4. Attack by Harpies
As always at the start of the school year, platform 9¾ was full of people. With difficulty they pushed their way through the crowds of parents, brothers, sisters and relatives towards the train. Mr. Weasley helped them on board with their luggage, and Mrs. Weasley couldn't resist giving each of them a goodbye hug.
"Take care of yourselves," she begged.
"We will, Mum," Ron assured her as he struggled with Pig's cage. The little owl was hopping around excitedly and flapping its wings.
Together they searched for a compartment. The last few carriages of the train were full to bursting, but in the last compartment they found Luna, who waved to them. "There's room in here, if you like," she called.
The four of them nodded and joined her in the compartment. After arranging their suitcases in the luggage compartment, Ron and Hermione set off for the prefects' meeting further up the train. Luna kept an eye on Ron's owl. Harry stroked Crookshanks, who was sitting on his knee. The cat purred softly into his robe, its fur sparking with pleasure.
Ron and Hermione soon returned. And it wasn't long before another, much more unwelcome figure appeared in the doorway.
"It would've been so nice to be free of idiots like you this year," sneered Malfoy. Behind him, Crabbe and Goyle smirked. "Maybe I should deduct points just because you're here."
"I'd like to see you try," said Harry, grinning at him from behind five drawn wands. "How would you like to spend the train journey this time? Maybe as a Flubberworm?"
Angrily Malfoy drew back and slammed the door of the compartment behind him. Ron grinned with satisfaction. "He's actually learning a bit of respect."
They sat back in their seats. Luna started reading the latest edition of the "Quibbler", Hermione had one of her new schoolbooks on her knee, Ron was pulling out Pig's broken feathers, making the owl squawk with protest, and Ginny dosed by the window. Harry stared at the landscape as it rushed past.
They hadn't been travelling more than an hour and a half when the sky started to darken. The sun disappeared behind grey clouds, the wind sprang up and the first raindrops clattered against the windowpanes. As it grew darker, the lights came on in the compartments and corridors of the train.
"Look at that weather!" Hermione muttered, shivering. "And it's not even autumn yet!"
Harry stared into the thick wall of cloud. Something about this weather was making him uneasy. Lightning flashed in the distance and they heard the growl of thunder. With the next flash of lightning they saw a dark bird in the middle of the cloud, darting towards them.
"What the hell is that?" Ron had jumped up and pressed his nose against the window. Harry, Hermione, Luna and Ginny, wide awake now, followed his gaze in confusion. The horizon had turned black with a gigantic flock of birds which had appeared between the high banks of cloud and were coming closer by the minute. Harry had never seen anything like them. They glided through the air like a sinister cloak, blotting out the light. And he noticed with surprise that their shadows were rushing ahead of them, turning the landscape beneath them as black as night.
"What are they?" he asked.
"Harpies," said Luna, as if she were answering a question in a quiz. Next to her, Ron shivered. Frowning, Harry glanced at them both and then turned his attention to the creatures outside - and noticed that they weren't birds at all. They had long wings and powerful claws, like oversize eagles. But their heads were a grotesque cross between the face of a woman and that of a poisonous lizard. Shrill screams, soft at first, but then louder and louder, filled the air.
Harry tried to remember what he had read about harpies. They were beasts that killed men and ate children, and lived in the mountains. The words of a song came into his mind, and like Ron before him, he shivered.
She once was a woman, so young and so fair
By all men was sought and admired
To the mountains she'd call them, like lambs they would go
And do anything she desired
Then one fateful day to the mountains she led
A young man to meet with his death
He cried out so loud that his plea reached the gods
In the agony of his last breath
Her arms turned to feathers, the feathers turned black
As black as her heart and her deed
Her legs became claws and her voice a shrill scream
And love but a torturous need
Ghosts. Demons. A huge army of them, shrieking, streaming through the skies towards them.
"No flocks have been sighted for almost fifteen years," said Hermione softly. She had dug her fingers so hard into her seat that her knuckles were white. In the other compartments, they could hear panic breaking out. "Not since Voldemort."
The Hogwarts Express sped up but the harpies stubbornly held their course. Their powerful wings carried them closer and closer. Now Harry could see hundreds of ruby-red eyes gleaming in the blackness, as the flock followed the train like a pack of bloodhounds follows an easy prey. The shadow rushing before them slipped over the rails like the damp fingers of death, cloaking everything in its path in a terrifying darkness. Just a few more meters, and then they would reach the last carriage of the train.
"We have to get out of here," Ron moaned. "They'll kill us all!"
Hermione had already thrown open the door of their compartment. Out in the corridor, other students were pushing their way past in panic, trying to get out of the last carriage. Luna let Pig out of his cage. It would have been impossible for her to carry him in the chaos.
The five of them pushed their way out into the corridor, with Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle next to them. Roughly they jostled against each other. On the floor, Crookshanks hissed with anger, dug his claws into Crabbe's leg and shot into the next carriage, his fur standing on end.
"Get out of the way, Potter!" Malfoy snarled. "You can bloody well stay here and get ripped apart by those."
He didn't have the chance to finish his sentence. The carriage gave a violent jolt, knocking them all to the ground. The light above them flickered, then went out completely. Malfoy clutched at the window frame. In panic, Goyle squealed like a piglet and grabbed hold of him, making him let go in surprise. The carriage bucked like an angry horse and they slid back down towards the rear. Harry hit the wall, and Ron bumped against his leg. On the other side of the corridor, Malfoy was trying to pull himself up. Goyle and Crabbe had clutched hold of two posts. Hermione was sitting on the wall of a compartment and pulling herself up by the door to which Luna and Ginny were clinging. Ginny had her wand in her hand, and pointed it towards the luggage, which was scattered across the floor of the compartment. "Mobiliarmus!" she yelled, and the suitcases rose into the air and floated out into the corridor. They disappeared into the neighbouring carriage to join Crookshanks, who was yowling in protest.
Another violent jolt and a loud crash of splintering glass. The rumble of the engine stopped abruptly and there was a deafening squeal of brakes. Ginny lost control of the luggage and the suitcases fell to the floor, accompanied by a hiss from Crookshanks, who had dived out of the way. With a blood-curdling scream, a grotesque black face appeared at the window of the corridor. Gleaming red eyes stared maliciously into the carriage. At the sight of them, Crabbe and Goyle panicked and rushed out of the carriage through the connecting door.
"Miserable cowards!" Malfoy hissed, trying to stand up. Ron crawled on all fours across the swaying floor towards Hermione, who seized her wand a shouted "Lumos!". Light shot through the blackness and lit up the hideous face of a harpy, which had pressed its nose against the window. The demon's hot breath misted the glass. Blinded by the light, the harpy pulled back its head, and the students in the carriage heaved a sigh of relief. But suddenly the head swung back and hit the carriage with a loud crash, making it rock violently.
"I hope this thing's safe," Ron said in a trembling voice, clutching hold of the post Goyle had been holding on to, and closing his eyes. "Oh please, please."
A second crash, this time from the other side of the carriage. The springs creaked with the strain.
"They're everywhere!" shrieked Malfoy. "They've surrounded the carriage! They know we're in here!"
The jolts continued, rhythmically, from both sides. The floor beneath them shook and the carriage seemed to be leaning over further and further to one side. Harry reached out for the handrail in the last compartment and pulled himself up. There were handrails on either side of the doors, and using them as a ladder he climbed up to his friends, holding on for dear life every time the carriage rocked. On the other side of the corridor, Malfoy was doing the same.
The next jolt was so powerful that both of them lost their grip. Harry threw out his arms and felt someone grab his right hand. Luna had caught hold of him just in time, but Malfoy tumbled down the corridor and hit the bottom wall. The carriage rocked on its springs with a squeal of metal. The harpies shrieked and renewed their attacked.
Harry caught hold of the post, and Luna stretched out her hand to Hermione, who had reached the door to next carriage. Ginny was standing behind her and Ron was pulling himself up by the door of the next compartment.
Another jolt. With a crack, the wall broke open and sharp rock pierced through the metal. The carriage was now almost vertical. As it swayed backwards they could see a precipice opening up below them.
"Get out, get out, get out!" shouted Ron, grasping the connecting door.
"What about Malfoy?" Harry looked down at the Slytherin, who was desperately trying to climb up the handrails. The angry screams of the harpies surged through the cracked walls, and dark wings hovered overhead. Then, suddenly, a sharp beak pierced its way into the corridor. It snapped at Malfoy, catching his cloak. Greedily the harpy began to tear.
"Hold on to me!" Harry cried, letting go of the pole. Ron stared at him open mouthed.
"I'm supposed to risk my life to save Malfoy? Are you crazy?!" He looked at Luna, who had crawled past him without a word and taken Harry's hand. Hermione also pushed her way past him and took the Ravenclaw's hand. "Shut up and do it, Ron!" she commanded.
Dumbfounded, Ron climbed down to his friends and took Hermione's hand. "You're mad, all three of you. Completely mad. nuts! You're out of your minds! Any minute now the carriage will."
"I said, shut up!"
"Be careful!" Ginny moaned from the doorway.
With Ron at the top they formed a chain. Harry, holding tightly to Luna's hand, climbed cautiously down the carriage to Malfoy, who was trying desperately to find a handhold. His cloak tore, and the head of the harpy shot backwards. Harry seized the opportunity.
"Give me your hand, quick!" he yelled.
Malfoy reacted mechanically and Harry grasped his fingers, damp and cold with fear. Just one second later the head of the harpy burst through the gaping hole in the back wall.
"Pull, Ron!" Hermione shouted, grasping the door and bracing herself ready to pull up Luna, who in her turn pulled up Harry, with Malfoy clinging to his arm. The sharp beak of the harpy snapped shut with a loud crack - the demon had bitten into thin air. Screaming with rage it tried to squeeze further through the hole into the corridor.
"Hurry up!" Ron moaned, staring in panic at the thrashing black body of the harpy.
Harry tried to pull Malfoy up to him, but this time the demon was quicker and caught hold of Malfoy's right leg. It tugged him back down and his hand slipped through Harry's fingers. Behind him, Hermione screamed with horror.
The eyes of the harpy glittered with triumph. Malfoy was paralysed with horror as it pulled him back down the carriage. Harry fumbled around in his pocket for his wand, until he finally caught hold of it, pulled it out and pointed it at the monster. "Expecto patronum!" he yelled in a mixture of anger and panic. A white mist shot from the end of his wand and took the form of a gigantic, ghostly stag, which almost filled the corridor. Harry's Patronus lunged at the harpy with its antlers, making it let go of Malfoy in surprise. Harry grasped his wand between his teeth and caught hold of Draco with his free hand. While the white stag charged again at the black monster, keeping it away from the students, Harry, Luna, Hermione and Ron pulled Malfoy up the carriage.
"I take it back," said Ron. "You're not just mad - you're completely cracked! Do you think Malfoy would have rescued you?"
Draco simply stared at him in fury. His cloak was hanging in sheds and the right leg of his trousers was almost completely torn away. The sharp beak of the harpy had cut deep into the flesh above his knee.
"Just be glad that you were in the last carriage," he growled. "Otherwise they'd have pulled apart the whole train! - Quick, let's get out of here!" He pushed Harry towards the connecting door. "Let's get the hell out of here before the stag disappears and that beast comes back!"
One after the other they crawled through the connecting door into the neighbouring carriage, which was still standing on solid ground. Two train guards had just hurried up.
"Is there anyone still in there?" the first shouted across to them.
Hermione shook her head. "Half a harpy, but no one else."
"The half was enough!" Ron snorted.
"Then hurry up and get into the next carriage and we'll uncouple this one here." The guard hurried the students through the corridor. "Just be glad you escaped - you're lucky to be alive!"
Ron snorted again, but Harry pulled him further before he had time to start ranting. Together they squeezed through the next connecting door. Here the lights were still working. Luna pointed out of the window and in astonishment they stared at the deep precipice behind them, and at the last carriage which was dangling over it. The bridge that had once crossed the gorge had broken in the middle. - Or rather, broken was the wrong word. The metal looked more like it had been melted together at a million degrees. The black cloud of harpies had disappeared. A white stag was thundering behind them, chasing them through the air.
Hermione gasped. "That's just."
"That could just as easily have been the train instead of the bridge," Malfoy hissed.
"You could just as easily have been harpy food," Ron snarled. "You can bet you're life that I would never have climbed down there just to pull you out of that monster's beak!"
"No, you wouldn't," Malfoy snapped back. He snorted with disgust and limped past them. "It seems that Potter has a bit more decency and guts in him. And even a nutty little brat and a Mudblood. Then he turned his back on all of them.
Ron was almost boiling over with rage. "Quick, let's throw him back into the other carriage!"
"Too late," said Ginny, pointing out of the window at the last carriage of the Hogwarts Express, which was disappearing into the precipice in a ball of flame.
***
By the time the train continued its journey they had found another compartment. Numbed, they sat in the midst of their scattered luggage, trying to bring it into some kind of order. A rather grumpy Crookshnks was lying across the seat, and Hedwig sat silently above him on the luggage rack. Neville came in with Pig in his hand. He had found him in the buffet car.
"What on earth happened here?" he asked, gazing around him at the chaos. "Crabbe and Goyle were white as sheets. They ran through the train shouting that a monster was trying to kill tem."
"We should be so lucky," Ron growled.
Neville joined them in the compartment and listened to their version of the events that had taken place in the last carriage. "I was sitting near the front," he said. "But I saw the harpies too. My gran often told me about them." He shivered. "They're a bad omen. Lord. You Know Who, liked to use them now and then. It wasn't just wizards who followed him. there were some magical creatures too."
"Followers made up of every imaginable kind of scum," Ron grumbled.
Hermione, however, looked worried. "The harpies were harbingers of destruction. They were shadows that came ahead of him to announce his presence."
"So where's he going?" Neville asked. And after a moment of silence he said softly: "to Hogwarts.?"
As always at the start of the school year, platform 9¾ was full of people. With difficulty they pushed their way through the crowds of parents, brothers, sisters and relatives towards the train. Mr. Weasley helped them on board with their luggage, and Mrs. Weasley couldn't resist giving each of them a goodbye hug.
"Take care of yourselves," she begged.
"We will, Mum," Ron assured her as he struggled with Pig's cage. The little owl was hopping around excitedly and flapping its wings.
Together they searched for a compartment. The last few carriages of the train were full to bursting, but in the last compartment they found Luna, who waved to them. "There's room in here, if you like," she called.
The four of them nodded and joined her in the compartment. After arranging their suitcases in the luggage compartment, Ron and Hermione set off for the prefects' meeting further up the train. Luna kept an eye on Ron's owl. Harry stroked Crookshanks, who was sitting on his knee. The cat purred softly into his robe, its fur sparking with pleasure.
Ron and Hermione soon returned. And it wasn't long before another, much more unwelcome figure appeared in the doorway.
"It would've been so nice to be free of idiots like you this year," sneered Malfoy. Behind him, Crabbe and Goyle smirked. "Maybe I should deduct points just because you're here."
"I'd like to see you try," said Harry, grinning at him from behind five drawn wands. "How would you like to spend the train journey this time? Maybe as a Flubberworm?"
Angrily Malfoy drew back and slammed the door of the compartment behind him. Ron grinned with satisfaction. "He's actually learning a bit of respect."
They sat back in their seats. Luna started reading the latest edition of the "Quibbler", Hermione had one of her new schoolbooks on her knee, Ron was pulling out Pig's broken feathers, making the owl squawk with protest, and Ginny dosed by the window. Harry stared at the landscape as it rushed past.
They hadn't been travelling more than an hour and a half when the sky started to darken. The sun disappeared behind grey clouds, the wind sprang up and the first raindrops clattered against the windowpanes. As it grew darker, the lights came on in the compartments and corridors of the train.
"Look at that weather!" Hermione muttered, shivering. "And it's not even autumn yet!"
Harry stared into the thick wall of cloud. Something about this weather was making him uneasy. Lightning flashed in the distance and they heard the growl of thunder. With the next flash of lightning they saw a dark bird in the middle of the cloud, darting towards them.
"What the hell is that?" Ron had jumped up and pressed his nose against the window. Harry, Hermione, Luna and Ginny, wide awake now, followed his gaze in confusion. The horizon had turned black with a gigantic flock of birds which had appeared between the high banks of cloud and were coming closer by the minute. Harry had never seen anything like them. They glided through the air like a sinister cloak, blotting out the light. And he noticed with surprise that their shadows were rushing ahead of them, turning the landscape beneath them as black as night.
"What are they?" he asked.
"Harpies," said Luna, as if she were answering a question in a quiz. Next to her, Ron shivered. Frowning, Harry glanced at them both and then turned his attention to the creatures outside - and noticed that they weren't birds at all. They had long wings and powerful claws, like oversize eagles. But their heads were a grotesque cross between the face of a woman and that of a poisonous lizard. Shrill screams, soft at first, but then louder and louder, filled the air.
Harry tried to remember what he had read about harpies. They were beasts that killed men and ate children, and lived in the mountains. The words of a song came into his mind, and like Ron before him, he shivered.
She once was a woman, so young and so fair
By all men was sought and admired
To the mountains she'd call them, like lambs they would go
And do anything she desired
Then one fateful day to the mountains she led
A young man to meet with his death
He cried out so loud that his plea reached the gods
In the agony of his last breath
Her arms turned to feathers, the feathers turned black
As black as her heart and her deed
Her legs became claws and her voice a shrill scream
And love but a torturous need
Ghosts. Demons. A huge army of them, shrieking, streaming through the skies towards them.
"No flocks have been sighted for almost fifteen years," said Hermione softly. She had dug her fingers so hard into her seat that her knuckles were white. In the other compartments, they could hear panic breaking out. "Not since Voldemort."
The Hogwarts Express sped up but the harpies stubbornly held their course. Their powerful wings carried them closer and closer. Now Harry could see hundreds of ruby-red eyes gleaming in the blackness, as the flock followed the train like a pack of bloodhounds follows an easy prey. The shadow rushing before them slipped over the rails like the damp fingers of death, cloaking everything in its path in a terrifying darkness. Just a few more meters, and then they would reach the last carriage of the train.
"We have to get out of here," Ron moaned. "They'll kill us all!"
Hermione had already thrown open the door of their compartment. Out in the corridor, other students were pushing their way past in panic, trying to get out of the last carriage. Luna let Pig out of his cage. It would have been impossible for her to carry him in the chaos.
The five of them pushed their way out into the corridor, with Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle next to them. Roughly they jostled against each other. On the floor, Crookshanks hissed with anger, dug his claws into Crabbe's leg and shot into the next carriage, his fur standing on end.
"Get out of the way, Potter!" Malfoy snarled. "You can bloody well stay here and get ripped apart by those."
He didn't have the chance to finish his sentence. The carriage gave a violent jolt, knocking them all to the ground. The light above them flickered, then went out completely. Malfoy clutched at the window frame. In panic, Goyle squealed like a piglet and grabbed hold of him, making him let go in surprise. The carriage bucked like an angry horse and they slid back down towards the rear. Harry hit the wall, and Ron bumped against his leg. On the other side of the corridor, Malfoy was trying to pull himself up. Goyle and Crabbe had clutched hold of two posts. Hermione was sitting on the wall of a compartment and pulling herself up by the door to which Luna and Ginny were clinging. Ginny had her wand in her hand, and pointed it towards the luggage, which was scattered across the floor of the compartment. "Mobiliarmus!" she yelled, and the suitcases rose into the air and floated out into the corridor. They disappeared into the neighbouring carriage to join Crookshanks, who was yowling in protest.
Another violent jolt and a loud crash of splintering glass. The rumble of the engine stopped abruptly and there was a deafening squeal of brakes. Ginny lost control of the luggage and the suitcases fell to the floor, accompanied by a hiss from Crookshanks, who had dived out of the way. With a blood-curdling scream, a grotesque black face appeared at the window of the corridor. Gleaming red eyes stared maliciously into the carriage. At the sight of them, Crabbe and Goyle panicked and rushed out of the carriage through the connecting door.
"Miserable cowards!" Malfoy hissed, trying to stand up. Ron crawled on all fours across the swaying floor towards Hermione, who seized her wand a shouted "Lumos!". Light shot through the blackness and lit up the hideous face of a harpy, which had pressed its nose against the window. The demon's hot breath misted the glass. Blinded by the light, the harpy pulled back its head, and the students in the carriage heaved a sigh of relief. But suddenly the head swung back and hit the carriage with a loud crash, making it rock violently.
"I hope this thing's safe," Ron said in a trembling voice, clutching hold of the post Goyle had been holding on to, and closing his eyes. "Oh please, please."
A second crash, this time from the other side of the carriage. The springs creaked with the strain.
"They're everywhere!" shrieked Malfoy. "They've surrounded the carriage! They know we're in here!"
The jolts continued, rhythmically, from both sides. The floor beneath them shook and the carriage seemed to be leaning over further and further to one side. Harry reached out for the handrail in the last compartment and pulled himself up. There were handrails on either side of the doors, and using them as a ladder he climbed up to his friends, holding on for dear life every time the carriage rocked. On the other side of the corridor, Malfoy was doing the same.
The next jolt was so powerful that both of them lost their grip. Harry threw out his arms and felt someone grab his right hand. Luna had caught hold of him just in time, but Malfoy tumbled down the corridor and hit the bottom wall. The carriage rocked on its springs with a squeal of metal. The harpies shrieked and renewed their attacked.
Harry caught hold of the post, and Luna stretched out her hand to Hermione, who had reached the door to next carriage. Ginny was standing behind her and Ron was pulling himself up by the door of the next compartment.
Another jolt. With a crack, the wall broke open and sharp rock pierced through the metal. The carriage was now almost vertical. As it swayed backwards they could see a precipice opening up below them.
"Get out, get out, get out!" shouted Ron, grasping the connecting door.
"What about Malfoy?" Harry looked down at the Slytherin, who was desperately trying to climb up the handrails. The angry screams of the harpies surged through the cracked walls, and dark wings hovered overhead. Then, suddenly, a sharp beak pierced its way into the corridor. It snapped at Malfoy, catching his cloak. Greedily the harpy began to tear.
"Hold on to me!" Harry cried, letting go of the pole. Ron stared at him open mouthed.
"I'm supposed to risk my life to save Malfoy? Are you crazy?!" He looked at Luna, who had crawled past him without a word and taken Harry's hand. Hermione also pushed her way past him and took the Ravenclaw's hand. "Shut up and do it, Ron!" she commanded.
Dumbfounded, Ron climbed down to his friends and took Hermione's hand. "You're mad, all three of you. Completely mad. nuts! You're out of your minds! Any minute now the carriage will."
"I said, shut up!"
"Be careful!" Ginny moaned from the doorway.
With Ron at the top they formed a chain. Harry, holding tightly to Luna's hand, climbed cautiously down the carriage to Malfoy, who was trying desperately to find a handhold. His cloak tore, and the head of the harpy shot backwards. Harry seized the opportunity.
"Give me your hand, quick!" he yelled.
Malfoy reacted mechanically and Harry grasped his fingers, damp and cold with fear. Just one second later the head of the harpy burst through the gaping hole in the back wall.
"Pull, Ron!" Hermione shouted, grasping the door and bracing herself ready to pull up Luna, who in her turn pulled up Harry, with Malfoy clinging to his arm. The sharp beak of the harpy snapped shut with a loud crack - the demon had bitten into thin air. Screaming with rage it tried to squeeze further through the hole into the corridor.
"Hurry up!" Ron moaned, staring in panic at the thrashing black body of the harpy.
Harry tried to pull Malfoy up to him, but this time the demon was quicker and caught hold of Malfoy's right leg. It tugged him back down and his hand slipped through Harry's fingers. Behind him, Hermione screamed with horror.
The eyes of the harpy glittered with triumph. Malfoy was paralysed with horror as it pulled him back down the carriage. Harry fumbled around in his pocket for his wand, until he finally caught hold of it, pulled it out and pointed it at the monster. "Expecto patronum!" he yelled in a mixture of anger and panic. A white mist shot from the end of his wand and took the form of a gigantic, ghostly stag, which almost filled the corridor. Harry's Patronus lunged at the harpy with its antlers, making it let go of Malfoy in surprise. Harry grasped his wand between his teeth and caught hold of Draco with his free hand. While the white stag charged again at the black monster, keeping it away from the students, Harry, Luna, Hermione and Ron pulled Malfoy up the carriage.
"I take it back," said Ron. "You're not just mad - you're completely cracked! Do you think Malfoy would have rescued you?"
Draco simply stared at him in fury. His cloak was hanging in sheds and the right leg of his trousers was almost completely torn away. The sharp beak of the harpy had cut deep into the flesh above his knee.
"Just be glad that you were in the last carriage," he growled. "Otherwise they'd have pulled apart the whole train! - Quick, let's get out of here!" He pushed Harry towards the connecting door. "Let's get the hell out of here before the stag disappears and that beast comes back!"
One after the other they crawled through the connecting door into the neighbouring carriage, which was still standing on solid ground. Two train guards had just hurried up.
"Is there anyone still in there?" the first shouted across to them.
Hermione shook her head. "Half a harpy, but no one else."
"The half was enough!" Ron snorted.
"Then hurry up and get into the next carriage and we'll uncouple this one here." The guard hurried the students through the corridor. "Just be glad you escaped - you're lucky to be alive!"
Ron snorted again, but Harry pulled him further before he had time to start ranting. Together they squeezed through the next connecting door. Here the lights were still working. Luna pointed out of the window and in astonishment they stared at the deep precipice behind them, and at the last carriage which was dangling over it. The bridge that had once crossed the gorge had broken in the middle. - Or rather, broken was the wrong word. The metal looked more like it had been melted together at a million degrees. The black cloud of harpies had disappeared. A white stag was thundering behind them, chasing them through the air.
Hermione gasped. "That's just."
"That could just as easily have been the train instead of the bridge," Malfoy hissed.
"You could just as easily have been harpy food," Ron snarled. "You can bet you're life that I would never have climbed down there just to pull you out of that monster's beak!"
"No, you wouldn't," Malfoy snapped back. He snorted with disgust and limped past them. "It seems that Potter has a bit more decency and guts in him. And even a nutty little brat and a Mudblood. Then he turned his back on all of them.
Ron was almost boiling over with rage. "Quick, let's throw him back into the other carriage!"
"Too late," said Ginny, pointing out of the window at the last carriage of the Hogwarts Express, which was disappearing into the precipice in a ball of flame.
***
By the time the train continued its journey they had found another compartment. Numbed, they sat in the midst of their scattered luggage, trying to bring it into some kind of order. A rather grumpy Crookshnks was lying across the seat, and Hedwig sat silently above him on the luggage rack. Neville came in with Pig in his hand. He had found him in the buffet car.
"What on earth happened here?" he asked, gazing around him at the chaos. "Crabbe and Goyle were white as sheets. They ran through the train shouting that a monster was trying to kill tem."
"We should be so lucky," Ron growled.
Neville joined them in the compartment and listened to their version of the events that had taken place in the last carriage. "I was sitting near the front," he said. "But I saw the harpies too. My gran often told me about them." He shivered. "They're a bad omen. Lord. You Know Who, liked to use them now and then. It wasn't just wizards who followed him. there were some magical creatures too."
"Followers made up of every imaginable kind of scum," Ron grumbled.
Hermione, however, looked worried. "The harpies were harbingers of destruction. They were shadows that came ahead of him to announce his presence."
"So where's he going?" Neville asked. And after a moment of silence he said softly: "to Hogwarts.?"