Phoenix

Of Course We Blew Up a House

We had an excellent view of the village of Ottery St Catchpole from the breezy hillside to which we Disapparated next morning. From the high vantage point, the village looked like a collection of toy houses in the great, slanting shafts of sunlight stretching to earth in the breaks between clouds. We stood for a minute or two looking towards The Burrow, our hands shadowing our eyes, but all we could make out were the high hedges and trees of the orchard, which afforded the crooked little house protection from Muggle eyes.

God I wish I had packed sunglasses.

"It's weird, being this near, but not going to visit," said Ron.

"Well, it's not like you haven't just seen them. You were there for Christmas," said Hermione coldly.

I winced. Last time we went on a information gathering trip, we almost died. Ron and Hermione bickering the whole trip would not improve our survival odds.

"Iwasn't at The Burrow!"said Ron, with an incredulous laugh. "Do you think I was going to go back there and tell them all I'd walked out on you? Yeah, Fred and George would've been great about it. And Ginny, she'd have been really understanding."

Hermione's jaw dropped as she looked at him with surprise.

"Did you stay with Charlie?" I blurted.

Harry gave me a strange look which I ignored.

"Blimey!" Ron shook his head. "Charlie would have fed me to the dragons if he knew I abandoned you lot."

Hermione sniffed in approval. "Where did you stay then?"

"Bill and Fleur's new place. Shell Cottage. Bill's always been decent to me. He – he wasn't impressed when he heard what I'd done, but he didn't go on about it. He knew I was really sorry. None of the rest of the family know I was there. Bill told Mum he and Fleur weren't going home for Christmas because they wanted to spend it alone. You know, first holiday after they were married. I don't think Fleur minded. You know how much she hates Celestina Warbeck."

Ron turned his back on The Burrow.

"Let's try up here," he said, leading the way over the top of the hill.

We walked for a few hours, Harry, at Hermione's insistence, hidden beneath the Invisibility Cloak. The cluster of low hills appeared to be uninhabited apart from one small cottage, which seemed deserted.

"Do you think it's theirs, and they've gone away for Christmas?"said Hermione, peering through the window at a neat little kitchen with geraniums on the window sill. Ron snorted.

"Listen, I've got a feeling you'd be able to tell who lived there if you looked through the Lovegoods' window. Let's try the next lot of hills."

So they Disapparated a few miles further north.

"Aha!" shouted Ron, as the wind whipped their hair and clothes. Ron was pointing upwards, towards the top of the hill on which we had appeared, where a most strange-looking house rose vertically against the sky, a great, black cylinder with a ghostly moon hanging behind it in the afternoon sky. "That's got to be Luna's house, who else would live in a place like that? It looks like a giant rook!"

"It's nothing like a bird," said Hermione, frowning at the tower.

"I was talking about a chess rook," said Ron. "A castle to you."

Ron's legs were the longest, but I reached the top of the hill first. When Harry, Hermione and Ron caught up with me, they panting and clutching stitches in their sides, they found me grinning broadly.