Night. He saw a body fly past him and knew he had hit one of them, but then he heard a

Bang and saw sparks from the engine; the motorbike spiraled through the air, completely

out of control –

Green jets of light shot past them again. Harry had no idea which way was up,

which down: His scar was still burning; he expected to die at any second. A hooded

figure on a broomstick was feet from him, he saw it raise its arm –

"NO!"

With a shout of fury Hagrid launched himself off the bike at the Death Eater; to

His horror, Harry saw both Hagrid and the Death Eater, falling out of sight, their

combined weight too much for the broomstick –

Barely gripping the plummeting bike with his knees, Harry heard Voldemort

scream, "Mine!"

It was over: He could not see or hear where Voldemort was; he glimpsed another

Death Eater swooping out of the way and heard, "Avada –"

As the pain from Harry's scar forced his eyes shut, his wand acted of its own

Accord. He felt it drag his hand around like some great magnet, saw a spurt of golden fire

Through his half-closed eyelids, heard a crack and a scream of fury. The remaining Death

Eater yelled; Voldemort screamed, "NO!" Somehow, Harry found his nose an inch from

The dragon-fire button. He punched it with his wand-free hand and the bike shot more

Flames into the air, hurtling straight toward the ground.

"Hagrid!" Harry called, holding on to the bike for dear life. "Hagrid – Accio

Hagrid!"

The motorbike sped up, sucked towards the earth. Face level with the handlebars,

Harry could see nothing but distant lights growing nearer and nearer: He was going to

Crash and there was nothing he could do about it. Behind him came another scream,

"Your wand, Selwyn, give me your wand!"

He felt Voldemort before he saw him. Looking sideways, he stared into the red

eyes and was sure they would be the last thing he ever saw: Voldemort preparing to curse

him once more –

And then Voldemort vanished. Harry looked down and saw Hagrid spread-eagled

On the ground below him. He pulled hard at the handlebars to avoid hitting him, groped

For the brake, but with an earsplitting, ground trembling crash, he smashed into a muddy

Pond.

Fallen Warrior

"Hagrid?"

Harry struggled to raise himself out of the debris of metal and leather that

Surrounded him; his hands sank into inches of muddy water as he tried to stand. He could

Not understand where Voldemort had gone and expected him to swoop out of the

Darkness at any moment. Something hot and wet was trickling down his chin and from

His forehead. He crawled out of the pond and stumbled toward the great dark mass on the

Ground that was Hagrid.

"Hagrid? Hagrid, talk to me –"

But the dark mass did not stir.

"Who's there? Is it Potter? Are you Harry Potter?"

Harry did not recognize the man's voice. Then a woman shouted. "They've

crashed. Ted! Crashed in the garden!"

Harry's head was swimming.

"Hagrid," he repeated stupidly, and his knees buckled.

The next thing he knew, he was lying on his back on what felt like cushions, with

A burning sensation in his ribs and right arm. His missing tooth had been regrown. The

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 730