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Thatgot their attention. And while the Twins were pretty good at acting innocent, they were not prepared for a First Year Slytherin threatening their most treasured secret. After a few seconds of eye-goggling, one of them ("The one with the tiny mole next to his left eye," Harry noted for future reference) finally said nervously, "W-What Map?"
"Oh, do you have more than one? The one I'm talking about is activated by ... oh what were the words? Something like 'I swear I'm up to no good.' No! 'I solemnly swear I'm up to no good.' That's how it goes, right?"
The Twins were even more shocked at that, and inwardly, Harry was singing Egbert's praises for his perception and memory. "Look, guys. I don't want to be your enemy. To be honest, I'm a fan of your work ... well, when it's not directed at me and when you don't cross the line from 'playful amusement' to 'cruel bullying.'" They actually looked a bit hurt at that, so Harry decided to offer the carrot as well. "In fact, I think if you had a bit of ... financial support, you could take your work to the next level."
Their eyebrows shot up and that, and the one without a mole asked, "Are you offering us a bribe to not prank you?"
Harry made a point of looking mildly offended. "I'll make you a deal. You don't call it a bribe and I won't call it paying protection money. A galleon a week. You leave me out of your pranks. If Jim asks you to prank me, tell him ... tell him that Snape has been looking out for me and it's too risky or something like that. And before you ask, no, I will not help you prank any other Slytherins."
They looked at one another before saying in unison. "Two galleons."
"A galleon and eight sickles. And for that price, you also leave Theo Nott alone as well. He doesn't deserve it."
They both stiffened. "His father was a Death Eater," said Mole Weasley.
"I know," Harry said calmly. "And believe me when I say that Fate played him a crueler trick by giving him that bastard for a father than you could come up with on your worst days."
Their eyes widened and then they nodded solemnly. They understood. "It's a deal." "No pranks or jokes on ickle firstie snake Potter." "Or ickle firstie snake Nott." They even shook on it. "Now then, tell us, how did you find out about the Map?"
He leaned in conspiratorially. "Let's just say ... 'snake' spelled sideways is 'sneak.' Until next time, gentlemen." And with that, he walked away whistling, not even knowing how much quiet admiration he'd earned from two future allies.
Neville was, as usual, on top of his game in Herbology, winning two points for Gryffindor. Nevertheless, Harry noticed he was tense and asked the boy about it, but he didn't want to talk. Instead, after waiting until most of the class had left, he asked Harry if he would mind skipping lunch to help him with the Levitation Charm which they would be covering in Charms. Hermione had been helping him to no avail, so he thought Harry might have some insights as he'd been the first Slytherin to master it the day before. Unfortunately, as they were leaving the greenhouse, an unwelcome voice intruded.
"That snake won't be able to help you, squib," said Jim from behind them. "Heck, he's not much more than a squib himself."
"Our points earned so far would seem to show who's the better wizard, little brother," Harry said mildly.
Jim's eyes flared. "Points aren't everything. And while your little study group has been playing around, I've been getting real lessons from the upper years on the Quidditch team." He whipped his wand, waved it and said "ACCIO REMEMBERALL." To Harry and Neville's surprise, the glass globe slipped out of Neville's pocket and floated lazily through the air and into Jim's hand.
"That was a Fifth Year summoning spell, by the way." Jim smirked and then looked down at the globe in his hand. "I still remember the day I first saw this thing, Longbottom. While your buddy Harry was standing around slack-jawed, afraid to stand up to a filthy Death Eater wannabee like Malfoy, I was up in the air, facing him head on, risking my life to get this back to you." He took a few steps towards Neville and Harry, idly tossing the Rememerall in his hand as he did.
"I know I was kind of a jerk in the beginning, but I'm sorry. And I've gotten better, both at not acting out like I was and at working magic. Forget Harry and Granger and their stupid little club. Let me help you." He looked down smugly at the Rememberall. "After all, I've just proven that I'm better at magic than..."
"ACCIO REMEMBERALL." Suddenly, it was Jim's turn to be surprised, as the orb shot out of his hands like a rocket and slapped into the waiting hand of Hermione, who had been standing off to the side out of sight.
Harry smiled, while Jim stared dumbfounded. "Nicely done," said the Slytherin. "When did you learn that spell?"
"Just now. Well, you told me the incantation on the train but didn't know the wand pattern, which Jim kindly just demonstrated. It's not really hard at all. Just a double reverse swish as you say 'Accio' and then a ten-degree-above-horizontal flick in the direction of the target object as you describe what it is. Mass and especially range will probably be quite limited until we're older and our magic is stronger, but the basic spell is simple enough for nearby objects you can clearly see."
Harry considered that and then lashed out with his own wand. "ACCIO REMEMBERALL!" The orb then shot out of Hermione's hand and into his own just as fast as it had for her. "Wow. That was easy." He looked up at Jim smugly. "Thanks, little brother. You 're a really good teacher!"
Jim was speechless. It had taken him two days to master the charm that Hermione and his brother had just performed effortlessly after watching him demonstrate it once. Finally, he shook off his surprise in favor of anger. "Go to hell, snake!" he said. "And you two traitors can go with him!" Then, he turned and stalked off.
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