James Potter and the Curse of the Gatekeeper

rounded a turn, rushing through it at dangerously high speed.

        'Look!' Zane called, gripping the open doorway and pointing. James peered aside, looking through the gap between the cars. Trees whipped past in a blur, and then something else flickered past: wooden signs and piles of gravel and railroad ties.

        'It's the new extension!' Zane yelled, his face very pale.

        'The new what?' Rose cried, shaking her head.

        'Didn't you read the sign?' he called, exasperated. 'It's the new track extension over the Sparrowhawk Gorge! We're off the main track! We've been switched onto the new extension!'

        'Don't tell me,' Ralph yelled, slumping. 'The extension's not finished yet, is it?'

        'No! The bridge over the gorge is hardly half-done yet! It's not supposed to be completed until next year!'

        Albus nodded seriously. 'This is bad. Very bad.'

        Merlin stepped forward, his face determined and his staff held before him. The wind whipped his robes and streamed through his hair and beard. Instantly, the cloud of Dementors condensed, collapsing onto the doorway and blocking it. The students stumbled backwards, terrified and falling over each other. The Dementors hissed and roared, and James felt his blood chill at the sound of it. He'd never known Dementors could speak.

        The boyyy…, they hissed in unison, and their voices were horrid, buzzing like hornet wings. James Sirius Potter… the boyyy mussst commme…

        Merlin had not stepped back in the face of the angry swarm. Now, however, he turned slightly, looking back at James over his shoulder. His face was cold, his eyes like diamond chips.

        'It would appear you are being summoned,' he said, his voice carrying easily over the noise and wind.

        'No!' James cried. 'I don't want anything to do with that thing!'

        'The Gatekeeper believes differently,' Merlin replied. 'And it is going to kill everyone on this train if you do not meet its summons.'

        James shook his head adamantly. 'I can't face that thing alone!' he exclaimed, terrified.

        'You will not be alone,' Merlin answered, smiling humorlessly. 'I will be accompanying you.'

        James looked into the sorcerer's face. What he saw there was complete confidence and determination. The Dementors may try to stop Merlin, but they would not succeed. James nodded slowly and stood up.

        As he stepped tentatively toward the open doorway, the cloud of Dementors backed away, allowing him room. They swarmed feverishly, and the sight of them made James shiver.

        'Don't!' Rose called, grabbing James' sleeve. 'There's got to be another way! You don't have to do it, James!'

        James shook his head. 'I think I do, Rose. It'll be all right.'

        'No!' she cried. 'You're daft! You can't defeat something like that!'

        James shrugged. 'I have to try at least.'

        Zane put his hand on Rose's shoulder and Albus reached for her hand.

        'Don't do anything stupid, big brother!' Albus called.

        'Here!' Ralph suddenly yelled, pushing forward. He held his wand out to James, handle-first.

        James shook his head. 'No, Ralph, that's yours! I couldn't!'

        'Shut up, James!' Ralph said, and James was shocked to see the ferocity in the boy's eyes. 'Merlin's right! My wand has unique powers! You might need the boost! You're not going to keep it anyway. I'm lending it to you. Understand?'

        James nodded solemnly and accepted Ralph's huge wand. 'I'll give it back to you when I return,' he agreed.

        Nowww…, the Dementors hissed in their awful monotone. James Sirius Potter…

        'Keep your cowls on,' James muttered nervously, pushing into the wind and blasting cinders. The rear of the coal car bore an iron ladder. James began to climb it, fighting both the howling air and streaming smoke from the engine. Beneath him, the track blurred past, and the clack of the wheels was loud enough to hurt his ears. Before Merlin could move to follow him, however, James decided to try the bravest thing he could think of. He took out Ralph's wand and pointed it at the great iron knuckle that connected the coal car to the rest of the train.

        'Convulsis!' he called, attempting the destroying spell he had last seen Rowena Ravenclaw use on the painting in Salazar Slytherin's quarters. The spell struck the knuckle and exploded brightly. When the sparks cleared, however, James could see that it had had no effect on the knuckle.

        'A worthy attempt,' Merlin called, glancing up at James. 'But the Gatekeeper has foreseen such measures.'

        James nodded, disheartened, and continued to climb the ladder. The Dementors swirled around him but kept their distance. James scrambled over the lip of the coal car and dropped onto the irregular pile of coal inside.

        Behind him, he heard Merlin's voice call out firmly, 'Chrea Patronym!'

        There was a burst of silvery light and the swarm of Dementors broke apart, repelled by the force of the glare. James glanced back and saw Merlin clambering onto the pile of coal behind him, his staff glowing greenly in his hand. In front of Merlin, standing between him and James, was a large, ghostly jackal. The silvery light pulsed from it, and it bore its shining teeth in a silent snarl, forcing the Dementors back. James felt a little better seeing Merlin's ferocious Patronus, and he wasn't surprised at the form it had taken. He turned back and slowly began to force his way along the length of the coal car, struggling over the rough chunks of black coal. Trees whipped past, and James could tell that this length of track was unfamiliar. He had no idea how long they had until the train met the unfinished bridge. Panic tried to grip him, but James fought it back, concentrating on the task at hand.

        Finally, he met the other end of the coal car and clambered through an open iron door. A shovel rattled on the small platform behind the engine, but there was no one in sight. Merlin climbed through the iron door behind James, but his Patronus jumped over the front of the coal car, landing on the platform with its hackles raised. The noise of the engine made it almost too loud to speak. Merlin nodded toward the closed door in the rear of the engine. It was painted bright red, just like the rest of the engine. Across it, in gold letters, were the words 'Hogwarts Express Engineers Only'.

        James reached for the door handle and heaved it open. It was pitch dark inside the engine compartment. James took a deep breath, steeled himself on the swaying, speeding platform, and stepped into the waiting darkness.

        The noise and wind vanished instantly. There was no sense of speed or motion at all. Nor did the space inside the engine feel hot or confined, as James had expected. It felt huge, silent, and eerily cool.

        'James,' a voice said comfortably, 'how good of you to come.'

        James glanced around, but he couldn't see anyone. There was no sign of Merlin, or anything else for that matter. The space seemed completely dark and featureless but for a pool of dim light that James stood in. 'Where am I?' he asked, gathering his wits. 'Where's Merlin?'

        'He's near,' the voice answered cryptically. 'Interesting fellow, Merlinus, don't you think? He was the first human I ever met, you know. His fear tastes particularly piquant.' The voice sighed in a selfsatisfied manner. 'As far as where you are, that's a rather more difficult question to answer. I didn't want you to be overly concerned about your friends, so I took us… away. Outside of time. Outside of… well, everything, really.'

'Where are you?' James demanded, glancing around.