DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything to do with Harry Potter
Alright I'm starting to get into very messy details with this and future chapters, so if you're a diehard Harry Potter book fan and I get some things wrong, please don't get too mad at me! I'm trying to write this with nothing but the internet to help me along since all my books are inaccessible at the moment…I'm trying my best to be as accurate as possible! Give me some slack and review your brains out!!!
-- --
By the time the eerily empty streets of London came into view, the first rays of sun were just beginning to appear over the horizon. Harry felt dazed. His sleep schedule had been so messed up the past few nights, never sleeping well when he finally did pass out. The feeling of being tired had long since past. He was flying without thinking now. It took most of his will power to stay conscious as they neared a cobblestone street. Ron took notice of this and kept checking over his shoulder to make sure Harry was still awake. Before they were about to land, he pulled back on his broom so his leg bumped next to his. Harry looked up groggily, blinking to try to focus his eyes.
"Alright there Harry?" Ron asked, slightly worried. Harry just stared in his direction, not quite able to look directly into his eyes. Ron took this as a 'no'.
He put an arm around Harry's waist and pulled him firmly to his side. Wrapping Harry's arm around his own neck, Ron held him securely as he led both brooms down to the street. He slowed the brooms to a steady halt, hovering just above the ground so Ron could stand and lift Harry off his broom. The clattering of the broomsticks against the old stones that made up the street echoed dangerously against deserted buildings.
Ron glanced around him nervously. Even though he knew the place was dead, the shadows cast by old streetlights and the sporadic howling of the wind didn't help make him feel any more at ease.
With an exhausted mumble, Harry fell hard against him. Stumbling slightly from the sudden weight, Ron steadied himself, keeping a firm grasp on Harry.
"Steady, mate. Here, this might help a bit."
Pulling his wand from his back pocket, Ron lifted his hand and laid the tip of his wand lightly against Harry's forehead. He muttered a few words under his breath and a faint green light glowed where his wand touched Harry's skin. Harry gasped as a warm, comforting heat flowed down through his body. He felt almost instantly refreshed. The feeling wasn't exactly normal, but all exhaustion seemed to have been wiped away from every inch of him. Ron pulled his wand away and Harry jumped slightly. He couldn't help but smile, he felt so good.
"What did you do?"
Ron shrugged. "It's an energy restoring charm I learned from Charlie when we had to fly overnight to different countries. Makes you feel like you had a full night's sleep. Can't use it too much, though. Your body starts to reject it and shut down. You alright now?"
Harry nodded and licked his lips, eyeing the dirty street and boarded up shops. A single bright red telephone booth stood out sharply against the grey and lifeless setting. He turned and eyed Ron suspiciously.
"We're taking the visitor's entrance into the Ministry? Isn't that sort of…obvious?"
Ron snorted. "That's the point. If they see me coming doing the visitor's entrance, then I'm showing them I have nothing to hide. I won't be looking like I'm trying to sneak in. Get it?"
A smirk found its way across Harry's face at his friend's cleverness before suddenly frowning. "Wait, what about me?"
Ron gestured toward the satchel on the ground. "Invisibility Cloak."
"You think that'll actually work?" Harry asked with a raised eyebrow. Ron shot him a look of annoyance.
"You got any better ideas? Besides, we're not trying to fool everyone in the Ministry. Just the few we might run in to. But we have to do it before the rush of all the employees getting to work. Once this place gets busy, we'll never be able to get back out without being spotted." Ron looked up at the sky which was gradually turning lighter shades of blue. "So we'd better hurry. I'd say we have just a few hours before it gets mobbed."
Harry grabbed his bag and took out the carefully folded cloak. Tucking it under his arm he picked up his broom and ran over to a nearby dumpster, gently placing it inside. Ron did the same and then the two made their way to the telephone booth. Harry held two ends of the cloak and let the rest roll unfolded, billowing out when the wind caught it.
They stood in front of the red booth's door. Flipping the cloak around him and his body disappearing with it, Harry followed very closely as Ron stepped into the cramped and narrow phone booth. He grunted as Ron accidentally pushed him into the wall trying to get to the phone. Ron picked up the receiver with a glare in Harry's direction to keep quiet, getting an invisible eye roll in return.
Ron punched the numbers 62442, M-A-G-I-C. From somewhere inside the booth a woman's monotone voice floated above them.
"Name and business."
"Ronald Weasly with business in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement" he answered clearly. They heard the clink of metal and a silver badge popped out of the change deposit part of the phone. Ron clipped the badge with his name on it to his sweatshirt and hung up the phone. A sudden jerk of the booth and the floor began to sink under the street, slowly taking the boys underground.
Then, Harry started to feel warm.
It seemed that with each inch lower into the ground the heat crawling across his back got hotter and hotter. He grabbed Ron by the shoulders and squeezed his eyes shut, biting his lip to keep from making any sound. It felt like a hot iron brand was pricking at his skin then digging into his flesh. All Ron could do was put his hands over Harry's through the cloak. His panicked face searched the empty air for any signs of distress. Harry was breathing hard through his nose, tasting blood from his bottom lip as his teeth broke the skin.
Then the lift came to an unsteady halt and the fire was gone. He leaned against Ron with silent gasps of air. Ron tightened his grip on one of his hands questioningly, receiving a pat on the shoulder in reply, saying that he would be ok. Harry stood up straight again and took a deep shuddering breath.
The door opened with a squeak, opening to the grandly designed and glittering gold Atrium. Gilded fireplaces lined one of the halls for arrivals and departures. The arrival fireplaces randomly blazed a sudden burst of lime green flame as wizards and witches stepped through and onto the polished wood floor.
Harry followed Ron as silently as he could over to a large wooden desk, carefully avoiding a few people as they rushed past. The Atrium was relatively empty compared to the previous times Harry had been here. When they stopped at the security desk, Harry had to grip the edge of it. His whole body was shaking from his scar's previous sudden activity. He felt as though he might pass out.
An overly cheerful woman in her late thirties sat behind the desk. As soon as she saw Ron her face lit up.
"Oh! Mr. Weasly, how good it is to see you again! I do hope everything is alright with you. Terrible thing to have happen to your father. Such a nice man, he was. He will be missed. Be sure to tell him that, won't you?"
"Of course" Ron replied with a smile. A crushing grip from Harry on Ron's arm told him to get on with it.
"Ah, um, I was told that Draco Malfoy was finally caught?"
The woman's face suddenly became very serious, leaning over her desk and speaking in a hushed tone.
"Yes. Just yesterday. They kept him in the dungeon overnight. His hearing is tomorrow morning. He doesn't stand a chance though. Not when he's a Malfoy."
Harry gritted his teeth together and Ron nodded grimly.
"Well, if you wouldn't mind I'd like to go down to the dungeon. Have a word with him, so to speak. He's caused me a lot more pain than he may realize, and I'd like to have him know that before he's sent off."
The woman spun her chair around and started digging through a drawer filled with keys. "Yes, yes, I completely understand! No need to explain to me, Mr. Weasly. If I were in your position I'd have a few choice words for him myself!"
Harry raised an eyebrow at Ron, amazed by the even tone of his voice. Ron had become a lot more confident in himself over the past few years, giving him a much more powerful air about him when he knew what he was doing.
Finally after fishing around the drawer the almost hysterical woman produced a large iron ring with six heavy metal keys attached. One key was much rustier than the others, and it was this one she pointed to.
"This is the key that opens the first door to the dungeon. The keys after it follow the order of doors you have to go through, the last being the one to unlock the prison door of course. You won't need to trouble yourself with the other keys. A man by the name of Briggard will take the keys from you and lead you down the rest of the way. For safety reasons."
Ron took the keys from her and flashed a smile. "'Course. I'm happy to know there's so much separation between the outside world and him."
The woman nodded vigorously in agreement and waved her hand toward the large golden gates behind her. Ron tilted his head in thanks and walked swiftly through the gates to an empty elevator. Harry followed smoothly behind him.
Ron picked a relatively empty elevator, just one other passenger riding with them. Harry pressed himself in the opposite back corner to avoid any possible contact. The second the doors closed the elevator plummeted, Harry feeling like his stomach just jumped into his mouth. It came to an abrupt stop in seconds, the doors opening and a voice echoing through the quarters.
Level Five: Department of International Magical Cooperation
The other passenger stepped off the lift and narrowly missed bumping in to two other people going down the hallway in front of them. The two new passengers joined Ron and Harry and the doors closed again. The elevator dropped again for a few seconds before its doors opened to a very nicely furnished and open room.
Level Two: Department of Magical Law Enforcement
Ron let the two other passengers step off the lift before following them into the brightly lit room. He watched them walk together to the right towards the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office, not moving until they disappeared behind a corner. Then he turned and searched the empty room for Harry, getting an invisible hand on his shoulder as a response. They both looked down the darker hallway to the left, the one that lead to the dungeons.
"Ready?" Ron whispered.
"Yeah" Harry breathed. Ron gazed at the spot of air he assumed was where Harry's face was.
"It may not be pretty. You probably won't like what you see. They do things to the prisoners here, hurting them without magic so they can't defend themselves well in court and the Ministry can't be blamed for tampering with them."
Harry swallowed hard. "Just go." Ron sighed an 'ok' and gripped the keys firmly as they made their way down the dim passage toward the first giant wooden door.
-- --