Harry Potter and the Blind Seer of Durmstrang

Chapter 26

The tunnel ended in an arched aqueduct that flowed into one of the country streams that riddled the landscape. Harry and Mack splashed their way out into the quiet night, and Harry drew a long, grateful breath of clean, cold air.

"That was not good," said Mack half to himself, as Harry, stumbling over the sill of the aqueduct, joined him, standing knee-deep in the shallow, noisy, icy stream.

"What do you mean?" asked Harry, pausing to right himself and catch his breath. "That was great!"

"It was too easy," said Mack.

"Oh," said Harry, crestfallen.

"Something is very wrong," said Mack gloomily.

Harry did not answer. His attention was focused on picking his way out of the freezing water, bent double, feeling his way onto the bank, slipping on half-frozen mud, and tangled grasses. He stopped when he found himself in a bush.

Mack followed him out of the stream, weaving a path around the clump of bushes.

"Nothing to do but go on, though," he said. "Want a hand?"

Without waiting for an answer, he took Harry's elbow, pulling him away from the bush. Harry followed, but once he was free of the clawing branches, he stopped, and showed Mack the proper way to do sighted lead, with him holding Mack's arm just above the elbow. Following half a step behind Mack, they crossed the rough ground of the field.

A feeling of dread grew upon Harry as they walked, their wet shoes squelching through the tall grass. He felt so exposed, walking through the darkness, neither with a wand. At any moment he expected an unknown enemy to jump out and grab them. He knew Mack had doused his little homemade light, but he did not know whether there was a moon or much ambient light, although Mack moved with assurance and did not stumble, eventually climbing a stone fence and emerging onto a lane.

"Do you know where we are?" asked Harry.

"Not exactly," replied Mack in a low voice. "We're quite a way from the house by now, and that's well enough."

"Are they following us?" panted Harry, as Mack picked up his pace in the rutted lane. In spite of his hold on Mack's arm, he kept stumbling on the uneven ground and loose rocks. Fear made him want to hurry, however, and he was glad Mack did not slow down for him. In fact, Mack seemed in a bigger hurry than Harry himself, and Harry wondered vaguely if there was something Mack wasn't telling him.

Mack looked back over his shoulder, and replied in the negative. "It bothers me," he said. "We got away far too easily."

"What does it mean?" asked Harry fearfully.

"Not sure. A setup, maybe. Or Voldemort is distracted by something."

Harry noticed that Mack said Voldemort, as he did, and not You-Know-Who as most others did.

It seemed hours that they hurried down the uneven lane, guided on either side by the stone fences of which Harry was only vaguely aware. His body still ached, and he was beginning to feel tired and hungry. As time went on and his fear lessened, the fatigue grew.

At last, they reached a paved road, and Mack turned right to follow it. Harry hoped a car would pass soon, so they could ask for help. His shoes had begun to dry, stiff and crusted, and he hated to think what might be on them. The December night grew colder, and even Harry's jumper couldn't keep out the chill. He was grateful that there was no snow.

"I know where we are," said Mack suddenly.

"It must be a long way into the country," said Harry. "No cars."