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Part One / Chapter Thirty-Seven
Venus, Constance,Ginny, Ron, Neville and Luna pelted through the forest toward Harry and Hermione. Both of them covered in blood, standing in a clearing looking rather helpless. Once they caught sight of them, they looked at them with just as much shock as they had. Maybe they looked just as bad as they did.
"So," said Venus, pushing aside a low-hanging branch, tossing Harry's wand to him. "have any ideas?"
"How did you get away?" asked Harry in amazement, taking his wand from Venus.
"Venus was bloody brilliant," said Ron airily. "Knocked every single one of them out. What've you done with Umbridge?"
"She got carried away," said Harry. "By a herd of centaurs."
"And they left you behind?" asked Constance, looking astonished giving Hermione her wand.
"No, they got chased off by Grawp," said Harry.
"Who's Grawp?" Luna asked interestedly.
"Hagrid's little brother," said Ron promptly.
Constance, Ginny and Venus shared a concerned look while Ron continued to ask.
"Anyway, never mind that now. Harry, what did you find out in the fire? Has You-Know- Who got Sirius or — ?"
"Yes," said Harry, as he screwed his face in pain, "and I'm sure Sirius is still alive, but I can't see how we're going to get there to help him."
They all fell silent, looking rather scared. The problem facing them seemed insurmountable.
"Well, we'll have to fly, won't we?" said Luna in the closest thing to a matter-of-fact voice Venus had ever heard her use.
"Okay," said Harry irritably, rounding on her, "first of all, 'we' aren't doing anything if you're including yourself in that, and second of all, Ron's the only one with a broomstick that isn't being guarded by a security troll, so —"
"I've got a broom!" said Ginny.
"Yeah, but you're not coming," said Ron angrily.
"Excuse me, but I care what happens to Sirius as much as you do!" said Ginny, her jaw set so that her resemblance to Fred and George was suddenly striking.
"You're too —" Harry began.
"I'm three years older than you were when you fought You-Know- Who over the Sorcerer's Stone," she said fiercely.
"Yeah, but —"
"We were all in the D.A. together," said Neville quietly. "It was all supposed to be about fighting You-Know-Who, wasn't it? And this is the first chance we've had to do something real — or was that all just a game or something?"
