tick-tock | a drarry tale

XXII.

"So, where exactly are we going?"

"Shut your mouth, Neville!" Ron hissed.

"What? I'm being quiet. I'm just, kind of confused-"

"Neville," Harry interrupted from in front of them.

"Sorry," said Neville.

Harry stopped and closed his eyes; his head was pounding. Over and over again the word mysteries was being said in his mind. He rose his lit wand and glanced around. There was no guard on duty. In fact, no one but them were on the Ministry's main level. As his scar gave another throb, he glanced over at Ron and said:

"Is there someplace here that has the word mysteries in it?" Ron looked over at him.

"Uh," he then glanced toward the lifts across the room. "Oh! The Department of Mysteries? Um, that's all I know." Harry nodded gratefully.

"Thank you. Do you know what it looks like inside?" Ron stared at him quizzically and shrugged.

"I never went inside before," he answered. Harry nodded and looked over to the lifts.

"Well, he's in there," he said absentmindedly, walking over to them.

"Your Godfather?" Luna asked when they all clambered into the lift. Harry stabbed the number nine button.

"Y-yes," he lied, taking a deep breath. The lift began to descend, jangling and rattling. The group stood in silence until a cool voice said:

"Department of Mysteries." The grilles slid open and they stepped out into yet another deserted corridor. Nothing moved except the nearest torches, flickering in the rush of the air from the lift.

Harry turned toward the plain black door and sucked in his breath. After months and months of dreaming about it, he was here at last...

"Let's go," he whispered, and he led the way down the corridor. Once they were within six feet from the door, he stopped and looked back at his friends. "Okay, listen. Maybe... maybe a couple of people should stay here as a- as a lookout, and-"

"And how're we going to let you know something's coming?" Ginny spoke up. "You could be miles away."

"We're coming with you, Harry," said Neville.

"Let's get on with it," Ron said firmly. Harry still didn't want to take them all with him, but it seemed he had no choice. He turned to face the door and walked forward. Just as it had in his dream, it swung open and he marched forward, leading the others over the threshold.

They were standing in a large, circular room. Harry's stomach dropped; this was a room from his vision. They were close.

In his dream, Harry had walked purposefully across this room to the door opposite the entrance and walked on. But there were around a dozen doors here.

"Where do we go, then, Harry?" Ron asked.

"I don't-" Harry swallowed. "In the dream, I went through the door at the end of the corridor from the lifts into a dark room- that's this one- and then I went through another door into a room that kind of... glitters." His friends stared at him. "We should try a few doors. I'll know the right one when I see it. C'mon." He gestured for them to follow him. He strode directly at the door facing him and pushed it open, his wand raised, the others at his heels.

The room was larger than the initial, dimly lit and rectangular. The center of it was sunken, forming a great stone pit some twenty feet below them, which held a raised stone dais, and upon this dais stood a stone archway that looked so ancient, cracked, and crumbling that Harry was amazed the thing was still standing. Unsupported by any surrounding wall, the archway was hung with a tattered black curtain which, despite the complete stillness of the surrounding air, was fluttering very slightly as though it had just been touched.

"Who's there?" said Harry, stepping down onto the next step. Harry scrambled down the steps one by one until he reached the stone bottom of the sunken pit. His footsteps echoed loudly as he walked slowly toward the dais. Still the curtain swayed gently. "Draco?" he asked, his voice cracking. He heard the others' footsteps behind him and cursed himself.

"What?" Ginny asked from behind him. "Did you say 'Draco'?" Harry straightened and turned to face the others. Both Ron and Hermione were looking at the archway, but the others were staring at Harry.

"What does Malfoy have to do with any of this?" Neville asked, his face twisting. "I thought Sirius was in trouble. Your Godfather?" Harry closed his eyes.

He didn't need this right now. They were wasting time. For all he knew, Draco could be.. dead. He opened his eyes.

"I lied!" Harry announced bluntly. Luna gasped. "Draco's the one who's in trouble. He's the one I saw in my dream. Now, if we keep on standing here, we won't find him" -his voice caught- "and he'll most likely die." His eyes teared up and he turned back around to face the curtain.

"But, you hate Malfoy," said Ginny faintly. "I don't understand."

"Ginny," Ron sighed.

This is not the way to come out to your friends, Harry thought. I can't tell them.

"No, I don't," Harry said, responding to Ginny's statement. "Over the past year, we've gotten closer, and now I see him as a friend." Gripping his wand, Harry didn't wait for a reply and walked cautiously around the dais. There was no one on the other side. He came back around and caught Hermione's eye.

"Let's go," she said, looking away and eyeing the archway fearfully. "There's no one here." The others slowly started to migrate back to the steps, but Harry stayed where he was. "Harry," she said forcefully.

"Yeah," Harry said. "Yeah." He started walking towards her. When he was close enough, she gripped his arm and held it as they climbed back up the steps.

"I'm sorry about all of this," Hermione whispered. Harry sighed.

"I am too."

"Are you sure the dream-"

"The dream was real, Hermione. And, it wasn't even a dream! It was more like a vision; it was too real," Harry interrupted her. Hermione nodded and said nothing else on the way back up. When they reached the door, the others were already in the first room. Hermione led him over to them.

Neville had his arms crossed, his face in a deep scowl. Ginny's arms were crossed too, but anger didn't envelope her features; sadness did. Luna was just staring at the doors across the room.

"Another one?" Ron spoke up, wanting to break the silence.

"Yeah," Harry nodded. He approached a door at random and pushed. It didn't move.

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked.

"It's... locked..." Harry answered, throwing his weight at the door, but it didn't budge.

"This is it, then, isn't it?" Ron said excitedly, joining Harry in the attempt to force the door open. "Has to be!"

"Get out of the way!" said Hermione sharply. She pointed her wand at the place where a lock would have been on an ordinary door and said, "Alohomora!"

Nothing happened.

"Right, we're leaving this room," she said.

"But what if that's the one?" said Ron, staring at it with a mixture of apprehension and longing.

"It can't be, Harry could get through all the doors in his dream," said Hermione. Harry rubbed a hand across his face, took a deep breath, and then continued on to the next door over. With a feeling of desperation, Harry pushed it open.

"This is it!"