E I G H T Y

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The next few minute were a blur. After Adeline helped Harry off the ground and he managed to regain consciousness, he told her, Ron, and Hermione about how he had a vision of Sirius being tortured by Death Eaters at the Ministry of Magic. Despite all three of them urging Harry to wait and consider that Voldemort might be invading his mind again to manipulate him, Harry was set on saving Sirius and doing whatever it took to do so.

"Alert the Order if you can," Harry ordered over his shoulder as he ran up the stairs. "But Umbridge's office has the only Floo network available in and out of Hogwarts, so that's the only way I'm going to be able to get to the Ministry."

"Harry, have you gone mental?" Adeline hissed as she tried to follow him. "Umbridge might just throw you into her fireplace if she catches you in there! And it's like Hermione said! It could be Voldemort trying to trick you!"

"We're going with you!" Ron said quickly.

Shaking his head, Harry responded, "It's too dangerous."

"When are you going to get it through your head?" Hermione asked aloud. She had managed to catch up to Harry and grabbed him by the shoulder to force him to stay in place. "We're in this together."

This was finally enough to convince Harry of some help. Hermione and Ron would help him break into the office and stand watch outside the door while he tried to get in contact with Grimmauld Place and see if Sirius was there, and Adeline would be stationed outside in the corridor.

As Adeline stood guard outside the door to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, nervously tapping her foot and jumping at even the slightest sound. She didn't like this idea at all, but she wasn't going to let Harry do this alone if he insisted on it.

Several minutes had passed with no interruption. Adeline wondered what could be taking so long. While it surely wasn't easy, she didn't think it would be too difficult to get into contact with whoever was at Grimmauld Place for help.

Then, Adeline heard some noises further down the corridor, and she originally brushed it off as someone passing by or her being overly paranoid. But, the sounds soon became louder, and, much to her horror, Adeline recognized an all too familiar voice getting closer by the second.

Adeline cursed, "Shit."

There was nowhere for Adeline to hide. Even if she had wanted to, Professor Umbridge had already spotted her and had cast a spell to keep Adeline frozen in place. "Not surprising that you're here!" She seethed as Draco Malfoy grabbed onto Adeline's arm and began dragging her through the classroom and up to her office.

Umbridge stormed up the stairs and threw open her to find Harry kneeling in front of the fireplace. Glaring furiously and yelling at Harry, Umbridge grabbed his shoulder and practically threw Harry into a chair in front of her desk and had her wand pointed at his throat. "You were trying to get to Dumbledore, weren't you?"

"No."

Going redder than the flames in her fireplace, Umbridge slapped Harry across the face and screamed, "Liar!"

Everyone's mouths dropped, even the members of the Inquisitorial Squad. Before anyone could scream any sort of protests or Harry even had a chance to defend himself, the office door opened once again and Professor Snape stepped into the room. "You sent for me, Headmistress?"

Umbridge straightened up. "Snape, yes. The time has come for answers, whether he wants to give them to me or not. Have you brought the Veritaserum?"

"I'm afraid you've used up all my stores interrogating my students, the last of it on Miss Edgecombe," Snape slowly replied. "Unless you wish to poison him...and I assure you, I would have the greatest sympathy if you did. I can't help you."

Before Snape walk out the door, Harry yelled, "He's got Padfoot!" Snape slowly turned around, but there wasn't any change in his stoic expression. "He's got Padfoot in the place where it's hidden."

"Padfoot? What is Padfoot?" Umbridge questioned loudly, her eyes darting back and forth between Professor Snape and Harry. "Where is what hidden? What is he talking about, Snape?"

Snape stared at Harry for a few more seconds, but then turned back to Umbridge and calmly responded, "No idea."

"Very well," Umbridge said in an eerily calm voice once Professor Snape had left the room. "You give me no choice, Potter. As this is an issue of Ministry security, you leave me no alternative. The Cruciatus Curse ought to loosen your tongue."

Adeline's mouth dropped as Ron strained against Crabbe's grip and shouted, "That's illegal!"

Professor Umbridge glanced at a photo of the Minister of Magic propped up on her desk and carefully set it face-down. "What Cornelius doesn't know won't hurt him," She stated with a hint of a sneer.

Hermione suddenly blurted, "Tell her, Harry!"

Everyone looked at her in surprise, even Harry. "Tell me what?" Umbridge asked, lowering her wand slightly.

"Well, if you don't tell her, I will," Hermione demanded. "I will."

"Where what is?"

"Dumbledore's secret weapon!"

Everyone in the group was incredibly confused, but they didn't show it out of fear of messing up whatever Hermione's plan was. Umbridge grabbed Harry and Hermione, dragging them out of the room as she demanded that they show her whatever this 'secret weapon' was in the Forbidden Forest.

As she left, Umbridge shouted over her shoulder that Draco would He was almost delighted to be left in charge. Despite the fact Adeline's hands had been tied up and her wand was out of reach in her pocket, Draco still was holding onto her arm. His fingernails dug into her arm so much that she was sure he was drawing blood, and there was even the chance of scaring.

Adeline was looking for anything to distract herself from the situation, which was why she thought she might be seeing things at first. There was a flicker of movement by the door to Umbridge's office, prompting Adeline to look closer at the doorknob. She blinked and took a closer look, then suddenly realized she wasn't managing anything

There was almost certainly a bowtruckle on Professor Umbridge's doorknob.

No one else seemed to notice the bowtruckle or the fact Adeline was looking at it. Instead, most of the room was focused on a loud argument that had erupted between Ron and Draco, which normally would've been something Adeline was enraptured by. However, she couldn't keep her eyes off the bowtruckle, which was now moving through Umbridge's office at alarming speed.

Adeline had heard Lee mention that Umbridge's office seemed to have some sort of special lock that couldn't be opened by just the Alohamora spell. Instead, the lock was enchanted that it couldn't be only opened by the charm, but only a certain enchanted key that Umbridge had. Most students had seen Professor Umbridge carrying it around before, but she also appeared to have one hanging in her office.

Somehow, with no one else in the room except for Adeline noticing, the bowtruckle managed to carry the key over from where it was hanging on her wall to the door. Adeline found herself incredibly grateful for the infamous Weasley temper at that moment in time, because with Ron – and now Ginny – arguing with the Slytherins, no one else saw a thing. Neville looked as if he wanted to jump into the fight, but could never find the point to interject, and Luna was just staring wide-eyed at the whole exchange with her signature dreamy smile.

Despite the magical creature's small size, the bowtruckle managed to stick the key in the door keyhole. Adeline watched as the bowtruckle bounced on the key, slowly turning it until she heard a soft click from the door.

Then, all at once, the door to Umbridge's office burst wide open, revealing a certain group of seventh-year girls that made Adeline beam with delight at the sight.

"Oh, I've been waiting to do something like this," Ophelia said with a practically maniacal grin on her face.

The office then erupted into chaos as Estelle, Ophelia, and Melanie all started shooting off spell after spell towards the Inquisitor Squad. Adeline had to duck out of the way of a well-aimed Stupefy from Estelle that hit Draco square in the chest.

Because the Inquisitorial Squad were so distracted by the sudden ambush, they had let go of Adeline, Ron, Ginny, Neville, and Luna in the process. None of them wasted the opportunity and joined in on the fight, shooting off spell after spell until all the Slytherins were laying on the ground with an intense variety of magical injuries from the daze that came from Stupefy from bats flying out of Crabbe's nose from Ginny's impeccable Bat-Bogey Hex.

When the dust had settled, all the teenagers looked up at each other, unsure of what to say at first. Then, Ginny began to laugh and grinned as she said, "Merlin, it felt good to do that."

"Can't argue with you about that," Adeline admitted with a small laugh. She then looked at the creature that was now sitting on Ophelia's shoulder. "And good job to Bowie for managing to lift that huge key and unlock the door."

"Yeah, good job, Bowie!" Ophelia beamed as she grabbed a small treat out of her skirt pocket and fed it to the bowtruckle, which squeaked with delight.

Meanwhile, something else caught Ron's eyes. Specifically, the sight of some of the members of the Inquisitorial Squad beginning to stir, despite all the spells they had just been hit with. Before anyone could even raise their wand, Ron suddenly shouted, "Petrificus Totalus!"

The group of Slytherins each went stiff as boards before falling to the ground. "Brilliant, Ron!" Adeline said happily over the Inquisitorial Squad's muffled protests.

"Anyone know some sort of way to keep them from following us?" Ron asked. "Because I don't know how long this is going to last."

Ophelia was already on it. She shouted, "Incarcerous!", and suddenly the Slytherins found themselves tied up. Even when Ron's spell wore off, the Inquisitorial Squad were so tightly bound that they wouldn't be able to move no matter how much they tried.

Luna grabbed the wands out of their hands and set them on a high shelf in Umbridge's office, well out of their reach. As she tip-toed over the bodies with a dreamy expression on her face, Luna told the group, "Let's go find Harry and Hermione, shall we?"

The teenagers quickly made their way out of Umbridge's office and began walking down the corridors. Melanie waited until the group was a little farther ahead to send Ophelia a pointed look and ask, "Why was that spell in your immediate arsenal?"

"You know damn well why that spell is in my immediate arsenal, and I'm not ashamed about it," Ophelia said pointedly before turning to Adeline and telling her, "Y'know, I could teach you how to perfect that spell, Adeline. Make things extra fun for you and Georgie."

"I'm not having this conversation with you."

"You don't say a damn word about anything, I need answers about what you two do–"

In order to avoid Ophelia trying to continue the conversation at what was probably the worst time possible, Adeline interjected and completely changed the subject, asking, "How did you find us in the first place?"

"Saw you run off with Harry, Hermione, and Ron before and then we heard a few Slytherins bragging about how they caught you...it wasn't hard to figure out," Estelle explained. "We're just thankful we got here when Umbridge was already gone. Although, I wouldn't have minded hitting Professor Umbridge with one of those spells."

"Knowing Umbridge, she would probably try to send us to Azkaban if we tried that." Melanie turned to Adeline and asked, "How would Muggles get revenge in this sort of situation?"

"I don't know, probably piss on her desk?"

"Do not get any ideas," Estelle insisted, glancing at Ophelia knowingly.

For the rest of the journey there, Adeline explained what had lead up to Harry sneaking into Umbridge's office and any other questions they had about the whole situation, including the innocence of Sirius Black. Soon enough, the group could spot Harry and Hermione standing at the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

"Where is she?" Ron asked as soon as they reached them. "What happened to Umbridge?"

The two exchanged a sly smile before Hermione turned to the group and answered, "Umbridge's been taken care of."

Neville's mouth dropped. "Did...did you kill her?"

Hermione shook her head, but there was still a smug smile on her face. "We didn't kill her. But, if the centaurs did so after what she said to them, I wouldn't be surprised."

"You could've easily killed her in those woods and make it look like an accident," Melanie pointed out.

"Would've done the world a favor," Ophelia added.

Neville suddenly asked, "How are we getting to London, then?"

"Look," Harry sighed. "It's not that I don't appreciate everything you've done, all of you. But I've gotten you all into enough trouble as it is."

"You and Hermione just dropped off a Ministry official in the middle of the Forbidden Forest surrounded by a bunch of angry centaurs, and we just hexed a bunch of Hogwarts students. I'm sure we can't get into much more trouble than this," Ginny pointed out.

"And I know my way around the Ministry like the back of my hand," Estelle added. "So we can try and find what you need much faster."

Harry looked as if he was about to refuse once again, but Ron spoke up. "'Dumbledore's Army' is supposed to be about something real. Or, was just that all words to you? You don't have to do this all by yourself, mate."

Harry looked at the group of teenager. After realizing that they certainly weren't backing down on this, he nodded. Then, after glancing around the group again, he suddenly realized something crucial for the whole plan. "So...how are we getting to London?"

There was a small giggle, and the group turned their head to look at Luna as she announced, "We fly, of course!"

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a/n:

hi guys !!

our fav group of 7th years are kicking ass and taking names and we Love to see it !! i love this gang of gals so much it hurts. the next two chapters are the battle of the dept of mysteries and i'm so excited to get those out :))

this semester has been kicking my ass but writing has been a really nice solace these past few weeks. like it's a nice stress reliever for me ?? idk if that makes sense ??

anyways, i hope you all enjoyed the chapter and have a lovely day !! i'll see you at the next update !!

- g ♡