This story is currently under review - This chapter will be updated shortly!

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Settings, stories, characters are all cannon, set in an AU, from a different POV!

Disclaimer: It all belongs to J K Rowling, apart from the obvious changes


Chapter Nineteen: No Place For A Slave

She sat, quite uncomfortably behind her Master, waiting patiently like the rest of them, completely unsure of what to do, or even if the animal would be able to take off with her astride it as well. Then, with a sudden sweeping moment that she hadn't anticipated, she felt its wings by her legs spread, and the horse like creature crouched, "Hold on." He said, rather wearily and anxiously, as he seemed to cling to the Thestral's neck in the process, knowing what was about to come. Quickly slipping her arms around her Master, Hermione held on tightly and braced herself as they rocketed upwards into the air, so far and so steeply that she felt as though she would become unhinged at any moment. As they levelled, still moving at an incredible pace, their background the castle and lake, surrounded by a blood red sunset, she could almost imagine that there was nothing wrong with the world, she and Ron were simply out together, taking a ride in the fading light upon such a beautiful day, that not a care needed to be given for the rest of the world. With the cool air slapping against her face ferociously, her eyes pushed themselves together and she leaned into her Masters back, almost affectionately, but definitely not wanting to find herself cascading through the air only to be mashed into the pavement at an unbelievable velocity. They were over the Hogwarts grounds; they had passed Hogsmeade; mountains and gullies paving the way below them. As the daylight began to steadily fail, Hermione could just make out small collections of lights as they passed over villages, then a winding road on which a single car was beetling its way home through the hills. "Stay with me okay?" Her Master shouted behind him, though she did not hear, barely caught any of his speech,

"What?" She asked, trying to prop her chin up onto his shoulder,

"I said, I want you to stay with me! Do you understand? I don't want anything happening to you!" She could see his ears turn scarlet as he spoke, but she leant in close, discretely kissing his ear,

"Sir." Sitting back, she clung to him further thinking how strange it was that, to her, she was speeding along violently at such a height, with no visible means of support, surrounded by the oncoming darkness as twilight fell, stars beginning to glisten through the velvet blanket above and around them. She was beginning to feel numb as they rode on, only the lights of towns and villages still visible through the darkness, only Ron's body keeping her warm as they flew. Yet now she was atop this invisible horse, on her way to the Ministry of Magic, it suddenly dawned upon her, exactly what she was doing. It was terrible enough as it was that she had had a Professor accosted, had spoken to her Master in such a degrading way, even entering the Forbidden Forest when she knew she should have not. And now she was heading to a place where no Muggleborn had entered and left again alive, wandless and unarmed, possibly threatening the lives of all of the others by being defenceless. She had chosen her own pride over their lives, the life of her Master. She shook herself, trying to dislodge the idea, the very possibility that she could actually die tonight, even see one of her companions die, and the guilt consumed her. Her stomach was churning, her mind racing as she tried not to cry, to push those thoughts to the back of her mind and bury her head into her Master's back, only letting out the smallest of sobs. She felt a hand press over hers as her Master had chanced letting go of their Thestral, trying to comfort her. Yet he had to hang back on quickly once more as they jolted suddenly as they began to descend, seemingly at an alarmingly steep angle, the two of them slipping forwards a little, able now to see lights and the tops of buildings becoming ever more visible, the horse suddenly touching the ground lighter than a shadow. Sighing heavily, she prepared herself to get down, but gasped as her Master toppled from the horse, smashing into the pavement with an alarming crack, returning to his feet quickly and patting himself down embarrassedly. Turning to her he took her hand without her real consent and dragged her down after him, rather unexpectedly, and she crumpled a little as she landed, only to be pulled back up by her busily muttering Master,

"Never again..." He looked around, almost as if to look for it, despite being fully aware that he was unable to see it. As the others dismounted Harry gave a sharp point in the direction of an overflowing skip and to an old, battered, vandalised telephone box, which all of them immediately made for, illuminated only by the iridescent glare of the orange streetlamps, bearing down upon them. Cramming inside, Hermione had been shoved between her Master and the glass window, his arm bent around her awkwardly hovering over the dial,

"Six, two, four, four, two." Came a crushed voice and he started jabbing away, the box giving a sudden violent, rattling shift.

"State you business." Came a cool female voice, drifting over them.

"Rescue mission," Hermione replied instantly, not thinking to wait for anyone else to speak, though slightly regretting it as she looked back to her Master, who raised an eyebrow at her. The pavement began to rise up around them, the Thestrals dipping out of sight, darkness closing over their heads with a dull grinding noise as the sank down into the depths of the earth. A sudden bright light filtered in around their feet, rising up their bodies and flooding the telephone box, revealing a large and open, empty Atrium,

"Welcome to the Ministry of Magic."

~x~x~x~

Her Master gave her a small push out into the open, making her even more nervous than she had been before, glancing around cautiously, looking down the long hall, with its highly polished dark wood floor and peacock blue ceiling, golden symbols scattered all about it, moving sinuously as though it were some sort of notice board. As the other's followed her out, Master Harry set off at a run, straight down towards the end of the hall, passing dozens of gilded fireplaces, lining both sides of the walls, and half way down, a large fountain depicting a witch, wizard, centaur, goblin and house elf, jets of water spouting from various places, seeming to be the only source of sound within the echoing walls, other than the sound of their pounding feet. Chest tightening, Hermione could not fathom why everywhere was so empty, void of even security, chilling her deeply, resting as an ominous sign, her feelings of foreboding increasing rapidly with every step she took closer towards a set of around twenty lifts, just ahead of them. Reaching them first, Master Harry, jabbed the nearest 'down' button and a lift clattered into sight almost immediately, the golden grilles sliding apart almost ungratefully with a great, echoing clanking and they all dashed inside, not as crushed as they had been entering the building. Stabbing at the number nine button, the grills closed themselves behind Master Harry and the lift began to descend, jangling and rattling loudly, causing Hermione to cringe at the sound, having hoped that they would have been a little smoother and quieter as to not arouse suspicion and was astonished that security had not coming running at the sound, alerting the entire ministry. Yet the lift soon rumbled to a halt, the same voice announcing,

"Floor Nine. Department of Mysteries." The doors slowly sliding open, she began to quiver, having only heard about this particular department in passing and how they conducted confidential research regarding particular enigmas, including time, space, death, thought and love. Such an unknown place, a mysterious place, frightened her deeply, not knowing what would be inside, the hall already so different from the Atrium above with its black tiled walls, with no windows or doors apart from the one plain black door at the end of the corridor, leading into the department. The only source of light came from small torches lining the walls which glowed blue-white along with a glimmering light from the top of a small flight of stairs leading to the floor above.

"Let's go," Master Harry whispered, and he led the way down the corridor silently, Mistress Luna right behind him, gazing around with her mouth slightly open as if, for the first time, she was actually surprised by what she was seeing.

"OK, listen," He said, stopping again within six feet of the door and turning to them all and then specifically towards Hermione. "Maybe...maybe a couple of people should stay here as a...as a lookout, and-"

"And how're we going to let you know something's coming?" The youngest Weasley asked, her eyebrows raised high under her fringe, happy to point out the flaw in his plan. "You could be miles away."
"We're coming with you, Harry," Added Master Neville, though his voice remained quiet, unnerving Hermione a little, now suddenly terrified that a boy who could defend himself with magic was equally as terrified as she was.

"Let's get on with it," Her Master said firmly, seemingly trying desperately to not look at his slave, whose eyes kept busily flickering towards him for some kind of comfort that he was unable to give her in that moment. He pushed forwards, walking towards the door and it swung open for him allowing him to walk over the threshold, everyone as close behind as possible and into a large circular hall of dark marble flooring and ceiling, similarly lit by candles emitting a cool blue light. All around them were identical, unmarked, handleless black doors set in at random intervals, giving them the impression of walking out onto the ocean in the dark of night, its rippling black waters flowing underfoot.

"Someone shut the door," Master Harry muttered, terrifying Hermione immediately as the only true light was suddenly extinguished, turning the chamber so dark that only the ghostly shadows and reflections of the torches danced around them .Backing up a little she suddenly found a hand, just able to make out Master Harry's features as he tried to give her a reassuring smile, just as he had done when they first visited Grawp, trying to make her feel as secure as he possibly could, without lulling her into a false sense of security. Yet another hand suddenly found hers, linking fingers with her own, her Master towered over her, bringing a new reassuring sense of safety to her, but also a stomach crunching apprehension, leaving her unable to shake her fear for his life. A loud grumbling noise suddenly sounded, the candles suddenly shifting sideways as the wall began rotating at an alarmingly rapid pace, causing her to squeeze both of them tightly, almost terrified that the floor would begin to shift in the opposite direction. Yet it did not and for a few seconds, the blue flames around them were blurred, creating a full strip of neon around them, which all of a sudden, grinded to a halt, the walls becoming as stationary as they every had been, as though nothing had occurred at all.

"What the hell was all that shit about?" Whispered her Master, almost fearfully, in a voice she rarely heard or barely even knew that he could produce.

"I think it was to stop us knowing which door we came in through," His sister answered, her voice hushed and breathless. "So...where do we go?" She asked, looking to Master Harry, who simply closed his eyes, thinking hard,

"I don't-" He began, and then swallow heavily, clearly thinking how best to address the situation, "In the dreams I went through the door at the end of the corridor from the lifts into a dark room – that's this one – and then I went through another door into a room that kind of...glitters? We should try a few; I'll know it when I see it." He finished by nodding vigorously to himself, and Hermione felt now comfortable enough in her faith in Master Harry to release both his and her Master's hands, and did so, feeling her Master grapple for her a little, but then seem to accept that she did not need him any longer. Marching straight for the door ahead of them, it swung open readily and easily, opening up to them, inviting them into its unwelcoming darkness. As they moved further towards its centre, the lamps hanging low on golden chains from this ceiling gave the impression that this long rectangular room was much brighter, though there were no glittering, shimmering lights to be found here. The place was quite empty except for a few desks and, in the very middle of the room, an enormous glass tank of deep green liquid, big enough for all of them to swim in; a number of pearly-white objects drifting around lazily in it.

"What're those things?" Whispered her Master, lurching forwards a little curiously, a little sceptically.
"Aquavirius Maggots!" Cried Mistress Luna excitedly, clapping her hands together, yet Hermione gasped suddenly, lifting a hand to her mouth, realisation suddenly hitting her violently like a slap to the face. "Dad said the Ministry were breeding-" Yet Hermione could contain herself no longer, bursting out,

"No." Barely able to speak, she strained to voice herself as they turned to face her, watching as she stepped forwards and around the side of the tank, "They're...brains."

"Let's go," Master harry said, a strange urgency in his voice, "This isn't right." They all turned, retreating back out of the door that they had previously entered, Hermione asking a seemingly obviously question,

"How will you know which door we've gone through?" Looking down to her, her Master whipped out his wand, turning back to the door,

"Flagrate!" He said sharply as the door closed swiftly behind them, a fiery 'X' appearing engraved into the door, and not a moment too soon, for as it clicked shut, the rumbling began once more, the walls rotating once more, stilling as they had previously, the used door now highlighted perfectly. She gazed up at her Master in awe, thinking how amazing he must be to have thought of such an idea so rapidly, despite her mind soon turning back to their current situation, remembering to follow the group as they did Master Harry as he strode towards another door. Running in behind them, she entered a room much larger than the first, dimly lit and rectangular, its centre sunken, forming a great stone pit some twenty feet deep. They were standing on the topmost tier of what seemed to be stone benches running all around the room and descending in steep steps like an amphitheatre with a raised stone dais in the centre of the pit, on which stood a stone archway, looking older and more ancient than should could have imagined, cracked and crumbling, looking as though it would shatter at the slightest touch. Unsupported by any surrounding wall, the archway was hung with a tattered black curtain or veil which, despite the complete stillness of the cold surrounding air, was fluttering very slightly as though it had been recently ruffled by a long gone passerby. Her stomach turned, and she could not shake the great feeling that someone was hiding behind the veil, waiting to jump out at them, or perhaps waiting for her to come to them.

"Please...Let's go." She said quietly, the room simply not feeling right to her, the fear within her even greater than it had been in the previous room, despite the odd beauty that the veil was seemingly emitting, intriguing her, but pushing the boundaries of her knowledge beyond something that she did not want, a place she felt she did not need to go, not for a very long time. "This isn't right. Let's go." She repeated, more forcefully, despite none of them paying her any attention, as she realised suddenly what she was hearing, murmuring, whispering, a distant voice coming from the veil. No, from behind it, or perhaps, within it? "We're supposed to be here for Master Sirius!" Something clicked, they turned, looking away from it and retracing their steps,

"Let's go." Master harry confirmed, only just managing to tear his eyes from the platform before him that he had previously been inching ever closer to. Without speaking, she took hold of Mistress Ginny's arm and dragged her from the room, knowing the others would follow as she did so,

"That arch...that arch is dangerous. Stay away from it." She said, addressing no one in particular, but asserting herself firmly amongst them. She may have had little knowledge of magic, but knew when her instincts told her something, and they were telling her that the room should be one that is sealed forever and should never be entered, particularly by those of weakened will power. As the door shut and her Master marked it once more, the room span and stilled once more, Master Harry moving towards the nearest door, pushing hard.

"It's...It's locked..." He said confusedly, throwing all of his weight against the door, even though it didn't move as he did so.

"That's bound to be it then?" Said her Master excitedly, but she shook her head, thinking carefully.

"No." He looked back at her, "No. This room should be left well enough alone. In Master Harry's dream it opened easily, this door, this door is dangerous." The bespectacled boy looked at her carefully and then nodded, understanding her immediately, motioning to her Master to mark the door once more, which he did so, rather begrudgingly, obviously longing to learn what was held within that particular chamber. Turning around he hurried over to the rest of them, who had already begun entering another room, one filled by beautiful, dancing, diamond sparkling light.

"This is it!" Master Harry cried, rushing forwards, in either excitement or anticipation, Hermione could not tell for sure. As her eyes became accustomed to the brilliant glare, she saw clocks gleaming from every surface, large and small, grandfather and carriage, hanging in spaces between the bookcases or standing on desks ranging the length of the room, so that a busy, relentless ticking filled the place like thousands of minuscule, marching footsteps, parading the room. The source of the dancing, diamond bright light was a towering crystal bell jar that stood at the far end of the room, tempting them forwards, beckoning their arrival. "This way!" He cried, lurching forwards, Hermione's heart beating faster than ever as they ran for the desk upon which the jar sat, appearing to be full of a billowing, glittering wind, illuminating a door directly behind it, which they all headed for immediately. Her anxiety sky rocketed, her nerves beginning to crackle through and causing her to physically shake with anticipation as the door swung open revealing a room, its ceiling as high as a church but full of nothing but towering shelves lined with small, dusty orbs. They glimmered dully in the light issuing from more candle brackets set at intervals along the shelves, the blue flames being the only heat source in such a cold room. "Be ready," Master Harry said, suddenly setting off at a sprint to the right, "Ninety seven!" Passing row upon row of orbs, they suddenly grinded to a halt, stood at the end of a row, gazing down it to find nobody there. "He's right down at the end, must be. We just can't see him." They set off again, running down the row, Hermione's mind now whirring massively, doubt setting in immediately. How could Master Harry have been wrong? How could Master Sirius not be here when he should have been so? Her mouth now exceedingly dry, only able to hear their footsteps as they went, nothing more echoing around them. Feeling violently sick, she stopped suddenly, looking terrified as her Master also stopped and turned around to look at her.

'What have I done?' She thought, suddenly terrified as he came towards her, a little on edge, a little more cautiously than she would have expected. He stopped suddenly, his eyes moving behind her head,

"Harry?" He called back at the others, who all stopped and looked back at them, "Have you seen this?" As Master Harry eagerly made his way back towards them, his face faltered as he realised that Ron was looking at one of the small dusty spheres, "It's – It's got your name on it." He stepped forwards, craning his neck upwards reading the spidery writing as Hermione did so, standing upon her tiptoes,

'S.P.T to A.P.W.B.D,

Dark Lord

And Harry Potter.'

He made a sudden grab for the sphere, apparently waiting for something to happen, though nothing did, it simply sat in the palm of his hand, glowing dimly. Hermione's skin suddenly began to crawl, feeling as though something was coming, something that could jeopardise them and their mission. A cruel drawling voice reached them from behind, sneering at them vividly,

"Very good, Potter. Now turn around, nice and slowly, and give that to me." She froze, not wanting to turn around, then finding that she didn't even have to as black shapes began emerging out of thin air all around them, blocking any means of escape. Thick hooded figures pointing their wands directly at each of them, causing her heart to plummet magnificently, fear creeping back into her as she studied their glistening eyes as they shone through from under their hoods, glaring at them viciously. She gave a small gasp and was suddenly pulled backwards, her Master's arm wrapped tightly around her shoulder and over her chest, pulling her back into his own, his wand protecting her heart as best he could. "To me, Potter." Repeated the drawling voice of Lucius Malfoy, their Deputy Minister, as he held out his hand, palm up, paying no heed of their obvious terror, Hermione realising that they were outnumbered two to one. "Give me the prophecy."

"Where's Sirius?" Master Harry demanded, causing all of the surrounding hooded figures, that she knew only as Death Eaters, to begin laughing ferociously, and in that instant, she knew. Master Sirius was nowhere to be found and they had been led directly into a trap, falling hook, line and sinker. Panic rising within her, she took hold of the arm in front of her, squeezing tightly, trying to ignore the impending dread that had been growing within her ever since they had found that particular row. "You've got him! He's here, I know it!" Even Master Harry now seemed afraid, afraid of what had happened and what he had led them into.

"The little baby woke up fwightened and fort what it dweamed was twoo," Said a hidden woman in a horrible, mock baby voice, giving a raucous scream of laughter after her mockery.

"Now Bellatrix," Said Malfoy softly, "Don't upset our dear Mr Potter, he needs to still give me the prophecy, and learn the difference between life and dreams." Hermione's chest constricted tightly, barely allowing her to breathe as that wretched woman's voice reached her ears, poisoning them, causing her to shiver, and knot in her stomach tighten.

"No." Master Harry said firmly, glaring back at them, seeming much braver than Hermione even felt at that moment in time.

"You asked for it!" Bellatrix seethed, raising her wand immediately, Malfoy lurching forwards towards her,

"NO! THE PROPHECY!" He cried, trying to drag her want from her, but she pulled away,

"STUPEFY!" An orb by Hermione's foot suddenly exploded, two ghostly figures wailing loudly before disappearing and melting into the air. Her eyes suddenly widened and she leant backwards, pushing herself up towards her Master's ear, whispering,

"Smash the shelves." He nodded, suddenly standing forwards,

"What's so special about this prophecy?" There came a rush of hissing and sneering from the group, but before there was any response given, he turned his wand above Malfoy's head, screaming, "REDUCTO!" The shelf behind them suddenly exploded as the curse hit, followed by more screams of the curse, as the others followed suit, the towering structures swaying as hundreds of glass spheres burst apart, pearly white figures unfurling into the air, their voices echoing in torrents as splinters of glass and wood rained down upon them.

"RUN!" Master Harry yelled, the shelves above them swaying ever more precariously as more spheres began to fall around them, all of them using their hands to shield their heads, other than her Master, who was trying to protect her as best he could, flakes of glass embedding themselves into his skull, no doubt painfully. Yet he was suddenly ripped from her,

"Keep running!" He screamed at her, not giving her time to argue as she sprinted after Master Harry, dragging Master Neville up with her as she went, urging him to move faster, seeing the door that they had come though ahead of them, still slightly ajar. Hurtling through it, Master Neville collapsed, dragging her down with him, as she heard Master Harry shrieked,

"Colloportus!" And the door slammed shut, sealing itself with an odd squelching noise. Lifting her head, she gave a quick look around her,

"Master?" Yet she could not see him, anywhere, turning once more, frantically, "Master? Ron!" She called loudly, desperate now to see him, "What do we do?" She looked to him, but he could give her no answers, his face away with misery and misfortune,

"Shit." He paused, seriously confused, clutching his head ferociously, and groaning with anxiety. "Right," He stood up straight suddenly, taking a deep breath as shrieks came from behind the door, accompanied by several shouts of 'Alohomora!', and dragging Master Neville to his feet he looked to Hermione, "Hide!" She nodded, shooting off, alone, in the direction of the far end of the hallway, her heart racing, bile rising up her throat, threatening to spill itself upon the floor in a violent fashion. Yet now she had reached the door, looking from the desks and tables and then back towards the door, wondering whether she should keep running, find her Master, know that he was alright. Nodding to herself determinedly, she yanked the door open, hearing a cry of 'Petrificus Totalus!' behind her as she slammed it shut, the room beginning to spin once more. Running towards one of the doors they had previously tried, she yanked it open brutally, throwing herself inside before stopping dead. The arch before her was still fluttering peacefully in a nonexistent wind, causing her chest to halt, ceasing entry of oxygen into her body as she stared at it, fear churning deep within her. She gasped suddenly, backing out of the door as quickly as she could, slamming it behind her, leaning back upon it, her chest heavily as she sobbed, hating that room. The feelings it brought into her were new and strange, made her knees weak, brought on a strangled sensation of apprehension, telling her that it was an important room, but one that would play its part before the night was up. Screaching towards another door as the walls grinded to a halt, she threw it open, surprised to arrive back in the Brain Room, finding the others in there already.

"Hermione! Merlin, we thought you'd be killed, you stupid girl!" Master Harry ran at her, dragging her back to them,

"'Mione!" Cried her Master, draping herself over her lazily and sloppily, frightening her increasingly as a black liquid dripped from his lips and onto her face, "Ha ha...we saw Uranus...get it? Your anus! He he he..." He let her go and walked away, towards the tank, ignoring them completely.

"I blew up Pluto when they came after us, but I think I got Ginny's ankle though, I heard something snap." Mistress Luna said, almost nonchalantly, "No idea what they did to him, or the spell. Almost couldn't even get him here." She gestured towards Ron and Hermione looked around to her Master, who currently had his face pressed up against the glass like a small child in a petting zoo. Suddenly whipping his wand out and pointing towards the glass gleefully he cried,

"Hey! Hey Harry! I think you should touch it! Here, I'll get it for you! Accio Brain!" He pointed his wand towards the glass, causing it to shatter, one of the octopus like brains shooting in this direction.

"Ron, NO!" Master Harry ran towards him, trying to shove hit out of the way, missing by inches as her Master caught it securely in his arms, dragging it into his chest, a large grin plastered upon his face.

"Harry, it'll suffocate him!" Mistress Ginny screamed, half dangling from Luna's shoulder, barely able to support herself for the pain she was in. The moment it made contact with his skin, the tentacles attached to it began spiralling around his arm, tightening, then spreading to his chest, and despite how he pulled and thrashed, they pulled tighter and tighter, refusing to break. He gave a small, pathetic laugh, a large bubble of blood popping out of the corner of his mouth as he fell to the floor, obviously in agony. Breathing heavily, Hermione looked over to him, her eyes swimming, her breathing rapid,

"Ron? RON!" Running in his direction as quickly as she could, a slash of purple flames suddenly hurtled across her, striking her chest viciously, causing pain to ripple through her, taking over her body and her mind, closing it to the world. The last thing she saw as she fell forwards, her arm outstretched towards her Master, was his face, painfully twisted, writhing in agony as she hit the floor, the world closing to her, dragging her into darkness.


Japan's Arc Angel x