Harry laughed humorlessly. 'It was that detail in your letter that proved I needed to get here right away, James. I'm doing nothing but desk work this week. If Sacarhina says I'm on assignment, that's just because she wants to make sure I'm not here.'
'Yeah,' James nodded. 'The portrait of Snape told us Sacarhina and Recreant are both no good. They're in on all this Progressive Element stuff.'
Harry stopped on the stairs, turning back to James, Ralph, and Zane. 'Be careful who you mention that to,' he said, lowering his voice. 'The Ministry is riddled with people like Recreant and Sacarhina these days, although for most of them, it's just a way to appear a little daring and trendy. Hermione does what she can to fight the propaganda and weed out the instigators, but it's complicated. Recreant is only a tool, but Sacarhina is dangerous. I think she's the mastermind behind the return of Merlin, in fact.'
'What?' James said, dropping his voice to match his dad's. 'That can't be. It was Madame Delacroix in the grotto last night.'
'Yeah, Sacarhina didn't even arrive until yesterday evening,' Zane added.
Harry's expression was grave. 'Sacarhina isn't the kind of person to get her hands dirty with any of the actual work. She needed Delacroix for that, and Delacroix herself couldn't have gotten the Merlin throne out of the Ministry without Sacarhina on the inside, helping her. Recreant and Sacarhina are only here now because they claim to be escorting an 'expert in Muggle-magical relations' to deal with this Prescott person. There is no such expert. They were expecting to produce Merlin himself, and pass him off as that expert.'
'So they never intended to stop Prescott from revealing the magical world to the Muggle press!' Ralph said, his face white. 'Sacarhina and Merlin were supposed to work together to make sure Prescott got his story out, weren't they?'
Harry nodded. 'That's what I think. This is all no coincidence. It's exactly the sort of thing people like Sacarhina have been hoping for all along. The recombination of the Muggle and magical world is essential to their final plan for all-out war.'
'But Merlin turned out to be on nobody's side but his own, after all,' James said. 'Does that ruin their plan?'
'I don't know,' Harry sighed. 'Things have been put in motion that will be very hard to stop now. Sacarhina may no longer need Merlin for this part of the plan.'
Zane asked, 'So how are you planning to stop Prescott?'
'Stop him? I'm not even supposed to be here, remember? Sacarhina is in charge.'
'But she's evil!' James exclaimed. 'You can't just let her run the show!'
'We won't, James,' Harry said, putting a hand on James' shoulder, but hardening his voice. 'But we have to be very careful. Sacarhina has a lot of influence in the Ministry. I can't just defy her. She's hoping that I'll do something rash, something she can use against me. She wants the Auror Department shut down entirely. Keeping that from happening is of utmost importance. Even more so than protecting the secrecy of the magical world.'
'So Sacarhina and Delacroix win?' James said, looking his dad in the eye.
'In the short run, perhaps. But don't lose hope, any of you. Neville, the Headmistress, and I have a few tricks up our sleeves. We will survive the day, no matter what happens with Prescott. The only question now is who led him here in the first place?'
'Well, it would've been Sacarhina, wouldn't it?' Zane suggested.
'No, couldn't be,' James sighed. 'She's signed the Vow of Secrecy, just like every other witch and wizard. If she'd tried to tell Prescott anything, even through a letter, the vow would have stopped her somehow. Besides, she wouldn't know anything about how a GameDeck worked or how it could be used to lead somebody to Hogwarts.'
Voices and footsteps echoed from the spiral of stairs above them. The Headmistress and the professors were descending behind them. Harry gestured for the boys to follow him the rest of the way down.
'That's the only part of this that really baffles me,' Harry said as he tromped down the stairs. 'Every witch and wizard is bound by the Vow of Secrecy. Any Muggle parent of a student is bound by their own contract of non- disclosure. That means no one who knows about the magical world would be capable of spreading the secret. And yet someone obviously did. I intend to find out who.'
By the time they neared the last curve of the staircase, the Headmistress, Neville, and the rest of the professors had caught up to them. McGonagall called down to the students who were waiting below.
'Ladies and gentlemen, as you can see, we are all returning to you whole and well.' She stopped and regarded the assembly from above. 'In order to dispel rumors and quell any fears, I intend to be quite forthright about what has been, and still is, occurring here today. Two men have found their ways rather unexpectedly into these halls over the course of the last two days. The first is still here. His name is Martin Prescott and he is a Muggle. His intentions are quite questionable, but I can assure you that we, your faculty, are prepared to--'
'Thank you, Minerva,' a high, ringing voice interrupted. 'I have, in fact, already briefed the students on today's events. I appreciate your thoroughness, however. Do join us, won't you?' Sacarhina and Recreant stepped out of the crowd of students and moved to the head of the staircase. Sacarhina's smile was large and glinting in the dusty light of the tower floor. McGonagall stared down at her for a long moment, and then turned to address the students again. 'In that case, I expect you all have classes to attend to. Your professors shall kindly lead you to your classrooms. Let us make what we can with the rest of the day, shall we?'
'Do you really believe it is necessary for classes to go forward today, Minerva?' Sacarhina said when the Headmistress and the rest of the troupe reached the bottom of the steps. 'This is rather an unusual day.'
'Unusual days are the best days for classes, Miss Sacarhina,' McGonagall replied, stepping past the woman. 'Reminds everyone why we are here in the first place. If you'll excuse me.'
'Harry,' Mr. Recreant said, smiling a bit too enthusiastically. 'I admit, Brenda and I hadn't expected to see you here today. Family occasion, is it?' He turned his grin on James, and then flashed it over Ralph and Zane as well.
Harry smiled stiffly. 'I'm equally surprised to see the two of you here. I didn't see any paperwork about a return trip to meet with the Alma Alerons. And I've been doing an awful lot of paperwork, as you know.'
Sacarhina took Harry's arm, and he allowed her to lead him out of the tower, following the last of the students. 'Very unexpected, this is,' she said in a confidential tone of voice. 'Dreadful situation. Surely Minerva told you about it? Martin Prescott, a Muggle reporter, right here on the grounds. Still, the Ministry feels it is inevitable, really.'
'Does it?' Harry said, stopping near the door and facing Sacarhina. 'So Loquatious Knapp knows about this?'
'The Minister is aware of the general direction events have been leading,' Recreant interjected. 'We hadn't chosen to bother him with the particulars, per se.'
'So he doesn't, in fact, know you are here?' Harry said, dropping his thin smile.
'Harry,' Sacarhina said silkily, 'the fact is that this sort of scenario is exactly the purview of the Department of Ambassadorial Relations. You, of course, do not require the signature of the Minister for every little maneuver of the Auror Department. Nor do we require his approval when dealing with the execution of our daily duties. Do you intend to stay for the day?'
'I believe so, Brenda,' Harry answered calmly. 'I am curious to see what the Department of Ambassadorial Relations does to execute its daily duties in such a situation. Besides, surely you'd agree that an outside, objective witness might prove helpful in case of any… inquiries?'
'Suit yourself, Mr. Potter,' Sacarhina said, her smile snapping shut like a jewelry box. 'It will all be over by four
