slightly, his eyes wide. 'Mr. Hubert,' Prescott called out, 'will you open these doors for us? This is your last chance to do the right thing.'
Hubert's expression was grave. He stared very directly at Prescott. 'I have to advise you against this course of action, Mr. Prescott.'
'You open it or I will.'
'You'll ruin everything, sir,' Hubert said. Next to him, Delacroix was grinning even more manically.
'I'll ruin nothing but your secret, Mr. Hubert. The world needs to know what is behind those canvas doors.'
Hubert seemed frozen in place. It looked as if he wasn't going to do it. And then he moved forward, lowering his head. There was a long, collective gasp from the crowd. Prescott stepped aside, glancing triumphantly at the camera as he did so. Hubert approached the tent and stood in front of it. He sighed deeply, and then reached up, grasping the knotted strips of canvas that held the tent's wide flaps closed. He turned his head to look at Prescott. After a terrible pause, he pulled. The knot came undone and the flaps dropped open, unfurling like flags, slapping the poles at either side of the broad tent opening. The crowd gasped, and then there was a long, puzzled silence.
James peered in. He couldn't immediately make out what it was. The inside of the tent was rather dark, but he could see that the flying vehicles were gone. Most of the tent's interior was obscured by a large, oblong shape. A few people near the front of the crowd began to giggle, and then a wave of laughter washed over the crowd.
'Well, you've done it,' Hubert said, still staring at Prescott. 'You've ruined the secret. And this was meant to be our big finish. I have to say, sir, you are no fun at all.' Hubert finally stepped back, getting out of the way of the tent so that the camera crew could see directly inside. Tiny, colored Christmas lights flashed in sequence around the huge papier-mache flying saucer. Black letters were painted on the side, clearly visible in the flashing lights.
'And I hate to say it, Mr. Lupin,' Hubert said, turning to Ted, 'but you misspelled 'rocket'. How dreadfully embarrassing.'
'But I saw them!' Prescott said insistently, his voice growing rather hoarse as he followed Vince between the Landrovers. 'Giants! One of them was as tall as the trees! They made footprints the size of… the size of…!' He gestured with his arms desperately. Ignoring him, Vince packed his camera into a foamlined suitcase.
'You've made quite a fiasco for yourself, Mr. Prescott,' Detective Finney said, polishing his glasses on his tie. 'Don't make it any worse.'
Prescott turned to the older man, his eyes wild. 'You've got to investigate this establishment, Detective! It's not right! They've tricked you all!'
'If I spearhead any investigations, Mr. Prescott,' Finney said mildly, 'they'll be investigations of you and your methods. Did you have permission to trespass on these grounds in the first place?'
'What, are you mad?' Prescott sputtered. He stopped and collected himself. 'Of course. As I've already told you, I was tipped off about what was happening here. Someone on the inside led me here.'
'And you checked the background of this person?'
'Well,' Prescott said, 'the chocolate frog was pretty convincing. I didn't really…'
'Excuse me. Did you just say 'the chocolate frog'?' Finney asked, his eyes narrowing.
'I… er, well. The point is, yes, my source was quite certain that something strange was going on here…'
'That they were, in fact, teaching magic?'
'Yes. Er, no! Not tricks! Real magic! With monsters and giants and… and… vanishing doorways and flying cars!'
'And the chocolate frog confirmed this, did he?'
Prescott opened his mouth to answer, and then stopped. He straightened to his full height, angry and indignant. 'You're making fun of me.'
'You make it hard not to, sir. Would you be willing to let me speak to this source of yours?'
Prescott brightened. 'Yes! In fact, I would! I arranged with Miss Sacarhina for him to come along. He's right over…' He glanced around, his brow furrowing.
'You arranged with Miss Sacarhina?' Finney asked, glancing up toward the top of the courtyard steps. Much of the school faculty, as well as a number of students, were watching with benign interest as the crew industriously packed their gear. Neither Miss Sacarhina nor Mr. Recreant was in sight. 'She knows this source of yours, does she?'
'She knows him, all right,' Prescott said, still scanning the crowd. 'Where is he?'
'He came with the crew?' Finney asked, glancing around. 'I don't remember meeting him.'
'He was there. Quiet, squirrelly fellow. Had a twitch in his right eyebrow.'
'Ah, him,' Finney nodded. 'I thought he was a little odd. I'd very much like to have a word with him.'
'So would I,' Prescott agreed darkly.
On the top of the steps, Mr. Hubert turned toward Headmistress McGonagall, Neville, and Harry Potter. 'I think we can trust our friends to manage their departure from here. Madam Headmistress, I believe we have a few loose ends to attend to?'
McGonagall nodded, then turned and led the group inside. Harry smiled down at James. 'Come along, James. Ralph and Zane, you too.'
'Are you sure?' Ralph asked, glancing up at the Headmistress as she strode into the hall.
''Mr. Hubert' specifically asked for you three to accompany us,' Harry replied.
'Nice to have friends in high places, isn't it?' Zane said happily.
'Well,' the Headmistress said as they entered the empty silence of the Great Hall, 'that went as well as could be expected, even if Mr. Ambrosius was a little heavy-handed with his Amorous Charm. Mr. Finney has insisted that I join him for dinner next time I find myself in London.'
'An offer I believe you should take him up on, Madam,' Merlin replied, taking off the gigantic hornrimmed glasses and shaking his hair out of the 'Mr. Hubert' ponytail. 'I enchanted him with the slightest possible charm. How could I have known that Detective Finney would have a natural predilection for tall, strong, handsome women?'
'How indeed,' McGonagall answered. 'I believe you are grinning, sir.'
James spoke up. 'But how'd you know about the Garage, Merlin? I thought for sure we were sunk!'
