The Light in the Dark | Neville Longbottom

Chapter 85: The Ministry Break-In

*CW: Violence*

October 2nd, 1997

It took about a month, but Hermione successfully brewed polyjuice potion. The four of us stationed ourselves outside one of the main entrances, each with a vial of the potion, as we waited for a group of Ministry workers to pass by.

Not going to explain the details, but our plan worked.

"How do I look?" Hermione asked nervously.

"You look fantastic, Miss... Mafalda Hopkirk," I beamed as I handed Hermione the Ministry worker's identification card, "What about me?... Mare Sow?"

"Splendid as always, Miss Sow," Hermione complimented before turning to face the boys, "And what are your names?"

"I'm Reginald Cattermole," Ron snarked as he bowed sarcastically, "And this here is Albert Runcorn."

"This might be the stupidest thing we've ever done," Harry scoffed as he shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Our plan is fool-proof," I assured as I stepped over the knocked-out Ministry workers, "I'd say we have about an hour until the potion wears off, that's more than enough time to break into Umbridge's office and grab the locket."

"Do you have the map?" Hermione asked.

I nodded as I reached into my rucksack and pulled out my map of the Ministry of Magic, handing it to Harry once I had done so. Harry and Hermione were going to sneak into Umbridge's office while Ron and I kept look-out. If all went well, we'd be in and out of the Ministry within ten minutes.

"Here, Dawn, hand me your bag," Hermione suggested, "It'll be easier to escape if something went wrong."

I shrugged as I handed Hermione my rucksack. Her beaded bag had an undetectable extension charm on it, so it was easier to carry around. There was no need to argue, I trusted her with my things. Besides, I kept the D.A. coin in my pocket, it made for faster communication with Neville.

"Alright, are we all ready to go?" Harry asked. We all nodded in response.

Harry's jaw clenched as he gestured us out of the empty theater, where we hid the unconscious Ministry workers. Nonchalantly, the four of us walked over to the bathroom Ministry entrance: the same one we took all those years ago.

When it was my turn, I stepped into the stall, placing my feet into the toilet. Almost immediately, my trainers... well Mare Sow's trainers, were soaked. I gagged and pinched my nose as I reached for the flusher, but something held me back.

Two years ago, when I was in this very same position, my life completely turned around. The night Sirius died; I didn't expect any of this to happen. I expected to arrive at the Ministry of Magic, return to school because Sirius wasn't there, get yelled at by Umbridge for hexing her Inquisitorial Squad, and then go home with Harry for the summer.

The last thing I expected was breaking into the Ministry for a third time.

The difference between the last two times and this time was that this was a lot more dangerous. During my fifth year, none of us expected deatheaters to arrive, and even so, we had help from the order. A month ago, I walked right in because I was playing the role of Voldemort's daughter, despite what I had told the trio. There were no consequences because, ultimately, I was above all the Ministry workers.

Now, I was barging in with the most-wanted wizards in the world after ambushing some well-respected Ministry officials. If I got caught, especially with any of them, Voldemort was going to personally hunt me down and figure out how to kill me, despite being practically immortal.