Cassiopeia was furiously pacing back and forth with Draco by her side, trying to prevent her friend from being sent to Azkaban for killing Umbridge. He was in the middle of a monologue when Harry appeared down the corridor, just as furious as she was, grabbing her wrist and dragging her away.

She could only hear Draco calling out in exasperation as Harry pulled her through the corridors. "What the bloody hell, Potter!" she shouted, but then saw her friend trembling with a pained expression. "Are you alright? Are you sick?" she asked, checking his temperature and casting a diagnostic spell.

Ron and Hermione were exchanging glances, looking very puzzled. "Come with me. Quickly, I need to tell you something," Harry urged. He led them to the first-floor corridor, peeking through the portals, and finally found an empty classroom where they all rushed in, Harry closing the door behind them.

He leaned against the door to face his friends. "Voldemort has taken Sirius," he gasped.

"What?!" Cassiopeia yelled, her face turning red. "How did you...?"

"I saw. Just now," Harry explained. "I don't know how, but I know exactly where. There's a room in the Department of Mysteries filled with shelves of small glass spheres, and they're at the end of corridor ninety-seven... he's trying to use Sirius to get something he wants from inside there... he's torturing him." Harry's voice trembled as much as his knees.

Cassiopeia held onto his arm and sat him down on a desk. "Breathe," she instructed, holding his hand.

"He... says when he's done, he'll kill him!" Harry gasped for breath. "How are we going to get there?" he asked.

"G-g-get there?" Ron asked, also trembling.

"To get to the Department of Mysteries and save Sirius!" Harry exclaimed loudly.

"Harry!" Hermione said in a frightened voice.

"Oh... how... how did Voldemort manage to get into the Ministry of Magic without anyone noticing his presence?"

"How am I supposed to know?!" Harry roared.
"The question is, how are we going to get in there?!" he continued, agitated.

"Harry, this seems like a trap!" Cassi said softly, trying to calm him down. "I don't believe Sirius has been caught," she gasped, not entirely sure of her own words.

"Harry, think," said Hermione, approaching them. "It's five o'clock in the afternoon... the Ministry of Magic must be filled with employees... how could Voldemort and Sirius get in without being seen?" she reasoned logically.

"Hermione's right. They're probably the two most wanted wizards in the world... do you think they could just waltz into a building full of Aurors like a walk in the park?!" Cassiopeia interjected, trying to control her temper.

"She's right," Ron said quietly, looking between the two of them.

"But how could Voldemort have taken Sirius if he's been at Grimmauld Place the whole time?"

"Sirius might have gone crazy and wanted some fresh air," suggested Ron, looking concerned. "He's desperate to get out of that house after all these years..."

"But why?" Cassiopeia insisted. "Why would Voldemort want to use Sirius to get the weapon, or whatever that thing is?"

"I don't know, there could be plenty of reasons!" Harry yelled. "Maybe Sirius is just someone who knows something."

"It just occurred to me," Ron whispered.

"Sirius's brother was a Death Eater, right? Maybe he told Sirius the secret to acquiring the weapon!"

"My father has a name!" Cassiopeia growled in a high-pitched scream, and Hermione held her back. "And maybe her nerves are really on edge right now."

"Y-yes, and that's why Dumbledore has insisted on keeping Sirius locked up all the time!" Harry said.

"Look, I'm sorry," Hermione said, "but neither of you is making sense, and we have no proof of any of this, not even proof that Voldemort and Sirius are there..."

"I KNOW WHAT I SAW!" Harry fiercely shouted, and Hermione recoiled in fear.

Cassi stood in front of her friend and pointed her wand at Harry, feeling exhausted with everything around her, overwhelmed with anger.

"Sit your bloody arse down and speak quietly!" she ironically said, yelling herself.

"And what if it is?! What if it's real? Are you going to stay here and let him die?!" Harry asked, standing up and facing her.

"Damn it, Potter! Stupid Potter! You idiot! Airhead!" Cassiopeia growled while angrily slapping him.

Hermione gasped in shock.

"He's the only family I have left! He's our family, Cassi!" Harry cried, and she hugged him too, tears streaming down her face, feeling all her frustration coming out like a train.

Voldemort being released, the damn exams, her mother, being away from Narcissa, Hagrid expelled, Minerva, who is practically her second mother, injured and in grave danger, Sirius possibly in danger, feeling so important. It was all too much.

Ron and Hermione exchanged glances.

"What do we do?" Ron asked, and Hermione nodded.

"We use the Floo Network," Harry said, wiping away Cassi's tears as he held her hand.

"But Umbridge has all the fireplaces monitored by the Ministry," Cassi recalled.

"Not all of them," Harry said with a smile, and the four of them ran through the corridors.

"Alohomora," Cassi pointed her wand at the door, and a terrible room appeared. "Good heavens, it looks like a six-year-old's drawing," she said with a grimace, looking at the pink room filled with cat paintings.
Harry lit the fireplace.

"Alert the Order if you can," he said, almost entering, but Cassi pulled him back. "Ron will distract the toad and gather as many D.A. members as he can," she requested, and he quickly left the room.

"I'm going to search for Sirius!" Harry said, ready to stick his head into the fireplace, but Cassi grabbed him.

They argued for long minutes until Harry practically threw himself into the fireplace.
Cassiopeia huffed exasperatedly as she waited for the boy to return.

Several minutes passed, and Harry came back panting.

"Kreacher said he's not there. He's been taken, Cassie, I have to go!"

"What do you mean, YOU're going? Are you planning to go alone? What part of 'we're in this together' don't you understand, airhead?" she scolded him irritably.

"We really are," Ron said softly, looking between the two of them.

"And what are you doing in my office?!" Umbridge screamed from the doorway, startling the four of them.

Draco appeared behind her, looking very concerned.

"What did you do, Ferret?!" Cassi almost shouted in exasperation.

"I wasn't going to let Potter practically kidnap you! My mother would kill me," he defended himself irritably.

"What are you doing in my office?!" Umbridge yelled.

"Trying to get my Firebolt back," Harry grumbled, and Cassiopeia felt the urge to hex him for that terrible excuse.

"Liar. Your Firebolt is under strict surveillance in the dungeons, as you know very well, Potter. You were sticking your head into my fireplace. Who were you communicating with?"

"With no one," Harry said, trying to get away when she put her hands on him.

"Liar!" Umbridge shouted, throwing him away, and he hit the desk.

A commotion was heard outside, and some burly Slytherin students entered, each one holding Ron, Ginny, Luna, and Neville, who was immobilized by a chokehold from Crabbe and seemed to be in imminent danger of suffocating.

"I got them all," Warrington said, violently pushing Ron into the room. "That one," he pointed to Neville with a thick finger.
"He tried to stop me from catching this one," he indicated Ginny, who was trying to kick the shins of the Slytherin girl Emilia Burcke holding her.

"Great, great," Umbridge approved, observing Ginny's resistance. "Well, it looks like Hogwarts will soon be free of the Weasleys, won't it?"
Draco looked worried.

Umbridge gave the girl a wide and indulgent smile, settling into her chintz-covered armchair, winking at the prisoners like a toad in a flowerbed.

"So, Potter, you put guards around my office and sent this clown," she gestured at Ron.

"Apparently, it was very important for you to talk to someone. Was it Albus Dumbledore? Or the half-blood Hagrid? I doubt it was Minerva McGonagall, I heard she's still too sick to speak."

"You cursed cow!" Cassiopeia growled, losing her temper at the mention of Minerva. But Draco held her back in panic.

"You'd better watch your insolent mouth, Mrs. Gaunt," Umbridge smiled widely. "I believe Potter is negatively influencing you," she clucked her tongue.

"Very well," she said in her most dangerous and falsely sweet tone. "Very well, Mr. Potter... I offered you a chance to tell me voluntarily. You refused. I have no choice but to force you."

"Draco, go get the professor. Snape," she ordered, and Draco reluctantly let go of Cassi and left the room. She was being held in place by an immobilization spell, which was smart of Umbridge, considering the level of hatred she was feeling.

Footsteps were heard in the corridor, and Draco entered the room, holding the door open for Snape to pass.

"Did you wish to see me, Headmistress?" Snape said, looking at the struggling students with an expression of complete indifference. But then he looked at Cassiopeia, unmoving, and raised an eyebrow in shock.

"Ah, Professor Snape," Umbridge said, opening a big smile and rising from her desk.

"Yes, I would like you to prepare more Veritaserum as quickly as possible, please."

"You used my last flask to interrogate Potter," he informed her, studying her calmly through his curtains of oily black hair. "Surely you haven't used it all up? I warned you that three drops would be enough."

Umbridge blushed. "Can you prepare a bit more, can't you?" she asked, her voice turning as sweet and childish as always when she was angry.

"Certainly," snapped Snape, pursing his lips. "It takes a full moon cycle to mature, so I'll have it ready in about a month."

"A month?" Umbridge croaked, swelling like a toad. "A month? But I need it for tonight, Snape! I just caught Potter using my fireplace to communicate with an unknown person or persons!"

"Really?" Snape exclaimed, showing his first pale sign of interest and turning to Harry. "Well, I'm not surprised. Potter has never shown great respect for the school's rules."
His cold, dark eyes bore into Harry's, who held his gaze without blinking.

"I'd like to interrogate him!" Umbridge shouted angrily, and Snape averted his gaze from Harry to the furious and trembling face of the headmistress.

"I'd like you to provide me with a potion that forces him to tell me the truth!"

"I've already told you," Snape replied softly, "that I ran out of Veritaserum. Unless you intend to poison Potter, and I can assure you I'd support you if you did that, I can't help you. The only problem is that most poisons act too quickly and don't leave the victim much time to tell the truth." Snape looked back at Harry, who returned the gaze, eager to communicate without speaking.

"You're being watched!" squeaked Umbridge, and Snape looked at her again, raising his eyebrows slightly.

"You're being deliberately unhelpful! I expected more; Lucius Malfoy always speaks very highly of you! Now get out of my office!" Snape made an ironic bow to the headmistress and turned to leave.

Before he could actually turn, Harry shouted, "He has Padfoot! Padfoot is in the place where he's hidden!"

Snape stopped with his hand on the doorknob.

"Padfoot!" exclaimed Umbridge, looking anxiously from Harry to Snape.

"What is Padfoot? Where is it hidden? What is he saying, Snape?"

Snape turned to Harry. His face was inscrutable.

"I have no idea," replied the professor coldly.

"Potter, when I want you to shout nonsense, I'll give you a Babbling Beverage. Crabbe, ease your grip a bit. If Longbottom chokes, we'll have too many documents to fill out, and I'm afraid I'll have to mention it in your references if you ever seek employment," he said boredly.

"And release Mrs. Gaunt. It's possible she'll explode in angry if the color of her face is any indication."

Umbridge looked at Cassi and released her with a wave of her wand.

Draco held her again, just in case she attempted to murder anyone once more.

"This is more than a school discipline case... it's a matter of ministerial security... yes..." She seemed to be trying to convince herself of something. She shifted nervously from one foot to the other, staring at Harry, tapping her wand against her empty palm, and breathing heavily.

"The Cruciatus Curse will loosen his tongue," Umbridge said in a low voice.
"No!" shouted Hermione. "Prof Umbridge, this is illegal."

Umbridge ignored her. There was a malicious, eager, and excited expression on her face. She raised her wand.
"The Minister wouldn't want you to break the law, Prof Umbridge!" Cassiopeia exclaimed in shock.

"What Cornelius doesn't know won't hurt him," said Umbridge, who now was panting slightly as she pointed her wand at a different part of Harry's body each time, apparently trying to decide where it would hurt the most.

"He never knew I sent Dementors after Potter last summer, but he was delighted to have the opportunity to expel him."

"It was you?" Harry marveled. "You sent the Dementors after me?"

"Someone had to take action," Umbridge whispered, her wand pointed directly at Harry's forehead.

"They were all complaining that they wanted to shut you up, discredit you, but I was the one who actually did something... but you managed to escape, didn't you, Potter? But not today, not now."

And taking a deep breath, she ordered, "Cruc--"
"NO!" Hermione shouted with a choked voice from behind Emilia.

"No... Harry... we have to tell her!"

"No way!" Harry shouted, staring at the little bit of Hermione he could see.

"We have to, Harry. She'll force you to talk, w-what's the point?" Hermione started crying softly behind Emilia's robes. The girl immediately stopped trying to crush her against the wall and stepped away in disgust.

"Well, well, well!" Umbridge said, with a triumphant expression. "Miss Inquisitive will give us some answers. Come on, girl, speak!"

Cassiopeia wanted to protest, but then she paused for a moment to observe Hermione.

Gina stared wide-eyed at Hermione as if she had never seen her before. Neville, still trying to breathe, also stared at her. Luna looked so confused that she blinked repeatedly.
But wait - she? She was pretending. Cassi felt like laughing. Hermione didn't shed a single tear.

"Sorry... sorry, everyone," Hermione said, hiding her face, looking very tearful. "But... I can't stand it..."

"Alright, alright, girl," Umbridge said, grabbing Hermione by the shoulders, pushing her onto the chintz sofa, and leaning close to her.

"Now, dear... who was Potter communicating with just now?"

"Well," Hermione swallowed hard, still with her hands on her face, "Well, he was trying to talk to Professor Dumbledore," she gasped.

"Dumbledore!" Umbridge exclaimed, anxious. "So you know where Dumbledore is, then?"

"Well... no!" Hermione sobbed. "We tried the Leaky Cauldron, Diagon Alley, the Three Broomsticks, and even the Hog's Head..."

"You silly girl... Dumbledore won't be sitting in a pub with the whole Ministry looking for him!" Umbridge shouted, disappointment etched in every sagging wrinkle of her face.

"But... but we had something important to tell him!" Hermione moaned, squeezing her hands tighter against her face.

It wasn't clear whether it was out of distress or to disguise the absence of tears.

"So?" Umbridge asked with a sudden burst of excitement. "What did you want to tell him?"
"W-w-we wanted to tell him that it's r-r-ready!" Hermione choked.

"That it's ready!" Umbridge repeated, her eyes lighting up with excitement. "Have you been researching some defense method? A weapon you could use against the Ministry? By order of Professor Dumbledore, of course."

"Y-yes," gasped Hermione, but she had to leave before finishing, "and n-n-now we're done and we c-c-can't find him to w-w-warn him!"

"What kind of weapon is it?" Umbridge asked harshly, her short hands still gripping Hermione's shoulders.

"We don't really kn-know," said Hermione, sniffling loudly. "We just d-d-did what Prof. Dumbledore told us to do."

Umbridge straightened up, looking triumphant.
"Take me to the weapon."

"I'm not showing... them," Hermione said in a high voice, looking at the Slytherin students through her fingers.

"It's not up to you to impose conditions," the teacher said harshly.

"Fine," argued Hermione, now sobbing, her face in her hands. "Fine... let them see, I hope they use it against you! In fact, I wish you'd invite a crowd to come see it! It would serve you right... oh, I'd love for the whole school to know where it is and how to use it, and when you annoy someone, they could do something about you!"
Reverse psychology. Honestly?! Hermione is a genius.

These words had a strong impact on Umbridge: she looked quickly and suspiciously at her Inquisitorial Squad, her bulging eyes pausing for a moment on Cassiopeia, who was ready to kill her. Then Draco, who was too slow to hide the dreamy and covetous expression that appeared on his face.

Umbridge studied Hermione for another long moment, then spoke in a tone she clearly thought was maternal.

"All right, dear, just you and me... and we'll take Potter too, okay? Stand up now."

When Umbridge left the room with her friends, Cassiopeia nudged Draco.

They looked at each other for a moment before nodding in unison. He pretended to lose his grip on her when he shouted:

"ENCARCERUS!"

And all the Slytherin students were tied up and fell stupidly to the ground.

Cassi rushed to Neville; the knot around his neck must be hurting.

"You guys have to go... Now!" Draco said softly.

"Don't tell your mother," Cassi joked.

"Oh, you're in deep shit," he laughed mockingly, giving her a push with his shoulder.

"Malfoy is helping us?" Neville asked incredulously.

"Just go, fat ass," Draco shouted, and Neville widened his eyes as he ran.

"Let's go," Cassi pulled her colleagues out of the room, and they all ran out of the castle.

"Where are we going?" Gina asked breathlessly.

"They went to the Forbidden Forest," Ron explained. "Hermione is coming up with something."

Cassi laughed loudly at that. "She was brilliant."

(...)

They found them hidden among the trees, panting.

"So," said Ron, pushing away a low branch and handing Harry his wand, "do you have any idea?"

"How did you manage to escape?" Harry asked, astonished, picking up the wand.

"Draco might have been holding me too loosely on purpose," Cassi laughed maliciously, going to hug Hermione.

"YOU ARE BRILLIANT!" she exclaimed, giving her a smacking kiss on the cheek, making Hermione blush furiously.

"N- Not that much," Hermione gasped, embarrassed.

"Nonsense," Cassi dismissed.

Harry walked towards nothing, looking attentively at something.

"What is it, Harry?" Ron asked.

"Thestrals,"

"How many of them?" Cassi approached.

"Two."

"We need four," Hermione, who still seemed a bit shaken but determined, reminded them.

"Five, Hermione," corrected Ginny, scowling.

"I think we are actually seven," Luna said calmly, counting them.

"Don't be daft, we can't all go!" Harry said angrily. "Look, you three," - he pointed to Neville, Ginny,