Chapter 78
Ministry of Magic
Note from J.M. Jackson: Sorry I didn't get this chapter out last week, my fault entirely, with the release of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, I got very easily distracted. Usually, I would post two chapters as an apology, but I want to leave you all in suspense this week. I know, I'm evil, but it'll be worth it, I hope.
The flight to London was done in silence as everyone felt anxious, scared, and a little excited as they knew they were doing something no one would ever expect them to do. Lily, who had flown next to Marietta, had shared a look with her; Lily understood her feelings of needing to redeem herself.
For Lily, though, she felt confident; since the attack on her Aunt Minnie, she had started to realise why she fought. In a sense, she owed Umbridge for that, which felt weird to think.
As the group landed in an alley, Marietta looked at them as she stood near to a red telephone box. "This is the visitors entrance to the Ministry of Magic. My mum's brought me here a few times," Marietta explained. "I… I'll go first, if you like."
"You'll need to show us how, we can't all fit in there," Hermione pointed out.
"Once inside, close the door, and press the buttons six, two, four, four, and two. It spells out magic," Marietta explained.
"Seems simple enough," Lily mused. "I'll go first, with Hermione, Ginny, and Ron. The rest of you follow straight after," she insisted.
"Alright," Neville agreed. "Be careful."
"Always," Lily promised, as she got into the phone booth. Lily looked at her friends, meeting their gazes. "Thank you, for this, and for always being with me."
"We're with you to the end, Lily," Ron promised.
"What Ron said," Hermione agreed.
"I'm never leaving your side," Ginny held Lily's hand. Lily smiled softly, before pressing the buttons that Marietta said.
As soon as Lily pressed two the second time, the phone box shook gently as the floor lowered itself down. As soon as the group were fully out of sight, a new floor appeared above them as the lift continued to take them downwards.
It was a short trip, and as they neared the bottom of the shaft, a friendly voice spoke.
"Visitors, welcome to the Ministry of Magic. Please state your names and purpose for visit."
"Lily Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Ginny Weasley, here to save the Wizarding World," Lily replied. Several name badges popped out of the phone, with their names, as well as 'Saving the world' written on them. The voice then told them they'd need to check their wands with the receptionist.
As the lift stopped, the group stepped out, looking around the darkened ministry. Lily cast a Lumos charm, with the others copying her. She began to look around as she heard the others emerging from the phone box.
They were at the end of a long hall which had polished, dark wooden floor, and a peacock-blue ceiling. There were golden symbols that were moving and changing like some sort of notice board. The walls were panelled in a shiny dark wood, with a number of fireplaces on both sides.
There was also a group of massive golden statues in the middle of a circular pool. Lily saw there were a number of magical beings, including a beautiful witch, a handsome wizard, a centaur, a goblin, and a house-elf. The last three seemed to be looking up at the witch and wizard as if they were almost in love with the two. Lily felt a little disgusted; did the designers think witches and wizards were some sort of gods to other beings? She hoped not, but it looked like it.
She also noticed the wands were spouting jets of water upwards and coming back down into the pool. It wasn't the first time she'd seen a magical water fountain, but it was the most opulent.
As the group gathered by Lily, wands alight, she looked at them. "Alright, so far, seems empty. Marietta, is this normal?" Lily asked.
"Not usually. There's always someone around at night, in case the Auror's need to bring in a criminal or something," Marietta replied.
"Alright, let's keep our eyes open. We need to get moving to where the prophecies are," Lily said, looking around as she felt anxious. "This definitely feels like some sort of trap."
"Agreed," Hermione said, as she looked around. "Marietta, do you know where the prophecies are kept?"
"Not exactly. I mean, I never knew there were prophecies, but I think they'd likely be with the department of mysteries," Marietta replied.
"Yeah, that makes sense," Ron agreed.
"Department of mysteries?" Lily asked.
"They deal with the weirder stuff in the wizarding world," Cho clarified.
"Weirder stuff? I'm almost afraid to ask what that means," Lily admitted as they all followed Marietta.
"Yeah, that's probably a good instinct to follow," Cormac recommended as they kept looking around the area as they moved, watching for any movement.
"Thanks, that makes me feel better," Lily muttered, as they turned a corridor. "Wait… this place…"
"What about it?" Ginny asked, as she stood next to Lily. She met Lily's gaze and nodded. "You sure?"
"Not really, but it feels like it," Lily admitted.
"What?" Cho asked.
"I think this is where Ginny and Ron's dad was attacked before Christmas," Lily replied. She had shared the story with her close friends and summarised it for the group.
"That likely means we're heading in the right direction," Ernie told her.
"Agreed," Angelina added, as they continued down the stairs, seeing a number of empty paintings around them, which meant their occupants were elsewhere. Were they hiding, sleeping, or visiting someone? Or had they been forced to leave by White?
It didn't take them too long to find the room they needed; there had been a sign showing the way to the hall of prophecies. As they stood outside of the hall, Lily looked at the group.
"Alright, so we know this is a trap, so we need to be very careful," Lily said, opening the door. "How many are there?"
"Way too many," Hermione replied softly. The 'hall' looked like it was bigger than the grounds of Hogwarts itself.
"We need to split up, it'll make it quicker to search," Ron said.
"Teams of two," Lily agreed. "We're looking for anything related to me and Voldemort."
"Right," Hermione went with Parvati, Lavender went with Ron, and Lily went with Ginny as the others also split up, although Lily didn't see who went with who.
"You think we'll find it quickly?" Ginny asked softly as they were checking names.
"Under normal circumstances? No, but I get the feeling we'll get a clue when we're near," Lily replied. "White's clearly set this up, and he won't want us to get lost here."
"I hate this," Ginny admitted. "Being here, knowing it's a trap, knowing we're about to be in a fight for our lives."
"I know you're scared Ginny, and so am I. But together, there's nothing we can't do. Look how much we've done together, and how far we've come," Lily said.
"You've definitely got more confidence, Lily, and I'm glad for that. Hearing what you said made me realise something," Ginny told her. "I choose to fight for you, and for love. You're my reason, Lily, and you always will be."
"And you'll always be my reason," Lily said, stopping and pressing her lips to Ginny's. That moment felt like time had frozen for Lily, a feeling that was pure perfection. She knew in that moment that they'd be okay, because she was with Ginny and with her friends.
As Hermione walked with Parvati, the two of them were looking carefully at the names by the prophecies. "You feeling as nervous as I am?" Parvati asked.
"A little, but more confident knowing Fleur's going to be here soon with backup," Hermione replied. Parvati smiled a little.
"You've always got that smile on your face when you talk about Fleur. I know how you feel though, if I'm being honest. I've been spending a lot of time with Neville, and he… well, he's just so sweet. Every day we talk, and the more we do, the more confident he sounds. When I first saw him, I'll admit I wasn't sure what to think, but he has such a deep soul," Parvati said. Hermione allowed a small smile to spread across her face.
"You're definitely in love with him," Hermione giggled softly.
"I think so, and I'm glad I am. He made this year… bearable," Parvati said, smirking. Her smirk faded as she looked around. "Okay, I'm getting a little scared."
"I know. So am I," Hermione confessed.
"But you never seem scared," Parvati looked shocked as she spoke.
"Oh, I'm always terrified whenever we do something stupid like this, but I've learnt that being friends with Lily Potter means doing things like this, and if you can't find Lily, put yourself in danger, and Lily will be there," Hermione joked. Parvati couldn't help but giggle.
"And if we ever want to find you, we just pronounce a spell wrong, or state a fact wrong," Parvati teased, causing Hermione to laugh.
"I'm not that bad, am I?" Hermione asked.
"Wingardium Leviosar," Parvati teased.
"It's Levi-o-sa," Hermione corrected, before laughing softly.
"Thanks Hermione, I needed this laugh," Parvati said.
"Anytime," Hermione replied, before stopping. She saw what looked like a glowing light, so she grabbed her wand and sent up a red light.
"You think that's a clue?" Parvati asked.
"I do. The Minister will want us to find the prophecy so that Lily can take it. We're about to spring the trap," Hermione warned, ready to launch an attack.
Lily and Ginny ran, reaching Hermione just as the others all reached her. "What have you found?" Lily asked. Hermione pointed to the glowing light, so Lily approached it, and saw a glowing orb vanish as she approached.
On the shelf ahead of her was a glass orb, with the words 'S.P.T. to A.P.W.B.D. Dark Lord and (?) Harry Potter.
"This is it," Lily agreed, looking at it carefully. She reached out and carefully picked it up, studying it. "This is what Voldemort's been after? It seems so… small."
"Size doesn't matter. Look at Ginny; she's not someone you want on your bad side," Ron replied.
"Lily, do it," Ginny said. Lily nodded, and went to move her hand, but stopped as a familiar voice spoke up.
"Hand it over, Potter," the voice of Lucius Malfoy spoke up.
Lily turned around, seeing Lucius Malfoy, along with a number of Death Eaters around them. "Malfoy. Should have known you'd be the one here," Lily said, glaring at her.
"Well, I'm glad I didn't disappoint you," Malfoy Sr drawled, with a dark smile on his face. It was then that Lily noticed Elpenor White was standing next to Malfoy, along with several others she recognised from the Graveyard, as well as McNair, the man who had tried to execute Buckbeak.
"Umbridge did, she didn't exactly put up a good fight," Lily smirked. "She's dead, by the way."
Lily would forever treasure the look on White's face when Lily revealed that fact to the man. He looked like he had just been stabbed in the gut.
"You… you lie," White snarled.
"Why would I? Your secret's out, by the way. We know you're a Death Eater, although no ignoring this now. She told us about you, and your plans, before she was killed trying to kill my uncle," Lily grinned.
"You think this changes anything, Potter?" Malfoy asked, as another woman stepped forward. Lily saw Neville tensing up next to her. The woman was laughing.
"Wee Potty Potter thinks he's brave and better than us," the woman cackled.
"Bellatrix Lestrange," Neville snarled. Lily shot a side glance to Ginny, who held Neville's arm.
"So, you're the insane one Uncle Sirius is ashamed of. I can see why, you can't even do your hair properly," Lily taunted.
"Sure, Lily, piss off the maniacs, that's a smart move," Ron commented dryly, rolling his eyes.
"So why does Voldemort want this thing so much?" Lily asked. Bellatrix's smile faded as she glared at Lily.
"YOU DARE SAY HIS NAME, YOU FILTHY…" Bellatrix screeched, but was held back by Malfoy.
"Yeah, I don't have any problems saying your boss's name. I mean, he chose it when he was still a half blood. Shame he had to beg to become a pure blood," Lily taunted even more.
"HOW DARE YOU!" Bellatrix screeched, raising her wand.
"NOT UNTIL WE HAVE THE PROPHECY!" Malfoy commanded. He then faced Lily. "Hand it over, Potter, and you and your friends can leave."
"Right, because I'm really about to trust you, aren't I?" Lily asked, wondering where the hell Sirius and the others were. She had to make sure everyone got clear. She raised her hand up, ready to smash the prophecy. "Back off, or I destroy it."
"Do so, and you and your friends will all die, here, and now," Malfoy warned.
"Seems we're at a stalemate," Lily said.
"You think you and your friends can actually win against us?" Malfoy asked.
"Oh, I know they can. They're smarter, stronger, and faster than you," Lily said, seeing Cormac subtly take hold of the edge of one of the shelving units that held all the other Prophecies, waiting for her signal. "NOW!" she exclaimed. Cormac, Cho, and Marietta each pulled on the unit, pulling it down, which caused all the prophecies, along with the shelves, to start tumbling down.
The Death Eaters began to shriek as Lily and her friends ran in the opposite direction, as quickly as possible, whilst Lily still held the prophecy. She knew she might need it as a distraction, and as she and the others ran for the exit, streams of light shot past them, barely missing them.
Lily turned and fired curses back at the Death Eaters, hearing them screaming and running towards the group.
"SPLIT UP!" Lily ordered, as they reached another cross way. She led Ginny, Ron, and Hermione down one path, as the others went into two different groups. Lily hoped it was enough to get the Death Eaters to split up as well.
"Okay, so we sprung the trap. Now what?" Ron asked, as they reached a wall. Lily turned, seeing two Death Eaters race into view.
"CONFRINGO!" Lily called out, her spell striking the one of the left, just as Ginny hit the one of the right with the same spell. Both were sent flying backwards, landing hard against a unit full of prophecies, which shattered upon contact.
"Let's get moving," Lily insisted, as they ran towards the entrance of the hall, where the others were gathering, although Cho had just sent a curse into McNair, sending him flying backwards, hard.
"Where now?" Cormac asked.
"Back out of here, somewhere we can get the advantage," Lily replied, forcing open a large set of double doors. It didn't, however, lead back to where they'd entered, but instead to another large hall. There weren't prophecies in this hall, but there were a lot of shelving units carrying books, scrolls, and magical items. "Alright, let's do this," Lily said.
As one of the Death Eaters ran into the room, Lily immediately struck the man with a curse, before leaping out of the way of the curse headed for her.
She ran to Ginny, who was hiding behind a bookcase. "So this might not have been the best idea," Lily admitted.
"We've got the prophecy, right?" Ginny asked. Lily nodded, showing it to her.
"Soon as Sirius gets here, I'll destroy it. If I do it now, they'll just kill us. This way, they have to pull their punches," Lily said.
"Good thinking," Ginny complimented, before hearing a scream. They turned and saw that several jars had been shattered, and something that looked like brains with tentacles were attacking Death Eaters, with Neville and Parvati kicking another Death Eater.
"You two okay?" Lily asked, as she and Ginny raced over to them.
"I've been better," Parvati replied, firing a curse at someone entering the room.
"They can't all be Death Eaters, can they?" Neville asked, seeing more people apparating.
"No, probably people White's imperiused, so we need to be careful," Hermione chimed in as she reached the group. "Cho, Cormac, Angelina, and Katie are squaring off against White, they need help."
"We all need help," Lily pointed out as the group began to follow Hermione through the now chaos that was the large hall.
As they turned a corner, they were surprised by a Death Eater, Rookwood, but Lily and Ginny immediately reacted by spinning and kicking him in the face, sending him flying backwards.
"Okay, I know you've been learning kickboxing, but that was awesome," Ron complimented as he reached them.
"I feel like… I can do anything right now," Lily smiled.
"I hope so," Hermione commented, as another large bang echoed throughout the room. Looking around, there seemed to be an explosion from one side of the room.
"What was that?" Ginny asked.
"I don't know, but it didn't sound good," Lily replied, as she fired a curse at someone running towards them.
"Think we should check it out?" Hermione asked, as another explosion filled the air.
"We need to do something," Lily agreed, racing towards the explosion. Hermione shared a quick look with Parvati, before following her.
Turning a corner, Lily fired a curse at White as she saw him fighting Cho, Marietta, Katie, Angelina, and Cormac. There was also another unfamiliar attacker, a woman, who Lily didn't recognise, so she fired a curse at her as well.
As the two groups joined, Lily smiled at them. "You guys were doing well," Lily complimented.
"Barely. Took five of us to keep them at bay," Cormac muttered.
"Yeah, but they're trying to kill us, we're not that twisted," Ron pointed out. Cormac smiled briefly as they turned around.
"POTTER!" Lucius Malfoy's voice filled the room, and as they turned, they saw Malfoy standing in front of several Death Eaters, all of whom were holding onto Neville, Luna, and Ernie.
"Hiding behind kids? Shows how low you'll go, Malfoy," Lily snarled angrily, seeing that one of the people holding onto Luna was Narcissa Malfoy.
"Give us the prophecy, Potter, or we will kill them," Malfoy said calmly. "We didn't need to fight tonight, but you have fought well. Give me the prophecy, and you can all leave."
"How do I know you'll keep your word?" Lily asked, glaring at the man.
"Because I give you my word in the name of the Dark Lord. He does not care to kill children, and you were the ones who began the fight tonight," Malfoy pointed out. "I would never dare break that oath."
Lily looked at the prophecy and nodded.
"You and I meet in the middle," Lily said.
"Lily, don't," Ginny whispered.
"I have to. I won't let them die," Lily told her softly.
"Very well," Malfoy agreed. "Wands away," he added, sheathing his wand. Lily placed her wand back in its sleeve holder and showed that she was only holding the prophecy.
Malfoy looked at her, and stepped forward, with Lily mirroring his steps. They matched the other's steps until they met in the middle of the room.
"You are braver than anyone thinks, Miss Potter," Malfoy said softly. Lily's eyes widened. "Yes, I will do you the honour of recognising your true gender. It does not hurt to show respect to a foe."
"I guess not. Why does Voldemort want this so badly?" Lily asked softly.
"You don't know what's on it?" Malfoy asked, and for the first time since she'd met the older man, she could see confusion in his eyes.
"Not a clue. I only came here to stop your boss getting hold of it," Lily replied. "Do you know?"
"I don't ask, I merely obey," Malfoy replied. "Now, hand it over," he added. Lily looked at him.
"My friends first," she insisted. "I'm standing here, I can't really go anywhere, can I?"
"Release them," Malfoy commanded.
"I want…" Bellatrix began, but Malfoy raised his hand.
"I said release them, now," Malfoy ordered firmly. Lily watched as Luna, Neville and Ernie were released, and watched as they ran to the others. "I have kept up my end of the agreement."
"I will as well," Lily replied, bringing up the prophecy. "I always keep my word," she told the man as she handed him the orb.
"Indeed," Malfoy said. "You can go, you and your friends. You'll find I, too, always keep my word."
"I will stop Voldemort," Lily promised calmly. She wanted to attack, and to destroy the prophecy in that moment, but she had given her word. She would make sure her friends survived, no matter what. Unfortunately, it seemed that in order to do so, she would lose this battle, and she hoped it wouldn't mean she had just lost the war.
