Someone pulled her roughly to her feet and was restraining her.

"What the…?"

Whoever had a hold of her was very large and had tremendous strength. It was undoubtedly a Slytherin, and likely a member of the Inquisitorial Squad.

"Well, well," her attacker jeered.

"NO!" came another voice. "Stupefy!"

A jet of red light flew past them and hit the wall.

"Take her!" said her attacker, who quickly transferred her over to someone else, this time female. Despite being a girl, she was almost as large as the person who had first grabbed her, who was now running towards whoever had sent the Stunner. Ginny looked and saw it was Neville, but before she could say anything to him, a large, white bandana was shoved roughly in her mouth and tied behind her head. Ginny struggled to get away, but she was small in stature and didn't have the strength to overpower the girl who was restraining her. She had just enough time to see Neville get tackled by Warrington, the Slytherin Chaser, before she found herself being shoved and jostled towards Umbridge's office.

"Like my Trip Jinx?" sneered the girl who was manhandling her. Ginny aimed a backwards kick at the girl's shin but missed. "Good luck weaseling out of this one."

Ron and Luna had also been gagged and were being steered toward Umbridge's office from the opposite direction. Ron's lip was bleeding; he and Ginny exchanged horrified glances as they were shoved into the room by the Inquisitorial Squad goons. Professor Umbridge was there, looking even more demented than usual, and Draco Malfoy was leaning up against the window, smirking and throwing what Ginny recognized as Harry's wand into the air and catching it repeatedly. Hermione was being restrained by another Slytherin but had not been gagged.

"Got 'em all," said Warrington. "That one," he poked a thick finger at Neville, "tried to stop me taking her," he pointed at Ginny, "so I brought him along too."

"Good, good," said Umbridge, watching Ginny continue to try and kick her captor's shins in vain. "Well, it looks as though Hogwarts will shortly be a Weasley-free zone, doesn't it?"

Malfoy laughed loudly and sycophantically. Umbridge gave her wide, complacent smile and settled herself into a chintz-covered armchair, blinking up at her captives like a toad in a flowerbed.

"So, Potter," she said to Harry, who was looking disheveled by Umbridge's desk. "You stationed lookouts around my office and you sent this buffoon," she nodded at Ron, and Malfoy laughed even louder, "to tell me the poltergeist was wreaking havoc in the Transfiguration department when I knew perfectly well that he was busy smearing ink on the eyepieces of all the school telescopes, Mr. Filch having just informed me so.

"Clearly, it was very important for you to talk to somebody. Was it Albus Dumbledore? Or the half-breed, Hagrid? I doubt it was Minerva McGonagall, I hear she is still too ill to talk to anyone…"

Ginny flushed with anger. Suddenly their ill-contrived plan seemed incredibly stupid, but they were all panicking and not thinking very clearly. When Harry flatly refused to tell Umbridge who he had been attempting to contact, she immediately sent Malfoy to fetch Professor Snape so she could force it out of him. Ginny was now trying to stamp on the feet of her captor, but the large girl was able to keep dodging while keeping a tight grip on Ginny's upper arms. Warrington had Ron in a kind of half nelson while Crabbe restrained Neville using a chokehold. He looked like he could pass out at any second. Luna, however, was merely gazing out the window next to her captor. When Malfoy returned with Snape, Umbridge demanded he provide her with Veritaserum to question Harry, only to be told that she had used up the last of it interrogating him (unsuccessfully) a few weeks ago. Umbridge was now livid.

"You are on probation!" she shrieked, and Snape looked back at her, his eyebrows slightly raised. "You are being deliberately unhelpful! I expected better, Lucius Malfoy always speaks most highly of you! Now get out of my office!"

Snape gave her an ironic bow and turned to leave.

"He's got Padfoot!" shouted a desperate Harry. "He's got Padfoot at the place where it's hidden!"

Snape stopped with his hand on Umbridge's door handle. Apparently Padfoot was another codename for Sirius. Perhaps it was one that Snape understood?

"Padfoot?" cried Professor Umbridge, looking eagerly from Harry to Snape. "What is Padfoot? Where what is hidden? What does he mean, Snape?"

Snape turned around. Ginny looked intently at his face for any sign at all of comprehension; it gave away nothing, however, remaining as impassive and inscrutable as ever.

"I have no idea," said Snape coldly. "Potter, when I want nonsense shouted at me I shall give you a Babbling Beverage. And Crabbe, loosen your hold a little, if Longbottom suffocates it will mean a lot of tedious paperwork, and I am afraid I shall have to mention it on your reference if ever you apply for a job."

And with that, he was gone. It was impossible to know whether he had gotten the message or not. Ginny knew Snape wasn't dumb enough to let Umbridge know if he had. Snape was a lot of things, but stupid he was not.

"Very well," said Umbridge, and she pulled out her wand. "Very well… I am left with no alternative… this is more than a matter of school discipline… this is an issue of Ministry security… yes… yes…"

It sounded as though she were trying to talk herself into something, and whatever it was, Ginny knew it would be something very bad. She was smacking her wand into her empty palm as though it were a club she was about to beat him with.

"You are forcing me, Potter… I do not want to," said Umbridge, still moving restlessly on the spot, "but sometimes circumstances justify the use… I am sure the Minister will understand that I had no choice…"

Malfoy was watching her with a hungry expression on his face.

"The Cruciatus Curse ought to loosen your tongue," said Umbridge quietly.

Ginny flailed harder against her captor and made a noise that was muffled by her gag and drowned out by Hermione screaming, "No! Professor Umbridge — it's illegal —"

Umbridge ignored her. She did not look, as she had claimed, that she did not want to — on the contrary, she looked quite excited. She raised her wand.

"The Minister wouldn't want you to break the law, Professor Umbridge!" cried Hermione.

"What Cornelius doesn't know won't hurt him," said Umbridge, who was now panting slightly as she pointed her wand at different parts of Harry's body in turn, apparently trying to decide what would hurt the most. "He never knew I ordered dementors after Potter last summer, but he was delighted to be given the chance to expel him, all the same…"

"It was you?" gasped Harry. "You sent the dementors after me?"

"Somebody had to act," breathed Umbridge, as her wand came to rest pointing directly at Harry's forehead. Ginny was so full of anger and hatred she thought she could have successfully performed the Cruciatus Curse on Umbridge herself if she wasn't restrained. She started imagining all sort of horrible punishments for this evil woman, but nothing she thought of seemed bad enough. Umbridge blathered on, but Ginny was too furious to pay attention to what she was saying, and she continued to struggle helplessly against her captor.

Umbridge stopped talking, took a deep breath, and said, "Cruc —"

"NO!" shouted Hermione in a cracked voice from behind her captor. "No — Harry — Harry, we'll have to tell her!"

"No way!" yelled Harry, looking at what little of her he could see.

"We'll have to, Harry, she'll force it out of you anyway, what's… what's the point…?"

And Hermione began to cry weakly into the back of her captor's robes, who stopped trying to squash her against the wall immediately and dodged out of her way looking disgusted. Ginny stared at Hermione. Surely she wasn't about to tell Umbridge the truth?

"Well, well, well!" said Umbridge, looking triumphant. "Little Miss Question-All is going to give us some answers! Come on then, girl, come on!"

"Er — my — nee — no!" shouted Ron through his gag.

"I'm — I'm sorry everyone," said Hermione. "But — I can't stand it —"

"That's right, that's right, girl!" said Umbridge, seizing Hermione by the shoulders, thrusting her into the abandoned chintz chair and leaning over her. "Now then… with whom was Potter communicating just now?"

Don't do it, Hermione, Ginny thought desperately. Please don't do it… Harry wouldn't want you to do it…

Well," gulped Hermione into her hands, "well, he was trying to speak to Professor Dumbledore…"

Ginny relaxed. It had all been a ruse, and a good one too, as even she had been fooled into thinking that Hermione was about to spill her guts. She proceeded to feed Umbridge a cock-and-bull story, through very convincing fake sobs, that Dumbledore indeed had a weapon to use against the Ministry that he had instructed Harry and Hermione to work on after he was removed from the school. Umbridge demanded at once that she and Harry take her to the weapon.

"Professor," said Malfoy eagerly, "Professor Umbridge, I think some of the squad should come with you to look after —"

"I am a fully qualified Ministry official, Malfoy, do you really think I cannot manage two wandless teenagers alone?" asked Umbridge sharply. "In any case, it does not sound as though this weapon is something that schoolchildren should see. You will remain here until I return and make sure none of these" — she gestured around at Ron, Ginny, Neville, and Luna — "escape."

"All right," said Malfoy, looking sulky and disappointed.

"And you two can go ahead of me and show me the way," said Umbridge, pointing at Harry and Hermione with her wand. "Lead on…"

And they left, with Hermione leading and Umbridge keeping her wand an inch from Harry's back as they led her out of the office to who knows where. A moment passed in which the only sounds were Ginny and her friends trying to free themselves from the Inquisitorial Squad.

"Shame, I was really looking forward to see Potter squeal," said Malfoy scathingly. "Bet you were looking forward to that too, weren't you Weaselette?" he added, looking right at Ginny with a nasty sneer. Still being restrained and gagged, Ginny could only glare at him in response. It was very tough to decide, between him and Umbridge, who she hated more.

"At least this school is finally clearing out the riffraff," he goaded smugly, now leering around at the rest of them. "First Dumbledore, then the Weasel twins and that oaf Hagrid as a nice bonus. By the looks of things, it seems the rest of the red-haired blood traitors, the Mudblood, and of course precious Potter, will all soon be joining them."

The Slytherins laughed. Ginny looked at Ron. She had never seen him look so angry in her life.

"I don't think anyone will miss you either, Longbottom," drawled Malfoy. "But at least now you'll have more time to spend with your parents."

Neville was being half-choked by Crabbe but still managed to give Malfoy a look of pure hatred through his gag.

"Yes, this has a chance to actually be a good year here for a change," Malfoy continued with a self-satisfied smirk on his face, and the Slytherins guffawed sycophantically. "I think my father's going to be up for a well-deserved promotion after this… once Umbridge tells all the right people what I accomplished for the school this year, I think it's in the bag… he's always had the best connections…"

Luna was still gazing out the window by her captor and Malfoy paid her no attention at all.

"Your father, on the other hand," he said, looking at Ron malevolently, "is finished. Imagine what's going to happen when everyone finds out four of his kids got expelled from Hogwarts. He'll be an even bigger laughingstock than he already is."

Ron glared murderously at Malfoy as he and Ginny continued to struggle.

"Of course," Malfoy persisted relentlessly, sneering at Ron, "it won't be all bad news, will it, Weasley? Your family will have to cut back after your father loses his job — should make it easier for your mother to lose some weight —"

Ginny aimed another kick at her captor's shin that finally made contact just as Ron was able to finally break free from Warrington in a rush of adrenaline and rage. Ginny's captor yelled in pain and loosened her hold on Ginny enough for her to escape. She promptly removed her gag, which had been tied too loosely, and slid it down to her chin.

"Volamucus Oppugno!" yelled Ginny, pointing her wand at Malfoy. At once, green bats flew out of his nose and began swarming his face aggressively. He swatted wildly at them, but the bats were unfazed and started attacking his face. Luna's captor shrieked and ran to Malfoy to help as Crabbe threw Neville from him and charged at Ron, who had been about to sink his fist into Malfoy's face before Ginny had hit him with the Bat Bogey Hex. Neville stumbled and fell, his forehead slamming painfully into the edge of Umbridge's desk on the way down. Nevertheless, he got right back up and hit Crabbe with an Impediment Jinx which stopped him in his tracks.

Hermione's captor raised her wand and pointed it at Ron, who had taken a swing at Malfoy, but Malfoy ducked.

"Expelliarmus!" cried Luna, and her wand flew out of her hand and rolled under Umbridge's desk. Warrington sent a Stunner at Ron which missed, hitting the window instead. The window exploded, shards of broken glass flying everywhere. Ginny felt a couple graze her cheek, but Luna's captor got the worst of it. She shrieked again as a piece of the window became embedded in her neck and another left a large, deep gash on her arm.

Crabbe, whose face was also now bleeding from the broken glass, looked around in the chaos for Ron, but Ron was quicker. He had been shielded from the exploding window by Luna's captor and Malfoy, who had also been hit.

"Stupefy!"

The Stunner hit Crabbe right in the chest and he collapsed. Neville had also sent a Stunner, his hitting Warrington, who had been lining up to take another shot at Ron. The two Slytherin girls ran from the room, presumably to the hospital wing, as Luna's captor was bleeding profusely and left a trail of blood in their wake. Malfoy was still fruitlessly trying to beat away the Bat Bogeys.

Ron grabbed Harry and Hermione's wands and they all left Umbridge's office.

"I don't blame Harry or George for wanting to beat that little shit to a pulp," fumed Ron, still red in the face.

"Wonder how long it will take him to get rid of those Bat Bogeys?" said Ginny with immense satisfaction. "Umbridge should have known better than to leave those idiots with a bunch of D.A. members, huh?"

"Damn right," said Neville, who had a large, purple lump above his eye where he had collided with Umbridge's desk, but he looked pleased with himself all the same.

"Where do you think Hermione took Harry and Umbridge?" said Ron, whose lip was bleeding onto the floor as they walked.

"I saw them walking into the forest from the window," said Luna serenely. Her hair was now a mess but looked relatively unscathed from the skirmish.

Ron groaned.

"Let's go then."