The Curse of the GateKeeper (James Potter #2) Read Online Free PDF

He'll be home soon. If we don't get inside, we'll miss the surprise."
    "And the cake," Rose added.
    That got their attention. Jules and Harold spun on their heels and darted past James, yelling and trying to push each other out of the way. Albus shrugged and followed Hugo out the driver's door of the car. Rose slid off the bonnet and brushed the dust from her bottom with her hands.
    "Grandfather's quite peculiar, isn't he?" she said, glancing around at the Anglia and the collection of mismatched Muggle objects that filled the shelves nearby. James had seen them a hundred times, but there were always a few new things. He followed Rose as she approached the collection and ran her hand lightly over some of the items, drawing lines in the dust with her fingers. Alongside the assortment of batteries and electric can openers, extension cords and nose hair trimmers, James saw the newer additions. There was an old laptop computer, a video game controller, and a digital alarm clock in the shape of a cartoon character.
    "Why do you suppose he loves all this stuff so much?" Rose asked.
    "I don't know," James said. "I think part of it is because he grew up a wizard, not like us. My dad grew up with Muggles. Your mum too. They brought a bit of the Muggle world with them, so to us, it's no mystery. But for Granddad, the Muggle world is as foreign as aliens would be to us. He just loves figuring out how it all works, and what they use it for."
    "He could just take a Muggle Studies course, nowadays, couldn't he?" Rose said as the two of them turned toward the door. "They didn't have classes like that when he was a kid."
    James shrugged. "I guess so. I don't think he wants to learn it like that though. That's not the point for him. I don't really know what he thinks the point is though."
    Rose tilted her head. "He just loves the mystery of it, don't you think?"
    "Well, what's the point of a mystery if you never find out?" James frowned.
    "You're such a boy, James. The moment the mystery is solved, it's not a mystery anymore."
    "Granddad's a boy too, you know."
    "No, Grandfather's a man."
    James rolled his eyes. "What's the difference, then?"
    Rose sniffed. "Well, a man can catch the Snitch and not come out smelling like a rancid cider house."
    James chased her the rest of the way to the back door.
    Inside, Grandma Weasley was frantically arranging the final details as the family milled around, mostly trying to stay out of her way.
    "Hugo! Dominique! You get your fingers away from that cake this moment!" she admonished as she passed by the table, her arms full of plates and cutlery. "Fleur, would you be a dear and help me with the pudding? It's Arthur's favorite and I want it right in the middle of the table. Oh, when did this family become so large that we can't eat indoors without sitting on each other's laps?"
    "It's your fault entirely, Mum," George said reasonably. "You can't go having seven kids and not expect the lot of us to see it as a dare to have more."
    "Don't you start," Angelina said, grimacing and throwing an arm around his neck.
    "You knew what you were getting into when you got engaged to me," George replied airily. "The thing I love best about you is your childbearing hips."
    Angelina tightened her grip around his neck, dragging him into the parlor where everyone was gathering.
    "How'd the match go, James?" Bill asked from his seat next to his son Louis.
    James shrugged and grinned. "Pretty good. Nobody got killed. I caught the Snitch."
    Louis smiled crookedly. "Rose told us all about it already."
    James rolled his eyes as Bill laughed and clapped him on the shoulder.
    "Oh! Arthur will be here any moment!" Molly fretted, wringing her hands on her apron and glancing around at her gathered family. "I just know I'm forgetting something. He's so dreadfully hard to surprise. James! You didn't change your shirt! You're covered with rotten apple! No! Don't sit on the sofa! It's too late now to do anything about it, I