"He should've known what he was getting into, dating his best friend's former girl," Gennifer proclaimed loftily. "It spells trouble any way you look at it."
Sabrina said, "I just don't understand what Ted sees in Victoire anyway. He was lucky to have Petra. Victoire's a bit of a stuck-up powder puff no matter how you look at her. No offense."
Rose waved a hand. "Oh, you don't have to apologize to us. We think the same thing most of the time."
James felt suddenly hot and angry. He stared out of the window, confused at his own thoughts and emotions. Something about the fact that Noah and Petra were suddenly dating needled him mercilessly. He'd always liked Noah quite a lot, but now, all of a sudden, he wanted to go find the older boy and push him down. The irony of it was that he knew where to find Noah: he was sitting across from Petra at this very moment, just down the street in the ridiculously pink and fluffy Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop. Worse, James now knew for certain that Noah wasn't the main problem. Just as Rose had said, Petra was obviously still in love with Ted Lupin, despite the fact that he had moved on to Victoire. The whole affair was hopelessly complicated, and James was frustrated to realize that there was absolutely nothing he could do about it.
Eventually, the conversation moved on to other topics. James, Rose, Ralph, and Cameron said goodbye to the Gremlins and made their way out to the street. The evening was cooling as the sun lowered, bringing a restless wind through the village. Bits of newspaper and candy wrappers skirled across the street as students began making the journey back to the distant castle. The foursome began to make their way to the Shrieking Shack, stopping only once along the way to pop into Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes where they hoped to say hello to George and Ted.
"The old tunnel is open, eh?" George said, grinning over the front counter. "That's excellent. Fred and I only tried that route once, since everyone was afraid of the ghosts in the Shack. We didn't make it all the way through, but we got far enough to leave some graffiti on the walls, as I recall."
Rose nodded. "Yeah, I think I saw that. The drawing of Professor Snape was particularly amusing."
"Oh, those were Fred's," George said, sighing. "He was a good one for a quick caricature. He said it was all in the hook nose."
James asked, "So how's business been?"
"Oh, really excellent. Ever since we bought out Zonko's, we've been rolling. They had a pretty loyal clientele, you know. I've even considered making this Weasleys' flagship location instead of the shop at Diagon Alley, but Ron says I shouldn't. He says the original location is still the best."
Rose looked around appreciatively. "I bet Ted loves working here. This place is right up his alley."
"Yeah," George agreed. "It's good having him around. He's a hard worker and he has some great ideas for some new products. Some of those new Every Flavor Beans were his ideas, although even I drew the line at a flavor called 'guanomole'. The blighter's been no use to me today, though. These Hogsmeade weekends are like a family reunion for him. He's been in and out all day doing who-knows-what."
There was a loud snap. James and Rose turned to see Cameron shaking his finger violently, trying to dislodge something that had apparently clamped onto the end of it.
"You snapped it, you bought it, my friend," George said jovially as he came out from behind the counter. "Just kidding, really. Those are the finger snapping Galleons. Always a laugh, those. Just lay one on the ground and wait for any unsuspecting person to come across it."
"They sure look real," Cameron admitted as George pried the fake coin off his finger. "Up until the point that it chomps on you, I mean. That's, er, great. Thanks."
"If you like those, you'll love our Disapparating knickers bomb," George said, leading Cameron to another shelf. "Now with an expanded effectiveness range of three meters! Great for parties."
As James browsed around, he peeked through the backroom curtain and saw Ted sitting on a pile of crates. Lately, he had taken to using his Metamorphmagus skills to change the appearance of his hair again, just as he had when he'd been a baby. He had made it quite long today. It hung in dark curtains, partially obscuring his face. James thought he looked a bit like the long-departed Sirius Black.
"Hey, Ted," James said. "How's everything?"
Ted looked up, although James still couldn't see his face. "Oh. Hi, James. It's all right."
"How's practicing for the National Quidditch Team coming?"
"Hmm?" Ted said. "Oh yeah. It's all right, I guess. I've been really busy here at the shop, but other than that, yeah, it's fine."
"Ted," James said, slipping past the curtain, "er, what's going on?"
Ted's voice was strangely flat. "What do you mean?"
"I mean with Petra. I know it's none of my business, but…"
"What do you know about it?" Ted asked, a little sharply. "I know Metzker's all in a tizzy about it, and the rest of the Gremlins are probably talking it up, but I didn't think you'd be in on it too."
"In on what?" James asked, stopping just inside the backroom curtain. "Look, I—"
"Whatever everyone is saying, it's all rubbish, James. You lot just need to leave Petra alone, especially Metzker. And you can tell him I said so."
"Ted," James began, but he didn't quite know what else to say. Ted stirred, climbing to his feet.
"I see you've got Dolohov with you. You're still chumming around with him, eh?"
James looked hard at Ted. "You mean Ralph? Er, yeah. I guess. Why?"
"Oh, no reason, really. After all, it wasn't his people that killed your parents."
James shook his head. "Ted, you… you can't blame Ralph for that. He wasn't even born then. His father was just a kid when the battle happened."
Ted sighed wearily. "Don't tell me who I can and can't blame, James. Look, I'm sorry I brought it up. I'm not in a very good mood tonight. Maybe you and Rose and your friends should get back to the tunnel. It's getting dark."
James nodded slowly. "Yeah, I guess you're right." He turned to go, and then looked back. "See you later, Ted."
Ted waved. "See you around, James. Be careful."
By the time the quartet came out of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, the sun had dipped below the horizon, leaving a fierce orange and purple sky behind it. Quickly, they made their way back toward the Shrieking Shack. The protective fence around the property had long since fallen into disrepair. James led the way through the same break in the fence they had used earlier in the day. At the top of the hill, the ramshackle Shack stood in black shadow, looming ominously.
"I was really hoping to get through this part before it got dark," Ralph said fervently. "I can't even see the front door."
"It's right there," Rose said, lighting her wand and pointing it. "Just like we left… it…"
Rose's voice trailed away as her wandlight played over the front of the Shack. In spite of her words, the door didn't, in fact, look exactly as they'd left it.
"I thought we pulled the door closed again," Cameron said curiously. "Didn't we pull the—"
"Yes, Cam," James interrupted. "We sure didn't leave it like that."
The front door had been shoved open so far that the top hinge had broken. It leaned awkwardly inside its frame. Beyond the entry was impenetrable darkness.
"Does that look like someone was going in, or coming out?" Ralph asked, trying to keep his voice even.
"What does that matter?" James asked.
"Well, for one thing, it tells us if we were followed or if we're walking into a trap," Ralph answered reasonably.
Cameron asked, "Who'd try to trap us?"
"Nobody," Rose replied firmly. "Come on. It's probably just an animal or something. Let's just get this over with."
She climbed onto the sagging porch and shone her wandlight into the dark doorway. James clambered up next to her, his heart pounding. Together they walked through the doorway with Ralph and Cameron following close behind. The interior of the Shack had obviously been disturbed. Some of the old furniture had been shoved
aside, leaving scrapes on the dusty floor. Worse, the stairway leading to the cellar looked all wrong. The doorway was splintered and bowed, and the stairs beyond seemed unusually steep.
"Wait," James said, grabbing Rose's arm. "This isn't right. Look down there."
All four students hunkered and peered down the rickety staircase. By the glow of Rose's wand they could clearly see that the room below was virtually gone. Broken hunks of wall and sections of collapsed ceiling choked the stairs, completely blocking them.
"How could that have happened just today?" Ralph asked breathlessly. "I mean, it held up for twenty years and then decided to come crashing down right after we came through?"
"Maybe we dislodged it somehow," Cameron reasoned.
James shook his head. "No, someone did this on purpose. Someone knows we're here and is forcing us to go home by another route."
Cameron looked at James, smiling quizzically. "Why would anyone do that?"
"Because they want to keep us out of the tunnel," Ralph answered in a small voice. "Because the tunnel is part of Hogwarts."
"Come on," Rose said quickly. "If we hurry, we can catch up with some of the other returning students."
Cameron looked alarmed. "But we'll get caught when we go back," he exclaimed. "Professor McGonagall will see us coming back with the older students! We'll get in trouble!"
"Let's seriously hope that's the worst that happens, Cameron," Ralph said, following Rose back out of the decimated front door.
As quickly as they could, the four retraced their steps back along the High Street. As they walked, James could occasionally see the spires and turrets of Hogwarts castle, looking teasingly close against the darkening sky. A cross street at the end of town seemed to angle in the right direction. James led the troop down it, toward a stand of intervening forest.
"This doesn't look right, James," Ralph worried. "Isn't there a path that leads straight through to the castle?"
James answered, "Yeah, we have to be getting near it. Watch between the cottages."
"I wonder where everyone else is at," Cameron commented, looking around at the narrow, deserted street. A dog barked nearby, and something squeaked in the cooling wind. "Shouldn't there be other students heading back along this route?"
"Hogsmeade weekend officially ends at dusk," Rose said quietly. "They were already heading back by the time we stopped in to see George."
"What was that?" Ralph suddenly asked, spinning on his heels to look behind him.
"What?" James whispered, his hair prickling.
Ralph's eyes darted over the street. "I… I thought I heard something behind us."
Rose shook her head. "Get hold of yourselves, you two. It was probably just a dog or something."
"I heard it too," Cameron said. "It came from over by that alley."
"Come on," Rose said firmly, pulling the bigger boys by the sleeves. "You're spooking me out, and I was spooked enough already. Let's go!"
A few minutes later, the side street turned a sharp corner in the wrong direction. James peeked between the cramped cottages, looking for some sign of the castle.
"There's a little footpath," he said. "It winds back through some trees."
"Is it the path to the school?" Ralph asked.
"I don't know. But it's going in the right direction. Let's give it a go."
James led the troop between the cottages, past a tiny fenced garden, and into the darkness of a stand of trees. The trail wound between bushes and tall grass.
"Boy, this is just getting worse and worse," Ralph said quietly. "I thought the whole point was for us to never be alone?"
"We're not alone," James said as he plodded further along the path. "We have Cameron with us."
"And whatever was following us back there," Cameron added cheerfully.
"Cameron!" Rose said warningly.
James was growing increasingly worried. The path was winding deeper into a stretch of forest that separated Hogsmeade from the grounds of Hogwarts. The trees blocked the light of the dusky sky, reducing the path to a dim patchwork of shadows. Occasionally, James thought he heard the sound of footsteps along the path behind them or further ahead of them, but he determined not to call attention to them. He pulled out his wand and illuminated it, holding it up as high as he could. The wandlight starkly lit the nearby trees but only made the deeper depths seem all the darker by comparison. No one spoke for several minutes as they walked. Finally, thankfully, the path turned toward a thinner patch of trees. Through them, James could see the indigo of the evening sky and the pale yellow face of the full moon.
"Look," Rose said, pointing, "just beyond the edge of the trees, I think that's the main gate! I can see the silhouette of the two boars!"
James squinted. He didn't have his glasses with him, so he couldn't quite make out the distant shapes in the darkness.
"Yeah," Ralph said, "I see it. Wow, that's a sight. Come on!"
As the four students trotted forward, the trees parted overhead, revealing the night sky and a scattering of stars. The moon shone its pale yellow light all round. Sure enough, the ancient wall and the open gates stood nearby; the two famous stone boars arched their backs at the sky, baring their tusks. James breathed a great sigh of relief. In a few moments, they would be safely within the grounds of Hogwarts again.
"Heh," Cameron laughed nervously. "See? I told you there would be a great adventure! Wait until my dad hears about—"
Cameron's voice cut off as a noise of running feet approached swiftly. The boy turned to look back, his face curious. Something large and dark loomed out of the darkness, flying low over the ground.
Rose screamed, lunging backwards and reaching for her wand. Ralph and James ducked as the figure hurtled over them. It landed on the path between James and the gate, skidding on the dirt and turning back to face them. A low, ferocious growl came from it and it began to advance.
"Stupefy!" Rose called, pointing her wand, but it was too dark to aim properly. The red bolt struck the ground in front of the creature, lighting it for an instant. James saw teeth bared along a narrow snout and bright, terrible eyes.
"It's a wolf!" he called, scrambling backwards. The wolf responded to his voice with a loud snarl. It lowered, coiling close to the ground, and then pounced. James covered his face, shielding himself from the teeth and claws, but instead of being mauled by the beast, he was knocked roughly aside by it. Then, directly behind him, there came the noise of a violent struggle and a scream of pain. It was Ralph. James scrambled to his feet, reaching for his wand. With a gasp, he realized he'd dropped it when the beast had attacked.
"Stun it, Rose!" James called.
"I can't!" Rose cried, pointing her wand wildly. "I can't tell them apart! If I Stun Ralph, it'll kill him!"
The wolf rolled with Ralph as he wrestled it. It seemed to have his wrist locked in its jaws. It shook its head violently, tearing at Ralph's arm. Ralph screamed again, trying to kick the enormous beast off of him.
Without thinking, James lunged at the creature. He threw his arms around the matted fur of its neck, pulling as hard as he could. Suddenly, intensely, James' phantom scar burned. He squinted against it, willing himself not to let go of the wolf's neck. The beast scrambled and thrashed, still not releasing its grip on Ralph's arm. James could feel the muscles pulsing beneath the wolf's fur, could smell the dank smell of its pelt. Suddenly, it got a paw on James' chest. It dug in its claws and swiped, tearing ragged strips in James' sweatshirt. He felt something hot and sticky immediately soak into his shirt, but there was no pain. Instead, the pain in his forehead throbbed and pulsed, distracting him. The wolf thrashed again, knocking James loose. He scrambled after it, but it was too fast. The paw swiped, barely missing James' face.
Suddenly, there was another voice calling out. "No, Ted! Stop! This isn't the way! Let him go!"
James rolled and got to his knees. He looked around wildly, squinting past the throb in his forehead, and saw a tall figure lunging onto the wolf. J
ames was too stunned to immediately recognize who it was. The newcomer pulled at the wolf's ears, forcing it to release its grip on Ralph. The beast flailed its head back and forth, snapping.
"Stop this, Ted!" the newcomer cried, and James finally recognized it was Petra. "You don't know what you're doing! This isn't the way to fix things! Not here, not now!"
The wolf lunged mightily, hurling Petra off, but it didn't renew its attack on Ralph. The beast snarled at him, and then leapt away, snapping and slavering its bloody jaws. It seemed confused, almost as if it were at war with itself. Finally, it threw back its head and howled, long and loud. It chilled James' blood because he could sense the humanity in that howl, almost as if Ted's voice was buried under it, crying out in anguish and despair.
Petra climbed to her feet and slowly approached the great wolf. Remarkably, she knelt next to it and stroked its fur. She spoke to it quietly, soothingly.
"Ralph!" Rose rasped, dropping next to the big boy. "Are you all right? How badly are you hurt?"
Ralph moaned and rolled over, struggling to his knees. James scrambled over to him.
"I think my arm's broken," Ralph said with remarkable blandness. "It feels all loose and hot."
James could see the mangled mess of Ralph's wrist. Blood soaked through his shredded sleeve. "Ralph," James exclaimed, "you look awful!"
"You look pretty horrible, too," Ralph said. "Are all your guts still inside?"
"I think so, er, I hope," James replied, looking down at his bloody chest.
"Let me look at your wrist, Ralph," Petra suddenly said, kneeling next to him. Ralph held it up. Petra gingerly peeled back the torn fabric of Ralph's sleeve, revealing his forearm.
"Artemisae," she said, touching her wand to the cuts and punctures. "That'll stop the bleeding until we can get you to Madam Curio."
"What are you doing here, Petra?" James asked as she turned to examine his chest.
"I was walking back by myself," she answered. "I was just coming up the path when I saw what was happening."
Rose was trembling visibly. "But… how did you know that the wolf was… was…"
James Potter and the Curse of the Gatekeeper Page 43
