Thanks so much to my reviewers for their kind words, and for spotting my "colour" error in the last chapter. As you can see, I amended it accordingly. Also, my apologies for the delay in posting this chapter – had a few technical hitches. I will do my best to post faster in the future!

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing – it all belongs to JK Rowling.

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Harry stood poised at the door to Snape's office. He took a deep breath to steady his nerves, raised his wand and stepped forward into the light, Ron and Neville right behind him.

Draco was sprawled in an untidy heap on the floor, out cold. The three figures of the Death Eaters had their backs to Harry, and Snape was facing him.

"I knew this day would come," Snape said to the cloaked figure on his right. "The Dark Lord would never forgive me. But I made the right choice when I renounced him – I have no regrets."

"Not yet, you don't," said the voice of Lucius Malfoy from under his hooded cloak. "But you, better than anyone, know what he will do to those who disobey him. Just wait, Snape – you will feel the pain of the betrayal you showed him."

Snape's eyes flickered in astonishment as he spotted Harry standing in the doorway. Malfoy must have seen it, for he spun around with a swish of his cloak.

"You!" he said in astonishment.

Harry didn't give him a chance to react. "Expelliarmus!" he shouted, and Malfoy's wand soared out of his hand and into Harry's. From behind him, he heard Neville say "Legatum!" and magical ropes flew out of his wand, over Harry's shoulder, and bound Lucius Malfoy tightly. Struggling, he fell to the floor next to his unconscious son.

The other two Death Eaters flung themselves in opposite directions, hurling curses as they went. Harry ducked aside, and the Stunning Spell aimed at him rebounded of Neville's shield and took splinters out of the wooden doorframe. The air was full of flashes of light as hexes and jinxes flew back and forth while both parties tried to find cover.

"Get down!" Harry screamed at Snape, who was clearly astounded by this turn of events and was standing, defenseless, in the middle of the room. It was a miracle he hadn't been hit yet, and he didn't even have his wand to protect himself. Harry guessed that one of the Death Eaters must have taken it off him. Suddenly coming to himself, Snape threw himself behind his armchair.

Behind him, Harry heard a sharp intake of breath as an Impediment Jinx hit Hermione in the chest. She fell over backwards, winded. Furious, Ron rushed forward, bellowing in rage and took one of the Death Eaters totally by surprise, bowling him over backwards and into the fireplace where his head hit a flagstone with a crack. Two down, one to go.

The last Death Eater was backed into a corner, but was still a formidable fighting force. He sent out a bolt of bright blue light, which bounced off Luna's Shield Charm and hit Harry on the shoulder. Instantly, his wand arm went dead. He quickly grabbed his wand with his left hand, prepared to carry on fighting, but then suddenly it was all over. Luna calmly sent a Stunning Spell at the cloaked figure from her position on Harry's left, and then there was an abrupt, eerie silence in the room.

The dead feeling in Harry's arm and shoulder began to spread into his neck and chest. He started finding it hard to breathe as a bone-chilling cold seeped into his very bones. Black and silver spots danced in front of his eyes, and just before he keeled over into unconsciousness he saw a lioness bound through the door, followed closely by Dumbledore and Moody.

***

Surfacing out of the darkness, Harry's first thought was of Draco Malfoy. Weird, he thought hazily. I've always hated the git, so why should I care about him now? He struggled to open his eyes.

For once, Harry had woken in the hospital wing without a crew of worried faces surrounding him. The cream dividing curtains rustled and fluttered around him in a gentle breeze, and there was utter quiet. He reached over to his bedside table and found his glasses, perching them back on his nose where they belonged.

Harry quickly took stock of himself. His shoulder and arm were still tingling with pins and needles, but he could at least feel something. His lungs seared slightly with every breath that he took and his scar was aching mildly, but nothing too serious. He swung his legs out of the bed and put his feet to the floor. As he stood, Madam Pomfrey bustled in, carrying a rather long piece of parchment.

"Mr Potter, lie down at once!" she exclaimed when she saw him. "What do you think you are doing?"

"I was just …" Harry started, but then spotted the steely glint in her eye and realized that explanations were going to get him nowhere. "Getting back into bed," he finished glumly, sitting down again.

"Glad to hear it," said Madam Pomfrey firmly. She shook the parchment at him. "You have the longest hospital chart I've ever had the misfortune to work on, and you keep adding to it! It's even longer than the previous record holder, and she was chronically accident-prone so she couldn't help her little accidents."

"Oh, yeah?" said Harry interestedly, although he thought he knew who she was talking about. "Who was that?"

"Professor Tonks, when she was a student here," said the school nurse, with a hint of a smile. "Now, Mr Potter, how are you feeling?"

"Apart from some tingling in my arm, fine," said Harry, who was in a tearing hurry to find someone who could tell him what had happened after he passed out. "Can I go now?"

Madam Pomfrey pointed at him. "Sit! You can get up when I tell you – and not before." She walked briskly to the door, and spoke to someone outside. "You can come in now."

Within minutes, Ron and Hermione were at his bedside.

"Are you OK, Harry?" said Ron worriedly.

"Fine – what about you two?" said Harry.

"We're fine too – Dumbledore's sent us to fetch you, if you can walk," said Hermione. "Come on."

Looking down at himself, Harry saw that he was still wearing his school robes. "How long have I been here?" he asked urgently as he shoved his feet into his shoes, tying the laces in such a hurry he had to abandon them ten seconds later in tangles of hopeless knots.

"Only about twenty minutes," said Ron, helping him up. "You got hit with a Deadening Spell and stopped breathing, so Dumbledore healed you down in Snape's office. He sent you up here just to make sure you were OK, and the rest of us helped get Lucius Malfoy and the others up to his office. We were all needed – they weren't coming quietly. That's why we weren't here when you woke up."

"Fudge has just arrived," said Hermione, hustling Harry along while holding his uninjured arm. "He looks awful – wait till you see him. This is another disaster for the Ministry to deal with."

They rushed along the corridors until they reached Dumbledore's office. For once, the stone gargoyle didn't require a password – it sprang nimbly aside and they hopped onto the revolving staircase.

There was quite a hubbub of noise emanating from Dumbledore's normally serene office. The three Death Eaters were propped against the hearth, bound and gagged. The two that had accompanied Lucius Malfoy turned out to be Macnair and Dolohov, both of whom glared at Harry when he entered.

Draco Malfoy was sitting in a wooden chair against the wall, his head in his hands. He looked up briefly at Harry, his face as white as bone and his grey eyes shining with desperation. His usually immaculately groomed blond hair was a tangled mess, hanging over his face into his eyes. After a few seconds, he dropped his gaze and stared hopelessly down at the floor. Snape was standing next to him, looking furious. He glared at Harry for a second, and then looked away. Ungrateful git, Harry thought angrily. Next time I'll just leave him to handle whatever the Death Eaters can dish out all by himself!

Ginny, Luna and Neville were seated in Dumbledore's trademark chintz armchairs, while Tonks, Moody, Professor McGonagall and Lupin stood in front of the Death Eaters, watching them closely with wands out. As soon as Ginny saw Harry, she leapt up and came over to him, her face very pale.

"Are you OK?" she whispered, taking his hand. "You've got to stop doing this to me, Harry – I don't think my heart can take it."

He gave her hand a squeeze. "Sorry," he whispered back. "You know I don't do it deliberately. You were brilliant, by the way!"

She smiled at him, then turned back to face the room. Cornelius Fudge was standing quietly next to Dumbledore at his desk, and Harry stared at him in shock. Hermione was right – he did look awful. He'd lost a lot of weight, and his skin was hanging on him like a set of too-baggy clothes. He had dark circles under his eyes and looked as if he hadn't slept in weeks.

"Ah, Harry," said Dumbledore, standing. "Would you like to sit?"

Harry shook his head. "I'm fine, thank you," he said. He wished they would all just get on with it, as his adrenaline was still pumping from the action-filled events of the evening.

Dumbledore nodded. "We have discovered something interesting on Lucius Malfoy's person," he said coolly. He held up a small pewter flask, and all eyes in the room focused on it. "Full of Polyjuice Potion, it would seem. This imposter won't tell us who he really is. I should imagine the effects of the potion will be wearing off soon, and then we shall see …"

Draco Malfoy looked up at him quickly, his eyes suddenly full of hope.

There was complete silence in the room, and the minutes ticked by. Suddenly, the figure of Lucius Malfoy began to writhe and squirm as the potion wore off. The limbs shortened, and the long, straight blonde hair began to curl, as it shrank in length towards the skull. The aristocratic features became squat and chubby.

The figure that now lay at the hearth was one that was very familiar to them all.

"Umbridge," breathed Harry in disbelief, looking down at the toad-like features and fluffy blonde head of the woman who had tortured him and made his fifth year a living hell. "I can't believe it …"

She grinned evilly up at him.

"So, we meet again, Potter," she smirked. "I was hoping the Dark Lord would give me the opportunity to finish you off, but he wants you for himself. I had to content myself with taking this … traitor back to face justice."

Harry opened his mouth to retort, but was interrupted by Draco.

"Where is my father!" he screamed at her, almost incoherent in his rage and fear. "Where is he? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HIM?"

He was about to throw himself at her when he was restrained by Snape, whose dark eyes were glittering angrily.

"You had better answer him, Dolores," said Dumbledore, whose eyes were now flashing with an anger Harry had seldom seen. "We can use Veritaserum and get the truth if you don't."

Trying to wriggle into a more comfortable position, Umbridge smiled triumphantly. "We needed him alive, so he's been imprisoned by the Dementors under the Dark Lord's orders!" she spat at Draco. "When your father heard of the Dark Lord's plans to use you to get into the school, he tried to resist and get away to warn you. He should have known better – the Dark Lord doesn't forgive actions that thwart his plans!"

Draco froze, staring uncomprehendingly at her. "No," he said, shaking his head in disbelief. "He can't be. He can't be!"

He turned to Snape, eyes beseeching. "Professor …" he faltered. "Lord Voldemort wouldn't do that to my father – he's one of his oldest supporters. Would he?"

Snape put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Draco," he said gently. "She has no reason to lie – she knows we can get the truth out of her if we have to."

As though all the strength had just rushed out of his legs, Draco collapsed into the nearest chair and buried his head in his hands once more, his fingers shaking. Watching him, Harry felt a surge of compassion for the boy he had loathed for the last six years, but knew he could never approach Draco to offer his sympathy. Sometimes, history was just too hard to overcome.

Fudge was looking at Umbridge with disbelieving, horrified eyes. "Dolores?" he whispered in shock. "Were you with Voldemort all along? While you were working for me, here at Hogwarts?"

Umbridge giggled madly. "No, but I should have been!" she tittered. "It was only once the Dark Lord revealed himself at the Ministry, and I was sent away from this school, that I realized the truth. Any chances I had for advancement at the Ministry were finished – I would never get your job, as I had once thought I would. My only hope to get the power I craved lay with the Dark Lord."

Umbridge smiled at Harry with the sickening simper he remembered so well. "I am but one of many who support the Dark Lord, Potter – you and your little friends will never win," she whispered. "He will get you in the end, no matter how much you resist. I look forward to the day when he rules over us all, and the faithful will get their reward…"

"I've heard enough," said Dumbledore, standing abruptly as his mouth thinned in disgust. "Minister, please tell your guards to take these three away. And this time, ensure that they are properly imprisoned so they cannot escape."

Fudge hurried out of the office, and a few minutes later six burly men dressed in dark brown robes entered. They roughly manhandled the three Death Eaters onto their feet, and hustled them out.

"Mark my words, Potter!" shrieked Umbridge as they carried her away, kicking and fighting. "You will never win!"