There was a hand over Harry's mouth before he could even manage a strangled cry, and his hand was twisted behind his back.
"Calm down, Potter, it's Moody," a voice growled and Harry stopped struggling. "We're under an invisibility cloak, and I'd like it to stay that way." From the nonchalant way Lupin was gazing around the yard, Harry could tell he was in on whatever the plan was. Moody's magical blue eye was zooming around his head at a nauseating speed. Harry could tell that he was nervous, more nervous than he had seen him before.
"Hestia's going to make the drop here soon," Moody said, "Keep that broomstick tucked under here or there could be trouble. Don't ask questions, just follow Lupin's lead." Harry clamped his mouth shut angrily. Why would no one ever tell him anything?
Lupin looked around, checked his watch, and made a beeline to where Harry and Moody were standing on the pretense of examining one of Aunt Petunia's hedges.
"Pass out the invisibility cloak, Harry," Moody growled so quietly that Harry had to lip-read to fully understand him. He wadded up the invisibility cloak and dropped it to the ground at his feet. He took a few small steps back so that Moody's cloak was no longer covering it and Lupin bent down to pick it up without looking at it.
"Clear," Moody said in a normal conversational tone. Lupin ducked down behind the hedge and flung the invisibility cloak over himself and the trunk, and he disappeared. Harry opened his mouth to ask how on earth they were going to follow Lupin's lead when he was invisible, but Moody's magical eye was now fixed on the spot where Lupin had been only seconds before. Moody shifted, took a hold of Harry's arm, and began to walk. Slight disturbances that passerby were most unlikely to notice told Harry where Lupin was. A single twig on one of the hedges snagged the cloak and sprang back into place as Moody and Harry passed it. Pebbles shifted quietly of their own accord, and blades of grass were dragged along the sidewalk.
Everything was dead silent, and it was making even Harry, who spent every summer in this neighborhood, very nervous. It was not unlike the night dementors had shown up on Privet Drive just a year ago, just before his fifth year at Hogwarts was due to begin. To Harry, the silence seemed an ill omen.
He felt Moody jump beside him as a bicycle bell rang somewhere down the street. Moody's wand was out now and he was standing as stiffly as his form would allow. The bicyclist came nearer, and Harry could see that it was a middle-aged woman with black hair. Her cheeks were bright pink from the exertion of riding the bicycle, and she was swerving in a somewhat unnatural manner, as though it was her first time riding a bicycle. She pedaled forward a little more slowly, and as she approached, Harry's face lit with comprehension. It was Hestia Jones, a member of the Order of the Phoenix. She was dressed in an awkward imitation of Muggle fashion; she was wearing blue jeans and steel-toe boots, and she wore a camisole that made Harry wonder if it might not have been better if it had remained in the lingerie department. Moody waited until Hestia was right where Harry supposed Lupin to be and pointed his wand at the sidewalk at Harry's feet. He mumbled a spell and a black cat ran out from under the cloak, right in front of Hestia. She squealed and swerved, tipping the bicycle and sending the contents of the knapsack on her back all over the road.
"Bloody cat!" she screeched, and with a somewhat morbid smile, kicked it. It yowled and sprinted into the nearest garden. She picked up her empty knapsack and began to replace its contents: a hairbrush, a makeup compact, two toothbrushes and some granola bars. Her water bottle had rolled into the gutter, and she pointedly avoided looking at it. Harry decided it must be the Portkey. Moody waited until Hestia had pedaled off again and approached the water bottle. Looking to the seemingly empty space to their left, Moody nodded, and guided Harry's and his own hand to the water bottle. Something lurched inside Harry's gut, and he felt himself being pulled away into oblivion.
For the first time in his experience with using Portkeys, Harry didn't fall down when he hit the ground. Moody's hand was still clamped around his forearm and Harry was fighting his every instinct not to wrench it free. Moody's magical blue eye seemed to be searching around wildly for something. Now and then it would fix itself on something, then continue revolving around in a most nauseating fashion. Harry vaguely recognized their locale; it seemed to be the same area of town that Grimmauld Place was, but he couldn't be sure.
They had landed in what seemed to be a very old and dilapidated park. They were directly adjacent to a small, strangled wood. A few yards away, a swing creaked emptily, swinging from just one of its two chains. A rusty metal slide reflected the late afternoon sunlight, and a climbing ladder lay fallen and forgotten in the gravel. Moody jumped suddenly, and Harry nearly cried out but for the silence of the place. Moody's hand was clenched so tightly around his wand that Harry could swear that he could see the bones in his knuckles, and the corresponding pressure building on Harry's forearm was far from comfortable. He shook his arm a little to remind Moody that he was there and his grip loosened slightly, but both of his eyes fixed on Harry and his lip curled horrifyingly. The look of sheer malice and anger on Moody's face made Harry's heart race and he wanted to run until he saw them.
Two figures were walking through the deserted park with a fixed direction. Harry pressed his face against his Firebolt to readjust his glasses. Moody's normal eye remained staring at Harry, but not at his face. He realized with a start that he was trying to get Harry to take out his wand. Harry leaned his Firebolt on the crook of his left arm and pulled his wand out with his right. He could hear blood roaring in his ears.
"Damn; what are they doing here?" Moody muttered, "Harry, there isn't time to tell you much, but Remus is standing next to us and the two people approaching us are Antonin Dolohov and Rabastan Lestrange. I don't know if they know for sure we're here, but they must have caught wind of something. Two Death Eaters don't just show up. If something happens, Harry, you are to take one of the invisibility cloaks and get out of here on your Firebolt. Remus will go with you. We've got reinforcements here – Tonks and Kingsley, so you don't need to worry about us; we're trained for this." The monotony in Moody's voice certainly made Harry think otherwise, but the fact that two Death Eaters were approaching at an alarming pace rendered him speechless. Moody finally released Harry's arm and he felt his circulation returning. Harry heard Lupin whisper something, but it was so quiet he couldn't decipher it.
"They're alone, yes, as far as I can tell. He must have just gotten tipped off about this and..." Moody's whisper trailed off into an expletive. "They've got Pettigrew with them. Three Death Eaters."
"Calm down, Potter, it's Moody," a voice growled and Harry stopped struggling. "We're under an invisibility cloak, and I'd like it to stay that way." From the nonchalant way Lupin was gazing around the yard, Harry could tell he was in on whatever the plan was. Moody's magical blue eye was zooming around his head at a nauseating speed. Harry could tell that he was nervous, more nervous than he had seen him before.
"Hestia's going to make the drop here soon," Moody said, "Keep that broomstick tucked under here or there could be trouble. Don't ask questions, just follow Lupin's lead." Harry clamped his mouth shut angrily. Why would no one ever tell him anything?
Lupin looked around, checked his watch, and made a beeline to where Harry and Moody were standing on the pretense of examining one of Aunt Petunia's hedges.
"Pass out the invisibility cloak, Harry," Moody growled so quietly that Harry had to lip-read to fully understand him. He wadded up the invisibility cloak and dropped it to the ground at his feet. He took a few small steps back so that Moody's cloak was no longer covering it and Lupin bent down to pick it up without looking at it.
"Clear," Moody said in a normal conversational tone. Lupin ducked down behind the hedge and flung the invisibility cloak over himself and the trunk, and he disappeared. Harry opened his mouth to ask how on earth they were going to follow Lupin's lead when he was invisible, but Moody's magical eye was now fixed on the spot where Lupin had been only seconds before. Moody shifted, took a hold of Harry's arm, and began to walk. Slight disturbances that passerby were most unlikely to notice told Harry where Lupin was. A single twig on one of the hedges snagged the cloak and sprang back into place as Moody and Harry passed it. Pebbles shifted quietly of their own accord, and blades of grass were dragged along the sidewalk.
Everything was dead silent, and it was making even Harry, who spent every summer in this neighborhood, very nervous. It was not unlike the night dementors had shown up on Privet Drive just a year ago, just before his fifth year at Hogwarts was due to begin. To Harry, the silence seemed an ill omen.
He felt Moody jump beside him as a bicycle bell rang somewhere down the street. Moody's wand was out now and he was standing as stiffly as his form would allow. The bicyclist came nearer, and Harry could see that it was a middle-aged woman with black hair. Her cheeks were bright pink from the exertion of riding the bicycle, and she was swerving in a somewhat unnatural manner, as though it was her first time riding a bicycle. She pedaled forward a little more slowly, and as she approached, Harry's face lit with comprehension. It was Hestia Jones, a member of the Order of the Phoenix. She was dressed in an awkward imitation of Muggle fashion; she was wearing blue jeans and steel-toe boots, and she wore a camisole that made Harry wonder if it might not have been better if it had remained in the lingerie department. Moody waited until Hestia was right where Harry supposed Lupin to be and pointed his wand at the sidewalk at Harry's feet. He mumbled a spell and a black cat ran out from under the cloak, right in front of Hestia. She squealed and swerved, tipping the bicycle and sending the contents of the knapsack on her back all over the road.
"Bloody cat!" she screeched, and with a somewhat morbid smile, kicked it. It yowled and sprinted into the nearest garden. She picked up her empty knapsack and began to replace its contents: a hairbrush, a makeup compact, two toothbrushes and some granola bars. Her water bottle had rolled into the gutter, and she pointedly avoided looking at it. Harry decided it must be the Portkey. Moody waited until Hestia had pedaled off again and approached the water bottle. Looking to the seemingly empty space to their left, Moody nodded, and guided Harry's and his own hand to the water bottle. Something lurched inside Harry's gut, and he felt himself being pulled away into oblivion.
For the first time in his experience with using Portkeys, Harry didn't fall down when he hit the ground. Moody's hand was still clamped around his forearm and Harry was fighting his every instinct not to wrench it free. Moody's magical blue eye seemed to be searching around wildly for something. Now and then it would fix itself on something, then continue revolving around in a most nauseating fashion. Harry vaguely recognized their locale; it seemed to be the same area of town that Grimmauld Place was, but he couldn't be sure.
They had landed in what seemed to be a very old and dilapidated park. They were directly adjacent to a small, strangled wood. A few yards away, a swing creaked emptily, swinging from just one of its two chains. A rusty metal slide reflected the late afternoon sunlight, and a climbing ladder lay fallen and forgotten in the gravel. Moody jumped suddenly, and Harry nearly cried out but for the silence of the place. Moody's hand was clenched so tightly around his wand that Harry could swear that he could see the bones in his knuckles, and the corresponding pressure building on Harry's forearm was far from comfortable. He shook his arm a little to remind Moody that he was there and his grip loosened slightly, but both of his eyes fixed on Harry and his lip curled horrifyingly. The look of sheer malice and anger on Moody's face made Harry's heart race and he wanted to run until he saw them.
Two figures were walking through the deserted park with a fixed direction. Harry pressed his face against his Firebolt to readjust his glasses. Moody's normal eye remained staring at Harry, but not at his face. He realized with a start that he was trying to get Harry to take out his wand. Harry leaned his Firebolt on the crook of his left arm and pulled his wand out with his right. He could hear blood roaring in his ears.
"Damn; what are they doing here?" Moody muttered, "Harry, there isn't time to tell you much, but Remus is standing next to us and the two people approaching us are Antonin Dolohov and Rabastan Lestrange. I don't know if they know for sure we're here, but they must have caught wind of something. Two Death Eaters don't just show up. If something happens, Harry, you are to take one of the invisibility cloaks and get out of here on your Firebolt. Remus will go with you. We've got reinforcements here – Tonks and Kingsley, so you don't need to worry about us; we're trained for this." The monotony in Moody's voice certainly made Harry think otherwise, but the fact that two Death Eaters were approaching at an alarming pace rendered him speechless. Moody finally released Harry's arm and he felt his circulation returning. Harry heard Lupin whisper something, but it was so quiet he couldn't decipher it.
"They're alone, yes, as far as I can tell. He must have just gotten tipped off about this and..." Moody's whisper trailed off into an expletive. "They've got Pettigrew with them. Three Death Eaters."