The Ministry of Magic was the one place we wanted to avoid now that Voldemort basically ran the Wizarding world. But in order to get rid of him for good, we needed that locket. So the four of us came to the only option we had: We were going to infiltrate the Ministry of Magic by using Polyjuice Potion.
"Okay, we need to figure out who we're disguising as if we don't want to get caught," Harry said.
"I was thinking one of us should disguise ourselves as one of the high-ranked employees," I suggested. "There's no doubt that Umbridge is one of them."
"Who are some people at the Ministry of Magic that work closely with Umbridge?" Harry asked.
Through some research, we managed to find out who was employed at the Ministry of Magic, scanning the different names and ranks.
"There's Albert Runcorn. He investigates all the Muggle-borns now," Ron said. "I guess You-Know-Who made some new rules now that he's taken over the Ministry."
"I'll be him, then," Harry spoke up. "Who else?"
"There's Mafalda Hopkirk," Ron said. "She's practically Umbridge's assistant now that Umbridge is head of the Improper Use of Magic Office."
"I'll go in as her," Hermione said. "I might be able to get the locket if she has it with her."
"I'll go in as Reginald Cattermole," Ron added. "He works in the Magical Maintenance Department."
"Okay, and what about you, Max?" Harry questioned.
"I'll go in as Wakanda Hightop. She works in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement," I told the others.
"Oh, I've heard of her! Dad thinks she's a lunatic," Ron said.
"That's nice to know," I muttered under my breath. "But I have to be careful, though. Yaxley runs that department now and I know that he's a loyal Death Eater."
We all nodded our head in agreement to the plan.
"Alright, so all we need to do is make the potion itself, which takes a month to do," Harry explained.
"We need to get the ingredients for it," Hermione spoke up. "We'll have to go to Diagon Alley. Are we ready to do this, guys?"
The others nodded their heads in agreement.
"Let's get started," Harry said.
*******
A month had gone by and we were ready to enter the Ministry of Magic. All we needed was the hairs of everyone we were impersonating. We hid close by the Ministry of Magic and waited for all four adults to walk by us. Once they were knocked out, Hermione grabbed a strand of hair from each of them and dropped them in our individual vials of Polyjuice Potion.
"Right, remember what we said. Don't speak to anyone unless absolutely necessary," she reminded us, handing our vials to us. "Just try and act normal. Do what everyone else is doing. If we do that, then with a bit of luck, we'll be able to get inside. Then after that--"
"It gets really tricky," Harry finished for her.
"Correct," Hermione added, nodding her head in agreement.
Harry shook his head. "This is completely mental," he said.
"Yes, completely mental," Hermione agreed.
"The world's mental," Ron added. "Come on, we've got a Horcrux to find."
After we consumed that shitty potion, the four of us changed into the adult's clothes and headed for the entrance to the Ministry of Magic, which was through the restrooms. Hermione and I had to part with the boys until we got inside the Ministry. According to Hermione, we had to flush ourselves to get inside.
"This is bloody disgusting," I mumbled as I positioned myself in the toilet and flushed myself down.
I practically flew out of the fireplace. I regained my balance and began walking. I found Hermione by the fountain and stood beside her. We waited for Harry and Ron to show up so we could figure out where we could find Umbridge. Hermione and I were looking at the statues when Harry and Ron showed up. It made me sick just by looking at them.
"Are those--"
"Muggles," Hermione replied before Harry could even finish asking his question. "In their...rightful place."
Ron let out a shaky breath. "I've gotta tell you, I'm starting to freak out a bit," he admitted.
"How long did you say this batch of Polyjuice would last, Hermione?" Harry asked her.
"I didn't," she replied, giving him a worried look. "To be honest, I don't know how long this batch will last."
"Then we better start moving and find Umbridge," I suggested.
We rushed to the elevators as fast as we could, making sure that we got on at the same time. Just as the elevator was about to close, Yaxley stopped it.
"Cattermole," he said, looking at Ron. "It's still raining inside my office. That's two days now."
"Have you tried an umbrella?" he asked.
"You do realize I'm going downstairs, don't you, Cattermole?"
"Downstairs?"
"To interrogate your wife. Now, if my wife's blood status were in doubt, and the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement needed a job doing, I think I might just make that a priority. You have one hour." With that, Yaxley left us and we headed up.
"What am I gonna do? My wife's all alone downstairs!" Ron panicked.
"Ron, you don't have a wife," I reminded him.
"Oh, right," he said, nodding his head and sighing in relief.
Suddenly, we were on the second floor.
"This is Ron and Max's stop," Hermione informed us.
We got off and watched as Harry and Hermione went up another floor.
"How do I make it stop raining?" he asked me.
"Finite Incantatem," I answered.
"Okay, got it. Wait, what if that doesn't work?"
"Try a damn umbrella, then," I replied. I pulled my sleeve down to my wrist and searched with Ron for Yaxley's office. Once we found it, we snuck inside and quickly made it stop raining.
"I knew that spell would work," I said to Ron.
"Okay, so what are we looking for again?" he asked me.
"I don't know, really. Maybe Umbridge asked Yaxley to keep the locket in here. You know, so it can stay safe." I went through the drawers and looked through all of the papers and found nothing. When I closed one drawer, my bracelet got caught on the handle. "Shit."
"What is it, Max?" Ron asked.
"My bracelet got caught on the handle," I said.
He helped me pull it off, but one of my charms fell on the floor.
"What was that?"
"It was a charm from my bracelet." I looked to see which one fell off. "Of course, the one with my name on it falls off. Help me look for it before--"
Suddenly, Yaxley came in through the door. We froze in our spots.
"I made it stop raining," Ron said, chuckling nervously. "I'll just go now." With that, Ron left me alone with Yaxley.
Yaxley closed his door once Ron was gone and turned around, facing me. He gave me a smirk. "I was wondering when you would come back and see me."
I laughed nervously, not knowing what he was talking about. "Has it been a while?" I asked him, going along with the conversation.
"It's been a week," he said. "I told you that I wanted you to come back."
"Come back for what, exactly?" I eyed him suspiciously as he walked closer towards me.
He slightly chuckled. "Already forgotten, have you? Well, let me show you and maybe you'll remember." Before I could process everything he just said, the sound of footsteps entered the office.
"Oh, I see you're a bit preoccupied right now, Yaxley." It was Blaise. "I'll just come back later."
"No, no, Blaise, stay for a moment," he said, getting off of me. "I'll get you those files that your parents wanted. Have you ever met Wakanda Hightop, my boy? She works with me."
"I can see that," Blaise muttered. He looked like he hadn't slept in weeks.
"Well, here you are, my boy." Yaxley handed him some files and sighed. "Well, I must be going down to the courtroom. Dolores and Mafalda will be able to start once I'm down there. I'll see you back at the manor soon." With that, Yaxley left us alone in the office.
"Well, it was nice meeting you, Miss Hightop," Blaise said to me, waving at me.
"Blaise..." I whispered, barely audible for him to hear.
He looked down on the floor and spotted something. He picked it up and looked at it closer. "Are you wearing a charm bracelet or something?"
"I'm not Wakanda Hightop," I blurted out.
He gave me a weird look. "Who the hell are you?" He looked at the charm closer and widened his eyes. Blaise looked up at me and gasped a little. "Max?"
Even though I looked like an old hag, I ran up to him and hugged him. "It feels like forever since the last time I saw you."
"Are you okay? I saw that Yaxley was about to pounce on you," he said.
I nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine," I told him. "How's Draco? Is he okay?"
"Yeah, he's fine. He misses you, Max. He stays up at night with me and talks about you all the time. He's worried about you."
"I'm worried about him, too. I miss him so much. I haven't stopped thinking about him ever since he left Hogwarts with Snape and Bellatrix."
Blaise sighed and got serious. "Anyway, what are you doing here? Do you know what will happen to you if Pius finds out you're here?!" he hissed at me.
"Oh, don't worry, I'm not alone," I assured him.
His eyes grew wider. "Your brother's here, too?!"
"Not just him. Ron and Hermione are here as well. We came in here for something. I have to get down to the courtroom. That's where Umbridge is at and she has something that we need to destroy Vold--"
"Don't say his name! His name's taboo now. That's how they track people now."
I nodded my head. "Okay, listen, Blaise, I have to go now. I have to find the others and go down to the courtroom. I'll see you soon, okay?" He nodded his head.
He smiled at me. "I'll make sure Draco writes to you."
I smiled back at him as he clipped my charm back on my bracelet. "Stay safe," I said.
"You, too, Max. He's getting stronger. He's ready to kill you and your brother the next time he sees you. Be careful with whatever you two are planning to do, okay?"
I nodded and quickly left Yaxley's office and practically ran for the elevators. I saw that Ron was by the elevators.
"Ron, how long have you been here?" I asked him in a whisper.
He shrugged his shoulders. "I was waiting for you. I didn't want to go on the elevators alone."
I gave him a weird look as we got on the elevators. "Listen, we're going down to the courtroom. That's where Hermione and Umbridge are at."
"How do you know that for sure?"
"Yaxley was talking about it after you left."
"Where's Harry at?"
"I have no idea."
I was worried about Harry. I had no idea where he was at. The Ministry of Magic was a big place. He probably figured out by now that Umbridge had the locket with him.
"So what else happened with you after I left?" Ron asked me.
I scoffed in disgust. "I don't even want to talk about it."
Once we reached the bottom floor, Ron and I got out and ran into Harry.
"Guys, Umbridge has the locket with her. Hermione's already--"
"Down in the courtroom. We know already," I said. "We have to get it before the Polyjuice wears off."
The three of us headed down and found Umbridge and Hermione. Umbridge's Patronus, which was a cat, was sitting beside her. Above her were Dementors that were trapped by some kind of barrier.
"Harry, I feel it," I whispered beside him, a weird feeling occuring inside of me. "Do you feel the Horcrux?"
He nodded his head. "It's here. I can feel it, too."
Apparently, we were talking loud enough for Umbridge to stop asking the woman questions.
"Reg?" the woman named said when she saw Ron.
Harry dragged Ron inside the courtroom and made him stand beside Mary. I looked up at Yaxley, who had a smirk on his face. He gave me a wink when he saw me. I shot him a disgusted look and looked back at Umbridge.
"Thank you, Albert and Wakanda," Umbridge said, then went back to the woman. "Mary Elizabeth Cattermole?"
"Yes," she replied.
"A wand was taken from you upon your arrival at the Ministry today. Is this the wand?" she asked, holding it up for her to see. Mary nodded. "Would you please tell the court from which witch or wizard you took this wand?"
"I didn't take it!" she protested. "I got it at Diagon Alley, at Ollivander's, when I was eleven! It chose me!"
"You're lying," Umbridge sneered. "Wands only chose witches and you are not a witch."
"But I am! Tell them, Reg! Tell them what I am!" She looked up at Ron.
Hermione gave us a worried look. I got my wand out like Harry did. I could feel my face morphing back into my own.
Umbridge gave us an odd look. "What on earth are you two doing?" she asked us.
"You're lying, Dolores," Harry said.
"And one mustn't tell lies," we said at the same time.
"Stupefy!" Harry shouted at Umbridge, hitting her with the spell and knocking her out on the chair.
Yaxley grabbed his wand out from his pocket, but I shot a spell at him and hit him right in the chest. Hermione ripped the locket off of Umbridge and threw it to me. The barrier that held the Dementors from getting out was now gone. Yaxley widened his eyes when he saw me and Harry.
"It's Harry and Maxine Potter!" Mary exclaimed in surprise.
The five of us began running for the elevators as the Dementors came after us. Once we made it to the elevator, we quickly closed it, but they tried reaching their hands inside, sucking the happiness out of us.
"Expecto Patronum!" Harry and I shouted at the same time, causing the Dementors to fly backwards.
We suddenly began to fly back up to the main floor. By the time we had reached the main floor, me, Harry, Hermione looked like ourselves again. We all walked out, trying to not be noticed by anyone. We turned around to see Ron was talking to Mary about something. Before we knew it, Mary grabbed his face and kissed him. Ron changed back to his form once Mary had pulled away from him.
"Mary?" the real Reginald Cattermole said from behind us. "Who's that?"
Ron looked at Mary. "Long story. Nice meeting you." With that, he ran back to us and that was when we were noticed by someone.
"It's Harry and Maxine Potter!" a man shouted from behind us.
The four of us began running around the fountain when security guards were coming for us from the right. We were running into people that wouldn't move out of our way. I never liked heels and now I had to run in them. Great.
"Guys, Yaxley is behind us!" Hermione shouted.
All of a sudden, Yaxley began shooting spells at us as we were coming around the fountain. Harry cast a spell on posters with our faces on them, making them fly around Yaxley.
"We need to get to one of the fireplaces!" Harry shouted.
But every fireplace we tried to go to, Yaxley would block them off with his wand.
"Expelliarmus!" Ron shouted from behind him.
Before the last fireplace we reached was blocked, I was able to escape back to Grimmauld Place, followed by Harry. But before we got comfortable, we were sucked out of there and landed on our backs. I groaned in pain as I opened my eyes and saw trees. Grimmauld Place did not have trees.
"Am I dead?" I asked. "Is this what happens when you die? Are you supposed to see trees?"
"Max, get up. You're not dead," Harry assured me, pulling me up.
"Shh, shh, it's okay, Ron. Just calm down," Hermione was saying to Ron, taking off his shirt. "Harry or Max, whoever, quickly, in my bag. Get me a bottle called 'Essence of Dittany.'"
Harry and I began to go through Hermione's bag to find the bottle.
"Harry, stop snatching the bag away from me!" I shouted as he kept on taking the bag away from me whenever I had it in my hands.
"Stop it, Max! I got it!" he retorted.
"Quickly, you two! I need that bottle!" Hermione shouted.
I grabbed my wand and pointed it at the bag. "Accio Dittany." The bottle popped out of the bag and Harry caught it with his hand.
"Unstopper it," she demanded.
"Hermione, his arm..." Harry started to say.
"I know, just do it!" she screamed. Her hands were covered in blood as she tried to calm Ron down.
Ron was on the ground, shaking and bleeding from his arm. He was in pain. I wasn't sure why we Apparated here after we got back to Grimmauld Place. I was glad Hermione had her bag with her while we were in the Ministry of Magic. Otherwise, we were screwed with Ron in this state.
"Okay, it's gonna sting a little bit," she told Ron as Harry handed her the Essence of Dittany.
"What happened? I thought we were going back to Grimmauld Place," Harry said.
"We were. We were there, but Yaxley had hold of me, and I knew once he'd seen where we were, we couldn't stay, so I brought us here, but Ron got splinched." She was squirting Dittany all over Ron's injury.
After Hermione had finished squirting the Dittany on Ron's arm, his breathing became steady and we all sighed in relief. Hermione got up and Harry and I got on each side of Ron, making sure that he was okay.
"You're okay, Ron," I assured him in a whisper. "You're okay. You're safe. We're all alive and safe."
"Protego Totalum," Hermione said. "Salvio Hexia."
"What are you doing?" I asked her.
"Protective enchantments," she replied. "I don't fancy another visit like the one we had in Shaftesbury Avenue, do you? You and Harry can get going with the tent." She walked away from us and began doing more enchantments.
"The tent?" Harry and I repeated at the same time.
"Where are we supposed to find a tent?" Harry asked her.
Harry and I looked at her bag and groaned.
"You've got to be kidding me," Harry muttered.
I huffed a sigh and looked back at my brother. "Come on, dear brother. Let's go get started on that tent."
A/N: Okay, so this chapter wasn't as long as the other one, so I hope that's okay!
Also, Wakanda was an employee at the Ministry of Magic. I didn't just make her up.
So comment, vote, you know the drill. Bye for now! :)
-A