The Curse of the GateKeeper (James Potter #2)

by G. Norman Lippert

  "This could be better than I thought," Albus said, nudging James. "Way to go, big brother."

  As they left the gym a while later, James caught up to Ralph. "What happened to you? Where were you back there?" he demanded.

  Ralph glanced at James defensively. "What? I was there the whole time!"

  "You didn't say a word when Tabitha and Goyle showed up and started killing the target dummies!"

  "Well," Ralph replied, shrugging and walking quickly, "it looked to me like you and Rose had it under control."

  "Under control? You call completely losing our grip on the club 'under control'? Scorpius is planning to teach Unforgivable Curses!"

  Ralph didn't say anything as he walked. James stared at him angrily, his eyes narrowed. "You want to learn them too, don't you?" he demanded.

  Ralph pressed his lips together, refusing to reply. James turned in front of him, stopping him in the hall, but Ralph spoke first.

  "Don't, James," he said, dropping his eyes and shaking his head. "Look, you're my best mate in the whole school, but we come from two different worlds. You Gryffindors can be all sweet and courageous about things like the Unforgivable Curses, but frankly, yeah, it does make sense to me to learn them. I'm sorry."

  James' mouth dropped open. "Ralph, there's a reason they're called 'unforgivable'. We can't even use them to fight the Gatekeeper if it comes to that! That thing isn't even human! So there's no excuse for learning them."

  "Isn't there?" Ralph said. James knew Ralph hated confrontations, but the bigger boy forced himself to look James in the eye. "Are you telling me you wouldn't have used an Unforgivable Curse to stop Voldemort from killing your grandparents?"

  James backed up a step, speechless. He started to reply, but Ralph went on, cutting him off. "What about when my uncle was getting ready to murder Ted Lupin's dad? Would you have used an Unforgivable Curse to stop him from doing that? Or even my own grandparents when they were driving my dad to a Muggle orphanage, telling him they didn't want him anymore, that no Squib was good enough to be their son? What if someone had been there to Imperio them, and force them to take him back home, and make them love him the way parents are supposed to love their kids? Are you telling me you'd have decided not to do it because only 'bad' people use Unforgivable Curses?"

  James stammered, shocked at the quiet ferocity in Ralph's eyes. "Ralph, I… no. I mean…"

  Ralph shook his head and looked away. "I can't blame you for not understanding that, James. But honestly, if using an Unforgivable Curse could bring back the people you'd thought were lost forever, wouldn't you do it? If it could return the things that were taken from you by people who were stupid and selfish and mean… wouldn't you?" Ralph looked at James again, his eyes bright. "Because I'd do it, James. I really would. Without a second thought."

  With that, Ralph pushed past James and walked into the dimness of the corridor. James knew there was no point in following him, but he was frightened by the things Ralph had said. He'd never seen such passion in the big boy before, but apparently, it had been there all along, just under the surface.

  Rose caught up to James, shaking her head worriedly. "We'll have to corner Scorpius in the common room," she said. "He's still back there surrounded by everybody. He's showing them how to do the Levicorpus jinx. What's the matter?"

  James shook his head, still looking after Ralph. "I don't know, Rose. None of this is going the way it's supposed to. And to tell you the truth, I don't have any idea what I'm supposed to do about it."

  "I'll tell you what you need to do about it, James," Rose said seriously.

  James glanced at her, furrowing his brow. "And what would that be?"

  "Same thing you did last year when you ran into trouble," Rose replied, arching her eyebrows. "Go ask for help from somebody who does know what to do."

  By the beginning of next week, James had still not spoken to Scorpius about his speech at the last Defence Club. It wasn't that he hadn't had the opportunity; it was more that he simply didn't know what to say. James knew Scorpius only well enough to know that if he demanded Scorpius not teach Unforgivable Curses to the club, Scorpius would probably begin the next meeting with them. He considered simply removing Scorpius as teacher for the club, but the fact of the matter was that Scorpius was a fairly good teacher, and he did seem to know an awful lot.

  The worst part was that James was unable to discuss the problem with Ralph since Ralph apparently wanted to learn the curses. James could sort of understand the things Ralph had said, but all the reasons Ralph had listed for learning the curses were already in the past. Learning the curses now wouldn't bring back James' grandparents or Ted's dad. Perhaps Ralph thought there were more such tragedies to come and he wanted to be prepared for them. Either way, it was worrying. Ralph had been moody and quiet ever since the conversation in the hall, and James decided it was best just to leave him alone for a while.

  Fortunately, James was completely distracted from all these things for a short while during Tuesday's Care of Magical Creatures class. Hagrid led the students around to the back of the barn, shushing them and keeping them behind him with one enormous hand.

  "Grawp's getting rather good at this," Hagrid whispered, "but we don't want to distract 'im. It's ticklish work, walkin' a dragon."

  As the group crept around the edge of the barn, James peered past Ralph, struggling to see. In the near distance, just at the edge of the Forest, Grawp was walking very slowly, looking back over his shoulder. He seemed to have something like an iron door strapped to his left forearm like a shield. A very thick chain led from Grawp's upraised right hand, ending at a collar on Norberta's long neck. Amazingly, the dragon was ambling docilely behind Grawp, sniffing at the trees and occasionally rooting her snout into the ground, snapping at something.

  "Norberta likes a nice fat mole, she does," Hagrid whispered. "And she can smell 'em right through the earth. She'd be great pest control if she didn't occasionally set the trees afire. Today's nice an' wet though, so I knew it'd be safe to give 'er a walkie."

  "What happens if she flames on Grawp?" Morgan Patonia asked. "Is that what that iron door is for?"

  Hagrid shook his head. "She loves Grawp even more'n me. She'd never flame 'im. The shield is just an extra safety measure. Last year, Headmistress McGonagall insisted he always wear it when he took Norberta out. S'just habit now."

  Grawp tugged at the chain lead as Norberta hung back, sniffing at a tree trunk. Ponderously, she leaned against the tree and rubbed on it, as if scratching an itch. The tree shuddered and groaned, leaning noticeably.

  "I wonder who'd win in a fight," Graham whispered, grinning, "the Whomping Willow or Norberta?"

  "That's stupid," Ashley replied, shaking her head.

  "I'd pay to see it," Graham said. "Battle of the Magical Titans. Just imagine it."

  Ashley rolled her eyes. "I am imagining it, and it's stupid."

  "Don't let her knock that tree over, Grawpy," Hagrid called as quietly as he could, cupping his hands to his mouth. "That's a Grimlock Elm. Not many of 'em left!"

  Grawp tugged harder on the chain lead, but Norberta was stubborn. She rapped her tail on the hillside in annoyance, producing a perceptible shudder in the earth. She seemed to be sniffing at something just inside the perimeter of the trees. She clawed at the ground, pulling Grawp and pushing the trees apart with her massive shoulders. She snorted a small burst of yellow flame.

  "What's she after?" Hagrid asked worriedly. "Er, maybe yeh lot should head back around the barn again. Just for safety's sake."

  None of the students obeyed. Instead, they pushed forward, curious to see what was happening, although none ventured in front of Hagrid himself.

  "Easy, Grawpy!" Hagrid called in a strangely small voice. "Not too hard! Give her just a little slack. We don't want to make her mad now. What the—"

  Something small and yellow had suddenly flown out of the trees, as if frightened by Norberta's rooting. It fluttered between her legs and arced up,
streaking into the grey sky.

  "Oh no," Hagrid said in a worried voice. "I wondered where she'd got to."

  With a violent, serpentine lunge, Norberta spun, her entire body trailing behind her head and her open, snapping jaws. Grawp was yanked entirely off his feet, refusing to let go of the chain. He landed with an enormous, muddy thump and slid along the wet grass, pulled by Norberta's wild thrashing.

  "Everybody inside!" Hagrid yelled, shooting out both arms protectively. "It's a Wargle I got from Viktor Krum, and Norberta's just daft about it. It got loose a few days ago, but I figured it'd be halfway back to Bulgaria by now. Grawp! Hold 'er down! Don' let go, no matter what!"

  The ground shuddered as Norberta thundered after the yellow creature, pulling Grawp along behind her. Great muddy streaks tore up the hillside in their wake. None of the students had budged. James stared at the spectacle, wide-eyed, unsure if it was amusing or frightening. The Wargle was about the size of a cat but canary yellow and with four fluttering wings. A long, tufted tail trailed behind it, whipping the air. James thought the creature looked almost impossibly cute. Norberta thrashed and leapt, snapping her jaws wildly, barely missing the fluttering, swooping shape. Thumping along behind, Grawp was heroically pulling himself up the chain, trying to reach Norberta's neck.

  "That's it, Grawpy," Hagrid cheered, beginning to trot uncertainly out onto the hilltop. "I'll grab 'er tail if I can. You get 'er by the neck! Oh!"

  The Wargle suddenly angled upwards, streaking into the sky beyond Norberta's reach. With a massive flourish, the dragon unfurled her wings and brought them down with a single, thunderous thrust. She leapt off the ground, roaring and pulling Grawp with her.

  "I thought she couldn't fly!" Graham exclaimed. The students began to shuffle nervously backwards, moving toward the relative shelter of the barn.

  As if sensing a hiding place, the Wargle arced downwards again, angling toward the crowd of students. Norberta thrashed her wings and lunged. She was amazingly fast for her size despite her injured wing. Students scattered in all directions as her shadow darkened the sky overhead. Hagrid ran back and forth, arms outstretched, as if he meant to catch the enormous dragon.

  "Hold on, Grawp!" he called to his half-brother, who swung gamely from the chain lead, leaving a trail of mud gobbets. "You've got 'er! Don' let go!"

  Norberta roared again, struggling to stay airborne. Her tail thrashed as she flapped, striking the chimney of the barn and obliterating it to flying bits of stone. The Wargle circled in a panic. Finally, the yellow creature seemed to sense that Norberta couldn't properly fly. It swooped upwards, aiming for the distant clouds.

  "Grawp!" Hagrid called suddenly. "Shield! She's going to flame!"

  Norberta gave one last thrust of her massive wings, stretched out her long neck, and roared. This time, the roar produced a long stream of blue-white flame. Heat blasted out over the hilltop. James felt it ripple through his hair. And then, with a reverberating thump, the dragon landed on all four claws. Grawp came down right next to her. He was covered in mud and bits of grass, but he instantly leapt up and threw his arms around the great dragon's neck, holding her down. The dragon didn't seem prepared to attempt flight again. She raised her head full length, jaws wide open. A moment later, a small black shape tumbled out of the sky, trailing smoke. It fell straight into Norberta's gullet and she swallowed audibly.

  Hagrid shook his head. "Shame 'bout that," he said. "Wargles is hard to come by. I warned 'er, I did. Ah well, so long as nobody's hurt. Grawpy, are yeh all right, then?"

  Grawp tentatively let go of the dragon's neck, and stepped away, still holding the chain lead. He glanced back at Hagrid. "Grawp got mud in nose," he said ponderously.

  "Sorry 'bout that, Grawpy. Let's go ahead and put the old girl back in 'er pen, eh?" He turned back to the students, his face red and imploring. "It's prob'ly best if we, er, kep' that between ourselves, if yeh don' mind."

  James glanced aside at Trenton, who had earlier threatened to write his parents about Hagrid's rather frightening menagerie.

  "That," Trenton said, noticing James' look, "was totally bloody awesome."

  As James and Ralph were heading back from the barn, they passed the greenhouses where Professor Longbottom's first-year Herbology class was just letting out. James spied Scorpius.

  "I'll see you at lunch, Ralph," James called as he trotted away. "Places to go, people to see."

  Ralph didn't reply, and James knew why. The bigger boy knew what James was up to. Scorpius heard James coming and stopped, turning back.

  "I wondered when I'd be hearing from you, Potter," he said, staring up at the low clouds.

  "Yeah, well, I wanted to talk to you about Defence Club."

  "Of course," Scorpius smiled thinly. "Come to talk me out of teaching the hardcore spells, did you?"

  "Actually, no," James replied. "I've been thinking about it. I can't stop you from showing people what you learned from your family, and besides, if people don't learn those things from you, they'll learn them from Corsica and Goyle. I came to you because…"

  James couldn't quite bring himself to say it. He knew Rose's advice had been right, but he just hadn't known when or where he was supposed to use it. Now he did. Finally, he took a deep breath and said through gritted teeth, "I came to ask for your help."

  "My help?" Scorpius replied suspiciously. "With what?"

  "With getting Tabitha and the rest under control," James answered. "Look, you know it even better than me. They don't want to learn jinxes and hexes and curses to fight the bad guys. They just want to use them to be bullies and get power over people. The Defence Club was supposed to be a way for people to learn basic fighting spells and techniques, but I think it can be even more than that. I think we can use it to practice the things Professor Debellows is teaching us about how to be real fighters. We can practice the Artis Decerto techniques he's showing us and get really good at them. Then we can put those skills together with the spells we've already learned, and later, when everyone is ready to know how to use them…," James gulped, "you can teach the Unforgiveable Curses, if you still want to."

  "Let's see if I understand this," Scorpius said. "You started the Defence Club because you didn't like the fact that Debellows wasn't teaching any defensive magic. And now you want to turn the club into a place to practice the silly stuff that he is teaching us?"

  James sighed. "Yeah, all right, you make it sound totally stupid. But that's pretty much the truth of it. Either way, if Corsica and Goyle and even Albus keep coming to the club and killing the target dummies, they're just going to push for the Unforgivable Curses and bypass everything else. Maybe some people can handle knowing the Unforgivable Curses, but not everybody can. And definitely not without learning the basics first."

  "So kick them out," Scorpius shrugged. "You run the club. You decide who's in it. It isn't my problem."

  "I can't just kick them out," James said, exasperated. "Anybody who wants to come to the club can. But you know how to talk to them! It was totally brilliant the way you handled them last club meeting. Your family understands the way Slytherins think! I need you to help keep them from taking over."

  Scorpius narrowed his eyes. "Just because my father convinced me to help get you through the Mirror of Erised, doesn't mean I'm your mate, Potter. I teach your club because I want to, not because you asked. Who are you to decide who gets to know the Unforgivable Curses or not?"

  James stared at Scorpius thoughtfully. "I don't think you even believe that yourself," he said. "You're just trying to make me mad at you, and I don't even know why. If you thought everyone who wished should be able to learn the Killing Curse, you'd have taught it last class, or let Corsica and Goyle do it. Instead, you spent your time distracting everybody with stuff like the Levicorpus jinx. Admit it or not, you agree with me, Scorpius."

  "You're delusional, Potter," Scorpius said, turning on his heel. "Why would I agree with you?"

  "Because," James called, watching the pale
boy walk away, "you're also a Gryffindor. And I think the Sorting Hat knew what it was doing."

  Scorpius didn't stop. He simply continued to walk away, heading toward the castle. James watched for a moment, then sighed and followed. He could only hope that despite Scorpius' attitude, he'd at least think about what James had asked.

  Eventually, Albus told James how it had happened.

  Thursday evening came and Tabitha, Philia, and Albus were on their way to the gym for Defence Club. While they were still several corridors away, Scorpius met them coming from the other direction.

  "Just turn around and walk with me," he said in a low voice, trying to put his arms around both Tabitha and Albus.

  "Remove your hand or pick it up wherever it lands," Tabitha said, pointing her wand at Scorpius' wrist.

  "Touchy, touchy," Scorpius replied, pulling his hands away. "And here I am trying to help you."

  Albus scoffed. "As if we needed your help, you prat."

  "Believe it or not, I am indeed saving you a bit of bother," Scorpius growled, looking Albus in the eye. "Your brother's little club is about to be disbanded, and I don't expect it will go well for those who are in attendance when it happens."

  Philia's face was etched with suspicion. "What do you mean?"

  "Some concerned individual has alerted Professor Debellows that students are being taught defensive magic and curses, all in an effort to undermine his teaching technique. They also allowed it to slip that some students have even been seen practicing the Killing Curse."

  Tabitha studied Scorpius' face. "How perfectly devious. But tell me, why would you do such a thing?"

  "Did I say it was me?" Scorpius asked innocently.

  "He's lying," Albus said. "He wouldn't do that to his housemates."

  "You might want to step aside a moment," Scorpius said, glancing down the corridor. Voices were approaching quickly. Debellows stalked around the corner, herding Rose ahead of him. She looked extremely worried.