Summer's Eve

⚡️36⚡️

My plan was coming into action. I was going to lead her right into a herd of pissed off centaurs. Umbridge shoved me out of her office.

She stuck so close to me that I could hear her breathing. "It's in Hagrid's hut, isn't it?" Umbridge laughed. "Of course not!" I scoffed. "It's in there," I nodded towards the Forest. "What's the matter, Professor? Scared?"

"No, you stay ahead of me, Jones, since my life is more valuable than yours," she grumbled. "Sure," I shrugged.

We had waded through the Forest and I prayed for them to show up. Also Hagrid's brother was in here somewhere. Hopefully he could show up and boot her away.

"Is it far in?"

"Yep," I said loudly and I kept walking. "It's this way."

An arrow suddenly landed into a tree above me and Umbridge used me as a human shield. "Identify yourself!" one of the centaurs shouted at Umbridge, they knew who I was so they weren't going to hurt me.

"I am Dolores Umbridge! Senior Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic and Headmistress and High Inquisitor of of Hogwarts!"

"This is the Ministry hag I was referring to," I spoke up happily. Umbridge ignored me. "By the laws laid down by the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, any attack by half-breeds such as yourselves on humans..."

"WHAT DID YOU CALL US?!" Bane shouted at her. "See what I have to deal with?" I muttered under my breath. Umbridge rounded on me. "YOU PLANNED THIS!"

I nodded, not even bothering to deny it. "I warned you not to piss me off, Dolores."

"FILTHY HALF-BREEDS! BEASTS, UNCONTROLLED ANIMALS!" she hurled insult after insult.

They seized her, forcing her to drop her wand but there was too many centaurs and one of them stomped on it.

"Jones, tell them I mean no harm!"

"You should've thought about that before taking me away from my father," I said in a low voice. "She's all yours, boys!"

They dragged her away, kicking and screaming. much to my delight.

"Thank you, I owe you one," I said to Bane. "No, we are even now, young one, you got severely harmed last time you were here."

He gave me back my wand, which he had taken from Umbridge.

I nodded. "Give her hell from me."

"Farewell, Child of the Moon."

They ran off and I grinned to myself. She was gone.

I was finally free.

"JOY!" I heard my name and saw the others running toward me. Harry ran up to me and engulfed me in his arms. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, the hag got what she deserved," I smiled at him. "I may have been plotting with the centaurs, they hate her as much as I do so I delivered her on a silver platter."

"So, you were lying?"

"Of course I was lying!"

Ron looked impressed. "Who knew Joy Jones was a vengeful beast."

"She is," I grinned. "How are we getting to the Ministry?"

"We'll have to fly, won't we?" Luna said in a matter of fact voice. "We aren't doing anything," Harry corrected her. "Ron and Joy's brooms are the only ones not locked up..."

"I have a broom!" Ginny piped up. "I don't care! You're not coming!" Ron exclaimed.

"I care about Sirius too!" she exclaimed. "You're too..."

"Do not give me that bullshit, Jones, I'm the same age as you were when you beat up Death Eaters with a chair leg! I'm the one that attacked Malfoy with bats!"

"We're in the DA together," Neville spoke up. "It's about being ready to take down You-Know-Who. We want to help."

We all fell silent. "We still haven't settled how we're getting there."

"I said flying!" Luna piped up. "There's three brooms and seven of us," Harry pointed out. "What can we use?"

"Them," Luna pointed behind us. Two Thestrals stood by the trees. "There's only two, we need seven."

"Where will we find more?" I wondered. "Simple, you're bleeding," Ginny pointed at my arm and I noticed a gash on my arm. "And so is Ron."

The smell of my blood and Ron's lured more Thestrals to us. "Pick one and get on."