August was an unusually hot month, and it made Briar and the others feel desperate just to step outside for fresh air. But unfortunately the number of cloaked men standing in the square of Grimmauld Place continued to grow, so the only way any of them could leave the house was taking turns to step out in Harry's invisibility cloak so they could watch the Ministry entrance, and find copies of the Daily Prophet to keep up with the Death Eater's actions
Across the last month Briar had had to deal with her transformation in the house cellar, and luckily for her Regulus had been a keen potions master, so there were enough ingredients lying around for her to create a Wolfsbane potion. And to pass their time the other three had been teaching Briar how to apparate, even though she was underage, so she could apparate in and out
On September 1st the number of them grew dramatically as if they were hoping the four of them would step out with their trunks, ready to go to Hogwarts
And on September 2nd they were finally prepared to carry out their plan of breaking into the Ministry and finding Umbridge to take the horcrux from around her neck. Weirdly, the only obstacle was Ron, who was strongly against Hermione and Briar going since Hermione was a muggle-born, and Briar was a werewolf. Both of which the ministry were trying to round up and punish
Hermione woke up the earliest, and she was triple checking everything they would need for their plan to work
"Robes," she said under her breath, acknowledging their presence with a nervous nod and continuing to poke around in her beaded bag, "Polyjuice Potion... Invisibiliity Cloak ... Decoy Detonators ... You should each take a couple just in case ... PukingPastilles, Nosebleed Nougat, Extendable Ears ..."
They made their way onto the front step with immense caution. They could see a couple of puffy-eyed Death Eaters watching the house from across the misty square. Hermione disapparated with Ron and Briar first, then came back for Harry. They landed in a deserted, tiny alleyway where the first phase of their plan was scheduled to take place; the firstMinistry workers did not usually appear here until at least eight o'clock.
"Right then," said Hermione, checking her watch. "they ought to be here in about five minutes. When we've stunned them-"
"Hermione, we know," said Ron sternly. "And I thought we were supposed to open the door before she got here?"
Hermione squealed. "I nearly forgot! Stand back –" She pointed her wand at the padlocked and heavily graffitied fire door beside them, which burst open with a crash. The dark corridor behind it led into an empty theatre. Hermione pulled the door back toward her, to make it look as thought it was still closed. "And now, we put on the cloak again –"
"—and we wait," Ron finished, throwing it over Hermione's head like a blanket over a birdcage and rolling his eyes at Harry. Little more than a minute later, there was a tiny pop and two little Ministry witches apparated feet from them
Hermione was quick to silently stun both of them, making both women topple over
"Nicely done," Briar smiled
Together they carried the little witches into the dark passageway that led backstage. Hermione plucked a few hairs from one witch's head and Briar took from the other, and they each added them to a flask of muddy Polyjuice Potion from the beaded bag.
Ron was rummaging through the first witch's handbag. "She's Mafalda Hopkirk," he said, reading a small card that identified their victim as an assistant in the Improper Use of Magic Office. "You'd better take this,Hermione, and here are the tokens." He passed her several small golden coins, all embossed with the lettersM.O.M., which he had taken from the witch's purse.
"And this is Amelia Bones, Hannah's aunt" Harry said "Former Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, now part of the department of education" And he also passed her several of her gold coins
The girls drank the Polyjuice Potion and within seconds stood before them, the doubles of Mafalda Hopkirk and Amelia Bones
Harry checked his watch. "We're running late, Mr. Magical Maintenance will be here any second." They hurried to close the door on the real women; Harry and Ron threw the Invisibility Cloak over themselves but the girls remained in view, waiting.
Seconds later there was another pop, and a small, ferrety looking wizard appeared before them. "Oh, hello, Mafalda. Amelia"
"Hello!" said Hermione "How are you today?"
"Not so good, actually," replied the little wizard, who looked thoroughly downcast.
"I'm sorry to hear you're under the weather," said Hermione, talking firmly over the little wizard and he tried to expound upon his problems "Here, have a sweet."
"Eh? Oh, no thanks –"
"I insist!" said Hermione aggressively, shaking the bag of pastilles in his face. Looking rather alarmed, the little wizard took one. The moment the pastille touched his tongue, the little wizard started vomiting so hard that he did not even notice as Hermione yanked a handful of hairs from the top of his head.
"Oh dear!" Briar said, as he splattered the alley with sick. "Perhaps you'd better take the day off!"
"No – no!" He choked and retched "I must – today – must go – "
"But that's just silly!" said Hermione, alarmed. "You can't go to work in this state– I think you ought to go to St. Mungo's and get them to sort you out."
The wizard had collapsed, heaving, onto all fours, still trying to crawl toward the main street. "You simply can't go to work like this!" cried Briar.
At last he seemed to accept the truth of her words. He turned on the spot and vanished, leaving nothing behind but the bag Ron had snatched from his hand as he went and some flying chunks of vomit.
"Urgh," said Hermione, holding up the skirt of her robe to avoid the puddles of sick. "It would have made much less mess to Stun him too."
"Yeah," said Ron, emerging from under the cloak holding the wizard's bag, "but I still think a whole pile of unconscious bodies would have drawn more attention. Keen on his job, though, isn't he? Chuck us the hair and the potion, then."
Within two minutes, Ron stood before them, as small and ferrety as the sick wizard, and wearing the navy blue robes that had been folded in his bag. "Weird he wasn't wearing them today, wasn't it, seeing how much he wanted to go? Anyway, I'm Reg Cattermole, according to the label in the back."
"Now wait here," Hermione told Harry, who was still under the Invisibility Cloak, "and we'll be back with some hairs for you." He had to wait ten minutes, but finally Ron, Briar, and Hermione reappeared. "We don't know who he is," Hermione said, passing Harry several curly black hairs, "but he's gone home with a dreadful nosebleed! Here, he's pretty tall, you'll need bigger robes ..." She pulled out a set of the old robes Kreacher had laundered for them, and Harry retired to take the potion and change.
"Blimey, that's scary," said Ron, looking up at Harry, who now towered over him.
"Take one of Mafalda's tokens," Hermione told Harry, "and let's go, it's nearly nine."
They stepped out of the alleyway together. Fifty yards along the crowded pavement there were spiked black railings flanking two flights of stairs, one labeled GENTLEMEN, the other LADIES.
"See you in a moment, then," said Briar nervously, and she and Hermione tottered off down the steps to LADIES
Once the pair had flushed themselves into the toilets and found themselves in the emerald green entrance of the Ministry, they locked eyes and knew there was no turning back now. They waited until they saw Harry and Ron arrive before the 4 of them headed for the lift queues
"Cattermole!" They looked around: A man with a scowling, slightly brutish face with magnificent, sweeping robes, embroidered with much gold thread headed for them.
Someone in the crowd around the lifts called sycophantically, "Morning, Yaxley!"
Yaxley ignored them. "I requested somebody from Magical Maintenance to sort out my office, Cattermole. It's still raining in there."
"Raining ... in your office? That's – that's not good, is it?" Ron gave a nervous laugh.
Yaxley's eyes widened. "You think it's funny, Cattermole, do you?"
"No," said Ron, "no, of course –"
"You realise that I am on my way downstairs to interrogate your wife, Cattermole? In fact, I'm quite surprised you're not down there holding her hand while she waits. Already given her up as a bad job, have you? Probably wise. Be sure and marry a pureblood next time."
Hermione had let out a little squeak of horror. Yaxley looked at her. She coughed feebly and turned away. "I – I –" stammered Ron.
"But if my wife were accused of being a Mudblood," said Yaxley, "—not that any woman I married would ever be mistaken for such filth – and the Head of Department of Magical Law Enforcement needed a job doing, I would make it my priority to do this job, Cattermole. Do you understand me?"
"Yes," whispered Ron.
"Then attend to it, Cattermole, and if my office is not completely dry within an hour, your wife's Blood Status will be in even greater doubt than it is now."
The golden grille before them clattered open. With a nod and unpleasant smile, Yaxley swept away toward another lift. They entered theirs, but nobody followed them. The grilles shut with a clang and the lift began to move upward.
"What am I going to do?" Ron asked "IfI don't turn up, my wife ... I mean, Cattermole's wife – "
"We'll come with you, we should stick together –" began Harry, but Ron shook his head feverishly.
"That's mental, we haven't got much time. You three find Umbridge, I'll go and sort out Yaxley's office – but how do I stop a raining?"
"Try Finite Incantatem," said Hermione "that should stop the rain if it's a hex or curse; if it doesn't something's gone wrong with an AtmosphericCharm, which will be more difficult to fix, so as an interim measure try Impervius to protect his belongings –"
"Say it again, slowly –" said Ron, searching his pockets desperately for a quill, but at that moment the lift juddered to a halt.
A disembodied female voice said, "Level four, Department for the Regulation and Control of MagicalCreatures, incorporating Beast, Being, and Spirit Divisions, Goblin Liaison Office, and Pest Advisory Bureau," and the grilles slid open again, admitting a couple of wizards and several pale violet paper airplanes that fluttered around the lamp in the ceiling of the lift.
"Morning, Albert," said a bushily whiskered man, smiling at Harry. The lift creaked upward once more
The lift stopped; the grilles opened once more. "Level two, Department of Magical Law Enforcement, including theImproper Use of Magic Office, Auror Headquarters, and Wizengamot Administration Services," said the disembodied witch's voice.
Hermione gave Ron a little push and he hurried out of the lift, followed by the other wizards, leaving the others.
The moment the golden door had closed Hermione said, very fast, "Actually, Harry, I think I'd better go after him, I don't think he knows what he's doing and if he gets caught the whole thing – "
"Level one, Minister of Magic and Support Staff." The most unpleasant sight awaited them, a toad-like witch dressed in all pink. Briar had no time to make an excuse, but she quickly hurried out of the lift and bustled through the crowd
"Bones!" A voice called and she turned around to see a smaller, grey-haired woman bustling over "Amycus sent in a list of the punishments Severus wants implemented at Hogwarts" she passed her a stack of papers and hurried off, so Briar hurried into an empty office nearby and flicked through them
Being muggle-born: As Carrows see fit
Talking back: As Carrows see fit
Breaking curfew: As Carrows see fit
Late on assignments: As Carrows see fit
Failing or not attending class: As Carrows see fit
The whole list was just an excuse for the Carrow siblings to get away with torturing students and it made Briar feel sick. But she knew she couldn't disallow these without proper reason, or without risking Amelia Bones's safety, so she needed to do something else
"Ah, Amelia" said another Ministry worker "Signed them have you?"
"Um," she swallowed "Dolores needed to see me so I'll finish these later. Where is she?"
"Courtrooms," he answered. She could tell Umbridge had heavy weighting here when the man nodded hastily and she walked past him, heading back to the golden gated lifts. Luckily the one she got into was empty, giving her the descent to try think
The doors opened at the atrium level, and she spotted a familiar face in the crowd
"Cattermole!" she said and he whirled around, making her notice that he was dripping wet "Have you seen Runcorn or Mafalda?"
"No," he said nervously "I've been trying to get Yaxley's office to stop raining. I saw my d- Mr Weasley, and he told me of a jinx to use. It seemed to have worked but-"
"Bones!" A voice called and a burly, tall, man approached them, his brows furrowed in concern "Have you signed those papers for Severus yet?"
"No," she replied
"Better hurry up. I've heard rumours of intruders in the Ministry. There's a hole in Dolores's door and if they're any association of a student then those punishments will be useful" he said and walked off, leaving Briar and Ron to look at each other in shock
"Come on," she hissed and dragged him into a lift, which rattled downwards until it hit the Department of Mysteries. And luckily just as the doors opened, in front of them came Harry, Hermione, and a very distressed woman
"Reg!" she screamed, and threw herself into Ron's arms. This must be Cattermole's wife. "Runcorn let me out, he attacked Umbridge and Yaxley, and he's told all of us toleave the country. I think we'd better do it, Reg, I really do, let's hurry home andfetch the children and – why are you so wet?"
"Water," muttered Ron, disengaging himself. "Harry, they know there areintruders inside the Ministry, something about a hole in Umbridge's office door. Ireckon we've got five minutes if that –"
"Harry, if we're trapped here – !"
"We won't be if we move fast," said Harry. He addressed the group of strangers behind them, who were all gawping at him. "Who's got wands?" About half of them raised their hands. "Okay, all of you who haven't got wands need to attach yourself tosomebody who has. We'll need to be fast before they stop us. Come on."
They managed to cram themselves into two lifts. Harry's Patronus stoodsentinel before the golden grilles as they shut and the lifts began to rise.
"Level eight," said the witch's cool voice, "Atrium."
The Atrium was full ofpeople moving from fireplace to fireplace, sealing them off.
"Harry!" squeaked Hermione. "What are we going to – ?"
"STOP!" Harry thundered, and the powerful voice of Runcorn echoedthrough the Atrium: The wizards sealing the fireplaces froze. "Follow me," he whispered to the group of terrified Muggle-borns, who moved forward in ahuddle
"What's up, Albert?" asked a wizard
"This lot need to leave before you seal the exits," said Harry. The group of wizards in front of him looked at one another.
"We've been told to seal all exits and not let anyone –"
"Are you contradicting me?" Harry blustered. "Would you like me to haveyour family tree examined, like I had Dirk Cresswell's?"
"Sorry!" gasped the wizard, backing away. "I didn't mean nothing, Albert,but I thought... I thought they were in for questioning and..."
"Their blood is pure," said Harry "Purer than many of yours, I daresay. Off you go," he boomed tothe Muggleborns, who scurried forward into the fireplaces and began to vanish inpairs. The Ministry wizards hung back, some looking confused, others scared andfearful.
Then: "Mary!" Mrs. Cattermole looked over her shoulder. The real Reg Cattermole, nolonger vomiting but pale, had just come running out of a lift.
"R- Reg?" She looked from her husband to Ron, who swore loudly.
The wizard gaped, his head turning ludicrously from one Reg Cattermoleto the other. "Hey – what's going on? What is this?"
"Seal the exit! SEAL IT!" Yaxley had burst out of another lift and was running toward the group. As the other wizard lifted his wand, Harry raised an enormousfist and punched him, sending him flying through the air.
"He's been helping Muggle-borns escape, Yaxley!" Harry shouted.
The wizard's colleagues set up and uproar, under cover of whichRon grabbed Mrs. Cattermole, pulled her into the still-open fireplace, anddisappeared. Confused, Yaxley looked from Harry to the punched wizard, whilethe real Reg Cattermole screamed, "My wife! Who was that with my wife? What'sgoing on?"
"Come on!"" Harry shouted. He seized Hermione and Briar and they jumped into the fireplace together as Yaxley's curse sailed over Harry'shead. They spun for a few seconds before shooting up out of a toilet into acubicle.
Harry flung open the door: Ron was standing there beside the sinks, stillwrestling with Mrs. Cattermole. "Reg, I don't understand –"
"Let go, I'm not your husband, you've got to go home!"
There was a noise in the cubicle behind them; Yaxley hadjust appeared. "LET'S GO!" Harry yelled. He seized the others and turned on the stop.
Darkness engulfed them, along with the sensation of compressing hands, and Briar felt like something was wrong, it felt suffocating. And then she saw the door to 12 Grimmauld Place, with itsserpent door knocker, but before she could draw breath, there was a scream and aflash of purple light and the darkness returned.