James Potter And The Morrigan Web (41 page)

“Chase that one!” Scorpius cried, pointing at the snake and lunging after the streaming water.

“Are you crazy!?” James replied.

“Go!” Zane gasped, pressing a hand to his side. “I’ll stay with Lil. I’m all chased out after hearing you guys screaming like banshees and running around to find you! Go, go, go!”

James nodded, feeling dazed and off-kilter. He began to run after the retreating snake.

As he chased it into a new corridor, he heard the monstrous creature’s slithering retreat. Great, swooping scrapes betrayed its location as it slipped down a shallow staircase. James ran toward it, asking himself at every step what he would do if he caught it.

He reached the staircase and was dismayed to see that it ended in an enclosed landing with only a single narrow door-- a mop closet most likely. The snake was nowhere in sight. James stopped, considering his options. His heart pounded like a kettle drum in his ears.

He began to inch down the stairs, straining his eyes in the darkness for any sign of the snake. It had to have gone into the closet. But how? Snakes couldn’t turn door knobs. Could they?

James fumbled with his wand, clutched it in his fist, and pointed it low at the door. With a trembling hand, he reached out, touched the doorknob, and drew a deep, shaking breath. Finally, as hard as he could, he wrenched the door open. It banged sharply against the outer wall.

Huddled in the bottom of the closet, shaking and slicked with sweat, was Nastasia. She looked up at James with her eyes.

Slowly, dumbfounded, he lowered his wand.

“Don’t tell anybody,” she said, dropping her eyes again. “And I’ll tell you everything.”

Stunned speechless, James pocketed his wand. He reached down and took Nastasia’s hand, helping her to her feet. She trembled violently, her purple hair matted into a wild strew. Slowly, they made their way back up the stairs.

“Well doesn’t this just complete the picture,” a voice growled lividly as they emerged into the corridor. “Look, Mrs. Norris. Two more mice for the trap.”

James looked up, unsurprised, to see Filch standing before him, his clothes sopping wet from his encounter with the floor, his cane pointed firmly in their direction. Before him, Scorpius, Zane and Lily stood miserably. Mrs. Norris purred luxuriously as she circled their feet, hemming them in. Lily met James’ eyes with abject terror, pleading with him silently.

“Well now,” Filch said thoughtfully, cocking his head to one side, a hateful grimace cinching the corner of his mouth. “I wonder if it’s too early… to wake the headmaster?”

As it turned out, rather unsettlingly, the Headmaster was already awake. Grudje sat placidly behind his desk, fully dressed, mildly surveying Filch and the students as they filed into the circular office. The hearth was dark and cold, leaving the room pearly grey as dawn seeped into the sky beyond the single window.

Filch nodded curtly, triumphantly, glancing from the headmaster to the line of students, as if no explanation was necessary. Indeed, Grudje asked no questions, merely looked calmly from face to face, seeming to catalogue each for future reference.

“They had
this
with them,” Filch growled, stepping toward the headmaster’s desk and dropping a mass of damp cloth onto its corner.

“I see,” Grudje nodded slowly. “The famed Invisibility Cloak. Indeed, rather damning. Your vigilance is commendable, Mr. Filch.”

“I’d not have caught them at all if not for your special, er,
gift
, Headmaster,” Filch brandished his cane and smiled thinly at the students. “They
Stunned
me, I’ll have you know. Fortunately, in the end, they were no match for Mrs. Norris and I. In decades past, rapscallions such as these would have gone unapprehended
and
unpunished.”

“Mr. Grudje,” Zane spoke up, addressing the headmaster. “Filch doesn’t know the whole story. We can explain! There was this watery lady --”

“Quiet yourself, young man,” Grudje interrupted gently, rising from his chair. His stringy grey hair hung against his sallow cheeks as he turned, stepping toward the window. “This is not the Wizengamot. Your testimony is neither required nor desired. Mr. Caretaker, have you explained to the students your rather expanded powers?”

Filch glanced quickly back at the students. “Well. No sir. Not as such. I didn’t think… that is, I thought it might be better if… surprise being the preferred…”

“Relax, my friend,” Grudje said, raising a calm hand. “There is no wrong answer. No technicalities upon which your quarry will slip through your grasp. And yet, with the capture of these unfortunate miscreants, I believe the time for secrecy has passed. Students,” Grudje turned and looked back at Zane, Nastasia, Lily, Scorpius and James. “You are now aware that your dear caretaker, bereft these many years of the powers required to fully occupy his post, has now been equipped and deputized by myself to do everything necessary to maintain order and discipline within these walls.”

“But,” Lily said in a tiny voice. “Magic doesn’t work that way, does it? You can’t just give a wand to someone without magic and expect it to work.”

“Very astute, Ms. Potter,” Grudje replied encouragingly. “As such, you surely know that the spells employed by Mr. Filch are not his own. The magic of your caretaker’s cane is
my
magic. I would urge you not to test its limits. But onto business. Mr. Caretaker, if I am not mistaken, two of these individuals are not, in fact, Hogwarts students.”

“No, sir,” Filch grumbled reluctantly, eyeing Zane and Nastasia. “They’ve abused their privileges, sneaking onto Hogwarts property by means of those damned cabinets. You’ll recall that it was my recommendation that their doors be guarded at all times.”

“In any case,” the headmaster nodded indulgently, “these two are not our jurisdiction. Please see that they are escorted back to their proper school once we are through. I will speak directly to their chancellor and assure that their misdeeds are addressed in an appropriate manner.”

“Headmaster,” James said nervously, stepping forward. “We really need to explain what we saw tonight. We’ll accept whatever punishment you give us, but this is really important.”

Grudje met James’ eyes for a long moment, his gaze utterly inscrutable. Finally, he spread his hands and bowed his head slightly. “Go ahead, Mr. Potter,” he said with silky magnanimity. “You have the floor.”

James drew a deep breath, glancing quickly back at the others. Scorpius glared at him severely and shook his head. Lily’s eyes were still wide with terror. Nastasia looked away, her face as pale as a gravestone.

“We were out after hours,” James admitted, turning back to Grudje. “And we were using the Invisibility Cloak. Filch is right. He caught us, fair enough. But there was something else. All of us saw it…”

Clumsily but thoroughly, James described the watery woman; her appearance out of the mysterious puddle, her attempted abduction of Lily, and her furious battle with the snake. Lily nodded her corroboration, shuddering at the memory. Zane and Scorpius offered their own details, explaining how the battle had ended, the liquefaction of the water woman, her escape down the grate, and the fleeing of the giant snake.

Nastasia merely stared into the dark fireplace, as if wishing it were lit and she had a handful of Floo powder, desperate to transport herself somewhere else--
anywhere
else.

James did not tell what he knew about her and the snake.

Grudje listened, his grey face showing merely polite patience. When the tale was finished, he nodded to himself and drew a deep breath. “Mr. Caretaker,” he said, returning to his desk. “Please escort the Alma Aleron students to their cabinet. The other three will then accompany you to your office. I trust you to implement their discipline as you see fit.”

Filch’s face creased into a tight smile. “Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.”

“But wait a minute,” Scorpius interjected, his brow lowering. “Aren’t you going to do anything about what we saw? Someone broke into the school and nearly got away with a student!”

“Mr. Malfoy,” Grudje replied smoothly, seating himself creakily behind his desk. “I assure you, we are all quite safe. I would encourage you to be rather more concerned about your discipline.”

“We all saw her!” James insisted, approaching Grudje’s desk. “You can’t just ignore that!”

The headmaster turned toward Filch, “Tell me, Mr. Caretaker, did you see this mysterious figure?”

Filch’s smile cinched a notch tighter. “No, Headmaster. I certainly did not.”

Grudje nodded approvingly. “Very well. And did you, perchance, encounter any evidence of a breakin?”

“None apart from the unlocked Great Hall doors, sir,” Filch replied, raising his chin. “No doubt the work of these two invaders.”

“There you have it,” Grudje gestured toward Filch. “It seems that there was indeed a breakin. Fortunately, the perpetrators have been quite handily captured by our tireless caretaker. I see no more cause for concern.”

Lily stepped forward, joining her brother before the desk. “But she tried to take me! She was made of water! If it hadn’t been for that giant snake…!”

For the first time, Grudje’s face displayed emotion; James saw anger rise into the headmaster’s eyes, whitening his already pale cheeks. “Ms. Potter,” he said coolly, quietly, “I am disappointed to see that you have adopted your brother’s penchant for seeking attention via elaborate stories. Or perhaps you are merely a willing accomplice and this is all his idea? Frankly, I find either option distasteful in the extreme.”

James stared at the headmaster in shock. “But… we didn’t make any of it up!” he exclaimed. “We all saw it! Why would we invent something so horrible?”

“Why indeed?” Grudje concurred. “I suspect it is a family trait, passed on from father to son. And now, unfortunately, to daughter as well. This, you may as well know, is what the caretaker will be implementing punishment for. Not the mere sneaking out after hours. Under previous headmasters, your outlandish stories have been allowed to take root, to foment fear and panic, all so that you may assume some sense of importance. You wish for fame, Mr. Potter, like your father before you. He had his basilisk; you have your mysterious giant snake. He had his Lord Voldemort. You have your Lady of the Lake.” He arched his eyebrows as James’ face paled. “Yes, Mr. Potter, I know of the stories you have told in the wake of last summer’s events. Profiting from the unfortunate accidental death of your own cousin. Others may tolerate your wild tales, calling them delusion or shock, but I know a plain liar when I meet one, Mr. Potter. You, I fear, are beyond hope. Your young sister, however… may not be so far gone.”

Grudje turned to Filch again. “A change of plan, Mr. Caretaker,” he announced. “Do not punish Mr. Potter after all. There is no point, as you can see. He is unteachable. Rather, add his punishment to his sister’s, and see to it that he watches. Perhaps she may yet learn not to emulate his mistakes, and he may understand the consequences of involving her in them.”

Lily’s hand suddenly gripped James’, squeezing so hard he could feel it tremble.

“You can’t do that!” James exclaimed, at exactly the same moment that Zane proclaimed the same thing.

“I assure you that I can,” Grudje said, a note of smugness creeping into his voice as he dismissed them.

Filch began to herd the students toward the door, a tight, merciless smile still etched on his face. James shook his head, refusing to go. He approached the headmaster’s desk directly and leaned on it with both hands.

“I’ll tell my dad,” he said furiously.

Grudje looked up at him, his eyebrows rising inquisitively. “Will you?” he replied thoughtfully. “Yes, perhaps you should. The elder Potter would indeed be quite unhappy about these events. And yet you may be interested to know that, as a parent of students at this school, both your mother and father have legally granted me the freedom to maintain order as I see fit. This includes disciplinary actions. In short, I am not only acting on behalf of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, but on behalf of your parents. They may indeed decide they cannot support my methods, but that would place them in breach of our agreement, and that, I fear, would necessarily require your removal from this school. Perhaps you would prefer that?”

James’ face burned red with anger and confusion. Was the headmaster telling the truth? Had his parents made an agreement with Hogwarts to support whatever disciplines the headmaster doled out? Could he, James, truly afford to be removed from Hogwarts while there were so many dodgy and dangerous things going on?

Grudje seemed to sense what James was thinking. He allowed a very small smile. “Come, Mr. Potter,” he beckoned softly. “I can light the fire in my grate. We can contact your father immediately. Surely he is awake by now, preparing for his oh-so-important work as head Auror? Why, with any luck you may be comfortably returned to your home in Marble Arch this very evening. Shall we, Mr. Potter? Let us not keep the others waiting.”

James was frozen with indecision. Next to him, Lily trembled. She leaned close to him and whispered, “Please, don’t James. We can’t leave Hogwarts! I… I can handle this.”