Snatchers

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"The name's Taboo!" Ron bellowed, leaping to his feet as a loud crack sounded outside the tent. "I told you, Harry, I told you, we can't say it anymore – we've got to put the protection back around us – quickly – it's how they find –"

But Ron stopped talking, and Harry knew why. The Sneakoscope on the table had lit up and begun to spin; they could hear voices coming nearer and nearer: rough, excited voices. Ron pulled the Deluminator out of his pocket and clicked it: Their lamps went out.

Sirius swore, making Lily hit him over the head, albeit half-heartedly, worried for her son and his friends. 

"Come out of there with your hands up!" came a rasping voice through the darkness. "We know you're in there! You've got half a dozen wands pointing at you and we don't care who we curse!"

Harry looked around at the other two, now mere outlines in the darkness. He saw Hermione point her wand, not set toward the outside, but into his face; there was a bang, a burst of white light, and he buckled in agony, unable to see. He could feel his face swelling rapidly under his hands as heavy footfalls surrounded him.

"Good, Granger!" Moody grunted.

"Thank you," Hermione said shyly. 

"You cursed him!" James yelped shocked, turning his head to Hermione

"I had too," Hermione said, looking at the floor and taking Harry's hand, leaning her head on Ron's shoulder. 

"Get up, vermin."

"He's not Vermin," Lily growled, her bright green eyes flashing like jewels. 

Unknown hands dragged Harry roughly off the ground before he could stop them, someone had rummaged through his pockets and removed the blackthorn wand.

Harry clutched at his excruciatingly painful face, which felt unrecognisable beneath his fingers, tight, swollen, and puffy as though he had suffered some violent allergic reaction. His eyes had been reduced to slits through which he could barely see; his glasses fell off as he was bundled out of the tent: all he could make out were the blurred shapes of four or five people wrestling Ron and Hermione outside too.

"Get - off - her!" Ron shouted. There was the unmistakable sound of knuckles hitting flesh. Ron grunted in pain

"Hey!" Molly and Arthur snapped. 

 and Hermione screamed, "No! Leave him alone, leave him alone!"

"Your boyfriend's going to have worse than that done to him if he's on my list," said the horribly familiar, rasping voice. "Delicious girl... what a treat . . . I do enjoy the softness of the skin. . . ."

"No!" Remus yelled, eyes widening in panic. 

"Greyback," Tonks growled.

"Search the tent!" said another voice.

Harry was thrown face down onto the ground. A thud told him that Ron had been cast down beside him. They could hear footsteps and crashes; the men were pushing over chairs inside the tent as they searched.

"Now, let's see who we've got," said Greyback's gloating voice from overhead, and Harry was rolled over onto his back. A beam of wand light fell on his face and Greyback laughed.

"I'll be needing butterbeer to wash this one down. What happened to you, ugly?"

Harry did not answer immediately.

"I said," repeated Greyback, and Harry received a blow to the diaphragm that made him double over in pain. "what happened to you?"

"Stung," Harry muttered. "Been Stung."

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