Armor possesses. Wherever the genuine sword of Gryffindor is, it is not in a vault at

Gringotts bank.”

“I see,” said Ted. “And I take it you didn’t bother telling the Death Eaters this/’

“I saw no reason to trouble them with the information,” said Griphook smugly,

and now Ted and Dean joined in Gornuk and Dirk’s laughter.

Inside the tent, Harry closed his eyes, willing someone to ask the question he

needed answered, and after a minute that seemed ten, Dean obliged: he was (Harry

remembered with a jolt) an ex-boyfriend of Ginny’s too.

“What happened to Ginny and all the others? The ones who tried to steal it?”

“Oh, they were punished, and cruelly,” said Griphook indifferently.

“They’re okay, though?” asked Ted quickly, “I mean, the Weasleys don’t need

any more of their kids injured, do they?”

“They suffered no serious injury, as far as I am aware,” said Griphook.

“Lucky for them,” said Ted. “With Snape’s track record I suppose we should just

be glad they’re still alive.”

“You believe that story, then, do you, Ted?” asked Dirk.” You believe Snape

killed Dumbledore?

“Course I do,” said Ted. “You’re not going to sit there and tell me you think

Potter had anything to do with it?”

“Hard to know what to believe these days,” muttered Dirk.

“I know Harry Potter,” said Dean. “And I reckon he’s the real thing—the Chosen

One, or whatever you want to call it.”

“Yeah, there’s a lot would like to believe he’s that, son,” said Dirk, “me included.

But where is he? Run for it, by the looks of things. You’d think if he knew anything we

don’t, or had anything special going for him, he’d be out there now fighting, rallying

Resistance, instead of hiding. And you know, the Prophet made a pretty good case against

him—”

“The Prophet?” scoffed Ted. “You deserve to be lied to if you’re still reading that

much, Dirk. You want the facts, try the Quibbler.”

There was a sudden explosion of choking and retching, plus a good deal of

thumping, by the sound of it. Dirk had swallowed a fish bone. At last he sputtered, “The

Quibbler? That lunatic rag of Xeno Lovegood’s?”

“It’s not so lunatic these days,” said Ted. “You want to give it a look, Xeno is

printing all the stuff the Prophet’s ignoring, not a single mention of Crumple-Horned

Snorkacks in the last issue. How long they’ll let him get with it, mind, I don’t know. But

Xeno says, front page of every issue, that any wizard who’s against You-Know-Who

ought to make helping Harry Potter their number-one priority.”

“Hard to help a boy who’s vanished off the face of the earth,” said Dirk.

“Listen, the fact that they haven’t caught him yet’s one hell of an achievement,”

said Ted. “I’d take tips from him gladly; it’s what we’re trying to do, stay free, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, well, you’ve got a point there,” said Dirk heavily. “With the whole of the

Ministry and all their informers looking for him, I’d have expected him to be caught by

now. Mind, who’s to say they haven’t already caught and killed him without publicizing

it?”

“Ah, don’t say that, Dirk,” murmured Ted.

There was a long pause filled with more clattering of knives and forks. When they

Spoke again it was to discuss whether they ought to sleep on the back or retreat back up

The wooded slope. Deciding the trees would give better cover, they extinguished their fire,

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 912