Ooookkaaaaaay, y'all twisted my arm. It hasn't been that long, but you can have a new chapter. We shot up, like, a hundred reads since last chapter, so this is a treat.

Don't expect every chapter to come out this fast. I'm still writing them. It's a little slow going, but I'm picking myself back into it. We got a long road ahead of us, don't worry. 

Severus couldn't put it off any longer.

The past week he had been dreading having to speak with Potter, because he had no idea what exactly to say. But now he had no choice. 

Filch had found Potter in an empty classroom. On his way to the hospital wing, he had come across a group of first years, and sent one to fetch Snape. From how panicked the Ravenclaw had been, Severus wasn't sure how much blood was a lot, but he was very sure it was too much.

Snape had sent the first year to dinner, grabbed several bottles of blood replenishing potion, and hurried up to the hospital wing.

Madam Pomfrey had a store of different healing potions, including blood replenishing, but even if she didn't need them right away, it was better to be prepared.

When he arrived, Filch was standing to one side of the door, grumbling in an undertone about the blood on his coat, Mrs. Norris next to him. Looking around, Severus noticed one of the beds a little ways away had the curtain drawn. The other beds were mostly empty, a couple students on the other side resting from whatever they'd come for.

Snape stood to one side, waiting for Madam Pomfrey to finish what she was doing.

Why were his students always the ones that were problematic?

He couldn't go one year without having to look after a new problem causing child, with no common sense.

Severus let out a silent sigh. Why had he agreed to be a teacher again?

}-{|>

Frederick Weasley was quite put out. He and his twin, George, had been practicing joke spells they made, and it had landed him in the hospital wing.

That wasn't what annoyed him. What irked him, was that George hadn't been allowed longer then a short visit. The twins were almost never separated for more then a couple hours, and even then, they were never far from one another.

Of course, once Madam Pomfrey, and the rest of the castle's inhabitants, were safely sleeping, George came back anyway.

"How are you feeling, Fred?" George asked softly, trying not to wake up the other person staying overnight. Neither of them had seen who it was Filch had brought in, and a curtain kept them out of view. Either way, they didn't want to be caught out after curfew.

"It hurts a lot less now. I think we'll go back to the drawing board with that one."

George nodded his agreement.

"We'll find another way to test it, too. It won't be any use, if we keep ending up in the hospital wing."

Fred was about to speak, but stopped, glancing towards the door. He thought he'd heard something. Holding up his hand, he made a 'hand it over' gesture, and George pulled a folded piece of paper out of his pocket. Handing it to his twin, George pulled out his wand and tapped the parchment, muttering under his breathe,

"I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good."

As Fred unfolded it, George lit the tip of his wand, shining the light on the neat ink words that began to scrawl across the parchment, announcing that, 'Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs, are proud to present, The Marauders' Map'.

The words twisted and spread, until an entire map of Hogwarts sat in Fred's hands. He unfolded it a couple more times, until he could see the section depicting the hospital wing. Inside were three dots. Two were close together, labeled 'Fred Weasley' and 'George Weasley', and the third was a couple beds away, the small ink label proclaiming Fred's mysterious fellow patient as 'Harry Potter'. Nearing the hospital wing, was yet another dot, one 'Thomas Cranne'.

"Isn't he that fourth year who gets a laugh off hexing first years?" George asked quietly,

"Yeah," Fred whispered, "why's he coming to the hospital wing alone, after curfew?"

"Dunno." George murmured softly, "we'll find out soon enough though, won't we?"

Fred gently folded the parchment back up, and George tapped it again, muttering, "Mischief managed." making the ink slowly fade off of the map, and leaving it once more looking like a bit of old scrap parchment.

Hoping to remain unnoticed, both twins ducked behind the curtains that hid Potter from view, George extinguished his wand, and they waited. After a minute or two, they heard the door to the infirmary open slightly, followed by footsteps that seemed to be coming towards them.

They stopped. Fred and George tensed when they heard the curtain being drawn aside. What did Cranne want with Potter?

Leaning slowly against the wall, Fred shifted the end of the curtain a sliver, just far enough that he could peak past it. The soft light shining through the window by Harry's bed made it easier for Fred to see the shape that he knew was Cranne. He saw Cranne draw his wand, the Ravenclaw standing oddly stiffly, as he pointed it at Harry.

"Caught in the pigeon's nest!" He murmured, his voice barely reaching Fred, as he flicked his wand, opening his mouth to start an incantation.

Not having his own wand in hand, Fred grabbed George's, startling his twin, who was waiting for Fred to tell him what was going on. The older twin leapt to his feet, ripping aside the curtain, and bringing his brother's wand level with the older boy's chest. Cranne jumped, bringing his own wand around to point at Fred instead, backing away a few steps.

"What are you doing here, Cranne?" The usually jovial boy hissed, his hazel eyes studying Cranne's face. On the bed between them, Harry shifted, letting out a quiet, sleepy noise.

George rose to his feet behind Fred, forcing Cranne to flick his wand back and forth between them.

"What's it to you, Weasley?" He sneered, "lovely night, strolling through the woods?"

The twins frowned. They didn't take their eyes off of the unhinged teen in front of them, but knew they were both having the same thought; what was Cranne talking about?

"Haven't eat?" Cranne was barely bothering to lower his voice, despite the fact none of them were supposed to be out of bed. Considering how late it was, they would be in quite a lot of trouble if they got caught.

"Caught the pimples that bank daisy silk. It was nothing quite the mess. And all the others be idiots luck, but I figured it out."

His waved his hands through the air, ignoring the looks of growing unease that the twins were giving him.

"I'm honest! Tables drunk on cupboard quilt loose!"

He suddenly let out a loud cackle, which echoed off the walls, making it sound ten times louder.

Harry yelped, throwing himself into a sitting position, and almost immediately curling forward, his head in his hand, the other clutching the edge of the mattress to keep him upright. Cranne focused his wand on Harry again, and George took a step forwards, Fred bringing his wand back up to chest height from where it had dipped in his surprise.

There was something weird about Cranne. He wasn't making any sense. Fred still worried that he would start cursing Harry. He was only a first year, the same age as Ron.

"Why don't you just sit there a moment, Potter, I'm cooking happy what?"

He suddenly smirked eerily.

"If only he died when he had the chance!" He let out another loud laugh, "Trouble thought mud cloud pink!"

His voice sounded really odd. Fred really didn't like the sound of whatever it was Cranne was trying to say. He wasn't usually so manic and inconprehensible. There was definitely something going on. Other then whatever was currently happening.

Cranne was a prat who enjoyed making other people miserable, but he wasn't usually spouting rubbish. There was something wrong, but Fed didn't have the chance to figure it out, because Harry was a lot more awake then they'd realized.

The small boy threw his blanket at Cranne, startling the deranged Ravenclaw, and giving Fred the chance to disarm him.

As Cranne's wand flew through the air to Fred's waiting hand, George tackled him from across the bed, knocking him into the curtains, and making a loud racket as they fell, the unsecured curtain rods crashing to the floor with a great Bang!

So much for not being caught out of bed.

Light appeared around the door to Madam Pomfrey's office, beyond which, presumably, were her sleeping quarters.

Certain they were some form of doomed, Fred shoved the Marauders' Map under Harry's pillow, hoping no one would notice it before he could grab it again. He didn't think they would be searched, but he didn't want to chance losing it.

"What in all the high heavens is going on!" Madam Pomfrey cried, a flick of her wand turned on the lights, flooding the hospital wing with blinding light. Fred and Harry winced at the sudden brightness, raising their arms to shield their eyes. George and Cranne hardly noticed, as they were still struggling to subdue each other.

"Enough!" Madam Pomfrey yelled, another flick of her wand had them both separated. Thankfully, Cranne no longer had his wand, so he couldn't try anything.

"Explain yourselves!!" Madam Pomfrey thundered, her eyes flashing dangerously.

George's and Cranne's wands held at his side, Fred stepped forward,

"Cranne came in and started waving his wand around, spouting nonsense! I was worried he might hex someone!"

Cranne glared at Fred, his fists clenching.

"Did not! You lost not people!"

Madam Pomfrey turned to stare at Cranne, who didn't seem to realize something was off with what he'd just said.

"Are you feeling quite well, Mr. Cranne?" She asked, frowning at him in concern.

Cranne just glared at her instead, apparently not recognizing her.

"Puff dogs lost heard!"

Madam Pomfrey gave him a long stare, before she waved her wand, and something slender and silvery shot out of it, quickly vanishing through the door.

"Perhaps you should take a seat, Mr. Cranne." Madam Pomfrey said, gesturing to a nearby bed.

"It's not! His life since Frank!"

Cranne was still glaring at the matron, when the doors to the hospital wing flew open, and Professors Mcgonagall and Flitwick entered. Mcgonagall had her hair in a loose braid over her shoulder, a gray robe covering her night dress, and Flitwick still had his nightcap on, his glasses perched haphazardly on the end of his nose.

"What has happened Poppy?" Mcgonagall asked, glancing between the twins, Cranne, and Harry.

Madam Pomfrey turned to the new arrivals,

"Mr. Cranne has apparently had some kind of accident. He seems confused. He apparently came here, waving his wand, endangering himself and others."

Mcgonagall gave the Ravenclaw a calculating look, while Flitwick merely stared at Cranne.

"Mr. Cranne," He asked, his voice taking a high, squeaky note, "is this true? are you alright? Has someone attacked you?"

Cranne didn't respond. In fact, he didn't react at all. He was staring into space, as if he had forgotten where he was.

Mcgonagall noticed his silence, and turned to him with a frown.

"Mr. Cranne, have you nothing to say for yourself?"

Apparently he didn't, because he continued to stand there. He hadn't so much as blinked.

The grown ups shared a look between them, before Mcgonagall placed a hand on Cranne's shoulder, she and Flitwick leading him away.

Madam Pomfrey shooed the twins back towards Fred's bed, so she could check over Harry.

The twins sat on the edge of the bed, waiting. They would get in trouble for George being out of bed, but they had managed to stop Cranne hexing a first year, so Fred couldn't bring himself to care too much.

The professors were speaking quietly to Cranne on the completely opposite side of the infirmary, though Fred could tell there wasn't any change in Cranne's sudden silence.

Later, Madam Pomfrey came over to them, checking on Fred when she was sure Potter had fallen asleep. Once she had made certain that Fred hadn't over exerted himself, Madam Pomfrey confiscated both wands from Fred, telling George he could get his back from Mcgonagall's office tomorrow as she chased him out of the hospital wing, insisting that her patients needed rest.

Fred didn't get the chance to retrieve the map before he was discharged the next day, and had no opportunity to sneak into the infirmary any time after. In fact, he never managed to get it back at all.

A few days after his release from Madam Pomfrey's care, Potter was similarly freed of the matron's stern hospitality, and Fred caught sight of him at breakfast.

Even if he had known what he would say, Fred couldn't exactly walk up to the first year in front of practically the entire school, the twins didn't want too many people knowing about the map, and Fred wasn't even sure if Potter had noticed him hide it or not.

His question was answered when he and George got up to head towards History of Magic. They had just reached the bottom of the main staircase, when someone called them from behind.

Turning, Fred saw the very person of his queries coming out of the Great Hall. Potter reached them, and pulled an old, and very familiar looking, worn bit of parchment from his bag, holding it out to Fred.

"You left this in the hospital wing."

When the two red heads just stared at him in surprise, Harry dropped his gaze, though he still held out the map.

"I thought you might want it back."

Still not quite sure what to make of the situation, Fred gently accepted the map from Harry, as George thanked him.

"I didn't do anything that much." Harry shifted awkwardly in place, "it was yours anyway."

Without waiting for another word, Harry turned and headed for the main doors, leaving the perplexed twins behind him.

The brothers shared a glance, communicating more with just one look then even Shakespeare himself could ever hope to articulate. Potter was an interesting firstie, to be sure. It wasn't often that anyone, especially a Slytherin, simply gave them such an obviously mundane, and therefore suspicious, item back. Even the Muggleborn first years quickly caught on that you don't just trust the Weasley twins to not be up to something.

Potter had clearly noticed Fred hide the map, but rather then turn it in to a teacher, he'd returned it. Perhaps they had found a future mischief maker in unknown (to himself) need of teachers in the art of pranking. Or he just didn't know about them. Either way, he had peaked their interest.

I really do love the twins.

How you all enjoyed! 

Bakeku67💚🐍