第16节

Harrynodded，thenrememberedthattheycouldnotseehim，ａｎｄsaid，“Yeah.”ButhethoughtofGinny，ａｎｄfearbubbledlikeacidinhisstomach.

“Comeon，Ithinkweoughttokeepmoving，”saidHermione.

Theymovedbackupthesidestreetａｎｄontothemainroadagain，whereagroupofmenontheoppositesidewassingingａｎｄweavingacrossthepavement.

“Justasamatterofinterest，whyTottenhamCourtRoad?”RonaskedHermione.

“I’venoidea，itjustpoppedintomyhead，butI’msurewe’resaferoutintheMuggleworld，it’snotwherethey’llexpectustobe.”

“True，”saidRon，lookingaround，“butdon’tyoufeelabit–exposed?”

“Whereelseisthere?”askedHermione，cringingasthemenontheothersideoftheroadstartedwolf-whistlingather.“WecanhardlybookroomsattheLeakyCauldron，canwe?AndGrimmauldPlaceisoutifSnapecangetinthereIsupposewecouldtrymyparents’home，thoughIthinkthere’sachancetheymightcheckthereOh，Iwishthey’dshutup!”

“Allright，darling?”thedrunkestofthemenontheotherpavementwasyelling.“Fancyadrink?Ditchgingerａｎｄcomeａｎｄhaveapint!”

“Let’ssitdownsomewhere，”HermionesaidhastilyasRonopenedhismouthtoshoutbackacrosstheroad.“Look，thiswilldo，inhere!”

Itwasasmallａｎｄshabbyall-nightcafé.AlightlayerofgreaselayonalltheFormica-toppedtables，butitwasatleastempty.HarryslippedintoaboothfirstａｎｄRonsatnexttohimoppositeHermione，whohadherbacktotheentranceａｎｄdidnotlikeit:Sheglancedoverhershouldersofrequentlysheappearedtohaveatwitch.Harrydidnotlikebeingstationary;walkinghadgiventheillusionthattheyhadagoal.BeneaththeCloakhecouldfeelthelastvestigesofPolyjuiceleavinghim，hishａｎｄsreturningtotheirusuallengthａｎｄshape.Hepulledhisglassesoutofhispocketａｎｄputthemonagain.

Afteraminuteortwo，Ronsaid，“Youknow，we’renotfarfromtheLeakyCauldronhere，it’sonlyinCharingCross–“

“Ron，wecan’t!”saidHermioneatonce.

“Nottostaythere，buttofindoutwhat’sgoingon!”

“Weknowwhat’sgoingon!Voldemort’stakenovertheMinistry，whatelsedoweneedtoknow?”

“Okay，okay，itwasjustanidea!”Theyrelapsedintoapricklysilence.Thegum-chewingwaitressshuffledoverａｎｄHermioneorderedtwocappuccinos:AsHarrywasinvisible，itwouldhavelookedoddtoorderhimone.Apairofburlyworkmenenteredthecaféａｎｄsqueezedintothenextbooth.Hermionedroppedhervoicetoawhisper.

“IsaywefindaquietplacetoDisapparateａｎｄheadforthecountryside.Oncewe’rethere，wecouldsendamessagetotheOrder.”

“CanyoudothattalkingPatronusthing，then?”askedRon.

“I’vebeenpracticingａｎｄIthinkso，”saidHermione.

“Well，aslongasitdoesn’tgetthemintotrouble，thoughtheymight’vebeenarrestedalready.God，that’srevolting，”Ronaddedafteronesipofthefoamy，grayishcoffee.Thewaitresshadheard;sheshotRonanastylookassheshuffledofftotakethenewcustomers’orders.Thelargerofthetwoworkmen，whowasblondａｎｄquitehuge，nowthatHarrycametolookathim，wavedheraway.Shestared，affronted.

“Let’sgetgoing，then，Idon’twanttodrinkthismuck，”saidRon.“Hermione，haveyougotMugglemoneytopayforthis?”

“Yes，ItookoutallmyBuildingSocietysavingsbeforeIcametotheBurrow.I’llbetallthechangeisatthebottom，”sighedHermione，reachingforherbeadedbag.

Thetwoworkmenmadeidenticalmovements，ａｎｄHarrymirroredthemwithoutconsciousthought:Allthreeofthemdrewtheirwａｎｄs.Ron，afewsecondslateinrealizingwhatwasgoingon，lungedacrossthetable，pushingHermionesidewaysontoherbench.TheforceoftheDeathEaters’spellsshatteredthetiledwallwhereRon’sheadhadjustbeen，asHarry，stillinvisible，yelled，“Stupefy!”

ThegreatblondDeathEaterwashitinthefacebyajetofredlight:Heslumpedsideways，unconscious.Hiscompanion，unabletoseewhohadcastthespell，firedanotheratRon:Shiningblackropesflewfromhiswａｎｄ-tipａｎｄboundRonheadtofoot–thewaitressscreamedａｎｄranforthedoor–HarrysentanotherStunningSpellattheDeathEaterwiththetwistedfacewhohadtiedupRon，butthespellmissed，reboundedonthewindow，ａｎｄhitthewaitress，whocollapsedinfrontofthedoor.

“Expulso!”bellowedtheDeathEater，ａｎｄthetablebehindwhichHarrywasstａｎｄingblewup:TheforceoftheexplosionslammedhimintothewallａｎｄhefelthiswａｎｄleavehishａｎｄastheCloakslippedoffhim.

“PetrificusTotalus!”screamedHermionefromoutofsight，ａｎｄtheDeathEaterfellforwardlikeastatuetolａｎｄwithacrunchingthudonthemessofbrokenchina，table，ａｎｄcoffee.Hermionecrawledoutfromunderneaththebench，shakingbitsofglassashtrayoutofherhairａｎｄtremblingallover.