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Amie'd decided to put Sirius' fate out of her head for the moment being - otherwise she wouldn't be able to concentrate on school. Their first day back went by smoothly enough. Most of the D.A. approached Amie and the others during the day, asking Harry about their next meeting, hoping it would be that very evening.
"I'll let you know when the next one is," repeated Harry over and over. "but I can't do it tonight, I've got to go to - er - Remedial Potions..."
"You take Remedial Potions?" said Zacharias Smith insolently, having cornered them after lunch, in the entrance hall. "Good lord, you must be terrible, Snape doesn't usually give extra lessons, does he?"
Amie had half a mind to yell at him, but she managed to restrain herself. As Smith strode away from them, Ron glared after him.
"Shall I jinx him? I can still get him from here," he said, raising his wand and taking aim between Smith's shoulder blades.
"Forget it," said Harry. "It's what everyone's going to think, isn't it? That I'm really stup -"

"Hi, Harry," said a voice from behind them. They turned around, finding Cho standing there.
"Oh," said Harry. "Hi."
"We'll be in the library, Harry," said Hermione firmly, seizing Ron above the elbow and dragging him off toward the marble staircase, Amie following closely behind.
"Hey!" Ron said indignantly. "I can walk by myself, you know!"
Hermione caught Amie's eye as she let go of Ron, and the two girls started laughing.
"Did you see his face?" Amie giggled.
"He's so into her, it's too obvious!" Hermione laughed.
"I will never understand you, will I?" Ron said, frowning as he looked between the two of them.

Later that evening found Amie, Hermione and Ron in the library, working on homework from Umbridge, as they waited for Harry to return from Occlumency practice with Snape.
"What do you think he's having Harry do exactly?" Ron whispered, due to the fact that they were far from alone in the mostly quiet library.
"Not here, Ron, too many ears." said Amie, without lifting her gaze from her parchment. "We'll know in a while, anyhow."
Not long afterwards, Harry showed up, sitting down next to Amie, opposite Ron and Hermione.
"How did it go?" Hermione whispered, looking up. "Are you all right, Harry?"
Harry looked very pale.
"Yeah... fine... I dunno," said Harry impatiently, wincing for some reason. "Listen... I've just realized something..."
And he told them of how Snape'd made him relive his memories, one imortant one in particular - the one when he'd gone to the Ministry for his trial, and seen the entrance to the Department of Mysteries. Harry'd realized that's the corridor he'd been dreaming of for months, the corridor where Mr. Weasley'd been attacked.
"So... so, are you saying..." whispered Ron, as Madam Pince swept past. "that the weapon - the thing You-Know-Who's after - it's in the Ministry of Magic?"
"In the Department of Mysteries, it's got to be," Harry whispered. "I saw that door when your dad took me down to the courtrooms for my hearing, and it's definitely the same one he was guarding when the snake bit him."
Hermione let out a long, slow sigh. "Of course," she breathed.
"Of course what?" said Ron impatiently.
"Ron, think about it... Sturgis Podmore was trying to get through a door at the Ministry of Magic... It must have been that one, it's too much of a coincidence!"
"How come Sturgis was trying to break in when he's on our side?" said Ron.
"Well, I don't know," admitted Hermione. "That is a bit odd..."
"Maybe he thought he could protect the weapon better than the Ministry can," Amie pondered.
"So what's in the Department of Mysteries?" asked Harry of Ron. "Has your dad ever mentioned anything about it?"
"I know they call the people who work in there 'Unspeakables'," Ron frowned. "Because no one really seems to know what they do in there... Weird place to have a weapon..."
"It's not weird at all, it makes perfect sense," said Hermione.
"It does - if it's something the Ministry's been making, it's the perfect hiding place. Deep in the Ministry, where limited people have access." said Amie.
"Harry, are you sure you're all right?" asked Hermione.
Harry'd just run both his hands hard over his forehead, as if trying to iron it.
"Yeah... fine..." he said, lowering his hands, which Amie saw were trembling. "I just feel a bit... I don't like Occlumency much..."
"I expect anyone would feel shaky if they'd had their mind attacked over and over again," said Hermione sympathetically. "Look, let's get back to the common room, we'll be a bit more comfortable there..."

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