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

"They come, Salazar," one of the cloaked wizards said. "They have sensed our summit. We must depart. Deal with the boy elsewhere."

"No," Slytherin said, still grinning. "They cannot reach us. The tower cannot be breached from outside by any means until the summit is ended. It is the magical law of the Sylvven Tower. Let us finish our work first, and then deal with my fellow founders. It is high time they realized the error they have made in plotting against me."

Voices emanated from below and there was another thump on the thick wood of the trapdoor. The magical lock rattled but held firm.

"Take your wand, James Potter," Slytherin said. "Let us finish this as wizards."

James firmed his resolve and stepped off the trapdoor. He'd heard the stories of how his father had faced off against Voldemort in very similar fashion. But as James had thought so many times before, he was not his father. James had no chance against the sheer malevolent power of Salazar Slytherin. Worse, there was no place to run or hide. The tower was too high to escape from. James didn't even know how to Disapparate. Shakily, he reached up for his wand. Slytherin released it, still smiling.

James cleared his throat as he backed away, holding his wand in front of him. "Do we bow first?" he asked.

"I bow to equals," Slytherin said, baring his teeth. "You may bow when you're dead." He swept his arm forward. "Avada Kedavra!"

James leapt again and the spell struck the throne with a blast of green sparks. A small, detached part of James' mind realized that he was making very good use of the physical techniques he'd learned in Professor Debellows' Defence Against the Dark Arts class. He almost groaned aloud.

"Use magic, not acrobatics, boy!" Slytherin taunted, shaking his sleeve back. "Let your corpse be the first thing my fellow founders see when they join us here! Face me and die with a shred of honor!"

James was terrified. He rolled on the wooden floor and scrambled up, waving his wand wildly. He pointed it, desperately trying to remember the incantation. It was one of the first he'd ever learned, but his mind was a complete blank.

"That's more like it!" Slytherin rasped, striding forward, coming to meet James. He held his wand casually before him, teasing James with it. "Do your worst, boy! Show me what they teach you in this fantasy time of yours! Do it now!"

James blurted the spell the moment it came into his head. Slytherin spoke his curse at exactly the same time. Both bolts exploded over the wooden floor, lighting it. Slytherin's green bolt pierced James' oversized robe, passing right through it and under James' outstretched arm, barely missing his body. James' yellow bolt struck the lock on the trapdoor. It unlocked with a burst of sparks and the door flew open, releasing a beam of light and the sound of voices.

"It's open!" someone cried. "Someone unlocked it from above! Beware a trap! Protego!"

Slytherin roared in fury. He pointed his own wand at the door, but it was too late. Figures ran up the stairs from below, wands at the ready. Spells exploded in all directions, illuminating the tower's peak like fireworks. James took the opportunity to dive behind the marble throne again. The air was suddenly full of the hiss and swirl of Slytherin's circle of nine Disapparating from the top of the tower. One of them remained long enough to approach James, flourishing his wand. He had a black goatee, which bristled as the man grinned.

"Nice trick, boy," he growled, "but we detest unfinished business."

James' reflexes had been sharpened by his duel with Slytherin. Even as the man finished speaking, James whipped his wand around and shouted, "Expelliarmus!"

There was a sharp crack and the man's wand shot from his hand, spinning into the darkness beyond the tower wall. The force of the spell pushed the man backwards. He stumbled and tripped on one of the terraces. With a roar of anger, he spun to see where his wand had gone. Realizing it was lost, he turned back, his hands hooked into claws and his face contorted with rage.

"Stupefy!" James cried, scrambling backwards, but his aim was off. The spell struck the stone floor to the man's right.

"You'll die for that, boy!" the man roared, pouncing like a beast.

There was a flash of purple light and the man screamed in mid-pounce. He landed hard in front of James' feet, bringing his face down hard enough to break his nose. James heard the crunch and grimaced. He scrambled to his feet, eyes wild, waving his wand crazily.

"Halt, boy!" a voice commanded. A hand suddenly grabbed James' wrist, bringing it up. James struggled against it for a moment, and then looked to see whose hand it was. Godric Gryffindor's stern, narrow features looked down at him.

"The battle is over, my friend," he said, releasing James' wrist. "Whoever you are, you are one extremely fortunate young wizard."

"He's not just a wizard," a woman's voice said, and there was a hint of an amused smile in it. James looked and saw Rowena Ravenclaw throw back the hood of her blue cloak. "He's the youngest cleric in the realm. And he's tussled with Salazar before."

"Where's he gone?" James suddenly asked, looking around the top of the tower.

"Vanished," Ravenclaw answered gravely. "Escaped. Assumed his true form and flown off."

"What's his true form?" James asked, shuddering as his adrenaline wore off.

"Rowena speaks facetiously," Helga Hufflepuff replied, approaching the tower's low wall and peering out into the darkness beyond. "Slytherin is an Animagus. She speaks of his animal self as his true form since she believes him unworthy of the title of human."

"Is he a snake?" James asked, joining Hufflepuff by the wall and peering down.

"Curiously, no," Gryffindor answered. "Salazar's true form is perhaps even more fitting, for he has proven himself to be similarly blind, nocturnal, and bloodthirsty. Salazar's Animagus is, in fact, a bat."

A groan reminded the assembly of the stricken man with the goatee. He rolled onto his back and struggled to sit up, one hand clapped over his nose.

"This man is no danger without his wand," Gryffindor said, "thanks to our quick-thinking friend here." To the man, he said, "I'd not attempt to Disapparate if I were you, Lord Morcant. That was more than a Bonelock Hex I cast on you. It was also a Lanyard Charm. You'd get no further than a stone's throw before being leashed, and I am told it can be rather painful."

"You broke my nose!" Morcant cried, showing them the palm of his hand. It was slick with blood. "I'll kill the lot of you! Return me my wand this instant!"

"I think not, my lord," Ravenclaw replied. "I suspect you won't hold a wand for quite some time. We have many questions for you, and it'd be best if you answered them."

"You'll torture me, will you?" Morcant spat, climbing to his feet. "I'm not afraid of what you'll do to me! I'll never speak. Do your worst!"

"We won't need to torture you," Hufflepuff said reasonably. "If you choose not to answer our interrogations, we shall simply let you go."

Morcant narrowed his eyes. "How dare you mock me? I know your kind! Your lies do not deceive me!"

"You know your kind, Morcant," Ravenclaw corrected politely, "and you assume everyone else is of like mind. We shall indeed release you if you refuse our questions, and we shall not harm a single hair on that fetching beard of yours. You should beware however; your release might result in some people getting the wrong impression. Some observers might interpret your unscathed release as a sign that you told us absolutely everything you know."

Gryffindor arched an eyebrow meaningfully. "Your associate, Salazar Slytherin, would not appreciate that, would he? He has been known to deal rather harshly with those who betray him."

"He would not believe such lies," Morcant scoffed. "He knows I am trustworthy. Besides, I am not afraid of him."