Chapter VII – To the Ministry

By the time they got back to Grimmauld Place it was after four in the morning and everyone was up waiting for them. Mr. Weasley said, "Where are Fred and George? Are they safe? What happened? You've never been so late coming back."

"They're safe." Ron said. "James needed their help on something and they should be back soon. That's all we can tell you for now."

Mrs. Weasley was crying as she hugged Ginny first, then Ron, then Hermione. "Oh you had us so worried," she said, "No more, no more missions. I forbid all of you from doing any more attacks against Voldemort."

As she released each one Harry was waiting to hug them. "I was such a prat." he said. "All I could think of was that you were out there in danger and I was sitting here safe. I think I have an idea of what Sirius feels like."

Then he took Ginny into the adjoining pantry and apologized to her, "I'm so sorry for yelling at you yesterday and for pushing you and I'll try my best to hold my temper from now on; but if I slip will you please kick my butt again and remind me of what I just promised."

"I'd be happy to kick your butt again Harry;" Ginny said "but please try hard so I won't have to."

Mrs. Weasley had begun crying again, then Ron said "James asked us to wait for him and I'm starved; can we have an early breakfast?"

Wishing to get her mother's mind off the danger they were in, Ginny said, "Me to mom. I'll get some bacon going."

A few minutes later with the bacon and eggs cooking, and tea being passed to all; Mrs. Weasley had just begun to calm down when Fred and George came down the steps and she started crying all over.

Everyone wanted to hear the twins' story but they too said that James told them to wait until he arrived so everyone sat down and had breakfast. The clean up was almost done when James finally arrived and asked, "Could I get some of that tea and maybe a few pieces of toast while I bring everyone up to date.

Our raids did what we hoped for; Voldemort's people are in a panic. So much so that a few protested to him that they wanted him to provide more protection from us. The prisoners told us Voldemort killed three of his own people for being as he said, "cowards that trembled before children." Then he ordered some of his second rank followers to leave their houses and protect the houses of some of the higher ranking Death Eaters. Some did, like the ones we ran into last night, but some decided to flee with their families. The prisoners said Voldemort ordered them "hunted down like vermin and killed even if it takes years".

He also ordered Dementors to help guard some places. If we can get the ministry to check into it, they'll find that some Dementors are missing from Azkaban and that could be proof that Voldemort is back.

Anyway, last night we took out fourteen of his followers and some Dementors but I don't have a count of how many."

"Eighteen," Hermione said "if Ginny and I got the count right; that includes the three you killed. And we destroyed another house."

They then took turns telling their story. "We were still hunkered down waiting for the time to start when those three on guard duty walked right into us so we stunned them." Fred said.

"That alerted the ones in the house and they opened fire on us; but Ginny and I had already put up the alternate dimension." Hermione said. "So their spells were absorbed harmlessly."

"We just got to shoot a few stunners back," Ron said "then we felt the chill of the Dementors.

"When we felt the Dementors," George said "we knew there was no more time for stunners and we formed our Patroni. Then Ginny told us to follow her over to Hermione and Ron so we moved keeping under her protection."

"When Fred and George were safe in Hermione's protection area I dropped my alternate dimension and fired some lightning at the nearest Dementors. I killed three and the others backed off a little. I told the boys to start shooting stunners into the house again to give James the distraction he was counting on."

"We could see his lightning bolt flashes from one room then another." Ron said. "So we knew he was okay and the amount of fire from the house fell off and stopped so we figured James had cleared that side."

"With the firing from the house stopped I dropped my alternate dimension." Hermione said "Then I formed my Patronus to help keep the Dementors away; but the boys had already formed theirs and were doing fine. Then Ginny began to move away to our left."

"I got two more Dementors while Hermione and the boys were concentrated on the house. Then I saw seven of the Dementors were trying to get around the corner of the house," Ginny said "and I was afraid they would get behind us so I conjured my Patronus and followed them to keep them from circling around. I dropped my Patronus and got two more with lightning bolts and put up my Patronus back up to keep them from getting around the back of the house.

That's when James appeared from around the corner and killed three Dementors with his lightning bolts. The other two had moved behind his back so I dropped my Patronus and used lightning bolts to kill them. With our Dementors dead we move back around the corner to help Hermione and the boys; but the other five Dementors were gone to and the fight was over. This was the first time I ever made lightning that strong; I'm beat so I think I'll go take a nap once we're done here."

"Hermione told us to use our Patroni to push the Dementors that were left into the alternate dimension she had opened up again; but they kept moving around and we couldn't control them." Fred said.

"I used my Patronus to hold them off," Ron said "and that let Fred and George team up on one at a time until they managed to push each into Hermione's trap."

"The last one was easy since there were three of us on one." George said. "We just killed the last one when Ginny and James came back."

"I told the twins to help me move the stunned guards to Hogsmeade by side along apparition while the others destroyed the house." James said. "They then came home on the Knight Bus and once the prisoners were in the castle I had the twins apparate back while Severus and I questioned the prisoners with the help of some Veritaserum."

"So we have to work out a strategy for dealing with Dementors before we go out tonight." Ron said.

"No," Mrs. Weasley said "no more raids. I forbid you children from going on any more raids."

They all started to protest but James intervened. "Molly is right," he said "no more raids."

Again they started to protest and James raised his voice and said, "Stop, I told you all yesterday I am the leader of this group and you all follow orders. Ron was partially right, we were lucky today and we need a strategy to handle Dementors; but we can't form an effective one in one day especially since we had no sleep. And you have to go back to school the day after tomorrow; so here's an order.

Go to bed and get some sleep, then pack your trunks and be ready to go. When you get back in school practice whatever spells and skills you have and teach others to do the same. Continue to build a trained group of students that will be able to help against Voldemort the next time you have to face his followers."

They were all disappointed; but acknowledged that James made sense and left to do as he said. Once back in school they increased efforts with Dumbledore's Army all through the new semester until they were betrayed by one of their own. Marietta Edgecombe, the friend Cho brought with her to the DA, told Umbridge how to find the room of requirement allowing her to both break up their training and force Dumbledore out as headmaster.

After that things were the blackest for Harry and his friends. With Dumbledore gone, Umbridge had all of them in detention cutting the back of their hands and writing lines with her magic quills. Fred and George left after setting off magical fireworks in the hall one day and transfiguring another hall into a swamp which Umbridge was unable to remove.

Only Ginny could bring Harry out of his depression. At least once a day, sometimes twice, she would sit with him rubbing his back and neck using her as of yet untrained natural skill in Legilimency to cheer him up. She had broken up with Michael Corner and rumors of her and Harry being a couple flew among the girls constantly despite denials by both of them.

Harry continued to feel Voldemort's emotions from time to time until one day he got a vision of Voldemort torturing Sirius in the Department of Mysteries. Hermione tried to tell him this vision couldn't be true because Sirius was safe at Grimmauld Place but Harry insisted on checking on Sirius. With Ron, Ginny, and Luna acting as a diversion and guards; Harry and Hermione broke into Umbridge's office to use her fireplace to contact Sirius. However, Umbridge and a group of Slytherins loyal to her caught them.

Warned by Malfoy, to prevent them from using magic without wands, Umbridge used a Confundo spell on all of them so they couldn't concentrate enough to fight back. She then threatened to use the Cruciatus curse on Harry to make him tell her where Dumbledore and Sirius were.

Unable to concentrate enough to do magic, Hermione decided the only way to save them all was to buy time for the Confundus spell to die out; so she told Umbridge that Dumbledore had a secret weapon he planned to use against the ministry and offered to show her where it was hidden. Hermione could barely concentrate enough to realize she had to lead Umbridge on a wild goose chase for at least a half an hour or more and hope Umbridge didn't renew the Confundus spell before she concentrate enough to do something.

She led Umbridge, with Harry coming along also, into the Dark Forest because walking would be slow and difficult giving her the time she needed. She could feel her mind clearing as time went by. Then a herd of Centaurs attacked them and they were saved by Hagrid's half brother, the giant Grawp. The fight gave Hermione the rest of the time she needed to regain her control of her magic. Back in the castle Ginny's mind also cleared and she, Ron, Luna, and Neville who was also being held by the Slytherins were able to overpower their captors.

Still convinced that Voldemort was torturing Sirius Harry insisted that he had to go to London to save Sirius and the others insisted on going with him despite his protests that they would all be in great danger and should not come.

In his state of worry about Sirius he was thinking of Ginny, Neville, and Luna as the members of the DA he would least likely choose to back him up on a mission. His mind was picturing them as they were when he first met them. Luna was a ditz he thought; forgetting she had improved to the point that she was already better than he was at wand less magic. He still thought of Neville as the hopeless klutz of their first year; instead of remembering he was most improved member of the DA. And Ginny; he was still thinking of her as Ron's little sister instead of the fierce, combat experienced, lightning bolt throwing young woman she had become in the last year.

"You need our help," Neville said when Harry again tried to talk them out of going with him "and what are friends for if they can't help when you have trouble."

The big question was how any of them could get to the Ministry offices, they had no brooms, no Portkey, and none of them were old enough to apparate. Luna thought of the thestrals Hagrid used to pull the school carriages. They could fly and once told where the rider wanted to go had a great sense of direction. The blood on their robes from the fight with the centaurs and Grawp attracted the thestrals; and not wanting to delay any longer when he thought Sirius was being tortured, Harry relented agreeing they could all come with him.

The flight to London was scary for Harry and Neville, flying along at great height with just the loosest grip on the thestrals body; but for Ron, Hermione, and Ginny it was absolutely terrifying. Thestrals could only be seen by someone who had seen another person die; which meant they were invisible to Ron, Hermione, and Ginny.

Despite the battles they had been in none of them had actually been close up with one of their enemies when the person died. All their opponents had died unseen at a distance or simply disappeared into an alternate dimension. The three had to keep a grip on the thestrals invisible bodies while seemingly flying thousands of feet in the air with no visible support.

Only Luna seemed comfortable. She sat side saddle on her Thestral with only the lightest grip enjoying the flight as if she had done it many times before.

Arriving at the ministry they found it deserted and they made their way down to the entrance to the Department of Mysteries. It took several minutes to find the right door that led to the Hall of Prophecies.