Corvus oculum corvi non eruit (I)

Tracey gaped at him, her big eyes wide with horror and her typically rosy skin even paler than his.

'What are you talking about, Harry?! Explain yourself right this instant!' demanded Poppy, looking angry and confused.

But Harry was helplessly at sea.

Looking around for help, he finally realised that not only Daphne and Tracey were present. Leo, standing on the other side of his bed, was monitoring both him and Tracey, clearly trying to decipher the strange reactions. Amy, on the other hand, was loitering in the background, her alert grey eyes observing his every move.

Harry stared back at her.

'Start trusting your instincts!'

With stupendous effort, he forcefully calmed his erratic heart, brutally beating down all unnecessary emotions and thoughts.

He made a show of sighing exaggeratedly before he calmly leant back again, his head resting comfortably on the fluffy pillow. 'Merlin!' he said with a sheepish grin, relaxing as best he could. 'Sorry about that – worst nightmare ever!'

Poppy and Tracey goggled as if he'd sprouted a second head. Amy raised an eyebrow.

'So, er, what seems to be the problem, Poppy? Did I accidentally poison myself in Potions or...?'

'What are you talking about?' she whispered, her beady eyes searching his for any clue as to what was happening.

'Well, I just assumed it must've been something different than me banging my skull against the bed-head.' As if misinterpreting their lasting looks of confusion, he furrowed his brow, slowly running his hand over the back of his head. 'Wait, I didn't really...'

'Of course, you didn't!' snapped Poppy, looking immensely relieved despite the brusque manner of her speech. 'Goodness me, you gave me a nasty shock, Harry. So you're feeling alright? Nothing wrong? No dizziness, delayed eye reaction, headache – nothing?'

'No?' he said, ignoring the pulsing pain in his temple and looking puzzled. 'Er, is it really Thursday already?'

It was at this point that Daphne finally collapsed completely, burying him under her, crying endless tears of relief. Even with him gently stroking her back and whispering in a voice he knew from experience should soothe her, it took nearly fifteen minutes to calm her down again.

~BLVoD~

'And what happened next?' asked Albus Dumbledore, leaning forward, his fingers steepled.

'Well,' said the matron, looking vaguely embarrassed. 'Nothing really. He just lay there, enduring my treatment.'

'And he didn't say anything more?'

'Nothing extraordinary, no. I asked him a few more questions about his condition, but he answered all of them in a rather calm fashion. I don't mind telling you that he seemed rather bored, Albus.'

'Indeed,' hummed Dumbledore. 'I seem to recall that you were rather close to the boy.'

'Well, as close as any of the staff, I assume. I hear he spends quite some time with Filius and Rose, but other than that...?'

'Does he usually suffer his treatment so compliantly?'

The matron blinked, taking a step back, her eyes wandering between the intense-looking headmaster and the taciturn Potions Master, who was apparently watching something through the window. 'No,' she admitted reluctantly. 'He's the uncooperative sort.'

Albus nodded, carefully tapping a little silver instrument with his wand.

'Did you notice any...gestures or anything else that might have seemed out of place or strange at the time?' asked Severus Snape, still staring outside.

'No! I mean, I think I saw him winking at the Lestrange girl once, but they're friendly, aren't they? I just assumed he was embarrassed about that poor Greengrass girl losing her head like that.'

'Perhaps...' agreed Severus in a tone that indicated that he didn't agree at all.

'And when did you notice he was missing, Poppy?'

'Why, just now, of course! I came to find you immediately after I'd made sure he wasn't anywhere near the infirmary.'

'Headmaster! Headmaster!' cried a portrait of a man with pale skin and only a few wisps of grey hair, leaning against the border of his frame, cheeks burning from exhaustion.

'Yes, Armando?'

'We've searched the entire castle – even the other common rooms. He isn't here. A few other Slytherins seem to be missing as well!'

Dumbledore stood up at once with the quickness of a much younger man. 'Then we must act quickly. Everard!'

'Yes?' called another man from within his portrait, standing up from the throne he was painted on.

'Please inform me at once when the Minister or the Aurors get involved!'

'I had a look just now, and the entire Ministry seems deathly silent, but I'll keep a lookout.' Nodding grimly, the ancient headmaster walked out of his portrait, vanishing from Hogwarts' grounds.

'There's one more thing,' said Madame Pomfrey hesitantly.

'Yes, Poppy?' asked Dumbledore, halting in movement and peering at her from over his half-moon glasses.

'I...I know this sounds ridiculous,' she said defensively. 'But when I examined Harry while he was still unconscious, I found a bite mark on his left side.'

'Yes?'

'I don't know if this has any relevance. But – oh, to hell with it – Albus, he had a recent Chimaera bite!'

'How recent?' inquired Dumbledore, eyebrows raised.

'A few days at most.'

The headmaster, who had been in the process of reaching for the doorknob, straightened his back, lowering his hands.

'Impossible!' barked Snape, whirling around. 'There has only been one Chimaera sighting in Britain in more than two hundred years! And even that was – for all intents and purposes – a freak accident!'

'Are you quite certain of this?' asked Dumbledore with a searching look.

'You know very well I made my mastery in Greece!'

'And you're positive it was a Chimaera and not, for instance, a particularly large lion?'

The matron huffed shirtily. 'Don't test me, Albus! Their set of teeth are entirely different. It was a very small Chimaera, as a matter of fact, but I'm absolutely certain. I even checked my old records because I couldn't believe it myself!'

The two men in the room exchanged a short look.

'Severus, I need you to get Minerva, Rendall and Antonius at once. We'll gather at the entrance. Poppy, please inform Hagrid that I require his assistance.'

Potions Master and matron nodded, rushing through the door. Dumbledore, however, hesitantly cast one last look at the silver instrument he'd been fiddling with earlier. It was a delicate machine of his own making, hundreds and hundreds of tiny cogs whirling and spinning soundlessly, some entirely unsupported by any spindle or axis.

Three rings were marked by filigree letters engraved into the silver. One read 'NwFrst', another 'Crphll', and the last 'FrbddnFrst'.

None betrayed even a hint of movement.

'Lost something, have you, Albus?' called an amused-sounding voice from over his head.

Albus looked up into the eyes of yet another erstwhile headmaster, his eyes lingering on the signet ring on the man's right hand.

'Phineas... I suppose it would be a stretch to assume that you haven't informed Arcturus already?'

'You know very well that I can't betray the trust of the current headmaster,' said the man, straightening his robes and leisurely taking a seat. With a cocky grin, he stroked his goatee. 'But between the two of us, Albus, you might want to hurry.'

With a frown, Dumbledore carefully pocketed the device, unsure if he should feel relief or worry. With hasty steps, he descended the stairs and flew towards the Entrance Hall.

Thankfully, Severus, Rendall and Antonius were already there.

'The situation is urgent,' he said, nodding towards the new arrivals, 'and we need to leave at once. I shall explain everything on the way. Where is Minerva, Severus? We need her to keep an eye on affairs here!'

'I was unable to locate her, Headmaster.'

Dumbledore frowned. With a tap of his wand, the gigantic portal moaned and creaked, the heavy oak slowly creeping outwards. As soon as the gap was wide enough for one person to slip through, Dumbledore took a step forward.

Problem was, someone was already standing just outside.

'Ah, just the very man,' said Arcturus Black with a humourless smile, refusing to back away and forcing Dumbledore to take a step back again. 'I apologise for the late call, Headmaster. These honourable ladies and gentlemen,' he indicated a group of prim looking wizards and witches behind him, 'represent the entirety of the Hogwarts Board of Governors, as I'm sure you are aware.'

'Lord Black,' mumbled Dumbledore, his mind racing. Nodding politely towards the rest of the Board, he said, 'I'm afraid you caught me rather indisposed. Would it be possible to delay this happy meeting for a few more hours? I'm sure you would like to take a moment to warm yourselves – and perhaps have a strong drink?'

'I think not, Dumbledore,' drawled Lucius Malfoy. 'But you may return to your night-time business after our inspection of your faculty – with all your teachers and the security you've seen fit to bill us present, naturally,' he added with a smirk at Antonius. 'Unless, of course, you believe one single title is really all your advanced age allows...?'

~BLVoD~

'We made it!' exclaimed Daphne, leaning against the back wall of the Three Broomsticks to take a breather.

'Can you believe our luck?' snarled Amy angrily. 'That stupid rug of a cat just had to cross our paths. Nice Jelly-Brains, by the way, Harry!'

Harry just lay on the ground, coughing violently. The back of his throat felt like parchment and his head, in a commendable effort not to be outdone, like a merry-go-round – one that was on fire. In all honesty, he considered it a great achievement that he still hadn't thrown up.

'You really should have taken Care for Magical Creatures, Harry. I believe a bit of fresh air now and then would do your constitution some good,' said Leo drily, looking – if anything – just a tad sweaty.

'Is this really, really alright?' asked Daphne, peering around the corner. Just then, the door to the pub suddenly burst open, and a throng of drunken patrons spilt into the streets, jeering and laughing noisily. When a bird crowed loudly above their heads, Daphne gave a huge jump, looking as guilty as sin.

'You don't need to come with us if you think you can't handle it,' said Amy in a teasing tone.

Daphne glared at Amy so fiercely that Leo, apparently, felt the need to step between them. 'Before we start questioning who, shouldn't we ask Harry first "why"? And possibly "where to"?'

'One second,' replied Harry in a wheezing voice, panting heavily. 'Merlin, Hogsmeade is farther from the castle than I thought.'

Amy sniggered cattishly, but she held out her hand for him to take nevertheless. 'Up you go, old man. So, what's going on?'

'Yes, what is going on, Harry?' asked Leo. 'When Amy told me that she was about to sneak into the infirmary because you wanted something, I didn't really anticipate us fleeing the castle like this.'

'It's about...them, isn't it?' asked Tracey in a small voice, speaking for the first time since their arrival in the infirmary.

Harry, taking one giant breath, forced himself to concentrate whilst flourishing his wand skywards. 'Cave Inimicum!'

Rubbing his still stinging temple, he said, 'I know this must come as a surprise – I assure you it was the same for me. But I've realised something since waking up. The Lethifolds...they aren't gone. They'll never be gone. They're always going to come back!'

'What are you talking about?' asked Leo, confused. 'They're not...Revenants. I'm positive Dumbledore's charm should have destroyed them.'

'Listen!' repeated Harry impatiently. 'I don't have time to explain it in great detail right now, but the Lethifolds...are tied to this world by the willing sacrifice of a human.' Seeing Daphne's horrified expression, he concluded that his attempt to gloss over the details had backfired spectacularly. 'Blood, Daphne. My...thesis is that their summoning must have been messed up somehow – I don't know exactly how! The point is, they'll always come back as long the blood that was used to call them, the blood the Lethifolds and their...invoker share, runs through his veins. They have been destroyed twice already; and without fail, they've returned.'

What Harry didn't dare to mention right now, despite his protective spell and the trust he had in the people around him, was that – finally – he also understood the meaning behind his erratic sleeping pattern. The Lethifolds needed power to exist in this world – a power they usually tried to gain through sustenance. But he, Harry, had been a much more convenient, ignorant source of that very power. In Harry's mind, there could not be a single doubt that his recent bout of unconsciousness meant that his creations were either about to return – or had done so already.

'You mean someone summoned them? But we'll never be able to guess who that person is!' cried Daphne, looking only vaguely less horror-stricken.

'Luckily,' Harry went on, his guts squirming guiltily in response to both his poor cousin's current refusal to connect the dots and Tracey's scalding glare, 'we won't need to.'

'That's all fine and dandy,' interjected Amy sedately as if hunting for extra-dimensional nightmares was nothing more than what she'd expected on her Thursday evening, 'but you said they'd come back without fail. Does that mean they're back again?'

'I have no way of knowing for sure,' he admitted. 'But I rather think so, yes.'

'What gives you that impression?' asked Leo curiously.

'Well, I had a dream.' Seeing their expressions, he realised – for a second time – that maybe he should start paying attention to what his mouth uttered. 'It wasn't a normal dream. You were there when I woke up!'

'But you said...' began Daphne.

'Get a grip already! He was obviously trying to cover it all up with Pomfrey,' snapped Tracey in an uncharacteristic display of sour mood.

'Oh...'

'Anyway, after thinking it through this afternoon, I realised that I'd forgotten something – something that had been right under my nose for almost the entire year! I always thought the first deaths or confirmed appearances of the Lethifolds were near the North Sea last summer,' he explained, starting to pace and choosing to not mention Aenor's break-in.

'The fishermen,' said Leo, nodding.

Only half-surprised, Harry nodded at his cousin. 'Yes, but there were disappearances before that – several in fact. It's just that it never occurred to me that they'd be connected!'

'Where?' demanded Daphne, holding her breath.

Rummaging in his robes, he produced the latest edition of the Prophet. The page he held high wasn't the front page, however. Rather, it was a very small article near the bottom of a page that looked like it was near the end of the paper.

'Head of Department facing enquiry about missing workers'

'The Ministry?' Daphne spluttered disbelievingly. 'Those...those horrors come from within the Ministry?'

'Yes. Something in there must allow them passage.'

'Any idea what it could be?' asked Amy.

'Considering that the location of the department would have to be remote, as well as the Prophet's refusal to name the department or its head, and lastly the nature of the magic, I'd say only one location remains as a real possibility.'

Neither Daphne nor the Lestranges seemed to understand, but it wasn't exactly expected for children attending Hogwarts to have intricate knowledge of the Ministry or its layout – especially the deeper levels.

Most children. 'The Department of Mysteries,' breathed Tracey. Seeing her best friend's failure to understand, she added, 'The Department of Mysteries is on the lowest level, Daphne, as are the old courtrooms. But they haven't been used since the Grindelwald trials, so there's only that one department left...'

'Harry, as glad as I am that you're finally deciding to do something rather than sitting in the library and planning,' said Amy with a smirk, 'are you really suggesting that we break into the Ministry because you had a dream?'

'It does seem a little...excessive,' admitted Leo.

'Anyway, the Aurors and Dumbledore will take care of it, won't they?' asked Daphne.

Harry groaned, rubbing his temples. Would he really have to explain it all? Right here behind the Three Broomsticks?!

'I've had the same dream.'

Through his fingers, Harry – just like Daphne, Amy and Leo – looked in surprise at Tracey. The short witch was grinding her teeth. 'Two nights ago.'

Amy and Leo exchanged a short glance – as did Daphne and Harry.

'This is bad business...' Daphne muttered uncomfortably. 'We shouldn't be meddling with dreams and Lethifolds!'

'Why not?' countered Amy as if everything had been settled. 'Let's break into the Department of Mysteries. Should be fun!'

'Shouldn't we get Hermione?' asked Leo suddenly. 'She's been a part of this as much as we have.'

'Oh, please!' snapped Daphne.

'NO!' shouted both Tracey and Harry.

'If there's even the smallest risk of us encountering Lethifolds, we can't take her with us!' added Tracey, looking faintly disgusted at their rare display of harmony.

'Why?' asked Daphne, now eyeing her best friend as if she'd never properly seen her before.

'Because she will die,' answered Harry with brutal honesty. 'Die before she's even realised what killed her – if she's lucky.'

A sudden gust of wind blew over their little gathering, and even Harry couldn't help shivering.

'The only reason why I'm taking you with me is that I know every one of you has studied Occlumency to some degree. But – and I want you to listen to me very carefully – if we even get an inkling that the Lethifolds are near, I want all of you to run as fast as possible in the opposite direction. I'm probably the only one of us who'll even be able to attempt casting a spell in their presence.'

Tracey nodded grimly, as did Leo. Amy shrugged, but Harry still took that as a yes. There was, however, one last person that would likely prove a bit more challenging to persuade.

'Daphne...?'

'But I can't just leave you behind!' she begged. 'I can help you!'

'No, you can't!' Unexpectedly, it was – again – not him but Tracey who spoke.

Angrily, Daphne turned around, glaring at her friend. 'I'm not helpless!' she shouted. 'I can take care of myself.'

'No, you can't! Against those monsters, you're like a Flobberworm facing an army of trolls!'

'She's right, Daphne,' said Leo, a tad more empathic than Tracey. 'Common curses won't work – only very specialised magic will affect them in any major way. Many Aurors wouldn't make it.'

'But then how could Harr-'

'I...I've got an advantage when it comes to dealing with them. I've done it before, Daphne – just barely. Please, I need you to trust me. You do trust me, don't you?'

She toppled, almost as if the words had physically hurt her. 'W-What? Of course, I do!' she whined reproachfully.

'Then do I have your word that you'll run when I tell you to?'

She squirmed under his gaze, tears in her eyes.

'Daphne!'

She averted her gaze. 'Yes...' she mumbled in a voice so low that it was almost inaudible.

'So how is this going to work?' asked Amy. 'Fly to London and kick down the front door?'

'Well, I don't see an alternative,' confessed Harry. Putting it like that, it didn't sound like much of a plan at all.

'The Portkey,' sniffed Daphne, rubbing her eyes.

'Oh. Oho!' Amy grinned wickedly. 'Fantastic! Knew that thing would come in handy sooner or later.'

'What Portkey?' asked Tracey warily.

'We presented Daphne with a Portkey to the Ministry last year,' said Leo excitedly. 'Alright! This is going to be fun!'

'How the hell did you get your hands on an extremely illegal Ministry Portkey?' demanded Tracey, her eyes in danger of popping out of their sockets.

'Stole if from my mum!' bragged Amy with immense pride.

Harry winced. 'You're really brave, you know that, Amy?'

She smiled at him, clearly considering this a great compliment. 'Thanks!'

'So where is this notorious Portkey? Do we have to make a detour to London?' he asked.

'Er, no. I, you know, it didn't feel right to leave it at home... It's in my trunk!' answered Daphne, looking somewhat embarrassed.

'You brought that with you? Into Hogwarts? Right under Dumbledore's nose?' Amy looked at Daphne with obvious respect. 'You're bolder than I thought!'

'So...does that mean one of us has to get back inside?' asked Daphne with a quizzical grin, clearly unsure how to interpret Amy's 'praise'.

'That's not a good idea, I think,' opined Leo. 'They'll be looking for us if Pomfrey noticed you're gone, Harry.'

Harry nodded, having come to the same conclusion. But they didn't need to anyway. His wand shot into his palm with practised ease. 'Accio Daphne's trunk that she's hidden under her pillow!'

Amy looked at him with playful amusement. 'That seems like an oddly specific bit of information.'

'Sweet Morgana!' groaned Tracey, looking sick. 'You didn't do anything in our dormitory while I was sleeping in there, did you?'

Harry stared at her, feeling the heat crawl up his spine. 'What?! No!' In righteous outrage, he looked towards his left. Daphne, however, was shyly shuffling her feet, evading their eyes, her whole behaviour screaming guilty. 'Tell them already, Daphne!'

Daphne glanced up at him. To his horror, she seemed to be enjoying the misunderstanding. 'Don't worry, Tracey. Harry made sure you wouldn't wake.'

Amy exploded with laughter. Even Leo looked at him with some amount of amusement. Harry was just about to consider sinking into the earth to evade the embarrassment when Amy clapped him on the back. 'You're too easy, Harry!'

When he looked up again, he realised that even Tracey was smirking at him. 'Don't worry. It's entirely unbelievable that you'd have the nerve!'

Daphne clicked her tongue, apparently displeased that her ruse had been seen through so easily. Harry, on the other hand, focused with his entire being on the approaching box.

Not dignifying his friends with another look, he wordlessly handed the shrunken trunk to Daphne. His cousin, her mood mysteriously brightened, took the stupid thing and started rummaging at once, her entire arm vanishing in the little trunk that wasn't any bigger than a common matchbox.

It took a while. Harry had seen first-hand what strange devices, books, and ingredients the girl had seen fit to store there, not even speaking of her wardrobe that seemed even more excessive than his own. Eventually, Daphne produced an eerily dull-looking dark cube.

Harry frowned as he took it in his hand. Whatever this was, he'd never seen its like. The stone, if the word was even applicable, seemed unnaturally finely carved while still giving the impression that it hadn't been worked on at all. The texture was all sorts of strange, too. Even though the material was dull and lacklustre, he thought he saw something glimmering within – or was it a reflection?

'What is this?' he murmured, revolving the object in his hands.

'Haven't got a clue,' admitted Amy frankly. 'But I'm reasonably sure it's a Portkey to the Ministry. You know, the sort they issue essential personnel like the Minister.'

Harry closed his eyes, only to open them again twice – in a manner of speaking. Thousands of buzzing lines connected a glowing orb in the middle of the object to any point of the surface, each of them shifting with the pulses that ran every third of a second through the whole object. In short, it was as if he was staring at an ever-shifting ball of energised wool.

Only three seconds later, he angrily shut his eyes again, already feeling the first signs of a mild headache.

'I, er, I think we might have a problem,' he said with a rueful smile. 'I've never seen anything like it, I'm afraid.'

'Well, hurry it up and get acquainted, will you?' said Amy. 'I don't think we should linger here for very long! Who knows when Dumbledore himself will come striding down that lane!'

'It's a Portkey,' Tracey pointed out as if she was talking to a little kid. 'I know you can do the spell. How difficult can it be to figure that one out?'

Harry looked at her, struggling to come up with an explanation. True, he could cast the spell, but it wasn't the same – not the same at all. How could he explain that building a little mound in a sandbox wasn't quite the same as scaling the forbidding and inhospitable heights of the highest of mountain ranges?

Those words didn't come to him quite as easily at the moment, however, and he simply goggled helplessly at the tangled mass of complexity.

'Er, yeah,' he said awkwardly. 'I'll figure it out. Just – you know – give me a century or two.'

Daphne giggled, looking over his shoulder at her treasure as it rested in his hands. 'Don't worry, I know you'll get it right!'

'Harry?' called Leo, looking worried. 'I think someone's coming. This spell of yours will keep others out, right?'

'What?' replied Harry without looking up, absent-mindedly giving the object a nudge with his finger. 'No enemy of ours should notice us, don't worry.'

This time, with a look of concentration, he softly prodded the stone or whatever it was with his wand. To his delight, the buzzing intensified ever so slightly.

'And what about people that aren't our enemies?' called Leo urgently.

'What?'

'Er, that's Draco right there, walking directly in our direction. Do you think it'll work on him?'

'Uh-oh,' said Tracey with a grin. 'Hurry, Harry!'

'Excuse me,' said Harry indignantly. 'I'm ever so sorry for not figuring this out in an instant. This is about the most complex piece of enchantment I've seen in my entire life!'

'Okay, we'll forgive you this one time, but right now really would be a good time to get going!' hissed Amy.

'Guys?'

Harry's eyes were glued to the steadily increasing frequency of the buzzing, but even without looking up he could easily identify the voice.

'What are you all doing here?' called Draco incredulously. 'Did you bet Zabini as well? I can't believe that eyetie was willing to wager twenty Galleons that I wouldn't make it into Honeydukes during curfew!'

'Harry, we need you to figure this out – not indulge in your idle academic curiosity!' snapped Tracey with a hint of panic.

'Oops!' said Harry, eyeing the now softly glowing Portkey with increasing concern.

'Oops?' repeated Tracey apprehensively. 'What oops?! There's not going to be an oops! This will be an entirely oops-free operation! Do you hear me, Harry?'

'I, er, I seem to have set it off – just a bit.'

'Just a bit?! How can you set it off a bit? Do you even know where it's going? Stop it!'

'I can't! I've never seen a Portkey like this before!'

'Wait, so...what?!'

The Portkey wasn't so much glowing as gleaming now. 'Everyone, touch the Portkey!' yelled Harry in a panic.

'What?!' asked Draco, running towards them and leaning on Harry. 'What Portkey?!'

'NOT YOU, DRACO! LET G-'

It was precisely that moment the Portkey chose to activate.

~BLVoD~

Curiously, riding this mysterious Portkey didn't feel at all like anything Harry could ever have expected. Instead of the spinning, he had the distinct impression of taking a dive in icy water, including the unwelcome sensation of his lungs contracting in panic.

With a thud and a lot of yelling, their little group crashed into the floor of a great foyer that the dim blue light failed to illuminate. Due to how his training sessions with Aenor usually ended, Harry – an expert on all matters of floors – could immediately tell that he was currently squashed against authentic Italian marble. Sadly, the five people on top of him prevented him from appreciating that.

'Get off!' he managed to shout despite the hand someone had inadvertently pressed over his mouth.

There was a lot of rustling, shifting, and moving – including someone painfully treading on his hand – but, eventually, he was free to stand up.

'Oops,' said Tracey in a not altogether convincing imitation of remorse. 'Sorry about that, Harry.'

'Wow, that was strange!' said Draco, curiously looking around.

Harry, straightening his robes and scowling at Tracey, had a look as well. More than a dozen fireplaces, softly glimmering in azure colours, decorated the great hall they had so unimpressively invaded in what must have been the most laughable break-in in Britain's history. To his right stood a little wooden desk labelled security. A steaming mug still stood on top, right next to yesterday's Prophet. The chair was overturned.

Hundreds of portraits hung, high and out of reach, on the wall – some colourful, some sombre, but every last one of them empty. So was the desk. So was the reception. So was every last hearth.

The entire atrium of the Ministry stood barren and silent.

'Er, why are we in the Ministry, guys?' asked Draco with a hint of panic. 'This is a joke, right?!'

Harry sighed. He really didn't want to deal with this right now.

'Hello?' insisted Draco loudly. 'This is a joke, isn't it?'

'Pipe down!' hissed Amy. 'We're breaking into the Ministry, so use your common sense – no yelling!' Draco stared at her, frozen in the act of formulating an outraged response that seemed unlikely to come any time soon. Amy, finding amusement in his stupor, smiled. 'Welcome aboard!'

'Oh, no! No, no, no, no, no! No. NO!' Draco turned around, taking a few steps behind the security counter, possibly to check if this was all an elaborate hoax. 'We're really in the Ministry?' he whimpered, looking imploringly at Harry to tell him it wasn't true.

Harry grinned apologetically. 'Sorry, mate.'

'Sorry, mate?! You've got to send me back! Father will kill me if I get caught here! Worse – he might actually disinherit me!'

'You should check your priorities, Malfoy,' muttered Daphne, rolling her eyes. But Harry could see that Draco's situation was a source of great joy for his cousin. They really didn't get along.

'The Portkey! Send me back with it!' insisted Draco.

'Not going to happen, Draco,' interjected Amy. 'We need that one. You're free to use the Floo, of course.'

'But they watch the Floo!'

Amy shrugged, disinterested. 'So what? It's just a fine.'

'Just a fine, just a fine,' mumbled Draco, looking vaguely deranged. 'What are you guys doing here anyway?' Looking at their grim expressions, he visibly recoiled. 'Wait! This isn't about your stupid monster hunt, is it? I said I wanted no part in it!'

'Oops!' said Leo with a penitent smile.

'This is all your fault, Leo!' whined Draco, grabbing Leo's robes and shaking him.

'I don't know what you're talking about, Draco. You didn't have to grab the Portkey, you know?'

'Screw that bleeding Portkey! I hate you! It's always the same with you!' As if all life had left him, Draco slowly slumped down. 'My father will kill me,' he repeated again, hitting the floor with his fists. 'I'm so dead!'

'My mother works at the Ministry, Draco. If I get caught here tonight, she'll lose her job. But do you see me bitching about the stupidity of this mission?' huffed Tracey impatiently, shifting sideways so her back was turned to Harry, her wand in her hand.

'Fine! Whatever! Just...do whatever it is you'll be doing. I'll wait here. If I get caught, I'll tell everyone that I was abducted. When you inevitably get caught too, you can back me up.'

'You really have some nerve, you stupid Maltese,' growled Daphne angrily, arms akimbo.

Before Draco could come up with another undoubtedly hot-headed response, a long and terribly drawn-out scream shook the entire floor. Slowly, so terribly slowly, it changed into a gurgling noise – until it stopped as abruptly as it had begun

For a few seconds, all of them stared apprehensively into the darkness ahead.

'I, er, I...I think I'll be sticking with you after all,' mumbled Draco, gripping his wand.

'What the hell was that?' whispered Daphne nervously.

'Have you seen any sign of security so far, Daphne?' Amy boldly took a few steps forward, tense and ready. 'Our arrival wasn't exactly the subtlest of entrances. And yet nobody's come running.'

'It's strange...' admitted Daphne, taking out her own wand.

'They're dead,' said Tracey, once again revealing her tic for speaking uncomfortable truths when upset.

'We don't know that!' insisted Daphne meekly.

Tracey just shook her head. 'Those things are monsters. No guard browsing his newspaper and slurping coffee would've stood a chance.'

'Come on,' said Harry. 'We'd better get moving.'

He walked up to Amy. With a nod, he ignited his wand just enough to reveal the floor a dozen yards further ahead.

'Where are we heading?' asked Draco, squinting his eyes, apparently fearing the worst.

'The Department of Mysteries.'

'I hate you, Leo!'

'What? This wasn't my idea I'll have you know!'

'It's still your fault. I just know it!'

Harry rolled up his sleeve, flexing his right hand. 'Remember – we're not here to fight the Lethifolds. We just need to look for their point of origin and shut it close. Let the Aurors deal with the monsters. Staying alive is our top priority.'

'Merlin, I hope so,' whispered Draco.

Everyone nodded at his words. Leo, Amy, and Tracey looked tense but ready for whatever there was to come.

Daphne walked up to him. 'Harry?' she whispered, casting nervous glances over her shoulder to check if someone could overhear her.

'Yes?'

'Do...do you think I'm a coward? Because, right now, I'm really, really scared.'

With a brief smile, Harry took her hand and gave it a squeeze. 'So am I.'

~BLVoD~

Carefully, they flit from cover to cover, Harry and Amy leading, Tracey and Leo trailing as the rear guard, Daphne acting as a general lookout, and Draco fearing for his inheritance. Though maybe that was just his way of dealing with the stress because, to Harry's surprise, it was actually Draco who called for them to stop halfway to the elevators.

'Do you guys smell that?'

Harry and Amy jerked to a halt, raising their noses like a pair of rabbits. For a second, Harry couldn't make out anything particular. There was the scent of wand polish and belladonna, both of which he attributed to Amy. There was also the faint smell of wax, the stinging odour of germicide, and the general tang of the infirmary still sticking to his clothes. Other than that...

Turning his head, he caught a very gentle draught bringing the metallic stench of copper he would always recognise...

Narrowing his eyes, Harry peered into the darkness ahead, refusing to yield to the lack of light.

'It's blood,' said Amy, emotionless.

Harry froze. More light was out of the question, but the crepuscule was somehow worse than either extreme. It was blinding him to what lay ahead. 'Nox!'

'Harry?' asked Daphne nervously.

'Shhh!' hissed Amy.

Slowly, the black and grey shades and shadows further down the hall started to come into focus. There, sure enough, were the golden doors of the lifts. But right there on the floor, beside the grate...there were shadows where there weren't supposed to be any. For a second, one shadow further down the hall rather looked like a crouched figure, but he couldn't make out any sign of movement even after half a minute. There was also something else, something equally worrying but much more pressing...

For a few more moments, Harry stared unaffected at two of the oozing piles of something...someone. Now that his eyes were fully adjusted to the lack of artificial light, he thought he saw something steely reflect the bluish hue of the Floo – like dog tags.

'How can you possibly see something? It's pitch-black!'

Harry's eyes darted to his left where Daphne had sneaked up on him. He didn't want her to see this.

'No lights. Everyone, take someone's hand. I'll lead, then Amy, Daphne, Draco, Leo. Tracey, you keep an eye on things in the back.'

'What? Why her?' whispered Leo.

'Because it makes the most sense,' he said enigmatically. 'Come on.' Without another word, he grabbed Amy's hand.

Like children, he led his friends towards their destination, one eye on the strange shadow from before, trying to sidestep as many of the gory puddles all around them as possible. But there were a lot of them.

'Ugh! I think I've stepped into something...sticky!'

'You'll be able to wash soon enough, little brother,' said Amy coolly.

'No wandlight!' snapped Harry, just to make sure Leo wouldn't give in to his unfortunate cleaning habits.

'Oh my god,' yowled Daphne. 'Can we get this over with? I can only breathe through my mouth for so long. This place smells like dragon dung!'

'No,' disagreed Amy matter-of-factly. 'It smells like a butchery.'

'Quiet!' Picking up the pace, Harry silently led his entourage forward, their nervous steps echoing on the marble and – sometimes – splashing just like a kid dancing in the puddles after a storm.

He was never so glad to finally reach a door. Hastily turning the handle and ignoring the 'goo' on the knob, he ushered his friends inside. With a sigh of relief, he pressed the number nine. When the shadowy nightmares of the first floor had vanished from his view, he closed his eyes, holding his left hand in front of them just to be sure.

'Okay, let's make a bit of light,' he said in a calm voice, flicking his wand, drawing it back, and flicking it again. Exercising a certain amount of caution, he silently focused. Lumos Maxima!

The effect was instantaneous. Despite his protective measures, he could see the back of his hand momentarily lighting up in angry red. The others, however, weren't impressed.

'What the fuck?!' shrieked Daphne, rubbing her eyes.

'Merlin!' cried Draco.

'What in Morgana's name was that?' yelled Amy angrily. 'Harry? Was that you?'

Ignoring his friends cursing, Harry opened his eyes. He had held back, of course; he didn't want them to suffer any permanent damage. But this would give him a few precious seconds. Igniting his wand with a more mundane Lumos, he inspected his flailing, swearing, and eye-rubbing friends.

Their robes up to their knees were soaked red, their boots a mess of brown, red and other unspeakable things. A bit of gluey and almost unrecognisably defiled leather, presumably from a trench coat, had gotten caught in his bootlaces.

With a blank look, he waved his wand, slowly siphoning away the blood and grime. When Daphne and Amy, both leaning against the lift cage and swearing imaginatively, finally opened their red eyes, Harry had just finished tidying up.

'What the hell was that for?!' Amy was positively bristling with anger.

'I apologise!' he said, holding up his hands. 'The nerves, I suspect. Overdid it a bit.'

Amy glared suspiciously at him, clearly entirely unconvinced. Daphne just looked around, helping Tracey up. Her best friend seemed to have gotten the worst of the impromptu flashbang, panting heavily and looking distinctly green.

'Are you kidding me?!' ranted Draco, glowering at him through one teary eye. 'You want me to believe that you messed up a charm as simple as Lumos?

'Even I make mistakes! Look, I'm sorry!'

Draco grumbled angrily for a while, rubbing his eyes. Leo, finally getting up, looked first at their boots, then at Harry. With an almost imperceptible nod at Harry, he put one arm around Draco, helping him up. 'Come on. Everyone can make mistakes. Remember your first flying lesson? I heard you didn't even grip the broom right.'

'That was something entirely different,' snapped Draco, looking embarrassed and – strangely – mollified.

A cool female voice interrupted their quarrel. 'Level 9: Department of Mysteries.' With a rattling clink Harry was sure would echo through the entire building, the door slid open.

They stood in a dark, forbidding corridor Harry had only ever seen in a Pensive, cold black walls opening every once in a while to give way to heavy doors that gave off an impression of neglect. The air was cold and stale.

'This way,' he whispered. 'Everyone, be wary of movement. When in doubt, fire f-'

Just then, a blindingly bright, steel-melting flame of orange and blue shot past him, searing his hair and crashing with an angry hiss into the stone wall a dozen yards further ahead.

For a few seconds, he stared numbly at the still sizzling flames, absent-mindedly patting his smoking hair. Incredibly, the flames seemed to be melting the stone. Merlin...

Harry gave a cough. 'Amy...?' he guessed.

'Saw movement,' she growled in a low voice. 'Fired first.'

Heads ducked, they scurried over to the softly red glowing part of the wall, keeping a certain amount of distance from the wall due to the scorching heat. Whatever had been on the wall or unfortunately lingering within a few feet, it definitely wasn't there anymore.

'Maybe a portrait?' proposed Tracey, looking further down the hall. 'There's a few of them down here, though these seem to be the last ones. I think Mum told me once that there weren't any in the actual confines of the department.'

'Whatever portrait it was, I think we can assume it thoroughly dealt with,' opined Daphne drily. 'Nice curse, Amy!'

'Thanks!'

Harry did not exactly feel the same way. That curse, whatever it had been, was exactly the sort of spell Bellatrix would approve of – deadly, reckless, and dangerous even to the caster, her allies, and all manner of furniture in a radius of at least 20 feet.

'Come on,' he said. 'We shouldn't test our luck tonight!'

Eventually, they reached a corridor with only one massive door at its end. The door, strangely smooth and clean, stood ever so slightly ajar, which was definitely lucky as it did not have any lock or knob Harry could make out.

Right in front of the door, with an expression of utter terror, crouched a man wearing a brown trench coat, wand clutched in his hand, a silent scream on his lips. He didn't move.

'Harry?' whispered Draco urgently. 'Why the hell is he facing this way? I thought whatever you guys are looking for is in there, not coming from the outside!'

'It does seem strange,' agreed Leo, bending over the body.

'What are you doing?' asked Daphne, revolted.

'Checking for injuries.' They watched in silence as Leo examined the corpse, cutting clothing, looking at his eyes, carotid, and inspecting his skin in the soft light of his wand. 'He's still warm, but there's nothing. Whatever killed him didn't leave any physical evidence.'

'He died of fear?' Daphne inquired wide-eyed.

'Stranger things have happened,' responded Harry. 'We should get a move on.'

'Harry!' Tracey's voice was urgent. Her eyes, he noticed, weren't drawn to the corpse but to a tiny red symbol on the door. It looked like a cross in a circle, almost like paint. But the longer he stared, the more he got the impression that it was slowly fading. A spell mark, perhaps?

'What is it?' he asked.

'That mark – the Ministry's on lock-down. Nothing goes in or out: no Portkeys, no Apparition, no Floo. Only designated Portkeys like ours belonging to Aurors and certain executives should work. This place will be swarming with Aurors – the whole DMLE will be heading towards this place within the hour! It's procedure in case of foreign attacks.'

'Guess that means the Lethifolds are really back?' surmised Leo.

'Numbers don't mean anything,' said Harry grimly. 'Even a hundred Aurors don't stand a chance against a pack of Lethifolds down here. At least until someone invents a charm to let the sun rise underground!'

'Harry, you did listen to Tracey, did you? We'll never make it! Please, we should leave while we can, not go further in! We don't even know if our Portkey will work in the Department of Mysteries!' begged Draco. 'Be sensible, man! We should take to our heels and get out of this mess!'

'And how do you know the Aurors aren't already on the main level?' Harry retorted, equanimous. 'We'd be running straight into them.'

Draco cussed, tearing at his hair. 'Damn!'

'We should go on,' said Daphne, despite her anxious glances at the dead Auror. 'If Harry says this needs fixing, then we're going to fix this!'

'Well said,' agreed Amy, idly spinning her wand in her hand.

Leo nodded determinedly.

'I guess,' said Tracey, resigned. 'I knew it would come to this...'

Draco grumbled for a bit. Then, with the mad enthusiasm of someone feeling the noose tighten around his neck, he spoke out as if telling a story. 'Two wizards, two witches, and two half-bloods walk into the Department of Mysteries...'

'Shut up!' snarled Daphne. 'This isn't a joke!'

Amy ruthlessly kicked the dead Auror out of the way so they could fully open the door. Both Harry and Draco flinched a bit but followed their cousin. The time for these kinds of niceties was long past.

The door led into a dark, circular room. The walls, floor, and even the ceiling were entirely covered in sinful black marble that glowed with the eldritch light cast by the blue torches that hung beneath twelve doors that stood equispaced.

As soon as Tracey entered the room, the door behind them snapped shut.

'Why did you-' began Daphne, but her question was interrupted when the entire room shifted, rotating like a giant gyro, the doors on the wall blurring from the speed of the spinning motion.

'Merlin, I think I'm going to get sick!'

Nobody reacted to Draco's understandable reaction. Harry too felt rather queasy, forcing his gaze towards his feet to fight the rising nausea.

A few seconds later, the doors came to a sudden halt.

'What the hell?!' demanded Daphne. 'We don't even know which door we came through!'

Harry, looking from one indistinguishable shiny black door to the next, immediately realised that she was right. 'Tracey?'

'What?! I'm not an Unspeakable, you know?! This must be a measure to keep intruders out. The only thing I know is that there are at least half a dozen chambers beyond the entrance.'

'Are they interconnected? Or do we have to backtrack until we guess right?'

'I think the chambers are arranged in a circle, but I wouldn't bet on it. Honestly, I've never been down here!'

Harry nodded thoughtfully. Wand at the ready, he approached one door at random. Slowly, he ran his fingers down the highly polished marble. For a second, he considered allowing his second vision a bit of leeway, but – remembering his initial reaction to Hogwarts – he immediately thought better of it. Whatever the Unspeakables stored and researched down here, he was sure the place was positively drenched in magic. And he wouldn't be of help to his friends, bleeding from his eyes, ears and nose.

'Maybe we should open one at random?' proposed Daphne, walking up to him.

'I like it!' agreed Amy eagerly.

Harry grimaced, unconvinced. He didn't particularly feel like arbitrarily tearing open doors, but – admittedly – he also couldn't think of anything better. He was just about to point his wand towards the door in front of him when it suddenly crashed open.

A man, his face twisted in despair and horror, stumbled through, his trench coat bloody, one arm dangling stiff and useless from his shoulder. Whatever chamber he came from was ablaze with light, screams, and spellfire. He turned around, his eyes staring at Harry's in confusion – until they both heard a female voice shout, 'Expulso!'

Harry's eyes widened as a huge explosion blasted the man into the room, slamming him into the ground. As soon as the man was out of the threshold, the door shut itself, causing the walls to spin again.

Draco cussed yet again, and Harry would have liked nothing better than to join in. The Auror didn't get up. Nor should he be able to, considered Harry angrily, given how twisted his limbs were.

'What the hell, Daphne!' Harry yelled irately.

'He was moving. Now he's not,' she returned resolutely. 'I'm not going to risk someone cursing you!'

'We could've gotten information from him!'

'Do you know any Legilimency?' interrupted Amy.

'No, but maybe we could've-'

'It's no use, Harry,' stated Tracey. She, too, didn't look particularly happy, and he could see her glancing at Daphne with a certain amount of apprehension. 'They're Aurors – not school children. They won't tell us anything. At least he's alive – probably.'

Harry averted his eyes, gritting his teeth.

Amy looked at him disapprovingly. 'You're too soft, Harry. Right now, it's us or them. For that matter, I'm not sure we should keep him alive; he saw you!'

'No!' Scowling, Harry marched towards downed Auror. 'We're not here to kill Aurors, damn it! Enough people have died due to my stupidity!' With an angry snarl, he pointed his wand at the Auror. 'Obliviate!'

'That works, too, I guess,' admitted Amy with a shrug.

'Anyway,' said Leo, coughing politely and pointing towards the slowly decelerating doors. 'We're back to square one.'

'And I propose we don't visit the corridor that guy came from,' added Draco, pointing at the unconscious man. 'That place looked like a freaking war zone!'

Harry, still bent over the unknown Auror whom he now identified as one of those belonging to Antonius' outfit, furrowed his brow, casting a few charms to make sure the man would live. He saw the wisdom in his cousins' words, as different as their motivations likely were, but he just couldn't bring himself to listen. Indignant, he made to stand up again when his eyes fell on the man's left shoulder. It was more than stiff, he noticed; the skin – visible under a few tears in the man's uniform – seemed grey and unnaturally inflexible. And it stank of rot.

'Amy? Daphne? Come here, please.'

Daphne, avoiding his eyes, walked over. So did Amy, though the Lestrange sister did not appear fazed in any way. Harry was upset, but he realised this wasn't the time. He'd always known that Amy could be more than just ruthless. Daphne, on the other hand...Her dependency on him was probably less than healthy at times. It couldn't be helped – really. Sadly, obsession cut both ways. But this wasn't the time! He needed both girls, and not just because they had skills in areas he didn't particularly excel in...

'That wound,' he said, trying to not sound wroth. 'What do you think?'

Both girls bent over the man, had a look at the stony flesh, shared a glance, and turned towards him again.

'Definitely a curse,' diagnosed Daphne.

'Pretty Dark Magic,' supplemented Amy, prodding the infected area with her wand.

'How advanced?' inquired Harry.

'Very,' replied Daphne curtly, still evading his gaze.

Amy nodded. 'Could be a real petrification. That's as dark as curses get, really. Honestly, I'm amazed he managed to contain the curse.'

What the hell is going on?! Lethifolds don't use magic like that.

Harry sighed. When he was about to turn away, Daphne grabbed his sleeve. 'Look, Harry, I'm sorry,' she breathed in a pleading tone. 'But I'm not going to stand by and let anyone hurt you – ever! You can't demand that from me. Anything but that!'

Harry rubbed his eyes, taking a deep breath. 'I know...'

'Harry?'

They both turned around. Tracey and Draco were huddled around one of the many doors.

'What is it?'

'It seems we can mark the doors. Look! This one still has a splash of blood on it.'

Harry nodded, feeling some amount of relief that they didn't have to visit that place. Whatever battle was going on there, he was sure he wanted no part of it.

With his wand, he drew a glowing, orange skull on the door, the charm burning into the marble. 'Good enough?'

Leo, walking over, nodded.

'Yes, now there's only eleven left,' muttered Draco sarcastically. 'We'll be out in a jiffy!'

'So, I guess we're back to guessing?' asked Amy.

'Yes,' replied Harry. 'Be prepared. But – and I'm not going to repeat that – only hex or curse when there's no other option! We don't know how many Aurors are down here, and we'll never be able to escape if they notice us!'

Tracey and, unsurprisingly, Draco looked a bit relieved. Amy gave a non-committal shrug. Harry decided that he'd just have to hope for the best. With a nod to everyone, he opened another door at random.

The hall beyond was so impossibly wide and high that even Harry felt awed, his eyes locked on the tremendous and perfectly scaled model of the solar system. He could feel the heat of the sun, blazing in the centre of the room, its entire surface a flowing, thermodynamic marvel to behold. He couldn't actually make out Earth. Jupiter and Saturn, giants in their own right and yet comically dwarfed by the sun, were aligned in such a way that they were blocking their view of the inner planets.

What they weren't blocking, however, was another door leading to yet another unknown chamber. What they also weren't blocking were the three Aurors cowering next to the door, out of breath, some – by the looks of it – wounded.

'Let's bail!' hissed Draco. 'They haven't seen us yet!'

'Let's attack!' Amy, grinning, shot back. 'They haven't seen us yet!'

'Are you mad?' wailed Draco, unnaturally high-pitched.

Amy shrugged. 'Three problems less.'

'This is madness! Harry, tell me you're with me here!'

Harry was about to admit that Draco's advice sounded a lot more plausible, but then he had another look at the Aurors. They weren't looking in their direction at all – as if they knew that whatever worried them was beyond the door they were cowering behind.

'Under normal circumstances,' began Daphne slowly, 'I'd reluctantly agree with the bleached mutt. But not only do they look like they're taking a breather, they also seem wary of the room ahead. What if they decide to flee and stumble into the Room of Doors when we're unprepared?'

Draco blanched.

'That does seem like the worst-case scenario,' said Leo. 'If there really are Aurors already behind us – and we have no way of knowing for sure – we'll be boxed in.'

'Tracey?' mumbled Harry, willing to hear all of their opinions.

The petite witch scowled. 'Seems like a choice between the devil and the deep blue sea.'

Harry really didn't want to tangle with Aurors. Even if his little group had an over-abundance of talent, those people down there were the very best and – frankly – completely out of their league. Despite their injuries, they'd be more than a match for any of them, any pair of them. Then again, this wouldn't be a test of strength. With any luck, they might make a clean sweep without giving them any chance to retaliate.

'Leo, Draco,' he whispered, 'the both of you take the short one on the right. Amy, Tracey, the one in the middle. Daphne, we'll take the one on the left. This is an ambush, guys – not a fight. We'll sneak through the Kuiper Belt until we're within thirty yards. Then, we'll open fire on my sign and on my sign only. One of you aims to distract and unbalance, the second one to incapacitate.' With a meaningful glance at Amy, he added, 'Non-permanently! If they see us coming, I'll try to engage them in a conversation while we converge before fleeing with the Portkey. Understood?'

Pointing his wand at his companions, he swished his wand in a circular motion. Obscuro!

He'd worked on this particular spell after his and Tracey's latest exploit. While the spell still somewhat dimmed and narrowed the recipient's field of vision, it didn't completely blind them any longer.

Thankfully, they didn't cry out as they felt his magic wash over them. If there was even the slightest chance of this going wrong, Harry was willing to prepare any insurance imaginable.

With some amusement, he watched Daphne reel in shock, patting at her own hood.

'This spell will obscure your hood. We don't want any fallout for any person should this go wrong.'

'Or any person's inheritance,' added Draco, sounding immensely relieved.

Harry rolled his eyes. 'Let's go!'

And off they were. It was at once both easy and treacherously difficult to sneak through the hall. Though the circumstellar disk offered plentiful cover by means of asteroids, dust, and gas clouds, every object to crouch behind was tirelessly on the move.

Scurrying from one asteroid to the next with Daphne as his backup, Harry felt his heart skip a beat when a huge shadow he'd taken for a distant asteroid turned out to be Neptune. To his left, Tracey and Amy were having similar difficulties staying in cover while still proceeding faster than him and Daphne. Leo, by stark contrast, was already approaching the designated spot for their ambush, Draco struggling to keep up with the nimble boy.

Four minutes of tense sneaking later, they finally made it. Harry didn't doubt for a single second that their success was more due to luck, the Auror's apparent distress and exhaustion, as well as the incredibly complex, moving terrain with its innumerable shadows that made spotting incoming attackers practically impossible.

Still, Harry knew this was a gamble. Even one Auror that they didn't manage to instantly overwhelm could, in the worst of cases, prove too much for all six of them – especially as these appeared to be select individuals of Antonius' vanguard. Truthfully, it would have been more sensible to just track the way back towards the room of doors, but – and here Harry reluctantly agreed with Daphne – he couldn't allow Aurors at their backs. If he had a chance to take them out with minimal risk, he would take it. He didn't want to turn tail and run like a beaten dog!

Once he was sure he had everyone's attention, he raised his hand, all fingers outstretched.

Slowly, he bent his thumb.

Four

Daphne was looking at him, resolute and – understandably – anxious.

Three

He gave her a brief smile. 'We'll make it, trust me. Just follow my lead. You disrupt, I'll finish.'

Two

'I trust you, Harry,' she replied, not even a trace of doubt in her voice.

One

'...and you know I'd follow you to the steps of hell...'

He forcefully yanked his hand down. From one second to the next, the planetarium was brightened by three simultaneous jets of light, accompanied by loud yelling and swearing. His heart leapt as he saw Daphne's hex make contact with the hunched figure. The Auror toppled over, and Harry – not missing a beat – jumped out from behind his cover, aiming his wand with the intention to stun.

To his right, a giant ball of sickly green flames shot through the dark, racing towards Tracey's and – more relevantly – Amy's target. The scorching inferno cast fleeting shadows and light on both Harry, his friends, as well as the Aurors.

And just as Harry was about to finish casting his Stunning Spell, the light fell on the man in front of him. But it wasn't a man at all. That wasn't – as such – a problem for Harry, who had trained with witches for the better part of his life. What was a problem, however, was that he knew the witch in front of him – knew her quite well. Too well.

The spell died in Harry's throat as he stared in confusion and disbelief at the familiar heart-shaped face and twinkling eyes. He recognised neither hairstyle nor colour but that was entirely unnecessary. Disregarding the complete and utter chaos surrounding him, he heard his own raspy voice call out.

'...Dora...?'