Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - J. K. Rowling [20]
Lupin held out his hand and shook Harry’s.
“How are you?” he asked, looking at Harry closely.
“F-fine …”
Harry could hardly believe this was real. Four weeks with nothing, not the tiniest hint of a plan to remove him from Privet Drive, and suddenly a whole bunch of wizards was standing matter-of-factly in the house as though this were a long-standing arrangement. He glanced at the people surrounding Lupin; they were still gazing avidly at him. He felt very conscious of the fact that he had not combed his hair for four days.
“I’m — you’re really lucky the Dursleys are out …” he mumbled.
“Lucky, ha!” said the violet-haired woman. “It was me that lured them out of the way. Sent a letter by Muggle post telling them they’d been short-listed for the All-England Best-Kept Suburban Lawn Competition. They’re heading off to the prize-giving right now. … Or they think they are.”
Harry had a fleeting vision of Uncle Vernon’s face when he realized there was no All-England Best-Kept Suburban Lawn Competition.
“We are leaving, aren’t we?” he asked. “Soon?”
“Almost at once,” said Lupin, “we’re just waiting for the all-clear.”
“Where are we going? The Burrow?” Harry asked hopefully.
“Not the Burrow, no,” said Lupin, motioning Harry toward the kitchen; the little knot of wizards followed, all still eyeing Harry curiously. “Too risky. We’ve set up headquarters somewhere undetectable. It’s taken a while. …”
Mad-Eye Moody was now sitting at the kitchen table swigging from a hip flask, his magical eye spinning in all directions, taking in the Dursleys’ many labor-saving appliances.
“This is Alastor Moody, Harry,” Lupin continued, pointing toward Moody.
“Yeah, I know,” said Harry uncomfortably; it felt odd to be introduced to somebody he’d thought he’d known for a year.
“And this is Nymphadora —”
“Don’t call me Nymphadora, Remus,” said the young witch with a shudder. “It’s Tonks.”
“— Nymphadora Tonks, who prefers to be known by her surname only,” finished Lupin.
“So would you if your fool of a mother had called you ‘Nymphadora,’ ” muttered Tonks.
“And this is Kingsley Shacklebolt” — he indicated the tall black wizard, who bowed — “Elphias Doge” — the wheezy-voiced wizard nodded — “Dedalus Diggle —”
“We’ve met before,” squeaked the excitable Diggle, dropping his top hat.
“— Emmeline Vance” — a stately looking witch in an emerald-green shawl inclined her head — “Sturgis Podmore” — a square-jawed wizard with thick, straw-colored hair winked — “and Hestia Jones.” A pink-cheeked, black-haired witch waved from next to the toaster.
Harry inclined his head awkwardly at each of them as they were introduced. He wished they would look at something other than him; it was as though he had suddenly been ushered onstage. He also wondered why so many of them were there.
“A surprising number of people volunteered to come and get you,” said Lupin, as though he had read Harry’s mind; the corners of his mouth twitched slightly.
“Yeah, well, the more the better,” said Moody darkly. “We’re your guard, Potter.”
“We’re just waiting for the signal to tell us it’s safe to set off,” said Lupin, glancing out of the kitchen window. “We’ve got about fifteen minutes.”
“Very clean, aren’t they, these Muggles?” said the witch called Tonks, who was looking around the kitchen with great interest. “My dad’s Muggle-born and he’s a right old slob. I suppose it varies, just like with wizards?”
“Er — yeah,” said Harry. “Look” — he turned back to Lupin — “what’s going on, I haven’t heard anything from anyone, what’s Vol — ?”
Several of the witches and wizards made odd hissing noises; Dedalus Diggle dropped his hat again, and Moody growled, “Shut up!”
“What?” said Harry.
“We’re not discussing anything here, it’s too risky,” said Moody, turning his normal eye on Harry; his magical eye remained pointing up at the ceiling. “Damn it,” he added angrily, putting a hand up to the magical eye, “it keeps