Chapter 18 The Ministry
Authors Note: So, I'm actually really busy and planed on doing this tomorrow but I was like hey why not. Also, sorry last chapter was so boring. This chapter has lots of action! Enjoy!
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"Ready?"
"Ready." The three were lurking around an alley close to the Ministry. Hermione's victim came first.
"Stupefy." Mafalda Hopkirk fell to the floor and the three quickly grabbed her, dragging her into the dim lite alley. Soon after Reg Cattermole and Albert Runcorn.
The three each pulled a few strands of hair from their new identity and placed them into the flask containing Polyjuice. Once the transformation was done they quickly switched clothes.
"Okay we meet at the lift?"
Both boys gave a head nod before following the rest of the men to the men's bathroom and Hermione went with the line to the women's.
She knew all about the Ministry so when it was her turn she entered the stall and stepped right into the toilet. She grabbed the flusher and only spent a second before pulling it down and being sucked into the toilet.
She popped out of the green flames and made way for the lifts. She however found the disguised Harry and Ron staring at the center piece. It was two large boulders that had people in between them trying to escape. With looks of horror and pain painted on their faces. Some were even children.
"Are those…?" Harry and Ron stood petrified.
"Muggles. Yes."
"Blimey."
The three broke the intense stare and made their way to an empty lift. "Harry what's the plan?" The idea of them being in the Ministry undercover was quickly dawning on them.
"We find Umbridge, once we do, we look for an opening to take the locket. If we don't get the locket we leave before the potion wears off and came back tomorrow. Deal?"
Now it was Hermione and Ron's turn to nod their heads. Suddenly the lift came to an abrupt stop and Corban Yaxley, a known Death Eater happened to be on the other side.
Once the doors finally opened the small trio tensed up. "Cattermole my office is still raining."
"Okay."
"It's been over a week." Yaxley stepped forward and grabbed the front of Ron's clothes. "You have one hour and don't forget, your wife is having her trail downstairs right now. Would be a shame if the magic stealing mudblood was sent to Azkaban." Yaxley released Ron and walked in the other direction. The lift closed and they continued to move up.
"They … they have my wife!"
"Ronald, you don't have a wife."
"Oh yeah … but how do I get it to stop raining?"
"Try Impervius. It may work."
The doors opened once more and Ron was about to step out when it felt like the temperature in the small lift dropped twenty degrees. Dolores Umbridge stood before them with a smile on her face and the locket around her neck.
"Cattermole, weren't you going to get off?" He gave Umbridge a small nod before leaving and heading for Yaxley office. "Now Mafalda you will be working with me on the trails today against muggle-borns. Can you meet me in the court rooms in oh let's say ten minutes?"
"Yes ma'am." It took Hermione a while to crook out that small sentence. Umbridge got off on the next floor and Hermione broke into panic.
"Hermione. Hermione, you will be fine! The court rooms are in the Department of Mysteries. Got that?"
"Yes, but where will you go?"
"We know where Umbridge is now so I will just have to figure out a way to get in there. And find Ron."
"Okay." Hermione got of the lift and went to find one that was going down. She got on alone and slowly stepped out when she reached the chilling floor. It was almost dark and the only way was to either go left or right. She knew she would have to walk around corridor after corridor before finding the right place so she went right.
Her arms were crossed against her chest and she tried to walk at a normal but quickened pace. On the third turn she saw a man walking the opposite direction, towards her. She knew him right away because of his hair that shown through the dark like a full moon. Draco Malfoy was walking with his hands in his pockets and a proper scowl across his features. Hermione tried to remain calm and hugged the wall while staring at the ground.
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The day had gone like Draco expected. No one would look at him and his father pretty much left him to wander around. He was walking around different corridors when a small woman caught sight of him and quickly adverted her gaze away and took a step closer to the wall. This just made his scowl even more noticeable. Upon getting closer and closer to this woman a smell was just grazing the tip of his nose. When he finally walked past her it was like the sweet honey scent he had dreamed of for months came crashing into him like a wave.
He literally had to stop and shake his head. The women had obviously felt something as well because she was casting looks over her shoulder.
"Hermione?" Draco didn't understand why he said it but that was her scent and he knew that. By heart.
Suddenly the women looked back in shock before breaking into a run. Draco stunned for only a moment ran after her. The women didn't get far due to the heels she was wearing, allowing it to be quite easy for Draco to catch up to her. He quickly grabbed her wrist, pulling her into an empty office and pinning her against the door.
He starred long into the women's eyes before dropping his head and sniffing her neck. He saw her eyes close in fear for only a second.
"Who are you?"
Hermione's mouth opened and closed like a fish a few times. "Mafalda Hopkirk."
Draco's eyebrows drew together in confusion. Why did she smell so much like Hermione? "I think your lying."
"Am not." Wow Hermione thought to herself. Real childish and totally something a thirty-year-old woman would say.
"You are working on the trails with Muggle-borns correct?"
"Yes, so if you don't mind I will be going." Draco held her tighter against the door.
"Has Hermione Jean Granger shown up or had a trail yet?"
Now it was Hermione's turn to draw her eyebrows together in confusion. "No…"
"Are you lying to me?"
"Why would I lie to a Death Eater." Hermione said the last words with such venom it surprised her. Her brown eyes were boring dangerously into Draco's silver ones.
Draco raised his eyebrows in amusement. He only knew one female that was brave enough to stand up to a Death Eater and a Malfoy. She did it in fifth year against his father. "Granger." He let his head drop as a sigh escaped his lips.
Some of his hair tickled Hermione's face and she felt a bolt of electricity shoot through her veins. She shoved the unexpecting man off her and had her wand drawn in a heartbeat. "Malfoy." Once again, the venom and hatred she used against his name was not unnoticed by Draco.
Draco didn't even try and get his wand. "I'm not going to hurt you but if someone else does find you they will."
"Why would you care?" Her eyes flashed with concern and curiosity.
"I never said I did … or didn't." The last part he muttered under his breath so he could only hear it.
"Hermione, you have to go."
"No."
"It's not safe here."
'So."
"You could get hurt."
"Okay."
"If another Death Eater were to find you God knows what they would do."
"Great."
"HERMIONE!" Draco was quite frustrated with her stubbornness. He took swift steps away from where he was currently standing and had her pinned against the door again. "I'm telling you to go. So, go!"
Her wand was forgotten as she was startled by his sudden outburst. For the first time, she felt her eyes turn black and thought it was due to the anger she was feeling. But when she looked up into the normally stormy grey eye and saw pure black it was like everything stopped. Her breath caught in her throat, her heart was beating at rapid speed she was almost sure it was missing beats, and her blood chilled while the hair on the back of her neck stood up.
"Draco…"
He was still currently seething but when he got sight of her black eyes his breathing and heart slowed but his face looked defeated. The sound of his name from her feminine but powerful lips was like Mozart to his ears.
"You're not going to leave, are you?"
"No." She was still curiously looking into his eyes when she subconsciously reached up and touched the spot a bite mark should be on her neck but was obviously missing due to her being Mafalda right now.
He lowered his eyes to look into hers. "Please … please be careful." He slowly stepped back as his hands were still out in front of him shaking. He felt as if every time she left a part of him left with her. She fit so perfectly in his arms and every time it got harder and harder to let her go.
Her sorrow for leaving him was real. She didn't quite understand why her emotions could change so quickly for the blonde. "Draco."
He lifted his head with a glimmer of hope in his eyes.
"Be careful as well." She didn't know why she did it but she walked over to him and stood on her tippy toes, and gave him a small peck on the cheek. Once her feet were flat on the ground she looked back into his eyes one more time before leaving the office and looking for the court rooms.
"Your late." Umbridge was in the judge seat while Mrs. Cattermole sat in the accused chair. Mr. Cattermole also Ron in disguise, standing behind her.
"Sorry ma'am, I was pulled aside for something."
"Very well, hand me the file on the Cattermole's." Umbridge ushered over to the area beside her filled with files. Hermione quickly made her way and tried to clear her mind of anything Veela or Draco related. She could think later.
"Now Mrs. Cattermole the wand you stole is nine inches. Dragon Heart string as the core."
"Not stolen."
'Whose wand is this?"
"Mine ma'am."
"Care to explain to me how you got it?"
"I went to Ollivanders when I was eleven and the wand choose me."
"Impossible."
Hermione was intently watching when she practically jumped four feet into the air. "It's me, Harry." Caused her to get almost scared to death. He must have snuck in wearing the invisibility cloak.
"The wand chooses the wizard or witch ma'am."
"Which you are neither!" Umbridge took a deep breath. "Now tell me how you stole this wand and the magic you are able to do or a one-way ticket to Azkaban will be in order!" She finished the sentence with her classic evil smile.
"But ma'am!"
'Stupefy!" Harry's wand was pointing out of the cloak when Hermione made a grab for the locket around the stunned women's neck.
Ron and Harry were quick and stunned the few others in the room while Mrs. Cattermole sat there in shock. Ron quickly grabbed his wife and the group made a break for the lifts. A hoard of Dementors were altered by the commotion and clung to the outside of the lifts gate, trying to deliver the kiss to their victims that were only feet away.
"Expecto Patronum!" Harry's stag shot from his wand and sent the Dementors hurting backwards.
They made it to the main level when Mrs. Cattermole yanked her husband to a stop. "Honey what is going on!"
"Darling get the children and run. Get out of the country." Mrs. Cattermole through herself onto Ron and locked him into a passionate kiss when all three-started changing back. Mrs. Cattermole stood in shock once more as her husband turned into a tall boy with red hair.
"Run!" The three looked at each other and tried to get to the fire places as quickly as possible.
"SEAL THE EXITS!" was being broadcasted throughout the Ministry as spells were being thrown at them. Someone must have found Umbridge and now Yaxley was hot on their tale.
"Get them! Stop them!" Hermione quickly caused a huge stack of papers to swam around Yaxley as he was only feet away from them. A stupefy barley missed her head as she heard the commotion around her.
They slide into a remaining fireplace and finally touched ground when it quickly disappeared and reappeared again. The golden trio were now standing in the forest while Ron fell to the floor in pain.
"Hermione what happened?" Harry was looking around frantically.
"Harry get me the vial from my bag!" Harry quickly accio'd it and Hermione immediately started placing drops all over Ron's bleeding arm.
"We were at Grimmauld place but Yaxley got a hold of me. I couldn't shake him so I quickly took us somewhere else and in the process, he fell off. But now Ron's been splinched!"