A couple of minutes later, Draco found himself waiting inside the room of requirement with Ron and Hermione. Who was going to turn up, he wondered. Surprisingly, before long they had found out. Those who turned up must have been those who missed the DA meetings the most, sine otherwise they wouldn't have checked when Hermione sent out a call to a meeting, but there were still a good few of them. Luna Lovegood, Ginny Weasley and Neville Longbottom were the first to turn up. The next person to arrive was Harry. No-one else, it seemed had heard the call or was willing to respond.

'Are we having another meeting, Harry?' Neville asked.

'Not quite. WE need to get into Umbridge's office. Do you three and Draco want to cause a distraction so Ron, Hermione and I can sneak in and use her fireplace. It's important.'

'Alright. I'm in.' Neville said, amidst a chorus of nods.

'Draco. You take the guys and go and organise something, preferably in the charms corridor- Flitwick won't care if he catches you. We'll hide near Umbridge's office and when she's gone we'll make our move.'

'On it.' Draco said, gesturing the others to one side.

'Right, what have we got?'

'Fred and George left us a couple of skiving snackboxes and some fireworks'

'Ok. Anything else?'

'I can get some stinksap out of my Mimbulus Mimbletonia, if that'd be any use.'

'Yes, I think we can use that. Maybe put it inside the fireworks. But we're going to need something big, something to trap, sorry, encourage Umbridge to come over. We can use a trip wire spell to set off the fireworks once we've got her there, I expect, but we're going to want to ensure that she actually comes down. Any ideas?'

'Those permanent fireworks of Fred and George's did quite a good job of attracting her.'

'I suppose so. If we use that though, she'll instantly know it's us.'

'True.'

'You said we were going to do this in the charm's corridor, right?'

'Right.'

'So why don't we just enlarge the remains of the portable swamp?'

'Yeah, that'd work. And anyone could have done that. We'll have to do something else to it first though, otherwise Umbridge will just tell Flitwick to do it and we'll never get her to leave the office.'

'Yeah. We could always charm it or something so it doesn't go like it did last time.'

'Or we could do it so that whenever someone casts a spell on it they get hexed.' Ginny said with glee.

'I'm glad you're on my side.' Draco said, 'I'd hate to get in your bad books. Got anything particular in mind?'

'Oh yes. Leave it to me. You guys set the rest up, I'll curse the swamp.'

'Come on then, let's be off.'

As per the plan, after setting up the distraction, the four of them headed down to the great hall. It would only be a matter of time until their mission would be successful. Harry and the others would meet them in the hall when it was done.

'Guys.' Harry said darkly.

'What is it Harry?'

'The order doesn't know where he is. We're going to have to go and get him ourselves.'

'Get who?' A menacing voice said behind them. They turned around with a start. It was Umbridge.

'A friend.'

'Don't lie. I know you were in my office using the floo. You were trying to contact Dumbledore weren't you. Come. My office. Immediately.'

They were in for it now. Led to the office by a triumphant Umbridge they felt that anything might happen in the next half hour. It did.

As things turned out, Umbridge was determined that they knew the locations of Dumbledore, the well-known fugitive who, she claimed, had formerly been Headmaster. They refused to make any comment. Umbridge duly summoned Snape, demanding he yield further supplies of veritaserum, the truth-telling potion. He refused, on the grounds that she had used them all up and the batch he was currently brewing wasn't finished yet. Suddenly Draco felt like a bit of a wally. Snape was a member of the order, and so was McGonagall. They would've had methods of contacting the order without resulting to Umbridge's fire. Why hadn't they just asked them? At any rate, it wouldn't ahve made much difference- it might have saved this confrontation with Umbridge, but the Order didn't believe that Sirius was missing as he hadn't sent a distress signal or whatever excuse they had come up with this time. Instead they were here with Umbridge interrogating Harry. Brilliant. One word made Draco's ears prick and distracted him from his train of thought.

'...cruciatus ought to loosen your tongue.'

What had she said? The cruciatus?

'Oh Harry, tell her Harry. Well, if you won't I will.' Hermione burst forth, 'He's in the forest. Hiding. That's how he's been keeping in contact with us.'

'He's been in contact with you?' Umbridge asked with a greedy and malevolent glint in her piggy eyes.

'Yes. That's how he's been organising everything.'

'Through you?' Umbridge sneered disdainfully.

'Yes. What better way – anyone older would be suspected.'

'True. –Show me where he is.' Said Umbridge pointing her wand at them. If only they'd still got theirs. Umbridge gestured for Hermione to lead her to Dumbledore. When Hermione and Harry had gone through the door, she herself went through after them. Their wands were stowed in her pocket, so she must have imagined herself to be safe. As soon as her back was turned, Draco leapt into action. He landed on Umbridge's back sending her flying down onto the floor. Whilst he lay on top of her, the others searched her pockets for their wands. Hermione was the first to find hers and she cast a full body bind on Umbridge.

'So that's what it looks like.' Neville said. 'Last time I saw you do that'

'Yes, we all remember, Neville.' Hermione uttered sharply.

'What do we do now?' Ginny asked, 'We've just attacked her.' She k=jerked her thumb over her shoulder to where Umbridge was lying.

'Well, I suppose the first thing is to sick her out of the way, back in her office or something. Then.' Harry paused, possibly for effect. 'To the ministry.'

'What. So the plan is go to the ministry. Rescue your godfather, who possibly isn't even there, from the grips of the world's most evil dark wizard ever and then escape, coming back to school in time for lights out?'

'Do you know, that was pretty much it. Lucky lights out is later this year, isn't it?' Harry said sardonically. 'The real plan is this. Head to London, sneak about the Ministry until we find Sirius. Create a distraction, rescue him and then run away home, coming back to school as and when we can.'

'Great, but how are we getting there?'

'Easy. We'll fly.'

'But we don't all have brooms.' Hermione pointed out.

'Well, Draco and I have the most passenger friendly brooms, at least according to What?Broom. So I suppose we can take you and Neville. The Firebolt's notionally got more capacity, so Neville, you're with me. Hermione, with Draco. Everyone else, get your brooms and meet you in the entrance hall in half an hour. We'll need wand s and warm clothes, this is going to be a long journey.

It was indeed. The Gadwall was fast enough ordinarily, but he had to go slow for this journey, after all it was a long journey. A long journey with Hermione clinging tightly to his chest. He liked the feeling of her hands there, as her arms wrapped round him in sheer terror, but he couldn't concentrate on it for long, as much as he'd like to. He had to keep the broom flying fast and true, and with two people on board that was no easy task. Harry was apparently having a much easier time of it, at least when there wasn't any wind, presumably since he was so much more practised, and possibly because his passenger had developed at least enough broom sense to lean the right way in corners. Occasionally Draco took long, sweeping diversions to stay away from the squalls and showers that lay in his path. Every so often he would lose sight of the others, but he carried on flying south, south, ever south and occasionally a little bit east, as he closed in on London. Whilst flying over Cambridgeshire, he noted an unusual looking cloud. Or was it? No! It was the others! Tilting left he flew towards them. Hermione screamed in yet another repetition of what had been the soundtrack of the flight.

'Oh. Hell o there Draco. We were wondering where you two had gotten to.'

'Took a slight diversion to avoid the rain. Didn't want to end up soaked to the skin.' Draco said, suppressing the urge to add unlike you to the end of the sentence.

'You alright, Hermione? Had a nice romantic journey?'

'I'd rather not speak about it.'

'Why what's wrong.'

'Well, put it this way. If this flight's been anything to go by, I think Hermione gets seasick.'

'Ahh. Say no more. Nice to have you two back though.'

'Thanks. I've been thinking.'

'Makes a change.'

'Shut up Ron. I've been thinking, the last time you came this way you made the papers. Shouldn't we do something to make ourselves less noticeable, or something?'

'We could try disillusionment charms, if you remember them.'

'No problem. Bit fiddly, but no problem. We'd better land first. I think we're getting close, so we'd better set to it nowish.'

'Alright. Everyone down.' Harry waved his arms to marshal the flight down towards the ground, where they landed, rendered themselves less visible and took off again. Son they were in l

London, outside of the main offices of the Ministry itself.

'How do we get in?'

'Oh, simple, we just have to get in that Red phone box there.' Ron said.

'What, that one? All of us?'

'Yeah, well, as many of us as'll fit. That's where Mum took us when we went ot visit Dad a couple of years back. Do you remember Ginny?'

'Oh. You mean when we surprised him at work on his birthday?'

'Yeah. That's the one.'

'That was fun that was.'

'Yeah.'

'Hello.' Harry waved a hand between the eyes of the two siblings. 'Anyone at home. Aren't we supposed to be strolling into the ministry, not down memory lane?'

'Sorry, Harry.'

'Sorry mate.'

'Well, how do we use it?'

'Don't worry, it's simple.' Ron said, and sure enough it was. Before long they were prowling the night-abandoned corridors of the ministry, heading towards the vast and enigmatic Department of Mysteries. They ran through its empty rooms, feeling as though they were lost in the most curious maze they had ever been in. There were rooms with racks of time-turners and rooms with brains floating in tanks. There were rooms they couldn't get into, no matter how hard they tried, but eventually, they came to a room where Harry declared they were in the right place. Sirius wasn't there.

'Bugger.'

'You said it mate, what do you thinks happened?' Ron asked.

'No idea, you got any clue Draco?'

'One. I think we've walked headlong into a trap.'

'Bugger.' Harry said again.

'Harry.' Neville called. 'One of these balls ahs got your name on it?'

'Has it really? Bring it over.'

'I'd rather not. I've got this .Feeling that it's only meant to be touched by you.'

'Alright. I'm coming.'

Harry sidled over to Neville and picked up the ball. Nothing happened, for a moment anyway. Then a deep, rumbling voice that Draco felt he recognised boomed out across the hall of strange ball thingies.

'Hand it over Potter.'

'Who said that.'

'I did.' Said a shadow, which emerged to become a fully formed Death Eater.

'What do you want?'

'That glass ball.'

'Don't give it to him, Harry.'

'Run!'

The seven friends split up and ran throughout the place, trying to get away, but one by one they were captured by the Death Eaters, until only Harry and Draco had not been captured. They stood, back to back, firing off curses at the encroaching Death Eaters.

'Enough.' Their leader said. The tall man advanced on them. 'The dark Lord will not want this destroyed. Hand it over, and we'll let your friends go.' He said.

'If you can catch it.' Harry said, throwing it straight down onto the ground. It smashed in to thousands of tiny pieces. The man ripped of his mask and was revealed to be

'Father.' Draco uttered. So it was true. His Father was a Death Eater.

'I am no father of yours.' He spat back, whipping out his wand. Draco did likewise, and whilst Harry ran, Draco did the most foolish thing he had ever done in his life, he started to duel the older man. Whilst the remaining Death Eaters who didn't have an hostage to subdue ran after Harry, Draco began to fight his father. They cast spells at each other, each aiming to maim repeatedly, Draco found himself thrusting with his wand and parrying the spells that his father sent back at him.

'What's this? Can't even beat an unqualified wizard? You really need some more practise Lucius.'

The only reply to that was a further barrage of curses, each nastier than the last. Draco didn't recognise most of them, but one he managed to identify as a knee-breaker curse. He parried it neatly with a flick of his wand and a loud expletive and carried on.

By now the red mist of anger had descended across Draco's vision and he cared no longer about the man who had once claimed to be his father. He sent spell after spell at the other man, spell after spell pounded away at the other man's defences. Draco had the upper hand and he carried on blasting away. Spell after spell ranging from simple stunning spells to vicious bone breaking hexes. The shield protecting the other man shimmered under the radiant onslaught of Draco's fierce attack. It collapsed under a spell and then suddenly, Draco found himself under attack. The old man had decided that attack was the best form of defence and had gone on the offensive with such force that Draco barely had time to brace himself for the attack. Some quick wandwork saw him protected –just – against the blows of his father, but not for long. Draco had been right when he goaded his father- a Death Eater should be able to beat an underage wizard, and Draco began to realise, he was no exception to this. He had given his best but it didn't look like it was going to be good enough. With both hands on his wand, he focussed on drawing up a shield charm to protect himself. Every sinew strained with the effort but there was nothing more he could do. It had to hold. It had to.

'Father..'

'If you ever want me to call you Son, don't beg for mercy, boy. It's a sign of weakness.'

The shield gave way with a deafening boom which sent Draco flying backwards. His opponent closed in on him wand raised to cast the killing blow. Then suddenly, just as Draco was blacking out, the other man went flying backwards. He woke up minutes later, surrounded by friends and acquaintances.

'What happened?' He asked.

'The Order arrived. They fought them off. All of them. We're safe now.'

'Where's Harry?'

An awful silence fell. They all of them realised that Harry was nowhere to be seen.

'Last I saw of him, he was running of that way.' Draco said helpfully, pulling himself up to a sitting position.

'Upsy-daisy.' Said a witch Draco didn't recognise 'The name's Tonks, just Tonks. Call me anything else and I'll rearrange your face.'

'Thanks.' Said Draco, surprised at the pleasant way this woman had threatened him. 'My name's Malfoy, Draco Malfoy. Call me what you like, within reason.'

'Oh nice to meet you, cos.'

'Come again?'

'I'm your cousin. Our mothers are sisters. That makes us cousins.'

'What another one?' Draco half-mumbled.

'What do you mean?'

'Nothing much, just, don't you think we ought to go after Harry.' Fine. But only once you've explained.' She said, looking concerned.

'It's just you're not the first family member I've met who I didn't know existed.'

'I'm Andromeda's daughter, if that's any help.'

'A little. At any rate, I figured you weren't Bellatrix's'

'Oh yes?'

'Well, that was easy, you don't look that much alike, and you're not trying to kill me.'

'Good point.' Now I'm going to look out for Sirius and Harry. You stay here.'

She turned her back and ran off in the direction that all the other aurors had just run off in, leaving six of them standing there, in the middle of the deserted hall.

'I don't like it here much.'

'Me neither.'

They looked around. Neville was the first to speak.

'Do you think we ought to go after the Order? After all, it'll be safer than staying here. Anything might happen.'

'Yeah, let's go. No rush though.'

'Right. No rush.'

They walked briskly after Tonks, through a couple of rooms to a place they had never been before. It was a room as ordinary as any other, except dominating one wall was a massive veiled curtain, which looked as solid as the other four walls did. Possibly more solid, given the huge chunks missing from the walls. Over in one corner stood Harry, looking drained. They ran over to him.

'Harry. How are you? Are you hurt?'

'No. I'm fine. Sirius came to save me, just as Lestrange was getting the upper hand. Then five minutes later Moody arrived. They've got her contained, even if she is still. Duck!' A stray spell sailed over their heads. 'Even if she is still fighting back. Draco turned round to look. As he looked he saw Lestrange raise her wand with a manic gleam in her eye. She was looking straight at Sirius. He would never know why he did it, but Draco summoned a huge wall right in between them. Seconds later it exploded into brickdust as the spell Draco had blocked collided with it in a flash of green. Sirius exploded with anger, just as Draco had not long ago. Curse after curse flew at Bellatrix and even though Moody had stopped to watch she was now inundated with powerful spells. There were so many spells that she didn't spot one of the cutting curses that Sirius had thrown at her until it was too late. It hit her and she fell in a growing pool of thick red blood.

Moody stepped over to Sirius and put a hand on his shoulder.

'That'll do Sirius. You can stop it now. She's not going to hurt anyone now.'

A loud noise made them all start. They turned round and there stood Dumbledore.

'I say we have been busy, haven't we?' He said.

'Albus. Glad you could join us.' The gruff voice of Alastor Moody spoke.

'Glad to be here Alastor. I am glad that everyone is alright.'

'Not quite everyone.' Sirius said glumly.

'What's wrong Sirius? Who's not alright?'

'It's Cousin Bella. I've killed her.'

'Bella. Bella.' Dumbledore whispered so quietly that the others could barely see his mouth moving. 'Oh , you mean your cousin Bellatrix Lestrange, I presume, what happened?'

'Dumbledore glanced over at the pool of blood that was even now growing about the body. The witch looked very small and old in her death.

'I see. Don't worry about it Sirius, she was a tortured soul. She'll be happier now she's been released.' Dumbledore comforted. Sirius didn't seem much happier about all this, but Dumbledore ignored this and went about organising everyone else. Soon the seven friends, the Order of the Phoenix and above all Dumbledore were walking out of the Department of Mysteries and out into the rest of the ministry, a column of Death Eaters at wandpoint.

The remains of Bellatrix Lestrange were being carried in front of them by Tonks, who was levitating her aunt's remains. They walked through long corridors and up steep slopes until eventually they emerged in the foyer of the Ministry. Over there was the massive golden fountain they had seen on their way in. Over there was the desk, where, presumably, a receptionist sat during the day. It was nice to be getting back to wherever it was they were supposed to be going. Draco didn't care where that might be, just so long as it was far away from here. School would do. As would home. Dumbledore himself stopped in the middle of the foyer and waited. Bellatrix' body was laid on the ground and made to look peaceable. Just as everyone was wondering the reason for the delay, Dumbledore explained it all.

'Now we wait for the Minister. Bartemius will be along soon, I have no doubt, and with a crack team of aurors too I suspect.'

'You can only hope you'll live that long, old man.' A shrill, cold voice taunted from behind them. Everyone turned round to see who had spoken. Everyone that is, apart from Dumbledore, who had whipped out his wand and was preparing to duel. He knew who that voice belonged to.

'Ah. Tom. So glad you could join us.' Dumbledore said, patently lying through his teeth in an impressive facade of mock politeness.

'The pleasure is all mine. So much of your precious little Order. So many people. And children too. We'll take a great delight in killing you all. Bella. Take this spare wand.' Voldemort lobbed a wand that was not his own in the direction of Bellatrix. Naturally, she did nothing about it and the wand clattered idly next to her body.

'Why doesn't she respond?' Voldemort asked Dumbledore.

'She's dead, Tom.'

'Dead?'

'Dead.'

The loss of his finest lieutenant seemed to annoy Voldemort, who immediately started to duel Dumbledore, whilst taking pot shots at everyone else who happened to be there. It was a spectacular fight, far more impressive than the one Draco himself had been involved in not long ago. Instead of shielding, they sent spells to intercept the other's in flight. Bolts of coloured light met between them and exploded in burst of lightning. Occasionally Dumbledore would transfigure a statue or a desk into life, in order to protect someone other than himself, which happened whenever Voldemort's attention leapt to someone else. Several times Draco felt that the end was come, when something would nobly sacrifice itself, its wooden structure bursting into flames before his eyes. The members of the Order tried to secure the Death Eaters, and not entirely in vain either, but everyone knew that they lived or died with Dumbledore that night.

Still the duel continued Dumbledore brought up the water from the fountain in an attempt to imprison Voldemort, but neither of them was a Merlin, and a quick freezing charm and one explosion later and everyone else found themselves desperately trying to protect themselves from vicious shards of ice. Then the fire came. Voldemort and Dumbledore seemed both to love its destructive power and soon a vast conflagration was rocketing between them as each rested the control of it from the other. The tiles of the floor cracked under its heat and everyone felt themselves cooking. Shuffling away from the fire Draco found himself fearful for the first time in his life. He looked into that fire and therein saw the full, destructive, potential of magic. So this was what a wizard's duel was supposed to be like. But as Draco thought that the tempo of the duel did what Draco had assumed to be impossible –it increased.

Spells flew in every direction. Dumbledore was nearly hit. Then Voldemort. Each ducked one way and then recovered. There was no telling what would happen next, none at all. The way of the battle constantly switched between its two proponents, Dumbledore winning one minute, Riddle the next. The hand of each wizard was moving so rapidly that it almost appeared a blur to Draco as each cast spells rapidly to try and get one past the other, like Sirius had gotten that cutting spell past Bellatrix. Whilst the previous fights of the day had been fights to injure the other, this was different. This was a fight to the death. Voldemort was surely gaining the upper hand, as the younger man must. A hundred years of fatigue would surely weigh down against Dumbledore. The fight continued and a rogue spell flew over Draco's head and earthed itself in the wall behind him. Now Dumbledore was going on the attack. Spell after spell flew at Voldemort, some curving round so as to take him from odd angles, some just flying straight at him. The panoply of colours visible might have been beautiful, had they not been so deadly. Dumbledore was showing his true colours now. He may not have the stamina of the younger man, but he did have experience, and the other man wasn't that much younger. Not really. Dumbledore was winning, and by a healthy margin too, he had to be , the way that Riddle had stopped attacking, and was only defending spells that were certain to hit. Surely that was what was going on. It had to be. Suddenly Voldemort vanished and time seemed to slow. Harry, who had been quiet - like everyone else in the room, at the show that was being put on - started to moan. Then mere seconds later, Voldemort reappeared, looking visibly shocked. He stood there silently, preparing for another barrage from Dumbledore. A barrage that never came. What did come however was Bartemius Crouch, who had quickly appraised the looked fit to explode. What the hell was going on? Dumbledore was here. But so was. Crouch raised his wand to attack and Voldemort disapparated, leaving his fallen servants behind to face the justice of the Ministry.

'So he is back.' Crouch muttered.

'Alas so, Bartemius. So, with that being the case, I take it you can see that the Ministry withdraws its opposition to me.'

'Well, it'll take some time, but I think I can promise that, yes. At any rate, I think the place for you is Hogwarts. Take the kids with you, Albus, we don't want them here, not yet, anyway.' He smirked at his own joke. It seemed to Draco that Crouch had changed since he had come to power. He didn't have long to reflect on this however, as he was whisked back to Hogwarts instantly by the elderly headmaster.