Author's Note - I wrote and rewrote this a few times over and I'm still not too happy with it. I am not sure I chose the right person, or just how it will affect everything overall, but I am excited to see how it creates its own sense of drama.
Please let me know what you think. Happy New Year!
~Of Silver and Gold~
Chapter 64: Department of Mysteries
The moment that she heard his words, she felt her knees weaken so much that Ron actually kept her standing up. She murmured a thank you and dug her nails against one of the tables in hopes of keeping herself up. She just didn't understand, how was it even possible for Voldemort to have her father? Despite him being released and acquitted he rarely went out not having enough connections to actually want to get involved in society again.
In the background she could hear Harry's best friends immediately taking action; after all this was more or less normal for them to simply take action. 'Gryffindors, all of them' her conscious reminded them.
"What?"
"How dʹyou ‐?"
"I just saw it. Just now. When I fell asleep in the exam." The rawness in Harry's tone made her blood chill. He was just as scared as she was.
"But ‐ but where? How?" Hermione asked, whose face was white from shock.
"I have no clue," Harry sighed. "But I know exactly where. Thereʹs a room in the Department of Mysteries full of shelves covered in these little glass balls and theyʹre at the end of row ninety‐seven... heʹs trying to use Sirius to get whatever it is he wants from in there... heʹs torturing him... says heʹll end by killing him!"
Harry's voice was shaking, and Angel could see he was just as worried. So as he moved over to the desk and sat down, she reached over and intertwined their fingers. At first he seemed distracted before he immediately gripped it tightly and turned wildly to look at his girlfriend.
"Howʹre we going to get there?" he asked before turning to the other two.
There was a momentʹs silence. Was he actually considered going blind? Angel felt her breath hitch at his recklessness and it seemed that she wasn't the only one surprised.
"G‐get there?" Ron squeaked.
"Get to the Department of Mysteries, so we can rescue Sirius!" Harry said loudly.
"But ‐ Harry…" Ron tried to interrupt his own weak voice.
"What? What!" Harry looked frustrated.
"Harry," the voice of reason, Hermione, began to speak in a rather frightened voice, "how... how did Voldemort get into the Ministry of Magic without anybody realizing he was there?"
"What do you mean, how do I know?" bellowed Harry. "The question is how weʹre going to get in there!"
"But... Harry, think about this," Hermione countered, taking a step towards him, "itʹs five oʹclock in the afternoon... the Ministry of Magic must be full of workers… how would Voldemort and Sirius have got in without being seen? Harry…he's probably the most wanted wizard in the world... you think He could get into a building full of Aurors undetected?"
"I dunno, Voldemort used an Invisibility Cloak or something!" Harry shouted.
"Harry" Angel tried to break it up before an argument began but was promptly ignored.
"Anyway, the Department of Mysteries has always been completely empty whenever Iʹve been ‐"
"Youʹve never been there, Harry," Hermione interrupted quietly, sounded scared of him. "Youʹve dreamed about the place, thatʹs all."
"Theyʹre not normal dreams!" Harry shouted in her face, standing up and taking a step closer to her in turn. He wanted to shake her and she in turn took a step back. "How dʹyou explain Ronʹs dad then, what was all that about, how come I knew what had happened to him?"
"Heʹs got a point," said Ron quietly, looking at Hermione.
"But this is just — just so unlikely" said Hermione desperately. "Harry, how on earth could Voldemort have got hold of Sirius when heʹs been in Grimmauld Place all the time?" She then turned to Angel. "Please talk some sense into him!"
"I dunno, there could be loads of reasons!ʹ Harry yelled at her. "Maybe Sirius is just someone Voldemort doesnʹt care about seeing hurt ‐"
Angel knew she had been in the background long enough and she could see Harry beginning to turn in anger at him not being believed. Hopping off the desk, she walked in between Hermione and Harry and grabbed his hands, making sure to get his attention.
"Harry look at me, at me Harry" She said firmly making sure to lower his glaring gaze from Hermione and back to her. "Think about the vision okay? Was there light, what did it look like? Please think this over." He wanted to interrupt, she could tell as his brows furrowed but she shushed him. "I'm not saying I don't believe you, you know I'm always on your side"
"I don't need to think this over Angel" He gripped her hands so hard that it hurt. "Mr. Weasley almost died if we hadn't believed what I saw. I can't risk it, I just can't sit here waiting for you all to believe me. If you won't go with me, I'm going alone"
"Harry-" she began immediately shushing his accusations, only for Ron to jump in.
"You know what, Iʹve just thought of something," said Ron in a hushed voice. "Siriusʹ brother was a Death Eater, wasnʹt he? Maybe he told Sirius the secret of how to get the weapon!"
"Yeah ‐ and thatʹs why Dumbledoreʹs been so keen to keep Sirius quiet all the time!" said Harry.
"Wouldn't he tell us?" Angel asked, turning to Ron. "I spoke with my dad days ago, and he seemed happy at home, without any rush or any stress to keep secrets from me."
"Yeah but you weren't there, the Order, they kept things from us. Mum would never tell us what they were up to, do you think Sirius would tell you if they were planning something?" Ron retorted.
"Dad would tell me" her voice rose.
"Stop it!" Look, Harry, Iʹm sorry," cried Hermione, "but neither of you are making sense, and weʹve got no proof for any of this, no proof Voldemort and Sirius are even there ‐"
"Hermione, Harry's seen them!" said Ron, rounding on her.
"But you don't!...Okay...okay" she said, looking frightened yet determined, "Iʹve just got to say this ‐"
"What?"
"You... this isnʹt a criticism, Harry! But you do... sort of... I mean ‐ donʹt you think youʹve got a bit of a ‐ a ‐ saving‐people thing!" she admitted.
He glared at her.
"And whatʹs that supposed to mean, a ʺsaving‐people thingʺ?"
"Now you two" Angel winced knowing this was not something to be discussing.
"Well... you…" she looked more apprehensive than ever, especially with Angel frowning. "I mean... last year, for instance... in the lake... during the Tournament... you shouldnʹt have... I mean, you didnʹt need to save that little Delacour girl... you got a bit... carried away…"
A wave of hot, prickly anger swept through Harry's body; how could she remind him of that blunder now? Was it really relevant to what was actually happening? Were they really talking about this?
"I mean, it was really great of you and everything," Hermione added quickly, looking positively furious at the look on Harry's face, "everyone thought it was a wonderful thing to do ‐"
"Thatʹs funny," said Harry through gritted teeth, "because I definitely remember Ron saying Iʹd wasted time acting the hero ... is that what you think this is? You reckon I want to act the hero again?"
"I'm sure that's not what she meant Harry. Nor is it even the time to be discussing this!" Angel screeched. "Enough the two of you, concentrate on the issue at hand, I will not have us go back and forth in this useless loop of an argument"
"But, Harry… what if your dream was ‐ was just that, a dream?"
Harry let out a roar of frustration. Hermione actually stepped back from him, looking alarmed.
"You donʹt get it!" Harry shouted at her not moving forward due to Angel pushing back. "Iʹm not having nightmares, Iʹm not just dreaming! What dʹyou think all the Occlumency was for, why dʹyou think Dumbledore wanted me prevented from seeing these things? Huh? Because theyʹre REAL, Hermione ‐ Sirius is trapped, Iʹve seen him. Voldemortʹs got him, and no one else knows, and that means weʹre the only ones who can save him, and if you donʹt want to do it, fine, but Iʹm going, understand? And if I remember rightly, you didnʹt have a problem with my saving‐people thing when it was you I was saving from the Dementors, or ‐" he rounded on Ron "‐ when it was your sister I was saving from the Basilisk ‐"
"I never said I had a problem!" Ron commented heatedly.
"But Harry, youʹve just said it," said Hermione fiercely, "Dumbledore wanted you to learn to shut these things out of your mind, if youʹd done Occlumency properly youʹd never have seen this ‐"
"IF YOU THINK IʹM JUST GOING TO ACT LIKE I HAVENʹT SEEN ‐"
"Sirius told you there was nothing more important than you learning to close your mind!"
"WELL, I EXPECT HEʹD SAY SOMETHING DIFFERENT IF HE KNEW WHAT IʹD JUST ‐"
"SHUT UP ALL OF YOU!" Angel finally raised her voice, shushing the trio. "Harry Potter you look at me right now - I am serious!" When he finally did she realized she was shaking. "Let me see it myself. Let me look at your memory, can you please let me see?"
"You don't believe me?"
"I do believe you" she replied heatedly herself. "But I need to look at this from a different perspective, I can't - I can't let this back and forth keep happening. And whether you're a hero or not, it doesn't matter to me. My father could be dying right now and we're here arguing about your altruistic tendencies? Enough is enough."
"Do it"
Before either Ron or Hermione could protest, Angel made one last eye contact with Harry before she dove into his mind.
…
"Merlin, are you okay?" Ron was shaking Angel awake.
Her eyes had glossed over after getting into his mind and she was very pale at what she saw. She had never seen him before, Voldemort, quite like she had in that image. The last time she had seen him, he was the young fresh face of Tom Riddle, who had been charming and kind. This vision of him exuded a power that made her shake just remembering it.
"I-I saw it" she uttered once she felt herself come back to consciousness. "I-I don't know how but it was dark, no light coming in at all in the room. I-it was not a dream. A dream cannot be pulled into the forefront like this."
"See" Harry looked at his two friends smugly, angry that they doubted it. "We need to go now."
"Wait, but as I said, it wasn't happening now...it was dark, when it was happening. How do you know it's now?"
"Because I just do!"
"Didn't Mr. Weasley, get bitten way after the vision you had?" she asked.
"W-well I'm not sure but the point is that it's happening and we need to take action."
"I think we need to talk to Sirius first. We should sneak into Umbridge's office and see if we can reach him."
"He's being hurt right now!"
Harry was refusing to listen but Angel had an idea.
"I'll be right back, don't do anything!" she shouted before running off.
…
She ran down the stairs, her legs burning at the speed she was exerting; her body was still aching from the vision that she saw but she did not care. She would avoid going into Umbridge's office, even if it killed her. She instead needed a mirror, that mirror that her father had given her to communicate. She knew that if he was available he would immediately answer as he always did.
From her peripheral vision she saw Blaise and Draco chatting before they shut up as she shoved her way into their common room. She avoided the pair as if it was a quidditch game, stepping on the common room centerpiece table to reach the stairs faster. Up three flights and she pushed the crate open.
'Think about what you need' her mind urged her.
Mirror
Stink bombs
Dr Filibuster's Fabulous Wet-Start, No-Heat Fireworks
Dungbombs
Shoveling them into her satchel, she slid her wand back in its place and slammed the door shut behind her. As she was rushing back she wondered if she would actually go with them...actually go help them for support and she tripped at the realization. Yes, she would need to go. She felt her heart speed up at the prospect of her father being in danger.
She was very distracted, enough to not notice that someone gripped her arm quite tightly. Turning around, she looked surprised to find Ginny Weasley looking pale.
"W-what do you want Weasley, I don't have time right now" the somewhat uncouth comment was not unwarranted, but surprisingly enough held little bite. Angel had other things in mind.
"I need to talk to you right now" Ginny hissed.
"Weasley - I don't"
"It's about Harry!"
Angel stopped struggling as she was being pulled by Ginny into a quiet classroom. This was out of character, but clearly their history knew that this was serious, both felt it in the air around them. Once they had the privacy, Ginny let her go and crossed her arms.
"Umbridge got ahold of Harry"
Whatever Angel was expecting, that phrase did not even seem to be possible. How? She had seen them but ten minutes ago, or was it longer? Clearly her confusion gave Ginny enough understanding that she was not arguing and willing to listen.
"It was right after you left, Harry had been fighting very loudly with Ron and Hermione and how he couldn't just wait for you. And- and I heard them, so Luna and I walked in, heard the gist and agreed to help. Well, I don't need to tell you that the plan was all over the place and well..Umbridge got him in his office" her red hair accentuated her shakiness all the more.
"H-he's such an idiot!" she breathed out, leaning against the desk in shock. "Did he talk to Sirius at all?"
Ginny shook her head.
"I doubt it, when he was caught by Umbridge, he was yelling all kinds of nonsense about Padfoot and I-I managed to sneak out. Malfoy was too joyful about catching Harry to even notice"
Despite their conversation it was clear that they were not friends, especially as she seemed to mention her brother's name in disgust. Still Angel would not engage in a meaningless argument, no instead she needed to start gathering people; if Harry was not able to save Sirius, she was not going to simply wait to get news that her father was dead.
"Weasley, I need your help" She began, in a tone that much calmer than she actually felt.
Immediately she saw Weasley cross her arms in defense; and Angel forced herself not to roll her eyes. This was not the time to be a brat, this was the time to be completely honest...and out of character in the eyes of Ginerva Weasley.
"Look...Ginny" she began, ignoring the bad taste in her mouth. "Harry must have told you what he saw...they're torturing, my dad...V-voldemort and I can't, I won't sit here waiting for Harry to save the day. I need a way to get to the Department of Mysteries and save him."
The redhead looked cautious but it was clear she was listening, and it seemed that the more that Angel spoke with sincerity, the more she was willing to listen.
"I don't expect you to sacrifice anything more than you can, but you said that Luna is in there with them and I-she.."she took a breath, "she would be one of the people who I would need. I can't always wait to be saved, lives could be lost if I wait for them, and I refuse to be a damsel. So can you please help me find a way out? I need to disapparate and see if that's true."
"Just you and me?" Ginny asked confused.
"And Neville, he wasn't with you was he?" when Ginny shook her head Angel sighed in relief. "Okay, I need to get things together because I will be damn if I lose someone else."
"Alright Malfoy, I'm in"
"Don't call me a Malfoy" Angel immediately winced. "If you can't call me Angel, call me what I am… a Black"
And for the first time in over the four years that Ginny Weasley knew Angel Malfoy, did she have respect for her. The glimmer in her eyes, her head held high, she could lead without her boyfriend.
"Fine..Black, let's start planning things out and see if we can get out of here without Umbridge catching us".
"Thanks!'
With that, the two unlikeliest of pair began to get ready to ditch the castle, with or without the Chosen one.
….
The first thing they both agreed was that they needed the rest of the team; based on the rumors around the grounds, Umbridge had run off with Hermione and Harry in a hurry towards the Forbidden forest. Lavender Brown had eagerly gossiped that Umbridge looked pleased with herself with whatever she could find and that the Inquisitor Squad had remained in the Headmaster's office. And it seemed that as soon as Neville heard Luna's name, he was already looking for Angel, ready to defend her.
"Here we are" Neville mumbled as he bent down to stare at the unlikely duo.
"So we need to get them out," Ginny said eagerly, her blood pumping. "I'm never a part of this stuff, so what do we do now?"
Angel smirked good-naturedly, her own troublemaking was getting the best of her. "Not that I like you or anything Weasley, but I heard you had the quickest, Bat-Bogey Hex in our class, now do me the favor of making sure to aim it at Draco's nose as soon as we get in."
"You serious?" Ginny looked surprised.
"Oh yes" she hissed as they snuck closer to the entrance. "I have some dungbombs, but as I give us some advantage, cover my back and make sure they get everyone out. Neville, you're good at defensive charms, so make sure we get as few scratches as possible, Weasley and I will be offensive and we'll get them out."
"You sure about this?" Neville asked again.
"Never better Neville, now the coast is clear let's go!"
The griffon statue was of no obstacle, clearly upset at Dumbledore's departure, and opened immediately when asked. So as they climbed the stairs, Ginny took the left as Neville covered her right. The curving of the stairs signaled the entrance and Angel signaled them to stop, before she could sneak forward. Taking in the scene, her blood boiled; Draco (or Blaise) had efficiently given Ron a black eye and a broken lip. Luna was near tears, as Millicent was grabbing her tightly by her blonde hair and Pansy looked proud of herself as she spoke nothing but bad things about their 'dirty blood'
"Honestly, how could Potter be as stupid as to get the two of you out there to do your dirty work? Was Angel not available" Pansy screeched giggling as Luna tried to throw a swat at her.
"You don't talk about her or Harry" Luna replied angrily. "You were terrible friends to her!"
"You shut up Loony, you should be thanking me afterall I stopped my goons from pushing you around because of my silly little sis- silly little orphan. Of course she would find other broken misfits to make her own little clique."
A kick to his shin was all he got as a response and with his outburst of anger, was enough of a signal for them to start.
"Now!" Angel yelled as she threw a dungbomb into the office.
"Oh! Draco I can't see!" Pansy screamed as the foul smelling fog seeped into the room.
Immediately Ginny threw a few hexes their way as Neville forgot all about the defensive part of their plan, as he tried to take down Blaise, only to earn himself a punch. Both Ginny and Neville made this their own duel, both letting their emotions get the best of them as they tried to save their brother and girlfriend respectively. Groaning, Angel immediately stepped in, taking the defensive portion of their plan, covering protegos, in hopes of helping them out.
"Stupefy!" she yelled as she got Blaise to freeze and fall down over Neville who was sporting a broken lip.
"Luna!" Neville rushed to her way as Millicent, as cowardly as she was, shoved Angel out of the way to get out of the chaos. Snorting at the cowardice, she immediately began to jinx the leftover Slytherins. She was furious taking in the state of Luna and Ron.
Still, she did not allow herself to get distracted as Draco threw hexes her way. It was clear he was taking this very personally, as he forgot all about the others, as his former sister, took the brunt of the duel. As if it was a dance, both threw spells at one another, neither one breaking a sweat. How many times had they done this before? Many - but never this aggressive; his spells were covered with dark tendencies, clearly signaling that Bellatrix continued to train him. She would not fall.
"Everte Statum!" He yelled.
"Stupefy!" Pansy chirped.
He had switched hands, and Pansy had then jumped in, much to her surprise and with that she was sent flying against the wall, dropping a few cat portraits with her.
"Angel!" Luna screeched in surprise.
"No" Ginny stopped her from stepping in to help. "This is her duel"
With a sharp look to her left, Angel knew that Ginny understood, this was more than protecting her friends, this was a chance to prove to Draco Malfoy that she was more than just his shadow; the outcast. She was much more.
"Impedimenta" Angel tripped Draco, and before Pansy could add anything, she swiped to aim the wand at the rest of the cat portraits hanging overhead. "Reducto!"
Immediately they exploded, the ashes flying over the two Slytherin.
"Now Angel!" Ron signaled her.
"Petrificus Totalus!" And with that both had fallen.
Breathing heavily, she forced herself to get up, allowing Neville to help her up. She barely got to dust herself off before Luna was launching herself to her for a hug. As the girls reunited, they could not get distracted from what was happening.
"Ron do you know where they could have gone?" she asked. "If you don't I'm going to save my dad, with or without Harry."
"No idea, but we have to return their wands. We can't leave them out there without them"
"Let's see what Umbridge has stashed, I'm sure they could prove to be useful!" Ginny suggested and rushed to rummage through things.
Angel sighed; it was too dangerous, but Ginny was right. So with the weight of her father's life in her hands, she rushed them to get items together before they went into the Forbidden forest.
…
They were safe, and Umbridge was gone; Angel felt her shoulders relax if only for a moment. It hadn't been hard to find Harry and Hermione in the forest as whatever was following them had cleared a few trees. With a few lighting spells, they were reunited; now that it was done, she had tried to use the mirror to communicate but no one answered. The pit of her stomach sank more and more. There was no use, all she cared to find was a way to get to the Department of Mysteries.
As she walked back to the group clearly they had chatted a bit talking over the possibilities.
"Well, weʹll have to fly, wonʹt we?" Luna smiled calmly, a fierce determination in her gaze.
"Okay," said Harry irritably, rounding on her. "First of all, ʺweʺ arenʹt doing anything if youʹre including yourself in that, and second of all, Ronʹs the only one with a broomstick that isnʹt being guarded by a security troll, so ‐"
"Well, Iʹve got a broom!" said Ginny pointing at the one she had collected.
"Yeah, that's well and good, but youʹre not coming," Ron replied angrily.
"Excuse me, but I care what happens to Sirius as much as you do!" said Ginny, her jaw set so that her resemblance to Fred and George was suddenly striking. "I helped Black out to get you two, I'm not totally hopeless!"
"Youʹre too ‐"Harry began.
Ginny fiercely interrupted, "Iʹm three years older than you were when you fought You‐Know‐Who over the Stone, and itʹs because of me that Malfoyʹs stuck back in Umbridgeʹs office with giant flying bogies attacking him. I was the one that Black found out about your stupid plan! T-together we got Ron and Luna out!"
"Still!" Harry argued.
"We were all in the DA together," Neville quietly protested. "It was all supposed to be about fighting You‐Know‐Who, wasnʹt it? And this is the first chance weʹve had to do something real ‐ or was that all just a game or something?"
"No — of course it wasnʹt ‐" said Harry impatiently.
"We're going," Angel interrupted. "Neville, Ginny, Luna, they were so helpful in getting us to you, and they care about this just as much, as you do."
"You are definitely not going, it's too dangerous and I-won't I can't have you going" He protested grabbing her shoulders. "I can't protect you when we're there "
"Then we should come too," said Neville simply. "I'll protect her and as she said we want to help."
His quiet courage earned a grin from Angel. That was her best friend, and with Luna they were going to kick ass, she just knew it.
"Thatʹs right," said Luna, smiling happily.
"You cannot change our mind, Harry"
Harryʹs eyes met Ronʹs. He knew Ron was thinking exactly what he was: if he could have chosen any members of the DA, in addition to himself, Ron, Hermione and Angel, to join him in the attempt to rescue Sirius, he would not have picked Ginny, Neville or Luna.
"Well, it doesnʹt matter, anyway," said Harry through gritted teeth, "because we still donʹt know how to get there ‐"
"I thought weʹd settled that," said Luna somewhat amused. "Weʹre flying!"
"Look," Ron began, barely containing his anger, "you might be able to fly without a broomstick but the rest of us canʹt sprout wings whenever we ‐"
"Don't be silly Ron, there are ways of flying other than with broomsticks," said Luna serenely.
"Iʹsʹpose weʹre going to ride on the back of the Kacky Snorgle or whatever it is?" Ron demanded.
"Don't talk to her like that" Angel hissed.
"The Crumple‐Horned Snorkack canʹt fly," Luna protested in a dignified voice, "but they can," she said pointing behind Harry, "and Hagrid says theyʹre very good at finding places their riders are looking for."
Harry whirled round. Standing between two trees, their white eyes gleaming eerily, were two Thestrals, watching the whispered conversation as though they understood every word,
"Yes!" he whispered, moving towards them. They tossed their reptilian heads, throwing back long black manes, and Harry stretched out his hand eagerly and patted the nearest oneʹs shining neck; how could he ever have thought them ugly?
"Is it those mad horse things?"said Ron uncertainty, staring at a point slightly to the left of the Thestral Harry was patting. Those ones you canʹt see unless youʹve watched someone snuff it?"
"Yeah," said Harry.
"How many?"
"Just two."
"Well, we need three," said Hermione, who was still looking a little shaken, but determined just the same.
"Five, Hermione," Ginny, scowled.
"I think there are seven of us, actually," said Luna calmly, counting to make sure.
"Donʹt be stupid, we canʹt all go!" said Harry angrily. "Look, you three ‐" he pointed at Neville, Ginny and Luna, "Youʹre not involved in this," he moved towards Angel "youʹre not coming, I won't let you. I promised‐" His scar gave another, more painful, twinge forcing him to pause.
"You made promises and I made my own. And I told you I was fighting by your side until I couldn't anymore. And I'm more than capable. So we need seven, or six and I'll take the damn broom. But we are wasting time"
"Okay fine, itʹs your choice," he said curtly very upset at her questioning him, "but unless we can find more Thestrals youʹre not going to be able ‐"
"Oh, more of them will come," said Ginny confidently, who like Ron was squinting in quite the wrong direction, apparently under the impression that she was looking at the horses.
"What makes you think that?" Ron asked.
"Because, in case you hadnʹt noticed, you and Hermione are both covered in blood," Luna added coolly, "and we know Hagrid lures Thestrals with raw meat. Thatʹs probably why these two turned up in the first place."
"Okay, then," Harry grinned a bright idea occurring, "Ron and I will take these two and go ahead, and Hermione can stay here with you three and sheʹll attract more Thestrals ‐"
"Iʹm not staying behind!" Hermione protested furiously.
"Thereʹs no need," said Luna, smiling. "Look, come more now... you two must really smell…"
Harry turned: no fewer than six or seven Thestrals were picking their way through the trees, their great leathery wings folded tight to their bodies, their eyes gleaming through the darkness. He had no excuse now.
"All right," he said angrily, "pick one and get on, then."
Angel smiled and squeezed Harry's hand for a moment, a clear attempt to calm him down. And while he was very worried, he knew that she could take care of herself if she really needed to.
So with Luna's help, she climbed side-saddle style and gripped where Luna pointed to her. A part of her was relieved that she could not see them, yet her heart hurt wondering why Luna could clearly see it.
…
They were faster than she thought; she gripped tightly, feeling her face red with the cold wind hitting against them. The creatures flew in a sync formation and she found herself sliding forward, feeling the invisible creature before her sliding forward making her body against the hard creature making her fly faster.
"I know you're beautiful" she whispered softly, in a location she assumed was her ear. "Thank you for helping us darling"
She swore the speed picked up faster than before, so much so that she caught up to Harry's. They made eye contact and she found herself, smiling, scared, unsure yet adrenaline rushing through.
"We can do this" She yelled over the skies, wondering if the wind would even let the words be heard. His eyes were sad but he nodded; both of them had too much to lose.
…
Angel hated bureaucracy. It seemed so silly that they got batches and allowed in as if this was a simple outing. She remembered when she was young, when her father would bring her in the office, introducing her to the good families and showing her how amazing they were. This was 180 from what she was used to, but she was comfortable leading them to the location that was in Harry's memories.
"Okay, listen," Harry began as soon as they reached the door. "Maybe… maybe a couple of people should stay here as a — as a lookout, and ‐"
"And howʹre we going to let you know somethingʹs coming?" asked Ginny, her eyebrows raised.
"She's right, you could be miles away and not hear us." Angel whispered.
"Weʹre coming with you, Harry," said Neville.
"Letʹs get on with it," said Ron firmly.
"Let's go"
With that they entered, their eyes struggling to take the room in, but there was no use; everything in here was black including the floor and ceiling; identical, unmarked, handleless black doors were set at intervals all around the black walls, interspersed with branches of candles whose flames burned blue; their cool, shimmering light reflected in the shining marble floor made it look as though there was dark water underfoot.
"Someone shut the door," Harry muttered.
"No, don't-" Angel protested but it was too late, Neville closed it behind them.
Angel regretted this decision the moment Neville had obeyed it. Without the long chink of light from the torchlit corridor behind them, the place became so that for a moment the only things they could see were the bunches of shivering blue flames on the walls and their ghostly reflections in the floor.
She slid her hands in the dark to find Harry's who immediately gripped hers in return. She was tapping his hand two times, asking him where they were going, but it was clear that he was unsure about where to go. Even in her vision of his memories, the light was a lot darker here than what they had seen and it was clear that he was scared.
"Where do we go, then, Harry?"Ron asked.
"I donʹt ‐" Harry began. He swallowed. "In the dreams I went through the door at the end of the corridor from the lifts into a dark room ‐ thatʹs this one ‐ and then I went through another door into a room that kind of... glitters. We should try a few doors," he said hastily,
"Iʹll know the right way when I see it. Cʹmon."
Slowly, they moved forward. He marched straight at the door now facing him, the others following close behind him, set his left hand against its cool, shining surface, raised his wand ready to strike the moment it opened, and pushed. It swung open easily and Angel's stomach clenched.
After the darkness of the first room, the lamps hanging low on golden chains from this ceiling gave the impression that this long rectangular room was much brighter, though there were no glittering, shimmering lights as Harry had seen in his dreams. The place was quite empty except for a few desks and, in the very middle of the room, an enormous glass tank of deep green liquid, big enough for all of them to swim in; a number of pearly‐white objects were drifting around lazily in it.
"Whatʹre those things?" whispered Neville.
"Dunno," Harry admitted.
"Are they fish?"breathed Ginny.
"Aquavirius Maggots!" said Luna excitedly. "Dad said the Ministry were breeding —"
"No," said Hermione.
She sounded odd. She moved forward to look through the side of the tank.
"Theyʹre brains." Angel whispered.
"Brains?"
"Yes... I wonder what theyʹre doing with them?" Hermione asked.
Harry joined her at the tank. Sure enough, there could be no mistake now he saw them at close quarters. Glimmering eerily, they drifted in and out of sight in the depths of the green liquid, looking something like slimy cauliflowers.
"Letʹs get out of here," said Harry. "This isnʹt right, we need to try another door."
"There are doors here, too," said Ron, pointing around the walls.
Angel's heart sank; how big was this place?
"In my dream I went through that dark room into the second one," Harry said. "I think we should go back and try from there."
So they hurried back into the dark, circular room; the ghostly shapes of the brains were now swimming before Harryʹs eyes instead of the blue candle flames.
"Wait!" said Hermione sharply, as Luna made to close the door of the brain room behind them. "Flagrate!"
She drew with her wand in midair and a fiery ʹXʹ appeared on the door. No sooner had the door clicked shut behind them than there was a great rumbling, and once again the wall began to revolve very fast, but now there was a great red‐gold blur in amongst the faint blue and, when all became still again, the fiery cross still burned, showing the door they had already tried.
"Good thinking," said Harry. "Okay... letʹs try this one ‐"
Again, he strode directly at the door facing him and pushed it open, his wand still raised, the others at his heels.
This room was larger than the last, dimly lit and rectangular, and the centre of it was sunken, forming a great stone pit some twenty feet deep. They were standing on the topmost tier of what seemed to be stone benches running all around the room and descending in steep steps like an amphitheater, or the courtroom in which Harry had been tried by the Wizengamot.
Instead of a chained chair, however, there was a raised stone in the centre of the pit, on which stood a stone archway that looked so ancient, cracked and crumbling that Harry was amazed the thing was still standing. Unsupported by any surrounding wall, the archway was hung with a tattered black curtain or veil which, despite the complete stillness of the cold surrounding air, was fluttering very slightly as though it had just been touched.
"Whoʹs there?" said Harry, jumping down on to the bench below. There was no answering voice, but the veil continued to flutter and sway.
"Careful!" Angel whispered.
Harry scrambled down the benches one by one until he reached the stone bottom of the sunken pit. His footsteps echoed loudly as he walked slowly towards the veils. The pointed archway looked much taller from where he now stood than it had when heʹd been looking down on it from above. Still the veil swayed gently, as though somebody had just passed through it.
"Sirius?" Harry spoke again, but more quietly now that he was nearer.
"Harry please" she whispered in hopes of shushing him.
…
Something was wrong with Harry; she noticed the way his eyes glazed over, not even listening to her as she whispered to him. She did not dare say another peep and as she turned to gaze towards Hermione, it was clear she was scared, so much so she wasn't paying attention to what was going on. And whatever it was, it felt like this was in the wrong room. Standing up straighter she looked over to the rest of the group that it was clear that they were waiting for a signal to move forward.
"We need to leave this room, something's wrong" she said clearer now. "We need to leave, come on Harry"
Bending down she noticed he was not even looking her way; so she leaned forward, attempting to hold him tight.
"Okay" he said, but did not move at all.
"What are you saying?" he said, very loudly, so that his words echoed all around the stone benches.
"Harry shush" she hissed, scared and looking all around the room. They were being too loud.
"Nobodyʹs talking, Harry!" said Hermione, now moving over to him.
"Quiet Hermione!" she hissed in return.
"Someoneʹs whispering behind there," he said, moving out of her reach and continuing to frown at the veil. "Is that you, Ron?"
"Canʹt anyone else hear it?" Harry demanded "There's whispering a-and" he whipped to face her "can't you hear it Angel?"
"N-no Harry" she whispered.
"I can hear them too," breathed Luna, joining them around the side of the archway and gazing at the swaying veil. "There are people in there!"
"What do you mean, ʺin thereʺ?" demanded Hermione, jumping down from the bottom step and sounding much angrier than the occasion warranted, ʹthere isnʹt any ʺin thereʺ, itʹs just an archway, thereʹs no room for anybody to be there.
"We need to concentrate -Harry, stop it, let's go" Angel grabbed his arm and pulled, but he resisted.
"Harry, we are supposed to be here for Sirius!" Hermione said in a high‐pitched, strained voice.
"Sirius,"Harry repeated, still gazing, mesmerized, at the continuously swaying veil. "Yeah…"
Whatever he heard or did not hear, he immediately turned to face them and he nodded somewhat confused. He intertwined their fingers again and she sighed in relief as they moved away. But what was clear, Ginny and Neville were staring, apparently entranced, at the veil too. Without speaking, Hermione took hold of Ginnyʹs arm, Ron grabbed Nevilleʹs, and they marched them firmly back to the lowest stone bench and clambered all the way back up to the door.
…
Two rooms and still nothing was looking anywhere near to what she had seen in Harry's vision. She did not want to seem frustrated, but her anxiety had risen and she was not prepared for what they would end up seeing if they were too late. The grip on her wand must have shown something, as Ginny, squeezed her shoulder, in a friendly manner, signaling she understood. Both nodding, they followed the rest of the group as Harry seemed to be picking up the pace.
They were there, they had found the place: high as a church and full of nothing but towering shelves covered in small, dusty, glass orbs. They glimmered dully in the light issuing from more candle‐brackets set at intervals along the shelves. Like those in the circular room behind them, their flames were burning blue. The room was very cold.
"Keep your wands ready,"Harry softly muttered.
Slowly the message was sent to everyone else in a hush whisper.
"We should split into groups, to have each other's backs" she whispered, and Luna followed as they split into two groups.
"Ninety‐seven!" whispered Hermione.
They stood grouped around the end of the row, gazing down the alley beside it.
There was nobody there.
"Heʹs right down at the end," said Harry, whose mouth had become slightly dry. "You canʹt see properly from here."
Hermione, Ron and Luna followed lead, while Angel, Neville and Ginny were a few steps behind. She swore the moment she heard the numbered hall, that her blood started pumping faster.
"He should be near here," whispered Harry, voice nonetheless confident. "Anywhere here... really close…"
"Harry?" Hermione said tentatively, but he was not responding .
"Somewhere about... here…" he said.
Angel signaled her group to hold their wands in defense just in case and they waited a few feet behind, wishing to be more hidden, but failing as the lights seemed to follow their movement.
They had reached the end of the row and emerged into more dim candlelight. There was nobody there. All was echoing, dusty silence.
"He might be…" Harry whispered hoarsely, peering down the next alley. "Or maybe…" He hurried to look down the one beyond that.
"Harry?" said Hermione again.
"What?" he snarled.
"I... I donʹt think Sirius is here."
…
Disappointment and relief flooded her senses when they realized Sirius had yet to arrive. She leaned against the bookshelf in relief, and closed her eyes for just a moment. Maybe this was one time that Harry's vision was wrong, and they had done all of this in vain. And honestly, that did not bother her one bit so long as he was safe.
"Black - come on" Ginny whispered as she signaled that Harry had moved on staring at something a few halls down.
As they followed, the frowned realizing that her boyfriend was going to do something reckless.
"Harry, I donʹt think you should touch it," said Hermione sharply, as he stretched out his hand.
"Why not?" he said. "Itʹs something to do with me, isnʹt it?"
"Donʹt, Harry,"said Luna suddenly.
Harry looked at her. Luna's face was shining slightly with sweat her eyes showing a sense of determination as she stared at the sphere.
"Itʹs got my name on," said Harry.
Before she could utter a word though, he did what they all warned him not to do. Black shapes were emerging out of thin air all around them, blocking their way left and right; eyes glinted through slits in hoods, a dozen lit wand tips were pointing directly at their hearts; Ginny gave a gasp of horror before Angel covered her mouth and pulled her closer to the shadows, Neville naturally following.
"Very good, Potter. Now turn around, nice and slowly, and give that to me."
Angel recognized the voice, and she found herself feeling it break all over again as she realized it was Lucius Malfoy. Her insides plummeted sickeningly. They were trapped, and outnumbered two to one. And the man who would bring their downfall? Her adoptive father.
"Whereʹs Sirius?" Harry said.
Several of the Death Eaters laughed; a harsh female voice from the midst of the shadowy figures to Harryʹs left said triumphantly,
"The Dark Lord always knows!"
"Always," echoed Malfoy softly. "Now, give me the prophecy Potter."
"I want to know where Sirius is!"
"I want to know where Sirius is" mimicked the woman to her father's left.
The voice, high pitched and raspy was enough to signal that it was her aunt who was just jumping for joy at the idea of having them in their midst.
"Youʹve got him," said Harry, "Heʹs here. I know he is."
Angel closed her eyes tightly as her chest constricted. He was scared, her hero was scared and they were surrounded, completely at the mercy of her family and all he could ask was still about Sirius.
"The little baby woke up fwightened and thought what it dweamed was twoo," Bellatwix mocking him in her disgusting baby voice.
Angel ducked down as Ron looked ready to fight.
"Donʹt do anything," Harry muttered. "Not yet ‐"
Bellatrix let out a raucous scream of laughter that chilled her to her core.
"You hear him? You hear him? Giving instructions to the other children as though he thinks of fighting us!"
"Oh, you donʹt know Potter as I do, Bellatrix," Lucius said softly. "He has a great weakness for heroics; the Dark Lord understands this about him. Now give me the prophecy, Potter."
"I know Sirius is here," said Harry panic starting to show in his voice.
More of the Death Eaters laughed, though Bellatrix laughed loudest of all.
"Itʹs time you learned the difference between life and dreams, Potter," Lucius continued. "Now give me the prophecy, or we start using wands."
"Go on, then," said Harry, raising his own wand to chest height.
As he did so, the three wands of Ron, Hermione and Luna, rose on either side of him. Ginny and Neville were about to do the same but Angel lifted her hand signaling them not to. If she was perfectly honest, she did not want to fight her father, the person she loved more than anything. But another part of her knew, that the more in the background they remained, the better for a strike, even if a weak one. Thankfully the Death Eaters did not strike.
"Hand over the prophecy and no one need get hurt," her father said coolly.
And Harry had the gall to laugh.
"Yeah, right!" he said. "I give you this ‐ prophecy, is it? And youʹll just let us skip off home, will you?"
The words were hardly out of his mouth before Bellatrix shrieked:
"Accto proph—"
Harry was just ready for her: he shouted ʹProtego!ʹ before she had finished her spell, and though the glass sphere slipped to the tips of his fingers he managed to cling on to it.
"Oh, he knows how to play, little bitty baby Potter," she said, her mad eyes staring through the slits in her hood. "Very well, then ‐"
"I TOLD YOU, NO!" Lucius roared at the woman. "If you smash it ‐!"
"You need more persuasion?" she said, her chest rising and falling rapidly. "Very well ‐ take the smallest one," she ordered the Death Eaters beside her. "Let him watch while we torture the little girl. Iʹll do it."
Angel felt her heart constricted as the Death Eaters were approaching Luna. She wanted to scream, to tell them to torture her instead, but Harry stepped sideways so that he was right in front of Luna, the prophecy held up to his chest.
"Youʹll have to smash this if you want to attack any of us," he told Bellatrix. "I donʹt think your boss will be too pleased if you come back without it, will he?"
She did not move; she merely stared at him, the tip of her tongue moistening her thin mouth.
"So," said Harry, "what kind of prophecy are we talking about, anyway?"
"What kind of prophecy?" repeated Bellatrix, the grin fading from her face. "You jest, Harry Potter."
"ʹNope, not jesting," said Harry, "How come Voldemort wants it?"
Several of the Death Eaters let out low hisses.
"You dare speak his name?" whispered Bellatrix.
"Yeah," said Harry, maintaining his tight grip on the glass ball, expecting another attempt to bewitch it from him. "Yeah, Iʹve got no problem with saying Vol—"
"Shut your mouth!" Bellatrix shrieked. "You dare speak his name with your unworthy lips, you dare besmirch it with your half‐bloodʹs tongue, you dare ‐"
"Did you know heʹs a half‐blood too?" said Harry recklessly. And Angel's heart clenched. "Voldemort? Yeah, his mother was a witch but his dad was a Muggle ‐ or has he been telling you lot heʹs pure‐blood?"
With a screech a jet of red light had shot from the end of Bellatrix's wand, but her father had thankfully deflected it; his spell caused hers to hit the shelf a foot to the left of Harry and several of the glass orbs there shattered.
"We can't just sit here" Ginny whispered, we need to do something.
"DO NOT ATTACK! WE NEED THE PROPHECY!"
Both girls winced at the volume of the voices shrieking, but Angel was not surprised, Bellatrix was known to never follow the rules. Grabbing their hands she ducked them down and tried to come up with a plan.
"I need someone to try to sneak out, anywhere out there, a window, an opening, something. I need a signal to go out, to get the order here. Can one of you please do that" she whispered softly.
"We can't just leave them" Ginny's eyes began to water.
"I know," Angel replied, her hand squeezing the redhead's. "But even if we train for years, we can't just take them on without the real Order. So can you please do that for me Ginny? Can you try to find an exit and signal them to come?"
Brown eyes took in brown eyes and as if they made a pact, Ginny nodded. She pulled Angel into a hug, muttered to please save her brother and she was off, taking advantage of her small size to try and find a way out. Angel quietly prayed, hoping she could do that and she turned to find Neville sweating bullets.
"Neville, look at me" she slapped his cheek lightly. "We need to take advantage of this moment okay?"
He nodded somewhat distracted but it was all Angel needed to know he was listening.
"Do you see those prophecies? Let's break those spheres as a distraction, and hopefully they can run. Can you help me Neville?" He looked unsure but her fierce determination somehow made him sit straighter up and nod.
With a quick handshake in agreement, they slid closer, taking advantage of the way Bellatrix's devotion for her Dark Lord would delay the inevitable. Clearly Harry was letting them talk, his eyes trailing from bookshelf to bookshelf, looking for an out. And when green eyes met brown, he knew they might have an out. With a quick smile, Angel took out her hand in the light, signaling five seconds.
Five
Four
Three
Two
One
"Now Neville" she hissed and threw the leftover dungbombs and fireworks towards the Death Eaters as Neville stood overhead and yelled "Reducto!"
The chaos began and as the spheres began to fall the teens began to rush through the halls, Neville and Angel taking advantage of being unseen by running three bookshelves away yelling Reducto in hopes of ensuring confusion.
But in the chaos of it all, they lost the big group. She was confused in the chaos and was struck down by a tall lanky man, who was ready to hit her had Neville not stupefied him and pulled her along.
"Left!" He yelled, grabbing her hand, taking advantage of his long legs and pulling her into a darkened room and locked the door. She was shaking, but thanking her lucky stars that Neville had kept his promise of protecting her when Harry could not. Now she could only hope Ginny had gotten enough of a head start to get the help they desperately needed.
ʹStand aside!ʹ said a rough voice. ʹAlohomora!ʹ
As the door flew open the pair dove under desks. They could see the bottom of the two Death Eatersʹ robes drawing nearer, their feet moving rapidly.
"They might have run straight through to the hall," said the rough voice.
"Check under the desks," said another.
Angel saw the knees of the Death Eaters bend; poking his wand out from under the desk, she shouted, "STUPEFY!"
A jet of red light hit the nearest Death Eater; he fell backwards into a grandfather clock and knocked it over; the second Death Eater, however, had leapt aside to avoid her spell and was pointing his own wand at Neville in return.
"Avada ‐"
Angel thought little as she launched herself across the floor and pounced on the Death Eater around the kneck, causing him to choke and his aim to go awry. Neville pointed his wand wildly struggling to help and in his anxiety to help; he cried.
"EXPELLIARMUS!"
Both Angel's and the Death Eaterʹs wands flew out of their hands and soared back towards the entrance to the Hall of Prophecy; both scrambled to their feet and charged after them, the Death Eater in front, Angel hot on his heels, and Neville bringing up the rear, plainly horror struck by what he had done.
"ʹGet out of the way, Angel, I got this!" yelled Neville, clearly determined to repair the damage.
She nodded and rolled, as he took aim more determined this time.
"STUPEFY!"
Neville's aim was off as the jet of red light flew right over the Death Eaterʹs shoulder and hit the cabinet but as it shattered, glass flew everywhere. The Death Eater had snatched up his wand, while Angel was disoriented by the sparkling powder that fell over them.
As best she could she looked for her wand, trying to point, but shaking to defend herself before he attacked him. Thankfully before he could utter a word:
"STUPEFY!" screamed Hermione, who had just caught up with them. The jet of red light hit the Death Eater in the middle of his chest: he froze, his arm still raised, his wand fell to the floor with a clatter and he collapsed backwards.
Hermione, bent down to help Angel up and shook her a bit to get her conscious while Harry seemed to have found them as well and hugged her in relief.
"We're missing Ginny, Ron and Luna," he cried.
"I asked Ginny to get help!" Angel replied as they began to run, "before the distraction, I hope she made it out in time."
There was a shout from a room nearby, then a crash and a scream. The four paused trying to pinpoint the location.
"RON?! LUNA?!"
"This way" Hermione yelled and they rushed to the left.
…
"IMPEDIMENTA!"
That was the last thing that Angel remembered before she was thrown overhead and onto a bookshelf that fell atop of her. She was lucky as a desk prevented it from completely crushing her, yet her body was crying out in pain. It was horrible that in their rush to save the others, the two Death Eaters got the best of them, one punching Neville and one knocking Hermione out cold with a spell. Yet Harry in his anger managed to take them all down.
Neville and Harry rushed over to help Hermione, while Angel took advantage of her size by wiggling out of the bookshelf on her own.
"What did he do to her?" said Neville slurred, blood streaming from his rapidly swelling nose.
"I- I dunno" Harry's voice was pained.
As best she could Angel bent down and took the pulse of Hermione. She was unconscious, but it was clear there was a pulse. Sighing in relief she sat back and look at the boys who looked so lost.
"She's alive. Neville, I think the exit is that way. Please take her with you, we can't risk her being here like this without someone checking up on her. Maybe you can find someone and they can send help"
But Neville shook his head. "No, I promised I would protect you, and Luna, she's out there I can't leave her behind."
"I'll stay with Harry okay? I need you to go, I need your help or else we won't get out at all. Someone needs to know what's happening and I trust you"
He looked heartbroken but nodded, shoving his broken wand into his pocket and picking up Hermione as best he could. With one solemn look he looked at Harry signaling him to take care of Angel before he shuffled with Hermione towards the possible exit.
"It was a good idea, it wasn't safe" Harry whispered, gripping her shoulder.
"I know" her eyes watered. "If anything happens, at least I can live with us saving two lives" Turning over to face him, she gripped his hand tightly.
"You are not leaving me behind Potter, you go that? You and me, till the end"
Both pulled one another into a kiss, a promise, that they could do this, they could get out and they would save their friends. They had to.