The Marauder's Map
Dragon was wagging his tail in ecstasy. Hermione had promised to take him with her to watch the Quidditch Match. He would finally get to see his godson fly. He had always hoped to be the one to teach him (he and James used to have fights over the topic), but things had gotten in the way of those dreams. Now, though, he was able to watch proudly as his godson flew in the sky, not a care in the world.
He could also admit that his cousin was a decent flyer as well, and an excellent chaser. He smiled thinking about his godson and cousin. They really were good friends, and they balanced each other out so well. Draco was the one to keep Harry on track with schoolwork and the like, while Harry reminded the blond to have fun. They also cared for each other in a way only brothers could. In fact, the two reminded him a lot of James and himself.
Dragon's heart nearly stopped, however, when Harry fell off his broom. He was glad to know Remus and Dumbledore were there to save the boy, but he was also glad Draco had the presence of mind to save the broom.
When the match was over (they had won, this time), Hermione, Harry, and Draco went off to the Room of Requirement. Dragon followed along gaily. Hermione was furious.
"Harry was plummeting to his death and your first thought was 'Save the Broom'?" Hermione lectured. Draco rolled his eyes.
"He didn't die last time. Professor Lupin and Dumbledore were there to keep anything from going wrong. This way, we still have our seeker and his broom. I didn't much fancy the idea of looking around for splinters all afternoon." Draco drawled. Dragon turned into Sirius.
"Great catch, Prongslet! You're even better than James was!" Sirius congratulated. Harry blushed.
"I knew I would pass out soon from the dementors, so I figured I should catch the snitch quickly. This way, Cedric isn't complaining that it was an unfair match and that we should hold a rematch." Harry explained.
"Cedric Diggory seems like quite the 'Prince Charming', doesn't he?" Draco teased. Hermione looked off into the distance.
"Yeah, I'm not surprised Cho was in love with him." She agreed. Draco looked jealous.
"Who's Cho?" Sirius asked. Before any could answer, the door opened. Sirius changed back into Dragon in a flash. Luna came traipsing in, followed by an irate Remus. He went straight to Draco.
"Of all the things you could have done, you went after the broom? Harry could have died!" Remus scolded. Draco looked unaffected.
"But he didn't. I knew you were there. I knew you would protect him. I was just thinking of the fact that Harry would kill me if I let his broom get destroyed in the Whomping Willow, where it seemed to be headed." Draco informed the werewolf. He calmed down slightly.
"As long as you were thinking about Harry, as well." Remus decided. Luna went and hugged Harry.
"I'm glad you're alright Harry!" She exclaimed. Harry smiled widely and accepted the hug willingly. Remus rushed over to Harry, pulled him out of his hug with Luna, and began checking him over.
"Remus, I'm fine." Harry promised the overbearing wolf. Remus huffed.
"You fell seventy feet in the air, Young Man. You could have died!" Remus worried. Harry sighed.
"But I didn't. Everything is fine, Remus." Harry assured him. Remus hugged the boy, and they found themselves in another group hug, again.
A few weeks later found Harry extremely bored as Hermione and Draco prepared themselves for another Hogsmeade weekend. The snow had just begun to fall and Dragon began to whine, desiring to go out and play in the snow.
"Dragon, no. You will get all wet and then I'll have to give you a bath again. Remember last time? It didn't go very well." Harry reminded him. They were the only ones in the dorm, so Sirius transformed.
"I told you, I can do it myself!" Sirius argued. Harry looked flustered.
"And what do I tell my roommates? 'My dog is giving himself a bath. Don't go into the bathroom'?" Harry suggested sarcastically.
"Well, there are such things as disillusionment charms." Sirius grumbled. Harry rolled his eyes.
"Harry, are you sure you don't want us to stay here with you?" Hermione asked. Harry shook his head.
"You know I'll be out there soon. The twins just have to give me the map, remember?" Harry told her.
"When I'm innocent, I really need to meet these twins." Sirius thought. Then, he got excited. "Oh, the things I can do when we get the map back…"
"You will do nothing." Hermione scolded as she finished packing up. "We can't have Remus figuring out your out and about here. We need to keep a low profile, and that includes no pranks from you."
"Fine, I'll just have to train my protégé." Sirius decided. Harry looked up.
"Which one?" Harry enquired. Sirius looked thoughtful for a moment.
"Well, my cousin over here is quite devious, but I was thinking more along the lines of you, Harry." Sirius teased. Draco rolled his eyes.
"Please, teach me your ways, oh great one. I would love to end up in Azkaban along with you." Draco drawled as he continued packing. Sirius stuck out his tongue at him.
"My pranks aren't that bad." Sirius defended. Draco looked back at the animagus.
"One nearly killed my godfather." Draco rebutted.
"That wasn't so much a prank as I wanted to get him off our backs." Sirius argued.
"By killing him?" Draco returned. Sirius cowed.
"I wasn't going to be the one killing him, technically. And I didn't want him killed, just scared enough to leave us alone." Sirius informed them. Draco sighed.
"Well, you still should apologize for that, you know. Really, all of it. It was quite a rotten thing to do." Harry added before Draco could say something.
"He started it!" Sirius whined. Harry narrowed his eyes.
"How did he start it?" He asked his godfather. The man shrugged.
"He was in Slytherin. Those snakes deserved it." Sirius claimed. Draco held Severys close to him.
"Hey!" He wailed. He pet the snake several times. "Don't worry, he didn't mean it, baby." He assured Severys. Sirius looked over at Harry.
"That kid has some problems." Sirius mentioned. Harry stared for a moment before nodding in agreement.
A very short time later, Harry was being manhandled by two redheads while his blond dog happily followed along. The twins began talking to Harry.
"Get your hands off me. Stop that this instant." Harry demanded.
"We've come to give you a bit of festive cheer before we go to Hogsmeade." Said Fred. They took Harry into an empty classroom. Once the door was closed, George began to speak.
"Early Christmas present for you, Harry." He told the boy.
Fred brought out the map. "This is the key to our success." They quickly explained how the map worked, while Dragon went into a conniption fit. Once they were done, they left. Harry pulled out his invisibility cloak.
"Ready to go to Hogsmeade, Dragon?" Harry asked. Dragon barked.
They quickly headed off to the town, both hidden underneath the invisibility cloak. They soon found Hermione and Draco talking near the Three Broomsticks. Dragon could not contain himself any longer, so he barked. Draco startled and looked around, while Hermione glared in their direction.
"At least have the decency to leave the dog at home." Hermione scolded. Harry rolled his eyes and followed them over to where they had hidden last time.
"Got the map?" Draco asked. He was excited. He had heard of the map in passing several times, but he had never gotten to see it for himself.
"Yep, it's right here." Harry told them as he pulled it out. Draco gazed at the parchment with interest.
"Amazing. How do you open it?" Draco queried. Harry smiled.
"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." Harry chanted as he pointed his wand at the map. The map unfolded and began to spread out, showing the location of every person still at Hogwarts castle.
"Cool!" Draco whispered. He looked down toward the dungeons and found his godfather's name in the potions lab. Of course, that's where he would be. Then, he followed to see where Luna was. She seemed to be in the library, which was also not a surprise. Then, he looked over at Gryffindor Tower. "Uhm, Harry. I don't think anyone else should get this."
"Of course not, but why do you say so?" Harry questioned. Draco pointed to the boys' dorm, where one name stood out. "Yeah, Peter Pettigrew. We all know he's there, but in a few months, he'll be gone."
"What about Sirius?" Draco pointed out. Harry shrugged.
"How did they not think about Pettigrew? I mean, the map has said for three years now that their brother has been sleeping with someone who's supposed to be long dead. They're not the most observant bunch." Harry explained. Draco nodded.
"Well, this is all well and good, but I know I have Christmas shopping to get done. Meet you at the Three Broomsticks?" Hermione offered. Draco and Harry nodded in agreement. "Alright, see you soon." They all went their separate ways, trying to think about what the others wanted. This was sure going to be an interesting Christmas.