Break Me || Harry Potter

Chapter 107 - Return

And thus the day unfolded. Chaotically. Absolutely not according to plan.

Ron got tugged away by a cruel looking blonde man, something about rain in his office. I leveled a comforting gaze at Ron and pushed him out the elevator door.

Umbridge entered the elevator in front of Harry, Hermione, and I with an air of sickly perfume and a hideous sneer. With a word to Harry, or unidentified Ministry dude #2, she pushed a button. Well, at least we found her.

Harry exited a floor later, off to search the offices. Umbridge gave him a glare as the elevator door slide closed.

"And you are?" Umbridge slide her cold eyes to me.

We didn't go in so unprepared that I had no excuse for my presense. The rehearsed lie slipped past my lips.

"Representative from Detainment and Exportation, ma'am. New recruit, first day on the job," I said. Umbridge barely spared me another glance as she nodded and turned back to the door.

"I'll trust you to handle the removal of our client should the trial deem it necessary," she said. I gave my verbal agreement from behind her.

Hermione and I remained silent from that point on, waiting till we reached the lower levels of the Ministery. We knew Umbridge was now residing over pureblood trials for the Ministry. The thought alone made my blood boil. Hermione was doing a great job of concealing her pain, and I mean that literally. I knew this was hitting her the hardest, and her Unimportant Ministry worker #3 face was stone cold and silent.

I found myself rather disconnected from my surroundings, doing little to engage unless absolutely necessary and rather taking to observing our surroundings. Where are our exits? How many people around? How long would it take to get to the surface.

A moment later we excited into a large courtroom. A young woman sat in a chair in the middle, and Umbridge clambered into a tall chair in the risers surrounding the floor. Hermione was instructed to take a seat to her left. I was left to stand on the ground level, next to the door. Good.

A chill crept into my bones as I spared a glance around the room. Above us, a horde of Dementors circled. For christ's sake...They were held back by a small patronus, a cruel looking cat lounged across Umbridge's podium.

The trial began. Horrible questions about this poor woman's magical talent were barked in her face, leaving little room for her to protest or dispute the claims. She was clearly a witch, a halfblooded woman woh had earned her wand fair and square. But Umbridge took her trembling to be an indicator of lies, and her questioning grew more and more accusatory.

There was a clatter at the door and two figures entered.

Well, unimportant Ministry dudes #1 and #2, it seemed. And the mean-looking blonde from the elevator. Harry and Ron seemed to need a moment to register what was going on. I had no idea how they had found their way down, but it didn't really matter.

The woman in the chair was reaching towards Ron, and with some effort I turned back into the conversation.

"Reg, tell them the truth, please Reg, your wife is a witch! She earned it fair and square!" The woman was pleading with Ron.
Ron seemed to understand that this poor man he was impersonating was the young woman's husband (an unfortunate coincidence). He stepped forward gingerly and stood at the back of the young woman's chair. Harry shuffled to my side. I raised a single eyebrow in question. Did you find it in the office?

Harry shook his head, nearly imperceptible.

Damn.

"Well, Reginald?" Umbridge's voice cut through the static air.