Chapter 54: Thursday, November 27, 1980

"In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable."

-Dwight D. Eisenhower


Hermione sat between Molly and Sirius as Moody began the meeting. She smiled down at the chubby, red haired baby that sat in her lap. He was giggling happily, blowing bubbles with his spit and shoving his tiny hands in his mouth as he babbled on through the meeting. Hermione bounced her knees a bit under him, keeping Ron happy as he chewed his fists.

Holding Ron forced her to focus on something other than the impending sense of doom that had taken over the meeting. Moody had confirmed that the undersecretary and junior minister were both being imperiused by an unknown party rather regularly. If the Death Eaters had infiltrated that close to the Minister himself, it was only a matter of time before the Ministry fell completely and that meant Voldemort was one step closer to taking over more points of power.

Not to mention the movement by other allies of the Death Eaters that had begun creating disturbances and now, Inferi were being spotted as well. As the days continued and the weeks dragged on, the tensions were growing ever tighter. Hermione could feel it now just as clearly as she could at the tender age of eighteen. Soon, the tightrope would snap and send them all tumbling to the ground in a mass of broken limbs and bleeding soldiers.

As she listened to the rest of the Order discuss what to do about the Ministry and the sighting of other creatures and beings, she jotted down notes to keep track of the meeting. It wasn't until Moody began talking about the Ministry taking siege of the Dementors that her ears perked up and she turned to face him.

"The Ministry is taking them in?" Hermione asked, "How do we know for sure."

"The Department of the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures has begun the early stages of writing a registration for them," Kingsley said. "I have no idea how they plan on keeping track of which one is which, but if they're planning on registering the creatures, I'm assuming they have them detained somewhere."

"But you don't know where?"

"No," Kingsley said, shaking his head slightly.

"We have speculation, however." Arthur began, "The Centaur Liaison office, is just off the back of the Spirit Division of Regulations. It was moved there years ago, shortly after being established, once the Ministry realized the Centaurs wanted nothing to do with us. It's a large room, full of rubbish, mostly. But lately Garrick Halloway, one of the maintenance wizards I've become friends with, told me that there's been a lot of strange activity in the spirit division."

"It's the Spirit Division, mate. Isn't there always strange activity there?" Sirius laughed.

"Not like this," Arthur said, ignoring the joke. "They've put some massively strong wards up. Garrick isn't even allowed in the Spirit Division anymore, they've warded the entire office. Two weeks ago the old bloke that ran the Spirit Division retired."

"Who took over?" Dorcas asked.

"Magnus Mulciber," Arthur said.

"Mulciber?" Hermione said, clutching Ron a little tighter in her lap as she straightened her back up a bit. "He's a confirmed Death Eater, isn't he?"

"Bloody high ranking one too, if you ask me." Edgar said. "Mulciber's been funding this grand take over for at least twenty years."

"Arthur, you're sure?" Moody said.

"Absolutely. Garrick knows all the ins and outs of the Ministry. Quiet, nice bloke. Minds his own business and keeps his nose down, and no one ever thinks to muffle their conversations around him because well, he's just a janitor isn't he? Shows how much they know."

"He can't get past the wards though?" Sirius asked.

"I seriously doubt it."

"I can," Hermione said, looking up at Moody. "I'm certain I'd be able to get through them."

"Problem is, it's at the Ministry. We work there, and we have to watch our backs!" Kingsley said.

"I can handle it," Hermione pressed. "I can get in. We need to figure out what's happening to the people being taken and the Dementors being created. Even to just observe them for a short time could give us answers. Let me do this!" Hermione was not above begging at this point.

The opportunity to find where they were detaining the Dementors, while terrifying, was also her ticket to see if the people who had yet to transform were also being held hostage until their transformations happened. And if they were, if they were present as well, it would at the very least, give Hermione an idea of what to expect should she not be able to figure out a counter curse before the time came.

"You can't go alone," Moody finally conceded.

"I'll go-

"You will not!" Molly interrupted Arthur. "We have six children at home! You can't go risking your neck carelessly around creatures we know nothing about!"

"She's right," Benjy said. "I can get you in, but someone else should still go with you."

"I'll do it," Sirius said.

"No," Moody said. "Absolutely not. Are you out of your damn mind? The last time the two of you-

"The last time we were on a mission together there were a dozen children about to be slaughtered," Sirius said. "You don't have to agree to let me go. I'll go anyway."

"Sirius you don't have to-

"I promised Moony I'd look after you, kitten. You're my responsibility and I'd rather not have to tell Remus that you went and got yourself killed while he was out there making allies for us." Sirius whispered, raising an eyebrow to her. He raised his voice again and looked up at Moody, "If you don't let me go, I'll transform into Padfoot, piss on your shoes and go anyway."

Moody's good eye narrowed while the large, blue, magical eye whirled around in it's socket and stared at Sirius. Finally, Moody grumbled out a begrudged agreement and they began discussing the details.

Tomorrow morning, Sirius and Hermione would meet with Benjy Fenwick and use the public entrance into the Ministry. Once they arrived they were on their own. Benjy served only the purpose to get them into the Ministry's atrium where it was nearly impossible to get to if you didn't work there, now. Since the Death Eaters had begun their infiltration, the Ministry had been held under lock and key- monitoring every movement by every witch or wizard that stepped foot inside.

Thankfully, this was not the first time Hermione had broken into the Ministry. She was familiar with where the offices were, though it had been some time since she had been there, she was sure she could figure it out. It was too important not to; her life quite literally depended on it.

Sirius had agreed to stay at her cottage that night so they could work out the plans for the next day. The moment they apparated back into her living room, Hermione rounded on Sirius, "I need you to go to James and get the Invisibility Cloak."

Sirius' face paled, his eyes growing wide before he cleared his throat, "I uh.. I don't know what-

"Don't give me that rubbish!" Hermione snapped, "We need it. Go tell him it's important and get the cloak."

"How do you-"

Hermione folded her arms over her chest and stared at him, an eyebrow arched up.

"Right," Sirius said, bobbing his head. "The future… Hang on!" He turned back around from the front door to stare at her, "If you know about the cloak.. You knew Harry didn't you?!"

Hermione just pressed her lips in a thin line, not answering but not denying the question. "Go get the cloak."


Friday, November 28, 1980

It had taken some convincing on Sirius' part, but James had eventually been kind enough to lend them his cloak. Once it was secured, Sirius asked Hermione why they needed the cloak and couldn't just use a disillusionment charm. She explained that with the right lighting or on the off chance there were wards up that prevented charmed persons from entering, they would be found out. But the Cloak of Invisibility was just that- complete invisibility. And since it wasn't a charm altering the appearance of the wearer, it would ensure that even if there were traps laid to reveal anyone who had been made invisible with a disillusionment, the cloak would continue to offer them coverage.

"So we've established you knew Harry," Sirius said, taking a sip from his coffee as they worked out the plan again. "But why are you so interested in the Dementors? I remember you said you knew someone who was cursed, do you think you'll find them?"

"No," Hermione said. "At least, not here."

Sirius rolled his eyes, "You know, it's hard to keep track sometimes. I forget you're not from here."

Hermione smiled, taking a bite of her toast. "I suppose that's not a bad thing."

"It isn't," Sirius agreed, leaning over to snag a few blueberries from her plate. "So who was it?"

"Don't take food off other people's plates. It's rude," Hermione huffed.

Sirius shrugged, "You didn't answer the question."

"It doesn't matter."

"Yes it does."

"No, it really doesn't."

"Yes, kitten, I think it does. Would you like to know why?"

Hermione rolled her eyes, swallowing her toast before answering. "No, not really. But I'm fairly certain you're going to tell me anyway."

Sirius smirked, "Catching on, clever girl." He leaned over, again snagging some berries from the plate and popped a few in his mouth before continuing, "It's important because people don't just run head into totally fucked up missions without a solid plan, for no reason."

"Isn't that exactly what you're doing?"

"People like you, I mean."

"People like me?" She asked, an eyebrow raised in skepticism as she took another bite of toast.

"Swots," Sirius said, as if it were the most obvious thing on the planet. "You had a plan when you came here, even if it ended up being completely fucked with the potion being wrong. Whatever that reason was that made you come up with the plan to come here, it was a good one. And it was revolving around these Dementors, people don't travel through time for just anyone."

"You're right," Hermione said, sighing and pushing the plate over to Sirius as he reached out to snag the last few berries. "But I'm not saying anymore on it. Stop asking."

"I'm very persistent, you'll find."

"I already know that."

He smirked, "Good. Now, let's get going. Gotta meet Fenwick soon."


The relief Hermione felt when she realized that she would not be made to flush herself down a public toilet was immense. Instead, they entered a telephone box where Benjy punched in 62442 to allow them entrance to the Atrium.

"Now, Arthur got ahold of Garrick last night, he'll meet us in the Atrium, just as you asked." He said, adjusting his robes a bit as the telephone booth began to shift below them.

"Sirius, put the cloak on!" Hermione said.

"Why do I-

"Because everyone knows who you are, you idiot. Just put it on!"

"Rude," Sirius grumbled, pulling the cloak over himself.

Hermione took a deep breath to calm the nerve that Sirius insisted on working this morning, and pinched the bridge of her nose. It was a talent, really, how quickly he could wind her up. She wondered if it was something pureblood families taught their children as they grew up… One hundred and one ways to aggravate the muggleborn in your life.

When they got to the Atrium, Benjy directed them toward a stall that was serving coffee and tea in paper cups. Standing next to it was a short, stocky man with a shining bald spot atop his head and a large, bushy mustache. He was wearing a set of dark blue robes that looked rather shabby and unwashed, but he greeted Hermione with a smile.

"Arthur sent you?" He asked, looking around to make sure no one was near.

"Yes, hello. My name is-

"Don't tell me your name!" The man hissed, "It's better if I don't know. Follow me!"

Garrick Halloway turned on his heel and sped off toward the lifts, leaving Hermione and Sirius several feet behind him. Hermione hurried to catch up to him before he entered the lifts.

"Weird little bloke, isn't he?" Sirius muttered.

"Shush!" Hermione said, "But...yes."

She heard Sirius stifle a laugh and she rolled her eyes again. As they closed in the space where Garrick stood, awaiting his lift, Hermione looked around for signs of anything or anyone that looked suspicious or out of place. She noticed that for a Friday morning at eight a.m., the Atrium was rather empty. She had assumed it would be bustling with activity and the stillness of it was almost eerie. They stepped into the lift and Hermione's stomach flipped as they plummeted downward, into the lower levels of the Ministry. She was suddenly rather grateful that Sirius had decided to pick through most of her breakfast, because she was certain that had she eaten all of it, it would have come back up.

Finally, the lift came to a halt and Hermione had to steady herself on the rail inside before she stepped out, her equilibrium completely off balance from the sudden stop. When the doors clanged open, the overwhelming smell of mildew hit her nostrils and the dank basement of the MInistry came into view.

"This way," Garrick said. "Come on now, follow me."

Hermione sped off behind him, following him through the bowels of the Ministry, nothing but sparse torchlight guiding their path. She grimaced as she watched a few rats run across the stone floor, chasing one another into the darkness. Despite the horror movie-esque situation she found herself in at the current moment, Hermione was not afraid. She didn't believe the wizard leading her deeper into the Ministry underground would harm her. She trusted Arthur Weasley's judgement on a person's character.

Finally, they stopped before a narrow door. Garrick whispered a series of spells and Hermione heard the lock give as the door creaked open. He ushered her inside, which was a bit awkward when she moved to the side to let Sirius pass first, feeling the cloak brush against her. If Garrick noticed, however, he said nothing. The door closed behind them with another click of the lock and Hermione heard the muffling and silencing charms muttered by the older wizard before he turned around and motioned to a seat.

The office was small, nothing more than a few flimsy looking chairs and a beat up old desk shoved into a supply cupboard, really. There were a few shelves on the wall that held a variety of trinkets and magical defence items. Hermione recognized a sneak-o-scope and a foe glass amongst several other interesting looking tools.

Garrick shoved himself behind his desk, taking a seat and muttering a warming charm over the mug sitting to his left, "You need to get into the Spirit Division."

"Yes," Hermione said. "I need uninterrupted time to break down the wards to allow entrance."

"Whatever they're doing in there, it's not normal. You can hear the screams sometimes, if they open the doors and the silencing charms are wearing thin. Whatever it is that they've got stuffed in the Centaur Liaison office is not friendly, miss. You sure you know what you're doing?"

"I'm confident in my abilities, Mr. Halloway."

"All right," he said. "Well, you picked a good day for it."

"How so?"

"Once a year there's an inspection done by the Foreign Embassy of Magical Affairs. An audit, of sorts to check that all of the foreign funding is being used for the reasons it was allocated. There's about twelve of them that come through, combing every department and they're given all access badges. They're charmed and allow them to pass through any of the interoffice wards- at least the normal ones used."

"That's why it was so quiet in the Atrium today?" Hermione asked.

"That and the fact that the Death Eaters are taking over and half the damn Ministry has gone into hiding. Muggleborns and Halfbloods both have taken up their holiday time to get the fuck away from here, pardon my language miss."

Hermione waived off the apology and continued, "So how am I to impersonate one of these inspectors? I haven't got any Polyjuice."

He smirked, "How's your french?"

She pulled her eyebrows together in confusion, shaking her head a bit. "I'm sorry, my French?"

"The French inspector is married to my cousin. Talked him out of his badge and robes early this morning, promised to let him back in late tonight so he can collect the information he needs so he doesn't get sacked, but it'll get you in."

"My French is… Not exactly the best… I know a few phrases and-

Garrick gasped and spilled his coffee down the from of his robes as Sirius pulled the invisibility cloak off of him, tossing it into Hermione's lap with a wicked grin on his face, "Je parle couramment le français et depuis que je suis enfant!"

"You've got to be joking," Hermione groaned.

"Who the fuck are you?!" Garrick shouted, jumping up from his chair and pulling his wand, pointing it as Sirius.

"Bonjour Monsieur. Je m'appelle Sirius Black. Je prendrai ces vêtements, s'il vous plaît."

"Of course you speak French," Hermione said, an irritated tone to her voice. "How do you-"

"Part of the Sacred Twenty Eight, kitten. And the second wealthiest wizarding line in Britain, I've got a world of ridiculous bullshit I had to learn growing up. I can play piano, too, if you ever need a pianist to help you on a lonely night." Sirius wiggled his eyebrows at her, a smirk seated on his face.

Hermione closed her eyes, taking in a slow breath before huffing and looking up at him. "Fine, you'll act the part, I'll break the wards."

.


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a/n: Ahh and the plot thickens.. or.. moves forward a bit at least. Let me know what you thought?

Also...

If you don't speak/read french, here's what Sirius says in order of sentences:

"I've been speaking french fluently since I was a child"

"Hello, sir. My name is Sirius Black. I'll take those robes now, please."

xo