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Chapter Text

Fred Weasley, fourth-year Gryffindor of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, was feeling conflicted. His second-year housemate, Harry Potter, had recently revealed that he has the ability to talk to snakes.
Parseltongue, as the power was called, was considered a Dark power, as the last wizard with the ability to use it had been He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, or as Harry and Headmaster Dumbledore called him, Voldemort.

Most of the school now believed that Harry could be responsible for the reopening of the Chamber of Secrets, supposedly a way for Salazar Slytherin’s descendants to ‘purify’ the school of muggle-born students.
Personally, Fred thought that this was ridiculous; one of Harry’s best friends, Hermione Granger, was a muggle-born student as well. He was also best friends with Fred’s younger brother, Ron, and the entire Weasley family were called ‘blood-traitors’ by the Dark pure-blooded believing families. How could Harry be responsible?

Not everyone felt that way, however. Most of Gryffindor House had turned on him, and Cormac McLaggen had started a campaign to vote Harry out of the house. It was a very old rule, so old that it had hardly been remembered even by those who had read Hogwarts: A History.

Fred and his twin, George, had managed to convince him to delay the vote by four days, but that was all McLaggen would do. If the vote went in McLaggen’s favor, Harry and anyone who voted against the Outcasting would be kicked out of their dorms in Gryffindor Tower.

Even worse than that, a week ago, Harry had been found next to a Petrified Justin Finch-Fletchley and Nearly Headless Nick. This seemed to cement the theory that Harry was the Heir of Slytherin in Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw.

The tension had gotten so high that Fred feared violence from the rest of the school sooner or later. The twins had been trying to break the tension with their pranks, but it wasn’t working.

Now, Fred was trying to find some place that Harry and the Outcasted members of Gryffindor House could hide from the rest of the school while not in classes. The Marauder’s Map they had found in their first year didn’t have any place big enough to do that, and the Chamber of Secrets held whatever was petrifying students, even if it was possible to find.

More pressing than that, if it was possible, Fred and George were both unsure how they could stand up to the entirety of Gryffindor House. Sure, the first-year students were only playing along with the idea because they were too afraid to rock the boat, and Percy the Prefect was treating the suggestion of the Outcasting rule as childish and would likely abstain from voting.

But just about everyone else was treating Harry as a criminal! As much as Fred wanted to support Harry, he didn’t know how to do that. He couldn’t even ask his parents for help because he didn’t think they’d take him seriously because of his nature as a prankster!

At this point, it would be better to find someone who he could relate to and ask them for advice, like the creators of the Marauder’s Map. Wait a minute…

“Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs,” Fred muttered, pointing his wand at the deactivated map. “You left prewritten messages for those who tried to open the map but gave the wrong command … is there a way for accessing your names in case of emergency advice being needed?”

At his question, words started forming on the parchment.

Mr. Moony is sure that it would take a truly dire situation, indeed.

Mr. Wormtail would like to know what that situation is.

Mr. Padfoot has included a loyalty charm to know which Marauders are best to go to, along with the sincerity of your intentions.

Mr. Prongs says that the Marauders would help if it was directly requested by the user.

“One of my housemates will be unjustly Outcast in four days. I can’t find a place to hide the Outcast and those who are loyal to him, and I need mentoring on the type of bravery that getting cast out with him takes. Please help me,” Fred said.

Then he realized that he’d admitted to not knowing how to stand up for Harry against the entire house. Did the loyalty charm that Padfoot mentioned let his request go through despite that? The words on the parchment changed.

Mr. Moony’s name is Remus Lupin, and he is loyal but has the truth hidden from him.

Mr. Wormtail’s name is Peter Pettigrew, and he betrayed all three of the other Marauders.

Mr. Padfoot’s name is Sirius Black, and he is loyal.

Mr. Prongs’s name is James Potter, and he is deceased.

“Holy shit, that’s a lot, hang on,” Fred said, grabbing his own piece of parchment and scribbling the names and loyalties. “Okay …. Okay. Since Padfoot is probably framed for Wormtail’s crimes, being in Azkaban, I can’t write to him. Wormtail is out of the question, and we all know what happened to Harry’s dad, so Moony is our only hope. Now, is borrowing Dumbledore’s phoenix or the fastest owl in the Hogsmeade post office faster?”

“Probably the phoenix,” George’s voice said, causing Fred to jump. He hadn’t noticed his twin entering the dormitory. “Sorry, I felt some strong emotions from our twin connection and wanted to help.”

“It’s fine,” Fred said. “Help me write a letter to Remus Lupin, maybe he knows a place that wasn’t put on the Map that we can use once it happens … and how the hell we do the right thing in the face of this.”

George nodded solemnly. “I don’t want to turn on the son of a Marauder, even more so because we knew him before we found out about his dad being one of our idols … but this fear is a class of its own.” He grabbed a piece of parchment and started to write.

Dear Mr. Lupin,

Our names are Fred and George Weasley. We have an unusual type of emergency and your old map from your school days pointed us towards you when we passed Padfoot’s loyalty charm test.

The Son of Prongs has been falsely accused of reopening the Chamber of Secrets because he is a Parselmouth. Two students, a ghost, and the caretaker’s cat have been attacked, and there is one message on a wall declaring the Chamber’s reopening.

One boy, Cormac McLaggen, has uncovered the old rule about Outcasting students from their houses. We have convinced him to delay for four days, but the vote will undoubtedly end in an Outcasting. We do not have a place to hide and live once we are outcasts, nor do we know the type of courage it takes to get Outcasted with him by voting against the notion.

We welcome any advice on both locations and bravery to do what is right instead of what is easy.

Solemnly swearing to be up to no good (for the traitors),

Fred and George Weasley

“How does this sound?” George asked. Fred read the letter over and nodded. “It looks good,” Fred approved. He took the letter from George and said, “I’m going to go send it. Can you ask Lee and the rest of the Quidditch team what they think of the Outcasting idea?” “Sure,” George answered. “Let’s hope that they’re being reasonable.”

Fred nodded and left to go to Professor Dumbledore’s Office. Thankfully, it was still late afternoon, so Fred wouldn’t get in trouble by wandering the halls of Hogwarts. He found the statue of a gargoyle guarding the office and stood in front of it, then thought about the most likely password that the Headmaster would use.

“Let’s see … the password has always been some type of sweet before, so … Sherbet Lemon!” Fred guessed. The statue moved aside, and Fred walked up the circular staircase to enter the office. He checked the Marauder’s Map to see whether he should knock and saw that the office was empty at the moment. Fred tested the door and, finding it unlocked, entered.

Looking around the room, Fred recognized the portraits of the various headmasters and headmistresses that Hogwarts had had since its creation. He also took in the various items that Dumbledore had lying around, possibly invented by him, some of which were whirring with magic. Then Fred saw what he was looking for.

Sitting on a perch was a beautiful red bird. It wasn’t as big as Fred remembered, so the phoenix must have had a burning day recently. Still, it looked healthy enough to take letters to others.

Fred walked up to the bird and said, “Hello … your name is Fawkes, right?”

The phoenix nodded. “I need your help,” Fred told it. “One of my housemates has been accused of being the Heir of Slytherin, and someone found the old Outcasting rule and suggested we use it.

George and I convinced him to delay for four days, but we need to send a letter to Remus Lupin asking for help – we need both a hiding place and mentorship on getting Outcast with Harry by voting against it instead of not voting,” Fred blurted out, startling himself at his emotional outburst.

Fawkes sang a few notes, which calmed Fred’s nerves. The effect of a phoenix’s song was a calming presence that Fred had needed. Fawkes then nodded and motioned for Fred to give him the letter.

“Thank you,” Fred said gratefully. “I’ll let Professor Dumbledore know what you’re doing, if you want to stick around for his reply.” The phoenix nodded, then caught fire and vanished.

Chapter Text

Remus Lupin was having a quiet evening. The full moon had passed for the month, so the next time he would transform into a werewolf would be in the New Year. The man was reading a book when he heard a strange noise. Looking up, he saw Dumbledore’s phoenix, Fawkes, appear in front of him.

Setting The Hobbit down and walking over, Remus saw that there was a letter in its talons. “Is that for me?” he clarified, and Fawkes nodded. Remus took the parchment from Fawkes and began reading.

Dear Mr. Lupin,

Our names are Fred and George Weasley. We have an unusual type of emergency and your old map from your school days pointed us towards you when we passed Padfoot’s loyalty charm test.

The Son of Prongs has been falsely accused of reopening the Chamber of Secrets because he is a Parselmouth. Two students, a ghost, and the caretaker’s cat have been attacked, and there is one message on a wall declaring the Chamber’s reopening.

One boy, Cormac McLaggen, has uncovered the old rule about Outcasting students from their houses. We have convinced him to delay for four days, but the vote will undoubtedly end in an Outcasting. We do not have a place to hide and live once we are outcasts, nor do we know the type of courage it takes to get Outcasted with him by voting against the notion.

We welcome any advice on both locations and bravery to do what is right instead of what is easy.

Solemnly swearing to be up to no good (for the traitors),

Fred and George Weasley

Remus stared at the letter in his hand, shock in his eyes. James’s son, Outcast from his own House? Students who wanted to be loyal but wanted help being brave? The Map, including the phrase used to open it?

Padfoot’s loyalty charm, now that was a shock. He’d used it to prove that he hadn’t intended on seriously harming Snape when he’d sent the Slytherin to the Whomping Willow. Remus hadn’t realized that the charm would still hold up. Then again, it was designed to test loyalty. It would even out its caster if they betrayed someone, which was its entire point. For Fred and George to have felt the need to specify ... that indicated a serious need for aid.

The Chamber of Secrets, that was a legend that was told over and over. Sirius had known it from his family. Painful as the memory was, the content gave additional context to the letter.

The rule that would allow students to Outcast a classmate from their House ... Remus pulled out a book and turned to the index. It was a seldom-used rule, and it hadn’t been used since just before he’d started Hogwarts. True to the twins’ writings, voting against the Outcasting would get you voted out along with the victim if the vote went in favor of the motion. The only way the rule would be dug up is if someone really wanted to hurt their classmate.

There were too many things that were included in this letter for it to be a prank. Not to mention the fact that Fawkes was there. The twins that he had met as babies must be serious about wanting help in bravery as well as the need of a safe location; phoenixes were picky about who they helped, and Fawkes was especially picky. For Fred and George to have been able to get Fawkes’s help, how dire was it?

There was no way that Remus was leaving them in this situation. Especially if James’s son would be harmed, as well; that was an unacceptable outcome. Determination set in. He grabbed a piece of parchment, a quill, and an ink bottle and began to write.

Dear Fred and George,

Your situation is dire, indeed. Don’t worry, I will help you. There is a painting on the seventh floor of Hogwarts that shows a man teaching trolls how to dance ballet. Pace in front of the wall on the opposite side of the painting three times, thinking of whatever you need – in this case, living quarters for outcast Hogwarts students. Doing so  will reveal the Room of Requirement, and once inside it will provide anything other than food that the user requires upon request. The Room is Unplottable, meaning that it is hidden from the Marauder’s Map. The Room of Requirement can also ban certain people from entering it after yourselves, such as those who would hurt you, but you have to specifically request it and close any loopholes.

If you are expecting a confrontation when the Outcasting happens, here are some useful spells that can help you. The Shield Charm, Protego, will reflect any spells sent your way, as long as they are not the Unforgivables. If you can cause some type of diversion that is flashy, Smokescreen Charms and Muflliato, a sound-muffling spell, could be useful in aiding your escape. It may be difficult to learn, but it’s only one year above O.W.L. level. Jelly-Legs, the Disarming Charm, and Impedimenta are also useful should your classmates attack you.

As for bravery, it helps immensely if you have allies. I recommend that you ask every single Gryffindor about their opinion and offer sanctuary to anyone who believes in Prongslet. Build up enough of a task force and learn to trust them, and you will be willing to take on anything or anyone.

There is a Hogsmeade weekend coming up soon, isn’t there? Perhaps we can meet at The Three Broomsticks with any allies that you can convince to come? It may help if we meet in person and discuss details about long-term plans after the initial Outcasting.

Don’t be afraid to owl me for advice on defensive spells if needed, and if something truly pressing comes up and Dumbledore can’t do anything, ask to send Fawkes again. Above all, do not be afraid to use your skills against them. You’ve figured out the Map, and you clearly couldn’t have had help in doing so. Why don’t you use those brains to aid in the trials ahead of you?

Mischief Managed, Remus John “Moony” Lupin

Remus smiled and gave the letter to Fawkes. “Give this to Fred and George, please, and be on standby in case they need an emergency letter delivered again,” he requested. Fawkes nodded, gave a trill, and flashed back to Hogwarts. “They’ve got this,” Remus said to himself. “After all, everyone underestimates pranksters. They don’t know the true brilliance in their minds.”

The werewolf was confident that the future Outcasts would pull through. Although the situation was concerning enough that a distraction might prove helpful while waiting for updates. This decided, Remus picked up his book and turned to Riddles in the Dark. 

Chapter Text

The next day, Fred had started sounding out the second-year Gryffindors.  Ron had expressed Harry’s shock at the discovery of Parseltongue being rare and Dark magic. Hermione had mentioned that Salazar Slytherin lived one thousand years ago and Harry’s muggle relatives had never talked about magic, so if Harry was a descendant of him, even Harry himself didn’t know it and the culprit was a different Heir.  

Neville Longbottom had admitted that Harry’s character went against the illusion of Harry being the Heir. However, not everyone shared the same opinion. 

“What do you mean, he can’t be?” Seamus Finnigan demanded. “He’s a Parselmouth, we all saw it, that’s what the Heir of Slytherin is known for.” 

“Exactly what I said. He’s innocent,” Fred replied.  

“Bollocks,” Seamus snapped. “There’s no way it’s not –” 

“Drop it before we get detention or something,” Fred warned. Seamus stopped talking as he saw several Professors coming within earshot of them – they were near the entrance to the Great Hall, after all. 

“What in the world has gotten into this school?” Fred muttered under his breath. 

“I’ll tell you what’s going on, everyone is scared so much that they’d rather blame everything on someone than think!” snapped Katie Bell.  

“We are thinking, though!” Seamus said.  

“No, you’re not,” Fred told him.  

Seamus gave a look that said I absolutely am and sat down next to Dean Thomas. 

All around the Gryffindor table, students were acting like the leading theory was right. “Why is he here?” One student muttered. “McLaggen will get rid of him in three days,” another reassured them.

“They’re all nuts,” Fred muttered. “Moony got back to us,” George mouthed to him. “Seventh floor, across from the painting of the dancing trolls – we can talk there.” Thank Merlin , Fred thought. 

Immediately after the last class of the day, Fred and George found the Room of Requirement that Lupin had told them about. Entering the room, the twins found a common room much like the one in Gryffindor Tower. There were a few bedrooms – boys’ rooms on the left, and girls’ rooms on the right. Each side had its own bathroom, and the color theme was orange with brown accents. There was even a fireplace. It was perfect. 

The next few days would be busy for the twins. In between interviewing their housemates, Fred and George were practicing their spellwork. Both boys had Expelliarmus down almost instantly, and the Impediment and Jelly-Legs Jinxes quickly followed. George had mastered the Shield Charm and was helping Fred with it. Fred also experimented with different prank items and smokescreens. 

George had also told Professor Dumbledore about what was going on in Gryffindor House the evening that they found the Room of Requirement. It was a hard call, but they needed the extra support. George was shaken after the meeting; it had not gone the way that the twins had expected at all. 

Flashback  

George knocked on the door to Professor Dumbledore’s office. “Enter,” the headmaster’s voice called. George entered the office and said, “Professor Dumbledore, were you aware of the   majority of Gryffindor House blaming Harry for the attacks from the Heir of Slytherin?”  

“I was aware that most of Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were doing it,” Professor Dumbledore admitted, “but that Gryffindor would turn on one of their own seems unreasonable.”  

“It is, but it’s happening,” George confirmed. “One student named Cormac McLaggen has actually suggested that the house take it a step further than the Ravens and ‘Puffs.”   

“I highly doubt that Gryffindor would turn on their own like that,” the headmaster said. “After all, your House is supposed to be like your family.”  

“McLaggen has suggested that Gryffindor use the old Outcasting rule in Hogwarts: A History at the end of the book to truly isolate Harry,” George revealed. “Almost the entirety of Gryffindor is backing the idea, and McGonagall is treating the situation like a giant prank.”  

“There’s no way that your housemates can do anything that Professor McGonagall can’t put a stop to,” Dumbledore insisted. The old man was truly blind to what was happening in Gryffindor.  He either could not see how badly the fear was affecting the students, he had too much faith in the professors, or a combination of both.  

At this, George decided to do something drastic. He had seen an empty Pensieve on the desk behind the Headmaster, so George walked over to it and, acting on the lessons his dad had   taught him in case it was needed, fished a certain memory from his mind and placed it in the bowl.

He then grabbed Dumbledore’s arm and pulled him over to the bowl, placing his head   into it knowing that Dumbledore would have to follow in order to help him exit, since he had never done this before.  

The pair landed in the Gryffindor Common Room, and the mass of accusations that were being made around the pair stopped as the memory of Cormac McLaggen yelled, “Hey, I found a way   to get rid of the Heir!” Every head in the memory turned to look at McLaggen.  

The fourteen-year-old, only just aging out of the same year as the twins, explained how he had remembered a story his Dad had told him about a student being kicked out of Hufflepuff by their classmates because he wasn’t loyal enough.

“I’ve looked up the rules, and it looks like we can get rid of Potter with this Outcasting rule,” he said, waving his wand and causing copies of   the rule to appear in front of every student.  

“Hold up, McLaggen, that seems a little extreme, considering your only proof is an ability that Harry only just discovered he had,” Fred exclaimed in the memory.  

“Bullshit,” Mclaggen said. “The sooner we get rid of him, the better.”  

“It says here that anyone who votes against the Outcasting gets Outcast with the person,” Memory George said. “Considering that some of us are likely to be Outcasting our own brothers or close friends, not to mention our teammates in Quidditch, perhaps we should have a few days to think about this so that we can vote with clear heads?”  

“Two days,” Mclaggen said.  

“At least give us a week,” Fred argued, “this is our star seeker and my youngest brother and their best friend who is also a muggleborn we are talking about.”  

There was no question that Ron and Hermione would side with Harry; to do anything else would be completely out of the normal for them.  

“Four days out or here and now, make your choice,” McLaggen answered harshly.  

“Four days,” the twins said instantly, and the rabble around the common room restarted as George and Dumbledore left the Pensieve.  

 It was a startling experience, both for George because of the Headmaster being flawed despite his achievements, and for Dumbledore because of the shock of seeing his students turn on each other so ruthlessly. Dumbledore knew the second that he looked into George’s eyes that the student had lost trust in him. The Headmaster silently swore to take complaints from his students more seriously. 

As of the end of the second day that McLaggen had given them, the twins were working out plans for the living situation. They had designed the quarters that the Room of Requirement had provided them by adding in a bathroom, a bookshelf, and a laboratory for potions practice. It also wouldn’t hurt them to prepare some potions to use against injuries in the time ahead of them. 

The defensive spellwork of the twins was improving by leaps and bounds. Fred was experimenting with Dungbombs and Smokescreen Charms, trying to make a truly outlandish distraction.  

The time that they had left in Gryffindor was short. While Fred was saddened by it, he and his twin were determined to work out how to get through without their House. Harry was worth it.

Chapter Text

On day three, there was a Gryffindor Quidditch Team practice scheduled for the morning. Harry appeared apprehensive, but George noticed the Seeker’s expression. 

"What's wrong, Harry?" he asked. "I don't know how well practice is going to go for me with the whole Heir of Slytherin thing working against me in Gryffindor," he admitted.

"I'm going to be kicked out of Gryffindor tomorrow; I've heard about the Outcasting idea from Neville, and Hermione can't find a way to counter it without proving definitively that I'm innocent."

“Fred, Katie, and I believe you,” George said. “Plus, Oliver cares more about his ability to lead the team than the Heir of Slytherin nonsense; if nothing else, he’ll force the team to keep it off the pitch.” 

“I’ll go talk to Wood before we leave the locker rooms,” Fred volunteered. “I’d been meaning to ask about his thoughts on all this anyway, so if it gives you enough piece of mind to attend practice, I’ll do it now.” 

“That would be great,” Harry said, relieved. “Thank you, Fred, George, this means a lot.” After the Captain, Oliver Wood, discussed what they would be training to do in particular, Fred asked him if they could discuss how the theory that Harry was the Heir of Slytherin would affect the team. 

That was how Fred learned that Oliver was considering giving up his potential career to join Harry in being Outcast from Gryffindor. “There’s no way our seeker would do this,” he said in the locker rooms. “He’s disgusted by everything that the current Heir stands for, and he would never give Malfoy a reason to like him.” 

“But the rest of the House is being stupid,” Alica Spinnet complained. “Angelina and I have been trying to tell the others in our dorm about how he is at practice, but nobody listens. Worse, our dormmates act like they’ll hex us if we keep it up; we’ve started putting Unbreakable Charms and other safety charms on our stuff in case they attack it to get to us.” 

“George and I found a place to live if we get Outcast, and it’s big enough that we can fit everyone on the team and more,” Fred told them. “Make up your minds and fast, because the big day is tomorrow, and we need to know where you stand for Harry and us to be safe.” 

“I don’t want to hurt Harry,” Wood said. “I had been thinking about abstaining, but I’d also wondered if I should vote against the Outcasting. I don’t know what to do,” he confessed. 

“Since Alica has vouched that Angelina is sane, that’s the entire team who believes Harry’s innocence,” Fred pointed out. “We could get Outcast as a team, throw Gryffindor into chaos when the season resumes, and then crush them next year as the Outcast team.” 

“I would risk my dream of playing professional Quidditch,” Wood admitted. “I need to do some soul searching to decide if I’m willing to sacrifice that or replace one player.” 

“Three players,” Fred corrected. “George and I have recently found a willing mentor to help us find the courage to vote against the Outcasting and, if I’ve read the vibes of the House correctly, get Outcast with Harry.” 

Wood gasped. After staring at the redhead for a minute, he closed his mouth and said, “I’ll let you know tomorrow morning.” 

After practice, the twins found Ron and Hermione in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom on the Marauder's Map. Wanting to get their viewpoint on how things were looking, they walked to the bathroom in question and found the pair brewing a potion over a toilet.

"We have a plan to help Harry tomorrow," Fred announced. "We're getting Outcasted with the three of you, so if you're interested, keep working on whatever potion this is and move your idea to Plan B."

"Thanks, guys," Ron said, relieved. "We've come pretty far, and if we only use a small amount for our plan, we could keep some for emergencies if we need to get out of sight of McLaggen," Hermione said. "But this does change things long-term in the event we can't get Malfoy to tell us something useful."

Fred looked at the potion and, after about ten minutes where George and Ron talked logistics for long-term strategies, understood what the trio was trying to do. "Polyjuice Potion?! Hermione, that's insane! At least let George and I take the potion and ask him; we know the location of the Slytherin dorms and have loads of experience acting!"

"Enough to pull off Crabbe and Goyle?" Ron asked.

"Damn, you've actually thought about it that much," Fred sighed. "And how do you plan to get their hairs?"

"Fill a couple of pastries with a simple but powerful sleeping drought, and we will use spare robes that I can get," Hermione answered.

The lengths that the trio was willing to go to prove Harry's innocence lingered in the twins' minds for the rest of the day.

That evening, Fred and George walked to Professor McGonagall's office. “Come in,” she called when they knocked.  

“They are seriously going to do it,” Fred announced without preamble. “This is the last thing we would joke about,” George backed him. “When you lose House students to this, we will not be accepting your apology, but we will hope that you find a way to pay more attention to your Head of House duties in addition to being the Deputy Headmistress and the Transfiguration teacher,” Fred finished.  

George blinked, not expecting Fred to be that harsh. McGonagall looked startled at Fred’s words, as well, and then she took in George’s reaction. 

“I suppose it could be said that I am overworked,” the Professor admitted. “I will wait to see if it actually happens. If so, I will ask Professor Sinistra if she would be your Head; she is fair, and she is not overburdened by her job.” 

“That would be great, thank you,” George said. McGonagall sighed. “I will speak to Professor Dumbledore about the possibility of hiring a new staff member to take on the Deputy Headmistress duties regardless,” the teacher decided. “Merlin knows that I could use a break, if I am missing even a prank version of the Outcasting, let alone the real thing.” 

Fred nodded his head sharply, clearly having decided that it would be best if he didn’t open his mouth. “And one last thing before you head back to your dorm,” she said. “I ... would miss having the two of you in my House if you got Outcast, just as I would miss Harry and his friends,” she admitted. 

“I had hoped that if you could be convinced to take my class seriously, you could become so skilled that you could study under me for a Mastery in Transfiguration, or even attempt to become an Animagus – legally, of course, unlike the Marauders you so idolize if my suspicions are correct.” 

The twins gaped.  “You have a year before your O.W.L.’s,” McGonagall told the twins. “I will attempt to change myself for the better and earn the right to this challenging proposition. Good luck to all of us,” she finished. Fred and George took this as a dismissal. 

Shortly after meeting with Professor McGonagall, Fred and George were lying on their beds, soaking in the Gryffindor dormitory as best as they could. This would be the last night they ever spent in there, after all. “Hey,” Lee Jordan spoke up. “Hey Lee,” Fred responded. 

“Things will work out,” Lee said. “Whatever you decide, you know him better than anyone except for Ron and Hermione. I trust your judgement.” “Say your mental goodbyes to Gryffindor, then,” George said, “Because we are getting Outcasted with Harry.” 

“As long as they can’t take away my position as Quidditch match commentator, I’m good,” Lee reassured them. “Hell, McGonagall might decide that since Gryffindor kicked me out, I literally can’t be biased anymore and have my position secured permanently.” 

Even the two dormmates who thought Harry was guilty laughed at that one. “I’ll try to keep you two out of the firing range of the pranks if you don’t use violence against us,” Fred offered to the classmates. “Sure,” they decided. Fred decided to take that as a sign. This would work out.

Chapter Text

The day of the Outcasting, Fred and George were set. They had set up the Room of Requirement to live in, met with every Gryffindor about their side of the vote, offered sanctuary to those who would like to vote against it instead of abstaining, and mastered the defensive spells that Lupin had suggested.  

Fred had gone to the kitchens and asked the house-elves to move the belongings of anyone who voted against the Outcasting to the Room of Requirement, which they agreed to. And as Fred had suggested, the entire Gryffindor Quidditch team was going to vote against the Outcasting! This would throw Gryffindor into chaos when the Gryffindor-Hufflepuff match came in the spring! 

It was a Sunday. There were no classes to worry about missing, and the tension had been rising all week. The early morning was spent waiting for something to happen with the Outcasting plan, even if Percy the Prefect was aloof and dismissive about it. 

At ten o’clock, Cormac McLaggen was calling the house to attention, and the entire house listened. McLaggen explained the Outcasting rule as a formality and proposed to Outcast Harry Potter from Gryffindor, for the crime of apparently being the heir of Slytherin. “All in favor?” he asked. Several voices, a majority of Gryffindor, said “Aye!” “All opposed?” he asked, smirking. “Remember, those who oppose the vote get Outcast with him.” 

 “Nay,” Fred said, along with George, Oliver, Katie, Alica, Angelina, Ron, Hermione, Lee Jordan, and Nevile Longbottom. The first years abstained because they didn’t want to rock the boat, and Percy Weasley abstained because he was sure that his housemates would not take the proposal seriously. Shockingly enough, the two fourth-years who had laughed at Lee’s quip last night abstained, as well. They would have to double down on their deal, then. 

“And now, we forcefully Outcast Potter and all those who voted against the Outcasting,” McLaggen announced. “Wait, that’s our entire Quidditch team!” Seamus Finnigan yelled. As the pair started to argue, Fred and George quietly snuck the group of Outcasts towards the door, Fred using the Muffliato spell to mask the sounds of their footsteps. 

Suddenly, George set off a Filibuster Firework that he had stuck a Dungbomb to earlier.  The firework exploded and set off the Dungbomb, filling the common room with smoke and the awful smell that the magical stink bomb was named for. Among the screaming caused by the smell and the explosion, the twins used Smokescreen Charms to add to the confusion and pulled the group out of the Gryffindor Common room.  

“Alright, now we just have to get to the Room of Requirement and we can start rebuilding our lives,” Fred said. “The house-elves will have your stuff there, so let’s go before we’re attacked. George, take the rear.” 

As they raced towards the seventh floor, Fred thought about the change that they were going through. Previously, Fred and George had felt oppressed, not able to share the same opinion as everyone else. Now, though, they had formed what Fred felt could turn into a strong support system. Rather than ruining them, McLaggen had given them the chance to make more friends and increase the strength of the friendships they had already. 

When they reached the hallway containing the Room of Requirement, Fred sprinted ahead to request the living space the Room had created before. The door appeared by the time everyone else had arrived, and the twins showed everyone inside. George entered last and closed the door, and then Fred got their attention. 

“Welcome to the Room of Requirement,” Fred began. “According to our source, this room can provide the user with anything that they need aside from food. We’ve done a bit of experimenting, and it doesn’t appear to satisfy simple curiosity; you have to need what you’re requesting in some capacity to get it.” 

“So, because we need a place to live now that we’re Outcasts, or should I say Housecasts, the room created a common room and dorms?” Katie asked. “Exactly,” Fred confirmed. “Boys’ dormitories are on the left and girls’ on the right, just like in Gryffindor. I don’t quite know what we’ll do for meals yet, but George warned Professor Dumbledore about this so he should be able to think of something.” 

“Why couldn’t he stop it, then?” Harry grumbled. “I only got to him two days ago, and he had to see my memory of McLaggen suggesting the Outcasting before he believed me. Yes, you can do that by voluntarily taking a small section of your memory out and placing it in a magical bowl called a Pensieve for the viewers to stick their heads into for however long the memory is,” George explained. 

“So,” Fred continued, “we did reach out to an ally, and he wants to meet us in Hogsmeade next weekend at The Three Broomsticks to help us discuss long-term plans. Considering the toxic nature of the rest of the school, I feel as though it might be best to sneak you four,” he inclined his head towards Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville, “with us to maximize your safety.” 

“And you trust this person?” Oliver asked. “I may have given up my chances of a Quidditch career because I can’t represent people who are as stupid as the rest of – as Gryffindor is being right now. Are you sure this won’t backfire and make our efforts for nothing?” Fred and George nodded solemnly. 

“Oh, Harry, something I should show you,” Fred realized. He grabbed the Marauder’s Map and handed it to Harry. “What’s this rubbish?” Harry asked. “Tap it with your wand and say, ‘I solemnly swear that I am up to no good,’” Fred instructed. Harry looked at Fred suspiciously but did as he was told. He gasped as the map filled in. 

“This is a map of Hogwarts!” Harry observed. “Now look in the Gryffindor Common Room,” Fred said, pointing. “Hey, there are a few names in the dormitories! McLaggen, Seamus, and even Percy!” Ron exclaimed. “And the rest of the house is in the common room,” Angelina said. “It shows where people are in real-time?” Hermione gasped, impressed. 

“We asked the Map if its prewritten messages included real names of the creators,” Fred paused to point, “in case of emergencies. Not only did the Marauders have that foresight, but Harry’s father was one of them. Once the two of us have memorized it, this map is going to belong to Harry.” This left the young boy speechless. 

“Blimey, Harry,” Ron said. “First an invisibility cloak and now this Marauder’s Map! I’m so jealous!” “Well, I don’t have living family members who love me, nor do I have your chess and strategy skills, and you also know more about the wizarding world than me,” Harry said. “I’ve been jealous of you before.” 

“Oh, I should mention,” Fred interrupted. “The person we’re meeting in Hogsmeade is Remus ‘Moony’ Lupin.” “We’re meeting one of Dad’s old friends?” Harry asked. “Yep,” George answered. “It was him who we asked for help in how to set up a place and plan for the Outcasting.” 

“That’s neat,” Harry admitted. “Thank you.” The twins nodded, understanding what he meant.  

“Everyone, take an hour or so to relax and get familiar with our new living quarters,” George instructed. “We can worry about the rest of Hogwarts later.” 

The group agreed and sat down in the chairs and couches in front of the fireplace. Relaxing for an hour or two was a nice feeling after the stress of the last few weeks. Anything else would come later.

Chapter Text

“So, what next?” Hermione asked an hour later. “We don’t have a way of getting food, and we don’t know how to defend ourselves if the ... Gryffindors decide that Outcasting us isn’t good enough.”

“I think we should make sure that everyone here can use the Disarming and Shield Charms for safety reasons,” George answered.

“I’ll run to the kitchen and ask the house-elves to send a lunch to the Room of Requirement for us,” Fred said at the same time.

“Theory while Fred gets lunch sorted, practical after lunch?” George suggested. “Sure,” Fred agreed. Blending different ideas had always served them well, it would work again now.

Fred exited the Room and, after checking that there were no Gryffindors nearby, sprinted to the kitchens. The house-elves were more than willing to help after Fred explained his request.

Fred was thankful that the creatures were so helpful. It made the whole plan more doable.

On his way back, Fred ran into Professor Dumbledore. “Has it happened already?” the headmaster asked. “Yes,” Fred answered. “The others are in the Room of Requirement, and I’ve just asked the house-elves to send us lunch for the day. We will need your help to work out more permanent arrangements.”

“Of course,” he agreed. “I just need to see the memory of the event to reconfirm how much I’ve failed at understanding Harry’s situation after the Dueling Club. And where is this Room of Requirement?”

“I’ll show you,” Fred offered, “if you don’t mind your presence stopping anyone from doing something like attacking us for sticking up for the so-called Heir of Slytherin.”

“I suppose I must, if that’s truly such a concern,” Dumbledore said. “It seems I have more to learn than I thought.”

Fred had to give the headmaster credit for being willing to learn how much he had messed up by. With how long the man had been a leader for, and the fact that he probably thought that he knew everything about Hogwarts, it must be difficult for him to adjust to the idea that he could misjudge how cruel students could be to others.

Leading the man back up to the seventh floor, Fred began explaining what they had already gotten sorted out: McGonagall asking Professor Sinistra to be their Head of House now that they were Housecasts, asking for advice and learning about the Room of Requirement, and how the Room now held their living quarters.

“A fine start,” Dumbledore admitted, “but it is only a start. You need better quarters than a shapeshifting room, and a table to eat at in the Great Hall. Not to mention that if Professor McGonagall truly asks Professor Sinistra to be your Head, it would make you Housecasts your own House, requiring House colors, a mascot, class schedules, Prefects, and changes to the Quidditch schedule if you have enough willing people to form a team.”

Fred began laughing. At the headmaster’s questioning look, Fred said, “None of the members of the Quidditch team believed that Harry was the Heir of Slytherin so George and I convinced the entire team to join us in being Outcast. Gryffindor doesn’t have a team and we do!”

“Ah,” Dumbledore understood. “The shortsightedness of Gryffindor has cost them more than they initially realized. I am unsure how Minerva will react when she hears this.”

“Professor McGonagall did say that she would miss having us in her House, among other things,” Fred said. “She may get angry at McLaggen ... what are you looking at?” he asked, as a Ravenclaw student walked up.

“Why are you talking as if you aren’t in Gryffindor?” the girl asked. Cho Chang, if Fred remembered correctly.

“Gryffindor has apparently used the old Outcasting rule to kick out Harry Potter, using the basis that Harry is the Heir of Slytherin because he speaks Parseltongue, and the Weasley Twins voted against the motion. Doing such resulted in them being Outcasted as well,” Dumbledore explained.

Cho grew thoughtful. “Ravenclaw has a student named Luna Lovegood who is ... strange. She speaks about creatures that don’t exist, is very unusual in general, and is a target for bullying. I don’t actively participate, but she doesn’t have a single friend in Ravenclaw and the ones who pity her would be turned on if they spoke up in her defense. Could she move to your new House?”

“You think she would be happier in a small group of Housecasts than in a regular House?” Fred asked. Cho nodded. “Does Luna think that Harry Potter opened the Chamber of Secrets?” Fred asked. “No,” Cho answered.

“Perhaps that’s something that I can discuss with the Housecasts,” Dumbledore mentioned. “Thank you,” Cho said. “The situation does create a little bit of tension, even if most of the bystanders like to pretend the problem doesn’t exist. We’re not the best people, but ... if this solution works for Lovegood as well as Ravenclaw, then it’s worth asking about.”

“Interesting ... you may be handling this better than the Gryffindors,” Fred complimented. “If you can get me a list of which Ravenclaws are inactive or simply unwilling to stand up for Luna, I can lessen the pranks that hit you and those ‘Claws when you inevitably do the same for Harry.”

“I guess if we don’t actively stand up for him, you wouldn’t feel inclined to keep us out of the firing line entirely,” Cho admitted. “I’ll get back to you in a couple of days, just ... can you mostly focus on the Gryffindors until then?” Fred nodded. “I’ll see you later,” Cho said, and she walked off.

Fred and Dumbledore walked to the seventh floor, and Fred pointed out the painting that the twins had started using as a landmark. Then, he knocked on the door to their temporary common room. George opened the door and said, “Fred! You’re back! .... Oh. Hello, Professor Dumbledore.”

“He wants to see the memories of the Outcasting,” Fred said, “and he also brought up a couple of things we need to think about. Can he come in?” George ducked into the room and the pair could hear a muffled discussion. “I only want Professor Dumbledore to be able to come in when everyone agrees on it, like right now,” George’s voice came from the room. Then he opened the door and allowed Fred and Dumbledore access to the Room of Requirement.

As they sat down in the chairs that appeared for them, Fred observed the headmaster looking around the room. “Fascinating,” Dumbledore said. “It may be temporary, as I don’t think shapeshifting rooms are meant to live in unless there is a dire emergency, but I don’t have a problem with you using this room even after you have permanent quarters. I just ask that if you somehow get a room with a large pile of abandoned objects, you ask me to come cast curse detection spells before you go looking through it.”

“That seems reasonable,” George said to general agreement. “Oh, here you go,” he added, handing the old man a flask with a silvery substance Fred recognized as a memory. Dumbledore nodded and pulled a shrunken item from his pocket. Setting it on a table the Room created, Dumbledore magicked the Pensieve to full size, emptied the flask into it, and stuck his head into the bowl.

Harry and Hermione watched in fascination, and when the headmaster removed his head from the bowl, he observed the faces of the young students. “This is your first time seeing a Pensieve then?” he asked. “Yes, Professor,” they said. “Perhaps I can give a demonstration some other time,” he offered, and neither of them hesitated in agreeing.

“Now, I don’t think I mentioned this earlier,” Fred said, “but last night, when George and I warned Professor McGonagall, she said that she would be asking Professor Sinistra to act as a sort of Head of House for us Outcasts – and Professor Dumbledore says that if we are, in fact, a new House, there are things we need to sort out.”

“The brown and orange motif of the room you have here can stand in as colors for now, but you need a mascot, class schedules, Prefects, and since you have an entire Quidditch team, you need to help us schedule your matches in with the rest of the Quidditch schedule,” Dumbledore explained. “And perhaps you should come up with a name, as well.”

“Cho Chang of Ravenclaw also overheard us talking on our way here, and she had a request for us,” Fred remembered, and explained what she had told them about Luna Lovegood. “I did say that if Cho got us a list of bystanders, we would ensure they would only get hit with the minor pranks,” he finished.

“Well, if she believes in me, I’m okay with it,” Harry decided.

“She’s friends with Ginny,” Ron mentioned. “A little weird, but she’s better than Gryffindor since McLaggen found the Outcasting rule. I’m fine with it.”

While the others were making up their minds, Dumbledore returned the memory to the flask and reshrunk the Pensieve. Eventually, the group unanimously agreed to include Luna Lovegood in the Outcasts group.

"Very well," Dumbledore said. "I will go let Miss Chang know that you approve of her joining your new House." He left the room, eyes twinkling and a small smile on his face.

Then Fred called one of the house-elves that he had talked to in the kitchen. Lunch was a short affair, as everyone wanted to get going with either the Disarming charm, the Shield charm, or the items on the list for becoming a proper House. Excitement grew in the Room of Requirement, and Fred could feel the hope for the future increasing by the minute.

Chapter Text

The Housecasts soon split up, with those looking to learn spells taking the half of the room with the bookshelf, and those looking to continue building a House moving to the half of the room near the fireplace.

“So Wood is the only one old enough to be a Prefect,” Fred immediately started, “but he’s going to be busy with Quidditch. What do we do?”

“Maybe I could become a Quidditch assistant? A team manager?” Ron suggested. “It’s Quidditch. If anything aside from self-defense, showing up Malfoy and his friends, and proving Harry’s innocence is worth putting in hours of mind-numbing work, Quidditch is.”

“I could also speak to Professors Dumbledore and Sinistra about having Angelina as my fellow Prefect despite her being a year too young,” Oliver suggested. “I’ll do it,” Angelina called from the other side of the room, “but only if Ron does the Team Manager thing. We’ll never balance both on our own.”

“Deal,” Ron said instantly. “Great,” Fred continued, “then the three of you can take charge of the Quidditch schedule additions. What should we do next?”

“How about a mascot? And since the other houses have character traits like bravery or smarts or ambition, maybe we should figure out ours?” Harry suggested.

“George and I could have gone into Slytherin if we weren’t so hell-bent on Gryffindor because of our family,” Fred admitted. “We are pretty ambitious, and some of our pranks take a lot of cunning to pull off.”

“What?! You, too?!” Harry exclaimed, causing everyone to pause and look at him. “Yeah, the Sorting Hat said that I had plenty of courage, not a bad mind, talent, and a thirst to prove myself.”

“You could have gone into any of the Houses?” George asked from the spellwork half of the room, amazed. “Yeah,” Harry admitted, “but it really wanted me in Slytherin. I just begged to not go there because Malfoy was in that House.”

“The Sorting Hat seriously considered putting me in Ravenclaw before putting me in Gryffindor,” Hermione said. “I could have been a Hufflepuff,” Neville spoke up.

“Neville, you were almost a Hatstall – taking five minutes or more to decide on where someone goes is a monumental achievement,” Oliver said.

“Did anyone here not have qualities to make it in another House besides Gryffindor?” Harry asked. “No,” the group answered at large. “Then suppose we create a House based around the idea of fitting into multiple Houses,” Harry proposed.

“So what would we call it? Hatstall House?” George asked. “We can use it as a placeholder name until we come up with something better,” Fred suggested. “Mascot next ... maybe a dog?”

“Let’s go with a wolf,” Hermione suggested, casting a perfect Disarming Charm on a dummy holding a fake wand afterwards. “It fits with the theme of non-domesticated animals and would be more respected by the other Houses, plus they have most of the House traits.”

Fred noted all of their decisions on a sheet of parchment, and then ran through the checklist again. “I think all that’s left is scheduling, assuming that Professor Sinistra agrees with our choices of House Prefects.”

“Great! Hey, Hermione, since the twins already walked in on our planning for getting new information about the Chamber of Secrets from Malfoy, maybe we should all pool our information and see if we have any more places to check?” Ron suggested.

“When did this happen?” Harry asked curiously. “Yesterday,” Fred answered. “And once everyone can use the Disarming and Shield Charms, that sounds like an excellent idea.”

Thirty minutes later, Harry and Hermione had asked the Room of Requirement for a giant corkboard, pins, and several pieces of parchment waiting to be filled out with quills and ink. Harry started by writing “The Chamber of Secrets” on a parchment piece in giant letters and pinning it to the center of the corkboard.

“Okay. I guess we could start with what Professor Binns told us about the facts surrounding the myth of the Chamber of Secrets?” Harry suggested. “How the hell did you get Binns to tell you anything useful?” Alica asked, impressed. “Hermione asked him in the middle of class one day, and he noticed that we’d never been paying more attention,” Ron answered, causing the twins to laugh.

“Okay, so the facts behind the Chamber of Secrets are that the four ... main Houses are named after the four founders of Hogwarts,” Hermione began, with Harry making notes on several scraps of parchment. “Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin. They ran the school in harmony until Salazar wanted to stop inviting Muggleborn students to Hogwarts.” Hermione paused to make sure that Harry was keeping up with his notetaking.

“This created a fight between the four which caused Salazar to leave, but not before he supposedly created the Chamber of Secrets and placed a monster inside that could purify the school of Muggleborns. Only Salazar and his descendants can control the monster. The end,” Hermione finished.

Harry pinned the scraps noting the story up in the top right corner of the corkboard. “So the goal with this is, as we find different connections between our investigations, we rearrange the corkboard accordingly so that we can visually see what hasn’t hit a dead end in looking into,” Harry explained. “Ideas that connect, we tie a piece of string onto each of the pins holding the parchment on the corkboard.” The wizard-raised Housecasts, who had never seen the concept from conspiracy theorists or fictional evil overlords, nodded in understanding.

“Next. I got us all Housecast because I’m a Parselmouth, which apparently Salazar Slytherin was also,” Harry continued, pinning two parchment scraps in the top left corner. One said, “Salazar Slytherin – Parselmouth,” the other said, “Harry Potter – Parselmouth.”

“Now we had a plan to get more information. We came up with the idea based on Malfoy seeming to know what was going on simply based on the writing on the wall from when Mrs. Norris was petrified,” Hermione interjected. “So I remembered Professor Snape mentioning the Polyjuice potion in –” “No,” Oliver interrupted.

“It won’t be ready until the holidays,” Hermione said. “I am deliberately slowing down some things to make sure it’s brewed properly. The only people who Malfoy would tell anything are Crabbe and Goyle.”

“This is way too risky,” Oliver insisted. “We are asking that Moony guy if he has any other ideas and keeping that as a last resort, and we are getting him to order some remody for us to have on standby if it goes wrong. This is my decision as a prospective Prefect.”

“Fine,” Hermione grumbled.

“So now we go over the crime scenes,” Harry decided. “Mrs. Norris was found in the corridor outside of Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom, which was flooded. Colin was found outside of the Hospital Wing holding a plate of grapes, according to what I overheard as he was brought inside the night that Lockhart removed my bones, and the film in his camera had melted. And Justin and Nearly Headless Nick were found together in this corridor,” Harry pointed to it on the Marauder’s Map, "and the only significant thing about the crime scene was that it somehow affected Nick, too." He then placed the scraps of parchment with the locations and crime scenes described on them on the corkboard, in the bottom right corner.

“And the last thing is that during the conversation I overheard in the Hospital Wing, it was mentioned that the Chamber of Secrets was open again. This has happened before, and we don’t have a timeframe for that,” Harry finished. He then placed a final scrap of parchment noting the fact in the bottom left corner on the corkboard.

“So, the plan is to research all of these aspects of the Chamber of Secrets and find connections between them. Eventually, we will hopefully find something that allows the teachers to stop the attacks,” Hermione summarized.

“Suppose we ask Mr. Lupin if he knows anything when we meet him in Hogsmeade next weekend?” Oliver asked, to general agreement.

“There’s ... one more source we could consider,” Fred spoke up, feeling nervous. “Mischief Managed. I need to see the names and loyalties of the creators of the Marauders, as there is no way that the Hatstall Housecasts will believe certain results of the loyalty charm otherwise.”

As requested, the map part of the Marauder’s Map was removed from sight. The loyalties that Fred and George had seen four days ago was revealed for the residents of the Room of Requirement to see:

Mr. Moony’s name is Remus Lupin, and he is loyal but has the truth hidden from him.

Mr. Wormtail’s name is Peter Pettigrew, and he betrayed all three of the other Marauders.

Mr. Padfoot’s name is Sirius Black, and he is loyal.

Mr. Prongs’s name is James Potter, and he is deceased.

“So here is the story, Harry,” Fred said. “The public believes that Sirius Black was one of You-Know-Who's followers and that Peter Pettigrew died confronting Black – apparently Pettigrew accused Black of having something to do with your parents’ deaths during the confrontation.”

“But it says that James Potter is dead and that Peter Pettigrew is alive!” Harry observed. “How does that make sense?”

“Our theory is that Pettigrew framed Black for his own crimes and faked his death somehow. I mean, it did say that there was a loyalty charm testing both the Marauders’ and the user’s loyalty when I first came up with the idea to ask about this to get help with the Outcasting,” Fred explained.

“The point is, if we get stupidly desperate, even going so far as to try the Polyjuice Potion and not learning anything, we could send a brief letter inquiring about any information he has about the Chamber of Secrets and attach a sheet of parchment and a self-inking quill for him to use to reply. That’s assuming Azkaban inmates are even allowed to receive mail, though,” Fred admitted, unsure himself.

“Hey, maybe Mr. Lupin could help with that?” Alica asked. “Let’s bring the Map and show him this – it might convince him to actually write to Black himself!”

“Wait, Harry, you forgot something on the corkboard!” Ron exclaimed, grabbing a parchment and the quill and ink that Harry had been using. “Can you catch them up on what’s been happening with Dobby, starting from the summer and us being forced to rescue you?”

“Alright,” Harry agreed, and began recounting.

“Wait, he said that you would be in danger this year, the year that the Chamber of Secrets was opened?” Katie asked. “Yeah, it was weird. I said that I needed to be here because I needed to learn magic and that if Voldemort –” Harry paused for everyone to flinch. “Really was behind it then Hermione would also be in danger for being a Muggleborn. He responded by using magic and making the Ministry think it was me and getting me locked in my room until the Weasleys rescued me.”

“So Voldemort gets a spot on the conspiracy board when we find a good spot,” Ron said, writing it down. “And Dobby himself knows about what’s going on ... Didn’t you say he came to see you in the Hospital Wing and let something slip?” “Yeah,” Harry confirmed, “he said that he made the barrier not let us through forcing us to take the car, and then set the Bludger on me. He also said that history was repeating itself.”

Ron decided to pin the scraps noting Dobby’s warnings and the possible Voldemort connection around the scrap noting that the Chamber of Secrets had been opened before. “Good job, Ron!” Angelina said, impressed. "That being said, my mind is kind of blown between this and the Sirius Black thing. I need to process this in order to function now that so many things I thought I knew are being flipped upside down."

“Okay, let’s spend some time relaxing until Dumbledore has more information about our new Hogwarts situation,” George suggested. “Maybe he’ll even be able to make a breakthrough with the corkboard theories!” The students agreed, and Ron predictably asked if anyone wanted to play chess.

“Oh, what the hell,” Oliver decided. “It may help me think outside the box to come up with new Quidditch strategies.” As the two set up the game, the other Housecasts gathered around the table they chose to play on. With Oliver designing plays for Quidditch and Ron being the best in his family, it was sure to be a close match.

Chapter Text

Predictably, Ron won the match against Oliver. It was, however, one of the closest chess games Ron had played in a while, or so he claimed. Fred and George could tell that Ron was impressed by how well Oliver kept up with him. The twins had the feeling that this would be happening again. 

By the time the game was over, it was two hours to dinnertime. Fred ran down to the Kitchen again, this time bringing the Marauder’s Map with him. Meanwhile, George took a large sheet of parchment and began writing a letter. 

Dear Mr. Lupin,  

It happened. We are officially Housecasts. We have a sixth-year, two fifth-years, another fourth-year aside from myself and Fred, a third-year, and four second-years including the Son of Prongs.  

Get this – the Gryffindor Quidditch team needs to be rebuilt from the ground up because all of its former members voted against the Housecasting! Once the realization sets in, it will not be pretty for Gryffindor.  

Professor Dumbledore is also assisting us in getting a permanent living quarters outside of the Room. Our former head, meanwhile, is asking Professor Sinistra if she could be our Head of House. The Room gave us orange and brown colors, and we have traits of multiple houses, almost like wolves. Names such as Chimera, Marauder, and our names have been thrown about, but nothing is sticking.  

We also have a corkboard filled with scraps of parchment detailing different places to look for information regarding the Chamber. We plan to ask Professor Dumbledore about it when he comes back to check on us again. Perhaps we could shrink it and bring it with us when we finally meet?  

The Hogsmeade weekend has just passed, and the holidays have just started, though sneaking out would not be a problem. Suppose we obtain a private room at The Three Broomsticks to use so that we don’t get questioned about why we have second-year students with us? It doesn’t hurt that there is something we have to show you concerning the Map’s Loyalty Charm, either.  

Due to an idea that was proposed to assist in gaining information, it would be best if we could meet before Christmas. (It is extremely lucky that the most recent attack happened on the 11 th , rather than the 18 th , otherwise the insane plan would have already been used by this point in the aftermath of the attack.)  

Oh, and there is a first-year Ravenclaw named Luna Lovegood who may be Housecasted in hopes that our new House may be a better environment for her – apparently the ‘Claws who stay out of it would put themselves in the firing line if they did anything to support her.  

Solemnly swearing to be up to no good (for the traitors),  

George  

“So we get to meet him this weekend?” Harry asked, looking at the letter. “Yep,” George said. “I know a secret passage that we can use to sneak you into Hogsmeade, so no need to worry about getting in trouble. It’d be safer for everyone to be together anyway, especially with the look that McLaggen had on his face when he saw the vote go in his favor.” George shuddered thinking about it. 

“So how did you find this map, anyway?” Harry asked, drawing the attention of everyone else. 

 “Ah, but we should wait for Fred to rejoin us once we have a solid plan for dinner tonight,” George insisted. “After all, it’s half his story, as well as half mine. Both with the finding of the Marauder’s Map, and how we worked out how to activate it.” 

“I bet it involved breaking a rule or two,” Ron said. “Sucker’s bet,” Katie responded playfully. “How dare you know us so well that you spoil a part of the wonderful tale of our finding the Map for yourselves!” George exclaimed in mock offense. Even Hermione, nose buried in a book, chuckled at the antics of the others. 

“This is so much better than Gryffindor,” the bookworm said. “The tension had been building for so much that it was stifling. The only escape has been classes, and even then, Potions doesn’t do it because Snape singles Neville out and doesn’t stop the verbal attacks on Harry while Professor Lockhart simply draws everyone’s attention to Harry by making him act out scenes from the books with him.” 

“The guy is a total nutcase,” Ron said. “He set those Cornish Pixies on us, remember? And I don’t think he told us anything else about them – oh, don’t give me that look,” he snapped at Hermione. “There was that, and there was the quiz about his personality and himself rather than the creatures that were in the books, who actually does that? And then there’s the time he removed all of the bones in Harry’s arm! Not to mention that according to Hagrid, the reason we have Lockhart at all is because there were no other applicants!” 

“Really, Ron, there is no reason to hate him and his classes, he’s so informative!” Hermione insisted. 

“Guys, Fred’s back!” Harry interrupted, and true to his words, the other twin entered the Room of Requirement and asked if Professor Dumbledore could join them. “Perfect timing! Let’s show him the corkboard and our progress with the list!” Harry exclaimed to general agreement.  

Professor Sinistra was there, as well, and so the group agreed to allow her into their temporary quarters. The Astronomy Professor was a very strict woman during her classes, not tolerating students falling asleep as they studied the sky at midnight. Still, it appeared that they had her approval on the progress that they had made in creating their House. 

“Severus would pitch a fit if we went with Marauder for the name,” Sinistra said,” and if you went with Chimera, it would be recognized as the symbol of the House rather than the wolf you came up with. And there are other students here besides Weasleys. Hm, picking a name might be more difficult than I thought. Still, I approve of the rest of this list. I can’t imagine why a team manager or assistant students haven’t been done for Quidditch teams before now.” 

“Really?” Ron asked, pleased at being the first to think of an idea. “I’ll do my best as Team Manager, then, and maybe we can show up the other Houses and bring our Hatstall Housecast Wolves to winning the Cup!” Sinistra nodded, pleased at the motivation of the students. 

“And what is this?” she asked, looking at the corkboard.  

“We’ve been trying to figure out a way to prove my innocence since this whole thing started with me being accused of being the Heir of Slytherin after speaking Parseltongue at the Dueling Club last week,” Harry said, and explained the different points on the corkboard and the logic tying each together. 

“If you will consent to allowing your Head of House to supervise your attempts to solve the mystery and prove that Harry isn’t responsible, I will tell you what I remember from when the Chamber was opened before,” Dumbledore offered. “As much as I want you all to stay out of harm’s way ... the looks from the Gryffindors combined with Mr. Macmillion’s yell of Harry being ‘caught in the act’ suggest that you would consider danger a moot point and continue without help.” 

“Absolutely,” Hermione said instantly. “I’ll be a target of both the Heir of Slytherin and the Gryffindors. I’ve been dragging Harry and Ron around since Halloween, and there’s no way I’m letting the chance to get more information pass by.” 

“Thank you for that,” Ron said gratefully. “Hermione’s been worrying me with how far she’s willing to go to figure this out. Maybe this will give her another way to focus her energy on this problem.” 

Dumbledore and Sinistra sat down on chairs that appeared for them, and the Headmaster began. “The first time the Chamber of Secrets was open was fifty years ago. I was the Transfiguration teacher at the time, and Professor Dippet was the Headmaster. During that time, there were petrified victims and writings on the wall just as there are now.” 

Hermione took up a quill and inkwell, parchment at the ready. She quickly wrote a summary of what Dumbledore began with and looked up, ready to hear more. 

“The worst of it was when Myrtle Warren was attacked and killed by the Heir of Slytherin,” Dumbledore said, and Harry interrupted. “Moaning Myrtle?” This caused several jaws to drop. 

“Correct,” Professor Sinistra spoke up. “Unfortunately, she has not taken a liking to anyone enough to tell them what she remembers of the event when prompted.” Hermione groaned and wrote that down. “Maybe Luna Lovegood will have a chance once she’s here,” she said, and George wondered if she was trying to convince herself that there was still hope with that lead. 

“A Prefect named Tom Marvolo Riddle asked me if the school was closing down and if he could remain at Hogwarts anyway, not wanting to go back to the muggle orphanage he was raised in because it hated him for being different,” Dumbledore continued. “When I informed him that the school was likely to close, and that he would have to return to the orphanage, he ended the conversation only to come back later and accuse Rubeus Hagrid of opening the Chamber of Secrets.” 

“Hagrid would never have intentionally harmed someone unless it was legitimate self-defense!” Harry exclaimed, and the others made noises of agreement. 

“Hagrid was caught with an illegal Acrumantula, a spider which can talk and which grows to enormous size, with a poisonous bite,” Dumbledore said. “He said he was going to ask the Care of Magical Creatures teacher to help him write a letter to someone who could properly look after it and track down the person Hagrid obtained it from so they could be arrested, but he was caught before he had the chance. As such, Hagrid was expelled for genuine possession of a dangerous animal and suspicion of opening the Chamber of Secrets.” 

“’Dangerous animal’ is fair, but why the suspicion of the Chamber?” Neville asked. “ 

“The rest of the administration was jumping to conclusions and wanted the problem to end,” Dumbledore said. “The Heir probably thought that reopening the Chamber was too dangerous after Hagrid was expelled because the attacks did stop after that. I was the only one to believe that on the Chamber of Secrets accusation, he was innocent. As such, when I became Headmaster, I got him his Groundskeeper job.” 

“And he’s a good Groundskeeper who would never wish harm on a student,” Katie said. 

“Okay, so we have a timeframe. That helps ... maybe we should look up some information on Tom Riddle and Hagrid?” Hermione suggested. 

“Tom Riddle got a Special Award for Services to the School,” Ron said. “I spent a long time cleaning that trophy because I kept throwing up slugs on it. I’m guessing that was for announcing that Hagrid had an acrumantula and theorizing that it was the monster in the Chamber of Secrets?” 

“Correct,” Dumbledore said, pleased. “And that is all of the information I have on the Chamber of Secrets. Make sure to keep Professor Sinistra in the loop of your investigations. Since magical contracts are finicky and risky, I will be checking in with her to make sure that you keep your word,” he warned the students. 

“Of course,” Oliver said. “Angelina and I can remind everyone of that since we’re the prospective Prefects.” 

“Say, what’s this?” Professor Sinistra asked, pointing at the Marauder’s Map. “I remember seeing that in Filch’s drawer of dangerous items the year that you twins started school!” 

“Ah, yes, that was the year that we dropped a Dungbomb during detention,” Fred remembered. “Filch really shouldn’t leave that drawer open during detentions,” George criticized. “That’s just asking for trouble if there’s an actually dangerous item in the drawer. He got lucky with what the item actually is.” 

Professor Sinistra pointed her wand at the deactivated Map. “I, Aurora Sinistra, request to see what this is,” she said. At her words, writing appeared on the map. 

Messer Moony greets Aurora Sinistra and hopes that her insomnia has been cured.  

Messer Wormtail says that Aurora Sinistra is crazy yet admirable for her ability to stay up and study Astronomy.  

Messer Padfoot would like to inform Aurora Sinistra that he can find himself in the sky because of her obsession with the stars.  

Messer Prongs informs Aurora Sinistra that he does not apologize for the sleeping potion.  

Professor Sinistra gasped. “What in the world! These were the nicknames of a legendary group of pranksters that got going in my last year as a student! I remember the time that I got slipped a sleeping potion when I was planning to stay up and stargaze!” 

“That was tame,” George said. “Remember when that one Slytherin Prefect demanded that we turn out our pockets when we were trying to find a shortcut to class and it starting downright insulting him when he demanded it’s secrets?” 

“We really thought that it just insulted people at the time,” Fred said, “which is the only reason he didn’t set it on fire then and there. He wanted to arrange for Snape to catch us with it and get us detention as well as having it destroyed, and then we somehow lost him and started talking about how damn lucky we were that it didn’t do anything else.” 

“One moment before you continue with this fascinating story,” Dumbledore said, pointing his own wand at the map. “I, Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, request to know where this parchment’s creators placed its brain, for the sake of ensuring the well-being of the users.” The words on the map changed again. 

Messer Moony swears to the admirable Professor Dumbledore that these are simply prewritten statements, jinxed to appear for certain types of statements.  

Messer Wormtail adds that the statements are modified for things like levels of politeness, whether or not a real name is given, if the person is a Professor, and for whether or not we Marauders have encountered the user before this was created.  

Messer Prongs assures Professor Dumbledore that the closest thing to a Dark spell on this parchment is a Loyalty-Testing Charm, which is a necessity due to events the year after creating this parchment.  

Messer Padfoot, in respect of how his Life Debt to Professor Dumbledore after the events that Messer Prongs mentioned was earned, gives permission to access the full Marauder’s Map should a student be in true danger.  

“Padfoot dared us to find a charm in the library that would detect Dark Magic and test it ourselves instead of this last line,” Fred said, “and we got Charlie to test it for us over winter break before we tried to work out what it actually was. We were smart about it.” 

Professor Dumbledore nodded, and then reread the last line. He concentrated for a moment and then gasped. “Pre-betrayal Sirius is the only student who could have directed this statement towards me specifically,” Dumbledore realized, chocked up. “As soon as the Chamber is re-closed, I need to go to Azkaban and call in the debt to find out what the hell happened to result in him causing those events.” 

“...Yeah, let’s stick to one issue per year,” Fred agreed after a moment of thought. “While the Loyalty Charm shows a problem with the whole thing, we can’t take on too much at once without something dropping.”  

While this had been going on, Hermione had fixed the points that Professor Dumbledore had given them on the corkboard. The corner focusing on when the Chamber was opened before now had the year of the event, and Tom Riddle and Hagrid were near the connection between Harry’s Parseltongue and Voldemort. Dumbledore reached over and grabbed another parchment and quill.  

“I hope that this is just a coincidence, but it may be better for you to know this just in case,” Dumbledore admitted. “Tom Marvolo Riddle became Voldemort.” After the usual flinch at the name, the occupants of the Room of Requirement gasped. “God, I hope that’s a coincidence,” Harry groaned. “Last year was bad enough.” 

“And the last thing I want to cover before we start looking for a more permanent residence for your new House,” Dumbledore announced. “We have shortened the Gryffindor table slightly and added a new table for your group to sit at in the Great Hall. There will be an announcement tonight concerning the Housecasting, and we are opening a suggestion box for names. I hope that my presence will make you feel safe coming to dinner tonight, considering that I saw someone change their mind about attacking Fred because they saw myself and Professor Sinistra with him.” 

The group looked at each other and agreed to give it a try. They had each other as well as three of the Professors. While the Housecasts were nervous, they couldn’t run away from the rest of the school forever. Fred and Harry would be bringing their friends to the Great Hall that evening.