seem a bit more urgent now. Besides,' Rose sniffed, stopping at the door to History of Magic, 'we agreed I was in charge of scheduling.'
'Yeah, I suppose, but… the entire Ravenclaw Table?'
Rose nodded. 'And Louis is spreading the word with the Hufflepuffs.'
'Louis!' James cried, raising his voice again. 'You got Louis involved?'
'He overheard me, so I thought I'd put him to work. What's the matter? I thought you said that anyone who wanted could be involved?'
'Yeah, well…,' James said, lowering his voice, 'anybody we wanted to know about it.'
'I don't think it works that way,' Ralph replied. 'Besides, word's all over the school by now.'
James exhaled in frustration, but it was too late to do anything about it. He'd have to go and find Cedric tonight if he could. Thinking that, he turned and shouldered his way into the crowded classroom where Professor Binns was already burbling away, his back to the students as he made ghostly notes on the illegible chalkboard.
James finally had the opportunity he was waiting for that night after dinner. Ralph said goodnight at the stairs and Rose was in the library doing some homework. Once Ralph had descended into the cellars, James turned away from the stairway and walked along the main hall toward the portico. He felt rather strongly that he had to do this by himself. As he turned into the corridor that bore the trophy case, he slowed, looking around. There was no one about and the halls were quite silent as most of the students retired to their common rooms for the evening.
James walked lightly along the display cases, passing the photos of ancient House Quidditch teams and displays of old game balls, plaques, and trophies. He paused for a moment in front of a Quidditch tournament trophy engraved with a list of names. It was rather old and tarnished, but the name near the bottom was still perfectly legible. 'James Potter – Chaser', it read in flowing script. Here was the name of the grandfather James had never known. He felt suddenly very sad because it reminded him that he had no grandfathers at all anymore. The plaque was rather dusty, probably forgotten by most everyone that moved daily through these halls. James had a strong urge to reach into the case and touch the plaque, as if to make sure it was real. It was like an anchor that connected him to a person and a time he'd never known. James glanced around the corridor, assuring himself no one was looking, and then stepped toward the case. The glass door squeaked slightly as he opened it. He reached in and ran a finger across the name engraved near the bottom, drawing a faint line in the dust. He could barely feel the etching of the letters.
Suddenly, for no apparent reason, James thought of the words his father had said to him on the night of Granddad's funeral: Granddad is really the third father I've lost… I'm back to where I started. This name on the trophy was where everything started. This trophy is from those last few years before everything changed, James thought, before Grandma and Granddad were killed by Voldemort; before Dad's godfather, Sirius, was lost in the
'I remember seeing your dad standing there in front of that very plaque,' a voice said quietly.
James wasn't surprised. He didn't turn around as he said, 'I came down here to look for you. I had a feeling this is where you came when you didn't know where else to go.'
'This is the first place I remember being after I died,' the ghostly voice of Cedric Diggory said. 'There was a long, long time of nothing, although it sometimes felt only like minutes. Finally, here I was, looking down at my own picture by the Triwizard Cup. I spent a lot of time doing that. It was… comforting, in a way. I can't see myself in mirrors, you know. It's just one of the peculiarities of being a ghost.'
James closed the trophy case and turned to Cedric. 'You saw my dad standing here, looking at Granddad's name on the plaque?'
Cedric smiled at the memory. 'It wasn't just him. It was all three of them. Ron, Hermione, and Harry. It was their first year. I didn't know them then, but I knew who your father was. Everybody did.'
James looked back at the plaque again. It helped to know that his dad had also looked at that name and felt some of the same things he was feeling. He sighed.
'The past is a steel trap,' Cedric said. 'Trust me on that one, James.'
James glanced up, as if in surprise.
'What?' Cedric said. 'It wasn't that profound, was it?'
James shook his head. 'No. I mean, yeah, I guess, but that's not what I was thinking. I just had the strongest, weirdest feeling that this has happened before. And all of a sudden, I thought of Ralph's story.'
Cedric looked puzzled. James went on, waving a hand. 'It's this story that we learned about in Wizlit. Professor Revalvier says that all great magical stories were meant to be told by word of mouth because written words cage them and make them tame. Magical stories are meant to stay alive. They change with each retelling because they pick up the spirit of the teller. I don't know why; I just thought of the last line from the story Ralph told us in class. It's the only line I can ever get exactly right when I try to write it down.'
'What is it?' Cedric asked.
James was thoughtful. ''Then I am the King of the Cats,'' he said, as if tasting the words.
Cedric's ghost was silent. After a moment, he asked, 'So what does it mean?'
'That's just it,' James said, shaking his head. 'It doesn't seem to mean anything unless I'm not thinking about it. Then, all of a sudden, it'll pop into my head, just like it did now, and it'll seem really important. I just can't put my finger on it. It's like seeing something out of the corner of your eye, something that vanishes as soon as you look right at it.'
'Well, I guess if it really is important, it'll come to you when you need it,' Cedric said, shrugging. 'You said you came down here looking for me?'
'Oh,' James replied, shaking himself. 'Yeah. Er…' He sighed, and then looked the ghost right in his semi- transparent eye. 'We need your help, Ced. I don't know how else to put it. We're putting together this club, Ralph and Rose and me. Actually, it was Noah, Sabrina, and Damien's idea, but we're the ones that went to Merlin and got permission and everything. Honestly, we're not even the first people to do it. My dad had a club like this way back in his day, although it was after you, you know, er… anyway, we need to learn how to do defensive spells and techniques and our new teacher this year refuses to teach us anything except how to pull a hamstring. We've got permission to officially start the club, and by now, it seems like the whole school already knows about it. Our first meeting's tomorrow, but we don't even have a teacher. That's why I came to find you. When we first talked about it, you were the first person that Ralph, Rose, and I thought of to teach us defensive magic.'
'You can't be serious,' Cedric said, smiling a little crookedly. 'I'm a ghost, if you haven't noticed. Not only do I not have a working wand anymore, technically, I don't even have fingers. I couldn't Stun a dust-bunny. I have a hard enough time magicking the lanterns out when I do my 'Specter of Silence' routine. And you think I can teach defensive magical technique?'
'Well, yeah!' James said, warming to the subject. 'I mean, you were a great wizard, even while you were still in school! Everybody says so! Even Viktor Krum talks about how you outwitted the dragon and took on the merpeople. You were a natural! Besides, you have actual battle experience, having been all through the Triwizard Tournament. And you learned under Dumbledore, who everybody says was the golden age of Hogwarts. Come on, Cedric! It's perfect!'
'I don't think so, James,' Cedric said, his smile fading. 'It's great that you thought to ask me and all, but…'
'Look, Cedric, this isn't just for us,' James said, stepping a bit closer to the ghost. 'You said you didn't think there was a place for you here anymore. All your old friends and classmates have moved on. But there are a whole bunch of us who really do need you, here and now. My dad says you were totally excellent with your spellwork and
