Marauders in Time

One Final Hope

Harry POV

It really wasn't looking very good for us. And my scar just. Keeps. Getting. Worse.

My head feels like it's on fire. I needed to do something. I tried to check that it was true, that Sirius really was gone, but I was stopped. Stopped by the evil troll show as now flashing her teeth at me in the same sadistic smile that she always gave when she tortured her students.

"I've got this one as well Professor," Malfoy said, returning with Ginny in her grip. "She was trying to stop Goyle from taking Longbottom."

Malfoy, having tackled Daniel when he came in, had left the room briefly to find anymore people thinking of sneaking into Umbridge's office. Why Daniel came in I had no idea. But he was captured, the same way Ron and Hermione were when they tried to help me. And then Malfoy's cronies had rounded up the rest of Daniel's friends except Sam, and now Neville and Ginny were in the mix. Just great.

"Well done Draco," Umbridge said softly. "Now go fetch Professor Snape please. And do it quickly."

When Malfoy left Umbridge gave me her undivided attention. I could hear my friends struggling to escape their captors. She looked right into my eyes. I tried my very best to hide the pain the as searing through my scar.

"You were going to talk to Dumbledore weren't you?" Umbridge asked. "Was that why you wanted to use my fireplace? Or was it that fat oaf Hagrid?"

I really wanted to slap the smile right off her face. I could feel pain all over my head and having her stare into my eyes only made it worse.

"I-I wasn't," I said slowly.

"LIAR!"

"You wanted to see me Professor?" Snape was standing at the doorway, his bored eyes moving from Umbridge, to Daniel, to me.

"Yes! Professor Snape! The time has come for answers! Please bring me your latest stock of Veritaserum," Umbridge instructed.

Snape shrugged, "Unfortunately you have already used up my entire storage of it interrogating students. It would take almost a month for me to make another one so if you would like I could-"

"A month!? I haven't got a month!" Umbridge shrieked. "Harry Potter has just been in my office by my fireplace and I presume trying to get in contact with Albums Dumbledore! I demand the truth right now!"

Snape didn't budge, "I'm sorry but I cannot help you. Unless you wish me to poison him, I would have no sympathy in doing so."

He was about to leave when I had a sudden thought. An idea that might save him.

"He's got Padfoot!" I cried out at his retreating back. "He's got Padfoot at the place where it's hidden!"

Umbridge was confused, "What is Padfoot? Who's Padfoot? What's he talking about Snape?"

It was very hard to read Snape's expression. I was sure he understood what I said but he gave no sign of interest or the slightest hint of understanding what I just said. Instead, he shrugged it off.

"No idea," he said softly in response to Umbridge. He then turned to me, "Potter if I wanted things shouted at me, I would have asked HER to do it instead. But it's a shame she couldn't do so at this very moment."

If anyone in the room was able to work out what Snape just said, they would be considered a total genius. I didn't know where the 'her' came from. Who is 'her'? And why did he look at Daniel when he said that? What's he got to do with this? Umbridge didn't look like she could put two and two together anytime soon, and so she dismissed Snape furiously. And as she did, I heard Dani gasp. I turned to face him and saw that he had a very shocked expression on his face.

"Do you know something?" Umbridge asked him, pointing his wand at Daniel's face.

"Oh certainly I know a lot of things. You name it," he said coolly.

He glanced at me and then at Umbridge's waist. I noticed my wand and his were sticking out of the side pocket.

"Don't you dare play games with me!" Umbridge threatened, now in Daniel's face. "If you know something, tell me! NOW!"

I had to do it. It was the only way. I reached out for Umbridge's side pocket and grabbed both wands. And in doing so, Daniel had spun around and punched his captor. There were screams and gasps. As I nicked the wands out of Umbridge's pocket, I had knocked her off balance. Without thinking straight, I spun around and readied my wand, firing it at Crabbe and then Malfoy, allowing Neville and Ron to escape. They both picked up their wands and a mini fight broke out in Umbridge's little pink office. People were falling, people were screaming. I needed to get out of here...

"STOP!"

Umbridge had her wand raised at my face. Whatever she wanted to do, I was certain she had no regrets if she did.

"I warned you Potter," she hissed. "I warned you didn't I? But you keep insisting on telling lies and getting on my nerves! This ends now. Cru-"

There were jets of red light from all around the room and Umbridge flew back and smashed into the wall, knocked out unconscious. I turned and noticed Daniel, Reuben, Ron and Hermione all raised their wands and pointing it in Umbridge's direction.

"She's not waking anytime soon," Reuben said triumphantly. "4 Stunning Spells straight to the chest. Even I gotta say, that's nasty."

I continued to feel the pain in my scar. I struggled for balance, knowing it wasn't going to stop until I saved him. Until I saved Sirius. He's my only family that I have left.

"Harry are you okay?" It was Daniel. He was trying to help me regain myself.

I turned to him, "What was it you realized?"

His expression turned dark instantly, "Snape's talking about Li-I mean Ruby. He was talking about Ruby. I don't know where she's gone but the way he put it, he said that she is not here at the moment. So she's in danger."

"She must be where Sirius is!" Ron said.

For some reason, Reuben looked concerned. Possibly because he was Sirius's relative. I figured that to be the most likely case. But I needed him alive as much as he did.

"Okay where do we go?" Tom asked, picking up his own wand.

"Voldemort's got Sirius," I said quickly. "In the Department of Mysteries."

"You mean in the Ministry?" Reuben asked. "What's he doing there at this hour?"

"I don't know! But he's got him! I came in here to check back at Headquarters to see if he was gone and he wasn't there. Voldemort's got him! We need to go save him!"

Daniel was confused, "Headquarters? Headquarters for what?"

"We'll tell you later," Hermione said hurriedly.

Ron seemed to realize something as well, "Now that I think of it, I thought I saw Li-Ruby in the courtyard with your broom."

"My broom?"

"Yeah. When we were running here to find out if Sirius was home or not. I thought I was tripping, because we were in a state of panic so I wasn't sure. But now that I think of it, I'm pretty sure I saw her fly off."

Daniel clapped his hands, "Then it's settled. We're going to London."