And Percy, the two Death Eaters at their feet, one Stunned, the other Transfigured; and in

That fragment of a moment, when danger seemed temporarily at bay, the world was rent

Apart, Harry felt himself flying through the air, and all he could do was hold as tightly as

Possible to that thin stick of wood that was his one and only weapon, and shield his head

in his arms: He heard the screams and yells of his companions without a hope of knowing

what had happened to them –

And then the world resolved itself into pain and semidarkness: He was half buried

In the wreckage of a corridor that had been subjected to a terrible attack. Cold air told

Him that the side of the castle had been blown away, and hot stickiness on his cheek told

Him that he was bleeding copiously. Then he heard a terrible cry that pulled at his insides,

That expressed agony of a kind neither flame nor curse could cause, and he stood up,

Swaying, more frightened than he had been that day, more frightened, perhaps, than he

Had been in his life. . . .

And Hermione was struggling to her feet in the wreckage, and three redheaded

Men were grouped on the ground where the wall had blasted apart. Harry grabbed

Hermione’s hand as they staggered and stumbled over stone and wood.

“No – no – no!” someone was shouting. “No! Fred! No!”

And Percy was shaking his brother, and Ron was kneeling beside them, and Fred’s eyes

Stared without seeing, the ghost of his last laugh still etched upon his face.

The Elder Wand

The world had ended, so why had the battle not ceased, the castle

fallen silent in horror, and every combatant laid down their arms?

Harry's mind was in free fall, spinning out of control, unable to

Grasp the impossibility, because Fred Weasley could not be dead,

The evidence of all his senses must be lying--

And then a body fell past the hole blown into the side of the

School and curses flew in at them from the darkness, hitting the

Wall behind their heads.

"Get down!" Harry shouted, as more curses flew through the night:

He and Ron had both grabbed Hermione and pulled her to the floor,

but Percy lay across Fred's body, shielding it from further harrm,

and when Harry shouted "Percy, come on, we've got to move!" he

Shook his head.

"Percy!" Harry saw tear tracks streaking the grime coating ron's

face as he sezied his elder brother's shoulders and pulled, but

Percy would not budge. "Percy, you can't do anything for him! We're

going to--"

Hermione screamed, and Harry, turning, did not need to ask why. A

Monstrous spider the size of a small car was trying to climb

through the huge hole in the wall. one of Aragog's descendants had

Joined the fight.

Ron and Harry shouted together; their spells collided and the

Monster was blown backward, its legs jerking horribly, and vanished

Into the darkness.

"It brought friends!" Harry called to the others, glancing over the

Edge of the castle through the hole in the wall the curses had

Blasted. More giant spiders were climbing the side of the building,

Liberated from the Forbidden Forest, into which the Death Eaters

Must have penetrated. Harry fired Stunning Spells down upon them,

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 519