Chapter Twenty-Nine
Finding Hermione
Updated 5/11/2013
=ooo=
It took Harry a moment to decide he wasn't hallucinating and hadn't been knocked out and was dreaming. "Back? You can't be back, you should be — well, dead."
James Monroe certainly didn't look dead at the moment. He didn't even have the transparent, silvery look of a ghost. It seemed like Harry could simply reach out and touch him like any normal human being. But he had seen Monroe die —
"Well, I suppose," Monroe shrugged, "it must've appeared that way when 'Ginny' hit me with the Killing Curse. But appearances can be deceiving, you have to agree, since we didn't realize Voldemort was possessing Ginny until it was too late."
Harry rubbed his forehead. This situation had been bad enough, with Hermione being hauled off to Azkaban and he, Remus and Sirius surrounded by Malfoy and his Aurors, all intent on taking them back to prison. Or worse, since Crabbe had cast a Killing Curse of his own at Harry. Now, it had just gone round the twist.
"Okay," Harry said at last. "Right. Nothing is as it appears. Got it. Now, are you going to explain what you're doing here, now? Especially how you just popped out of Sirius, like you were possessing him?"
"Is that what it looked like?" Monroe asked, giving the frozen Sirius a bemused look. "It looked like I was possessing him?"
"I have no idea," Harry admitted. "Voldemort possessed several people over three decades, but he didn't have a body of his own when he did that. It appears you have a body now, but I saw it killed when Ginny — I mean,Voldemort — murdered you. Based on what I've seen so far, I have to draw the conclusion that you created a Horcrux of your own."
Monroe made a well-maybe gesture with one hand. "I might've drawn that same conclusion if I was in your shoes, Harry, but that's not the case." He looked around the room at the others standing there, all unmoving. "Before we get into the details of why I'm here, I think you ought to resolve this situation with Malfoy and make sure everyone's safe. Agreed?"
"Alright," Harry agreed. "Although I don't understand what's going on now. Why is everyone frozen except us? Even that —" Harry's voice caught for a second as he realized that Remus was only a fraction of a second from death "— that Killing Curse is stopped in mid-air, which should be impossible."
"Which it obviously isn't," Monroe pointed out, "since you see it hovering there. Any ideas on how we can keep it from hitting Lupin?"
Harry shook his head, but then began putting out ideas anyway. "Move him out of the way of the curse, or stop the curse, somehow." He shook his head, remembering what Mad-Eye Moody had told him: There's two reasons why that spell's in the blackest book. The first is that the Killing Curse strikes directly at the soul, and it'll just keep going until it hits one. Straight through shields. Straight through walls. There's a reason why even Aurors fighting Death Eaters weren't allowed to use it before the Monroe Act. The second reason is that the Killing Curse doesn't just take a powerful bit of magic. You've got to mean it. You've got to want someone dead, and not for the greater good, either.
"But the Curse will just keep on going," Monroe said, as if echoing Harry's thoughts. "That just leaves blocking it."
"And it can't be blocked," Harry muttered, bleakly.
"You're not remembering," Monroe was shaking his head. "There is one thing that can block that curse. Do you recall it now?"
"I —" Not all of Harry's memories had come back to him. He'd remembered some, his Patronus had helped him recall some of them —
His Patronus!
"I remember now," Harry nodded excitedly. "I was in Azkaban — the first time, years ago — and Quirrell cast a Killing Curse at an Auror who had confronted us. He said afterwards he knew the Auror would dodge, but I didn't know that at the time. I cast my Patronus between the Killing Curse and the Auror, and they both vanished in a burst of light." Harry looked at Lupin and the bolt of green death only inches from his chest. "But do I have time to cast it now?"
"You have all the time in the world," Monroe replied, enigmatically. "But your Patronus will have to avoid touching Lupin, if it can, or he might absorb the Patronus and a lot of your knowledge. There are things it knows that you probably don't want him to know."
Harry cocked his head, wondering how his Patronus could fit between Remus and the Killing Curse, with only inches beween them. "Ah!" he said, finally realizing what he could do. "But…what happens after I block the curse? We're still up against four Aurors, plus Malfoy, and Sirius and I have been disarmed."
"I can fix that," Monroe said. The wand Harry had been using floated out of the hand of one of the Aurors and over to him. "Go ahead and cast your Patronus, Harry."
"What about Sirius's wand?"
"He'll be fine without it," Monroe said. "Get your Patronus into position and time will resume. You'll have the advantage of surprise for a few moments — be sure to use it wisely."
Harry nodded, hoping that was possible, then concentrated for a moment. "Expecto Patronum!" His Patronus blazed into existence, standing next to Remus and the Killing Curse. The Patronus reached out, moving its shining silver hand between the curse and Remus's chest.
"I'll be here," Monroe told him, "but no one will be able to see, hear or touch me. Once you're in control of the situation we can start to deal with making sure everyone is safe."
There were other things to do as well, Harry thought — they still had to deal with Voldemort and his Horcruxes — but he said nothing. He looked at Monroe, took a deep breath, and nodded.
Lupin shouted, "NO!" and leaped forward, moving between Harry and Crabbe. Time seemed to slow down as a bolt a green energy erupted from Crabbe's wand and flew toward the Chief Warlock. There was a flash of silver and green, and Lupin grabbed his chest where the Killing Curse should have struck him. Then his wand shot forward and both Malfoy and Crabbe were thrown back as a Banishment Charm hit them.
Harry, his wand now in hand, spun back toward the three Aurors, pointing to the oldest of the three, the one-handed Auror who was about to curse Remus. "Expellliarmus!" he shouted, and the wand flew from the Auror's fingers.
At the same moment Sirius leaped toward the three Aurors, transforming to his Animagus form and twisting sideways in mid-air so he slammed into all three Aurors, knocking them off their feet. Sirius grabbed a wand in his teeth and rolled over the Aurors, coming up behind them and transforming back to human. He snatched the wand out of his mouth and with three quick shouts of "Stupefy!" Stunned the three dazed Aurors into unconsciousness.
Crabbe, still trying to protect Malfoy, cast a Cutting Hex at Remus's legs, but the Chief Warlock blocked the spell and riposted with the Disarming Charm, sending Crabbe's wand flying down the corridor away from them. Crabbe scrambled toward the still-unconscious Tonks, trying to grab her wand, but Remus Summoned it before Crabbe could reach it.
At that same moment Malfoy brought up his own wand with a slashing gesture, shouting "Sectumsempra!" which Harry, who had turned back to help Remus, blocked. The deflected spell hit the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy, slashing it nearly in half. Malfoy scuttled backwards, casting a Shield Charm which gave him a moment to regain his feet. Crabbe, who had rolled to his feet as well, grabbed Malfoy's arm and pulled him away from the confrontation, grabbing his wand as they passed it and disappeared around the corner.
That left the three Aurors and Tonks unconscious on the floor, with Remus, Harry and Sirius still conscious. They began to assess their situation.
"Harry," Remus said, breathing heavily, "thank you! And how did you manage to cast your Patronus in time to stop that Killing Curse? I was sure it was going to hit me."
Harry shook his head, not sure how to answer. He wouldn't have had time if Monroe hadn't done whatever he did to stop time, but Harry was not going to tell anyone that Monroe was back right now. Especially not when he didn't understand how he could be alive again. Assuming he had died in the first place. And where was he? Monroe had vanished when everything began moving again. "Just — just lucky, I suppose," he said at last.
"It was," Remus agreed, putting a hand on Harry's shoulder. "I'm just glad you were able to do it." He shook his head. "I can't believe Malfoy gave permission for Crabbe to use that spell! I think you must be right about him, Harry — he has to be possessed if he's not completely deranged."
"I hate to sound like a broken record," Sirius said, joining the two of them. "But what do we do now?"
"We have to stop Goyle from taking Hermione to Azkaban," Harry answered immediately.
"What about this lot?" Sirius pointed toward the three unconscious Aurors. "And what do we do about Tonks — she's still out cold, too."
"Bring Tonks with you," Monroe suddenly spoke into Harry's ear. Harry jumped — it was like the man was right next to him, though no one was there. "You might need her help later."
Remus, who'd watched Harry jump but didn't seem to hear what Harry did, asked, "What's wrong, Harry? What made you —"
"Nothing," Harry said, trying to cover his surprise. "We should bring Tonks with us — she might be able to help us later on."
"Harry, she just got hit by three Stunning Charms," Remus pointed out, concerned. "We may have to take her to St. Mungo's." He glanced down the corridor Malfoy and Crabbe had retreated into, then walked over to where Tonks lay unconscious. He bent over, hesitated a moment, then put a hand on her chest. "She's breathing okay," he said a few moments later, then held one of her wrists for several seconds. "Her heart rate is slower than I like, though. We should take her to St. Mungo's before Malfoy sends Aurors there to watch for us."
"He won't," Harry disagreed. "He'll probably bring every Auror he can spare to Hogwarts to find and capture us."
"Great," Sirius growled. "So how are we going to get Tonks out of here? And how do we get out ourselves, for that matter?"
Harry pointed to a nearby window. "We can go that way."
Remus looked at the window, then back at Harry. "We're on the seventh floor, you know, Harry," he said, with exaggerated calm. "We don't have time to Levitate the four of us that far."
Harry rubbed the back of his head, trying to think. "Whatever we're going to do, we need to do it quickly, then," he said, speaking fast. "Anyone else got any bright ideas?"
Monroe's voice spoke in his ear again. "Use the Room of Requirement to create a passage to Hogsmeade," the voice said.
"What?" Harry said, surprised. "It can do that?"
"Do what?" both Remus and Sirius said at the same time. They had not heard anyone but Harry speak.
"Yes," Monroe's voice said. "Tell it you need a secret passage to Hogsmeade, into the Hog's Head Inn." Harry shook his head, skeptical of the idea. He'd never heard of the Room being used for something like that.
But there was no time to waste. "Get Tonks," he said, urgently. "I've got an idea." I just hope it works, he added to himself. He walked back and forth in front of the wall where the door to the Room of Requirement usually appeared, thinking the phrase Monroe had given him.
Sirius had picked up Tonks and stood beside Remus, watching as Harry walked back and forth. "What's he up to now?" he asked, baffled. "Are we hiding in the Room of Requirement again?"
"I don't know," Remus muttered. "I hope not, not if he wants to keep Hermione out of Azkaban. We have to get out of Hogwarts, not hole up here."
On Harry's third pass a large wooden door appeared, and he grabbed the handle and quickly opened it. "Inside," he said urgently. "I'll explain once we're inside."
Remus and Sirius looked at each other and shrugged, then followed Harry into the Room of Requirement.
The room was not very large, and braziers set along the walls provided enough light to see the most notable (and only) feature of the room: a large wooden door with brass bindings at its far end. "There's where we're going," Harry said, pointing. "That should take us to Hogsmeade."
Remus looked nonplussed, but Sirius guffawed. "Never thought of that!" he roared. "Hey, Moony, how come you never figured out we could get out of the castle through this room?"
"It never occurred to me," Remus said, looking chagrinned. "Harry, how did you know about this?"
Harry shrugged; he couldn't tell them the real reason. "Just a lucky guess," he said again, evading the question. "Come on, I want to be in Hogsmeade before anyone shows up to find —"
"POTTER! WE KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE!" an amplified voice resonated through the walls. Harry didn't recognize the voice, but it was distorted because of the Sonorus Charm and by the walls. "COME OUT IMMEDIATELY OR WE'LL COME IN AFTER YOU!"
Sirius was looking back at the door they had just come through. "Wankers," he snorted disdainfully. "That's a pure bluff."
"We're not waiting around to find out," Harry said. He pulled open the door leading out of the Room of Requirement. A set of wide steps led downward, with brass lamps on the walls lighting the way. The four of them (with Sirius still carrying Tonks) began walking down the steps. The door closed behind them of its own accord.
"Potter!" The voice behind the wall, now greatly diminished in volume, spoke again. "Did you hear me? Get out here or we're coming in after you! We're not joking, we're really going to do it! Potter! Potter?" The voice finally faded to silence.
The stairs continued downward, taking a few corners and leveling out for a bit before returning to a downward path. Harry and the others continued walking along the passageway in silence for some time before anyone spoke again.
"That was a very impressive display of magic back there, Harry," Remus commented.
"Yeah," Sirius agreed. "I was sure we were all goners when you jumped in front of Harry with that Killing Curse coming at him."
Remus gave Sirius a bemused look. "Well, there's only one thing that stops a Killing Curse — two, really: a living soul and now Harry's Patronus." Remus turned back to Harry. "I'd still like to know how you managed to cast the Patronus Charm so quickly. You couldn't have had more than a fraction of a second before that spell would have hit me."
Harry hesitated; he almost stopped walking, but they had to get out of Hogwarts' anti-Apparition wards so they could get to the Ministry, where Goyle would be getting Portkey authorized for her transport to Azkaban. You couldn't just dump someone in the wizards' prison without the proper authorization these days, no matter who your boss was.
He gave Remus a sort-of pleading look, like he was trying to find the right words. "Well, this is going to sound a bit mental, but I had some help."
"Well, sure," Sirius agreed, shifting Tonks in his arms as they continued down the passageway. "I mean, Remus and I did help you take out those three Aurors, as well as Crabbe and Malfoy."
"No, I mean —" Harry was groping for the right words to explain this. He looked up, hoping Monroe would notice. "Help me out here," he said, pleadingly.
"How can we help you, Harry?" Remus asked, concerned.
"I was — it's hard to explain." Harry paused, trying to think. "I mean someone else was in that corridor when Crabbe cast that spell at me."
"Who?" Sirius asked. "What do you mean, were they Disillusioned or under an invisibility cloak, something like that?"
"No, he was —" Harry hesitated again, then shrugged and plunged ahead. "He was actually inside you, somehow. Like you were possessed. When that curse was headed toward Remus it just suddenly stopped, along with everyone around me. Like time had stopped, somehow."
Remus and Sirius were looking at one another. "There's no such thing as a spell to stop time, Harry," Remus said, slowly. "You should know that."
"I do know that!" Harry insisted. "But it happened! Everyone was frozen, then all of a sudden Sirius looked at me and said, 'Well, that didn't go too well, did it?' and I was like, 'What?' and then James Monroe suddenly appears, he walks out of Sirius's body like a ghost, and turns solid, and then he reminded me that my Patronus could stop a Killing Curse, so I cast one and had it move between Remus and the curse and time started up again and — well, you know what happened from there."
Remus nodded. "Yes, we know what happened. But go back a second. You said James Monroe appeared. James Monroe is the man you're accused of murdering, correct?"
"Yes, but —"
"Yes, I know you said Voldemort really did it," Remus interjected, cutting off Harry's objection. "But that doesn't change the fact that the man is dead."
"He must've escaped the Killing Curse somehow, Remus!"
"Did you try to stop Voldemort from killing him?"
"No, he immobilized me first —"
"Did Monroe cast a Patronus like yours to block the curse?"
"He didn't even know about a True Patronus — I've never discussed it with him!"
"Then," Remus concluded, "it seems like you must have hallucinated what you think happened in the corridor before you cast the Patronus that saved me. Perhaps you anticipated what Malfoy and Crabbe were talking about and were preparing — wait, I thought you lost your wand, but you had it after your Patronus blocked that curse. Did you have a spare?"
Harry shook his head. "This is the only one I had, I took it from Pettigrew."
"Hmmm," Remus looked puzzled. "Sirius, did you see how Harry got his wand back?"
"No idea," Sirius said. "I didn't have a wand, either. And I wouldn't have the first clue how to do what Harry can, even if I did."
"I don't think I hallucinated seeing James Monroe!" Harry broke in.
"Did you drink the restorative I gave you at Grimmauld Place?" Remus asked.
"Er — yes," Harry replied, wondering about the change of subject.
"You felt rather sleepy afterwards?" Remus continued.
"Yeah," Harry agreed. "But I needed to talk to you about Voldemort, I couldn't sleep then!"
"One of the side effects of that potion is that trying to stay awake too long after drinking it can induce hallucinations. Harry, I believe that you think you saw Monroe and talked to him, but you may be misremembering what happened when Crabbe cast that curse at me. I think you anticipated the spell and cast your Patronus while Crabbe was speaking, but you don't believe you could have cast it that quickly. Your mind invented an explanation for that apparent paradox. It would be wonderful if Monroe still lived, but I don't think that's true."
"I don't know," Harry said uncertainly. He remained silent for several seconds, half-hoping that Monroe would appear and prove him correct, or at least speak to him again…although, Harry suddenly realized, that would be exactly what would happen if he were hallucinating. "Maybe it — it was a hallucination, or something like that. I guess we got away, though, and that's what matters."
They had come to a set of steps leading upward, and began climbing them. The steps curved back and forth as they rose steadily upward, and Sirius was breathing heavily as they neared a blank wall. "You going to make it?" Remus asked Sirius as they stared up at the featureless wall in front of them.
"Thanks for waiting 'til now to ask, Moony," Sirius huffed, shifting Tonks in his arms to make sure he had her. "Less talking, more walking — it looks like we're about there."
Remus waved his wand several times at the wall. "Only one person on the other side," he said, his voice low. "And if this is the Hog's Head Inn, I know who it is." He pushed on the wall in front of them.
It swung away, revealing the interior of a small room that looked to be a sitting room, with two upholstered chairs and a small table between. In one of the chairs, the lone occupant of the room, an elderly man with graying hair and a short beard, stared up at the foursome in frank surprise.
"Hello, old friend," Remus said, jumping from the passageway onto the floor. "Sorry to call on you without owling ahead first…"
The old man frowned in apparent anger and stood. "What do you think you're doing, Lupin? Who're —" he stared as Harry jumped to the floor. Harry looked back, seeing that the passageway ended over the mantelpiece of a small fireplace. The "door" that had opened had a picture frame around it, but he couldn't see what the picture looked like.
"Just a second," Remus said, as the old man stared up at Sirius, who was still standing in the opening with Tonks in his arms. Remus pointed his wand at Sirius and said, "You can jump down, I've got you." Sirius nodded and stepped off the mantle, floating slowly downward with Tonks still in his arms.
"Thanks," Sirius said as his feet touched the floor. He stared at the old man for a moment, then grinned and quipped, "How about a round of butterbeers, barkeep?" He jerked his head toward Tonks, in his arms. "I'll take care of hers if she doesn't want it."
"Don't be a smart-mouth, boy," the old man growled. "I know who you are — and you, too," he added, pointing to Harry. "Both of you are supposed to be in Azkaban right now." He looked at Remus. "What's the Chief Warlock doin' farting around with these two hooligans? And what's with the Auror? She your hostage or something?"
"Minister Malfoy just tried to have Harry and Sirius killed," Remus replied matter-of-factly. "I narrowly avoided taking a Killing Curse in the chest."
"That Malfoy is a bad seed," the old man grumbled. "Always has been. Mind you, that doesn't make these two less guilty."
"We're not guilty!" Harry spoke up. "Malfoy —" he stopped, staring at the old man. "Wait a minute. Aren't you supposed to be dead?" First Monroe, now Dumbledore's brother.
Remus seemed to read his mind. "That's not Dumbledore's brother, Harry. That's Alderforth Dumbledore, his cousin. He took over the Hog's Head after Aberforth — died."
"But —" Harry started to object.
"Don't get into it, Harry," Sirius cut him off. He moved toward an empty chair and sat Tonks down in it. "Whew, glad to be rid of that!" He turned back to Harry. "Old Alderforth's got his own worries — don't you, Aldie?"
"Shut it, boy," Alderforth snapped, "or I'll turn you in to Malfoy myself!"
Sirius laughed, then leaned close to Harry and said, sotto voce, "He hates being called 'Aldie'."
"Just what're you lot doing here?" Alderforth demanded, folding his arms across his chest. "How'd this — this —" he pointed at the opening above his fireplace "— whatever this is, get there?"
"I asked the Room of Requirement for a passageway to the Hog's Head Inn," Harry said. "It was —" He was going to say James Monroe suggested it to him, but decided against it. "— something that came to me after Malfoy and his men ran away after trying to kill us. We needed to get out of Hogwarts. Damn!" he exclaimed, just remembering. "We left Ginny in the infirmary!"
"Poppy and Neville will keep her safe," Remus reassured him again. "Your wife is a more pressing concern now." He turned to Alderforth. "They were using Harry's wife to get him to surrender, and when Harry refused Malfoy's terms he ordered her brought to Azkaban until Harry gave in. He tried to, but she's still on her way there, and Malfoy tried to kill him to boot. We have to intercept them at the Ministry and stop that."
Alderforth was shaking his gray-haired head doubtfully. "You have no chance, Remus — don't be an idiot."
"That's a hell of a thing for Albus Dumbledore's cousin to say," Sirius said hotly, ignoring Remus's gestures to be quiet.
"Besides," Sirius went on. "We've got our way into the Ministry right here — Tonksie will get us in."
"You're going to trust one of Malfoy's stooges?" Alderforth asked incredulously. "Good luck with that!"
"Tonks is not like that," Remus defended her. "It's true she tried to give Harry and Sirius a potion that would knock them out so she could take them into custody, but she did not know all of the details of their cases. She was Stunned trying to defend Hermione. I think she will side with us when she awakens."
"Why don't we find out?" Sirius suggested, and pointed his wand at Tonks' unconscious form. "Rennervate," he said, and Tonks jerked, then jumped up from the chair into a fighting stance.
She glanced around the room, then relaxed, looking slightly sheepish. "What happened?" she asked, predictably. "We were in the corridor outside the Room of Requirement —"
"We beat them," Remus answered. "Malfoy and Crabbe retreated after having Goyle drag Hermione away, to take her to Azkaban. The other Aurors were taken out by Harry and Sirius after you were Stunned. Then Harry had the idea to use the Room of Requirement to create a passageway leading out of Hogwarts, and we're in the Hog's Head Inn, run by Albus Dumbledore's cousin Alderforth."
Tonks nodded, then rubbed her forehead. "Ouch. I've still got a headache from those Stunners. So what's the plan? Where are we now? Are we going after Hermione?"
"Yes," Harry said immediately. "I don't want her anywhere near Azkaban."
Tonks thought for a second. "They'll be expecting you at the Ministry, you know. They'll need time to gather enough members of the Wizengamot to approve her being held there until the trial —"
"Assuming there is a trial," Sirius said, grimly.
"Oh, there'll be one," Tonks assured him. "Even you got a trial, cousin, though they cut a few corners on procedure."
"More like a kangaroo court," Sirius muttered. "They assumed I was guilty before I ever set foot in front of the Wizengamot."
"Well, you were standing ankle-deep in the blood of twelve dead Muggles, laughing, when the Aurors took you," Tonks reminded him.
"Let's move on, shall we?" Harry said, tightly. "How are we going to get into the Ministry and get Hermione out if they're expecting us to do that?"
"I would think," Remus interjected, "that most Aurors would expect anyone escaping from Azkaban would run as far and as fast as they could, not break into the Ministry."
"An' that's what you should be doing, Potter," Alderforth added forcefully. "Keep your head down, lay low and don't make waves."
"I'm not going to let them send my wife to Azkaban!" Harry said loudly. "She's done nothing wrong!"
"Then they can't send her to the wizards' prison, can they?" Alderforth argued. "The Wizengamot'll have to let her go."
"No," Remus declared. "Malfoy will find a way to trump up some charges and make them stick. He has major support in the Wizengamot — his father has seen to that — and he seems to have a hard-on for Harry. Sorry, Auror Tonks," he added, looking embarrassed at his use of a vulgarity in front of her.
"No, you're right, Chief Warlock," Tonks agreed. "When Malfoy was Head Auror he told us to expect Harry Potter to do the opposite of what anyone else would do if we needed to go after him. When he became Minister, he made that same point even more often. It was like he almost expected Harry to break out of Azkaban." Tonks snorted. "I wonder if that was Malfoy talking, or Voldemort?"
"So you believe me when I tell you that Voldemort has possessed Malfoy?" Harry asked.
Tonks cocked her head. "I don't know," she admitted. "But he's acted different since he became Minister, like he's become even more paranoid than he was before. I don't know, that could be the way most Ministers start to act once they're in office a while, but Malfoy started in straightaway."
"All the more reason why we need to get Hermione out of the Ministry and to safety," Harry said. "I just wish I knew where Malfoy was right now — at the Ministry or still at Hogwarts."
=ooo=
At that moment Draco Malfoy was in the Great Hall of Hogwarts, having taken it over and turned it into a command center; he was waiting for the latest reports from the seventh floor by his Auror teams. Nearby, Headmaster Neville Longbottom, the only Hogwarts staff member still allowed in the room, was watching Malfoy unhappily.
Neville had allowed Malfoy and the Aurors into Hogwarts so Harry Potter and Sirius Black, both of whom had just escaped from Azkaban prison, could be quickly captured, ensuring the safety of his students. However, in the time Malfoy or his men had been here (Aurors had arrived with the news that Potter and Black were no longer in their cells at the prison, and an Auror presence was being established in case they came to Hogwarts), no one had been taken into custody (though they had tried to take Ginny Thomas — Madam Pomfrey had declared she was too ill to be moved right away and Neville had backed her; Malfoy had let the situation stand for now) and Potter, Black and (surprisingly) Chief Warlock Lupin had evaded capture by retreating into the Room of Requirement once again.
In response, Malfoy had ordered all the students into the Great Hall, where he confiscated all the magical cell phones, magic-resistant laptops and smart devices held by the students, then sent them all back to their common rooms with orders to remain there until further notice. Any student caught in the corridors without authorization from Malfoy would undergo a disciplinary hearing by the Wizengamot. He then ordered Neville to give him the current security system information on Harry Potter, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. Neville had complied, reluctantly, only to be told that the three could not be located — meaning that they were probably in the Room of Requirement.
The security system had confirmed that the last known location for Potter, Black and Lupin was on the seventh floor just outside the Room of Requirement. And then, even worse than having his students confined and Malfoy ordering him about like a house-elf, Neville learned that Potter's wife, former Minister of Magic Hermione Granger-Potter, had been taken into custody, as various portraits had let him know when he wasn't within Malfoy's hearing. Neville had always supported Herminoe's Ministership and was disappointed when she resigned after Harry's conviction and sentence to life in Azkaban. Neville would have urged her to stay and work to make conditions more tolerable in the wizards' prison.
Neville saw Crabbe move closer to Malfoy, speakinig in low tones. He whispered "Go," then reached up to slip a small, flesh-colored bit of string into his ear. From the bottom of his robes another bit of string shot out, slithering along the floor until it came to rest beneath the Slytherin table where Malfoy was sitting.
"— still no response from Potter or Black from inside the Room," Crabbe was saying. "The teams want to know whether they're still inside the castle."
Draco shook his head. "That's not their concern — they are to keep watch outside the Room, Disillusioned or Cloaked, and take them down the moment they exit. Besides," Malfoy added, "I have independent confirmation they are nowhere else in the castle." He patted his chest, as if there were something under his robes. "Tell them to remind Potter that every minute he wastes hiding inside the Room, his wife will spend that much longer in Azkaban."
"Okay, Boss," Crabbe said, "but you know they can't ship her off until you've at least appeared before a minimum of half the Wizengamot to request she be bound over until a full court can hear her trial — that's the law."
"I know very well what the law is, Auror Crabbe," Malfoy said, coldly. "Granger and I agreed to it, remember? But here — look at this." Malfoy took a piece of parchment from an inside pocket of his robes and handed it to Crabbe, who unfolded it and read. A moment later he chuckled and handed it back.
"Pretty clever, Boss," he said. "How'd you get Lupin to sign a warrant ordering she be bound over for trial on the charge of obstruction of justice?"
"Lupin signs a lot of things every day," Malfoy said, grinning. "It took a while to get the original writing off that parchment, but it can be done for the right price. And this is just a copy — Goyle has the original required for confirmation by the Aurors at Azkaban. Granger is already at Azkaban by now — and I told the Aurors there to make sure she's put as close to the remaining Dementors as possible."
Neville pulled back the Extendable Ear, horrified by what he'd heard. Hermione already in Azkaban? Illegally and without a meeting of the Wizengamot?! He'd obviously backed the wrong horse in this confrontation between Harry and Malfoy — Malfoy had no regard for the safety of his students, his Aurors were running wild in his school. He'd have to warn Harry what Malfoy had done.
But even the Headmaster of Hogwarts couldn't get into an occupied Room of Requirement unless he knew exactly what the occupants had asked the Room for. Not without — well, but Fawkes had disappeared long ago, when Dumbledore died. At least he had a way to contact someone about this, though he didn't know what they could do about it.
Leaving the Great Hall, Neville went into the small antechamber near the High Table, where Malfoy and his Aurors couldn't hear him. Reaching into a special pocket in his robes, Neville drew out a Galleon. This Galleon wasn't real, but it could do things real Galleons couldn't. Turning it to its reverse side, with the image of Ragnok, Neville tapped the coin with his wand and said softly, "Fred Weasley."
The image of Ragnok blinked; a few seconds later it blinked again. Neville knew that Fred's Galleon was signaling him that someone wanted to. Neville hoped he was someplace where he could answer. After a few more blinks the image of Ragnok transformed into a golden image of Fred Weasley, who beamed up at him.
"Nev! How're things at Hogwarts?" Fred asked brightly. "Ready for another upgrade of our security system — we've worked out a way to —"
"This isn't about that, Fred," Neville cut him off, wanting to deliver the bad news before Malfoy came looking for him. "I just learned that Hermione Granger-Potter has been sent to Azkaban."
"What? What for?" the golden image of Fred asked in shocked surprise.
"Near as I can tell, Malfoy is sending her there to force Harry Potter to try and go there to save her," Neville replied.
"But, Harry's in Azkaban already," Fred said, frowning in confusion. "How's he going to save her if he's there himself?"
"He broke out earlier today," Neville told him. "Haven't you heard?"
"No!" Fred was now quite agitated. "There's not a bloody thing about it on the Wizarding news feeds! Are you sure he broke out?"
"He was here, Fred," Neville said. "With Remus Lupin and Sirius Black!"
"You're joking!"
"I'm not! They claim they're both innocent — that Black didn't kill Peter Pettigrew or those Muggles all those years ago and Harry didn't kill that Monroe fellow. Oh, and there's something you should know," Neville added. "They had Hagrid bring your sister to the Hogwarts infirmary."
"Ginny's out of Azkaban? Thank Merlin!" Fred breathed. "But if Malfoy's there —"
"Poppy and I kept him from sending her back to Azkaban, at least until she's well enough to be moved," Neville assured him. "I don't know how long he'll go along with that, though."
"Long enough for us to get her out of there," Fred said, grimly. "Did — did Harry say anything about her?"
"He said she didn't kill those three Aurors, that — well, as unbelievable as it sounds, that it was Voldemort possessing her that killed them."
Fred's image registered surprise again, but quickly recovered. "Well, if Harry said that, it's good enough for me. I'd wager Voldie is responsible for killing the bloke they locked Harry up for killing, too.
"Nev, we're coming for Ginny, but I'm going to talk to my contact there first to set things up. We'll be in touch." Fred's image reverted back to Ragnok.
My contact there. Neville pondered what Fred had meant by that. If he had someone on the inside at Hogwarts it was no wonder so many students had Weasley phones and gadgets, though they had no way to get to Diagon Alley other than during Christmas and spring break. He might have to find out who that "contact" was so he could keep the burgeoning magic-proofed electronics market at the school at a manageable level. But getting Ginny to safety, guilty or not, that was a good thing. From what Poppy had told him, she wouldn't have lived much longer if she'd remained at Azkaban. So Ginny going back to that prison — no, that wasn't an option anymore.
=ooo=
"Trying to get into the Ministry, even with an Auror's help, is lunacy," Alderforth growled. "Don't be an idiot, Potter — you can't win against them."
"I got out of Azkaban, didn't I?" Harry pointed out, stubbornly. "I can get into the Ministry. And it's not up to you — it's not your wife being sent to Azkaban — wrongly, I might add!"
"Right or wrong, it ain't gonna save you against a horde of Aurors out for your blood," Alderforth snapped. "And make no mistake, Potter, they want your blood. You broke out of their prison, so it's gonna be personal for them now."
"It's personal for me, too," Harry shot back. "They have no reason to put Hermione in prison except to bait me into coming to get her! Well, that's what they're going to get — as soon as I figure out how…"
"Aaaaah," Alderforth jeered. "Bloody stupid if you ask me."
"Nobody asked you," Tonks snapped. "You must've been a lot different when you were in the first Order of the Phoenix."
"Never was," Alderforth declared. "Left that for my foolhardy cousins, Albus and Aberforth. Aberforth ended up dead, killed by You-Know-Who, and Albus was never the same afterwards." Harry stepped back, remembering the images he had seen in Dumbledore's Pensieve those many years ago, and he realized that it was as if Hermione were being held for ransom, as Aberforth had been, by Voldemort.
He could not play Voldemort's game. He knew that. But equally, he could not let Hermione go to Azkaban. If he had not destroyed every last Dementor, if even one remained, there would soon be two, then four, then a dozen or more, and finally they would be back in full force, a hundred or more.
And he would have to kill them all again.
Harry looked at Tonks, then Remus. "Any ideas what we can do?" he asked them, almost pleadingly. "We're just wasting time here."
Tonks was shaking her head slowly. Remus appeared to go deep in thought. Sirius wasn't saying anything, either; just watching his cousin and fellow Marauder trying to come up with an idea to invade the Ministry that had at least a chance of working.
"We have to do something they won't expect," Remus muttered. "And with Aurors that leaves a pretty small range of ideas, none of them obvious. If Auror Tonks or I appeared there now we would immediately be under suspicion and taken into custody. You and Sirius are right out, of course. That would leave only —" he glanced at Alderforth.
The old man gave Remus a disbelieving look. "Haven't I just been saying you should 'Run away! Run away!' not traipse off into the lion's den like a fool. And now you expect me to do the very thing I've advised against? For being the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, Lupin, you are none too bright."
"Be that as it may," Lupin said calmly, "we still have to save Hermione, and if you will not help us, we will find someone who will." He gestured for the others to follow him, then led the way into a hallway beyond the room and down a flight of rickety steps that led into a back room of the Hog's Head Inn. The group passed into the main room itself, then out the door and into the street.
Remus had taken out his wand again and made several passes of it in the air. "The town has an Anti-Apparition Jinx cast on it, very recently," he announced. "It extends beyond the town's limits —we'll have to walk out a ways before we can Apparate anywhere. It also seems linked to a Caterwauling Charm — if we had tried to Apparate in or out of Hogsmeade we would have set it off and the Aurors would have heard it. Rather clever, except they couldn't have expected us to use the Room of Requirement instead of Apparating or using a Portkey."
"Let's go, then," Harry said, casting a last, grudging glance back at the old man, who was not even watching them leave; he had turned his back to the street and was standing in the doorway of the Hog's Head with something in his hands. Harry shook his head and turned away, disgusted by the old man's attitude.
But before they had gone a dozen steps a voice rang out. "Oi! Hold up! I've got someone with a message for you!" Harry and the other paused and looked back. Alderforth was striding toward them, his hand held out with something in it Harry couldn't quite see. As he drew nearer they saw what he was holding — it was a Galleon. What was this about, Harry wondered.
"Here," Alderforth said, thrusting the coin into Harry's hand. "Look at the face," he commanded, when Harry gave him an uncomprehending stare.
"Fred!" Harry exclaimed, recognizing the face on the coin where's Ragnok's image should be. "What's going on?"
"First off," Fred grinned. "Glad to see you out and about again." Fred's image turned serious. "George and I just found out that Ginny is in Hogwarts. Can you confirm that?"
Harry nodded. "Yes, we dropped her off there earlier, she needed medical help we couldn't give her. Pomfrey is taking good care of her, I hear."
"Yeah, so I hear as well," Fred agreed. "But that's liable to end at any time if Malfoy decides to throw her back into Azkaban. George, Ron and I are going to come and get her out of there. We're really grateful you took her out of there when you escaped, Harry."
"I know she's innocent of those murders," Harry said. "I couldn't leave her there. But I've gotta go now, we need to get Hermione out of the Ministry before they send her to Azkaban."
"She's not at the Ministry, Harry," Fred said, looking as unhappy in saying those words as Harry had ever seen him. "Neville overheard Malfoy and Crabbe talking, they forged a document from the Chief Warlock binding her over to Azkaban until trial. She's probably at Azkaban now."
Harry inhaled sharply. That was bad — awful — horrible news. "Thanks for letting me know, Fred," he said, holding his anger back. "And good luck getting Ginny out of Hogwarts."
"You too, Harry," Fred said, and his image dissolved back into a goblin's likeness. Harry handed the coin back to Alderforth and turned to the others, who were staring at him, aghast.
"Well," he said, matter-of-factly. "It looks like it's back to Azkaban we go."
=ooo=
Hermione sat silently in the cell she'd been placed in, a weight of fear and depression pressing down on her, emotions that until she'd been left here she'd sworn to herself she would never succumb to. How quickly things like that could chang now that she was actually a prisoner of Azkaban!
She had been rather more vocal as Goyle had dragged her through the hallways of Hogwarts, out the front doors and out beyond the gates of the school. As he tied her hands with ropes from his wand, she'd demanded her right, the right of all accused witches and wizards of Britain, to stand before the Wizengamot and plead her case. Goyle had merely laughed and immobilized her with a Body Bind curse, then set her upon the back seat of a tandem broomstick, fastened her frozen body in place, pulled a heavy coat from a pouch at his hip then mounted the front seat and they rose into the air.
During the initial part of the flight Hermione, while upset and unsettled (not to mention tied and strapped onto a broom), was at least comforted from her aversion to flying knowing that Goyle was an expert broom flyer; he'd been very good even in his first year at Hogwarts. They weren't likely to crash, though the cold air whipping past her suggested to Hermione that they were flying at top speed. But why even use a broom when a Portkey could get them to London in seconds? The broom would take hours.
It was coming on to dusk when they crossed over to sea, dark but easily distinguished from the patchwork light and dark patterns of land below them, and Hermione began to grow apprehensive. Could Goyle be taking her directly to Azkaban? That would never hold up before the Wizengamot! Her eyes, the only part of her that still moved, locked onto the back of Goyle's hooded head as she tried to will him to turn around, to look at her and offer some explanation for what he was doing. It made no sense. He would end up in Azkaban himself, Hermione wanted to shout, when this came to light!
If it came to light, she reminded herself. The Aurors in Azkaban didn't often question the orders their superiors at the Ministry gave them, which was why when Hermione was Minister she build in safeguards to protect the rights of the accused: a hearing before a quorum of the Wizengamot before anyone was sent to prison, before the trial ever commenced; an order of incarceration signed by the Chief Warlock ordering the accused be bound over for trial; the changes instituted at the prison itself, to keep prisoners a minimum distance from the Dementors' nest at the base of the prison's central shaft.
It was beginning to rain, and the freezing cold water hitting her face made Hermione close her eyes. Goyle had thought to protect himself against the biting cold of the North Sea (for that was where they must be, she reasoned, if he was not taking her to London and instead crossing over water) but had taken no precautions for her. She could not even shiver, Body-Bound as she was. They flew on, the broom rising and falling turbulently in the wind and rain.
Time passed in cold, wet discomfort, until Hermione felt the broom begin to move steadily downward, and she managed to open her eyes enough to see the towering, three-sided building of steel that was Azkaban. They really had sent her here, against all legal precedent! Malfoy must have gone insane, she thought dully; it was the only reasonable explanation for why she was here. Ironic that she had gonge to Hogwarts to save Harry from Azkaban only to end up here herself!
Goyle descended in an unhurried spiral, landing near one of the vertices of the huge hollow triangular shaped building. Dismounting, he turned amd pointed his wand at Hermione, who felt the Body-Bind spell end, though her hands were still tied and she was still securely fastened to the seat of the broom. Two more waves from Goyle's wand and those bindings fell away, too, and the broom dropped to the steel roof of Azkaban, leaving Hermione floating in the air, supported by a Levitation Charm.
"Well, we're here," Goyle said, a sneer in his voice, and took Hermione's arm and pulled her floating body toward the corner of the building. For a panicky moment Hermione wondered if he would throw her over the edge, but they stopped next to a large steel door set into the roof. Goyle pointed his wand at this door and muttered several words under his breath. The door slowly, clankingly began to open, revealing metal stairs leading downward.
"Can you walk?" Goyle asked her, speaking loudly over the wind and rain beating down on them.
"Of course I can walk," Hermione said, indignantly. "Now that you've removed that unnecessary Body-Bind spell!" The truth was, she was wet and nearly frozen from the cold, but she would be damned it she was going to let one of Malfoy's goons know that!
Goyle shrugged and removed the Levitation Charm; Hermione felt her weight suddenly increase and her legs, cold and unresponsive, nearly buckled beneath her. Goyle took her arm and led her down the stairs, surprisingly gentle considering the mistreatment she'd endured during the ride there.
The stairs went down to a landing, then continued down to a small room with a single door set into one of the walls. A modern-looking intercom was set into the wall next to the door. Goyle pressed a button on the intercom and said, "One prisoner reporting for holding until trial."
A few moments a voice replied tonelessly, "Hold for confirmation." Goyle sighed and leaned against a wall, looking bored. They stood there for what seemed like a long time — five minutes or more, it seemed to Hermione.
"What are they doing?" she asked at last, simply to break the silence.
Goyle shrugged. "Checking with the Ministry to make sure you're supposed to be here."
"I'm not, you know," Hermione pointed out. "The Wizengamot is supposed to be presented evidence supporting my binding over for trial, and the Chief Warlock is supposed to authorize it. None of that happened!"
Goyle waved a hand dismissively. "So you say."
Hermione frowned; she wouldn't get anywhere arguing with someone like Goyle. He was Malfoy's man through and through. It might be better to talk to the Aurors inside — they would recognize the proper protocol.
A few minutes later the door opened. Two Aurors gestured the two of them inside, and Goyle led Hermione into the adjoining room. It was larger than the room they'd been in, but not by much, and furnished with only a few chairs amd an examination table. The room was brightly lit with a silvery light, and Hermione saw a silver dog standing next to a woman, protecting her from the effects of the Dementors. She tried to look around for the other Patronuses but the two Aurors took her by the arms and moved her toward the table.
The woman standing next to the examination table, gestured curtly for Hermione to lie down. Hermione complied, watching anxiously as the woman, whose bright blue robes identified her as a Healer, passed her wand over Hermione's body several times, pausing between each pass. It was nearly a minute before she spoke.
"No illnesses detected," she said to the two red-robed Aurors. "No Animagus form detected. She has no known magical devices implanted within her, either. She's cleared for a standard holding cell."
"But there's been a mistake," Hermione spoke up, then pushed herself to a sitting position. The two Aurors both immediately aimed wands at her. "I'm — I'm not supposed to be here — there was no — I wasn't — I didn't go before the Wizengamot to —"
"We verified that the Chief Warlock signed the order binding you over for trial, ma'am," one of the Aurors said shortly. You are here legally and with the required paperwork from the Ministry."
"But I'm not!" Hermione insisted. "I never even saw the Chief Warlock!"
The Auror shook his head. "That's a lie, ma'am, I can tell that you saw the Chief Warlock!"
"No!" Hermione shook her head. "Not the way you think! He was —" she stopped suddenly, realizing that what had really happened would sound incriminating all by itself. She tried a different tack. "I was brought here directly by him —" she pointed accusingly at Goyle, who only looked bored "— apparently on the direct orders of Minister Malfoy! This is completely illegal!"
"We both saw the orders," the other Auror said, shaking his head. "If you think there's been a problem with procedure, you can take it up during your trial. Until then, you'll be staying in one of our most —" he managed not to smile as he finished the sentence "— accommodating cells." Malfoy had told them to put Granger-Potter as close as possible to the Dementors, but nobody here would do that to someone only bound over for trial. When she came back from the trial properly convicted and sentenced, then they'd let her enjoy the full effects of the few Dementors that were left at the prison.
The two Aurors produced their own Patronuses, an owl and an African wildcat. She was taken from the room and marched down a long corridor to the far end, where she barely noticed the "1-A" on the wall next to the door. One of the Aurors opened the door and they took her down the steps to another door with "2-A" next to the door.
"Here we go," one of the Aurors said. "Our deluxe accommodatings," this time with a smile at his apparent joke. They passed through the door and moved down the corridor almost to the far end before unlocking one of the doors set on the right side of the corridor. Beyond the door was another corridor with four doors along each side, a total of eight cells, Hermione realized.
The Auror pointed his wand at the large iron padlock on the door and it opened with a loud click. "Here you go," the Auror said, gesturing her inside. Hermione walked in, looking around slowly.
The room wasn't large, perhaps 10 by 15 feet, and it had only a small bed for furniture, though the bed had a mattress, blankets and a pillow on it. The blankets looked new; they weren't ripped or dirty; the pillow had no cover but otherwise looked clean. There was a metal toilet along one wall and a sink across the room from it. In the four corners at the ceiling were four gas lamps, each one protected by metal screens, each glowing a dim orange. "You're allowed two meals a day," the senior Auror said, one at mid-morning and the other in late afternoon, plus two cups of water in the afternoon. Enjoy."
Without another word the two men turned and strode from the room, closing the door with a loud clang. She heard their footsteps moving away, and with each step they took away from her cell the room seemed to become more dark, dismal and depressing. Hermione sat on her bed, wondering how long it would be before she was called back to the Ministry for her trial. If the way Malfoy had acted so far was any indication, it could be quite some time.
None of the Aurors had said anything about Harry. Not even Goyle had mentioned him. Hermione wondered if that was deliberate; she imagined they didn't want to be reminded that one — two, actually — of the most famous prisoners ever imprisoned in Azkaban had just escaped. Did she dare hope that Harry would come for her, after she had all but abandoned him with her self-imposed exile to her (their) apartment? For now, all she could do was wait for them to take her back to the Ministry for trial, or wait for Harry to come get her. Either way, she decided, she ought to begin preparing her defense.
=ooo=
"Well, it looks like it's back to Azkaban we go," Harry said, with a resigned shrug. "Shall we go back inside and discuss it?" They turned to reenter the Hog's Head.
"What d'you mean 'we,' paleface?" Sirius asked, only half-joking, as they walked inside.
"Harry, I have to tell you," Tonks spoke up, admiration in her voice for Harry's courage, if not for his common sense at the moment, "Not many people who've ever escaped Azkaban, and there's only been a very few in all these years, would ever consider breaking back in to help someone else. But it's just not a good idea."
"If Minister Malfoy ordered Hermione taken to Azkaban, it is likely he did so with the idea that you would try to rescue her as soon as possible," Remus pointed out. "Azkaban has never been difficult to break into — but the majority of those break-ins were by relatives or friends of a prisoner trying to ease the stress of living under the induced fear and depression of the Dementors. That has hardly occurred since conditions were improved in 2005, after Hermione took office. Malfoy must expect you to return and try to free her, Harry."
Harry shook his head stubbornly. "I know that, Remus, but we do have an edge — we know there's a place in the prison we can enter through magical means, like a Portkey."
"Ah, that's right!" Sirius nodded, smiling. He looked at Remus. "The same way we got out — at the bottom of the center core of the building."
"Are you mental?" Tonks gasped. "That's right in the middle of the Dementors' nest! There's something like a hundred Dementors down there!"
Harry shook his head again, this time with a grim smile. "Not anymoe. I destroyed them, remember?"
"Oh, yeah, so you said," Tonks replied, skepticism in her voice.
"But I may not have gotten all of them," Harry went on, "and if that's true, they would gather in their nest, making it impossible to cast anti-Apparition and anti-Portkey spells in that area. Dementors drain magic, right? Malfoy may expect me to break into the prison, but he'll expect me to break into the top of the prison, not to appear at the base."
"But Hermione will probably be in one of the nicer cells, just below the Auror control center on level 1-A," Tonks pointed out. "However Malfoy expects you to break in, he's going to have her very close to most of the Aurors in the entire prison. And once you find her, you'll still have to get her back out."
Harry didn't reply immediately. What Remus and Tonks had pointed out was true. If he appeared at the base of Azkaban, even if he initially kept his presence from the Aurors there, he would have to make his way up through the prison levels, avoiding any patrols, then fight his way out once Hermione was free. It was a daunting task, and he couldn't ask Sirius to risk it with him — he would have to hope his new-found godfather would want to go with him. "I'll…find a way to do it," he said, trying to make himself sound confident. "I have to, for Hermione."
Tonks nodded at him, bright-eyed, and Sirius stepped forward. "Count me in, Harry. It sounds like you'll need an extra hand. Or paw, perhaps." He held out his hand to Harry.
"Are you sure?" Harry asked. "They're probably right, you know."
"I know," Sirius grinned. "But hell, what's life without a little fun and excitement? I've been sitting on my arse for the past 35 years, now I have something to do again!" Harry nodded and took his hand, shaking it.
The room was suddenly flashing with the lights that signaled a Portkey and three men appeared in the pub amidst a whirlwind of color. Three red-headed men.
"No wonder the entire town has an Apparition ward on it! We're late for a meeting," Fred Weasley said, looking at the others in the room.
"I wonder why they never think to invite us to these things?" George Wealsey pondered aloud.
"Probably because things descend into silliness once we show up," Ron Weasley muttered, but with a crooked smile on his face.
Harry turned, beaming in delight at seeing the three (even Ron), and said, "Hey! Did you guys bring the butterbeer?"
George smiled back and replied, "Thought that was your job, mate. Good to see you out and about, Harry!" He shook Harry's hand.
Fred stepped forward to shake Harry's hand as well. "We're mighty grateful to you for getting Ginny out of Azkaban, Harry. Mum's been — well, she's grateful too, let me tell you."
Harry turned to Ron, who just stared at him for a long moment before extending his hand as well. "Yeah, thanks Harry, for getting her out of that place. I hope you can do the same for H-Hermione."
Harry nodded and shook Ron's hand. "I will," he promised.
"Well, I never thought I'd see so many people go mental in one day," Alderforth observed, resignedly. "But what the hell, I'll add my bit of insanity to the mix. A round of butterbeers for everyone!" Instead of going behind the counter, Alderforth took out his wand and waved it at the bar. Eight bottles of butterbeer floated up and landed in a neat row on the bar. "Drink up!"
The others stepped up to the bar and grabbed a bottle. "A toast!" George yelled. "To success!"
"And to creating Chaos!" Fred added.
"Because Merlin says!" Harry tossed in.
The others in the group looked at each other, a bit confused, but a toast was a toast. Bottles clinked and bottoms tipped upward. Success was the important thing — getting Hermione out of Azkaban, and Ginny out of Hogwarts and away from the Aurors who would sentence them to death.
=ooo=
Minister Malfoy sat back in his soft, comfortable desk chair, smiling wolfishly as he slipped the small box he'd just been listening to into his most secure desk drawer. The conversation he'd been eavesdropping on had been quite informative, and he would make sure his men were ready for what was coming their way.
Two large Aurors stood nearby, both smiling, for it wasn't often the Minister let them listen in when he used the box to eavesdrop on conversations. This one, held in the shabbiest pub in Hogsmeade, had revealed quite a few illegal activites that would be attempted in the next few minutes.
"Make sure we have three teams Disillisuioned and warded against detection in and around the Hogwarts infirmary," he told them. "And alert the teams at the prison that they should expect company coming up from the lower levels. I don't want any slip-ups this time."
Crabbe and Goyle both nodded. They weren't sure how close Minister Malfoy had come to firing (or cursing) them, but he'd been scary mad when he first learned that Potter, Black and Lupin weren't even in Hogwarts castle after teams had locked down the seventh floor corridor leading to the Room of Requirement for more than an hour. And it had only been a wild coincidence that they'd learned that — the Minister had been killing time listening to various locatons where he had secreted bugs — a Muggle term for covert listening devices, but magical in nature — purchased from the Weasley electronics store under assumed identities. He'd overheard the conversation in the Hog's Head and began listening in earnest. Alderforth Dumbledore acting as a front for the Weasleys selling magic-proofed electronics gadgets to the students of Hogwarts was one thing; participating (even indirectly) in break-ins of Azkaban and Hogwarts itself was quite another. The two Aurors turned and hurried from the room, leaving Malfoy alone to anticipate the sweet victories he would soon have over Potter and the Weasleys (and eventually Granger, too, as she languished in prison awaiting her trial). The thought made him smile again.
And don't forget who you owe this to, a voice in the back of his head reminded him, making Draco lower his head unconsciously. No, he wouldn't forget. His life had changed forever the moment he'd taken the wand from Ginny Weasley and the memories of the Dark Lord and those joined with him had flooded his mind.
He was now easily the smartest, most powerful, most knowledgeable wizard in the world, smarter and stronger than even Dumbledore had been at his peak, and it would not take much more time before the Ministry was fully under his control. And from there, Europe, then Asia, then the Americas, then…the world. Malfoy smiled with anticipation. Soon, very soon, he would control it all.
