chapter twenty-three : out of the fire
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Juniper stared at Harry, unable to process whatever he had said within the first five seconds.
"What?"
"Voldemort has got Sirius," Harry repeated, still looking terrified. "He's got Sirius, June. We've got to do something!"
"Wait, how do you know if this is true?" Juniper questioned him, feeling that she should be the responsible one this time.
"I saw it. Just now. When I fell asleep in the exam."
Juniper stared at him, unable to say anything.
"Is everything all right?" Angelina's voice came. "Are you okay, June?"
Juniper's eyes darted from her friends, who were eying her worriedly, to Harry, who was still looking at her with a lot of urgency.
"I need your help," June told them, "but there is no time to explain."
Angelina and Alicia exchanged a glance before nodding. "Of course, we'll help," the latter said.
"Now we only have to find Ron and Hermione," Harry breathed, running back to the castle, the three girls following. They eventually followed the duo at the top of the marble staircase.
"Harry!" Hermione said at once, looking very frightened. "What happened? Are you all right? Are you ill?"
"Where have you been?" Ron demanded.
"Come with us," Harry said quickly. "Come on, I've got to tell you something."
He led the five of them along the first-floor corridor, peering through doorways, and at last found an empty classroom into which he dived, closing the door behind Angelina the moment they were all inside, and leanded against it, facing them.
"Voldemort's got Sirius."
"What?"
"How d'you —?"
"Saw it. Just now. When I fell asleep in the exam," Harry explained.
Juniper glanced at Angelina and Alicia who looked very confused, but didn't say anything.
"But — but where? How?" Hermione asked, whose face was white.
"I dunno how," Harry said. "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!"
Juniper winced at this.
"How are we going to get there?" Harry 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!" Harry said loudly. June nodded, agreeing with him. If Sirius was in danger, she would save him at all costs.
"But — Harry . . ." Ron said weakly.
"What? What?" Harry said.
"Harry," Hermione said in a rather frightened voice, "er . . . how . . . how did Voldemort get into the Ministry of Magic without anybody realizing he was there?"
"How do I know?" Harry bellowed. "The question is how we're going to get in there!"
"But . . . Harry, think about this," Hermione said, taking a step towards 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 . . . do you really think Voldemort 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 empty wheneve I've been —"
"You've never been there, Harry," Hermione said 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. "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," Ron said quietly, looking at Hermione.
"But this is just — just so unlikely!" Hermione said desperately. "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," Ron said in a hushed voice. "Sirius' brother was a Death Eater, wasn't he? Maybe he told Sirius the secret of how to get the weapon!"
Juniper frowned at the mention of her father. "That could be right since he turned good in the end," she carefully said.
"Look, I'm sorry," Hermione cried, but none 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!" Ron said, rounding on her.
"OK," she said, looking frightened yet determined, "I've just got to say this —"
"What?"
"You . . . this isn't a criticism, Harry! But you do . . . sort of . . . I mean — don't you think you've got a bit of a — a — saving-people thing?" she said.
Harry glared at her while June merely raised an eyebrow.
"And what's that supposed to mean, a 'saving-people thing'?" Harry questioned her.
"Well . . . you . . ." She looked more apprehensive than ever. "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 . . ."
June noticed Harry was getting angrier by the second.
"I mean, it was really great of you and everything," Hermione continued quickly, looking positively petrified at the look on Harry's face, "everyone thought it was a wonderful thing to do —"
"That's funny," Harry said 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!" Hermione said, looking aghast. "That's not what I mean at all!"
"Well, spit out what you've got to say, because we're waisting 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' 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 from the Order left 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. Hermione actually stepped back from him, looking alarmed.
"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 June and I are going, understand?"
"But Harry, you've just said it," Hermione said 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 —"
The classroom door opened. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Angelina and Alicia whipped around. Ginny, Mabel and Luna walked in.
"Hi," Ginny said uncertainly. "We recognized Harry's voice. What are you yelling about?"
"Never you mind," Harry said roughly.
Ginny raised her eyebrows. "There is no need to take that tone with me," she said coolly, "I was only wondering whether I could help."
"Well, you can't," Harry said shortly.
"You're being rather rude, you know," Luna said serenely.
Harry swore and turned away.
"Wait," Hermione said suddenly. "Wait . . . Harry, they can help."
Everyone looked at her.
"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!" Hermione said 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 to stop you. I'll come, I'll d-do whatever it takes to try and save him."
"Sirius is being tortured NOW!" Harry shouted. "We haven't got time to waste."
"But if this is a trick of Voldemort's, Harry, we've got to check, we've got to."
"How?" Harry demanded. "How we're going to check?"
"We'll have to use Umbridge's fire and see if we can contact him," Hermione said, 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, Mabel and Luna."
Though clearly struggling to understand and what was going on, Ginny said immediately, "Yeah, we'll do it," while Mabel nodded determined.
"OK," Harry said aggressively to Hermione, "OK, 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."
"The Department of Mysteries?" Luna said, looking mildly surprised. "But how are you going to get there?"
"Right," Hermione said, twisting her hands together and pacing up and down between 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 aweful as usual . . ."
"I'll do it," Ron said at once. "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."
"OK," Hermione said, her brow furrowed as she continued to pace. "Now, we need to keep students right away from her office while we force entry, or some Slytherin's bound to go and tip her off."
"Luna, Mabel and I can stand at either end of the corridor," Ginny said promptly, "and warn people not to go down there because someone's let off a load of Garrotting Gas." Hermione looked surprised at the readiness which Ginny had come up with this lie; Ginny shrugged and said, "Fred and George were planning to do it before they left."
"OK," Hermione said. "Well then, Harry, you, June and I will be under the Invisibilty 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 June and I keep watch, I don't think you should be in there alone."
"What about us?" Angelina asked. She and Alicia hadn't said a word since coming to the empty classroom and June was thankful for that. She didn't have time to explain.
She gestured for her friends to follow her to the other side of the classroom and whispered, "I need you to go to Professor Snape and tell him everything that has happened."
"Professor Snape?" Alicia said, frowning. "You sure?"
"Yes," June said, nodding. "When you're done, go back to the common room. We're already involved with too many people. If I need your help, I'll let you know."
"All right," Angelina said and June was grateful she didn't question her. "But be safe."
June smiled. "I will." She then turned to Harry and the others. "Let's go."
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Things had escalated quickly. One moment, June and Hermione were standing guard in Umbridge's office, the next moment the office was filled with members of the Inquisitorial Squad and Umbridge herself, and June was pinned against the wall by Cassius Warrington. She tried to escape his grip, but he used his body to hold her in place.
Umbridge strode over to where Harry was still sitting in front of the fireplace and dragging him backwards by his hair.
"You think," June could hear her whisper, bending Harry's neck, so that he was looking up at the ceiling, "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. Theirs, too." She nodded at Hermione and June.
Cassius wrestled June's wand out of her hand and threw it to Draco, who was looking at her with an unreadable expression.
"I want to know why you are in my office," Umbridge said, shaking the fist clutching his hair so that he staggered.
"I was — trying to get my Firebolt!" Harry croaked.
"Liar." She shook his head again and June growled, desperate to get out of Cassius' grip and teach that woman a lesson, but it was pointless. Cassius was stronger than she was. "Your Firebolt is under strict guard in the dungeons, as you very well know, Potter. You had your head in my fire. With whom have you been communicating?"
"No one —" Harry said, trying to pull away from her.
"Liar!" Umbridge shouted. She threw him from her and he slammed into the desk.
There was a commotion outside and several large Slytherins entered, each gripping Ron, Ginny, Luna, Mabel and — to June's bewilderment — Neville, who was trapped in a strangehold by Crabbe and looked in imminent danger of suffocation. All four of them had been gagged.
"Got them all," Pansy Parkinson said, shoving Ron roughly forwards into the room. "That one," she poked a finger a Neville, "tried to stop me taking her," he pointed at Mabel, who was trying to kick the shims of the large Slytherin girl holding her, "so I brought him along, too."
"Good, good," Umbridge said, as her eyes darted from Ginny to Ron. "Well, it looks as though Hogwarts will shortly be a Weasley-free zone, doesn't it?"
Draco laughed at this, which caused June to glare at him. Umbridge gave her wide, complacent smile and settled herself into a chintz-covered armchair, blinking up at her captives like a toad in a flowerbed.
"So, Potter," she said. "You stationed lookouts around my office and you sent this buffoon," she nodded at Ron — Draco laughed even louder — "to tell me the poltergeist was wreaking heavoc in the Transfiguraton department when I knew perfectly wel that he was busy smearing ink on the eyepieces of all school telescope — 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."
Draco and a few of the other members of the Inquisitorial Squad laughed some more at that. June found she was so full of rage and hatred she was shaking.
"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 change to tell me freely. You refused. I have no alternative but to force you. Draco — fetch Professor Snape."
There was a silence in the office except for the fidgetings and scufflings resulting from the Slytherins' efforts to keep June and the others under control. She glared in Cassius' green eyes, silently ordering him to let her go, but it was to no avail. Footsteps were heard in the corridor outside and Draco came back into the room, holding open the door for Severus. June tried to hide her relief upon seeing her godfather.
"You wanted to see me, Headmistress?" Severus said, looking around at all the pairs of struggling students with an expression of complete indifference. His dark eyes stopped on June for a second before looking back at Umbridge.
"Ah, Professor Snape," Umbridge said, 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. "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," Severus said, 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?" Umbridge squawked, 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?" Severus said, showing his first, faint sign of interest as he looked round at Harry. "Well, it doesn't surprise me. Potter has never shown much inclination to follow school rules."
"I wish to interrogate him!" Umbridge shouted angrily, making Severus look back at her. "I wish you to provide me with a potion that will force him to tell me the truth!"
"I have already told you," Severus said 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!" Professor Umbridge shrieked, and Severus raised his eyebrows slightly. "You are being deliberately unhelpful! I expected better, Lucius Malfoy always speaks most highly of you! Now get out of my office!"
Severus gave her an ironic bow and turned to leave. June could only hope Harry would stay calm and not say anything. By Merlin, she should have told him that she had already informed Severus through Angelina and Alicia.
"He's got Padfoot!" Harry shouted, making June close her eyes for a second, sighing. "He's got Padfoot at the place where it's hidden!"
Severus had stopped with his hand on Umbridge's door handle.
"Padfoot?" Umbridge cried, looking eagerly from Harry to Severus. "What is Padfoot? Where what is hidden? What does he mean, Snape?"
Severus looked round at Harry. His face was inscrutable. Then, he glanced at June, who was watching him from over Cassius' shoulder.
"I have no idea," Severus said coldly, looking at Umbridge. "Potter, when I want nonsense shouted at me I shall give you a Babbling Beverage. And Crabbe, loosen your hold a little. If Longbottom suffocated it will mean a lot of tedious paperwork and I am afraid I shall have to mention it on your reference if you ever apply for a job."
He closed the door behind him with a snap and June looked back at Umbridge whose chest was heaving with rage and frustration.
"Very well," she said, and she pulled out her wand. "Very well . . . I and 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. As June watched her, she felt horribly powerless without her own wand.
"You are forcing me, Potter . . . I do not want to," Umbridge said, still moving restlessly on the spot, "but sometimes circumstances justify the use . . . I am sure the Minister will understand that I had no choice . . ."
Draco was watching her intensely, a smile playing on his lips.
"The Cruciatus Curse ought to loosen your tongue," Umbridge said quietly.
"No!" Hermione and June shrieked at the same time. "Professor Umbridge — its illegal," the former added.
But Umbridge took no notice. There was a nasty, eager, excited look on her face that June had never seen before. She raised her wand.
"The Minister wouldn't want you to break the law, Professor Umbridge!" Hermione cried.
"What Cornelius doesn't know won't hurt him," Umbridge said, who was now panting slightly as she pointed her wand at different parts of Harry's body in turn, apparently trying to decide where it would hurt most. "He never knew I ordered Dementors to go after Potter last summer, but he was delighted to be given the chance to expel him, all the same."
"It was you?" Harry gasped. "You sent the Dementors after me?"
"Somebody had to act," Umbridge breathed, as her wand came to rest pointing directly at Harry's forehead. "They were all bleating about silencing you somehow — descrediting 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 —" And then, she took a deep breath.
June pushed Cassius' off her with more strength she imagined herself having. Thanking the adrenaline, she jumped in front of Harry just as Umbridge cried, "Crucio!"
The pain was so intense, so all-consuming, that she no longer knew where she was . . . white-hot knives were piercing every inch of her skin, her head was surely going to burst with pain; she was screaming more loudly than she'd ever screamed in her life. It was the maze all over again.
"NO!" she could hear Hermione shout from far away. "It was Dumbledore! Harry was trying to speak to Professor Dumbledore!"
Juniper breathed heavily as she laid on the ground. Sweat was dripping off her face as she gazed at the ceiling, unable to move. Every single part of her body hurt.
"Dumbledore?" Umbridge said eagerly. "You know where Dumbledore is, then?"
"Well . . . no!" Hermione sobbed. "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!" Umbridge shouted, disappointment etched in every sagging line of her face.
"But — but we needed to tell him something important!" Hermione wailed, holding her hands more tightly over her face.
"Yes?" Umbridge said with a sudden resurgence of excitement. "What was it you wanted to tell him?"
"We . . . wanted to tell him it's r-ready!" Hermione chocked.
"What's ready?" Umbridge demanded, and now she grabbed Hermione's shoulders and shook her slightly. "What's ready, girl?"
"The . . . the weapon," Hermione said.
"Weapon? Weapon?" Umbridge said, 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, of course?"
"Y-y-yes," Hermione gasped, "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?" Umbridge said harshly, her stubby hands still tight on Hermione's shoulders.
"We don't r-r-really understand it," Hermione said, sniffing loudly. "We j-j-just did what P-P-Professor Dumbledore told us t-t-to do."
Umbridge straightened up, looking exultant.
"Lead me to the weapon," she said.
"I'm not showing . . . them," Hermione said shrilly, looking around at the Slytherins through her fingers.
"It is not for you to set conditions," Professor Umbridge said harshly.
"Fine," Hermione said, 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. Umbridge contemplated Hermione for another long moment, 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 and Black, too, shall we? Get up, now."
She kicked June's legs, causing the black head to groan.
"Professor," Draco said, his grey eyes on June, "we can look after Black. She will only slow you down."
"Nonsense, she is perfectly fine," Umbridge said, kicking June again. "Get up, girl."
Harry moved closer to June and helped her up. She groaned, every muscle aching with pain, but she followed Harry out of the office nonetheless.
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Published 14.07.2021
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