The Curse of the GateKeeper (James Potter #2) (79 page)

"Twenty years' growth in thirty seconds," Albus said wonderingly. "I wouldn't believe it if I wasn't looking at it."

"The thing that amazes me most," Ralph commented, staring out over the gorge, "is that he got the tree to grow in the shape of the tracks!"

Once more, James looked out over the forested gorge between the mountains. From this angle, he could see it clearly. The unfinished train bridge ended less than halfway across. Growing from the end of the bridge, however, spreading another third of the way across, was what appeared to be a giant sequoia tree grown perfectly sideways. The tree was lush with foliage, billowing slightly in the freshening breeze. The Hogwarts Express sat atop it, steam still issuing from its boilers in a long white ribbon.

"He sent twenty years of his own life into making that tree grow," Rose said, shaking her head in disbelief. "Talk about communing with nature."

Zane nodded. "Yeah. He's still down in the hollow right now, 'communing' with the tree sprite of that sequoia. I'm just glad Merlin's the one that gets to explain to that tree how it grew so fast," he said, grinning. "And why it's got a steam train sitting on its trunk."

James, Rose, and Albus sat in the tall grass of the yard, blinking disconsolately in the morning sunlight. Nearby, Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione stood talking quietly. James looked up, peering along the length of the dirt drive.

"See anyone?" Albus asked, kicking his heel in the grass.

James shook his head. "They're late."

"Why should they hurry?" Albus griped. "They already paid for it. All they have to do is sign the papers and get the key. Not that they'll ever use it."

"I wish this was all over," Rose said, sighing sadly. "I know it was my idea to come and say goodbye to the Burrow, but now that I'm here, I can barely look at the old place. Just knowing the new owners are going to tear it down…"

"Grandma and Lily are looking into flats in the city," James commented. "That could be nice. It'll be easy for her to take care of, and we could go see her whenever we want."

Albus muttered, "It won't be the same. Not without the Burrow."

James sighed. George and Angelina's wedding had been the day before, and, not surprisingly, it had been a very spirited affair. Everyone had been there, including Hagrid, Neville, and even Professor McGonagall. The former Headmistress had even danced a little, which had left the students slack-jawed with amazement. By contrast, sitting in the yard of the Burrow for the last time, waiting for the new owners to come and take it over, felt particularly disheartening. "A beginning almost always means an ending," James' dad had said as they got ready that morning, but James hadn't found that particularly comforting. Not for the first time, James found himself thinking of the final dream he'd had when he'd still had the phantom scar; the dream in which a somewhat grown-up Albus had given his wand to the young woman—Petra?—In the graveyard, who had proceeded to launch the Dark Mark and then turn the wand back on him. Obviously, that had never happened, and yet James simply couldn't shake the feeling that it was a sort of prophecy or prediction. Tabitha had told James that Albus was a boy with great potential, and that, James felt sure, had not been a bluff. Tabitha believed it. What did it all mean? James gazed at his brother in the sunlight—his brother, who bore the names of both a great Gryffindor and a great Slytherin, who looked so very much like his father, the Boy Who Lived.

"Here they come," Rose said morosely.

James followed Rose's gaze and saw a cloud of dust approaching from the end of the drive.

The three stood and brushed themselves off as the vehicle neared. They walked slowly over to stand by their parents. Harry squinted and adjusted his glasses.

"They have a different car than the one they drove to the bank," he commented.

Ginny said, "You would notice that, Mr. Auror."

"Must be nice," Ron mumbled. "Buying a house and a new car all in the same week."

"Shh," Hermione said, but without much feeling.

Harry was frowning slightly. "That's not exactly a new car. In fact…" Suddenly, his face broke into a wondering grin. "I'll be a hinkypunk's uncle…"

"What?" Albus asked, standing on tiptoes and shielding his eyes from the sun.

James looked as well. As the vehicle rolled closer, he could see that it was certainly not a new car. It was, in fact, very old but carefully restored. It bounced and jogged on the uneven path, winking sunlight off its chrome bumper and huge windscreen.

"It's the Anglia!" Rose cried, jumping up and down, clapping her hands. "Granddad's Anglia! But how?"

Harry was shaking his head, smiling. Ron frowned, puzzled, as the car ground to a squeaky halt directly in front of them. The driver's door swung open and a large figure climbed out. James didn't recognize the man at first since he still wasn't accustomed to that suddenly aged face.

"Merlinus!" Hermione said, stepping forward to meet him. "What are you doing here? How did you get Arthur's automobile?"

"I am happy to say," Merlin replied, "that it came with the house. This is the correct address, is it not? I assume I'd not find the lot of you standing in front of anyone else's soon-to-be-reacquired home."

Ron laughed. "This is the place, I guess, but what do you mean? Where are the Templetons?"

"Happily negotiating the sale of a condominium in Kensington Knob, I believe," Merlin answered, carefully closing the door of the Anglia. "After the rather unseemly amount I paid them for this charming domicile, I suspect they were able to increase their home-buying budget rather a lot."

"You bought the Burrow?" James exclaimed, a grin spreading across his face.

"But why, Merlin?" Harry asked, shaking his head in wonderment.

Merlin looked surprised. "I would think the answer to that is quite obvious. I am still rather new to this age and in need of a home for myself. The offices at the school are quaint, but a wizard of my temperament desires room to spread out. I find this cottage to be perfectly suited to my needs, if perhaps a bit too large. That is why I was hoping I might persuade the previous owner to stay on, to keep me company and manage the place during the school terms."

"You want Grandma Weasley to come live here again?" Rose cried happily. "Hooray! That's wonderful!"

Ron asked, "Are you serious? You'd really want Mum to keep living here?"

Merlin nodded dismissively. "Perhaps she'd indulge me with a cup of tea now and then. I, on the other hand, can help her to magically support the place. Seems a fair trade, does it not?"

Hermione grinned happily. "You'd have to lock Molly in the attic to keep her from making tea for you. Really, Merlinus, this is more than we could have hoped for. But where did you get the money?"

Merlin narrowed his eyes conspiratorially. "Did you know that Gringotts bank is over twelve hundred years old? It's truly remarkable what a small investment can turn into over a thousand years. Let's just say that I will not be lacking for income for quite some time."

"You made a deposit before you zapped through time?" Ron exclaimed, his eyes going wide. "That's genius!"

"What fun is it being a sorcerer if you cannot manipulate temporal loopholes to your advantage?" Merlin agreed, matching Ron's grin.

"Let's go get Grandma and Lily!" Albus said excitedly. "Before she does anything stupid like renting some flat in the city! We can move her back in today, right? Right?"

"I don't see why not," Harry laughed. "If it's all right with Merlin."

"I'd not have it any other way," the big man replied. "In fact, we can take your grandfather's delightful vehicle. I believe we'll all fit inside if we don't mind getting rather close."

"The Anglia?" James asked as everyone began to clamber into the old car. "It'll take us forever to get into the city in that."

"I think you'll be surprised," Merlin answered, climbing into the driver's seat and smiling cryptically. "Hold on to something, everyone. This might be a little bumpy."

Carefully, Merlin pushed a large button on the car's dashboard. With a jerk and rattle, the huge canvas wings erupted from the car's sides, protruding from behind James' head where he sat in the backseat. Noisily, the wings began to flap up and down, assuming a steady rhythm.

"The wings work!" Albus laughed. "You got the wings working! Excellent!"

Slowly, accompanied by a rising cloud of windy dust, the car lifted off the drive. Ron whooped from the passenger's side window as Merlin steered the car in the air, aiming it toward the western horizon. To the sound of delighted laughter and Hermione's shriek of happy terror, Merlin stepped on the accelerator, pushing it to the floor. The wings buzzed, and the car nosed down, darting like a bumblebee over the yard of the Burrow and casting its shadow over the garage as it went.

For miles around, Muggle children looked up, wondering about the mysterious sound of laughter that passed quickly, fleetingly overhead.

The End

James Potter and the Curse of the Gatekeeper (the "Work") is Harry Potter series ("Series") fan fiction and was not created by Series author J.K. Rowling nor under her auspices. To the extent that trademarks of the Series (the "Proprietary Rights") are used in the Work, such use is incidental and not for purposes of source indication. Any such trademarks are and remain property of Ms. Rowling and her assigns. The author hereby disclaims any interest in said Proprietary Rights. The Work is © 2008 G. Norman Lippert.