Supported & Torn (HP) {Book 3 of the Wild & Free Series}

6. The Horseless Carriage

I had a troubled night's sleep. My parents wove in and out of my dreams, never speaking; Mrs. Weasley sobbed over Kreacher's dead body watched by Ron, Rowan, Lucy and Hermione, who were wearing crowns, and yet again I found myself walking down a corridor ending in a locked door. I awoke abruptly with my scar prickling to find Ginny, Lucy and Hermione already dressed and Ginny talking to me.

"...better hurry up, Mum's going ballistic, she says we're going to miss the train..."

There was a lot of commotion in the house. From what I heard as I dressed at top speed, I gathered that Fred and George had bewitched their trunks to fly downstairs to save the bother of carrying them, with the result that they had hurtled straight into Ginny and knocked her down two flights of stairs into the hall; Mrs. Black and Mrs. Weasley were both screaming at the top of their voices.

"— COULD HAVE DONE HER A SERIOUS INJURY, YOU IDIOTS —"

"— FILTHY HALF-BREEDS, BESMIRCHING THE HOUSE OF MY FATHERS —"

Lucy came hurrying into the room.

"Are you done yet?" she asked.

"Nearly — Ginny all right?" I asked.

"Mrs. Weasley's patched her up," said Lucy. "But now Mad- Eye's complaining that we can't leave unless Sturgis Podmore's here, otherwise the guard will be one short."

"Guard?" I said. "We have to go to King's Cross with a guard?"

"You have to go to King's Cross with a guard," Lucy corrected me.

"Why?" I said irritably. "I thought Voldemort was supposed to be lying low, or are you telling me he's going to jump out from behind a dustbin to try and do Harry and me in?"

"You know, after what had happened... I too think it's safer to have a guard with us, in case more Death Eaters are going to try to kill you...," said Lucy. "But if we don't leave soon we're definitely going to miss the train..."

"WILL YOU LOT GET DOWN HERE NOW, PLEASE!" Mrs. Weasley bellowed and Lucy jumped as though scalded and hurried out of the room. I seized Nymeria, stuffed her unceremoniously into her basket, and set off downstairs after Hermione, dragging my trunk.
Mrs. Black's portrait was howling with rage but nobody was bothering to close the curtains over her; all the noise in the hall was bound to rouse her again anyway.

"Harry, Liana, you're to come with me and Tonks," shouted Mrs. Weasley over the repeated screeches of "MUDBLOODS! SCUM! CREATURES OF DIRT !"

"Leave your trunk and your owl, Alastor's going to deal with the luggage... Oh, for heaven's sake, Sirius, Dumbledore said no!"

A bearlike black dog had appeared at Harry's and my side as we clambered over the various trunks cluttering the hall to get to Mrs. Weasley.

"Oh honestly..." said Mrs. Weasley despairingly, "well, on your own head be it!"

She wrenched open the front door and stepped out into the weak September sunlight. Harry, the dog and I followed her. The door slammed behind us and Mrs. Black's screeches were cut off instantly.

"Where's Tonks?" Harry said, looking around as we went down the stone steps of number twelve, which vanished the moment we reached the pavement.

"She's waiting for us just up here," said Mrs. Weasley stiffly, averting her eyes from the lolloping black dog beside Harry and me.

An old woman greeted us on the corner. She had tightly curled gray hair and wore a purple hat shaped like a porkpie.

"Wotcher, Harry and Liana," she said, winking.