Chapter 44 – A Day To Remember

At first, nobody moved. Not even the Minister. But eventually the Ministry man, Jenkins, managed to get Fudge up and moving, and at the sight of the Minister fleeing from the Inquisition stage, everything erupted into pure, unbridled chaos.

The Minister, his officials, and the majority of the Inquisitors simply fled towards the castle. Much of the press, too. But the students and some of the staff were sat right at the back. As the people at the front of the seating area left, they knocked over chairs and blocked the path of those behind, causing a jam. As the gardens had been arranged into a long, thin column for the ceremony, Harry saw that many of the students were stuck.

The reconfigured garden area had been turned into what was essentially a long cattle run – with the sides blocked off by enchanted hedges and bushes, and the way forward blocked by people, those are the back were stuck with little chance of escape.

Stuck right in the path of the acromantulas – and who Harry assumed were Death Eaters.

"Shit," Harry said. In the distance he could see a cluster of his friends, trapped in the crowd. He looked back up at the castle where it was safe. He could just slip away and wait for the aurors to arrive…

But his friends would be stuck in the middle of the crowd. He couldn't leave them there. Tracey and Blaise were competent duellists, but even so… And he couldn't leave it to just Blaise and Tracey to get them to safety.

Screams from the back of the crowd. The acromantulas hadn't got there yet, but the news of acromantulas on the prowl and the sight of the Minister fleeing was enough.

"Fuck's sake," Harry muttered to himself. He'd been left on the stage, none of the Inquisitors nor the Ministry officials having cared enough to pull him away. Self-serving bastards.

But that did at least mean he got to make his own choice about what to do.

Harry jumped down from the stage and pushed his way through the crowd of fleeing students and press. Some of the staff members had stuck around too, no doubt for the exact same reason as Harry had.

"You're going the wrong way, Potter!" snapped McGonagall as Harry elbowed his way through the crowd.

"Every little helps, Professor," Harry said. "And if we waste time arguing people will get eaten."

McGonagall pursed her lips but said nothing further. By then Harry had made it further into the crowd anyway, so he didn't think she'd push the issue. And he was right, anyway. Fighting against the press of the crowd was hard enough, and more than a few times Harry had to nudge someone a little more forcefully than he'd wanted.

Screams and shouts. A strange combination of frenzied rushing and a complete stand-still as the tight corridor was filled with a couple of thousand people all wanting to go the same way.

Well, all except Harry and a handful of professors.

He met Tracey, Blaise, and Millie part-way through the crowd, although the others where nowhere to be seen.

"You stupid prick!" Blaise said as Harry caught up to them. "You should have gone back to the castle!"

"Not my style," Harry said. "Where are the others?"

They'd stopped walking, but the messy flood of students kept pushing past them as quickly as it could – which to be fair, wasn't very fast. Still, they got jostled this way and that, and it was a faff even staying in one place.

Tracey looked back through the crowd and shrugged.

"Got separated," she said. "There's just so many…" She shook her head. "But Blaise is right: you should have gone back to the castle. This has to be because of him."

"I'm not going unless we're all going," Harry said. "Let's find them and get back—they can't be far."

"That's what I was saying," Millie said. She had her sleeves rolled up and her wand in hand. "We've got to find them. I'm not leaving Daph out there."

Harry craned his neck and tried to focus in on the sound of his other friends' voices, but even with his augmented hearing it was pointless. There were too many noises coming from every other direction, and while he could pick out bits and pieces of conversation, none of it let him pinpoint the others.

"Well…" Blaise said, glancing around. "I mean, look, I'm obviously going to come help find them, but I feel like someone should point out the obvious thing that it would be safer for us all to just go back to the castle. Just so it's been said and we're all making a specific choice not to do it."

"Right," Harry said. "Anyway. We should stick together, the four of us. Safer that way. Agreed?" He didn't wait for them to agree – he knew they would. Even Blaise's protestation had been token more than anything else. "So… this way!" Harry struck a course through the mass of students in search of the others.

Tracey, Blaise, and Millie followed. Harry felt good about their chances to find Daphne and the Hufflepuffs – they can't have been all that far away from Tracey and the others to begin with, and everyone was moving the same way. It was just a matter of getting there.

A firm hand grabbed Harry's shoulder and yanked him backwards. Startled, Harry squirmed around and saw it belonged to Snape.

"Absolutely not," Snape said. "This foolishness stops here."

"But—Daphne and Ernie and—" Harry said, wrenching himself free.

"Will be well attended to by the considerable number of staff members who have remained here to see to the evacuation of the students to the castle," interrupted Snape. "You, Potter—and your three accomplices—will accompany me back to the castle where it's safe."

"But Professor—" Tracey said.

"No arguments," said Snape. He had his wand in hand. "You will co-operate or I will carry you back to the castle by force. I am more than capable of transporting four teenagers under one spell. Do not test me."

Harry didn't doubt that was true. Of all the things that were said of Snape, none were about his competence as a wizard. At least not from anyone who would actually know. Harry glanced at Snape's forearm where, under his robes, he knew there would be a Dark Mark.

Whose side is he really on? Harry wondered. But then, Dumbledore seemed to whole-heartedly trust Snape, and even if Dumbledore's judgement had been questionable of late, Snape did seem to be working towards Dumbledore's goals.

"But, sir—" Millie started to say, but Snape cut her off.

"No. I do not care. You will all come with me back to the castle; the other teachers will ensure the safety of the other students," Snape said. "Now move."

From Snape's tone Harry knew he wasn't going to let it go. No doubt he had orders from Dumbledore to keep Harry, specifically, safe if anything kicked off. That Tracey, Blaise, and Millie got included was probably down to luck – whether good or bad, Harry couldn't say.

Can I get away? Harry thought. But it seemed pointless, given the flood of people and the frenzied push towards the castle. It had been hard enough getting to Tracey, and that without Snape's eyes on him.

In the end, Snape made the decision for him, grabbing him by the shoulder and shoving him in the direction of the castle. Harry fell in line. The journey back to the castle went far quicker than his push through the morass to reach his friends.

Either Snape was good at getting people to move aside, or he was casting some sort of spell… and Harry felt either scenario equally likely. But the end result was that Harry and his friends got back to the castle ahead of rather a lot of the other staff and students, while Snape ushered them through the doors.

"To the Great Hall!" he snapped as he saw the four of them linger. "Now!"

"Why? Where are you going?" Harry said, standing his ground. He'd let Snape push him back to the castle, but he wasn't going to completely roll over. He wanted some answers.

"Back out there, you idiot! If it has not escaped your admittedly limited attention there are students still in danger and it is my duty as a member of staff to protect them!" Snape said.

Harry bit back his retort. He could think of many, and none of them were helpful.

Snape glared.

"Yes, of course, Professor!" Tracey said with a squeak. "We'll go to the Great Hall! Of course we will." She grabbed Harry's arm. "Come on!"

The inside of the Great Hall was every bit as chaotic as the lawns outside the castle – although, Harry thought with a mixture of worry and relief, much safer. The four House tables were nowhere to be found, and students milled about the vast hall in varying states of hysteria. More than a few students were crying, while others seemed frozen in states of shock.

Harry knew that, as a prefect, he was expected to go put out some of the littler fires and find a teacher for the more complex issues… but he didn't want to. Not because he was lazy or cold-hearted, but because he felt there were much better uses of his time and attention.

Such as the army of giant spiders just outside the Entrance Hall doors – and the hostages they now held.

There were no chairs, so most people were stood, although Harry could spot handfuls of students here and there sitting on the floor.

"Bloody acromantulas!" one Ravenclaw boy was saying to his companion, a Gryffindor girl. "What's this about, do you think?"

"They're hungry, I suppose," the Gryffindor said. "Or Umbridge's nonsense with the Forest treaty has finally pissed them off enough."

"Could be both," said the Ravenclaw. "It's probably both."

Well, that and a healthy dollop of Death Eater stirring, Harry thought. The hooded wizards must have been Death Eaters or, if not quite Death Eaters proper, some wizards whipped up into a frenzy on behalf of them.

"D'you reckon it's an assassination attempt?" Harry said aloud to his friends as they jostled amongst the other students for a good place to stand.

"Er… do spiders assassinate people, then?" Blaise asked.

"They're not just spiders," Millie said. "Acromantulas are smart. Some people think they're smarter than people."

"Not the bloody spiders," Harry snapped, "the wizards with them!" Although Harry supposed it was technically possible for the acromantulas to have arranged for an assassination, everything Harry knew about them suggested it wasn't their style. They were highly territorial and not at all averse to killing – and eating – human trespassers, but they wouldn't usually leave their territory to launch an attack.

So the motivator had to be the wizards, and the only group of wizards Harry knew who would attack the Ministry and Hogwarts were the Death Eaters.

"I didn't know there were wizards!" Blaise said. "Was a bit busy worrying about the giant fucking spiders."

"I said there were wizards," Harry said, harsher than intended. He was getting stressed. Tetchy, his aunt would say.

He slipped some of his frustration behind an occlusion. It would have to come out later, but later was later.

"Sorry," Harry said before things could slip further into discord. "Bit stressed. Worried." He waved a hand. "You know. But there are wizards in hooded robes with them. They're slower than the acromantulas are, so I suppose that's why you didn't see them."

Harry glanced towards the Great Hall doors.

"They've definitely reached everyone by now," he said. "Hopefully they don't…"

"Eat everyone," Millie finished. "That's what they do."

A grim silence, at least amongst their little group.

"What can we do?" Tracey said. "We're stuck in here. Doubt we'll have any luck getting out—they're watching the doors."

And they were. Not only were there a handful of prefects right around the Great Hall doors, there were several Ministry officials stood there too. The Ministry contingent was elsewhere, presumably in the castle. Although there were teachers present, they didn't seem particularly coordinated, standing around in small groups dispersed throughout the Great Hall.

The doors to the Entrance Hall opened occasionally as a couple of students managed to get back to the castle, but Harry doubted that would remain the case for long. If nothing else, the acromantulas would eat them and there would be no one left to escape.

Harry shrugged.

"Not much we can do, really," he said. It felt defeatist, but he'd gone over the problem in his head and it was true. Stuck in the Great Hall there was little they could do to help their friends, let alone the wider situation. Harry opened his mouth to elaborate, but he was interrupted by a new arrival.

"You lot got back!" Justin said, joining their group. "I got separated from the others—tried looking but got caught by McGonagall. Made me come back with Ms Gamp."

"Where's Daph?" Millie asked at once. "Did you see?"

Justin shook his head.

"No. Sorry."

"And Ernie—and Susan?" asked Tracey. "No luck?"

"What's it like out there?" Harry asked, interrupting. He had the seeds of a plan forming, but they'd need to be quick – quick enough that there were still stragglers making their way into the Great Hall. "D'you reckon anyone else will get back to the castle?"

Justin hesitated. No doubt he didn't want to worry Millie – or everyone else – with the thought that things were bad. But Harry needed to know.

He pushed the negative thoughts behind his occlusion. He could mourn later.

"Not great," Justin said. "They've trapped a load of people and one of wizards with the acromantulas did something to the hedges. They're attacking people who try and run away."

"How'd you get through?" Blaise asked.

Justin's face fell.

"Mairi—Ernie's mum—Mrs Macmillan—she… she got a load of us through the hedges, but they attacked her. I think—I think she's alright, I mean she's a brilliant witch isn't she? But…" Justin closed his eyes.

Tracey rushed forward to hug him.

"Oh, Justin! You're right—I bet she's—I bet she's fine," Tracey said, although it sounded of little comfort to Justin.

"Right," Harry said. "This is shit. We've got to do something."

"Mate, you're the one who just said there's not much we can do," Blaise pointed out. "Changed your mind?"

"No, not really," Harry said. There still wasn't a lot they could do, not stuck inside the Great Hall. And even if they got out of the castle it wasn't as if they could fight off an army of giant spiders and their Death Eater allies. But if Harry could get outside of the Hall he could get off a message to Dumbledore with Sirius's mirror. And Dumbledore could rally the Order, contact the Ministry… assuming no one at the castle had done so. "But I reckon Dumbledore could fix it. And I've got him at the end of a phone. Er, so to speak."

"Ooh, that's brilliant!" Tracey said. "Yes! But they're not letting anyone out of the doors—not even the teachers. Look."

One of the adjuncts was trying to leave, but the Ministry officials refused her access. As Harry watched it didn't quite warrant the title of a scene, but he reckoned if she'd pushed it further it would have.

Harry scanned the Hall in search of teachers. There were many inside, but most of them not ones he felt like he could trust with… well, what was technically conspiracy and treason. McGonagall was still outside, and although Flitwick was a generally agreeable sort, Harry wasn't sure he was quite comfortable with treason.

But Snape and Remus were inside the Great Hall, and rather uncharacteristically for the both of them, were stood together talking. Although neither of them looked happy about it.

"I've got an idea," Harry said. "I'm going to—"

The Great Hall doors swung open again, but this time rather than any students they revealed Yaxley, still in his Arlecchino persona.

"I need to see the Minister!" he shouted. "At once!"

The Minister was nowhere to be seen, but presumably he was still in the castle, as nobody seemed to have left it. The Ministry officials at the doors accosted him immediately, telling him to lower his voice. They even shut the doors firmly behind him.

Yaxley listened, but Harry focused on him and listened to their conversation anyway. It was a bit hard over the din, but well within the bounds of his augmented hearing.

"I'm just going to listen," Harry explained to his friends. "Don't mind me…"

"…they've disabled the Floos," Yaxley was saying. "No one can get in or out…"

"We know," said one of the officials – Jenkins, the Ministry man who'd persuaded Fudge Harry wasn't lying. "That's why we're all stuck here."

Well, that explains all this, I suppose… Harry thought.

Yaxley didn't miss a beat.

"But it's not just the Floos," Yaxley continued. "I've just been up to the Owlery to send an owl—there's a—it's a-there's a bubble around the castle. Killed my stupid owl when it tried to get through it."

"Fuck…" said the other official, a petite woman whose name Harry didn't know. "So that means…"

"No one knows anything has happened, yes," Yaxley said. "Which is why I need to speak to the Minister—someone's got to tell him, and—"

"Can't let anyone without sufficient vetting see the Minister, 'm afraid," Jenkins said. "Not at a time like this."

"Good, good," Harry muttered. At least Yaxley couldn't kidnap Fudge in the chaos.

"What's good?" interrupted Millie. "What are they saying?"

Harry waved his hand.

"…what are you proposing?" the witch said to Yaxley. "So we're clear."

"I need to get back inside the castle. There's a room where we can—it's complicated, it's a bit of a Hogwarts secret and only staff can really talk about it properly—" Yaxley was saying.

"You aren't staff," Jenkins pointed out. "You work for the Ministry."

"The Inquisition is in something of a grey area," Yaxley said, "since the High Inquisitor took over. But this room can be used to defend the castle from certain spells. If I can speak with the High Inquisitor, together we can make use of it, I'm sure. Has to be someone with enough authority in the castle, see. But it's imperative I get back into the castle…"

How true that was, Harry couldn't say. Whether such a room existed or not seemed irrelevant, though, as Harry didn't doubt Yaxley had impure intentions. And moving Umbridge, too… either she was in on it, or he needed her for something else.

"Right," Harry said. He'd heard enough. "I've decided. We've got to see if Snape and Remus—Mr Lupin—can give us a big distraction to get us out of the doors. We've got to get to Dumbledore—they've blocked the Floos and we can't even get owls out. So we're on our own."

"Oh, no," Tracey said, every bit of colour draining from her face.

"Bollocks," Millie said. "That's shit."

"We're doomed," Blaise said. "Doomed. This is hopeless. Acromantulas take, like, whole Ministry squads to put down, don't they? And that's just one or two."

"Calm down," Harry said. "We've got no time to worry."

"Easy for you to say, mate," Justin said. "You can just do your thing and make the thoughts go away," he said, wiggling his fingers around his head in what Harry assumed was a reference to occlumency. "Rest of us have to just live with our feelings."

Harry chose to ignore the jibe. He glanced back at the door. The witch was still with Yaxley, who looked increasingly impatient, but Jenkins was gone. Harry scanned the crowd in the Great Hall for him and found him on the raised dais which usually held the staff table.

"The antechamber," Harry murmured. That was where the Minister must be, along with Umbridge and whoever else had been deemed important enough to cloister inside.

"Enough arguing," Harry said. "I'm going to see Snape."

Harry left his friends behind and crossed the Great Hall to where Remus and Snape stood talking. Although as Harry edged closer he realised they were actually having an argument, albeit hushed and couched in vague statements.

"Professor, Remus," Harry said, interrupting them. "I don't know if you know, but the Floos—"

"Staff has been told, Potter, yes," Snape said. "You may go."

"Er, right, fair enough," Harry said, ignoring Snape's command to leave, "but Yaxley—Arlecchino—he's over by the door saying there's a bubble around the school that's killing owls and stuff. So, even if you know about that, I'm not really here to give the news," Harry continued. "I've got a way of contacting Dumbledore. He can get the message out—maybe Moody can talk to the Ministry or—or something. Then we can get some help. Since there are Death Eaters outside as well as man-eating spiders. You know."

Remus laughed.

"Well, Severus, that certainly does solve one of our problems. James's mirror, I assume?" Remus said.

Harry nodded.

"A solution though it is," Snape drawled, "we still have the problem that no one is allowed out of the Great Hall—not even esteemed and valued members of the staff." He looked Remus up and down. "Let alone you."

"But Yaxley's on about some room," Harry continued, uninterested in their argument, "something that he needs Umbridge to open. I think Jenkins believes him so he's gone to get her. I'm just worried that they're going to be doing something in the castle that lets the Death Eaters in…"

Snape's lips curled into a very familiar expression of distaste.

"Perhaps," Snape said. "Do not concern yourself with Yaxley. Where is this mirror of yours?"

"It's, er… It's…" Harry said. He wasn't about to disclose the location of the Chamber of Secrets to Snape. "Somewhere I can't talk about. Only I can get to it. Even if I could tell you where it was, it's literally impossible for you to open the door."

"Padfoot did mention something about a secret place," Remus said. "And you're quite sure…?"

"Positive," Harry said. "So, listen—I was thinking if you two could help get me outside of the Great Hall then I can go and get Dumbledore and he can go and get some help. But I'm not sure when they're going to open the door again, so we'll have to do it quickly…"

"I really don't think we have many other options, Severus," Remus said quietly. "I don't like the idea either, but I think we can trust Harry not to leave the castle. Can't we, Harry?"

"I just want to get a message to Dumbledore," Harry said. And he did want to get outside to help his friends, but he acknowledged that at present, doing so was tantamount to suicide. But he needed to do something.

"Be that as it may," Snape said, "we are as stuck inside this room as you are—barring some minor miracle."

"Or a major catastrophe," Remus said with a sad smile. "Tomorrow is the full moon. If you and I go to the officials and—"

"You can't do that!" Harry blurted out. "They'll… I mean, werewolves aren't allowed to—and with everything that's happening…"

"Which is precisely why I must do this," Remus said. "I will say that I need to take my dose of Wolfsbane Potion today—they shan't know that it isn't necessary until tomorrow. If we time our request right, they will be too preoccupied with us to notice you slip out of the Hall."

Harry didn't like the plan but he knew that it would work. Most wizards got funny about werewolves even though in their human form they were no different at all from regular witches and wizards – save their aversion to silver. Harry didn't doubt the Ministry officials would want to deal with Remus as a pair.

"And perhaps will allow us the opportunity to accompany you," Snape said. "To ensure you are safe."

And that I don't bugger off somewhere else, Harry thought. Well. That was fair enough.

"I…" Harry said. There had to be some sort of alternative to exposing Remus's secret to the Ministry. He thought on it, but he spotted Yaxley and Umbridge making their way back to the officials in the Entrance Hall. "Alright."

"Follow," Snape said, "and try to be unobtrusive."

Remus and Snape made their own way to the officials, although they waited until Yaxley and Umbridge were seen out before approaching. While they did that, Harry went to quickly tell his friends what was happening.

"…so that's what we're doing," Harry finished.

"I'm coming with you," Tracey said.

"Me, too," said Blaise.

"No, you can't all come," Harry said. "Too many people. Just Trace…"

"I'm not being left behind," Justin said. "I—I left—there's just so many people outside that I want to do something to help. So I'm coming as well. No arguments. Look—Snape is talking with that bloke. Reckon it's now or never."

"I—but—"

Justin was right. They didn't have time to argue. Snape and Remus were drawing the Ministry officials away from the doorway, but there were still some prefects milling about.

"Blaise, Millie—distract the prefects," Harry said instead.

With everything sorted, Harry slipped outside the Great Hall, Tracey and Justin in tow.

Once outside, Harry and his friends made a move for the stairs to the dungeons. The Great Hall doors had shut firmly behind them, so they didn't need to worry about that. And there wasn't anyone watching the Entrance Hall interior – Harry assumed they were in the turrets watching the outside instead – so didn't need to worry about that.

Still, it felt better to get everything done as quickly as possible. Less chance of people being eaten that way.

"…unhand me!" shrieked a girlish voice. "This is not appropriate and I will-"

"Shut it!" snapped Yaxley. A loud crack followed by an even louder scream.

Harry stopped walking. Umbridge definitely deserved whatever was coming to her, after the year she'd given the school and her generally awful personality, but… Harry glanced at the steps down into the dungeons, and then back at the grand stairs up to the castle's upper floors.

"We can't leave her, can we?" Harry asked Justin and Tracey. "I mean, she's awful, but…"

"She's still screaming," Justin said. "So…"

Tracey sighed.

"Let's just go get her, then we can go get the mirror."

Harry nodded.

"Right."

They set off at a jog through the castle and up the stairs to wherever it was that Yaxley was taking Umbridge. Up a couple of flights of stairs, down a corridor. Harry recognised everywhere they passed but would have been hard-pressed to say there was anything at all unusual about where they'd passed. The castle's high alert hadn't been activated either, as unlike when Sirius had infiltrated the castle during his first year, the hallways were quiet.

Almost as if nothing was happening at all.

As far as Harry could tell Yaxley was in the Defence department. Umbridge and Yaxley were still nowhere to be seen, but Harry had a decent idea where the pair were, anyway, as Umbridge was alternately crying and screaming – at least until she stopped.

Harry assumed Yaxley had silenced her.

But the only place left on that floor, given the corridor they were in, was the one adjoining the Defence department. Just a corner and another hallway away…

They skidded around a corner to find Umbridge wriggling within Yaxley's grasp as the man marched her down a corridor. The usual portraits adorned the walls, and there were several busts and statuettes on pedestals, but no suits of armour.

A pity, although Harry didn't know the spell to make them move anyway.

"Oi!" shouted Harry, even though he couldn't believe he was leaping to the defence of Umbridge. "Get off her!"

Yaxley turned to sneer at Harry. He brandished his wand at Harry but otherwise did nothing else differently.

"We've got some business, the Inquisitor and me," Yaxley said. "Don't get in our way and I won't have to maul you. Can't kill you, I'm afraid, but your little friends there…"

"I'd like to see you try!" Tracey said. "I'm no pushover."

"This ain't one of your little play duels, girl," Yaxley said. He jabbed his wand at Umbridge and she fell away, unconscious, as Yaxley dropped her to the floor. "This is the real thing."

Harry noticed the wand movement almost as Yaxley started to make it. He conjured a chunk of clay even as Tracey formed a Shield Charm around the three of them.

Justin did nothing.

Harry stepped in front of Justin, then hit out with a Bludgeoning Curse. Stood next to Tracey it was easy enough to believe they were duelling again, although he knew the reality was far different.

For one thing, Yaxley wouldn't stick to the EDC spellbook, and likely knew far less pleasant spells than any opponent Harry had faced in the arena.

And a Hogwarts corridor was nothing at all like an arena either. It was cramped by comparison, and filled with portraits and other decorations besides.

"Justin, whenever you get the chance, cast whatever you can think of on Yaxley," Harry said, trying to be encouraging. "Just—anything. It'll help, I promise."

In truth, Harry didn't expect Justin to help all that much – he'd never been in a real fight like that before, and although Tracey hadn't either, she could treat it like a sport duel. She had at least some experience, and her quick staccato of spells proved it.

Harry conjured another block of clay to block what he assumed was a Dark curse from Yaxley.

"Not bad for a bunch of kids, is it?" Harry taunted. Yaxley had probably expected to have been on his way by then, Harry and his friends incapacitated. Or maybe even en route to Voldemort himself. Harry couldn't say.

Yaxley's answer was a violent purple spell, but Harry avoided it.

By then, even Justin had managed to get off a few spells, although they were shaky at best. Still, it was good to put some pressure on Yaxley. Harry needed the help, anyway.

"Expelliarmus!"

Yaxley ducked.

"Stupefy!" Harry said, but it hit a portrait instead, rendering it motionless.

"Flipendo!" Harry tried, and it worked. Yaxley tumbled backwards, falling to the floor.

"Stupefy!" Tracey said, knocking Yaxley out.

"Nice one, Trace!" Harry said, grinning. "You did it!"

"You gave me the opportunity!"

"But what do we do now?" Justin asked, looking across the corridor at Umbridge and Yaxley's unconscious forms.

"Well, we still need to let Dumbledore know what's happening," Harry said, "but these two…"

"We'll take them to the Hospital Wing," Tracey said. "Me and Justin. And you can go to get your mirror." She glanced at Justin. "Could we do that?"

Justin nodded.

"I… yeah. That levitation charm isn't that hard, is it? Flitwick even said…"

"Good, we've got it from here!" Tracey said.

Harry nodded. He needed to…

"…Gilderoy, you said to yourself something bad was going to happen and you were right!"

Harry could just dimly hear someone speaking from the direction of Lockhart's office. Harry had assumed Lockhart was outside, but evidently he'd managed to get inside the school – and had avoided the Great Hall.

"Just have to find a way out, that's all, then we can put all this nonsense…"

"Guys, Lockhart's in his office," Harry said as Tracey and Justin got Yaxley and Umbridge ready. "Reckon I should go and ask him for help?"

"I mean… he is part of the Dark Force Defence League," Tracey said.

"And he's got an Order of Merlin, and all those things he's done," added Justin. "Must be some reason why he's still in the castle… and not, you know…"

"Probably trying to figure out a way to get rid of the spells," Harry said. It sounded like that could be it, anyway. Unless he was trying to escape, which Harry wasn't entirely sure was out of the question. Despite Lockhart's reputation, Harry had found the man somewhat lacking.

But he had done all of those things…

"I think it's worth a go," Harry said. "I'll go see what he's up to, then go get Dumbledore."

The three of them parted ways, Harry heading deeper into the Defence department and Justin and Tracey heading in the direction of the Hospital Wing, the floating forms of Umbridge and Yaxley bobbing along behind them.

When Harry reached Lockhart's office the door was open. He peered inside to see that the secret portion of his office, the one usually completely concealed, was also open… and that Lockhart was inside.

"Professor?" Harry asked, stepping into the office. "Professor, I was in the corridor—the High Inquisitor's just been attacked and…" Harry trailed off as he noticed what Lockhart was doing. The man appeared to be ransacking his own office, stuffing various different things in his bags in a manic and frenzied fashion.

The monogrammed box that the Inquisition had been so interested in among them. It was, in fact, held in Lockhart's own hands. Harry stepped further inside the office.

The man turned to look at Harry.

"Ah. Harry. Well, I should have expected something like this," Lockhart said. "You've got a nose for where the action is—but of course you do! You're a celebrity. Don't think for a moment I've believed that little front you've been putting on al year. I get it—it's all part of your image. But I saw through it, of course. You were eager to learn, after all."

"No, Professor, it's really not about any of that," Harry started to say. "Umbridge was just attacked—"

"Figured it out, have you? My secret. You are a clever boy. Too clever by half. All that alchemy nonsense—understand it's given you a bit of an edge when it comes to thinking. Nice for some. Unfortunately for you, it's got you into a spot of trouble."

"Secret? What secret?" Harry asked. It was obviously about the box. But Harry had no idea what was in the box. Nothing Harry had read in any of the hundreds upon hundreds – maybe thousands – of letters Lockhart had had Harry read and responded to contained anything about it. "This isn't about a secret. I was thinking you could help with the spells, maybe get the Floos working, or—something to kill the acromantulas—"

Lockhart sighed, a great theatrical thing that Harry knew was put on.

"I thought that perhaps I could get you on side," Lockhart continued, "but you are a very independent young man. Too clever, like I said, and you've got the taste of fame now. You'd never let me keep it secret. Bit of a problem of my own making, I suppose, but you can't blame me for trying. Your star's on the rise, you know. Even this won't stop it for long. And I don't really want it to, you see. I'll leave you just enough that you'll…"

"What the fuck are you on about?" Harry said. "Listen, I don't give a shit about all this—it's not important! Just listen to me. I've got to get a message to Dumbledore, but if there's anything you can do—"

"I am sorry, Harry lad," Lockhart interrupted, tapping his box. "But you've worked out far too much and I'm going to have do a little… editing."

He smiled.

"Obliviate!"