Everything seemed fuzzy, slow. Silver and Coral jumped to their feet. Many people were only just realizing that something strange had happened; heads were still turning toward the silver eel as it vanished. Silence spread outward in cold ripples from the place where the Patronus had landed. Then somebody screamed. Silver and Coral threw themselves into the panicking crowd. Guests were sprinting in all directions; many were using Chaos Control; the protective enchantments around Deerwood had broken. "Razor! RAZOR!" Coral cried. As they pushed their way across the dance floor, Silver saw armoured figures with glowing eyes appearing in the crowd; then he saw Knuckles and Julie-Su and heard both of them shout "Protego!" a cry that was echoed on all sides. Razor suddenly pushed through the crowd and grabbed Coral's free hand. Silver felt Coral turn on the spot sound were extinguished as darkness pressed in upon him; all he could feel was Coral's hand as he was squeezed through space and time, away from Deerwood, away from the descending Nocturnus, away, perhaps, from Finitevus himself. Silver opened his eyes. For a moment he thought they had not left the wedding after all. They still seemed to be surrounded by people "Where are we?" Razor said. Coral pushed them "We're in Knothole. Walk. Just Walk. We need to get changed out of these somewhere". Silver did as she asked. They half walked; half ran up the wide dark street thronged with late-night revellers and lined with closed shops, stars twinkling above them.
A double-decker bus rumbled by and a group of merry pub-goers ogled them as they passed; Silver and Razor were still wearing suits "Coral, we haven't got any of our stuff". Silver hit himself on the head "Why didn't I bring my Chaos Emerald? I had it with me all last year" "I have your emerald. I've got everything we need" Coral said. Razor stopped dead "What? How?" "I'll explain when we're out of sight. Act natural". After some wondering Silver said something he never thought he'd have to say "Coral, I feel my legs growing back" "In here". Coral led them into a shadowy alleyway that was thankfully baron. Razor and Coral both lifted Silver by the arm as his snake tail split into his normal two legs. "Here are your shoes" Coral said reaching into her small purse. She pulled out Silver's shoes which should absolutely not have fit in the purse. She then proceeded to take out the Chaos Emerald "How the hell did you do that?" "Undetectable Extension Charm. Tricky, but I think I've done it okay; anyway, I managed to fit everything we need in here". She gave the fragile-looking bag a little shake and it echoed like a cargo hold as a number of heavy objects rolled around inside it "Oh, damn, that'll be the books and I had them all stacked by subject. Oh well. Silver, you'd better go invisible". Razor was halfway through taking off his suit "When did you do all this?" "I've had the essentials packed for days, you know, in case we needed to make a quick getaway. I packed your rucksack this morning, Silver, after you changed, and put it in here. I just had a feeling" "You're amazing, you are" said Razor, handing her his bundled-up suit.
"Thank you" Coral said, managing a small smile as she pushed the robes into the bag. Silver vanished using the Emerald and everything that happened seemed to hit him like a train "The others, everyone at the wedding…" "We can't worry about that now. It's you they're after, Silver, and we'll just put everyone in even more danger by going back". Razor nodded "She's right. Most of the Order was there, they'll look after everyone". Silver nodded, then remembered that they could not see him, and said "Yeah". They moved back up the side street and onto the main road again, where a group of men on the opposite side was singing and weaving across the pavement. Razor looked around "Why'd you take us to Knothole" "I've no idea, it just popped into my head, but I'm sure we're safer out in the Muggle world, it's not where they'll expect us to be" "True, but don't you feel a bit…Exposed?" "Where else is there?" asked Coral. She cringed as the men on the other side of the road started wolf-whistling at her "We can hardly book rooms at the Groovy Train, can we? And Haven is out if Infinite can get in there…I suppose we could try my parents' house, though I think there's a chance they might check there-Oh, I wish they'd shut up!" "All right, darling? Fancy a drink? Ditch sharky and come and have a pint". Razor was about to shout at them but Coral grabbed his arm "In here".
The three of them went into a small café that was thankfully empty. They sat down and leaned close so no one heard "I know we can't stay at the Groovy Train but don't you think it's worth going to see what's happened?" Razor said. Coral shook her head "We know what's happened. Finitevus' has taken over the Ministry. What else do we need to know?" "What can I get you?" the sparrow waitress asked. "Two cappuccinos please" Coral said. Two Mobians in boiler suits and hard hats entered and walked up to the front desk. Coral whispered even lower now "I say we find a quiet place to Chaos Control and get to the countryside. Then we can send a message to the Order" "Can you do that Patronus message thing?" "I think so". Silver wasn't listening to either of them, he was staring at the two workman. One of them had familiar green quills sticking out from under his hard hat "DOWN!". Coral and Razor without thinking leapt under the table narrowly avoiding spells cast by the two workman. The waitresses screamed in terror and ran out the back door. Razor turned the table over to use as a barrier. Silver, still unseen by the two Nocturnus, ran to the other side of the café then leapt from a table over to the front desk and behind the two "Stupefy!". He hit the one he recognised as Lightening Lynx knocking him forward unconscious. The other was Scourge who quickly turned around and since he couldn't see Silver he threw himself forward in desperation. He got a hold of Silver and managed to punch him in the face. "Petrificus Totalus!" Coral's voice sang from her flute and Scourge was hit in the back. He froze and fell to the floor. Coral and Razor were both shaking as they joined Silver. Scourge, frozen but conscious, was darting his eyes between the three. Razor took one look at him before stomping his foot on his face. Coral looked to Silver who was clutching the side of his head "You okay?" "Yeah, I'm fine" "How did they find us" "I don't know. Lock the door. Razor, get the lights".
The two did so and then returned to the two Nocturnus. Razor was still staring at Scourge with the deepest loathing "What do we do with them? They would have killed us" "No. It's better we wipe their memories. Throw them off the scent". Razor again looked at Scourge. Silver was surprised to see he looked disappointed "Fine. You're the boss". Coral stepped forward "I'll do the Charm. I've done it before". She took a deep, calming breath, then played her flute "Obliviate". At once, Scourge's eyes became unfocused and dreamy. Silver clapped Coral on the back "Brilliant. Take care of the other one while Razor and I clear up" "Clear up? Why?". Silver gestured at the mess "Don't you think they might wonder what's happened if they wake up and find themselves in a place that looks like it's just been bombed?" "Oh right, yeah". Once the café was restored to its previous condition, they heaved the Nocturnus back into their booth and propped them up facing each other. "But how did they find us?" Coral asked, looking from one inert man to the other. She turned to Silver "You-You don't think you've still got your Trace on you, do you, Silver?" "He can't have. The Trace breaks at seventeen, that's Wizarding law, you can't put it on an adult" Razor said. Coral looked down at the Nocturnus "As far as you know. What if they have found a way to put it on a seventeen-year-old?" "But Silver hasn't been near a Nocturnus in the last twenty-four hours. Who's supposed to have put a Trace back on him?".
Coral did not reply. Silver felt contaminated, tainted. Was that really how the Nocturnus had found them "If I can't use magic, and you can't use magic near me, without us giving away our position-" "We're not splitting up!" Coral said firmly. Razor agreed "We need a safe place to hide. Give us time to think things through" "Haven" Silver said. The other two gaped "Don't be silly, Silver, Infinite can get in there!" "Razor's dad said they've put up jinxes against him and even if they haven't worked, so what? I swear, I'd like nothing better than to meet Infinite!" "But-" "Coral, where else is there? It's the best chance we've got. Infinite's only one Nocturnus. If I've still got the Trace on me, we'll have whole crowds of them on us wherever else we go". She could not argue, though she looked as if she would have liked to. While she unlocked the café door, Razor used the Onyx to release the café's light. Then, on Silver's count of three, they reversed the spells upon their two victims, the Nocturnus could do more than stir sleepily, Silver, Razor, and Coral had turned on the spot and vanished into the compressing darkness once more. Seconds later Silver's lungs expanded gratefully and he opened his eyes. They were now standing in the middle of a familiar small and shabby square. Tall, dilapidated houses looked down on them from every side. Number twelve was visible to them, for they had been told of its existence by Locke, its Secret-Keeper, and they rushed toward it, checking every few yards that they were not being followed or observed. They raced up the stone steps, and Silver tapped the front door.
They heard a series of metallic clicks and the clatter of a chain, then the door swung open with a creak and they hurried over the threshold. As Silver closed the door behind them, the old-fashioned gas lamps sprang into life, casting flickering light along the length of the hallway. It looked just as Silver remembered it: eerie, cobwebbed, the outlines of the Marmolim heads on the wall throwing odd shadows up the staircase. Long dark curtains concealed the portrait of Elias' mother. The only thing that was out of place was the Kraken's leg umbrella stand, which was lying on its side as if Julie-Su had just knocked it over again "I think somebody's been in here" Coral whispered, pointing toward it. Silver stepped forward "I don't think so" "So where are these jinxes they put up against Infinite?" Razor asked. Silver took another cautious step forward and "Infinite?" Striker's voice whispered out of the darkness, making all three of them jump back in fright. "We're not Infinite!" croaked Silver, before something whooshed over him like cold air and his tongue curled backward on itself, making it impossible to speak. Before he had time to feel inside his mouth, however, his tongue had unravelled again. The other two seemed to have experienced the same unpleasant sensation. Razor was making retching noises; Coral stammered "That m-must have b-been the T-Tongue-Tying Curse Striker set up for Infinite!". Gingerly Silver took another step forward.
Something shifted in the shadows at the end of the hall, and before any of them could say another word, a figure had risen up out of the carpet, tall, dust coloured, and terrible. Coral screamed and so did Elias' mother, her curtains flying open. The grey figure was gliding toward them, faster and faster, its dreadlocks streaming behind it, its face sunken, fleshless, with empty eye sockets. Horribly familiar, dreadfully altered, it raised a wasted arm, pointing at Silver "No! No! It wasn't us! We didn't kill you!" Silver yelled. On the word kill, the figure exploded in a great cloud of dust. Coughing, his eyes watering, Silver looked around to see Coral crouched on the floor by the door with her arms over her head, and Razor, who was shaking from head to foot, patting her clumsily on the shoulder and saying "It's all r-right…It's g-gone". Dust swirled around Silver like mist, catching the blue gaslight, as Mrs Acorn continued to scream "Mudbloods, filth, stains of dishonour, taint of shame on the house of my fathers!" "SHUT UP!" Silver bellowed, directing his hand at her, and with a bang and a burst of red sparks, the curtains swung shut again, silencing her. Coral got back to her feet "That was…That was…" "It wasn't really him, was it? Just something to scare Infinite" Silver said. Had it worked, Silver wondered, or had Infinite already blasted the horror-figure aside as casually as he had killed the real Locke? Nerves still tingling, he led the other two up the hall, half expecting some new terror to reveal itself, but nothing moved except for a Micky skittering along the skirting board. "Before we go any farther, I think we'd better check" whispered Coral. She played her Flute "Homenum revelio". Nothing happened "We're alone" "Except for old Dusty" said Razor, glancing at the patch of carpet from which the corpse-figure had risen. Coral ignited the old gas lamps, then they made their way to the living room. Coral fell on the sofa, her arms wrapped tightly around her. Razor crossed to the window and moved the heavy velvet curtain aside an inch "Can't see anyone out there. And you'd think, if Silver still had a Trace on him, they'd have followed us here. I know they can't get in the house, but-What's up, Silver?".
Silver had given a cry of pain: His scar had burned again as something flashed across his mind like a bright light on water. He saw a large shadow and felt a fury that was not his own pound through his body, violent and brief as an electric shock "What did you see? Did you see him at my place?" "No, I just felt anger. He's really angry" "But that could be at Deerwood. Was he cursing someone?" "No, I just felt anger. I couldn't tell". Silver felt badgered, confused, and Coral did not help as she said in a frightened voice "But what's going on? I thought that connection had closed!" "It did, for a while but since the chase it's been open again" "But then you've got to close your mind! Silver, Locke didn't want you to use that connection, he wanted you to shut it down, that's why you were supposed to use Occlumency! Otherwise Finitevus can plant false images in your mind, remember". Silver not only remembered it, he was getting tired of hearing it "Yeah, I do remember, thanks" he through gritted teeth. he did not need Coral to tell him about how it got Elias killed. He wished that he had not told them what he had seen and felt; it made Finitevus more threatening, as though he were pressing against the window of the room, and still the pain in his scar was building and he fought it: It was like resisting the urge to be sick. He turned his back on Razor and Coral, pretending to examine the old tapestry of the Acorn family tree on the wall. Then Coral shrieked, Silver raised his hand again and spun around to see a silver Patronus soar through the drawing room window and land upon the floor in front of them, where it solidified into a fox that spoke with the voice of Rob "Family safe, do not reply, we are being watched". The Patronus dissolved into nothingness. Razor let out a noise between a whimper and a groan and dropped onto the sofa. Coral joined him, gripping his arm "They're all right, they're all right!" she whispered, and Razor half laughed and hugged her.
He looked at Silver guilty "Silver, I-" "It's not a problem. It's your family, 'course you're worried. I'd feel the same way". He thought of Blaze "I do feel the same way". The pain in his head was reaching a peak, burning as it had done in the garden of the Deerwood. Faintly he heard Coral say "I don't want to be on my own. Could we use the sleeping bags I've brought and camp in here tonight?". He heard Razor agree. He could not fight the pain much longer. He had to succumb "Bathroom" he muttered, and he left the room as fast as he could without running. He barely made it. Bolting the door behind him with trembling hands, he grasped his pounding head and fell to the floor, then in an explosion of agony, he felt the rage that did not belong to him possess his soul, saw a long room lit only by firelight, and he saw Lightening Lynx on the floor, screaming and writhing. What shocked Silver was that the one torturing him was Rutan although he did not seem happy to be doing it. Silver spoke in a cold voice "More, Lightening, or shall we end it and feed you to Ifrit? Lord Finitevus is not sure that he will forgive this time. You called me back for this, to tell me that Silver the Hedgehog has escaped again? Rutan, give Lightening another taste of our displeasure…Do it, or feel my wrath yourself!". A log fell in the fire. Flames reared, their light darting across a terrified, pointed white face — with a sense of emerging from deep water, Silver drew heaving breaths and opened his eyes. He was spread-eagled on the cold black marble floor, his nose inches from one of the silver serpent tails that supported the large bathtub. He sat up. Rutan's gaunt, petrified face seemed branded on the inside of his eyes. Silver felt sickened by what he had seen, by the use to which Rutan was now being put by Finitevus. There was a sharp rap on the door, and Silver jumped as Coral's voice rang out. "Silver, do you want your toothbrush? I've got it here" "Yeah, great, thanks" he said, fighting to keep his voice casual as he stood up to let her in.