Phoenix Tears

Chapter 9: Frogs in the batter

Harry ended the shield charm with the slightest whisper, shrunk his staff, fitting it back into his holster with a flick of his wrist, and pulled his invisibility cloak tight. The Weasleys had closed in around him and someone clumsily found his shoulder, pushing him down into a crouching position. He shifted so that his knees weren't pressing Nio into his belly and listened hard, trying to figure out what was happening. The only noises were the slight shifting and rustling around him, the floor creaking as weight shifted, and the whisper of shallow breaths. Acrid fear permeated the air and the temperature dropped suddenly as if a door had been opened to Antartica.

Nio shivered against Harry's belly, twisting into a tighter ball, pressing deeper against him. He seemed to sense that something was dangerously wrong.

The room around Harry grew darker, there was no longer the haze of light streaming in from the bank of windows along the kitchen wall. The knot of people around him tightened, and hands were on his back and head, as if reassuring themselves that he was hidden and still there.

He struggled to stand up and they pushed him down. The floor was now radiating a cold... seeping in through his trainers even under the invisibility cloak, it was like the chill of the Center when it had been subjected to the Null zone. Harry furrowed his brows, trying to suss out the clues that would tell him what was going on.

He felt people shift around him as if they were watching something move across the windows to the back door.

The back door banged open and a rattling, rasping noise grew closer. Shouts of encantations burst from the knot of people around him as they moved—expanding and contracting.

He started when he heard Fred and George summoning chocolate frogs and heard the foil wrappers snapping into their hands, but was quickly distracted as explosions rocked the floor and plaster fell from the ceiling. China shattered around him. Harry felt as if he was being sucked into a vacuum; the world around him was blurring in a haze of ringing noises and smoke. He was slipping away, the noises dimming as a scream skewered him. He crumpled on the floor, winching as a sharp shard of pottery cut into his knee. He was struggling to remain conscious.

Something small jumped on his hand and then launched up, hittting him lightly on the mouth. He licked his lips—chocolate—and then tried to grab it, finding bits of plaster and broken crockery instead. The taste of chocolate on his lips, though, sent a jolt through him and he was able to sit up.

Someone slumped against him, jolting him further out of the fog. He shook his head to dispel the miasma that had been engulfing him. Instinctively he'd put his arms out to catch them, and now, realized it was Ginny from her slight build and long hair.

"Ginny?" he whispered, shaking her gently. Her head lolled onto his shoulder. He fell on the floor and gathered her into his arms, pulling her under the invisibility cloak as it seemed as though it was a bit warmer under it than in the kitchen which now was colder than an icebox.

He scooted along the floor, dragging Ginny with him, trying to pull her out of the way of everyone casting spells around them. Occasionally bright lights flashed across his field of vision... piercing the darkness and making him wince.

"Harry?" Ron asked, his voice cracking. "Where are you?"

"Right here," Harry said, and stuck his foot out from under the cloak. Someone tripped over it and he grimaced... both from the pain and resounding crash that followed. "Sorry!"

"Can you help me get Ginny out of the way?" he asked.

"What happened to Ginny?" Hermione asked from his other side and she groped around, trying to find a hold.