A/N: Hey Guys. WHoo! Three chapters in one week. Yowza! Okay, getting back on track. This is mostly from the book. But when they get split up, It will be mostly original. Showing what Josh and whoever is with him and what happens. What I can tell you, someone gets hurt, angering Josh to a pursuit of a certain Death Eater, can you guess who! His name was said a few times in the last couple of books. Next Chapter is part one of the battle, the part two, when the Order shows up. Read, enjoy, and review! Ask me stuff! Anything!

Chapter 25: The Department of Mysteries

"Daphne!" Josh screeched in shock. Everyone turned anw saw Josh. Everyone but Harry looked surprised that Josh was there. Josh jogged up to the group. "Daphne, what the hell are you doing here?" Josh asked Daphne and then looked at Harry. "Harry, what the hell is she doing here?" Daphne looked offended by his questions.

"We were in a tight predicament," Hermione answered, "And Daphne, Tracey, and Blaise helped us out of it."

"What are you talking about?" Josh spoke. "What happened to you guys when I left?" As they began to walk through the Ministry, Hermione began to explain to Josh about what had went on once exams ended, about Harry's vision of Sirius being tortured. About how Harry tried to use Umbridge's fireplace to contact Sirius but was caught, but then Hermione had to stop her from using an Unforgivable. Long story short, Umbridge was taken away by a herd of centaurs and it was Blaise who saved Tracey, Daphne, and Ron from the grasped of the Inquisitorial squad, and the trio of Slytherins wanted to help save Sirius, Josh's father. They mounted Thestrals and flew to London, and here they were.

As the moved closer to the lifts, Josh walked over to Harry. "Why did you let her come?" he said to Harry. "She shouldn't be here!"

"What did you want me to do?" Harry whispered to Josh.

"I don't know, stop her from coming," Josh hissed. "By any means neccessary. Maybe tie her to a tree."

"Look, it was her choice to be here," Harry replied. "She wanted to help save your dad, and it wasn't my choice to make her stay." Josh sighed heavily.

"What's so bad about here being here?" Hermione quietly asked as they entered the lifts.

"Yeah, Josh," Daphne said loudly, glaring at Josh. "What is so bad about me being here?!"

Josh rolled his eyes and sigh. "Because," he said, turning to Daphne. "This could be dangerous! He could be here anywhere! You shouldn't be here, nor should Tracey." Tracey let out a huff. "Come on, Blaise, are you sure you want Tracey to be here?"

Tracey crossed her arms and glowered towards Blaise who shrugged. "He has a point," he said, agreeing with Josh. The lifts began to move.

"I don't care what he thinks, nor you!" Tracey screeched at Josh. "I have some right to be here! I lost my parents last year, and I am here for a little payback!" Josh sighed, but then looked at Daphne who was glaring at him.

"You want me to leave?" she hissed at him.

"I mean, you really don't have a reason to be here," Josh argued.

"What about Granger, what's her reason?" Daphne asked, crossing her arms. Eyes turned to a Blushing Hermione. Josh knew her reason, as did Harry and Ron. The lifts suddenly stopped.

"She's my best friend," Harry answered, turning to look at everyone. "As are all of you, because you're here, standing with my to help save my Godfather, and Josh's father. I know he knows it, but this right here, really means a lot to me, to him, and to Sirius." Harry looked at each individual. "I will say I am proud to have you guys follow me, most likely into a dangerous batte. I know Josh, I know you don't like that Daphne is here, but she is here for you, as well as Blaise and Tracey. I am proud to call them, these Slytherins, my friends. They're here, and so are we. We will have each other's backs. I know we will. I trust each and every single one of you." Harry walked out of the lift. They were at the Level of the Department of Mysteries. He turned to his friends. "Come on, Let's go save Sirius."

Josh had never felt so proud before for Harry. He called Josh's Slytherin friends, his friends, and would basically trust them with his life. Josh turned to look at Daphne who looked worried. He smiled and nodded at her. She nodded back, pulling our her wand, exiting the lifts with Hermione. Blaise and Tracey left the lifts together, but before Josh left, he was stopped by Ron. He looked at him questioningly.

"I'm sorry, Josh," he said, looking up at Josh who was confused. "I was wrong. Everything I know is wrong. Your friends aren't bad or like Nott. They're not all the same. They're their own person with good beliefs. And they're good people." Josh smiled and patter Ron's shoulder.

"It makes me glad to hear you say that," he said. "Come on. Let's go save my dad!" Ron smiled and gave a nod, following Josh out of the lifts.

Harry led the group down the corridors, towards a plain black door with a golden handle. As he moved closer to it, It swung open. Harry then lef the group through the threshold.

They were standing in a large, circular room. Everything in here was black including the floor and ceiling; identical, unmarked, handleless black doors were set at intervals all around the black walls, interspersed with branches of candles whose flames burned blue; their cool, shimmering light reflected in the shining marble floor made it look as though there was dark water underfoot.

"Someone shut the door," Harry muttered.

"Wait!" Josh blurted, but it was too late as Blaise shut the door. Without the long chink of light from the torchlit corridor behind them, the place became so dark that for a moment the only things they could see were the bunches of shivering blue flames on the walls and their ghostly reflections in the floor.

Everyone looked around. There were around a dozen doors here. Just as a few heads were gazing ahead at the doors opposite them, trying to decide which was the right one, there was a great rumbling noise and the candles began to move sideways. The circular wall was rotating.

Daphne suddenly grabbed Josh's arm, as Hermione grabbed onto Harry's, and Tracey grabbed onto both Ron's and Blaise's, all frightened that the floors might move too, but they didn't. For a few seconds, the blue flames around them were blurred to resemble neon lines as the wall sped around; then, quite as suddenly as it had started, the rumbling stopped and everything became stationary once again.

"What was that about?" whispered Ron fearfully.

"I think it was to stop us knowing which door we came in through," said Tracey in a hushed voice.

Josh realized at once that she was right: he nor could no one locate the door they had come from, nor would they know which door to tak.

"How're we going to get back out?" said Blaise uncomfortably.

"Well, that doesn't matter now," said Harry forcefully, clutching his wand tighter than ever, "we won't need to get out till we've found Sirius -"

"Don't go calling for him, though!" Hermione said urgently.

"I think we'd know not to yell for my Dad, Hermione," Josh replied, "I'm sure none of us want to get caught."

"Where do we go, then, Harry?" Ron asked.

"I don't -" Harry began. He swallowed. "In the dreams I went through the door at the end of the corridor from the lifts into a dark room - that's this one - and then I went through another door into a room that kind of… glitters. We should try a few doors," he said hastily, "I'll know the right way when I see it. C'mon."

He marched straight at the door now facing him, the others following close behind him, raised his wand ready to strike the moment, and pushed on the door.

It swung open easily.

After the darkness of the first room, the lamps hanging low on golden chains from this ceiling gave the impression that this long rectangular room was much brighter. The place was quite empty except for a few desks and, in the very middle of the room, an enormous glass tank of deep green liquid, big enough for all of them to swim in; a number of pearly-white objects were drifting around lazily in it.

"What're those things?" whispered Ron.

"Dunno," said Harry.

"Are they fish?" breathed Tracey.

"No," said Hermione. She sounded odd. She moved forward to look through the side of the tank. "They're brains."

"Brains?" Blaise repeated.

"Yes… I wonder what they're doing with them?" Hermione asked.

Josh joined her at the tank, Daphne's hand in his still as she followed. Sure enough, there could be no mistake now he saw them at close quarters. Glimmering eerily, they drifted in and out of sight in the depths of the green liquid, looking something like slimy cauliflowers.

"Let's get out of here," Josh spoke, looking over at Harry who was looking at the doors. "This isn't right, we need to try another door."

"In my dream I went through that dark room into the second one," Harry mumbled. "I think we should go back and try from there."

"Alright, let's start over then," Josh agreed. So they hurried back into the dark, circular room.

"Wait!" said Hermione sharply, as Blaise made to close the door of the brain room behind them. "Flagrate!"

She drew with her wand in midair and a fiery 'X' appeared on the door. No sooner had the door clicked shut behind them than there was a great rumbling, and once again the wall began to revolve very fast, but now there was a great red-gold blur in amongst the faint blue and, when all became still again, the fiery cross still burned, showing the door they had already tried.

"Good thinking," said Harry. "Okay, let's try this one -"

Again, he strode directly at the door facing him and pushed it open, his wand still raised, the others at his heels, Josh taking the rear, glancing behind him as they entered the new room.

This room was larger than the last, dimly lit and rectangular, and the center of it was sunken, forming a great stone pit some twenty feet deep. They were standing on the topmost tier of what seemed to be stone benches running all around the room and descending in steep steps like an amphitheatre. There was a raised stone dais in the center of the pit, on which stood a stone archway that looked so ancient, cracked and crumbling that Josh was amazed the thing was still standing. Unsupported by any surrounding wall, the archway was hung with a tattered black curtain or veil which, despite the complete stillness of the cold surrounding air, was fluttering very slightly as though it had just been touched.

"Wait," Josh spoke, "Do you hear that?" he asked, hearing what seemed to be whispering voices.

"Who's there?" said Harry, jumping down on to the bench below. There was no answering voice, but the veil continued to flutter and sway. Josh followed after Harry.

"Careful!" whispered Hermione.

Harry scrambled down the benches one by one until he reached the stone bottom of the sunken pit. His footsteps echoed loudly as he walked slowly towards the dais. The pointed archway looked much taller from where he now stood than it had when he'd been looking down on it from above. Still the veil swayed gently, as though somebody had just passed through it.

"Sirius?" Harry spoke again, but more quietly now that he was nearer. Josh stopped a few feet away from Harry when he spoke. Josh slowly moved closer, he felt a sensation. A magical sensation that ran through his whole body, and it was not a good one. No, veil thing was giving off an extremely terrible vibe. Josh gripped his wand very tightly and moved closer to Harry.

"Mate," Josh said, suddenly hearing the whispers, which he pin-pointed them coming from the Veil, "Let's go. Something isn't right here. Come on, Potter, we gotta move on!"

Harry didn't move, yet he ony continued to stare at the veil.

"Harry, let's go, okay?" said Hermione forcefully.

"Okay," Harry said, but did not move. There were more voices from the veil. Josh shook his head. He didn't want to hear these voices, they felt threatening to him. He had to get his friends out of here.

"What are you saying?" Harry said, very loudly, so that his words echoed all around the stone benches.

"Nobody's talking, Harry!" said Hermione, now moving over to him. They others slowly followed after her.

"Someone's whispering behind there," he said, moving out of her reach and continuing to frown at the veil. "Is that you, Ron?"

"I'm here, mate," said Ron, appearing around the side of the archway.

"Can't anyone else hear it?" Harry demanded, "The whispering and murmuring!"

"I don't hear anything," Hermione spoke.

"I hear them," Tracey whispered, clutching onto Blaise. Josh was watching Harry surprised to see his foot was on the dais. "Sounds like people are in there," she said, pointing at the veil.

"Mate," Josh said, reaching out for Harry. "I don't think anyone's in there. At least not alive."

"What are you talking about?" Blaise suddenly asked, "Why can you hear voices, but we can't."

"I believe it's the same as why they can see Thestrals, and we can't," Daphne spoke up.

Josh grabbed onto Harry's shoulder. "Mate, we're here for Sirius. My father, your Godfather. Remember?" he said.

"Sirius," Harry repeated, still gazing, mesmerized, at the continuously swaying veil. "Yeah…" Harry blinked, turning to look at Josh, taking several paces back from the dais. "Let's go," he said.

Harry turned and began to lead the group back to the first room. "What d'you reckon that arch was?" Harry asked Hermione as they regained the dark circular room.

"I don't know, but whatever it was, it was dangerous," she said firmly, again inscribing a fiery cross on the door.

Once more, the wall span and became still again. This time, Josh approached a new door at random and pushed. It did not move.

"What's wrong?" said Hermione.

"It's… locked…" Josh said, throwing his weight at the door, but it didn't budge.

"This is it, then, isn't it?" said Ron excitedly, joining Josh, as did Harry and Blaise, in the attempt to force the door open. "Bound to be!"

"Get out of the way!" said Hermione sharply. The four boys moved out of the way. She pointed her wand at the place where a lock would have been on an ordinary door and said, "Alohomora!"

Nothing happened.

"Sirius's knife!" said Harry. He pulled it out from inside his robes and slid it into the crack between the door and the wall. The others all watched eagerly as he ran it from top to bottom, withdrew it and then flung his shoulder again at the door. It remained as firmly shut as ever. What was more, when Harry looked down at the knife, he saw the blade had melted. "Well, shite."

"Right, we're leaving that room," said Hermione decisively.

"But what if that's the one?" said Ron, staring at it with a mixture of apprehension and longing.

"It can't be, Harry could get through all the doors in his dream," said Hermione, marking the door with another fiery cross as Harry replaced the now-useless handle of Sirius's knife in his pocket.

"I wonder would could be inside?" Tracey asked, as the wall started to spin yet again. "You think it was something scary?"

"Let's not think about that," Blaise nervously answered.

The wall slid to a halt and Harry, with a feeling of increasing desperation, pushed the next door open. "This is it!" he exclaimed and jumped into the room. "This way!"

The group followed Harry into the new room. It was a lit up with beautiful, dancing, diamond-sparkling light. Clocks gleaming from every surface, large and small, grandfather and carriage, hanging in spaces between the bookcases or standing on desks ranging the length of the room, so that a busy, relentless ticking filled the place like thousands of minuscule, marching footsteps. The source of the dancing, diamond-bright light was a towering crystal ball jar that stood at the far end of the room.

Harry led the way down the narrow space between the lines of desks, heading for the source of the light.

"Oh, look!" said Tracey, as they drew nearer, pointing at the very heart of a crystal bell jar.

Drifting along in the sparkling current inside was a tiny, jewel-bright egg. As it rose in the jar, it cracked open and a hummingbird emerged, which was carried to the very top of the jar, but as it fell on the draught its feathers became bedraggled and damp again, and by the time it had been borne back to the bottom of the jar it had been enclosed once more in its egg.

"We have to keep going," Josh said from the rear, before anyone could get distracted.

"This is it," Harry said again, "it's through here -" He looked back at the others. All of them had their wands out looked suddenly serious and anxious. He looked back at the door and pushed. It swung open.

They were there, they had found the place: high as a church and full of nothing but towering shelves covered in small, dusty, glass orbs. They glimmered dully in the light issuing from more candle-brackets set at intervals along the shelves. Like those in the circular room behind them, their flames were burning blue. The room was very cold.

Harry edged forward and peered down one of the shadowy aisles between two rows of shelves. He could not hear anything or see the slightest sign of movement.

"Mates, what is this place?" Blaise asked as they were all inside the blue orb room. "Josh?"

"No idea," Josh asked, curiously looking around.

"You said it was row ninety-seven," whispered Hermione.

"Yeah," breathed Harry, looking up at the end of the closest row.

"We need to go right, I think," whispered Hermione, squinting to the next row. "Yes… that's fifty-four…"

"Alright, let's get on with it," Josh spoke, looking at everyone. "Wands at the ready. Remember your training." Everyone nodded.

They crept forward, glancing behind them as they went on down the long alleys of shelves, the further ends of which were in near-total darkness. Tiny, yellowing labels had been stuck beneath each glass orb on the shelves. Some of them had a weird, liquid glow; others were as dull and dark within as blown light bulbs.

They passed row eighty-four… eighty-five… Josh's heart was pounding so heavily, that he felt it was going to pop out of his chest.

"Ninety-seven!" whispered Hermione.

They stood grouped around the end of the row, gazing down the alley beside it. There was nobody there.

"He's right down at the end," said Harry. "You can't see properly from here."

And he led them between the towering rows of glass balls, some of which glowed softly as they passed…

"He should be near here," whispered Harry, but as Josh desperately looked around. There was now Sirius. "Anywhere here… really close…"

"Harry?" said Hermione tentatively.

"Somewhere about… here…" he said.

They had reached the end of the row and emerged into more dim candlelight. There was nobody there. All was echoing, dusty silence.

"He might be…" Harry whispered hoarsely, peering down the next alley. "Or maybe…" He hurried to look down the one beyond that. Josh stood in the aisle, as everyone looked around. Sirius wasn't here, and there was no sign of him, which had to mean, he was never here to begin with. But why would Harry bring them here when Sirius isn't even here?

"He's not here," Josh said quietly. Everyone but Ron turned to Josh. Harry returned to the group. "Harry, he isn't here!"

Harry shook his head. "No, he is," he replied. "I saw it!"

"Mate he never was here!" Josh argued, and turned to Harry. "He knows about your connection! He only wanted you to see what he wanted you to see!" Harry shook his head.

"What are you talking about?" Tracey asked. "Who knows about what?"

"Voldemort," Josh replied. "He knows. He brought Harry here. Sirius was never here, nor was he ever in trouble."

"But then why were we brought here?" Blaise asked as Harry was seething in anger.

"Harry?" Ron called.

"What?" Harry growled.

"Have you seen this?" said Ron,

"Seen what?" said Harry, but eagerly this time. He strode back to where they were all standing, a little way down row ninety-seven, but found nothing except Ron staring at one of the dusty glass spheres on the shelf.

"What?" Harry repeated glumly.

"It's — it's got your name on," said Ron. Josh moved over towards Ron as well.

Harry moved a little closer. Ron was pointing at one of the small glass spheres that glowed with a dull inner light, though it was very dusty and appeared not to have been touched for many years.

"My name?" said Harry blankly.

He stepped forward and craned his neck to read the yellowish label affixed to the shelf right beneath the dusty glass ball. In spidery writing was written a date of some sixteen years previously, and below that:

S.P.T. to A.P.W.B.D.

Dark Lord and (?)Harry Potter

Harry and Josh stared at it.

"What is it?" Ron asked, sounding unnerved. "What's your name doing down here?"

"Harry, I don't think you should touch it," said Hermione sharply, as Harry stretched out his hand.

"Why not?" he said. "It's something to do with me, isn't it?"

"She may be right, Harry," Josh agreed. "Let's just leave it alone."

"But it's got my name on," said Harry. He turend and closed his fingers around the dusty ball's surface. Harry lifted the glass ball down from its shelf and stared at it.

Josh was surprised that nothing whatsoever happened. The others moved in closer around Harry, gazing at the orb as he brushed it free of the clogging dust.

And then, from right behind them, a drawling voice spoke.

"Very good, Potter. Now turn around, nice and slowly, and give that to me."

Everyone snapped around, holding up their wands. Black shapes were emerging out of thin air all around them, blocking their way left and right; eyes glinted through slits in hoods, a dozen lit wand tips were pointing directly at their hearts; Tracey gave a gasp of horror.

"To me, Potter," repeated the drawling voice of Lucius Malfoy as he held out his hand, palm up. They were trapped, and outnumbered two to one. "To me," said Malfoy yet again.

"Where's Sirius?" Harry said. Once Josh saw the Death Eaters, he felt a warm sensation on his chest, and anger began rising in his chest. The Enemy is here.

Several of the Death Eaters laughed; a harsh female voice from the midst of the shadowy figures to Harry's left said triumphantly, "The Dark Lord always knows!"

"Always," echoed Malfoy softly. "Now, give me the prophecy Potter."

"I want to know where Sirius is!"

"I want to know where Sirius is!" mimicked the woman to his left. It's her. That voice piqued Josh's interest. He moved foward, stepping next to Harry.

"Is that my dear cousin, Bellatrix?" Josh spoke, looking through the dim it area. There she was.

"Who are you?" the woman asked, sneering at Josh.

"Oh, you don't know me, I forget," Josh laughed.

The woman sniffed, and examined Josh. She and her fellow Death Eaters had closed in so that they were mere feet away from Josh and the others, the light from their wands dazzling their eyes. "You look like him. That blood traitor cousin of mine, Sirius!" she hissed coming into a little bit of light. Azkaban had hollowed Bellatrix Lestrange's face, making it gaunt and skull-like, but it was alive with a feverish, fanatical glow. She looks almost dead. We should finish her off.

"You lured us here," said Harry.

"The little baby woke up fwightened and fort what it dweamed was twoo," said the woman in a horrible, mock baby voice. Josh felt Tracey stir beside him.

"Hold it tight," Josh muttered to the others. "Not yet -" Not yet? Why not right now!

The woman who had mimicked him let out a raucous scream of laughter. "You hear him? You hear him? Giving instructions to the other children as though he thinks of fighting us!"

"Oh, you don't know Potter or Black as I do, Bellatrix," said Malfoy softly. "Both have a great weakness for heroics; the Dark Lord understands this mostly about Potter. Now give me the prophecy, Potter."

Prophecy? About Harry? Josh thought, glancing at the orb in Harry's hand then at Harry. Its Always about him.

"This is a prophecy?" said Harry, holding up the blue orb. "Why do you want this? He showed me Sirius being tortured, to get me here. Why?"

More of the Death Eaters laughed, though the woman laughed loudest of all. Josh glared hard, annoyed at their laughs. He wanted to strike now.

"It's time you learned the difference between life and dreams, Potter," said Malfoy. "Now give me the prophecy, or we start using wands."

"Go on, then, try and take it," Josh said, raised his wand, and as he did so, the six wands of Harry, Ron, Hermione, Daphne, Tracey, and Blaise rose on either side of him.

But the Death Eaters did not strike.

"Hand over the prophecy and no one need get hurt," said Malfoy coolly.

It was Harry's turn to laugh. "Yeah, right!" he said. "I give you this prophecy, and you'll just let us skip off home, will you?"

The words were hardly out of his mouth when Bellatrix shrieked: "Accio proph—"

Harry was just ready for her: he shouted "Protego!" before she had finished her spell, and though the glass sphere slipped to the tips of his fingers he managed to cling on to it.

"Oh, he knows how to play, little bitty baby Potter," she said, her mad eyes staring hard. "Very well, then -"

"I TOLD YOU, NO!" Lucius Malfoy roared at the woman. "If you smash it -!"

Josh looked around, counting the Death Eaters. They were at least fourteen of them. The teens were outnumbered two to one. This here, was a death trap. They were surrounded. How were they going to get out of this one.

"You need more persuasion?" Bellatrix hissed, her chest rising and falling rapidly. "Very well - take the blonde girl," she ordered the Death Eaters beside her. "Let them watch while we torture the girl. I'll do it." Josh felt Daphne stand close behind him, clutching his arm again. He felt others close in around her. Josh tightened the grip on his wand with a murderous glare towards his insane cousin. Dare her to try, we'd get her in one blow, easily.

"You'll have to smash this if you want to attack any of us," Harry told Bellatrix. "I don't think your boss will be too pleased if you come back without it, will he?"

She did not move; no one did. They all stared at one another for a moment of silence. Josh looked back at Blaise and gave a tiny nod. Blaise reciprocated.

"How come Voldemort wants this?" Harry suddenly asked.

Several of the Death Eaters let out low hisses. How idiotic. They're weak.

"You dare speak his name?" whispered Bellatrix.

"Yeah," said Harry, maintaining his tight grip on the glass ball, expecting another attempt to bewitch it from him. "Yeah, I've got no problem with saying Vol—"

"Shut your mouth!" Bellatrix shrieked. "You dare speak his name with your unworthy lips, you dare besmirch it with your half-blood's tongue, you dare -"

Do it! Do it now! Josh made his move at that moment. "Stupefy!" he shouted. A jet of red light shot from the end of Josh's wand, soaring towards Bellatrix. It would have struck her, had Malfoy not defltected it away towards a random top shelf, shattering some orbs.

Two figures, pearly-white as ghosts, fluid as smoke, unfurled themselves from the fragments of broken glass upon the floor and each began to speak; their voices vied with each other, so that only fragments of what they were saying could be heard over Malfoy and Bellatrix's shouts.

"… at the solstice will come a new…" said the figure of an old, bearded man.

"DO NOT ATTACK! WE NEED THE PROPHECY!"

"He dared - he dares -" shrieked Bellatrix incoherently, "he stands there - filthy blood-traitor -" Oh yes, we dare!

"WAIT UNTIL WE'VE GOT THE PROPHECY!" bawled Malfoy.

"… and none will come after…" said the figure of a young woman.

The two figures that had burst from the shattered spheres had melted into thin air. Nothing remained of them or their erstwhile homes but fragments of glass upon the floor. They had, however, given Harry an idea. The problem was going to be conveying it to the others.

"You haven't told me what's so special about this prophecy I'm supposed to be handing over," he said, playing for time. "Do not play games with us, Potter," said Malfoy.

"I'm not playing games," said Harry. Just then, Josh glanced down when someone smashed his toes. He glanced up at Harry.

"What?" he whispered.

"Dumbledore never told you the reason you bear that scar was hidden in the bowels of the Department of Mysteries?" Malfoy sneered.

"I - what?" said Harry. "What about my scar?"

"Mate?" whispered Josh more urgently next him.

"Can this be?" said Malfoy, sounding maliciously delighted; some of the Death Eaters were laughing again, and under cover of their laughter, Harry hissed to Josh, moving his lips as little as possible, "Smash shelves -"

Smash shelves? Josh thought. Potter had a good idea. We're slipping. You're getting Distracted. You have to hurt these Death Eaters, they're distracting you! Josh's knuckles were white as he gripped his wand, glaring hard at the Death Eaters.

"Dumbledore never told you?" Malfoy repeated. "Well, this explains why you didn't come earlier, Potter, the Dark Lord wondered why -"

"- when I say now-" Harry whispered.

Josh glanced at Hermione and Blaise, nodding towards the Blue orbs. The two nodded, both whispering to others about what they should do.

"- you didn't come running when he showed you the place where it was hidden in your dreams. He thought natural curiosity would make you want to hear the exact wording…"

"Did he?" said Harry as he sought to keep talking, to distract the Death Eaters. "So he wanted me to come and get it, did he? Why?"

"Why?" Malfoy sounded incredulously delighted. "Because the only people who are permitted to retrieve a prophecy from the Department of Mysteries, Potter, are those about whom it was made, as the Dark Lord discovered when he attempted to use others to steal it for him."

"And why did he want to steal a prophecy about me?"

"About both of you, Potter, about both of you… haven't you ever wondered why the Dark Lord tried to kill you as a baby?"

"Someone made a prophecy about Voldemort and me?" he said quietly, gazing at Lucius Malfoy, his fingers tightening over the warm glass sphere in his hand. It was hardly larger than a Snitch and still gritty with dust. "And he's made me come and get it for him? Why couldn't he come and get it himself?"

"Get it himself?" shrieked Bellatrix, over a cackle of mad laughter. Silence her! Do it! Just one curse! "The Dark Lord, walk into the Ministry of Magic, when they are so sweetly ignoring his return? The Dark Lord, reveal himself to the Aurors, when at the moment they are wasting their time on my dear cousin?"

"So, he's got you doing his dirty work for him, has he?" said Harry. "Like he tried to get Sturgis to steal it - and Bode?"

"Very good, Potter, very good…" said Malfoy slowly. "But the Dark Lord knows you are not unintell—"

"NOW!" yelled Harry. Do it now! It's your chance! Everyone pointed their wands, even Josh who had his own target.

Six different voices behind him bellowed, "REDUCTO!" Six curses flew in six different directions and the shelves opposite them exploded as they hit; the towering structure swayed as a hundred glass spheres burst apart, pearly-white figures unfurled into the air and floated there, their voices echoing from who knew what long-dead past amid the torrent of crashing glass and splintered wood now raining down upon the floor -

"RUN!"