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The realization crashed over him: He felt ashamed of himself as the tears stung his eyesThe 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 mindShe 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 MrSecond later, Harry's feet slammed onto hard ground and he fell onto his hands and knees in the yard of the BurrowThrowing aside the no longer glowing hairbrush, Harry stood up, swaying slightly, and saw MrsWeasley 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?" white chanel j12 watch replica cried Mrs
"What d'you mean? Isn't anyone else back?" Harry panted
The answer was clearly etched in Mrs
"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 faceHe 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 miu miu knock off sneaker, "should have been Dad and Fred's, they were supposed to be secondYou and Hagrid were third and," she checked her watch, "if they made it, George and Lupin aught to be back in about a minuteWeasley reappeared carrying a bottle of brandy, which she handed to HagridHe 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 fallingHarry 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 legsTogether, he and Lupin carried George into the house and through the kitchen to the living room, where they laid him on the sofaAs the lamplight fell across George's head, Ginny gasped and Harry's stomach lurched: One of George's ears was missingThe side of his head and neck were drenched in wet, shockingly scarlet bloodWeasley bent over her son that Lupin grabbed Harry by the upper arm and dragged him, none too gently, back into the chloe bags 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 betrayedVoldemort knew that you were being moved tonight and the only people who could have told him were directly involved in the planYou 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 HarryThe 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 beginningIf he'd chanel j10 watch knockoff 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 d |