Late that morning, Madam Curio pronounced James and Ralph fit to go back to their dorms, although they'd have to return the next day to have their bandages removed. No sooner had they left the hospital wing than they met Rose.
'We've been summoned to the Headmaster's office,' she said, her face very pale. 'Right now. Come on.'
Silently, the three made their way through the castle, finally approaching the gargoyle that guarded the spiral staircase.
'Password,' the gargoyle said, as if bored.
'Er, they just changed it,' Rose said to James and Ralph. 'Professor Heretofore told me the new one when she told me we were summoned. Let me think. Oh yes… Caerth Hwynwerth.'
'Blimey,' Ralph said as the three climbed onto the rising staircase. 'I'd never remember that.'
Rose nodded gravely. 'I guess that's the point.'
'Maybe it won't even be Merlin,' James whispered hopefully. 'He's been travelling all the time lately. Professor McGonagall's been filling in for him.'
Rose just looked at James, a little hopelessly. She rapped on the huge wooden door leading into the Headmaster's office.
'Enter,' a deep, rumbling voice answered. James and Ralph both gulped simultaneously. The door swung ponderously open, creaking slightly. James tensed, waiting for his phantom scar to burn, but it didn't, or at least not much. He resisted the urge to touch it. Merlin was seated at his massive desk. In front of him, sitting in the only chair, James was surprised to see Damien Damascus. Damien looked chastened and meek, but James couldn't be sure whether the look was sincere or an act.
'Mr. Damascus and I have been discussing yesterday's unscheduled departure,' Merlin said, leaning back in his chair and lacing his fingers together. 'He has been so kind as to come to me of his own accord, claiming some degree of responsibility for your actions. Is it possible that you three will corroborate his tale?'
'Er…,' James began, looking from Merlin to Damien. 'Er… yes?'
Merlin nodded slowly. 'Do go on, then. Tell me your version of the story, Mr. Potter.'
Merlin's eyes bored into James, and yet James couldn't recognize any specific malice in that gaze. James cleared his throat, glancing at Ralph and Rose for support. Rose nodded at him, eyes wide. James said, 'Well, we just wanted to see Hogsmeade, sir. We knew we weren't of age to go on Hogsmeade weekends, but we didn't think… I mean…'
'You didn't think that the rules applied to you,' Merlin nodded. 'That is the crux of your story, is it not, Mr. Potter?'
James swallowed past a large lump in his throat. His face heated. 'I… I guess so, sir.'
'Tell me,' Merlin said, sitting forward again in his chair, 'how did you manage to find your way to the village unseen?'
James glanced at Damien again. Damien's face remained a mask of chaste repentance. Suddenly, James remembered what Damien's role in the Gremlins was; they had discussed it at the very beginning of term. Damien was the official Gremlins scapegoat. Up until now, James had not quite known what that meant. 'Er… Damien showed us a way?' James said, still looking at Damien and frowning nervously. 'He found the secret passage… er, right?'
Merlin sighed. 'Yes, that is the way Mr. Damascus tells it.'
Damien nodded miserably. 'I teased them, sir. I told them they didn't have the guts to sneak into the village next Hogsmeade weekend. I simply wasn't thinking. I should've known they'd get caught. I should've known they'd get attacked by a wild, ferocious beast on the way back, all because of an innocent half corned beef sandwich! I am just sick with guilt!' Damien crumpled, burying his face in his hands and sobbing with woe.
Merlin simply stared at Damien, his piercing eyes mild, his brow raised slightly. After a long moment, he returned his gaze to James.
'Regardless of Mr. Damascus' purported challenges, the three of you should have known better. I am not inclined to go lightly on you. This sort of careless behavior cannot be tolerated in an institution that prides itself on order.'
Merlin looked down at his desk again, ticking his quill over some notes. James glanced at Ralph and Rose. They would certainly get points deducted from their houses, and while that was bad enough, it wasn't the end of the world. Damien looked at James sideways, still managing to look stricken with guilt.
Without looking up, Merlin said, 'Your punishment shall be the dissolution of your so-called Defence Club, effective immediately.'
James boggled at Merlin, his mouth dropping open. Rose spoke first.
'You can't do that, sir!' she exclaimed. 'That would be punishing all the members of the club as much as us!'
'As I recall, you convinced a first-year member of that club to accompany you in yesterday's debauchery,' Merlin said, glancing up sharply.
'Cameron?' Ralph said. 'He followed us! We tried to get rid of him!'
'In either case, this does not incline me to trust your leadership abilities for such a club.'
James frowned angrily. 'But it isn't fair to the rest of the club!'
''Fair' is a strange concept which this age seems to prize above all else,' Merlin said, sighing. 'In the age that I come from, a 'fair' was a place where farm animals and servants were bought and sold. You may choose to remember what the word means to me before bringing it up again.'
'But sir—' Rose began. Merlin silenced her with a raised hand.
'That is my final word,' he said flatly. 'You may go. That includes you, Mr. Damascus.'
Rose turned away, and Ralph followed. Damien got up. He looked as if he wanted to say something to the Headmaster but then thought better of it. As he turned to leave, he gave James a warning look. Merlin watched James, his face inscrutable. Finally, James also turned around and walked toward the door.
'James,' a mild voice said from the rows of old headmasters' paintings. James glanced up. The portrait of Severus Snape was empty, but the portrait of Albus Dumbledore had raised its head. Dumbledore looked at James through his half-moon spectacles, smiling a small, curious smile. 'Wait just a moment, if you would. I believe the Headmaster wishes to speak to you alone.'
The office door thunked as it closed, making James jump. He turned around and Merlin was right behind him, towering over him.
'I've been meaning to have a little chat with you, my boy,' the big man said, his voice low and dreadful. 'Your friends may believe they know what is happening, but I suspect you agree that the main question exists between you… and me.'
James didn't know what to say. He stared up at Merlin's impassive face, his heart suddenly hammering. Merlin went on.
'As you no doubt suspect, very little happens within these halls that I do not know about. You've been through the Amsera Certh, and I can only imagine that you've learned much about me and what has happened in this castle. Thus, you have me at a disadvantage, for while I have been to and fro throughout this new age, learning much and loving little, the one thing I cannot be sure of is your convictions and intent. You worry me, my boy, and that is no doubt. Not because I fear you, but because I fear what you might choose to believe. There is only one thing that keeps me from stopping you in your tracks this very instant. Would you like to know what it is?'
The question was rhetorical. James didn't bother to answer.
'It is this,' Merlin rumbled, raising his hand and pointing directly at James' forehead. 'Yes,' he nodded, 'I
