“Keep looking, keep looking- What could Fred mean?” James sighed angrily as he tossed the letter from Lily and Fred onto his bed in Gryffindor Tower. Alex shook his head.
“I don’t know. Did he say anything before he left about looking for something?” Alex asked.
“No! That’s the problem. He’s telling me to keep looking for something, and I don’t even know what I’m looking for!” James said, sitting down on his bed, facing Alex.
“Would anyone else know?” Alex continued. “I mean, would Roxanne know anything?”
“Doubt it,” James replied. Roxanne and Fred were very close, but even she didn’t know what her brother was up to. No one in James’s family knew where Fred was, or what he was doing. Well, James thought, maybe his parents, aunts, and uncles knew, but not him.
He and Alex left their dormitory and walked down to the common room, and began a game of wizard’s chess. It was during lunch, so James and Alex had nothing else to do. They found Lyra sitting in a chair by the fireplace, reading a book. James gasped when he saw the author of the book.
“Lyra,” James stammered. “Who wrote that book?” He wanted to make sure that what he was seeing was real.
“Oh,” Lyra sighed. “Someone names F.A.E. I just borrowed this from the library, and there’s no information about the author in the book.”
James stared at the book.
“Something wrong?” Lyra continued, closing her book.
“Nothing,” James shrugged, but Alex groaned.
“Listen, mate,” Alex sighed. “We know when you’re not telling us something. Spill it.”
“Fine. Two years ago, when you were kidnapped, I was in the Room of Requirement, and, well- I found this letter from F.A.E addressed to me-” James began, but Alex scoffed.
“Why didn’t you tell us?” Lyra asked.
“Because…I-I didn’t want to make things more confusing!” James stammered. “Alex and Molly were missing, I was trying to help- this stupid letter didn’t really help me with anything at all, I kept it just in case!”
“You still have it, then?” Alex continued. James nodded, and without saying a word, he went to his dormitory and retrieved the letter. He handed it to Alex, who let Lyra read over his shoulder. When Alex and Lyra had both finished reading, Alex handed the letter back to James.
“That makes no sense, mate,” Alex sighed. “You saved all of us- me, Molly, the other kids- I just don’t get it.”
“I know,” Lyra continued. “But it’s not like we can find F.A.E for help; like they said, they’ll probably be dead by the time you read it, James, and that was two years ago.”
James nodded, and folded the letter up, placing it in his pocket.
“We could go to the library,” Alex offered. “Maybe there’s something there about who F.A.E is.”
“There won’t be,” James guessed, picking up Lyra’s book. “If there isn’t anything in a book that F.A.E wrote, there won’t be anything else.”
Alex and Lyra sighed in agreement.
“Might as well try, then?” Alex said, standing up. He glanced at Lyra, who got up as well.
“Come on, James,” Lyra smiled faintly, grabbing James by the arm and practically dragging him to the library with her and Alex.
“Listen, I’ll go over there and look where I found this book- you two, start searching for F.A.E,” Lyra instructed, before casually walking over the a few shelves in the front of the library. Alex and James sighed simultaneously, but they walked by every shelf in the library, searching for F.A.E. They were unlucky.
James had just suggested that they sit down at one of the desks, when Lyra came bustling over to them with an armful of books. She slammed them down on the table, which earned her a glare from Madam Pince, and shoved the top one in front of James and Alex.
“Look!” she said, pointing to the title. “Time-Traveling Magic, by F.A.E.”
“Time travel?” Alex asked skeptically. “You don’t think F.A.E time traveled to give James that letter, do you?” Lyra squinted at Alex, and then rolled her eyes.
“Actually, no. It’s not the title of the book that caught my eye, or the fact that it’s by F.A.E. Look at this-” Lyra sighed, as she opened the book hastily and searched for a page. She stopped turning at page five-hundred and sixty-two, which contained rather small print, and a large picture of a simple box, with funny letters on the top: the same one that James had found in the Room of Requirement in his third year that had held the letter from F.A.E.
James pulled the book towards him, and began reading aloud, but only so Alex and Lyra could hear.
“ ‘Although the subject of Time Travel is not an easy one for most magical folk to grasp, or even consider, Time Travel is one of the most talked about among magical scholars. Even in the Muggle world, Time Travel is always searched for. Here, in the wizarding world, traveling through time has been proven possible.
With the aid of a Time Turner, both the rarest and most useful, one may turn the device and go back in time for how even long, before their time runs out. Although this is the most useful, it is also one of the most dangerous, since wizards and witches alike seek to change their past, or another’s.
Another form that has not even been spoken of until now is the use of sending objects into either the future or past. Although sending creatures or people is dangerous and out of the question, objects (such as trinkets, symbolic item, etc.) have made it through the ages perfectly.
There are various spells to use when attempting to perform this second method, although the most common is ‘Portandum Ante’ for sending items to the future, or (if sending to the past), one replaces ‘ante’ with ‘retro’. Concentration is the key to success, and-’ ”
Here, James stopped reading abruptly. Lyra seemed satisfied, and closed the book and took it from James.
“See what I mean?” she smirked.
“Very well, you’ve made your point,” Alex grumbled. “Sure, that’s on the top of the box James found, but what does it have to do with us?”
“Don’t you see?” James said suddenly, turning to face his friends. “F.A.E used this…method to send me the letter in the box. Whoever F.A.E is, they couldn’t come in person because the spell was too tricky and dangerous, so instead, they sent a letter. How they knew everything that was going on then, in third year- I don’t know. But at least we know how I got the letter.”
Alex stared at James in disbelief, but Lyra continued.
“Exactly. And I bet F.A.E. knew what was happening because of a Time Turner,” she said.
Alex shook his head, and gestured to the other books.
“I think you’re both mad. And what are these others for, then?” he said.
“In every book,” Lyra grumbled, opening a page of each book (which all happened to be about time) there was at least one paragraph in each book that said something about a ‘key to success’.
“Well, that’s a coincidence,” Alex sighed, obviously bored.
“What you’re both missing,” Lyra continued, now frustrated with Alex’s bad mood, “is that in none of these books is F.A.E’s full name. It’s always an abbreviation. So we don’t know anything about the author.”
This seemed to just occur to Alex, as well, who grunted and rubbed his forehead. James propped his head up with one of the books Lyra had set down before him.
“Well, then all we’ve found out is that F.A.E used that spell to send the letter,” Alex sighed.
“It’s a start,” Lyra offered.
“I suppose so,” Alex nodded, yawning. “Now can we get out of here? I feel like I’m getting too attached to this library.”
James was walking the halls on a calm Saturday morning a week later. With his wand in his left robe pocket, and the letter from F.A.E in his right, James walked alone. He realized that in over a week or so, he and Molly had spoken rarely and in a few sentences; most of the time, James was with Lyra and Alex. He despised the fact that Molly, a Gryffindor, had the nerve to hang around with Slytherins, like Fletcher Reed and his crew. James could perhaps put aside the House rivalry, but the fact that the Slytherins Molly was with were Reed and company, James couldn’t stand it one bit. James also realized that since Violet Walker had returned last year, he’d barely spoken to her. She had tried to talk to James, but then, either Molly, Alex, or Lyra had walked over, and Violet had left.
Fred and Lily had not contacted him since their letter, and Albus was off with his friends, and their younger sister Lily with hers. Alex was ‘supposedly’ sleeping, according to Skander and Liam, who James had run into in the Defense Against the Dark Arts hall; Lyra was in the Owlery, catching up on replying to letters. Roxanne and her friend Fey were in the Great Hall, studying for an exam, yet James was left alone.
He eventually found his way to the Charms hall, making his second trip past all of the classrooms. James had just past Professor Lovegood’s room when James heard her familiar voice.
“James, won’t you come in? I have to speak with you,” Luna called from somewhere in her room. James entered, and found Luna standing by a few of the desks, gesturing for him to follow her into her office. She told him to sit down across from her, and after fumbling about in a pile of papers, Luna Lovegood handed James the newest Daily Prophet.
“Erm, what is it, Professor?” James asked, pulling the paper to him.
“Take a look,” Luna replied, pointing at the front page, and the large picture beneath a headline, reading ‘Radical Leader Eric Jackson Spotted in London’, with Eric’s picture beside it. James was taken aback at how much older Eric looked, compared to the last time he saw him.
“Professor,” James began, stuttering, “I don’t know what you want me to do about this.”
Luna nodded and smiled faintly, before pointing to a sentence in the paragraph below the picture of Eric.
“ ‘Professor Emry Lucas, who taught Potions at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry until his recent suspension, has been spotted with Radical Eric Jackson. Jackson, 15, has disappeared from public view until now. The former friend and trusted ally of James Potter, 15, vanished from Hogwarts after the siege at the school two years ago. After kidnapping Ms. Violet Walker, a fifth-year Slytherin (who has just returned to school last year, and who is safe presently), Jackson fled. Although his whereabouts at that time two years ago are still unknown, the question now arises: where was he with the Radicals? And, another more recent question: what is the cause of Professor Lucas’ suspension?
Undercover reporters have told us that the Stand-In Minister of Magic, Darius Kaftan, suspects Lucas of teaching Hogwarts students of the Radicals, urging them to turn to the other side, the side of the enemy. Lucas has been suspended for nearly a month, as of yesterday, and Potions classes have been taught by other teachers. However, Professor Lucas was seen with Eric Jackson. The dilemma that our reporters have found is that Jackson was seen Stunning the professor.
Is the Potions teacher alright? Are the Radicals behind this supposed kidnapping? And does this have anything to do with James Potter, and the revival of the Dark Lord?
We may not know until it is too late, but until that moment, we urge anyone with news to contact the Prophet as soon as possible.’”
James read the small column, and looked at Luna, his mouth open in shock.
“Lucas has been kidnapped?” James said quietly. He was angry at Eric, his sworn enemy, and at stupid Darius Kaftan for ordering Lucas’ suspension from Hogwarts. Luna nodded.
“Sadly, yes,” Luna replied, as if she was struggling to stay awake. She paused for a moment, and then, continuing on in her dreamy voice, she said, “James, I am going to tell you this on my own accord. Professor McGonagall has suggested I tell you this, but at the time, she wanted you to find out in your seventh year. It’s a shame, you know; if you were older you would have been able to do more.”
“What do you mean?” James asked, pushing the newspaper away from him, as if it were deadly.
“In your third year, the year that everything here seemed to go…back to normal, if you will,” Luna smiled slightly. Of course, nothing could ever be too happy at Hogwarts; there always had to be a problem, and someone to fix it. “After Miss Walker was kidnapped, various students were injured in the battle inside and out of the school against the Radicals, and after Voldemort somehow revealed himself to you-”
“-I don’t know how he did that,” James stammered, remembering the young Tom Riddle telling James that he was Voldemort, how a piece of his destroyed wand allowed him to appear once.
“I know,” Luna sighed. “After all of those things happened, McGonagall told me in secrecy that you would have to find the…weak spot behind the Radicals, that you would need a link. Your friend, Mister Jackson, is that link. You must find him, James.”
“I know!” James said, anxiously. “I told Neville- that is, Professor Longbottom- that last year, when Violet came back! But he wouldn’t let me go.”
“Neville is only looking out for your safety, just as your parents would,” Luna explained.
“Fine.”
“James, you must be misinterpreting me: you must go in search of Mister Jackson as soon as possible.”
“Now?” James gaped. Luna nodded sadly and slowly.
“You must go alone. I am telling you all of this so that you know what you are facing.”
“I knew what I was facing the moment Eric pointed his wand at me,” James grumbled. Luna nodded, and folded the newspaper up and put it inside a drawer in her desk.
“Alright. James, did you know what a Wrackspurt is?” Luna said. James stared at her for a moment in confusion and disbelief.
“A what?”
“Never mind. I thought I felt one zooming around here.” Luna continued, “It is to my knowledge that you leave at once.”
“Now?” James repeated.
“That is what ‘at once’ means, James.”
James sat in silence, staring at the Daily Prophet’s cover, and the picture of Eric darting around a corner in London.
“Now, if you don’t mind,” Luna said after a pause, “I must deliver a few letters to Professor Dawes. I will see you off at the Astronomy Tower in five minutes.”
Luna stood up, and after piling up a few papers in her arms, she left the classroom and into the silent corridor. James sat at the desk for a moment, just lost in thought.
He had to go in search of Eric in five minutes? Alone? He thought of his father. Harry had never done anything completely alone; he’d always had Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron there, and even James’ own mother, Ginny. The choices Harry made were all his own. The choice James had to make was his own, as well, but it was as if Luna was expecting him to look for Eric. James felt he had no choice in the matter.
However, James left the classroom, and walked briskly back to Gryffindor Tower. James was up in his dormitory packing his Quidditch bag when there was a knock on the door. James quickly stood in front of his bag.
“What’re you doing?” Alex asked cautiously, standing in the doorway.
“Nothing.”
“Sure,” Alex laughed. “As if James Potter is never doing ‘nothing’.” Alex took a step around James and opened the bag. James couldn’t do anything about what Alex saw, so he stood there nervously.
“Going somewhere?” Alex asked as he filed through a few of the things James had packed.
“You could say that.”
“Somewhere that you’ll need the letter from F.A.E? Oh, and don’t forget the letter from Lily and Fred…what’s this? The Marauder’s Map! Blimey, James, where are you going?” Alex asked, turning to James again.
“Nowhere.”
“Right. James Potter doing nothing and going nowhere.”
“That’s it,” James replied, avoiding Alex’s gaze. Alex sat down on his bed, and watched as James slowly continued adding the last few items to his bag.
“Come off it, James, just tell me,” Alex urged. “I promise I won’t go tell any teachers.”
“Fine,” James grumbled before sitting down and relaying all that Professor Lovegood had told him to Alex. Alex’s eyes widened as James neared the end.
“You’re leaving? First Lucas leaves on suspension, now you? Blimey, Lyra and Molly are going to kill you!” Alex exclaimed.
“I’m leaving, Alex, and that’s that!” James sighed angrily. He knew that he was far beyond five minutes. He hastily shoved his father’s Invisibility Cloak into the bag, placed his wand in his pocket (James had changed out of his Hogwarts clothes and into muggle clothing), and turned back to face Alex.
“But you’re going alone,” Alex said. He looked so betrayed that James felt he had to say something more.
“I know. Tell Lily and Albus I’ll see them soon, yeah?” James nodded. He was just at the dormitory door when Alex coughed.
“Wait!” he cried out, before pulling a large knapsack from underneath his bed. He quickly threw a few items in: two pairs of socks, a Gryffindor hat, another shirt, a quill and a tiny bottle of ink, parchment, and clean underwear. Then, Alex began changing out of his Hogwarts robes and into muggle clothing, as well. All the while, James waited patiently at the door.
He and Alex were just opening the door when they drew back in surprise.
“Going somewhere, you two?” Molly said, raising her eyebrows.
“Just going…on a hike,” Alex stammered.
“At ten o’clock?” Lyra asked, squinting her eyes. “Honestly, we could hear you two bickering from the common room. Thankfully, no one else is in Gryffindor Tower now.”
“Exactly. So, tell us,” Molly continued. James and Alex glanced at each other quickly, and refused to speak. Lyra sighed, and she and Molly drew their wands simultaneously.
“Fine! We’ll tell you!” Alex sputtered out, his hands raised above his head.
He and James told Molly and Lyra the plan, but they remained emotionless. Once James finished, Molly rolled her eyes.
“So you were going to find Eric, if everything went alright, and walk into a place full of Radicals by yourselves? Please,” Molly laughed darkly. “Come on, Lyra. We’d better start packing.”
“B-but Lovegood told me to go alone!” James said quietly, annoyed that his friends were slowing him down. Luna was probably waiting to send them all off; what would she do when she saw three other students had come with him?
Quickly, Lyra and Molly reappeared, dressed as muggles as well, wands in hand, and knapsacks slung over their shoulders. In silence, the four of them made it down the various corridors until they came to the Astronomy Tower entrance. As Lyra, Molly, and Alex walked up the winding staircase, James thought of Albus and Lily- his brother and sister wouldn’t see him until…Well, until he either died in search of Eric, or came back to Hogwarts. He thought of Violet, how the two of them had barely spoken since she returned last year with the Radicals’ symbol (what they called the Burn) tattooed on her arm, red and gold flames with an emerald and black phoenix in the center of the fire. Then came thoughts of Roxanne, Katie Martin, Skander, Liam, Rose, Hugo, his other cousins and friends- even his own parents.
Everything was about to change. He realized that he had packed no money, and that Alex, Molly, and Lyra probably hadn’t either. This meant that they’d have to stop at Gringott’s at some point. Oh, and his broomstick, locked away in the Gryffindor locker room! How were they to travel?
“James? Are you coming or not?” Lyra called from the top of the stairs. James began sprinting up the stairs, taking two at a time, until he reached his friends at the top, and out of breath. He saw Alex and Molly arguing with Luna by one of the telescopes, as Lyra gave James a pat on the back for sprinting up all of the stairs.
“Come on, Professor, James can’t go alone!” Molly begged. Luna shook her head, and although she looked upset, her dreamy voice sounded the same.
“Professor McGonagall won’t like it. Four students searching for Radicals? One is bad enough. Those wrackspurts must have gotten to you, James,” Luna said. James didn’t quite know what a wrackspurt was, but he nodded anyway.
“Please, Professor. I wanted to do this alone, but if they want to help, I suppose it’s alright,” James said, regaining his breath again. Luna eyed him closely.
“If you want them to come, I suppose so,” she said. Molly, Lyra, and Alex grinned happily. “I’ll think of something to tell the Headmistress. Now, you’re going to be using a Portkey to get to London, since that was where Mister Jackson was last seen.”
Luna pulled a rusty doorknob out of one of her pockets, handing it to Lyra, who was closest.
“I’ve delayed the transporting time already, so all of you, hold on now. Be careful. Stay safe, and write when you can. Stay undiscovered. Oh, and James-” Luna sighed, as the doorknob began glowing blue, “-if you see your cousin along the way, give him my best.”
James barely took hold of the doorknob when he felt a strange sensation, as if he were spinning inside of a whirlpool. He shut his eyes tightly, and as he heard Lyra and Molly occasionally scream, he tried not to think about what was happening. Eventually, the spinning came to a rather sudden end, and James found himself on his stomach in the middle of a field. After regaining control again, James stood up to look around.
They were in a field, but just over the nearby fence there was a dirt road leading to what looked like a tiny village. James waited for his friends to stand up as well, before speaking.
“Anyone know where we are?” he asked. Molly, Lyra, and Alex all shook their heads.
“Lovegood didn’t say anything about where we were going,” Lyra sighed. Her hand was still tightly clutched around the doorknob, and she tossed it to the ground. “Won’t be much use to us anymore.”
“Alright, I’m glad that’s over with,” Alex grumbled, glancing distastefully at the now normal-looking knob. Everyone nodded in agreement.
“Why don’t we follow that road, there?” James said, pointing over the fence. “Lovegood must’ve sent us here for a reason.”
“True,” added Molly. “Maybe we can ask for a map or something.”
So the foursome set off at a quick pace towards the dirt road. They climbed over the old wooden fence, and after walking for a few minutes, houses started appearing more frequently. James realized that they must be getting close to some town, but he had no idea of what it was. Eventually, they arrived in what seemed to be a town square.
“There,” Lyra said, pointing to her right, “that looks like a post office. We can ask where we are.”
Lyra led the way into the tiny office, and rang a little bell at the counter. Within seconds, an old man with grey hair, glasses, and funny-looking suspenders came out to greet them. He smiled when he saw Lyra, and spoke in a quivering, quiet voice.
“How may I help you?”
“We’ve just arrived here,” Lyra said, in a voice that was uncommon to the way she spoke around James. “We didn’t see any signs on our way into town- would you mind telling us where we are?”
The old man eyed James and Alex suspiciously, and replied slowly.
“Clovelly, in Devon. Where are your parents?” he sighed. Lyra glanced nervously at Molly, before smiling sweetly. James caught the man glaring at him, and quickly looked away.
“They’re meeting us here,” Lyra laughed nervously. However, the old man nodded, and said goodbye before returning to the back of his store. As James, Molly, Lyra, and Alex departed and stepped out onto the cobblestone street again, Alex shook his head.
“I don’t like him,” Alex said, jerking his head at the post office. “He’s shady, he is. Anyway, I say we get out of here as soon as we can.”
“Alex is right,” James continued. “There was something weird about him; did you see how he was looking at us? All shady-like.”
Molly laughed darkly.
“Yeah, I did. Anyway, at least we know where we are. Now we should start looking for Eric,” she said, looking around the empty town square.
“Oh, by all means,” Alex sighed dramatically, “let’s go looking for the people who want to kill us!”
James smiled, and he began walking up one of the side streets, since he could see some cottages up the hill in the distance. Molly and Lyra were talking behind him, and he could tell by their voices that the two of them were nervous about the town. Alex drew his wand, but kept it hidden under his jacket, so muggles couldn’t see. They were almost to the top of the hill when a raspy voice called out to them.
“You there, children!” the voice called, and James turned quickly, preparing to draw his wand.
James stopped when he saw that the raspy old voice was coming from an elderly woman, with snow-white hair and a black cloak. He assumed that she was magical, since hardly any muggles wore cloaks. She waved her hand, and as she entered her house, James took a few steps forward. Lyra placed a hand on his shoulder, stopping him.
“I wouldn’t do that,” she whispered. “We don’t know what side she’s on.”
“Oh, come off it,” James shook his head, continuing to walk to the house, “she’s only about a hundred years old.”
Lyra glanced at Molly and Alex hesitantly before following James. James opened the door a little wider, since the woman had left it ajar, and stepped inside. It was a quaint little house, with leather furniture in the sitting room, and photographs of family members on the walls. James could smell something cooking (or burning, rather) from what he assumed to be the kitchen.
“This way!” the old woman beckoned again from the sitting room. James hadn’t seen her sitting there before, but he shook the thoughts of suspicion away, and walked into the sitting room, taking a seat on the sofa with Lyra, Molly, and Alex across from the old woman. After a minute of awkward silence, James cleared his throat.
“So,” he began, running a hand through his red hair, “no offense or anything, but, er, who are you?”
The woman smirked.
“The names’ Edith Donner, but everybody round ‘ere just calls me Edith,” the woman explained. Alex was shaking his head,
“I’m…” James said, searching for a good name. “Phil. Yeah, Phil, and these are my friends. When Edith nodded, James sighed, relieved. She had obviously bought the fake name.
“I know why you’re here,” she continued. “To look for the Radicals.”
James drew in a quick breath, and pointed his wand at the woman. She smirked, and put her hands up in mock defense.
“James,” Alex warned, obviously still nervous.
“Where are they?” James asked in an almost angry whisper.
His eyes drifted past Edith and then he saw it. There, shoved under a table in the corner was an unmistakable sweater of bright orange with a white-embroidered ‘F’. The worst part was when James saw the hint of blood on the white letter.
“James, no!” Lyra shouted, anticipating James’ reaction. Angry, worried, and confused, James turned back to the woman, and flicked his wand.
“Petrificus Totalis!” he shouted, causing Edith’s arms and legs to slam together as she sat stiff in her seat. Then, as James took a quick step towards her, he saw Lyra fetch the well-known Weasley sweater from underneath the furniture. James muttered the counter-curse, and placed his wand under Edith’s chin.
“Where are the Radicals, and where is my cousin?” he said angrily. Lyra, Molly, and Alex watched in awe, but James knew that they weren’t going to do anything to stop him, unless he tried to kill the mad woman. After staring at James in annoyance for a moment, she sighed.
“Up the hill and the first house with the black gates. As to where your cousin and his friend are, where do you think?” Edith said.
James quickly stepped away from Edith. Of course, why hadn’t he guessed it after seeing Fred’s sweater? The Radicals, and Fred and Lily were all in the same place, in this house with black gates. That’s why Fred and Lily had only written him a letter once, that’s why all of his aunts, uncles, and parents were warning Fred and Lily of the journey in the conversation that James had eavesdropped on over the summer one year ago.
“Immobulus,” Lyra said, breaking the silence. Edith would be unable to move for about an hour, giving James, Lyra, Molly, and Alex plenty of time to arrive at the house up the street.
The four quickly left the old woman’s house, as Alex muttered about never wanting to go in there in the first place. It had been a short visit, yet James had learned much. As to how F.A.E and the letter were connected to all of this, he didn’t know. All he was concerned about know was on his cousin and one of his good friends.
Molly and Lyra led the way up the hill, and talked quietly so Alex and James could overhear. James walked with the dirty orange sweater in his hands, as Alex kept muttering about how all of this could lead nowhere pleasant.
“This must be it,” Molly said quietly, as she and Lyra stopped walking. There, in front of them stood the black gates that Edith had told them about. The gates were tall, and although James had been expecting foreboding trees and bushes to be hiding the mansion, there was a direct view of the house from the gates, with no greenery on the lawn at all, except for the grand walkway up to the front door.
The gates themselves were tall, and made of thin, coal-black iron. Alex tapped on one of the bars, yet there was no ringing noise, just silence. It wasn’t until James grew closer to the bars that he noticed that there were metal snakes winding up the bars, until at the point where the two halves of the gate met. There, on the top in the center did all of the bars seem to wind up into one snake, glaring evilly down at James. He took a step back, but only in surprise, not in fear.
“How do we get in?” Alex asked nervously.
“Don’t know,” James muttered, trying to figure a way inside. He tried using magic on the gates, a simple unlocking charm, but it didn’t do a thing. The gates wouldn’t open.
“We could climb over,” Alex suggested, but Lyra laughed.
“Yeah, and have all the Radicals see us,” she said. Alex glared at her, but then turned back to James.
“Shame, really,” Alex continued. “Came all the way here and now we can’t get in.” He then stepped forward and tried shaking the gates, trying to pry them open. Only then did a black little lock appear on the bars.
Alex bent over to look at it, and pointed at some inscription.
“I don’t understand it,” he grumbled. “ ‘Obscuro ardet,’ ” Alex continued, shaking his head. However, parts of the gate seemed to fade away like smoke, opening in an arch, just so a person could walk through while the rest of the gate stayed as solid iron.
James drew his wand, took a breath, and walked through the gate, silently and cautiously, with Molly, Lyra, and Alex behind him, their mouths open in surprise at the gate’s magic. They walked briskly up the open path, and because the lawn had no trees or any ornamentation of any sort, they were completely in the open. James kept waiting for the attack to come, but they were not disturbed. Eventually, James, Molly, Lyra, and Alex arrived at the front door of the mansion. Only now that they were right beside the house did James notice that it was made of black bricks, and smelled almost like something was burning inside.
Surprisingly, now that they were so close to their enemies, nothing stirred. James motioned for Alex to go to the left of the front door while he went to the right, Lyra beside him. Molly followed Alex, and the they all went around the house, searching for anything.
“What are we looking for?” Lyra whispered to James as they rounded the first corner, leaving Molly and Alex out of sight.
“A way to get inside other than the front door, since that’s so obvious,” James whispered in reply. James was just about to round the next corner that would lead them to the back of the mansion when Lyra put a hand on his shoulder.
“Wait!” she hissed, as she pressed her back up against the wall. James did the same, and listened.
“I could have sworn I saw something out here,” said a boy’s nasally voice. There was a thud, and then an angry sigh.
“I knew you were bluffing,” snapped the familiar voice of Angelina Gibbert. James drew in a quick breath, and Lyra gripped her wand tighter. “None of those muggles down there can even see this house, you dimwit! It’s magic!”
“I’m s-sorry, Miss Gibbert!” the boy stuttered, obviously nervous now that Gibbert was angry. “I only thought that someone was a-creepin’ out here!”
“Sure, and that’s what you said last time!” Gibbert laughed coldly. “Now get inside! If there’s anything out here, I’ll take care of it.”
The boy must have set off walking, because then Gibbert stopped him.
“Coyne, get Marco, as well. If James- if someone’s here, he’d better come out,” Gibbert snarled. James had hoped that Alex and Molly had heard this conversation as well, because there was no way James could warn either of them now.
James glanced quickly at Lyra, who was shaking out of nerves. He heard Angelina Gibbert start walking, and he drew his wand, pointing it at the corner of the house so when that idiot Radical who had used an Unforgivable Curse on Skander would be so surprised she might not cast the first spell.
However, she never came around the corner. James turned in panic to Lyra when he realized that Gibbert’s footsteps were getting quieter- meaning she was walking in the opposite direction, to Molly and Alex.
“Lyra,” James whispered, his voice quivering, “we’ve got to go around that corner, there.”
“What?” Lyra said, her eyes wide.
“Lyra, listen to me. If she’s gone after Alex and Molly and they don’t know she’s out here, we’ve got to stop her! You were really brave when we were trying to save Molly and Alex before in third year, don’t get scared now!” James said in a hurried whisper.
“I know, but that was different! Now I know what I’m up against!” Lyra said, still panicked. Still, James grabbed her arm and he slowly walked up to the edge of the wall, right before the turn.
There was an eerie silence, and James shivered.
“Alright,” he muttered, before holding his wand a little tighter. Then, he stepped around the corner.
There she was! Angelina Gibbert, with her back to him, as she strode along slowly, just about to turn the opposite corner. James had forgotten that Gibbert had long, dark hair like Roxanne, but he’d never forgotten her cruel, cold voice. He almost felt bad for her, being disliked by nearly everyone at Hogwarts, but then he remembered who he was dealing with.
“Impedimenta!” he shouted, as a burst of light shot from his wand, hitting Angelina Gibbert squarely in the back. She fell to the side, and as James ran up to her, he stared at her face, an expression of anger and surprise. He knew it would only be seconds before she would come out of the curse, so he motioned to Lyra to follow him as he spotted the back door to the house. He wondered where Alex and Molly were, but now James was focusing on getting inside the house and finding Eric.
The house was, surprisingly, empty, just as the lawn was. James could hear voices, though, and knew that the Radicals weren’t on the first floor. He and Lyra ran up the large grey staircase. James stopped in his tracks once he reached the top of the stairs.
Instead of their being separate rooms and doors, the second floor was completely open, with a long, black table in the center. James was reminded of a story his father had once told him, about Reed’s uncle Malfoy, and being trapped inside that house, a manor that had a table very similar to this one…
There were Radicals seated all around it, and at the head of it was Marco Baker. He looked just as James had remembered him, dark-haired, grey eyed, pale, and cruel. Baker stood as soon as he noticed James and Lyra standing there, and the rest of the Radicals followed Baker’s lead, but they drew their wands.
“So, James Potter,” Baker laughed darkly, “how we meet again.”
“That’s him?” said the nasally-voiced boy called Coyne from the lawn.
“Yes, you twit, you’ve never seen him before?” groaned another Radical, but Baker dismissed this.
“Gotten taller, have you?” Baker asked.
“Yeah. What’s it to you?” James snapped, drawing his wand again. He looked around the large room, to see at least thirty Radicals. There was no way he could defeat them all, even with Lyra’s help. Where were Molly and Alex?
“No reason,” Baker shrugged. One of the other Radicals who was to Baker’s left smirked.
“Remember me, James?” he snickered.
“Aren Toole,” James muttered. Toole had been one of the Slytherins who had attacked the Gryffindor Quidditch team during a match in James’ third year; this was the same Aren Toole who looked remarkably like Baker, at least while Baker had been using Polyjuice Potion so no one would realize he had returned. Baker was one year older than Toole, and had been expelled from Hogwarts while James was only a first year. Baker had returned years later to kill James, and use him to get information about Voldemort.
“Yeah,” Toole laughed. “Should remember Radcliffe, here, too. I suppose you reunited with Gibbert on the way in, yeah?”
“Unfortunately,” James snapped. Of course he remembered Radcliffe, the Radical who tried to stop Gibbert from torturing Skander in third year, the one who seemed somewhat sensible and sane.
“Well, then, you’ll remember me, too,” said a voice. A figure stepped out from the other side of Baker. James squinted his eyes, and Lyra drew her wand again.
“Long time, no see, Eric,” Lyra snapped. Eric pretended to be insulted, but he laughed.
“Lyra,” Eric greeted, sighing wistfully, “you always had to follow James, didn’t you? Everyone at Hogwarts knew I fancied you. If you step aside now, we won’t kill you.” Eric’s voice was cold, and he glared at James with distaste, but his eyes softened when he glanced at Lyra. James was recalling everything, even how he, Molly, and Alex knew that Eric fancied Lyra. Lyra knew it herself.
“That’s alright,” Lyra said, trying to compose herself so that she wouldn’t shout. “Even if I did side with your lot, you’d kill me anyway.”
“Would we, Baker?” Eric turned to Baker, asking a question he already knew the answer to. Baker smiled and shook his head. “See? You’d be safer with us.” Eric was almost pleading with Lyra, but she shook her head.
“No matter,” Baker continued. “I’m tired of greetings. Why did you come here?” James was surprised at the abruptness of the question, but James took a breath.
“First of all, we were looking for Eric,” James began.
“You’ve found him,” Baker snickered, causing the rest of the Radicals to laugh as well.
“We’re looking for my cousin and my friends,” James continued angrily, thinking of Fred, Lily, and (if they had been caught) Molly and Alex.
“Fine,” Baker sighed tiredly.
He waved his wand, and Fred and Lily appeared on the table kneeling, their hands and feet tied, both hunched over tiredly. Fred had a long gash across his forehead, and seemed to be trying to hold back groans of pain. James knew at once that the ribs he had broken during a Quidditch match had been broken again, but by the Radicals instead. Meanwhile, Lily was virtually unharmed, except for a few scratches on her face. James was still clutching Fred’s orange sweater that he had found in that old woman Edith’s house, and tossed it on the floor.
“Release them.”
James pointed his wand at Baker, ignoring the fact that every one of the thirty-or-so Radicals had their own wands pointed at himself. Neither Fred nor Lily stirred, so James figured they were unconscious. Lyra pointed her wand at Baker as well, but said nothing.
“James,” Eric sighed, “ haven’t you learned anything at that school?” Eric was obviously referring to Hogwarts. “We’re not letting them go until you’re dead.”
“Didn’t he promise you he’d kill you?” Lyra said suddenly. James had almost forgotten she was there. Eric shrugged. James had only now realized how changed Eric was. He was certainly taller than before, and just like Molly and Alex after third year, Eric’s entire persona was darkened.
“Maybe so,” Eric sighed. As he opened his mouth to continue speaking, there was a loud crash from the floor below, and Eric rolled his eyes. There was a lot of shouting and arguing on the lower floor; meanwhile, the Radicals, Eric, Baker, James, and Lyra stood in silence, wands pointed at each other.
Within seconds, Angelina Gibbert was standing behind James, and he could tell by the heaviness of her breathing that she was rather angry. She marched up to Baker, and James was surprised she didn’t curse him from behind.
“I’m surprised!” she cackled. “Potter’s here, and you’re doing nothing? He can’t Apparate yet, he doesn’t have a broom, and we’re far more trained- we could kill him at anytime, yet you all just stand here with wands raised?”
“Angelina,” Baker began, almost soothingly, “calm down.”
Gibbert’s eyes lit up with even more rage.
“Calm down?” she repeated. When none of the other Radicals did anything, Gibbert raised her wand as well, but pointed it at Lyra. “Cru-”
“Expelliarmus!” James yelled, causing Gibbert’s wand to fly from her hand. Even now, as James had just attacked a Radical, none of the others made a move to attack. They all stood in an angry silence, staring in hatred at James, their only barrier between bringing the Dark Lord back to life. James still had no idea of how the Radicals planned to do this, but he was determined to find out.
“Baker, let them go!” James demanded, gesturing to Fred and Lily. Baker stared coldly at James. Gibbert made a move to retrieve her wand, but Baker raised a hand.
“Gibbert, why don’t you take Coyne, Wilde, and Tyler to go bring our other guests to this party,” Baker ordered. Still fuming with anger, Angelina Gibbert nodded gruffly, and motioned for three other Radicals to follow her. They walked swiftly behind her, until they were out of the room.
So the Radicals did have Molly and Alex, James realized. As James still held his wand tightly, Marco Baker began walking around the long table of Radicals slowly.
“I’d like to tell you a little story,” he began. “It all begins, oh, about twenty-two years ago when a boy very much like yourself joined a…club, shall we say? This group decided that they would go against the rules of their school and the woman who put in place new rules to fight their enemy. The group was made up of mostly adults, yet this young boy knew them as family.”
“Who are you talking about?” Lyra asked in confusing. Baker smirked.
“Harry Potter.”
“James?” Lyra glanced nervously at James again, raising her wand a bit higher.
“Anyway,” Baker continued, “the fifteen-year old Harry Potter somewhat joined a group called the Order of the Phoenix, as well as another he began called Dumbledore’s Army. However, the Order had many more connections, as well members such as Aurors. One of them was Kingsley Shacklebolt.”
“The Minister of Magic?” James asked.
“Precisely. Why do you think he’s been missing for five years? He disappeared the year before you attended Hogwarts for the first time; we thought he’d be out of the way,” Baker said.
“So you killed the Minister of Magic just because I was coming to Hogwarts? Honestly, I haven’t even done anything to you.” James said.
“We haven’t killed him,” said Angelina Gibbert’s voice again. Apparently, she had returned. As her wand was pointed just under his neck, Kingsley Shacklebolt stood before James, Lyra, and the other Radicals, completely defenseless. Beside him, the other two Radicals, Coyne and Wilde, held Molly and Alex captive.
“Shacklebolt had to be taken care of,” Eric said, speaking for the first time in a few moments. “Once he was out of the way, that was one more line of defense that we didn’t have to go through. Besides, if the Dark Lord is to return, there’s a prophecy that says you’ll stop us.”
“So I’m the next one you’ll have to ‘take care of’?” James muttered. A few of the Radicals snickered, and Gibbert used her wand to force Molly, Alex, and Shacklebolt forward. Meanwhile, Fred and Lily still knelt motionless on the table. James looked to each of them, from Fred and Lily to Molly, Alex, and Shacklebolt- he just didn’t have a clue of how to act. There was no way he and Lyra could defeat all of these Radicals; first of all, Molly, Alex, Fred, Lily, and Shacklebolt would all be killed as soon as James cast the first spell of attack. James couldn’t take that risk.
“Not necessarily. You remember our teacher at Hogwarts, Lucas?” Eric began. Of course, James’s favorite teacher. Suddenly he understood.
“Darius Kaftan- the Stand-In Minister- you got him into office, you’ve infiltrated the Ministry,” James said. He realized he must have sounded stupid, saying something so obvious.
“Of course,” Aren Toole jeered. “That’s why he hates you and your family. Your friends. Hogwarts. Especially Lucas- he was always standing up for you when other teachers complained to McGonagall and the Ministry about what a bad student you were. Believe me, I knew. I was there; Invisibility charms come in handy. While Baker was working on everything else, I was still at Hogwarts. That old fool Lucas- he might not have spoken to you very much, but he thought you were his best student. He’d do anything to protect any pupils- but mainly you.”
James stood in shock. So many secrets were being revealed at once- Darius Kaftan; the infiltrated Ministry (being the second time it had been taken over); Kingsley Shacklebolt, the true Minister of Magic; and finally, Professor Lucas. That’s why the Ministry had Lucas removed from Hogwarts, because he stood in the way of killing James. Lucas had probably never truly spoken to James before in order to protect him.
“Enough,” Baker said after a pause. He glanced at Eric, and then turned to James once more, his eyes cold. “James, I once told you that you would watch while your friends died, while they took their last breaths. I want you to have the pain of saying goodbye, though, since I am a merciful man. Radcliffe, Eric!”
Baker sneered as Radcliffe and Eric moved and shoved Fred and Lily off of the tabletop, pulling them up and dragging them over to James. Meanwhile, the other Radicals, Coyne, Wilde, Tyler pushed and shoved Molly and Alex until they stood in front of James. Finally, Angelina Gibbert silently flicked her wand, causing Lyra to fall to the ground. Whatever the spell had been, it had caused Lyra to be unable to catch her breath. James was panicking, now. Still, he knew that as soon as he cast his wand, everyone in this mansion that he cared about would die immediately. He lowered his wand, and the Radicals laughed.
“Little Potter’s scared, ain’t he?” one sneered.
“Afraid to put up some defense? Not surprised, considering his blood!” another called out, getting laughs from the other Radicals. Baker silenced them by raising his hand.
“Now, Potter- I want you to say goodbye to each one of them and I want to hear it. I want to hear the sadness in your voice, and I want you to suffer!” Baker called out angrily. James shook his head, but after a Radical cast a curse causing James to feel like his entire body was breaking, James stumbled over to Fred.
“Fred?” James began, as the room fell silent. Fred lifted his head slowly, and grinned.
“Ah, Jimmy,” he smirked.
“Yeah, it’s me,” James continued, his heart sinking. What would his father done? “Thanks for everything. I know you a-always meant well.”
“It’s alright, mate,” Fred continued slowly, obviously tired and in pain as he took in the situation, “I was only trying to protect the- ah!- family.” He grimaced in pain; James remembered his ribs had been broken by the Radicals. Unable to say anything more, he moved on to Lily, who seemed like she had just come out of sleep.
“You were always there for me,” James began, his voice quiet, “just like Fred.”
“Ah, you know how these things go,” she smiled grimly. “I’ll see you again, Potter, don’t you worry about that. Me and Fred- we were always thinking about you these past few years.” Then, she added in a whisper, “I’m sure you’ll do the right thing, now.”
She gave him a shove with her tied hands as James moved onto Alex.
“I don’t want you to say anything,” Alex said, his face full of sadness, yet oddly brave. “This lot almost killed me once. I’m not afraid of them.”
“You’re my best mate,” James muttered. He then pulled Alex into a hug; he and Alex had been best mates from the beginning of first year, and now James was going to lose his greatest and most loyal friend. Silently and warily, James moved on to stand before Molly and Lyra.
“I’m sorry,” James said bluntly.
“Don’t be,” Lyra muttered. “We’re fifteen, we can handle this.”
James couldn’t help but smile slightly at Lyra’s little joke.
“You’re really brave, James, I’ll give you that. But you’re not good at goodbyes,” Lyra continued, smiling herself before giving James a hug. “As soon as you step away from us, I want you to curse that Gibbert git. Don’t worry about us,” she added, whispering in his hear. He nodded gruffly, and finally turned to Molly.
She looked rather stoic, with her hands in her coat pocket, and her head held high. James should have expected this from his other best friend, but in the moment, he was surprised at how brave she truly was. Like Alex, she started off by saying,
“They took away my voice and almost killed me once. I’m not scared, James,” she sighed. “You know, once I’m gone, I’ll miss this. I’ll miss the magic, Hogwarts, my dad, Quidditch- and of course, you, Alex, and Lyra.”
“What about your boyfriend?” James said, in a nearly teasing way. Molly smirked.
“Reed was never my boyfriend, you know,” she said. In a swift movement, Molly leaned up to James (since he was taller) and gave his a quick kiss on the cheek. Angelina Gibbert grabbed James by the shoulder and threw him back behind her, away from his friends. As Molly took a step back, she winked, and pulling her wand quickly from her pocket, turned around to face the Radicals. Pointing her wand immediately at Baker, she screamed, “Avada Kedavra!”
With a flash of green light, Marco Baker fell to the ground, his eyes full of shock. James was about to raise his wand once more, but then as Molly turned to him with a look of success, another shout rang out.
“Stupid girl! Avada Kedavra!”
“NOOOOOO!” James screamed, watching Angelina Gibbert, thrust her wand directly at Molly. He ran forward, but just as he fell to his knees beside Molly, Alex, Lyra, Fred, and Lily began casting spells as well.
“Molly?” James said faintly, his entire body quivering. He lifted her right hand, and her wand fell to the stone floor. He repeated her name, shaking her, but she didn’t move. He was about to shake her more violently, but Lyra called his name.
“JAMES! WE’VE GOT TO GET OUT OF HERE!” Lyra shouted. James looked up, his eyes red. When he didn’t move, Fred dashed over, and hoisted James up by the arm. James screamed, trying to fight his way back to Molly, but Fred held him tightly for someone with broken ribs.
As Fred reached Lyra, Alex, and Lily through a cloud of smoke and various spells, Lily grabbed all of their hands, and turned on her heel. There was a spinning sensation, and then nothing.
When James opened his eyes again, he and the other four were sitting on the roof of a building in a bustling city: London. He could see Big Ben from the rooftop they were on…
“Where’s Molly?” Alex asked, panting, looking around. James took all of the strength he had left to say two words.
“She’s dead.”