47 ~ All Knowledge is no one's Possession

Life is to be found everywhere

     Two weeks had passed since the Quidditch match. Currently, I was creeping through the castle and I hadn't been able to sleep - full moon was drawing closer.     I had sneaked out of the dormitory and common room, had been up on the Astronomy Tower. I had thought about a lot, yet had come to no final conclusion. My conscience and mind told me that I should go to Dumbledore immediately to inform him about my father. But my stupid voice in my head told me that I shouldn't do it, that I should listen to what my father had to say to me, even if I was afraid of it.

Fear of the unknown, precisely.Fear of making a mistake.

     This was going through my head as I strolled through a corridor. It was dark, the castle seemed deserted, reminded me of the summer when I was here alone. I was just going around the next corner. I was on my way back to the common room when it happened. Well, I didn't know what it was, but suddenly the sound of quick footsteps echoed behind me. Then I was grabbed and my first reflex was to scream. But I couldn't, as someone held my mouth shut. As if I were light as a feather, I was pulled into the nearest secret passage.     In that moment I noticed that they were multiple footsteps, but I was still startled. My heart was thumping in my throat, and the next thing I perceived was that I was pressed against a person. I felt an arm wrapped around me. I was pressed against the person's chest, a hand still over my mouth.

I have to get away!

     My flight instinct kicked in, I fidgeted. However, the grip only tightened. A voice hissed next to my ear: "Quiet, Phil, Mrs Norris is outside."

Remus?

     Yes, that was clearly his voice and, strangely enough, I calmed down. Remus seemed to notice this too, because his hand slowly disappeared from my mouth, but his grip around me remained upright. His left arm was around my waist.     I didn't know why, but I felt strange being so close to him. A warmth emanated from this proximity, but fortunately I had to process the entire situation first. I was in a secret passage with Remus and probably the other Marauders, where we were hiding from the caretaker Filch's cat. He had been performing his duties as caretaker very precisely since 1973 and since last year he had a stupid cat, Mrs Norris.     I, too, could no longer creep through the castle without caution because of this stupid creature, so I understood the Marauders' reaction; I would have run away from this cat as well. Besides, cats are known to live long lives, so we wouldn't be getting rid of this one. She would probably tyrannise the Hogwarts student body along with her master for the next twenty years.

So the boys are hatching something again, it went through my head and in the next few days the Slytherins would have to watch out. Or just Elizabeth and me?I didn't know, but I couldn't imagine that the Marauders had forgotten about the failed slime prank.

     "Is the bloody cat gone?" whispered a voice that sounded like Black's. For a moment it sounded as if a person were sliding along the stone wall.     "Looks like it," came the answer, "but there's only one way to find out."          "You mean the Ma-"     "Psst, Wormtail!" hissed Black, "Phil is here."          "Yes, I am here," I whispered back, "Thanks for that."     "Would you rather have been caught?" Black asked.          "I certainly would have shaken off the stupid cat."     "Right," came sarcastically and I could feel him rolling his eyes in the darkness.          "Then let me out and I'll prove it to you," I said.     "Out of the question, you'll give away our hiding place."          "Not my problem."     "Not my problem," I was mimicked.     Before I could retort, Remus intervened, "Stop bickering, it's not getting us anywhere."     Briefly, his grip around my waist tightened, probably unconsciously. Nonetheless, I held my breath and crossed my arms over my chest. When I did that, I brushed Remus's arm which was around me. The boy behind me noticed that he was still holding me pressed against him. He let go, but that didn't mean more space had grown in the narrow niche.     "I don't want to spend the rest of the night here because of you now," I explained, now in a calmer tone of voice.          "As I said," Pettigrew spoke up again.     I didn't know what he meant, of course, but before Black had interrupted him, it had sounded very much as if he wanted to mention a map.     "Out of the question," Black began again, "Phil isn't going to see it."          "A secret map?" I picked up the words Pettigrew hadn't completely finished.     "Nobody said anything about a secret map," Potter explained.      I sighed.

Really now?What did I do to deserve this?

     "Don't pretend; it was obvious that Pettigrew wanted to say map," I countered, looking into the blackness in front of me where I thought Black was standing. To the right of him Pettigrew and to the left by the exit Potter.     "As I said, if it was supposed to mean map, then you guessed correctly, because it is secret," Black replied drily.          I said threateningly: "Fine, I want to leave now, and if you don't let me, I'll scream and give us all away."     "A threat, then," Black mocked, "Spent too much time with the snake Lestrange?"     "Do we really have to revive that again?" Remus asked bitterly behind me. His friend remained silent at that.           Another idea came to me. "I will keep your secret map as a secret."     "Believe that who will."          "I haven't finished yet," I sighed because Black was annoying, "I will keep it as a secret if I get something for it, so in return."     After my words, Black barked a rough laugh once, but suppressed it as we weren't allowed to be loud.     "What do you want?" Potter now asked and I could imagine that the boys weren't allowed to be caught by Filch - they had been too often already.     "I don't know yet," I spoke truthfully, "but for starters, that whatever you are preparing tonight won't be used as revenge against Elizabeth and me. You had your chance."     It went quiet for a moment. Only our breaths could be heard, then Sirius Black said: "I don't like empty agreements, so no."          "Should I scream?"     "Is this turning into blackmail now?"          "Maybe," I confessed, "If I'm not allowed to leave right now."     "She's mean," Potter said, "Do you really not want to stay here with us for a bit?"          "No. So?"     After I had finished, the boys fell silent again. I was proud of myself for not buckling, as I would have done not so long ago. I would have stayed here with them, you see, but now they were to blame for the situation, because they had let themselves be caught by the ridiculous cat.

I'm just not naive, ha!Yes, perhaps I still held it against them, but I had my reasons. Reasons that had brought me as a person to the point of now being able to stand up against the boys.

     "Fine," Black almost growled. The others also gave their confirmation.     After that, however, I didn't see much of their oh-so-secret map, because Potter turned around, made a dimmed light with his wand and spoke words that I didn't understand because Remus was so stupid and placed his hands over my ears.     "Don't touch me!" I snapped immediately, removing his hands. This time they were unpleasant.          "So, Mrs Norris isn't there," Potter said.     "Does your map show the location of people?", I asked sceptically; I couldn't imagine that such a thing existed.          "As I said, secret and nobody said anything about a map", Black replied.     I shrugged my shoulders and left the niche. Outside I continued speaking: "You don't have to answer it, because I can figure out quite a bit."     "And what, pray tell?" Black was not convinced.     "A map of Hogwarts that shows the location of people and probably secret passages. Was that why you, Remus, wanted to know, well you lot, how Elizabeth and I escaped your trap? Do you want to mark all the secret passages on your map?" I noticed that I was on a good path leading to the truth.     The boys were indeed silent as we strode through a corridor. Windows appeared to our left, to the right were portraits and old suits of armour. The knights stood on pedestals and I said, "I don't need to know it, but I have no desire for the cat to lie in wait for us, so shall we just take the secret passage here?"     I stopped, scanning the Marauders. They exchanged strange looks and I grinned to myself.

Thought as much.

     So the boys did not know about the secret passage located in this corridor either. Logical, since it was one of the most difficult to find, but in the summer I had plenty of time. Unlike the boys, however, I wrote my knowledge down in a notebook.     "So you don't know a secret passage here?" I asked in a taunting tone of voice.     I saw Black's jaw tighten. Remus, on the other hand, asked, "You look for secret passages in your free time? Don't just go for walks?" although it was more of a statement.     "Of course" I confirmed, "In the summer I would get bored otherwise, but in this case you are forgiven, because I discovered this passage here by a stupid coincidence. It is very practical, however, as it also ends on the floor of the Common Room."     "And you're telling us this now why? Because you have such a good heart?", Black didn't sound convinced. I looked at him with a 'are-you-serious-look'.     "If you perhaps don't want to believe it because of today and other events, but I don't hate you," I clarified and looked at the four of them, who seemed astonished, "I simply like you less currently than before. I have no desire for you to interfere in my life, well unasked. Also you seem to have received enough proof lately that your assumptions about naive Phil are wrong."     Even before I had finished, I had gone over to a knight. I looked up at him, but felt the boys' gazes on me.     "All that doesn't mean, however, that I can't show you a secret passage that will get us out of the danger zone together. I also find it amusing that you don't know everything after all, well about the secrets of the castle."

"All knowledge is no one's possession," said the voice in my head, for that had been one of my father's pearls of wisdom. There were always people from whom one needed something and vice versa.

     With this thought I stood opposite the armour, subsequently I made a bow and spoke the right words: "Life is to be found everywhere."     After this incantation I straightened up.           The knight raised his head slightly.     "Reveal that which you have been commanded to guard."     In the next moment, the knight stepped aside and down from his pedestal. I, meanwhile, went to the pedestal, pushed the lid to the side. A hole appeared, below it a secret passage.     "It is in a certain way impressive," Remus was the first to find his voice and stepped up to me.          "How many knights can be moved like that?" Potter asked. He examined the hole as he approached.     "I have meanwhile found one on every floor," I told them, "but their passages are all connected to one another. It's actually just a hidden spiral staircase."     "A very helpful secret passage then," Black concluded. Meanwhile we were all standing around the entrance.     "You're just not the only ones who prowl around the castle," my voice rang out, consequently I jumped into the hole. The floor was not far away and a tall person would have to duck their head. Remus had to as well when he was the next to jump into the hole. With Potter as the last one, we were complete.     "Hide one secret and release a new one in its place," I spoke. One could hear stone grinding on stone. The podium closed and the knight set himself in motion. One could hear metal clacking, next torches flared up on the sides of the wide passage.     "How on earth did you find this passage?" Potter asked and the glow of the fires was reflected in his glasses. The passage shone in a warm light, I shrugged my shoulders.     "It is secret, you see," I mocked.

As you to me, so I to you.I won't tell you that Nearly Headless Nick showed it to me when I was looking at the knights in the summer.

     "Fair enough, I suppose," Remus murmured and had tilted his head slightly.          "Indeed," I replied, then I set myself in motion.     I walked along the passage, which led in only one direction. At the spiral staircase Remus could stand normally again. We consequently went to the correct floor and whatever the boys had been up to in the castle tonight, they seemed to have finished it before the incident with Mrs Norris. I too had been on my way to the common room and though the reason for my stay in the castle at night today had been due to bad thoughts, I had to admit that the incident with the boys had distracted me.     A little later we reached the correct floor. The knight's podium could be opened again with the incantation about secrets, subsequently we crept into the common room, where our paths diverged and I went to my bed, tried to sleep.