Disclaimer: The bold underline text are direct quotes, give or take a few pieces of punctuation, from the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix move. I do not own Harry Potter.
A/N: Big thank you to you all for reading reviewing, following and favouring this story so far. I hope you all enjoy this chapter! :)
Chapter 21
No-one spoke much as we soared through the night sky. A feeling of great apprehension had settled over us, freezing our tongues.
We landed on the corner of a busy London street, the Muggles swarming this way and that didn't appear to notice that seven teenagers had just landed in their mist. Harry led the way down a narrow, deserted street towards an old fashioned telephone box, which appeared to be out of order. But, as we were all able to fit inside, I figured it was the visitor's entrance to the Ministry.
We were given little badges by the telephone box with our names and Rescue mission on them. As we travelled deep underground to the Ministry I began to tremble, despite the feeling of determination that had settled over the group.
The moment the telephone box doors opened, we sprinted through the elaborate Entrance Hall and into an elevator, Harry in the lead. Harry pressed a button and the elevator lurched into life, shooting down past various departments until it screeched to a halt at the head of a darkly tiled gleaming corridor. A black polished door with a round gold door handle in its centre awaited us at the other end.
"Department of Mysteries." The cool female voice sounded around us. The elevator door clinked open, each section seeming to click into place louder that the other.
Harry took a deep breath; "This is it."
He led the way down the narrow corridor towards the door. Our footsteps echoed loudly off the tiles, and each breath I took drew in less air than the last.
As we reached the door, Harry stretched out a hand and reached for the handle. He turned it and it swung open, a foreboding silence accompanying it.
Rows of shelves filled with crystal balls on little pestles greeted us. We half walked half ran through the narrow aisles, following Harry, who was counting softly.
"Ninety-two. Ninety-three. Ninety-four. Ninety-five…He should be here." Harry announced. We stopped in the intersection of two crossing lanes, staring around.
"Harry," Neville said, pointing to a crystal ball. "It's got your name on it."
Harry went over to him and took the crystal ball from its snake shaped pestle. A hush fell across us as he listened, though we could not hear the words.
As we waited, I felt the hair on my arms stand up as I noticed two dark silhouettes approaching us from the aisle in front of us.
"Harry!" I called urgently.
Harry strode over and faced the silhouettes. As they got closer, I saw that they wore black cloaks and the silver masks of Death Eaters.
"Where's Sirius?" Harry asked.
The taller of the two replied. "You know you really should learn to tell the difference between dreams…" He drew his wand sharply and flicked it across his face and his mask faded away.
"…and reality." Finished Lucius Malfoy. He flicked his wand a second time, and his companion's mask disappeared.
A gasp stuck in my throat. It was Draco. Despite our danger, Ron turned slightly and shot me a triumphant look. I told you so, his eyes said.
"You saw only what the Dark Lord wanted you to see." Lucius continued. "Now, hand me the prophecy."
"If you do anything to us, I'll break it." Harry snapped.
An evil cackle sounded from behind the two Malfoy's. "He knows how to play." A witch with knotted black hair and mad eyes dressed in a tattered black dress and holding a short curved wand, called striding up the aside towards us. "Itty, bitty baby." She sing-songed. "Potter." She finished with a sneer, standing to Lucius's right.
"Bellatrix Lestrange." Neville said with a mixture of nerves and horror.
"Neville Longbottom, is it?" Bellatrix asked. "How's mum and dad?"
"Better, now they're about to be avenged." Neville retorted, raising his wand.
Bellatrix stepped backwards, raising her own wand as Harry stuck his arm out to stop Neville.
Lucius raised his hands in a calming motion. "Now, let's everybody just calm down… shall we? All we want is that prophecy."
"Why did Voldemort need me to come and get this?" Harry asked, never taking his eyes of the three before us.
"You dare speak his name?" Bellatrix whispered in horror, her eyes popping madly. "You filthy half-blood!" she roared.
"It's all right." Lucius said, waving a hand to calm her. "He's just a curious lad, aren't you?"
Harry made no response, so Lucius continued. "Prophecies can only be retrieved by those about whom they are made. Which is lucky for you, really."
As he spoke, more Death Eaters appeared, surrounding us from all aisles. Wordlessly, we spread around, each picking a Death Eater, waiting for Harry's call, somehow knowing it would come.
"Haven't you always wondered…" Lucius continued, he voice becoming soothing and persuasive, as the three before us began to slowly move forward, mimicking the other Death Eaters. "What was the reason for the connection between you and the Dark Lord? Hm? Why he was unable to kill you… when you were just an infant? Don't you want to know the secret of your scar? All the answers are there, Potter, in your hand. All you have to do… is give it to me. Then I can show you everything."
Harry looked down at the prophecy in his hand as Lucius finished speaking, and as the Death Eaters grew ever closer. "I've waited 14 years." He said.
"I know." said Lucius, with well portrayed forced sympathy.
"I guess I can wait a little longer." Harry continued. "Now! Stupefy!"
"Stupefy!" We echoed, and ran, sprinting down the aisles, fighting off Death Eaters; trying to get away, but not knowing where to go. I charmed crystal balls to target a Death Eater as Ron, Harry and I ran deeper into the room. We collided with the others at the end of the aisle, as two Death Eaters shot towards us in a kind of steam form.
"Reducto!" Ginny cried, pointing her wand at steam. The spell hit them and for a moment there was silence before the thousands of crystal balls that lined the shelves on either side of the collision began to fall from their places, tumbling towards us, gradually turning into a fine shower of glass. Neville ran forward to get Luna as the selves began to crumble.
"Get back to the door!" Harry yelled, staring to run. As one, the rest of as turned and followed him, somehow remembering the way.
As Harry flung open and went through the door, he appeared to vanish. However, we were all too close to the door, running far too hard, and far too fast to stop, so we followed him through, curving and twisting in various positions. As we fell, our bodies spread out of their own accord and we slowed and stopped completely in midair, before hitting the ground with a thud.
Slowly, we got up. "Department of Mysteries." Ron said. "They got that bit right, didn't they?"
We stared around. The room was made of a mixture of stone and rock. The walls were stone, but the rest of the room appeared to be carved from a large rock, with crevices, and trenches. A large hill, of sorts, stood before us, on top of which the only other stone object in the room; a large, seemingly pointless, empty arch. "The voices." Harry said, approaching it. "Can you tell what they're saying?"
"There aren't any voices, Harry." I said, puzzled. "Let's get out of here."
"I hear them too." Luna said, advancing to stand next to Harry.
"Harry, it's just an empty archway." I said. When he didn't respond, I grew anxious. "Please, Harry."
Harry turned his back to the arch, raising his wand in the air. "Get behind me!" He called, his voice anxious. Puzzled, we did as he said, raising our wands in the direction he had, waiting.
Suddenly we were hit from behind. I fought with all my strength, tearing someone's robe as the black smoke forms of the Death Eaters surrounded us, pulling as away from Harry. I struggled as my captor dragged me to the side, twisting and clawing with the nails I was now thankful my mother had made me grow when she found out about the Yule Ball at the beginning of last year.
"Stop-struggling-you-sharp-nailed-brave-yet-reckless-stupid-genius-beautiful-Gryffindor-it's-me!" A voice hissed in my ear. Draco.
I stopped clawing, though I continued to squirm. "Let me go!" I hissed.
"Can't you see I'm trying to help you?!" He whispered, gently tilting my head onto his shoulder and pointing his wand gently at the middle of my neck.
"Err… NO!" I snapped. "Considering you are holding me hostage, and preventing me from helping my friend!"
"It's all for show!" He snapped back. "If I let you go my father would kill both of us in a second, and I wasn't going to let one of the others get you and actually hurt you was, I? Jeez, Mione, for the smartest witch of the age, you don't half not think sometimes!"
I was feeling so indignant that I couldn't speak, so I contented myself with ground the heel of my shoe into his shoe. However, as I was wearing trainers, and he tightly laced black business shoes this didn't really have the desired effect. I tried to look at the ground, hoping to figure out another way to escape, when I noticed that the left sleeve of his robe hand been torn off to the elbow. Then I saw it, burned black into his skin of his forearm, something he had said under the influence of Veritaserum, he never intended to pierce his skin; the Dark Mark.
I gaped up at him in disbelief. He looked ashamed. "Mione-"
"Lover's tiff?" Bellatrix interrupted mockingly from beside us, gripping Neville by the hair and poking her wand threateningly in his chin. "You never could hide anything from me, Draco. You're fortunate that I am close to your mother and she has a soft spot for you, or Merlin knows where you'd be! Now shut up, your father's going to get the prophecy from Potter!"
Lucius was chuckling at Harry; "Did you actually believe…" He said, striding towards Harry, "… or were you truly naïve enough to think… that children stood a chance against us? I'll make this simple for you, Potter. Give me the prophecy now…. or watch your friends die."
I felt Draco stiffen.
"Don't give it to him, Harry." Neville called. Bellatrix shushed him, pressing her wand against his neck.
Slowly, dejectedly, Harry raised the prophecy and placed it in Lucius's hand. Triumphantly, Lucius raised it high in the air, and a flash of white light, filled the room, blinding us all.
Lucius turned, and was face to face with Sirius.
"Get away from my godson." Sirius said, and punched Lucius in the jaw.
More white lights flashed as other Order members apparated into the room, freeing us from our captors. Moody, Tonks, Kingsley and Remus appeared and immediately battle resumed. Draco, who had let me go the second they appeared, sprang into action; immediately engaging the Death Eater to our right in combat.
Lucius leapt through the air in a desperate attempt to catch the prophecy that had slipped from his grasp as Sirius punched him. He was too late, and it smashed to the ground just as his hand reached it.
I struck a Death Eater in the back of the head with a jinx, preventing him from cursing Blaise from behind, and, with Blaise behind me, ran to join a beckoning Ginny, who was concealed with the others in one of the trenches, watching the battle. Quickly, we swung into the crevasse and gained our bearings. Harry and Sirius where fighting Lucius and a man I recognised from the Daily Prophet as Rodolphus Lestrange. Tonks was fighting Bellatrix who was cackling evilly as she fought. Draco had frozen his opponent and started to come towards us.
Rodolphus was down and Sirius had just defeated Lucius, when Bellatrix apparated into a rock a shot a Killing curse at Sirius. I watched as though frozen as someone leapt in front of Sirius, swiping their wand in a final, hopeless attempt at Protego, their incantation swept away in the noise of battle. A scream tore from my lips as the jet of green light hit him in the chest, and Draco crumpled to the ground at Sirius's feet.
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