CHAPTER EIGHTEEN:
surprise party — hoodie allen & blackbear
( 𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆, 𝟏𝟓 )
"Harry! Hermi—Oh, you've got her Ron. Thank Merlin you two are alright." She threw her arms around the boy, relief flooding her system. She held his head between her palms, carefully inspecting his face for any cuts and bruises but there thankfully were none. Although, there was some blood, but it didn't seem to be his own. He grinned lopsidedly at her in response to her mothering and mumbled, "I'm alright, Meredith." You're alright.
Hermione cleared her throat and asked the rest of the group, "How did you escape Umbridge's office?" Ginny grinned and proudly answered, "Those pricks were no match for our defensive magic. Courtesy of Harry, of course."
Meredith laughed, recalling the minutes before, her hands falling to her side, "You should've seen Ginny and her Bat-Bogey Hex. I think they're still flapping around Umbridge's office at this very moment, attacking them. Bloody brilliant, it was." Ginny sent her a small smile; they'd never really been friends but Meredith knew it was a good step in that direction. Meredith knew that she should feel bad that she had sanctioned the attack on her friends but this was the right thing to do. For the greater good.
"That's all good and fun, but how are we supposed to get to the Ministry? The Floo Network is still being watched, I don't suppose we've got enough brooms and I'm not about to try apparating on my own." Ron pointed out, shuddering at the thought of apparating, and the group fell silent for a while. How were they going to get to the Ministry? That's when Harry once again said something incredibly stupid ( product of his hero-complex the insurmountable sense of responsibly he constantly felt because he was the boy who lived ), "There is no 'we'. You guys can't come—"
The group broke into bouts of argument, everyone taking a different side. Ginny huffed angrily, "I care as much about Sirius as you do! And its because of me that Malfoy and his goons are being attacked by giant flying bogeys—". Neville muttered out quietly, "But we're the D.A. aren't we?" Meredith joined the fray with not very much to contribute other than, "What is the point of teaching us all that defensive magic if we never actually use the stupid magic! You're beginning to sound like Umbridge and the Ministry, Harry—"
"Alright!" Harry exclaimed impatiently, throwing his hands up in resignation, "But that does not solve the problem of how we are getting to the Ministry in London." That's when Luna Lovegood piped up in her small voice, and like it was the most obvious thing in the world, answered, "We fly, of course."
Meredith hadn't actually seen her mother die. Which was a blessing in its own right but that also meant that she could not see the Thestrals that they were supposed to fly to the Ministry. Meredith from a year ago, a carefree Beauxbatons student, would never have anticipated a scenario where Harry Potter, the boy who lived himself, would be helping her onto an invisible flying horse to take them to the Ministry of Magic to save an Azkaban escapee and defeat the darkest wizard of all time.
"You've just got to hold on tight. It should follow the lead of the other Thestrals." Harry said, looking up to Meredith from the ground, the Threstal nervously stomping on the fallen leaves beneath it. She raised an eyebrow, leaning further against what she assumed was the neck of the Thestral, "Should? I'm about to fly off on a magical horse on the basis of a 'should', Potter?"
He laughs, the corner of his eyes scrunching up, his previously exasperated expression loosening slightly, "It will. We'll get to the Ministry. We'll be fine, don't worry." As assuring as that was, the unspoken words still hung in the air. What happened when they did get to the Ministry? Would anyone come home unscathed tomorrow? Fearing the answer, Meredith turned away and instead focused her attention on Luna, who was gently stroking the air beneath her. Right, the invisible Thestral.
"Neville, you're stepping on my feet." A voice yelped, and another replied, "Sorry, Hermione. Ow, someone kicked me."
"Not my bloody fault the only way into the Ministry is by this bloody muggle telephone box." Ron grumbled as he tried to press himself onto the side of the lift. Meredith scowled; at least the taller boys could actually breathe while the rest of the lot who were pressed tightly together nearly face to face with one another. Luna's radish earrings had caught onto Meredith's dark hair moments before, causing the older girl to yelp in pain and accidentally knee Ron. Thankfully, they eventually came to a stop, and a cool voice cut through the racket, "Level nine. Department of Mysteries." The group instantly fell silent as the doors slid open to a dimly lit hallway.
They stepped out, trying to make as little noise against the tiled floor as they possibly could. Meredith squinted into the darkness ahead, trying to get a sense of the place. But the more she stared, the more confused she became. Black wooden doors stood stately at intervals, both inviting and threatening. The blue flames of the numerous torches along the walls cast a eerie glow on the seemingly never-ending black tiled hallway. She shivered slightly, not just from the slight chill that lingered in the air, but from the prospect of the sinister corridor ahead.
"Where'd you think these lead to?" Ginny whispered, disturbing the silence that had overcome the group. Meredith shrugged and pressed her ear against the nearest door. Ron mirrored her on the door opposite, listening for any signs of oncoming danger. It was either that there was nothing dangerous in there, or the doors were securely soundproof for reasons Meredith could not fathom as there was not the slightest peep. She suspected the latter. Harry replied after a beat, "I don't know, but one of them lead to Sirius." So Meredith opened the door.
It creaked slightly as the ornate black door swung wide open. Meredith felt her pre-History of Magic snack come back up her throat as the seven of them stared in awe and disgust at the large tank sitting in the middle of the room. A peculiar green solution filled the tank and suspended in the tank were...brains. Meredith's face scrunched up in disgust, not because of the brains, but because it reminded her of the Slytherin common room.
"Brains?" Ron voiced out what was on everyone's minds, "Hey Harry, there are brains in there! ha ha hah, isn't that extremely weird and disturbing?" But Ron's joking laughter fell back into silence when he realised that everyone sort of ignored him, too preoccupied with the fact that there were brains sitting in a tank right before them. Hermione, the ever sensible one, quickly ushered them onto the next room, but not before Meredith took another long look at the tank;
Behind the next door they entered, a large cavernous room filled the space, the only object in sight being a large stone arch, positioned right in the middle of the room. A sort of white sheer veil fluttered in the middle of it.
"Do you hear that?" Meredith whispered to Hermione, voice low, "The whispering? Someone's in there." Hermione shot her a impatient look, shaking her head, "What whispering? Who's there, Meredith?"
"I was just about to ask that," Harry noted, while Neville and Luna nodded beside him. The others stood around, baffled, as the four of them continued staring at the stone arch, mesmerised. Hermione broke the trance that had befallen the group by suggesting, "We have to keep looking." Meredith followed her back out the door but not before taking one more glance at the arch. She could swear it sounded just like the song her mother used to sing to her.
"What do you have there?" Meredith stopped in front of another one of the large black doors which Neville had been trying to break open, but to no avail. She tapped her wand lightly against the door, mumbling "Alohomora", but the door still refused to unlock. She sighed, kicking it, in hopes that it would give him. It unfortunately did not. She wondered aloud, "Wonder what's in there," as she moved on to the next door which thankfully swung open.
If Meredith were to pick one room in the Department of Mysteries that she liked best, it would be this room. The room was long and rectangular, and lining the walls and cupboards were beautiful dancing lights that sparkled like gems. All kinds of time-related devices completely filled the chamber, clocks of every description, Time-Turners glittering golden. Once they reached the end of the room, they found another door which led to another large seemingly never-ending room. It was high as a church and full of nothing but towering shelves covered in small, dusty, glass orbs. They glimmered dully in the darkened light. If it were not for the frigid cold, Meredith may have have found the room to be quite fascinating.
She was the first to whisper "Lumos" and suddenly the hall felt much brighter as the rest followed suit. They then all turned to look at Harry in unison, begging the question, "What next?"
"Row ninety-seven," Harry started, gazing at the towering shelves surrounding them, "That's what I saw in my dream." They shuffled together in a tight knit group, fearing the darkness and what lurked around them. Meredith found Hermione's hand and gripped onto it tightly, lacing their fingers together. Ginny, who was tugging Luna along, eventually found her way to Meredith as well, locking their hands together to form a chain. Although it was a small gesture, Meredith instantly felt safer.
They eventually arrived at ninety-seven, which looked exactly the same as every other row around them save for one thing. Ron, with uncertainty in his voice, peered at an orb which seemed dimmer than the rest due to the thick layer of dust surrounding it, and called out, "Harry, this has your name on it."
Harry, being either incredibly brave or incredibly stupid, reached out to the orb, but Hermione's sharp voice cut through before he could grasp it, "Harry, you have no idea what could happen—" the boy brushed her off, snapping, "It's got my name on it, doesn't it?" and snatched the orb from the shelf, blowing the layer of dust off, causing Meredith to sneeze. The group was too occupied gazing at the glowing orb, which seemed to have them in a trance, to notice the pitch black darkness that had descended around them.
"Very good, now hand me the prophecy."
The voice was low, and grim. They instantly turned around, Meredith drawing her wand from her back pocket. Around a dozen hooded figures ( they remind her of dementors ) had descended around the group, while the one who spoke previously slowly but ominously approached the group, hand outstretched. Harry raised his wand, the bright light making the shadows on its mask increasingly hollow and daunting, and demanded, "Where's Sirius?" Unfortunately, it slowly came to Meredith that Sirius wasn't here at all. And they had just walked into the perfect trap. A trap that preyed on Harry's need to be the hero ( she truly wished she had addressed this issue much earlier on now ).
The figure chuckled, gravelly and hollow, "You really should learn the difference between dreams," he took another step toward the group, raising his wand, "And reality." With a flourish, he magicked the mask away and what appeared before her were platinum blonde hair and steel grey eyes. The unmistakable traits of a Malfoy.
Her breathing became increasingly shallow as she pieced it together in her head: Lucius Malfoy was a Death Eater, and he was about to kill them. Draco's father was about to murder a group of kids to get his hands on a prophecy for Voldermort himself. But Meredith wouldn't back down. Not now. Not when her friends needed her most. She would not be afraid of Lucius Malfoy and his goonies, and he would damn well know that.
"Oi, if you want the prophecy so bad, why don't you come get it?" She taunted, shifting her body slightly so she was shielding the rest of the group. Malfoy's face scrunched up in contempt and it seemed like he was about to retaliate but Harry, sensing this shift and the oncoming danger, pushed her aside and threatened, "If you do anything, I'll break it."
A horrid cackling sound came from behind the tall platinum haired man. A woman, or what was left of one, with untamed curly black hair that stuck up in every direction, emerged from the blackness. Her skin was pallid and gaunt, and there was a madness in her eyes that Meredith genuinely feared. She felt her head spin as she realised who that was. The woman who had terrorised the front pages of the Daily Prophet all those months ago: Bellatrix Lestrange.
"Girlie wants to play, doesn't she?" Bellatrix cackled, looking her up and down, sizing up her new opponent. If she wanted to play, Meredith would play. She barred her teeth, narrowing her eyes as she spat back, "Only with those in my weight group. Think you're up to the challenge, Lestrange?" She had never seen such pure madness in anyone's eyes and she knew if it were up to the woman, it would be the day that Meredith died. Or tortured into insanity. She felt Neville tense up beside her.
In the following minutes, Meredith's mind drifted from the conversation Harry was having with Lucius Malfoy in attempt to delay the eventual conflict. She analysed every possible exit strategy: namely, the fact that there were none. Unless Harry suddenly sprouted a pair of wings and carried the rest of them to safety, they were well cornered. But even lost in her thoughts, Meredith could feel Bellatrix's intense gaze on her, the tip of her tongue moistening her thin spindly mouth, face alive with a feverish, fanatical glow, a product of her many years spent in Azkaban.
"You need more persuasion?" She simpered, her chest rising and falling rapidly, "Very well—take the snippy girl," she ordered the Death Eaters, "Let him watch while we torture the pretty girl. I'll do it." Meredith was about to shoot back something that may very well have made Bellatrix murder her on the spot, but Harry had interjected in time with, "Don't you dare touch her, or I swear I'll break your precious prophecy that your boss sent you lot to fetch."
Her eyes widened comically, tongue flicking over her lips, "Itty bitty Potter has a girlfriend, does he? Going to protect her, are you?" Meredith gripped onto Harry's wrist; There was no point attacking yet, not when Harry literally held the upper hand. Malfoy had gone back to droning on about how vital the prophecy was, but Meredith had once again zoned out of their charade, more desperately searching for a way that they could escape unscathed. Their chances were becoming slimmer by the minute.
"What do we do, Harry?" She heard Hermione whisper somewhere nearby. Meredith, lowering her voice to an almost imperceptible whisper, murmuered out, "You lot remember the D. A session that we almost sent Creevey to the infirmary? It should buy us some time to run." There was a beat of long silence before Harry shouted,
"NOW!"
Six different voices behind him bellowed, "Reducto!" and six curses flew in six different directions, the shelves opposite them exploding as they hit.
And they ran. They ran like hell.
intense as hell right now!! i apologise in advance as i have no idea how to write an action scene lol it was 2.4k words of torture for me.