Chapter 80: The Place Where It's Hidden

The Great Hall, Hogwarts Castle, Wizarding World...

True to his word, Harry Potter had not said anything to anyone about Snape shagging Hermione. He had also gone out of his way to avoid Snape aside from Potions Class and meal times in The Great Hall. This afternoon had been no different as he mulled over his latest dream. Since the Occlumency lessons had ended with Snape the dreams seemed to get worse. In particular, the worse had been the one he awoke from this morning. He saw Sirius Black bound and tortured by the serpent faced monster in a form of interrogation. This dream had caused a great deal of alarm for the boy who lived due to the previous one of Arthur Weasley being attacked by a snake had been proven to be true.

"Are you alright Harry?" asked Hermione finding it strange that he seemed to be having trouble sleeping again.

"I-I had another dream." the green eyed wizard admitted. "This time it was about Sirius."

"Are you serious mate?" asked Ron with his blue eyes widened.

He had known all too well to take Harry's dreams concerning the despot at face value given he had saved his father's life.

"I wish I weren't." replied Harry in a miserable tone. "He's got him at the place where the prophecy is stored at the Ministry Of Magic offices."

"And how do you expect us to get to him?" asked Ron unsure if he was willing to head into the belly of the beast. "He's probably surrounded by a ton of death eaters and Voldemort himself has got to be there."

"Well...we could use polyjuice." replied Hermione as her clever mind decided on a course of action before everyone had even been in agreement about embarking on such a dangerous mission.

"Brilliant." replied Harry. "We'll just have to find candidates that are allowed into the Ministry and use their forms to get to Sirius."

"Wait..." said Ron having a brilliant idea of his own. "Why don't you just contact him?...that way we know for sure if he's been captured."

"Don't you think I've tried that Ron." replied Harry annoyed. "He's not answering his floo call."

Ron gulped noting the implication in what his friend had just told him.

He had no desire to be murdered by death eaters...at least not before he managed to snag the Quidditch world cup, but he wasn't going to let his best friend rush off on a daring rescue without him...well at least not this time.

"Alright mate...I'm with you." he said feeling he at least owed it to Harry to try after the young wizard had saved his own father.

"Then it's settled." replied Hermione. "We leave Hogwarts tonight and head for The Ministry Of Magic offices to rescue Sirius."

"Thank you." said Harry meaningfully as he looked at both of his friends. "Both of you...I can't tell you how much this means to me."

"Don't worry about it mate." replied Ron with a smile. "You can buy me a butterbeer at the three broomsticks later."

"Don't mention it Harry." replied Hermione with a smile as well. "I know how much Sirius means to you."

With the daring rescue in play, the three friends enjoyed the remainder of their breakfast.

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The Forbidden Forest, Wizarding World...

Severus Snape had been almost frantic in his search as he attempted to locate Hermione Granger. She had disappeared but she had not been alone. The irate Potions Professor had known all too well that the Golden Trio had been up to no good. He had been given leave by Dumbledore to search for the wayward children as word had been sent to the Order Of Phoenix. The annoyed wizard once more donned the robes of the death eaters complete with his mask as he attempted to infiltrate the ranks in a bid to flesh out their next move.

He had not been on good terms with the dark lord since the incident at the wolf summit and had yet to be summoned for his actions. The wizard took off at the instant his flight spell dissolved his corporeal form into that of thick black smoke. He had a feeling that Hermione was in terrible danger and if she was in danger then so were the idiot boys Potter and Weasley.

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The Ministry Of Magic Offices, Wizarding World...

Sneaking into the Ministry of Magic offices had been an easy part of the task. Hermione had managed to procure some items needed for the trip as well as getting them access into the building. Harry had spied Lucius Malfoy speaking with Cornelius Fudge a while back and guessed the Senior Malfoy had been up to no good as he consorted with the very paranoid Minister of Magic whom had unleashed Dolores Umbridge upon Hogwarts.

The room of darkness illuminated by swirling blue dust in crystal clear orbs had been deserted as far as Harry and the others could tell. There wasn't a single death eater in sight as they moved about the numerous rows of shelves with the same exact set up. They kept going until the green eyed wizard noted the faint white glow of one of the orbs that whispered and beckoned to him.

"This is it." said Harry moving toward the orb and taking it from the strange looking shelf."This is the prophecy about Voldemort and me."

Both Ron and Hermione had their wands drawn ready to take on anyone that dared leap from the shadows. Unfortunately, They had not been fast enough as swirling black smoke gave way to death eaters all masked and mostly men given their builds but their leader had been a woman without a mask. Her hair was wild and curly. She had the overall appearance of someone whom had been very beautiful once, but madness and abuse twisted her despite her appealing form.

Unbeknownst to the Golden Trio, this woman had been none other than Bellatrix LeStrange the deranged cousin of Sirius Black. Her chaotic brown eyes focused rather intently upon the orb glowing in Harry's hand.

"Well if it isn't little...bitty...baby...Potter." she said in a mocking tone.

Harry glared at the monster of a woman that had aided in putting Neville Longbottom's parents in St. Mungo's Hospital.

"What you got there baby Potter?" she asked still mocking him. "Is that a wittle story about you and the dark lord?"

"Leave us alone." demanded Harry standing rather valiantly as he gripped the orb within his tightly bent fingers.

"Or what?" asked Bellatrix amused by is Gryffindor bravado. "Are you going to cry me a river?, you filthy little half blood!"

"Now Bella." said the unnervingly charming voice of Lucius Malfoy as he stepped from the shadows. "That isn't how we ask for things from the chosen one."

Harry's emerald green eyes narrowed almost immediately upon see his nemesis' father.

"Malfoy." he said as if the name left a bad taste in his mouth.

"Potter." replied Lucius unaffected by the boy's hatred of him. "Now that we've done away with introductions...what do you say we skip to the part where you hand over the prophecy."

"Fat chance of that happening." said Ron gripping his wand and causing Lucius to roll his eyes.

"Of course...the golden trio rarely ever travels alone." he muttered. "Miss Granger...do your friends a favor and explain to them how it would be in everyone's best interest if Potter would just hand over the prophecy."

"That's not happening." replied the amber eyed witch narrowing her gaze at the Senior Malfoy.

"How disappointing." said Lucius.

Bellatrix and the other death eater's immediately advanced upon the golden trio who attempted to run firing hexes and spells as they zipped between the shelves.

"This is rather pointless you know." said Lucius catching the three students at a dead end surrounded by dirt and a strange artifact built like a mirror but in place of glass had been a rather unusual and surprisingly thin veil of some sort.

Harry glared at Lucius Malfoy as the older wizard approached him.

"Take a look around." he said rather confident in his surroundings. "You are tremendously matched and greatly outnumbered."

Harry Potter looked to his left and found that Ron had been seized by one of the masked death eaters. The green eyed wizard looked to his right to see that the same had been true for Hermione as another masked fiend held her in his grasp.

"You see Potter...there is no need to carelessly through your friends lives away for a simple orb." said Lucius in his usual charming tone.

Harry looked at his friends and how they struggled against the hold their captors had on them. It appeared Lucius Malfoy had been right all along and it prompted the young boy to consider his very limited options. As he attempted to hand the orb over to the Senior Malfoy, a burst of white light entered the room followed by a few more. The light disintegrated and became Sirius Black with a rather smug and annoyed expression filed across his handsome face.

"Get away from my Godson." he said before unceremoniously punching a shocked Lucius Malfoy in the jaw and causing him to let the orb slip from his grasp and shatter beneath the strange stone steps of the mirrored veil.

An all out fight broke out as Tonks and Lupin appeared with Kingsley and a few other Aurors. Ron stepped on the foot of his captor and managed to worm his way out of the death eater's grasp. Hermione had not been so lucky as her captor simply pulled her away from the fighting and toward a place where none of the spell could harm her.

Angrily struggling against the captor Hermione found herself lifted off the floor and pressed into a nearby wall in a bid to quell her kicking fit.

"Let me go." she growled enraged.

"Not on your life." replied the death eater as the mask faded to reveal Severus Snape struggling to suppress a bit of fury of his own.

Hermione relaxed then pleased to see her lover had been the one holding her captive in place of an enemy.

"What the fuck were you thinking coming here?" hissed Snape glaring into her eyes.

"Harry wanted to save Sirius." explained Hermione. "He thought he was being held captive."

"Funny how I managed to contact the filthy mongrel and get him to save your collective hides." replied Snape.

"I know...I know and I'm sorry I made you worry but I have to help Harry." she said.

"No." replied The Potions Master. "Potter can take care of himself...you are going back to Hogwarts right now."

Hermione glared at Snape who wasn't going to budge an inch. Thinking rather quickly albeit barbarically, Hermione kneed Snape in the groin and raced back out into the fray. The sudden shock of such an impulsive physical attack had the Potions Master's knees buckle and his vision turn white.

"HERMIONE!" he shouted as he struggled through the pain.

Finally freed, the amber eyed witch returned just in time to see Sirius Black do battle with Lucius Malfoy.

Harry Potter had been grateful to have been rescued by his Godfather and together they gave the lesser death eaters what for in terms of spell work. A bit of a smile crept across the naturally stressed teenager's face as he began to enjoy dueling side by side with his godfather.

"Nice one James." said Sirius as he managed to push Lucius Malfoy back into a wall with Harry's assistance.

The celebration had been short lived however as Bellatrix LeStrange erupted from a dirt mound and tossed forth a spell aimed directly at her most hated cousin.

"Avada Kedavra!" hissed Bellatrix before slinking off into a cloud of green smoke.

It was at that moment that Harry James Potter learned the devastating effects of a killing curse when not faced with the adrenaline of a tri-wizard tournament.

"SIRIUS!" he shouted as Remus Lupin grabbed him just as the newly murdered wizard Sirius Black slipped into The Mirrored Veil.

"He's gone." said Lupin stricken with mutual sadness. "Harry...he's gone."

"NO!" shouted Harry breaking free of Lupin's hold as he rushed after Bellatrix LeStrange with murder in his eyes and intent in his heart.