Hallowed
Chapter Five: Vengeful Escape


The next morning dawned bright and early for the three who would soon be entering the Ministry under false pretenses. Since the plan was reviewed the day before, Harry, Hermione, and Ron had all prepared themselves. Their work attire would be some rather nice-looking robes that had been found and relieved of their years of collected dust. Hermione had done a charm that would freshen them up for good measure. Stowed in their pockets were the phials of polyjuice potion, and around Harry's neck was the mokeskin purse. He rarely took it off, save for sleeping. After a good morning's breakfast prepared by Kreacher, the three got under the invisibility cloak and stepped out onto the front step. The watchers who had been spying on the house for the past month were on the other side for the moment. With Ron and Harry gripping the cloak around them, they took Hermione's hands in their free ones and apparated to a place near the toilets where they would enter the ministry.

The street was deserted. Sun shone through milky clouds and cast odd shadows over the buildings. They had ended up in an alleyway that was blocked mostly from view, and it would be a good place to wait for their desired targets. The first one, Mafalda Hopkirk appeared moments later. She walked along the street nearest, and Hermione seized her chance. Stepping out from under the cloak, she pulled out her wand and muttered "Stupify!" under her breath. This left Mafalda to fall back and be caught by Ron, who had positioned himself just behind her. Getting back into the alleyway, Harry flicked his wand at the door nearest. When it unlocked and swung open, they were looking into a broken down storage facility. It was a small place, but no one had been in it for months. Hermione pulled out a few strands of Mafalda's hair and dropped them into the phial which changed to a purple color. Downing it quickly, she waited while the potion took effect. When she emerged, she was holding Mafalda's handbag and looking through it. Finding the woman's ID and a few coins that had MoM on them, she replaced the handbag with Mafalda's stunned form.

"Right." She said in a crisp tone. Her voice had obviously changed to that of Mafalda's. "Now we just need… Ah, there's yours, Ron." Hermione pointed to a man who had just appeared a good distance away. "He looks peaky. It will give me an excuse to use this." She withdrew from her robes a small orange chew. Harry recognized it immediately as half of a Puking Pastille.

"Poor bloke." Ron muttered as Hermione headed off to meet the newly arrived Reg Cattermole. "Won't know what hit him, eh?"

"Morning, Mafalda." Reginald Cattermole greeted in a tired voice. "Here early I see."

"Yes." Hermione said as she went to walk alongside the man. "Not in your work robes?"

"No." Reg looked uncomfortable. "They told me I didn't need to be here today, but I had to come."

"You look ill."

"I don't feel the greatest, but I had to come." Clutching a mug of what was presumed coffee, Reg didn't notice Hermione slip the chew into it until he swallowed it. Luckily that was his last drink. He immediately began to heave, and within seconds, was vomiting. Hermione stepped back out of the way while putting a comforting hand on the man's shoulder.

"You should go home or see someone. Surely, whatever matter is bothering you can wait-"

"N-no!" Reg managed between retching. "I mu-must go!"

"You can barely stand, much less walk." Hermione reasoned. "You should find a doctor." Reg couldn't speak for several minutes due to violently vomiting and dry heaving. Only when he nearly collapsed did he finally agree; which he had to do by nodding jerkily. While Hermione helped him to a standing position so that he could disapparate, she pulled a few of his hairs from the back of his robes and checked them against his natural hair before letting him go. She slipped the purple half of the chew into his pocket before he disappeared around the corner; clinging to the wall for support. Only when he had gone did she vanish the vomit in front of a few witches who had arrived and explained the situation to them. Once done, she walked around the corner and handed the hairs to Ron, who dropped them into his potion and drained it.

Harry's target didn't' take long to appear either. After Ron had pocketed the phial again and taken the coin, they both saw a man appear not far from where Reg had disapparated. Tall, thin, and older looking, he started toward the underground toilet before Hermione muttered in Harry's ear that that was Albert Runcorn. While still under the invisibility cloak, Harry moved out and waited until Albert was at the head of their alleyway before he stunned him and modified his memory for good measure. Pulling out a few black hairs, Harry added them to his potion and swallowed. While he began to change, Ron and Hermione moved the real Runcorn into a building opposite of Mafalda and shut the door.

"Are you ready then, Cattermole?" Harry heard Hermione say. At Ron's nod, she addressed Harry. "Are you?"

"Yeah." Harry said in a much lower voice than his own. "Let's get this over with."

"Right." Hermione handed him a coin, and the three headed for the underground toilets. Once downstairs, they separated. Hermione went right while Ron and Harry went left. Joining the short queue, the two men stepped into stalls after only a few moments, and Ron looked over the side of his at Harry. He mouthed that they had to apparently flush themselves in, and Harry suppressed the urge to make a face. Hearing a knock on the door behind im, Harry stepped into the toilet, but did not feel his shoes or socks get soaked. When he pulled the chain, he distinctly heard Ron do the same, and they were sent spinning down through a pipe and came out of the gilded fireplaces.

Meeting Hermione, they walked through the atrium, and she muttered something under her breath to Harry. It seemed that Mafalda and Reg didn't care much for Runcorn, and they should act as if they were displeased to be near him; likewise, Albert didn't care much for the other two. They settled for acting mutually indifferent as they approached the place where the golden fountain had been. Harry found it horrible that it had been replaced by a statue of a witch and wizard sitting on what looked to be thrones; only those thrones were made of piles of… dare he think, muggles.

"Disgusting every time I see it…" One wizard muttered as he walked past. "I'm sure you find it hard to look at, eh Reg?" When Ron didn't reply, Harry managed an almost annoyed tone.

"He's talking to you, Cattermole. Suggest you answer."

"Oh right…" Ron said reluctantly. "Yeah, can't imagine who would want to look at something like that."

"I can." The wizard who had joined them muttered to Hermione. "People like 'im that are in charge."

They all proceeded to the lifts that would take them further into the ministry, and Harry had to wonder when they would run into Dolores Umbridge. He knew where the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts office was, having ben there before with Mr. Weasley. That was on level two. That didn't mean that Umbridge was there. As the grilles slid shut, the lift clattered up a few levels, letting the wizard that had joined them out. The next level they stopped at was Ron's stop. He had been confronted by Yaxley, another death eater, in the atrium while Hermione had talked with the other wizard about the throne-like structure. Yaxley had said that it was raining in his office, and that Cattermole had best get it stopped. They had also found out why Reg had been so adamant to get into the Ministry that morning; his wife, Mary Elizabeth Cattermole was being questioned that day in regard to being a possible "wand-stealer". Hermione had hastily told Ron that he should try "Finite Incantatem" to stop the rain in Yaxley's office.

When Ron got out of the lift, he was met by Arthur Weasley. Hermione discretely tugged on his robes to keep him from looking too happy to see his father, and Ron settled for a greeting of "Morning, Arthur."

"Good morning, Reg. What are you doing on this level?"

"Raining in Yaxley's office." Ron said quickly, and Arthur actually half smiled. "Wants me to stop it."

"Yes, I'd say it's been raining in many offices as of late. Don't really know why, but I can't complain. I'm still dry." As he headed for another lift, Arthur spotted Harry. "Ah. Runcorn, I'd like a word." As Ron left the lifts, Arthur stepped into the one he had just vacated and waited until the grilles had closed before turning on Harry. "I know that you revealed Dirk Cresswell's background, and I must say that was pretty low. If you're looking for a leg up around here, you might just get yourself into more trouble than is worth."

"What are you on about?" Harry growled, but they didn't have much time to talk. Next floor, Arthur was getting out, shooting one last comment at Harry.

"You know very well what I mean. He was a good man."

The lift moved on up, leaving Harry and Hermione to look at each other. Both were thinking that it was good to see Mr. Weasley, and that it was too bad they could not reveal themselves to him; then again, it would have made him and the rest worry. When they reached level two, they were face to face with Pius Thicknesse, the Minister of Magic. He greeted Harry as if they knew each other on friendly terms, but Harry didn't notice it all that much. He merely nodded mutely and shook the man's hand. His real point of interest was the squat toad-like witch that had just emerged from an office on the other end of the corridor. Her pink robes were only made slightly better by the black bow in her mousy hair. It was a welcome change compared to the usual pink. Dolores Umbridge came striding up the way and stopped by the minister; addressing him in her usual girly sweet voice.

"Ah, Minister, I was just headed down to the courtrooms. Busy morning, I suspect."

"Very much so." Pius looked to be just passing, rather than getting into the lift with her. Immediately, he nodded to Harry and Hermione and walked on to an office nearby. "Good day, Dolores, Albert."

"Mafalda, I assume Travers sent you?" Umbridge addressed Hermione in a cheerful tone. "Good. Shall we get started then?" She got into the lift, and Harry did his best to stay as far away as possible, but she addressed him next. "Albert, weren't you getting out?"

Harry got out of the lift and snuck a look back at Hermione as the grilles slid back and the lift headed back down. He could see the panic and frustration in her expression, but it turned to a stony one when Dolores addressed her again. Unfortunately, Harry couldn't hear the conversation and settled for walking toward Umbridge's office. He received a slight shock when he saw an electric blue eye looking back at him from a brass hole in the door.

Crossing the corridor, Harry took one look around. There were several witches and wizards sitting at tables like an assembly line; they were working on pamphlets that advertised the Ministry's newest laws and programs. One that fell on the floor was describing the "Muggle Registration Committee" that was chaired by Dolores Umbridge and Yaxley. Harry, needing a means of entering the office discretely, fished in his pocket and found one of the decoy detonators that Fred and George had given him; along with a pellet that released Peruvian instant darkness powder. Keeping the latter for later, he dropped the detonator as he walked past and waited. When it went off, it caused people to scream and leaflets and pamphlets to go everywhere. In the confusion, Harry darted into Umbridge's rather pink and girly office. He realized that it was Moody's eye that was attached to a short range looking glass so that Umbridge could spy on those outside. Plucking the eye from the door, Harry pocketed it and looked around as he closed the door. He wondered just why Umbridge had his eye, but then he heard people talking outside. Umbridge had apparently acquired the eye after everyone thought Alastor Moody was dead. Moody had since used a backup eye while he was at Grimmauld Place, but Harry kept it all the same.

There was nothing in particular in the office that was of use. He saw several of Umbridge's kitten plates on the walls and even a copy of The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore by Rita Skeeter. He had heard about this book due to the conversation between Professor McGonagall, Elphias Doge, and Ron's great aunt, Muriel. Rummaging through the desk, Harry found nothing but pink parchment, quills, and a few pots of deep violet ink. He finally settled for striding out into the corridor again, and found the minister calming people down outside. They had found the decoy, or what was left of it, and he had tossed it into a rubbish bin.

Harry used this chance to go and find Hermione again. He entered a lift full of small purple memos and went down toward the courtrooms where Umbridge had been heading with who she thought to be Mafalda. He encountered a sopping wet Ron a few floors down, and Harry was thankful to remember a drying charm that Dumbledore had used on him once. They managed to get to the lower levels, and when they reached the corridor that led to the department of Mysteries, Harry took one look and went the way he and Mr. Weasley had on the day of his underage magic hearing. Down that way, they found dementors and several scared muggle-borns. After reaching the courtroom, Harry heard Umbridge's voice. She was questioning a Mary Elizabeth Cattermole; Reg's wife. As Umbridge questioned where Mary had gotten her wand, the scared woman spotted Ron standing in the doorway.

"Reg?" She asked in a shaking voice. "Reg, tell them… Tell them I'm a witch…" Ron had frozen on the spot, and Harry had to give him a rough push into the room, where he stood by his "wife" who sat in the chair with the chains. They had sprang up and encircled her arms; binding her. Ron and Harry looked up, once Umbridge had started questioning her again. The woman was sitting where Fudge had when Harry was here and Yaxley sat to her left while Hermione sat to Umbridge's right. By Umbridge's podium sat a silvery Persian cat patronus. He knew it was here to ward off the dementors' effects as they stood in dark corners of the room. As he turned his head however, Harry saw a flash of gold Turning back, he spotted the locket that hung from Umbridge's neck.

Motioning to it discretely, he got Ron to spot it too, but he made a horrible discovery. He could see the scars slowly appearing on his hand again. That meant that the polyjuice was wearing off. Had it been a weak dose or had they not drank enough of it? Harry didn't know. What he did know was that they had seconds to act. Shooting a look at Hermione, he knew she had realized it as well. Umbridge didn't seem to notice.

"Thank you, Albert." She said sweetly as Harry gave Ron another nudge to talk or do something. Really, it was to speed things along. Ron had his hand on his wand when Umbridge spoke again. "Mary Elizabeth Cattermole, you are being charged with taking a wand that belonged to a witch or wizard. I find no evidence to prove that you are indeed a witch and so I must insist that you be taken away for further questioning. Yaxley, if you would send in the dementors and have the next one produced for questioning."

"Actually, Dolores, I think they will have a spot of trouble." Harry said in Runcorn's deep voice as he felt his insides reverting to their natural feel. He kept his head down slightly so that she could not see his face.

"And what might that be, Albert?" She asked. "Surely you don't mean something has happened outside."

"No." Harry's voice had returned to normal as he raised his head. "The problem is that you've been had, you great toad." At that second, Ron and Hermione had cast patronus charms to keep the dementors away, and Hermione had used Yaxley's moment of surprise to send his wand flying and bind him to the chair. Umbridge shrieked in response.

"Potter! Get him! GET HIM!-"

"Confringo!" Harry blasted her out of her chair and she slammed against the high wall behind her. As she drifted out of consciousness, he stood over her and took the locket from her neck. "You know who that was for, you coward." Pocketing the locket, Harry waited while Ron and Hermione released Mary Cattermole. "Couldn't face her in a fair fight in broad daylight so you have four Ministry wizards attack in the dark… Very brave of you."

"Harry, let's go!" Hermione called. Umbridge had already lost consciousness, so Harry dropped down from where she had been sitting and ran out after the others. He cast his patronus as well to keep the swarming dementors off of the muggle-borns that Hermione had urged to move.

When they reached the lifts, they all piled into one and took it to the atrium, where they faced a stunned crowd of new arrivals. Most stopped and pointed, but a few of those loyal to Voldemort attacked. Hary and the others pushed the muggle-borns forward and got them sprinting up the atrium first while they darted under the invisibility cloak in the confusion. They made it half way up the atrium before Yaxley came out of a lift bellowing that they all needed to be stopped. Most of the escapees were vanishing beyond the gilded fireplaces now, and when Harry, Ron, and Hermione shot impediment jinxes at Yaxley and the other Ministry or Voldemort supporters, Ron urged Mrs. Cattermole to leave; to find Reg, who would either be at home or St. Mungo's, and to get the kids and get out of the country.

They took the floo out to the street and met the real Reg in the toilets. Ron didn't explain why Mary was so confused; he just said "Nice to have met you" and sprinted off after Harry up the stairs and they met Hermione on the main street. "Hermione, we've got to get out of here now. Yaxley's coming!"

"Right, let's go!" She, Ron, and Harry threw on the cloak again; Harry having stowed it in his robes when they had used the floo. Turning on the spot, they all thought of Grimmauld Place and felt as if they were being pulled through a high-capacity rubber tube. They heard shouting behind them before darkness overtook them, but it was drowned out when the tube-like feeling opened up and deposited them onto 12's doorstep. Wrenching open the door, Hermione got the others in, shut, and bolted it. After going through the confrontation of Dumbledore's dusty ghost, they entered the kitchen, where there was a bowl of fruit on the table. Harry stuffed the cloak back into his robes and sat down hard on the chair; his heart still hammering in his chest. Hermione and Ron took chairs opposite him.

"That was close!" Ron exclaimed as he took an apple from the bowl and gripped it tightly in his hands. "Lucky we got out of there when we did otherwise, Yaxley might have tried to come with us."

"I thought of that when we first got out on the street." Hermione said this with a definite air of relief. "What I don't understand is why that potion wore off so quickly. We could have easily been caught if that had worn off any sooner."

"Maybe not enough potion…" Harry muttered as he removed the locket from his pocket. "Either way, we've got this and now we can move on to try and destroy it."

"Nice work on knocking Toadface out, mate." Ron grinned despite the situation. "It was worth the risk seeing the look on her face."

"Problem is that I'm sure by this time tomorrow, Britain will have seen it by now. I saw someone take a picture as it happened. I assumed there was a cameraman in there somewhere…" Hermione frowned again. "That will put an even bigger price on our heads…"

"Seeing as V-"

"Don't!" Shouted Ron. He was just in time to stop Harry from saying the name. "Heard from someone in the Ministry that there's a taboo on it. If you say the name, the death eaters will know where you are and come right to you."

"That must have been how Dolohov and Raul found us before…" Hermione mused.

"Right." Harry said "Well, seeing as… You Know Who wants to kill me already, having a higher price won't really much matter, Hermione." He took a pear from the bowl and used a severing charm to skin it before he bit into it. "Anyway, we'll need to find a way to destroy this."

"The sword would be ideal, but the problem will be finding it." Hermione said as she looked over Slytherin's locket. She touched it and shrank back instantly. "It's cold..."

"I noticed that when I took it off of Umbridge." Harry said as Hermione passed the locket to Ron. "Felt good to knock her out, honestly."

"Hope those people got out alright; Cattermoles, I mean." Harry and Hermione nodded.

The next few days were spent researching ways of destroying the horcrux. Hermione had already ruled out Fiend fire as one method, and the sword was missing. Basilisk fangs were completely out of the question due to the skull still being at Hogwarts. This left Harry, Hermione, and Ron more frustrated than ever. Still, it was good to at least have the real horcrux, rather than Harry looking at the fake one that Regulus had managed to place in the basin in the cave. Harry wore it around his neck during the day so as not to misplace it, but at night he would take it off to sleep.

On the fourth day, Hermione came back from a run to a local store with a copy of the Prophet in her hand. Sure enough, there was an image on the front page of Harry casting a spell at Dolores Umbridge. The headline above read: "Undesirable #1 Escapes After Nearly Killing Ministry Officials" When she passed the paper on to him, Harry read the article. It didn't mention anything about Ron or Hermione, but it did quote Dolores Umbridge saying that he was a "Madman" and a "Thief". Harry snorted when he read the last bit.

"The locket was never hers. Wasn't some prised family heirloom."

"No." Hermione said as she tapped Harry's tea kettle with her wand to brew a fresh pot. "It just means that there will be more snatchers looking for you when we do get out of here and start looking for the other horcruxes."

"Ron still listening to the wireless?" Over the last days, Ron had taken to sitting in the drawing room off and on and listening to the wizarding wireless that he had repaired. Every day, there were new names to add to the growing list of dead or missing.

"Yes." If they strained, they could hear the names being rattled off from there. The two were in the kitchen, but the door was open and so was the one to the drawing room. "It comforts him to know his family isn't on that list, I think."

"Sets my teeth on edge." Harry muttered as he took a scone from the breakfast leftovers. Though cold, it was still soft and sweet. "I mean, I know why he does it, but let's face it… All of the dead aren't on that list. Those are just the ones they find." He hated his pessimistic view, but it was the truth. "They still haven't found Professor Charity Burbage yet, have they?"

"She was the Muggle Studies teacher." Hermione shook her head in the negative in regard to Harry's question. "It's awful to think that they might have gotten her."

"They did." Harry reflected on the flashes of what he had seen. She had been floating above a table and a crowd of death eaters had been laughing at her. Voldemort had used the killing curse and the snake had lunged at her body. "She's dead. He got her earlier this summer when people thought she had resigned."

"How do you-" Hermione was cut off by Harry pointing at his scar in annoyance.

"How do you think I know a lot of what goes on with him?" he asked as they heard the wireless in the other room turn off. "Before you start, Hermione, I can't always block it out. I can't shut him out when I'm asleep."

"That's why Dumbledore wanted you to learn occlumency, Harry!" Hermione's frustrated remark had Harry gritting his teeth for a moment before speaking.

"Dumbledore…" Harry turned to the fireplace. "Dumbledore, the one that put me through the Tri-wizard, ignored me throughout my entire fifth year, and then wanted me to learn how to close my mind from a professor that hates me! You know, I'm starting to see why people think he was dodgy!"

"Harry, you don't mean that-"

"Really? Never mind all that. He says he's got a task for me to do before I can kill… You Know Who… and then he gives me no other idea on where to go from here!" Harry raged as he turned back to Hermione. "What happened to the man who had all the answers, Hermione-"

"Take it off." Hermione had gotten over her minute shock as Ron had re-entered the kitchen. "Harry, take the horcrux off. Now!" Harry finally reached up and removed the locket from around his neck. Instantly, he felt as if a hot breath had passed through him. His anger dissipated, tension melted away, and the burden that had felt as if it weighed as much as Grawp seemed to be lightened immensely. When he looked up, he saw Hermione wore an understanding expression. "Better?"

"Loads." Moving to apologize, Hermione waved him off.

"We'll take turns from now on, okay?" She took the locket from his still open palm and placed it around her own neck. "We'll get it done."

"You're right, Hermione." Harry conceded. "Been on edge since I started wearing that thing. I feel like we'll never accomplish anything when I'm wearing it."

"That's probably how he wants you to feel, mate." Ron said, offering Harry a smile. "I mean… If he didn't put doubts in your mind then he wouldn't have much of a chance. He's trying to get you to quit, I think."

"Sounds fair enough…" Harry said as he went back to eating his scone. "If I were him, I wouldn't want anyone to succeed in destroying his chances at immortality, would I?"

"That reminds me…" Hermione sat down again and looked over a piece of parchment she had been keeping notes on. "We know what three of the horcruxes are. What were the others again?"

"There was the ring, the diary, and this locket…" Harry ticked off his fingers. "Hufflepuff's chalice… I dunno what the others are." He admitted. "Dumbledore and I thought the last might be his snake, Nagini, but we were never sure."

"How do you seal a piece of your soul into a living thing?" Ron asked. Hermione shook her head.

"I don't know and didn't feel like reading about it. It's awful thinking of killing someone and splitting your soul… It's bad enough that he did it once."

"Dumbledore thought that the other horcrux might be something that belonged to Ravenclaw or Gryffindor. Seems more likely that it would be Ravenclaw, though; Slytherin and Gryffindor didn't exactly get along at all, did they?" Harry said. "I don't know enough about Rowena Ravenclaw to have a fair chance of guessing."

"How is it you knew of the locket and Hufflepuff's chalice, then?" Ron and Hermione had never really questioned how he and Dumbledore had known; they had just accepted the thought as truth. Harry decided that it was time he share what had happened in Dumbledore's office when he would dive into memories. He explained the one from Hokey, Hepsibah Smith's house elf; told them of how Tom Riddle, then a courier and buyer from Borgin and Burke's, had looked at the objects with longing and how they mysteriously vanished when Smith was found dead.

"They blamed the house elf?" Hermione asked angrily. "An elf that had been loyal all those years?"

"Happens." Harry said. "Look at Winky, Hermione. Crouch just accepted that she had cast the dark mark of her own accord."

"Still, it's awful."

"Yeah." Harry agreed, and then he stood up slowly. "I think I'm going to try and get some proper sleep while you're wearing that, Hermione." Seeing the two nod in understanding, he headed for the stairs. Here it was; half one in the afternoon, and he was ready for a long nap. Truth be told, Harry hadn't slept well at all with that locket on. As he climbed the topmost stairs, he felt as if his legs were turned into bricks of lead when he finally managed to push the bedroom door open.

When he crossed the room, he pulled back the scarlet curtains but left the sheer ones drawn; this cast a milky light throughout Sirius' room, and Harry found that he could sleep easier like this rather than in total darkness. Free of the locket, he would hopefully have no dreams at all or at least a minimal of vaguely related ones to the war. The horcrux' influence was very noticeable if he slept with it on. Satisfied, Harry crossed to the bed and flopped down onto the bed; removing his shoes as he went. He had no reason to change into anything more comfortable, but he did remove his wand and glasses so that they had less of a chance of being broken. Only then did he lie back and let sleep take him.