Chapter 10
"Wrong Hero"
While being whisked off by the floo powder, Hermione had become worried if "Home" was a valid floo destination. The spinning and whirling as innumerable fireplaces were flashing past made her very dizzy. Finally, she slid on the floor out of the fireplace she hoped that was in her family's house. She coughed up some ash that had found its way in her mouth, and rubbed her eyelids with her fingers to clear up any dust before opening her eyes.
To her immense relief she recognized the place she was in was really her house's sitting room. She caught a glimpse of her father's favorite recliner stood where it has been (beside the cozy fireplace) for as long as she could remember, and the large portrait of her parents holding a grinning baby Hermione adorned the wall at the back of the couch were both convincing signs that this was indeed home. But then it was oddly darker - and more quiet - than usual inside. Usually, the light at some places in the sitting room was kept on at night. Only a couple was lit and the windows were all shut.
"Mum? Dad?" Hermione called anxiously as she got up and ran from room to room. The Granger house was small, but not cramped, and she got in every room in less than half a minute. There was absolutely nobody inside and the beds were all made up, undisturbed. "What happened to my parents?" she nervously asked herself. Then as she looked for clues of her parents' whereabouts, she noticed there were some brochures on the dining table, and instinctively she picked one up, reading it.
"Dentist convention in Paris," she muttered under her breath and shaking her head. "Just my luck…Mum and Dad's away," Hermione groaned and looked around as she sat down on one of the dining chairs; she had never dreamed of getting home in the middle of the term. Everything happened so fast, and she didn't know what she should feel right then. Hermione somehow felt happy to be back home, and at the same time, disappointed that her parents weren't around, and afraid that Death Eaters might be barging in any minute without warning because she knew muggle homes are one of the most vulnerable places to hide from wizards. Nobody else knew she was here except her - and had the Death Eaters heard what she said in the fireplace back at Honeydukes? If they did, they'd just look up her address and simply floo in or apparate. The thought made her shudder and she stared at the fireplace, holding her wand, just in case they'd show up.
She crossed her fingers that the Death Eaters had lost her trail and it apparently looked that they did. For what felt like an hour, nothing happened. Hermione felt very exhausted as she was slumped on her dad's recliner, fighting to hold her eyes open; she hoped that she was now relatively safe for the moment, at least. Remembering that she hadn't eaten pretty well back in the Hogwarts kitchen, her stomach growled loudly. Taking the cue, she took some food out of the fridge and heated them in the microwave, while she snatched glances toward the fireplace. The slice of cake, apple, and instant cheese macaroni in front of her seemed to have disappeared in a snap.
After her late supper she had an idea to make some kind of a tripping device to warn her of any intruders. So she got some string out the cupboard, hung a small bell on it, and tied the string across the fireplace. She hoped this was enough to warn her of anyone else in the house; a wizard could easily remove the detachable iron grilles that went with the fireplace. It was lucky that all the windows and the front and back doors had their own burglar alarms so she turned them all on, too. It often irritated Hermione when her Mum or Dad reminded her to turn all the alarms (about twenty of them) every night before going to bed, but now she understood how her parents felt about home security. She didn't know what to do if the Death Eaters just apparated in and hoped they would never even think about it.
She washed herself and changed into outdoor Muggle clothes in case she had to get out of the house in a hurry. If the Death Eaters didn't know where she went tonight, they'd probably try to find out where she lived as a Muggle. That won't take long; she reckoned it would take them about a day and then they might check out this house - maybe sooner. That meant she had to keep on moving, at least for the time being, while she thought of a way to find the Ministry of Magic. The problem was that since she found out she was a witch, she had never bothered of asking anyone where it was located. Diagon Alley was the only place she knew where to find, and maybe there were lots of wizards and witches there who would be glad to help her find the Ministry. The only danger for her for going to Diagon Alley, she further thought, is that she'd be exposing herself to Death Eaters who might be stationed there to look out for her.
"Well, who does Jack Chadron think he is anyway?" she told herself aloud, huffing. Voldemort most likely wouldn't use most of his limited number of Death Eaters and spread them out too thin just to prevent Chadron from being unmasked as the traitor. That was asking too much his case. So she decided Diagon Alley was the best lead of ending this affair once and for all, first thing in the morning, but at the same time she made it a point to watch out for danger. She packed some things into her backpack - extra clothes, the big fat Swiss army knife her mum gave her for Christmas, food, and other essentials. She also took out the money she saved all year long under the bed - just a few Pounds to help her travel to and around London.
Then the thought of Harry and Ron popped in very quickly, who both had absolutely no idea where she was right now. How could they know where she was when they hadn't had a chance to communicate for days? Hermione felt it was imperative that they knew what was happening to her now, and she hoped they could also get in touch with her at the soonest possible time. The problem was how could she send an owl to Harry when there wasn't one?
She then remembered she had some leftover wizard stamps in her desk, much to her relief. Wizard stamps looked like ordinary postage stamps, but for anyone who didn't possess an owl of their own, like Hermione and her parents, they're a great alternative. All one had to do was stick a wizard stamp on the envelope and within minutes an owl will fly in to pick it up and deliver it to the recipient, twenty four hours a day, seven days a week.
Hermione rushed to her room and fumbled with the key to her largest desk drawer, getting scared for a while that she had ran out of stamps. She squealed when she found some, enough to send out at least three deliveries. Making do with ordinary stationery paper and ballpoint pen (her quill and ink bottle were in her trunk back in the Gryffindor dormitories), she started to write to Harry:
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Dear Harry,
You won't believe where I've ended up. No, I'm not in prison and I'm okay. It's a long story but I'll try to shorten it so you can know what's going on. I'm out of Hogwarts. I hope it's somehow safe to say that I'm somewhere in London but I can't say where exactly as this letter might fall into the wrong hands. I know this letter can reach you wherever you are - these owls are amazing.
Jack Chadron is fully aware I already know what really happened in Dumbledore's office. Like we suspected, it was him all along who tried to kill Dumbledore, and I have something with me that will clear Ron and very incriminating for Chadron at the same time. It would be enough to put him in Azkaban.
All I need to do is to get this object to the Ministry of Magic. The problem is I don't know where to find it, and Death Eaters are after me. I've thought of going around the place where I bought Crookshanks (you do know which place I'm talking about, right?) and I'll ask around. I know everything will be all right when I can hand over the evidence to the Ministry. I am confident that you and Ron will be reinstated to Hogwarts and that the Ministry will pardon both of you as you are only the victims.
I'm enclosing a wizard stamp in the envelope. Just stick it on the envelope and an owl will come and pick it up, usually within a quarter of an hour. I hope you can send a reply to me as soon as possible for I am so worried about you and Ron right now. You could write your letter as vaguely as possible as not to jeopardize yourself but clear enough for me to understand.
Please don't worry about me. I'll send word if everything's clear. Please be careful, both of you.
Lots of Love from,
Hermione
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Hermione read through her letter once more to be sure what she had wrote. Satisfied, she sealed it in an envelope, then licked and stuck a wizard stamp. The stamp sparkled in bright turquoise briefly, signifying that the owl post people had detected it and would send over the nearest owl.
Next, Hermione started to write a note to leave for her parents because they would surely freak out when they'd find the mess she had no time straighten up. It took her a long time to finalize her note, deciding what to write or not; she didn't want to tell her parents something that will worry them too much. She at last concluded the note with a promise that she'd explain everything to them why she had gotten home so unexpectedly in the middle of the term.
Shortly, she heard a loud thump that seemed to come from the kitchen window. Her first instinct was to hide under the table, fearing the sound was made by someone trying to get in, and heaven forbid, Death Eaters. She had her wand out, ready for anything, only that she heard a loud groggy hoot that seemed to come from outside the same window. Hermione inched nervously towards it, and she saw a brown owl perched on the sill, massaging its aching head with its left wing and glaring at her.
"Oh, I'm so sorry I forgot to open that window," she told the owl after she opened the window, bringing inside the cool night breeze and setting off the shrill burglar alarm. Hermione quickly searched for the switch and turned it off. Seeing that nobody around seemed to have heard it, she returned her attention to the owl. "Are you hurt? Do you need anything?"
The owl didn't make any sound in response, but Hermione could tell it was angry at her when it flew around the kitchen, flapping its wings more vigorously than normal before scooping out the wizard-stamped envelope from the counter and flying away. Hermione closed the window again, furious with herself for forgetting to anticipate the pick-up. Because of this, far-fetched thoughts played in Hermione's mind about the owl dumping the letter in the middle of nowhere for payback. It took her some time conclude that doing that sort thing would be unprofessional for owls, which were famously proud of their jobs. She thought that this risky business she was currently involved in was taking its toll on her because the littlest sound made her jumpy. But then again, all her efforts were for Ron, Harry, and her friendship - that was worth the trouble anytime. Heading towards the sitting room, she realized she had worried a lot for today and decided to stop thinking about it too much.
"Just bring the thing to the Ministry of Magic and it'll all be over, girl," Hermione told herself, yawning. She was so tired that she could no longer argue with herself to skip sleep and watch out for Death Eaters. She slumped on the three-seat couch chest down and fell asleep in an instant.
-o0o-
One by one the Death Eaters who found their way in Hogwarts were leaving the school as Lucius Malfoy had planned. Only the few genuine Ministry wizards who were unsuspected of being Death Eaters were told to stay behind and act as the liberators; Jack, despite his responsibility for the plot's failure, was included in the plan, too. Lucius wanted him to look like he was the key figure for the recovery of the school from Voldemort's near grasp and that would make him the hero, much to chagrin of all the Death Eaters who took the trouble to risk traveling to Hogwarts, and then fleeing, for nothing.
Jack Chadron, however, couldn't completely feel happy about it though. His mind was too preoccupied as he waited anxiously for news whether Hermione Granger was stopped before she could escape or not, possibly from Hogsmeade. His future seemed to be already relying on what Hermione could and could not do with the Sneakoscope.
At last, the news came in about Hermione as one of the last Death Eaters approached Jedd Wright, the leader of the Ministry wizards tasked to stay behind to clean up the mess. Jack was standing alongside him in one of the deserted Hogwarts corridors just outside the classrooms. No students and staff were outside tonight as most of them were locked up in the Great Hall.
"The girl got away by flooing out from Honeydukes, Jedd," the Death Eater quietly reported. "If Mr. Malfoy hasn't called us off yet, we'll keep trying to track her down." This info made Jack drop his breath. He was right about Hermione Granger ending up in Hogsmeade from Hogwarts. They had the upper hand but the stupid Death Eaters failed to take advantage of that to capture her. Now she could be anywhere around Britain.
"Thank you, Leo," said Jedd, nodding. His face was impassive.
"I don't see the point of stretching our limited resources stopping the girl from doing anything to report this idiot here," said Leo glaring at Jack Chadron, who went red with growing regret and embarrassment. "The Dark Lord has better uses for our services..."
"I know, but that will do, Leo. You may go now," said Jedd calmly. "If you have any problems with this you can always complain personally with Mr. Malfoy." Leo knew complaining with Lucius Malfoy meant severe pain so he didn't push the subject, but this didn't stop him from giving Jack Chadron a last insolent stare as he whipped around to leave.
When Leo disappeared from view Jedd turned to look at Jack, who hung his head like any inexperienced apprentice who had failed in front of his more seasoned superiors. The deep shame Jack felt was too unbearable for him.
"You've done very well, wet nose," said Jedd sarcastically, calling him something that irritated Jack a great deal. "I don't know what makes Mr. Malfoy think you're special, but I've heard you're the cause of demoralization among many of the Dark Lord's Deatheaters. We've been ordered to play along with the story to make you the hero and that is, of course, completely unfair. You have to know that this has never been done before, covering up somebody else's mistakes and we're risking wasting years of blending in with the Ministry of Magic as double agents just to save your skin! The Dark Lord is famously intolerant of blundering servants - a mere mistake could cost a limb or even the life for many of the Death Eaters."
"But you can't do anything about it now, can you?" retorted Jack. "I'm special. Lucius Malfoy thinks so. The rest of you are not. I've heard him say the Dark Lord is pleased for my efforts, and he will reward, not punish me! You'll see when I stand beside the Dark Lord while you tremble in front of him," he said naively.
Jedd just laughed. "Have it your way then. Ah, let's forget about this little argument and carry on with our task shall we? I hope you'll get your chance to face the Dark Lord soon. He'd be very glad to see you and give you your - just rewards, I daresay." With this, Jedd walked off smirking and began barking orders to start freeing the imprisoned students and staff at the Great Hall, leaving Jack Chadron feeling more uncertain than ever.
"Did you take care of Hagrid?" Jack managed to ask a passing Death Eater/Ministry Wizard, trying to sound authoritative again.
"Yes," the Death Eater told him. "His memory has been modified already. He won't remember a thing the girl told him."
"Thank you," said Jack, feeling more relaxed as the last known person who knew about his involvement with the plot to kill Dumbledore has been taken care of. At least Hermione Granger is the only one left he had to worry about, and some Death Eaters are hard at work to make sure she doesn't tell anyone. A great flood of students spilled out of the Great Hall as the great oak doors were opened, almost trampling the two Death Eaters who did the task of freeing them.
"Everybody, please don't panic, the Death Eaters have fled Hogwarts and we came here to rescue you," Jedd said as he held out both hands to try to calm them down and stop the flow. The students in front did, but not without the scared and confused faces.
"Make way, make way," said Professor Snape as he impatiently sliced through a group of students blocking the exit from the Great Hall, with Professor Vector and Professor Sprout behind him.
"Severus, you old bat!" said Jedd happily to an annoyed Snape. "Nice to know you're alive!" Snape looked like he had met Jedd before.
"I would rather dispense with the pleasantries and I'd like to know at once what really is happening around Hogwarts, Jedd," said Snape impatiently. "We've been locked up in the Great Hall since sundown, and you'd better explain this…"
"Ah, you're sounding as if I'm behind all of this, Severus," said Jedd, mocking a hurt feeling. "But I don't blame you a bit as you are still very confused. Your Head Boy here had managed to call for help when Death Eaters almost took over the school. We only got here just in time and chased them off the grounds. If not for Chadron here, You-Know-Who would have stepped in and that would have meant another reign of terror, I shudder to think. He's a very brave man and you should all be proud of him."
Students within earshot of the conversation were murmuring and whispering, and the flow of information was passed along towards the back, deep in the Great Hall. There were gasps, sounds of relief, and snatches of cheers that prominently came from the Slytherins. Snape looked at Jack Chadron, whose face was expressionless except for a single hint of a smile.
"Is this true, Chadron?" said Snape, expecting a positive response. Jack nodded, and the professor, for the first time in many days, beamed out of pride.
"And have anyone of you discovered who the traitor might be who helped bring this about? Anyone?" Snape asked with growing eagerness evident in his voice.
"It was Hermione Granger all along, Professor," said Jack Chadron quickly before Jedd could say something different. Some Gryffindors were shocked upon hearing this, especially Hermione's closest Housemates. "She fled with the Death Eaters after I discovered her - I also believe Harry Potter and Ron Weasley were her accomplices."
"I'll see to it that these people you have mentioned will be put to justice," said Jedd seriously. "They're on the run as we speak, but not for long."
Not even Snape could believe what he was hearing, even though he had tried hard (and always failed) for the last few years to find a reason to expel Harry, Ron, and Hermione. He just stood there, not knowing why he couldn't feel happy about this. From his point of view, however, the pieces of the puzzle seemed to fit, or maybe he just wanted it to be that way. But Hermione Granger, working for Death Eaters? Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, who relied exclusively on Albus Dumbledore for protection, work alongside her, too?
That was abnormal, but the fact that the Slytherin Head Boy did a heroic and admirable job for the school had made Snape set aside Hermione Granger's and Harry Potter's treason for the meantime because he'd be having all the time in world to enjoy life at Hogwarts without them. He wasn't keen on passing up this chance to display ostentatiously a Slytherin achievement to everyone.
In recent memory it was always someone from Gryffindor who held the honors of saving Hogwarts from peril. Harry Potter was always the hero, along with his cohorts Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. From preventing Voldemort from stealing the Sorcerer's Stone to saving the school from closure by uncovering the Chamber of Secrets, they were the ones who were given all the credit. Now it was Jack Chadron who stood up against the most direct threat to Hogwarts, which was the aborted take over of Voldemort that Snape would be investigating further in the future. Snape, overcome with pride, and more than willing to believe every word Jack and Jedd had told him, faced the rest of the students.
"Students, teachers," Snape started cheerfully. "I am immensely proud to announce that Jack Chadron, a Slytherin, almost single-handedly saved Hogwarts from being taken over by the Dark Lord." He raised Jack's right arm in a display of victory. "No less than Jedd Wright from the Ministry of Magic has witnessed this! Let's hear it for our newest hero!"
The applause from the students and teachers were not spontaneous as Snape would have hoped for, but the gradual volume of clapping hands had raised just enough to make nearly everyone burst into wild cheers and thunderous approbation. Jack Chadron, who beamed broadly, was lifted up to sit atop the tallest Slytherin student and was brought to the center of the large mass of black robes; all hands tried to pat him as he waved his arms jubilantly. All, except the majority of the Gryffindors who were saddened by the story of Harry, Ron, and Hermione's attempts to betray the school. Jack Chadron caught a glimpse of Jedd's disapproving stare, but he didn't care what the Death Eater thought of him and he wanted to keep on savoring the glory he felt while it lasted. After all, he was special in the eyes of the Dark Lord as he had always believed.
If the two other unaccounted students who knew what Jack Chadron really was had gotten out of their hiding place, they would find the spectacle of Jack Chadron being treated as the hero very appalling.
-o0o-
Harry and Ron were just lying on their beds deep in their individual thoughts. They didn't feel real sleepy tonight as they practically slept the whole day out in the woods. Ron was evidently jumpy than normal tonight, because he'd always give a start when he would hear some noise nearby.
"I think you better relax, Ron," said Harry, his eyebrows furrowing as Ron ran to the window to peer outside for the eighth time. "You're starting to worry me, and besides, they probably won't even think we'd stay in this hotel..."
Ron wasn't so sure about that. He and Harry both thought the Death Eater Graham was just boasting about his capabilities, but his words were boring deep into Ron's sub-conscious mind. Ron didn't answer, pretending not to hear Harry. He squinted through the misty glass to notice that a light drizzle had wet the street a story below their room. Then he saw someone standing just beside a streetlight further across the street. The man was standing idly, and seemed to look steadily at the building they were in. He was wearing muggle clothing: a thick jacket, shirt, jeans, and a cap. Ron found it odd that he kept holding his left ear with his left hand.
Horrible scenarios then played in Ron's mind, and he gasped.
"H-Harry, come here, and look!" said Ron nervously as he broke his sight with the man for a moment to call Harry. Harry jumped off his bed and quickly hopped towards the window. "There, by the lamppost across the street -"
"Who is it?" said Harry, gazing at the same man from his side of the window. "He looks like Muggle."
"How can you tell? He looks suspicious, and I've never seen anyone in my life holding his ear all the time…"
Harry tried to look closer, and the man faced a different direction, now leaning on the lamppost. Harry knew why he'd been holding his left ear for a long time, and laughed.
"Harry, I'm serious, you know," Ron said irritably, glaring at Harry.
"Ron, I think you're losing your marbles," said Harry, snorting and suppressing his laughter. "He's just talking on his mobile phone. He doesn't act like a wizard to me."
"What's a move-a-phone?"
Harry explained, trying hard not to stop laughing, how convenient it is nowadays for Muggles to keep in touch with each other now that mobile phones have become common. This caught Ron's fascination, and Harry was glad he found a reason to steer him away from window and keep his mind off the pursuing Death Eaters.
"Wicked!" said Ron after hearing Harry talk about radios and television. "What time is it?"
"About ten," replied Harry. "Which reminds me, Willard said our laundry would be ready by then - I'll see if they are already…"
"I'll go, too. I don't want to be alone a second too long…even the curtains give me the creeps."
They both walked out the room towards the lobby where Willard was staying most of the time. The second floor corridor was flanked by at least eight doors on each side, and their room was located at the end of the hall. Walking down the carpeted stairs, they heard some voices coming out of the dining room. They would have thought the people making them were just guests from the inn if not for the hint of fear in one of the voices. Harry held out a hand in front of Ron and they both stopped to listen.
Getting the idea, Ron followed Harry on tiptoe to go further down the stairs just far enough to peek down the ground floor without being seen.
"I-I don't know who you're looking for, sir!" said Willard, trembling. A man Harry recognized as Graham was holding him by the collar. There were two other wizards glaring down on Willard, too. This made Harry's (and especially Ron's) heart beat faster, worrying about what might happen to Willard.
"I only have three customers tonight…n-none of them by the name of Potter! Honest!"
"And how do you explain this?" one of the wizards spat as he threw a Hogwarts robe at Willard's face.
"I-it's mine - I was a Hogwarts student, formerly," replied Willard.
"Don't lie to me, Willard!" snarled Graham. "An informant said he saw Harry Potter and his friend come in this shabby hotel of yours and never got out ever since!"
Willard didn't answer.
"Now, all you have to do is tell me which room he's in and we'll be on our way - as simple as that. Or would you rather like to see some green light - the last thing you'll ever see in your life?"
Harry admired Willard's pains to protect him and Ron even if they had only met for a few hours, and he felt bad for bringing about the trouble - he had to do something, fast, before he gets hurt. He pulled Ron back up the stairs to the second floor to confer.
"What do we do?" hissed Harry. "Willard doesn't deserve to die for us…"
"I know!" said Ron, brainstorming. "I mean, I don't know! Ooooh, my mind is hopeless…"
"Come, let's go back to the room and find something that could give us some ideas…" They both ran as quietly as possible back to their room and rummaged through drawers, hoping to find something.
"Here's a yard of white rope," said Ron, finding it under the bed. But he paused to ponder what it was doing in a hotel room. "Nah, I don't think so…"
"That's brilliant!" said Harry, snatching the rope and he looked around the room. He discovered that the wall on top of the door seemed to be unstable. It had a shelf up to the ceiling containing some stacks of linen and some ceramic vases. Harry smiled mischievously. "Perfect."
Harry ran towards the foot of the door and tied the rope across just a few inches above the floor.
"You're planning to trip the Death Eaters?" asked Ron, skeptical if they would fall for it.
"Old Muggle trick, Ron," said Harry as he tied the other end of the rope at something. "They don't watch TV, right?"
"Yeah, I don't too, remember? But I'm not that thick…"
Harry ignored what Ron said, and faced him, looking very serious. "Ron, I'll try to get their attention away from Willard. You can use the window to get to the front door and wait 'till they chase me right to this room then grab Willard and get yourselves out of the building. We meet at the - uhm - lamppost we saw earlier. I have something in store for them that would be enough to buy us some time for us to escape. But if you don't see me getting out of the window, just run as far away as you can."
"What? Harry, let's just bug out of here and forget about this place while we still can," said Ron, positively looking terrified. "But, yeah, I agree Willard needs our help…" Ron added quickly after seeing Harry's face fall as if he couldn't believe Ron would want to abandon someone who had helped them very generously. "It's a go."
Feeling happier, Harry started towards the corridor and looked back to watch Ron get on the fire escape to go down the street. Ron paused before getting out completely and said, "Harry, what happens if you don't get out of this window?"
"Then it's hello to Volde- sorry, You Know Who for me again."
Ron bit his lower lip, positively terrified with that prospect and said, "We can do this; we have to…see you down at the street." They both exchanged thumbs-up signs.
Harry got back and inched down towards the staircase. He heard Graham and the other two Death Eaters still interrogating Willard, whose voice was now weaker than he heard minutes ago. Apparently, he had been through some kind of torture. Harry waited a few more seconds to give Ron time to position himself before acting. Then…
"Hello, Graham, looking for me?" said Harry as he skipped a few steps to land halfway down the stairs. Graham and the Death Eaters didn't do anything at once, staring at Harry with surprise, as if they weren't expecting to actually find him here.
"Expelliarmus!" Harry yelled, and the three Wizards' wands flew to his hand. He caught them while knocking the three men off the floor very painfully. He then retreated towards the second floor, back towards the room.
"After him, you idiots!" snarled Graham as he untangled himself and got up to start to go after Harry, leaving Willard behind. He selfishly let his two mates go first in case there was a trap waiting for them, running just behind them up the staircase. Ron, who was peeking inside from the street, got in as soon as the coast was clear and pulled Willard to get out with him fast.
"Come, Willard, we gotta get out of here before they come back!" Ron urged Willard, who knew better not to stay behind. He painfully got up to his feet, and followed Ron out towards the street, but not without flipping the "closed" sign and locking the front door.
Harry had skipped on his own trap as he entered his hotel room and stopped short of the window to face the pursuing Death Eaters when they'd get in. The two Death Eaters however screeched to a halt just a few inches away from the trip wire. They had seen it, not falling for the trap and they shook their finger in unison at Harry, grinning. Harry just shrugged calmly, pointed his wand up the shelf right above them, and shouted "FLIPENDO!"
The shelf and the vases came crashing down painfully on the Death Eaters' heads, knocking them out, and burying them with a heap of clothes and linen. Harry had time to laugh just before Graham showed himself at the doorway.
"Idiots," muttered Graham as he looked at the heap in front of him, then glared at Harry, who was sitting at the windowsill very calmly, twiddling his thumbs. Maybe it was his intense obsession to capture Harry so soon or it was just plain stupidity as not to smell another trap that Graham lunged at him, and his foot caught the wire, slamming his full weight on the hard floor. Graham winced in pain as he tried to lift himself up. "Why you…you!" he mumbled under his breath furiously.
"See you around!" said Harry. He pointed his wand at Graham, whose face was still twisted with fury, and bellowed, "STUPEFY!!!" Graham, the expert hunter laid on the floor, harmless like a sleeping baby. Harry didn't dare to linger on to admire his handywork and got down to the street through the fire escape. He had subjected the hotel room door and window with a Locker Spell that can only be opened by the Alohomora Charm, and without their wands, Graham and the two Death Eaters would take almost forever to get themselves out without outside help.
Harry saw Willard and a relieved Ron stand just beside the lamppost as he climbed down the ladder. "Good!" said Ron as they finally met at the sidewalk. "I was beginning to think they already got you! Did they fall for it?"
"Yeah," Harry said, laughing. "They were too easy. I think they won't be a problem for a while. You okay, Willard?"
"Yeah," said Willard, smiling. "Thanks for saving me back there, you two."
"You're welcome," said Harry, "But I think you didn't need saving if we hadn't chosen to check out your place in the first place," he added slowly. "Sorry if we gave you lots of trouble, Willard."
"Oh, don't be silly, Harry," said Willard, still wearing the same smile. "I don't regret one bit to have had the Boy Who Lived and his best friend staying in me hotel! Before this, my life had been one big bore, and wait till my niece hears what you happened in this place. She'll squeal!"
Harry and Ron just stared at Willard. They just couldn't believe the enthusiasm of this jolly old bloke even in the face of peril.
"Believe me, don't worry about it," said Willard, reading their faces. "Oh, I'll call some Muggle police to take care of those big gits up there once I get back here. They'll have a lot to explain for breaking in and threatening me. Without their wands, who'd believe they're wizards? They'll find themselves in straightjackets if they insist of being one, and they'll be off your backs for a long time, I tell you."
Harry and Ron laughed.
"Now that you're out here," said Willard, thinking, "I'd better show you the tavern I told you before where to get owl post and floo transport. It's called 'Froth's'. I think it's best if you cut the wait and get back to where you came from, eh? They know me, and they'll probably show you some better alternatives rather than having to inhale some ash by flooing."
"That'd be great!" said Ron, now looking forward to getting back at the Burrow.
"Willard, we'll never forget what you've done for us," said Harry, shaking his head slowly with gratitude. "We don't know how to repay you for everything."
"Oh, please forget about it. What are friends for?" Willard simply replied, because in truth he just wanted to help Harry and Ron.
"Yeah, friends," Harry and Ron said, extending their hands, and Willard happily shook them. "We also have another best friend we'd like you to meet. Her name's Hermione. We've got to get in touch with her soon - I've got a bad feeling she's in trouble."
"If you have a bad feeling, then it's best if you take care of it soon. I'd love to meet her someday, too. Oh, there's just one more thing…" Willard pulled out the pad he writes on when writing orders from customers and a pen and gave it to Harry. "My niece's name is Stephanie, and she'd love to get your autograph, if you don't mind."
Harry gladly obliged, taking Willard's pen and scribbled his signature on the paper.
"You look like a real celebrity now, Harry," chuckled Ron. Harry winced.
"Thanks a million, Harry," Willard said, laughing at the look of his face, and retrieving his pen and pad. "We gotta get a move on and get to Froth's - we don't want to find out if those blokes have other henchmen around, you know."
"Oh, you're right…let's go," said Harry, looking around the area. The street looked empty except for a couple who were smooching on a bench. The three of them walked north.