Because Malfoy pulled him out of the way.

“It’s that Mudblood! Avada Kedavra!”

Harry saw Hermione dive aside, and his fury that Crabbe had aimed to kill wiped

All else from his mind. He shot a Stunning Spell at Crabbe, who lurched out of the way,

knocking Malfoy’s wand out of his hand; it rolled out of sight beneath a mountain of

Broken furniture and bones.

“Don’t kill him! DON’T KILL HIM!” Malfoy yelled at Crabbe and Goyle, who

were both aiming at Harry: Their split second’s hesitation was all Harry needed.

“Expelliarmus!”

Goyle’s wand flew out of his hand and disappeared into the bulwark of objects

Beside him; Goyle leapt foolishly on the spot, trying to retrieve it; Malfoy jumped out of

range of Hermione’s second Stunning Spell, and Ron, appearing suddenly at the end of

The aisle, shot a full Body-Bind Curse at Crabbe, which narrowly missed.

Crabbe wheeled around and screamed, “Avada Kedavra!” again. Ron leapt out of

Sight to avoid the jet of green light. The wand-less Malfoy cowered behind a three-legged

Wardrobe as Hermione charged toward them, hitting Goyle with a Stunning Spell as she

Came.

“It’s somewhere here!” Harry yelled at her, pointing at the pile of junk into which

the old tiara had fallen. “Look for it while I go and help R –“

“HARRY!” she screamed.

A roaring, billowing noise behind him gave him a moment’s warning. He turned

And saw both Ron and Crabbe running as hard as they could up the aisle toward them.

“Like it hot, scum?” roared Crabbe as he ran.

But he seemed to have no control over what he had done. Flames of abnormal size

Were pursuing them, licking up the sides of the junk bulwarks, which were crumbling to

Soot at their touch.

“Aguamenti!” Harry bawled, but the jet of water that soared from the tip of his

Wand evaporated in the air.

“RUN!”

Malfoy grabbed the Stunned Goyle and dragged him along; Crabbe outstripped all

Of them, now looking terrified; Harry, Ron, and Hermione pelted along in his wake, and

The fire pursued them. It was not normal fire; Crabbe had used a curse of which Harry had

No knowledge. As they turned a corner the flames chased them as though they were alive,

Sentient, intent upon killing them. Now the fire was mutating, forming a gigantic pack of

fiery beasts: Flaming serpents, chimaeras, and dragons rose and fell and rose again, and

The detritus of centuries on which they were feeding was thrown up into the air into their

Fanged mouths, tossed high on clawed feet, before being consumed by the inferno.

Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle had vanished from view: Harry, Ron and Hermione

Stopped dead; the fiery monsters were circling them, drawing closer and closer, claws and

Horns and tails lashed, and the heat was solid as a wall around them.

“What can we do?” Hermione screamed over the deafening roars of the fire.

“What can we do?”

“Here!”

Harry seized a pair of heavy-looking broomsticks from the nearest pile of junk

And threw one to Ron, who pulled Hermione onto it behind him. Harry swung his leg

Over the second broom and, with hard kicks to the ground, they soared up in the air,

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 629