Bella and the Chamber (Book Two)

Chapter Seven

We all pretended not to notice the whining growing louder and louder as the sky became steadily darker. Stars were blossoming in the blackness. I moved closer to Ron so Harry could pull his jumper on, trying to ignore how the windscreen wipers were now waving feebly as though in protest. 

"Not far," I said, but I'm not sure whether it was to the car or to Harry and Ron. "Not far now," 

Ron patted the dashboard nervously. 

When we flew back beneath the clouds a little while later, we had to squint through the darkness for a landmark we knew. 

"There!" Harry shouted, making me, Ron and the owl's jump. "Straight ahead!"

Silhouetted on the dark horizon, high on the cliff over the lake, stood the many turrets and towers of Hogwarts castle. 

But the car had begun to shudder and was losing speed, dampening our happiness. 

"Come on," Ron said cajolingly, giving the steering wheel a little shake, "nearly there, come on-"

The engine groaned. Narrow jets of steam was issuing from under the bonnet. I found myself gripping the edges of my seat very hard as we flew towards the lake. The car gave a very nasty wobble. Glancing out of Harry's window, I saw the smooth, black, glassy surface of the water, a mile below. Ron's knuckles were white on the steering wheel and Harry was holding his breath. The car wobbled again.

"Come on," Ron muttered.

We were over the lake, thankfully...the castle was right ahead...Ron put his foot down.

There was a loud clunk, a splutter, and the engine died completely.

"Uh oh," I said, breaking the silence. "Told you this was a bad idea..."

The nose of the car dropped. We were falling, gathering speed, heading straight for the castle wall. The only thought going through my mind was: 'I'm going to die'

"Noooooo!" Yelled Ron, swinging the steering wheel around; we missed the dark stone wall by inches as the car turned in a great arc, soaring over the dark greenhouses, then the vegetable patch and then out over the black lawns, losing hight all the time. 

Ron let go of the steering wheel completely and pulled his wand out of his back pocket. 

"STOP! STOP!" he yelled, whacking the dashboard and the windscreen, but we were still plummeting, the ground flying up towards us...

"Ron, that's not going to work!" I screamed as he continued to whack his wand on the dashboard. 

"MIND THAT TREE!" Harry bellowed, lunging for the steering wheel, knocking me back into the seat, but it was too late-

CRUNCH.

With an ear-splitting bang of metal on wood, we hit the thick tree trunk and dropped to the ground with a heavy jolt. Steam was billowing from under the crumpled bonnet; Hedwig and Hetty shrieking in terror, a golf-ball-sized lump was throbbing on my head where me and Harry had hit the windscreen, Ron let out a low, despairing groan. 

"Are you guys ok?" I asked them. "No one died, right?"

"My wand," Ron said, in a shaky voice. "Look at my wand"

"Which one?" I joked before shaking my head. "Sorry...dirty thoughts"

Ron's wand had snapped, almost in two; the tip was dangling limply, held on by a few splinters. 

I was about to say that they would be able to fix it up at the school, but before I could open my mouth, something hit the side of the car with the force of a charging bull. The force sent Harry lurching sideways into me, making me lurch into Ron, just as an equally heavy blow hit the roof.