34 (Interrogations Hither and Thither)

It was only seconds before Harry finally realized what was happening. By touching the chewing gums, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, and Tonks have been transported to Grimmauld Place. Obviously, the chewing gums were portkeys. Hermione was holding on tightly to Harry, fearful of falling down or injuring her leg anymore. Ron stretched both hands out and kneeled down a bit to gain balance. Meanwhile, Tonks, the clumsiest woman Harry's ever seen, was falling every moment and trying to get up difficultly. Fred and George were the luckiest two; they didn't feel anything because they were in deep sleep.

Finally, the swirling stopped, and everyone was down on the ground again. Tonks had a dreamy smile on her face, and was turning around in circles. Harry and Hermione were trying not to fall on each other. Ron was so dizzy from the ride that he kept staggering to the left and then to the right.

"Honestly," spoke Ron, his eyes out of focus, "we could've taken the Knight Bus."

Again, Fred and George kept on hovering in the air, following Tonks.

Before them stood a great big house that was last seen during Percy's wedding. Only last year, it's been the filthiest place one could imagine. The house was so ancient, and it was filled with doxies. The furniture was too old, and needed a lot of upholstering. No need to mention the house-elf, Kreacher, who turned against Harry, his friends, and the Order when he betrayed them into co-operating with Voldemort and his Death Eaters.

Tonks put out her finger to ring the doorbell, which made Harry twitch. As soon as the doorbell rang, the loudest noise ever was heard. It was Mrs. Black's portrait shouting, cursing the outsiders and mudbloods.

"For heavens sake Tonks, I told you not to ring the bell!" came the scolding, but warm voice of Mrs. Weasley, as she opened the door.

In stepped Harry, Hermione, Ron, Tonks, and following them were Fred and George.

"Oh Fred! George! Are they allright? What's happened to them? Why aren't they…"

"Oh please Molly, just let us breathe for a moment," giggled Tonks, handing the Invisibility Cloak to Harry, who then placed it in his pocket. She then went over to the kitchen to fix her lunch.

"Ron! Ron dear, whatever happened to your brothers?" inquired Mrs. Weasley nervously, her eyes wild.

"It's a long story, just let us sit down," mumbled Ron, still feeling the dizziness in his head.

The group sat down on an enormous couch, all feeling dizzy frail from the ride.

"So tell me," muttered Mrs. Weasley, handing everyone a Butterbeer, "what happened?"

"It was a trap, Mrs. Weasley," spoke Hermione softly.

It was as if Mrs. Weasley had just noticed Hermione's leg; no wonder why she sat beside Harry.

"What happened to your leg, dear?" she inquired, her anxiety reaching the surface.

"You explain," chattered Hermione, eyeing Ron, and then grinning at him.

"Well, we sneaked out of school at night, and…"

"Sneaked out of school!" shrieked Mrs. Weasley, taking a deep breath. "What the devil were you thinking about?"

"Well, we chose the One-Eyed-Witch statue, which was the shortcut to Honeydukes cellar…"

"But why did you leave the school?" interrupted Mrs. Weasley irritably.

"Mum, we had to do something about Fred and George; we couldn't just leave them out there," muttered Ron, exasperated with his mother's deliberate interruptions.

"You could've left it for us and the rest of the Order," chattered Mrs. Weasley, "I don't think Remus told you to sneak out of school and risk your necks in that letter."

Harry and Hermione grinned reluctantly at her.

"Anyway, so when we finally arrived, we slept till dawn," tittered Ron, "and when we woke up, we were hungry…or rather, I was the one who made them do it."

"Made who do what?" interrogated Mrs. Weasley impatiently.

"I made Harry and Hermione join me for stealing some food from The Three Broomsticks," admitted Ron quickly, fearful his mother would start taunting him.

"Why, you ungrateful little thief," growled a harsh voice that Harry hasn't heard in a long time.

Into the living room stepped Mad-Eye-Moody, his wooden leg making a clank noise.

"Professor Moody!" wept Harry, standing up from his place; Hermione nearly fell over.

"How many times do I have to remind you?" asked Mad-Eye, annoyed. "I'm not a Professor. I never have been one, and I don't think I'll ever be one!"

Harry started giggling.

"Say, why'd you steal food from Honeydukes; you could've brought something on the way," suggested Mad-Eye, his magical eye rolling to the other side.

"Well…we forgot," burbled Ron.

"Forget about the food-thingy." spluttered Mad-Eye. "What did you three do after that?"

"Of course, we moved under Harry's cloak…you remember the Invisibility Cloak?" began Ron.

"Yes, I do. Carry on," prattled Mad-Eye rudely.

"Well, we kind of scurried to Fred and George's place, The Golden Wheezer Jokeshop," continued Ron solemnly.

"And then we looked through the window…just to explore the place," added Harry, grinning at Hermione.

"At first, we saw Dolohov's cloak and hood hung, but he wasn't there," explained Hermione, wincing as the pain in her leg came frequently.

"Hanging? Where the bloody hell do you suppose he was?" interrogated Mad-Eye, rolling his magical eye to the kitchen, where Tonks currently was.

"I'm coming to that," continued Hermione, angry with Mad-Eye's behavior, "when we stepped inside, we saw no one. We climbed upstairs, and in an old dusty room, Fred and George were hung on a wall, all covered up with ropes."

"What did he think those two jokers were? Two Death-Eaters that were threatening?" giggled Mad-Eye, ironically. "Sorry."

Hermione's anger was slightly mollified.

"Eventually, we managed to untie them, but they were sleeping soundly," spoke Ron, taking a sip from his Butterbeer.

"Out of nowhere came Percy," added Harry, hearing a crashing noise coming from the kitchen.

"By Merlin! Doesn't that woman ever do something right?" growled Mad-Eye, staring at Tonks cleaning up the mess of pans and pots.

"Percy, or at least who we thought he was, tricked us into following him to the Thinking Room," declared Ron.

"The what?" interrupted Mad-Eye, settling down his wooden leg.

"The Thinking Room," repeated Hermione earnestly, "it's a room where Fred and George sat down and came up with ideas that suited their joking business best."

"Once we entered that room, he locked us in," muttered Ron, blowing some bubbles into his Butterbeer.

"And what happened then?" burst Mrs. Weasley, so nervous that her eyes nearly bulged out.

"Well, we saw something incredible through the window," exclaimed Ron, "Percy's face was gone, and instead, Dolohov's face appeared."

Mrs. Weasley seemed to have her heart fall to her stomach at those words.

"Until Hermione here," added Harry, "figured out that he used the Polyjuice Potion."

"We sat there for forty minutes, depressed and confused," affirmed Ron.

"You were trapped, huh?" lisped Mad-Eye.

"Yes," responded Harry, "until finally Hermione came up with a clever idea. She exploded the glass window, and enlarged it so that it fit our size."

"And that's where Tonks showed up," added Hermione, giggling at the way Tonks was confused in separating the pots from the pans; they all looked alike. "It was at that time where she accidentally dropped me, and that's how I got to injure my leg. Luckily, Harry mended it in no time."

Hermione was holding Harry's right hand with hers, smiling at him.

"Leave them there Tonks, I'll clean the mess up later!" squeaked Mrs. Weasley.

Tonks raised her hand from afar, holding up her thumb.

"Anyways, what happened after that?" questioned Mad-Eye, taking out his magical eye and steeping it in some polisher. Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Mrs. Weasley were all disgusted.

"Tonks transferred all of us to here by a portkey, which we thought was chewing gum," talked Harry, almost retching due to the hideous sight.

"Is that all? Didn't Fred and George get hurt on the way?" inquired Mrs. Weasley, glancing at her twin sons who were lying motionlessly on a big red sofa.

"Nothing happened to those two, luckily," mentioned Ron, jealously, "it was us who were holding on to ourselves; you should've seen Tonks, though."

"Every time she tried to get up, her legs were buckling, and she fell down," joked Hermione, and Harry was giggling.

Mad-Eye became speechless for some moments; he seemed to be in deep thought.

"Didn't you see some crows on your way?" growled Mad-Eye, looking so determined.

The three looked at each other, eager to answer that question. And it came straight away to Ron's mind.

"Yeah! When we first arrived there, we saw the murder of crows…how do you know?" reminded Ron, glad that he had a good memory of recent events.

"Never mind that, now," growled Mad-Eye rudely, as usual.

"We think they were from Dark Valley," added Hermione, and Mad-Eye flinched at those words.

"What's the matter?" questioned Harry, puzzled.

"Nothing," responded Mad-Eye quickly, "it's just so awful to hear you mention that name; it's practically mentioning Voldemort's name."

"I'm sorry," apologized Hermione, for the uneasiness she caused Mad-Eye.

"There's no need to apologize," snarled Mad-Eye, "it's just an old habit I've got."

"Mad-Eye, where do you think Dolohov escaped?" interrogated Mrs. Weasley.

"To Diagon Alley," joked Mad-Eye, sarcastically.

"This is no laughing matter, Alastor!" lisped Mrs. Weasley, enraged.

"Of course it's not," growled Mad-Eye, "what do you expect me to know? I wasn't with that killer!"

Harry was having a flashback. It was a flashback about the day in which he saw the murder of crows, from Dark Valley, approaching Hogwarts. He remembered how one of the crows suddenly came to near to him, in addition to Ron and Hermione, and grew bigger. His croaking was as annoying as Voldemort's cold voice, but it was important. The crow had previously talked to them about future attacks on Hogwarts, and how Harry was destined to die this year.

"Hang on," began Harry, lifting his chin up, "Ron, Hermione, remember that big crow that talked to us long ago, during the attack?"

"Yes," they responded together instantly, for it was an unforgettable sight.

"Well, I think Dolohov rode that crow…flew it back to Dark Valley, where they all gathered with Voldemort," suggested Harry, uncertainly.

"How do you know all of this?" interrogated Mad-Eye, his voice filled with mystery.

"I know because I need to know," muttered Harry, ignoring Mad-Eye's wonder.

"Alastor, please, let him continue," whispered Mrs. Weasley, nudging him in the shoulder.

"Why did he invade Hogsmeade anyway? Specifically, why did he kidnap Fred and George in their own shop?" pointed out Ron, confused about the maniac's actions.

"Death Eaters have their own mysterious ways to serve their master," explained Mad-Eye, "they set out and explore the land, and see where the weakest points of the wizard community are. So, as had happened, Antonin Dolohov came to Hogsmeade and got hold of your brothers' shop. He probably wanted to see how fast the Ministry reacted. Nevertheless, it was you, Harry, and Hermione who acted straight away. You're only sixteen, and haven't much experienced the real world, but your courage, love, friendship, and care drove you to that road."

He was complimenting them in an unobtrusive way. The three were grinning at each other.

"Now that Dolohov has gone, presumably to Dark Valley, he sure has gathered some news for Voldemort," Mad-Eye carried on, "he'll be attacking for the last time soon, that's what I expect…I've fought Death-Eaters and captured dark wizards for ages, and I'm telling you now, because you need to know…it's dangerous…many people older than you are have been killed, murdered, or brutally tortured because of the existence of Voldemort and his Death-Eaters," spoke Mad-Eye slowly, "take Harry's parents for example. How about the Longbottoms? They've been tortured to insanity by Sirius's cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange. And till this day, they lie in St. Mungo's, not knowing what's going on around them."

This silenced the three for some moments.

"There's something I still don't get," declared Ron, mystified, "how had Dolohov got Percy? I thought he was off to France for his honeymoon."

Mrs. Weasley's frown changed into a little grin.

"It's true," admitted Mrs. Weasley, "your brother and Penelope have decided to spend their honeymoon in France, only Percy changed his decision in the last minute. He had to be near to the Ministry, for he was offered a new job from Dumbledore."
"What job?" questioned Ron, opening the top button of his shirt.

"He was given a choice, and he accepted straight away," whispered Mrs. Weasley.

"What are you talking about?" asked Ron impatiently, waiting to hear the new possession his brother was going to hold.

"Dumbledore appointed him as Senior Secretary to Minister of Magic," burst Mrs. Weasley, tears of happiness falling down from her eyes.

"Wow!" sighed Hermione in disbelief. Harry was amazed too.

"I'm glad he got that possession, Mrs. Weasley," spoke Harry, beaming, "let's just hope he's a ton better than old Umbridge."

Ron and Hermione were giggling.

"Anyway, he agreed to take that position in the Ministry, and made a change in plans. He and Penelope consented to spend their honeymoon at the Hog's Head pub," chattered Mrs. Weasley, looking so proud of her son.

"The Hog's Head pub? What in the world was he thinking?" inquired Ron, stunned by his brother's decision.

"At least now, Ron, things make sense," philosophized Harry, rubbing Hermione's hand gently.

"See, it's not so difficult," growled Mad-Eye, "once you put the lost jig-saw puzzle pieces together, you come to a reasonable conclusion. That's how we, Aurors, work."

Harry nodded, and so did the rest of them.

"What are we going to do about Fred and George?" questioned Ron, gazing at the two sleeping-beauties.

"It seems we've got no other choice," muttered Mad-Eye, standing up, "I'm afraid they'll have to be transported to St. Mungo's. There's a healer who happens to be a friend of your dad's…you may have met him before, his name's Smethwyck."

Ron recalled his name, remembering that he once heard it.

"Yeah…I heard of him," responded Ron.

"Well, he's got a high degree, and was awarded a certificate for his stunningly amazing talent in healing people within a short period of time. He also happens to be an expert in spell damage," explained Mad-Eye, turning around his wooden leg.

"Take care of them, Mad-Eye," yelped Mrs. Weasley.

"No Molly, I shall drown them in the nearest sea I find," growled Mad-Eye.

Mrs. Weasley was definitely enraged by Mad-Eye's childish comments, and found that he sometimes can be irresponsible.

"I'm coming with you, and maybe we could invite Arthur later on," spoke Mrs. Weasley, putting on her shawl and hat.

"No you're not," spluttered Mad-Eye, limping temporarily as he turned around to face her, "you should stay here, and probably look after Tonks."

"I might as well come with you; they're my sons, you know," whinnied Mrs. Weasley, rolling her sleeves up.

Mad-Eye darned not to say more, for anything he could say may break Mrs. Weasley's nerves apart.

"Take care my dears," she talked for one more time, addressing Harry, Ron, and Hermione, "Tonks will get you back to Hogwarts in no time."

"And not a word, Potter, to anyone of your nasty little friends," growled Mad-Eye, zipping his lip as a signal.

Harry nodded in agreement, doubting whether he would be able to ignore everybody's questions about his disappearance one he returned.

"Goodbye," mumbled Mrs. Weasley, and performed a locomotion charm that pulled Fred and George behind her.

"She needs to calm down," spoke Harry, as soon as the door was shut.

"I don't blame her. Being a mother must be tough," whispered Hermione, scratching her injured leg.

"I should've gone with her," spoke Ron, taking the last sip of his foamy Butterbeer, "you'll see how she's going to babble about me being an irresponsible brother, and how it's entirely my fault."

"It's no one's fault, Ron," acknowledged Harry, "we had to save your brothers, and that's what we did."

Ron nodded, staring at his empty jug.

"Well, they're gone so soon?" Tonk's gloomy voice was heard once again. She had just managed, fortunately, to prepare four chicken sandwiches without burning them.

"Mum and Moody went off to cure Fred and George at St. Mungo's," mumbled Ron, as he politely accepted the chicken sandwich from Tonks.

"Well, wish them good luck," joked Tonks, almost tripping over a banana peal that was probably left on the carpet by Mad-Eye long ago.

"Thanks," spoke Harry and Hermione, as they took their sandwiches from the tray.

For now, Harry was overwhelmed with all sorts of feelings. He's learned how cruel and deceiving Death-Eaters could be at some points, in addition to how mysterious their habits are. Of course, nothing more than hatred for them arose in his heart. He also remembered the day he came to St. Mungo's to visit Mr. Weasley. During that very day, he, Ron, and Hermione, had witnessed the affect of the Cruciatus curse that Bellatrix used on Alice and Frank Longbottom. It was so terrifying to see the extreme power it could reach. Other than that, Harry felt a bit proud of Percy. Although he's been siding with Cornelius Fudge last year, he had changed totally this year. Perhaps it was the heavy load that controlled him. Fudge was so demanding that he gradually controlled Percy, rather than Percy's personality naturally changing. Yet, Harry was uncertain of the reason Dolohov captured Fred and George temporarily. It was definite that it had to do something with Voldemort, but still vague.

Harry remembered how Sirius had shown him a family tree last year, including him, his brother, his cousins, and virtually every pureblood. Harry was surely shocked to see how Sirius was related to the Malfoys. Pity, he was Bellatrix's cousin, and she ended up killing him. Harry missed Sirius so much, and needed him for guidance through the way of victory. However, Harry and the others knew the truth about what happened beyond the veil, and it did no good mentioning it again.

"Better hurry up," mouthed Tonks, taking the last bite of her sandwich, "Dumbledore is already furious at your behavior, and we don't want him enraged anymore because of your delay in return."

"Tonks," spoke Harry, putting his sandwich down, "Dumbledore's a great wizard. He is sometimes mysterious in his actions and choices, but he'll understand this situation like he understood what happened in the Department of Mysteries last year."

Tonks spoke no more, fearful of having a flashback of the battle within the Department of Mysteries.

Harry heard the cuckoo bird coming out of the clock. It was exactly ten o'clock, and they were pretty late for third period. They've surely missed first and second period, but they could manage to attend half of the third.

"All set, my dear?" questioned Tonks, throwing her sandwich wrapper into the bin.

They all nodded back.

Harry stood up, Hermione's arm still around his shoulder. Ron tied his shoe laces, and put on his wool jacket.

Tonks pointed to the door, as she directed them to step outside.

"Now, how are we going back to Hogwarts? Don't tell me we'll use another bloody portkey!" wept Ron, excited and apprehensive.

"Oh no Mr. Weasley," joked Tonks, cleaning some stains on her clothes, "we'll be using the Knight Bus."

Great—Harry thought. It was just what he needed; a bumpy ride full of sudden movements, and Hermione was severely injured in her leg.

Finally, they were all outside Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place. Tonks stood with the trio in the shade, awaiting the Knight Bus.

"It'll be here any moment now," whispered Tonks, staring at her hand-watch, which happened to be not functioning properly.

Harry saw a great purple triple-decker zooming through the roads, heading towards them. Of course, it was so interesting how a bus that size could glide easily on the roads. It also happened to be a kind of strange bus. Yes, it had three decks. But what made it exceptionally different from other normal buses, were the beds inside.

The horn of the Knight Bus was sounded, and they all saw a young burly looking man stepping outside the bus.

"Stan!" prattled Harry. The conductor of the Knight Bus happened to be Stan Shunpike.

"'Arry! 'Ow nice ta see ya!" joked Stan, as he welcomed them all aboard. "Step in, step in."

Hermione faced a bit of difficulty stepping onto the bus, for it was bit high above the ground. With Harry's help, he lifted her up, and climbed up right behind her. Ron came up next, so nervous about the ride, for he had enough last year. It was sort of ironic; he always thought it was exotic and interesting to ride the Knight Bus, but last year when he experienced it, he had enough. Tonks came up as the last, her cloak getting stuck in the door.

"Don' mind that, I'll fix it," muttered Stan, as he tried as hard as he can to pull Tonks' cloak out. Eventually, he managed to pull it out but the two of them were knocked down to the floor, as Erny Prang, the bus driver, started it off.

Ron was sliding backwards five beds, and was struggling to hold on to something. Harry and Hermione had their heads lean backwards, but there legs were tied to each other under one bed.

When it was a bit calmer, Harry moved backwards to pull Ron to the front.

"I hate this bus," complained Ron, as he sat up, holding one of the poles coming down the bus.

Tonks, the most pathetic woman in existence, had been falling to the right, and left, her hair brushing at the windows. It was miraculous how she didn't get to break her neck when Erny turned the bus at a very sharp corner.

"How did they ever come to build this bus?" asked Ron, holding tightly to the pole, his head stuck to it.

"I know," responded Harry, burying Hermione's head in his shoulder, "it must be amazing how they managed to transport witches, wizards, and magical creatures on this bus. I wonder what they'll do next year…probably transporting other cars and vehicles."

He heard Hermione laugh quietly from underneath his chin, and Ron was fascinated by Harry's possible idea too.

After twenty minutes full of sliding, falling, bumping, and slipping, the Knight Bus halted in front of the Leak Cauldron.

"Thanks," said Harry, facing Stan and Erny, as he stepped down.

"I wish I'll never see you again," mumbled Ron softly, so that they wouldn't hear him.

Tonks luckily jumped off the Knight Bus before it moved a muscle.

"Bye 'arry! Take care!" Harry heard Stan Shunpike yelling at him from afar, waving his hand, his head sticking out of the bus like a stinging tail of a bee.

"In you go, my dears," instructed Tonks, pushing the door open.

The Leaky Cauldron, from the inside, was lit with candlelight. Many witches and wizards were reading some books, sitting on the bar, ordering a large brandy.

It seemed that nobody had noticed the four coming in, for the place was so crammed it looked like an ant village.

"I'm sorry to let you hear this," declared Tonks, taking out a wallet, "but I'm afraid we'll swirl in the air once again."

"Oh no, not a portkey," moaned Ron. He's had more than enough on the Knight Bus, and couldn't bear getting dizzy all over again.

Nevertheless, they had no other choice. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Tonks laid their hands on the wallet, and found themselves swiveling in the air liked an evolving tornado. Ron had an expression that indicated him being sick. Tonks had that gloomy smile on her face, mumbling every second about her clumsiness. Harry and Hermione had tied their legs together, and had been holding to each other tightly.

At last, they were transported to their school. There stood the large castle of Hogwarts, illuminated brilliantly from the inside. It so happened that the portkey had carried them to the school grounds. No sound or voice emerged from any corner, except perhaps the fifth year Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs that were working on some Tentaculas in greenhouse three.

"Right, I'll leave you here, then," muttered Tonks, grinning at the three, "do take care, and don't let slip that this happened…not to anyone…maybe not everyone….well perhaps Dumbledore or…"

"We understand Nymphadora," interrupted Hermione, beaming at her.

"Don't call me by my first name, Hermione," she groaned.

Hermione nodded, and the three headed off to enter the castle.

They heard Tonks summoning her broomstick, and once it arrived, she clumsily mounted it, but in the end managed to kick off the ground, and soar high in the air.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione pushed the entrance gates open, and were thankful that no one was there.

"Some rescue mission we were on, huh?" spoke Ron, taking off his wool jacket.

"At least we learned something," added Hermione, "I'd better be going to the Hospital Wing; perhaps Madam Pomfrey would be able to completely cure the pain."

"Are you sure you can walk alone? Don't you want us to come?" asked Harry, keen to help his girlfriend.

"Yes, Harry. I'm sure," replied Hermione, and then began limping towards the Hospital Wing, after she waved goodbye.

Harry and Ron continued walking to their dormitories, for they needed to change into their school robes.

The common room was neat by now. Presumably, the house-elves had cleaned it after everyone woke up.

Harry hastened in taking off his jacket, and jeans. He nearly forgot about the Invisibility Cloak and the Marauder's Map, which were both concealed perfectly. He took out the Marauder's Map, stunned that the letters and figures weren't vanished yet.

"Mischief managed!" muttered Harry, tapping it with his own wand. Instantly, the writing and letters faded, and disappeared. He folded it quickly, placing it in the drawer. Then, Harry folded his Invisibility Cloak, set it in his trunk, and locked it.

He hurried back downstairs, carrying his schoolbag and wand, meeting with Ron.

"Let's just hope nobody asks too much questions," muttered Ron, and with that, they left the common room empty.

When Harry looked at his hand-watch, it was about ten thirty, and the two of them were due in Transfiguration. This made them even more anxious because they knew how strict Professor McGonagall was, and that she refused anyone being late to her class.

Finally, the Transfiguration door stood before them.

Ron swallowed a lump, and gently pushed the door open.

"Bloody hell!" shrieked Ron, as he saw a bug turn into a large grasshopper, and hopped out of the classroom.

"Come in Mr. Weasley, and you too Mr. Potter," spoke Professor McGonagall.

They both turned around to see the class working on transfiguring bugs into huge grasshoppers that stood at least seven feet tall.

They walked hastily to Professor McGonagall's desk, awaiting her questions.

"Sit," she instructed, and they both sat on wooden chairs.

"Professor…" began Ron, hopeful that she'll understand.

"Not a word Mr. Weasley," she snapped, "I'd like to know how you two, in addition to Ms. Granger, were late to my class, and I want a good reason that explains how you three didn't attend your first two lessons."

It seemed like Professor McGonagall's brain was flooding with questions.

"Professor," talked Harry calmly, "we were on a mission…a serious one."

"A mission? Like what, Mr. Potter?"

"I'm afraid Harry can't tell," muttered Ron uneasily.

"I'm afraid he must, or I shall take away several point from Gryffindor," said Professor McGonagall solemnly.

Harry had no other choice. Mad-Eye and Tonks told him not to tell anyone but Dumbledore about the incident, but since Professor McGonagall was a teacher, and a member of the Order, he saw no harm whatsoever in informing her.

"Professor, did you hear about Ron's brothers? Fred and George?" questioned Harry politely, putting down his schoolbag.

"No, what happened?"

"Well, if you've been with the Order lately," whispered Harry, "you would've known."

"Stop talking riddle-like Mr. Potter," requested Professor McGonagall, "and go ahead and tell me about it."

Ron glanced at Harry for a moment, frowning.

"Do you know the Death-Eater Dolohov?" inquired Harry, as he felt a grasshopper bite his leg. Professor McGonagall shrunk it into a bug once again.

"Mr. Potter, I'm the one who's asking questions…"

"I know, but well?" interrupted Harry.

"I certainly heard about him," replied Professor McGonagall, "he was a faithful servant of the Dark Lord."

"Fine," continued Harry, now relieved that Professor McGonagall had a clue about what he spoke, "Dolohov had kidnapped Fred and George in their own shop at Hogsmeade."

Professor McGonagall's glasses slipped down, and she sighed.

"He put them into enchanted sleep," added Ron, as Professor McGonagall turned to listen to him, "he also tied them with thick ropes that nearly stopped the blood circulation."

"So, we sneaked out of school last night," claimed Harry, feeling remorse.

"And then, we went to Honeydukes cellar, and slept there for the night," Ron went on, gaining some confidence.

"When it was morning, we took a bite at some food. After that, we headed straight to The Golden Wheezer Jokeshop…Fred and George's place," said Harry, lowering his voice.

"And what did you find there?" interrogated Professor McGonagall, so apprehensive by now.

"Well, we stepped inside and found no one there," continued Ron, "but when we went upstairs, we found Fred and George sleeping, and tied up in an old dust room."

"And out of nowhere came Percy," mouthed Harry.

"Percy?" asked Professor McGonagall, shooting them perplexed looks.

"In the end, it turned out to be fake. He was not Percy; he was Dolohov, having used the Polyjuice Potion as Hermione suggested," gossiped Ron.

"He trapped all three of us in a small room that my brothers called the Thinking Room," whinnied Harry.

"Each minute in there seemed like a whole hour," discussed Ron, "and we came with no resolution for so long."

"But then, Hermione blew up a glass window and enlarged it, so that we can slip through," explained Harry quickly.

Professor McGonagall raised her eyebrows, so surprised.

"Suddenly, Tonks arrived," lisped Ron.

"Tonks? That clumsy lady?" asked Professor McGonagall to be confirmed.

"Yes," responded Harry, "and she took out of that place, and we all were transported to Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place."

Harry and Ron were sure that Professor McGonagall didn't get a thing from what they have just mentioned.

"Very well, then," she spoke, breathing heavily, "but whatever happened to Antonin Dolohov?"

"He escaped," prattled Ron, "we reckon he flew on a crow."

She shot him a confused look, awaiting him to clarify his statement.

"Professor, remember months ago when the crows from Dark Valley attacked us?" questioned Harry, recalling that terrifying incident.

"Yes," she responded right away.

"Well, we're guessing that he flew on one of the crows, which we witnessed turning into a larger crow and speaking to us previously, and headed back to Dark Valley," mumbled Harry, desperate for the conversation to end.

For some moments, she was quiet and in thought.

"But didn't he tell you anything about the Dark Lord?"

"Nothing," mouthed Ron.

"He only told us that our clock was ticking," reminded Harry, grinning at Ron.

Professor McGonagall knew that she could say no more. Therefore, she dismissed them from the conversation, and they sat at the back of the class, transfiguring bugs into grasshoppers.

During lunch, Hermione showed up. Her leg was perfectly mended, and she could run again.

"So, what happened while I was away?" asked Hermione, sitting down beside Harry and Ron.

"You tell her," sputtered Ron, as he swallowed some chicken tenders.