JAMES POTTER AND THE VAULT OF DESTINIES

14. THE MAGNUSSEN RIDDLES

       'I thought you told me,' Zane said the next day, 'that if there was any connection between this old Professor Magnussen story and the attack on the Vault, your dad and Merlin and everybody else were already all over it.'

       James shook his head. 'Come on,' he urged. 'It's already ten 'til two. Franklyn's office hours are nearly over.'

       'Yeah,' Ralph said, warming to the subject. 'What ever happened to all that stuff about us just being a bunch of school students with too much to do to get all wrapped up in any big adventures?'

       James grabbed Ralph's sleeve and pulled the bigger boy around the corner into a high corridor lined with partially open doors. 'That was then, this is now, all right? Dad's got his hands full with his own problems, especially now that he's got Petra and Izzy staying with them while that Keynes idiot does his investigating. We're not taking over for him, we're just helping. If there is anything to this whole thing about Professor Magnussen and the Nexus Curtain, we'll send it his way.'

       'I see how it is,' Zane said with a smile. 'Now that Petra Morganstern's fate is in the balance, you're willing to break the old Prime Directive, eh?'

'I don't even know what that means,' James sighed impatiently. 'Hurry. Franklyn's office door is still open.'

       All three boys piled to a stop just outside of the tall wooden door and peered inside. The office was surprisingly small, dominated by a very large oak desk, a set of visitor's chairs, and a bookshelf crammed with enormous books and the occasional clockwork gizmo. Franklyn sat at the desk facing the door, a large volume in his hands. He glanced up as the three students clambered to a halt.

       'Boys,' he said welcomingly. 'What can I do for you?'

       'Hi Chancellor,' James said, entering the small room and looking around. 'Er, this is your office?'

       'One of them at least,' Franklyn smiled. 'This is the one that serves me for meeting with students and faculty. Why do you ask?'

       James shrugged as he moved to stand behind one of the visitor's chairs. 'No reason. I just expected something a bit… bigger.'

       'We thought we'd get to see your Daylight Savings Device again,' Ralph added.

       'Ah, yes, that,' Franklyn answered, closing his book with a thump. 'I keep that in my personal study. It is far too large and complex to leave in the faculty offices. After all, we are still victim to the occasional school prank, although such things are somewhat rarer nowadays, thanks to Madam Laosa.'

       'You mean Crone Laosa?' Zane asked, his eyes widening. 'So she's really for real? Some of the Zombies were saying that she was just made up to scare us all out of exploring the basements.'

       'How may I help you boys?' Franklyn asked, smiling a little crookedly, obviously avoiding Zane's question.

       'Er,' James began, clutching the back of the chair in front of him, 'we just have a quick question. It's about the history of the school. We thought you'd be the best person to ask.'

       Franklyn nodded approvingly. 'Always a pleasure to see students taking an interest in the university. And I do suppose I am uniquely qualified to discuss its history since I have been alive throughout much of it. What's your question?'

       James glanced back at Ralph and Zane, suddenly reluctant. 'It's… er… about one of the professors.'

       'From a long time ago,' Ralph added.

       Franklyn's chair creaked as he leaned back in it. 'We've had a rather impressive list of teachers throughout the years, continuing even to the present. Mr. Bunyan, the giant, is one of our most recent additions, and believe me, it was no small task to convince him to take the post. Prefers the wide open spaces, he does, along with his great blue ox, Babe.'

       'It's about Professor Magnussen,' Zane blurted, stepping forward.

       Franklyn's expression froze on his face. He paused, staring at all three boys.

       'Do you remember him?' James prodded tentatively. 'We looked him up in the library, but there was almost nothing. His full name was Ignatius Karloff Magnussen, and he was Head of Igor House like a hundred and fifty years ago or something.'

       Franklyn continued to study the boys, his eyes suddenly cautious. He leaned forward slowly again, producing another long creak from his chair.

       Ralph said, 'There are legends about this Magnussen bloke. They say that he opened up something called the Nexus—'

       'Boys,' Franklyn interrupted, 'I am afraid that Professor Magnussen is a name from a period of time that this school would prefer to forget. It would behoove you not to inquire about him any further.'

       'Well,' Zane replied slowly, glancing aside at his friends, 'as much as I'd like to agree to that, I suspect that we're just about ten times more curious now.'

       Franklyn sighed hugely. 'I suppose you learned of this in Professor Jackson's Technomancy class, yes?' He nodded to himself, not awaiting an answer. 'The professor and I have had words on the subject. We have rather differing views regarding the merits of security versus disclosure. Perhaps I simply wish to make my job as Chancellor a bit easier. Surely the good professor would agree.'

       James risked pressing the matter a bit further. 'What can you tell us, Chancellor? Is it true that Magnussen opened the Nexus Curtain and made his way into the World Between the Worlds?'

       Franklyn stood up and straightened his waistcoat. He turned toward the window and leaned to peer out over the campus.

       'He used to live in the most prominent faculty home of Alma Aleron, the one that originally belonged to John Roberts, one of the school's founders. He was a brilliant man, Magnussen, and yes, I knew him. He was, in fact, that most rare of men: he was a scientist, and he was a lover of stories. His calculating mind was equal to the best technomancers who've ever lived, but his love of the tale allowed him to think in creative, ingenious ways that none of his colleagues could ever dream. The characteristics that made him great, however, also led him to… obsessions. It was these, unfortunately, that drove him to commit acts that were both heinous and ultimately senseless.'

       Franklyn paused, apparently determining how much he should say. Finally, he went on, still peering out the window. 'It was a time of great interest in magical exploration and experimentation. Schools such as Alma Aleron allowed a virtually unlimited amount of autonomy and resources to their teachers, all in the name of progress. Too late did we learn that sometimes progress means decay. Professor Ignatius Magnussen was allowed to conduct his experiments and pursue his goals, even though the costs were far higher than we knew at the time, and the dangers were… well, incalculable. By the time he was found out, it was too late to stop him. In the end, he fell victim to his own designs, and that, unfortunately, is the end of his story.'

       'What did he do, sir?' James persisted.

       Franklyn was thoughtful. After a moment, he glanced back at the boys, his eyes narrowed. 'Why, pray tell,