'Oh,' James said, 'look, say what you want, but it makes sense. We're going to get it from her, too, one way or another.'
Snape spoke quickly. 'Don't be a fool, Potter. Turn over what you have. Give it to the Headmistress. Surely you see how dangerous it is to keep the robe, especially now.'
James blinked. 'Why? What happens now? Does it have something to do with this Prescott fellow?'
Snape stared hopelessly at James. 'You don't see it, then,' he sighed. 'There is a very good reason why your father, dull as he is, is being kept from accompanying tomorrow's delegation. There are members of the Progressive Element even within the Ministry, although they do not call themselves by that name. Sacarhina is one of them. Recreant may be as well, although he is not really in charge. Either she is taking full advantage of a very suspicious coincidence or this is all her plan from the beginning.'
'What? What's her plan?' James asked, lowering his voice and stepping closer to the portrait.
'The details are unimportant. All that matters is that unless you secure the Merlin robe by tomorrow night, all will very likely be lost.'
'But it is secure,' James replied. 'We captured it already. You know that. We have to get the Merlin staff now.'
'Forget the staff!' Snape hissed angrily. 'You are allowing yourself to be manipulated! If I had even the slightest hope that you'd be any better at it than your father was, I'd have taught you Occlumency by now. When I tell you to secure the Merlin robe, I mean you must turn it over to those who know how to bind it, not just hide it. The enemy has the other two relics. The robe wishes to be reunited with them. You will not be able to prevent that, Potter. Don't be the arrogant fool your father was!'
James scowled. 'My father was never the arrogant fool you think he was, and I'm not either. I don't have to listen to you. Besides, tomorrow isn't the alignment of the planets. It's the next night. Zane told me himself.'
Snape grinned maliciously. 'So trusting are you both. Where, pray tell, does Mr. Walker get his information?'
'He's in Constellations Club,' James replied angrily. 'Madame Delacroix's been using everybody in the club to help her pinpoint the exact timing of the alignment.'
'And did it never occur to you that she might have deliberately altered the information just enough to mislead those too ignorant to notice? She has known the day of the alignment for the past year. She only needed help to ascertain the hour. Even you have realized that she is involved in the Merlin plot. Do you expect that she would desire dozens of stargazing students to be swarming the grounds on the very night she plans to skulk off to facilitate the return of the most dangerous wizard of all time?'
James felt sheepish. Of course she wouldn't. He just hadn't thought of it. He opened his mouth to speak, but could think of nothing to say. Snape went on. 'She has misled all of you by exactly one day. The Hall of Elders' Crossing will not occur Thursday night, but Wednesday. Tomorrow, Potter. You have been duped, and you are being duped still. There is no time for any more delusions of grandeur. You must turn over the robe. If you do not, you will fail and our enemies will succeed in their plan.'
'James?' It was Neville. He poked his head into the Headmistress' doorway. 'We lost you, it seems. Did you forget something?'
James mind was running at full speed. He stared blankly at Neville for a few seconds, and finally gathered himself. 'Er, no. No, sorry, I was just… thinking out loud.'
Neville glanced at the portrait of Snape. Snape sighed and crossed his arms. 'Go on, Longbottom, and take the boy with you. I've no use for him.'
Neville nodded. 'Come along, James. You still have time to make your afternoon classes if you hurry. I'll walk with you and explain your tardiness.'
James followed Neville out of the room, thinking only of what Snape had told him. They had only one day, one day to get the Merlin staff from Tabitha. One day before the Hall of Elders' Crossing, and it just happened to be the very same day that Sacarhina was coming to deal with Prescott. As he rode down the moving spiral stairs and came out into the corridor below, it occurred to James that Snape was right about one thing: tomorrow was indeed going to be a very busy day.
The next morning, James, Ralph, and Zane entered the Great Hall for breakfast and headed purposefully toward the far end of the Gryffindor table.
'Are you sure about this?' Ralph asked as they crossed the Hall. 'We can't go back after this, you know.'
James pressed his lips together, but didn't answer. They crowded in with Noah, Ted, and the rest of the Gremlins, all of whom were seated conspicuously in a tight knot.
'Ah, the very man,' Ted announced as James squeezed between him and Sabrina. 'We were just taking bets on why you asked all of us to meet you for breakfast. Noah thinks you want to officially join the ranks of the Gremlins, in which case we've prepared a series of grueling challenges for you to complete. My favorite is the one where you don Sabrina's old Yule gown and run through the school singing the Hogwarts tribute as loud as you can. There's plenty more, although Damien's challenges tend to involve too many slugs and mustard for my taste.'
James grimaced. 'To tell you the truth, the reason I asked to talk to all of you is that Ralph, Zane, and I have something we need to ask of you.' To their credit, none of the Gremlins seemed surprised. They simply leaned in a little as they continued to eat. James didn't exactly know where to begin. He had awoken that morning with the simple realization that, on their own, he, Ralph, and Zane would not succeed in capturing the Merlin staff in one day. They had no plan. The portrait of Snape had been some help, but Snape didn't even believe that Tabitha Corsica had the staff. So who could they turn to? He acted on his first impulse. He could ask the one group of people in all the school who were experts in the subtle arts of chaos and tomfoolery. It might take too long to explain everything to Ted and his fellow Gremlins, and even if he could, they still might not agree to help, but it was his best, last hope. James sighed hugely and stared at his glass of pumpkin juice. 'We need your help to… to borrow something.'
'Borrow something?' Noah repeated, his mouth full of toast. 'What? Money? A cup of sugar? A decent haircut? Doesn't sound like you need us, exactly.'
'Quiet, Metzker,' Ted said mildly. 'What is it you want to 'borrow', James?'
James took a deep breath and then simply said it. 'Tabitha Corsica's broom.'
Damien coughed into his juice. All the other Gremlins glanced at James with widened eyes. All except Ted. 'Whatever for?' Sabrina asked in a low voice. 'Tonight's the tournament match between Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Is that it? Are you trying to ruin Slytherin's chances? I admit that there's something highly suspect about that broom of hers, but cheating doesn't exactly seem like your style, James.'
'No! It doesn't have anything to do with the match,' James said, and then faltered. 'It's a lot to explain. And I'm not even allowed to talk about some of it. McGonagall asked me not to.'
'Tell us as much as you can, then,' Petra said.
