G. Lippert - JAMES POTTER AND THE VAULT OF DESTINIES

The next half hour went past in a blur of bustling crowds, echoing announcements, long queues, and flashing signs. James drifted through it all in a sort of dazed wonder, glad that his dad and Uncle Percy seemed to be managing the various questions, connections, and directions. The American wizarding customs agent didn't even look up as James moved in front of the high counter, following Lucy and Izzy.

"Name," the man said, holding out his hand, palm up. James had been watching, so he knew what to do. He dropped his wand into the man's hand.

"James Sirius Potter," he called through the noise of the crowd.

"Reason for visiting the United States?" the agent asked in a bored monotone.

"I'm here with my dad, Harry Potter," James answered. He was satisfied to see the agent blink and look up at him over his glasses. It was a brief look, but James knew what it meant. Even here, Harry Potter was a well-known figure.

"Are you transporting any fruit, vegetables, potions, beasts, insects, cursed objects, or forbidden artifacts into the United States?"

"No," James said, and then added, "er, I have an owl. Nobby. Does he count?"

"Service animals are permitted, so long as they can pass a routine health inspection," the agent said, holding James' wand under a large magnifying glass. Smoky shapes on the glass resolved into letters, and James craned to read them. He was interested to see that the letters spelled out the last several spells he had performed—mostly levitations, but also the hiding spells he had used on Petra's letter—as well as the construction and core details of his wand. The agent quickly jotted James' name on a much-used chalkboard and the letters appeared a moment later on the magnifying glass, beneath the information about his wand. The agent turned and handed the wand back to James over the counter.

"Are you a registered or undocumented werewolf, Animagus, Metamorphmagus, vampire, shape-shifter, or beast-whisperer?" he said, rattling off the words as if he had asked the same question a million times before, which he probably had.

James tried to replay the question in his head. "Er, I don't think so," he answered.

"Welcome to the United States," the agent said, unsmiling. "And good luck, Mr. Potter."

"Er, thanks." James replied. As he moved forward in line, making room for Ralph to hand over his own unusually large wand, James turned and saw his father at an adjacent queue, behind Merlin and in front of his mum. They were all talking, their heads close together.

Finally, the signs and queues opened up into a broad lobby with high vaulted ceilings and moving advertisements framed on the walls. Witches and wizards crowded the space, some flying overhead on brooms, zooming in and out through a bank of very tall doorways set into the far wall. As James peered around at the milling crowd, he was not exactly surprised to see a wide variety of ethnicities, clothing styles, and even animals, all milling through the gigantic space like ants.

On the other side of the space, near the doors, a Bigfoot wearing a backpack and a pair of dark sunglasses lumbered along, towering over those around him. Nearby, a dark-skinned wizard in a red fez stooped over an open carpet bag. He produced a length of white rope, which he deftly tossed into the air, where it caught and hung on nothing. Without pausing, the man closed his carpet bag, scooped it onto his shoulder, and, to James' complete amazement, began to climb the rope. As he reached the top, he vanished into thin air, taking his carpet bag with him. A moment later, the rope zipped upwards, disappearing as well.

"Wicked…," Ralph said appreciatively, standing next to James, his eyes wide.

James nodded and felt excitement bubbling up in him. Together, they followed Percy and Neville Longbottom toward a bank of grand marble stairs and the doors beyond.

"Hey," Ralph said suddenly, pushing himself up on his toes to peer over the crowd, "isn't that Chancellor Franklyn over there? On the landing over to the right?"

James peered around Neville's shoulder and grinned. "It is! And look who's with him!"

"James!" a voice cried out over the noise of the throng. "Ralph! Hey, over here!"

James and Ralph pushed through the crowd, laughing with delight. James leapt up the stairs, taking them two at a time to the nearest landing, where a small group of people stood watching. "Zane!" he called. "I didn't know you were coming!"

"Are you kidding?" Zane said, matching James' grin. "I was planning to stow away in the baggage compartment if Chancellor Franklyn wasn't going to let me come. How are you doing, you guys? Good to see you!"

James reached to shake Zane's hand, but Zane grabbed James around the shoulder and pulled him into a rough half-embrace.

"Oof," James said, laughing. "I forget how touchy-feely you lot are. We're good. Glad to finally be here."

"Hey Zane!" Ralph smiled, huffing up the last of the stairs to the landing. "Nice country you got here."

"You just wait," Zane said, approaching Ralph and throwing an arm around the bigger boy's shoulders. "I'm going to show you all around. You'll love it. But first, intros…" He turned aside, gesturing toward the people standing nearby. "That's Chancellor Franklyn, of course, who you already know."

Franklyn nodded at James and Ralph. "Boys," he said, smiling. "It's good to see you both again, and rather grown-up, I daresay. I trust you've been practicing up on your defensive techniques. It looks like I may be overseeing your education again this year, if I am not mistaken."

James nodded, but Zane went on, interrupting him before he could reply. "Next to him, that's Professor Georgia Burke. She teaches Mug-Occ and Magizoology. You might have her this year if you're lucky. She lets us pet the tufted rattlebacks, even though it's technically a violation of the health code. The rest of these mugs are just T.A.s and admin, here to take a few pictures of the big city. Like me," Zane finished, grinning. "Which reminds me, here, what's your name?"

Lucy blinked at Zane as she reached the landing. "I'm Lucy Weasley," she replied. "Who are you?"

"Pleased to meet you, Lucy. I'm Zane. You know these two? Troublemakers, aren't they? Here, would you mind taking a picture of the three of us?"

James stifled a grin as Zane shoved a large camera into Lucy's hands.

"Just push the red button on the top right," he said, backing away and throwing an arm each around James and Ralph. "But you have to hold it down for a second so the flash will work."

"I know how to operate a camera," Lucy commented, rolling her eyes. She raised the camera and peered through the viewfinder.

"Say 'cheese'!" Zane announced, showing all his teeth to the camera.

The camera flashed as Ralph and James both said 'cheese'.

"Speaking of which," Albus said, climbing the stairs next to his parents, "here's our cheesy American friend."

"Good to see you, Zane" Harry said, patting Zane roughly on the shoulder. "Still tearing it up on the Quidditch pitch?"

"I wish," Zane replied, shaking his head. "These guys don't have any respect for the game over here. Here, it's all Quodpot and Clutch. We have a team, but it's nothing like when I played with the Ravenclaws." He sighed, and then brightened. "Hi Petra! I didn't know you were coming."

Petra beamed at Zane, walking with Izzy at her side. "I don't think anybody knew for sure until we were underway," she answered, shrugging.

"Harry," Benjamin Franklyn said warmly, reaching to shake hands. "So good to see you again. I only wish it were under better circumstances. And this must be the lovely Ginevra?"

"Pleased to meet you, Chancellor," James' mum said, smiling.

"Do call me Benjamin," Franklyn said, showing her his most charming smile.

"Chancellor," Percy said, sidling between them and reaching for Franklyn's hand. "A pleasure, as always. You've met my wife, Audrey, of course. And this is Denniston Dolohov, Neville Longbottom, and finally, last but not least…"