in the end ~ d. malfoy

Chapter Forty

June 2016

No, Harry, has in fact, not suffered a premature brain aneurysm.

Apparently, when he fell asleep during the exam, it wasn't because he was chronically sleep-deprived and had zero fucks to give, like the rest of them. Harry saw things. Like, Divination, prophet, seer-type saw things. According to him, Voldemort has taken Sirius prisoner, holding him in the Department of Mysteries. The older boy is hysterical, pacing around the classroom as Ron and Hermione try to calm him down.

It's not that Maya doesn't believe him, it's just that the timing of this is a little too coincidental to be normal. With everything going on with Umbridge and Azkaban's mass breakout, Harry's vision seems more like a trap than a plea for help.

There's a moment's silence as they all take his words in, Maya not knowing what to say. Then Ron says, 'G-get there?'

'Get to the Department of Mysteries, so we can rescue Sirius!' Harry says loudly.

'But — Harry . . .' says Ron weakly.

'What? What?' says Harry, breathing heavily. He doesn't seem to realize what's coming out of his mouth.

'Harry,' says Hermione in a rather frightened voice, 'er . . . how . . . how did Voldemort get into the Ministry of Magic without anybody realising he was there?'

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

'But . . . Harry, think about this,' says Hermione, taking a step towards him, 'its 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?'

'I dunno, Voldemort used an Invisibility Cloak or something!' Harry shouts 'Anyway, the Department of Mysteries has always been completely empty whenever I've been — '

'You've never been there, Harry,' says Hermione quietly. 'You've dreamed about the place, that's all.'

'They're not normal dreams!' Harry shouts in her face, standing up and taking a step closer to her in turn. 'How d'you explain Ron's dad then, what was all that about, how come I knew what had happened to him?'

'He's got a point,' says Ron quietly, looking at Hermione.

'But this is just — just so unlikely!' says Hermione desperately. 'Harry, how on earth could Voldemort have got hold of Sirius when he's been in Grimmauld Place all the time?'

'Sirius might've cracked and just wanted some fresh air,' says Ron, sounding worried. 'He's been desperate to get out of that house for ages —

'But why,' Hermione persists, 'why on earth would Voldemort want to use Sirius to get the weapon, or whatever the thing is?'

'I dunno, there could be loads of reasons!' Harry yells at her. 'Maybe Sirius is just someone Voldemort doesn't care about seeing hurt — '

'You know what, I've just thought of something,' says Ron in a hushed voice. 'Sirius's brother was a Death Eater, wasn't he? Maybe he told Sirius the secret of how to get the weapon!'

'Yeah — and that's why Dumbledore's been so keen to keep Sirius locked up all the time!' says Harry.

'Look, I'm sorry,' cries Hermione, 'but neither of you are making sense, and we've got no proof for any of this, no proof Voldemort and Sirius are even there — '

'Exactly!' Maya laments, 'This is a set-up!'

'Hermione, Maya, Harry's seen them!' says Ron, rounding on them. Maya backs up so he isn't in her face anymore.