It's not easy to explain, but . . .

Chapter 46

                  Chapter 46 : You've been a naughty, naughty Snatcher!

"Glad you got here in time to warn us, Harry . . . I guess we have been in this one spot a bit too long . . . just got lazy, I suppose," Ted Tonks admitted, shaking Harry's hand.

"Well, it's not easy finding a good place, with enough water and cover, so when you do, I know the temptation to just settle for a while is hard to resist.  Good thing we have spies among the Snatchers or you'd be in for a nasty fight tonight."

"Do we know when they'll get here?" Tonks asked, as she slipped an arm around her Dad's waist and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Wotcher Dad."

"Hey there, Dora!"  Ted hugged his daughter and then turned his attention back to Harry.

"Middle of the night, when you all would be asleep and most vulnerable . . . the usual tactics."  Harry replied. "As soon as Luna gets the Thestrals hidden away down the valley, we'll get our plans in motion."

"Ah, then let's have a cuppa, shall we?"  Ted said, over his shoulder, as he led the way to the main tent.

X X X

Entering the magically enlarged tent, Harry saw Griphook and Gornuk sitting at the table, talking in Gobbledegook.  They had a map on the table and were obviously searching for a place to relocate.

"Ah, Mister Potter," Griphook nodded at Harry.  "It's good to see you again."

"It's a pleasure seeing you, too, Griphook," Harry replied, giving the Goblin a slight bow before extending his hand.

Shaking Harry's hand, the Goblin turned and introduced his co-worker, "This is my fellow fugitive from Gringott's, Gornuk."

"Gornuk," Harry bowed.

"Mister Potter, I recognized you, of course, but it is a pleasure to finally be properly introduced,"  replied Gornuk, bowing to Harry.

"Ah, Harry Potter," said a tall Wizard, turning from the cook stove, wiping his hands on a towel hanging from his belt, and extending his hand to shake Harry's. "Dirk Crisswell, Goblin Liaison Office, glad to meet you."

"Mister Crisswell . . .it's a pleasure.  Arthur Weasley sends his greetings," Harry informed the former Ministry employee.

"How is Arthur doing at the Ministry?  He must be under the watchful eye of every Death Eater/Dark Lord sympathizer in the place," Dirk asked.

"He manages to stay out of the line of fire and his Pure-Blood Status keeps him fairly safe, also.  Arthur keeps his ears open, but takes everything with a grain of salt, so to speak, as he never knows if he's being 'set up' or 'tested', by those in charge," reported Harry.

"When they started looking into Ministry employee's blood status, I knew it was only a matter of time before I was called and questioned by Dolores Umbridge.  I happened to mention I would soon be leaving the Ministry during a meeting with Griphook and he told me of his and Gornuk's dissatisfaction with the Ministry's takeover of Gringott's.  Plus I'd been talking to my old classmate, Ted, and one thing led to another  . . . and here we all are."

"I see . . . well, that was a fortunate set of circumstances," Harry smiled.

"And to what do we owe the visit, Mister Potter," inquired Griphook, coming straight to the point.

"Snatchers are going to raid this camp tonight, but we'll get you all moved to a safe location and give them a bit of a nasty surprise when they arrive."