Ralph frowned thoughtfully. 'I wonder what ever happened to the pieces. You think they're still here, stored away in a cellar or something?'
'I wouldn't be surprised,' Rose agreed. 'There's room enough here for them to keep everything. They say the original founders themselves are buried here somewhere, although nobody knows where. All except Salazar Slytherin.'
Ralph blinked at her. 'Why isn't he buried here?'
'I thought you said you read Hogwarts: A History?'
Ralph turned to James. 'Is she always like this? If so, remind me not to ask her any more questions.'
'He's not buried here,' James answered, 'because he had a big row with the other founders and got kicked out of the school.'
Ralph grimaced. 'I probably don't want to know what that was about, do I?'
'I'm sure you can guess,' James replied. 'It's a good thing times have changed, eh?'
'Times never change,' a deep voice said. James glanced up and saw Merlin climbing the steps from the field below. 'But people do. Greetings, my friends. Are we ready to disembark?'
'If that means are we ready to hike,' Ralph said tentatively, 'I'm not sure I'm prepared to answer that.'
Merlin turned on the steps and began to descend again into the grassy weeds at the bottom. James looked at Rose and Ralph, then shrugged and ran down the steps to follow.
'So how are we getting there, Headmaster?' Rose called. 'Portkey? Broom? Side-Along Apparition?'
'I thought Mr. Potter had already informed you,' Merlin replied without looking back. 'We are going to walk.'
'The whole way?' Ralph said, tripping over a patch of heather.
Merlin seemed to be enjoying himself. 'It'll become easier as we go, Mr. Deedle. In my day—and I admit that that day was quite a long time ago indeed—people walked virtually everywhere. It is good for wizards and witches to move within nature. It reminds us of who we are.'
'I know who I am,' Ralph grumbled. 'I'm a bloke with cruddy shoes and a preference for food that comes in wrappers.'
They reached the edge of the Forest and Merlin stepped into it without breaking his stride. There was no path, but Merlin seemed to know where to step. He barely made a footprint or bent a stalk of grass. James paused for a moment at the edge of the woods. Merlin wasn't slowing, and James knew that if he didn't keep up, he would quickly lose the big wizard in the density of the trees. He plunged in after him, trying as well as he could to match Merlin's giant stride.
'Hold up a minute,' Rose called, plucking burs from her jeans as she walked. 'Not all of us can commune with the oneness of nature and all that.'
As they progressed, however, James noticed a strange thing. In some small way, he did seem to be connecting with the woods around him. It was as if the Forest blended with Merlin as he moved, opening for him and closing up again once he was past. If James, Ralph, and Rose kept close enough, they travelled in the wake of that opening. Briars bent away from them, streams sprouted smooth, dry stepping stones, and even the grass and brush laid down flat, softening the ground for their feet. No branches snagged them despite the fact that the woods were exceedingly dense. Even the reddening sunlight seemed to wend its way through the thick treetops, laying down a trail of light for them.
'Hey, James,' Ralph said quietly, 'how far do you think we've gone?'
'We've only been at it for half an hour or so,' James replied, glancing up at the sun. 'We can't have gone much further than Hogsmeade, depending on what direction we're heading in. It's hard to tell, isn't it?'
Ralph nodded. 'Yeah, it is. I swear it feels like we've been walking only a few minutes and about a week at the same time.'
'Your mind is playing tricks on you,' Rose said. 'It happens on long trips. The monotony gets to you. We're probably hardly out of sight of the castle. If only the trees would thin out a bit.'
As Rose spoke, Merlin stepped into a blaze of orange light. James squinted as he followed, then gasped, catching himself and throwing out his hands to stop Ralph and Rose. They bumped him from behind.
'Hey,' Rose replied, dropping her satchel, 'why are we stopping—'
Her voice trailed away as she looked up. A blindingly beautiful sunset filled the view before them, blazing with oranges and pinks and deep lavenders, but that was only half of it. Fifteen feet in front of James' feet, the stony ground fell away, plunging dizzyingly to a rocky beach pounded with surf. Mist roared up on the wind, wetting their faces and beading on their eyelashes.
'Is that the ocean?' Rose asked breathlessly. 'That's impossible!'
A voice called indistinctly. James tore his eyes from the sight below him and saw Merlin some distance away. He was standing on a narrow path that threaded along the crags of the cliff. He waved for them to follow. After a few awed moments, they did.
The roar of the ocean and the whipping wind filled their ears as they skirted the cliff, catching up with Merlin. While they were still some distance behind him, Rose slipped in next to James.
Keeping her voice low, she said, 'James, why did you ask me to come along on this trip?'
'That's easy,' James replied, treading as quickly as he could on the uneven path along the cliff. 'I had to pick someone who could keep a secret. Besides, I knew you had some doubts about Merlin. I wanted you to see him up close and personal.'
'I have to tell you that so far I'm not feeling much better about him,' Rose confided. 'Somehow, he just walked us about a hundred kilometers in a half hour. But still, I'm just wondering, James: why didn't you ask Albus to come?'
James glanced over his shoulder at Rose. 'I don't know. You were the first person I thought of.'
'I just think it's curious, that's all.'
Ralph had caught up to them. 'Why'd you ask me to come?' he asked, panting a little.
'Merlin asked for you specifically, Ralph. He said he knew you and me were good at keeping secrets.'
Rose frowned. 'I want to know who he's keeping secrets from.'
'Shh,' James hissed as they neared Merlin.
He had stopped at the crown of a steep, rocky promontory. As the three climbed to meet him, they realized they were at the point of a narrow peninsula. Only when they joined Merlin at the top did they see that the peninsula extended ahead of them, making a natural bridge out over the crashing surf far below. The peninsula was barely as wide as the path, with a sheer drop on either side. At the far end, the stony bridge connected to an enormous craggy monolith, nearly the same size and shape as a Hogwarts turret. The top seemed roughly flat and was covered with blowing grass.
'We're not going out on that,' Ralph stated flatly. 'I mean, we're not, right? That would be totally mad.'
Even as he finished speaking, Merlin stepped out onto the rocky spine. 'Follow closely, my friends. It is less dangerous than it looks, but it is not harmless. I will catch you if you fall, but let us work to avoid that necessity.'
Fortunately, James wasn't particularly afraid of heights. Keeping his eyes on the large man striding easily along the narrow path, James stepped forward to follow.
'Oh bugger,' Ralph muttered from behind, his voice almost lost in the whipping, salty wind.
