though the rush of air had blown it out of his head. He felt as though his heart was going
to explode with pleasure; he was flying again, flying away from Privet Drive as he'd been
fantasising about all summer, he was going home… for a few glorious moments, all his
problems seemed to recede to nothing, insignificant in the vast, starry sky.
'Hard left, hard left, there's a Muggle looking up!' shouted Moody from behind him.
Tonks swerved and Harry followed her, watching his trunk swinging wildly beneath her
broom. 'We need more height… give it another quarter of a mile!'
Harry's eyes watered in the chill as they soared upwards; he could see nothing below now
but tiny pinpricks of light that were car headlights and streetlamps. Two of those tiny
lights might belong to Uncle Vernon's car… the Dursleys would be heading back to their
empty house right now, full of rage about the non-existent Lawn Competition… and
Harry laughed aloud at the thought, though his voice was drowned by the flapping robes
of the others, the creaking of the harness holding his trunk and the cage, and the whoosh
of the wind in their ears as they sped through the air. He had not felt this alive in a month,
or this happy.
'Bearing south!' shouted Mad-Eye. Town ahead!'
They soared right to avoid passing directly over the glittering spider's web of lights
below.
'Bear southeast and keep climbing, there's some low cloud ahead we can lose ourselves
in!' called Moody.
'We're not going through clouds!' shouted Tonks angrily, 'we'll get soaked, Mad-Eye!'
Harry was relieved to hear her say this; his hands were growing numb on the Firebolt's
handle. He wished he had thought to put on a coat; he was starting to shiver.
They altered their course every now and then according to Mad-Eyes instructions. Harrys
eyes were screwed up against the rush of icy wind that was starting to make his ears ache;
he could remember being this cold on a broom only once before, during the Quidditch
match against Hufflepuff in his third year, which had taken place in a storm. The guard
around him was circling continuously like giant birds of prey. Harry lost track of time.
He wondered how long they had been flying, it felt like an hour at least.
Turning southwest!' yelled Moody 'We want to avoid the motorway!'
Harry was now so chilled he thought longingly of the snug, dry interiors of the cars
streaming along below, then, even more longingly, of travelling by Floo powder; it might
be uncomfortable to spin around in fireplaces but it was at least warm in the flames…
Kingsley Shacklebolt swooped around him, bald pate and earring gleaming slightly in the
moonlight… now Emmeline Vance was on his right, her wand out, her head turning left
and right… then she, too, swooped over him, to be replaced by Sturgis Podmore…
'We ought to double back for a bit, just to make sure we're not being followed!' Moody
shouted.
'ARE YOU MAD, MAD-EYE?' Tonks screamed from the front. We're all frozen to our