Chapter 31

"Are you sure you want it to be today?" Hermione asked worriedly as Harry continued to pack up their supplies into her bag. "I mean we could always wait a bit longer; it would give us more time to put together the strategy. We still don't know a lot about the Ministry. As great as the knowledge you gave us was from surveillance and from Draco's trips to the Ministry when he was younger, we could really double the amount we know if we watch them a bit more.

The four of them were seated at the table as Kreacher placed a plate of pancakes in front of each of them. Ron immediately dug in to his food, while Hermione made no move to touch hers.

Harry shook his head. "Hermione, we can push off this mission for as long as you'd like, but at the end of the day it needs to happen sometime. We might not know a lot about how the Ministry operates, but we know enough to get by."

"But-" Hermione started as her eyebrows furrowed, however Draco silenced her with a kiss.

"Hermione, we can't take forever with this. So many people are dying each day, and only two Horcruxes have been destroyed. The sooner we can get rid of the Horcruxes, the sooner we can get rid of that bastard."

Hermione nodded meekly. "You're right, I just can't help but worry that something is going to go terribly wrong, and I can't shake that feeling."

Draco ran his thumb over her hand which was currently resting on the table. "You can worry about it all you want, Hermione, but at the end of the day we can't predict what will and won't happen today. The only way we'll know is if we take a chance."

He placed a kiss on her temple to assure her, and she felt herself pacify slightly.

"Can you two stop being mushy this early in the morning? I'm going to lose my appetite," Ron grumbled, however the sound came out muffled due to the food currently stuffed in his mouth.

"Trust me, Weasley, I don't think your appetite is going to suffer any time soon," Draco said with a smirk.

Ron responded by chucking a fork at his head, which Draco easily stopped with a flick of his wand.

"If the two of you are done arguing, we still have a lot to go over," Harry reminded them.

"You're being oddly responsible today, Harry. Are you feeling alright?" Ron asked him curiously.

Hermione smiled at the exchange. "Harry's right. Let's go over everything once more to make sure we all understand how it's going to happen."

The four then proceeded to spend the next hour going over every little detail of the next several hours. They planned for each scenario that they may come across, and with the help of both Draco and Ron's knowledge of the Ministry of Magic, they went over the workings of the building in case of any need for a quick escape.

"Are you ready?" Harry asked her as they prepared to apparate.

With a quick nod, she secured her hand over the bag. They had each taken their polyjuice potion and wearing their proper robes, so they no longer looked as themselves.

Ron stood on the one side of Harry, as Hermione stood to the other. 'Well, here goes nothing,' Hermione thought to herself as she placed one hand on Harry's and the other on Draco's.

Asdfghjkl;

They were in. The four had successfully made sure that the original people they were impersonating would be nowhere near the building that day, and they had split up into two groups. Draco maneuvered his way through the building with Hermione closely by his side. They had decided it was best for someone to accompany Hermione, not because she couldn't handle herself, but in case of a fight where it was more than one on one. He was currently posing as an intern for Mafalda Hopkirk, the witch who Hermione had been impersonating. They had decided that it would look weird if some random co-worker was accompanying her who normally had no duty with the witch normally. It had been Ron, surprisingly enough, who suggested using an intern.

He had taken the polyjuice potion with hair of a random muggle. Hermione had apparated to the muggle world a few days ago and she had picked up the hair off an unsuspecting man in his early twenties. Draco currently appeared to be a brunette male, towering her heavily at 6 feet, to her current 5"4. She had made sure to acquire robes for him that other interns had been spotted on several occasions wearing.

He let her take the lead, as she was supposed to be his superior. He could tell that she was still nervous about the entire mission, but he trusted her rationality to be her guide to prevent any mishaps.

Hermione continued to follow Draco's instructions as they walked together down the hall.

"Good morning Ms. Hopkirk," a worker walking by said as they passed. "Got yourself another intern, have you? "

Hermione smiled pleasantly, "Yes I have, figured it would be best to train as many new people as possible. Getting rid of all the muggleborns means fewer jobs, so the more desirable workers we have, the better."

He could tell how much it bothered her to say that sentence and any other one that demeaned her worth because of her blood. He was tempted to reach out and grab her hand to show his support, but that would look suspicious, so he decided against it.

"Of course," the man said with a smile. "Oh, and Dolores told me to keep an eye out for you. She said she would be getting ready to start the interviews after you showed up, so you should get over there as soon as possible. You know how she hates waiting."

She nodded. "I'll be on my way," she said calmly. "It was nice talking to you," she said carefully, to not use any names. The last thing she wanted was to give hers cover away and blow their entire operation.

"Jameson," he said with a smile.

"What?" she asked him, confused.

"You forgot my name again, haven't you? But don't worry, I'm used to it by now," he said without taking the look off his face.

"Oh, well-uh, I'm just really bad with names," Hermione said, slightly flustered.

"Don't worry about it. Besides, I have to get going as well. I have an important meeting in fifteen minutes, so I'll see you around."

She nodded. Once he was out of sight, she turned to Draco. "Right, so which way do I go?" she asked him.

"Down this hall, then turn right. It's the fifth door from there," he said directing her.

She nodded before turning to walking down the corridor. Once the two of them reached the door, she paused slightly. Inside the room Hermione could hear a woman sobbing uncontrollably. Her heart raced as she tried to imagine what could be happening in the room. She was about to rush in when Draco put an arm on hers.

"Stop," he said quietly, as he pulled her hand away from the door knob.

"What are you doing? Someone could be seriously hurt!" she exclaimed, confused by his actions.

"They probably are, but because of the Ministry. It will blow your cover if you rush in there. Regardless of what you may see, you need to keep calm," he informed her softly. He knew that it would hurt her to watch the muggleborns get tormented by Umbridge. He had no idea what exactly was happening behind the closed door but he was able to piece together a good assumption.

She met his eyes, "Okay. Now, let's do this," she said before letting out a bit of air. She opened the door and gracefully slipped inside, as Draco followed her.

"Ah Mafalda, I was beginning to wonder where you had gotten," Umbridge said in her annoyingly surgery voice. Draco had forgotten how much he had loathed her voice. It brought him back to his fifth year at Hogwarts where he had served under her. It hadn't even been his idea, but his father had pushed him to join; anything to further shame Harry for trying to speak the truth after all.

"I'm sorry, Dolores, I ran into a bit of trouble on the way up. However it was nothing that I was not able to handle. I hope I have not kept you waiting for too long," she answered in a very business-like tone. Seated on the other side of Umbridge was none other than Yaxley, a known Death Eater. She almost took in a deep breath at the sight, but managed to contain herself. His presence suddenly made her task even harder. Thankfully for her, Draco was also nearby in case anything went wrong.

Above where the man being questioned was sitting, were a flock of Dementors and the only thing separating them from the rest of the room was the patronus of a silver cat, keeping them away from the man being interrogated.

"It is of no matter. I have been kept occupied with work. However, now that you are here, you many return to taking notes as you have been doing for the last few days," she said gesturing for Hermione to sit down in the seat intended for her. "Your intern may sit down beside you. Give him some busy work to keep him occupied."

Hermione sat down at the table as Draco sat down slightly behind her. She handed him a clip board with and empty page. He smiled once he learned he would not actually have to do any busy work.

Umbridge returned to her interrogation. "Mr Roberts, was it? How exactly did you come into possession of magic? Which unfortunate witch or wizard have you stolen it from?"

The wizard in question frowned. "Stolen? What nonsense is this? I was given my letter to Hogwarts in 1871, the year I turned eleven. I got my wand from Ollivander's where he sold it to me. You can even ask him if you'd like."

"It's rather convenient for you isn't it, that the only person who could possibly vouch for you has been missing for over a year?" Umbridge said as she tsked.

"It's true, I swear it," the man all but shouted as Dementors began to hover around him. Draco hadn't even noticed their presence until that point.

"Mr Roberts, if there is one thing I cannot tolerate, it is a lie," Umbridge said, shaking her head. "I will however give you one more chance to tell the truth, or it will not be pleasant for you."

"It's the truth! I haven't stolen any wands or magic. Please believe me, please!" The man pleaded. His eyes looked desperate and Hermione had to bite the inside of her cheeks to stop herself from saying anything that would ruin her cover.

"Guards, take him away. He shall receive the kiss," Umbridge said as she waved the man away. As the man was dragged out of the room, Umbridge turned to face her, and Hermione's breath hitched slightly as she caught a glimpse of the Slytherin locket around her neck. "Why must they all insist that they haven't stolen their magic? Honestly, it's not as if they could have possessed it naturally!"

Hermione let out a nervous chuckle, "You know how muggleborns are; the entire lot of them are filthy liars!"

"And we're the poor souls who have to waste our time in their presence," Yaxley sneered.

Hermione hated the man with a passion and she internally shuddered. She was thankful, however selfish as it sounded, that she wasn't the one who had to be here under this interrogation. Granted, she would be able to hold her composition, she had a feeling that it wouldn't matter. To Yaxley and Umbridge, there were no correct answers. If you said you didn't steal the magic, you're a liar, but if you lied and said that you did, you were persecuted. However, either way it's a death sentence. Who knows how many muggleborns had already been given the kiss?

The next woman came into the room, looking quite frightened. "I don't k-know where my husband is. He-he promised he would meet me but he hasn't. Please, I promise he'll be here soon," she said with a sob.

Yaxley laughed. "I do not have time to waste on the worries of mudbloods. Now, let's get this over with."

Hermione felt something brush by her lightly, and out of the corner of her eye, she could see no one. "I'm behind you," a voice said, and Hermione jumped. She figured that Harry must have joined the two of them in the room.

Hermione watched full of disgust, as Umbridge and Yaxley took turns mocking the muggleborn witch as she attempted to defend her right to her magic.

She knew that if she waited too long to do something, the pair of them would sentence another person to the Dementor's kiss.

As the toad-like women let out an annoyed huff at Mary Cattermole's cries, Hermione decided to strategically change the subject.

"That's a lovely locket, Dolores. Is it new?" she asked, hoping to get a better view of the Horcrux.

"No, it's a family heirloom. The 'S' stands for Selwyn. You know how it is in the Pureblood community, all of us are somehow related to each other," Umbridge said as she held the locket affectionately.

That liar! Hermione was tempted to call her out on her fib, yet she decided against it.

She gave Umbridge a false smile. "Of course."

Hermione could practically feel the rage surging from Harry as Umbrige conclude her lie. She knew in that instant that her reckless best friend was about to pull something foolish, so she reached for her wand, and kept it close by. She watched as Draco did the same. He had been watching the entire exchange calmly, however she knew that deep down he was just as rattled as she was. He was just better at hiding it than she was.

"Stupefy!" Harry cried out, as he was still concealed under his invisibility cloak. Umbridge crumpled to the floor as the silver cat that had been holding the Dementors at bay came swooping down.

Draco immediately stood as Yaxley began to search the room in confusion. He shot out a stunning spell as well, to knock the man unconscious.

"Harry!" Hermione cried out, as she watched the Dementors begin to swoop around Mrs Cattermole. She would have done the spell herself, but Harry's patronus was twice as strong as her own, and it was not the time to try and prove herself.

"Hermione, I know it was rash, but if you think I'm going to just sit here and let her pretend-" Harry started. He must have assumed that she was questioning his actions.

"No Harry, Mrs Cattermole! You must save her," she exclaimed.

He turned around just in time to cast the patronus charm. She let out a breath as the Death Eaters were pushed away from the lady.

"Grab the Horcrux," Hermione instructed Draco as she opened the door slightly.

"You-you're the one who turned me in!" Mrs Cattermole shrieked as she got a look of Harry's face.

Harry was taken aback by this. "D-did I? Well I've had a change of heart. Hermione, help me with these chains!"

Hermione shook her head. "Scorpious, can you? I need to duplicate the locket in case she wakes up and finds it missing."

Draco nodded, as he cast the spell, "Relashio!" The chains came undone and Mrs Cattermole was freed from the chair.

They rushed out of the room only to be greeted by a room of more muggleborns.

"Right, it has been decided that you should all go home and go into hiding with your families. Go abroad if you can, but just get away. That's the new policy. Now, if you follow the Patronouses, you should be able to get out of here alright," Draco spoke in a diplomatic voice.

Harry and Hermione cast their Patronuses and directed the men and women down the hall.

Hermione led them into the lift. As the lift came to a halt, Ron came in on the stop he was supposed to. She let out a breath of air, thankful that nothing had happened to him.

"Reg!" Mrs. Cattermole shrieked as she threw her arms around him.

Hermione felt like smacking her head against her palm. How could she have been so stupid? They hadn't checked any of their covers for potential spouses. Oh Merlin!

Ron was caught off guard by the woman's sudden embrace. "I uh, sorry, I meant to, I really did, but I uh, got held up!"

They made their way to a bunch of fireplaces, the same ones Harry had told her about when he had come to the ministry the summer before his fifth year.

"Wait," Harry commanded the wizards sealing off the exits. "This lot have got to get through before you seal off the exits."

The wizards were clearly confused by this statement. "We've been told not to let anyone exit the building-" one of them started.

"Are you contradicting me?" Harry asked in a cold voice. "Do you want me to have your entire family tree examined, like I did Dirk Cresswell's?"

The man began to stutter and beg for forgiveness, and Harry responded by informing them that the muggleborns blood were pure, just as pure as theirs. Hermione felt herself smiling at Harry's words, despite herself.

"Mary," A voice called out. Hermione turned to see the real Reg Cattermole make their way over to them.

Mrs Cattermole turned to Ron in surprise. "I-I don't understand. Reg, what's happening?"

"I'm not your husband, go to him!" Ron shouted.

"Reg?"

"Go," Ron commanded. Mrs Cattermole looked stunned but she took his advice and ran to her real husband.

The short lived peace ended quickly as a rush of ministry workers headed their way. Hermione took in a deep breath, thankful that she had at least ten more minutes before the polyjuice potion wore off.

"It was them! They released the muggleborns!" Harry's voice boomed out. This brought out a chaotic state, which the foursome quickly took advantage of. She slipped her hand through Draco's as they rushed to the nearest loo for a place to apparate.

"LETS GO!" Harry shouted, as they joined hands. As the spinning sensation began to occur, she felt a hand latch on to her shoulder. Terrified, she looked up to see Yaxley grabbing on tightly to her.

A/N: This is where I will start to differ from the plot of the book. Some events will still happen, yet others will not. Thank you for your continuous support, and as always, I love hearing feedback from you guys!