Twisted Tales

Sirius

The second the examiners call time, I'm out of my seat, rushing for the double doors. My eyes scan the students that wait in the hall, trying to spot Ron or Hermione or maybe even Harry himself. After a few minutes of panic, I spot a streak of bright red hair. Rushing towards it, I slam into Ron who grabs my elbows to steady me. Something is happening and despite my questions, I can't miss it.

"What happened to him?" I nearly demand, searching first Ron's eyes and then Hermione's.

The girl shrugs, frowning a little, "Maybe stress?"

"He didn't seem that nervous this morning," Ron answers with a shake of his head.

Suddenly, I'm being tugged back through the crowd. I only just catch Ron's hand, pulling him along after me. Hermione fights through the throng of students trying to meet up with friends or get back to their common rooms. Her voice rises above the low rumble, her call coming out almost desperate, "Harry! What happened? Are you all right? Are you ill?"

"Come with me. Come on, I've got to tell you something," He's already got his hands on his friend's shoulders, pushing them further down the halls. As if he's a mother doing a headcount and discovering she's missing a child, Harry comes to a sudden stop. He whips around, giving me an annoyed look when he spots me still standing in the same spot. "You too, Isabelle. Hurry up."

The three of us follow Harry into an empty classroom. He snaps the door shut, turning to us with a crazed look, "Voldemort's got Sirius."

"What?"

It really doesn't make any sense. How in the world could Voldemort have Sirius? He's been trapped in Grimmauld Place since the very beginning of this. We've only got one secret-keeper and there's no way Mad-Eye would give up the location, not even under torture. Whatever Harry saw must be a mistake, some kind of stress-induced fever dream.

"How d'you – ?"

"Saw it," Harry cuts Ron off, making it all make sense. It's not a fever dream or some crazed delusion. Harry hasn't been able to make any progress with Occlumency and the Dark Lord has used that to his advantage. Suddenly, our conversation over Christmas break comes back to me. I'll lure him to the Ministry. You need to be there. "Just now. When I fell asleep in the exam."

"But – but where? How?" Hermione stumbles over her words, eyebrows scrunched together so tightly it looks like they've grown together.

"I dunno how, but I know exactly where," Harry begins pacing through the room, talking with his hands. "There's a room in the Department of Mysteries full of shelves covered in these little glass balls, and they're at the end of row ninety-seven. He's trying to use Sirius to get whatever it is he wants from in there. He's torturing him. Says he'll end by killing him." Harry stops, turning to face the three of us. "How are we going to get there?"

"G-get there?" Ron's mouth falls open, the tips of his ears going bright red.

"Get to the Department of Mysteries, so we can rescue Sirius!"

"Harry," Stepping forward, I curl my fingers around his arm, just above the elbow, catching his gaze, "Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure!" He explodes, throwing me off of him.

"Harry, how did Voldemort get into the Ministry of Magic without anybody realizing he was there?" Hermione, always the voice of reason, pipes up. She manages to keep her tone even but I can see the worry creeping up her eyes, see the way her lips twitch, the way her fingers work against her forearm.

"How do I know? The question is how we're going to get in there!"

"But Harry, think about this," the panicky fear has now slipped into Hermione's tone, her shoulders vibrating as she tries desperately to talk sense into her friend. "It's five o'clock in the afternoon. The Ministry of Magic must be full of workers. How would Voldemort and Sirius have got in without being seen? Harry, they're probably the two most wanted wizards in the world. You think they could get into a building full of Aurors undetected?"