Secrets of Hogwarts By Scott Jewett

A/N: Everything is the property of J.K. Rowling, with the exception of Jewett's Joke Powder, the Illusion Ball, and "Kaladestra". I made those up myself. Enjoy!

"The Boy Who Lived". That's what everyone in the wizarding world called Harry Potter.  They all seemed to think he was some sort of invincible hero. Well, he thought to himself, if they could see me now, they'd know better. What kind of hero has insomnia?

            It was late one night at Hogwarts, and Harry Potter couldn't sleep. He'd been tossing and turning all night, trying to stay quiet for the sake of the other boys in his dormitory room: boys, he noted, that were sleeping soundly. Even Neville was snoring away as he always did.

            Harry decided that he'd had enough of Neville's snoring, and he reached for his glasses and wand. "Lumos!" he whispered, lighting the tip of his wand. He looked around, intending to find something he could throw at Neville to shut him up.

            First, he checked his bedside table. Nothing there, since he was now wearing his glasses. Next, he looked around his bed on all sides. Yet again, there was nothing…except his schoolbooks, and he didn't want to hurt Neville that badly. Although, The Monster Book of Monsters could do enough damage if he simply put it on Neville's bed…Nah.

            Finally, Harry looked up, thinking he might be able to grab a loose piece of the bed or something. He was about to turn off the light and just try to get back to sleep, when something caught his eye. A small carving at the top of the bedpost on his right.

            Curious, Harry stood up in bed to inspect the carving. It looked like the Hogwarts crest, but instead of the traditional lion, eagle, badger, and serpent around the capital H, there was a wolf, rat, dog, and stag.

            Harry stared in disbelief. It couldn't be…could it?

            Before he could think further, a small piece of parchment fluttered to his feet from out of nowhere. He picked it up and read, "Touch your wand to any of the four animals and speak their name, and they shall appear to you."

            Harry's eyes widened as he understood the meaning of the parchment. The altered Hogwarts crest had been put there by one of the Marauders: a gang of former Hogwarts students that included his father, James Potter, his best friend Sirius Black, and their friends Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew. Since the carving showed their Animagus forms and Lupin as a werewolf, the names he was meant to speak could only be the aliases the foursome used for each other: Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs.

            Harry was excited almost beyond words. He had a chance to see his father again! Almost immediately, he touched his wand to the stag's head and spoke quietly. "Prongs."

            There was a small flash, and the form of James Potter appeared before Harry. A man about a half a foot taller than himself, with the same messy black hair and glasses.

            "So, Harry. You finally found the secret I left for you."
            Harry was dumbstruck. "D…Dad?"

            "In the flesh…in a manner of speaking." James smiled down at his son. "You know, I was surprised to see that your eyes were as green as they were when you were born…but then again, they were a pretty fair part of what made me fall in love with your mother."

            "Dad…how did you do this?"

            James smiled again. "I figured you'd get around to that eventually. Well, I needed all the help I could get from your mother, let me tell you. She's possibly the best Charms student that Hogwarts ever had. Simply put, son, I left a memory of myself here, to be revealed to you later. It was just after you were born in fact…which is why I know your name. You see, if I had done it before I graduated, this form of me would only have memories up till then. I definitely could have done it…but I wouldn't know your name right now, or even if I had married Lily or not…just between you and me, it had been on my mind since fourth year."

            James smiled at Harry, but Harry didn't smile back. He was too busy thinking. If his father had left this memory of himself here after he was born, then the memory he was talking to didn't know that he and Harry's mother were dead…or what Harry had gone through since then. He decided not to say anything…it certainly wouldn't change the memory at all if it knew his father was dead now. He swallowed slowly.

            "So, Dad, what's this about a secret you left me?"

            James grinned. "Harry, my boy, the secret I'm about to reveal to you is something that the Marauders worked on the entire time we were at Hogwarts. It's pure brilliance, if I do say so myself. Harry, you are about to know EVERY secret passage in this school. And, as far as I know, you'll be the only one who knows it. We Marauders made sure the charm for revealing us only worked for our descendants…and as of the time we set this up, you're the only descendant. Is that still the way it is?"

            Harry nodded. "I can bring a friend along though…can't I?"

            "Well, I suppose…who do you have in mind?"
            Harry gestured to the bed next to him, where Ron was sleeping soundly. James's memory floated over to have a look.

            "Let me guess…a Weasley?"

            Harry was a little surprised. "Yes…how did you know?"

            "It's the hair and freckles…that, and Arthur Weasley was a few years ahead of me. He was a seventh year when I started, but we became good friends…in fact, I used to take you over to the Burrow to play with Ron when you were babies."

            Harry grinned, then gasped in surprise. "Fred and George!"

            James turned around. "The Weasley's twin boys? What about them?"
            "They're…well, they're students of yours, sort of. They're the ones who cause all the mischief nowadays. They gave me your Marauder's Map when they nicked it from Filch."

            James nodded. "That sounds about right…even at age two, those two were troublemakers. I remember one time when we were over there…they somehow turned your mother's hair blue." He laughed long and hard at this. Harry looked around frantically, hoping no one would hear. James noticed this.

            "Oh, don't worry, son. The charm only works for our descendants, remember? So only you can hear and see me."

            Harry sighed in relief.

            "Now then…shall we be off?"
            "Off? Where?"
            James sighed. "Off to cause mischief, son! I just told you that you're going to know every secret passage in the school…including ways to get into all four common rooms, and every teacher's office…except Dumbledore's, which I suppose isn't surprising to you. He's still as powerful as ever, I assume."

            Harry nodded.

            "Ok then…we won't be pulling any pranks there."

            Harry nodded again, and then went wide-eyed. "Pranks?"

            "Of course, son! Why else would you use a secret passage into teacher's offices?"

            Harry actually saw the logic in this. If he could sneak into a teacher's office and set up a really good prank without being caught…the idea made him shiver with excitement. James saw this and smiled.

            "I knew you'd take after me…where to first?"

            Harry knew immediately. "Snape's office."

            James was shocked. "Snape? Severus Snape?" He was such a greasy kid when I was here…are you telling me he's a professor?"

"That's right, Dad.  He's the Potions professor."

"Hmmmm…interesting development.  Well, son, I can tell you exactly how to get into his private office, break the charm on his grade book…even how to bewitch his bed while he's sleeping! You see, the bedrooms and offices of the Heads of House remain the same. All that changes are the people who live and work there. And I might even know how he's defending himself…assuming he hasn't changed the defenses in his bedroom and office." He grinned.

            Harry grinned back before remembering something. "Dad…wait a minute. I haven't got any prank items! Ron and I don't do that kind of stuff, and Fred and George would know if I nicked things from them…"

            James shook his head. "Harry, don't worry about that. The boys and me made sure that if our sons ever found out our little secret, they'd be well prepared to make mischief. Go down into the common room, ok? I'll be right there. And bring your wand."

            Harry got out of bed, pausing as he stood up. Should he bring Ron with him? Not this time, he decided. In case he somehow got caught (which was highly unlikely, considering his father was helping him), he didn't want both of them to get in trouble. He thought some more, and then reached under his bed, pulling out his father's old Invisibility Cloak. No point in getting caught if he could avoid it, he figured.

Harry put on his slippers and walked down the stairs into the common room, which was eerily quiet except for the crackling of the flames in the fireplace. A minute or so later, James floated down through the ceiling.

"Harry? Where are you?"
            Harry pulled the cloak off his head and replied quietly, "Right here Dad."

James was visibly shocked. "You mean…you've got my Invisibility Cloak?" He stood stock still for a few seconds before a wide smile spread across his face. "That's marvelous! It should make setting the pranks much easier. Ok, Harry. Go to the portrait hole."

            Harry did as he was told, standing in front of the portrait hole.

            "Now, kneel down and count to the sixth brick on the right, starting at the corner on your left. Oh, and light the tip of your wand."

            Harry muttered, "Lumos!" and counted. "One, two, three, four, five, six…" His eyes widened as the sixth brick popped halfway out, opening a secret drawer. Inside, there were Dungbombs, Stink Pellets, a biting teacup, a couple packets of Jewett's Joke Powder (Author Note: Yes, I got my name in here. So sue me.) and other things Harry couldn't even identify. He was shocked.

            "Dad, this is amazing!"

            James floated around so he could see Harry's face, sinking himself through the floor in the process. "Glad you approve, son. Shall we be off?"

            Harry nodded excitedly, then said, "Wait a sec, Dad…what's this stuff?" He grabbed the Joke Powder and a small round object.

"Well, Jewett's Joke Powder is enchanted so that the holder won't be affected. However, the poor victim that is covered with it is in for a major surprise…specifically, that the powder has many different powers. It can turn a person colors, or covers them with scales, or Transfigure them into something…what happens is completely random. But," and James smiled widely at this, "The best part of the enchantment is that it's completely unbreakable for twenty-four hours. No counterspell, curse, enchantment, or potion will break or hide it. Dumbledore himself tried to undo the enchantments from this powder when we covered the Slytherin Quidditch team with it right before a game, and he couldn't do it." James chuckled. "Let me tell you, beating them was a lot more fun with two Chasers covered in feathers and the other one changing colors at random, both Beaters Transfigured into zombies, the Keeper covered in the kind of boils you usually see on people who've touched undiluted bobotuber pus, and the Seeker…" James laughed loud and long. "The S-Seeker…poor guy had three heads, none of which had any eyes! I still don't know how he managed to fly around without hitting anything…"

Harry was shocked at the power he now had in his hands. "Dad…are you telling me there are enchantments that even Professor Dumbledore can't break?"

James nodded. "There aren't many of them, I admit…Professor Dumbledore is very powerful. Most of them are much more advanced than silly joke powders, though. I think the creator, Scott Jewett (A/N: Hey, look! There I am again!), found the perfect way to be immortalized: create a magic product so powerful that the greatest wizard of our time is powerless to stop it, yet so simple that even a Squib can use it!  Imagine if Voldemort had recruited him…"

Harry imagined it and shivered a little.  "What about this?" He held up the round object.

James was a little puzzled. "Let me think for a second. I don't think we used a lot of those…Ah! It's an Illusion Ball!

"A what?"
"An Illusion Ball. You put it on the floor, tap it with your wand, and name the form you want the illusion to take, and it projects the illusion a couple feet into the air. Whatever you want it to be, it will look, sound, and feel like."

Harry nodded as a plan started to form in his head. "Ok then, Dad. Lead the way.  How do we get to Snape's bedroom?"

            "Through the portrait, of course."

            Harry furrowed his brow in confusion. "We go through the Fat Lady?"

            James chuckled softly. "No, son. We're going to go through the portrait of Godric Gryffindor…or, more accurately, behind it. It takes a certain charm to open it though. You have to tap the left side of the frame and say, "Moonium!"

            Harry thought a second. "Moonium"? You mean, like Professor Lupin?"

            His father was shocked again. "Moony's a professor too?"

"Well, he was…Snape let it slip that he's a werewolf, and he resigned."

James got a rather evil glint in his eye that looked totally out of place on his face. "Goooood. Then Snape's bedroom is exactly where we hit…to get revenge for what he did to Moony, and to let him know that the next generation of Marauders is after him."

Harry grinned. "So, Dad…what were you saying about "Moonium" being the password?"

"Well, we were able to change the words that work the charms that let us out of the common rooms. For example, saying "Prongius" in the right place will get you out of Hufflepuff House. "Wormtailia" is the password for leaving Slytherin House, and "Padfooticus", of course, will free you from Ravenclaw House."

            Harry nodded. "Okay…but where does this passage go?"

            "Well, it's just sort of a connection between all the rooms. I won't tell you any more here, Harry…go on!"

            Harry swallowed deeply and climbed up onto the mantle of the fireplace. The portrait of the brave and powerful Godric Gryffindor loomed over him, making him suddenly feel very small. He checked the left side of the frame and discovered yet another of the Marauders' crests, with an arrow next to it pointing to the spot he was supposed to touch with his wand.

            "Moonium" Harry whispered, tapping the frame with his wand. The portrait swung outward, revealing a hole that Harry could walk through easily…so he did.  Immediately, he was in a small room. Turning around, he found that he had walked through an archway, over which was a sculpture of a lion. Looking around the room, he saw three identical archways, with sculptures over them of a raven, badger, and serpent, respectively.

            James floated in behind his son. "Here we are, Harry…we called this the Meeting Place. This room connects the secret entrances and exits from the common rooms of all four Houses."

            Flooded with a sudden urge to do mischief, Harry dashed for the archway to Slytherin House. James, however, floated in front of him and stopped him.

            "Hold it, Harry! It's not that easy! The passageway looks clear, but there's a powerful Shield Charm on it. You have to tap the keystone first, and recite the motto of the Marauders…which I assume you know, as you know how to work the map."

            Harry nodded and stepped forward, tapping the keystone of the archway with his wand and saying, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

            The serpent over the archway hissed, causing Harry to jump back for a second…then it looked as though a curtain over the archway had fallen down. He could now, very clearly, see into the common room of Slytherin House. Slowly, he walked through the archway.

            Harry stole quietly into the common room of Slytherin House. Even in the middle of the night, the fire was burning…and yet it seemed cold. This, Harry assumed, was from the fact that the common room, as well as the dorms, were in a dungeon, well below ground level.

            "Now what do I do?" Harry murmured quietly to himself.

(I'm going to leave it here for right now. Chapter 2 will come up…whenever I get around to writing it. I'd like to thank WeasleyTwin1 for giving me the idea of learning all the secret passages of Hogwarts from the Marauders (read the Frequently Vanishing Files of Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs to see what I mean)…please read and review!)