The Book of Morgan Le Fey

Chapter Thirty One: A Plan and a Journey

The silence was so absolute Ron might have heard a feather drop. Everyone was staring at Harry, whose eyes were fixed defiantly on Bill.

'Harry,' said Bill slowly, and this seemed to touch off a maelstorm of protests.

'Harry, you can't!' said Susan and Hermione.

'It's too dangerous,' said Neville.

'You could die!' cried Ginny.

'Quiet!' Bill snapped, and everyone obeyed. He gazed at Harry and spoke. 'I don't think...it's wise, Harry.'

Harry stared at Bill for a moment, and Ron saw the other boy's back stiffen, his jaw tighten. An explosion was imminent.

'Why not?' Harry asked, through clenched teeth.

'Because you're not ready,' said Bill at once. 'I think even you know that.'

'And just when,' said Harry, breathing hard, 'do you reckon I WILL be ready? When Voldemort finishes making that poison? When he sends out Wormtail and whoever else to spread the poison to Muggles and Muggle-borns and everyone else who opposes him? When half the bloody population is wiped out?' His voice rose with every word.

'Harry, listen--' Bill began.

'No, YOU LISTEN!' Harry yelled. 'You bloody well listen to ME! Don't you get it? He's never, ever going to stop unless I kill him! Don't you remember what the prophecy says, Bill? I'm the only one who can kill him!'

'Harry, you don't know HOW to kill him!' Bill retorted. 'You don't know how to use an Unforgivable Curse! You don't even have it in you, and you know it!'

'Maybe there's another way,' Harry countered. 'A way to do it that doesn't involve using the Killing Curse.'

'You're willing to take that chance--your own life--for a "maybe"?' Bill said.

'It's not just my life!' Harry bellowed. 'Goddammit, Bill! Look at what he's done! To this school, to the Ministry! He's out there killing people right now! How many people are going to die before it's all over? I don't want this--I NEVER ASKED FOR IT! But it's MINE, isn't it? My responsibility, my...my bloody DESTINY!'

By now, Hermione, Susan and Ginny were all crying; Neville was whimpering; Ron felt sick; Harry looked white with rage. Only Bill was remotely calm.

'You could die,' he said quietly, 'and if that happens, we all die.'

'If I do nothing, we're dead anyway,' said Harry heavily, and his voice broke, and his eyes filled with tears, but he fought them.

'Harry,' Susan said, in a tear-choked voice, and she grabbed his hand.

'No, Sue,' said Harry, pulling his hand away. 'I can't get away from it...it was going to happen sooner or later. I guess...I guess it's sooner.'

Susan gave a small sob, and Harry softened and pulled her close and held her.

'I'm sorry,' he whispered, and Ron saw one tear streak down the other boy's face. 'I'm sorry.'

'Harry,' said Bill softly. 'You can't go--'

Harry looked up sharply. 'Yes, I can,' he snapped. 'If I have to fly on my bloody broom I'll go.'

'Let me finish,' said Bill, holding up his hands. 'I was going to say, you can't go facing Voldemort alone.'

Nobody said a word. Ron clutched Hermione's hand and stared at his older brother.

'What do you mean?' said Harry.

'I mean,' said Bill, 'that if you're determined to see this through, you'll have me with you. And anyone else I can scrounge up to come along.'

'Bill!' said Ginny. 'But--'

'No,' said Harry at once. 'That wouldn't work. You can't--'

'Harry, either you let me and some other Aurors come with you or--'

'You let ME finish,' said Harry.

Bill eyed him coolly. 'Okay.'

'I was going to say,' he said, 'first, thanks. Second...Voldemort expects one of two things to happen. I know him. Either I show up alone, because I'm so...noble and stupid and whatever, or the Ministry shows up with dozens of Aurors who attack the house with guns, er, wands blazing. If the first thing happens, yeah, I'm dead. But if the second thing happens he could panic and kill Luna. Or a lot of people will end up dying needlessly.'

'So what are you suggesting?' said Bill.

'I'm saying, we have to sneak in,' said Harry. 'It's the only way.'

'All right,' said Bill.

'And we can't have too many people along,' said Harry. 'Or it'll be harder to keep things, er, covert.'

Bill looked at him carefully, and nodded. 'Fine. This is what's going to happen. Harry, you and Ron and everyone else will go back to Gryffindor Tower. I'm going to contact Kingsley and ask him to round up five of his best Aurors and Portkey them here. We'll make all the arrangements.'

Ron stared at Harry, then at his brother. He couldn't believe it. Bill and Harry were plotting to infiltrate Voldemort's very house. Ron looked at Hermione and gripped her hand tighter; he felt weak. This was happening too fast. And why were they talking as if Ron wouldn't be included? Ron had promised Harry to be there for him, but Bill and Harry were making plans as though Ron were not going to be involved.

'We have to go tonight,' said Harry.

'Harry--'

'Bill, I swear, it has to be tonight, or we'll be too late,' said Harry desperately.

Bill paused for a moment, and then nodded.

'Right, then,' he said. 'I want all of you to stay in Gryffindor Tower until I meet you there later. I'll make your excuses to Madam Pomfrey--things are clearing up in the hospital wing, anyway. Nobody is to say a word about this to anyone. Once I've secured the Aurors tonight, I'll come and fetch you, Harry.'

'Oh you will?' said Ron, letting go of Hermione's hand and finding his voice at last. 'And what about me, eh? I promised Harry I'd be with him when...when it happened.'

'No, Ron,' said Bill promptly. 'Absolutely not.'

'Bill!' said Ron angrily.

'I am Acting Headmaster of this school, Ron,' said Bill, standing up and glaring at him. 'My decision is final. It's bad enough I'm taking Harry into that kind of danger. I'm not going to risk other students, as well.'

'I'm of age!' Ron protested, wondering if THAT argument would cut any ice.

'Ron, we may not come back from this,' said Bill sharply. 'If I don't make it...I'm not going to do that to Mum. I'm not going to risk you or Ginny.'

'Bill's right, Ron,' Harry begged. 'Please. I can't...I'm not trying to be a hero, here, okay, but...I can't let you or Hermione or Susan or anyone else go there...'

'Harry...' Susan sobbed, and she clung to him hard, and he shook his head, and held her back, but his eyes stayed on Ron.

Ron felt burning behind his eyelashes and willed the tears away.

'I promised you, Harry,' he said, his voice strangled.

'I know,' said Harry sadly. And once again, the understanding borne of six years of friendship, of brotherhood passed between their eyes, and there was nothing more that could be said. Ron's heart hurt. His head hurt. His eyes hurt. He suddenly found the room closing in on him, squeezing his chest and making it difficult to breathe.

'Ron...' said Harry slowly.

'I have to go,' Ron said, his voice barely functioning.

'Ron...' Bill began, but Ron wasn't listening. He only knew that he had to leave that room, that oppressive place where he'd just watched his friend agree to face Voldemort, where he'd realized that Harry might never come back.

Ron shoved the door of Bill's office open.

'Ron!' he heard Hermione, and then Bill call. The Auror outside the door tried to stop him from leaving, but Ron shook off the smaller wizard's grip on his arm and ran. He didn't know where he was going, he only knew he had to get away. As far away from everything as he could.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Astronomy Tower was empty; Ron chose it because it was the one place in the entire castle in which one could technically be outside. He chose it because he figured people would be less likely to look for him there, seeing as there were strict orders NOT to go outside.

He sat against the stone wall, next to some covered telescopes. The afternoon was dwindling and the sun beat down on him. He could feel his face reddening; he'd have a nasty sunburn. He didn't care. The urge to cry rose up in his chest over and over again, and every time, he pushed it back down. Part of him knew this was silly--a good cry would probably make him feel slightly better, at least. But he wouldn't cry, because if he did, he wasn't sure he'd be able to stop. He might drown on his own tears.

Instead, he thought about everything, and fought back his tears. He thought back to that first day, on the train, on their way to Hogwarts. Ron had been excited, but mostly nervous. He was the youngest Weasley son. What difference could he possibly make? Would he be able to make friends? What if he got put in the wrong house? And then he went into a compartment to find another eleven year old boy with messy black hair and a scar on his forehead. The boy didn't seem to understand why or care that he was famous; he knew nothing of the wizarding world. But he'd been nice to Ron. And when Draco Malfoy had appeared, and told Famous Harry Potter that it wouldn't help him to hang out with Ron Weasley, Harry had given Malfoy the brush off. Harry had chosen him, Ron Weasley, plain, poor, average Ron Weasley.

It's just like Hermione, he thought. I can't remember what it was like before I knew Harry. And after tonight...I may never see him again.

Ron pounded his fist into the sun-warmed stone floor. The pain shot through his knuckles, but he didn't care about that, either. He punched the floor again, and his knuckles scraped the stone. He punched the floor one more time, and his knuckles split open, and blood began to flow. He did nothing to staunch the wound. Maybe if he bled a bit, it could wash some of the anger and despair out of him. Maybe.

It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair that he was seventeen and couldn't help his best mate, his brother, the one person in the world who understood him as nobody else did, not even Hermione.

I'm useless, he thought. Bloody useless. I can't even look at him now. Because I'm useless, I failed him, and he's going to leave tonight and he's going to die.

'Ron.'

Her voice made him look up.

He swallowed, and forced his voice through the lump in his throat. 'Hermione.'

Her eyes were red and swollen with crying; her hair was half out of its ponytail. She looked him over and saw his bleeding hand.

'Ron, you're hurt!' she cried, and she hurried to his side and took his bleeding hand in hers.

'It's nothing,' he mumbled.

'It's not nothing,' said Hermione, and she took her wand from the pocket of her robes and started to clean and heal the wound. Ron watched her, felt the warmth of her fingers as she gently ran them over the light scar on his knuckles, which he hoped would be permanent.

She looked up at him. 'Have you been up here all this time?' she asked.

Ron nodded; he didn't trust himself to talk.

She moved closer to him and sat up on her heels. 'Ron, why?'

Ron looked down at his hands. He couldn't look at her. Everything was so close to the surface.

'Because,' he said.

'That's not a reason,' said Hermione gently, but Ron heard the quiver in her voice. He took a deep breath, and felt her take his hands in hers.

'I'm worthless,' he said, still not looking at her. 'I can't help him...'

'None of us can,' said Hermione sadly.

'I made a promise, Hermione,' said Ron, his voice angry now, but he still didn't look at her. 'A promise. I told him I'd be there. I told him he wouldn't be alone.'

'H-he won't be alone,' said Hermione, but her voice was weak.

'But we...I...won't be there,' said Ron, and he finally looked up at her, and saw that she was crying, and he felt the moisture in his eyes. 'He--he's going to die...and Bill...and...and I can't do anything...and I won't be there...'

Whatever else he might have said was lost as she pulled him into her arms and his resistance came crashing down. She didn't say a word as she held him, as his tears soaked her robes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They walked back to the common room an hour later; Ron learned from Hermione that the Aurors had not been required to go looking for them. For one thing, they were needed at their posts. For another, Bill seemed to think Ron needed time alone.

Ron was grateful for the privacy, of course, but in walking back to the common room, his hand in Hermione's, he realized that being alone hadn't been what he needed after all. He needed her, just as he needed Harry, and after purging his own soul of his despair, he came to a decision. Come hell or high water, he wasn't going to be left behind when Harry faced down Voldemort. They entered the common room to find it empty. Most of the younger Gryffindors, including the Creeveys, had gone home that day; the rest were either upstairs or in the hospital wing.

Ron and Hermione took a seat next to one another on the sofa, and within a few minutes, they were arguing about Ron's choice.

'Ron, what are you going to do, wrestle Harry to the ground and make him take you along?' said Hermione shrewdly.

'I dunno what I'm going to do, but I'm going to do something,' said Ron firmly. 'I'm not staying behind. No way, no how.'

'Well, then,' she said briskly. 'If you're going, I suppose I'll have to go as well.'

'What?' said Ron, appalled. 'No way you're going!'

'Oh no?' said Hermione, a challenge in your voice. 'And why not?'

'Because you're not!' said Ron. 'I'm not going to let you!'

'It's not your decision!' said Hermione. 'You can't order me around, Ronald Weasley!'

'In this case, oh yes I can,' said Ron sharply. 'If you think I'm going to let you go anywhere near Voldemort, you're mad.'

'Oh, I get it,' said Hermione hotly. 'This is because I'm the girl, isn't it? Can't let a GIRL go! Honestly, Ron, don't be such a chauvinistic cretin!'

'I'm not!' Ron protested.

'I may be a girl but I CAN take care of myself!' said Hermione loftily.

'I know you can!' said Ron. 'I never said you couldn't, you're the smartest witch in the school--'

'Well, then, I should go along, shouldn't I?' she said, folding her arms across her chest. 'If I'm so smart, you might find me useful, I think.'

'Hermione, you're not going,' said Ron. 'And that's final.'

'Dammit, Ron!' she said, clenching her fists. 'You are NOT going and leaving me here like some pathetic little damsel locked up in a tower!'

'That has nothing to do with it, I told you!' said Ron, groaning. 'My god, 'Mione, I love you and if anything happened to you I think I'd kill myself!'

'And you think I don't feel the same way?' Hermione shot back. 'Look, if you're going to be there for Harry, then so am I. You and Harry are my two best friends in the world and you're my boyfriend and...and if this is the end of it I'm going to be with you both. And there's nothing you can do to stop me.'

'You think I can't put a hex on you to keep you here?' said Ron, folding his arms across his chest.

'There is not a hex you could put on me, Ron Weasley, that I can't break,' she said smugly, 'and you know it.'

Ron glared at her for a moment, and then his shoulders sank. 'Yeah, you've got me there.'

'Fine,' said Hermione triumphantly. 'So it's settled. I'm going.'

'Fine,' said Ron, throwing up his hands in defeat. 'But if we live through this, Hermione, you're in trouble.'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dinner time came, but Ron and the others ate in the common room; Bill had arranged for house elves to send meals there. Harry was there, and Susan--who seemed to have been given permission by Bill to stick close to Harry as much as she wanted. Ginny and Neville also sat quietly, listlessly picking at their food. Seamus and Lavender had made an appearance, but then went out to the hospital wing to visit Parvati, who was also being visited by Dean.

Nobody spoke. They didn't know when, but at some point, Bill would appear and announce that it was time for he, Harry, and whatever Aurors they could get to go to the Riddle House. Ron and Hermione said nothing about their plan to join them.

Not that they had any sort of plan, per se. Ron figured that Harry and the others wouldn't make the journey by Floo Powder. Nobody could Apparate there from the school. Brooms would take too long. It was almost certainly going to be a Portkey that would take Harry to where Voldemort was hiding.

As such, Ron and Hermione agreed that they would have to find a way to latch onto the Port Key at the right moment. Hermione wondered how they would be able to get through the half dozen Aurors surrounding said Portkey, and Ron said simply that he'd barrel through whatever Aurors he had to, to get to the Portkey. Hermione didn't like the sound of this, but in the end agreed that it was the only way.

The anticipation, however, was making Ron restless. He couldn't eat; he kept bobbing his knee up and down. Hermione gave him a sharp look, and he stopped, but a few minutes later, he'd start up again. Harry had said nothing about Ron fleeing Bill's office; he'd said nothing at all, in fact. He just sat silently next to Susan on the sofa and held her hand.

The sun was sinking in the distance, casting a golden-pink glow on the common room, when Bill finally entered. As one, Ron, Harry, Hermione, Susan, Ginny and Neville stood.

'Hey,' said Bill, and at once Ron sensed that something was wrong. Bill's face was tight with worry.

'What's up?' said Harry, with a look on his face that showed he, too, knew something was off.

'Bad news,' said Bill.

'There's a surprise,' said Harry dryly.

'Kingsley can't spare any Aurors at the moment,' said Bill heavily. 'There was a Death Eater attack at Gringott's. They set a bunch of Dementors on the goblins, sent them down into the vaults. It's a bloody mess; Aurors are down in there trying to round up all the Death Eaters, and the dead goblins. You know how that place is like a bloody maze. At this rate, the Aurors will be cleaning up for days.'

'So,' said Harry, 'we take a few Aurors that are here and go.'

'I can't do that, Harry,' said Bill. 'We need them here to protect the school. I just spent the past twenty four hours convincing hundreds of worried parents that the school is safe, but it's safe because the Aurors and those security trolls are here. But we don't have enough Aurors to spare any, and if I go that's one less fully qualified professor.'

'What are you saying, Bill?' said Harry, looking wary.

'I'm saying we can't do this,' said Bill. 'Not tonight.'

'No!' Harry shouted. 'No. You promised! We HAVE to do this, Bill. I've seen flashes of him all day--he's hurting Luna, he's making her put together the poison. When he's done with her he'll kill her, and he'll set that poison loose on the Muggles! We can't give up now!'

'Harry, I can't spare any Aurors to protect you!' said Bill. 'You said it yourself--you can't go there alone!'

'You'd be with me,' said Harry.

'That's not enough,' said Bill.

'Bill, we have to,' said Harry desperately. 'Snape's gone, did you notice that? And Malfoy, too! They could be in on it. And it's not just Luna we have to get back. He's got Eddie Carmichael...' Harry's voice dwindled.

'Harry, I can't protect you on my own,' said Bill.

For a moment, nobody said anything. Ron looked at Harry, but the black-haired boy was too busy gazing desperately at Bill. Ron then looked at Ginny, whose hazel-brown eyes were glittering with anticipation. Then at Neville, whose whole body was tensed, ready for action. And at Susan, who was clutching Harry's arm but looking very determined.

'Well, then,' said Ron, 'I guess I'll just have to go with Harry, too.'

'And me,' said Hermione at once.

Ginny jumped onto the theme. 'Me, too.'

'And me,' said Susan.

'And me,' said Neville.

'What?' said Bill angrily. 'No way. I already told you it's not going to happen--'

'Bill, Harry's right,' said Ron. 'We have to stop Voldemort now, tonight, or a lot of people are going to die.'

'I can't let you all go--' Bill started.

'Ron, I don't want you coming along--' Harry began

'If not us, then who?' said Hermione. 'Bill, we know it's dangerous, we...we understand the risk. And Harry, if you think we'd let you face this alone, you're absolutely stark raving mad.'

'You said it yourself,' said Ron. 'There's no time. We have to go tonight.'

'Sue, please,' said Harry weakly.

'I'm going, too,' said Susan, 'so don't go looking for sympathy from me.'

'Neville, Ginny, you don't have to--'

'Yes, we do, Harry,' said Ginny.

'That's right,' said Neville.

Harry and Bill looked at one another and groaned.

'You lot aren't going to let up, are you?' said Harry.

'Nope,' said Ron, speaking for all of them.

'Bill...' Harry said slowly. 'They are right. If we don't do this tonight...'

'Shit,' said Bill, and he put his head in his hand and shook it. 'Shit. This is insane. Absolutely bloody insane. The whole lot of us could be killed.'

'We know,' said Ron, and he tried not to think too hard about that.

'I told Mum I'd look out for you,' said Bill, looking at Ron and Ginny, then at Harry and Hermione. 'Not lead you into Voldemort's bloody HOUSE.'

'Yeah, well, sometimes promises are meant to be broken,' said Ginny, giving a shaky laugh.

'Doing this involves the use of an unauthorized Portkey,' said Bill. 'If I don't die tonight the Ministry will have my hide.'

'If Harry gets Voldemort, unauthorized Portkeys won't matter,' said Ron.

'And what if I decide not to make a bloody Portkey, how about that?' said Bill, but he was weakening. Ron could tell by the way his older brother's shoulders sagged a bit, by the thin tone in his voice.

'We'll just have to grab brooms or thestrals and go,' said Harry.

Bill groaned again.

'Fine,' he said. 'Fine. We'll do it. I'll make a bloody Portkey and we'll go. But on one condition. I'm in charge. That means you do what I tell you, no ifs and or buts.'

'Fine,' said Harry, and the others nodded.

'Furthermore, if we're going to do this covertly, we can't just show up at the doorstep,' Bill went on. 'We'll have to arrive somewhere close by, where we can have some good cover.'

'The graveyard,' said Harry at once. 'It's old and it has a lot of overgrown trees and we can hide behind those or...or the headstones.'

'Good,' said Bill, and he took another deep breath. 'But it's not enough. Here's what we do. The minute we land, we all do Disillusionment Charms. That'll keep us basically invisible in the dark. We stick together unless I say so. We can get inside, we take out whatever Death Eaters we can with Stunners, find Luna and Eddie Carmichael, and get the hell out.'

'But the book--' said Hermione.

'The book is useless without Luna,' Bill said. 'If we see it along the way, fine, grab it, but if not, leave it.'

Hermione nodded, and everyone seemed to agree upon this.

'We have to get a message to Kingsley,' said Bill, 'and to Dad. Let them know what's happening in case they can spare anyone. But I don't want to spare anymore time going to my office to use the fireplace. And by now they must be getting inundated with Floo messages since they suspended getting owl post. They might not get ours quickly. Harry, how reliable is Hedwig?'

'Very,' said Harry at once. 'I'll fetch her.'

'Better her than Pig,' Ron muttered, as Harry hurried upstairs to the dormitory. He returned a few moments later with Hedwig on his arm, and parchment and quill and ink under the other arm.

'Good,' said Bill, taking the parchment, ink and quill. 'The Ministry won't be expecting owl post, which means they'll pay more attention to it.' He set the parchment on the table, dipped the quill into the ink, and scratched out a hasty message. He then rolled it up and sealed it with a tap of his wand. Harry held out his arm, and Hedwig--who was perched there--did the same with her right leg.

'Ministry of Magic, Hedwig,' said Bill, stroking her feathers for a moment. 'And be quick.'

Hedwig gave a soft hoot; Harry carried her over to the window and opened it.

'Be safe, girl,' he said, and she took off in a rush of wings.

'Right then,' said Bill, rubbing his hands together. 'I just need a good object for a Portkey...'

'Here,' said Harry; he turned, grabbed the large Quidditch Cup off the mantle, and placed it firmly on the coffee table. 'Use that.'

Bill eyed Harry for a moment, then pulled out his wand. 'Stand back, everyone,' he said. He aimed the wand at the cup, and muttered 'Portus.'

The cup glowed blue for a moment and vibrated against the table with a clang, but then it was silent and still again.

'Gather round, everyone,' said Bill, but by then Ron and everyone else was standing in a circle, all staring at the cup/Portkey.

Bill pointed his wand at the cup again, and muttered, 'Cemetery, foot of the hill, Riddle House, Little Hangleton.'

He looked up at everyone. 'Right,' he said, 'I want everyone to pair up. When you land, do a Disillusionment Charm on your partner.' Ron immediately grabbed Hermione's hand. Susan and Harry took hands; Ginny and Neville glanced at one another, shrugged, and held hands.

'On three, grab the cup firmly, and don't let go,' said Bill. With his left hand, he reached for the cup; his right hand held up his wand. He glanced round one last time at everyone else, his eyes meeting Ron's. Ron felt a thrill of fear, but he swallowed it, at nodded at Bill. He spoke one last time.

'Merlin. Mum's going to kill me,' he said. 'One, two...three.'

Ron reached for the cup and felt it at once: a jerking sensation, as though someone had put a hook behind his navel and pulled. He felt his feet leave the ground, and everything began to whirl and spin; sounds and colors blurred; it went on and on...

He landed with a lurch and the world stopped spinning as abruptly as it started.

He blinked several times, trying to steady himself, and looked around, relieved to see that his six companions were all there.

'Wands out,' Bill said quickly. 'Do the charms now.'

Ron blinked once more, just in time to feel Hermione tap him sharply on the head with her wand and say 'Disillusion.' He felt the icy trickle of the charm as it worked on him; for a moment he was disorientated, but then his eyes cleared and he reached up--unable to really SEE his wand or his hand but for a thin outline that moved--and did the charm on Hermione. It worked. Harry and Susan quickly Disillusioned one another; Bill performed the charm on himself; Ginny worked it on Neville; Neville's charm turned Ginny blue, and Bill fixed it.

Now, the seven of them were human chameleons. Invisible when still, but nearly so when moving, but for a thin silvery outline.

'This is it,' said Harry, from somewhere behind Ron.

They were in a small cemetery. It looked neatly kept but most of the headstones were very old. Ron heard Hermione gasp and turned to her, or where he thought she was. Somewhere close, anyway.

'Look,' she said, indicating three headstones. All of them bore the name Riddle. The one to the left looked a bit different; the earth in front of the monument was fresher, as though the grave had been disturbed once before. Ron shuddered.

'Ow!' said a voice. Harry.

'What's up, Harry?' said Bill, moving (Ron could see Bill's outline) toward Harry (whose outline was also visible; he was moving and clutching his scar).

'He's trying to get inside me,' said Harry. 'I...blocked him. It's okay. He doesn't know we're here.'

'Try and keep it that way,' said Bill firmly, gripping Harry's shoulder. 'Are you sure you're going to be okay?'

'Maybe...maybe we should go back,' said Susan nervously. 'Harry...'

'No,' said Harry, blinking and looking at her. 'It's okay. I can control it; he doesn't know we're here.'

Everyone looked at Harry for a moment--or where they thought he was standing-- and Bill nodded.

'All right, then,' Bill said. 'Is that the house, Harry?' Ron looked up the hill and saw it--a huge mansion at the top, old and falling apart, but so grand it was almost arrogant, almost glowering down at them.

'That's it,' said Harry.

'Let's move,' said Bill. 'I'm going first. Watch my outline, and follow me. Quietly. Stay close, move slowly and keep your eyes and ears open, got it?'

'Got it,' said a chorus of whispered voices.

'If we live through this,' said Bill, 'remind me to give you all a week's worth of detentions.'