Pariah: The Other Malfoy

Chapter 51: The Ministry

We got off the Thestrals and entered a red telephone box. It led us down to the Ministry of Magic and gave us all badges. Mine said:

LYRA MALFOY
RESCUE MISSION

When the door burst open, we charged past security and to the lifts. Harry pressed the number nine button and a voice announced we had arrived at the Department of Mysteries. He tried to get some people to stay as lookouts but nobody would. Everyone was determined to do what was necessary, we weren't splitting up. We entered a large circular room full of identical, unmarked, black doors.

"Which door?" asked Ron, but just then all of the doors began to spin.

We no longer knew which door we had come out of. We stared for a few seconds, not sure how to react. We were completely lost and we needed to think fast or Sirius was going to be dead before we got out of the first room.

"Just choose one! When we've been through it, mark it off and we'll know which ones we've tried!" I suggested, growing more anxious by the second. I owed Sirius so much, we had to save him.

"Good idea!" Hermione said.

It took us a few tries to get the right door but we didn't stay in any rooms for long. There was no time to waste. We walked through rows and rows of crystal balls until we got to row ninety-seven, the row that Sirius was meant to be in. Row ninety-seven ringed a bell, I just couldn't pinpoint what it was.

We got to the row and looked around. There was no sign of Sirius.

"Harry... I don't think the Dark Lord has Sirius..." I whispered, looking around. Realisation dawned on me, we had been tricked. Or Harry had, at least. Thinking about it rationally, everything about it screamed trap. I had heard Hermione mention that Dumbledore saw Harry's connection with the Dark Lord as a bad thing - perhaps this was why.

But Harry was staring at a shelf, his hand outstretched as he reached for the glowing orb. Thoughts flashed through my mind, understanding as I pieced everything I had heard together—

"Harry! Stop!" Too late, he had grabbed it, his eyes widening as he heard the prophecy about himself.

"Very good, Potter," a familiar sneering voice, my eyes widened, "Now, give me the Prophecy."

I whipped around, my eyes widening as they landed on my father. He hadn't caught sight of me, his only intention at that moment was to get the prophecy from Harry as he had been told.

"Sirius—" Harry said, his voice laced with confusion.

"It's time you learned the difference between reality and dreams, Potter," my father said slowly, "You saw only what the Dark Lord wanted you to see. Now give that to me."

"Get behind me," Harry barked quickly as we grouped together, staring as other figures surrounded us.

I stared at my father, disappointment radiated from me, that he was so willing to threaten us all.

"You," my father caught sight of me, standing behind my friends.

I faltered, my hand lowered slightly, before I caught myself and raised it again, defiance on my face.

He hesitated slightly before turning back to Harry, "Give me the prophecy, and I'll let all of you go."

"Don't do it, Harry," I said, "The Dark Lord won't just let us leave."

"If you want to get to us, you're going to have to smash this first," Harry growled, "Something tells me your boss wouldn't be too pleased about that."

"Oh, he knows how to play!" A figure, clad entirely in black, stepped forward. My throat tightened with fear as Tobias grabbed my free hand, "Itty bitty baby Potter."

"Bellatrix, no," my father stopped her with his cane as she moved her wand hand.

I could feel my father communicating with me, his eyes boring into mine. I hesitated, raising my wand, hoping I had understood him correctly. If not, well, I would certainly regret it.

"Stupefy!" I yelled, knocking my father backwards. Thank god, I hit him! "Run!"

"Lyra, you just cursed your dad!" Hermione said to me as we ran.

"I know," I breathed slowly, "It felt great."

Tobias grabbed my arm, we rushed after the others, ducking as spells flew over our heads. I heard Neville swear behind me after Ginny yelled a spell, wondering what was going on.

The crystal balls, which were people's prophecies, smashed all around us. We tried our hardest to avoid the falling glass but I was covered in small cuts already. We were breathing heavily, running out of stamina because of how fast we were sprinting. We couldn't stop now, we needed to get to safety before we had a chance to rest.

I shot spells wildly the moment I saw a dark figure near me, but focused mainly on not tripping over my feet. We were running as fast as we could, Death Eaters were trying to split us apart, take us down separately. Tobias still held my hand, Hermione was right in front of me, but I couldn't see the others. All I could hear was smashing glass, I had no idea where we were due to the bright lights the prophecies were giving off as they smashed around us.

"We're almost there!" Hermione shot another spell, I glimpsed the black shape flying off to the side.

"Brace yourself!" Tobias held me tightly, he was slightly in front of me as we headed for an open door, the ground disappearing beneath our feet—

There was a thump as we hit the ground. A new room, but would we be able to get out?

The others landed beside us moments later, hearts thumping in our chests as we looked for a way out. Would the Death Eaters catch us here and kill us, or had they been subdued by the falling prophecies?

Now that I had time to think, I knew exactly what was going on. The Death Eaters had spoken of it in meetings, I could piece things together now, the prophecy that concerned Harry and the Dark Lord. It was hidden in the Department of Mysteries, yet only the person it pertained to could pick it up. The Dark Lord himself couldn't exactly walk in and take it, so he had to trick Harry into doing the dirty work for him and get his Death Eaters to collect it from Harry's hands. We couldn't let the Dark Lord get his hands on the prophecy, no matter what it took. We needed to get out of here, and fast.

"What... what is that?" I asked Tobias as I focused again, staring at the archway in the centre of the room. It seemed empty, but something was... off.

"It's just an archway? Why?" Tobias asked.

"No..." I breathed, "Can't you feel? There's... something is wrong with it. Harry, keep back!"

I had seen Harry moving towards it as I spoke and he froze as soon as I called to him. Something was off about that archway, it seemed empty, but a sense of dread filled me as I stared at it. Harry seemed entranced too, but the others were confused.

"We don't have time to waste, they're coming!" Hermione said quickly.

"Too late," I recognised my father's voice and dark shapes entering the room with us.

Strong arms held me and I watched as my friends all got dragged as well, leaving only Harry untouched in the centre of the room, my father beside him. I stared at the others in fear, counting the Death Eaters, seeing who was where, when it hit me. Only one Death Eater was unaccounted for, and she had to be holding me.

Bellatrix.