Morgan's eyes were open, staring calmly at the heel of a petrified man who had frozen in the act of jumping over her body. James bit his lips sorrowfully and then reached forward. As gently as he could, he closed Morgan's eyes.
"We must go," Titus said from behind him, addressing the group. "Merlinus' Petrification Spell may only last a few hours."
James stood up slowly and turned around. Harry drew a deep breath and then, still cradling Lucy's body against his shoulder, lifted his wand to his throat.
"Attention, all magical denizens of New Amsterdam," he called, sending his amplified voice echoing up into the canyons of the buildings. "You must leave this place immediately. It is no longer safe for you here. The city of New Amsterdam is now a compromised zone. Soon, the Muggle city below you will reanimate. When it does…" Here, Harry paused and drew a deep, reluctant breath. "When it does, it will be unsafe for you to be here. For the immediate future, you must evacuate as quickly and as calmly as you can. Take only what you need, and attempt to be gone by morning."
Overhead, the magical city began to rumble nervously. The flying highways and byways, which had paused in alarm during the massive flash of Merlin's Petrification Spell, fell into frantic, zooming motion.
Harry pocketed his wand and took James' hand in his own.
"I have sent word to your mother," he said. "She and your brother and sister will Apparate here soon to meet us, and your aunt, uncle, and cousin Molly will follow them shortly." He looked aside, inviting Ralph and Zane into the conversation as well. "Tell me exactly what happened, all of you, so that I may be prepared to give Percy and Audrey this awful news."
James drew a deep, shuddering breath, but Zane answered first.
"She died trying to save Izzy," he said gravely. "There's a lot more to the story, but that's the most important thing. That's the only part that really matters."
Together, as the group set out toward the nearby waterfront, weaving through the throng of Muggle statues, the three boys began to tell their tale.
The Lady of the Lake was gone, vanished away into hiding, as were Petra and Izzy.
Morgan, the unfortunate Petra from another dimension, lay dead with the ugly dagger still protruding from her back.
Confetti still sifted down into the eerily frozen, suddenly darkened streets.
And Merlinus Ambrosius was no more.
25. THOSE WHO STAYED BEHIND
Denniston Dolohov chose to remain in America, at least for a time.
An envoy from the Crystal Mountain had met Harry Potter and the rest on the docks that very night—the Night of the Unveiling, as it soon came to be called. Benjamin Franklyn was among the representatives from the American wizarding government, as was Professors Jackson and, to James' surprise, Persephone Remora, who was looking decidedly less composed than usual. Together, they extended their official condolences to Percy, Audrey, and Molly for their loss. Percy accepted this somewhat blankly, as if he was in shock. Audrey refused to look at her visitors or anyone else. Her eyes were red and swollen as she hugged Molly to her. Molly, James noticed, was sucking the first two fingers of her right hand—something she hadn't done since she was five years old.
Next, the envoy acknowledged Harry and Titus' innocence in the death of Senator Charles Filmore, but warned that this would be rather harder to prove to the Magical Integration Bureau. Franklyn vowed to do his diplomatic best on their behalf, but made no promises.
Finally, the envoy turned their attention to Denniston Dolohov, who had Side-Along Apparated directly to the harbor with Percy Weasley. James was surprised at what they said. They officially requested that Dolohov remain with them for the immediate future to help with the security and ambassadorial demands of the coming days and weeks. Being an expert on Muggle/magical security, as well as a Squib who had been raised among Muggles, Dolohov was just the sort of individual to assist in the daunting task at hand—that of protecting the city of New Amsterdam and explaining its existence to the Muggle New Yorkers beneath it. Somewhat reluctantly (although not, James suspected, as reluctantly as he let on), Dolohov agreed.
James would have liked to have had more time to say goodbye to his friends, but it was an emergency situation and he understood.
"Bye Zane," he said, reaching to shake the boy's hand where they stood on the dark pier. "The ship will be here any moment, so…"
Zane threw an arm around James' shoulders and drew him into a fierce embrace. When he released his friend, Zane's face was pale and tense. "This changes everything, doesn't it?"
James shrugged and then nodded. "That's what Merlin said back when the Vault was first broken into."
"Do you think the old man's really gone for good?"
James did. He nodded.
"See you, James," Ralph sighed. "I wish I didn't have to stay behind."
"You'll be back soon enough," James assured him. "Just be careful. Things are like to be pretty dodgy around here for the next bit."
Ralph nodded morosely. "I know it probably won't be much better back home, but still… this is where it's all beginning. I'd really love to just put the whole mess behind me for awhile."
"Sorry," James said seriously. "I know. Try to get home soon."
A foghorn echoed over the dark water of the harbor. James turned and saw the silhouette of a low ship approaching, weaving its way through the much larger ships moored nearby. Soon, the magical ship—not the Gwyndemere this time—would be at the dock. He and his family would climb the gangplank to its deck, leaving the rest of his traveling companions behind. His heart was low as he turned back to his friends once more.
"Take care of yourselves," he said. "We can keep up via the Shard. You have mine and I can use Dad's. Don't forget."
"We won't," Ralph assured him. "Tell Rose and the rest we said hi."
James rolled his eyes, dreading the task of explaining all of this to Rose, but he nodded anyway.
The ship swept slowly into position alongside the pier. Ropes thumped to the dock and were secured to nearby bollards. The gangplank appeared.
It took only a few minutes for the Potters and Weasleys to climb aboard. Apart from a few hastily packed bags gathered by James' mum, they had left most of their things behind, abandoned, at least for now.
Shortly, the ship was underway, gliding smoothly across the black waves beneath a cloudy night sky. James and Albus' owls, Nobby and Flynn, had flown to meet them at the pier and now circled the ship like silent kites, alighting occasionally on the ship's masts. James leaned against the stern railing and watched. The New York skyline was eerily dark, lit only by the relatively dimmer lights of New Amsterdam.