and gold glow far below.
With a relatively anticlimactic sniff, he answered, 'We call it the Vault of Destinies.'
After dinner that evening, James, Zane, and Ralph ran back to the common dorm, cutting across the lawns and weaving through the shadows of the huge elms and chestnuts. Inside, they stripped off their blazers and stowed them in the top floor room that still housed the boys' trunks. When they finally made their way back downstairs and out the rear door of the common dorm, the lowering sun had painted the sky a fierce tangerine, fading to navy blue at its zenith.
'There,' Zane nodded, pointing.
The boys angled toward a line of battered metal trash cans ranged along the back wall. A drift of elm leaves lay like snow around the trash cans, carpeting their lids, but the yellow 'Z' on the can in the middle was immediately visible. James drew a breath, held it, and then lifted the lid from the marked can.
'What is it?' Ralph frowned, peering in.
'Oh man,' Zane grinned. 'Oh buddy. You got the granddaddy of all pledge dares. Either Warrington thinks you two are bonafide Zombies or he hates your guts.'
James reached into the can and retrieved a handful of cloth. It was thick, comprised of black and yellow fabrics all sewn together in a neat pattern. There seemed to be acres of it.
'It's a flag,' Ralph said, grabbing a handful and helping James pull it out of the can.
'It's the Hermes House flag,' Zane said reverently. 'See? It's got the Zombie crest on it, the yellow and black shield bearing the skull with crossed out eyes. Do you know what this means?'
James looked from the enormous flag in his hands to Ralph to Zane. He shook his head, not particularly liking where this was going.
'It's an old dare, but one of the most revered. The legendary flag switch. I hear that it hasn't been done by any house in years. That means the school administration's probably going to be on the lookout for it. There may be boundary charms, guard hexes, even lookouts. Oh man, it's going to be such a blast! I can't believe I'm not allowed to come along!'
James wanted to throttle the blonde boy, but his hands were too full of flag. 'What is it, you big dope? Tell us, already!'
Zane grinned and helped grab the rest of the flag out of the trash can. He wadded the mass of fabric, stuffed it into Ralph and James' arms, and then led them around the building. When they stood in front, overlooking the fountain with the gargoyle birdbath, he put an arm around James' shoulder. With his free hand he pointed across campus. 'See that? Up there over the trees, on top of Administration Hall?'
'What?' Ralph asked, squinting in the twilight. 'The clock tower?'
'Higher,' Zane prodded, grinning even wider.
James pushed up on tiptoes to see over the trees. 'Er, the belfry?'
'Higher,' Zane encouraged.
James looked higher. His eyes widened and he began to shake his head slowly. 'No. No way.'
'The flag?' Ralph said, turning to look at Zane. 'Way up on the top? That's got to be two hundred feet up! You can't be serious!'
'Two hundred and thirty-three at the point. Don't worry,' Zane soothed, but his eager grin had quite the opposite effect. 'There's a fire escape on the back of the Hall that takes you all the way to the bell tower. From there, there's a spiral staircase up to the belfry and a ladder up to the belfry roof. Piece of cake! Except for the bats, of course, but they're no match for a committed Zombie.'
'You want us to switch this flag,' James said, hefting the mound of thick fabric in his arms, 'with that flag way up there?'
'Well, switching the flags is only the first half of the challenge. That flag up there is the university's original stars and stripes, 'Old Betsy'. You can't just hide her under your bed in the common dorm or anything, unless you want a posse from Werewolf House to hunt you down and clobber you ten ways from Sunday. You have to run Old Betsy up the Zombie House flagpole. Later tomorrow afternoon, we'll turn Old Betsy back in at the Administration Hall and get an honorary punishment. You'll probably just get a day's suspension.'
'Wait,' Ralph said, frowning. 'If we succeed in this dare, we get in trouble with the school?'
'You can't think of it that way,' Zane said, clapping Ralph on the shoulder. 'It's a pledge dare. A day's suspension is like a badge of honor. Think of it as a paid vacation.'
James sighed. 'All right then. We'll do it. But after this, it's all over, right? We'll be Zombies, officially?'
'You pull this off,' Zane said heartily, 'and we may make you both House Presidents for a day.'
James nodded grimly. A minute later, the three carried the Zombie flag up to the dorm room and hid it in the closet. Chasing each other, they crossed the campus again, heading for the theater and Professor Longbottom's assembly.
9. THE ARCHIVE ATTACK
'James!' his mum cried when she met him in front of the campus theater. 'Oh, you look so handsome in your uniform. Just look at you!'
'Mum!' James hissed, pushing her hand away as she attempted to mat down his hair. 'Quit it! You're embarrassing me in front of the Zombies!'
'Oh yes, your new house. That reminds me, have you seen Albus?' she asked, peering around the crowd that milled near the theater entrance.
'Just look for the blokes with the dark grey uniforms and the burgundy ties,' James answered. 'Albus will probably be carrying them on his shoulders.'
'So how is the sorting tradition coming along, then?' Denniston Dolohov asked, smiling and nodding proudly at his son.
'Ask us again tomorrow morning,' Ralph sighed.
Zane beamed. 'They're doing great, everybody. Not as well as I did, of course, but that's a pretty high bar to reach. Tomorrow, they'll be Zombies all official-like. You wait and see.'
James saw the curious look in his mother's eye and changed the subject as quickly as he could. 'Where's Dad and Headmaster Merlin anyway?'
'They're both up front with Neville,' Ginny sighed as they pushed through the theater doors, entering the main lobby. 'He's a bit nervous, after all. They're giving him a spot of moral support.'
'Hi Petra!' Zane called, waving. James turned around and saw her entering behind them, smiling warmly. The three boys drifted toward her.
'Where's Izzy?' Ralph asked, peering around.
'She's staying with Molly and Lily tonight. I hear that the assembly might run rather long, so Audrey's watching both of them at the flat downtown. How are you both settling in?'
'Fine,' James answered. 'It's way different here, but not so different that it doesn't make its own weird sense.'
'They have
