Alexandra Dursley {Golden Trio}

Chapter 84 - Journey to London

Ooh it's getting good! :)

 Al watched from the door until she was sure Umbridge was gone. Then she hurried over to the fireplace and grabbed a pinch of floo powder, throwing it into the flames. Before anyone could ask her any questions, she stuck her head in and said, "Number twelve, Grimmauld Place."

 There was a whooshing past Al's ears as if she was running very fast and then she bumped her head on something. "Ow!" she exclaimed, before looking to the right and seeing Snape's head in the flames. "Oh-Professor. Sorry I didn't realise!"

 "You think I'm incompetent of decoding Potter's heinous clue?" Snape demanded.

 "No, I just don't trust you," Al retorted, before turning to the kitchen, where Remus and Sirius were stood, apparently enjoying themselves. "Right Sirius, you're definitely at Grimmauld Place then." Al felt a tug on her leg. "Got to go," she said, before pulling her head out the fire.

 Al glanced around Umbridge's office, taking in the state of it. The Inquisitorial Squad were, for the most part, unconscious, except for Draco, who was stumbling around, evidently the victim of a bat-bogey hex. "Finite," Al said, and Draco was released from his snotty prison.

 "That bloody Weasley girl," he gasped.

 "Where did they go?" Al asked.

 "I don't know," Draco said, panicking too, "They said they saw Potter and Granger in the forest!"

 "OK, well let's go," Al said, leaving the room at a run.

 "Go where?" Draco demanded, following Al.

 "Harry thinks Sirius has been taken by You-Know-Who. I don't know why he thinks that and I don't know where he thinks they are, but I do know that Sirius is safe," Al explained as they reached the Entrance Hall.

 "So why are we running?" Draco asked as they sprinted across the lawn to the forest.

 "That," Al said, slowing to a halt and pointing at the sky. Six thestrals had soared into the sky, each with a person on top. Two of them had bright ginger hair and one raven black.

 "What-" Draco stammered, "How are they-?"

 "Thestrals," Al explained, grabbing his wrist, "Come on we've got to stop them before they get too far." She dragged Draco into the forest, wand gripped tightly, until they reached a clearing with four more thestrals in it.

 Al went up to one and stroked it before clambering on. "You coming?" she asked Draco with a grin.

 "No," he said, "I'm not getting on one of those thestral thingys."

 "Yes, you will," Al said warmly, "Come on, you can hold onto me." Draco, though hesitant, clambered on, and awkwardly put his arms around her waist. "Right," Al said to the thestral, "If you could just follow them please." At first Al thought it hadn't understood, but then it shot into the sky, and Al could hear nothing but the roaring of the wind and Draco's surprised yelp.

 They travelled for what seemed like hours, the wind beating their faces and the sky growing ever darker. Al tried not to look at the ground, terrified of what might happen if one of them fell. She knew spells, of course, but it would be best to avoid it all together.

 Finally they landed with a thud in an alleyway filled with six other thestrals, a skip, and a rusty telephone box. "Where've they gone?" Draco asked, jumping as a big red bus shot past.

 "Dunno," Al said, "But I think we're somewhere in London."

 "What was that tracking charm?" Draco asked suddenly, "On the paper? I couldn't answer it, but-"

 "Appare Vestigium," Al said, trailing her wand around in a circle around her. A fine gold mist shot from the end, twinkling in the lamplight. Six figures, Harry, the Weasel, Hermione, Ginny, Neville and Luna Lovegood, squeezed themselves into the telephone box. Al and Draco followed, typing in the numbers that the Weasel has pressed. "Please state you're names and business," a cool female voice said.

 "Al Dursley and Draco Malfoy! We followed Harry Potter here," Al said urgently, "He's in trouble!" There was a clattering sound and two badges appeared with their names on and the words, Rescue Mission.

 The telephone box went down like a lift with a sudden shudder. "Get your wand out," Al hissed, trying to see down into where they were headed. They stepped out into a large chamber, with a midnight blue ceiling and swirling gold patterns.

 "This is the Ministry," Draco whispered as they followed the six golden figures across the polished floor and into a lift. Harry pressed the number ten, so Al did too, and soon they were rattling down until the lift announced that they'd reached level ten. The Department of Mysteries.

 The golden figures stepped out the lift and half ran towards a door, and Al and Draco jogged to keep up. The figures vanished through a door at the end, and the golden mist around them faded. "This is it then," Draco said, "What do you think's through there?"

 "Not a clue," Al admitted, "But I think we're too late to warn him. We're going to have to fight something." She looked at Draco's pale face, slightly pink from the wind. His brow was furrowed and he was biting his lip.

 Draco took a deep breath and then stared determinedly into Al's eyes. "Alright then," he said, "Let's do it." Al too took a deep breath, trying to cool the gnawing in her stomach.

 The door swung open easily, and Al jumped back at the action in there. A troop of Death Eaters were sprinting across the hall from one door and through into another. The last of the lot turned to face them, and Al yelled, "Stupefy!" causing him to crumple in the doorway.

 The duo would have followed Harry through the door, but then somebody shouted, "Al!" She turned to look through the first door and saw Neville stood there, his face bloody and swollen. "Ib's Ron!"

 Al rushed through with Draco into a room with a large fish tank in the middle and desks around the edges. Al scurried over to where the Weasel was being suffocated by weird cords, a slimy round bundle on his arm. "Relashio!" she said, and the cords and the bundle slid off him. He lay, breathing heavily and Al turned to the three unconscious people in the room.

 "We don'b know wad hid Herminee, or Luna," Neville said, "bud Ginny's been stunned and she hurd her ankle."

 Draco immediately went over to where Ginny lay and said, "Envervate." Ginny awoke with a start and Al gave Draco a nod. He walked back over to where Neville and Al were stood.

 "Right, Neville, how many Death Eaters are we talking?" Al asked, getting down to business.

 "I don'b know," Neville said, scratching his head, "Den maybe fibteen."

 Al took a deep breath as her stomach dropped. "Ok, I'm having a look."