to use the relics to bring back Merlin all these centuries past. Then again,' he thought back to what Luna had told them, 'if it had been stored in the vaults of the Department of Mysteries since the sixteen hundreds, maybe they didn't even know it was there anymore. How would they know if one item had gone missing from the place? Luna called them the 'endless vaults', didn't she?'
'So,' Ralph said, still scanning the news article, 'somebody hires these three goons to break in and make a mess of things, while the real thieves make off with the throne of Merlin. Then the real thieves curse these guys not to be able to talk, and set them up to take the fall. Right? Pretty sneaky. But still, where do you hide something like Merlin's throne? Don't powerful magical objects, especially dark ones, make a pretty noticeable imprint? I mean, your dad and his Aurors would've picked up on it somehow, wouldn't they?'
'Yeah,' James agreed doubtfully, 'they'd have to put it someplace either really far away from civilization or hide it under loads of Disillusionment Charms and Secrecy Spells. More than just any old witch or wizard could whip up. They'd need a place totally protected and absolutely secret, like…' He stopped, realization dawning on him. His mouth hung open and his eyes grew wider and wider.
'What?' Ralph finally asked. James glanced at him, and then grabbed the newspaper from him. He turned it around, examining the front page.
'That's it!' he said in a breathless whisper. 'Look! The break-in happened the night before we arrived at school! Remember when we were on the boats crossing the lake for the first time? I saw somebody in a boat over by the lake's edge!'
'Yeah,' Ralph said slowly, narrowing his eyes, 'I guess. The next day, when the Americans arrived, you saw old Madame Delacroix and thought it'd been her. I thought you were being a bit of a nutter.'
James ignored him and went on, 'I decided it couldn't have been her, because the woman I'd seen on the lake had been a lot younger. Still, the resemblance had been pretty scary. You know where I saw that boat, though? It was over by where Zane and I found the island! The Grotto Keep! I think that was Madame Delacroix, after all!'
'How?' Ralph asked simply. 'She didn't arrive until the next day.'
James explained to Ralph what Professor Franklyn had revealed about Madame Delacroix at the dinner in the Alma Aleron's quarters. 'It was her wraith,' he concluded. 'She projected herself to the lake, to that place on the island, using the ability Franklyn told us about. No wonder she was so mad when he explained that she could project a younger version of herself anywhere she wanted!'
Ralph seemed doubtful. 'But why? What'd she want to be doing floating around in a boat on the lake?'
'Don't you see?' James exclaimed, trying to keep his voice low. 'Whoever stole the Merlin throne would need to hide it in a place so secure and secret that nobody would ever sense it. What better place to hide it than right on the grounds of Hogwarts? Why create an ultra-powerful hiding place when one already exists and you're going to be there anyway? Madame Delacroix sent her wraith to the island that night to deliver the stolen throne. She's hiding it right on the Hogwarts grounds, there on the island. The Forbidden Forest is already so full of magic that the throne is probably just lost in the background noise to the wizards at the school. The Grotto Keep must be the hiding place!'
Ralph stared at James, biting his lips and wide-eyed. Finally he said, 'Wow, that's so creepy it makes sense. So you think she's working with Jackson, then?'
'One way or another, they're in it together,' James nodded.
'That stinks,' Ralph said flatly. 'I was really starting to like Professor Jackson. But still, what's the big deal, really? I mean, Luna said that it's impossible to bring Merlin back. She pretty much made it sound like anyone who thinks they can do it is right loony. Once dead, always dead. Why not let Delacroix and Jackson have their fantasies?'
James couldn't let it go. He shook his head. 'I don't know about Delacroix, but Professor Jackson's smarter than that. He teaches Technomancy, doesn't he? He wouldn't fall for some crackpot scheme if he didn't think it'd work. Besides, everybody keeps talking about it as if Merlin had died. But Austramaddux doesn't say he died, does he? He just left the world of men.'
Ralph shrugged. 'Whatever. Seems pretty dodgy to me.' He flopped backwards onto the cot.
'Come on, Ralph!' James said, tossing the old newspaper onto him. 'They're trying to bring Merlin back so they can start a war with the Muggles! It's up to us to stop it!'
Ralph rolled onto his side and furrowed his brow at James. 'What do you mean? Your dad's Head Auror. If you're really worried about it, tell him about it. It's his job to stop things like this, isn't it? What're we going to do, anyway?'
James was exasperated. 'We can try to stop them! Nobody will believe us if we tell them now. We can try to capture the relics ourselves. If we do that, then we'll at least have proof!'
Ralph continued to stare at James. After a minute he spoke. 'Don't you think you might be making a bit much of this? I mean, I understand wanting to follow in your dad's footsteps and all, trying to save the world and be the hero…'
'Shut up, Ralph,' James said, suddenly angry. 'You don't know what you're talking about.'
Ralph rolled onto his back. 'Yeah, you're right. Sorry.' James knew that, after their earlier fight, Ralph was sensitive not to say anything too argumentative.
'All right,' James admitted, 'I know why you're saying that. But this is different. I'm really not just trying to be like Dad, all right? Maybe there isn't any way to bring back Merlin. But still, these Progressive Element types are up to no good. If we can prove that they're trying to start a war, we can at least shut them down, can't we? If we can do that, I think we should. Are you with me?'
Ralph grinned at James. 'Of course. What's the fun of being a wizard if we aren't on a quest to save the world?'
James rolled his eyes. 'Shut up and go to sleep, Ralphinator.'
But James couldn't sleep, not for a long time. He thought and thought about everything he'd learned that night, the connections he and Ralph had made. It made too much sense. It had to be true. And as much as he trusted Luna, he couldn't quite accept that it would be impossible to bring Merlin into the world somehow. He'd been the greatest wizard ever, hadn't he? He was sure to have been capable of things that even the most powerful wizards since would find impossible. James felt a strong unwillingness to let it go. Still, part of him had been pricked by Ralph's suggestion that James was simply looking for a way to be a hero, like his dad. Not because he knew it wasn't true, but because he was afraid it might be. Finally, several hours after the house had fallen silent, feeling confused and exhausted, James drifted to sleep.
The day before the trip back to school, James was wandering the upper rooms of Grimmauld Place, bored and restless. The last of the guests had left the previous day, and Ralph had gone with Ted and Victoire to see Harry's offices at the Ministry. James had been there loads of times, but his primary reason for not accompanying them was that he wanted time to think. After half an hour of lying on his bed and scribbling meaningless notes and drawings on sheets of parchment, he'd given up and climbed the stairs to the fourth floor. The top floors were silent and sleepy, with motes of dust swimming lazily in the sunbeams that streamed through the frosted windows. All the beds were made, the trunks mostly packed. Everyone would be leaving Grimmauld Place in the next few days, reducing it once again to temporary emptiness. Even Kreacher had been induced to accompany the family back to the main house in Marble Arch for a couple of months. The age and quiet of the house seemed to fill the rooms,
