| "Pathetic! With the whole wide world of ear-related humor before you, you go for \iholey\i?"
"Ah well," said George, grinning at his tear-soaked mother"You'll be able to tell us apart now, anyway, Mum
"Hi, Harry - you are Harry, right?"
"Yeah, I am," said Harry, moving closer to the sofa
"Well, at least we got you back okay," said George"Why aren't Ron and Bill huddled round my sickbed?"
"They're not back yet, George," said MrsHarry glanced at Ginny and motioned to her to accompany him back outsideAs they walked through the kitchen she said in a low voice
"Ron and Tonks should be back by nowThey didn't have a long journey; Auntie Muriel's not that far from hereHe had been trying to keep fear at bay ever since reaching the Burrow, but now it enveloped him, seeming to crawl over his skin, cambon chanel throbbing in his chest, clogging his throatAs they walked down the back steps into the dark yard, Ginny took his hand
Kingsley was striding backward and forward, glancing up at the sky every time he turnedHarry was reminded of Uncle Vernon pacing the living room a million years agoHagrid, Hermione, and Lupin stood shoulder to shoulder, gazing upward in silenceNone of them looked around when Harry and Ginny joined their silent vigil
The minutes stretched into what might as well have been yearsThe slightest breath of wind made them all jump and turn toward the whispering bush or tree in the hope that one of the missing Order members might leap unscathed from its leaves -
And then a broom materialized directly above them and streaked toward the ground -
"It's them!" screamed Hermione
Tonks landed tiffany diamond in a long skid that sent earth and pebbles everywhere
"Remus!" Tonks cried as she staggered off the broom into Lupin's armsHis face was set and white: He seemed unable to speak, Ron tripped dazedly toward Harry and Hermione
"You're okay," he mumbled, before Hermione flew at him and hugged him tightly
"I thought - I thought -"
"'M all right," said Ron, patting her on the back
"Ron was great," said Tonks warmly, relinquishing her hold on LupinStunned one of the Death Eaters, straight to the head, and when you're aiming at a moving target from a flying broom -"
"You did?" said Hermione, gazing up at Ron with her arms still around his neck
"Always the tone of surprise," he said a little grumpily, breaking free"Are we the last back?"
"No," said Ginny, "we're still waiting for Bill and Fleur cheap chanel purses and Mad-Eye and MundungusI'm going to tell Mum and Dad you're okay, Ron -"
She ran back inside
"So what kept you? What happened?" Lupin sounded almost angry at Tonks
"Bellatrix," said Tonks"She wants me quite as much as she wants Harry, Remus, She tried very hard to kill meI just wish I'd got her, I owe BellatrixBut we definitely injured Rodolphus Then we got to Ron's Auntie Muriel's and we missed our Portkey and she was fussing over us -"
A muscle was jumping in Lupin's jawHe nodded, but seemed unable to say anything else
"So what happened to you lot?" Tonks asked, turning to Harry, Hermione, and Kingsley
They recounted the stories of their own journeys, but all the time the continued absence of Bill, Fleur, Mad-Eye, and Mundungus seemed to lie upon them like a frost, its icy bite harder and balenciaga bag harder to ignore
"I'm going to have to get back to Downing Street, I should have been there an hour ago," said Kingsley finally, after a last sweeping gaze at the sky"Let me know when they're back,With a wave to the others, Kingsley walked away into the darkness toward the gateHarry thought he heard the faintest \ipop\i as Kingsley Disapparated just beyond the Burrow's boundariesWeasley came racing down the back steps, Ginny behind themBoth parents hugged Ron before turning to Lupin and Tonks
"Thank you," said MrsWeasley, "for our sons
"Don't be silly, Molly," said Tonks at once
"How's George?" asked Lupin
"What's wrong with him?" piped up Ron
"He's lost -"
But the end of MrsWeasley's sentence was drowned in a general outcryA thestral had just soared into sight and landed a few feet from chanel cambon handbag them |
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