G. Lippert - James Potter and the Curse of the Gatekeeper

Thinking that, he ran down the spiral steps to join his friends.

That night, James sat at a table in the corner of the common room and took out a sheet of parchment. He dipped his quill, thought for a moment, and then began writing.

Dear Dad,

How's everything going at home? I hope Grandma is having fun staying in my room.

Make sure she doesn't look under the bed because that's where me and Al hid all those Dogerpillars

we found, and I don't think we ever got them all cleared out. Also, tell her not to look on the top

shelf of the closet. In fact, if she stayed out of the closet altogether, everybody will probably be a lot

happier.

I heard the news about the Dementor attacks going on all over London, and I heard that the Ministry is starting a new Auror department to go put a stop to it. Look, it's too much to explain in a letter, but that job is going to be a lot more dangerous than it seems. Something really evil called the Gatekeeper came back with Merlin, and we think it's using the Dementors to feed on people's fear. If you want to know more about it, ask Cousin Lucy. She looked it up at the wizarding library for us, so she knows loads about it. You just need to watch out for it because it's really, really powerful—way more powerful than any regular old Dementor—and it's looking for a human host to give it all the power it needs to stay here for good and ruin everything.

That reminds me—Dad, do you remember a ring that Dumbledore gave you? It might not have been a ring, but a stone. I think I've heard you talk about it, from back when you had to go into the woods to fight V. Somebody here says he read about it in those books that came out about your life, and he says it was called the Resurrection Stone. Anyway, I need to ask—what happened to that stone? Rose and Ralph and me think that it might be really important for getting rid of the Gatekeeper. I promise not to tell anyone. Except Rose and Ralph. And maybe Zane if we think he can help. And maybe Cameron Creevey since he's the one that remembered about it in those books. But nobody else. OK?

Thanks, Dad,

Love, James.

P.S. Have you and Mum found the M. Map and the I. Cloak and my voodoo doll yet?

James sealed the letter into an envelope and began to stuff it into his satchel. He stopped, suddenly wondering if he had time to send the letter tonight instead of tomorrow. He checked the clock and saw that it was only nine. He had time to get to the Owlery, and he knew he'd sleep better knowing that the letter was already on Nobby's leg, winging along to his parents' house. Rose had already gone up to bed, and Ralph was down in the Slytherin rooms, so James decided to go by himself. He stuffed the letter into his pocket and climbed through the portrait hole.

By the time James ascended the narrow steps into the Owlery, the moon had risen to a huge, full orb. Its frosty face illuminated the interior of the Owlery with silvery light, bright enough to see by. James found Nobby and paused to stroke him.

"They feed you all right up here?" James asked.

Nobby clicked his beak and ruffled his feathers luxuriously. James noticed that the corners of the Owlery floor were cluttered with the bones of rodents.

"I guess you get along just fine up here, don't you?" James said, smiling. The great bird seemed to agree. He ducked his head under James' stroking hand, preening. After a minute, James took the letter out of his pocket. He attached it carefully to Nobby's leg with a bit of string.

"This is really important, Nobby," James explained. "Get it to Dad as soon as possible, all right? And wait to see if he writes anything in return. If he does, bring it with you when you come back."

Nobby clicked his beak again and shuffled on the perch, obviously anxious to depart. As soon as James released his leg, Nobby spread his wings. He balanced for a moment, and then thrust upwards, flapping toward the Owlery's huge windows. He circled, disturbing some of the other owls on their perches, and then, with a flick of his rudderlike tail, he was gone.

James felt much better. He retraced his steps out of the Owlery and down the narrow stairway. When he got to the corridor below, he stopped. The halls had been almost entirely empty during his walk to the Owlery, but now someone was standing in the dark corridor, looking out one of the tall windows. James thought this was particularly odd since the Owlery was nowhere near any of the common rooms. The figure was in silhouette against the low full moon outside the window. James could only tell that the figure was a girl with long hair. He had a strange, fleeting hope that it was Petra, but he didn't think so. James made his way along the hall and the girl didn't move as he approached. He had almost passed her when she spoke without turning around.

"A little late to be sending post," she mused. "Must be rather important, James."

James' blood cooled. It was Tabitha Corsica. "What's it to you?" he asked, not breaking his stride. He meant to leave her with that, but her next words brought him to a halt.

"The Gatekeeper won't be stopped, you know," she said idly, half turning to look at James over her shoulder. "No matter who you tell about it. It's too late for that."

James was stunned. His mind was racing so that he didn't know what to say. How could Tabitha know about the Gatekeeper? Neither James, Rose, nor Ralph had told anyone about it. But even as he wondered, he realized that the answer was all too obvious. Tabitha knew about the Gatekeeper because she was part of the plot to control it, to unleash in on the earth. There was simply no other explanation.

Tabitha turned back toward the moon. She leaned comfortably on the stone windowsill. "You believe you grasp what is happening, don't you? You've convinced yourself that you understand the full implications of the Curse of the Gatekeeper." She laughed lightly. "That's what I love about you Potters. You all see the world in the plainest terms. You somehow manage to miss the essential details and the big picture. Never has it been more obvious than now."

James started to speak, but his voice was hoarse and frightened. He cleared his throat and tried again. "Are you here to stop me?"

"Stop you?" Tabitha replied, still not turning around. "Stop you from what? Didn't you hear me? It's too late to stop anything. The descent of the Gatekeeper is accomplished. Its day is at hand. There is only one more task to complete, and that task is very nearly done. I'm only here now to gloat, James. I wanted to see your face when you found out that your world was about to end." Finally, Tabitha turned fully around. James took an involuntary step backwards. He'd never seen Tabitha this way. Her hair was lank and her face looked very pale, even gaunt. Her eyes were tinged with red, avid and hungry.

"Yes," she breathed, leaning slightly forward. "That's the expression I was hoping for. You see it now, don't you? The Curse of the Gatekeeper is finally at hand, but it isn't a curse for everyone. It will end your world, and the blighted world of the Muggles, but it will not be a curse to those who've remained pure of heart. It will be a blessing to us. Salazar Slytherin knew it in his time, when he orchestrated this day. The descent of the Gatekeeper hearkens the age of pureblood perfection! No longer will we be shackled by the laws of weak governments, no more will we live in the shadows of the Muggle drones, hiding like beetles under a rock. For us, the Gatekeeper is a harbinger of supremacy!"