After the game, George and Fred skipped the victory celebration altogether, eager to find Evan. The trio convened quietly in an empty classroom.
Evan piled their earnings on the table: fifteen Galleons, along with a hefty amount of silver Sickles and bronze Knuts.
According to the agreement they had set beforehand, Evan would take forty percent of the haul, totaling six Galleons, nineteen Sickles, and twenty-eight Knuts, with the remainder belonging to the Weasley brothers.
Evan's winnings also included his bet with Malfoy...
"Is that a lot?" George gaped at the money on the table, his voice trembling with excitement.
The five whole Galleons they had managed to save over the years had come from scrimping and saving, unlike the ease with which they had earned this sum.
"If we could do this every year, wouldn't we be rich?" Fred mused dreamily.
"Forget it. This sort of thing isn't exactly praiseworthy, and once is enough. Besides, the Fidelius Charm isn't completely foolproof. If we keep this up, it's bound to lead to trouble one day," Evan cautioned, dampening their unrealistic enthusiasm.
George and Fred exchanged a glance, their smiles fading as they nodded solemnly.
"Of course, we don't want to get caught. With this money, we should have enough for our initial development. Later, we can earn Galleons by selling our joke products!"
"We've been discussing, and we've decided to hire you as our special consultant. What do you think?" Fred's face lit up with his usual grin, dispelling the previously somber atmosphere.
"No problem, as long as I have the time," Evan agreed without much thought, considering the magic item crafting skill in his system that had remained stagnant. Maybe he could gain some proficiency by working with the Weasley brothers.
"We also need to buy some materials, but before that, we've prepared a gift for you." George produced a folded, rectangular piece of parchment from his sleeve, resembling an envelope, and handed it to Evan.
"You can guess how it should be used," Fred said with a smile.
Evan recognized it at a glance: the Marauder's Map. He took the parchment with a hint of excitement, spreading it open. The slightly yellowed paper was blank.
Not surprised, Evan tapped it with the tip of his wand and declared solemnly,
"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!"
Intricate lines of ink began to spread from where his wand touched, forming a web that extended to every corner of the parchment. Then, in green, elegant script, the words appeared:
"Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs...
Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers are proud to present...
The Marauder's Map!"
The moment Evan held the Marauder's Map, his gaze immediately swept over the names dotting the map,
Harry, Ron, and Hermione's names were in the Gryffindor common room—Evan guessed they were celebrating the Quidditch victory. He then sought out Peter Pettigrew's name and found it nearby.
In his previous life, Evan had always wondered how the Weasley twins, with the Marauder's Map in hand, never noticed a fellow named Peter Pettigrew tailing their brother for several terms.
Now, with the map in hand, Evan realized it wasn't all-powerful.
Perhaps the parchment was too small, and Hogwarts too vast, showing only a rough approximation of each person's location. With names of students and professors numbering in the thousands, dormitories and common rooms were crowded with names. One extra Peter Pettigrew was hardly conspicuous.
Evan quickly searched for Quirrell's location to see if the name Tom Marvolo Riddle would appear beside it.
He found Quirrell in the professor's office, but, regrettably, his was the only name there. Evan wondered if it was because Voldemort wasn't considered alive at the moment.
As Evan pondered, the Weasley brothers were stunned by his adept handling of the map. When they first got their hands on it, it had taken them a long time to crack it.
"Evan, have you used something like this before?" George asked.
Evan shook his head, explaining,
"No, I just happen to know a bit about the creators of the Marauder's Map."
"Right, how come you're giving me something as precious as this?" Evan was curious. The Marauder's Map was invaluable to the Weasley brothers, who were keen on causing mischief at school.
With it, they could do almost anything at Hogwarts without fear of getting caught.
George's smile faded slightly as he glanced at the Galleons on the table.
"Fred and I don't know what you need all this money for, but we guess that once you've got it, you won't be staying quietly at school.
"We've memorized everything on the map; it'll be more useful in your hands than ours!"
"Yeah, we wouldn't want our new consultant to run into any trouble," Fred added, patting Evan's shoulder.
"Thanks," Evan felt a touch of gratitude, but he didn't express it with many words. Instead, he filed it away in his heart.
If ever he had the power, he'd do his best to prevent Fred's death. After all, the brothers were quite entertaining.
"By the way, have you ever been to Hogsmeade?" Evan put away the Marauder's Map and asked.
"Of course, so that's where you're planning to go." Fred breathed a sigh of relief. He and George had hesitated to give Evan the map, fearing he might sneak out of Hogwarts and head somewhere dangerous.
They hadn't expected Evan to be interested in Hogsmeade Village, which was relatively safe.
The brothers didn't hold back, sharing everything they knew about Hogsmeade Village.
With the Marauder's Map in hand, George and Fred had naturally snuck out before, but their visits were brief, and their knowledge of the place was limited.
After sharing some amusing incidents that occurred in Hogsmeade Village, George hesitated before solemnly advising Evan.
"Even though you're our Gryffindor hero and have killed a troll, I still want to remind you to be careful. The wizards out there aren't as foolish as trolls!"
Tips:
For some reason, some special episodes cannot be uploaded here.
I uploaded the whole thing on Patreon, plus 20 new chapters.
If you're interested, check out Patreon
Website:patreon.com/user?u=111514881