every brick. Pencil beams shot from the tiny windows in the domed roof, spearing up into the sky. A split second later, the light was gone, leaving only blinding green afterimages on James' retinas.
'What,' Zane asked in an awed voice, 'was that?'
James shook his head very slowly. The sky seemed to have exhausted itself. The clouds broke up slowly overhead and there was a lingering coppery taste in the air. In the darkness beneath the Hall of Archives portico, the door opened. Two figures strode out into the dusky evening light and descended the steps. One of them was robed in black from head to toe and James found himself thinking of the mysterious woman whom he had first met in the midnight halls of the Aquapolis, the one who had appeared again later, during the attack on the
'Is that…?' Ralph began, but there was no point in finishing the question. All three boys could see who it was.
It was Petra. She looked around with interest, as if seeing the campus for the first time. Her dark eyes stopped when she saw the three boys, but it was James that she seemed to focus on. She smiled slowly. And then she waved.
'What is happening here?' a voice demanded shrilly. James turned around and saw Chancellor Franklyn moving swiftly across the darkened campus, nearing them. His face looked very pale in the stormy darkness. Merlin and Neville Longbottom were following him, looking around carefully.
'Did you feel it?' Zane asked. 'The ground shook! Right when the lightning happened! Pow!'
Franklyn passed the boys with barely a glance, approaching the Hall of Archives and its open door. The dim lights that had previously shown from the building's tiny windows had been extinguished in the aftermath of the blast.
'Oh dear,' Franklyn muttered darkly. 'Oh great heavens. What has happened…?'
Merlin stopped near James. Without taking his eyes from the Hall of Archives, he asked in a very low voice, 'Did you see anyone?'
James considered lying. For a moment, he considered telling Merlin that he hadn't seen anything at all, especially not Petra looking strange and vaguely malevolent. The moment passed.
'I saw Petra,' he answered quietly, almost whispering. 'She and someone else—a woman I think—came out of the Hall right after… whatever it was.'
Merlin nodded slowly, with grave emphasis. He didn't say anything in response. He didn't need to.
10. JAMES AND THE SKRIM
Students had begun to gather in the darkness around the Hall of Archives by the time Professor Jackson arrived and set up a perimeter of Werewolf House upperclassmen to guard the entrance. The grey-clothed students stood with military precision, hands clasped behind their backs, eyes staring out over the crowd as if daring anyone to try to pass them. Ralph, James, and Zane stood well back from the gathering observers, watching the proceedings with mixed curiosity and trepidation.
Ralph frowned at the Werewolf guards in the near distance. 'What kind of stuff do they have in the Archive anyway?'
'I was only in there once before,' James replied, shrugging.
Zane was impressed. 'Are you kidding?' he rasped. 'I've been on campus a whole year and I've never once been allowed into the Archive chambers. Hardly anyone gets to go inside except for Bad Hadley and his student tech crew.'
'Is that a difficult crew to get on?' Ralph asked, looking aside at Zane.
'Nah, they're always looking for new members,' Zane replied, shaking his head. 'There're sign-up sheets all over campus. But that's like actual work. I wasn't
James asked, 'So who's Bad Hadley anyway?'
'Hadley Henredon,' Zane answered, lowering his voice. 'He's the Archive custodian. A Muggle, but totally devoted to his job. There's some long tedious story about how he got the position in the first place, but you'll have to ask somebody else about it if you really want to know. He's old and terminally cranky, and he goes by loads of nicknames around the campus: Bad Hadley, Hadley the Horrible, the Henredonkey, Captain Fisheye, Evil Enos, etc, etc, etc. Us Zombies came up with most of them.'
'I wouldn't have guessed,' Ralph muttered.
Just then, Harry Potter and Oliver Wood arrived, crossing the lawns and cutting through the noisome throng. Zane saw them first, and grabbed Ralph's sleeve.
'Come on,' he hissed, ducking through the knot of students.
'Where are we going?' Ralph asked, following along with James in tow.
Zane glanced back with a crooked grin. 'Where else? To see what happened inside the Archive.'
James shook his head as they ducked through the babbling crowd. 'They'll never let us in there,' he whispered harshly.
'Sure they will,' Zane replied without looking back. 'Just follow me and walk like you don't expect anyone to stop you. You'd be amazed how often that works.'
James found himself falling into step behind his own father and Professor Wood as they ascended the steps. Next to him, Zane glanced around wisely, as if he was taking inventory of the pillars around the portico. He had his wand in his hand, held importantly at his side. James produced his own wand and held it the same way. Behind them, Ralph scuffled up the steps, pushing his lank hair out of his face. Almost before he knew it, the three boys found themselves ushered into the darkened entryway of the Hall, following in Harry Potter's wake. The noise of the nervous crowd fell away behind them.
'Mr. Potter,' a voice echoed from the inner chamber. 'I'm glad to see you've arrived. Your particular expertise might be of great value as we descend to the Archive floor.' It was Chancellor Franklyn, his wand lit and held overhead, providing the only light in the huge empty room.
'He seems to have gained some stowaways as well,' a woman's voice commented. James recognized the Wizard Home Economics professor, Mother Newt, as she moved into the light next to Franklyn. 'Excuse me, boys, but this is no place for students. You must leave this instant.'
'We're witnesses!' Zane exclaimed suddenly, pushing James and Ralph forward. 'The three of us saw it happen!'
'You witnessed the attack on this building?' Franklyn clarified, narrowing his eyes at Zane.
'Attack?' Ralph replied. 'We saw lightning strike it. And we saw—'
'They were moving their belongings into their new house, Chancellor,' Merlin interrupted. 'If you'll recall, they visited us in the guest house a short while before. Their activities placed them in the vicinity of the phenomena when it occurred. It may prove valuable to interview them presently.'
'And this one,' Harry said, shaking his head and smiling down at James, 'is my son, of course. He and these other two are quite trustworthy. I have called upon their services in the past.'
Franklyn removed his square spectacles and wiped them on his lapel, sighing. 'As you wish. But let it be known that the school will not take any responsibility for anything that may befall them in this endeavor.'
'Nor would I expect it to,' Harry replied. 'You mentioned with some confidence that what happened here was, in fact, an attack. How can you be so sure?'
