While Fred and George Weasley have had their share of mischief-making (or more), they only seem to be carrying on the legacy of the Marauders in theHarry Potterseries. James Potter (Prongs), Sirius Black (Padfoot), Remus Lupin (Moony) and Peter Pettigrew (Wormtail) attendedHogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardryfrom 1971 to 1978, during which they uncovered many secrets of the castle, even if it meant breaking a law or two. Together, they experimented with complex magic to turn what seemed to be just a “bit of old parchment” into the Marauder’s Map.
Not only does the map show the entire castle and grounds of the wizarding school — complete with its changing staircases and hidden corners — but the movements of its inhabitants as well. Although it is in the possession of several others in the following years, its complete backstory is largely unknown.
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How Was the Marauder’s Map Created and Why?
Lupin initially hid the fact from his friends thathe transformed into a werewolfevery month at the full moon. He would be taken to the Shrieking Shack during this time, so that he does not harm any of his peers. However, the Marauders eventually figured out his secretand became unregistered Animagiso that Lupin’s transformations become less painful and reclusive. Sirius, James and Peter turned into a dog, stag and rat respectively, and they would keep Lupin company by exploring the castle grounds and Hogsmeade together without being discovered. As their knowledge about Hogwarts increased during their nighttime excursions — especially while hidden underJames’ Cloak of Invisibility— they created the Marauder’s Map. They first perfected the advanced Homonculous Charm and then cast it on a piece of parchment, on which they had charted a rough drawing of the interior of the castle. This enabled them to track the movements of everyone in the area through labeled dots (or footprints, in the films’ case) that moved around the parchment — thus, making it easier for the four friends to sneak around and avoid running into anyone. They also signed it with the names of their Animagus forms: “Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs, Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers, are proud to present the Marauder’s Map”.
According to Pottermore, the Marauders also enchanted the map to “forever repel (as insultingly as possible) the curiosity oftheir nemesis, Severus Snape”. This can be seen when Snape confiscates the map from Harry in his third year, and attempts to unearth its secrets. In response, colorful remarks about his appearance and intellect — the likes of “ugly git”, “idiot” and “slime ball” — appeared on the parchment instead. Otherwise, the map seemed to be available for use by anyone else (provided they knew how to).
How Does the Marauder’s Map Work?
The map is disguised as a blank parchment when not in use, and only reveals itself with a simple incantation: one just has to tap it with the tip of their wand and say: “I solemnly swear that I am up to no good”. It then shows the exact location of each individual in Hogwarts (along with their names), including ghosts, Animagi (as shown when Peter appears under his own name while being disguised as Scabbers), Peeves etc. Lupin is even able to spot the Golden Trio on the map when they are making their way to Hagrid’s cabinunder the Cloak of Invisibility. Similarly, whenBarty Crouch Jr. infiltrates Hogwartsbydrinking the Polyjuice Potionto become Mad-Eye Moody, the map still shows him with his real name.
Not only does the Marauder’s Map include every room and corridor of Hogwarts, but it also shows all its seven secret passages. If there is a password-protected door or threshold, it discloses the password (usually in the form of a speech bubble next to the person who is near the passageway and in possession of the map). Once it has served its purpose, it can be returned to its former state by another tap of the wand, accompanied by “Mischief managed”.
Since the map only shows what the Marauders were able to explore during their time at Hogwarts, it does not uncover all the castle’s secrets. These anomalies are discovered later on; for instance, the Chamber of Secrets is missing from the Marauder’s Map. Harry is unable to find Ron and Hermione on it during the Battle of Hogwarts, when they are collecting Basilisk fangs at that time. The absence of the Chamber of Secrets could be due to the fact that none of the Marauders knew how to speak Parseltongue, so were likely to be unaware of its existence let alone its location. In addition, the Room of Requirement is not shown either; anyone inside it just disappears from the map altogether. When Harry keeps a track of Draco Malfoy during his sixth year, he has trouble pinpointing him since his name seems to be completely missing from the map. However, the exclusion of the Room of Requirement could also be because it is ‘unplottable’ by nature.
Another possible drawback is that it cannot differentiate between people of the same name: in Harry’s fourth year, he sees the name ‘Bartemius Crouch’ appear on the Marauder’s Map and believes he isthe Ministry of Magicofficer when it was actually his son, Barty Crouch Jr.
How Does Harry Get the Marauder’s Map?
The Marauders used the map extensively throughout their time at Hogwarts, until it was confiscated by the caretaker Argus Filch. It is unknown how this happened, but it can be surmised that the group over-estimated their cleverness and Filch’s determination to catch them in an act of wrongdoing. Even though Filch believed it to be a dark object, he was never able to unearth the map’s secret, and it remained in his office until the Weasley twins arrived at the castle. While George dropped a Dungbomb, Fred stole the map from the drawer. After experimenting with it, they finally managed to figure out how it worked.
When Harry is not allowed to visit Hogsmeade during his third year, Fred and George hand the Marauder’s Map to him as his “need’s greater than ours”. Not only does Harry use it to find his way to Hogsmeade, but he also takes advantage of it in several other ways. For example, he plansmeetings with Dumbledore’s Armyin his fifth year by ensuring that Dolores Umbridge’s Inquisitorial Squad is not lurking somewhere nearby. While onthe hunt for Voldemort’s Horcruxes, Harry would even check the map to see where Ginny Weasley is.
According to Rowling, Harry does not pass down the Marauder’s Map to any of his children, but James Potter II is likely to have stolen it from his father’s desk at some point.
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