without being discovered. She may have been clumsy, but that didn't make her any worse of an Auror. However, Voldemort and his forces had gotten her as well. Tonks had been trying for two years to convince Remus that he was not too old for her. She had said to him, “You keep saying that I deserve better than you, but how can I find someone better than you? I love you, Remus. I know you love me, so please admit it.” After that, he had finally accepted it. Their poor son; orphaned before he could even walk. He would be well cared for, George was sure of it.

Mad-eye Moody. He was the best of the best, the strongest Auror you could ever hope for. He was so cautious; some might say paranoid. It was a simple Stunning spell that had finally killed him, knocking him off his broom onto the ground far, far below. They hadn't even found his body. They weren't exactly close, but he had taught them to resist the Imperius Curse; although it was really the impostor, George guessed the real Mad-eye might have taught them some extreme defense methods too. Almost none of them had been able to do them, but Ron had said Harry was the best at it. Harry...

Hedwig. She wasn't exactly the most regretted death, but she certainly was mourned. She was all Harry had had during the summers with the Dursleys. George happily remembered when he, Ron, and Fred had come to rescue him in the flying Ford Anglia five years ago. They were about to go, but Harry had remembered they had forgotten Hedwig. She had looked so beautiful flying around the car. He remembered how fast it had been to pick the locks with Fred. Fred…

Fred Weasley. This was the death that destroyed him. His twin, his business partner, his best friend, his other half. When George had seen his broken body, something in him had broken as well. This may have killed George's soul. One thing that was for sure was that he would not joke for weeks, months, maybe even years. So many questions ran through the broken joker's head. What will happen to the shop? What will I do now? Angelina was his girlfriend, she must be devastated too.

Wait, he was turning into Harry, and he could understand why. They had both lost so much - family, friends, and some parts of their souls. No, wallowing in sadness was not the way to feel better. He should think of happier times, like in their first year, when he and Fred had discovered the Marauder's Map. It had been a frosty winter's day...

Happier times (Part 1): The Map

“Come on, Filch is gonna catch us!” Fred yelled to George as they raced through the dungeon corridor with the caretaker, Argus Filch, limping after them as fast as his old legs could carry him. As they skidded around a corner, a Fanged Frisbee fell out of George's pocket, flew at Filch, and attacked his nose.

“You little brats!!” screamed Filch. “I always knew you two were no good! I have the paperwork to chain you up by your ankles, you know!”

“Sure he does, just like he has the paperwork to use a rack on us and can cast a decent jinx.” whispered George to Fred.

“I've got you devils now!” cackled Filch as he grabbed the twins by their shirt collars. “You're coming with me!”

“For the love of Merlin's saggy left pant leg, George! I told you to keep running, but you just had to make that comment about that paperwork, didn't you! It wasn't even funny!” yelled Fred.

“Move it, you-“ Filch screamed. He never got a chance to finish his sentence, as the Frisbee's sharp teeth had clamped down on his mouth. The caretaker dragged the duo to his office, then left to get a detention slip.

George noticed that one of his filing cabinets was open. “Hey, Fred...”

“What do you want?” Fred retorted.

“Look, I know I got us in here, but seriously, look at this,” George pulled open the loose cabinet labeled 'Confiscated and Highly Dangerous' and pulled out a piece of parchment bearing the words, “'Mr. Moony fears that Mr. Filch should stop pretending to be part of a world that will never accept him, as it will only bring him misery. On the other hand, keep trying, misery never hurt anybody. Mr. Padfoot greets Mr. Filch and asks him to stop obsessing over that demon of a cat. Mr. Wormtail compliments Mr. Filch on being so old, yet not sweet, soft, and kind like many other seniors. Mr. Prongs agrees with his companions and wishes to add that he should pay more attention to his personal hygiene and says goodbye.'” George finished reading the parchment, and Fred exclaimed,

“Who are these people? You know, I don't care. They are my new heroes.”

“ This parchment has to do more than just insult people,” George replied. It probably has a Revealing Charm on it, which means that it's got something hidden, and there's some password that will reveal it.” Fred gave him a quizzical look, and replied hastily. “Hey, some nights, I can't sleep and have nothing better to do than listen to Percy, Charlie or Bill study. So let's get out of here before Filch catches us. We can try to figure this out back in our dormitory.”

Unfortunately, at that very moment, Filch came back, and the boys hastily shoved the parchment from Filch’s view.

"What have you got there, you little brats? You two will have detention, disembowelment, and- what are you doing with that Dungbomb?" George dropped the object and the twins ran out as Filch coughed and spluttered.

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The two troublemakers ran off to attempt to figure out the secret of the parchment. When they got back up to their dormitory, they tried many phrases until they had gotten to 'I swear that I am up to some mischief' when the other Gryffindor first-year boys started to come in.

Lee Jordan, one of their best friends, asked, “Oh you are, are you? Just what kind of mischief are you up to?”

Fred, the leader of the two, replied craftily, “No good. I swear that I am up to no good.”

Lee demanded with a crooked smile, “Swear solemnly. Swear solemnly that you are up to no good.”

Reluctantly, Fred and George said, “I solemnly swear that I am up to no good-” They swore quite loudly and stared at the paper while slowly, the words, 'Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs, purveyors of aids to magical mischief-makers are proud to present the Marauder's Map.' They unfolded it and saw a map of the entire castle, complete with small dots labeled with students' and teachers' names that were moving about.

Lee stared at the map and exclaimed, “Look! There we are!” Indeed, there were three dots in their dormitory precisely where they were standing labeled 'Lee Jordan', 'Fred Weasley', and 'George Weasley'. “You know what this means, right?” he said in a hushed tone.

“We have the entire castle to roam at night, since we can avoid professors, Peeves, and Filch!” George whispered excitedly.

Lee said, “Exactly.”

Fred added, “Is that a passage leading out of the castle?”

The three studied the map well into the night, and on Sunday morning, prowled the hallways searching for the passageways.

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Lee clutched the map and whispered, “Hey, there's the one-eyed witch, Gunhilda of Gorsemoor. George, Fred - you keep a lookout for Filch or teachers while I check the password.” He studied the map while the twins glared at him.

“Are you kidding me? We got the map, you keep watch while George and I check the password,” snapped Fred as he grabbed the map from Lee, who grudgingly let go and went to watch the corridor.

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George Weasley snapped back to the present as he heard fireworks, and then sank back into the past, when he and Fred had escaped from Hogwarts only two years ago...