Professor Merlin Emrys

Run!

"Who's next?" Cassandra asked. Luna Lovegood raised her hand and made her way into it, mirroring Neville's posture and vanishing just as quickly. Soon everyone had gone through with only Harry left.

"Harry Potter," Cassandra stopped him before he could take his turn. "Don't believe everything you dream. Trust in your friends, Potter. You are never as alone as you think you are," Harry nodded mutely, not sure how to take her advice. He stood in the cabinet as she closed the door. The space was stifling similar to earlier but the addition of the darkness made it suffocating. The whispering started and the next thing Harry knew light poured into the crack, being yanked open, and Harry was quickly dragged out of the wardrobe and had his arms full of Hermione as she hugged him.

"Harry, your alright!" pulling away, her face solemn as she opened her mouth. "Professor Emrys isn't though, he forgot about the paper with all of our names on it. They think he's helping Dumbledore raise an army against the Ministry. It's awful, Harry, Umbridge has given everyone Veritaserum who was on that list," Hermione rambled, barely taking a breath between sentences.

"What?" Harry asked dumbly, adjusting to the onslaught of information. "Where are Ron and Draco?" Harry asked as he took in the room with only Hermione.

"Umbridge. Emrys spelled me invisible after speaking in my head, telling me to wait for you, but we've got to do something. They could send him to Azkaban, Harry, Dumbledore too!" Hermione added, already anticipating his next question. His head hurt. How could everything get out of control so quickly?

"Right," Harry started, head working for a plan. "Right, I got nothing, 'Mione," frustrated as he sat in one of the chairs in front of Merlin's desk. It still had half-graded papers and pictures of what looked like some of his friends. Merlin winked at him when Harry picked one up, watching him dance with a woman in what looked like a wedding dress. Harry didn't know what to do but he knew he couldn't let him go to prison because they were stupid enough to leave their names up for anyone to see, believing no one would find their secret place.

"Harry!" Hermione shouted as the door opened, Umbridge and Percy Weasley stopping in their tracks as they saw him, eyes skimming over Hermione.

"Well, Potter, come with us," Umbridge said, snatching his arm in a painful vice-like grip. Harry pulled and pulled but he was getting nowhere, having to stop lest he succeed and fall down the stairs that led to the headmaster's office. They reached the polished door with the griffin knocker, but Umbridge did not bother to knock, she strode straight inside, still holding tight to Harry.

The office was full of people. Dumbledore was sitting behind his desk, his expression serene, the tips of his long fingers together. Professor McGonagall stood rigidly beside him, her face extremely tense. Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic, was rocking backward and forward on his toes beside the fire, apparently immensely pleased with the situation. Kingsley Shacklebolt and a tough-looking wizard Harry did not recognize with very short, wiry hair was positioned on either side of the door like guards.

The freckled, bespectacled form of Percy Weasley who had moved from beside Umbridge to hover excitedly beside the wall, a quill and a heavy scroll of parchment in his hands, apparently poised to take notes. The portraits of old headmasters and mistresses were not shamming sleep tonight. All of them were watching what was happening below, alert and serious.

As Harry entered, a few flitted into neighboring frames and whispered urgently into their neighbors' ears. Cornelius Fudge was glaring at him with a kind of vicious satisfaction upon his face.

"Well," he said. "Well, well, well . . ." Harry replied with the dirtiest look he could muster. His heart drummed madly inside him, but his brain was oddly cool and clear.