Missing by feet the horned beak of a flaming raptor that snapped its jaws at them. The

smoke and heat were becoming overwhelming: Below them the cursed fire was

Consuming the contraband of generations of hunted students, the guilty outcomes of a

Thousand banned experiments, the secrets of the countless souls who had sought refuge in

The room. Harry couldnot see a trace of Malfoy, Crabbe, or Goyle anywhere. He swooped

As low as he dare over the marauding monsters of flame to try to find them, but there was

nothing but fire: What a terrible way to die. . . . He had never wanted this. . . .

“Harry, let’s get out, let’s get out!” bellowed Ron, though it was impossible to see

Where the door was through the black smoke.

And then Harry heard a thin, piteous human scream from amidst the terrible

Commotion, the thunder of devouring flame.

“It’s – too – dangerous – !” Ron yelled, but Harry wheeled in the air. His glasses

Giving his eyes some small protection from the smoke, he raked the firestorm below,

Seeking a sign of life, a limb or a face that was not yet charred like wood. . . .

And he saw them: Malfoy with his arms around the unconscious Goyle, the pair

Of them perched on a fragile tower of charred desks, and Harry dived. Malfoy saw him

Coming and raised one arm, but even as Harry grasped it he knew at once that it was no

good. Goyle was too heavy and Malfoy’s hand, covered in sweat, slid instantly out of

Harry’s –

“IF WE DIE FOR THEM, I’LL KILL YOU, HARRY!” roared Ron’s voice, and,

As a great flaming chimaera bore down upon them, he and Hermione dragged Goyle onto

Their broom and rose, rolling and pitching, into the air once more as Malfoy clambered up

Behind Harry.

“The door, get to the door, the door!” screamed Malfoy in Harry’s ear, and Harry

Sped up, following Ron, Hermione, and Goyle through the billowing black smoke, hardly

able to breathe: and all around them the last few objects unburned by the devouring

Flames were flung into the air, as the creatures of the cursed fire cast them high in

celebration: cups and shields, a sparkling necklace, and an old, discolored tiara –

“What are you doing, what are you doing, the door’s that way!” screamed Malfoy,

But Harry made a hairpin swerve and dived. The diadem seemed to fall in slow motion,

Turning and glittering as it dropped toward the maw of a yawning serpent, and then he

had it, caught it around his wrist –

Harry swerved again as the serpent lunged at him; he soared upward and straight

Toward the place where, he prayed, the door stood open; Ron, Hermione and Goyle had

Vanished; Malfoy was screaming and holding Harry so tightly it hurt. Then, through the

Smoke, Harry saw a rectangular patch on the wall and steered the broom at it, and

Moments later clean air filled his lungs and they collided with the wall in the corridor

Beyond.

Malfoy fell off the broom and lay facedown, gasping, coughing, and retching.

Harry rolled over and sat up: The door to the Room of Requirement had vanished, and

Ron and Hermione sat panting on the floor beside Goyle, who was still unconscious.

“C-Crabbe,” choked Malfoy as soon as he could speak. “C-Crabbe . . .”

“He’s dead,” said Ron harshly.

There was silence, apart from panting and coughing. Then a number of huge

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 519