Dudley nearly smiledThey lumbered from the...
Dudley nearly smiledThey lumbered from the roomHarry heard his heavy footfalls on the graveled drive, and then a car door slammed
Aunt Petunia whose face had been buried in her handkerchief looked around at the soundShe did not seem to have expected to find herself alone with HarryHastily stowing her wet handkerchief into her pocket, she said, "Well - good-bye" and marched towards the door without looking at him
"Good-bye" said Harry
She stopped and looked backFor a moment Harry had the strangest feeling that she wanted to say something to him; She gave him an odd, tremulous look and seemed to teeter on the edge of speech, but then, with a little of her head, she hustled out of the room after he husband and son

\p\C0="Chapter Four: The Seven Potters"
\bChapter Four
\iThe Seven Potters\i\b
Harry ran back upstairs to his bedroom, arriving at the window just in time to see the Dursleys' car swinging out of the drive and off up the roadDedalus's top hat was visible between Aunt Petunia and Dudley in the backseatThe car turned right at the end of Privet Drive, its windows burned scarlet for a moment in the now setting sun, and then it was gone
Harry picked up Hedwig's cage, his Firebolt, and his rucksack, gave his unnaturally tidy bedroom one last sweeping look, and then made his ungainly way back downstairs to the hall, where he deposited cage, broomstick, and bag near the foot of the stairsThe light was fading rapidly, the hall full of shadows in the evening lightIt felt most strange to stand here in the silence and know that he was about to leave the house for the last timeLong ago, when he had been left alone while the Dursleys went out to enjoy themselves, the hours of solitude had been a rare treatPausing only to sneak something tasty from the fridge, he had rushed upstairs to play on Dudley's computer, or put on the television and flicked through the channels to his heart's contentIt gave him an odd, empty feeling remembering those times; it was like remembering a younger brother whom he cartier ladies santos series replica watches had lost
"Don't you want to take a last look at the place?" he asked Hedwig, who was still sulking with her head under her wing"We'll never be here againDon't you want to remember all the good times? I mean, look at this doormatWhat memories \a133 Dudley sobbed on it after I saved him from the dementors \a133 Turns out he was grateful after all, can you believe it? \a133 And last summer, Dumbledore walked through that front door \a133 "
Harry lost the thread of his thoughts for a moment and Hedwig did nothing to help him retrieve it, but continued to sit with her head under her wingHarry turned his back on the front door
"And under here, Hedwig" - Harry pulled open a door under the stairs - "is where I used to sleep! You never knew me then - Blimey, it's small, I'd forgotten \a133 "
Harry looked around at the stacked shoes and umbrellas remembering how he used to wake every morning looking up at the underside of the staircase, which was more often than not adorned with a spider or twoThose had been the days before he had known anything about his true identity; before he had found out how his parents had died or why such strange things often happened around himBut Harry could still remember the dreams that had dogged him, even in those days: confused dreams involving flashes of green light and once - Uncle Vernon had nearly crashed the car when Harry had recounted it - a flying motorbike \a133
There was a sudden, deafening roar from somewhere nearbyHarry straightened up with a jerk and smacked the top of his head on the low door framePausing only to employ a few of Uncle Vernon's choicest swear words, he staggered back into the kitchen, clutching his head and staring out of the window into the back garden
The darkness seemed to be rippling, the air itself quiveringThen, one by one, figures began to pop into sight as their Disillusionment Charms liftedDominating the scene was Hagrid, wearing a helmet and goggles and sitting astride an enormous motorbike with a black sidecar attachedAll around him cheapest replica speedy louis vuitton real leather other people were dismounting from brooms and, in two cases, skeletal, black winged horses
Wrenching open the back door, Harry hurtled into their midstThere was a general cry of greeting as Hermione flung her arms around him, Ron clapped him on the back, and Hagrid said, "All righ', Harry? Ready fer the off?"
"Definitely," said Harry, beaming around at them all"But I wasn't expecting this many of you!"
"Change of plan," growled Mad-Eye, who was holding two enormous bulging sacks, and whose magical eye was spinning from darkening sky to house to garden with dizzying rapidity"Let's get undercover before we talk you through it
Harry led them all back into the kitchen where, laughing and chattering, they settled on chairs, sat themselves upon Aunt Petunia's gleaming work surfaces, or leaned up against her spotless appliances; Ron, long and lanky; Hermione, her bushy hair tied back in a long plait; Fred and George, grinning identically; Bill, badly scarred and long-haired; MrWeasley, kind-faced, balding, his spectacles a little awry; Mad-Eye, battle-worn, one-legged, his bright blue magical eye whizzing in its socket; Tonks, whose short hair was her favorite shade of bright pink; Lupin, grayer, more lined; Fleur, slender and beautiful, with her long silvery blonde hair; Kingsley, bald and broad-shouldered; Hagrid, with his wild hair and beard, standing hunchbacked to avoid hitting his head on the ceiling; and Mundungus Fletcher, small, dirty, and hangdog, with his droopy beady hound's eyes and matted hairHarry's heart seemed to expand and glow at the sight: He
felt incredibly fond of all of them, even Mundungus, whom he had tried to strangle the last time they had met
"Kingsley, I thought you were looking after the Muggle Prime Minister?" he called across the room
"He can get along without me for one night," said Kingsley, "You're more important
"Harry, guess what?" said Tonks from her perch on top of the washing machine, and she wiggled her left hand at him; a ring glistened there
"You got married?" discount chanel quilted handbags Harry yelped, looking from her to Lupin
"I'm sorry you couldn't be there, Harry, it was very quiet
"That's brilliant, congrat -"
"All right, all right, we'll have time for a cozy catch-up later," roared Moody over the hubbub, and silence fell in the kitchenMoody dropped his sacks at his feet and turned to Harry"As Dedalus probably told you, we had to abandon Plan APius Thicknesse has gone over, which gives us a big problemHe's made it an imprisonable offense to connect this house to the Floo Network, place a Portkey here, or Apparate in or outAll done in the name of your protection, to prevent You-Know-Who getting in at youAbsolutely pointless, seeing as your mother's charm does that alreadyWhat he's really done is to stop you getting out of here safely
"Second problem: You're underage, which means you've still got the Trace on you
"I don't -"
"The Trace, the Trace!" said Mad-Eye impatiently"The charm that detects magical activity around under-seventeens, the way the Ministry finds out about underage magic! If you, or anyone around you, casts a spell to get you out of here, Thicknesse is going to know about it, and so will the Death Eaters
"We can't wait for the Trace to break, because the moment you turn seventeen you'll lose all the protection your mother gave youIn short, Pius Thicknesse thinks he's got you cornered good and proper
Harry could not help but agree with the unknown Thicknesse
"So what are we going to do?"
"We're going to use the only means of transport left to us, the only ones the Trace can't detect, because we don't need to cast spells to use them: brooms, thestrals, and Hagrid's motorbike
Harry could see flaws in this plan; however, he held his tongue to give Mad-Eye the chance to address them
"Now, your mother's charm will only break under two conditions: when you come of age, or" - Moody gestured around the pristine kitchen - "you no longer call this place homeYou and your aunt and uncle are going your separate ways tonight, in the full understanding that you're never gucci coin wallet going to live together again, correct?"
Harry nodded
"So this time, when you leave, there'll be no going back, and the charm will break the moment you get outside its rangeWe're choosing to break it early, because the alternative is waiting for You-Know-Who to come and seize you the moment you turn seventeen
"The one thing we've got on our side is that You-Know-Who doesn't know we're moving you tonightWe've leaked a fake trail to the Ministry: They think you're not leaving until the thirtiethHowever, this is You-Know-Who we're dealing with, so we can't rely on him getting the date wrong; he's bound to have a couple of Death Eaters patrolling the skies in this general area, just in caseSo, we've given a dozen different houses every protection we can throw at themThey all look like they could be the place we're going to hide you, they've all got some connection with the Order: my house, Kingsley's place, Molly's Auntie Muriel's - you get the idea
"Yeah," said Harry, not entirely truthfully, because he could still spot a gaping hole in the plan
"You'll be going to Tonks's parentsOnce you're within the boundaries of the protective enchantments we've put on their house you'll be able to use a Portkey to the BurrowAny questions?"
"Er - yes," said Harry"Maybe they won't know which of the twelve secure houses I'm heading for at first, but won't it be sort of obvious once" - he performed a quick headcount - "fourteen of us fly off toward Tonks's parents?"
"Ah," said Moody, "I forgot to mention the key pointFourteen of us won't be flying to Tonks's parentsThere will be seven Harry Potters moving through the skies tonight, each of them with a companion, each pair heading for a different safe house
From inside his cloak Moody now withdrew a flask of what looked like mudThere was no need for him to say another word; Harry understood the rest of the plan immediately
"No!" he said loudly, his voice ringing through the kitchen"No way!"
"I told them you'd take it like this," said Hermione with a hint of d&g buying fake complac