Lumos

43 | The Ministry

"Well, that's my cue to leave," I said, turning to look for my wand. I was going to apparate out of here, and never step foot in this hideout again—or at least, for as long as Pansy was appearing in and out of here.

"What's she doing here?" Parkinson snarled, pulling out her wand stepping towards me. Malfoy stepped in between us, holding out an arm.

"Don't, Pansy," he drawled. "No fighting. I have a headache."

I scoffed. He'd spent almost a half an hour rummaging through the contents of my brain, and he was the one with a headache!

"We can't trust her," Pansy snarled. "She'll go back to Potter and tell him every—"

"She won't," Malfoy said, turning to look at me. "She won't if she knows what's good for her."

"Why do you trust her all of a sudden?" Parkinson cried out in frustration, nearly stomping her foot. "She's never been on our side, and you know that—"

I could she was getting on his last nerve. Malfoy reached out towards me, grabbed my left arm, and pulled up my sleeve.

"Hey—" I said, alarmed, as he revealed the twisting black skull and snake on my arm.

Pansy stared at it, taken aback. Then, she looked at me.

"Oh."

"Now will you shut up?" Malfoy grumbled, running a hand through his pale hair. "Come on," he said, motioning towards me. "You need to leave."

"Gladly."

As we walked out the door, Malfoy looked over his shoulder.

"Parkinson," he called. "Try not to break any more wands while I'm gone. Or wrists," he added.

I smirked.

⚡⚡⚡

I disapparated back in front of Grimmauld Place, letting myself inside.

". . . Snitches. They're never touched by bare skin until the Seeker captures it. Even the wizard who fabricated it wears gloves. That way, if there's a dispute, the Snitch can identify who first touched it," Hermione's voice came through the hall.

"You mean it remembers me?" Harry asked. I stepped into the living room.

"When Scrimgeour first gave it toyou, I thought it might open at your touch—that Dumbledore had hidden something in it." The wood creaked under my step, and all three heads turned to me. Ron stopped fiddling with the antenna on the radio.

"Where were you?" he asked. "Did you find Mundungus?"

"You've been gone two days!"

Had it been that long? Crap, I had totally forgotten about Mundungus. My heart started to race as I tried to come up with an excuse.

"I couldn't find him. I went to Knockturn Alley, Diagon Alley . . . I didn't want to come back until I found him, but then I ran into death eaters. I had to hide," I explained, "and I couldn't return because if they found your location through me—"

Suddenly, there was a crash in the hall.

"Let go of me—"

There was another crash in the kitchen, and the four of us jumped to our feet, running towards the sound. As I skid into the kitchen, a small, wet creature fell tumbled across the floor, bumping into the wall. As it looked up at Harry, I immediately realized who it was.