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

Harry nodded. "I will, Rose." He glanced at James and Albus, smiling proudly, and then he was gone. The coals reverted to a senseless strew.

"Sounds as if we made the right choice staying here," Albus commented, climbing to his feet. "I wonder what will happen to all of Granddad's things. What about his flying Ford?"

James sighed. "What's it matter? Granddad's the one that gave all those things any meaning. Without him, they're all just… stuff."

Albus glared at James but didn't seem to know what to say.

Rose stood up and brushed off her knees. "I'm sure your dad won't just throw it all away," she soothed. "Granddad spent years collecting those things. It's all part of our memory of him. Uncle Harry will find a place for it all."

"Nobody found a place for the Burrow," Albus said quietly. "Now it's empty, and pretty soon, it'll be torn down." There was no response to that. A moment later, Albus went on, "I'm heading back downstairs. I'll see you both tomorrow."

"Goodnight, Albus," Rose replied, nodding. As Albus disappeared through the portrait hole, Rose turned to James, her eyes sharp.

"Your voodoo doll's gone missing too! This could be serious!"

"You heard Dad. He says it's all right. He says they don't work like they do in the Muggle flicks. It's not like anyone who finds it can use it to pull my arms off or make me do things I don't want to do."

"Voodoo is a really secret art," Rose said, shaking her head. "And Madame Delacroix is one of the best voodoo witches there is. You don't know what that doll is capable of, and neither does your dad. Not really. You have to be really careful with things like that."

"What do you think I'm going to do, Rose? I can't just magically find the bloody thing. It probably did just fall down behind the headboard in Mum and Dad's room."

"I wouldn't be willing to take that chance if I was you," Rose said gravely. "Not until you know for sure what that doll is capable of."

"You make it sound like it's alive," James said, grinning a little nervously. Rose merely stuck her hands on her hips and cocked her head as if to say how do you know it's not?.

"I'll look into it," a voice said from behind Rose, causing her to jump a foot into the air.

"Zane Walker!" she cried, spinning and clutching her hand to her heart. "Stop doing that! You scared me half to death!"

"Sorry," Zane said, "it's hard to knock with Doppelganger hands. They just go right through things."

"Hey, Zane, Happy Christmas," James smiled, turning on the couch to face the half-transparent form. "You need a zap?"

"Yeah, if you don't mind. I'm managing this message all by myself. I didn't want anyone else to hear it."

James produced his wand and shot the ghostly figure of Zane with a Stinging Hex. The Doppelganger pulsed to something resembling a solid shape.

"So? Aunt Ginny tells us you were looking for us at the Burrow," Rose said crossly, plopping back onto the couch. "What's so important that you needed to interrupt us on Christmas Day?"

"I was worried about you," Zane said seriously. "I wanted to warn you, but then I found out that you'd stayed here at the school, and I knew everything would be all right. For now, at least."

James frowned. "What are you talking about? Why wouldn't we be safe? I mean, relatively speaking, considering the Gatekeeper is loose on the earth and all that."

Zane's face was very pale and grave. "Remember when we talked in the barn a couple of weeks ago? Rose, you told me all about how Merlin had been tricked by that guy, Hadyn, a thousand years ago. He said Merlin would get his fiancée back if he doubled Hadyn's lands and fortified his castle, making it so that Merlin himself couldn't even attack anyone inside it."

"Yeah," James said, shrugging. "So?"

"So, Merlin knows somebody broke into his office a few weeks ago. He knows that person zapped themselves into his Magic Mirror and probably found out some not-so-nice things about him. And Merlin probably knows that that person was you, James. So haven't you wondered why he hasn't said boo to you about any of it?"

"Well," James answered slowly, "like you said that day in the barn, if Merlin was evil, he'd have come for us. The fact that he hasn't must mean he isn't as bad as he could be. Maybe, somehow, he's on the good side after all, and he knows we are too. Maybe he's letting us go because he knows we're trying to help fight the Gatekeeper." Even as James said it, it sounded false to him. In his heart, he didn't believe it, but he couldn't think of any other reason that Merlin wouldn't have come for them.

Zane was shaking his head. "That's what I thought at the time. But then I thought about the conversation that happened between Slytherin and Merlin, back when he had you locked in his laboratory. You said that they talked about the deal Hadyn had tricked Merlin into making, and they made it pretty clear that Hogwarts is the castle Hadyn lived in when he made the deal. Don't you see what that means?"

Rose's eyes widened. "It means Hogwarts is the castle Merlin fortified. It can't be breached from outside," she said, nodding. "That would explain how even Voldemort and his forces were kept out for so long back during the battle. Merlin's protective spells were still in effect, although they were probably weakened a bit after a thousand years."

"It would also explain how the secret entrances just keep opening up again over time," James agreed, awed. "Like the one beneath the Whomping Willow! It's like the castle heals itself when it's been damaged! Merlin's magical fortifications are still at work after all these centuries! Even the new parts seem to have gotten it. Even the parts that were built after Merlin cast his spells over the castle! The new bits have inherited his protection!"

Zane was still shaking his head somberly. "You're still missing the most important part. We've been assuming that Merlin hadn't attacked you three because he was on your side or he was letting you figure things out for some reason. We'd assumed he was letting you go because he was essentially good. But we forgot the most interesting part of the deal Hadyn made with Merlin."

Rose suddenly gasped and covered her mouth. James' eyes widened, remembering. It had been right in front of him the whole time. Slytherin himself had said it, that night in his office a thousand years ago: you are unable to touch the hair of anyone residing within this castle, Slytherin had said, your threats are formidable, but fortunately, they are to no effect here.

"He can't hurt anyone inside the walls of the castle," James whispered. "It was the last part of Hadyn's deal, because Hadyn knew that Merlin would try to have his revenge on him. That's why Merlin had to wait until Hadyn was on a journey in his coach. Only then could Merlin attack him."

James looked at Rose. Her hand was still over her mouth and her face had entirely drained of color.

"May I be so bold as to suggest," Zane said, looking very meaningfully at both of them, "that none of you go on any journeys for the time being?"

James' first concern had been Ralph, who was indeed travelling over the holiday, staying with his dad at his flat in London. Zane assured them that he'd already been to see Ralph, warning him to keep his wand handy and try to never be alone.

"He wasn't very happy about it," Zane explained, "especially since his wand is a chunk of Merlin's staff. He thinks he won't be able to use it on Merlin if it comes down to it. He might be right too, but I didn't tell him that."

"But it's his wand now," Rose insisted. "He won it. It's his to use however he wishes."