I do not own Harry Potter. Charlotte Potter is my OC.

Caught and Detained

Charlie managed to convince Tofty that she was perfectly fine and that she really didn't need to spend any more time on her exam, which she had mostly finished. She sat slumped in the Entrance Hall, a severe headache plaguing her mind. She kept replaying what she had seen and what had happened with Harry, a swirl of mixed emotions going through her.

He couldn't have gotten Sirius…could he?

That one thought went through her mind repeatedly until Harry stumbled out of the Great Hall, terror in his eyes and a lack of colour in his face.

"He has him," he said wildly. "Charlie, I saw You-Know-Who! He has Sirius!"

Charlie shushed him hastily, for he was talking rather loudly. "I know," she said heavily.

"How did he get into my head?" asked Harry fearfully. "How does he know—?"

"He doesn't know anything," said Charlie, her mental blocks once more firmly in place. The last thing she needed was for Voldemort to intrude upon this conversation. "See, I'm the bridge between the two of you. Somehow, when I tried to block my recurring dreams of the Department of Mysteries, it went to you."

"They have Sirius in the Department of Mysteries?" asked Harry hysterically. "We have to tell somebody!"

"There's only two members of the Order who are here," said Charlie, taking Harry's trembling hand and leading him down the corridors. "Maybe Professor McGonagall is awake."

They hurried to the infirmary, where Pomfrey was restocking the shelves with vials of potions. A quick sweep of the room showed all the cots empty. Standing helplessly in the doorframe, Harry squeaked, "She's not here."

The small noise caused Pomfrey to glance over her shoulder. "What are you children doing here?" she asked.

"Where's Professor McGonagall?" asked Charlie in concern.

"Professor Flitwick has taken her to St. Mungo's," she answered, voice tight. "Her condition grew serious. But she will be fine. Minerva McGonagall will not fall so easily."

"Right," said Charlie, feeling her heartrate increase. "Thank you."

The twins left the hospital wing and ran down the corridors. The bell had just rung and students were forced to jump out of their way as they pelted back for the first floor. "Now what?" asked Harry desperately.

"I'm not sure where Professor Snape is, but we'll find him after we get Ron and Hermione and tell them what's going on."

"Do we really have time for that? Charlie, you didn't see it, Sirius doesn't have much time left!"

"I saw the end bit," said Charlie, trying to sound as calm as she possibly could. "But you're right. I really didn't see enough."

They reached the marble steps and found Hermione and Ron at the bottom, both of them looking rather anxious. "What the bloody hell is going on?" demanded Ron.

"We have to tell you something," said Charlie in a rush, grabbing Ron's hand while Harry grabbed Hermione's. "We need to go somewhere private."

They found an empty classroom on the first floor and entered, shutting the door firmly behind them. As Harry walked the length of the room in nervous energy, Charlie quickly filled her friends in on what had occurred during the exam.

"Wait a minute," cried Ron, face pale. "So…if you try to block You-Know-Who's visions, it goes to Harry's mind instead?"

"It seems that way," said Charlie heavily.

"We have to do something," said Harry insistently. "You-Know-Who has Sirius and he wants him to get something for him. Until he does, You-Know-Who will torture him and then kill him at the end!"

Charlie's stomach lurched in fear at the very prospect and she took a quick, shuddering breath. "Something…something doesn't feel right."

Baffled, Harry stared at his sister. "What do you mean?"

"It's five o'clock in the afternoon. The Ministry has to be full of workers. How did Voldemort get in with no one noticing?"

"He's You-Know-Who," said Harry with a slight frown. "If he wants to get into the Department of Mysteries, then he'll find a way. Why aren't you freaking out about this?"

"I am freaking out, I'm just not showing it," said Charlie carefully. "We can't just rush off into a fight. Not this time."

Hermione gave an approving nod. "Charlie's right. We have to think about this."

"Think about what?" exclaimed Ron. "This sounds like exactly what happened with my dad and it's because of Charlie he's still alive."

"But how did Voldemort get Sirius in the first place?" asked Charlie, brow furrowed as she tried to think over her surging emotions. "I mean, only the Order knows where Grimmauld Place is."

"Sirius had a brother, didn't he?" countered Ron. "The one who became a Death Eater. Maybe he told Sirius all those years ago about the weapon and how to get to it."

"But that doesn't really make sense," spoke Hermione. "How would Voldemort know Sirius is useful in getting the weapon? We really have no proof about any of this."

"So what we saw was nothing?" demanded Harry.

"I'm not saying that, necessarily," said Hermione defensively. "It's just," she turned to look at Charlie with a slightly apprehensive look, "he knows you, doesn't he? Voldemort? He knows you have a heroic nature and that you'll go to great lengths to save people. That's how he got you into the Chamber, by using Harry, and he didn't even know you were really friends back then. What if this is a trap?"

"Of course it's a trap," replied Charlie, having no doubts about that particular point. "But it's not me I'm worried about. What I'm concerned about is whether or not he actually has Sirius."

"But isn't that why you've been taking Occlumency?" pressed Harry. "So you can stop seeing these dreams, these visions, stop looking into You-Know-Who's mind?"

"Well yeah, but—"

The classroom door suddenly opened and they all fell abruptly silent. Ginny and Luna walked in and the redhead automatically detected the tense atmosphere. "I thought we heard voices," she said slowly. "What's going on?"

"We don't really have time to explain, but we got a problem," answered Harry.

Hermione studied the two girls and said suddenly, "They can help us!"

"Of course," said Ginny immediately, though she had no clue what was going on. "Whatever you need, we'll help you out."

"That's what friends do, after all," said Luna airily.

"Okay," said Charlie, feeling a swell of gratitude towards her friends and intense desire to discover what really happened to her godfather. "We need to see if Sirius has really left Grimmauld Place. The only way to do that is to use Umbridge's fireplace."

"We can be the lookouts," volunteered Ginny. "Luna and I will stand at either ends of the corridor and ward students off. We'll tell them a load of Garroting Gas had been set off. It was something Fred and George had been working on before they took off."

"We'll need a distraction to keep Umbridge away. I can do that," offered Ron. "I'll tell her Peeves is destroying the Transfiguration department."

"I'll go with you," said Hermione.

"And I'll go with you," said Harry, looking at his sister. "I can be a look out. Someone might try to use the window to put some more surprises in for Umbridge."

"Then it will be the two of us under the Invisibility Cloak while we wait for the corridor to clear and then we'll use the fireplace to see what's going on," decided Charlie. "We won't have long, not with Mr. Filch and the Inquisitorial Squad skulking about. I'll grab my Cloak and meet you at the end of Umbridge's corridor."

It took about ten minutes for her to get the items she needed and return to where her friends were waiting for her. Ron and Hermione immediately headed off to find Umbridge while Ginny and Luna waded into the sea of students. Charlie pulled Harry behind a statue and threw her Cloak over them.

"Are you okay?" she asked softly.

Harry laughed shakily. "Shouldn't I be the one asking you that?" His weak smile then slipped and he whispered, "I don't know how you do it."

Knowing he was referring to the vivid dreams, she simply said, "You get used to it."

Once the crowd had thinned out Charlie and Harry hurried through, passing by an authoritative Ginny, who was directing people away from the corridor. Using the penknife Sirius had given her, Charlie used it to open Umbridge's office door and the pair slipped inside. Taking off the Cloak, Charlie shoved it into her bag as Harry went to stand watch by the window.

Grabbing some Floo powder, she threw it into the fire and then stuck her head into the emerald flames. She called out the address and was soon looking into the kitchen, which was empty. "Sirius!" she shouted anxiously. "Sirius!"

But it was not her godfather that came into view. It was Kreacher, in his stained tea towel, who answered her summons. "What does Charlotte Potter want?" he asked, eyes shifting about.

"Kreacher, is Sirius there?"

"Master has left," said Kreacher cryptically. "Kreacher is alone. Kreacher can now speak with Mistress!"

"Where did Sirius go?" asked Charlie desperately. "Did he leave? Did he go to the Department of Mysteries?"

The house-elf tilted his head to the side and chuckled gleefully. "Master will not return from the Department of Mysteries, and Kreacher is finally alone with his Mistress once more!"

Charlie watched helplessly as Kreacher scurried from the room. "Kreacher!"

But before she could say anything else, someone wrenched her from the fire and she returned to Umbridge's office in a rapid whirlwind of ash. She fell back on the floor with a gasp of surprise and found herself staring into the triumphant eyes of Umbridge.

Taking a handful of the girl's long raven hair, Umbridge yanked her to her feet. "You are rather foolish to think I would leave my office defenseless after those blasted Nifflers," she whispered dangerously. "The second you entered my office; the Stealth Detecting spells were triggered. Get her wand," she ordered.

Draco stepped forward, an intensely delighted expression on his face, and removed her wand from her sleeve. Harry was standing by the door, held in place by Crabbe. Ginny, Luna, Ron and, at her surprise, Neville, were also being held captive by the other members of the Inquisitorial Squad.

Wonderful, she thought bitterly. This is just what we need right now.

"So, Potter, what are you doing in here?" demanded Umbridge.

"Isn't it obvious?" asked Charlie dryly.

The grip on her hair tightened, but she did not flinch. She only stared coolly into Umbridge's flashing eyes. "Then I shall rephrase my question. Who were you talking to?"

"None of your business," returned Charlie.

Eyes narrowing into slits, Umbridge suddenly let go and went to sit in her chair. Charlie stood in place; fists clenched at her sides. "You are already in trouble, Potter, for many things. Creating this elaborate plan to break into my office is only your most recent felony. I would suggest you cooperate and not make things harder for yourself. Were you talking to Albus Dumbledore? Or Hagrid? It certainly wasn't McGonagall. I hear she's still laid up in St. Mungo's."

The captured Gryffindors made noises of anger. Charlie raised her chin and said softly, "I wouldn't be so flippant if I were you. Once Professor McGonagall returns, I doubt you will be so indifferent of what occurred, all because of you."

There was a brief flash of apprehension in Umbridge's toad-like face before it settled back into a vaguely smug expression. "Then I suppose we'll have to resort to another method."

Digging into her desk drawer she removed a vial. She uncorked it and slid across the desk. "You will drink this, or I will get Miss Parkinson to force you to."

"No need," replied Charlie, ignoring Pansy's hopeful expression. She picked up the vial and downed the contents in one gulp. She set it down and cocked her head to the side. "Fire away."

But Umbridge knew that the Ravenclaw would not take Veritaserum so willingly. "What did you do?" she snarled.

"Let's just say you should never leave me alone in your office," returned Charlie with a slow smile. "Because I'm not as stupid as you might think. When you tried to interrogate me about Professor Dumbledore and Dumbledore's Army all those months ago, I never drank the pumpkin juice."

"So everything you said…about Dumbledore casting the jinx…"

"A lie," confirmed Charlie. "And when the Weasley twins set off those fireworks and you ran out of here, I replaced your Veritaserum with water." She leaned over the desk slightly and whispered, "I can play the game too, Umbridge."

"You insolent brat!" hissed Umbridge. "Let's see if your confidence holds up against Veritaserum when I force you to take it! Mr. Malfoy, go get Professor Snape!"

Draco rushed from the office and Charlie felt her heart jump in hope. Now that she was certain Sirius was no longer at Grimmauld Place, maybe there was some way she could alert Snape to the situation.

It wasn't long before the Slytherin returned with Snape, who took in the scene before him with a slow, sweeping gaze. His face remained indifferent as he finally stared at Umbridge. "Headmistress."

"Ah, Professor Snape. I would like you to get me another bottle of Veritaserum immediately." Umbridge shot a scathing glare at Charlie. "I would like to interrogate Potter."

"Do you not have some left from the last time you questioned her?"

If a person could shoot fire from their eyes, Charlie was sure Umbridge would be doing so right that moment. "I did," she said tightly. "But Potter seems to have taken it upon herself to waste what remained."

Snape raised an eyebrow, casting a brief glance at the girl, whose green eyes were locked intensely on him. A strong image flashed through his mind, a rather disturbing image of Voldemort standing over a weak and defiant Sirius Black in the Department of Mysteries.

Umbridge frowned at the odd expression that crossed Snape's face. "Professor?" she pressed.

"I am afraid to tell you," he said, slowly turning his attention back to Umbridge, "that you have used the last of my stores. There will not be more Veritaserum until the next full moon-cycle, and that will take a month."

"I don't have a month!" cried Umbridge, almost hysterically. "I caught Potter communicating with someone in my fire and I want to know who!"

"I cannot help you," said Snape smoothly.

Charlie looked at the Potions professor anxiously, willing him to make eye contact with her again. She didn't know if he got what she was trying to mentally communicate to him, to try and utilize her Occlumency training to speak about what she did not want Umbridge to know. But she did not get the chance, for Umbridge spun her around and shoved her into the chintz armchair, her back facing Snape.

"Then I will deal with this myself," said Umbridge forcefully. "Goodbye, Professor Snape."

Charlie's heart fell at the sound of swishing robes as Snape departed. But she kept her face a blank mask as Umbridge stared down at her, eyes almost wild. "You leave me no choice, Potter," she whispered. "Perhaps the Cruciatus Curse will get you talking."

"But that's illegal!" cried Hermione. "The Minister—"

"What he doesn't know won't hurt him," cut in Umbridge, raising her wand. "He never knew I sent Dementors to Little Whinging last summer. But he was happy to have the chance to expel you all the same!"

Eyes narrowing into slits, Charlie stared up at her. "You."

"Yes, me!" hissed Umbridge. "Everyone else was just talking about how you should be discredited, stopped from spreading your heinous lies. I actually did something about it! But you have knack for getting yourself out of trouble, Potter. But not this time."

And Hermione knew that Charlie would sit there and take the Cruciatus Curse as long as she needed to. She would not give into Umbridge's delusions, nor would she give into the woman herself, especially not after the revelation that she was the one responsible for nearly taking Dudley Dursley's soul and for almost getting her expelled.

Charlotte Potter did not break down for Voldemort, and she certainly would not break down for Dolores Umbridge.

"We have to tell her!" blurted Hermione. Charlie turned her head ever so slightly, eyes glinting with disbelief. Hermione could feel her friends gaping at her, but she kept her expression distraught. "It's no use, Charlie, she's caught us!"

"That's right!" said Umbridge, eyes locking onto the bushy-haired girl. "Seems you have some sense about you after all. Spill it, girl. Who was Potter talking to?"

"Well, she was trying to talk to Professor Dumbledore," said Hermione tearfully. "That's why we created this whole ruse, so that she might have some time to try and find him."

Though he didn't know what Hermione was trying to do, Harry nodded. "Yeah, but we didn't have any luck."

"Why were you trying to contact Dumbledore?" demanded Umbridge.

"Well, Professor Dumbledore instructed us to create a weapon, and we've just finished it," said Hermione shakily.

"A weapon," breathed Umbridge, staring at Hermione with gleeful eyes. "What sort of weapon?"

"We're not quite sure what it is or how to work it," spoke Harry, not wanting it to seem suspicious if Hermione was the one doing all the talking. "All we know is that it's for the resistance."

"Dumbledore's Army?" pressed Umbridge.

"He assigned us to construct it," replied Harry, emboldened by Hermione's tiny nod of encouragement. "He's the one who's going to use it on the Ministry when he decides it's time."

"But he left before we could finish it. Now we're not sure what to do," added Hermione, wringing her hands.

"Bring me to this weapon," demanded Umbridge, looking beyond ecstatic. She pointed at Harry and said sharply, "You know where it is, don't you? Show us."

"Oh, I don't think that's a good idea," spoke Charlie, lifting her head slightly to regard Umbridge with a raised brow. "See, this weapon is extremely powerful. If someone were to discover its whereabouts…especially those who've you annoyed…"

She trailed off, letting Umbridge fill in the gaps with her own imagination. Whatever Umbridge came up, she did not like it, for she cast a swift and suspicious glare at the surrounding Slytherins, most of which didn't bother to hide their intrigue, especially Draco.

"It will be me alone then," declared Umbridge, and Draco's face fell in disappointment. "You lot make sure these criminals do not escape. Come, you two." She held out her wand, motioning for Harry and Charlie to start moving. "Show me this weapon."

And so the twins started out of the office and down the corridor, Umbridge following after them. Deciding she had no choice but to use their telepathy, she did her best to make sure Voldemort was nowhere near the recesses of her mind before she made contact.

'Since you and Hermione set this up so brilliantly, I'll take the rest of the lead, bro.'

'What's the plan?'

'Since Umbridge likes centaurs so much, I think it's only polite for us to show her the rest of the herd.'

'The Forbidden Forest?' asked Harry nervously. 'That's not quite what I had in mind. I was thinking we take her somewhere and…I dunno, overpower her and take her wand.'

'That could work. But this woman has terrorized this castle long enough. I made a promise to get rid of her.' An uncharacteristically dark smile spread across her face. 'That time has come. She's getting a one-way ticket out of Hogwarts, courtesy of the Centaur Express.'