The Department of Mysteries certainly lived up to its name: They passed by many rooms, some closed off with locked doors or gates or even a hanging curtain; others were open, its contents visible to the curious passersby.
"Ugh," said Ron as they peered into one room: an enormous glass tank filled with deep-green water stood in the middle. It was the only thing in the room, however, inside the tank were a number of pearly white objects, drifting around lazily in the liquid. "I'm sure those are brains," he commented, turning about and continuing down the hall.
"What do you think they're doing with brains?" Luna asked peering back as she followed the others.
"I don't want to know," replied Ron, making a face.
"Are you sure, Brother? I rather think you could use one," snickered Ginny. Draco couldn't help but smile at the jab.
"Shut it, Ginny," Ron snapped, glaring at his younger sister. "You shouldn't even be here."
Harry turned sharply on the two Weasleys and shushed them. They both looked at him apologetically and continued on in silence. They followed the hall until it led to a door, and upon seeing it, Harry twitched. He approached the door and placed his hand on the ornate knob; he turned it and, to everyone's surprise, the door opened. The room behind the door was enormous – much larger than all the other rooms and even the hallway leading up to it. In it were rows upon rows of high shelves, and sitting on those shelves were small, dusty, glass orbs. They glimmered dully in the light issuing from candle brackets burning with blue flames, set at intervals along the shelves. "Row ninety-seven," breathed Harry. His unfocused eyes suggested he was calling on the memory of his vision.
"Is that where Black is?" Draco asked for clarification. "Is that where you saw him being held?" Despite his question, Draco didn't think Sirius was here at all. The room was quiet – too quiet, and why would the Dark Lord even keep him in a place like this. No, there was something more to their being there… Everyone split up, but not so far that they couldn't see each other, and begun looking at the orbs and the shelves upon which they sat. Draco noted that under each orb was a label with some information written on it: dates, some letters – initials, perhaps – and then names.
"This way," Neville said, pointing further in. Silently, the group moved forward, noting the increasing numbers on the shelves. It was apparent now that some of the orbs were glowing themselves rather than reflecting the pale blue light of the candles.
"Here," said Ginny. "Row ninety-seven." She peered down the way but saw nothing. "Are you sure?" she asked Harry quietly. Without answering, he charged past her.
"Something's wrong," Draco muttered as Harry marched down row ninety-seven. Other than themselves, there was no sign of anyone, not even a struggle if Sirius had been there against his will and then moved. He raised his wand defensively and looked around them into the dark of the room.
"Hey, Harry," Ron said, his voice strangely muffled. "This has your name on it."
Harry quickly made his way back to where Ron was, just a short way into row ninety-seven. Everyone looked where Ron was pointing: beneath a dusty orb, on a yellowing label was written: 'S.P.T. to A.P.W.B.D', and on the line after, 'Dark Lord and (?) Harry Potter'. He reached forward to pick up the orb, but Hermione said, "I don't think you should touch it."
"Why not?" Harry returned. "It's something to do with me, isn't it?"
"Hermione's right," agreed Neville, looking worried. "I don't think it's a good idea. We don't even know what it is."
But Harry was adamant. "It's got my name on it," he said. His fingers closed around the glass ball. Nothing happened.
"Very good, Potter," a drawling voice suddenly said, from somewhere behind them. "Now, would you like me to tell you what it is?"
Draco's heart stopped beating. Without seeing the face, he knew that voice: it was his father, Lucius Malfoy, and he doubted very much that he would be alone. "Wands," he hissed to the others. Black shapes emerged out of thin air all around them, blocking their way left and right. In the light of their lit wands, eyes glinted through slits in masks which were then shadowed by black hoods. Draco noticed that one of the Death Eaters faltered as they closed in on the small group of students, and staring into those slits, Draco recognized the cold gray-eyes of his father. Even with his face obscured by a mask, Draco could tell his father was displeased to see him there.
"Where is Sirius?" Harry demanded.
Several of the Death Eaters laughed. A woman's voice from the midst of the shadowy figures mimicked him, "Where is Sirius?" she echoed, her voice intentionally high and pathetic. The voice sent shivers down Draco's spine; it had been a long while since he'd been in the company of his Aunt Bellatrix, but he could never forget her – even if he wanted to. He reflexively glanced in Neville's direction; the other boy was staring with frightened, wide eyes, but he had no idea who was behind that mask – and, if Draco could help it, he would keep his Aunt from finding out who Neville was. "The Dark Lord always knows," she continued mocking Harry, her tone deepening. She walked a few more steps forward, bringing herself to her full height, and while she stood shorter than the Hogwarts boys present, she was no less intimidating. Bellatrix paused a moment when she noticed her nephew. "Draco?" she said, her voice changing once more. From Draco, she looked back at the Death Eaters. "Lucius, it's Draco. Why is Draco here?" From behind his mask, Draco could have sworn he heard his father groan. "Never you mind," Bellatrix carried on, without waiting for an explanation. "Draco, get us the prophecy."
"Prophecy?" Harry repeated. His grasp on the glass orb tightened. "What prophecy?"
Bellatrix threw back her hood and removed her mask: Azkaban had hollowed her out, but despite this, there was still an arrogant and dark beauty to her; unwittingly Draco was reminded of his mother. "Do not ask questions about things you do not know or understand," she said to Harry, taking another step forward. "Now, hand it over, boy."
"Where is Sirius?" Harry demanded once again.
Growing impatient, Bellatrix raised her wand and Draco stepped in front of Harry. "A trade," he said quickly, looking at his father. "The prophecy for Sirius Black." He could hear Harry take a breath behind him – probably to argue, but Draco grabbed his arm and squeezed it hard, willing him to be quiet. Arguing would not help them.
"Draco," his father said, his voice cold and calculating. "You are not in a position to negotiate. However, no one need get hurt – if you just hand over the prophecy."
Draco looked back at his companions: Neville's eyes were wider than before and fixed on Bellatrix; Ginny seemed to be sizing-up each Death Eater in turn, her wand held at the ready; Ron looked nervous, Hermione anxious, Harry angry; Luna was… With her back half-turned, Luna was staring at the shelf, apparently more interested in the glass orbs than the threat before them. "Potter, you may not trust me, but you must understand I mean no harm to my own son."
"That doesn't exactly bode well for the rest of us," Ginny retorted. The eyes of Lucius Malfoy grew colder still as he regarded the red-haired daughter of a man he greatly disliked. Ginny's eyes reflected the same sentiment of mutual distaste.
"Apparently I must spell things out for you," Lucius disparaged. He too removed his hood and mask, and faced the children as himself. "Our mission is to retrieve the prophecy – at whatever means necessary. As I've mentioned, I have no intention of bringing harm to my son, and –" he added, regarding Draco with as much disdain as he had for the others, "bringing harm to any of you would likely result in him doing something stupid." He turned back to Harry and held out his hand. "Now, Potter: give me the prophecy."
"Let the others go first," said Harry. "Then we'll talk."
The slightest twitch of his father's lips alerted Draco to the danger of Harry remaining behind, by himself. "Very well, Pot –"
"No," Draco interrupted loudly. He understood that, without his being there, the Death Eaters would hold no reason to show restraint, and that they were likely looking forward to prying the prophecy from Harry's cold, dead hand. Looking from his friend to his father, Draco knew he'd crossed a line. The condescension Lucius bore in his expression changed to anger. If they were at home, Draco would have already been punished for disobedience. The moment for the hammer to fall was upon them, and Draco could feel the tension rise to a breaking point.
"Ha," Luna sung softly, off to the side. She'd managed to levitate a particularly large prophecy off its place among the others; it floated before her, its ghostly light illuminating her delicate features. "Oppugno," she then said, flicking her wand in the direction of one of the Death Eaters. The orb zoomed into the Death Eater, striking him on the head; glittering shards of glass fell into his face and down his robes onto the ground as he stepped back in shock. The wispy form of an elderly man floated up, followed by words as translucent as the image – but no one could make out what the old seer said in that particular prophecy, as the Death Eater whom the orb had collided with let out a deafening scream.
"Nott!" another Death Eater cried as his fellow collapsed to the ground. He knelt beside him but seemed reluctant to touch him. Bellatrix's wand went up and sent a curse flying at Luna, but Lucius deflected it. "Wait!" he screamed at his sister-in-law. Several prophecies on the shelf above them exploded from the impact of the spell, raining glass and debris onto the group below. Draco had half a second to look right at Hermione before he yelled, "Run!" His hand was still on Harry's arm, and he tugged him to the side before shouting, "Reducto," pointing at the bottom half of a shelf. Throwing his other arm around Luna's shoulders, he started to run.
"Stupefy!" one of the Death Eaters shouted. Draco ducked instinctively.
"Fumos!" Hermione screamed from somewhere behind. Draco glanced back and watched as a cloud of smoke swallowed everything; it billowed through each row and expanded up into the high ceiling. Before it consumed them as well, Draco saw Hermione grab hold of Ginny's hand; Ron and Neville were running behind the girls, Ron casting Reductor spells behind him, aiming for the shelves as he ran.
"Straight ahead," cried Harry, who had broken free of Draco's hold and ran ahead of everyone else. He pointed the group forward to a door. A Death Eater suddenly appeared through the smoke before them, wand drawn.
"Accio Pro –"
"Expelliarmus!" Harry shouted first, and the Death Eater's wand flew out of his hand, disappearing into the fog.
"Ventus," Hermione said next.
The Death Eater was swept off his feet by a strong gust of wind and thrown back into a shelf. She ran before them, hand-in-hand with Ginny and threw open the door, disappearing inside. Next was Ron and Neville. "Hurry!" urged Harry, beckoning to Luna and Draco, who brought up the rear. His expression changed and again, Draco ducked reflexively, grabbing Luna and dragging her down as Harry pointed his wand and cried, "Protego". A curse rebounded off the shield and exploded just above Draco and Luna, causing a shower of broken glass and Prophecy Records to fall over them. Draco cast a similar shield upward, protecting them from the wreckage.
"Come on," he said to Luna, pulling her to her feet. Harry was in the doorway, speaking to the others; Draco looked up just in time to see a light fast-approaching. He didn't know what it was, but he grabbed Luna, spun around, and pushed her into Harry and through the doorway. The spell caught him in the back, and he fell forward onto the ground, his hands cut by all the shards of broken glass that lay scattered across it. He reached forward to close the door, but he was too far. He watched, helpless as he heard his Aunt cast an explosive curse through the open doorway, followed by the cries of his friends. But before she could reach it, someone from the other side, pulled the door closed. He heard her footsteps as she raced by and wrenched the door open.
"What? Where are they?" she screamed, her voice high and hysterical. Draco wanted to look, but dark spots started blotting his vision as a mind-numbing pain spread throughout his body, making it impossible to move. He thought he heard Bellatrix kick the door closed again before hexing something that made a lot of noise as it presumably broke into a million pieces. She was still screaming when Draco heard other footsteps approach. He felt the wind of someone sweeping down over him, and the low hum of his father's voice. A moment after, the pain and the darkness left him, and he was being pulled up into a sitting position.
His father had nothing to say to him as he quickly mended his wounds, and when he was done, he got to his feet to address the others. "They are still here," he said in a level tone. "Crabbe, Bellatrix: take the main entrance. Dolohov: Search the other rooms. Macnair: get Nott somewhere safe and then keep watch in the corridor. These rooms are all connected and there is only one way out."
"What about you, Malfoy?" Crabbe asked, glancing at Draco with a peculiar expression.
"I will assist Dolohov in searching the rooms after I have taught my son a lesson."