𝐑𝐄𝐖𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐒-ℍ𝕒𝕣𝕣𝕪 ℙ𝕠𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕣❥

𝐃𝐇 𝟕

Everything seemed fuzzy, slow. Harry and Hermione jumped to their feet and drew their wands. Many people were only just realizing that something strange had happened; heads were still turning toward the silver cat as it vanished.

Silence spread outward in cold ripples from the place where the Patronus had landed. Then somebody screamed.

Harry and Hermione threw themselves into the panicking crowd. Guests were sprinting in all directions; many were Disapparating; the protective enchantments around the Burrow had broken.

"Emily! Ron!" Hermione cried. "Ron! Emily, where are you?"

As they pushed their way across the dance floor, Harry saw cloaked and masked figures appearing in the crowd; then he saw Lupin and Tonks, their wands raised, and heard both of them shout, "Protego!", a cry that was echoed on all sides —

"Ron! Emily!" Hermione called, half sobbing as she and Harry were buffeted by terrified guests: Harry seized her hand to make sure they weren't separated as a streak of light whizzed over their heads, whether a protective charm or something more sinister he did not know —

And then Ron was there. He caught hold of Hermione's free arm.

"Where's Emily?" Both Ron and Hermione shouted to each other at the same time.

Harry wasted no time in panicking, he released Hermione's hand and rushed over to Remus and Tonks who had just been joined by Ethan.

"Have you seen Emily?" shouted Harry, Ethan was too busy fighting off death eaters too hear Harry.

Harry heard a cry for helps amongst the screams and whipped around and saw death eaters circling around Emily, all of them holding their wands up to her face.

As Harry made his way over to her, his wands raised ready to protect her, she muttered an incantation underneath her breath and the death eaters that surrounded her crumpled to the floor.

She jumped over one of them and ran to Harry, taking his hand and spinning him back around in the direction of Ron and Hermione, "Quick, they won't hold for long!"

As soon as Emily joined hands with Hermione, she turned on the spot; sight and sound were extinguished as darkness pressed in upon him; all she could feel was Hermione's and Harry's hands as she was squeezed through space and time, away from the Burrow, away from the descending Death Eaters, away, perhaps, from Voldemort himself. . . .

"Where are we?" said Ron's voice.

Emily opened her eyes. For a moment she thought that it had not worked and they had not left the wedding after all: They still seemed to be surrounded by people.

"Tottenham Court Road," panted Hermione. "Walk, just walk, we need to find somewhere for you to change."

Emily did as she asked. They half walked, half ran up the wide dark street thronged with late-night revelers and lined with closed shops, stars twinkling above them. A double-decker bus rumbled by and a group of merry pub-goers ogled them as they passed; Harry and Ron were still wearing dress robes.

"Hermione, we haven't got anything to change into," Ron told her, as a young woman burst into raucous giggles at the sight of him.

"Why didn't I make sure I had the Invisibility Cloak with me?" said Harry, inwardly cursing his own stupidity. "All last year I kept it on me and —"

"It's okay, I've got the Cloak, I've got clothes for both of you," said Hermione. "Just try and act naturally until — this will do."

She and Emily led them down a side street, then into the shelter of a shadowy alleyway.