Harry Potter 05 - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

discovered when he attempted to use others to steal it for him.’
    ‘And why did he want to steal a prophecy about me?’
    ‘About both of you, Potter, about both of you … haven’t you ever wondered why the Dark Lord tried to kill you as a baby?’
    Harry stared into the slitted eye-holes through which Malfoy’s grey eyes were gleaming. Was this prophecy the reason Harry’s parents had died, the reason he carried his lightning-bolt scar? Was the answer to all of this clutched in his hand?
    ‘Someone made a prophecy about Voldemort and me?’ he said quietly, gazing at Lucius Malfoy, his fingers tightening over the warm glass sphere in his hand. It was hardly larger than a Snitch and still gritty with dust. ‘And he’s made me come and get it for him? Why couldn’t he come and get it himself?’
    ‘Get it himself?’ shrieked Bellatrix, over a cackle of mad laughter. ‘The Dark Lord, walk into the Ministry of Magic, when they are so sweetly ignoring his return? The Dark Lord, reveal himself to the Aurors, when at the moment they are wasting their time on my dear cousin?’
    ‘So, he’s got you doing his dirty work for him, has he?’ said Harry. ‘Like he tried to get Sturgis to steal it – and Bode?’
    ‘Very good, Potter, very good …’ said Malfoy slowly. ‘But the Dark Lord knows you are not unintell—’
    ‘NOW!’ yelled Harry.
    Five different voices behind him bellowed, ‘REDUCTO!’ Five curses flew in five different directions and the shelves opposite them exploded as they hit; the towering structure swayed as a hundred glass spheres burst apart, pearly-white figures unfurled into the air and floated there, their voices echoing from who knew what long-dead past amid the torrent of crashing glass and splintered wood now raining down upon the floor –
    ‘RUN!’ Harry yelled, as the shelves swayed precariously and more glass spheres began to fall from above. He seized a handful of Hermione’s robes and dragged her forwards, holding one arm over his head as chunks of shelf and shards of glass thundered down upon them. A Death Eater lunged forwards through the cloud of dust and Harry elbowed him hard in the masked face; they were all yelling, there were cries of pain, and thunderous crashes as the shelves collapsed upon themselves, weirdly echoing fragments of the Seers unleashed from their spheres –
    Harry found the way ahead clear and saw Ron, Ginny and Luna sprint past him, their arms over their heads; something heavy struck him on the side of the face but he merely ducked his head and sprinted onwards; a hand caught him by the shoulder; he heard Hermione shout, ‘Stupefy!’ The hand released him at once –
    They were at the end of row ninety-seven; Harry turned right and began to sprint in earnest; he could hear footsteps right behind him and Hermione’s voice urging Neville on; straight ahead, the door through which they had come was ajar; Harry could see the glittering light of the bell jar; he pelted through the doorway, the prophecy still clutched tight and safe in his hand, and waited for the others to hurtle over the threshold before slamming the door behind them –
    ‘Colloportus!’ gasped Hermione and the door sealed itself with an odd squelching noise.
    ‘Where – where are the others?’ gasped Harry.
    He had thought Ron, Luna and Ginny were ahead of them, that they would be waiting in this room, but there was nobody there.
    ‘They must have gone the wrong way!’ whispered Hermione, terror in her face.
    ‘Listen!’ whispered Neville.
    Footsteps and shouts echoed from behind the door they had just sealed; Harry put his ear close to the door to listen and heard Lucius Malfoy roar, ‘Leave Nott, leave him, I say – his injuries will be nothing to the Dark Lord compared to losing that prophecy. Jugson, come back here, we need to organise! We’ll split into pairs and search, and don’t forget, be gentle with Potter until we’ve got the prophecy, you can kill the others if necessary – Bellatrix, Rodolphus, you take the left; Crabbe, Rabastan, go right – Jugson, Dolohov, the door straight ahead – Macnair and Avery, through here – Rookwood, over there – Mulciber, come with me!’
    ‘What do we do?’ Hermione asked Harry, trembling from head to foot.
    ‘Well, we don’t stand here waiting for them to find us, for a start,’ said Harry. ‘Let’s get away from this door.’
    They ran as quietly as they could, past the shimmering bell jar where