'So he's got you to do his dirty work for him, isn't he? '
Said Harry. 'Just like he wanted Stormy to steal the orb — and Bod?'
'That's right, Potter. That's right. '
Said Malfoy slowly.
'But the Dark Lord knows you're not stupid enough to — '
'Begin! 'shouted Harry.
Five different voices shouted behind him, "Die a horrible death!"
Five incantations flew in five different directions in an instant. The racks in front of them were hit and exploded. The tall racks swayed, and hundreds of glass balls shattered into pieces.
The pearly white figures floated in the air. Their voices echoed in the rain of broken glass and sawdust that fell to the floor like a rainstorm.
'Run! '
Shouted Harry. The shelves shook, and more glass orbs began to fall from them.
He grabbed Hermione's robe and dragged her forward, covering his head with his other arm. Large pieces of broken shelves and tiny glass shards fell on them with a crash and a crash.
A Death Eater sprang forward through the cloud of dust, and Harry elbowed him hard in the face under his mask.
The screams of pain, the roar of collapsing shelves, and the intermittent voices of the prophets released from the glass spheres merged into a strange sound.
Harry saw that there was no obstacle in front of him. He saw Ron, Ginny, and Luna running past him, their arms over their heads.
Something struck him heavily in the face from the side, but he only ducked his head and kept on going.
A hand grabbed him by the shoulder, and then Hermione shouted, "Faint to the ground!"
The hand let go at once — they were at the other end of the ninety-seventh row.
Harry swerved to the right and began to run at full speed.
He could hear footsteps behind him, and Hermione's voice urging Neville on.
Directly in front of them was the half-closed door through which they had entered, and Harry could see the gleam of the bell-glass;
He darted out of the door, waited for the others to hurry through the threshold, then slammed it shut, the orb still intact in his hand.
'Fast, fast, fast! '
Hermione breathlessly chanted, and the door creaked strangely as it closed.
"Where — where are they?"
Harry asked, panting.
He expected Ron, Luna, and Ginny to be waiting for them in the room, but there was no one.
"They must have gone the wrong way!" Hermione said softly with a panicked expression.
"Listen!" whispered Neville.
Hurried footsteps and noisy shouts came from behind the door which had just been closed.
Harry put his ear to the door and heard Malfoy Lucius bellowing:
"Don't worry about Nott, don't worry about him, I'll tell you. To the Black Lord, his injuries are nothing compared to losing the Orb of Prophecy.
Gargson, get back here! We're going to organize!
Everyone, form groups of two and search separately. Remember, do not use violence on Potter before you obtain the Orb of Prophecy.
If necessary, the others could be killed.
Béla Trix, Rudolph, you guys go to the left.
Crabb, Rabstein, go to the right.
Gagerson, Dolohov, go to the front door.
McNeill and Avery are looking for you here.
Rookwood, go over there.
Mursab, come with me! "
"What are we going to do?"
Hermione asked Harry, shivering.
"Well, we can't stay here and wait for them to find us," said Harry.
"First of all, get out of this door."
As quietly as they could, they slipped past the faintly gleaming bell-glass enclosure in which the pocket-sized eggs were hatching, and ran to the other side of the room, where the door led into the circular hall.
He was almost there when Harry heard something huge and heavy crash against the door that Hermione had just Charmed shut behind him.
"Out of the way!"
A voice shouted gruffly. "Araho, open the door!"
The door flew open, and Harry, Hermione, and Neville ducked under the table.
They could see the tails of the robes of the two Death Eaters on the floor drawing nearer and nearer, their steps quick.
"They may have gone straight into the hall,"
Said the gruffly voice.
"Check under the table."
Harry saw their knees buckle. He reached under the table with his wand and shouted, "Faint!"
A ray of red light hit the nearest Death Eater, and he fell backward into a grandfather clock, knocking it over.
But the other Death Eater jumped aside to avoid Harry's spell. He aimed his wand at Hermione, who was crawling out from under the table to get a better aim.
"Arvada —"
Harry leaped across the floor and grabbed the Death Eater's knees, flipping him over. The Death Eater's wand missed.
Neville, in his hurry to help, flipped over the table. He pointed his wand at the two wrestling men and shouted, "Remove your weapons!"
Harry and the Death Eater's wands flew out of their hands and toward the back entrance to the Hall of Divination.
They both scrambled to their feet and chased after their wands, the Death Eater in front and Harry behind.
Neville was stunned behind him. Apparently, he was stunned by what he had just done.
"Out of the way, Harry!"
Neville shouted again, obviously trying to make up for his mistake.
When he aimed again and recited the spell, Harry darted to one side.
"Faint to the ground!"
The ray of red light passed over the Death Eater's shoulder and hit a closet with a glass front door. The wall of the closet was covered with various hourglasses.
The cupboard fell to the floor and broke into pieces, sending glass everywhere, then the cupboard bounced back to the wall and became whole, then fell down again and broke into pieces.
The Death Eater's wand lay on the floor beside the blinking bell-shaped glass. He grabbed it.
When he turned around, Harry quickly crouched behind another table, his mask slipping down to cover his eyes.
He tore off the mask with his free hand and shouted, "Faint!"
"Faint to the ground!"
Hermione had caught up with them and shouted at the top of her lungs. A ray of red light hit the Death Eater's chest. He froze, his arm still raised. The wand fell to the floor with a clatter, and then he fell face first into the bell-shaped glass behind him.
Harry thought he would hit the solid glass with a clang and slide down the bell-shaped glass to the floor.
But his head sank through the bell-glass as if it were only a soap bubble, and then he became motionless, sprawled on the table, his head sinking into the bell-glass, full of sparkling air.
"Come to me, wand!"
Hermione shouted. Harry's wand flew into her hand from a dark corner and she tossed it to Harry.
"Thank you," Harry said. "Well, let's get out of here —"
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