James Potter and the Curse of the Gatekeeper

pleased to, er… catch up with you.'

        Myrtle seemed to brighten a bit. 'Do you really think so? Oh, it's been so long, but I knew he'd come back someday. I've always had a special place for him.'

        'Yes,' Rose nodded. 'But first, do tell us. What have you seen? What do you know about Petra?'

        'Oh yes,' Myrtle replied morosely. 'Poor thing. She never once spoke to me, you know, all the times she was here. She probably believed I couldn't see her under that Invisibility Cloak, but those only work on the living.'

        Zane stepped forward. 'Petra has the Cloak! When was she here, Myrtle? What did she do?'

        Myrtle flitted down next to Zane and placed a ghostly arm around his shoulders. 'Oh, often. She spent the most time down there over the holidays, when few other people were in the school. But she's been down there at least once a week lately. I don't know what she does down there, of course. I, er… don't follow her. But then, not twenty minutes ago, she came through with little Lily. Just before Tabitha came back again with that silly map.'

        'Where did Petra take Lily, Myrtle?' Ted asked impatiently. 'Did they go into the Chamber of Secrets?'

        'Well, of course, you silly boy,' Myrtle said, tilting her head coquettishly. 'Where else?'

        Albus shook his head, exasperated. 'Why didn't you tell anyone?'

        Myrtle peered at him mistily. 'Because no one ever asked,' she answered simply.

        James turned, stalking back into the center of the room. 'How do we get down there?' he demanded. 'Where's the door?'

        'Hah!' Tabitha exclaimed, still crumpled on the floor under the watchful eye of Ted Lupin. 'You'll never get through! If I couldn't open it, no one can! Only the true Bloodline can speak the incantation to open the Chamber of Secrets!'

        'Is that true, Myrtle?' Rose asked, turning back to the ghost.

        'Oh no,' Myrtle replied, shaking her head slowly. 'No, no, no. Loads of people have opened the Chamber. That horrible Ron Weasley opened it years ago, just by imitating the sounds Harry Potter had made. If he could do it, anyone could.'

        'You worthless little—' Tabitha cried, straightening. 'All that time you watched me trying… You let me make a fool of myself!'

        'You didn't need my help,' Myrtle sniffed.

        'Myrtle,' James said seriously, stepping carefully toward the ghost. 'We don't have much time. Can you tell us the incantation?'

        'Don't you dare!' Tabitha exclaimed, her voice splintering.

        'That's enough out of you, Corsica,' Ted warned, raising his wand. 'Shut up or I'll Stun you. It's the least you deserve.'

        'It's an awful sound,' Myrtle said, ignoring Tabitha. 'It gives me shivers to hear it, and I'm dead. I always jumped down into my U-bend before Petra said the incantation.'

'Please, Myrtle,' Rose begged. 'How does it go? We have to get down there.'

        Myrtle looked sideways at Rose, raising one eyebrow. 'You really think Harry will come and see me? You promise?'

        'I promise,' Rose nodded. 'Please tell us.'

        Myrtle sighed and flitted slowly to the center of the room. Carefully, she opened her mouth and produced a horrible, hissing noise. It was guttural, almost gurgling. It made James' hair stand up.

        When she was finished, Zane looked around and asked, 'So who's going to do it? I know I can't make a sound like that.'

        Ralph took a deep breath. 'I'll try it,' he announced, sighing with resignation. 'After all, I'm a Slytherin.'

        Nobody argued. Ralph opened his mouth and imitated the noise as well as he could. James thought he did a remarkably good job since the same sounds in Ralph's mouth still sent chills down his spine. As soon as he finished, a grating rumble shook the bathroom. The sink directly behind Ralph began to lower, receding into the floor. Tabitha gasped and moved aside, her pale face a mask of awe and jealousy.

        'Come on,' Ted said grimly. 'We have to hurry.'

        'You can't go, Ted,' Rose said, touching Ted's arm. 'Unless you plan on taking Tabitha along, too. She's a seventh year. I might be able to guard her, but I'd feel a lot better if you did it.'

        Ted grimaced in frustration, looking away and fingering his wand. Finally, he turned back. 'You go,' he said reluctantly. 'I'll guard Corsica, but we won't leave until you come back, understood? Besides, it's just Petra down there, right? You'll be able to talk sense into her. She'd never hurt anyone.'

        James nodded, but he wasn't at all sure that Ted was right. Ted hadn't had the dreams. 'Right. Let's go.' He took a deep breath and turned toward the ancient stairway.

        'And James,' Ted called, 'tell Petra the same thing she told me! This isn't the way! Tell her I said that, all right?'

        James nodded, and then plunged down the stone steps, his friends following closely.

19. THE SACRIFICE

James illuminated his wand as he trotted down the ancient stone staircase. Rose and Albus followed, eyes wide, with Zane and Ralph in the rear. James' phantom scar had been aching ever since that horrible burst of pain when he'd moved to kiss Petra; now, as he entered the dark chamber, the ache increased to a throbbing pulse.

        'I was in the Chamber of Secrets once before,' Rose called, her voice echoing in the dark, cavernous space. 'Years ago, when it was still on the Hogwarts tour. My parents refused to go down with me because they'd already seen it of course, and didn't want to relive any of that, so I went with Uncle George. There wasn't much to see, really, since they'd taken the dead Basilisk out years ago. It was just an open space underground. Most of it had caved in.'

        James gasped and stumbled to a stop, throwing out one hand to warn the rest and holding his wand high in the other.

        'Was this a part of the tour when you were here, Rose?' he asked breathlessly.

        Rose stopped behind him, her eyes widening. Behind her, Ralph and Zane clambered to a halt as well.

        The floor ended at James' feet as if it had been broken away. Beyond it, seamless black space indicated a chasm of unimaginable depth. Ominous whooshing sounds wafted out of the blackness, and as James raised his wand, its light glinted off the edges of huge, swinging blades.

        'No,' Rose breathed. 'This was definitely not a part of the tour. Where did it come from?'

        'I'd say it was opened only recently,' Zane said, pointing. 'Look!'

        James saw what Zane was pointing at. A pair of huge stone doors stood open on either side, overlooking the depths of the chasm before him.

        'How did Petra open those?' Rose asked incredulously. 'They must weigh tons!'

        'I'm more interested in how she crossed that,' Ralph said, gesturing at the chasm and the huge swinging blades. 'We'll never be able to follow her!'

        James stooped down and hefted a medium-sized rock. He weighed it thoughtfully in his hand, and then