We woke up bright and early the next day, if I hadn't been in such a good mood from last night, it would have been miserable just how early we did get up. However, due to a new, beautiful, ring on the middle finger of my left hand, I was in an extremely good mood. Harry and Ron were not, though they did manage to act happy when they saw Angelina and my new rings. Hers was gold with sapphires in the shape of a Delphinium flower. We ate breakfast quickly and then got ready to infiltrate the ministry. I grabbed my small bag and a the locket George had gotten me the night before he left Hogwarts I put my engagement ring on my locket, knowing that I couldn't wear it as whoever I would be pretending to be.
We apparated to outside the ministry and waited for our victims to appear. I was to be a Ms. Mafilda Hopkins, Angelina was Bethany Lasly, Ron was Reginald Cattermole, George was Edmund Blake, Fred was Jacob White, and we had no idea who poor Harry was. We divided our equipment between ourselves and set off, headed to each of our work stations, to do who knew what.
We used our tokens to enter the ministry, and the break in began. Angelina and I had to separate from the rest of the group and head into what appeared to be a bathroom.
"What do we do?" I asked Angelina, err, Bethany, as we walked up to a stall. Other witches were going into them, flushing, and then disappearing. Did we actually have to flush ourselves into the Ministry? Could it really be that disgusting?
"You don't think, do you?" She asked, staring at the stall with obvious disgust.
"Only one way to find out." I muttered, stepping forward and into the stall, she walked into the one next to me. A plain toilet was in front of me. A flush sounded somewhere down the room. Here goes nothing, I thought dismally as I climbed up onto the toilet. I pulled the handle, and then I felt myself get pulled into the seat. A moment later I was stepping into the ministry.
Game time.
I let my eyes scan the entrance as I stepped forward, breathing out a sigh of relief when I saw Angelina emerge beside me.
"That was disgusting." She whispered as we began to walk. I nodded my head, shuddering at the thought of what I had just done. We continued to walk down the hall slowly, our eyes searching for the others. We spotted Fred first and George immediately after him. Angelina and I made our way over to them as quickly as we could, being careful that no one noticed us. We reached George and Fred a few moments later.
"Seen the others?" George asked, strolling nonchalantly down the path. Everywhere around us hundreds of witches and wizards were rushing to their own stations, completely oblivious to us.
"Nope," I whispered back to him, never breaking my stride.
"Head to the lift." Fred said, picking his speed up a bit to match the pace of the others.
"What if we have to split up." Angelina asked, pulling her green robe up a bit so she could walk easier. Her short, strawberry blonde hair fell into her eyes and she brushed it away with a pale hand.
"We stick to the plan." Fred said, grabbing her thin hand in his much larger hand. His hair was jet black and longer than Bill's, pulled back in a braid down his back. He too was wearing green robes.
George cleared his throat and looked pointedly at their intertwined hands. Fred blushed and dropped her hand, looking sheepishly at his twin. I fought back a smile and glanced at George's own hand, I was having to fight not to grab it in my own. I shouldn't have to be breaking into the ministry, pretending I didn't know George. He was my fiancé, I should be going to my parents and showing them the ring. I should be planning my wedding, picking out flowers and choosing a dress. Yet here we were, climbing into an elevator of some sort and getting ready to steal a necklace from the one and only Dolores Umbridge.
We stepped into the elevator along with a dozen other witches and wizards. We moved towards the back and waited, hoping to see some sign of Umbridge. A hand tugged the back of my robe and I saw Harry behind me. A huge grin lit up my face and I felt myself relax. Ron was to his right, looking terrified about something.
"Department of Magical Law Enforcement." A voice called out, and the elevator pulled to a stop. Fred, George, and Angelina glanced at us before stepping forward and out of the elevator with Ron. The elevator doors closed and shot down again. It stopped at level one, and the doors opened again. Four people stood in the entrance, two unusually tall with brown hair in black and gold robes, and one shorter, with long black hair, deep in conversation with a very short woman with a toad face.
Harry tensed behind me and I had to fight to keep my mouth from dropping open in shock.
"Ah, Mafalda!" Umbridge said, looking straight at me. "Travers sent you, did he?" she asked, looking pleased. My heart stopped and I couldn't even think, which was really bad because she was waiting for a response. I took a breath and forced myself to respond.
"Y-yes," I replied, cursing myself for sounding so squeaky. I needed to sound confident, at least, I think I did. I had no idea what Mafalda was like. Merlin, I hope Umbridge didn't know her to well.
"Good, you'll do perfectly well." Umbridge spoke to the wizards in black and gold. I blinked stupidly as she stepped forward. "That's that problem solved. Minister, if Mafalda can be spared for record-keeping we shall be able to start straightaway." She looked at her clip board, reminding me of Hogwarts and her stupid teacher checks. I actually shuddered at the memory. I needed to get a grip on my myself, it would not do to be looking so scared of her. I needed to think of something to calm my self down, what would make her seem less scary? The memory popped into my head almost immediately, it was perfect. I thought of the hospital room right after we had found Umbridge in the forest, Ron had made a clomping noise and she had been terrified by the sound of it. The memory of it made me smile now I had to stop from grinning to much.
"Ten people today and one of them the wife of a Ministry employee! Tut, tut… even here, in the heart of the Ministry!" She stepped into the lift besides me, followed by the two tall wizards. "We'll go straight down, Mafalda, you'll find everything you need in the courtroom. Good morning, Albert, aren't you getting out?" Who was Albert?
"Yes, of course," Harry said in a deep voice. Albert? So that was what he was called, well, at least he knew who he was. Harry stepped out of the lift. The golden grilles clanged shut behind him and he stared back at me with wide, terrified eyes. I looked back at him and smiled encouragingly. The lift moved, and then he was out of sight. We were all split up now, and I was the only one with Umbridge. So not good.
"So," Umbridge said, turning towards me, "How is the hunt going?" He questioned. "Have you had any luck finding Sirius Black?" What? I was helping hunt for Sirius? For that matter, since when was Sirius being hunted again? He'd been proven innocent, what had he done now?
"Umm, not well I'm afraid." I said, trying not to look her in the eye as my mind raced for something to say.
"To bad, I should have liked to see the Dementors finally get the chance to suck out his soul." I started at that, barely repressing a shudder. "I know, it's frightful to think of that dog out and about." She said, misinterpreting my shudder. "Even worse, to think he's actually helping those magic stealing mudbloods. Ugh, it's vulgar."
Merlin, she was pushing it, it would be so easy to take her out, to kill her. The thought of what she would do to Sirius, to those babies he was trying to protect made me sick. I met her eyes this time, but I didn't disguise me hate.
"Vulgar." I said, she looked at me like she thought I was agreeing with her. She couldn't have been more wrong.
The lift stopped and Umbridge stepped forward. She turned and looked over her shoulder at me. "Well come on, Mafalda, this is our stop." I nodded my head and stepped forward, gripping my wand tightly in the folds of my robe, forcing myself not to hex her. As soon as I stepped off the lift I recognized the hallway that led to the department of mysteries and had to repress yet another shiver. She didn't lead me down that black hallway, but to another one that led to an equally as black door. We must be headed to the courtrooms, according to Harry, they were down here as well…
I was so caught up in my thoughts that I didn't immediately register the extremely unnatural chill that filled the halls, but now that I realized where we were headed, I found myself shivering at the feel of it. With every step I took it became colder, and I became more hopeless. All the happy memories I had faded away, and I found myself fighting not to cry. The locket George had got me was cold against my heart, and where it had seemed to be a reassuring weight, a constant reminder of his love. Now though, it felt as though it was freezing my heart, reminding me of what little chance we had of getting out of here. What little chance we had of surviving.
We turned the corner, heading down a path of stairs, and Umbridge stopped at the foot of it. She shivered violently and withdrew her wand. "Expecto Patronum." She said, and a cat burst from the tip of her wand, relieving the cold ever so slightly. I let my eyes take in the hall ahead of us, and I almost screamed. Dementors, there were hundreds of them, all flying about the hallway we were heading down. Merlin save us, the demented witch was actually heading through them. It was terrifying, following her through the flying black figures. Their eyeless faces stared back at me through they're black hoods. They leaned towards us as we passed, and I was sure they were going to swoop down on me.
We made it to the end of the hall finally, and I nearly wept at the sight of the door. One of the tall wizards opened it for us and we walked into a immensely tall circular room, surrounded by chairs. A chair was in the middle of the room, and a woman sat in it, chained to the chair with dementors flying over her head. Umbridge made her way past her, walking up the aisle towards a taller chair facing the terrified woman. She motioned for me to sit next to her, where a chair with a quill and parchment sat. I nodded my head and lowered myself into the chair next to her, forcing myself not to shiver.
"Amy Alderton," She called out, sitting down in her chair. The frightened, chained woman jumped at Umbridges voice and shrunk into her chair.
"You are accused of stealing magic. " She said, and the trial began. Five minutes later, she was sentenced to Azkaban. My hand was shaking so bad now that I couldn't even write the verdict down.
"No, no, I'm half-blood, I'm half-blood, I tell you! My father was a wizard, he was, look him up, Arkie Alderton, he's a well known broomstick designer, look him up, I tell you – get your hands off me, get your hands off –" She screeched, as she was dragged down the hall.
"This is your final warning," Umbridge's soft voice called after her, loud and clear because of magic . "If you struggle, you will be subjected to the Dementor's Kiss." The woman's screams subsided, but dry sobs echoed through the corridor.
"Take her away," Umbridge said dispassionately, already turning back to her notes for the next subject. "Next – Mary Cattermole," She called. A small woman stood up; she was trembling from head to foot. Her dark hair was smoothed back into a bun and she wore long plain robes. Her face was completely bloodless. I had to fight with everything in me not to run down to her and help her.
She was sobbing desperately as she made her way to the chair, trembling so badly that she couldn't even walk. I gripped my quill tightly in my hand and dipped it in my ink pot, preparing myself to right down this sick and twisted proceeding.
"I'm behind you," A deep voice echoed in my ear. I jumped so violontely at the sound of it that I actually knocked my ink pot over. I righted it quickly and turned around too glance at Harry. Sure enough, he was behind me, hiding in the dark shadows.
"A wand was taken from you upon your arrival at the Ministry today, Mrs. Cattermole," Umbridge said, rambling on. "Eight-and-three-quarter inches, cherry, unicorn-hair core. Do you recognize the description?" I wrote down what she said, forcing my hand to stop shaking. Mrs. Cattermole nodded her head, but my eyes were no longer on her. I noticed a disturbance over in the corner of the room. Three wizards and a witch were sneaking into the room, and no one seemed to notice them. I studied them closely, and then realized with a jolt that it was George, Fred, Ron, and Angelina.
"Could you please tell us from which witch or wizard you took that wand?" Umbridge continued, completely oblivious to the people sneaking into the huge room. They were shuddering slightly, no doubt unnerved by the dementors they'd just had to pass through.
"You are Mary Elizabeth Cattermole?" She asked, going on with this joke of a hearing. Mrs. Cattermole gave a single, shaky nod in response. The others had reached the back of the room by now and gave me a small thumbs up.
"Married to Reginald Cattermole of the Magical Maintenance Department?"She continued, Mrs. Cattermole burst into tears.
"I don't know where he is, he was supposed to meet me here!" Oh my god, Ron, we'd knocked her husband out and Ron had taken her place. Ron, having heard the woman's last name, stood up straighter and looked over at her, a look of complete horror on his face. We had to save her, if we couldn't, it would be our fault she was killed.
Mrs. Cattermole was bawling now, great wracking sobs that shook her entire body. Umbridge let out a soft, girlish laugh, the same one she was always using while at Hogwarts, and I gripped my wand tighter underneath my robe. Umbridge shuffled around in her seat, and I saw it. She had the locket around her neck, she was wearing it!
"No," Umbridge said. I turned around in my seat and sought out the others eyes. They were staring straight at me, a look of determination on their faces. "no, I don't think so, Mrs. Cattermole. Wands only choose witches or wizards. You are not a witch. I have your responses to the questionnaire that was sent to you here – Mafalda, pass them to me." They nodded their heads, and I turned in my seat, feeling Harry move closer me. I reached into my robes, but instead of grabbing the paper out, I grabbed out my wand.
"What's this?" She asked, her eyes growing wide. Before I could answer the room was flooded in Peruvian instant darkness powder. Shouts of Expecto Patronum sounded from the other side of the room, and I let my own join them. Harry was by my side in half a second, his wand aimed at Umbridge.
"STUPIFY!" I bellowed, my spell shot her up out of her chair, through the air, and into a chair behind her, unconscious. My hands were around her neck a moment later, my hands secured around the locket, and I jerked it off, handing it to Harry. There were shouts coming from behind us, but I couldn't see what was going on through the thick black fog. I gripped my wand, and hit with a sudden inspiration duplicated the locket. I took the new, fake locket in my hands and secured it around her neck in replace of the other.
"Come on!" I said to Harry, standing again and reaching for his hand. He grabbed mine and we ran down to the center of the room. The fog was clearing up, and a very interesting sight greeted me. George, Fred, Ron, and Angelina were standing in the middle of the room, bodies strewn about them. They were breathing heavily, but looked otherwise unharmed, the bodies on the ground were anything but. They were different colors, covered in spots, sprouting new rashes, growing tentacles, or turning into slugs. I had no idea what they had done to them, but none of the guards would be moving anytime soon.
I couldn't stop the slight thrill that ran through me at the sight of them. My otter patronus swam up beside me and rested by my shoulder.
"Okay," Harry bellowed, addressing the crowd of people who were on trial here. "You're going to leave here with us. Go home, grab your children, and get out, get out of the country if you've got to. Disguise yourselves and run. You've seen how it is, you won't get anything like a fair hearing here." He paused, looking around at us, a slightly lost look on his face. "Umm, that's the ministries new official take on things. Now come on!"
He ran forward, and we followed him, running as well. We had the locket, now all we had to do was get past the hundreds of dementors, and thousands of Witches and Wizards that blocked our way.
No problem.
We ran out to the hall, and literally, there had to be at least a thousand dementors in the hallway. Okay, big problem. By my side my otter wavered, fading because of my doubt. I stopped running and steeled myself, forcing myself to think of a happy memory. I reached into my robes and pulled my locket out. I opened it up and took out my engagment ring, slipping it on my finger. That was my happy thought, Harry, Ron, George, Fred, Angelina, all of them, they were the reason I was fighting. The reason I was running. For the right to marry George. The right for other muggleborns to be allowed to attend Hogwarts and find friends like Harry and Ron, to understand that they aren't alone, other people can do magic as well.
Renewed by my new sense of purpose, my otter flashed bright, warming me as I ran to catch up with the rest of the crowd. I stayed near the back, protecting our rear from the swarming dementors. We'd almost reached the end of the hall, we were almost free of the dementors. Now all we would have to do is get these people past the witches and wizards in the entrance and to the floo ports. We could actually do this, we could succeed!
"Hand these out," Fred said, running up beside me as we neared the lift. He handed me a bundle of objects; gloves, lockets, hats, and scarves. I smiled as I realized what they were and quickly passed them out to all of our escapees while we were on the lift. While Angelina, Ron and I passed out the shield items, Harry, George and Fred passed out Exploding Eggs and Wildfire Whizbangs. They weren't much, but they were the closest things these poor people would get to a real weapon. We barely handed out the last item when the lift pulled to a stop at the entrance level of the Ministry. It was now or never. The doors opened and we ran out of the lift, Harry, George, and Ron in the lead, Angelina, Fred, and I in the rear.
No less than fifty wizards and witches were waiting for us on the top floor. We started casting every spell in our book, running for the floo ports desperately. Spells were flashing everywhere, their blinding light barely missing us. I shot spell after spell, never stopping as we ran for the green fire. Eggs were exploding everywhere, leaving a sulfur smell and a dense purple fog in their wake. Fireworks were bursting in beautiful displays of color and shapes, burning the victims we launched them at. In short, it was pure chaos.
The witches and wizards we had freed from the 'trial' downstairs all ran for the floo, and they made it. we covered their backs, making our way to the floo's as well. We backed away from the fight, retreating under the cover of the chaos, and finally regrouped. I reached out and grabbed Harry's hand, grabbing my wand and George in the other hand. Harry was holding Ron and he had both Fred and Angelina in his grasp, so I twisted, intending on heading to Grimmauld Place.
"Hermione, NO!" A voice called, right as I disapparated.