James Potter and the Curse of the Gatekeeper

House points, I can assure you. Who's next?'

        'Pity you can't come, James,' Damien called as James pushed past the queue, heading out into the courtyard. 'Hogsmeade weekends being only for third-years and older, you know.' He waggled his eyebrows and grinned. Sabrina elbowed him in the stomach.

        'I wish I could go to Hogsmeade,' Cameron said wistfully, staring after the departing students. 'Still, I'm sure there's a very good reason younger years can't go.'

        'Yeah,' James said, stopping at the courtyard gate and turning to the younger boy. 'Well, anyway, Cameron, I'm sure you have other things to do today. Don't let me keep you.'

        Cameron shook his head happily. 'No, actually, I don't have a thing to do. I was sort of hoping that —'

        'James!' Rose called, panting as she ran across the courtyard to meet him. 'Ralph's coming. He insisted on borrowing a Sneakoscope from Trenton Bloch, the blighter. That warning from Zane's sure got him on high alert, especially today, since… er. Hi, Cameron.'

        'Hi, Rose,' Cameron grinned cheerfully. 'What's going on?'

        Rose glanced at James, frowning a little. 'Oh. What? Nothing. You know. Saturday this-and- that. Same as usual. Boring, really.'

        'What's your friend Ralph need a Sneakoscope for?'

        James put his arm around Cameron, trying to steer him back toward the front entrance. 'You know, Cameron, today would be a great day to practice up on some drills and exercises. The gym's open all day. I bet you could even find some other club members to join you.'

        'Well, why don't you three join me?' Cameron said, ducking under James' arm. 'Since you don't have any plans yourselves.'

Rose cleared her throat. 'It isn't that we don't have any plans exactly, Cameron. They're just, er…'

'Secret,' James interjected, at exactly the same moment that Rose said, 'Boring.'

        'Secret, er, boring plans,' James went on, nodding. 'Club stuff. Scheduling and counting members and… and…'

        'And planning field trips!' Rose added, brightening.

        'We're going to go on a Defence Club field trip?' Cameron asked, furrowing his brow.

        'Sure,' James replied. 'It's a secret, so keep it to yourself. But we're going to go to, er…'

        'Er,' Rose chimed, 'the Forbidden Forest, with Hagrid, to practice Artis Decerto against some…'

        'Some centaurs!' James supplied. He nodded. 'Yeah, that sounds about right.'

        Cameron looked vaguely puzzled. 'Centaurs know Artis Decerto?'

        'Sure,' Rose said confidently. 'They practically invented it. I mean, they didn't really invent it, obviously, but practically… Anyway, it's a big secret, so don't tell anyone about it yet, all right?'

        'Hey, everybody,' Ralph said as he approached, shouldering his satchel. 'We're all ready to go —'

        'To Hagrid's,' James interrupted, nodding at Ralph fervently. 'To talk about the field trip. Yeah, I suppose he'll be expecting us any minute. So, anyway, see you around, Cameron.'

        Cameron looked at James, Rose, and Ralph in succession, his eyes slightly narrowed, then he smiled cheerfully. 'Yeah! Sure. I'll keep it a secret. I've never seen a centaur in person. That'll be excellent!'

        'Centaurs?' Ralph said, turning to James. 'You never said anything about—'

        'Cool!' James interrupted. 'Yeah, thanks, Cam. Hush-hush, right? See you later.'

        Cameron nodded and backed away. Finally, he turned and headed back toward the castle entrance.

        'What in the world was all that about?' Ralph asked as the three students ran around the corner of the gate.

        'James' secret admirer,' Rose said. 'We had to come up with something fast so he wouldn't tail us around all day.'

        'Do you think you can remember the secret knot?' James asked, changing the subject.

        Rose answered, 'Gennifer marked it with a spot of green paint. It looks like moss unless you get up close. Should be pretty easy to find if you know what to look for.'

        As they crested the hill and came in sight of the Whomping Willow, James found a long stick beneath a birch. He smiled, showing it to Ralph and Rose. Rose nodded seriously.

        'You're on secret knot duty, then, James,' she said. 'Just give it a good poke. We'll follow you into the entrance between the roots once the Willow goes still.'

        James gripped the stick and approached the tree. The Willow seemed to sense his intent. It reared slightly, creaking its roots, and whipping its thinnest branches threateningly.

        'Stay low,' Ralph called. 'You'll need to get just inside the shadow of the tree to reach the knot. The big branches can't reach you, but those little green ones might if you're too high.'

        James hunkered as low as he could until he was crawling forward on his hands and knees. The tree swished and groaned over him. A whip-like green branch swung at him, trying to wrench the stick out of his hand. It missed, but James felt the breeze of its passage.

        'Careful,' Rose cried in a thin voice. 'Just right there! Slowly!'

        James reached as far as he could, staring down the length of the stick at its wavering tip. He could see the spot of green paint applied earlier in the term by Gennifer Tellus. This close up, he could see that she'd painted it in the shape of a tiny smiley face. The Whomping Willow creaked ponderously and James felt its shadow leaning over him. He lunged and poked with the stick, striking the knot dead-on.

        'That's it!' Rose cried. James heard both Ralph and Rose running forward. He scrambled up, slipping on the wet grass. Clumsily, he hurled himself forward into the dark crack between the Willow's massive roots. He landed with a thud in the mossy hollow beneath the tree. A moment later, he heard and felt the entrance of Ralph and Rose. They landed on either side of him, barely missing him in the damp darkness. James laughed in relief. He began to climb to his feet when a fourth shape hurtled through the entrance, bowling directly into James. A knee bounced off his chest, knocking the wind out of him. There was a chorus of angry and surprised shouts.

        'What the—' Ralph cried, scrambling up and snatching after the intruder. He caught the figure by the collar just as Rose whipped out her wand.

        'Lumos!' she cried, holding it up.

        The wandlight sprayed over the skinny shape of Cameron Creevey, held suspended by Ralph's grip. The boy had dirt and bits of bark on his face. He grinned gamely.

        'Hi, guys,' he said, panting. 'Some field trip, eh?'

15. OUT OF HOGSMEADE

'I couldn't help it,' Cameron said as the four traipsed along the length of the tunnel. 'I just knew you were up to something exciting! I saw you heading out toward the Whomping Willow and I remembered reading that there had been a secret passage there, back in our parents' day. They say it was all sealed off after the battle, but still, I knew you three could find a way through if you wanted. So I followed along. I was about to call out to you, but then the tree stopped moving and you all ran toward it! I did the first thing that came to mind and ran after you. It was a near thing too! The Willow came back alive just as I got under it! It swiped at me and barely missed!'