Chapter 33 Fight And Flight

Harry had no idea what Hermione was planning, or even whether she had a plan. He walked half a pace behind her as they headed down the corridor outside Umbridge's office, knowing it would look very suspicious if he appeared not to know where they were going. He did not dare attempt to talk to her; Umbridge was walking so closely behind them that he could hear her ragged breathing.

Hermione led the way down the stairs into the Entrance Hall. The din of loud voices and the clatter of cutlery on plates echoed from out of the double doors to the Great Hall—it seemed incredible to Harry that twenty feet away were people who were enjoying dinner, celebrating the end of exams, not a care in the world ...

Hermione walked straight out of the oak front doors and down the stone steps into the balmy evening air. The sun was falling towards the tops of the trees in the Forbidden Forest now, and as Hermione marched purposefully across the grass—Umbridge jogging to keep up—their long dark shadows rippled over the grass behind them like cloaks.

‘It's hidden in Hagrid's hut, is it?’ said Umbridge eagerly in Harry's ear.

‘Of course not,’ said Hermione scathingly. ‘Hagrid might have set it off accidentally.’

‘Yes,’ said Umbridge, whose excitement seemed to be mounting. ‘Yes, he would have done, of course, the great half-breed oaf.’

She laughed. Harry felt a strong urge to swing round and seize her by the throat, but resisted. His scar was throbbing in the soft evening air but it had not yet burned white-hot, as he knew it would if Voldemort had moved in for the kill.

‘Th en ... where is it? asked Umbridge, with a hint or uncertainty in her voice as Hermione continued to stride towards the Forest.

‘In there, of course,’ said Hermione, pointing into the dark trees. ‘It had to be somewhere that students weren't going to find it accidentally, didn't it?’

‘Of course,’ said Umbridge, though she sounded a little apprehensive now. ‘Of course ... very well, then ... you two stay ahead of me.’

‘Can we have your wand, then, if we're going first?’ Harry asked her.

‘No, I don't think so, Mr. Potter,’ said Umbridge sweetly, poking him in the back with it. ‘The Ministry places a rather higher value on my life than yours, I'm afraid.’

As they reached the cool shade of the first trees, Harry tried to catch Hermione's eye; walking into the Forest without wands seemed to him to be more foolhardy than anything they had done so far this evening. She, however, merely gave Umbridge a contemptuous glance and plunged straight into the trees, moving at such a pace that Umbridge, with her shorter legs, had difficulty in keeping up.

‘Is it very far in?’ Umbridge asked, as her robe ripped on a bramble.

‘Oh yes,’ said Hermione, ‘yes, it's well hidden.’

Harry's misgivings increased. Hermione was not taking the path they had followed to visit Grawp, but the one he followed three years ago to the lair of the monster Aragog. Hermione had not been with him on that occasion; he doubted she had any idea what danger lay at the end of it.

‘Er—are you sure this is the right way?’ he asked her pointedly.

‘Oh yes,’ she said in a steely voice, crashing through the undergrowth with what he thought was a wholly unnecessary amount of noise. Behind them, Umbridge tripped over a fallen sapling. Neither of them paused to help her up again; Hermione merely strode on, calling loudly over her shoulder, ‘It's a bit further in!’

‘Hermione, keep your voice down,’ Harry muttered, hurrying to catch up with her. ‘Anything could be listening in here—’

‘I want us heard,’ she answered quietly, as Umbridge jogged noisily after them. ‘You'll see ...’

They walked on for what seemed a long time, until they were once again so deep into the Forest that the dense tree canopy blocked out all light. Harry had the feeling he had had before in the Forest, one of being watched by unseen eyes.

‘How much further?’ demanded Umbridge angrily from behind him.

‘Not far now!’ shouted Hermione, as they emerged into a dim, dank clearing. ‘Just a little bit —’

An arrow flew through the air and landed with a menacing thud in the tree just over her head. The air was suddenly full of the sound of hooves; Harry could feel the Forest floor trembling; Umbridge gave a little scream and pushed him in front of her like a shield—

He wrenched himself free of her and turned. Around fifty centaurs were emerging on every side, their bows raised and loaded, pointing at Harry, Hermione and Umbridge. They backed slowly into the centre of the clearing, Umbridge uttering odd little whimpers of terror. Harry looked sideways at Hermione. She was wearing a triumphant smile.

‘Who are you?’ said a voice.

Harry looked left. The chestnut-bodied centaur called Magorian was walking towards them out of the circle: his bow, like those of the others, was raised. On Harry's right, Umbridge was still whimpering, her wand trembling violently as she pointed it at the advancing centaur.

‘I asked you who are you, human,’ said Magorian roughly.

‘I am Dolores Umbridge!’ said Umbridge in a high-pitched, terrified voice. ‘Senior Undersecretary to the Minister for Magic and Headmistress and High Inquisitor of Hogwarts!’

‘You are from the Ministry of Magic?’ said Magorian, as many of the centaurs in the surrounding circle shifted restlessly.

‘That's right!’ said Umbridge, in an even higher voice, ‘so be very careful! By the laws laid down by the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, any attack by half-breeds such as yourselves on a human—’

‘What did you call us?’ shouted a wild-looking black centaur, whom Harry recognised as Bane. There was a great deal of angry muttering and tightening of bowstrings around them.

‘Don't call them that!’ Hermione said furiously, but Umbridge did not appear to have heard her. Still pointing her shaking wand at Magorian, she continued, ‘Law Fifteen “B” states clearly that “any attack by a magical creature who is deemed to have near-human intelligence, and therefore considered responsible for its actions—’

‘"Near-human intelligence"?’ repeated Magorian, as Bane and several others roared with rage and pawed the ground. ‘We consider that a great insult, human! Our intelligence, thankfully, far outstrips your own.’

‘What are you doing in our Forest?’ bellowed the hard-faced grey centaur Harry and Hermione had seen on their last trip into the Forest. ‘Why are you here?’

‘Your Forest?’ said Umbridge, shaking now not only with fright but also, it seemed, with indignation. ‘I would remind you that you live here only because the Ministry of Magic permits you certain areas of land—’

An arrow flew so close to her head that it caught at her mousy hair in passing: she let out an ear-splitting scream and threw her hands over her head, while some of the centaurs bellowed their approval and others laughed raucously. The sound of their wild, neighing laughter echoing around the dimly lit clearing and the sight of their pawing hooves was extremely unnerving.

‘Whose Forest is it now, human?’ bellowed Bane.

‘Filthy half-breeds!’ she screamed, her hands still tight over her head. ‘Beasts! Uncontrolled animals!’

‘Be quiet!’ shouted Hermione, but it was too late: Umbridge pointed her wand at Magorian and screamed, ‘Incarcerous!’

Ropes flew out of midair like thick snakes, wrapping themselves tightly around the centaur's torso and trapping his arms: he gave a cry of rage and reared on to his hind legs, attempting to free himself, while the other centaurs charged.

Harry grabbed Hermione and pulled her to the ground; face down on the Forest floor, he knew a moment of terror as hooves thundered around him, but the centaurs leapt over and around them, bellowing and screaming with rage.

‘Nooooo!’ he heard Umbridge shriek. ‘Noooooo ... I am Senior Undersecretary ... you cannot—Unhand me, you animals ... nooooo!’

Harry saw a flash of red light and knew she had attempted to Stun one of them; then she screamed very loudly. Lifting his head a few inches, Harry saw that Umbridge had been seized from behind by Bane and lifted high into the air, wriggling and yelling with fright. Her wand fell from her hand to the ground, and Harry's heart leapt. If he could just reach it—’

But as he stretched out a hand towards it, a centaur's hoof descended upon the wand and it broke cleanly in half.

‘Now!’ roared a voice in Harry's ear and a thick hairy arm descended from thin air and dragged him upright. Hermione, too, had been pulled to her feet. Over the plunging, many-coloured backs and heads of the centaurs, Harry saw Umbridge being borne away through the trees by Bane. Screaming non-stop, her voice grew fainter and fainter until they could no longer hear it over the trampling of hooves surrounding them.

‘And these?’ said the hard-faced, grey centaur holding Hermione.

‘They are young,’ said a slow, doleful voice from behind Harry. ‘We do not attack foals.’

‘They brought her here, Ronan,’ replied the centaur who had such a firm grip on Harry. ‘And they are not so young ... he is nearing manhood, this one.’

He shook Harry by the neck of his robes.

‘Please,’ said Hermione breathlessly, ‘please, don't attack us, We don't think like her, we aren't Ministry of Magic employees! We only came in here because we hoped you'd drive her off for us.’

Harry knew at once, from the look on the face of the grey centaur holding Hermione, that she had made a terrible mistake in saying this. The grey centaur threw back his head, his back legs stamping furiously, and bellowed, ‘You see, Ronan? They already have the arrogance of their kind! So we were to do your dirty work, were we, human girl? We were to act as your servants, drive away your enemies like obedient hounds?’

‘No!’ said Hermione in a horrorstruck squeak. ‘Please—I didn't mean that! I just hoped you'd be able to—to help us—’

But she seemed to be going from bad to worse.

‘We do not help humans!’ snarled the centaur holding Harry, tightening his grip and rearing a little at the same time, so that Harry's feet left the ground momentarily. ‘We are a race apart and proud to be so. We will not permit you to walk from here, boasting that we did your bidding!’

‘We're not going to say anything like that!’ Harry shouted. ‘We know you didn't do what you did because we wanted you to—’

But nobody seemed to be listening to him.

A bearded centaur towards the back of the crowd shouted, ‘They came here unasked, they must pay the consequences!’

A roar of approval met these words and a dun-coloured centaur shouted, ‘They can join the woman!’

‘You said you didn't hurt the innocent!’ shouted Hermione, real tears sliding down her face now. ‘We haven't done anything to hurt you, we haven't used wands or threats, we just want to go back to school, please let us go back—’

‘We are not all like the traitor Firenze, human girl!’ shouted the grey centaur, to more neighing roars of approval from his fellows. ‘Perhaps you thought us pretty talking horses? We are an ancient people who will not stand wizard invasions and insults! We do not recognise your laws, we do not acknowledge your superiority, we are—’

But they did not hear what else centaurs were, for at that moment there came a crashing noise on the edge of the clearing so loud that all of them, Harry, Hermione and the fifty or so centaurs filling the clearing, looked around. Harry's centaur let him fall to the ground again as his hands flew to his bow and quiver of arrows. Hermione had been dropped, too, and Harry hurried towards her as two thick tree trunks parted ominously and the monstrous form of Grawp the giant appeared in the gap.

The centaurs nearest him backed into those behind; the clearing was now a forest of bows and arrows waiting to be fired, all pointing upwards at the enormous greyish face now looming over them from just beneath the thick canopy of branches. Grawp's lopsided mouth was gaping stupidly; they could see his bricklike yellow teeth glimmering in the half-light, his dull sludge-coloured eyes narrowed as he squinted down at the creatures at his feet. Broken ropes trailed from both ankles.

He opened his mouth even wider.

‘Hagger.’

Harry did not know what ‘hagger’ meant, or what language it was from, nor did he much care; he was watching Grawp's feet, which were almost as long as Harry's whole body. Hermione gripped his arm tightly; the centaurs were quite silent, staring up at the giant, whose huge, round head moved from side to side as he continued to peer amongst them as though looking for something he had dropped.

‘Hagger!’ he said again, more insistently.

‘Get away from here, giant!’ called Magorian. ‘You are not welcome among us!’

These words seemed to make no impression whatsoever on Grawp. He stooped a little (the centaurs’ arms tensed on their bows), then bellowed, ‘HAGGER!’

A few of the centaurs looked worried now. Hermione, however, gave a gasp.

‘Harry!’ she whispered. ‘I think he's trying to say “Hagrid"!’

At this precise moment Grawp caught sight of them, the only two humans in a sea of centaurs. He lowered his head another foot or so, staring intently at them. Harry could feel Hermione shaking as Grawp opened his mouth wide again and said, in a deep, rumbling voice, ‘Hermy.’

‘Goodness,’ said Hermione, gripping Harry's arm so tightly it was growing numb and looking as though she was about to faint, ‘he—he remembered!’

‘HERMY!’ roared Grawp. ‘WHERE HAGGER?’

‘I don't know!’ squealed Hermione, terrified. ‘I'm sorry, Grawp, I don't know!’

‘GRAWP WANT HAGGER!’

One of the giants massive hands reached down. Hermione let out a real scream, ran a few steps backwards and fell over. Devoid of a wand, Harry braced himself to punch, kick, bite or whatever else it took as the hand swooped towards him and knocked a snow-white centaur off his legs.

It was what the centaurs had been waiting for—Grawp's outstretched fingers were a foot from Harry when fifty arrows soared through the air at the giant, peppering his enormous face, causing him to howl with pain and rage and straighten up, rubbing his face with his enormous hands, breaking off the arrow shafts but forcing the arrowheads in still deeper.

He yelled and stamped his enormous feet and the centaur; scattered out of the way; pebble-sized droplets of Grawp's blood showered Harry as he pulled Hermione to her feet and the pair of them ran as fast as they could for the shelter of the trees. Once there they looked back; Grawp was snatching blindly at the centaurs as blood ran down his face; they were retreating in disorder, galloping away through the trees on the other side of the clearing. Harry and Hermione watched Grawp give another roar of fury and plunge after them, smashing more trees aside as he went.

‘Oh no,’ said Hermione, quaking so badly that her knees gave way. ‘Oh, that was horrible. And he might kill them all.’

‘I'm not that fussed, to be honest,’ said Harry bitterly.

The sounds of the galloping centaurs and the blundering giant grew fainter and fainter. As Harry listened to them, his scar gave another great throb and a wave of terror swept over him.

They had wasted so much time—they were even further from rescuing Sirius than they had been when he had had the vision. Not only had Harry managed to lose his wand but they were stuck in the middle of the Forbidden Forest with no means of transport whatsoever.

‘Smart plan,’ he spat at Hermione, having to release some of his fury. ‘Really smart plan. Where do we go from here?’

‘We need to get back up to the castle,’ said Hermione faintly.

‘By the time we've done that, Sirius'll probably be dead!’ said Harry, kicking a nearby tree in temper. A high-pitched chattering started up overhead and he looked up to see an angry Bowtruckle flexing its long twiglike fingers at him.

‘Well, we can't do anything without wands,’ said Hermione hopelessly, dragging herself up again. ‘Anyway, Harry, how exactly were you planning to get all the way to London?’

‘Yeah, we were just wondering that.’ said a familiar voice from behind her.

Harry and Hermione moved together instinctively and peered through the trees.

Ron came into sight, closely followed by Ginny, Neville and Luna. All of them looked a little the worse for wear—there were several long scratches running the length of Ginny's cheek; a large purple lump was swelling above Neville's right eye; Ron's lip was bleeding worse than ever—but all were looking rather pleased with themselves.

‘So,’ said Ron, pushing aside a low-hanging branch and holding out Harry's wand, ‘had any ideas?’

‘How did you get away?’ asked Harry in amazement, taking his wand from Ron.

‘Couple of Stunners, a Disarming Charm, Neville brought off a really nice little Impediment Jinx,’ said Ron airily, now handing back Hermione's wand, too. ‘But Ginny was best, she got Malfoy—Bat Bogey Hex—it was superb, his whole face was covered in the great flapping things. Anyway, we saw you out of the window heading into the Forest and followed. What've you done with Umbridge?’

‘She got carried away,’ said Harry. ‘By a herd of centaurs.’

‘And they left you behind?’ asked Ginny, looking astonished.

‘No, they got chased off by Grawp,’ said Harry.

‘Who's Grawp?’ Luna asked interestedly.

‘Hagrid's little brother,’ said Ron promptly. ‘Anyway, never mind that now. Harry, what did you find out in the fire? Has You-Know-Who got Sirius or—?’

‘Yes,’ said Harry, as his scar gave another painful prickle, ‘and I'm sure Sirius is still alive, but I can't see how we're going to get there to help him.’

They all fell silent, looking rather scared; the problem facing them seemed insurmountable.

‘Well, we'll have to fly, won't we?’ said Luna, in the closest thing to a matter-of-fact voice Harry had ever heard her use.

‘OK,’ said Harry irritably, rounding on her. ‘First of all, “we” aren't doing anything if you're including yourself in that, and second of all, Ron's me only one with a broomstick that isn't being guarded by a security troll, so—’

‘I've got a broom!’ said Ginny.

‘Yeah, but you're not coming,’ said Ron angrily.

‘Excuse me, but I care what happens to Sirius as much as you do!’ said Ginny, her jaw set so that her resemblance to Fred and George was suddenly striking.

‘You're too—’ Harry began, but Ginny said fiercely, ‘I'm three years older than you were when you fought You-Know-Who over the Philosophers Stone, and it's because of me that Malfoy's stuck back in Umbridge's office with giant flying bogies attacking him—’

‘Yeah, but—’

‘We were all in the DA together,’ said Neville quietly. ‘It was all supposed to be about fighting You-Know-Who, wasn't it? And this is the first chance we've had to do something real—or was that all just a game or something?’

‘No—of course it wasn't—’ said Harry impatiently.

‘Then we should come too,’ said Neville simply. ‘We want to help.’

‘That's right,’ said Luna, smiling happily.

Harry's eyes met Ron's. He knew Ron was thinking exactly what he was: if he could have chosen any members of the DA, in addition to himself, Ron and Hermione, to join him in the attempt to rescue Sirius, he would not have picked Ginny, Neville or Luna.

‘Well, it doesn't matter, anyway,’ said Harry through gritted teeth, ‘because we still don't know how to get there—’

‘I thought we'd settled that,’ said Luna maddeningly. ‘We're flying!’

‘Look,’ said Ron, barely containing his anger, ‘you might be able to fly without a broomstick but the rest of us can't sprout wings whenever we—’

‘There are ways of flying other than with broomsticks,’ said Luna serenely.

‘I s'pose we're going to ride on the back of the Kacky Snorgle or whatever it is?’ Ron demanded.

‘The Crumple-Horned Snorkack can't fly,’ said Luna in a dignified voice, ‘but they can, and Hagrid says they're very good at finding places their riders are looking for.’

Harry whirled round. Standing between two trees, their white eyes gleaming eerily, were two Thestrals, watching the whispered conversation as though they understood every word.

‘Yes!’ he whispered, moving towards them. They tossed their reptilian heads, throwing back long black manes, and Harry stretched out his hand eagerly and patted the nearest one's shining neck; how could he ever have thought them ugly?

‘Is it those mad horse things?’ said Ron uncertainly, staring at a point slightly to the left of the Thestral Harry was patting. ‘Those ones you can't see unless you've watched someone snuff it?’

‘Yeah,’ said Harry.

‘How many?’

‘Just two.’

‘Well, we need three,’ said Hermione, who was still looking a little shaken, but determined just the same.

‘Four, Hermione,’ said Ginny, scowling.

‘I think there are six of us, actually,’ said Luna calmly, counting.

‘Don't be stupid, we can't all go!’ said Harry angrily. ‘Look, you three—’ he pointed at Neville, Ginny and Luna, ‘you're not involved in this, you're not—’

They burst into more protests. His scar gave another, more painful, twinge. Every moment they delayed was precious; he did not have time to argue.

‘OK, fine, it's your choice,’ he said curtly, ‘but unless we can find more Thestrals you're not going to be able—’

‘Oh, more of them will come,’ said Ginny confidently, who like Ron was squinting in quite the wrong direction, apparently under the impression that she was looking at the horses.

‘What makes you think that?’

‘Because, in case you hadn't noticed, you and Hermione are both covered in blood,’ she said coolly, ‘and we know Hagrid lures Thestrals with raw meat. That's probably why these two turned up in the first place.’

Harry felt a soft tug on his robes at that moment and looked down to see the closest Thestral licking his sleeve, which was damp with Grawp's blood.

‘OK, then,’ he said, a bright idea occurring, ‘Ron and I will take these two and go ahead, and Hermione can stay here with you three and she'll attract more Thestrals—’

‘I'm not staying behind!’ said Hermione furiously.

‘There's no need,’ said Luna, smiling. ‘Look, here come more now ... you two must really smell ...’

Harry turned: no fewer than six or seven Thestrals were picking their way through the trees, their great leathery wings folded tight to their bodies, their eyes gleaming through the darkness. He had no excuse now.

‘All right,’ he said angrily, ‘pick one and get on, then.’

哈利对荷米恩正在计划着什么一无所知，他甚至不知道她是否有过计划。他隔着半步之遥的距离跟在荷米恩身后，跟她一起穿过昂布瑞吉办公室外面的走廊。免得被昂布瑞吉知道他根本不明白他们要去哪里。他不敢跟她说话，因为昂布瑞吉正紧跟在他们身后，近得能让哈利听到她粗重的呼吸声。

　　荷米恩领着他们走下楼梯，进入门廊。高声的喧嚣和盘子上的餐具发出的“哗啦”声穿过双重门，在门廊里回响。哈利简直难以置信，在二十步远的地方竟有人正享用着晚餐，庆祝着测验的结束，而对其他的一切都漠不关心。

　　荷米恩径直穿过几道橡胶门，走下石梯，进入傍晚温和的空气中。现在，太阳正向着禁林中最高的树丛缓缓西沉。荷米恩果断地穿过草地，昂布瑞吉在后面慢跑着跟上她。他们身后的长长的影子象黑色的斗篷般掠过草地。

　　“它曾被藏在哈格力的小屋里，对吗？” 昂布瑞吉急切地在哈利耳边说。 “当然不是，” 荷米恩义正辞严地说，“哈格力也许是不小心把它放走的。” “是的。” 昂布瑞吉说，她开始激动起来，“是的，他确实可能这么做，当然，那个畸形的大块头混血儿！” 她笑了起来。哈利感到一种想转过身来掐住她脖子的强烈欲望，但他忍住了。他额头上的疤痕在柔和的晚风里抽痛着，但是相较起他感应到伏地魔正周旋在他身边想要杀害他时的那种灼痛，这还不算什么。

　　当荷米恩继续大步走向森林时，昂布瑞吉的嗓音中透出一丝怀疑：“那么，它在哪里？”

　　“当然就在那里。” 荷米恩指着黑黝黝的树木说，“那得是个不会因意外而被学生们发现的地方，不是吗？” “当然，” 昂布瑞吉感到有些理解了，“当然，很好，那么，你们两个走在我前面。” “如果要让我们先进去，那么，把你的魔杖交给我们好吗？”哈利问她。

　　“不，我可不那么认为，波特先生，” 昂布瑞吉一边甜甜地说，一边用魔杖指着哈利的脊背，“我恐怕得说，对魔法部而言，我的生命的价值比你们的要高得多。” 当他们到达第一棵树阴冷的影子下时，哈利试着想吸引荷米恩的注意；在他看来，不带魔杖就进入这片森林是他们迄今为止所做过的最愚勇的事了。而她却只是轻蔑地瞥了昂布瑞吉一眼便径直跳入树丛中。她走得很快，长着一双短腿的昂布瑞吉只能勉强跟上她的速度。

　　当昂布瑞吉的长袍一株荆棘割裂后，她终于忍不住问“那还很远吗？”

　　“是的，” 荷米恩答道，“它被隐藏得很好。” 哈利的不安在渐渐增加。荷米恩走的那条路不是去Grawp的那条，而是他三年前走过的那条通向怪兽Aragog的巢穴的路。那一次荷米恩并不在场；他开始怀疑她是否知道有什么危险在路的那头等待着她。

　　“恩，你确定我们走对了路？”他突兀地问道。

　　“哦，是的，”她坚定地说道，一边穿过下层丛生，发出他认为完全不必要的巨大噪音。他们身后的昂布瑞吉被一棵小树苗绊了一跤，但他们都没有停下来扶她，荷米恩只是继续大步前行，同时越过她的肩大声喊道，“很快就到了！”

　　“荷米恩，别那么大声。”哈利一边咕哝，一边匆匆赶上她，“这里的所有东西都可能正在倾听着……”

　　“我正想让我们的声音被听到，”她不动声色地说道，这时，昂布瑞吉正吵闹地从后面慢跑向上来。“你会知道的。” 她补充说。 他们又走了很长一段时间，直到他们又一次进入了被浓密的树阴遮住所有光亮的禁林深处。哈利又感到了那种他在这个森林里曾有过的感觉——那种被许多看不见的眼睛注视着的感觉。

　　“还有多远？” 昂布瑞吉在他身后愤怒地问道。 “现在不远了！” 荷米恩叫喊道，他们走到了一块暗淡而又潮湿的空地上，“只有一点……” 一支箭破空而来，惊险地从她头上飞过，重重地击到树上。空气中突然充满了蹄声；哈利可以感觉到禁林的地面正在颤动着；昂布瑞吉发出一声惊叫，把哈利推到自己身前作为挡箭牌。

　　哈利奋力挣扎，从她手中逃脱了。大约五十头半人马兽从四面八方浮现。他们举起弓，上好箭，瞄准了哈利、荷米恩和昂布瑞吉。他们缓缓向空地中间行进。昂布瑞吉只余下因恐惧而发出呜咽的力气了。哈利看向一旁的荷米恩，她脸上正绽放着胜利的微笑。

　　“你是谁？”一个声音问道。

　　哈利看向左边，为首（chestnut-bodied）的一只叫Magorian的半人马兽正离开包围圈向他们走来。他象其他半人马兽一样，高举着弓。哈利右侧的昂布瑞吉仍然呜咽着，她指向面前的半人马兽的魔杖剧烈地抖动着。

　　“我问你是谁，人类。” Magorian粗暴地说。

　　“我是Dolores 昂布瑞吉！” 昂布瑞吉用她那尖锐的、受了惊的嗓音说道，“魔法部高级副部长兼Hogwarts的副校长和高级检查官。”

　　“你是魔法部的？” Magorian说道，此时许多包围圈中的半人马兽慌张地移动起来。

　　“没错！” 昂布瑞吉把声音提得更高了，“所以给我小心点！根据神奇生物管理和调节部门颁布的条例，任何像你们这样的混血生物对人类进行攻击都……” “你管我们叫什么？”一只看起来很狂野的黑色半人马吼道，哈利认出了他，他是Bane。他们周围响起了一片愤怒的低吼，密密麻麻的弓箭齐刷刷指向他们。

　　“别这么叫他们！” 荷米恩急切地说道，但看来昂布瑞吉似乎没有听到她的话。 她仍然瑟瑟发抖地用魔杖指着Magorian，继续说道，“第十五条法令的‘B’项清楚的写着：‘任何被认为有近乎人类智慧的神奇生物对人类的袭击都……’”

　　“‘近乎人类智慧’？” Magorian重复道，Bane和其他的半人马兽都愤怒地咆哮起来，用脚掌使劲蹬着地。“我们认为这对我们而言是一个极大的侮辱，人类！我们的智慧，谢天谢地，远在人类之上！”

　　“你们在我们的林子里干什么？”一头面目可憎的灰色人马兽对他们吼道：“你们为什么来这儿？”

　　“你们的林子？” 昂布瑞吉现在不只因为害怕而战栗了，她看起来还带点愤怒：“我想提醒你，你们可以在这里生活是因为魔法部允许让你们在某块领域……” 一支箭向着她的头飞了过来，插到她鼠臭的发丝中。她发出了一声震耳欲聋的尖叫，把手甩过自己的头。一些半人马兽吼叫着表示赞许，另外一些粗声大笑起来。他们狂野的、如马嘶声般的笑声在微光的空地上回荡着，他们蹬着蹄子，令人观之丧胆。

　　“现在，这是谁的林子啊，人类？” Bane吼道。

　　“五十个混血杂种！”她尖叫着，她的手仍死死地捂着自己的头，“畜生！不服管的动物！”

　　“住嘴！” 荷米恩喊道。但已经太迟了：昂布瑞吉把魔杖指向Magorian，叫道：“Incarcerous！”

　　绳索像粗蛇一样纷纷从半空中飞来，自动地把半人马兽的躯体捆得紧紧的，使他的胳膊动弹不得。他发出一声怒吼，用后腿人立起来，试图挣脱枷锁，其他的半人马兽们都为之动容。

　　哈利一把抓过荷米恩，把她拉倒在地，跟她一起俯卧到森林地被物上。在像响雷似的蹄声在他四围响起时，他有那么一瞬间感到了恐怖。但半人马兽们从他们身上跃了过去，愤怒地咆哮着，恼火地尖叫着。

　　“不~~~！”他听到昂布瑞吉的尖声叫喊，“不~~~~。我是个高级副部长，你们不能…！放开我，你们这些畜生。不~~~~~！”

　　哈利看到红光一闪，于是知道她刚才曾试图使一只半人马兽晕眩过去。然后她大声尖叫起来。哈利把头抬高了几英尺，看到昂布瑞吉已经被Bane从后面抓住，并被高高地举了起来，她正惊骇地在半空中扭动着、呼喊着。她的魔杖从她手中掉到了地上。哈利心中一动：如果他可以碰到它……

　　但当他将手伸向它时，一只半人马兽的蹄子向魔杖踩了下来，它一下子就断成了两截。

　　“好了！”哈利的耳中传来一声怒吼，接着，一只毛茸茸的粗手臂从稀薄的空气中伸下来，扶起了哈利。Hermione也同样被扶起来，站直了身子。哈利看到，在跃进着的半人马兽杂色背部和头部上方，被Bane扔出的昂布瑞吉正在不停地尖叫着飞越过树丛，她的声音越来越微弱，最后终于被周围的蹄声所淹没了。

　　“这些家伙要怎么处理？”那头抓着荷米恩的难看的灰色半人马兽问。

　　“他们是年轻人，”一个阴郁的声音在哈利背后缓缓说道，“我们不攻击幼驹。”

　　“是他们把她带来的，Ronan。”那只紧抓着哈利的半人马兽说道，“他们也并不太年轻。他都快成年了，我是说这个家伙。”

　　他揪着哈利的长袍领子，拎起他晃了晃。

　　“拜托你们，” 荷米恩喘息着说，“请不要攻击我们。我们并不喜欢她，我们也不是魔法部的雇员！我们进入这里只不过是为了想要借助你们来摆脱她。” 哈利马上从抓着荷米恩的那只灰色半人马兽脸上的表情看出她刚刚说那些话是犯了一个天大的错误。那只灰色半人马兽立即转过头，他暴跳如雷地吼道：“你看到了吗，Ronan？他们身上已经出现了成年人的傲慢态度！那么说我们刚才是在为你做那些肮脏的事喽，是吗，人类女孩？我们刚刚就好象你的仆人一样，像驯服的猎犬一样为你们驱走敌人。”

　　“不！” 荷米恩被吓坏了，她惶恐地尖声说道：“请……我刚才不是那个意思！我只是希望你们能够…能够帮助我们…” 但情况看来越来越糟。

　　“我们不帮助人类！”抓着哈利的半人马兽咆哮道，同时他又将哈利抓紧了一点并稍微直起了身子，哈利的脚立刻离开了地面。“我们是一个不同于人类的种族，我们也为此感到很骄傲。我们不会允许你们走出这里，去向他人夸耀你们曾经得到过我们的邀请。”

　　“我们才不会那样说呢！”哈利叫喊道，“我们知道刚刚你们不是因为我们的意愿才去做你们刚才做的事……”

　　但似乎没有人在听他讲话。

　　一只长着胡须的半人马兽在兽群后面叫喊道：“他们不经允许就闯入这里，他们必须对此付出代价！”

　　兽群爆发出一阵赞同的咆哮声，一只暗褐色的半人马兽吼道：“让他们跟那个女人一样！”

　　“你们说过你们从不伤害无辜！” 荷米恩叫嚷道，几行清泪正从她脸上滑落下来，“我们没有做过任何伤害你们的事，我们没有对你们使用魔杖或威胁恐吓，我们只是想返回学校，请放我们回去。” “我们并不都像Firenze那个叛逆者一样，人类女孩！”灰色半人马兽咆哮道，他的同伴爆发出一阵更响亮的赞同的吼声，“你们把我们当作一群漂亮的会说话的马？我们是一个古老的种族，我们不会对巫师的入侵和凌辱逆来顺受！我们不承认你们的法令，我们也不承认你们的优越性，我们是……”

　　但他们没有听到半人马兽到底是什么，因为那时空地边缘处传来了一声巨响。他们所有人，包括哈利、荷米恩以及大约五十只半人马兽都挤到了空地上，向四周张望。原本抓着哈利的那只半人马兽送开手去取他的弓箭，害得哈利重重地跌倒在地。荷米恩也被丢到了地上。当哈利匆匆向她走去时，两棵粗大的树干却象中了邪似的分开了，裂开处出现了巨兽Grawp的恐怖形象。

　　他左近的半人马兽纷纷回到了后面的半人马兽群中，空旷地现在变成了一片弓和箭的海洋，齐刷刷指向正从树篷中向他们迫近的那张巨大的灰色脸孔，形势一触即发。Grawp的歪嘴愚蠢地大张着。他们可以看到他象砖头一样的黄牙正在暗光中微微地发亮。当他向下斜视那些在他脚边的半人马兽时，他那呆滞的、淤泥色的眼睛眯成了一条缝。他的两个脚踝上都有绳索断裂的痕迹。

　　他把嘴张得更大了。

　　“哈格。”

　　哈利并不清楚“哈格”是什么意思，也不知道它来自于何种语言，其实他对这也并不非常在意。他正看着Grawp的脚，它几乎跟哈利的整个身子一样长。荷米恩抓紧了他的胳膊。半人马兽群一片寂静，他们向上凝视着Grawp，他继续向他们中间窥视着，那颗巨大的圆形头颅不停地从一侧转向另外一侧，好象在找他遗落了的什么东西。

　　“哈格！”他又一次叫道，声音更加强硬。

　　“离开这儿，巨兽！” Magorian说，“你不受我们的欢迎！”

　　这些话似乎完全没有对Grawp造成任何影响。他微微俯下身子（半人马兽用手紧拉开弓），然后吼叫道，“哈格！”

　　为数不多的几只半人马兽脸上出现了紧张的神色。荷米恩倒吸了一口气。

　　“哈利！”她耳语道，“我认为他想说的是‘哈格力’！”

　　正在此时，Grawp看到了他们这两个半人马兽海洋中仅有的人类。他又把头低下了一英尺左右，专注地盯着他们。当Grawp再次张大了他的嘴，用低沉的、带着隆隆声的嗓音说“赫米”时，哈利可以感觉到身边的荷米恩正发着抖。

　　“天哪！” 荷米恩说道，哈利的胳膊快要被她抓得失去知觉了，而她看起来象是快要昏厥过去，“他—他还记得！” “赫米！” Grawp吼叫道，“哈格在哪里？”

　　“我不知道，” 受了惊的荷米恩长声尖叫道，“我很抱歉，Grawp，我不知道！”

　　“GRAWP想要哈格！”

　　Giant突然把一只手向下伸来，荷米恩发出了一声真正的尖叫，向后跑了不几步便摔倒在地。但哈利看到那只手把一头雪白的半人马兽撞翻在地，正向他伸来，没带魔杖的哈利竭尽踢、咬、撞等一切所能，避免被Giant捉走。

　　这正是一个半人马兽群等待已久的时机。当Grawp伸出的手指离哈利还有一英尺远时，半人马兽群万箭齐发，射向巨兽，刺痛了他那巨大的脸孔，他痛苦地怒吼着直起身，用巨大的手摩擦着他的脸，却只折断了箭杆，反而让箭头更深的进入他的皮肤。

　　他跺着脚大声吼叫，半人马兽四处奔散。当哈利一把拉开荷米恩时，Grawp豆大的血滴溅到了他的头上。哈利和荷米恩用他们所能达到的最快速度，跑向树丛的遮蔽处。他们躲在那儿，回头观望，只见Grawp脸上滴着血，正盲目地向半人马兽抓去。他们混乱无序地撤退着，向空地另一边的树丛飞奔而去。哈利和荷米恩看到Grawp再次怒吼一声，跳到半人马兽群的后面，追逐着他们，一旁的树木在追逐过程中被他踩得粉碎。

　　“噢，不！” 荷米恩说道，她因为地面的剧烈震动而站不稳脚，“噢！那真可怕，他也许会把他们杀光的！” “坦白说，我对此并不会感到惊讶。” Harry勉力站立着说。

　　半人马兽的奔驰声和巨兽笨拙的脚步声渐渐远去，当他听着他们远去时，他的额上的疤痕又一次剧烈地抽痛起来，他的心头扫过一种不祥的感觉。

　　他们已经浪费了太多的时间——他们已在不知不觉中远离了拯救天狼星的初衷。不仅哈利失去了他的魔杖，他们还被困在了禁林中央，而这里是不可能找到任何运输工具的。

　　“好主意，”他对荷米恩大喊大叫，发泄着心中的怒气，“真是个好主意。我们现在要到去哪里？”

　　“我们必须返回那个城堡，” 荷米恩心虚地含糊说道。 “等我们回到那儿的时候，天狼星大概都已经死了！”哈利一边说，一边怒气冲冲地踢向身旁的树木。一声尖锐的鸟鸣在他头顶上响起，他抬起头，看到一只愤怒的Bowtruckle正把它那长长的、看起来象树枝似的手指曲向自己。

　　“是的，没有了魔杖，我们不能做任何事。” 荷米恩绝望地说道，然后她又直起身来，“不管怎样，哈利，请你详细告诉我，你本来是打算怎样一路到伦敦的？” “哦，我们刚才也在思考这个问题。”一个熟悉的声音从她背后传来。

　　哈利和荷米恩本能地紧靠在一起，凝视着树丛。

　　罗恩出现在他们眼前，紧跟在他身后的是金妮、奈威还有露娜。他们的穿着看起来都有些不妙——金妮的脸颊上有几道很长的划痕，奈威的右眼上肿了一块；更糟糕的是，罗恩的嘴唇正在流着血——但是他们看起来都非常高兴。

　　“那么，”罗恩把一根低垂下来的树枝推到一边，将哈利的魔杖交到他的手上，“想出什么主意了没有？”

　　“你们怎么跑出来的？”哈利一边从罗恩手中接过魔杖，一边惊讶地说道。

　　“我们有一对出色的人儿，和解除武器的魔咒，奈威施了一个绝妙的障碍重重咒，”罗恩快活地说着，一边把荷米恩的魔杖交回她手中，“但金妮是最棒的，她对马尔夫施了蝙蝠妖怪咒——那棒极了，他的整个脸都被那些鼓翼而飞的大怪物给覆盖了。总之，我们从窗户里看到你们走进了森林，因此尾随而来。你们对昂布瑞吉做了什么？”

　　“她被赶走了，”哈利说，“被一群半人马兽。”

　　“然后他们把你们留在这里？” 金妮一脸惊讶。 “不，他们被Grawp追逐着逃走了。”哈利说。

　　“Grawp是谁？” 露娜感兴趣地问道

　　“哈格力的小兄弟，”罗恩迅速答道，“不管怎样，现在那已经不重要了。哈利，你在火中找到了什么？那个人已经捉到了天狼星还是……”

　　“是的，”哈利说，他的疤痕又一次抽痛了，“我坚信天狼星还活着，但是我不知道我们怎样才能到那儿去救他。”

　　谁也没有说话，他们都一脸惊惧，他们面临着一个难以解决的问题。

　　“那么，我们只好用飞的，不是吗？” 露娜用哈利以前经常听到的自以为是的嗓音说道。 “好吧，”哈利暴躁地反驳她道，“首先，如果你把你也包括在‘我们’中的话，我们就什么事也做不成。其次，罗恩是唯一一个拥有飞天扫帚的人，而且他的扫帚没有安全装置的保护，因此……”

　　“我有一把飞天扫帚！” 金妮说。

　　“是的，但是你不一起去。”罗恩生气地说道。

　　“对不起，但是我对天狼星的关心程度并不亚于你们！”金妮说道，她撅起下巴的样子暴露出她与弗来德和乔治惊人的相似之处。

　　“你太……”哈利刚一开口，金妮就激动地打断了他，“我现在已经比你们在Philosopher的密室里对付那个人的时候长大了三岁，而且也是因为我马尔夫才因受到巨大的飞行怪的袭击而被困回在昂布瑞吉的办公室里。……”

　　“是的，但是……”

　　“我们都是DA组织的一员，” 奈威镇定自若地说道，“我们之所以创建这个组织是为了和那个人抗争，不是吗？那么这就是我们第一次要真刀真枪地干些正事的时候了——还是说那难道只是一个游戏或别的什么？” “不，当然不是。”哈利不耐烦地说道。

　　“那么，我们也要一起去，” 奈威简单的说，“我们想要帮助你们。” “是的！” 露娜开心地笑起来。

　　哈利跟罗恩对视了片刻，便明白罗恩跟他的想法一样：如果他可以在DA的成员中任意挑选营救天狼星的人员的话，除自己外，他会选择罗恩和荷米恩，而不会选择金妮、奈威或者露娜。

　　“好的，不管怎么说，现在这并不重要。”哈利咬着牙说，“因为我们仍然不知道怎样才能到达那儿…”

　　“我认为这是明摆着的，” 露娜再次令人恼火地说道，“我们可以用飞的！” “看看吧！”罗恩几乎忍不住要发火了，“你不用飞天扫帚就可以飞行，但是我们其余的人可长不出翅膀来，不论何时都…”

　　“有个方法不用飞天扫帚也能让你们飞起来。” 露娜沉着地说道。 “骑在Kacky Snorgle或者其他什么能飞行的生物身上？” 罗恩一脸嘲讽地挖苦道。 “Crumple-Horned Snorkack是不会飞的，” 露娜用一种威严的声调说道，“但是Thestrals可以，哈格力说它们很善于寻找骑者想去的地方。”

　　哈利迅速转过身，看到两头Thestrals正站在树丛中，他们白色的眼睛泛着微光，注视着他们谈话，象是能听懂每个字似的。

　　“太好了！”他低语着向他们走去。它们晃着爬虫似的脑袋，抖动着长长的黑色棕毛。哈利急切地向离自己较近的一只伸出了手，拍了拍它光亮的脖子；他以前怎么会认为它们丑陋呢？

　　“那是疯马之类的东西吗？”罗恩盯着正被哈利拍打着的那头Thestral，一脸狐疑地问道，“就是那些只有目睹过死亡的人才能看见的东西？”

　　“是的。”哈利说道。

　　“有几只？”

　　“只有两只。”

　　“但是我们需要三只。” 尽管荷米恩看起来还在轻微地颤抖着，但她依然坚决如常。 “是四只，荷米恩。” 金妮闷闷不乐地说。 “实际上，我认为这里有六个人。” 露娜一边说，一边认真的计算着人数。 “别傻了，我们不能都去！”哈利生气地说道，“听着，你们三个…”他指向了奈威、金妮和露娜，“你们并没有被牵涉在内，你们并不……”

　　他们提出了更多的抗议。他的疤痕突然又抽痛起来，这次比前两次要更疼。现在每一秒都很宝贵，他没有时间跟他们争辩了。

　　“好了，这仅仅是你们的意愿，”他简单地说，“但是除非我们能找到更多的Thestrals，否则你们就不能……”

　　“噢，会有更多的Thestrals到这儿来的。”金妮自信满满地说道。

　　“为什么你会那么想？”

　　“因为，你没有留意到，你和荷米恩都浑身是血，”她气定神闲地说，“而我们都知道哈格力是用生肉来喂食Thestral的。也许这就是这两头Thestrals出现在这里的原因。”

　　这时哈利突然感到好象有什么东西在拖住他的长袍，于是他低下头，看到离他较近的那头Thestral正在舔着他那只被Grawp的血液润湿了的袖子。

　　“好吧，那么，”他马上有了主意，“罗恩和我骑在这两头Thestral身上先走。荷米恩和你们留在这里，她会吸引来更多的Thestral……”

　　“我不要呆在这里！” 荷米恩狂暴地说道。 “而且现在也已经没有必要了，” 露娜笑着说道，“看，已经有更多的Thestral过来了，看来你们两个身上的血腥味真的很浓。”

　　哈利转过身，看到不下七头Thestral正奔过树丛，它们象皮革似的巨大翅膀收拢在身体两侧，它们的眼睛在黑暗中闪闪发光。他现在没有任何借口了。

　　“好吧，”他怒气冲冲地说，“那么，捉住它们，然后骑到它们身上。”