𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐬 [Harry James Potter]

Chapter 34: Queen Of Cups

Queen Of Cups

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Vera's feet touched the road. She saw the achingly familiar Hogsmeade High Street: dark shop fronts, and the mist line of black mountains beyond the village and the curve in the road ahead that led off toward Hogwarts, and light spilling from the windows of the Three Broomsticks.

Vera loosened her grip on Harry and Hermione, however Harry only tightened his grip on her. She looked up only to find his eyes already trained on her. She cursed herself for still blushing under his gaze after all these years.

As if on cue, an alarm rang out and the door of the Three Broomsticks burst open and a dozen cloaked and hooded Death Eaters dashed into the streets, their wands aloft.

Harry instinctively pulled Vera behind a broken and crumbling wall of one of the ruins. As Ron and Hermione hid behind the wall parallel to them.

They waited in the darkness, listening to the footsteps running up and down, beams of light flying along the street from the Death Eaters' searching wands.

"Let's just leave!" Hermione whispered. "Disapparate now!"

"Great idea," said Ron, but before Harry could reply, a Death Eater shouted,

"We know you are here, Potter, and there's no getting away! We'll find you!"

"They were ready for us," whispered Harry. "They set up that spell to tell them we'd come. I gather they've done something to keep us here, trap us-"

"What about dementors?" called another Death Eater.

"Let'em have free rein, they'd find him quick enough!"

"The Dark Lord wants Potter dead by no hands but his- "

"'An dementors won't kill him! The Dark Lord wants Potter's life, not his soul. He'll be easier to kill if he's been Kissed first!"

There were noises of agreement. Dread filled Harry.

"We're going to have to try to Disapparate, Harry!" Hermione whispered.

Even as she said it, they all felt the unnatural cold being spread over the street. Light was sucked from the environment right up to the stars, which vanished. In the pitch blackness, Harry felt Vera take hold of his arm and that was all Harry needed to produce a Patronus.

"Expecto Patronum!"

A silver Dragon burst from his wand and soared, illuminating the dark street: The Dementors scattered and there was a triumphant yell from somewhere out of sight

"It's him, down there, down there!"

The Dementors have retreated, the stars were popping out again and the footsteps of the Death Eaters were becoming louder.