Even though I asked repeatedly for Santa to bring me Harry and company he didn't so I guess I still own nothing!

And we go to the Ministry again... :)

Chapter Thirty-two

The Magical Census Department

Muriel woke Taylor and Harry early the next morning to get ready to go to the Ministry of Magic. Taylor could hear ice pellets hitting the window as she dressed in a pair of jeans, a turtleneck and a sweater. She hadn't unpacked any of her things from her trunk that Moody had put in her room because she knew that she and Harry wouldn't likely be returning to this nice little house, if at all possible. All the things Taylor needed to take with her to go searching for Horcruxes was shrunk and packed in her bag that she was going to take with her. All that remained in her trunk was her school things.

"Ready?" Harry asked as he stuck his head in Taylor's room before going down for breakfast.

"Yeah. You?" Taylor asked and her brother nodded. Together the two went down to the warm kitchen to a hot bowl of porridge and some toast.

Moody was waiting for them along with Kingsley Shacklebolt.

"Remember everything that we talked about and don't let your guard down once at the Ministry." Moody growled as they ate.

As soon as Taylor and Harry finished eating they thanked Muriel and pulling on their heavy cloaks followed Moody and Shacklebolt outside.

"Miss Porter," Shacklebolt said in his deep voice as he offered her his arm as soon as they were outside the wards protecting the little house. Taylor put her hand on his arm and was immediately squeezed as she apparated with her professor.

The alleyway where they appeared was already crowded with people. Many of them wearing uniforms of the Ministry of Magic, but many like their little group were simply bundled against the cold wintry wind, and hurried towards the many entrances to the Ministry of Magic set up to accommodate the vast numbers of witches and wizards that were now required to apparate to the Ministry. The alleyway they had apparated to had been warded with anti-muggle charms, plus a half a dozen doors had been installed to allow them entrance to the Ministry itself.

Despite the number of people, the queue was moving at a steady pace and Taylor and Harry were soon inside the Ministry of Magic.

"Weasley." Moody growled as Arthur and Molly Weasley along with Ron, Ginny and Hermione reached them through the crowd.

"Moody, Shacklebolt." Arthur Weasley said in a curt voice.

Together they all made their way towards the lift that would take them to the Magical Census Department.

Taylor looked around cautiously as she walked through the vast entrance hall, noting all the changes since the last time she had been there. Gone was the fountain of gold with the wizard, witch, centaur, goblin and house elf. In its place was a cold marble statue of a wizard. Everywhere banners and posters hung, all boosting of the superiority of wizards.

They were lucky and all caught a lift to level three where the Magical Census Department was located. It was a silent trip, indicating more than words just how worried they all were. When the lift opened, they found themselves in a large room with a desk and a long line of witches and wizards all ready waiting.

It took nearly an hour for their group to reach the gray haired wizard sitting behind the desk. "Next," he called in a brisk professional voice.

Shacklebolt nudged Taylor and she walked up to the desk alone.

"Name and blood status." The gray haired wizard asked.

"Taylor Porter, muggle-born." Taylor answered as her heart started to pound.

The gray hair wizard looked up at her sharply, then nodded. "I trust you have your documentation?" He didn't wait for her to answer but continued. "Muggle-borns down the hall on your right." He pointed, before calling, "Next!"

Taylor heard the gray haired wizard repeat his question to her brother and heard his answer.

"Harry Potter, my father was pure blood, my mother muggle-born."

Taylor couldn't help the slight smile that crossed her lips as she entered the office on the right. The last thing she heard before entering was the gray haired wizard's voice saying. "Half bloods and Half bloods with a muggle-born parent, down the hall to the left."

The office Taylor entered was much like the one she had just come from, except that it was smaller. The line was also shorter, only five were ahead of her, three witches and two wizards. The desk though was set back next to the wall. At first Taylor didn't really get a good look at the witch sitting behind it as the wizard right in front of her was very tall and nearly as round. Her heart started to hammer and anger coursed through her veins when she heard the simpering voice call out, sickeningly sweet.

"Next."

Taylor stepped sideways to look around the huge wizard to make sure her ears weren't playing jokes on her. No such luck. Dolores Umbridge sat behind the desk, a silly pink hat perched atop her squat toad-like face. Taylor's hands curled into fists. She could remember all too well the toad like witch that had taught Defense Against the Dark Arts in her fifth year. Unconsciously Taylor rubbed the thin white scar that she had on her left hand that read, I will not tell lies. She had got the scar from serving detention, along with Harry, for backing up Harry when he said Voldemort was alive in Umbridge's class. Taylor did not regret backing up Harry, was actually glad so that Harry didn't have to suffer through Umbridge's evil detentions alone. It had however made Taylor despise Umbridge.

"Taylor." A familiar voice whispered.

Taylor turned around and saw Hermione standing behind her.

"Did you see who's sitting behind the desk?" Taylor whispered back, anger coloring her voice.

Hermione peeked out around the huge wizard and her lips thinned and she took on a very McGonagall-ish look. "What is that cow doing in the muggle-born office?" Just the fact that Hermione called a teacher, even an ex-teacher, a name spoke volumes as to how angry she was.

"Better in here than in with Harry." Taylor whispered back and Hermione nodded her head vigorously in agreement.

The two friends waited for a time in silence as another wizard came in and lined up behind Hermione. It was nearly another hour before the huge wizard in front of Taylor went up to stand in front of the desk. He actually was standing just to the side of Umbridge.

Taylor glared up at the toad-faced witch. She could feel her blood starting to boil just standing there.

"Taylor!" Hermione breathed excitedly in Taylor's ear. "Look at the necklace!"

With an effort Taylor looked down from Umbridge's toad-like face to see a silver necklace resting on Umbridge's sickeningly pink robes. It took her several seconds of staring to realize what she was looking at.

"Merlin's beard!" Taylor breathed.

The silver necklace was intricately carved with a large 'S' and inlaid with green emeralds.

"Do you think it is the one from Padfoot's place?" Hermione breathed into Taylor's ear, afraid of being overheard.

Taylor stared for a long time before she answered. "Yeah, I do." She could remember on one of her few trips to Sirius' house, when Harry, Ron, and Hermione were helping to clean out a room at Grimmauld Place, she had also pitched in to help even though she was only going to be there for a few days. She remembered they had discovered a few old pieces of jewelry, one looked remarkably like the one Umbridge was wearing. The next year Harry had caught Mundungus Fletcher stealing a bunch of Sirius' family heirlooms. Taylor also remembered the fake locket that Harry and Dumbledore had brought back the night Dumbledore was killed. The one with the note in it saying it was a fake, with the initials R.A.B. It was supposed to be a horcrux.

A determined smile pulled at Taylor's lips as an incredibly reckless feeling took hold of her. "Why don't we find out?" Taylor breathed as she palmed her wand and an intricate swish later, a small popping sound, much like the sound of horses' hooves could be heard in the room.

Umbridge came to her feet looking around wildly as she sputtered in her simpering voice, "What is that? Who is making that sound!"

Taylor slid behind Hermione so that her wand wasn't visible and closing her eyes without even saying the words out loud she performed the revealing spell for a horcrux. The tiny thread of green smoke drifting up from the silver locket was lost almost as soon as it appeared because Umbridge was twisting around still looking for the source of the fading hoof beats.

Taylor stood rooted to the spot, they had found another horcrux!

Hermione looked at Taylor with a mixture of disbelief and fear. Unable to believe her friend had just been so bold as to torment Umbridge with her fear of hoof beats and the downright dangerous act of mixing Dark and Light Magic right here in the Ministry of Magic.

Neither young witch had completely recovered when Umbridge a few minutes later called out, "Next"

Taylor forced her legs to move and carry her up to the desk and Umbridge.

"Miss Porter! I guess I should have expected to see you here." Umbridge said in a condescending tone. "Do you even have a muggle birth certificate?"

Gritting her teeth Taylor handed Umbridge the fake birth certificate Moody had procured for her. Umbridge barely looked at it, before she handed it back, wiping her fat bejeweled hand as if it had been dirty somehow. "Let me see your wand"

Taking a deep breath Taylor handed her wand to Umbridge, it was almost the hardest thing she had ever done.

"I suppose you bought this from Ollivander?" picking up her own wand from the desk, Umbridge touched it to Taylor's. A faint hiss and Taylor could see words appearing on the paper on the desk. Yew, dragon heart string, eleven inches.

"Your parents are both dead right? No living relatives?" Umbridge simpered in an evil satisfied tone.

"No." Taylor answered shortly.

"That is what the Ministry likes to hear. No more chances for mistakes like you," Umbridge said in her sickeningly sweet voice.

Taylor's fingernails cut into her palm, as red dots danced before her eyes. Taylor had never felt more like hitting someone in her life. The only thing that held her back was the fact that Umbridge hadn't given her wand back to her yet.

Next Umbridge asked Taylor a few more questions, many very similar to the ones that Moody had said would be asked. Taylor kept her answers short and Moody-approved and her answers were recorded on the paper that had recorded her wand's materials.

"Thank you for taking the time to complete the Ministry of Magic census. Here is your wand back. Have a nice day Miss Porter." Umbridge simpered.

Taylor wheeled on her heel and walked past Hermione who looked a little pale. When Taylor reached the door she stopped, she might be totally pissed off at the bitch behind that desk but she wasn't going to leave her friend in here alone. Leaning against the wall by the door Taylor mulled over how she could go about stealing the locket from Umbridge. A glance out the door though told Taylor that she wouldn't get far. Several Ministry guards stood at various intervals along the corridor. Taylor decided that she must have indeed been nervous not to notice them on her way to this room. Still though, Taylor thought if she could create a big enough disturbance she might be able to get the necklace, but then what? To her knowledge the only way off this floor was by the lift she had come on. Then she would have to make it out of the Ministry of Magic before she could apparate away. What about Harry? Hermione? And the Weasleys? She couldn't just leave them to be questioned and possibly get in trouble.

Still though, to pass the time Taylor thought with great satisfaction of ways to incapacitate Umbridge, each one getting more grotesque and painful.

Straightening up from the wall as Hermione walked towards her, Taylor could see her friend was almost in tears. Glancing around Hermione, she could see the toad-faced bitch watching with a satisfied smirk on her face. Taylor's blood began to boil.

"Hey, Hermione," Taylor said just loud enough for her voice to be heard by all in the room. "How did it go? Was the bitch…" Taylor put her hand to her mouth in mock shock, "I mean witch, as much like a toad as usual?" Hermione's eyes grew round in fear but Taylor sent Umbridge a mock salute and walked out with her friend.

"Taylor!" Hermione hissed as soon as they were out of the room. "What in Merlin's name did you say that for?"

"Because the hag had it coming!" Taylor growled but she put her arm comfortingly around her friend's shoulders, as unshed tears still glistened in her eyes. "I suppose she was nasty to you too, was she?" Taylor's voice turned gentle as she pushed her anger away to comfort Hermione.

Taylor and Hermione spotted the others waiting over by the lifts and made their way towards them. Mrs. Weasley pulled each of them into a hug as soon as they reached the group.

Taylor glanced at her brother and could see that there was the same strained expression on his face as all the others. When Mrs. Weasley released Hermione, Ron put his arm around her shoulders and as a group they headed into the next lift.

Inspiration hit Taylor and biting the inside of her lip until she could taste blood, her eyes began to water. Lowering her head she let the tears run down her cheeks. Taking a deep shuddering breath, Taylor looked up at her brother.

Harry's eyes widened in surprise and then clouded with concern for his little sister, "Taylor?" he asked quietly as he put his arm around her shoulders.

Taylor knew she had to go a little overboard. She wrapped her arms around her brother's waist and hugged him back, hard. To play it up a little more she let her head rest on his chest and with sniffles and a few hiccups in her breathing, she thought she played it fairly well. Carefully, Taylor peeked past her brother's arm and her eyes met Ginny's and Taylor winked at her. Ginny's eyes widened too but only for a fraction of a second before she nodded her head a fraction.

"Hey, it's okay now," Harry whispered in Taylor's ear as he bent his head down by his sister's. He was quite surprised that his sister was this upset. She had been the one comforting Hermione just a few minutes ago and she hadn't looked upset then.

When the lift reached the main level, the doors opened and Harry went to step back from Taylor but instead he felt her arms tighten. Slightly perplexed he kept his arm around her and guided her through the crowded entrance hall. As they all crowded into the fake phone booth to exit the Ministry, Harry felt Taylor's arm tighten around him again and he tightened his arm too, reassuringly.

Taylor wasn't sure if her brother had quite clued in yet what she was up to, but she maneuvered him so that he was crammed up next Ron and Hermione for the cramped ride up in the phone booth. Taylor stepped back and found Ron's foot, she could tell by his expletive of "Bloody hell. Watch where you are stepping." Starting to panic a little over if she was going to be able to pull her idea off, Taylor reached more with her foot and tramped on another foot, a soft "ouch" told her that it was Hermione's, kicking it again Taylor met Hermione's eyes. It only took a second for Hermione to catch on and nod.

The phone booth door opened and the whole group spilled out Taylor pulling Harry a few extra steps away from the group, as did Hermione with Ron.

"Well Weasley, we'll be seeing you around." Kingsley was saying as the two groups prepared to leave separately.

Hermione's eyes met Taylor's again and she mouthed the words, "one… two… three." Taylor's arms tightened on Harry and she turned concentrating as hard as she could on the tree lined hill that she and Hermione had planned would be their first apparation point.

Taylor heard the startled yells from Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and the deeper angrier calls of Shacklebolt and Moody before she was squeezed hard against her brother and then the two of them landed on the frozen ground in a heap.

Taylor quickly jumped to her feet as Hermione, with a quick scared look around, began running in a circle muttering and waving her wand. Taylor followed behind helping to put up the wards against both muggles and magical folks. When they were done, Hermione handed Taylor the tent, which she had pulled out of her handbag. Taylor quickly set up the tent, as an icy wind whipped through the trees blowing a few snowflakes with it.

"Blood Hell Taylor! Do you think you could have given a bloke a little more warning that you were going to take off right now?" Ron grumbled as he rubbed his hands together and pulled his cloak up around his ears.

"What did you want me to do, Ron? Shout it out so that your parents, Moody and Shacklebolt would know we were leaving?" Taylor bit back.

"I thought we were going to wait until after today?" Harry asked in a slightly put-out tone also.

Taylor had finished with the tent and held the tent flap open for them to enter before she replied. "No, we planned on leaving after the census was done. It could have been days or even a week or more before we were able to get together again."

"I didn't think we would get a chance at the Ministry actually, but Taylor's idea worked, and we got the chance we needed." Hermione said as she conjured a small smokeless fire and set it on the table.

The tent that Hermione had bought the first of last summer by owl-order was a lot smaller then the one Mr. Weasley had used at the Quidditch World Cup. It had a table, with four chairs and two sets of bunk beds with a curtain hanging between them to give either side some privacy. A small cook stove and a small sofa completed the furniture in the tent.

"You'll never believe what we saw!" Taylor grinned as she sat down next to Hermione.

"Or who we saw!" Hermione added angrily.

At the questioning looks on the boys' faces, Hermione told them about Umbridge working in the muggle-born office.

"What the hell was she doing in there?" Ron exclaimed angrily.

"What did she do?" Harry growled.

"She was a bitch of course!" Taylor said with a grin. "But you will never guess what she had on!"

"What do I care what she was wearing!" Harry snapped, thinking that it was a girl thing to notice what everyone was wearing.

"Oh Harry, I think you will be very interested to know!" Taylor grinned as excitement danced in her eyes.

"Well, are you going to tell me?" Harry demanded.

"A necklace!" Harry rolled his eyes and Ron made a disgusted sound.

"Not just any necklace," Hermione said in a business like manner. "A silver locket. It looked very much like the one we found in that cabinet at Sirius'."

"And that isn't the most interesting part!" Taylor ploughed through Harry's vicious string of oaths. "It was also a horcrux!"

Harry stopped swearing mid-word and stared at Taylor, Ron had an equally shocked look on his face.

"How can you be positive?" Harry whispered.

"Because your underage, play acting friend there performed that new revealing spell right there in the Ministry of Magic!" Hermione exclaimed in a condemning, disbelieving voice.

"You didn't!" Ron cried his eyes going round.

"Taylor! What the hell were you thinking? Do you have any idea how much trouble…" Harry started to shout, but Taylor interrupted him.

"Now we know it is a horcrux!"

"You could have been caught!" Harry growled looking at Taylor angrily.

"It was Umbridge we are talking about, plus I created a little distraction, she didn't even notice." Taylor defended her actions.

Harry continued to glare at his little sister. She could be just altogether too brazen at times, in his opinion. Using a spell like that at the Ministry!

"Taylor does have a point." Hermione said in her business like tone again. "We do now know where the fifth horcrux is." Reaching into her handbag again Hermione pulled out a piece of parchment, quill and ink. Unrolling it the other three saw that it was a list of Horcruxes. Hermione wrote locket by the number five.

1. Riddles diary – destroyed

2. Marvolo's ring – destroyed

3. Hufflepuff's cup

4. Ravenclaw's tiara

5. Slytherin's Locket

6. ?

7. ?

"Okay, we know where the locket is but how do we go about getting it?" Ron asked.

"Simple." Taylor said, "We steal it."

"Oh and I suppose we are just going to go waltzing up to Umbridge's house, which I might add we don't even know where it is, and simply steal it? Nope, nothing can go wrong with a plan like that." Ron said sarcastically.

Taylor sent Ron a dirty look. "Well, now that we know where to look it will be a hell of a lot easier! A lot better than going from cave to deserted moor and finding absolutely nothing." Taylor said, remembering the frustrating weeks she had spent looking with Harry during the summer.

"All right," Hermione interrupted Ron and Taylor to get them on the right track, "so how do we plan on stealing the locket back?"

"Well first of all I think we should go to Mrs. Briggs and get the Dark Magic books there." Taylor said thoughtfully. "Who knows, there might be something in them that will help us."

"Whoa! Taylor you are not going to use any more spells from those books! Look what happened at the wedding when you did!" Harry cut in.

"Yeah, I remember I stopped those three from taking Hermione." Taylor shot back.

"And let Moody and the others know you can use Dark Magic! You can't use it anymore! Not out here!" Harry growled glaring at his sister.

"I agree with Harry, Taylor. It is just too dangerous to go using Dark Magic out here. Not only might the Ministry discover it, but Vol-Voldemort too." Hermione said firmly.

Taylor looked up at the canvas tent ceiling for a moment before she explained. "I think those books are important. Even Dumbledore and Moody were interested in them. We've also been talking about going and getting them since the summer."

The other three were silent for a moment.

"Alright Taylor. We will go get the books first, but on one condition. You can't use the spells in them." Harry said slowly in a serious voice as he eyed his sister.

Taylor met her brother's level gaze, "I promise I won't use them... unless it is to save one of your lives."

"Guess I can't ask you for more than that." Harry replied quietly.

"I will never agree to more than that." Taylor said with finality.

"So how do we go about getting the books then?" Ron asked.

Taylor explained her rough plan, she had come up with, to the others. She knew Mrs. B. played bridge on Tuesday nights with a group of her friends, so Briggs Cottage would be empty that evening. She could sneak in get the books and slip back out in just a few minutes.

"You're not going in by yourself." Harry stated firmly.

"Do you know what wards or security spells she uses?" Hermione asked.

"I think we had better have a spotter, in case someone shows up unexpected." Ron put in thoughtfully.

An hour later the four had improved on Taylor's original idea. Now Harry would be going into Briggs Cottage with her and Ron and Hermione would be hidden outside under Harry's invisibility cloak with a few wards up protecting them, keeping a lookout in case someone showed up. They also discussed an emergency apparation point, in case they became separated and changed their code words so that they could quickly identify one another once they hooked back up again.

The talk then swung to their next campsite, in case something happened and they had to leave in a hurry. Plus they set up a watch schedule, of three-hour intervals, so that the others could get some sleep.

The tent was starting to grow dim by the time they finished.

"I bought some dried food and packed it last summer," Hermione said as she stood and went to light the cook stove. "It should last us for three or four days. Then we are going to have to get some more."

The tent wasn't exactly cold but it wasn't toasty either. The small smokeless fire on the table keeping it that way.

"I'll take first evening watch." Harry said as he headed out of the tent. He conjured a stool and sat down, pulling his cloak around him against the cold. He could hear Hermione and Taylor inside talking quietly about just what to make for supper and how best to stretch their meager supplies as long as they could. The cold wind moaned through the trees as night settled around them.

Harry wondered where Ginny was and if she was warm and safe. He regretted not being able to say goodbye to her, but Taylor's plan, like a lot of Taylor's plans, was rather abrupt. He wasn't really complaining. He too had been thinking that if they allowed themselves to be separated by Moody and the Order, there was no telling when they would get a chance to get together again.

"Hey. I brought you a cup of hot tea." Taylor said quietly as she came outside.

With a smile Harry took the cup and wrapped his cold fingers around it.

"Supper will be ready in a few minutes, if you want to come in. I'll spell you while you eat." Taylor said as she looked out into the darkness.

"No, you eat. I can warm it up when my watch is over." Harry replied.

Taylor nodded before going back into the tent. During the early evening they had decided to take one-hour watches and spell each other off, until it was time for bed.

A/N So they have gone off looking for horcruxes... And found one in an unlikely place! I want to say that I know that Umbridge having the locket is from the seventh book but I think I spin the rest of the story differently enough that I am not copying any thing else but the idea of the toad haveing Slytherin's necklace. That idea was just too hard to pass up on! Also sorry for the B-word... but these are teenagers we are reading about and they do swear a bit... just trying to keep it real! :) And really what else are you gonna call that toad faced witch? Hope you are enjoying everything so far... if you have a question or a comment I would love to hear it!

Thank you for reading! Have a Happy New Year!

Until next time, cytpotter