Invisible (III)

TWENTY

HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN
chapter twenty

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B A L L O O N

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"Run! Now!"

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Lily has never been part of a stranger group.

Crookshanks leads the way down the stairs; Professor Lupin, Pettigrew and Ron go next, looking like contestants in a six-legged race.

Next comes Professor Snape, drifting creepily along, his toes hitting each stair as they descend, held up by his own wand, which is being pointed at him by Sirius.

Harry and Hermione bring up the rear.

Lily asks nervously for the wand, to try and hold Professor Snape up, and she's glad when Sirius hands it to her without hesitation, as though he's giving her a balloon on a string. Though, it's harder than she thought and Professor Snape's head has collided with the ceiling four times already.

Getting back into the tunnel is difficult. Professor Lupin, Pettigrew and Ron have to turn sideways to manage it; Professor Lupin still has Pettigrew covered with his wand. Lily can see them edging awkwardly along the tunnel in single file.

Crookshanks is still in the lead. Lily goes in front of Sirius, still making Professor Snape drift along ahead of them; he keeps bumping his lolling head on the low ceiling, causing Lily to wince and grimace all the time.

"You know what this means?" she hears Sirius say abruptly to Harry, as they make their slow progress along the tunnel.

"Turning Pettigrew in?"

"You're free," Harry says.

"Yes... But I'm also - I don't know if anyone ever told you - I'm your godfather."

"Yeah, I knew that."

"Well...your parents appointed me your guardian. If anything happened to them..."

Lily waits. Does he mean what she thinks he means?

"I'll understand, of course, if you want to stay with your aunt and uncle," Sirius says.

"But... Well...think about it. Once my name's cleared...if you wanted a...a different home..."

Some sort of explosion takes place in the pit of Lily's stomach.

Harry moving away?

"What - live with you?" he asks, accidentally cracking his head on a bit of rock protruding from the ceiling.

"Leave the Dursleys?"

"Of course, I thought you wouldn't want to," Sirius says quickly.

"I understand, I just thought I'd--"

"Are you mad?" Harry's voice is easily as croaky as Sirius's.

"Of course I want to leave the Dursleys! Have you got a house? When can I move in?"

Lily glances over her shoulder to look at them, sadness in her eyes; Professor Snape's head is scraping the ceiling but she doesn't care. Harry's leaving her for the next best thing again.