He was looking toward the dark mass that stood at...
He was looking toward the dark mass that stood at the very end of this row of housesNext moment he sped up, dragging Hermione along with him, she slipped a little on the ice"Harry \a150\a150" "Look Look at it, Hermione oh!" He could see it; the Fidelius Charm must have died with James and LilyThe hedge had grown wild in the sixteen years since Hagrid had taken Harry from the rubble that lay scattered amongst the waist-high grassMost of the cottage was still standing, though entirely covered in the dark ivy and snow, but the right side of the top floor had been blown apart; that, Harry was sure, was where the curse had backfiredHe and Hermione
stood at the gate, gazing up at the wreck of what must once have been a cottage just like those that flanked it"I wonder why nobody's ever rebuilt it?" whispered Hermione"Maybe you can't rebuild it?" Harry replied"Maybe it's like the injuries from Dark Magic and you can't repair the damage?" He slipped a hand from beneath the Cloak and grasped the snowy and thickly rusted chanel bag small gate, not wishing to open it, but simply so he'd some part of the house"You're not going to go inside? It looks unsafe, it might \a150\a150 oh, Harry, look!" His touch on the gate seemed to have done itA sign had risen out of the ground in front of them, up thorough the tangles of nettles and weeds, like some bizarre, fast-growing flower, and in golden letters upon the wood it said: On this spot, on this night of 31 October 1981, Lily and James Potter lost their livesTheir son, Harry, remains the only wizard ever to have survived the Killing CurseThis house, invisible to Muggles, has been left in its ruined state as a monument to the Potters and as a reminder of the violence that tore apart their familyAnd all around these neatly lettered words, scribbles had been added by other witches and wizards who had come to see the place where the Boy Who Lived had escapedSome had merely signed their names in Everlasting Ink; others had carved their initials into the wood, still others had left messagesThe most recent of d&g fashion bags these, shining brightly over sixteen years' worth of magical graffiti, all said similar thingsGood luck, Harry, wherever you areIf you read this, Harry, we're all behind you! Long live Harry Potter"They shouldn't have written on the sign!" said Hermione, indignantBut Harry beamed at herA heavily muffled figure was hobbling up the lane toward them, silhouetted by the bright lights in the distant squareHarry thought, though it was hard to judge, that the figure was a womanShe was moving slowly, possibly frightened of slipping on the snowy groundHer stoop, her stoutness, her shuffling gait all gave an impression of
extreme ageThey watched in silence as she drew nearerHarry was waiting to see whether she would turn into any of the cottages she was passing, but he knew instinctively that she would notAt last she came to a halt a few yards from them and simply stood there in the middle of the frozen road, facing themHe did not need Hermione's pinch to his armThere was next to no chance that this woman was a Muggle: She was fendi spy standing there gazing at a house that ought to have been completely invisible to her, if she was not a witchEven assuming that she was a witch, however, it was odd behavior to come out on a night this cold, simply to look at an old ruinBy all the rules of normal magic, meanwhile, she ought not to be able to see Hermione and him at allNevertheless, Harry had the strangest feeling that she knew that they were there, and also who they wereJust as he had reached this uneasy conclusion, she raised a gloved hand and beckonedHermione moved closer to him under the Cloak, her arm pressed against his"How does she know?" He shook his headThe woman beckoned again, more vigorouslyHarry could think of many reasons not to obey the summons, and yet his suspicions about her identity were growing stronger every moment that they stood facing each other in the deserted streetWas it possible that she had been waiting for them all these long months? That Dumbledore had told her to wait, and that Harry would come in the end? Was it not gucci fabric likely that it was she who had moved in the shadows in the graveyard and had followed them to this spot? Even her ability to sense them suggested some Dumbledore-ish power that he had never encountered beforeFinally Harry spoke, causing Hermione to gasp and jump"Are you Bathilda?" The muffled figure nodded and beckoned againBeneath the Cloak Harry and Hermione looked at each otherHarry raised his eyebrows; Hermione gave a tiny, nervous nodThey stepped toward the woman and , at once, she turned and hobbled off back the way they had comeLeading them past several houses, she turned in at a gateThey followed her up the front path through a garden nearly as overgrown as the one they had just leftShe fumbled for a moment with a key at the front door, then opened it and stepped back to let them passShe smelled bad, or perhaps it was her house; Harry wrinkled his nose as they sidled past her and pulled off the CloakNow that he was beside her, he realized how tiny she was; bowed down with age, she came barely level with his omega watches ch