It wasn't until Ron turned his back to Luna that he noticed Harry on the ground with Hermione kneeling next to him. Running over, he squatted next to his best mate in concern.

"What happened?" Ron asked, looking from a pale-face Harry to Hermione in fear. "What's going on?"

"They...have...Sirius." Harry answers, staring straight ahead as if he were looking through Ron. "In...Ministry."

"Who has Sirius?" Ron asked, looking down at Harry.

"He thinks Voldermort has Sirius in the Department of Mysteries. I told him it is only five in the afternoon, that if Voldermort was there, he would be noticed before he got to the Department of Mysteries." Hermione answers matter-of-factly.

"What if he snuck in?" Ron answered, thinking about it. "What if he used polyjuice to get in?"

"And snuck Sirius in too? Do you really think Sirius would go into the Ministry of Magic with Voldermort and risk everything to go back to Azkaban or worse?"

"We need to help him." Harry answered, causing the two to stop arguing and turn to look at him. "We need to help Sirius. He would help us."

"And how would you expect to get there, even if we could Harry?" Hermione asks, "It's not exactly like we can take our brooms and even if legally we could apparate, we can't from here."

"You could use floo powder." Ginny pipes in, walking up behind the trio causing them all to turn and stare at her.

"Yea Ginny, but you forget that Umbridge has all the chimneys monitored constantly. The moment the floo powder went in, she would know." Ron answers, glaring at his baby sister.

"And you forget RONALD," She smarts back, causing him to cringe at how she sounded like their mother. "That she doesn't have her own fireplace monitored. I can keep guard while you guys use the floo powder, it will be easy. I'll even ask Luna" She says, her voice dreamy as she smirks at her brother, "to help me keep guard. You can do it."

"So, it's decided then." Harry says, ignoring the sibling bickering. "We will go in, save Sirius, and be back before Umbridge even notices we are gone."

"That's doubtful," Hermione answers, "but at least Sirius will be safe, if he's even there."

"He's there," Harry answers, "I saw it. I know he is."


Harry, Ron, and Hermione snuck into Umbridge's office the second that Ginny and Luna started their distraction. They didn't have a moment to spare. Between Umbridge, the Inquisitorial Squad, and Filch it would only be a matter of time before one of them burst in through the door and caught them.

"Are you sure about this?" Ron asked, looking at Harry questionably.

"We don't have a choice." Harry answered, grabbing a handful of floo powder and throwing it into the fire, turning the orange blaze into a neon green. "He would do it to save us."

"If we get caught," Hermione tells them both matter-of-factly. "We are going to be in big trouble."

"That. You. Are." A voice says from behind the trio, causing the hair on the back of their necks to stand on end. They didn't turn around, they didn't have to to recognize the voice, the familiar voice of Professor Umbridge.

It wasn't long before she had the trio tied up and gagged, along with Luna. "Now we are just missing one of the Weasleys," She said out loud, glaring at Ron who glared back at her spitefully. "I should have known the Weasley kids would be a part of this. Nothing but trouble. Pity too. Seems like out of all of you, Percy was the only one who grew up right." Viciously Ron fought against Goyle's hold, trying to head butt him in the face to get free and get to Umbridge. How dare she bad mouth how his parents raised them.

"We found her," Malfoy says with pride following behind Crabbe who burst in the door with Ginny in hand. Malfoy tugged along Neville too, holding him out like a prized rabbit that had been captured in a hunt. "And this one too," He says, snarling his nose. "He was trying to defend the Weasley girl but we managed to get them both." The group all looked at Neville in shock, minus Luna who simply stared out the window, watching the birds as if nothing in the room was going on.

"Good," Professor Umbridge answers with a sly smile. "And here," She says, pointing down at Harry in the chair in front of her. "is the lying traitorous Harry Potter. Who were you trying to contact? Dumbledore?"

"I don't know where Dumbledore is." Harry answered, "but no, that wasn't who and I won't tell you who."

"Malfoy," She called out, realizing this was going to be harder than she thought. "Go get Professor Snape, tell him to bring the Veritaserum."

"Yes ma'am." Malfoy answered, handing Neville too over to Crabbe, who now had someone in each hand. Quickly he ran out the door, cheerful to be on another task.

"Maybe a little bit of truth serum will loosen your tongue. Are you sure you don't want to tell me who it was you were trying to reach?" She asked, gazing at him as if she were asking him whether he would like one spoon of sugar or two in his tea. A simple question.

"Never," Harry hissed back at her.

"So be it then." She answered, turning around and looking out the window as she waited for Malfoy to return. Ron quickly shot a glance over at Luna, who was still staring out the window, and secretly wished he could be that calm in this kind of situation. Instead, he couldn't be more nervous. What if they got expelled? What if she found out about Sirius or about Voldermort? What if she worked for Voldermort and killed them for what they knew? His parents would never know. She could say it was a Quidditch accident and yet here Luna was, looking out the window at the birds like she was daydreaming in class.

"You called?" The familiar drawling voice of Severus Snape called out from the doorway.

"He won't talk." Umbridge answered, pointing at Harry as if she were a toddler telling on another sibling. "I want Veritaserum. Make him talk."

"I'm sorry," Snape answered, staring at Harry like a bug deserving to be squashed. "But it appears you used up the last of the Veritaserum on Miss Chang. Unless you want to poison him that is. Then I have the most sympathy for you, but I doubt you will get much information out of Mister Potter as he is withering in pain before he dies."

"Go make me some more than. NOW!" Umbridge answered in frustration, her face turning red at the thought that there was little she could do to control Harry and the others.

"Unless you want to hold Mister Potter hostage for a month," Snape answers, looking at her as if it were obvious "You will not have the serum. It takes a full moon to make."

"You're on probation!" Umbridge answered, snapping at him. "I thought you were better than this Severus! Now, go! I will handle this on my own!"

"Wait!" Harry hollers out, causing Snape to turn around. "He has Padfoot! He has Padfoot in the place where it is kept!"

"What is he talking about? What is Padfoot? Where what is kept?" Umbridge asked, now furious with all of it.

"I have no idea," Snape answers, looking at Harry for only a moment too long before walking out.

"Well," The woman in pink says, straightening her dress to appear more ladylike. "If Snape can't get any answers out of you, maybe the Cruciatus Curse can."

Hermione managed to use her tongue to get the gag out of her mouth just in time. "NO!" She yells, causing Ron, Ginny, Neville and even Luna to stare at her. "No! You can't! It's illegal!"

"What Cornelius don't know, Miss Granger, can't hurt him." Umbridge answers, putting the picture of the Minister face down on the desk.

"Tell her Harry!" Hermione shouts as Umbridge points her wand at Harry's chest. "Either you tell her or I will! I'll tell her where the secret weapon is! I'll tell her where Dumbledore is keeping it! I'll show it to her!"

The rest of the group looked at Hermione confused as Umbridge smiled. "That's more like it." She said, "Where is it at?"

"I can't tell you," Hermione answered, her face looking concerned as if she were trying to think of how to explain where they were keeping it. "But me and Harry...we can show you. It's not far, walking distance really." She says as she looks over at Ron with concern. "But you have to let the others go, I don't want them to know where it is. Anyone could use it and it wouldn't be safe in the hands of..." She glances from Malfoy to Goyle to Crabbe and then over at Nott who was holding Luna. "Death Eaters."

As if those were the magic words, Umbridge ordered the Inquisitorial Squad to let Neville, Ginny, Ron, and Luna go while she followed Harry and Hermione, at wand point out towards the woods.

"Where do you think Hermione is taking them?" Luna asked Ron after Ginny and Neville walked off.

"I don't know," Ron answered, "but Hermione is bloody brilliant. I am sure she has a plan of some sorts."

"That is true," Luna said dreamily. "You talk so beautifully of her."

"Yea well," Ron says, blushing. "She has kinda saved my arse on more than one occasion. She's not my type though, if that's what you're thinking."

"I didn't say that." Luna answers, reaching out and holding Ron's hand. He couldn't help but feel butterflies in his stomach as he felt the gentle touch of her skin against his and as soon as the butterflies started to fade, he looked down, to make sure it was real sending a shock up his spine and the butterflies soaring once again in his stomach. "I just think it is great how you look at her, is all. It's beautiful really."

"I look at you like that." He answers, not knowing what else to say. He didn't want her getting jealous of Hermione like Cho so often had with Harry.
"That's nice Ronald." Luna replies, smiling over at him and sending the butterflies going crazy again. He enjoyed the moment of silence between the two of them, both staring out at the Forbidden Forest before seeing a flock of birds fly up out of the trees as if they were startled.

"What do you think that was?" Luna asked, "Nargles perhaps?"

"Or Harry and Hermione." Ron answers, his tone just as innocent to the conversation as hers had been. It was almost as if she hadn't mentioned a magical creature that no one had seen or heard of, Ron just answered it like a normal question instead of glancing strangely at her and asking her what the Nargles were. Luna couldn't help but hide her smile at the thought of someone finally understanding.

"Perhaps."