"What do we do?" came Rose's voice from the darkness. "We have to get out of here! They'll get us if we go up!"
"I agree," said Scorpius. "Descendo!"
The ceiling flap that had blocked the way above them fell with a clatter, and the three of them, using their lit wands to illuminate the opening at the top, jumped as hard as they could and slid out.
"What floor were we on?" said Rose, shining her light into the pitch-black passageway above.
"We're not far," said Scorpius. "I was counting the seconds. . . . It takes about a minute to get from the Atrium to the fourth floor."
"Great, mate!" cried Albus. Even as his best friend, Scorpius's meticulousness often exceeded his expectations.
"This is the fourth floor," Scorpius said, pointing to a faintly glowing golden grilles ahead. "We'll have to slow the lift down a bit to get off. . . . Impedimenta!"
Scorpius shouted, pointing his wand at their feet, and the lift's rattling ascent slowed to a crawl. Meanwhile, Rose swung her wand at the golden cage of the fourth floor that was slowly closing in on them from above, and the doors opened with a clang. They jumped out into the hallway just as the lift passed the fourth floor. With that, the lift, now unencumbered by magic, resumed its ascent and sped away. The hallway was as empty as when they'd left, and the only sound came from the doorway of the Grand Meeting Room not far away.
"You heard that Robby Leach is going up to the top floor soon, didn't you?" said Rose as she entered the hall. "Let's tell Teddy what we found out — maybe we can use it to our advantage."
They carefully opened the door and stepped into the Grand Meeting Room. There, just as they had left, the students were gathered in groups of a few from each House, chatting nervously. Teddy, who had been sitting on one side of the room, spotted them and approached at a brisk pace.
"Where did you sneak off to? I was getting worried when I found out you weren't here —"
"I'll get to the point, Teddy," said Rose bluntly. "We're on our way back from scouting the Atrium, and right now they've got the lifts working again."
"What? How did you even get there —"
"Keep listening. I think the Dawn Breakers want to put out some publicity that they've taken over the Minister's office," Rose went on. "That's why a woman named Robby Leach is taking the lift to the top floor. Is there any way we can use this piece of information?"
"Robby Leach? She's Eisenbein's best lieutenant," Teddy said thoughtfully. "Maybe we can wait in the Minister's office and kidnap her, then blackmail the Dawn Breakers into getting us all out of here."
"Oh, Teddy. I'd come up with a different plan if I were you," said Scorpius weakly. Albus felt sorry for him, remembering how Robby Leach had tortured him last year. "She's a very powerful witch, skilled in the Dark Arts. . . . She'll be hard to subdue, and if things go wrong, she'll do terrible things to us."
"But we can't just sit here and do nothing," said Teddy firmly. "I promised Neville I'd save the children and get back to them. We've got to do something . . . " He looked back at the door that led to the hallway, then continued, "I'm going to take a look outside. You keep an eye on this place while I find a way up to the floor where the Minister's office is."
Rose watched Teddy's back as he walked out of the Grand Meeting Room and shook her head. "After all this intel we've gathered, he expect us to stay behind?"
"Let's take a breath," said Albus. "That lift scared the hell out of me when it started moving. . . . My heart is still pounding."
While Rose went over to her Gryffindor friends and informed them of the situation, Albus and Scorpius went over to the Slytherins. Their prefect, Elijah Zabini, who had been sitting with a glum expression on his face, looked up as they came.
"Any news? Have you found a way out of here?"
"Teddy's working on it," said Albus.
"Excuse me — Albus, Scorpius?" said Flint in a shy voice that didn't suit his large frame. "I heard you were the last to see Mr. Potter. Is he really coming back, with reinforcements?"
"Of course," said Scorpius confidently. "Mr. Potter will definitely come back to save us all."
"I believe you," said Elijah seriously. "The last time we were kidnapped on the Quidditch stadium, Mr. Potter came to our rescue. I'm sure he'll do the same this time."
Albus nodded quietly. It was both strange and gratifying to hear such a response from the Slytherins who had always been hostile to his father, even before he was born. Suddenly Scorpius stood up, raised his wand and began to draw something, and a large, faintly glowing mark appeared on the wall beside him. It was a golden bolt of lightning. . . . At the sight of it, something hot seemed to well up inside Albus. The other students must have felt the same and they all stared at the lightning with hopeful faces.
"Sorry to spoil the mood, but you need to come over here." A voice came from behind Albus, who quickly turned to find Teddy standing with Rose. Albus, along with Scorpius and Rose, followed Teddy out of the hall while the other Gryffindors came up to the Slytherins, chatting hopefully as they watched the lightning mark together.
"I taught Harry Potter! He used to be one of my most brilliant students!" exclaimed Lockhart who walked up to the gathered students. "Let me tell you a story about the time I took Harry to slay a basilisk. Back then, the school was —"
Lockhart's voice trailed off once they were out of the hall, the doors closing behind them.
"That old fraud!" cried Rose indignantly. "You still think you made the right decision bringing him, Teddy?"
"Of course I do. Mr. Lockhart has a gift with words, if nothing else," said Teddy airily. "I think the Dawn Breakers are trying to get to the top floor — the lifts seem to only connect to that level. So we'll have to hide in Hermione's office before Robby Leach gets here."
"You're really going to kidnap Leach?" said Scorpius darkly. "Forgive me for saying this, Teddy, but have you ever killed anyone?"
"What? No, I've never —" Teddy looked confused at first, but then became serious. "No, I haven't, but I know how, and I'll do it if I have to."
"You might have to prove it," said Scorpius. "Just capturing Leach won't make our enemies think we can kill her. . . . We'll probably have to kill a person or two along the way to make sure the threat works."
"What are you talking about — Teddy's not a murderer!" exclaimed Rose.
Albus was about to say the same thing, but another voice shouted that Scorpius's words made sense. The Dawn Breakers knew them all too well. . . . They had to show them they could be ruthless if their threats were to work. From his hiding place in cells in Azkaban, the horrible sight of so many prisoners being killed by bullets and Killing Curses flashed before his eyes. It had once been his belief that violence, especially murder, was never justified. Perhaps he had spent too much time in Slytherin House, but it was becoming increasingly clear to him that he needed to take a few steps down a darker path to get himself out of trouble.
"I can be a killer if I have to," said Teddy earnestly. "My goal is to get the kids out of here safely. I'll do whatever it takes to do that."
"How are we going to get up there?" asked Albus. Teddy pointed to a small hole in the ceiling of the corridor.
"Through there. That's where the paper airplanes from each department fly in and out. . . . If there's a really urgent message, they skip the lifts and fly it straight to the Minister's office."
"So you're saying this goes all the way to the office?" said Rose doubtfully. "But how are we supposed to get through that narrow space?"
"Why not? We're wizards." Teddy pulled out his wand and pointed to the hole. "Engorgio!"
And just like that, the hole in the ceiling grew large enough to fit a man. Teddy waved his wand again and a ladder appeared out of nowhere, leading to the hole.
"I'll go in first, follow me."
Albus mumbled "Lumos" like the others, lit the tip of his wand and climbed up the ladder, then began to crawl along the narrow vent. As he stepped out of the light and into the darkness, a vague sense of unease that he might have to kill someone was replaced by a chilling sense of purpose. Had his father ever killed anyone before? In all his years as the son of the famous Harry Potter, he had never asked himself that question. But Harry would have used the Killing Curse if he had to. Because this is war, and you have to protect the people you love at all costs. . . .
They continued up the path for the paper airplanes, which sloped upward at an angle. Teddy, crawling ahead, used his Engorgement Charm to help them through whenever the passage became too narrow. All of a sudden, the passage opened into a huge room, wide enough for them to stand. Teddy slowly raised his wand and shone a light into the space. The place, which seemed to be a small airport where planes from different levels were supposed to meet, had narrow passageways to other levels at regular intervals. The ceiling was so high that they couldn't see where it led, even if Teddy raised his wand as high as he could.
"We need a ladder or a rope." Teddy muttered, and with a light flick of the wand he held high in the air, a thick, sturdy rope shot out of the end. But it wasn't long enough, and soon the rope fell limply to the ground like the shed skin of a snake. Rose shot him a look and Teddy scratched his head.
"Sorry, I don't usually climb this high . . . "
"Let me try, Teddy." This time it was Scorpius who stepped forward, grimacing and concentrating intently as he pointed his wand at a wall and stood still. To everyone's amazement, an iron ladder sprang up from the floor, like a growing tree, until it reached into the darkness above.
"Whoa, you're good," Rose marveled. Her face, pale in the glow from their wands, had relaxed the caution that had been there since Scorpius had mentioned the need to kill earlier.
"Nothing to admire," said Scorpius gloomily, "it's just that I know well . . . how deep the darkness can be."
Soon the ladder stopped growing and Albus, Scorpius and Rose, with Teddy leading them, began to climb it. When all four were on the ladder, it creaked; having to hold on to the ladder's rungs with both hands made it difficult to shine their wands, and the darkness grew suffocatingly thick. Albus continued to climb, the only evidence of the others' presence being the clatter of each foot on the ladder. Finally, just above his head, Teddy's whimper faded, and the hand Albus reached out to grasp the next rung was untouched. The next moment, a light suddenly appeared and Teddy grabbed his hand and pulled him up.
"We're almost there. . . . Just a little further."
They slipped back into the narrow passage and crawled along. The pitch-black darkness, illuminated at first by a few lights on the tips of their wands, became less and less dense. Then Teddy silently raised his finger to his mouth and extinguished the light on his own wand, and the others followed suit. The passage now led into a large space.
It had widened around them so that they no longer had to stay in a line, but the ceiling was still low and they couldn't pull themselves up. In the center of the floor was an area covered with wire mesh, from which a thin beam of light leaked in.
"You can see the Minister's office down there," said Teddy. "Every Auror knows that's where the security is weakest . . . "
"Let's hope they don't know," muttered Scorpius.
" . . . why did we have to come up here at all?"
They all fell silent at the sound of the voice from below. They lay flat on their stomachs, their faces pressed together around the square wire mesh. Albus could see the Minister's office beneath the mesh, Hermione's office, the one he and Scorpius had broken into so long ago on another matter, its walls lined with many bookshelves filled with books, just as he remembered. Only on the wall behind the desk, instead of bookshelves, there was a grandfather clock and a portrait above it. The voices came from two wizards in gray uniforms standing by the slightly open door. Judging by their attire, they were members of Robby Leach's Pain Troop.
"Stop whining. In war, public relations is just as important as weapons and curses," the taller of the two said. "We're not just fighting on our own. . . . We need to emphasize that we're making great progress in this war to reassure our financial supporters."
"The will of these snobs and politicians could be easily bent with an Imperius Curse," said the other Dark wizard. "Why go to all this trouble to put on a show for them?"
"Remember, we are fighting to bring down a corrupt world," said the taller wizard warningly. "How different would we be from the evil witches and wizards of old if we resorted to such insidious measures? Eisenbein always leads us on the right path, and I approve of his ways a hundredfold."
"You're right with that . . . " The shorter of the two trailed off, then lifted his hooded head again. "But why the Minister's office? We could just hang our flag over the fountain downstairs."
"You know why," the tall one said, lowering his voice. "Leach's grandfather was the first Muggle-born Minister of Magic, until the purebloods kicked him out."
"So you finally admit that Madam Leach's personal affairs are involved in this," the other wizard said. "After all, she organized all this so that she could sit in his grandfather's rightful place."
"Watch your tongue, you know how strict Madam Leach can be," the tall wizard said, lowering his voice to barely audible. "She might even torture her own men . . . "
The other wizard flinched at that, his body visibly stiffening.
"Hey, what takes you so long?" came Colonel Fubster's voice from outside the door. "Don't dawdle and come out if there's nothing wrong!"
The two wizards scrambled out of the room, absentmindedly checking the books on the shelves around them.
"Teddy, we could go back now," whispered Albus. Scorpius, pale and sweating profusely beside him, looked back at his friend gratefully. It was Scorpius's great-grandfather and grandfather who had driven Robby Leach's grandfather, Nobby Leach, from his position as Minister of Magic and killed him. . . . Now that his granddaughter was out for revenge, intent on wiping out all Malfoys, his fears were justified. She had tortured Scorpius back at the Wizarding Factory when she had gotten her hands on him.
"Are you mental? We've come this far!" hissed Teddy. He looked just as uncomfortable, but in his case, desperation seemed to have overcome fear. "This is the only way to save you kids. . . . It's as simple as that: we trade Leach's life for what we want."
"Leach won't be afraid, she'd be more afraid of us escaping unscathed than of her own death," said Scorpius grimly.
"Probably because she's never been in danger of dying, then," said Teddy. "I guess it'll be different when she does."
Just then, there was a murmur of voices and busy footsteps from the corridor, and the door to the Minister's office burst open beneath them. Men and women in suits and dresses, who seemed to be from the Muggle world, entered the office, their faces tense. They looked carefully at the many books stacked around them, as if they might explode at any moment. Behind them, hooded Dawn Breakers in gray uniforms carried a small, flat object wrapped in cloth. As Albus wondered what it was, the object emitted a harsh, crackling sound.
"I will make you pay for this!"
"Say what you will, for it shall be your last testament!"
With a sarcastic female voice, Robby Leach strode into the office, wearing the gray robes and her graying black hair wrapped in a net. Her men placed a flat object on the conference table in the center of the office and removed the cloth, revealing a small, dirty picture frame. Albus squinted, and in the oil painting he could make out a short, frog-like man with a silver wig.
"A portrait. Who do you think that is?" said Rose curiously.
"It's the portrait that used to hang in the Muggle Prime Minister's office," said Teddy gravely. "The one that the Ministers of Magic used to notify the other Minister whenever they needed to see each other. . . . I guess that's it for him, then."
Robby Leach glared menacingly at the portrait from above, but the little man in the portrait stared back at her, undeterred. Meanwhile, Leach's men in gray uniforms began rummaging through the bookshelves, looking for something.
"Ah, I suppose you're counting on something," Leach sneered. "But how long do you think it will take us to find it?"
Just then, the Dawn Breakers, who had been dragging the grandfather clock forward, discovered something behind it and brought it to their superior. It was a small, shabby picture frame, similar to the one containing the frog-like man, but with an empty chair lying across the canvas.
"Madam Leach, I found another frame of him."
The man in the painting became visibly agitated when he heard the words. "Wait, this can't be, I've spent the last few hundred years —"
"— spying on the Prime Minister from the heart of the British government!" Leach chuckled and pulled out her wand. She looked around at the Muggles in suits and dresses surrounding the desk and went on, "Now, with this gathering of the staff who work for the Prime Minister, I would like to begin today's event. . . . The man in this portrait before us has long symbolized the dominance of the Wizarding world over ours. Even our own Prime Ministers, who once governed many continents, could not escape the evil grasp of the Minister of Magic. Today, that all comes to an end!"
The Dawn Breakers placed the oil painting of the frog-like man and an empty frame side by side on the table. The man struggled out of the frame, but could not escape the table, for he could only move to another empty painting of himself.
"Incendio!"
Leach bellowed, and hot, intense flames erupted from the tip of her wand. The two picture frames were instantly engulfed in flames, and the sound of crackling mixed with a man's piercing scream filled the room. One of the Muggles, watching the scene with a stony expression, pulled out a cell phone and dialed somewhere.
"Yes, Prime Minister. We've removed the portrait. Yes, we'll make sure to clean up the mess."
"This is not the end, ladies and gentlemen!" Leach flicked her wand, and a flag that had been sitting in a corner, with the letter "M" for Ministry of Magic, flew down by itself and into the fire. Once the flag burned brightly and was reduced to ashes, the Dawn Breakers brought in the Union Jack and hung it on the flagpole in its place.
"We, the people of the United Kingdom, hereby declare our independence from the wicked Wizarding world! Now we are free!" Leach announced proudly, and the British national anthem began to play.
"This is really getting out of hand." Rose sighed and shook her head. "You'd think Hermione was a Death Eater or something."
"We all look the same to her," said Scorpius grimly. "You heard what Fubster said earlier, They see anyone who can use magic as an enemy."
They coughed as quietly as they could, sucking the air out of their wands as the thick smoke from the office rose along the vent in the ceiling. Once the portraits and Ministry flags were completely burned, the Muggle officials from the Prime Minister's office pulled out their smartphones or cameras and took pictures of the ashes left on the desk and placed them in plastic bags.
"So, secretaries, please tell the Prime Minister this: When the battle is over and it's time to start up the Wizarding Factory, we'll have him there in person to celebrate our victory," Leach said softly as she opened the door to the outside for the Prime Minister's subordinates. "Don't forget, for security reasons he'll have to come to the Factory unannounced and with a minimal entourage."
Once the Prime Minister's assistants were outside, Leach gave her men a look. "If you're done with your business, leave me alone. I've got work to do here."
With that, the remaining uniformed men scurried out of the room, and soon only Robby Leach was left in the Minister's office. Albus exchanged glances with Teddy across from him. It was a stroke of luck that she was alone. . . .
"Ah, dear Grandpa! I finally got your rightful place back!"
With a squeak, Leach plopped down in the chair Hermione usually sat in. As she let her guard down, leaned back and closed her eyes in bliss, Teddy silently pulled out his wand and held it, and the other three followed suit.
"Robby, is that really you?" a man's voice asked and they all froze. Albus quickly lowered his eyes and looked down. Leach jumped to her feet in surprise and drew her wand with remarkable speed. But it wasn't a living person calling to her — it was the portrait of a bald old man on the wall right behind her.
"That's Nobby Leach!" gasped Rose at the top of her lungs. "I've seen his pictures in the history books! He's the first Muggle-born Minister of Magic and —"
"— and Robby Leach's grandfather," whispered Scorpius. "The one who was driven out by my great-grandfather's conspiracy."
"Grandpa?" said Leach from below, tilting her wand down. "You are really my grandfather?"
"A shadow of him, to be exact," said Nobby Leach sadly. "But I remember you well as a child, Robby. . . . You stayed with me after you lost your parents."
"It was a happy time." Leach's grim expression softened a little, but she never lowered her wand completely. "Until the Malfoys took everything from me. . . . I will avenge you! Draco Malfoy is dead, and now all that's left is his son! With the boy gone, the line of Malfoys will end once and for all."
"But what will be left then?" said Nobby, his face filled with sorrow. "What will be left when the vengeance is done? It's not like I'm coming back alive. . . . All I need is for you to live well, my grandchild."
"Don't you see, Grandpa? Revenge is what keeps me going," said Leach stubbornly. "To this day, I have nightmares . . . about the night Lucius Malfoy murdered you! The night I hid alone in the closet . . . the utter helplessness, the fear. . . . Revenge is the only way to get rid of that horrible reminder, I know it!"
"My revenge has already been taken by Harry Potter, Robby," said Nobby softly. "And Hermione, Harry's friend who used to hold this office, was a very good person, a very fine Minister of Magic."
"Granger's a traitor!" shouted Leach. "I admit she had some high ideals, which is probably why she had your portrait hanging in her office. But Granger ultimately chose to compromise with the Wizarding world, a world that is thoroughly corrupt and rotten. . . . Do you know how Lucius Malfoy died, Grandpa? He died very comfortably in a plush bed, surrounded by his loved ones — even though he was a villain who tortured and killed innocent people!"
"Every dreamer who becomes a politician is eventually forced to make compromises with reality, Robby. I was no exception," said Nobby solemnly. "The quality of a good politician is not some great achievement or accomplishment, but whether or not they cross the line of their ideals. Killing and destruction will never fulfill your ideals, my granddaughter."
"You've grown weak, Grandfather!" shouted Leach harshly. She didn't point her wand at him yet, but her grip on it seemed to tighten. "My grandfather was a good man, but he was defeated in the end because of that. . . . He had to watch while Voldemort brought on the age of darkness! I'm different, I'll fight without mercy! I'll tear down their rotten world and let the new one be built on its ruins!"
Just then someone knocked on the door from outside and said, "Madam, are you all right? I heard voices and —"
"I'm talking to myself, mind your own business!" Leach yelled, turning to face the door. "Let me be!"
"Now's our chance," said Teddy. He grabbed the wire covering the air vent, ripped it off and jumped down. He pointed his wand straight at the door and shouted, "Muffliato!"
"How reckless," Rose muttered and jumped down, followed by Albus and Scorpius. Robby Leach was confused at first to see them come out of nowhere with wands pointed at her, but then she spotted Scorpius and gave him a cold smile.
"Ah, the last remaining Malfoy comes before me all on his own. How grateful I am!"
"Your time is up, Leach," Teddy said, pointing his wand at her and taking a step toward the Minister's desk. "No one needs to get hurt — drop the wand and surrender!"
Leach slowly shifted her gaze from Scorpius to Teddy. "You must be Teddy Lupin, I've heard of you. . . . You are the Auror whose godfather is Harry Potter, and the son of that dead werewolf."
"My father's name is Remus Lupin," said Teddy coolly. "If you like werewolves, there are some down in the Grand Meeting Room. I'm sure they'd love to play with you."
"Ha, what fun that would be!" Leach giggled. Her face, softened by the discovery of his grandfather's portrait, now turned to a grim scowl. "If you want to make a deal, give me Malfoy over there. And I'll send the rest of you to safety."
"Nonsense," Teddy said, tightening the grip on his wand. "I didn't expect you to be obedient anyway. . . . Expelliarmus!"
A flash of red light flew at Leach, but she swung her wand with astonishing speed. The desk levitated on its own, blocking the Disarming Charm. With the next flick of her wand, the desk charged wildly at her enemies.
"Reducto!" Rose shouted, and the desk shattered into a thousand pieces, fine shards of wood spreading through the air like a brown mist. Leach fired a series of red and blue sparks, not giving them a moment's respite. Albus instinctively ducked and dodged, his hair standing on end from the curses that sliced through the air above him. Rose and Scorpius, who had been thrown to the side, also fired Disarming Spells, but Leach stood her ground, creating a transparent shield that blocked the attacks.
"Ha ha! You think you can defeat me with that?" shouted Leach. "Crucio!"
Her Cruciatus curse struck Scorpius, and he fell straight to the floor, writhing in pain.
"No! Reducto!"
Albus lunged at his friend, shooting a curse at Leach at the same time. She ducked just in time, and the grandfather clock behind her shattered with a clang as it was hit by the spell.
"That's better! You're more willing to fight than your friends." Leach grinned and looked back at Albus. "Can you think of anything worse, boy? Because I've been happily contemplating which curse to use on your dear friend."
"Stop saying rubbish. Stupefy!" Rose exclaimed. Leach easily dodged the flash of red light coming at her and swung her wand, and the thick books on the bookshelves everywhere turned into weapons and flew at the four of them without warning. . . . A heavy tome hit Albus hard on the wrist, knocking his wand out of the hand. Books rained down on him like hail from all directions, and he was barely able to find his wand before he had to raise his hands to shield his head and face.
Teddy lunged at Leach, unperturbed by the books hitting him, and thrust his wand into the air, sending several of them flying at her and igniting. She ducked just in time, but Teddy's Disarming Spell that followed right after caught her in the wrist. The hideous black wand with the curved midsection, once wielded by Bellatrix Lestrange, spun in midair before falling to the floor. Teddy sucked in a breath and wiped the blood from his forehead. He had a gaping gash on his face and a large bruise on his neck from the flying books, but his face was composed.
"This is the end, Leach. Unless you want to die, you'll have to accept our terms."
Leach smirked, unfazed by the lack of a magic wand.
"Ah, so you've got the guts to kill me? If you think I'll be threatened by wimps like you, you're a fool."
"Avada Kedavra!" shouted Teddy. With a hissing sound that cut through the air, an intense beam of green light flew from the tip of his wand, grazing right next to Leach's face and burning the bookshelf behind her to black. "I have both the ability and the will to kill you, so cut the crap and do as I say!"
"Knowing how to use a Killing Curse and actually using it on someone are two different things . . . " Leach, unimpressed, pulled a small object out of her pocket. It was a smartphone, the screen showing a call to someone else. "And there are many ways to get help in this world besides magic."
As she spoke, someone kicked open the door. Albus quickly grabbed his wand from among the piles of books on the floor and approached Teddy with Scorpius, who was supported by Rose, while a dozen Dawn Breakers swiftly surrounded the four of them. They were Leach's men in gray uniforms, each with a firearm or wand pointed at them. The tension in the office was palpable, as if it could break at any moment, with rifles clicking and loading all around them. Teddy, knowing that the only reason they were still alive was because of the wand he was pointing at Leach, stepped forward and held it in front of her face.
"Your minions change nothing," said Teddy quietly. "There are children trapped in the Grand Meeting Room a few floors below. If you get them all safely underground, I'll let you go."
"Ha, ha, ha! How can you let me go when you never had me?" Leach laughed aloud, then suddenly calmed down and glared at Teddy. She leaned her face closer to the end of the wand pointed at her. "Show me how far you'll go to get me. Let's see if you can really kill someone. . . . I've got a lot of men, so I don't mind if some die."
Out of the corner of his eye, Teddy examined the Dawn Breakers surrounding him. His expression was cold and unforgiving, as if he could kill someone at a moment's notice, but Albus, standing right next to him, noticed that his wand was trembling slightly. . . . The realization made Albus's grip on his wand tighten. Was it time for him to step up, to be the Slytherin willing to be evil for a cause? Then Scorpius's voice broke the silence.
"I'll stay here, for letting the others go to the court."
"Good thinking, boy! I'll take that deal," Leach said with a broad grin. "Oh, don't worry. I won't kill you anytime soon. . . . I need to have some fun, don't you think?"
"Robby, that's not who you are," said Nobby Leach pleadingly behind her. The Dawn Breakers stiffened, cautious, pointing their weapons or wands at the portrait. Robby Leach didn't look back at her grandfather, but her face, contorted with joy, relaxed a bit. "Please just let these people go. . . . I don't want revenge."
"You're a fake!" shouted Leach harshly. "You didn't suffer my grandfather's pain, you weren't even there when he died! You're just a picture, a useless meddler!"
"Well, it's about time you prove that point," said Teddy. He slowly raised the wand he had been pointing at Leach's face and aimed it upward. Now the tip of the wand was no longer pointed at her, but at the portrait of Nobby Leach on the wall behind her. "We'll see if you can keep calm when you won't see dear Grandpa for good."
"Ah, so you didn't have the guts to kill someone after all." Leach sneered and shook her head. "Now you want to blackmail me with a mere portrait?"
"You're right, I'm no killer," said Teddy. "But I could always burn a painting . . . Especially when I'm as desperate as I am right now."
Leach narrowed her eyes as if trying to gauge the sincerity of his words. Now she didn't look as relaxed as she had a moment ago. Teddy thrust his wand forward and began, "Incen —"
"Okay, enough!" shouted Leach urgently. "If you don't touch his painting, I'll send you back to the floor you came from."
"What about the other kids in the hall?"
"Don't try my patience, Lupin," snapped Leachd. "Remember, a drawing isn't that big a stake."
Teddy glanced at the Dawn Breakers surrounding them, then nodded slowly. Albus breathed a sigh of relief. He'd been so determined to kill someone just moments ago, and now all his courage was gone and he just wanted to get back to the Grand Meeting Room. . . . He felt like he could listen to Lockhart's ramblings for hours if he could just get back there unharmed. The three of them, huddled around Teddy, moved slowly toward the open door with him. The Dawn Breakers never lowered their weapons, ready to attack at a moment's notice. . . .
"Everyone listen up, we will be attacked as soon as we leave this room," Teddy whispered in a very low voice. "I'm gonna hold them back and you all run to the lifts, okay? That should work for now."
"Teddy, we can't do that! We have to go back together!" whispered Rose.
"There's no other way," Teddy hissed. "Cast a spell if I say now."
Robby Leach was still glaring at Scorpius as they crept into the corridor.
"There's nowhere to run, Malfoy!" shouted Leach. "You'll be the last who pays for your family's sins — that's justice!"
"Now!" bellowed Teddy.
"Bombarda!" shouted Albus, pointing at the bookshelf.
"Reducto!" cried Rose, pointing at the ceiling.
"Incendio!" shouted Teddy, pointing at the framed portrait of Nobby Leach.
Chaos erupted in an instant. The planks holding up the ceiling shattered and debris rained down like hail, and where Albus had fired his Exploding Charm, the bookcase exploded with a loud bang, sending books flying in all directions. All the while, Leach was busy magically throwing water on the flames that were quickly consuming her grandfather's portrait.
Albus grabbed Scorpius's arm, who was completely frozen in fear, and ran out of the office after Teddy and Rose. He looked back at the portrait one last time before he left. His eyes locked with the almost charred face of Nobby Leach, who smiled sadly and winked at him, as if he held no grudge against them for destroying him. And less than a second later, the fire that Teddy had started completely engulfed the portrait.
"No!"
The piercing scream of the enraged Leach echoed clearly down the corridor, even amidst all the commotion. . . . Hearing this, Albus's already fast footsteps spontaneously picked up speed as they raced down the hallway, frantically darting around corners after Teddy, until they came face to face with a wide open room. It resembled a classroom at Hogwarts and was lined with small desks, presumably where the secretaries sat. Teddy waved his hand in a flash and the desks came to life, blocking the passage they'd come through.
"I'll stay here and buy some time," said Teddy urgently. "You kids go to the downstairs."
"Teddy, I —" Rose started, but Teddy held up a hand to stop her.
"No time to argue. I'm gonna send my Patronus down to tell the D.A. members to take control of the Atrium for a while. The lifts should be working by now, so you can get the students down there and we can all evacuate to the court."
"But —" Rose began again, but was cut off as a powerful spell hit the three desks blocking the hallway, sending them flying backward like bowling balls.
"Let's go, Rose," Scorpius said, grabbing her wrist. His face was still pale, but he seemed to have come to his senses. "There are still nearly a hundred students in the Grand Meeting Room. . . . We need to hurry if we're gonna get them all down."
They reached the lifts along the wall, and by the time they had pressed the buttons on all of them to call them to the level four, Teddy's stag Patronus trotted beside them and headed down. It was obvious that he was on his way to call for help from Dumbledore's Army and the Hogwarts faculty.
"Come on, come on . . . " Rose said impatiently, tapping the button with her fist.
Finally, the golden grilles opened, revealing the interior of the lift before them. But there was one more problem: No matter how many times they pressed the button for the fourth floor, it didn't light up at all.
"It's only supposed to take us to the floor where the Atrium is! What are we going to do?" said Rose in a panic.
Albus slammed his fist down on the button, but it didn't work, and all the while the sharp sounds of something breaking around the corner grew louder. Albus was furious that they were being held up by a stupid button while Teddy was fighting a fierce battle to buy them time.
"Albus, your father became a Triwizard champion in his fourth year by being chosen by the Goblet of Fire," said Scorpius.
"Yes, we all know the story," said Rose impatiently. "But why bring it up all of a sudden?"
"At that time, the fake Moody tricked the Goblet of Fire into thinking there was a fourth school with a spell to make Mr. Potter a champion," Scorpius went on. "That means the Confundus Charm works on magical objects as well as people, so why don't we trick the lift that way?"
"Yeah, that's a great idea!" exclaimed Rose brightly, before scurrying back out into the corridor. "Confundo!"
The lift they were in rattled for a moment as the spell she fired hit. Albus took a deep breath and pressed the button for level four again, and to his surprise, this time it lit up.
"Wow, it works now!" exclaimed Albus.
"I've tricked it into thinking the fourth floor was the top floor," said Rose. "Confundo, Confundo, Confundo!"
She then cast the same spell on the other lifts in the corridor, sending them down to the fourth floor, and then returned to the lift where Albus and Scorpius were waiting. Soon the golden grilles closed and they descended to the level four where their desperate friends were waiting.