The City of Mages

[Samus Aran]

“Professor Dumbledore,” began the man. “Chief Warlock. I have nothing but respect for you. You are, in my opinion, the greatest wizard the Omniverse has ever seen. But I say this with all due respect: you need a more secure password.”

“Narantel, you worry too much,” dismissed the older council member, with the hint of a grin on his face. “You already have far too many guards around this place.”

Narantel sighed. “We can never have enough guards. This is the seat of Camelot’s power.”

Dumbledore waved his hand. “Can I speak for a moment? I know you worry, but it’s not like I can’t defend myself. Every additional guard is simply another body to get through, and it’s become so crowded that it takes fifteen minutes just to get out of the building.”

“I hardly see how that’s a big deal.” egg

“Look at the big picture. If I feel like an ice cream at lunchtime, it takes me over half an hour to get out to the shops and back. Then I might be late for a council meeting. What if it’s important? It could put the whole Kingdom at risk. All because there are too many guards.”

Narantel’s exasperation was growing. “Go without. Or get a freezer in here.”

“I don’t always feel like the same thing. The point is, if I don’t get a snack at lunchtime then I’m going to get stressed. Stressed heads don’t think straight.”

“Couldn’t you just teleport out anyway?” Narantel realised, suddenly, that once again he’d been completely derailed, and struggled to remember what the actual point had been. “Look, the point is, you need a better password. Every other council member has sophisticated locking systems. I only have a faint grasp of how most of the others protect themselves, and that’s how it should be. You, on the other hand, are protected by the phrase ‘Sherbet Lemons’.”

“Don’t say it aloud! Anyway, anything longer and I’d have to write it down. Then it’d just be waiting to be found. The password is fine, and I’m not changing it.”

Suddenly their conversation was interrupted by the creaking of the door. A man stood there, somewhat sheepishly.

Harry spoke. “…Yeah. Sorry about that. I overhead you say the password. I was just looking to speak with you, really.”

Dumbledore looked at the newcomer, then back to Narantel. He folded his hands. Then, sighing, he stood up. “I’ll see about getting some sound blocking.”

If Narantel felt victorious, it didn’t show on his face. “Are you at least going to let me throw out this trespasser?”

“I highly doubt any assassin would look so hopelessly lost.”

Narantel spread his hands and stomped out, past Harry. “I’m going back to the council chambers.”