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

Finally, the climactic finale of act three was upon them. The king was dead, Donovan was defeated, and Treus, mortally wounded but clinging to life, had rescued Astra from the vengeful sleeping potion of the Marsh Hag. The castle had been struck by lightning and was crumbling into flames as a magical storm beat upon it, and James felt pretty sure that he knew now why this story was known as a tragedy. He limped across the stage, leading Petra toward the huge prop gate. The gate shook back and forth as Ralph and Sabrina stood behind it, rocking it with all their strength. Jason and Graham had once again manned the wind machine, billowing the castle's banners with a good imitation of a magical gale; swinging orange spotlights mimed the effect of raging flames and lightning. James stumbled dramatically as he led his beloved Astra toward the gate.

"Advance! We're nearly free," Petra cried, dropping to one knee next to James, as if imploring him. "The castle's doomed, but hope prevails! O Treus, curse it not!"

James was sweating under his costume, and it gave his face a fittingly dramatic sheen in the flashing lights. He smiled weakly at Petra and reached for her face. "I curse not hope," he said, and then coughed. "I've braved the tempest's watery wrath and fell that sorc'rer's might. I've cursed them all to gaze upon your loving face, but hope? What life I've left, I live in barricades of hope. Though God Himself may shake this world to fall upon itself, my love and hope remain. Depart my dear and leave me now: I walk to death in peace!"

"Pray no, beloved!" Petra cried, and even James was impressed by the mixture of anger and desperation she put into those three words. "For months and years I've longed for thee alone: my dreams, the home of thy desperate love! I'll not depart my place at body's side, lest unrequited dreams shall crush my soul!"

"Then give me now a testament to love," James said firmly, struggling to his feet and pulling Petra with him. "A kiss to cure the pains of death, this one to stand for all!"

Petra hesitated, her eyes shining with emotion, and James was impressed with her acting. For a fleeting moment, he was quite glad that they had never rehearsed this scene together, for he felt sure that the spontaneous chemistry of this moment could only happen once. Petra leaned toward him, still holding his right hand. She closed her eyes as the lights began to dim and the wind machine cranked up to full power, streaming through her long hair. And then, as James closed his eyes, not even remembering to miss Petra's lips, a bolt of blinding pain sank into his forehead. It burned through his phantom scar worse than anything he'd felt so far, and he stumbled, yanking his hand from Petra's to clap it to his forehead. The lights blinked off and the stage fell into pitch darkness.

The wind machine hadn't stopped however. In fact, it seemed to be far stronger than James had ever felt it. It pushed him as he reeled, and he fell to the floor in the darkness, his right hand still clamped to his forehead. There was a long, ominous creak and then a resounding crash. Dimly, James understood that the wind machine had blown over the gate prop and that it had just missed him.

"Petra!" he shouted, struggling to get up. There was movement all over the stage, and even now, the wind machine hadn't stopped running. Something was very wrong. Wands were lit on the stage, and James had a sense of stage-hands rushing about, struggling to keep the rest of the set from blowing over. He scrambled to his knees, trying to make sense of what was happening.

"Shut it down!" someone rasped desperately.

"I can't! It's running by itself!"

"It's shaking apart! Look out!"

Suddenly, spotlights illuminated the stage again, blinding James. At that same moment, the wind machine produced a loud screech and rattle. One of the fan blades wrenched free and spun through the air, slamming into the turret backdrop. Off balance, the machine shook violently and tilted over. Stage-hands scattered as it loomed slowly and crashed to the stage floor where it finally clanked to a halt.

Amazingly, no one seemed to have been hurt. James spun on the spot, looking for Petra. As he'd suspected, the enormous prop gate had fallen at his feet. For a moment, James was sure that Petra was beneath it. He dropped to his knees but could find no sign of her. She must have fallen safely on the other side.

The house lights came up as Professor Curry rushed out on stage. The audience was babbling with alarm. Many people had stood, peering anxiously at the stage and calling the names of their children and relatives.

"Please, calm down," Professor Curry called, but her voice was lost in the rising chaos. "No one is hurt! Do return to your seats, everything is under control—"

A woman's scream pierced the amphitheater, and James gasped. The crowd fell silent as everyone looked to the source of the scream. James, from his vantage point on the stage, was among the first to see, and his blood chilled.

Ginny looked down at the empty seat next to her, her eyes wild and stunned. "She's gone!" she cried desperately, trying not to panic. "Lily's gone! Where'd she go! She was here just a moment ago! Where's my daughter?!"

Zane stared down at the empty seat between him and Ginny. He glanced up at James, making eye contact, and then ducked down. He reappeared a second later holding a pair of small yellow shoes. His eyes were deadly serious as he held them up. Something had taken Lily, taken her right out of the amphitheater in that moment of dark chaos. Ginny took the shoes from Zane and looked around, her eyes pleading.

"Lilyyyy!" she suddenly shrieked, her voice cracking. As if on cue, the audience exploded into frantic motion, scrambling for the exits, rushing the stage, calling names and babbling raucously.

James darted offstage, stripping his costume coat off as he went. In the confusing backstage darkness, he could just see the doorway that led out to the seating area. He had to get to his mum and find out what had happened. He angled toward the door, but something moved out of the darkness, blocking him. James looked up, scrambling to a halt, almost running into the large, dark shape.

"Come with me, boy," a voice rumbled, and a very strong hand clamped onto James' shoulder. Instinctively, James pulled away, but the hand held him firm.

"Let me go!" James exclaimed, anger and panic mingled in his voice.

"You must come with me," Merlin answered, his voice low and calm. "The Gatekeeper is afoot, James Potter, and it seeks you."

"No!" James cried, and pulled away with all his might. He wrenched loose from Merlin's grip and struggled to produce his wand. Merlin stepped after him, and James saw that he had his staff with him. There was no fighting the Headmaster. Without thinking, he ducked and leapt under Merlin's arm.

"James!" Merlin roared after him, but James refused to listen. He threw himself through the doorway and fell into the crowd, bowling several people over.

"Mum!" he called, climbing onto a seat and scanning the crowd. "Mum!"

A hand tugged at James' sleeve and he lunged away, toppling off the seat and landing on a large figure, who grunted.

"Ow! You're heavier than you look!" the figure bawled, struggling out from beneath him.

"Ralph!" James cried, getting up. "What's happening?"

Zane appeared next to Ralph, helping them both to their feet. "We have to get out of here," he said over the noise of the crowd. "This place is a mess, and we know Lily isn't here. Rose is waiting for us just inside the castle. Come on!"

"Where's Mum?" James called as the three threaded through the crowd.

"Your Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione took her inside as well," Zane answered. "George and Ted are already planning to search the castle. Since it's impossible to Disapparate from the school grounds, Lily must still be here somewhere."