The air was thick with the scent of old parchment, dust, and enchantments too ancient for casual readers. Shelves towered high above, filled with tomes wrapped in protective spells and chains that rattled when disturbed.
James Potter was as usual sneaking into the restricted portion of the library trying to look up things related to their seemingly mission impossible. He was happy to see the success of the map though partial, but it was still confusing how the things were working. How it was possible that the map was showing them the radius around them where they stood. Why the moonstone parachment like this. There were so many questions. SO … Under the Invisibility Cloak, James Potter crept silently between the narrow aisles, heart pounding with the thrill of it. His wand, clutched tightly in one hand, gave off a faint glow from its tip—just enough to read by. In his other hand, he clutched a worn, leather-bound book: Secrets of the Ancient Runes by Emeric Switch.
Finally, he crouched at the far end of the aisle and opened the book on the floor, its pages crackling like dry leaves.
"Well…Alright, Emeric," he whispered, "show me your secrets."
The first few chapters were dense with rune etymology and spell logic, but then he saw it—an entire section titled "Runes of Resonance: Anchoring Enchanted Objects to Memory."
James's eyes lit up. He whispered aloud as he skimmed.
"Memory-binding magic... stabilized only when carved into enchanted material... layered with proximity glyphs... interaction-based triggers..."
He flipped the page—there it was. A diagram not unlike the moonstone Map. A circular rune surrounding the symbol for Intention and Movement, all bound by the ancient rune Ehwo, meaning trust and journey.
James quickly pulled out his notebook and began scribbling.
"Ehwo… trust… motion…" He paused. "Could be the final anchor. Could be what we're missing?"
Suddenly, the book gave a low, ominous hum.
James froze.
The runes on the page began glowing faintly—one of the enchantments had triggered.
He swore under his breath and quickly slammed the book shut. He shoved it back into the shelf as quietly as possible, pocketed his notes, and bolted toward the exit, ducking behind a shelf just as the ghost of Madam Pince floated into view, her translucent eyes scanning the aisles.
Holding his breath, James crept past her and slipped out the gate of the Restricted Section, disappearing into the shadows with only the sound of his footsteps echoing softly behind him.
There in Gryffindor common room, Sirius sat alone by the fire, his face lit by flickering flames and the occasional flash of stormlight outside the tall windows. A roll of parchment lay untouched beside him.
He took a deep breath and knelt on the rug, reaching into his robe pocket and pulling out a thin silver chain. Hanging from it was a charm—one used by old pure-blood families to summon their house-elves across distances.
He hesitated. Then he tapped it.
"Kreacher," he said softly. "Come here. I need your help."
For a long time, nothing happened.
Sirius said again, " Kreacher!" again nothing happened.
"Kreacher, I am ordering you! You dare disobey your master?!"
Then, with a faint crack, the elf appeared, hunched, sour-faced, with his usual expression of distrust.
"What do you want?" Kreacher said angrily.
Sirius's jaw tightened. "I'm not here to argue."
"I serve the House of Black, not the traitors who disobey the blood ties and befriend the lowly mud bloods" Kreacher hissed, "I don't have any master, who turns his back on his own family."
"Kreacher, I know what I am doing" Sirius said silently. "And I don't want anyone to understand me."
But I don't want to talk about that right now... I want to talk about magic," Sirius snapped. "The Room of Requirement—you've been inside it. You've helped others find things. I know you have."
Kreacher crossed his arms. "The Room hides what must be hidden. Kreacher does not speak of such things."
"You've spoken before," Sirius pressed. "Back home. You helped—helped my mother hide things. You know ancient magic. Things no one else remembers."
The elf's lip curled. "Those things were for the noble Blacks. Not… schoolboys."
" You also told me and my friends on how to find the room of requirements," didn't you?"
"Kreacher don't remember such thing", kreacher clearly went against his words.
Sirius inhaled sharply, then softened. "Kreacher. Please. This isn't about defying the family. It's about… something good. Something important."
Kreacher's eyes flickered, with uncertainty and And with a sharp crack, the elf was gone,
leaving Sirius alone.
Sirius sat still for a long time, staring into the fire. Then James burst into the common room, soaked with is own sweat, his eyes bright with excitement. As he saw lying Sirius by the fireplace with his arm on his face.
"Sirius!" james whispered, crouching beside him. "You awake?"
"Barely."
James dropped his notebook on the floor between them. "I found it. The rune. The anchor. I think this parchment is meant to bind itself to us. Not just our footsteps—our intentions. That's why it reacts but doesn't last. We're not finished casting."
Sirius sat up straight up staright. Seeing Sirius not in a good mood, james excitement got lost and putting his hand on Sirius shoulder he said," you alright?"
"Yeah"
"Doesn't seem like it, everything good in the family?
"Sirius gave a bitter smile. "Same that lecture on the blood purity as usual. Now even kreacher don't leave me be."
"Its because of us, isn't it?" james said silently
Sirius look up at him and say, " you are my friend! My brother! Don't hurt me by these statements, okay? Don't think about it!"
James smile, "well, if you ever get kicked out come with me" he said with a wink.
Sirius laugh, " well you said it now! Don't you dare back off now!
Then sirius blinked, and leaned in." now, tell me what you found"
"And you're sure you are alright okay!?" james asked again.
Seeing Sirius nod, james continue, "We need to carve the rune into the parchment with spell-forged ink. Magic that listens to who we are. If we do it right… the map becomes part of us."
Sirius gave a low whistle. "So, what are we waiting for?"