𝗟𝗢𝗡𝗗𝗢𝗡 𝗕𝗢𝗬

ACT TWO, CHAPTER THIRTEEN
kids break into the ministry.

SEEING HARRY, NEVILLE, Luna, and Penelope float in midair was pretty strange. Venus watched as her boyfriend climbed onto something completely invisible to her, and it suddenly sunk in. This was real — they were actually going to the Ministry to save Sirius. Harry then turned to her, Charlotte, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny, who were all just staring at them.

"What?" Harry stated.

"How're we supposed to get on?" Ron faintly asked. "When we can't see the things?"

"Oh it's easy," Luna reassured him, sliding off the invisible Thestral (which also looked weird) and walked over to the group. "Come here . . ."

Luna took Venus' hand in hers. She led her over to what Venus guessed was another Thestral. Luna then placed Venus' hand into something, which she recognized as a mane of a horse. She then instructed her where to place her foot, and Venus got on. Luna then went to go help the others before returning to her own Thestral. Venus looked down to see herself floating, but she was on something solid.

Out of what had happened in the previous couple of months, this was probably the craziest.

"This is mad," Ron voiced as he stroked the invisible figure of his Thestral. "Mad . . . if I could just see it—"

"You'd better hope it stays invisible," Harry told him darkly. "We all ready, then?" They all nodded, and Venus tightened her knees against her Thestral. "Okay . . . Ministry of Magic, visitors' entrance, London, then. Er . . . if you know . . . where to go . . ."

None of their Thestrals did anything for a moment. Then, with a sweeping motion that almost completely knocked Venus off, Venus was lowered a bit (probably the Thestral crouching) before she was shot into the sky. She let out a small yelp and leaned forwards, wrapping her arms around what she assumed to be the Thestral's neck. They burst through the topmost branches of the trees and soared out into a sunset that was turning the sky bloodred.

To say Venus wasn't used to this was an understatement. She was on the invisible figure of a horse, flying at top speed. Venus would've liked to look, but she shut her eyes. She honestly didn't want to look. If she saw herself up that high on something invisible, she probably would've passed out. So, she kept her eyes closed, only listening to the sound of wind rushing past her ears.

Venus didn't know how long they had been flying, but she was getting cold and her limbs were becoming numb from holding on so tightly. She suddenly then felt her Thestral land, but she didn't want to get off just in case. A hand then touched her arm.

"Star," Harry's familiar voice said gently. "You all right?"

"Can I open my eyes now?" Venus questioned softly.

"Yeah, you can open your eyes."

Her eyes slowly fluttered open to be met with Harry's green ones. She sat up, and Harry extended his hand to hers. Venus took it and slid off the back of her Thestral. Harry held both of her hands for a moment to stabilize her after she stumbled from her wobbly limbs. Once she was okay, Venus let go of one of his hands and laced their fingers together on the one she was still holding. She glanced around for a moment — the others were getting off their Thestrals, and there was an overflowing dumpster and a vandalized telephone box, both drained of color in the flat orange glare of the streetlights.

Luna slid smoothly off her Thestral. "Where do we go from here, then?"

"Over here," Harry revealed, leading them all over to the vandalized telephone box and opening the door. "Come on!"

They all crammed inside the box. Somehow, the ten of them managed to all fit — barely. Venus was squashed up against the wall, practically being trampled by Charlotte and Harry. She was feeling quite uncomfortable.

"Whoever's nearest the receiver, dial six two four four two!" Harry demanded.

Ron did it with his arm bent bizarrely so he could reach it. The dial then whirred back into place.

"Welcome to the Ministry of Magic," a cool female voice greeted from inside the box. "Please state your name and business."

"Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Venus Black, Charlotte Thomas, Elijah Rogers, Penelope Lestrange, Ginny Weasley, Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood . . ." Harry quickly listed. "We're here to save someone, unless your Ministry can do it first!"

"Thank you. Visitors, please take the badges and attach them to the front of your robes."

A dozen badges slid out of the metal chute, and Hermione handed them all to Harry over Ginny's hand. Venus glanced over to see the topmost one.

HARRY POTTER
RESCUE MISSION

"Visitor to the Ministry, you are required to submit to a search and present your wand for registration at the security desk, which is located at the far end of the Atrium."

"Fine!" Harry said loudly, and Venus looked over at him worryingly as he winced in pain. "Now can we move?"

Underneath Venus' feet, the floor of the telephone box shuddered and the pavement rose up past the glass windows as they descended. Blackness closed over their heads as they sank down into the depths of the Ministry of Magic with a dull grinding noise. There was suddenly a soft ray of golden light at their feet, which then widened and rose up their bodies. Venus looked out at the glass. Nobody was in the Atrium, and it seemed to be dark. The only light remaining were gold symbols twisting in the dark blue ceiling.

"The Ministry of Magic wishes you a pleasant evening," the woman voiced.

At once, the door of the telephone box burst open. Harry toppled out of it first, Venus right behind him since they were still holding hands. She stood back up and dusted off her robes as she glanced around. The only sound was a steady rush of water from a golden fountain, where jets of water were flowing into the surrounding pool by wands from a witch and wizard, the point of a Centaur's arrow, the tip of a Goblin's hat, and the ears of a House-Elf.

"Come on," Harry urged quietly.

The ten of them sprinted off down the hall. Harry — of course in the lead — brought them past the fountain and an empty security desk, which probably wasn't a good sign. They passed through the golden gates to the elevators (Lifts, Venus scolded herself — her American terminology had not yet left her.) Harry pressed the nearest down button, and almost immediately a lift clattered into sight. All of them cramped inside once the golden grilles slide apart. Harry pressed the nine button, the grilles closed with a bang, and the lift started to descend, jingling and rattling. Finally, the lift halted.

"Department of Mysteries," the female voice announced.

All of them spilled out into the corridor once the grilles slid open again. Venus held Harry's hand a little tighter. The only movement was the flicker of the nearest torches from the rush of air that the lift had created. At the very end of the corridor was a plain black door, the same one Harry had been dreaming about for moments. Venus felt shivers run down her spine from just looking at it.

"Let's go," Harry encouraged. He led them down the corridor and stopped again within six feet of the door. "Maybe . . . maybe a couple of people should stay here as a — as a lookout, and—"

"And how're we going to let you know something's coming?" Ginny interrupted, her eyebrows raised. "You could be miles away."

"We're coming with you, Harry," Neville stated firmly.

"Let's get on with it," Ron said.

Venus looked at him expectantly. He really had no choice. Harry seemed to realize this as well, since he turned to face the door and marched forwards, the others following behind him. It swung open when they reached it, and Venus felt Harry hold her just a hand a little tighter as they entered the room.

The room they had gone into was large and circular. Everything inside was black including the floor and ceiling — identical, unmarked, and handle-less black doors, separated by branches of candles with blue flames, their shimmering light reflecting on the shining marble floor so it looked like they were standing on top of dark water.

"Someone shut the door," Harry muttered.

That was obviously not the right thing to do. As soon as Neville closed the door, the room became so dark without the long ray of light from the torch-lit corridor behind them that the only things they could see were the blue flames on the walls and their ghostly reflections on the floor below. A great rumbling noise then echoed around the room and the candles began to move sideways. The circular wall was rotating. Venus absentmindedly moved closer to Harry to feel safer, their shoulders now pressed up against each other's. For a few seconds the blue flames only seemed to resemble neon lines, but quite as suddenly as it had started, the rumbling stopped and everything became still once again. Venus attempted to blink the blue streaks out of her eyes.

"What was that about?" Ron whispered fearfully.

"I think it was to stop us knowing which door we came in from," Ginny replied in a hushed voice.

She was right. Venus couldn't tell which door they had come through. It could be any of the dozen.

"How're we going to get back out?" Neville inquired uncomfortably.

"Well, that doesn't matter now," Harry voiced forcefully, his grip on Venus' hand and his wand tightening — if that was even possible. "We won't need to get out till we've found Sirius—"

"Don't go calling for him, though!" Hermione told him urgently.

"Where do we go, then, Harry?" Ron asked.

"I don't—" Harry began, swallowing nervously. "In the dreams I went through the door at the end of the corridor from the lifts into a dark room — that's this one — and then I went through another door into a room that kind of . . . glitters. We should try a few doors. I'll know the right way when I see it. C'mon."

The group of ten marched straight at the door they were facing. Harry placed his hand on it and pushed. Venus raised her wand as it swung open easily. After the darkness of the first room, the lamps that were hanging low on golden chains from the ceiling made this long rectangular room was much brighter, but it wasn't glittering. Nothing was inside besides for a few desks and an enormous glass tank of deep-green water with some pearly white objects drifting around lazily in the liquid.

"What're those things?" Ron questioned.

"Dunno," Harry responded.

"Are they fish?" Ginny inquired.

"Aquavirius maggots!" Luna announced excitedly. "Dad said the Ministry were breeding—"

"No," Hermione cut in. Venus watched her in concern as she moved forwards to look through the side of the tank — she sounded off. "They're brains." Penelope then made a comment about how this place was absolutely weird. "Yes, and I'm not sure . . . I wonder what they're doing with them?"

"I'd honestly rather not find out," Venus responded, speaking for the first time since they got to the Ministry.

"Let's get out of here," Harry instructed. "This isn't right, we need to try another door—"

Ron pointed around at the walls, where there were other exits. "There are doors here too."

"In my dream I went through that dark room into the second one. I think we should go back and try from there."

They hurried back into the dark circular room. Venus now had to blink the ghostly shaped of the brains out of her eyes.

"Wait!" Hermione protested as Luna went to close the door. She drew a shape with her wand in the air. "Flagrate!"

A fiery X then appeared on the door. The door clicked shut behind them, and the great rumbling and the fast wall revolve began, now a great red-gold blur amongst the faint blue. When everything stopped again, the fiery cross still burned on the door that they had already tried.

"Good thinking," Harry said. "Okay, let's try this one—"

He went to the door directly facing them again and pushed it open. Venus raised her wand again as she entered. This room was larger than the last, dimly lit and rectangular, and the center was sunken, forming a stone pit about twenty feet below them. They were all standing on the topmost tier of what seemed to be stone benches running all around the room and descending in steep steps like an amphitheater. At the very middle of the stone pit was a stone archway on a stone dais. The archway looked very ancient, cracked, and crumbling, and hung on the archway was a tattered black curtain or veil that was fluttering slightly despite the stillness of the cold air surrounding them.

"Who's there?" Harry suddenly demanded, letting go of Venus' hand and jumping down to the bench below.

There was no answering voice, but the veil continued to flutter and sway.

Venus frowned. "Harry—"

"Careful!" Hermione urged.

Harry scrambled down the benches one by one until he reached the stone bottom of the sunken pit. His footsteps echoed loudly as he walked slowly towards the dais. Venus shared a confused glance with Charlotte before descending down the steps herself.

"Sirius?" Harry spoke again, quieter this time as he edged around the dais.

"Let's go," Hermione called from halfway up the stone steps, sounding scared. "This isn't right, Harry, come on, let's go . . ."

Venus finally reached the bottom and approached Harry's side, the veil in front of her just not feeling right. "Harry, come on. We have to go. Let's go, love."

"Okay," Harry agreed, but he didn't move. "What are you saying?"

"Harry, are you, like, going crazy?" Charlotte asked with a frown. "There's nobody talking. Maybe I should get you that therapist."

"Someone's whispering behind there," Harry insisted. "Is that you, Ron?"

"I'm here, mate," Ron revealed, him and Penelope joining Harry's side.

"Can't anyone else hear it?"

"I can hear them too," Luna admitted as she joined them at the archway and gazed at the swaying veil. "There are people in there!"

"What do you mean, in there?" Hermione demanded angrily, jumping down from the bottom step. "There isn't any in there, it's just an archway, there's no room for anybody to be there — Harry, stop it, come away—" She grabbed Harry's arm and tried to pull him away, but he resisted. "Harry, we are supposed to be here for Sirius!"

"Sirius," Harry repeated, still entranced by the veil. "Yeah . . ."

Harry then took several steps back from the dais and looked down at Venus. He stared down into her brown eyes that were swirling with worry and concern. Harry then suddenly began to feel the way their hands were still intertwined. The fog in his eyes started to clear the longer he stared at her. Even in a place full of blue light, Venus Black still managed to be golden.

He took her hand again. "Let's go."

"That's what I've been trying to — well, come on, then!" Hermione responded, and she led the way back ground the dais.

On the other side, Ginny, Neville, and Elijah were all staring entranced at the veil too. Hermione took Ginny's arm, Charlotte took Elijah's, and Ron took Neville's, and they marched them firmly back to the lowest stone bench and climbed all the way back up to the door.

Harry squeezed Venus' hand, making her look up at him. "What d'you reckon that arch was?"

She shrugged. "Not sure. I'm also not sure if I really want to know. But, whatever it was . . . it's very dangerous. Something about it just isn't right."

Hermione inscribed another fiery cross upon the door. Once more the wall spun and then became still again. Harry approached a random door and pushed, but it didn't move.

"What's wrong?" Hermione questioned.

Harry threw all his body weight on the door, but it still didn't budge. "It's . . . locked . . ."

"This is it, then, isn't it?" Ron said excitedly, joining Harry in the attempt to force the door open. "Bound to be!"

"Get out of the way!" Hermione told them sharply. She pointed her wand at the place where a lock would have been on an ordinary door. "Alohomora!"

Nothing happened.

"Sirius' knife!" Harry announced.

Venus' eyes widened as she watched Harry pull out a whole knife from his robes. He slid the knife into the crack between the door and the wall, running it from top to bottom. Harry withdrew the knife and flung his shoulder at the door. It remained close, but the blade on Sirius' knife had melted.

"Right, we're leaving that room," Hermione decided.

Ron stared at the door with a mixture of apprehension and longing. "But what if that's the one?"

"It can't be, Harry could get through all the doors in his dream," Hermione argued, marking the door with another fiery cross.

"You know what could be in there?" Luna inquired eagerly as the wall spun again.

"Something blibbering, now doubt," Hermione muttered to herself, making Venus frown.

Harry pushed the next door open. "This is it!"

This room was indeed glittering. It was full of beautiful, dancing, diamond-sparkling light. Venus blinked a couple times to get adjusted to it. Once she did, she saw clocks gleaming from every surface, each one a different kind and shape. They hung in spaces between the bookcases or stood on desks ranging the length of the room so that relentless ticking filled the place. The source of the glitter in this room was a towering crystal bell jar at the very far end of the room.

"This way!" Harry urged.

He led them forwards down the narrow space between the lines of the desks towards the source of the light. The crystal bell jar was about as tall as Harry and was sitting on a desk, appearing to be full of a billowing, glittering wind.

"Oh look!" Ginny exclaimed as they approached it, pointing to the heart of the jar.

Drifting along in the sparkling current inside was a tiny, jewel bright egg. It rose in the jar and cracked open, a hummingbird emerging. The hummingbird was carried to the very top of the jar, but as it fell on the draft, its feathers became bedraggled and damp again. By the time it had gone back down to the bottom of the jar, it had been enclosed once more in its egg. Venus' heart raced. Something wasn't right about that jar.

"Keep going!" Harry stated sharply due to Ginny showing signs of wanting to stop and watch the egg's progress back into a bird.

"You dawdled enough by that old arch!" Ginny argued crossly, but followed him past the bell jar to the only door behind it.

"This is it. It's through here—"

He glanced around them all. Venus straightened up and held her wand tighter. She tried to remind herself that everything would be okay, even though if Sirius was actually here, that meant Voldemort was here, according to Harry's dream. They had strength in numbers.

Harry looked back at the door and pushed, swinging it open. This room was as high as a church and full of towering shelves covered in small, dusty, glass orbs. They glimmered dully in in the light coming from more candle brackets intervals along the shelves, their flames burning blue just like in the circular room. The room was very cold, and Venus shivered. Their group edged forwards, and Harry peered down one of the shadowy aisles between two rows of shelves. There was no movement or sound — nothing besides them.

"You said it was row ninety-seven," Hermione recalled.

"Yeah," Harry answered.

Venus looked up at the end of the closest row. Below the branch of blue-glowing candles protruding from it glimmered the silver figure of fifty-three.

"We need to go right, I think," Hermione whispered, squinting to the next row. "Yes . . . that's fifty-four . . ."

"Keep your wands out," Harry told them softly.

The group of ten crept forwards, staring behind them as they made their way down the long alleys of shelves, the farther ends now in almost total darkness. Tiny, yellowing labels had been stuck beneath each glass orb on the shelf. Some of them had some sort of weird, liquid glow while others were just dull and dark. They passed row eighty-four, then eighty-five . . .

"Ninety-seven!" Hermione declared.

They all grouped at the end of the row. Venus gazed down. Nobody was there.

"He's right down at the end," Harry announced, but Venus looked at him fearfully — it sounded like he was trying to convince himself, too. "You can't see properly from here . . ." He led them towards between the towering rows of glass balls, some glowing softly as they passed. "He should be near here. Anywhere here . . . really close . . ."

"Harry?" Hermione stated tentatively.

"Somewhere about . . . here . . ."

They had reached the end of the row and emerged into more dim candlelight. Venus' heart stopped. Nobody was there. There was only an echoing, dusty silence. That meant Sirius wasn't here, and this was all a trap.

Well, great.

"He might be . . ." Harry whispered, peering down the alley next to them. "Or maybe . . ." He let go of Venus and hurried to look down the one beyond that.

"Harry," Venus let out, her voice filled with fear.

He turned to face her, feeling angry at first, but soon becoming concerned at how scared she was. "What's wrong, Star?"

She shook her head. "Sirius isn't here."

Harry looked sick. He ran up and down the aisles, anxiously trying to find Sirius. Venus frowned and glanced up at Elijah. Even in the dim light, she could tell he was scared, too. She then looked over at Charlotte. Besides her always having on a confident façade, she looked utterly terrified as well.

Penelope then approached an orb on the shelf. She called for Harry, who obviously didn't want to hear what she had to say because he was looking for Sirius, but she said he had to come right now. Venus then looked up and her eyes widened. Harry's name was on one of the orbs. Harry then rushed up, and she pointed it out to him.

The yellowish label beneath a dusty glass ball read in spidery writing a date some sixteen years ago, and below that was indeed Harry's name.

S.P.T. to A.P.W.B.D.
Dark Lord
and (?) Harry Potter

"What is it?" Ron asked, sounding unnerved. "What's your name doing down here?" He looked at the other labels on the shelf. "I'm not here. None of the rest of usare here . . ."

Penelope then told him that they wouldn't be. Venus agreed — this was only something to do with Harry. Penelope then said that they had to get out of here because it was a trap. However, Harry started reaching towards the glass ball, and she immediately told him not to touch it.

"Why not?" Harry argued. "It's something to do with me, isn't it?"

"Don't, Harry," Neville said, his face shining slightly with sweat.

Elijah nodded in agreement. "Penelope's right. This . . . this feels like something bigger than we should be dealing with. Maybe the Thestrals are still outside—"

Harry then closed his fingers on the dusty ball's surface. Venus let out a sigh of frustration. She adored Harry, she really did, but he could be stupidly reckless at times. Harry brought the orb down from the shelf and stared down at it, brushing off the clogging dust.

And then everything went wrong.

"Very good, Potter," a drawling voice praised from behind them. "Now turn around, nice and slowly, and give that to me."

» • » ✧ « • «

harry 🕺🏼 harry 💃🏼 it's 🕺🏼 getting 💃🏼 scary   voldemort's 🕺🏼 back 💃🏼 and 🕺🏼 you're 💃🏼 a 🕺🏼 revolutionary 🕺🏼 harry 💃🏼 dumbledore 🕺🏼 dumbledore 💃🏼 why 🕺🏼 is 💃🏼 he 🕺🏼 ignoring 💃🏼 your 🕺🏼 constant 💃🏼 attempts 🕺🏼 to 💃🏼 contact 🕺🏼 him 💃🏼 he 🕺🏼 is 💃🏼 forced 🕺🏼 to 💃🏼 leave 🕺🏼 the 💃🏼 school 🕺🏼 umbridge 💃🏼 arrives 🕺🏼 draco's 💃🏼 a 🕺🏼 tool 💃🏼 kids 🕺🏼 break 💃🏼 into 🕺🏼 the 💃🏼 ministry 🕺🏼 sirius 💃🏼 black 🕺🏼 is 💃🏼 dead 🕺🏼 as 💃🏼 can 🕺🏼 be 💃🏼

anyways

I love how harry always describes venus as golden <333 I love them they make me so soft