the_debt_of_time

James turned and glared at her. "What do you mean, no?"
"I mean, first, you cannot let Sirius know why Peter actually lost the map. If he finds
out that Peter's dating a Slytherin, let alone Mulciber's sister, you might as well tell him that
you're dating Snape. He'll lose it," she said, staring at the looks of agreement on James and
Remus's faces, particularly enjoying the expression of terror on Peter's at the thought of
facing an enraged Sirius Black. A part of Mia really wanted to let her boyfriend dismantle
the rat piece by piece, but she knew that the map needed to stay in Filch's office, and Sirius
would go back for it no matter what he did to Peter prior. "Secondly, it's time to let the
map go."
"Go?" James gaped. "Go where?"
"We're graduating soon, and we won't need the map anymore. I say leave it in Filch's
office and let some new student break in and steal it from him. Pass it down. A Marauder
heirloom."
Oddly, James looked amused at the thought. "Something we created being passed
down through future Marauder generations, pranksters who are all too eager to evade Filch,
prefects, and professors alike."
"What if no one ever gets it back from Filch?" Remus asked.
"Then they aren't deserving of it." Mia smirked, and both James and Remus smiled
in agreement.
"Pete, mate." James sighed looking at his short friend. "You're so lucky that my
sister's looking out for you."
He laughed and ignored the scathing look that Mia gave him. She was most
certainly not looking out for Peter. She was looking out for the rest of them. Peter getting
out of this scot-free was merely an unfortunate side effect.
Peter offered up a smile. "Thank you, Mia."
"Don't thank me," she insisted. "Just keep an eye on your little snake, and don't
even think about agreeing to meet her family. I'm not exactly one to talk, considering I'm
dating Sirius, but you know what Mulciber is, Peter. Iris may be okay, but her family is
decidedly not."
"I understand. I'll be careful. I'm really sorry for losing the map," Peter reiterated to
James as they headed back toward Gryffindor Tower while Mia tried to think of a way to
explain to Sirius why the map was no longer in their possession.