“It’s all about the Seekers in a match like this,” Sabrina yelled exuberantly, not taking her eyes from the players. “And Squallus is new to that position since Gnoffton finished last year. Noah should be able to nail him to the wall with his own broom.”
Sure enough, a sudden roar went up from the crowd and James saw that Noah was in pursuit of the Snitch. Across the pitch, Tom Squallus was bent over his broom, baring his teeth into the cold wind and rushing to cut Noah off. He banked through the throng of players, barely missed by Justin Kennely’s swatted Bludger. Despite his speed, James was confident there was no way Squallus would beat Noah to the prize. A golden streak and a whir of tiny wings buzzed by the Gryffindor grandstand, followed a split second later by Noah. Those in the front rows ducked, then leapt to their feet cheering as Noah banked hard, barely missing the grandstand and lunging forward on his broom, arm outstretched. There was a long, breathless moment when Noah appeared to be in the tow of the tiny golden ball, the distance shrinking, shrinking, Noah’s hand trembling as he reached. Then, in a flurry of cloaks and brooms, something changed. Noah was forced to yank up on his broom, grinding to a slewing stop that destroyed his control. A cloud of Slytherins, led by Tabitha Corsica, had swept in front of him from all directions, stitching a virtual wall in midair. Noah ran into a burly Slytherin and bounced off, losing his grip on his broom. He tumbled sideways, grabbing on with one hand and swinging beneath it. The crowd roared.
Tabitha Corsica shot through the wall of Slytherins, which opened for her like an iris. Her cloak whipped behind her and James was amazed to see the Snitch flying behind her, in the shadow of her cloak. It dipped upwards and Tabitha followed almost instantaneously, bent low over her broom. Somehow, without even looking, she was shadowing the Snitch, marking it for Tom Squallus. He saw her, banked hard, and swooped past her. When he came out on the other side, his hand was raised and the Snitch glittered within it. The Slytherin grandstands cheered uproariously. The game was over.
Noah swung himself from beneath his broom, hooking one foot over it. He struggled upright just as Ted and Justin Kennely swooped in next to him, talking and gesturing. James understood the nature of what they were saying even if he couldn’t hear the words through the cheers and boos. Something extremely odd had happened, and yet the Slytherins hadn’t actually committed any fouls. On the grass of the pitch, Petra Morganstern, who played Chaser, had cornered Cabe Ridcully and was animatedly pointing at Tabitha Corsica, who was still on her broom, being congratulated by her teammates alongside Tom Squallus. Ridcully shook his head, unable or unwilling to agree with Petra’s allegations. There didn’t seem to be any recourse for the Gryffindors, since they couldn’t prove that anything illegal had actually occurred.
“What in the name of Voldy’s pasty-white rear end was that?” Damien Damascus demanded, having quit the broadcast booth and joined James, Zane, and Sabrina.
Sabrina shook her head. “That was right creepy. Did you see what I saw? Corsica blocked the Snitch! She never touched it, but she flew right next to it, marking it until Squallus could get his broom in gear.”
“There’s no rule against that?” Zane asked as they all joined the throng leaving the stands.
“No point making rules against things that are impossible,” Damien said crossly. “As long as she didn’t touch it, she’s in the clear. She wasn’t even watching the Snitch. I’d swear it.”
Ralph was trotting across the pitch when James and Zane tromped down the last few steps. Panting, he angled them away from Sabrina and Damien, whose moods were getting fouler.
“Did you see that?” Ralph asked, struggling to catch his breath. He seemed extremely agitated.
“We saw something,” James said, “although I’m not sure I believe my eyes.”
Zane was less diplomatic. “The Gryffindors think your buddies cheated somehow. It’s going to throw off the final standings, too. Now it looks like Ravenclaw will be playing Slytherin for the tournament. I was hoping for a Gryffindor and Ravenclaw match.”
“Will you two forget about the bloody Quidditch tournament for a minute?” Ralph said, turning to face the two of them at the base of the grandstands. “In case you’ve forgotten, we have more important things to think about.”
“All right, then spill it, Ralph,” James said, trying not to be annoyed. Ralph took a deep breath. “You told me I was your man on the inside, didn’t you? So I’ve been watching closely, looking for hints and clues about who might be involved with the whole Merlin plot, right?”
“And you think now is the time to discuss this?” Zane asked, raising his eyebrows.
“No, no, it’s fine,” James interjected. “What’d you see, Ralph? Something going on back at Slytherin Central?”
“No!” Ralph said impatiently. “Not back at the common room or anything. Right here, just a few minutes ago! Remember what we’re supposed to be looking for?”
“Yeah,” Zane said, becoming interested, “the Merlin staff.”
Ralph nodded meaningfully. There was a cheer nearby. The three boys turned as the Slytherins left the pitch, surrounded by a crowd of students in green scarves. Tabitha walked at the head of the group, her broom held triumphantly over her shoulder.
“Six feet or so of unusually magical wood,” Ralph said in a low voice, still watching Tabitha leave the pitch. “Origins unknown.”
“That’s right!” James replied, understanding dawning on him. “Tabitha said her broom was a custom design, crafted by some Muggle artist or something! She registered it as a Muggle artifact, since it wasn’t a standard model!”
“And there’s no question that there’s something pretty unusually magical about it,” Ralph added. James nodded.
“Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” Zane asked incredulously.
Ralph glanced back at him. “Makes sense, doesn’t it? It’s the perfect hiding place! That’s why I came running over here right after the match. I wanted you both to see it, too, and see if it fits.”
Zane whistled in awe. “Talk about your corked brooms! Here, all this time Corsica’s been flying around on Merlin’s flippin’ staff!”
James couldn’t take his eyes off it as Tabitha crested the hill heading back to the castle. The wintry sunlight glinted off the bristly tail of the broom. It was indeed the perfect disguise for a six-foot length of highly magical wood. And now they knew for sure who was the third co-conspirator in the Merlin plot, the Slytherin who went by the profile name of Austramaddux. James’ heart pounded with excitement and anticipation.
“So,” he said as the three of them began to follow the Slytherins at a careful distance, wending their way back to the castle, “how are we going to get the Merlin staff away from Tabitha Corsica?”
14. The Hall of Elders’ Crossing
“What? Why do we need to steal her broom, anyway?” Ralph exclaimed at breakfast the next morning. He leaned over the table, reaching for a plate of sausages. “It would be loads harder to steal than Jackson’s case was. Boys aren’t even allowed in the girls’ dorms. We’d never get near it! Besides, we’ve got the robe already. They can’t do anything without all the relics.”
“It’s the Merlin staff, that’s why we have to get it,” James replied. “Even on its own, it’s got to be one of the most powerful magical objects in the world. You saw what Tabitha Corsica did with it at the match. And it wasn’t just her shadowing the Snitch without even looking. Her whole team seemed to respond to it somehow, or at least their brooms did. They knew just where to be at all the right moments. That’s some really powerful magic. So far, she’s only using the staff to win Quidditch matches, but do you really want something like that in the hands of someone like her and the Progressive Element?”
Ralph looked dour. Zane put his coffee cup down and stared at the tabletop. “I don’t know…,” he said.
“What?” James said impatiently.
Zane glanced up. “Well, it just seems too easy, really. I mean, first there was R
alph’s buddy’s rockhound bag that showed up at just the right time. Then, no matter how you look at it, we got really lucky with that Visum-ineptio charm. Even before that, look at all the coincidences that led to you discovering the hiding place of the Merlin throne, from catching a glimpse of the voodoo queen on the lake that night to finding that Daily Prophet article about the break-in at the Ministry. And now, we just happen to figure out that Tabitha’s broom is the Merlin staff. I hate to say it, but it can’t be much of a dark conspiracy if a trio of first-year shlubs like us have worked it all out.”
James fumed. “All right, yeah, so we’ve gotten lucky here and there. We’ve worked really hard and been extremely careful, too. And besides, it all fits, doesn’t it? Just because the people behind the Merlin plot have been too arrogant to think anybody could catch them, doesn’t mean the plot isn’t for real. What about what happened when we opened Jackson’s case? And I didn’t even tell you what happened to me last week!”
Ralph jumped, almost knocking over his pumpkin juice. His eyes were wild for a second, and then he calmed himself. “Last week? When?”
“The night we went to see Hagrid, right after I left you,” James answered. He described the way the halls of Hogwarts had transformed into forest around him, his strange journey to the island of the Grotto Keep, and the mysterious ghostly figure that had instructed him to bring her the relic robe. Zane listened with keen interest, but Ralph’s face was pale and blank.
When James finished, Zane asked, “You think it really was a dryad?”
James shrugged. “I don’t know. It sure looked a lot like the one we saw in the forest, but different, too. It pulsed, if you know what I mean. I could feel it in my head.”
“Maybe it was a dream,” Zane said carefully. “It sure sounds like one.”
“It wasn’t a dream. I was in the corridor heading to the common room. I wasn’t sleepwalking.”
“I’m just saying,” Zane said blandly, lowering his eyes.
“What?” James prodded. “You think that whole Merlin thing was a dream, too? When I disappeared from the room right in front of the both of you, and Cedric Diggory’s ghost had to bring me back?”
“Of course not. Still, it just sounds kind of crazy. Were you in the forest or were you in the corridor? Which one was real? Were either of them real? I mean, you’ve been thinking about all of this an awful lot. Maybe…”
Ralph was studying his empty plate. He spoke without raising his head. “It wasn’t a dream.”
James and Zane both looked at Ralph. “How do you know, Ralph?” Zane asked.
Ralph sighed. “Because the same thing happened to me.”
James’ eyes widened and his mouth dropped open. “You saw the Grotto Keep? And the dryad, too? Ralph, why didn’t you say anything?”
“I didn’t know what they were!” Ralph said, looking up. “I wasn’t with you two when you went out in the forest and saw the island and met the dryad, remember? So last week, I was on my way through the cellars to the Slytherin rooms and all of a sudden, the cellars just faded out and turned into a forest, same as you described, James. I saw the island and the tree sprite lady, but I didn’t recognize them. I thought she was a ghost or something. She told me to bring the relic to her, but I was scared. I’m not used to having weird, magical, out-of-body experiences or anything. I tried to run away, but then, all of a sudden I was standing outside the door to the Slytherin common room, plain as could be. I was worried about my sanity, to tell the truth. I thought all this magical stuff was making me soft in the head. Frankly, I’m a little relieved that the same thing happened to you, too.”
“I can see why,” Zane said, nodding.
“But why you?” James asked. “You don’t have the relic. I do.”
Zane tilted his head and cinched a corner of his mouth up in that expression of comical concentration he put on when he was thinking hard. “Maybe it’s as simple as the fact that Ralph’s a Slytherin. I mean, he was in the debate against Petra and me. Maybe whatever it was thinks Ralph is the weakest link. Maybe it thinks it can get Ralph to betray you and steal the robe and then bring it to the island. Not that you would, Ralph,” Zane added, looking at Ralph.
“No way. I’m never touching that thing,” Ralph concurred.
“I guess that makes sense,” James admitted. “So why not you, then, Zane?”
Zane adopted a beatific expression, eyes raised to the ceiling, “Because I’m as pure as the wind-driven snow. And besides, I’m never setting foot on that island again. Too freaky for me by far.”
“But I couldn’t even steal the robe if I wanted to,” Ralph said, furrowing his brow. “Not with Zane’s Locking Spell on it. James is the only one who can open the trunk.”
“You could just drag the whole trunk out there, I suppose,” James replied. “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”
“Fortunately, there’s no will,” Ralph said gravely.
Zane pushed his empty coffee cup away. “The dryad, or whatever it was, wouldn’t necessarily know about the extra Locking Spell on the trunk, anyway. But the fact that it happened to both of you sure proves something wants that robe, and knows we have it. If it isn’t Jackson or any of his crew, then who?”
James said, “Remember what the green dryad told us? She said that the trees were waking, but that many of them had… how did she put it?”
Zane nodded, remembering. “She said they’d ‘gone over’, like milk past its expiration date or something. Some of the trees are bad, in other words. They’re on the side of chaos and war. You think yours and Ralph’s blue dryad was one of the bad ones trying to sound nice?”
“Makes sense,” Ralph said. “She was all beautiful and smiles and everything, but I had a pretty strong feeling that if I didn’t bring her the robe, that smile could turn hungry pretty fast. That’s what scared me. That and her fingernails.” He shuddered.
“So this is way bigger than just us and the Merlin conspirators,” Zane said seriously. “The tree spirits are involved. And who knows what else, too. For all we know, everything in the magical world might be taking a side.”
“Either way,” James said earnestly, “it proves that these relics are incredibly powerful. In the wrong hands, who knows what kind of damage they could do? That’s why we have to get the staff away from Tabitha.”
“I don’t understand why we don’t just get your dad in here,” Ralph interjected. “It’s his job to deal with this kind of stuff, isn’t it?”
“Because they have rules they have to follow,” James replied wearily. “They’d have to bring in a team of Aurors to scour the grounds. They wouldn’t just go nick Tabitha’s broom because we said it was the Merlin staff, even if we did turn over the robe. There’d be magical sweeps, investigating every unusual source of power. It could go on for days. By the time they got around to checking out Tabitha, she’d have gotten the broom out of here. Jackson and Delacroix might sniff trouble and escape, too. They might even get the whole conspiracy together to go to this Hall of Elder’s Crossing and try to bring Merlin back. It wouldn’t work without the robe, of course, but then the throne and the staff would be lost, hidden and in the control of dark wizards.”
Ralph sighed. “All right, all right. I’m convinced. So we’ll try to capture the Merlin staff from Corsica. But that’s it, all right? Then we turn it all over to your dad and his pros. They clean up the mess and we can be the heroes. Whatever. OK?”
Zane nodded. “Yeah, I’m with you. Get the broom and we’re done. Agreed?”
James agreed. “So we need a plan. Any ideas?” “It won’t be easy,” Ralph said firmly. “If we got lucky with Jackson’s briefcase, then we’ll need an act of God to pull this one off. The Slytherin quarters are so thick with guard hexes and Anti-Spying spells that they almost hum. They’re the most suspicious lot I’ve ever met.”
“Tricksters always expect to be tricked,” Zane said wisely. “But there’s one thing we’re forgetting, and it may even be more
important than capturing the Merlin staff.”
“What’s more important than that?” James asked.
“Keeping the relic we’ve got,” Zane answered simply, meeting James’ eyes. “Something out there knows we have the robe, and it’s already tried once to get it from you. I don’t know what kind of magic that was, but you both seem pretty convinced that it transported you to the island straight out of Hogwarts halls, right?”
James and Ralph exchanged looks and then nodded at Zane.
“So,” Zane continued, “if Disapparition is impossible on Hogwarts grounds, then it used some other form of magic to get you there. That’s some powerful mojo. What’s to say it won’t try again?”
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