The Genesis of the Map

Ever wonder how the idea for the Marauder's Map came about? I know I did!!

Disclaimer: However neat it would be, I don't own Harry Potter.

"Shhhhhhh!"

"Wormtail, get off my foot!"

"Prongs, your elbow is in my gut, so kindly remove it before I am forced to amputate!"

"Ah, Padfoot, you wouldn't do that, you love me."

"Guys, SHUT UP. I thought I heard something!"

They fell silent. Sirius Black, James Potter, and Peter Pettigrew were in the act of sneaking down to the Whomping Willow to join their friend Remus Lupin. While they were travelling under James' Invisibility Cloak, it was only just barely large enough to cover the three fifth years, and it didn't keep them from being heard or felt.

"I think the coast is clear," Peter began, but stopped when a grouchy voice cut through the air in the seventh floor hallway.

"I know I heard the Marauders, my sweet." It was Filch, the caretaker, and his cat, Mrs. Currie. The Marauders loathed that cat. She was always spying on them, and telling Filch is they so even touched a suit of armor. They were never too sure whether or not the Cloak worked on the cat. She always seemed to know they were there, but since she obviously couldn't see them (Filch never caught them if they were under it), they decided to ignore it until they saw her again, when they panicked. Again. They also longed to introduce Mrs. Currie to the wolf that Remus turned into once a month. Well, James, Peter, and Sirius did. Remus didn't, and told his friends that he would kill them if they let him eat anything alive while he was transformed.

"Come along, my dear," Filch muttered sourly, after what seemed a lifetime to the three boys, "they must be here after all. Maybe it's one of their little pranks." When the three Marauders were sure he had gone, they heaved a large collective sigh of relief.

"That was close," Sirius murmured to the other two, and then grinned. "And that is a wicked idea for a prank!" He poked Peter in the head. "Wormtail, can you go check if the coast is clear?"

Peter nodded, and suddenly, there was a rat where once there had been a boy. The rat scurried out from under the Cloak, and disappeared around the corner.

"You know mate," James whispered, "that still freaks me out"

"Awww, is little Prongsie afraid of the small furry rat," Sirius mocked.

"I'm not afraid!" James retorted. "Besides, you were the one that jumped into the tree and screamed the first time you saw him transformed. Everyone thought that you were a girl."

"That was embarrassing." Sirius turned a lovely shade of red.

"Yeah, we had to tell everyone that you had a bad dream, in the middle of the day, next to the lake, with all your homework on the grass beside you…" James grinned at the memory.

"And who was the one who thought he was going to die the first time he saw my animal form?"

"You became a large black dog that greatly resembles the Grim, what in hell was I supposed to think? You didn't tell me that you had mastered the transformation yet, and all of a sudden there is a black dog coming out of the bathroom, when you had just gone into it. I thought both of us were going to die, you bastard."

"If you two are done arguing about who is the most cowardly," Peter interjected, coming back under the Cloak, "the coast is clear until the stairs. But if you would rather finish this very entertaining conversation, go right ahead."

"Okay, let's go, men!" Sirius started to slowly creep forward, so the Cloak wouldn't slip and expose one of them. He was rather glad that they wouldn't have to compare who was the bigger chicken when it came to first seeing the others Animagus form. He had a feeling he would win the dubious title, since his reaction had been very public.

"If men are going, then you need to stay behind, Padfoot," James ducked the hand that Sirius swung at him, but didn't manage to avoid the foot that was sweeping between his legs. He fell, and landed hard, pulling the Cloak off all three boys.

"You fight dirty," Peter accused Sirius as he knelt beside James.

"Prongs," Sirius was a little worried. The Marauders were used to cheap shots below the belt, and had faster than usual recovery abilities. James shouldn't still be on the floor. "Prongs, are you alright?"

"Padfoot, you are a bloody wanker! I should hex you into oblivion! Marauders do not deliver below the belt kicks to one another unless there is a girl around to impress. Is there a girl? I didn't think so! Peter, get off me, I need to kill my former best mate." To say James was pissed would be an understatement.

"Sorry mate, I thought that you would be able to avoid it."

"Guys, the moon will be rising soon. We need to get moving if we want to keep Moony company tonight."

"We will continue this later," James said with a great deal of malice. Sirius looked as though he wished later would never come.

They covered themselves with the Cloak, and managed to make it to the stairs without any mishap, although if James was a Basilisk, Sirius would definitely be dead. After creeping down the many flights of stairs, and countless hallways, they arrived in the Entrance Hall, just in time to see Madam Pomfrey closing the front doors. She walked past them, presumably to go to the Hospital Wing.

"Shit!" Sirius yelled, not bothering to keep his voice down. "Moony must be about to transform. Prongs, I told you we should have left earlier, I told you to just knock out Frank!"

"Mr. Black!" The three boys froze, even though they knew that they were invisible. Professor McGonagall was standing at the top of the stairs next to Mr. Filch, who was holding his cat. "I don't know where you are, or who you are with, but you had all better come out now, or you will get more than just detentions."