Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Harry Potter characters. They all belong to J.K. Rowling.
Chapter Twenty Seven: London, I Think We Got A Problem
Lottie's Point of View
Whilst flying to London on the back of a Threstal whilst gripping onto the rear of Alex's shirt wasn't my original plan for this evening, and even though I had nothing to do tonight anyway, I certainly couldn't say I was happy about the sudden twist of events, "I'm so sorry, I've done it again."
"Fuck off, you're not even sorry." I replied to Alex, slowly pulling my hand up to cover my nose. I felt her shoulders jiggle as she was laughing at me. How is this my best friend?
"Lottie, look! Look where we are!"
"No, get lost."
"C'mon! It looks so pretty!"
"Nope! Nope, nope, nope!" I shouted as the wind whistled by my ears and through my pony tail. The smell Alex had just produced had now almost faded so I lowered my hand back to it's resting place around Alex's waist, gripping onto her as she drove a Threstal through the skies over Britain towards London and the Ministry of Magic. That was the fifth time she had farted, and sitting right behind her left me first target for the potent smell she somehow could produce,
"Fucking open your eyes!"
"No! Okay! The last time I did that you was about to run me into Lincoln Cathedral!" I shouted back to Alex, squeezing my eyes tightly,
"Ha, that was funny!" Alex yelled over the wind,
"And the time before that, I was nearly head first into the Trafford Centre at Manchester!"
"That was great, I remember that!" I heard Alex laughed,
"And before that--"
"Okay! I've shitted you a few times on this journey! I promise this one will be worth it!"
"Fuck you!"
"Promise, Lottie!"
"Fuck off!"
"Open your eyes!"
"Fuck everything!"
"Dude!"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!" My screams echoed around my brain as my eyes flashed open and the first thing they see is the clock face of Big Ben hurdling towards me. Alex pulled the Threstal upwards and was laughing manically. I gripped onto her tighter and we was floating high above London,
"Alex! Stop pissing about!"
"Fuck off Potter, I'll do as I like!"
"I am so scared! I'm never trusting you again! I--"
"There!" Hermione's yell cut me off. Evidently, we had reached the Ministry. The wind howled through my ears as we hoovered down to the streets of London, landing gracefully down a back alley on some cobbled paving. The Threstal's hoofs in contact with the stones made that typical 'clop clop' sound, letting me know I was now only a few metres of solid ground and it repaired my feelings Alex seemed to have shredded like paper,
"Never ... again ..."
"You fucking loved it." Alex gracefully jumped of the Threstal as I not so gracefully slid off it's back. My feet flattened on the floor and I breathed a deep sigh of relief. I was about to sit down and take the minute to recover, but the second Harry's feet hit the ground he wanted to be straight off again,
"There, look!" He pointed down the alley to a battered red telephone group. He took off running with Hermione and Ron following him at their full speed. Luna, Ginny and Neville tagging at half speed,
"I'm not running, bugger that." I mumbled. As I raised my wand, i heard Alex begin to yell,
"WH--" And when I had apparated over to the telephone box and had fell spectacuarly onto the wooden bench next to it, I could hear, "--AT!" Echoing around the walls of the alley. I exhaled slowly, ready to enjoy a few minutes of rest after the trauma Alex had just put me through when Harry's feet were at mine,
"Get up, come on!" He yelled, piling into the telephone back. I heaved a sigh and dragged my body upwards and across to the telephone box, squeezing in between Luna and Alex,
"Hello Lottie, you look mighly tired. Are you well?"
"Yes, Luna, I'm fine. Just a little--"
"Ssssh!"
"Don't you shush me, Potter."
"Right, whoever is nearest the actual phone, dial 6 2 double 4 2!" Harry barked out his orders. Ron was nearest, so he picked up the phone and dialled the number,
"It spells magic." Alex whispered to me, raising her eyebrows knowingly,
"Of course it does."
"Welcome to the Ministry of Magic, please state your name and business." A soft women's voice rang through the box,
"Oh for Merlin sa--"
"Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger!" Harry shouted, "And we're here to--"
"Neville Longbottom, Ginny Weasley, Luna Lovegood, Alex Tonks, Lottie Lupin, we're here on a rescue mission thanks." I cut off Harry to reel off the rest of the group and looked at him disapprovingly. He tried to throw his arms up in disgust but with seven other people cramped into a phone box, he struggled highly. The telephone box rattled slightly and began to move, slowly descending into the ground. The last thing I see of London that night was the Threstals flying off back to Scotland, where my bed was and where I wanted to be,
"Shit, did you feed the cats?"
"Well yes, because if I didn't yours would be dead." I stared at Alex blankly. She shook her head,
"Nu-uh. Barney brings her mice like every other day, Tiddles gets fed loads."
"If I fed you once every other day, you wouldn't survive." I rolled my eyes, "Explains a thing though, no wonder she's getting so fat."
"Rude."
"The Ministry wishes you a pleasant evening."
"Thank you very much." Alex nodded to the roof of the telephone box and the woman's voice before beginning to waltz out the already opened door,
"Are you insane?!" Harry grabbed her shoulder through the small crowd of people and yanked her back inside the box. Alex turned and glared Harry down, his face showing she had reduced him to feeling like a pulp. Alex tried again to stroll lesuirly out of the telephone box, followed cautiously by me and then the rest of the collection of younger pupils,
"Fuck, I'm Head Girl and I'm doing this."
"Oh my! Gosh! Ronald, we're perfects! We--"
"Oh, shut up. You're with me, what's gonna go wrong?"
"Everything." I rolled my eyes, Alex turned mid walk and laughed at me sarcastically before turning again to face forward and leading the group through the Ministry,
"How does she even know where to go?"
"Because Ginny, it is me. I know everything." Alex smirked. Harry had now caught up with her and looked extremely angry,
"Alex, you have no--"
"Department of Mysteries, same place Arthur got attacked. Still sorry about that, Weasleys."
"No problem." Ron and Ginny said in unison,
"Bu--"
"Harry Potter, if you do not know me by now, then you must ask yourself if you have ever really known me at all."
"I don't think that's quite right." I pointed out to Alex,
"Well, I don't think you're quite right yet I've never felt the need to point it out." She replied,
"b-B-- ... Fair enough really." I shrugged. Alex and Harry continue to lead the group through the Ministry, Alex more easily than Harry, towards the lifts. They were golden in colour and were a lot more roomier than the telephone box was, which didn't seem to make much sense to me, but then how often do you need to fit eight people into a telephone box?
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"Maybe ... Maybe someone should stay here and--"
"Shut up." Alex walked out of the lift, past where Harry was standing trying to address the group,
"Look, someone needs to stay here and keep guard, in case any of the officials come."
"And how exactly are we going to let you know if any officials come?" Ginny asked, "You could be miles away."
"We're coming with you."
"Let's just get on with it, Harry." Ron said irritably. Neville seemed to cower slightly, as if he could sense he had upset them both by what he has just said to them. I shook my head in his direction as I walked to the front of the group and rolled my eyes at Harry,
"Why don't you just accept all the help people want to give you for once? You might get on better with it, you never know bro." I patted Harry's head as I walked past him, following Alex who has again got back into the leader's position. I heard Harry sigh extremely loudly and he sounded agitated, but that's the fun of having a sibling really. The group trudged down the corridor, looking down each of the hallways which branched off the main one we was trotting down,
"What exactly is the plan then?" Alex asked from the front,
"Well, I ... I don't really know yet." Harry said sheepishly. I turned to look at him and his gaze wouldn't meet mine,
"So do we just go in with wands blazing?" Ginny asked,
"No, it has to be carefully executed. We're trying to save Sirius from You Know Who without putting ourselves into excessive amounts of danger." Hermione explained,
"Fuck the danger, can't we just go kill the bald guy?" Alex turned and was walking backwards,
"Isn't this the corridor where your trial was, Harry?" I asked. He still wouldn't look at me, but he did just about shrug off my poor attempt to converse with him,
"Turn left." Alex said in a monotone voice, turning gracefully on her heels and walking straight and looking forward down a branching corridor. At the end was a door, and the door looked quite large, navy in colour with a silver door knob. If it wasn't for the handle, it would probably have blended into the wall quite nicely,
"So, we just go in there?" I asked,
"Presume so." Ginny answered. Harry pushed his way through the group and stood in front of the door,
"I really think--"
"Oh, shut up Harry you ass wipe. What are you, five years old?"
"Alex, this really isn't a time to be falling out." I raised my eyebrows at her. She huffed and folded her arms,
"Well ... wands raised, and keep your wits about you!" Harry addressed us weakly, raising his own wand and encouraging everyone else to do the same. I saw Alex roll her eyes and raise her eyebrows slightly. Neville's arm was shaking violently,
"Oh Merlin. Come on then, let's get on." Alex took lead again, putting her hand on the door handle and giving it a forceful shove, "Shit, it's locked."
"Stand aside." Hermione said, beginning to draw her wand as Alex raised her foot and slammed it into the door. Hermione froze and the others stared bewildered as a large crack appeared from the top of the frame down to the handle. Alex's foot returned to the floor and she pushed on the handle with her palm, the door opening steadily and creaking slightly. Hermione slowly turned and looked at me, a blank look on her face and her mouth slightly ajar,
"I'm not even surprised anymore, this is just normal behaviour for her." I shrugged, nodding towards the door Alex had just wandered through to encourage the rest to follow her, "I don't understand why any of you are shocked."
"But surely--"
"Hermione," I began as we trooped through the door behind everyone else, "Nothing has been left in this world that that girl could do that would surprise me by doing. There isn't a single thing that she does that fails to amaze me, but it certainly doesn't surprise me."
"Doesn't it worry you?" I shook my head, "Not even a little?"
"It worries me when she's nice." I said, raising my wand after Harry had again raised his, "Then I know she wants something from you."
"Bu--" There was a loud and echoing bang. I whipped around to see the door had battered against the frame and was firmly shut,
"Lumos."
"Lumos."
"Lumos." Everyone's wand tip lit up one by one. Now slightly squatted in a circle in the centre of what appeared to be an isle between a infinite amount of rows of shelving, we each looked from one to the other until,
"Lumos!" There was a click and Alex's whole face lit up in a more yellowly glow than the silvery white light our wands were producing. I followed the beam of light down to her hands,
"Did you bring a fucking torch?"
"I came prepared."
"You brought a fucking torch."
"Dad was in the scouts."
"A fucking torch."
"Come prepared."
"If you two are quite done, I think it's time we came up a plan." Harry snapped. Alex pulled an indescribable face at Harry whilst I simply huffed,
"H-Harry ... Why are we here?"
"Sirius is at row number ninety seven. That's ninety seven. Ninety. Seven. Ni--"
"Yeah yeah, nine seven , we all know how to fucking count." Alex scoffed, turning away from the circle and wandering along the isle. I glanced up at her as she flashed her torch light from each of small numbers taped to the end of each row to the next, evidently looking for number 97. I stood up straight,
"Let's go then."
Each person wandered off in a slightly different but still slightly similar route to each other. Whilst I followed Alex down the middle, rechecking the isle numbers she had already done, Ginny and Neville floated down what I think was isle forty, Harry was frantically running about with Hermione and Ron in a less enthusiastic state following his tail, and Luna was skipping lightly around in all directions. As we seemed to be all going in different directions, the fact we all stayed easily within each other's sight would seem quite remarkable and unexplainable. It was quiet for a while, a long while, until Neville pipped up which even then hardly disturbed the quiet,
"Hey ... Hey, guys ... This one ... It's got Harry's name on it."
"Bullshit." Alex scoffed, turning and walking towards Neville with me close behind her. She pointed her torch as near to the number of the row as she could, number 97 clearly stuck onto the shelf. I raised my eyebrows. Alex's artificial light then slowly moved to the tag hanging off the crystal ball that Neville had just pointed out,
"And?" I asked as the group began to form around the spot,
"Well tap me on my rosy behind and call me Barbara, so it does." Alex brought her torch back down, her face portraying an amazed as well as intrigued look. This worried me, and the worry tripled when she reached for the ball,
"No! Wait!" Harry exclaimed, pushing me out of his way and reaching up for it before Alex could get there,
"Harry, I really don't think you should--"
"Damn it Hermione, be quiet!" Harry snapped at her, "It has my name on, it's obviously something to do with me!"
"Yes but--"
"Hermione dear, shut up." I said quietly. She grumbled to herself a little, then folded her arms and stuck her bottom lip out slightly,
"Why aren't I up there?" Ron was protesting in the background to his sister, "None of us have got one!"
"Harry, I really--" He didn't give a chance to let me finish before Harry reached forward and knocked the ball off the shelf into his other hand. He brought it down back to eye level and stared deeply into it, as if it was telling him something. The group slowly closed around Harry and his crystal ball,
"Ah, very good Potter. Now turn around, nice and slowly, and give that to me." Each of us turned 180 degrees individually, slowly on our heels to face the voice that had just spoken. There was darkness behind us, and then a figure emerged from the nothing in a black cloak and a strangely decorated mask. I screamed.
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