Fallen Warrior
"Hagrid?"
Harry struggled to raise himself out of the debris of metal and leather that
surrounded him; his hands sank into inches of muddy water as he tried to stand. He could
not understand where Voldemort had gone and expected him to swoop out of the
darkness at any moment. Something hot and wet was trickling down his chin and from
his forehead. He crawled out of the pond and stumbled toward the GREat dark mass on the
ground that was Hagrid.
"Hagrid? Hagrid, talk to me –"
But the dark mass did not stir.
"Who\'s there? Is it Potter? Are you Harry Potter?"
Harry did not recognize the man\'s voice. Then a woman shouted. "They\'ve
crashed. Ted! Crashed in the garden!"
Harry\'s head was swimming.
"Hagrid," he repeated stupidly, and his knees buckled.
The next thing he knew, he was lying on his back on what felt like cushions, with
a burning sensation in his ribs and right arm. His missing tooth had been regrown. The
scar on his forehead was still throbbing.
"Hagrid?"
He opened his eyes and saw that he was lying on a sofa in an unfamiliar, lamplit
sitting room. His rucksack lay on the floor a short distance away, wet and muddy. A fair-
haired, big-bellied man was watching Harry anxiously.
"Hagrid\'s fine, son," said the man, "the wife\'s seeing to him now. How are you
feeling? Anything else broken? I\'ve fixed your ribs, your tooth, and your arm. I\'m Ted, by
the way, Ted Tonks – Dora\'s father."
Harry sat up too quickly. Lights popped in front of his eyes and he felt sick and
giddy.
"Voldemort –"
"Easy, now," said Ted Tonks, placing a hand on Harry\'s shoulder and pushing him
back against the cushions. "That was a nasty crash you just had. What happened,
anyway? Something go wrong with the bike? Arthur Weasley overstretch himself again,
him and his Muggle contraptions?"
"No," said Harry, as his scar pulsed like an open wound. "Death Eaters, loads of
them – we were chased –"
"Death Eaters?" said Ted sharply. "What d\'you mean, Death Eaters? I thought
they didn\'t know you were being moved tonight, I thought –"
"They knew," said Harry.
Ted Tonks looked up at the ceiling as though he could see through it to the sky
above.
"Well, we know our protective charms hold, then, don\'t we? They shouldn\'t be
able to get within a hundred yards of the place in any direction."
Now Harry understood why Voldemort had vanished; it had been at the point
when the motorbike crossed the barrier of the Order\'s charms. He only hoped they would
continue to work: He imagined Voldemort, a hundred yards above them as they spoke,
looking for a way to penetrate what Harry visualized as a great transparent bubble.
He swung his legs off the sofa; he needed to see Hagrid with his own eyes before
he would believe that he was alive. He had barely stood up, however, when a door
opened and Hagrid squeezed through it, his face covered in mud and blood, limping a
little but miraculously alive.
"Harry!"
Knocking over two delicate tables and an aspidistra, he covered the floor between
them in two strides and pulled Harry into a hug that nearly cracked his newly repaired
ribs. "Blimey, Harry, how did yeh get out o\' that? I thought we were both goners."
"Yeah, me too. I can\'t believe –"
Harry broke off. He had just noticed the woman who had entered the room behind
Hagrid.
"You!" he shouted, and he thrust his hand into his pocket, but it was empty.
"Your wand\'s here, son," said Ted, tapping it on Harry\'s arm. "It fell right beside
you, I picked it up…And that\'s my wife you\'re shouting at."
"Oh, I\'m – I\'m sorry."
As she moved forward into the room, Mrs. Tonks\'s resemblance to her sister
Bellatrix became much less pronounced: Her hair was a light’s oft brown and her eyes
were wider and kinder. Nevertheless, she looked a little haughty after Harry\'s
exclamation.
"What happened to our daughter?" she asked. "Hagrid said you were ambushed;
where is Nymphadora?"
"I don\'t know," said Harry. "We don\'t know what happened to anyone else."
She and Ted exchanged looks. A mixture of fear and guilt gripped Harry at the
sight of their expressions, if any of the others had died, it was his fault, all his fault. He
had consented to the plan, given them his hair . . .
"The Portkey," he said, remembering all of a sudden. "We\'ve got to get back to
the Burrow and find out – then we\'ll be able to send you word, or – or Tonks will, once
she\'s –"
"Dora\'ll be ok, \'Dromeda," said Ted. "She knows her stuff, she\'s been in plenty of
tight spots with the Aurors. The Portkey\'s through here," he added to Harry. "It\'s
supposed to leave in three minutes, if you want to take it."
"Yeah, we do," said Harry. He seized his rucksack, swung it onto his shoulders. "I
–"
He looked at Mrs. Tonks, wanting to apologize for the state of fear in which he
left her and for which he felt so terribly responsible, but no words occurred to him that he
did not seem hollow and insincere.
"I\'ll tell Tonks – Dora – to send word, when she . . . Thanks for patching us up,
thanks for everything, I –"
He was glad to leave the room and follow Ted Tonks along a short hallway and
into a bedroom. Hagrid came after them, bending low to avoid hitting his head on the
door lintel.
"There you go, son. That\'s the Portkey."
Mr. Tonks was pointing to a small, silver-backed hairbrush lying on the dressing
table.
"Thanks," said Harry, reaching out to place a finger on it, ready to leave.
"Wait a moment," said Hagrid, looking around. "Harry, where\'s Hedwig?"
"She . . . she got hit," said Harry.
The realization crashed over him: He felt ashamed of himself as the tears stung
his eyes. The owl had been his companion, his one great link with the magical world
whenever he had been forced to return to the Dursleys.
Hagrid reached out a great hand and patted him painfully on the shoulder.
"Never mind," he said gruffly, "Never mind. She had a great old life –"
"Hagrid!" said Ted Tonks warningly, as the hairbrush glowed bright blue, and
Hagrid only just got his forefinger to it in time.
With a jerk behind the navel as though an invisible hook and line had dragged
him forward, Harry was pulled into nothingness, spinning uncontrollably, his finger glued
to the Portkey as he and Hagrid hurtled away from Mr. Tonks. Second later, Harry\'s feet
slammed onto hard ground and he fell onto his hands and knees in the yard of the Burrow.
He heard screams. Throwing aside the no longer glowing hairbrush, Harry stood up,
swaying slightly, and saw Mrs. Weasley and Ginny running down the steps by the back
door as Hagrid, who had also collapsed on landing, clambered laboriously to his feet.
"Harry? You are the real Harry? What happened? Where are the others?" cried
Mrs. Weasley.
"What d\'you mean? Isn\'t anyone else back?" Harry panted.
The answer was clearly etched in Mrs. Weasley\'s pale face.
"The Death Eaters were waiting for us," Harry told her, "We were surrounded the
moment we took off – they knew it was tonight – I don\'t know what happened to anyone
else, four of them chased us, it was all we could do to get away, and then Voldemort
caught up with us –"
He could hear the self-justifying note in his voice, the plea for her to understand
why he did not know what had happened to her sons, but –
"Thank goodness you\'re all right," she said, pulling him into a hug he did not feel
he deserved.
"Haven\'t go\' any brandy, have yeh, Molly?" asked Hagrid a little shakily, "Fer
medicinal purposes?"
She could have summoned it by magic, but as she hurried back toward the
crooked house, Harry knew that she wanted to hide her face. He turned to Ginny and she
answered his unspoken plea for information at once.
"Ron and Tonks should have been back first, but they missed their Portkey, it
came back without them," she said, pointing at a rusty oil can lying on the ground nearby.
"And that one," she pointed at an ancient sneaker, "should have been Dad and Fred\'s,
they were supposed to be second. You and Hagrid were third and," she checked her
watch, "if they made it, George and Lupin aught to be back in about a minute."
Mrs. Weasley reappeared carrying a bottle of brandy, which she handed to Hagrid.
He uncorked it and drank it straight down in one.
"Mum!" shouted Ginny pointing to a spot several feet away.
A blue light had appeared in the darkness: It grew larger and brighter, and Lupin
and George appeared, spinning and then falling. Harry knew immediately that there was
something wrong: Lupin was supporting George, who was unconscious and whose face
was covered in blood.
Harry ran forward and seized George\'s legs. Together, he and Lupin carried
George into the house and through the kitchen to the living room, where they laid him on
the sofa. As the lamplight fell across George\'s head, Ginny gasped and Harry\'s stomach
lurched: One of George\'s ears was missing. The side of his head and neck were drenched
in wet, shockingly scarlet blood.
No sooner had Mrs. Weasley bent over her son that Lupin grabbed Harry by the
upper arm and dragged him, none too gently, back into the kitchen, where Hagrid was
still attempting to ease his bulk through the back door.
"Oi!" said Hagrid indignantly, "Le\' go of him! Le\' go of Harry!"
Lupin ignored him.
"What creature sat in the corner the first time that Harry Potter visited my office
at Hogwarts?" he said, giving Harry a small shake. "Answer me!"
"A – a grindylow in a tank, wasn\'t it?"
Lupin released Harry and fell back against a kitchen cupboard.
"Wha\' was tha\' about?" roared Hagrid.
"I\'m sorry, Harry, but I had to check," said Lupin tersely. "We\'ve been betrayed.
Voldemort knew that you were being moved tonight and the only people who could have
told him were directly involved in the plan. You might have been an impostor."
"So why aren\' you checkin\' me?" panted Hagrid, still struggling with the door.
"You\'re half-giant," said Lupin, looking up at Hagrid. "The Polyjuice Potion is
designed for human use only."
"None of the Order would have told Voldemort we were moving tonight," said
Harry. The idea was dreadful to him, he could not believe it of any of them. "Voldemort
only caught up with me toward the end, he didn\'t know which one I was in the beginning.
If he\'d been in on the plan he\'d have known from the start I was the one with Hagrid."
"Voldemort caught up with you?" said Lupin sharply. "What happened? How did
you escape?"
Harry explained how the Death Eaters pursuing them had seemed to recognize
him as the true Harry, how they had abandoned the chase, how they must have
summoned Voldemort, who had appeared just before he and Hagrid had reached the
sanctuary of Tonks\'s parents.
"They recognized you? But how? What had you done?"
"I . . ." Harry tried to remember; the whole journey seemed like a blur of panic
and confusion. "I saw Stan Shunpike . . . . You know, the bloke who was the conductor
on the Knight Bus? And I tried to Disarm him instead of – well, he doesn\'t know what
he\'s doing, does he? He must be Imperiused!"
Lupin looked aghast.
"Harry, the time for Disarming is past! These people are trying to capture and kill
you! At least Stun if you aren\'t prepared to kill!"
"We were hundreds of feet up! Stan\'s not himself, and if I Stunned him and he\'d
fallen, he\'d have died the same as if I\'d used Avada Kedavra! Expelliarmus saved me
from Voldemort two years ago," Harry added defiantly. Lupin was reminding him of the
sneering Hufflepuff Zacharias Smith, who had jeered at Harry for wanting to teach
Dumbledore\'s Army how to Disarm.
"Yes, Harry," said Lupin with painful restraint, "and a great number of Death
Eaters witnessed that happening! Forgive me, but it was a very unusual move then, under
the imminent threat of death. Repeating it tonight in front of Death Eaters who either
witnessed or heard about the first occasion was close to suicidal!"
"So you think I should have killed Stan Shunpike?" said Harry angrily.
"Of course not," said Lupin, "but the Death Eaters – frankly, most people! –
would have expected you to attack back! Expelliarmus is a useful spell, Harry, but the
Death Eaters seem to think it is your signature move, and I urge you not to let it become
so!"
Lupin was making Harry feel idiotic, and yet there was still a grain of defiance
inside him.
"I won\'t blast people out of my way just because they\'re there," said Harry, "That\'s
Voldemort\'s job."
Lupin\'s retort was lost: Finally succeeding in squeezing through the door, Hagrid
staggered to a chair and sat down; it collapsed beneath him. Ignoring his mingled oaths
and apologies, Harry addressed Lupin again.
"Will George be okay?"
All Lupin\'s frustration with Harry seemed to drain away at the question.
"I think so, although there\'s no chance of replacing his ear, not when it\'s been
cursed off –"
There was a scuffling from outside. Lupin dived for the back door; Harry leapt
over Hagrid\'s legs and sprinted into the yard.
Two figures had appeared in the yard, and as Harry ran toward them he realized
they were Hermione, now returning to her normal appearance, and Kingsley, both
clutching a bent coat hanger, Hermione flung herself into Harry\'s arms, but Kingsley
showed no pleasure at the sight of any of them. Over Hermione\'s shoulder Harry saw him
raise his wand and point it at Lupin\'s chest.
"The last words Albus Dumbledore spoke to the pair of us!"
"\'Harry is the best hope we have. Trust him,\'" said Lupin calmly.
Kingsley turned his wand on Harry, but Lupin said, "It\'s him, I\'ve checked!"
"All right, all right!" said Kingsley, stowing his wand back beneath his cloak,
"But somebody betrayed us! They knew, they knew it was tonight!"
"So it seems," replied Lupin, "but apparently they did not realize that there would
be seven Harrys."
"Small comfort!" snarled Kingsley. "Who else is back?"
"Only Harry, Hagrid, George, and me."
Hermione stifled a little moan behind her hand.
"What happened to you?" Lupin asked Kingsley.
"Followed by five, injured two, might\'ve killed one," Kingsley reeled off, "and we
saw You-Know-Who as well, he joined the chase halfway through but vanished pretty
quickly. Remus, he can –"
"Fly," supplied Harry. "I saw him too, he came after Hagrid and me."
"So that\'s why he left, to follow you!" said Kingsley, "I couldn\'t understand why
he\'d vanished. But what made him change targets?"
"Harry behaved a little too kindly to Stan Shunpike," said Lupin.
"Stan?" repeated Hermione. "But I thought he was in Azkaban?"
Kingsley let out a mirthless laugh.
"Hermione, there\'s obviously been a mass breakout which the Ministry has
hushed up. Travers\'s hood fell off when I cursed him, he\'s supposed to be inside too. But
what happened to you, Remus? Where\'s George?"
"He lost an ear," said Lupin.
"lost an -- ?" repeated Hermione in a high voice.
"Snape\'s work," said Lupin.
"Snape?" shouted Harry. "You didn\'t say –"
"He lost his hood during the chase. Sectumsempra was always a specialty of
Snape\'s. I wish I could say I\'d paid him back in kind, but it was all I could do to keep
George on the broom after he was injured, he was losing so much blood."
Silence fell between the four of them as they looked up at the sky. There was no
sign of movement; the stars stared back, unblinking, indifferent, unobscured by flying
friends. Where was Ron? Where were Fred and Mr. Weasley? Where were Bill, Fleur,
Tonks, Mad-Eye, and Mundungus?
"Harry, give us a hand!" called Hagrid hoarsely from the door, in which he was
stuck again. Glad of something to do, Harry pulled him free, the headed through the
empty kitchen and back into the sitting room, where Mrs. Weasley and Ginny were still
tending to George. Mrs. Weasley had staunched his bleeding now, and by the lamplight
Harry saw a clean gaping hole where George\'s ear had been.
"How is he?"
Mrs. Weasley looked around and said, "I can\'t make it grow back, not when it\'s
been removed by Dark Magic. But it could\'ve been so much worse . . . . He\'s alive."
"Yeah," said Harry. "Thank God."
"Did I hear someone else in the yard?" Ginny asked.
"Hermione and Kingsley," said Harry.
"Thank goodness," Ginny whispered. They looked at each other; Harry wanted to
hug her, hold on to her; he did not even care much that Mrs. Weasley was there, but
before he could act on the impulse, there was a great crash from the kitchen.
"I\'ll prove who I am, Kingsley, after I\'ve seen my son, now back off if you know
what\'s good for you!"
Harry had never heard Mr. Weasley shout like that before. He burst into the living
room, his bald patch gleaming with sweat, his spectacles askew, Fred right behind him,
both pale but uninjured.
"Arthur!" sobbed Mrs. Weasley. "Oh thank goodness!"
"How is he?"
Mr. Weasley dropped to his knees beside George. For the first time since Harry
had known him, Fred seemed to be lost for words. He gaped over the back of the sofa at
his twin\'s wound as if he could not believe what he was seeing.
Perhaps roused by the sound of Fred and their father\'s arrival, George stirred.
"How do you feel, Georgie?" whispered Mrs. Weasley.
George\'s fingers groped for the side of his head.
"Saintlike," he murmured.
"What\'s wrong with him?" croaked Fred, looking terrified. "Is his mind affected?"
"Saintlike," repeated George, opening his eyes and looking up at his brother.
"You see. . . I\'m holy. Holey, Fred, geddit?"
Mrs. Weasley sobbed harder than ever. Color flooded Fred\'s pale face.
"Pathetic," he told George. "Pathetic! With the whole wide world of ear-related
humor before you, you go for holey?"
"Ah well," said George, grinning at his tear-soaked mother. "You\'ll be able to tell
us apart now, anyway, Mum."
He looked around.
"Hi, Harry – you are Harry, right?"
"Yeah, I am," said Harry, moving closer to the sofa.
"Well, at least we got you back okay," said George. "Why aren\'t Ron and Bill
huddled round my sickbed?"
"They\'re not back yet, George," said Mrs. Weasley. George\'s grin faded. Harry
glanced at Ginny and motioned to her to accompany him back outside. As they walked
through the kitchen she said in a low voice.
"Ron and Tonks should be back by now. They didn\'t have a long journey; Auntie
Muriel\'s not that far from here."
Harry said nothing. He had been trying to keep fear at bay ever since reaching the
Burrow, but now it enveloped him, seeming to crawl over his skin, throbbing in his chest,
clogging his throat. As they walked down the back steps into the dark yard, Ginny took
his hand.
Kingsley was striding backward and forward, glancing up at the sky every time he
turned. Harry was reminded of Uncle Vernon pacing the living room a million years ago.
Hagrid, Hermione, and Lupin stood shoulder to shoulder, gazing upward in silence. None
of them looked around when Harry and Ginny joined their silent vigil.
The minutes stretched into what might as well have been years. The slightest
breath of wind made them all jump and turn toward the whispering bush or tree in the
hope that one of the missing Order members might leap unscathed from its leaves –
And then a broom materialized directly above them and streaked toward the
ground –
"It\'s them!" screamed Hermione.
Tonks landed in a long skid that sent earth and pebbles everywhere.
"Remus!" Tonks cried as she staggered off the broom into Lupin\'s arms. His face
was set and white: He seemed unable to speak, Ron tripped dazedly toward Harry and
Hermione.
"You\'re okay," he mumbled, before Hermione flew at him and hugged him tightly.
"I thought – I thought –"
"\'M all right," said Ron, patting her on the back. "\'M fine."
"Ron was great," said Tonks warmly, relinquishing her hold on Lupin.
"Wonderful. Stunned one of the Death Eaters, straight to the head, and when you\'re
aiming at a moving target from a flying broom –"
"You did?" said Hermione, gazing up at Ron with her arms still around his neck.
"Always the tone of surprise," he said a little grumpily, breaking free. "Are we the
last back?"
"No," said Ginny, "we\'re still waiting for Bill and Fleur and Mad-Eye and
Mundungus. I\'m going to tell Mum and Dad you\'re okay, Ron –"
She ran back inside.
"So what kept you? What happened?" Lupin sounded almost angry at Tonks.
"Bellatrix," said Tonks. "She wants me quite as much as she wants Harry, Remus,
She tried very hard to kill me. I just wish I\'d got her, I owe Bellatrix. But we definitely
injured Rodolphus . . . . Then we got to Ron\'s Auntie Muriel\'s and we missed our Portkey
and she was fussing over us –"
A muscle was jumping in Lupin\'s jaw. He nodded, but seemed unable to say
anything else.
"So what happened to you lot?" Tonks asked, turning to Harry, Hermione, and
Kingsley.
They recounted the stories of their own journeys, but all the time the continued
absence of Bill, Fleur, Mad-Eye, and Mundungus seemed to lie upon them like a frost, its
icy bite harder and harder to ignore.
"I\'m going to have to get back to Downing Street, I should have been there an
hour ago," said Kingsley finally, after a last sweeping gaze at the sky. "Let me know
when they\'re back,."
Lupin nodded. With a wave to the others, Kingsley walked away into the darkness
toward the gate. Harry thought he heard the faintest pop as Kingsley Disapparated just
beyond the Burrow\'s boundaries.
Mr. And Mrs. Weasley came racing down the back steps, Ginny behind them.
Both parents hugged Ron before turning to Lupin and Tonks.
"Thank you," said Mrs. Weasley, "for our sons."
"Don\'t be silly, Molly," said Tonks at once.
"How\'s George?" asked Lupin.
"What\'s wrong with him?" piped up Ron.
"He\'s lost –"
But the end of Mrs. Weasley\'s sentence was drowned in a general outcry. A
thestral had just soared into sight and landed a few feet from them. Bill and Fleur slid
from its back, windswept but unhurt.
"Bill! Thank God, thank God –"
Mrs. Weasley ran forward, but the hug Bill bestowed upon her was perfunctory.
Looking directly at his father, he said, "Mad-Eye\'s dead."
Nobody spoke, nobody moved. Harry felt as though something inside him was
falling, falling through the earth, leaving him forever.
"We saw it," said Bill; Fleur nodded, tear tracks glittering on her cheeks in the
light from the kitchen window. "It happened just after we broke out of the circle: Mad-
Eye and Dung were close by us, they were heading north too. Voldemort – he can fly –
went straight for them. Dung panicked, I heard him cry out, Mad-Eye tried to stop him,
but he Disapparated. Voldemort\'s curse hit Mad-Eye full in the face, he fell backward off
his broom and – there was nothing we could do, nothing, we had half a dozen of them on
our own tail –"
Bill\'s voice broke.
"Of course you couldn\'t have done anything," said Lupin.
They all stood looking at each other. Harry could not quite comprehend it. Mad-
Eye dead; it could not be . . . . Mad-Eye, so tough, so brave, the consummate survivor . . .
At last it seemed to dawn on everyone, though nobody said it, that there was no
point of waiting in the yard anymore, and in silence they followed Mr. And Mrs. Weasley
back into the Burrow, and into the living room, where Fred and George were laughing
together.
"What\'s wrong?" said Fred, scanning their faces as they entered, "What\'s
happened? Who\'s --?"
"Mad-Eye," said Mr. Weasley, "Dead."
The twins\' grins turned to grimaces of shock. Nobody seemed to know what to do.
Tonks was crying silently into a handkerchief: She had been close to Mad-Eye, Harry
knew, his favorite and his protégée at the Ministry of Magic. Hagrid, who had sat down
on the floor in the corner where he had most space, was dabbing at his eyes with his
tablecloth-sized handkerchief.
Bill walked over to the sideboard and pulled out a bottle of fire-whisky and some
glasses.
"Here," he said, and with a wave of his wand, eh sent twelve full glasses soaring
through the room to each of them, holding the thirteenth aloft. "Mad-Eye."
"Mad-Eye," they all said, and drank.
"Mad-Eye," echoed Hagrid, a little late, with a hiccup. The firewhisky seared
Harry\'s throat. It seemed to burn feeling back into him, dispelling the numbness and
sense of unreality firing him with something that was like courage.
"So Mundungus disappeared?" said Lupin, who had drained his own glass in one.
The atmosphere changed at once. Everybody looked tense, watching Lupin, both
wanting him to go on, it seemed to Harry, and slightly afraid of what they might hear.
"I know what you\'re thinking," said Bill, "and I wondered that too, on the way
back here, because they seemed to be expecting us, didn\'t they? But Mundungus can\'t
have betrayed us. They didn\'t know there would be seven Harrys, that confused them the
moment we appeared, and in case you\'ve forgotten, it was Mundungus who suggested
that little bit of skullduggery. Why wouldn\'t he have told them the essential point? I think
Dung panicked, it\'s as simple as that. He didn\'t want to come in the first place, but Mad-
Eye made him, and You-Know-Who went straight for them. It was enough to make
anyone panic."
"You-Know-Who acted exactly as Mad-Eye expected him to," sniffed Tonks.
"Mad-Eye said he\'d expect the real Harry to be with the toughest, most skilled Aurors. He
chased Mad-Eye first, and when Mundungus gave them away he switched to
Kingsley. . . . "
"Yes, and zat eez all very good," snapped Fleur, "but still eet does not explain \'ow
zey know we were moving \'Arry tonight, does eet? Somebody must \'ave been careless.
Somebody let slip ze date to an outsider. It is ze only explanation for zem knowing ze
date but not ze \'ole plan."
She glared around at them all, tear tracks still etched on her beautiful face, silently
daring any of them to contradict her. Nobody did. The only sound to break the silence
was that of Hagrid hiccupping from behind his handkerchief. Harry glanced at Hagrid,
who had just risked his own life to save Harry\'s – Hagrid, whom he loved, whom he
trusted, who had once been tricked into giving Voldemort crucial information in
exchange for a dragon\'s egg. . . .
"No," Harry said aloud, and they all looked at him, surprised: The firewhisky
seemed to have amplified his voice. "I mean . . . if somebody made a mistake," Harry
went on, "and let something slip, I know they didn\'t mean to do it. It\'s not their fault," he
repeated, again a little louder than he would usually have spoken. "We\'ve got to trust each
other. I trust all of you, I don\'t think anyone in this room would ever sell me to
Voldemort."
More silence followed his words. They were all looking at him; Harry felt a little
hot again, and drank some more firewhisky for something to do. As he drank, he thought
of Mad-Eye. Mad-Eye had always been scathing about Dumbledore\'s willingness to trust
people.
"Well said, Harry," said Fred unexpectedly.
"Year, \'ear, \'ear," said George, with half a glance at Fred, the corner of whose
mouth twitched.
Lupin was wearing an odd expression as he looked at Harry. It was close to
pitying.
"You think I\'m a fool?" demanded Harry.
"No, I think you\'re like James," said Lupin, "who would have regarded it as the
height of dishonor to mistrust his friends."
Harry knew what Lupin was getting at: that his father had been betrayed by his
friend Peter Pettigrew. He felt irrationally angry. He wanted to argue, but Lupin had
turned away from him, set down his glass upon a side table, and addressed Bill, "There\'s
work to do. I can ask Kingsley whether –"
"No," said Bill at once, "I\'ll do it, I\'ll come."
"Where are you going?" said Tonks and Fleur together.
"Mad-Eye\'s body," said Lupin. "We need to recover it."
"Can\'t it -- ?" began Mrs. Weasley with an appealing look at Bill.
"Wait?" said Bill, "Not unless you\'d rather the Death Eaters took it?"
Nobody spoke. Lupin and Bill said good bye and left.
The rest of them now dropped into chairs, all except for Harry, who remained
standing. The suddenness and completeness of death was with them like a presence.
"I\'ve got to go too," said Harry.
Ten pairs of startled eyes looked at him.
"Don\'t be silly, Harry," said Mrs. Weasley, "What are you talking about?"
"I can\'t stay here."
He rubbed his forehead; it was prickling again, he had not hurt like this for more
than a year.
"You\'re all in danger while I\'m here. I don\'t want –"
"But don\'t be so silly!" said Mrs. Weasley. "The whole point of tonight was to get
you here safely, and thank goodness it worked. And Fleur\'s agreed to get married here
rather than in France, we\'ve arranged everything so that we can all stay together and look
after you –"
She did not understand; she was making him feel worse, not better.
"If Voldemort finds out I\'m here –"
"But why should he?" asked Mrs. Weasley.
"There are a dozen places you might be now, Harry," said Mr. Weasley. "He\'s got
no way of knowing which safe house you\'re in."
"It\'s not me I\'m worried for!" said Harry.
"We know that," said Mr. Weasley quietly, but it would make our efforts tonight
seem rather pointless if you left."
"Yer not goin\' anywhere," growled Hagrid. "Blimey, Harry, after all we wen\'
through ter get you here?"
"Yeah, what about my bleeding ear?" said George, hoisting himself up on his
cushions.
"I know that –"
"Mad-Eye wouldn\'t want –"
"I KNOW!" Harry bellowed.
He felt beleaguered and blackmailed: Did they think he did not know what they
had done for him, didn\'t they understand that it was for precisely that reason that he
wanted to go now, before they had to suffer any more on his behalf? There was a long
and awkward silence in which his scar continued to prickle and throb, and which was
broken at last by Mrs. Weasley.
"Where\'s Hedwig, Harry?" she said coaxingly. "We can put her up with
Pidwidgeon and give her something to eat."
His insides clenched like a fist. He could not tell her the truth. He drank the last of
his firewhisky to avoid answering.
"Wait till it gets out yeh did it again, Harry," said Hagrid. "Escaped him, fought
him off when he was right on top of yeh!"
"It wasn\'t me," said Harry flatly. "It was my wand. My wand acted of its own
accord."
After a few moments, Hermione said gently, "But that\'s impossible, Harry. You
mean that you did magic without meaning to; you reacted instinctively."
"No," said Harry. "The bike was falling, I couldn\'t have told you where
Voldemort was, but my wand spun in my hand and found him and shot a spell at him, and
it wasn\'t even a spell I recognized. I\'ve never made gold flames appear before."
"Often," said Mr. Weasley, "when you\'re in a pressured situation you can produce
magic you never dreamed of. Small children often find, before they\'re trained –"
"It wasn\'t like that," said Harry through gritted teeth. His scar was burning. He felt
angry and frustrated; he hated the idea that they were all imagining him to have power to
match Voldemort\'s.
No one said anything. He knew that they did not believe him. Now that he came
to think of it, he had never heard of a wand performing magic on its own before.
His scar seared with pain, it was all he could do not to moan aloud. Muttering
about fresh air, he set down his glass and left the room.
As he crossed the yard, the great skeletal thestral looked up – rustled its enormous
batlike wings, then resumed its grazing. Harry stopped at the gate into the garden, staring
out at its overgrown plants, rubbing his pounding forehead and thinking of Dumbledore.
Dumbledore would have believed him, he knew it. Dumbledore would have
known how and why Harry\'s wand had acted independently, because Dumbledore always
had the answers; he had known about wands, had explained to Harry the strange
connection that existed between his wand and Voldemort\'s . . . . But Dumbledore, like
Mad-Eye, like Sirius, like his parents, like his poor owl, all were gone where Harry could
never talk to them again. He felt a burning in his throat that had nothing to do with
firewhisky. . . .
And then, out of nowhere, the pain in his scar peaked. As he clutched his forehead
and closed his eyes, a voice screamed inside his head.
"You told me the problem would be solved by using another\'s wand!"
And into his mind burst the vision of an emaciated old man lying in rags upon a
stone floor, screaming, a horrible drawn-out scream, a scream of unendurable agony. . . .
"No! No! I beg you, I beg you. . . ."
"You lied to Lord Voldemort, Ollivander!"
"I did not. . . . I swear I did not. . . ."
"You sought to help Potter, to help him escape me!"
"I swear I did not. . . . I believed a different wand would work. . . ."
"Explain, then, what happened. Lucius\'s wand is destroyed!"
"I cannot understand. . . . The connection . . . exists only . . between your two
wands. . . ."
"Lies!"
"Please . . . I beg you. . . ."
And Harry saw the white hand raise its wand and felt Voldemort\'s surge of
vicious anger, saw the frail old main on the floor writhe in agony –
"Harry?"
It was over as quickly as it had come: Harry stood shaking in the darkness,
clutching the gate into the garden, his heart racing, his scar still tingling. It was several
moments before he realized that Ron and Hermione were at his side.
"Harry, come back in the house," Hermione whispered, "You aren\'t still thinking
of leaving?"
"Yeah, you\'ve got to stay, mate," said Ron, thumping Harry on the back.
"Are you all right?" Hermione asked, close enough now to look into Harry\'s face.
"You look awful!"
"Well," said Harry shakily, "I probably look better than Ollivander. . . ."
When he had finished telling them what he had seen, Ron looked appalled, but
Hermione downright terrified.
"But it was supposed to have stopped! Your scar – it wasn\'t supposed to do this
anymore! You mustn\'t let that connection open up again – Dumbledore wanted you to
close your mind!"
When he did not reply, she gripped his arm.
"Harry, he\'s taking over the Ministry and the newspapers and half the Wizarding
world! Don\'t let him inside your head too!"
“海格？”
哈利在一片狼籍的金属和皮革残骸中挣扎着爬起身，手掌一用力又陷入了泥泞之中。他想不通伏地魔去哪儿了，他觉得也许伏地魔随时会从黑暗中对他袭击而来。一些温热潮湿的东西从他的下巴和前额上滴落下来，他爬出那滩泥泞，跌跌撞撞地向着地上那片又大又黑的阴影走去，那是海格。
“海格？海格，跟我说句话呀——”
但是那个黑色的大块头没有动静。
“谁在那儿？是波特吗？你是哈利波特吗？”
哈利不认得那个声音，随后，一个女人叫了起来，“他们摔下来了。泰德！摔在花园里了！”
哈利顿时觉得头晕目眩。
“海格，”他机械地重复着，感觉膝盖好像被扣住了一样动弹不得。
当他清醒过来的时候，感觉自己躺在一个垫子似的东西上面，肋骨和右臂火辣辣的疼，磕掉的牙又重新长了出来，前额上的伤疤还在一跳一跳的抽痛。
“海格？”
哈利睁开了眼睛，发现自己躺在一个陌生房间的沙发上面，屋里亮着灯，他那湿答答的帆布背包上沾满了泥巴，扔在离他不远的地上。一个金发、大腹便便的男人正焦急地注视着他。
“海格没事，孩子”，那个男人说，“我的妻子正在照顾他。你觉得怎么样？还有什么地方受了伤吗？我帮你治疗了你的肋骨，牙齿和胳膊。顺便说一句，我是泰德，泰德•唐克斯，朵拉的父亲。”
哈利猛地坐了起来，灯光照在他的眼睛上，他觉得一阵头晕和恶心。
“伏地魔——”
“放松，现在别急，”泰德•唐克斯说道，伸出手扶着哈利的肩膀，让他重新靠在垫子上，“你可是摔得不轻，到底发生什么事了？摩托车出了什么问题吗？亚瑟•韦斯莱又做了他自己力所不及的事情吗，他和他的麻瓜精巧装置？”
“不，”哈利说，他的伤疤像裂开似的疼。“食死徒，很多食死徒——在追击我们——”
“食死徒？”泰德的声音一下子变得尖利起来，“什么意思，食死徒？我以为他们并不知道我们要在今天晚上把你转移，我以为——”
“他们知道了。”哈利说。
泰德•唐克斯抬头看着天花板，好像他的目光能穿透那里直到外面的天空中去。
“那么，我们知道那时我们的保护咒仍在起作用，不是吗？他们不论从哪个方向都应该无法进入你周围的一百公尺才对。”
现在哈利明白了，伏地魔是在摩托车冲入凤凰社保护咒的那一刹那消失不见的。他现在只希望这些咒语仍然有效：他想象着伏地魔正在一百公尺外的高空上看着哈利被一个巨大的透明圆球保护了起来，看着他们的交谈，同时寻找一切空隙想要杀进来。
他把腿从沙发上挪下来，他必须亲眼看一看才能相信海格安然无恙。他还没站起来，门就开了，海格从门外费力地挤进来，脸上沾着血和泥，尽管有一点跛，仍然奇迹般的活着。
“哈利！”
海格撞翻了两张精致的桌子和一盆蜘蛛抱蛋草，两步跨过房间，把哈利紧紧拥抱在怀里，几乎压碎了他新长好的肋骨。“啊呀，哈利，你怎么逃出来的？我还以为这下咱俩都完了。”
“嗯，我也是。我没想到……”
哈利突然顿住了，他这才看到有个女人在海格身后进入了房间。
“你！”他大喊，飞快地把手伸进口袋想去拿魔杖，但是那空空如也。
“你的魔杖在这儿，孩子，”泰德提醒道，把魔杖轻搭在哈利的胳膊上。“它掉在你身边，我就拣起来了，这位……是我的妻子。”
“哦，我……我很抱歉。”
唐克斯夫人走进房间，现在她看上去和她的姐姐，贝拉特里克斯，并不是那么惊人的相似了：她有着浅棕色柔软的头发，眼睛看上去也更宽厚友善。但是由于哈利的叫嚷，她看上去有一点傲慢。
“我们的女儿怎么样了？”她问，“海格说你们中了埋伏，尼法朵拉在哪儿？”
“我不知道，”哈里回答道。“我们不知道其他人怎么样了。”
她和泰德对视了一眼，看到他们的表情，一种混合着恐惧和内疚的感觉紧紧攫住了哈利。如果有任何一个人死了，那都是他的错，全是他的错。是他同意了这个计划的，把自己的头发给了他们……
“门钥匙，”他忽然想起来，“我们必须回到陋居去看看……然后我们会给你们消息，或者……或者是唐克斯会亲自给你们送信，只要她……”
“朵拉会没事的，多米达，”泰德安慰道，“她很清楚自己的能力，也多次跟着傲罗们出生入死过。门钥匙在这儿，”他对哈利说，“它会在三分钟内离开，如果你们想用的话。”
“是的，我们得走了。”哈利说。他一把抓过自己的背包，甩到肩上。“我……”他看着唐克斯夫人，想要为把她置于这样恐慌的境地里道歉，他觉得自己对此承担着极大的责任，但是他没能想起一句让自己听起来不那么虚伪的说辞。
“我会告诉唐克斯……朵拉……送信过来的，等她回……谢谢你们救了我们，谢谢你们所做的一切，我……”
他很高兴终于离开了那个房间，跟着泰德•唐克斯穿过一段很短的走廊进入一间卧室。海格紧跟其后，弓着身子，以免他的头撞到门梁。
“在那里，孩子，那是门钥匙。”
唐克斯先生指着梳妆台上一个小小的银色背面的梳子说。
“谢谢，”哈利说，伸出一根手指放在梳子上，准备离开。
“等一下，”海格说，同时向四周张望。“哈利，海德薇在哪儿？”
“她……她被击中了，”哈利说。
这个认知差点摧垮了他：泪水刺痛着他的眼睛，他替自己感到羞耻。那只猫头鹰是他的伙伴，每当他被迫回到德思礼家的时候，她是他跟魔法世界之间一根重要的纽带。
海格伸出一只大手，沉痛地拍了拍他的肩膀。
“别难过了，”他粗声说，“别难过了。她过了长寿而伟大的一生——”
“海格！”泰德•唐克斯大声提醒着，那把梳子发出明亮的蓝光，海格只来得及把食指伸出去搭在上面。
他们的肚脐下面猛的一紧，好像有那里有有一个看不见的钩子和绳索把他们拽得飞了起来，他们完全失去控制地旋转着被推入了虚空，手指像是粘在了梳子上，哈利和海格远离了唐克斯先生。一秒钟以后，哈利的双脚“砰”地撞上了坚硬的土地，他双手着地跪在陋居的后院里，海格也重重地摔在了地上，费力地用双脚站起来。哈利把暗淡无光的梳子甩到一边，摇晃着站起身，听见了一声尖叫，他看到韦斯莱夫人和金妮从后门的台阶上跑下来，
“哈利？真的是哈利吗？发生了什么事？其他人在哪儿？”韦斯莱夫人哭喊着。
“什么意思？没有其他人回来吗？”哈利喘着粗气回答。
韦斯莱夫人苍白的脸上清楚地写着答案。
“食死徒在那儿等着我们的，”哈利告诉她，“我们一出发就被他们包围了……他们知道是今晚……我不知道其他人怎么样了，四个食死徒在追我们，我们只有逃跑，然后伏地魔追上了我们——”
哈利自己都能听到话中那自我辩解的味道，他是在求韦斯莱夫人谅解为什么自己对她儿子的状况一无所知，但是……
“谢天谢地你没事，”韦斯莱夫人一把抱住哈利，可是哈利觉得自己根本不配得到这样的待遇。
“有白兰地吗，莫莉？”海格微微颤抖着问道，“就当是用来治病？”
韦斯莱夫人本可以用魔法把酒取过来的，但她转身迅速朝着倾斜的房子走去，哈利知道她不想让别人看见她的脸。他望向金妮，无声的询问着现在的状况，金妮立刻明白了，她说：“罗恩和唐克斯应该最先回来的，但他们错过了门钥匙，钥匙回来了，但他们没有，”她指着地上的一个生了锈的油罐。“还有那个，”她指着一只球鞋，“那应该是父亲和弗雷德的，他们应该第二个回来。你和海格是第三个。”她看了看表，“如果乔治和卢平一切顺利的话，应该在一分钟内到这里。”
韦斯莱夫人拿着一瓶白兰地走了出来，递给了海格，他拔去塞子，一饮而尽。
“妈妈！“金妮指着几英尺外叫到。
黑暗中一道蓝光闪现：它变得越来越大，越来越亮，卢平和乔治从中间旋转着落了下来。哈利马上意识到有什么地方不对劲，卢平支撑着乔治，后者已经失去知觉，脸上全是血。
哈利跑过去抓住了乔治的腿，和卢平一起把乔治抬进屋里，穿过厨房，一直抬到客厅，把他放在沙发上。灯光照亮了乔治的头，金妮倒抽了一口气，哈利觉得自己的胃里一阵翻涌：乔治失去了一只耳朵。伤口这边的脸和脖子鲜血淋漓。
韦斯莱夫人把她儿子的身子翻过来，而卢平一把拽过哈利的上臂，粗鲁地地把他拖出房间，带进了厨房，海格还在试图让自己的大块头从后门中挤进房间。
“喂！”海格愤怒地喊道，“放开他！放开哈利！”
卢平没有理他。
“哈利波特在霍格沃兹第一次拜访我的办公室时，在角落里的是什么生物？”他问，微微摇晃着哈利。“回答我！”
“一个……一个在柜子里的格林迪洛，不是吗？”
卢平放开了哈利，向后倒在了厨房的碗碟橱上。
“这是在干什么 ？”海格咆哮着质问。
“对不起，哈利，但是我不得不这么做，”卢平简洁地回答，“我们被出卖了，伏地魔知道我们要在今天晚上把你转移，能把这个情报透露给他的只有直接参与这次行动的人。你也可能被人冒充。”
“那你为什么不检查我？”海格喘着粗气说，仍然在和后门劲。
“你有一半巨人血统，”卢平抬头看着海格说。“复方药剂只能给人类使用。”
“不会是凤凰社的人告诉伏地魔我们要在今晚转移的，”哈利说。
这个念头对他来说太可怕了，他不相信任何人会做出这种事。“伏地魔最后才追上我，一开始他并不知道哪一个是我。如果他知道整个计划，那么一开始他就应该知道跟着海格的是我。”
“伏地魔追上你了？”卢平厉声问道。“发生了什么事？你怎么逃脱的？”
哈利告诉卢平，食死徒们是如何在追赶他们的途中认出了他，他们是怎么放弃了追赶，他们是怎样召唤出伏地魔来，就在他和海格马上要赶到唐克斯父母的避难所的时候，伏地魔出现了。
“他们认出你来了？可是他们是怎么做到的？你都做了些什么？”
“我……”哈利尽力的回想着，整个旅程充满了恐慌和混乱，“我看到了斯坦•桑帕克……你知道，就是骑士巴士上的那个售票员，我试着去解除他的武器……他根本不知道他在做什么，不是么？他一定被施了夺魂咒！”
卢平看上去吓呆了。
“哈利，‘除你武器’的时代已经过去了！这些人想要抓住你然后杀了你！就算你没有准备好杀人至少也要用昏迷咒！”
“我们当时是在几百英尺高！斯坦•桑帕克已经不是原来的他了，而且如果我对他使用了昏迷咒他会掉下去摔死，这和我直接用阿瓦达索命没有区别！两年前‘除你武器咒’把我从伏地魔手里救了出来！”哈利反驳道。卢平让他想起了赫奇帕奇学院的那个总是一脸轻蔑样的扎卡赖斯•史密斯，他嘲笑过哈利竟然教邓不利多军“除你武器咒”。
“是的，哈利，”卢平痛苦地克制着自己，“并且许多食死徒都目睹了它的发生！原谅我，但是这次行动非同寻常，是极大的死亡威胁下进行的。在目睹或者听到了你上次行动的食死徒前再次使用它无异于自杀！”
“所以你觉得我应该杀了斯坦•桑帕克？”哈利愤怒地问。
“当然不是，”卢平说，“但是食死徒——坦白讲，大多数人——希望你攻击回去！除你武器是个有用的咒语，哈利，但是食死徒似乎认为它是你的标志性动作，我强烈要求你不要让事情变成那样！”
卢平让哈利觉得自己像个傻瓜，他体内仍然埋藏着叛逆的种子。
“我不会只是因为别人挡了我的路就杀了他们，”哈利说，“那是伏地魔才干的事。”
卢平没有再反驳。海格终于成功挤过了那扇门，他摇晃着走到椅子旁边坐下；椅子压塌了。哈利没有理会海格的赌咒和道歉，又转向卢平。
“乔治还好吧？”
卢平面对哈利时所有的挫折感都被这个问题一扫而空。
“我想是的，尽管他的耳朵不可能再长回来了，用咒语治疗也不行——”
外面传来一阵混乱的声音，卢平向后门冲了过去，哈利跳过海格的腿快步跑向了后院。
两个人出现在后院里，哈利跑近后认出了是赫敏，她已经恢复了平常的装扮，还有金斯莱，两人都紧抓着一个弯曲的晾衣架。赫敏扑进了哈利的怀抱，但是金斯莱看见了他们没有一点高兴的样子。哈利越过赫敏的肩膀看见他举起了魔杖，指着卢平的胸膛。
“邓不利多最后对我们两个说的什么！”
“哈利是我们的最大希望。相信他。”卢平平静地回答。
金斯莱把魔杖转过来对着哈利，但卢平制止了他，“是他，我检查过了！”
“好吧，好吧！”金斯莱说着把魔杖塞回了斗篷下面，“但是有人出卖了我们！他们知道，他们知道是今晚！”
“看上去是这样，”卢平回应道，“但是很明显他们没有弄清楚有七个哈利。”
“就这么点安慰！”金斯莱咆哮着说。“还有谁回来了？”
“只有哈利，海格，乔治和我。”
赫敏捂住嘴，发出一声闷闷的呻吟。
“你们遇到什么事？”卢平问金斯莱。
“被五个食死徒追，伤了两个，可能杀了一个，”金斯莱滔滔不绝地说，“而且我们也看到了神秘人，他半道上加入了追赶我们的行列，但是很快就消失了。莱姆斯，他能——”
“飞，”哈利回答道。“我也看见他了，他在追海格和我。”
“所以他离开是去追你！”金斯莱喊起来，“我还纳闷他为什么消失了呢，但是究竟是什么使他转移了目标？”
“哈利对斯坦•桑帕克表现得有点过于友善了，”卢平说哦。
“斯坦•桑帕克？”赫敏重复着这个名字。“可我记得他在阿兹卡班啊？”
金斯莱阴沉地笑了笑：“赫敏，很明显有一场规模很大的越狱事件，可是魔法部却把这件事掩盖下来。我向特莱维尔施咒的时候，他的兜帽滑落下来，他肯定也是其中一员。你们遇到了什么事，莱姆斯？乔治在哪儿？”
“他失去了一只耳朵，”卢平说。
“失去一只——？”赫敏尖声重复。
“斯内普干的，”卢平补充道。
“斯内普？”哈利叫了起来。“你没跟我说——”
“在追逐过程中他的兜帽掉了。神锋无影咒一直是斯内普的专长。我希望我能够说出我已经报复了他这样的话，但是在乔治受伤后我只能保护他在扫帚上不掉下来，他流了许多血。”
一阵静默笼罩了这四个人，他们抬头看着天空。没有任何东西移动的痕迹，星辰也看着他们，它们持续闪耀而冷漠，尽管有人飞来飞去却依然不被遮掩。
罗恩在哪儿？弗雷德和韦斯莱先生在哪儿？比尔，芙蓉，唐克斯，疯眼汉和蒙顿格斯在哪儿？
“哈利，过来搭把手！”海格站在门口用嘶哑的声音喊道，他又被卡在那儿了。哈利很高兴有事情可以做，他把海格推了进去，穿过没人的厨房回到客厅，韦斯莱夫人和金妮仍然在那儿照料乔治。韦斯莱夫人已经帮他止了血，借着灯光，哈利看到乔治原来长着耳朵的地方留下一个清晰的孔。
“他怎么样了？”
韦斯莱夫人看了看周围说，“我没法让它再长回来，被黑魔法伤害了就不能再长出来了。但是事情本来可能更糟糕的……至少他还活着。”
“是啊，”哈利说。“感谢上帝。”
“我是好象听见后院里有什么动静？”金妮问。
“是赫敏和金斯莱，”哈利说。
“谢天谢地，”金妮低声说。他们看着彼此，哈利很想拥抱她，把她抱在怀里；他甚至不在乎韦斯莱夫人也在场了，然而就在他几乎控制不了自己的冲动时，厨房里传来碰撞的一声巨响。
“我会向你证明我是谁的，金斯莱，得等我看见我的儿子，如果你聪明的话现在马上后退！”
哈利从来没有听到韦斯莱先生那样吼过，他直直闯入客厅，头上秃顶的地方闪烁着汗珠，眼镜歪在一边，弗雷德就跟在他身后，两人都面色苍白，但是没有受伤。
“亚瑟！”韦斯莱夫人呜咽起来。“哦！谢天谢地！”
“他怎么样了？”
韦斯莱先生在乔治身边跪了下来。从哈利认识弗雷德以来，他第一次看上去丧失了语言能力。他靠在沙发背上张大了嘴巴看着双胞胎兄弟的伤口，似乎不相信眼前的事。
也许是被弗雷德和他父亲到来的声音弄醒了，乔治动了一下。
“你觉得怎么样，乔治？”韦斯莱夫人问。
乔治用手指摸索着他头受伤的一边。
“像个圣人。”他嘟囔着。
“他怎么了？”弗雷德嘶哑着问道，看上去很害怕。“他的脑子坏了？”
“像个圣人，”乔治重复道，睁开眼睛往上看着他的兄弟。“你看……我变神圣了，有洞的，弗雷德，明白了？”（注：乔治在这指的是HOLY 和HOLEY的同音双关）
韦斯莱夫人呜咽得更厉害了。喜色涌上弗雷德苍白的脸。
“真可悲啊，”他对乔治说，“可悲！全世界有关耳朵的笑话都堆在你面前，你就捡了个有洞的？”
“啊，对了，”乔治微笑着对他满脸泪水的母亲说。“无论如何，以后你就能分清我们俩了，妈妈。”
他向四周看了看。
“嗨，哈利——你是哈利，对吧？”
“是的，我是，”哈利回答，向沙发靠近了一些。
“恩，至少我们把你安全带回来了，”乔治说。“为什么罗恩和比尔没有簇拥到我的病榻旁边？”
“他们还没回来，乔治，”韦斯莱夫人说。乔治的微笑褪了下去。哈利扫了金妮一眼，用动作示意她和他一起回到外面去，他们通过厨房时金妮低声说道：
“罗恩和唐克斯现在应该回来了，他们要走的距离不长，穆丽尔姨妈的家离这里没那么远。”
哈利一言不发。自从到达陋居开始，他就一直努力不让恐惧靠近自己，可是现在莫大的恐惧包围着他，似乎攀爬上他的皮肤，在他胸膛里不停悸动，堵住他的喉咙。他们走下进入后院的台阶时金妮牵住了他的手。
金斯莱大步地走来走去，每次转身的时候都抬头扫视天空。哈利想起了一千年前弗农姨夫在客厅里来回踱步的样子。海格，赫敏和卢平肩靠肩地站着，沉默地向上看。哈利和金妮加入他们无声的守侯时，没人理会他俩。
这几分钟漫长的好像过了好几年。任何轻微的风声都会使得他们跳起来，转向发出声音的灌木或树，希望能看到某一个还未回来的凤凰社成员毫发无伤地从那些叶子里跳出来——然后，就在这个时候，一把扫帚在他们正上方显形，快速坠落到地上——“是他们！”赫敏尖叫起来。
唐克斯在一个长刹车后着陆，扬得尘土和沙砾到处都是。
“莱姆斯！”唐克斯尖叫摇晃着从扫帚上下来，扑进卢平的怀里。罗恩的脸色呆板苍白，他看起来说不出话，头晕眼花，跌跌撞撞地向哈利和赫敏走过去。
“你平安无事，”他喃喃自语，赫敏朝他飞奔过来，紧紧拥抱他。
“我以为——我以为——”
“我没事，”罗恩说，拍打着她的背。“我很好。”
“罗恩棒极了，”唐克斯热情地说，放开了卢平。“简直太好了。打昏了一个食死徒，正中头部，尤其还是在飞行的扫帚上瞄准一个移动的目标——”
“这是真的？”赫敏问，仰脸盯着罗恩，胳膊仍然环着他的脖子。
“总是那副惊讶的样子，”他有点粗暴地说，打破了轻松的气氛。“我们是最后回来的吗？”
“不是，”金妮说，“我们还在等比尔，芙蓉，疯眼汉和蒙顿格斯。我要去告诉爸妈你没事，罗恩——”
她跑进屋子。
“是什么绊住了你们？发生什么事了？”卢平听上去似乎对唐克斯感到生气。
“是贝拉特里克斯，”唐克斯说。“她想要我的命不亚于要哈利的，莱姆斯，她憋足了劲想杀了我。我只希望我能抓住她，我记住她了！但是我们伤了鲁道夫……然后我们去了罗恩的穆丽尔姨妈的家，错过门钥匙，她还在那儿对我们大惊小怪——”
卢平的收紧了下巴，点点头，似乎说不出别的话来了。
“你们那组发生了什么事？”唐克斯问道，转向哈利，赫敏和金斯莱。他们各自讲述了自己的经历，然而比尔，芙蓉，疯眼汉和蒙顿格斯的缺席像浓雾一样笼罩在他们身上，寒冷的侵蚀使得它越来越难以被忽略。
“我必须回唐宁街去，我一个小时前就应该到那里了，”金斯莱最后扫视了天空一次，说道：“他们回来了就通知我。”
卢平点了点头，金斯莱冲其他人挥挥手，走进门外的黑暗里。哈利觉得他听到了金斯莱越过陋居边界后幻影移行的微弱爆破声。
韦斯莱先生和韦斯莱夫人奔跑着冲下楼梯，金妮跟在他们身后，两人拥抱了罗恩，然后转向卢平和唐克斯。
“谢谢你们，”韦斯莱夫人说，“为了我的儿子们。”
“别傻了，莫莉，”唐克斯立刻说。
“乔治怎么样了？”卢平问。
“他出什么事了？”罗恩尖声质问。
“他失去了——”
然而韦斯莱夫人的下半句话被四周响起的一片喊叫声淹没了。一只夜骐尖声呼啸而来，在离他们几英尺外着陆。比尔和芙蓉从上面爬下来，被风吹得狼狈不堪，但并没有受伤。
“比尔！感谢上帝，感谢上帝——”
韦斯莱夫人跑上前去，比尔却只给了她一个勉强的拥抱，他直直地看着他的父亲，说，“疯眼汉死了。”
没人说话，没人动。哈利觉得好像身体里的什么东西坠落下去了，坠落着穿过地球，永远地离开了他。
“我们看见了，”比尔说，芙蓉点了点头，她面颊上的泪痕在厨房窗户透出的灯光下闪着光，“就发生在我们刚冲出包围以后，疯眼汉和蒙顿格斯离我们很近，他们也在向北飞。伏地魔——他能飞——直接冲他们追了过去。蒙格顿斯慌了，我听见他大声叫喊，疯眼汉试图阻止他，但是蒙顿格斯幻影移形了。伏地魔的咒语正打在疯眼汉脸上，他后仰着从扫帚上倒了下去——我们什么也做不了，一点也做不了，我们自己也被六七个人追赶——”
比尔的声音崩溃了。
“你们当然什么也做不了，”卢平说。
他们都站着，看着彼此。哈利有些不能理解，疯眼汉死了，不可能是他……疯眼汉，他是如此强悍，如此勇敢，是最后的幸存者……
最后，尽管没有人说话，但每个人似乎都明白了，再在院子等着已经毫无意义了，他们沉默着跟随韦斯莱夫妇回到了陋居，进了客厅，弗雷德和乔治正笑作一团。
“出什么事了？”弗雷德问道，扫视着每个进来的人的表情，“有什么事情？谁——？”
“疯眼汉，”韦斯莱先生说，“死了。”
双胞胎兄弟的微笑由于震惊而扭曲。没人知道该做什么。唐克斯把脸蒙在手绢后面无声地哭泣着，她与疯眼汉很亲近，哈利知道这点，在魔法部她是他的骄傲和被他保护的人。海格坐在空间最大的角落里，用一块桌布大小的手帕擦着眼睛。
比尔走到餐具橱，拿出一瓶烈性威士忌和一些玻璃杯。
“给，”他说着挥了挥魔杖，十二杯满满的酒飞到房间里每个人的手中，他自己高举着第十三杯。“为了疯眼汉。”
“疯眼汉，”他们一齐说着喝下酒。
“疯眼汉，”海格打了个嗝重复道，比其他人晚了一点。烈性威士忌灼烧着哈利的喉咙，似乎把感觉带回到他的体内，一些类似勇气的东西驱逐掉了煎熬着他的麻木和不现实感。
“那蒙格顿斯消失了么？”卢平问道，已经喝完他自己的那一杯。
气氛立刻变了。每个人都紧张地注视着卢平，希望他继续说下去，在哈利看来，他们对可能听到的东西又有一点害怕。
“我明白你在想什么，”比尔说，“我也是那么怀疑的，看上去食死徒就正在回来的路上等着我们呢，不是吗？但是蒙格顿斯不可能背叛我们。他们不知道会出现七个哈利，我们出现的时候他们完全被弄糊涂了，而且你也许忘记了，是蒙格顿斯建议用点小计谋的。他为什么不把这最关键的情报告诉他们？我认为蒙格顿斯只是太惊慌了，就是那么简单。他一开始就不想来，但是疯眼汉强迫他来，而且你也知道伏地魔是直接冲着他们去的。这足够使任何人无比恐慌。”
“神秘人完全按照疯眼汉期望的那样做了，”唐克斯用力吸了吸鼻子，“疯眼汉说他肯定认为真正的哈利会跟着最强壮、技艺最高超的傲罗们的。他一开始来追疯眼汉，但当蒙格顿斯放弃了他们以后，他就转向去追金斯莱……”
“是，则四（这是）不错，”芙蓉抽噎着，“可是则（这）并不能解释台（他）们若（如）何知道我们会在今天晚上转移阿（哈）利，不得（对）吗？一定有人四（是）太过粗心大意了。有人对外面的人提起了则（这）个日子。则（这）是对于台们（他们）知道是今天但是不了解阵（整）个计划的唯一解释。”（注：芙蓉的口音问题。）
她注视着所有的人，泪痕仍然挂在她美丽的脸上，静静地面对着可能来自任何人的反驳。然而没有人那样做。唯一打破寂静的是从海格手帕后面传来的抽噎的声音。哈利看着海格，那个刚刚不顾他自己的性命救下自己的人——海格，那个他爱的人，信任的人，那个曾经为了交换一个龙蛋而被伏地魔设计套出重要情报的人……
“不是的，”哈利大声说，他们都惊讶地看着他：烈性威士忌似乎放大了他的声音，“我的意思是……如果有人犯了个错误，”哈利接着说，“说漏了嘴，我知道他们本意不是如此。这不是他们的错，”他重复着，比他平时的声音稍微大一些。“我们必须相信彼此。我相信你们所有人，我不相信这个房间里的任何一个人会把我出卖给伏地魔。”
他说的话引来更久的静默。他们都看着他：哈利又感到有点热，他喝下更多威士忌。当他喝下酒的时候，他想起了疯眼汉。疯眼汉对邓不利多愿意相信别人的这点总是很反对。
“说得好，哈利。”弗雷德出人意料地说。
“YEAR，EAR，EAR，”（注：YEAR，YEAH，EAR读音相似双关）乔治说，瞥了弗雷德一眼，嘴角抽动了一下。
卢平用一幅奇怪的表情看着哈利。那模样近乎同情。
“你觉得我很傻么？”哈利质问道。
“不，我觉得你很像詹姆斯，”卢平回答，“他总是把不信任朋友上升到耻辱的高度。”
哈利知道卢平的意思，他的父亲被朋友小矮星彼得背叛了。他觉得没来由的愤怒，他想辩解，但是卢平已经转过身去，把玻璃杯放在一边的茶几上，向比尔问道：“有工作要做，我想问问金斯莱是否可以——”
“不。”比尔马上说，“我来做，我会去的。”
“你们去哪儿？”唐克斯和芙蓉同时问道。
“疯眼汉的遗体，”卢平说，“我们得处理一下。”
“不能——？”韦斯莱夫人恳求似的看着卢平。
“等？”比尔说，“除非你想让食死徒先找到他？”
没人说话。卢平和比尔跟大家道了再见就离开了。
除了哈利，其余所有人都倒在沙发里，他仍然站在那儿，死亡到来的那么突然，好像就在他们的身边。
“我必须得走了。”哈利说。
十双震惊的眼神投向哈利。
“别傻了，哈利，”韦斯莱夫人说，“你究竟在说什么？”
“我不能待在这儿。”
他捂住了额头，伤疤又开始疼了，已经一年多没有这么疼了。
“因为我在这儿，你们全都有危险。我不想——”
“别傻了！”韦斯莱夫人喊起来。“今天晚上所有的努力都是为了把你安全带到这儿来，感谢上帝我们做到了。芙蓉也同意不在法国而在这儿结婚，我们安排好了所有事情，就是为了能够聚在一起保护你——”
她没明白；她不知道她这是让他更难过。
“如果伏地魔发现了我在这儿——”
“他怎么会发现呢？”韦斯莱夫人反问。
“你现在可能在十几个地方，哈利，”韦斯莱先生说，“他没法知道你到底在哪个房子里。”
“我担心的不是我自己！”哈利喊道。
“我们知道，”韦斯莱先生平静地说，“但是如果你走了，会让我们今天晚上的努力全都失去意义。”
“你哪儿也不能去，”海格咆哮着说。“啊呀，哈利，在我们那么辛苦才把你带到这儿之后？”
“是啊，我流血的耳朵怎么办？”乔治说，在靠垫上直起身子问。
“我知道——”
“疯眼汉也不希望你——”
“我知道！”哈利大吼。
他觉得自己被围攻胁迫，他们真的以为他不知道到现在为止他们为他做过什么，他们难道不知道就是因为这样他才想离开，以免他的行为使更多人受伤？一阵长久而难堪的沉默，哈利额头上的伤疤持续着刺痛，一跳一跳的，韦斯莱夫人开口打破了僵局：
“海德薇在哪儿，哈利？”她哄着他。“我们可以把她跟小猪放在一起，然后给她点吃的。”
他的心缩成一团，他不能告诉她实话。哈利把杯子里最后的威士忌喝完，来逃避回答问题。
“等他再出来你就像上次那样，哈利，”海格说，“躲开他，等他正到你头顶的时候就击垮他！”
“不是我，”哈利用平板的声音说。“是我的魔杖。它自己使出的魔法。”
几秒钟之后，赫敏温柔的说：“那是不可能的，哈利。你的意思是你无意识地使用了魔法；你本能地做出了反应。”
“不，”哈利说，“车子在下坠，我根本不知道伏地魔在哪儿，但是我的魔杖在我手里旋转着找到了他并向他发射出一个咒语，我甚至都不认识这个咒语，我以前从来没有发射过金色火焰。”
“那很普遍，”韦斯莱夫人解释着，“当你在巨大的压力下你可以制造出你从来没见过的魔法。许多没有接受过正规训练的小孩经常发现——”
“不是那样的，”哈利咬紧了牙说道，他的伤疤像是在燃烧一般，他感到生气和沮丧；他讨厌大家都认为他有着可以与伏地魔对抗的力量。
没人说话了，他知道他们不相信他。现在他开始考虑起这件事，以前从来没听说过一个魔杖可以自行使用魔法。
他的伤疤被疼痛烧灼着，他所能做的就是不让自己大声呻吟出来。他把杯子放下，低声说想要透透气，然后离开了屋子。
当他穿过后院时，巨大而骨骼毕露的夜骐抬头看着他——把它的巨形的蝙蝠样的翅膀抖着沙沙响，然后开始吃东西。哈利在通向花园的门口停了下来，看着繁茂丛生的植物，摸着头上跳动的伤疤想起了邓不利多，邓不利多肯定会相信他的，他知道。
邓不利多会知道哈利的魔杖为什么和怎么样自行发射魔法的，因为邓不利多什么都知道，他了解有关魔杖的一切，他跟哈利解释过他的魔杖与伏地魔魔杖之间奇特的联系……但是邓不利多，像疯眼汉，小天狼星，他的父母，他可怜的猫头鹰那样，去了一个他再也不能与他们交谈的地方。他觉得喉咙里有东西在烧，而不是因为烈性酒的关系……
然后，毫无来由地，疼痛突然变得尖锐。他拼命捂住前额闭上眼，一个声音在他脑子里尖叫。
“你告诉过我换个魔杖就可以解决问题！”
突然一幅画面闯入他的脑海，一个瘦弱的老人躺在石头地面上的一堆破布里，尖叫着，用一种极可怖的拖长了的声音，声音里有难以忍受的痛苦……
“不！不！我求求您，求求您……”
“你对伏地魔王撒谎了，奥利凡德！”
“我没有……我发誓我没有……”
“你在帮助波特，帮助他从我这儿逃走!”
“我发誓我没有……我相信换一个不同的魔杖会管用的……”
“那么怎么解释发生的一切，卢修斯的魔杖毁了！”
“我不知道……这种联系……只能存在于你……和波特的魔杖里……”
“撒谎！”
“求求您……我请求您……”
然后哈利看到那只白色的大手举起了魔杖，他感觉到了伏地魔恶毒的怒火在翻涌，地上那个赢弱的老人痛苦地打着滚——
“哈利？”
剧痛结束得就像它来临得那么迅速：哈利在黑暗中发着抖，紧紧抓着通向花园的门使自己不至于倒下，他的心脏在狂跳，伤疤在剧痛。过了一会儿他才意识到是罗恩和赫敏在他旁边。
“哈利，回到房间去吧，”赫敏轻声说，“你该不是还想着要走吧？”
“是啊，你一定得留下来，哥们，”罗恩说，拍打着哈利的背部。
“你没事吧？”赫敏问道，她现在离哈利的脸很近，“你看上去很糟糕！”
“嗯，”哈利颤抖着回答，“我可能看见了奥利凡德了……”
当他给他们俩讲完他看到的景象后，罗恩感到很惊骇，然而赫敏却吓坏了。
“可是这不应该再发生了！你的伤疤——它不应该再这样发作了！你不能让这种连接再发生一次——邓不利多希望你能封闭你的大脑！”
哈利不发一言，赫敏抓住了他的胳膊：“哈利，他已经控制了魔法部和报社还有一半的巫师世界！不要让他也控制你的大脑！”
