How It All Goes Down
Fight and Flight
- Harry has no idea what Hermione is planning, but he goes along with it.
- Hermione heads to the Forbidden Forest with Harry, Professor Umbridge's wand pointed at both of their backs.
- Hermione keeps leading them deeper and deeper into the forest.
- At first, Harry thinks that Hermione is leading Professor Umbridge to Grawp, but they're going the wrong way.
- Suddenly, a voice rings out, "Who are you?" (33.26).
- It's Magorian, along with a number of other centaurs.
- Professor Umbridge shouts, "be very careful! By the laws laid down by the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, any attack by half-breeds such as yourselves on a human —" (33.31).
- Bane takes offense at the description "half-breed," while Magorian is enraged that Professor Umbridge thinks centaurs have "near-human intelligence" (33.34).
- They charge Professor Umbridge, who keeps shrieking and trying to stun them.
- Bane carries Professor Umbridge away.
- The other centaurs debate about what they should do with Harry and Hermione.
- One of them, Ronan, protests that, "We do not attack foals" (33.48).
- Another centaur thinks Harry's pretty darn close to being an adult, and anyway, they're trespassing in the forest.
- Before the centaurs can attack Harry and Hermione, "there came a crashing noise on the edge of the clearing so loud that all of them, Harry, Hermione, and the fifty or so centaurs filling the clearing, looked around" (33.62).
- It's Grawp!
- He's shouting for "HAGGER!" (33.69).
- He misses Hagrid and wants "Hermy" (33.74) to tell him where Hagrid has gone.
- The centaurs begin to shoot at Grawp with their arrows, injuring him and making him bleed.
- Grawp grabs at the centaurs and throws them around.
- Harry and Hermione run away.
- Harry feels his scar throbbing and worries that Sirius is getting closer to death.
- But how are they supposed to get to the Ministry of Magic now that they don't even have their wands?
- Out of the trees suddenly appear Ron, Ginny, Luna, and Neville.
- They managed to escape the Inquisitorial Squad, spotted Hermione and Harry going into the forest, and followed them.
- Now, they all want to know what to do next.
- Ginny, Luna, and Neville insist on accompanying Harry to the Department of Mysteries even though he thinks it isn't safe.
- It's Luna who has an idea of how to get there: they should just ride the Thestrals.
- They are attracted to the smell of blood, and both Hermione and Harry are covered in Grawp's blood.
- Eventually, six Thestrals land in front of the group.
- Harry tells them, "All right [...] pick one and get on, then" (33.139).