G. Lippert - JAMES POTTER AND THE VAULT OF DESTINIES

"What?" Ralph asked, squinting in the twilight. "The clock tower?"

"Higher," Zane prodded, grinning even wider.

James pushed up on tiptoes to see over the trees. "Er, the belfry?"

"Higher," Zane encouraged.

James looked higher. His eyes widened and he began to shake his head slowly. "No. No way."

"The flag?" Ralph said, turning to look at Zane. "Way up on the top? That's got to be two hundred feet up! You can't be serious!"

"Two hundred and thirty-three at the point. Don't worry," Zane soothed, but his eager grin had quite the opposite effect. "There's a fire escape on the back of the Hall that takes you all the way to the bell tower. From there, there's a spiral staircase up to the belfry and a ladder up to the belfry roof. Piece of cake! Except for the bats, of course, but they're no match for a committed Zombie."

"You want us to switch this flag," James said, hefting the mound of thick fabric in his arms, "with that flag way up there?"

"Well, switching the flags is only the first half of the challenge. That flag up there is the university's original stars and stripes, 'Old Betsy'. You can't just hide her under your bed in the common dorm or anything, unless you want a posse from Werewolf House to hunt you down and clobber you ten ways from Sunday. You have to run Old Betsy up the Zombie House flagpole. Later tomorrow afternoon, we'll turn Old Betsy back in at the Administration Hall and get an honorary punishment. You'll probably just get a day's suspension."

"Wait," Ralph said, frowning. "If we succeed in this dare, we get in trouble with the school?"

"You can't think of it that way," Zane said, clapping Ralph on the shoulder. "It's a pledge dare. A day's suspension is like a badge of honor. Think of it as a paid vacation."

James sighed. "All right then. We'll do it. But after this, it's all over, right? We'll be Zombies, officially?"

"You pull this off," Zane said heartily, "and we may make you both House Presidents for a day."

James nodded grimly. A minute later, the three carried the Zombie flag up to the dorm room and hid it in the closet. Chasing each other, they crossed the campus again, heading for the theater and Professor Longbottom's assembly.

9. THE ARCHIVE ATTACK

"James!" his mum cried when she met him in front of the campus theater. "Oh, you look so handsome in your uniform. Just look at you!"

"Mum!" James hissed, pushing her hand away as she attempted to mat down his hair. "Quit it! You're embarrassing me in front of the Zombies!"

"Oh yes, your new house. That reminds me, have you seen Albus?" she asked, peering around the crowd that milled near the theater entrance.

"Just look for the blokes with the dark grey uniforms and the burgundy ties," James answered. "Albus will probably be carrying them on his shoulders."

"So how is the sorting tradition coming along, then?" Denniston Dolohov asked, smiling and nodding proudly at his son.

"Ask us again tomorrow morning," Ralph sighed.

Zane beamed. "They're doing great, everybody. Not as well as I did, of course, but that's a pretty high bar to reach. Tomorrow, they'll be Zombies all official-like. You wait and see."

James saw the curious look in his mother's eye and changed the subject as quickly as he could. "Where's Dad and Headmaster Merlin anyway?"

"They're both up front with Neville," Ginny sighed as they pushed through the theater doors, entering the main lobby. "He's a bit nervous, after all. They're giving him a spot of moral support."

"Hi Petra!" Zane called, waving. James turned around and saw her entering behind them, smiling warmly. The three boys drifted toward her.

"Where's Izzy?" Ralph asked, peering around.

"She's staying with Molly and Lily tonight. I hear that the assembly might run rather long, so Audrey's watching both of them at the flat downtown. How are you both settling in?"

"Fine," James answered. "It's way different here, but not so different that it doesn't make its own weird sense."

"They have six houses," Ralph said, shaking his head. "Crazy, if you ask me. What about you, Petra?"

"I spent most of the day applying for jobs here on campus," Petra sighed wearily. "I don't need much money, after all. Even teacher's assistants get free room and board, and can even take graduate level classes for no charge. Izzy can stay here with me and go to the little faculty grade school on campus. I might go for my T.O.A.D. certification and become a professor myself. If I can get in somewhere, that is."

"Who wouldn't hire you?" James asked as the four made their way into the seating area. "You're a genius no matter how you look at it! Why, they'd be a bunch of sodding blockheads not to see that." He stopped himself and reddened, suddenly fearing that he might be making his point a little too enthusiastically.

"Thanks James," Petra replied. "Here's hoping. I'll probably know by the end of the week. The truth is I'm feeling pretty confident. The Headmaster put in a good word for me with some of the department heads."

"He did?" James asked, wide-eyed.

"You seem surprised," Petra said, looking at him a bit quizzically.

"Well," James said, looking away, "no. Er, of course not. I mean, Merlin, he's got a lot of pull, doesn't he?"

Petra shrugged. "He's Merlinus Ambrosius."

The four made their way into a row near the front, squeezing past a gaggle of Pixie House girls in pink sweaters, who peered narrowly up at James and Ralph's plain black ties.

"Pledges," one of the girls muttered. "They should have their own seating section in the back."

"Oh wait," another of the girls said, raising a hand to her lips in mock surprise, "they do!"

"We know the professor," James said loudly. "The one who's giving the speech? That bloke? Yeah, we came with him."

"I wouldn't have guessed," the first girl responded. "Your accent didn't give you away at all ."

Ralph peered sideways at the girls as he sat down. " We don't have accents," he muttered. " They do. Daft Americans."

"Shh," Petra shushed, smiling. "We don't want to make an international scene."

"There's Lucy," James said, turning around in his seat. "And Albus. They're sitting with Mum and Uncle Percy and Mr. Dolohov, a few rows back."

"So how's that whole Dolohov thing working out for you anyway, Ralph?" Zane asked, nudging the larger boy. "I see you've stuck with the Deedle. Is that causing you any grief?"

Ralph shrugged. "I like the Deedle. I mean, I know it's not quite as dashing-sounding as Dolohov, but I just can't do it. I mean, you know the history of that family. I have a hard enough time living it down without taking the name."

"Yeah," Zane nodded. "I heard about what happened with you and Ted last year. I'm guessing he got most of that out of his system though."

"At least if he didn't," James added thoughtfully, "there's a whole ocean between him and Ralph now. And I hear werewolves don't much like the water."

"He's not a true werewolf," Ralph said, shaking his head. "He's a Metamorphmagus with certain wolfish tendencies, but still, yeah, I'm not too upset about having an ocean between us."

Zane sighed and settled back into his seat. "I bet trying to live with two names is tough, either way. I don't envy you, Ralphinator. Hey, that makes three names you've got!"

"You're the only person that calls me that one," Ralph said, rolling his eyes.

Next to James, Petra remained silent. Ralph, James remembered, was not the only person living with two names. Petra had changed her own name in the wake of the ordeal at her grandfather's farm, deciding to call herself, simply, Morgan. She hadn't insisted that everyone change how they refer to her, but James had a sneaky feeling that in her heart, she couldn't shake her new name any more than Ralph could shake the name Dolohov. James didn't know what it all meant, but it worried him a little.