Percy Jackson and the Department of Mysteries

158) Half-Off Trix In Aisle Ninety-Seven

"How'd you hide?" I groaned, watching as black figures emerged from the air around us. "I was looking for you!" None of them answered me, which was really annoying, because I would've liked to use their hiding tactics for myself. Their eyes glinted at us from under their hoods as their wands pointed toward us.

"To me, Potter," Lucius Malfoy's proud voice sneered from behind a mask, and I turned to see his hand, outstretched, waiting for Harry to hand him the orb.

We were trapped and outnumbered two to one.

"Where's Sirius?" Harry demanded.

Several of the Death Eaters laughed, and a feminine, dirty voice cackled, "The Dark Lord always knows!"

"Always," Lucius echoed softly. "Now, give me the prophecy, Potter?"

"Prophecy?" I blanched. "Where's the dramatic green mist? And the skeleton? Is our Oracle giving out free prophecies, or was it a two for one deal?"

"Buy one get one," Seamus proposed.

"Now's not the time!" Neville choked out between us.

"It's always the time for savings, it's important to be financially fit," I said. "Also, isn't a buy one get one basically the same thing as a two for one?"

"No, with two for ones you get two of the same thing for the price of one, but with buy one get one you sometimes have the option to get something of equivalent value or less, not necessarily the same item," Luna helpfully stated.

"Ah, thank you. I'm not as financially fit as I thought, I suppose, but I don't get the opportunity to go couponing very much."

"We can go together some time," Luna offered.

"That would be wonderful."

"I want to know where Sirius is!" Harry said harshly, and I was brought back into the present moment. Right. Death Eaters.

"I want to know where Sirius is!" The woman mimicked.

"You've got him," Harry said heavily as the Death Eaters closed in further. "He's here. I know he is."

"The little baby woke up fwightened and fort what it dweamed was twoo," the woman mocked in a baby voice.

Feeling Ron about to jump to his defense, Harry said, "Don't do anything. Not yet —"

The woman laughed, high and very, very menacing, "You hear him? You hear him? Giving instructions to the other children as though he thinks of fighting us!"

"Oh, you don't know Potter as I do, Bellatrix," Lucius said, confirming my suspicions of the woman's identity. "He has a great weakness for heroics; the Dark Lord understands this about him. Now give me the prophecy, Potter."

"I know Sirius is here," Harry said determinedly. "I know you've got him!"

"He's not here, Harry," I said gently. "It was a nasty trick."

"The Mudblood's right, Potter," Lucius said over the Death Eater's laughter. "It's time you learned the difference between life and dreams. Now give me the prophecy, or we start using wands."

"Go on then," Harry said, aiming his own wand toward Lucius's chest. All at once, the rest of us rose our weapons, ready not just to defend, but to fight, to attack.

"Hand over the prophecy and no one need get hurt," Lucius snapped.

That's when I figured it out, and laughed at them, "Uh-huh, he gives you that, and we just skip on home?"