Chapter 12: What's Behind Trap Door #1?

Claire, Harry, Hermione, and Ron were all out by the Black Lake. They just had their very last exam.

"No more studying," Ron sighed happily, stretching out on the grass.

"Thank Merlin." Claire said.

Claire then saw Harry rubbing his forehead.

"Don't look so cheerful, Harry." Claire teased him.

"Yea, Harry. We've got a week before we find out how badly we've done, there's no need to worry yet." Ron said.

"I wish I knew what this means!" Harry burst out angrily pointing at his forehead. "My scar keeps hurting- it's happened before, but never as often as this."

"Go to Madam Pomfrey." Hermione suggested.

"I'm not ill." Harry said. "I think it's a warning….it means danger's coming…"

"Harry, relax, Hermione's right, the Stone's safe as long as Dumbledore's around. Anyway, we've never had any proof Snape found out how to get past Fluffy. He nearly had his leg ripped off once, he's not going to try it again in a hurry. And Neville will play Quidditch for England before Hagrid lets Dumbledore down." Ron said.

Harry nodded, but he couldn't shake off a lurking feeling that there was something he'd forgotten to do, something important. When he tried to explain this, Hermione said, "That's just the exams. I woke up last night and was halfway through my Transfiguration notes before I remembered we'd done that one."

Harry was positive that this unsettled feeling didn't have anything to do with work, though. He watched an owl flutter toward the school across the bright blue sky, a note clamped in its mouth. Hagrid was the only one who ever sent him letters. Hagrid would never betray Dumbledore. Hagrid would never tell anyone how to get past Fluffy….never…..but-

Harry suddenly jumped to his feet.

"What's wrong, Harry?" Claire asked.

"I've just thought of something. We've got to go and see Hagrid, now." Harry said beginning to walk towards Hagrid's.

Claire, Hermione, and Ron caught up with him.

"Why?" Hermione panted.

"Don't you think it's a bit odd," Harry said, "that what Hagrid wants more than anything else is a dragon, and a stranger turns up who just happens to have an egg in his pocket? How many people wander around with dragon eggs if it's against wizard law? Lucky they found Hagrid, don't you think? Why didn't I see it before?"

Claire suddenly knew what Harry was talking about. "Harry, are you saying whoever gave that egg to Hagrid is the person who's after the Stone?"

"That's exactly what I'm thinking, which is why we need to go to Hagrid's to make sure." Harry said.

They soon arrived at Hagrid's. Hagrid was sitting in an armchair outside his house; his trousers and sleeves were rolled up, and he was shelling peas into a large bowl.

"Hullo," he said, smiling. "Finished yer exams? Got time fer a drink?"

"Yes, please." Ron said, but Harry cut him off.

"No we're in a hurry. Hagrid, I've got to ask you something. You know that night you won Norbert? What did the stranger you were playing cards with look like?"

"Dunno," Hagrid said casually, "he wouldn' take his cloak off."

He saw the four of them look stunned and raised his eyebrows.

"It's not that unusual, yeh get a lot o' funny folk in the Hog's Head-that's the pub down in the village. Mighta bin a dragon dealer, mightn' he? I never saw his face, he kept his hood up."

Harry sank down next to the bowl of peas. "What did you talk to him about, Hagrid? Did you mention Hogwarts at all?"

"Mighta come up," Hagrid said, frowning as he tried to remember. "Yeah…he asked what I did, an' I told him I was gamekeeper here…. He asked a bit about the sorta creatures I look after….so I told him…an' I said what I'd always wanted was a dragon….an' then…I can' remember too well, 'cause he kept buyin' me drinks….Let's see…..yeah, then he said he had the dragon egg an' we could play cards fer it if I wanted….but he had ter be sure I could handle it, he didn' want it ter go ter any old home….So I told him, after Fluffy, a dragon would be easy…."

"And did this man-did he seem interested in Fluffy?" Claire asked, dreading the answer.

"Well-yeah- how many three-headed dogs d'yeh meet, even around Hogwarts? So I told him, Fluffy's a piece o' cake if yeh know how to calm him down, jus' play him a bit o' music an' he'll go straight off ter sleep-"

Hagrid suddenly looked horrified.

"I shouldn't have told yeh that!" he blurted out. "Forget I said it! Hey-where're yeh goin'?"

Claire, Harry, Hermione, and Ron didn't speak to each other at all until they came to a halt in the entrance hall, which seemed very cold and gloomy after the grounds.

"We've got to go to Dumbledore." Harry said. "Hagrid told that stranger how to get past Fluffy, and it was either Snape or Voldemort under that cloak- it must've been easy, once he'd got Hagrid drunk. I just hope Dumbledore believes us. Where's Dumbledore's office?"

They searched for a sign pointing them in the right direction. They'd never been told where Dumbledore lived, nor did they know anyone who had been sent to see him.

"I guess we'll have to-" Claire began, but a voice suddenly rang across the hall.

"What are you four doing inside?"

It was Professor McGonagall, carrying a large pile of books.

"We want to see Professor Dumbledore." Hermione said.

"See Professor Dumbledore?" Professor McGonagall repeated, as though this was a very fishy thing to want to do. "Why?"

The four were stumped as to what to say. Claire hoped someone would come up with something good to say.

"It's sort of a secret." Harry said.

Claire mentally smacked Harry upside the head for being an idiot. Of all the things to say, he comes up with that? Claire thought.

"Professor Dumbledore left ten minutes ago." She said coldly. "He received an urgent owl from the Ministry of Magic and flew off for London at once."

"He's gone?" Harry said frantically. "Now?"

"Professor Dumbledore is a very great wizard, Potter, he has many demands on his time-"

"But this is important." Claire said.

"Something you have to say is more important than the Ministry of Magic, Smith?"

"Look, Professor- it's about the Sorcerer's Stone-"

Whatever Professor McGonagall had expected, it wasn't that. The books she was carrying tumbled out of her arms, but she didn't pick them up.

"How do you know-?" she spluttered.

"Professor, I think- I know- that Sn- that someone's going to try and steal the Stone. I've got to talk to Professor Dumbledore." Harry said.

"Professor Dumbledore will be back tomorrow." She said. "I don't know how you found out about the Stone, but rest assured, no one can possibly steal it, it's too well protected."

"But Professor-"

"Potter, I know what I'm talking about. I suggest you all go back outside and enjoy the sunshine." Professor McGonagall said as she bent down and gathered up the fallen books.

But they didn't. Once McGonagall was out of earshot Harry said, "It's tonight. Snape's going through the trapdoor tonight. He's found out everything he needs, and now he's got Dumbledore out of the way. He sent that note, I bet the Ministry of Magic will get a real shock when Dumbledore turns up."

"But what can we-" Hermione gasped. Claire, Harry, and Ron turned around to see Snape standing there.

"Good afternoon." he said smoothly.

They stared at him.

"You shouldn't be inside on a day like this." he said with an odd twisted smile. "You want to be more careful. Hanging around like this, people will think you're up to something. And Gryffindor really can't afford to lose any more points, can it?"

They turned to go outside, but Snape called them back. "Be warned, Potter-any more nighttime wanderings and I will personally make sure you are expelled. Good day to you."

And with that Snape left them. Out on the stone steps, Harry turned to the others.

"Right, here's what we've got to do." he whispered urgently. "One of us has got to keep an eye on Snape- wait outside the staff room and follow him if he leaves it. Claire, Hermione you'd better do that."

"Why us?" Hermione asked.

"It's obvious for you Hermione. You can pretend to be waiting for Professor Flitwick, you know." He put on a high voice. "'Oh Professor Flitwick, I'm so worried, I think I got question fourteen b wrong…"

"Oh, shut up." Hermione said, as Claire stifled a laugh.

"Well, why am I going then?" Claire asked.

"Two eyes are better than one." Harry said.

"You would know all about that four-eyes." Claire teased.

Harry glared at her before saying, "We'd better stay outside the third-floor corridor. Come on, Ron."

Claire and Hermione went to wait outside the staff room.

"Hello, Ms. Granger. Ms. Smith." The girls turned around and saw Professor Flitwick.

"Oh, hello, sir. We were just looking for you. We wanted to know if you could tell us our exam scores." Hermione said.

"Oh, of course, in fact, I can tell you right now, that you Ms. Granger received a 112% on the exam-top of your year. And Ms. Smith, you earned a 100% on the exam. But if you two still want to look at the exams then I can go get them." Professor Flitwick disappeared.

"I can't believe it!" Hermione said with a look of shock on her face.

"Yea, 'Mione. 112% that's incredible!" Claire said.

"No, that's not what I can't believe. Your score Claire was 100% and you barely studied!" Hermione said.

"Really, Hermione? Why does it matter? You still got the top spot for our year." Claire said.

"What are you two doing here?" They turned around and saw Snape looking at them with suspicion.

"We're waiting for Professor Flitwick about our exam scores." Hermione answered.

"I'll go get him." Snape said walking away.

When Snape disappeared, Hermione turned to Claire and said, "Come on, before he comes back."

They ran to the portrait, said the password, and entered the Gryffindor common room. They spotted Harry and Ron and Hermione said, "I'm sorry, Harry! Snape came out and asked us what we were doing, so I said that we were waiting for Flitwick, and Snape went to get him, and we've only just got away, I don't know where Snape went."

"Well, that's it then, isn't it?" Harry said.

The other three stared at him.

"I'm going out of here tonight and I'm going to try and get to the Stone first." Harry said.

"You're mad!" Ron said.

" You can't! Especially, after what McGonagall and Snape said! You'll be expelled!" Hermione said.

"SO WHAT?" Harry shouted. "Don't you understand? If Snape gets hold of the stone, Voldemort's coming back! Haven't you heard what it was like when he was trying to take over? There won't be any Hogwarts to get expelled from! He'll flatten it, or turn it into a school for the Dark Arts! Losing points doesn't matter anymore, can't you see? D'you think he'll leave you and your families alone if Gryffindor wins the house cup? If I get caught before I can get to the Stone, well, I'll have to go back to the Dursleys and wait for Voldemort to find me there, it's only dying a bit later than I would have, because I'm never going over to the Dark Side! I'm going through that trapdoor tonight and nothing you three say is going to stop me! Voldemort killed my parents, remember?" He glared at them.

"You're right, Harry." Claire said.

"I'll use the invisibility cloak. It's just lucky I got it back the night we lost it." Harry said.

"But will it cover all four of us?" Ron said.

"All-all four of us?"

"Oh, come off it, you don't think we'd let you go alone?"

"Yea, Harry. Sorry to burst your bubble, but you're stuck with us." Claire said. "Besides how do you think you'd get to the Stone without us?"

"That reminds me," Hermione said, "I should go look through my books, there might be something useful…."

"But if we get caught, you three will be expelled, too." Harry said.

"Not if I can help it," Hermione said. "Flitwick told me I passed my exam with 112% on his exam. Claire got 100%. They're not throwing us out after that."

"Well, I guess we have our work cut out for us tonight." Claire said.

Hermione and Claire went up to their dorms while Ron and Harry went up to theirs. Hermione began reading her books memorizing certain facts and spells she thought would help them.

"Claire?" Claire turned her attention to Hermione.

"Why don't you look through that blue book you got? I have a feeling it might contain some important information." Hermione said.

"Good idea." Claire grabbed the book. She used her locket to unlock the lock and opened the book. She turned to the third page and to her surprise there was something new. The page was titled Weeping Angels.

Weeping Angels are a species of quantum-locked humanoids. They are known for being murderous psychopaths. If one is touched by a Weeping Angel they are sent back into the past, living out their full life in a different time period. By doing this, it allows them to live off the remaining time energy of the victim's life. However, when this potential energy pales in comparison to an alternative power source to feed on, the Angels are known to kill by other means, such as snapping their victims' necks.

One important thing to remember when in the presence of a Weeping Angel: DON'T BLINK!

In order to defeat these creatures, you must get it to see itself.

After finishing reading the page, Claire was puzzled at the last sentence. To defeat it you have to get it to see itself? Maybe it means their reflection. Claire shrugged off the thought and glanced at the time.

"Hermione, it's time." Claire said.

Claire put her wand and Sonic Screwdriver in her pocket. She looked at the book wondering if she should bring it. She decided against it. Hermione and Claire went down to the common room and saw Harry and Ron waiting for them. They walked over to them.

"We'd better put the cloak on here, and make sure it covers all four of us- if Filch spots one of our feet wandering along on its own-"

"What are you doing?" They turned to the voice. Neville appeared from behind an armchair, clutching Trevor the toad, who looked as though he'd been making another bid for freedom.

"Nothing, Neville, nothing," Harry said, hurriedly putting the cloak behind his back.

Neville stared at their guilty faces and then said, "You're going out again."

"No, we're not Neville. You've got it all wrong. We were just coming down here to talk. What don't you go back to bed, Neville?" Claire said, hoping her lie would be bought.

"You can't go out, you'll be caught again. Gryffindor will be in even more trouble." Neville said, not believing a word Claire said.

"You don't understand this is important." Harry said.

"I won't let you do it." Neville said, hurrying to stand in front of the portrait hole. "I'll- I'll fight you!"

"Neville," Ron exploded, "get away from that hole and don't be an idiot-"

"Don't you call me an idiot!" Neville said. "I don't think you should be breaking any more rules! And you were the one who told me to stand up to people!"

"Yes, but not to us," Ron said in exasperation. "Neville, you don't know what you're doing."

Ron took a step forward and Neville dropped Trevor the toad, who leapt out of sight.

"Go on then, try and hit me!" Neville said, raising his fists. "I'm ready!"

Hermione then stepped forward and said, "Neville, I'm really, really sorry about this."

She raised her wand and said, "Petrificus Totalus!"

Neville's arms snapped to his sides and his legs sprang together. His whole body rigid, he swayed where he stood and then fell flat on his face, stiff as a board. Hermione ran over to turn him. Neville couldn't talk, only his eyes were able to move.

"What've you done to him?" Harry whispered.

"It's the full Body-Bind." Hermione said miserably. "Oh, Neville, I'm so sorry."

"We had to, Neville, no time to explain." Harry said.

"You'll understand later, Neville." Claire said, feeling a bit guilty.

Claire, Harry, Hermione, and Ron pulled the invisibility cloak over themselves and then stepped through the portrait. They soon reached the staircase that led up to the third floor. They climbed the staircase and soon stumbled upon the door that Fluffy was behind. They noticed the door was already ajar.

"Well, there you are," Harry said quietly, "Snape's already got past Fluffy."

"If you want to go back, I won't blame you," he said. "You can take the cloak, I won't need it now."

"Don't be stupid," Ron said.

"We're coming," Hermione said.

"Yea, Harry. You need us. You can't do this alone no matter how much you think you can." Claire said.

As the door creaked, low, rumbling growls met their ears. All three of the dog's noses sniffed madly in their direction, even though it couldn't see them.

"What's that at its feet?" Hermione whispered.

"Looks like a harp," Claire said.

"Snape must have left it there." Ron said.

"It must wake up the moment you stop playing," Harry said. "Well, here goes…."

He put Hagrid's flute to his lips and blew. It wasn't really a tune, but at the first note the beast's eyes began to droop. Harry had hardly drew a breath when the dog's growls ceased- it tottered on its paws and fell to its knees, then it slumped to the ground, fast asleep.

"Keep playing." Claire warned Harry as they slipped out of the cloak and crept toward the trapdoor. They could feel the dog's hot, smelly breath as they approached the giant heads.

"You'd think someone would've given this dog some mints." Claire muttered trying not to smell the dog's breath.

"I think we'll be able to pull the door open," Ron said, peering over the dog's back. "Want to go first, Hermione?"

"No, I don't!"

"I'll go first." Claire volunteered.

Ron didn't object as Claire stepped carefully over the dog's legs. She bent and pulled the ring of the trapdoor, which swung up and open.

"What can you see?" Hermione said anxiously.

"Nothing-just black- there's no way of climbing down, guess we'll just have to drop." Claire said, noticing that Harry was trying to get her attention. "What is it, Harry?"

Harry, while still playing the flute, pointed to himself.

"You want to go first? Are you sure? I don't mind going first. Besides I'm not sure how deep this thing goes. Give the flute to Hermione so she can keep Fluffy asleep." Claire said.

Harry handed the flute to Hermione and climbed over Fluffy and looked down through the trapdoor. There was no sign of a bottom. He lowered himself through the hole until he was hanging on by his fingertips. Then he looked up at Claire and said, "If anything happens to me, don't follow. Go straight to the owlery and send Hedwig to Dumbledore, right?"

"Right." Claire said. "Good luck."

"See you in a minute, I hope…." Harry let go and there was a few minutes of silence until they finally heard him yell, "It's okay! It's a soft landing, you can jump!"

Claire looked at Ron and Hermione and gave a mock salute before jumping into the dark hole. She fell faster and faster until she landed on something soft.

"Come on Ron, Hermione!" Claire exclaimed.

Ron and Hermione soon landed next to Harry and Claire.

"What is this stuff?" Ron said.

"Dunno, some sort of plant thing. I suppose it's here to break the fall." Harry said.

"We must be miles under the school." Hermione said.

"Lucky this plant thing's here, really." Ron said.

"Lucky!" Hermione shrieked. "Look at you three!"

Claire began to feel the plant begin to wrap itself around her body. Claire remembered this plant from Herbology.

"It's Devil's Snare!" Claire exclaimed.

"Oh, I'm so glad we know what it's called, that's a great help." Ron snarled.

Claire glared at him. "If we didn't know what it was called then we wouldn't know how to get out of it."

"Well, do you know how to get rid of it?" Ron questioned.

"Shut up, I'm trying to remember! Hermione, do you remember?" Claire asked.

Hermione suddenly brighten. "Yes, they don't like the light or being warm!"

"So light a fire!" Harry choked.

"Yes-of course-but there's no wood!" Hermione cried.

"HAVE YOU GONE MAD?" Ron bellowed. "ARE YOU A WITCH OR NOT?"

"Oh, right!" Hermione said. She said a spell that sent out a jet of blue light. In a matter of seconds, the plant began to loosen its grip as it cringed away from the light and warmth. Claire, Harry, Hermione, and Ron were now able to pull free. They stood up brushing themselves off.

"Lucky you and Claire pay attention in Herbology, Hermione." Harry said.

"Yeah," Ron said, "and lucky Harry doesn't lose his head in a crisis-'there's no wood,' honestly."

"You know Ron-" Claire was cut off by Harry.

"This way." Harry pointed down a stone passageway, which was the only way forward.

The passageway seemed to be getting darker as they trailed along it. Suddenly, they heard the sound of a child's laughter.

"Did you hear that?" Ron whispered.

"Was that a child's laughter?" Claire questioned.

Claire had a wave of deja vu rush over her. They cautiously walked down the passageway until they were in a bright lit room. In the middle of the room was a pedestal with a key on it. They noticed on the other side of the room there was a door. Claire looked at the ground and noticed that there was thousands of keys that appeared to have wings. However, the keys' wings seemed to be broken.

"Something isn't right." Claire said.

"I'll say. This seems way to easy. We're just suppose to grab the key off the pedestal and move on to the next room? I think not." Hermione said.

Suddenly, the lights in the room went off. Claire's heartbeat began to speed up. She took out her wand and said, "Lumos."

A light emitted from her wand allowing her to see the other three. Hermione, Ron, and Harry had also took out their wands and said the spell. Then suddenly the lights turned back on and Claire gasped at what she saw. The same statues she dreamt of months ago were dispersed throughout the room. She felt Hermione, Ron, and Harry stiffen at the sight of them. Harry stepped close to one.

"What are they?" He reached out to touch it but Claire smacked his hand away.

"They're Weeping Angels. Don't touch them. Whatever you do don't blink. Keep your eyes on them." Claire said with a hint of panic in her voice.

"Why?" Hermione asked.

"Because I read about these creatures." Claire said. "Remember the book I got several weeks ago? The book told me about them. It said that you shouldn't blink when in the presence of one because when you close your eyes they move."

"What happens if you touch them?" Harry asked.

"You get sent back in time." Claire said.

"Well, how do we get rid of them?" Ron asked.

"The book said something about showing it itself. So, I guess a mirror. But we don't have a mirror." Claire thought out loud. She looked around as she saw Harry, Ron, and Hermione looking at the angels and an idea popped in her head.

"I have a plan." Claire positioned them back to back. The four of them had their backs touching one another. "Now, when I say now you're going to close your eyes for three seconds and not a second longer."

"But you just said we have to keep our eyes on them." Hermione said.

"Just try me." Claire said. "Ready? Now!"

"One, two, three..open your eyes!" Claire exclaimed.

They opened their eyes to see all the angels frozen in mid-air as though they were about to touch them in a circle.

"Oh, this is great! Brilliant! They're even closer to us!" Ron said.

"They won't attack us anymore." Claire said.

"How come?" Harry asked.

Hermione seemed to realize what Claire was about to say. "Because they've formed a circle-they're looking at each other. Claire said that only when they look at each other are they defeated."

Harry and Ron realized Hermione was right.

"Well, come on let's get the key and get out of here before something else happens." Claire said. The four of them slipped in between the gaps of the statues to get to the pedestal. They grabbed the key and unlocked the door and headed into the next room. As they entered the room, they realized they were standing on a huge chessboard. There were giant stone pieces as well on the chessboard. Claire shivered at the sight because they reminded her of the Weeping Angels and from what she could tell the others weren't too thrilled seeing the chess pieces either.

"Now what do we do?" Harry whispered.

"It's obvious, isn't it?" Ron said. "We've got to play our way across the room."

Behind the white pieces they could see another door.

"How?" Hermione said nervously.

"I think we're going to have to be chessman." Ron said.

He walked up to a black knight and put his hand out to touch the knight's horse. At once, the stone sprang to life. The horse pawed the ground and the knight turned his helmeted head to look down at Ron.

"Do we- er -have to join you to get across?" Ron asked.

The black knight nodded. Ron turned to the other three.

"Now don't be offended or anything, but neither of you are that good at chess-"

"We're not offended," Harry said quickly. "Just tell us what to do."

"Well, Harry, you take the place of that bishop, Claire, Hermione, you two go next to him instead of those castles." Ron instructed them.

They stood at their starting spots and Ron began the game. The pieces on the board seemed to disappear quickly.

"We're nearly there." Ron muttered suddenly. "Let me think…."

The white queen turned her blank face toward him.

"Yes," Ron said softly, "it's the only way…I've got to be taken."

"NO!" Claire, Harry, and Hermione shouted.

"That's chess!" Ron snapped. "You've got to make some sacrifices! I take one step forward and she'll take me- that leaves you free to checkmate the king, Harry!"

"But-"

"Do you want to stop Snape or not?"

"Ron-"

"Look, if you don't hurry up, he'll already have the Stone!"

There was no alternative.

"Ready?" Ron called, his face pale but determined. "Here I go- now, don't hang around once you've won."

He stepped forward, and the white queen pounced. She struck Ron hard across the head with her stone arm, and he crashed to the floor-Hermione screamed but stayed on her square while Claire winced-the white queen dragged Ron to one side. Shaking, Harry moved three spaces to the left. The white king took off his crown and threw it at Harry's feet. They had won. The chessman parted and bowed, leaving the door ahead clear. Claire, Harry, and Hermione went over to Ron's body.

"He's just knocked out." Hermione said.

"Claire, Hermione you two take care of Ron. Then, go to the owlery. Send a message to Dumbledore." Harry said.

"No, Harry. You can't go alone." Hermione said. "I'll take care of Ron. Claire, go with Harry."

"No. I have to do this alone." Harry said.

"Harry, I think Hermione's right. You'll need back-up for when you face Snape or Voldemort." Claire said.

Harry finally agreed and Hermione gave Harry a hug and then hugged Claire. Claire awkwardly patted Hermione's back as she hugged her.

"Claire, Harry- you both are great wizards, you know." Hermione said.

"Not as good as you." Harry said.

"Me? Books and cleverness? There are more important things. Friendship, and bravery. Claire, Harry, just be careful." Hermione said.

"You too." Claire said.

Claire and Harry then went to the door and opened it. They entered the passageway. As they neared the end, Claire asked Harry, "Are you ready?"

"Yea. You?" Harry asked.

"Ready as I'll ever be." Claire said.

When they reached the other side of the passageway Harry and Claire gasped. There was already someone there- but it wasn't Snape. It wasn't even Voldemort.

So, I was able to finish a third chapter. The next chapter is the last one for the first book. This chapter was really cool to write because I knew that I was going to change up the bit where they go through the stages under the trapdoor to get to whoever was trying to steal the stone. I tried my best to really make it seem like the Weeping Angels fit into the plot line. I hope you all enjoyed it!

Replies to reviews:

NicoleR85: This series will mostly be Harry Potter. However, I'm trying to add bits and pieces of the Doctor Who universe into it. If I decide to do an epilogue it will definitely have more Doctor Who elements than Harry Potter elements. I'm not at liberty to say when Carina and the Doctor will be coming back. But I can definitely agree with you about them being pissed off with Umbridge and the Ministry for what they do to their daughter and the other children.