The Butterbeer Scene

The Butterbeer Scene

"I have complete confidence in you," said Lupin, smiling. " Here - you've earned a drink. Something from the Three Broomsticks, you won't have tried it before-"

He pulled two bottles from his briefcase.

"Butterbeer!" said Harry without thinking. "Yeah, I like that stuff!"

Lupin raised an eyebrow.

"Oh - Ron and Hermione brought me some back from Hogsmeade," Harry lied quickly.

"I see," said Lupin though he still looked slightly suspicious.

Thoughts whirled around Remus' head. He wanted to believe Harry, but when he thought of all the times he, James, Sirius and Peter had sneaked out of the castle, it was difficult. Could Harry in some way have found the map? It had been confiscated in their fifth year, and Remus had always assumed it had been destroyed. Still...

His mind wandered to the seven passageways into Hogsmeade, and he mentally started ticking them off in his head. There were the four that Filch knew about - Remus smiled as he remembered Filch berating them in his office for trying to sneak out of school. They had earned three detentions each for that, and a loss of fifty points...then there was the one into the Shrieking Shack, where Remus had spent many horrible nights. He shuddered just thinking about it, and blessed once again the inventor of the Wolfsbane Potion, even if it did taste disgusting. No, Harry wouldn't be using that passage. Even if Harry knew how to freeze the trunk (though the map didn't show you this, so it was unlikely he did) Remus knew from personal experience that there was absolutely no way to get out into Hogsmeade from the other side. Even with a werewolf's strength.

That left just two passageways, the one that Lupin had heard was no caved in, so no chance there - and the one into Honeydukes' basement. Aaah, yes. Honeydukes. That had to be it. Still though, something wasn't right. Harry would need the map to know where the passageway was, and the password. 'Dissendium' Remus thought, a smile spreading across his face as he remembered the many times the Marauders had used that passageway.

But where would Harry get the map? If it wasn't destroyed, then surely it would be in Filch's office still? Remus clearly remembered Filch filing it away in a drawer marked 'confiscated and highly dangerous' even though he didn't know what it was. Remus had a hard time believing that Harry would have pinched the map himself, he wasn't like his father in that way, so obviously he obtained it from somewhere else. Ron? (No, he didn't have a prankster's mind for trouble either...) Hermione? (Definitely not - besides, she didn't have time this year.) Wait - Fred and George. This generations' very own Marauders! They would have taken it, given it to Ron, who showed Harry how to use it! Remus was pleased with himself for working this out, and leaned back in his chair.

Just one mystery left - they had enchanted the map to insult anyone who tried to open it - how would Fred and George manage to break in? Did they routinely touch old bits of parchment with their wands and state 'I solemnly swear I am up to no good'?

Remus shook his head as if to clear out his cobwebby thoughts, or jiggle the jigsaw pieces to make them fit properly. Something wasn't adding up here, but at least Remus now had a fair idea of what had happened. Harry was visiting Hogsmeade, through the Honeydukes passageway, no doubt (if Malfoy was telling the truth about the apparition of Harry's head outside the Shrieking Shack) taking his father's Invisibility Cloak along for the ride. Remus smiled again as he reminisced some of the adventures the Marauders' had had with that cloak, from making mischief to meeting girls.

Now he had only one problem. As the Honeydukes passageway was clearly still up and running, Black could be using it to get in. He knew about it after all - the amount of times he had used it. He could use it to get out of the castle as well, Remus doubted if the password had changed. 'No,' thought Remus. Black wouldn't be so stupid as to use an old passageway, that one of the current teachers knew about. But, no one knew about Sirius being an Animagus...did they?