James Potter and the Curse of the Gatekeeper

nodding at a job well done.

        'Clean as the wind-driven snow,' he proclaimed.

        James examined it. Sure enough, there was no sign that the scar marking had ever been there. He wrapped the doll in a cloth and put it in the bottom of his trunk. He wasn't sure what he would do with it now that he knew it could be used rather dangerously, but he suspected he would simply give it back to his mum. Now that she knew to keep an eye on it, he felt confident that there was no one who'd take better care of it.

        At dinner on the last day of school, Gryffindor was awarded the House Cup, primarily because of late points added to their score by Merlin for James and Petra's performance in the play. James was very happy about the award, and as the Gryffindor table exploded into applause, congratulating James and Petra, he felt, perhaps for the first time, that he was living up to his father's legend as a Gryffindor. At the end of the Gryffindor table, floating uncertainly but with a nervous smile on his face, the ghost of Cedric Diggory waved at him. The Grey Lady wafted next to him, her pale face inscrutable but apparently content.

        For the evening's entertainment, the Hufflepuffs put on a very amusing puppet show rendition of The Triumvirate, making affectionate fun of everyone involved. James laughed until tears ran from his eyes. When he looked to share the joke with Petra, however, her seat was empty. He didn't see her at all the rest of the night.

        Finally, the next morning, it was time for the trip home. Zane had his small bag packed, whistling lightly as James lugged his trunk out to the steps.

        'It'll be great to ride the train again,' Zane said, smiling happily. 'I miss that old cart lady. She wasn't there when I rode into Hogsmeade with your mum, you know that? Apparently, she only works the official Hogwarts Express runs. Better profit margin, I guess.'

        'Hmph,' James said, plopping onto his trunk. 'I didn't know that.'

        'I bet she'll be there more often, though, once they open up the new route. I saw the place where they're expanding the track through the mountains. It'll connect with some new wizarding village over on the other side of some gorge. I can't remember the name of the gorge or the village, but your mum said once they finish the track, it'll save travelers loads of commute time and Floo powder. I bet the cart lady'll have a lot more customers then.'

        'I'm sure she'd be glad you were so concerned for her welfare,' James said, rolling his eyes.

        'I can't help it,' Zane agreed. 'I'm just a caring kind of guy. Oh yeah, that reminds me, I think I figured out the secret of Tabitha's crazy broom.'

        James perked up. 'Yeah? What was it?'

        Zane reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out a small envelope. 'Albus let me take a look at the bit of the broom he'd been using as a splint. I broke it open and Gennifer and Horace helped me do some tests on it. Look.' He handed the envelope to James.

        James thumbed it open and peered inside. It contained a tiny shred of black fabric.

        'I wouldn't touch it,' Zane said. 'I did accidentally, and it still feels pretty oogie.'

        ''Oogie'?' James said, handing the envelope back to Zane.

        'Sorry. Technical term I picked up from Raphael back home. Hinky. Creepified. Completely off the spook-o- meter.'

        'I get the picture,' James sighed. 'But what is it?'

        Zane plopped down next to James on his trunk. 'Remember last year when you explained corked brooms to me?'

        James nodded. 'Sure. When a Quidditch player threads something magical into their broomstick, basically turning it into a big giant wand.'

        'Yeah, well, we weren't so far-off about Corsica's,' Zane replied. 'We thought it was corked because it was Merlin's staff, but obviously, that was a red herring. It was corked because it contained a big, long strip off the robe of a Dementor.'

        'A Dementor?' James exclaimed, turning to look at Zane. 'How's that even possible?'

        Zane shrugged easily. 'Beats me, but there's no question about it. Maybe Corsica's people are friendly enough with those things that they were able to get a hand-me-down. After all, you said the Dementors were loyal to Voldy and his pals.'

        'They weren't so much loyal to him as they were evil like him, but still… you could be right.'

        'It checks out,' Zane nodded. 'If what Merlin told you is true, Dementors are the same stock as the Borleys. They come from outside of time, and can manipulate it a little. That's pretty much what Tabitha's broom seemed to do, wasn't it? It knew just enough of the future to know where it needed to be. Fortunately for you and Albus, it took on the purpose of its owner.'

        'Wow,' James breathed, looking at the envelope in Zane's hand. 'I know that thing saved Albus' and my life, but still, I have to say I'm glad it got destroyed. Corked with a Dementor's robe! That's super creepy.'

        'Oogie, even,' Zane agreed, pocketing the envelope. 'Albus said I could keep this. I'm going to give it to Chancellor Franklyn when I get home so he can study it. I bet I get brownie points from here to doomsday for it!'

        James shook his head, smiling at his friend's irrepressible temerity.

        Shortly thereafter, Ralph, Rose, and Albus dragged their trunks out to the step as well, awaiting Hagrid's carriage to the station. James smiled in the sunlight. It was going to be a fun trip home.

        'You still haven't really told us what happened on the other side of the chasm,' Ralph said as the train picked up speed, leaving Hogsmeade station. 'I mean, what was the real deal with Petra anyway? Was she under the Imperius Curse or something?'

        James shook his head. 'No, no, nothing like that. She was being deceived. She had no idea that she was the Bloodline of Voldemort. Lucius Malfoy arranged for the Invisibility Cloak, my voodoo doll, and the portrait of Voldemort to be planted into the box of her father's things before it ever left Azkaban. She was blinded to the portrait and doll, tricked by the little part of Voldemort in her blood. Later, when she heard the voice of the portrait in the cave, she thought it was the voice of her dead father. It sounds mad, but I think she was feeling a little mad anyway after finding out all that stuff about her mum and dad.'

        'So none of the things we saw in the Pensieve were about Tabitha after all, right?' Ralph said. 'All those memories were about Petra. Scorpius let us believe Tabitha was the Bloodline because that's what his grandfather told him to do, just to keep us distracted from the real thing; is that it?'

        'I don't care what you all say,' Albus said determinedly, 'that little squid is ten kinds of trouble. He just better stay out of my way.'

        Rose closed the book on her lap and looked up. 'I admit he started out pretty awful, what with stealing the Cloak, map, and doll, and then lying to us about the Bloodline, but all of that was on his grandfather's orders. You can't really blame him for wanting to live up to the legacy of his family; he didn't know any better. Besides, even by the time he was showing us the memories in the Pensieve, he was beginning to have doubts about his grandfather's plan. That's why he didn't actually say Tabitha's name. He was halfway hoping we'd figure out it was Petra after all.'

        'And he did do the right thing in the end,' James added. 'He never knew that hurting Lily was part of the plan. When Lily was kidnapped, he totally gave up his grandfather and Tabitha. We'd never have learned the truth about Petra if Scorpius hadn't been there with us in the bathroom.'

        'I think both of you have crushes on him,' Albus said dourly. 'I'm not falling for that 'I'm just a poor misguided bad boy' bit. Someday, he and I are going to finish what we started on the train ride here.'

        'I'd be careful, Albus,' Zane commented, raising his eyebrows. 'I saw Scorpius at the last Defence Club meeting and he's gotten pretty slick with that Artis Decerto stuff. He was waxin' on and waxin' off like a boy ninja.'