─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
Clara was ecstatic that exam season was finished, a huge weight had been lifted off of her shoulders. Not only did she have plenty of free time, but she had high hopes for summer. Although her father was angry with her, she hoped high scores would be enough to soothe him.
These last few days were going to be relaxing and free of boys, school, and trouble. Clara needed to stop thinking about Harry, and cast away any feelings she had for him. She approached Luna in the Great Hall before noticing a figure sitting right next to her. Shit.
Clara turned the other way before hearing her name called. She let the two catch up with her before turning around.
"Yes?"
"I need your help. It's an emergency." Harry said. Confusion overtook Clara's mind and she simply nodded. Her hand was pulled by Luna and she followed Harry through the halls.
Harry was... anxious, to say the least. His hands kept twitching and he looked behind him every second as if to make sure no one was watching them. He led the girls into a first-floor classroom, where Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Neville sat.
"Voldemort's got Sirius."
"What?" Hermione exclaimed, getting up from her sitting position.
"How do you — ?"
"Saw it. Just now. When I fell asleep in the exam."
"But — but where? How?" said Ron, whose face was white.
"I dunno how," said Harry. "But I know exactly where. There's a room in the Department of Mysteries full of shelves covered in these little glass balls, and they're at the end of row ninety-seven . . . He's trying to use Sirius to get whatever it is he wants from in there. . . . He's torturing him. . . . Says he'll end by killing him . . ." Harry's voice was shaking, as were his knees. He moved over to a desk and sat down on it.
"How're we going to get there?" he asked them. There was a moment's silence. Then Ron said, "G-get there?"
"Get to the Department of Mysteries, so we can rescue Sirius!"
"But — Harry . . ." said Ron weakly.
"What? What?" said Harry.
"Harry," said Clara, "er . . . how. . . how did Voldemort get into the Ministry of Magic without anybody realizing he was there?"
"How do I know?" bellowed Harry. "The question is how we're going to get in there!"
"But . . . Harry, think about this," said Hermione, taking a step toward him, "it's five o'clock in the afternoon. . . . The Ministry of Magic must be full of workers. . . . How would Voldemort and Sirius have got in without being seen? Harry . . . they're probably the two most wanted wizards in the world. . . . You think they could get into a building full of Aurors undetected?"
"I dunno, Voldemort used an Invisibility Cloak or something!" Harry shouted. "Anyway, the Department of Mysteries has always been completely empty whenever I've been —"
"You've never been there, Harry," said Hermione quietly. "You've dreamed about the place, that's all."
"They're not normal dreams!" Harry shouted in her face, standing up and taking a step closer to her in turn. He wanted to shake her. "How d'you explain Ron's dad then, what was all that about, how come I knew what had happened to him?"
"He's got a point," said Ron quietly, looking at Hermione. Clara was thoroughly confused.
"But this is just — just so unlikely!" said Hermione desperately.
"But why," Hermione persisted, "why on earth would Voldemort want to use Sirius to get the weapon, or whatever the thing is?"
"I dunno, there could be loads of reasons!" Harry yelled at her. "Maybe Sirius is just someone Voldemort doesn't care about seeing hurt —"
"You know what, I've just thought of something," said Ron in a hushed voice. "Sirius's brother was a Death Eater, wasn't he? Maybe he told Sirius the secret of how to get the weapon!"
"Yeah — and that's why Dumbledore's been so keen to keep Sirius locked up all the time!" said Harry.
"Look, I'm sorry," cried Hermione, "but neither of you are making sense, and we've got no proof for any of this, no proof Voldemort and Sirius are even there —"
"Hermione, Harry's seen them!" said Ron, rounding on her.
"Okay," Clara said, stepping up once more, "I've just got to say this. . . ."
"What?"
"You . . . This isn't a criticism, Harry! But you do I mean — don't you think you've got a bit of a saving-people thing?" she said. He glared at her. "And what's that supposed to mean, 'a saving-people thing?"
"She's not wrong!" Hermione said, looking quite frightened, "I mean . . . last year, for instance . . . in the lake . . . during the Tournament . . . you shouldn't have . . . I mean, you didn't need to save that little Delacour girl. . . . You got a bit . . . carried away . . . I mean, it was really great of you and everything, and everyone thought it was a wonderful thing to do —"
"That's funny," said Harry in a trembling voice, "because I definitely remember Ron saying I'd wasted time acting the hero. . . . Is that what you think this is? You reckon I want to act the hero again?"
"No, no, no!" said Hermione, looking aghast. "That's not what I mean at all! And I'm sure that's not what Clara meant either!" Clara shook her head quickly, she had never seen Harry this angry and she certainly wasn't in the mood to argue.
"Well, spit out what you've got to say, because we're wasting time here!" Harry shouted.
"I'm trying to say — Voldemort knows you, Harry! He took Ginny down into the Chamber of Secrets to lure you there, it's the kind of thing he does, he knows you're the — the sort of person who'd go to Sirius's aid! What if he's just trying to get you into the Department of Myst — ?"
"Hermione, it doesn't matter if he's done it to get me there or not — they've taken McGonagall to St. Mungo's, there isn't anyone left from the Order at Hogwarts who we can tell, and if we don't go, Sirius is dead!"
"But Harry — what if your dream was — was just that, a dream?" Harry let out a roar of frustration.
"You don't get it!" Harry shouted at her. "I'm not having nightmares, I'm not just dreaming! What d'you think all the Occlumency was for, why d'you think Dumbledore wanted me prevented from seeing these things? Because they're REAL, Hermione — Sirius is trapped — I've seen him — Voldemort's got him, and no one else knows, and that means we're the only ones who can save him, and if you don't want to do it, fine, but I'm going, understand? And if I remember rightly, you didn't have a problem with my saving-people-thing when it was you I was saving from the dementors, or" — he rounded on Ron, who looked quite annoyed — "when it was your sister I was saving from the basilisk —"
"I never said I had a problem!" said Ron heatedly.
"But Harry, you've just said it," said Hermione fiercely. "Dumbledore wanted you to learn to shut these things out of your mind, if you'd done Occlumency properly you'd never have seen this —"
"IF YOU THINK I'M JUST GOING TO ACT LIKE I HAVEN'T SEEN —"
"Sirius told you there was nothing more important than you learning to close your mind!"
"WELL, I EXPECT HE'D SAY SOMETHING DIFFERENT IF HE KNEW WHAT I'D JUST—"
"HARRY!" Clara shouted, diverting his attention from a trembling Hermione. His head whipped around and it was evident that he wasn't cooling down anytime soon. "QUIT YELLING! Godric... she's only trying to help."
"BUT-"
"NO MORE YELLING!"
The room fell silent as the two stared at each other. Harry opened his mouth before Clara raised her finger, prompting him to close it once more and put his hands on his hips. Ginny stepped forward and stood next to Clara.
"How about you explain, calmly, how we can help, and we can decide from there if we can?" she suggested.
"Honestly you really can't. I don't even know why I asked you here, you're all useless."
"You're being rather rude, you know," said Luna serenely.
Harry swore and turned away. Clara swore back at him and a shouting match between the two erupted. The group stood awkwardly as the pair squabbled until someone gasped.
"Wait," said Hermione suddenly. "Wait . . . that's it! Harry, they can help. Listen," she said urgently, "Harry, we need to establish whether Sirius really has left headquarters —"
"I've told you, I saw —"
"Harry, I'm begging you, please!" said Hermione desperately. "Please let's just check that Sirius isn't at home before we go charging off to London — if we find out he's not there then I swear I won't try and stop you, I'll come, I'll d-do whatever it takes to try and save him —"
"Sirius is being tortured NOW!" shouted Harry. "We haven't got time to waste —"
"But if this is a trick of V-Voldemort's — Harry, we've got to check, we've got to —"
"How?" Harry demanded. "How're we going to check?"
"We'll have to use Umbridge's fire and see if we can contact him," said Hermione, who looked positively terrified at the thought. "We'll draw Umbridge away again, but we'll need lookouts, and that's where we can use Ginny, Luna, Neville, and Clara." Though clearly struggling to understand what was going on, Ginny said immediately, "Yeah, we'll do it," and Luna said, "When you say 'Sirius,' are you talking about Stubby Boardman?" Nobody answered her, but Clara did pat her gently on the back.
"Okay," Harry said aggressively to Hermione, "Okay, if you can think of a way of doing this quickly, I'm with you, otherwise I'm going to the Department of Mysteries right now —"
"Right," said Hermione, twisting her hands together and pacing up and down between the desks. "Right . . . well . . . One of us has to go and find Umbridge and — and send her off in the wrong direction, keep her away from her office. They could tell her — I don't know —that Peeves is up to something awful as usual. . . ."
"I'll do it," said Ron at once, eager to make his friends' mission easier. "I'll tell her Peeves is smashing up the Transfiguration department or something, it's miles away from her office. Come to think of it, I could probably persuade Peeves to do it if I met him on the way. . . ."
It was a mark of the seriousness of the situation that Hermione made no objection to the smashing up of the Transfiguration department.
"Okay," she said, her brow furrowed as she continued to pace. "Now, we need to keep students away from her office while we force entry, or some Slytherin's bound to go and tip her off, no offense Clara . . ."
"Luna and I can stand at one end of the corridor," said Ginny promptly, "and warn people not to go down there because someone's let off a load of Garroting Gas." Hermione looked surprised at the readiness with which Ginny had come up with this lie. Ginny shrugged and said, "Fred and George were planning to do it before they left."
"Neville and I will take the other end, I suppose we'll use the same lie. Makes it more believable."
"Okay," said Hermione, "well then, Harry, you and I will be under the Invisibility Cloak, and we'll sneak into the office and you can talk to Sirius —"
"He's not there, Hermione!"
"I mean, you can — can check whether Sirius is at home or not while I keep watch, I don't think you should be in there alone, Lee's already proved the window's a weak spot, sending those nifflers through it."
"Okay, right. We can do this. Everyone knows their job, let's get to it."
"Now?" Hermione asked.
"Yes, now!"
Clara grabbed Neville and followed Ginny and Luna to the corridor. They took their places and began to clear the corridors of students.
"You can't come down here!" Ginny was calling to the crowd. "No, sorry, you're going to have to go round by the swiveling staircase, someone's let off Garroting Gas just along here —" People began complaining almost immediately; one surly voice said, "I can't see no gas . . ."
"That's because it's colorless," said Clara in a convincingly exasperated voice, "but if you want to walk through it, carry on, then we'll have your body as proof for the next idiot who didn't believe us. . . ." Slowly the crowd thinned. The news about the Garroting Gas seemed to have spread — people were not coming this way anymore.
Everything had been going well until Umbridge had stormed over on Ginny and Luna's side. The two girls conversed with her, and Clara and Neville quickly went over to aid them.
"Please, Headmistress, I was just wondering if you could give me some fashion advice. You alway wear such er- elaborate outfits." Ginny said, faking a smile.
"I would be pleased to help your drab sense of style, but I must go into my office."
The four students blocked her way and Umbridge raised an eyebrow at them. The group stood their ground and Clara withdrew her wand, keeping it hidden under her sleeve in case things escalated.
"Let me through, or there will be consequences." Still, the four didn't budge and Umbridge withdrew her wand. There was no need though, as each student was grabbed by their shirts. Clara struggled against her capturer and kicked at them as they grabbed her wand.
The students were brought into Umbridge's office. Hermione jumped at their presence and stuttered something about looking for the Headmaster. She was quickly shot down by Umbridge who went to the fire and pulled Harry out.
"You think," she whispered, bending Harry's neck back even farther, so that he was looking up at the ceiling above him, "that after two nifflers I was going to let one more foul, scavenging little creature enter my office without my knowledge? I had Stealth Sensoring Spells placed all around my doorway after the last one got in, you foolish boy. Take his wand," she barked at someone. "Hers too . . ."
Once Hermione and Harry were stripped of their wands, Umbridge pranced around the room, examining each student. "So, Potter," she said. "You stationed lookouts around my office and you sent this buffoon," she nodded at Ron, and Malfoy laughed even louder, "to tell me the poltergeist was wreaking havoc in the Transfiguration department when I knew perfectly well that he was busy smearing ink on the eyepieces of all the school telescopes, Mr. Filch having just informed me so. Clearly, it was very important for you to talk to somebody. Was it Albus Dumbledore? Or the half-breed, Hagrid? I doubt it was Minerva McGonagall, I hear she is still too ill to talk to anyone. . . ."
Malfoy and a few of the other members of the Inquisitorial Squad laughed at that. Clara shot Draco the meanest look she could muster. He was gripping Ron tightly, and just glared back at her. Maybe there was no more hope for changing Draco. It seemed as though he had fallen to the wrong side.
"It's none of your business who I talk to," Harry snarled. Umbridge's slack face seemed to tighten.
"Very well," she said in her most dangerous and falsely sweet voice. "Very well, Mr. Potter . . . I offered you the chance to tell me freely. You refused. I have no alternative but to force you. Draco — fetch Professor Snape."
There was silence in the office except for the fidgetings and scufflings resultant from the Slytherins' efforts to keep Ron and the others under control. Ron's lip was bleeding onto Umbridge's carpet as he struggled against Warrington's half nelson. Ginny was still trying to stamp on the feet of the sixth-year girl who had both her upper arms in a tight grip. Neville was turning steadily more purple in the face while tugging at Crabbe's arms, and Hermione was attempting vainly to throw Millicent Bulstrode off her. Luna, however, stood limply by the side of her captor, gazing vaguely out of the window as though rather bored by the proceedings. Clara tried to elbow her capturer, some sixth-year dimwit. His grip tightened with each attempted jab. Harry looked back at Umbridge, who was watching him closely. Draco Malfoy came back into the room, holding open the door for Snape.
"You wanted to see me, Headmistress?" said Snape, looking around at all the pairs of struggling students with an expression of complete indifference.
"Ah, Professor Snape," said Umbridge, smiling widely and standing up again. "Yes, I would like another bottle of Veritaserum, as quick as you can, please."
"You took my last bottle to interrogate Potter," he said, observing her coolly through his greasy curtains of black hair.
"Surely you did not use it all? I told you that three drops would be sufficient." Umbridge flushed."You can make some more, can't you?" she said, her voice becoming more sweetly girlish as it always did when she was furious.
"Certainly," said Snape, his lip curling. "It takes a full moon cycle to mature, so I should have it ready for you in around a month."
"A month?" squawked Umbridge, swelling toadishly. "A month? But I need it this evening, Snape! I have just found Potter using my fire to communicate with a person or persons unknown!"
"Really?" said Snape, showing his first, faint sign of interest as he looked around at Harry. "Well, it doesn't surprise me. Potter has never shown much inclination to follow school rules."
"I wish to interrogate him!" shouted Umbridge angrily, and Snape looked away from Harry back into her furiously quivering face. "I wish you to provide me with a potion that will force him to tell me the truth!"
"I have already told you," said Snape smoothly, "that I have no further stocks of Veritaserum. Unless you wish to poison Potter — and I assure you I would have the greatest sympathy with you if you did —I cannot help you. The only trouble is that most venoms act too fast to give the victim much time for truth-telling. . . ."
"You are on probation!" shrieked Professor Umbridge, and Snape looked back at her, his eyebrows slightly raised. "You are being deliberately unhelpful! I expected better, Lucius Malfoy always speaks most highly of you! Now get out of my office!" Snape gave her an ironic bow and turned to leave.
"He's got Padfoot!" Harry shouted. "He's got Padfoot at the place where it's hidden!"
Snape had stopped with his hand on Umbridge's door handle. Clearly, Harry had caught his attention.
"Padfoot?" cried Professor Umbridge, looking eagerly from Harry to Snape. "What is Padfoot? Where what is hidden? What does he mean, Snape?"
Snape looked around at Harry. His face was inscrutable. Clara could not tell whether he had understood or not, but he did not dare speak more plainly in front of Umbridge.
"I have no idea," said Snape coldly. "Potter, when I want nonsense shouted at me I shall give you a Babbling Beverage. And Crabbe, loosen your hold a little, if Longbottom suffocates it will mean a lot of tedious paperwork, and I am afraid I shall have to mention it on your reference if ever you apply for a job." He closed the door behind him with a snap. Clara looked at Umbridge, who seemed to be feeling the same way; her chest was heaving with rage and frustration.
"Very well," she said, and she pulled out her wand. "Very well . . .I am left with no alternative. . . This is more than a matter of school discipline. . . . This is an issue of Ministry security. . . . Yes . . . yes . . ." She seemed to be talking herself into something. She was shifting her weight nervously from foot to foot, staring at Harry, beating her wand against her empty palm and breathing heavily. "You are forcing me, Potter. . . . I do not want to," said Umbridge, still moving restlessly on the spot, "but sometimes circumstances justify the use . . . I am sure the Minister will understand that I had no choice. . . . The Cruciatus Curse ought to loosen your tongue," said Umbridge quietly.
"No!" Clara shrieked, pulling forward against the boy holding her. "Professor Umbridge — it's illegal!" —but Umbridge took no notice. There was a nasty, eager, excited look on her face that Clara had never seen before. She raised her wand. "Stop, please! The Minister wouldn't want you to break the law, Professor Umbridge!"
"What Cornelius doesn't know won't hurt him," said Umbridge, who was now panting slightly as she pointed her wand at different parts of Harry's body in turn, apparently trying to decide what would hurt the most. "He never knew I ordered dementors after Potter last summer, but he was delighted to be given the chance to expel him, all the same. . . ."
"It was you?" gasped Harry. "You sent the dementors after me?"
"Somebody had to act," breathed Umbridge, as her wand came to rest pointing directly at Harry's forehead. "They were all bleating about silencing you somehow — discrediting you — but I was the one who actually did something about it. . . . Only you wriggled out of that one, didn't you, Potter? Not today, though, not now . . ." Umbridge pushed her wand even further towards Harry and Clara caught his eyes for only a moment before she looked away. She closed her eyes and wished her hands were free so she could cover her ears as well. And taking a deep breath, Umbridge cried, "Cruc —"
"NO!" shouted Hermione in a cracked voice from behind Millicent Bulstrode. "No — Harry — Harry, we'll have to tell her!"
"No way!" yelled Harry.
"We'll have to, Harry, she'll force it out of you anyway, what's . . .what's the point. . . ?" And Hermione began to cry weakly into the back of Millicent Bulstrode's robes. Millicent stopped trying to squash her against the wall immediately and dodged out of her way looking disgusted.
"Well, well, well!" said Umbridge, looking triumphant. "Little Miss Question-All is going to give us some answers! Come on then, girl, come on!"
"Er — my — nee — no!" shouted Ron through his gag. Ginny was staring at Hermione as though she had never seen her before; Neville, still choking for breath, was gazing at her too. But Clara had just noticed something. Though Hermione was sobbing desperately into her hands, there was no trace of a tear. . . . "I'm — I'm sorry everyone," said Hermione. "But — I can't stand it —"
"That's right, that's right, girl!" said Umbridge, seizing Hermione. "Now then . . . with whom was Potter communicating just now?"
"Well," gulped Hermione into her hands, "well, he was trying to speak to Professor Dumbledore."
Ron froze, his eyes wide; Ginny stopped trying to stamp on her Slytherin captor's toes; even Luna looked mildly surprised. Fortunately, the attention of Umbridge and her minions was focused too exclusively upon Hermione to notice these suspicious signs.
"Dumbledore?" said Umbridge eagerly. "You know where Dumbledore is, then?"
"Well . . . no!" sobbed Hermione. "We've tried the Leaky Cauldron in Diagon Alley and the Three Broomsticks and even the Hog's Head —"
"Idiot girl, Dumbledore won't be sitting in a pub when the whole Ministry's looking for him!" shouted Umbridge, disappointment etched in every sagging line of her face.
"But — but we needed to tell him something important!" wailed Hermione, holding her hands more tightly over her face, not, Clara knew, out of anguish, but to disguise the continued absence of tears.
"Yes?" said Umbridge with a sudden resurgence of excitement. "What was it you wanted to tell him?"
"We . . . we wanted to tell him it's r-ready!" choked Hermione.
"What's ready?" demanded Umbridge, and now she grabbed Hermione's shoulders again and shook her slightly. "What's ready, girl?"
"The . . . the weapon," said Hermione.
"Weapon? Weapon?" said Umbridge, and her eyes seemed to pop with excitement. "You have been developing some method of resistance? A weapon you could use against the Ministry? On Professor Dumbledore's orders?"
"Y-y-yes," gasped Hermione. "But he had to leave before it was finished and n-n-now we've finished it for him, and we c-c-can't find him t-t-to tell him!"
"What kind of weapon is it?" said Umbridge harshly, her stubby hands still tight on Hermione's shoulders.
"We don't r-r-really understand it," said Hermione, sniffing loudly. "We j-j-just did what P-P-Professor Dumbledore told us t-t-todo . . ." Umbridge straightened up, looking exultant.
"Lead me to the weapon," she said.
"I'm not showing . . . them," said Hermione shrilly, looking around at the Slytherins through her fingers.
"It is not for you to set conditions," said Professor Umbridge harshly.
"Fine," said Hermione, now sobbing into her hands again, "fine. . . let them see it, I hope they use it on you! In fact, I wish you'd invite loads and loads of people to come and see! Th-that would serve you right — oh, I'd love it if the wh-whole school knew where it was, and how to u-use it, and then if you annoy any of them they'll be able to s-sort you out!" These words had a powerful impact on Umbridge. She glanced swiftly and suspiciously around at her Inquisitorial Squad, her bulging eyes resting for a moment on Malfoy, who was too slow to disguise the look of eagerness and greed that had appeared on his face. Umbridge contemplated Hermione for another long moment and then spoke in what she clearly thought was a motherly voice. "All right, dear, let's make it just you and me . . . and we'll take Potter too, shall we? Get up, now —"
"Professor," said Draco eagerly, "Professor Umbridge, I think some of the squad should come with you to look after —"
"I am a fully qualified Ministry official, Malfoy, do you really think I cannot manage two wandless teenagers alone?" asked Umbridge sharply. "In any case, it does not sound as though this weapon is something that schoolchildren should see. You will remain here untilI return and make sure none of these" — she gestured around at Ron, Ginny, Clara, Neville, and Luna — "escape."
"All right," said Draco, looking sulky and disappointed. Served him right for being such an arse recently.
"And you two can go ahead of me and show me the way," said Umbridge, pointing at Harry and Hermione with her wand. "Lead on. . . ."
A/N
Hi all! Just wanted to
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