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"Well, we do look to our prefects to take a lead at times such as these," said George in a good imitation of Percy's most pompous manner"Now let's get upstairs and fight, or all the good Death Eaters'll be taken
"So, you're my sister in-law now?" Said Percy, shaking hands with Fleur as they hurried off toward the staircase with Bill, Fred, and George
Ginny had been attempting, under cover of the reconciliations to sneak upstairs too
"Molly, how about this," said Lupin"Why doesn't Ginny stay here , then at least she'll be on the scene and know what's going on, but she won't be in the middle of the fighting?"
"I\a150\a150"
"That's a good idea," said MrWeasley firmly, " Ginny, you stay in this room, you hear me?"
Ginny did not seem to like the idea much, but under her father's unusually stern gaze, she noddedWeasley and Lupin headed off to the stairs as well
"Where's Ron?" asked Harry, "Where's Hermione?"
"They must have gone up the Great Hall already," MrWeasley called over his shoulder
" I didn't see them pass me," said Harry
"They said something about a bathroom," said Ginny, "not long after you left
"A bathroom?"
Harry strode across the room to an open door leading off the Room of Requirement and checked the bathroom beyond
"You're sure they said bath\a150\a150?"
But then his scar seared and the Room of Req1uirement vanishedHe was looking through the high wrought-iron gates with winged boats on pillars at either side, looking through the dark grounds toward the castle, which was omega watches ablaze with lightsNagini lay draped over his shouldersHe was possessed of that cold, cruel sense of purpose that preceded murder
\p\C0="Chapter Thirty-One: The Battle of Hogwarts"
\bChapter Thirty-One
\iThe Battle of Hogwarts\i\b
The enchanted ceiling of the Great Hall was dark and scattered with stars, and below it the four long House tables were lined with disheveled students, some in traveling cloaks, others in dressing gownsHere and there shone the pearly white figures of the school ghostsEvery eye, living and dead was fixed upon Professor McGonagall, who was speaking from the raised platform at the top of the HallBehind her stood the remaining teaches, including the palomino centaur, Firenze, and the members of the Order of the Phoenix who had arrived to fightvacuation will be overseen by MrFilch and Madame PomfreyPrefects, when I give the word, you will organize your House and take your charges in orderly fashion to the evacuation point
Many of the students looked petrifiedHowever, as Harry skirted the walls, scanning the Gryffindor table for Ron and Hermione, Ernie Macmillan stood up at the Hufflepuff table and shouted; "And what if we want to stay and fight?"
There was a smattering of applause
"If you are of age, you may stay said Professor McGonagall
"What about our things?" called a girl at the Ravenclaw table"Our trunks, our owls?"
"We have no time to collect possessions said Professor McGonagall"The important thing is to get you out of here safely
"Where's Professor Snape?" cartier santos wit shouted a girl from the Slytherin table
"He has, to use the common phrase, done a bunk replied Professor McGonagall and a great cheer erupted from the Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, and Ravenclaws
Harry moved up the Hall alongside the Gryffindor table, still looking for Ron and HermioneAs he passed, faces turned in his direction, and a great deal of whispering broke out in his wake
"We have already placed protection around the castle," Professor McGonagall was saying, "but it is unlikely to hold for very long unless we reinforce itI must ask you, therefore, to move quickly and calmly, and do as your prefects -"
But her final words were drowned as a different voice echoed throughout the HallIt was high, cold, and clearThere was no telling from where it cameIt seemed to issue from the walls themselvesLike the monster it had once commanded, it might have lain dormant there for centuries
"I know that you are preparing to fight There were screams amongst the students, some of whom clutched each other, looking around in terror for the source of the sound"Your efforts are futileI do not want to kill youI have great respect for the teachers of HogwartsI do not want to spill magical blood
There was silence in the Hall now, the kind of silence that presses against the eardrums, that seems too huge to be contained by walls
"Give me Harry Potter," said Voldemort's voice, "and they shall not be harmedGive me Harry Potter and I shall leave the school untouchedGive me Harry Potter and you will be rewarded
"You have rolex fakes until midnight
The silence swallowed them all againEvery head turned, every eye in the place seemed to have found Harry, to hold him forever in the glare of thousands of invisible beamsThen a figure rose from the Slytherin table and he recognized Pansy Parkinson as she raised a shaking arm and screamed, "But he's there! Potter's thereSomeone grab him!"
Before Harry could speak, there was a massive movementThe Gryffindors in front of him had risen and stood facing, not Harry, but the SlytherinsThen the Hufflepuffs stood, and almost at the same moment, the Ravenclaws, all of them with their backs to Harry, all of them looking toward Pansy instead, and Harry, awestruck and overwhelmed, saw wands emerging everywhere, pulled from beneath cloaks and from under sleeves
"Thank you, Miss Parkinson said Professor McGonagall in a clipped voice"You will leave the Hall first with MrIf the rest of your House could follow
Harry heard the grinding of the benches and then the sound of the Slytherins trooping out on the other side of the Hall
"Ravenclaws, follow on!" cried Professor McGonagall
Slowly the four tables emptiedThe Slytherin table was completely deserted, but a number of older Ravenclaws remained seated while their fellows filed out; even more Hufflepuffs stayed behind, and half of Gryffindor remained in their seats, necessitating Professor McGonagall's descent from the teachers' platform to chivvy the underage on their way
"Absolutely not, Creevey, go! And you, Peakes!"
Harry hurried over to cheap chanel jewelry the Weasleys, all sitting together at the Gryffindor table
"Where are Ron and Hermione?"
"Haven't you found -?" began MrWeasley, looking worried
But he broke off as Kingsley had stepped forward on the raised platform to address those who had remained behind
"We've only got half an half an hour until midnight, so we need to act fastA battle plan has been agreed between the teachers of Hogwarts and the Order of the PhoenixProfessors Flitwick, Sprout and McGonagall are going to take groups of fighters up to the three highest towers - Ravenclaw, Astronomy, and Gryffindor - where they'll have good overview, excellent positions from which to work spellsMeanwhile Remus" - he indicated Lupin - "Arthur" - he pointed toward MrWeasley, sitting at the Gryffindor table - "and I will take groups into the groundsWe'll need somebody to organize defense of the entrances or the passageways into the school -"
"Sounds like a job for us called Fred, indicating himself and George, and Kingsley nodded his approval
"All right, leaders up here and we'll divide up the troops!"
"Potter," said Professor McGonagall, hurrying up to him, as students flooded the platform, jostling for position, receiving instructions, "Aren't you supposed to be looking for something?"
"What? Oh," said Harry, "oh yeah!"
He had almost forgotten about the Horcrux, almost forgotten that the battle was being fought so that he could search for it: The inexplicable absence of Ron and Hermione had momentarily driven every other thought from his cheapest replica speedy louis vuitton real leather min |
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