DISCLAIMER: I OWN NEITHER HARRY POTTER NOR FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST!
Chapter Thirty-Seven
The fifth years entered the Great Hall at two o'clock the next day and took their places in front of their overturned examination papers.
"Turn over your papers," Professor Marchbanks instructed from the front of the Hall, flicking over the giant hourglass. "You may begin…"
Ed flipped over the paper and looked at the first question, answering it quickly and effectively. He rose an eyebrow once he reached question four: In your opinion, did wand legislation contribute to, or lead to better control of, goblin riots of the eighteenth century?
Ed wrote: Wand legislation contributed to goblin riots of the eighteenth century because the stupid wizards and witches thought that not allowing goblins wands would make the said witches and wizards safer, when in actuality it made things more dangerous since the goblins decided to take matters into their own hands. Why do you think the goblins are still pissed at the witches and wizards?
Ed grinned at his answer and moved on to question five: How was the Statue of Sorcery breached in 1749 and what measures were introduced to prevent a recurrence?
He wrote down his answer and continued writing his answers until he heard Harry screaming as if he were on fire. Everyone in the Hall turned to see Harry on the floor, clutching his scar. Tofty went to Harry and helped Harry out of the room after he had come to. Everyone else was told to continue on their exams. After the exams were over, Harry found Ed, Al, Ron, and Hermione and had them to come with him into an empty classroom. Harry immediately shut the door behind them and leaned against it, facing Ed, Al, Ron, and Hermione.
"Voldemort's got Sirius," Harry revealed.
"What?!" Hermione asked.
"How d'you - ?" Ron started.
"Where and how?" Ed asked, his arms crossed.
"I dunno how," Harry answered. "But I know exactly where. There's a room in the Department of Mysteries full of shelves covered in these little glass balls, and they're at the end of row ninety-seven… He's trying to use Sirius to get whatever it is he wants from in there… He's torturing him…Says he'll end by killing him…"
Harry moved over to a desk and sat down on it.
"How're we going to get there?" Harry asked.
"We're not going to go there, Harry," Al answered.
"Why not?!" Harry demanded. "Voldemort has Sirius!"
"I don't think so, Harry," Ed dismissed. "It's five o'clock in the afternoon. The Ministry of Idiots - I mean, Magic - is full of workers. I highly doubt that Bodel-butt pranced all the way there with a convicted murderer just to get a ball off a shelf. If he wanted it done, he would have sent Mal-fart's daddy or something. Have you ever thought that it is just a dream?"
"Edward is right," Hermione agreed. "You've never been there. You've just dreamed about the place, that's all."
"They're not normal dreams!" Harry yelled. "How do you explain Ron's dad then? What was all that about? How come I knew what had happened to him? And what about the meeting between Voldemort and Fuhrer Bradley?"
"Harry, you've got excellent points," Ed reasoned, pinching the bridge of his nose with his left hand while his right supported his left elbow. "But, Harry, it's very unlikely that Voldemort got hold of Sirius since he's been inside of Grimmauld Place all the time. He has other ways to get what he wants."
"You know what, I've just thought of something," Ron remembered. "Sirius's brother was a Death Eater, wasn't he? Maybe he told Sirius the secret of how to get the weapon!"
"Yeah, and that's why Dumbledore's been so keen to keep Sirius locked up all the time!" Harry agreed.
"I don't think so," Ed shot down.
Harry and Ron looked at him.
"Why not?" Harry asked.
"Then Sirius would have been dead by now," Ed replied.
"Edward is right," Hermione agreed. "Besides, what if your dream was - was just that, a dream?"
"You don't get it!" Harry roared. "I'm not having nightmares, I'm not just dreaming! What do you think all the Occlumency was for? Why do you think Dumbledore wanted me prevented from seeing these things? Because they're REAL! Sirius is trapped - I've seen him - Voldemort's got him, and no one else knows, and that means we're the only ones who can save him, and if you don't want to do it, fine, but I'm going, understand?"
"But, Harry, you've just said it!" Hermione reminded fiercely. "Dumbledore wanted you to learn to shut these things out of your mind. If you'd done Occlumency properly, you'd never have seen this -"
"IF YOU THINK I'M JUST GOING TO ACT LIKE I HAVEN'T SEEN -" Harry roared.
"Sirius told you there was nothing more important than you learning to close your mind!" Hermione reminded.
"WELL, I EXPECT HE'D SAY SOMETHING DIFFERENT IF HE KNEW WHAT I'D JUST -" Harry roared again.
The classroom door opened. Ed, Al, Harry, Ron, and Hermione whipped around. Winry and Ginny walked in, looking curious, closely followed by Luna, who as usual looked as though she had drifted in accidentally.
"What were you yelling about, Harry?" Winry asked, her hands on her hips. "And why are you in here?"
"Never you mind!" Harry snapped.
Winry scowled as Ginny rose an eyebrow.
"Don't take that tone with Winry," Ginny retorted. "She only asked because she wants to help. Right, Winry?"
"Of course," Winry said.
"And I want to help as well," Ginny went on.
"Well, you can't," Harry retorted.
"You're being rather rude, you know," Luna observed.
Harry swore and turned away. The very last thing he wanted now was a conversation with Luna Lovegood.
"Harry, they can help," Ed said.
"How?" Harry asked.
"Well, they can help us establish if Sirius really is captured by Bodel-butt," Ed suggested.
"I've told you, I saw -!" Harry snapped.
"Don't bust a lung, Harry," Ed interrupted. "I'm just saying that we should check before running off to London. It's the rational thing to do."
"Since when were you the rational brother?" Ginny remarked.
"Yeah, Brother, that's my job," Al agreed, smiling.
"Shut up!" Ed snapped.
"I agree with Edward, Harry," Hermione admitted. "This is his most logical idea he's ever had."
"HEY!" Ed protested. "What's that supposed to mean?!"
"Just as it sounds," Winry explained.
Ed growled.
"Sirius is being tortured NOW!" Harry shouted. "We haven't got time to waste!"
"Stop yelling!" Al burst out.
Everyone looked at Al.
"Sorry," Al apologized, blushing with embarrassment. "It's just that I'm sick and tired of hearing it. We've just got to check that it's not a trick of Voldemort's."
"How?" Harry demanded. "How are we going to check?"
"We'll have to use Umbridge's fire and see if we can contact him," Hermione answered, looking positively terrified at the though. "We'll draw Umbridge away again, but we'll need lookouts, and that's where we can use Winry, Ginny, and Luna."
"We'll do it!" Winry stated.
"When you say 'Sirius', are you talking about Stubby Boardman?" Luna asked.
Nobody answered her.
"Okay," Harry said to Hermione. "Okay, if you can think of a way of doing this quickly, I'm with you, otherwise I'm going to the Department of Mysteries right now -"
"The Department of Mysteries?" Luna asked, surprised. "But how are you going to get there?"
Harry ignored her.
"Right," Hermione said, twisting her hands together and pacing up and down between the desks. "Right…well…One of us has to go and find Umbridge and - and send her off in the wrong direction, keep her away from her office. They could tell her - I don't know - that Peeves is up to something awful as usual…"
"I'll do it," Ron volunteered at once. "I'll tell her Peeves is smashing up the Transfiguration department or something, it's miles away from her office. Come to think of it, I could probably persuade Peeves to do it if I met him on the way…"
"Okay," Hermione continued as she continued pacing, her brow furrowed. "Now, we need to keep students away from her office while we force entry, or some Slytherin's bound to go and tip her off…"
"Ginny, Luna, and I can do that," Winry volunteered promptly.
"Yeah, Luna can stand at one end while Winry and I can stand at the other," Ginny added, "and warn people not to go down there because someone's let off a load of Garroting Gas. Fred and George were planning to do it before they left."
"What will you two do?" Hermione asked Ed and Al, turning to look at them.
"We'll help you and Harry, of course," Ed answered. "You can't have too many lookouts."
"That's true," Hermione agreed. "You, Alphonse, Harry, and myself can go into Umbridge's office so Harry can check whether Sirius is at home or not. But I don't know if we all can fit under Harry's Invisibility Cloak."
"What do you mean?" Al asked.
"Well, Edward has grown exponentially ever since your…illness was cured," Hermione answered. "And he's taller than Harry and Ron now."
"You do have a point," Ron pointed out.
"It'll be fine," Harry brushed off.
"Right, well, even if we do all of that, I don't think we're going to be able to bank on more than five minutes," Hermione continued planning, "not with Filch and the wretched Inquisitorial Squad floating around."
"Five minutes'll be enough," Harry brushed off. "Come on, let's go -"
"Now?!" Hermione asked in shock.
"Of course now!" Harry replied angrily. "What did you think, we're going to wait until after dinner or something? Hermione, Sirius is being tortured right now!"
"I - oh all right," Hermione sighed. "Go and get the Invisibility Cloak and we'll meet you at the end of Umbridge's corridor, okay?"
Harry nodded and threw himself out of the classroom.
"Not too eager, is he?" Ed remarked.
"Let's go," Winry said. "We need to get there before Umbridge gets there."
"Right," Hermione agreed.
"Wait, what's going to be the signal if Umbridge comes?" Al asked.
"Weasley Is Our King," Ginny quickly suggested.
"Which one?" Winry asked.
"Our version," Ginny answered.
"Good suggestion," Ed commented. "Let's go."
Then Ed, Al, Winry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Luna left the classroom and went to the end of Umbridge's corridor. Harry joined them a few minutes later, panting.
"Got it," Harry panted. "Ready to go, then?"
"All right," Hermione whispered as a gang of loud sixth years passed them. "So, Ron - you go and head Umbridge off…Ginny, Luna, Winry, if you can start moving people out of the corridor…Edward, Alphonse, Harry, and I will get the cloak on and wait until the coast is clear…"
Ron strode away, his bright red hair visible right to the end of the passage. Meanwhile, Ginny's equally vivid head bobbed between the jostling students surrounding them in the other direction, trailed by Luna's dirty blonde one and Winry's straw blonde head.
"Get over here," Hermione muttered, tugging at Harry's wrist and pulling him back into a recess where the ugly stone head of a medieval wizard stood muttering to itself on a column.
Ed and Al followed.
"Are - are you sure you're okay?" Hermione asked. "You're still very pale."
"I'm fine," Harry replied shortly, tugging the Invisibility Cloak from out of his bag and then throwing it over himself, Ed, Al, and Hermione. "Here."
They all stood listening carefully over the Latin mumblings of the bust in front of them.
"You can't come down here!" Ginny called to the crowd. "No, sorry, you're going to have to go round by the swiveling staircase, someone has let off Garroting Gas just along here -"
"I can't see no gas," a surly voice complained.
"That's because it's colorless, you moron," Winry snapped. "But if you want to walk through it, go ahead, and then we'll have your body as proof for the next idiot who didn't believe us."
Slowly the crowd thinned. The news about the Garroting Gas seemed to have spread - people were not coming this way anymore. When at last the surrounding area was quite clear, Hermione said quietly, "I think that's as good as we're going to get. Come on, let's do it."
Together Ed, Al, Harry, and Hermione moved forward, covered by the cloak. Luna was standing with her back to them at the far end of the corridor. As they passed Ginny and Winry, Hermione whispered, "Good one…don't forget the signal…"
"We won't, Hermione," Winry whispered back. "Good luck."
"What's the signal?" Harry muttered, as he, Ed, Al, and Hermione approached Umbridge's door.
"A loud chorus of 'Weasley Is Our King' if they see Umbridge coming," Ed answered.
Harry inserted the blade of Sirius's penknife in the crack between door and wall. The lock clicked open, and they entered the office. The garish kittens were basking in the late afternoon sunshine warming their plates, but otherwise the office was as still and empty as the last time Harry used it. Hermione breathed a sigh of relief.
"I thought she might have added extra security after the second niffler…" Hermione sighed.
Harry pulled the cloak off as Hermione hurried over to the window and stood out of sight, peering down into the grounds with her wand out. Harry dashed over to the fireplace, seized the pot of Floo powder and threw a pinch in the grate, causing emerald flames to burst into life there. Then Harry shoved his head in.
"That's got to be uncomfortable," Ed muttered.
"I don't think we'll have five minutes," Al worried.
"I have to agree," Ed agreed.
Hermione looked at Ed and Al.
"What do you mean, Edward, Alphonse?" Hermione asked.
"You can be so naïve," Ed scowled. "It's too good to be true that she'd leave - Shit."
Umbridge had come in and before Ed, Al, and Hermione could fight, they were all caught. Umbridge pulled Harry out of the fireplace and dragged him backward. With a horrible abruptness, he was staring up into the wide, pallid face of Professor Umbridge, who had dragged him backward out of the fire by the hair and was now bending his neck back as far as it would go as though she was going to slit his throat.
"You think," Umbridge whispered, bending Harry's neck back even farther so that he was looking up at the ceiling above him, "that after two nifflers I was going to let one more foul, scavenging little creature enter my office without my knowledge? I had Stealth Sensoring Spells placed all around my doorway after the last one got in, you foolish boy. Take his wand. Theirs too…"
Harry felt someone take his wand from his chest pocket and heard scuffling over by the door and knew that Ed, Al, and Hermione had their wands taken from them as well.
"OW!" Harry heard Malfoy yell.
"That's what you get for taking my wand, you son of a bitch," Harry heard Ed snicker.
"Wait until I tell my father about you, Elric," Malfoy scowled. "He'll have-"
"I don't give a shit about your stupid father, Mal-fart," Ed interrupted. "If you think that your father is totally dedicated to you and your mother, then you're horribly mistaken."
"How dare -" Malfoy started.
"Shut up!" Umbridge snapped at Ed and Malfoy, and then she turned back to Harry. "I want to know why you are in my office."
"I was - trying to get my Firebolt!" Harry croaked.
"Liar!" Umbridge screamed, shaking Harry's head. "Your Firebolt is under strict guard in the dungeons, as you very well know, Potter. You had your head in my fire. With whom have you been communicating?"
"No one -" Harry lied, trying to pull away from her and feeling several hairs being pulled out.
"Liar!" Umbridge shouted.
She threw Harry from her, and he slammed into the desk. He saw Hermione pinioned against the wall by Millicent Bulstrode. Malfoy had hold of Ed and had Ed and Harry's wand. There was a commotion outside and several large Slytherins entered, each gripping Al, Winry, Ron, Ginny, Luna, and Neville, who was trapped in a stranglehold by Crabbe and looked in imminent danger of suffocation. All six of them had been gagged. Warrington had a black eye.
"Got 'em all," Warrington reported, shoving Winry roughly forward into the room. "This one," motioning towards Winry, "hit me with some sort of metal object when I tried to get her and Elric. That one," he poked a thick finger at Neville, "tried to stop me taking her," he pointed at Ginny, who was trying to kick the shins of the large Slytherin girl holding her, "so I brought him along too."
"Good, good," Umbridge praised, watching Ginny struggle. "Well, it looks as though Hogwarts will shortly be a Weasley-and-Elric free school, doesn't it?"
Malfoy laughed loudly and sycophantically. Umbridge looked at him with a wide, complacent smile and settled herself into a chintz-covered armchair, blinking up at her captives like a toad in a flowerbed.
"If you have Mal-fart let me go, I'll give you a big hug," Ed spat out. "You fat bitch."
Umbridge glared at Ed and then looked at Harry.
"So, Potter," Umbridge said, ignoring Ed, "you stationed lookouts around my office and you sent this buffoon," she nodded at Ron, and Malfoy laughed louder until Ed stepped on Malfoy's foot again with his left foot, making Malfoy yelp in pain, "to tell me the poltergeist was wreaking havoc in the Transfiguration department when I knew perfectly well that he was busy smearing ink on the eyepieces of all the school telescopes. Mr. Filch having just informed me so."
"Get your sodding foot off my foot!" Malfoy yelled at Ed.
"Why don't you make me, you -!" Ed started.
Umbridge sent a curse at Ed, and Ed crumpled to the floor.
"Brother!" Al tried to yell through his gag.
Harry, Ron, Hermione, Winry, Ginny, Luna, and Neville all looked at Ed as well as Malfoy and the other Slytherins laughed.
"That's better," Umbridge said, Harry glaring at her and hating her. "Clearly, it was very important for you to talk to somebody. Was it Albus Dumbledore? Or the half-breed, Hagrid? I doubt it was Professor McGonagall. I hear she is still to ill to talk to anyone."
Malfoy and a few of the other Inquisitorial Squad laughed some more at that. Harry found he was so full of rage and hatred he was shaking.
"It's none of your business who I talk to," Harry snarled.
Umbridge's slack face seemed to tighten.
"Very well," Umbridge said in her most dangerous and falsely sweet voice. "Very well, Mr. Potter…I offered you the chance to tell me freely. You refused. I have no alternative but to force you. Draco - fetch Professor Snape. Do not worry about Mr. Elric; he will not wake for a while."
Malfoy stowed Harry's and Ed's wands inside his robes and left the room smirking. Harry had just realized that Snape was the last Order of the Phoenix member in the school. There was a silence in the office except for the fidgeting and scuffling resultant from the Slytherins' efforts to keep Ron and the others under control. Winry was looking at Ed with angry tears coming down her face. She tried to blink away the tears, but she was too angry for what Umbridge had done to Ed. Al was struggling against the Slytherin holding him; Ron's lip was bleeding onto Umbridge's carpet as he struggled against Warrington's half-nelson; Ginny was still trying to stamp on the feet of the sixth-year girl who had both of her upper arms in a tight grip. Neville was turning steadily more purple in the face while tugging at Crabbe's arms, and Hermione was attempting vainly to throw Millicent Bulstrode off herd. Luna, however, stood limply by the side of her captor, now gazing vaguely out of the window as though rather bored by the proceedings.
Ed was still unconscious on the ground by Umbridge's desk. His golden bangs were covering his face.
Harry looked back at Umbridge, who was watching him closely. He kept his face deliberately smooth and blank as footsteps were heard in the corridor outside and Draco Malfoy entered the room, closely followed by Snape.
"You wanted to see me, Headmistress?" Snape asked, looking around at all the pairs of struggling students with an expression of complete indifference.
Then he looked at Ed and back to Umbridge.
"Ah, Professor Snape," Umbridge smiled, standing up again. "Yes, I would like another bottle of Veritaserum, as quick as you can, please."
"You took my last bottle to interrogate Potter," Snape said, surveying her coolly through his greasy curtains of black hair. "Surely you did not use it all? I told you that three drops would be sufficient."
Umbridge flushed.
"You can make some more, can't you?" Umbridge asked.
"Certainly," Snape answered, his lip curling. "It takes a full moon cycle to mature, so I should have it ready for you in around a month."
"A month?!" Umbridge squawked, swelling toadishly. "A month but I need it this evening, Snape! I have just found Potter using my fire to communicate with a person or persons unknown!"
"Really?" Snape asked, looking interestedly at Harry. "Well, it doesn't surprise me. Potter has never shown much inclination to follow school rules…like Mr. Elric there. Let us just hope that Mr. Elric wakes or you will have the Amestrian government -"
"He will be fine!" Umbridge snapped. "I wish to interrogate Potter! I wish you to provide me with a potion that will force him to tell me the truth!"
"I have already told you," Snape reminded, "that I have no further stocks of Veritaserum. Unless you wish to poison Potter - and I assure you I would have the greatest sympathy with you if you did - I cannot help you. The only trouble is that most venoms act too fast to give the victim much time for truth-telling…"
"You are on probation!" Umbridge shrieked, Snape raising his eyebrows. "You are being deliberately unhelpful! I expected better! Lucius Malfoy always speaks most highly of you! Now get out of my office!"
Snape gave an ironic bow and was about to leave until Harry spoke up.
"He's got Padfoot!" Harry shouted. "He's got Padfoot at the place where it's hidden!"
Snape had stopped with his hand on Umbridge's door handle.
"Padfoot?" Umbridge cried, looking eagerly from Harry to Snape. "What is Padfoot? Where what is hidden? What does he mean, Snape?"
Snape looked around at Harry. His face was inscrutable. Harry could not tell whether he had understood or not, but he did not dare speak more plainly in front of Umbridge.
"I have no idea," Snape replied coldly. "Potter, when I want nonsense shouted at me I shall give you a Babbling Beverage. And Crabbe, loosen your hold a little, if Longbottom suffocates it will mean a lot of tedious paperwork, and I am afraid I shall have to mention it on your reference if ever you apply for a job."
Just then, Ed groaned.