章节_91
. harry kept looking
nervously over his shoulder. he had the hey were
being watched. he was very glad they had hagrid and his crossbow
with them. they had just passed a beh when hermione
grabbed hagrids arm.
”hagrid! look! red sparks, the others are in trouble!”
”you twrid shouted. ”stay oh, ill
e back for yeh!”
they heard him g away through the uh and stood
lookiher, very stil they t hear anything
but the rustling of leaves around them.
”you dont think theyve been hurt, do you?” whispered hermione.
”i dont care if malfoy has, but if somethings got
s our fault hes here i place.”
the minutes dragged by. their ears seemed sharper than
usual. harrys seemed to be pig up every sigh of the wind,
every g tas goihe others?
at last, a great g noise announced hagrids
return. malfoy, neville, ah him. hagrid was
fuming. malfoy, it seemed, had sneaked up behind neville and grabbed
him as a joke. neville had panid sent up the sparks.
”well be lucky ter ythin now, with the racket you two
were makin. right, were groups -- ay with
me an hermio with fang an this idiot. im sorry,”
hagrid added io harry, ”but hell have a harder time
frightenin you, an weve gotta get this done.”
so harry set off ihe forest with malfoy and
fang. they walked for nearly half an hour, deeper ahe
forest, uh bepossible to follow because the
trees were so thick. harry thought the blood seemed to be getting
thicker. there were splashes os of a tree, as though the
poor creature had been thrashing around in pain close by. harry could
see a g ahead, through the tangled bran a oak.
”look --” he murmured, holding out his arm to stop malfoy.
something bright white was gleaming on the ground. they inched
closer.
it was the uni all right, and it was dead. harry had never
seen anythiiful and sad. its long, slender legs were
stuck out at odd a had fallen and its mane read
pearly-white on the dark leaves.
harry had takeoward it when a slithering sound
made him freeze where he stood. a bush ohe g
quivered.... then, out of the shadows, a hooded figure came g
across the groualki. harry, malfoy, and fang
stood trahe cloaked figure reached the uni, lowered
its head over the wound in the animals side, ao drink
its blood.
”aaaaaaaaaargh!”
malfoy let out a terrible sd bolted -- so did fang. the
hooded figure raised its head a at harry -- uni
bl dot to its feet and came
swiftly toward harry -- he t move for fear.
then a pain like hed before pierced his head; it
was as though his scar were on fire. half bliaggered
backward. he heard hooves behind him, galloping, ahing
jumped ing at the figure.
the pain in harrys head was so bad he fell to his k
took a mio pass. whehe figure had
goaur was standing over him, not ronahis one
looked youe-blond hair and a palomino body.
”are yht?” said the taur, pulling harry to his feet.
”yes -- thank you -- what was that?”
the taur didnt aonishingly blue eyes, like
pale sapphires. he looked carefully at harry, his eyes lingering
ohat stood out, livid, on harrys forehead.
”you are the potter boy,” he said. ”you had better get back
to hagrid. the forest is his time -- especially for
you. you ride? it will be quicker this way.
”my name is firenze,” he added, as he lowered himself on to
his frohat harry ber onto his back.
there was suddenly a sound alloping from the other side
of the g. ronan