Chapter 13
"Ron, for the last time, I will not help you with your OWL!" Hermione whispered harshly, already annoyed that he thought it was okay to distract her from her own test, even if she had almost finished. She could not, and would not, help him in an exam. She had hoped he'd known her better than that. Homework was one thing but an exam!
Hermione kept her back to him and reread her paper. Ron psst and spluttered until a loud banging on the large oak doors of the Great Hall knocked him from his determination to ruin Hermione's test.
Around her, her classmates shifted and turned in their seats to look back at the doors. Umbridge, who had been stood at the front of the hall smiling, cleared her throat and began walking down the centre aisle.
When she reached the doors, she shot a look back at the students and then pushed one door open just wide enough to stick her head out. All the students turned to watch, and some stood up out of their seats to see what was going on.
A small firework zipped in over her head and popped and fizzled quietly a few feet away.
Umbridge closed the doors briskly and stomped her way back up the room as any student who had been leaning out of their seat jumped back into it, afraid of her reprimand. But before she could get half way back to the front stage, the doors to the hall flung open and hundreds of fireworks flew in, exploding and sizzling above their heads.
Hermione leaned over her test, scared that one of the sparks would cause it to catch fire.
Two streaks of red shot in through the air, and flew around the hall throwing more fireworks in all directions. Fred and George grinned at each other mischievously, and it was infectious. Soon everyone in the room – bar Umbridge of course – was grinning.
The students cheered, jumped out of their seats and pumped their arms. Umbridge tried shouting, but couldn't be heard over the crescendo of pops and bangs.
The boys stopped and looked at each other. Fred – or at least Hermione was sure it was Fred – pulled a large tube out of his pocket, lit one end and threw it high into the air. Suddenly they took off at top speed out the door, and the firework exploded into a beautiful red, gold and silver dragon, shaped in the air from the sparks. It looked around the room, spotted Umbridge, and roared.
Professor Umbridge shrieked in terror, leaped from the stage and began running back to the doors.
Another sudden popping like gunfire had Hermione shielding her head, and once it was over she realised that all of Umbridge's rules and decrees on the walls had shattered and were falling to the floor.
All the fifth years leaped from their seats to follow Umbridge and the dragon out of the hall and into the courtyard.
As the students passed Hermione, Ron came back and pulled her from her seat and they flowed with the crowd out into the courtyard.
The dragon had gone, Umbridge was either too short to be seen or had run away, and the students were laughing and cheering as Fred and George put on the best day-time firework display Hermione had ever seen.
She couldn't help but laugh. She glanced at Ron, who was shaking his head and laughing right along with everyone else.
She turned to look for Harry, and her heart leaped to her mouth as she watched him stumble and fall back, a glazed look over his eyes.
"Harry!" Hermione shouted, kneeling down next to him. He was sweating, panting and confused.
Finally his eyes focused on hers.
"He's got Sirius. I know where."
Allegra was ridiculously stiff when she finally decided to move from her rock hiding place. She'd sat there for hours reading and rereading Cedric's riddle, trying to figure out what he was talking about.
She was sure he was telling her where she could go to break free of this prison, but she just couldn't decide where.
She hadn't allowed herself much time to speculate on the legitimacy of the note; why hadn't he spoken plainly? And instead focused on finding the answer. If she didn't, she didn't have anything else to do nor anywhere else to go. Hogwarts would likely be a death trap for her now.
It was the deep darkness of night that had finally forced Allegra's decision. All remnants of day had disappeared and no moonlight was present. Add the dingy blue tinge the world had and she could barely see her hand in front of her face, let alone Cedric's note, or worse, anyone approaching. She had also lost the ability to hear, since it had started chucking it down and her little hideout had developed a puddle and was slowly filling up with water.
All she had to go on was 'veil', that was presumably something she could pass through, and the place she was looking for was underground. The latter is what narrowed it down for her. There was a place she knew of in the Ministry where there was a big archway, and she remembered someone – it was either Hermione or her mother, but for some bazaar reason her brain couldn't tell who right now – telling her that it was a veil between our world and the next.
She also remembered the person telling her not to go near it, since if you passed through it, you didn't come back.
So, going on the only location she could think of, she moved on to the next problem: how to get there. And – though she was trying to ignore this thought – who or what would be waiting for her there once she did.
She didn't like any of these ideas, but she was aware that they were the first ideas she didn't like that were entirely her own. For now at least, she seemed to be able to do as she pleased.
Allegra stood up and stepped out into the drenching rain, and looked up at the sky. She took a deep breath, shoved the note into her jeans pocket and climbed back up the hill to look towards the castle.
It was visible, at least. A beacon. It had been an hour or so since she'd run from it, and now she was going to have to go back. She didn't know who or what would be up there, but it was the only way she would find transport to get to London.
"What?" Hermione gasped as Ron noticed his two friends on the floor, and knelt down to join them.
"What's going on? Harry, are you alright?" Ron asked looking over their worried expressions.
"Voldemort's got Sirius." Harry repeated.
"How d'you -"
"Saw it. Just as I was coming out of the hall I got another vision."
"Where?" Hermione asked, her face becoming paler by the second.
"At the Ministry, I knew I'd seen that door before." Harry said, getting himself to his feet. "There's a room, in the Department of Mysteries, it's full of thousands of rows of orb-crystal-ball things." Hermione and Ron stood up and followed Harry back into the castle. "They're at the end of row ... ninety-seven. He's trying to use Sirius to get whatever it is he wants from him in there ... he's torturing him ... says he'll end by killing him."
"What about Allegra?" Hermione asked quietly.
"I don't know," he said, "I didn't see her." Which wasn't a good sign. "We need to get to him."
Ron and Hermione gave each other a swift glance.
"But ... Harry ..." Ron started.
"What?"
"But Harry," Hermione said, receiving a thankful look from Ron, "how did Voldemort get into the Ministry without anyone noticing, and get Sirius in there, too? And what about Allegra, he's got her to use to bait you, why use Sirius?"
"How the hell would I know?" Harry snapped. "But if he's using Sirius instead of Allegra then that doesn't look good for either of them, does it? I've had to sit here because I've had no idea where Allegra is, but I know where Sirius is, Allegra might be there too, I can't sit here again."
Hermione nodded, she didn't feel particularly good about it either. "I am with you on this, but it's just ... I don't see how all this would happen without anyone noticing, and I don't see how he got Sirius from Grimmald, either." Hermione looked from Harry to Ron and then to her hand that was running up the stone bannister.
"Hermione," Harry began, red-faced and through gritted teeth, "I will take a chance on this all being a set up just to make sure that they're not there. I am not prepared to wait and see if Voldemort kills two more of the closest people to me!" Hermione nodded, she knew it was true. "I just don't know how we're going to get there."
"Get where?" A voice came as the trio rounded a corner.
"Nowhere." Harry replied a little too quickly. Ginny raised her eyebrows at him.
"Right ... There's no need to hide anything from me, I was just wondering if I could help."
"Well you can't." Harry snapped, annoyed by the interruption.
"You're being rather rude, you know." Luna added serenely while standing next to Ginny. Harry let out a small huff, obviously not in the mood for Luna's guilt trips.
"Wait," Hermione said, "Harry, they can help us." Harry looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Listen, we need to know whether Sirius really has left Headquarters."
"Hermione I've already said -"
"Harry I know, but please, let's just check he's not there before we go charging off to London. If he's not there, then we'll not hesitate in leaving immediately. Somehow."
"Right fine, but how are we going to do that?"
"We'll have to use Umbridge's fireplace, see if we can contact him from there." Hermione reasoned. "We can draw Umbridge away but we'll need lookouts." She looked pointedly at Ginny and Luna.
They both looked confused, but eager to help.
"Yeah, we'll do it." Ginny said.
"By 'Sirius' are you talking about the stubby board man?" Luna asked. They all blinked at her, and she just smiled.
"Okay," Harry moved on swiftly looking at Hermione, "if you think you know of a way of doing this quickly, then let's do it."
"Right," Hermione said, "right ... well ... one of us has to go and find Umbridge and send her off in the wrong direction, keep her away from her office."
"I'll do it," Ron said, "I'll tell her that Peeves is smashing up the transfiguration department or something, that's miles from her office. Come to think of it, I could probably get Peeves to do that, too."
"Now we need to keep other students away from her office while we force entry, otherwise some Slytherin or Ravenclaw is bound to go and tip her off."
"Luna and I can stand at either end of the corridor," Ginny said promptly, "and warn people not to go down there because someone's let off a load of Garroting Gas."
Hermione nodded, "well then, Harry, you and I will be under the Invisibility Cloak and we'll sneak into the office and you can try to contact Sirius while I keep watch."
"Right, okay, thanks." Harry muttered.
"I don't think we'll have more than five minutes though."
"Five minutes will be enough," Harry said quickly. "C'mon let's go -"
"Now?" Hermione said.
"Yes now!" Harry exclaimed.
"Right, everyone get changed out of uniforms with your wand and Harry you will need the Invisibility Cloak, all within the next three minutes, meet at the end of Umbridge's corridor!"
Allegra looked up at the huge, heavy doors that led back into the castle. The lights were on, but she had seen no sign of anyone yet. Everything from the maze and the Tournament had disappeared.
She gave it a few minutes, just to check that no one was about to come out and grab her, and then forced herself to open one of the doors and look inside.
It was relatively quiet and normal looking. There were students passing through, but no one looked over at her.
She was confused, however, when she realised that inside the castle it looked like early morning breakfast time, and behind her it was dark, lashing rain and probably about midnight. Still, this whole thing had been completely uncontrollable and bazaar, so she accepted it. When the entrance hall seemed to empty, she moved inside.
Other than the blue hue, it looked normal, the silence however, was a different matter. It was like being in a library, and more quiet than the Hogwarts library. Allegra kept her head down and walked swiftly to the stairs and up, trying to be invisible. As she got to the fourth floor, she noticed a few other differences. The portraits didn't move much – if at all, and they seemed to be on a loop playing out the same small scene. There also didn't seem to be any students who looked young enough to be under fourth year, and they were all Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws. No one she recognised.
Things were going surprisingly well (no one had tried to kill her yet), and she reached the Gryffindor portrait with no obstacles and the portrait itself was blank and wide open. Well that's creepy, she thought to herself, and her instant reaction was to run in the other direction. But the more determined part of her told her not to look a gift unicorn in the mouth.
She stepped carefully through the dark passage way and into the dim light of the common room. Her heart thudded in her chest as she walked towards the girls' dormitory stairs and kept her mind focused on what she was there to do.
"It's her."
Allegra almost jumped out of her skin. The words had been spoken but after all the silence it was like someone had screamed in her ear. Allegra paused with her foot on the first stair.
Hermione, Lavender and Pavarti had their wands out and they were trained on Allegra. There were huge, dark shadows under their eyes, their hair was limp and dull, and there were no whites to their eyes.
"Traitor," Pavarti seethed. They raised their wands high and Allegra through herself up the stairs as spells hit the places she'd just been. She threw a hand out back towards them, and a force flew from it and knocked the 'girls' down.
Allegra bolted up the stairs, going as fast as she could without sending herself sprawling, pushed open the dorm door and slammed it closed behind her.
She turned, panting, and applied as many charms to it as she knew, then pushed a chest of drawers in front of it for good measure.
They tried the door, and when it didn't give she could hear them screaming, only it wasn't a noise any human could normally emit.
Allegra rushed to her bed, got down on her hands and knees and peered underneath.
It was there. Thank fuck it was there. She reached under and wrapped her hand around her Firebolt.
The 'girls' were still beating on the door, and Allegra could hear the muttering of reverse charms.
She opened the closest window and opened it wide, then she steadied herself in the frame, and moved to climb onto her broom when the door behind her shoved the chest of drawers across the floor.
Allegra didn't look back, she jumped from the window ledge and began to free fall.
"I've got it," Harry panted as he ran to where his friends were waiting. "Ready to go, then?"
"Alright," Hermione whispered as a large group of sixth year boys walked past loudly, "so Ron - you go and find Umbridge and distract her ... Ginny and Luna, try to get people to move out of the corridor ... Harry we need to put the cloak on and wait until the corridor is clear." They nodded and started their jobs. "Come on, then," Hermione muttered to Harry, tugging his wrist and pulling him back into the shadows. She looked at him and he was looking down at the floor. "Are you sure you're okay, Harry? You've gone a bit pale?"
"I'm fine," he answered quickly. Harry threw the cloak over the two of them and they stood quietly, watching and listening.
"You can't come down here!" Ginny was calling out; they could also hear the high pitched tones of Luna in the distance. As people walked past Harry and Hermione they muttered about the situation. After about five minutes the corridor seemed to have cleared.
"I think that's as good as it'll get," Hermione whispered. "Come on, we better get moving." They moved forward, covered by the cloak and walked out into the corridor. Luna was standing at the far end with her back to them, looking each way periodically.
"Good one ... don't forget the signal," Hermione whispered to Ginny as they passed.
"What's the signal?" Harry asked as they approached Umbridge's door.
"A loud chorus of 'Weasley is our King'," Hermione said as Harry tried to prize the door open with his knife. Soon the lock clicked and they entered the office. The office was looking as distasteful as ever, but they sighed in relief to find it empty and that no curses or jinxes had gone off.
"You would have thought that she would have put more security on here after two nifflers, wouldn't you?" Hermione said absently as Harry pulled off the cloak and she moved to the window and out of sight.
Harry got down on his hands and knees and was proceeding to look into Grimmald via the fireplace when the door burst open and Professor Umbridge stood in the doorway. She walked in followed by a few members of the Inquisitorial Squad, who were grinning mischievously.
"MISS GRANGER!" Umbridge squawked as a seventh year Slytherin girl pulled her from her hiding place. Umbridge dived for Harry, clawing at his back and pulling from the fireplace by his hair. "You think," she hissed, bending Harry's head back so he was looking up at the ceiling, "that after two nifflers, that I was going to let one more foul scavenging little creature enter my office without my knowledge? I had stealth censoring spells placed all around the doorway after the last one got in. Take his wand." She barked at a Ravenclaw sixth year girl, "hers too." The girl lunged at Hermione and snatched the wand from her hand.
"I want to know why you are in my office," Umbridge seethed, turning her attention back to Harry.
"I was - trying to get my Firebolt."
"Liar!" she said immediately, with a sharp yank on his head for good measure, "your Firebolt is under strict guard in the dungeons, as you very well know, Potter. You had your head in my fireplace. With whom have you been communicating?"
"No one."
"LIAR!" She shouted, throwing him from her grasp and left the room. Moments later there was a commotion outside and several large Slytherins entered, each gripping Ron, Ginny, Luna and Neville. Umbridge returned.
"Got 'em all," one said shoving Ron roughly forwards. "That one," he pointed at Neville, "tried to stop me taking her," he pointed at Ginny who was trying to kick the shins off the large Slytherin girl holding her who was having to put up a fight to protect them, "so I brought him along, too."
"Good, good." Umbridge said smugly, watching Ginny's struggle. "Well, it looks as though Hogwarts will shortly be a Weasley-free zone, doesn't it?" The Inquisitorial Squad laughed. Umbridge seemed pleased and settled herself into an armchair.
"So Potter," she started again, "you stationed lookouts around my office and you sent this buffoon," she motioned to Ron who looked mildly offended, "to tell me the poltergeist was wreaking havoc in the Transfiguration Department, when I knew perfectly well that he was busy smearing ink on the eyepieces of all the school telescopes - Mr. Filch had just informed me so. Clearly it was very important for you to talk to someone. Was it Dumbledore? Or that half-breed? I doubt it was Minerva McGonagall, I hear she is still too ill to talk to anyone."
Harry looked livid, he had gone red and had starting shaking.
"It's none of your business who I talk to," he snarled. Umbridge raise an eyebrow as if to challenge him.
"Very well," she said in a falsely sweet voice, "very well Mr Potter, I offered you the chance to tell me freely. You have refused. I have no alternative but to force you. Pansy - fetch Professor Snape." Pansy nodded gleefully and skipped out of the room. Taking their wands with her. And so they waited for the Potion Master's arrival.
"Fucking hell!" Allegra shouted as the broom once again did a sudden drop, this time she only managed to get control before it decided to start spinning wildly like a car on ice. She had been flying for perhaps an hour. The broom had become crazed, like everything else in this world, about fifteen minutes into the journey. Its attempts to dislodge its rider were becoming worse each time.
The last few times it had dropped Allegra had regained her height, but this time she decided to keep low, if she was to fall off, she didn't want to become a splatter on the make-believe floor.
It seemed to calm down as she flew over a large city, she wasn't sure which one, but as soon as she was back into the countryside it tried another murder attempt. The broom shot up into the sky like a firework, spun around and around, jumped up and down, up and down, lurched forward and back and finally zoomed towards the floor. Allegra tried desperately to pull it up, but it merely slowed, and ten feet from the floor it stopped dead.
Unfortunately, Allegra didn't. The momentum threw her down onto the floor below and then the broom fell too, whacking her in the forehead. Allegra just lay in the wet grass, aching from head to toe and with no motivation to get up.
Damn physics.
"Umm ... ow?" Allegra sat up and rubbed her head, glaring at the broom which was now hovering in front of her. She stared at it for a while and she could feel it laughing at her. "Look, you obviously don't like me, and I definitely don't like you, but I have no other way to get to London. I am the only person who is ever likely to fly you, and you really are putting the Firebolt name to shame. Sure, you seem to be faster than the real ones, but you have no handling, at all. I have used a lot of brooms in my time, and you are my least favourite. Except maybe that Blue-Spark I tried." She narrowed her eyes on the broom. "So, I am going to get back on you now, and we are going to fly close to the ground, and hopefully you will start to behave so that I don't have to snap you in two and walk the rest of the way." The broom merely hovered.
Allegra stood up and pulled herself back onto it tentatively. She gently rose and after checking that all parts of her were still in place, leant forwards and shot forward - in a straight line.
"You wanted to see me, Headmistress?" Snape said when he arrived, accompanied by Pansy. Snape surveyed the room; at Ron's bloody lip and Ginny fighting the Slytherin, without any change to his expression.
"Ah, Professor Snape," Umbridge said, smiling widely and standing up from her chair. "I would like another bottle of Veritaserum, as quick as you can please."
"You took my last bottle to interrogate Miss Chang," he said, looking at her coolly through his long black hair. "Surely you did not use it all? I told you three drops would be sufficient." Umbridge flushed slightly.
"You can always make more, can't you?" she said.
"Certainly," Snape said, "it takes a full moon cycle to mature, so I should have it ready for you in a month's time."
"A month?! But I need it now! I have just found Potter using my fireplace to communicate with a person or persons unknown!"
"Really?" Snape said, showing slight interest. "Well, it doesn't surprise me. Potter has never shown much inclination to follow school rules." Snape stared at Harry, both of whom were completely still, despite the mass fidgeting around them.
"I wish to interrogate him!" Umbridge exclaimed.
"I have already told you," Snape began smoothly, "that I have no further stocks of Veritaserum. Unless you wish to poison Potter - and I assure you I would have greatest sympathy if you did - I cannot help you. The only trouble is most venoms act too fast to give the victim time for truth telling." Snape nodded at her and turned to leave but suddenly Harry blurted out, "he's got Padfoot!" Snape turned back to him, "he's got Padfoot at the place where it's hidden!"
"Padfoot?" Umbridge cried, looking from Harry to Snape and back again. "What is Padfoot? Where what is hidden? What's he talking about, Snape?" Snape looked at Harry; his face was just as blank and expressionless as ever.
"I have absolutely no idea." Snape replied smoothly, raising an eyebrow and making his leave.
"Very well," Umbridge said after a moment, "the Cruciatus curse ought to loosen your tongue."
"No!" Hermione blurted out suddenly, "Professor - it's illegal." Millicent tightened her grip on her. Umbridge sighed and moved to her desk.
"What Cornelius doesn't know, won't hurt him." She put the photo of him face down on the desk. She moved back and pointed her wand at Harry, at all different parts of his body. "Cruci-"
"No!" Hermione shrieked, "no - Harry - we'll have to tell her!"
"No way!" Harry shouted, trying to look at her.
"Harry we have to, what's the point? She'll force it out of you anyway."
"Hermione, no!" Ron said, suddenly choked by the Slytherin holding him. Hermione began to sob, somewhat unconvincingly, but it did the job.
"I'm - I'm sorry everyone," Hermione looked through her fingers to see if they were buying it, and then covered her face again. "But - I can't stand it -"
"That's right little girl, now - whom was Harry trying to talk to?"
"Well," Hermione gulped, trying to let her hair fall over her face to hide the fact that she wasn't crying. "He was trying to talk to Professor Dumbledore." Any noise in the room disappeared as everyone froze.
"Dumbledore?" Umbridge repeated eagerly, "you know where he is, then?"
"Well ... no!" Hermione wailed. "We've tried the Leaky Cauldron in Diagon Alley, and the Three Broomsticks and even the Hog's Head -"
"You stupid girl! Dumbledore is not going to be sat in a pub when the whole of the Ministry is after him!"
"But - we needed to tell him something important!"
"Yes, and what was that?" Umbridge asked excitedly.
"We - we wanted to tell him ... it's ready."
"What's ready?" Umbridge demanded.
"The ... the weapon."
"Weapon? Weapon?" Umbridge looked like she might explode, "you have been developing some method of resistance? A weapon you could use against the Ministry? On Professor Dumbledore's orders?"
"Y - Y - Yes," Hermione gasped, "but he had to leave before it was finished and n - n - now we've finished it for him and we c - c - can't find him!"
"What kind of weapon is it?"
"We don't really u - understand it," Hermione sniffed, "we j - just did what Professor Dumbledore told us to do."
"Take me to it."
"I'm not showing ... them." Hermione motioned to the Slytherins.
"It's not for you to set conditions." Umbridge said harshly.
"Fine," Hermione mirrored her tone, "Fine ... let them see it! I hope they use it on you! In fact, I wish you'd invite loads and loads of people to come and see! Th-that would serve you right - oh, I'd love it if the whole school knew where it was, and how to use it, and then if you annoyed them they'd be able to sort you out!"
"Alright dear, let's make it just you and me ... and we'll take Potter, too, shall we?" she said and Hermione nodded. "You all remain here and make sure none of these - escape." She said to the Inquisitorial Squad. "You two can go ahead of me, lead the way."
They led Professor Umbridge down through the castle and out onto the grounds.
"It's hidden in Hagrid's hut, is it?" Umbridge said.
"Of course not," Hermione said scathingly, "Hagrid could have set it off."
"Then, where is it?" She asked, her voice shaking with uncertainty.
"In there of course," Hermione scoffed, pointing towards the forbidden forest. "It had to be somewhere where students wouldn't find it."
"Of course," Umbridge said. "Of course ... very well, then ... you two stay ahead of me."
"Can we have your wand, if we're going in first?" Harry asked blankly.
"No, I don't think so, Mr Potter. The Ministry places a rather higher value on my life than yours, I'm afraid."
Hermione walked straight into the forest as though it were a sunny meadow.
"Is it very far in?" Umbridge asked.
"Oh yes, it's very well hidden," Hermione said. Hermione strode on further and she could hear Umbridge struggling to keep up.
"Err - are you sure this is the right way?" Harry asked.
"Oh yes," Hermione said thrashing through the undergrowth as loudly as she could without it looking as though she were doing it on purpose, "it's a bit further in!"
"Hermione keep your voice down," Harry muttered, jogging to keep up. "Anything could be listening in here -"
"I want us heard," Hermione whispered back. "You'll see ..."
They walked in further and it got so dark that it would have been almost impossible to go quietly anyway, because you could barely make out where you were going.
"How much further?" Umbridge demanded.
"Not far now!" Hermione shouted as they came to a small dank clearing, "just a little bit -"
An arrow flew through the air just above Hermione's head; the air was suddenly full with the sound of hooves. They could feel the hooves pummeling the forest floor, Umbridge screamed and pulled Harry in front of her as a human shield. Harry wrenched himself free as fifty or so centaurs circled the clearing, their bows raised and loaded, pointing at the three of them. Umbridge was whimpering and Harry glanced at Hermione who was smiling.
"Who are you?" a deep voice asked. They looked left to a chestnut coloured centaur who was walking towards them, his bow, like the others, was raised. "I asked you who are you, human."
"I am Delores Umbridge!" Umbridge exclaimed, "Senior Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic and Headmistress and High Inquisitor of Hogwarts!"
"You are from the Ministry of Magic?" The chestnut centaur asked as the centaurs shifted restlessly.
"That's right!" she shouted, becoming even more high pitched, "so be very careful! By the laws laid down by the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, any attack by half breeds such as yourselves on a human -"
"What did you call us?" A black centaur shouted angrily.
"Don't call them that!" Hermione said furiously, making sure she was loud enough for all the centaurs to hear her outrage.
"Law fifteen 'B' states clearly that 'any attack by a magical creature that is deemed to have nearly human intelligence, and therefore considered responsible for its actions -"
"'Near-human intelligence'?" the chestnut asked in outrage. "We consider that a great insult, human! Our intelligence, thankfully, far outstrips your own."
"What are you doing in our forest?" bellowed a hard faced grey centaur Harry and Hermione had seen on their last trip to the forest. "Why are you here?"
"Your forest?" Umbridge repeated, "I would remind you that you live here only because the Ministry of Magic permits you certain areas of land -"
An arrow was launched, only barely missing Umbridge's head, she let out an ear piercing scream and ducked down, covering her hands over her head. Some centaurs laughed.
"Whose forest is it now, human?"
"Filthy half breeds!" she screamed, starting to come undone as she stood up. "Beasts! Uncontrolled animals!"
"Be quiet!" Hermione warned, but it was too late. Umbridge pointed her wand at the Chestnut centaur and screamed "Incarcerous!" Ropes flew out of her wand and wrapped themselves tightly around the centaur's torso and neck, he fell to the floor choking. Hermione gasped in horror and ran to where he was struggling, pulling and tugging at the ropes trying to free him as the other centaurs launched themselves at Umbridge.
Harry leapt towards Hermione and pushed her against a tree as the struggling centaur freed himself and went after Umbridge.
"Noooo! Noooo ... I am Senior Undersecretary ... you cannot - unhand me you half breeds! Noooo!" Umbridge hollered. The centaurs lifted her into the air and her wand fell from her hand. Harry jumped towards it but a centaur stepped backwards and broke it clean in half.
"Now!" a voice shouted and Harry and Hermione were dragged off their feet in time to see Umbridge being carried off into the forest.
"And these?" said the grey centaur that was holding them.
"They are young," said a wise looking centaur behind Harry, "we do not attack foals."
"They brought her here, Ronan," the first centaur replied, "and they are not so young ... he is nearing manhood, this one."
"Please," Hermione said breathlessly, "please don't attack us, we don't think like her, we don't work for the Ministry! We only came here because I hoped you'd drive her off for us." As soon as she finished she knew she'd phrased it wrong, the grey centaur snorted in outrage.
"You see, Ronan? They already have the arrogance of their kind! So we were to do your dirty work, were we, human girl? We were to act as your servants, drive away your enemies like obedient hounds!"
"No!" Hermione said as quickly as she could, "please - I didn't mean that! I just hoped you'd be able to - to help us -"
"We do not help humans!" snarled the centaur holding Harry, "we are a race apart and proud to be so. We will not permit you to walk from here, boasting that we did your bidding!"
"We're not going to say anything like that!" Harry tried, "we know you didn't do what you did because we wanted you to -"
"They came here unasked, they must pay the consequences!" a bearded centaur shouted.
"They can join the woman!" a dun coloured centaur roared.
"You said you didn't hurt the innocent!" Hermione shouted, now very afraid and her arms were beginning to go numb from being held so tightly. "We haven't done anything to hurt you, we haven't used wands or threats, we just wanted to go back to school, please let us go back -"
"We are not all like the traitor Firenze, human girl!" The grey centaur roared, meeting approving cheers from the surrounding centaurs. "Perhaps you thought us pretty talking horses? We are an ancient people who will not stand wizard invasions and insults! We do not recognise your laws, we do not acknowledge your superiority, we are -"
Centaurs stopped listening and scattered, suddenly both Harry and Hermione were dropped as the monstrous form of Grawp came bumbling through the gap he had created in the trees. He peered down at Harry and Hermione and opened his mouth.
"Hagger," he came out with, still peering down at them and the centaurs. Hermione held onto Harry's arm as Grawp looked from them to the centaur and around as though he had dropped something. "Hagger," he said again.
"Get away from here, giant!" called the chestnut centaur, "you are not welcome among us!" His words had no effect on Grawp at all; he bent down a little like a toddler looking at something on the ground and bellowed "HAGGER!" A few of the centaurs looked worriedly among each other.
"Harry!" Hermione whispered loudly, "I think he's trying to say 'Hagrid'!" Then Grawp looked at Hermione. "Hermy," he said.
"He - he remembered!" Hermione gasped.
"HERMY!" Grawp roared, "WHERE HAGGER?"
"I don't know, Grawp," Hermione answered loudly, "I'm sorry, Grawp, I don't know!"
"GRAWP WANT HAGGER!" He shouted again, clearly frustrated and irritated by his lack of communication skills.
Grawp's massive hand went towards them, knocking a snow white centaur out of the way. Fifty arrows soared through the air, lodging themselves in his arms and torso. Most had no effect, but Grawp looked at a few with mild irritation that were drawing blood. Grawp, now angry, went after the scattering and galloping centaurs.
"Oh no, that's awful, what if he kills them all?" Hermione asked, rubbing her arms where the grey centaur had gripped too tightly.
"I'm not all that fussed to be honest." Harry said bitterly. "Right, where do we go from here?"
"Back up to the castle," Hermione said.
"Great, by the time we've done that, Sirius will be dead!"
"Well we can't do anything without wands," she said calmly, "anyway, Harry, how exactly were you planning to get to London?"
"Yeah, we were wondering that." Harry and Hermione froze and then relaxed as Ron came into sight, followed by Ginny, Neville and Luna. They all looked a little bruised and fumbled, but at the same time extremely pleased with themselves.
"So," Ron said, pushing aside the last branch that separated them, and handed Harry his wand, "had any ideas?"
"How did you get away?" Harry asked.
"I remembered I had a few of Fred and George's sweets, got them out and they asked me what they were, of course they took them for themselves and told me to shove off. They soon ran off with various illnesses."
"That's ... very clever, Ron." Hermione smiled.
"It's been known to happen," he returned it, "anyway, what've you done with Umbridge?"
"Centaurs have her." Harry said.
"And they left you behind?" Ginny asked.
"No, they were chased off by Grawp." Harry replied.
"Who's Grawp?" Luna asked.
"Hagrid's half-brother," Ron said, "anyway never mind that now. Harry, what did you find out in the fire?"
"He's not home. But I'm sure Sirius is still alive, but I can't see how we're going to get there to help him."
"We fly, of course," Luna smiled.