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

"We were just trying it out," James explained. "It's called the Levicorpus jinx. I didn't know it'd take a counter-jinx to get him back down again."

"Hold on, Ralph!" Rose cried, wringing her hands in a parody of worry.

Debellows shook his head disgustedly. "This is exactly the reason I do not teach defensive magic to younger years," he snapped. "No concept whatsoever of the consequences. It's a good thing you didn't accidentally learn the Bat-Bogey Hex. That was a favorite in my day. Liberacorpus !" Debellows flicked his wand and Ralph spun upright. A moment later, he drifted clumsily to the floor.

"Whoa," Ralph said shakily. "Dizzy."

"I apologize, Professor Debellows," Scorpius called from the doorway. "It's my fault. I learned that jinx from my grandfather. I should've known better than to show anyone how to do it. I've certainly learned my lesson."

"I should hope so," Debellows said gruffly. "If I was a less gracious man, I'd subtract points from whatever your houses are, but I'll take your word for it that it'll never happen again." He pocketed his wand and turned to Rose. "You interrupted a perfectly good pipe, I'll have you know, young lady. But never mind. Are there any other magical mishaps I might address before I return to my quarters?"

All four students shook their heads enthusiastically.

"Thank you, Professor," Rose said breathlessly. "It really is a pleasure to see someone of your stature at work."

"Well," Debellows replied, smoothing his robes, "of course, I understand. Good evening, students. And like I said, don't call me 'Professor'. The name's Kendrick."

"Kendrick," Rose said, as if enthralled with the very syllables. "Thank you, sir. Goodnight."

When Debellows finally left, Scorpius came alongside Rose, James, and Ralph. "I think I'm going to be sick," he said.

"I'll say," Ralph agreed. "You were supposed to act appreciative, Rose. Not like you worshipped the ground under his feet."

"It was nothing," Rose replied as if she'd been complimented. "I mastered that technique years ago with my father."

James grinned. "You're a little scary, Rose. Come on! Let's get to the gym. Scorpius, how'd it go with Tabitha, Philia, and Albus?"

"As well as planned," Scorpius said, shrugging. "They believed my story the moment they saw Debellows march past. They won't be back."

James reached the door to the gym first. He yanked it open and stepped inside, lighting his wand. In the darkness, the club members sat in groups, whispering excitedly. They looked up as the four entered.

"All right," James said, holding his wand over his head. "Hi, everybody. Like I said a few minutes ago, we have an announcement today. After last week, there was a lot of talk about learning the three Unforgivable Curses. Scorpius is the teacher, so what we learn is up to him. But before we get to anything really scary powerful, we're going to get better at what we do know, and spend some time practicing the techniques Professor Debellows has been showing us in D.A.D.A."

"Why in the world would we do that?" Nolan Beetlebrick said, standing up. "I thought the whole point of this club was to learn the stuff he wasn't teaching us."

Scorpius answered, "The point of this club is to learn defensive techniques and become the best at them as we can. Some of you just want to learn a few quick incantations and curses? Be my guest. But if you think you'll be able to duel half as well as the rest of us after we've mastered the kind of skills Debellows showed us the other day, I think you'll end up very disappointed."

Ralph surprised James by speaking up. "I know it isn't very exciting to practice all the drills and exercises Debellows has showed us. That's why we're going to keep working on the spells and magic too. But James is right. We have to learn it all together. It's the only way we'll really be the best we can be. But maybe some of you aren't happy with that. If so, remember it's just a club, not a class. You can go anytime you want."

Nolan Beetlebrick was still on his feet. He saw that everyone was looking at him. He shuffled his feet a little. "So who's going to be teaching us this Artis Decerto stuff? Him?" he exclaimed, pointing at Scorpius. "I doubt his grandfather taught him any of that."

"No," James said, glancing at Scorpius. "We have another teacher for that. He didn't learn it himself, but he'll be working alongside someone who knows it very well. Together, they'll be leading that part of the club from now on."

"Yeah?" Beetlebrick said, putting his hands on his hips. "And who's that?"

"Me," a voice answered. Beetlebrick jumped and took a step backwards as two ghosts flitted through the wall next to him. "And her."

James smiled as Cedric moved into the center of the room, emanating his own soft light in the dark space. Next to him, the Grey Lady floated gently.

Beetlebrick sat down on the floor again, staring in awe at Cedric and the tall, pale woman.

Rose cleared her throat. "Maybe it'd be helpful if you explained a little background, Cedric."

Cedric glanced back at Rose and nodded. "Of course," he said to the assembled club members. "I'm Cedric Diggory, and I guess you all know who she is. This is the Grey Lady. She says she'd prefer that I not tell any of you her real name. But the point is she knows Artis Decerto. Apparently, it was common for ladies to learn the defensive arts in her time, and… well, her mother thought it might be very helpful for her to be very well-trained."

The Grey Lady spoke in a thin, faraway voice. "I was tutored under the very best teacher of martial magic in the world. He confided that I was one of his most gifted pupils."

Most of those in the room had seen the Grey Lady flitting morosely around the halls, but few had ever heard her voice. Graham Warton raised his hand tentatively. "Who was it that taught you Artis Decerto, Miss?"

The Lady looked at him and tilted her head slightly. "My father. He invented the art."

"Look," Beetlebrick said, "I don't mean any disrespect, but I have to ask. If you were all that great at dodging spells and curses like Debellows did the other day, then how did you end up getting killed so young?"

The Grey Lady seemed unperturbed by Beetlebrick's question. She opened her ghostly shawl, revealing the front of her dress. An ugly knife wound stained the dress, still as red as the day it had been inflicted. "As you can see," she answered, "it wasn't a spell that killed me."

James leaned toward Rose. "You've got your wish, Rose," he whispered. "We've got a woman teaching us Artis Decerto after all."

"I'm really enjoying the new stuff we're learning in Defence Club, James," Cameron Creevey said as he followed James down the stairs late Saturday morning. "Whoever would have thought that the Grey Lady had a seventh-degree mastery of martial magic! She always seemed so calm and feeble, didn't she? And with Cedric Diggory's ghost helping her teach, I mean, wow! Who would have thought it!"

"Yeah, Cameron," James said, walking as fast as he could. "I'm glad you like the club."

They passed a group of older students by the main doors, all of whom were dressed in jeans and jumpers or jackets, babbling excitedly. Professor McGonagall stood at the head of the queue, accepting and inspecting the small parchments each student handed her.

"Yes, yes, Mr. Metzker, no point in making a show of it," she said as Noah flourished his permission slip. "Off you go. And if I catch you with any more of those awful Peruvian ballistic beans, it'll be more than deducted House points, I can assure you. Who's next?"

"Pity you can't come, James," Damien called as James pushed past the queue, heading out into the courtyard. "Hogsmeade weekends being only for third-years and older, you know." He waggled his eyebrows and grinned. Sabrina elbowed him in the stomach.