Harry Potter and the Blind Seer of Durmstrang

Chapter 20

Harry ignored the man lying on the stairs, and went back to his doorway. Touching his outline again of the door, he muttered the spell Feliss had taught him. He did not know what he expected, but he felt a bit of surprise when the stones melted into nothingness, and a draught of damp, chilly air met his cheek.

"Professor?" he whispered, and he felt the warm, furry body of the cat pass his ankles, and enter the room ahead of him.

"Harry, me lad?" came the voice of the old Irishman from the floor along the right-hand wall.

"Are you all right, sir?" asked Harry anxiously. As he entered the room, Harry held a hand in front of his face, as the room felt small and the roof low. He was glad he did, when his open palm touched a beam directly in front of his forehead. He crouched, kneeling by the side of the old man, who lay bound on the hard, wooden planks of the floor. Feliss helped, and together they freed the professor of his bonds and helped him move to the center of the room where the peaked roof was tall enough for him to sit up.

"They have my wand," the Professor said disconsolately. Feliss did not answer this; but was busy checking the room for other traps or enchantments.

"We can apparate directly out of here," he announced in his mellifluous, exotic voice. "Harry, you come too."

"Where are we going?" asked Harry in surprise.

"To Grimmauld Place," said Feliss, and before Harry knew what was happening, Feliss had crouched again by Harry and Professor O'Carolan. Harry felt an odd squeezing, then a whoosh, and the three were sitting on the cobbled street outside a row of shabby London houses.

"Whew, thanks for the warning," said Professor O'Carolan wryly, but Feliss shushed him.

"I am taking a terrible risk, being seen like this," he said in an undertone. Together, he and Harry bundled the weakened professor up the steps and onto the front stoop of Number 12. As flakes of snow drifted down onto his shoulder, Harry rang the bell, feeling oddly like someone selling subscriptions or a caroling party. He grinned at Sirius's gasp of surprise upon opening the door.

"Happy Christmas," he said lightly, as Sirius held the door wide and ushered them all in.

"Harry! How in the world...?" Sirius asked in amazement, which started Mrs. Black's portrait shrieking at the top of her lungs. He seemed to find his manners then, and invited everyone into the kitchen. "I'm sure you lot could do with a bite," he said, taking in the professor's haggard appearance.

"Much obliged," agreed O'Carolan. "I could murder a nice, strong cuppa."

They found Lupin in the kitchen. "Harry! Homer!" he said, startled. "Come, come, sit here." He helped Feliss guide O'Carolan to a seat.

While Feliss told the story of the rescue in his musical, eastern accent, Harry sat silently, taking in the warmth of the fire, the feeling of being utterly safe. He sighed with happiness.

"Well done, Harry!" said Lupin, when he heard about Harry's success with the man on the stairs. "Who was it, coming to get him, do you think?"

"I'm not sure," said Harry. "It didn't sound like Professor Carrow."

"You came just in time, anyway," said Professor O'Carolan with a shiver.

Silence descended over the table as each of them contemplated the truth of that statement. The teakettle whistled. Sirius and Lupin both jumped up, and soon everyone was enjoying hot tea and hearty helpings of Lupin's chicken soup.

"Tomorrow is Christmas," remarked Sirius. Harry jumped to his feet.

"The Yule Ball!" he shouted. "I am supposed to be at Hogwarts, and no one knows where I am. Hermione will be frantic."