CHAPTER THIRTEEN
The trio stepped into the Atrium, startling slightly as the door of the lift clanged shut behind them and rose back to ground level. No one in the Atrium seemed petrubed by the seemingly empty lift, leading the trio to suspect that invisible guards and other creatures often made use of the it.
They slowly made their way through the crowd, being careful not to hit anyone. They skirted the fountain and reached the other end of the Atrium, where the lifts were.
"Come on, let's go." Lara whispered to the two boys either side of her, her voice lost in the deafening noise already bouncing around the Atrium. She led them towards the small gate that would open up into the hallway of lifts.
"What are you doing?" Draco hissed, grabbing where he supposed Lara's arm was and pulling her back.
"Going to the lifts to begin a search of the Ministry?" Lara replied, confused as to the nature of Draco's fervant whisper.
"Aren't we going to get our wands checked?"
"Are you kidding?"
"They won't let us through the gate unless we check our wands." Draco insisted, leading Lara to the small table.
"Have you gone insane?" Lara whispered, lowering her voice as an ugly looking creature which she couldn't identify walked past. "Voldemort has taken hold of this place. There won't be any more 'wand checking'."
"Yes there will! The gates are bewitched. If you haven't been given the approval by the inspector you don't go through."
"Surely Voldemort would've gotten rid of the spell and inspector."
"It's advanced magic, I doubt he could. And if you look to the table, you'll see he didn't get rid of the inspector either." Draco said softly. Lara pulled a face that only Harry caught under the invisibility cloak.
"Fine." She said huffily, marching over to the table where a wizened old man sat shackeled to his chair.
I have no idea how we're going to do this. Lara thought worriedly, wondering how she would get her wand inspected without blowing her cover.
From what she had seen so far, Voldemort has several minions that were invisible, as no one had seemed very surprised when the lift had descended into the Atrium of it's own accord. With this in mind, she pulled up her Hogwarts sleeves (so they wouldn't be recognized) and stuck out her hand with her wand in it.
The inspector doubled back when he saw a hand holding a wand suddenly appear out of thin air. But when he realized it wasn't pointing at him, he took the wand and began his inspection, confirming Lara's suspicion that several invisible creatures passed through this way.
Once her inspection was done, the man gave her back her wand. Harry then proceeded to follow in Lara's example and held out his wand.
"How many are there of ye?" The inspector said grumpily.
"Three." Lara replied in a gruff voice. The three of them were holding their breath as the inspector completed his overview of Harry's wand and grudgingly took Draco's, which he was already holding out.
"Hurry up!" A harsh voice barked from behind them. All three students jumped at the sound and turned to see a hooded wizard stamping his foot in impatience, obviously waiting to get his wand inspected.
"I am." The man behind the desk said, obviously bored. It was apparent that he was used to this kind of treatment, but was also aware that he was far too important to be killed. Voldemort wouldn't be able to get into the lower levels of the ministry without him.
"Who are you?" The cloaked man asked suspiciously, eyeing the space where he presumed the invisble figure was standing.
"Messengers." Lara repeated in the same gruff voice.
"From who?"
"Secret." Lara said impatiently, wishing the inspector would hurry up so they could get out of here.
"We're all on the same side here, come on, you can tell." The hooded man said persuasively.
"No." Lara said shortly, as Draco was handed his wand back and they walked off quickly, each letting out breaths they had not known they were holding.
Through the gate, they entered a hallway filled with lifts behind metal grills. The area was bustling with more of the hooded men (which Lara had a feeling were Death Eaters) and several other creatures. They made their way to the end of the hallway, where it was relatively empty.
With a great jangling and clattering, a lift descended down from the shaft at the very end of the hall way. The grill opened up and the trio climbed in, followed by a man with a sunken face and gaunt features. He reminded Harry vaguely of Remus Lupin, increasing his suspicion that it was a werewolf.
The grill clanged shut and begun to descend as a cool female voice echoed around the chamber.
"Level Seven, Department of Magical Games and Sports, incorporating the British and Irish Quidditch League Headquarters, Official Gobstones Club and Ludicrous Patents Office." Apparently, Voldemort had not yet been able to altar the voice to suit his own purposes.
"Should we start our search here?" Harry whispered softly into Lara's ear, sending an unwanted shiver down her spine. A quick look down the corridor in which the lift opened up into told her the floor was deserted.
"Not worth it." She said softly, slightly louder than Harry to ensure Draco heard.
"Okay." The blonde said, confirming he had heard her. The werewolf was starting to shift uncomfortably, obviously aware that there were other people in the lift.
The lift continued to descend, and floor after floor was as emtpy as the first. Lara was beginning to wonder if perhaps Voldemort was conducting his operations somewhere else when the lift hit level one.
"Level One. Department of Mysteries." The grill opened to reveal the bare corridor which Harry had seen a year ago when he had come to rescue Sirius, the main difference being that the previously emtpy corridor was now bustling with all sorts of Dark Creatures.
"Come on." Lara whispered, leading Harry out and vaguely feeling Draco follow them. The werewolf hurried down the flight of stairs to the left, obviously eager to get away from the invisible voices.
"Where do we start?" Draco asked as the lift clanged shut and made it's way back up.
"Down the stairs first." Lara said as they descended the stairs an entered into another corridor with rough stone walls and torches in brackets. The doors along here were heavy woden ones with iron bolts and keyholes, although most of them seemed to have been blasted away to provide easy access.
"Are we going to search every door?" Harry whined softly into Lara's ear.
"We will see." She replied as they slowly opened the first door on their left, trusting their invisibility to keep them from any dangers awaiting on the other side.
The room empty, although judging by the furniture it was obviously and old courtroom, with the high benches surrounding a centre chair.
"Can we just rest here for a bit, you know, get our thoughts together?" Draco asked softly.
"Alright." Lara said, closing the door behind them. The room at once fell into a deathly silence, the noise of Voldemort's creatures bustling up and down the corridor shut out by the door.
"Must be silencing spell." Lara remarked as she flicked her wrist at the door to lock it before taking the invisibility cloak off her and Harry.
"What are you doing? Someone could walk in!" Draco hissed, still covered by the cloak.
"I've locked it."
"What if they break through the lock?"
"They won't." Lara said simply. Reluctantly, Draco removed his cloak and sat down on the chair in the centre. Harry and Lara sat down on one of the benches facing him.
"So we're looking for Voldemort. And when we find him, then what?" Draco asked, leaning back in his chair and enjoying a moments rest.
"We duel." Lara replied. She instinctively felt Harry stiffen beside her and saw Draco react in much the same way.
*They're scared. Hell I can't blame them, I am too. But what if something happens to them? *
For some reason, the thought of losing Harry caused her more grief than she would care to admit. Instinctively, she reached across and grabbed his hand, checking that he was still there, that he was still alive.
"We're going to be alright." He said softly, understanding the reason for her grip on his hand.
"What if he's got hundreds of his minions guarding him?"
"I don't know. I suppose I'll have to distract them while the two of you head for Voldemort."
"We can't let you do that." Harry said.
"You might have to."
"Do you have any idea where he is?" Draco asked, changing the subject before a debate broke out.
"There is one particular room I have in mind."
"Which one?"
"The commonroom for all the Ministry officials who work down here. It's the only remotely comfortable room here, and I have feeling it's where Voldemort would be staying."
"Do you know which door it is?" Lara nodded.
"Okay, so we find this room and run in. Voldemorts standing there surrounded by fifty guards. What do we do?" Harry said after a few minutes of peaceful silence.
"Well that's half the reason I agreed to rest here for a bit. We need to plan."
"Do you have one in mind?" Draco asked.
"I was thinking, I could go in first, in full view. I could lead the guards away, lead them on a chase through the ministry. Then you and Harry could walk in, covered in the cloaks of course, and attack Voldemort."
"Without you?" Harry asked, not completely hiding the icy fear he felt well up inside him.
"Yes. I may be able to join you if I can shake off the guards. But I may not."
"I told you, I can't do this alone."
"You won't. Draco will be with you." Harry looked at the blonde sitting on the chair opposite them, who was at that moment blowing at the strands of hair that fell in front of his eyes. He did not look promising at all.
"How relieving." Harry said sarcastically.
"He's a good fighter Harry, when he's called for it."
"I can hear you." Draco said in a sing song voice, not taking his eyes from the strands of hair in front of his face.
"Okay, enough dilly dalying." Lara said abruptly, standing up before the two entered into a verbal war. "It's time we got this over and done with." The two boys stood up, gathering the invisibility cloaks in their arms.
"Watch out in there. I don't want either of you two getting hurt. If you feel like you're losing, get the hell out of there."
"I'm not turning my back on this Lara." Harry said determindly.
"I'm not letting you kill yourself!"
"This is bigger than my life, or Malfoys, it's even bigger than Dumbledore's life. This is about goodness, and freedom! I don't know about you, but I think that's worth dying for." Harry yelled, his eyes blazing.
Lara took a step back, thrown by the passion in his words. He believed in what he was saying, he believed in it with everything he had. It was at that moment that Larrissa Black first began to love Harry Potter.
The trio stepped into the Atrium, startling slightly as the door of the lift clanged shut behind them and rose back to ground level. No one in the Atrium seemed petrubed by the seemingly empty lift, leading the trio to suspect that invisible guards and other creatures often made use of the it.
They slowly made their way through the crowd, being careful not to hit anyone. They skirted the fountain and reached the other end of the Atrium, where the lifts were.
"Come on, let's go." Lara whispered to the two boys either side of her, her voice lost in the deafening noise already bouncing around the Atrium. She led them towards the small gate that would open up into the hallway of lifts.
"What are you doing?" Draco hissed, grabbing where he supposed Lara's arm was and pulling her back.
"Going to the lifts to begin a search of the Ministry?" Lara replied, confused as to the nature of Draco's fervant whisper.
"Aren't we going to get our wands checked?"
"Are you kidding?"
"They won't let us through the gate unless we check our wands." Draco insisted, leading Lara to the small table.
"Have you gone insane?" Lara whispered, lowering her voice as an ugly looking creature which she couldn't identify walked past. "Voldemort has taken hold of this place. There won't be any more 'wand checking'."
"Yes there will! The gates are bewitched. If you haven't been given the approval by the inspector you don't go through."
"Surely Voldemort would've gotten rid of the spell and inspector."
"It's advanced magic, I doubt he could. And if you look to the table, you'll see he didn't get rid of the inspector either." Draco said softly. Lara pulled a face that only Harry caught under the invisibility cloak.
"Fine." She said huffily, marching over to the table where a wizened old man sat shackeled to his chair.
I have no idea how we're going to do this. Lara thought worriedly, wondering how she would get her wand inspected without blowing her cover.
From what she had seen so far, Voldemort has several minions that were invisible, as no one had seemed very surprised when the lift had descended into the Atrium of it's own accord. With this in mind, she pulled up her Hogwarts sleeves (so they wouldn't be recognized) and stuck out her hand with her wand in it.
The inspector doubled back when he saw a hand holding a wand suddenly appear out of thin air. But when he realized it wasn't pointing at him, he took the wand and began his inspection, confirming Lara's suspicion that several invisible creatures passed through this way.
Once her inspection was done, the man gave her back her wand. Harry then proceeded to follow in Lara's example and held out his wand.
"How many are there of ye?" The inspector said grumpily.
"Three." Lara replied in a gruff voice. The three of them were holding their breath as the inspector completed his overview of Harry's wand and grudgingly took Draco's, which he was already holding out.
"Hurry up!" A harsh voice barked from behind them. All three students jumped at the sound and turned to see a hooded wizard stamping his foot in impatience, obviously waiting to get his wand inspected.
"I am." The man behind the desk said, obviously bored. It was apparent that he was used to this kind of treatment, but was also aware that he was far too important to be killed. Voldemort wouldn't be able to get into the lower levels of the ministry without him.
"Who are you?" The cloaked man asked suspiciously, eyeing the space where he presumed the invisble figure was standing.
"Messengers." Lara repeated in the same gruff voice.
"From who?"
"Secret." Lara said impatiently, wishing the inspector would hurry up so they could get out of here.
"We're all on the same side here, come on, you can tell." The hooded man said persuasively.
"No." Lara said shortly, as Draco was handed his wand back and they walked off quickly, each letting out breaths they had not known they were holding.
Through the gate, they entered a hallway filled with lifts behind metal grills. The area was bustling with more of the hooded men (which Lara had a feeling were Death Eaters) and several other creatures. They made their way to the end of the hallway, where it was relatively empty.
With a great jangling and clattering, a lift descended down from the shaft at the very end of the hall way. The grill opened up and the trio climbed in, followed by a man with a sunken face and gaunt features. He reminded Harry vaguely of Remus Lupin, increasing his suspicion that it was a werewolf.
The grill clanged shut and begun to descend as a cool female voice echoed around the chamber.
"Level Seven, Department of Magical Games and Sports, incorporating the British and Irish Quidditch League Headquarters, Official Gobstones Club and Ludicrous Patents Office." Apparently, Voldemort had not yet been able to altar the voice to suit his own purposes.
"Should we start our search here?" Harry whispered softly into Lara's ear, sending an unwanted shiver down her spine. A quick look down the corridor in which the lift opened up into told her the floor was deserted.
"Not worth it." She said softly, slightly louder than Harry to ensure Draco heard.
"Okay." The blonde said, confirming he had heard her. The werewolf was starting to shift uncomfortably, obviously aware that there were other people in the lift.
The lift continued to descend, and floor after floor was as emtpy as the first. Lara was beginning to wonder if perhaps Voldemort was conducting his operations somewhere else when the lift hit level one.
"Level One. Department of Mysteries." The grill opened to reveal the bare corridor which Harry had seen a year ago when he had come to rescue Sirius, the main difference being that the previously emtpy corridor was now bustling with all sorts of Dark Creatures.
"Come on." Lara whispered, leading Harry out and vaguely feeling Draco follow them. The werewolf hurried down the flight of stairs to the left, obviously eager to get away from the invisible voices.
"Where do we start?" Draco asked as the lift clanged shut and made it's way back up.
"Down the stairs first." Lara said as they descended the stairs an entered into another corridor with rough stone walls and torches in brackets. The doors along here were heavy woden ones with iron bolts and keyholes, although most of them seemed to have been blasted away to provide easy access.
"Are we going to search every door?" Harry whined softly into Lara's ear.
"We will see." She replied as they slowly opened the first door on their left, trusting their invisibility to keep them from any dangers awaiting on the other side.
The room empty, although judging by the furniture it was obviously and old courtroom, with the high benches surrounding a centre chair.
"Can we just rest here for a bit, you know, get our thoughts together?" Draco asked softly.
"Alright." Lara said, closing the door behind them. The room at once fell into a deathly silence, the noise of Voldemort's creatures bustling up and down the corridor shut out by the door.
"Must be silencing spell." Lara remarked as she flicked her wrist at the door to lock it before taking the invisibility cloak off her and Harry.
"What are you doing? Someone could walk in!" Draco hissed, still covered by the cloak.
"I've locked it."
"What if they break through the lock?"
"They won't." Lara said simply. Reluctantly, Draco removed his cloak and sat down on the chair in the centre. Harry and Lara sat down on one of the benches facing him.
"So we're looking for Voldemort. And when we find him, then what?" Draco asked, leaning back in his chair and enjoying a moments rest.
"We duel." Lara replied. She instinctively felt Harry stiffen beside her and saw Draco react in much the same way.
*They're scared. Hell I can't blame them, I am too. But what if something happens to them? *
For some reason, the thought of losing Harry caused her more grief than she would care to admit. Instinctively, she reached across and grabbed his hand, checking that he was still there, that he was still alive.
"We're going to be alright." He said softly, understanding the reason for her grip on his hand.
"What if he's got hundreds of his minions guarding him?"
"I don't know. I suppose I'll have to distract them while the two of you head for Voldemort."
"We can't let you do that." Harry said.
"You might have to."
"Do you have any idea where he is?" Draco asked, changing the subject before a debate broke out.
"There is one particular room I have in mind."
"Which one?"
"The commonroom for all the Ministry officials who work down here. It's the only remotely comfortable room here, and I have feeling it's where Voldemort would be staying."
"Do you know which door it is?" Lara nodded.
"Okay, so we find this room and run in. Voldemorts standing there surrounded by fifty guards. What do we do?" Harry said after a few minutes of peaceful silence.
"Well that's half the reason I agreed to rest here for a bit. We need to plan."
"Do you have one in mind?" Draco asked.
"I was thinking, I could go in first, in full view. I could lead the guards away, lead them on a chase through the ministry. Then you and Harry could walk in, covered in the cloaks of course, and attack Voldemort."
"Without you?" Harry asked, not completely hiding the icy fear he felt well up inside him.
"Yes. I may be able to join you if I can shake off the guards. But I may not."
"I told you, I can't do this alone."
"You won't. Draco will be with you." Harry looked at the blonde sitting on the chair opposite them, who was at that moment blowing at the strands of hair that fell in front of his eyes. He did not look promising at all.
"How relieving." Harry said sarcastically.
"He's a good fighter Harry, when he's called for it."
"I can hear you." Draco said in a sing song voice, not taking his eyes from the strands of hair in front of his face.
"Okay, enough dilly dalying." Lara said abruptly, standing up before the two entered into a verbal war. "It's time we got this over and done with." The two boys stood up, gathering the invisibility cloaks in their arms.
"Watch out in there. I don't want either of you two getting hurt. If you feel like you're losing, get the hell out of there."
"I'm not turning my back on this Lara." Harry said determindly.
"I'm not letting you kill yourself!"
"This is bigger than my life, or Malfoys, it's even bigger than Dumbledore's life. This is about goodness, and freedom! I don't know about you, but I think that's worth dying for." Harry yelled, his eyes blazing.
Lara took a step back, thrown by the passion in his words. He believed in what he was saying, he believed in it with everything he had. It was at that moment that Larrissa Black first began to love Harry Potter.