The men’s long cloaks flapped around their ankles as they marched. The lane was bordered on the left by wild, low-growing brambles, on the right by a high, neatly manicured hedge. For a second they stood quite still, wands directed at each other’s chests then, recognizing each other, they stowed their wands beneath their cloaks and started walking briskly in the same direction. The two men appeared out of nowhere, a few yards apart in the narrow, moonlit lane.
