Right In The Thick Of It

[augury_ron]

Who: The Trio (in disguise)
What: Sneaking around the Ministry
When: Monday, 15 December 1997
Where: The Ministry of Magic
Status: Complete

OK, don't get nervous. Just act like you belong here and no one will be any the wiser.

Easier said than done when you're disguised as your own Dad and sneaking around his office trying to do stuff that was

Comments

[augury_harry]

"Beeline?" Harry tried to grin, but it likely came out as more of a pained grimace. He picked up a stack of papers on the desk - any stack would do - and tucked them under the crook of his arm. "We've gotten this far without beelining. Let's see if we can keep it up."

Hopefully the papers made him look important. Or, at the very least, made him look like he was about to go file something, which was apparently Melvin Shuffleport's job.

He turned, headed for the door. Felt like his knees would give out from under him.

Almost there...?

[augury_hjg]

Hermione tried her very best to laugh, wincing as it came out resembling more of a strangled choking noise. She, they, couldn't do this, it was ridiculous. She had been so sure they would be caught on the way in, polyjuiced disguises or not, but this was so much worse. Surely, after the disaster of their 5th year, the Ministry policed the Department of Mysteries far more carefully than they had then?

"We should leave with an interval between us," she said through gritted teeth, trying to get a reign on her panic. She had to be able to think clearly, which would never happen if she kept allowing herself the luxury of sheer and utter terror. Just breathe, she reminded herself, standing straight and ensuring she had her carefully prepare stack of Herbology notes. "I doubt Ron's father has worked with either of these people. It would look suspicious if they were to suddenly be seen together now."

[augury_ron]

"I'll go first then."

The words were out of his mouth before he even knew he was going to say them. Taking a deep breath, he continued. "I'm the one everyone will know, right? So if I can get in and clear the way for the two of you, y'know, smooth things over so no one's suspicious, that'll be better than having three people show up that have nothing to do with each other."

He nodded towards Hermione. "You ought to go next. After I'm in, wait a couple of minutes and follow me. And then Harry can come in last. We'll meet each other..." He faltered a moment, realizing he had only a very hazy recollection of the layout of the inside of the Department of Mysteries. "...where?"

[augury_hjg]

"In front of the doors," Hermione said tightly, barely resisting her desire to give him a desperate hug before he left. "The black ones, remember? That don't have have labels? We should meet there."

She took a deep breath, trying to force the details into her mind. That had been where they had first gotten into trouble the first time -- none of them had known which door to go through until she had marked them, and even then they hadn't the faintest idea.

"It's right inside the entrance, so it's...it's the best place, really," she faltered, concern creasing her face. "Besides, if we each try a different door, we might get lost, and we don't have that time to spare."

[augury_ron]

Ron nodded, trying to remember the exact way in which the room was laid out, trying to keep everything straight and orderly in his mind, trying to think of this as just another chess game where the only thing that mattered was strategy, thinking things through properly and not letting your opponent's visible confidence shake you...

But this was no game. Their lives, the lives of so many people, their friends and familes, depended on this. And he knew it.

"All right then," he said a bit too loudly. "I'm off."

And with a reassuring smile he only half-felt, he looked his friends in the eyes and strode away towards the Department of Mysteries.

I'm just Arthur Weasley, just doing my job. Which requires me right now to take a bit of a stroll down to the Department of Mysteries and take a look at a few matters of national security. Just another day at the office...

I hope no one can see how nervous I am...

[augury_harry]

A few minutes later, Hermione left the room. Harry stared down at the stack of papers as if his life depended on it.

It did depend on it.

Right. He was just Melvin Shuffleport, file clerk for Magical Law Enforcement. He loved his job. Was very happy to file things all day long. Never wanted for anything more.

Yes.

He swallowed. Now to make everyone else believe it. He stepped outside the office, carefully shutting the door behind him, turned and found himself face to face with...

Someone. The man's badge was covered by the stack of papers in his arms. "Where you off to, Shuffleport?" he asked casually.

Harry cleared his throat, gestured to his paper stack. "Just off to... file... a few things. I've a lot of filing to do today." He forced a grin. "You know how crazy these Mondays can be."

Hopefully he did know that.

[augury_hjg]

Hermione knew the way; she had traced the route a thousand times in her mind before today and a thousand more since they had arrived. She had every step memorised, every corridor and every doorway. Despite this, she could not stop her eyes shifting constantly, examining everything she came across, half afraid that the walls would begin to shift around her like some horrible nightmare.

She passed countless people who ignored her entirely, and the odd one or two who raised a hand in greeting. Each of the latter caused a fresh wave of panic, and a worry that even if she did not get caught, Ron or Harry may have while she was not watching.

One step at a time, she reminded herself sternly, trying to turn her mind away from such horrid thoughts. That's all it takes.She was at the elevators before she knew it, pressing the button for the Department of Mysteries and rehearsing excuses in case she were caught by someone who knew she wasn't meant to be here. She was almost there...only a few steps more and she should see Ron waiting in front

[augury_ron]

Being in this room again filled Ron with dread. He didn't remember much of what had happened last time, except that it had been a terrible experience he had been lucky to survive. And now, standing in this room of foreboding black doors, alone, waiting for his friends to arrive and hoping madly that no one came by to inquire why he was simply standing there, he wanted nothing more than to be out of this place.

Maybe that's a spell they put up or something. Make people so hesitant to be here that they won't even think of breaking in...He shook his head angrily, trying to clear the doubts and fear from his mind. They couldn't afford that now. Especially since none of them knew exactly what they were going to do once they'd gotten into the room they wanted. Or if there were any way to do what they wanted to do and be able to come back afterwards

[augury_hjg]

Hermione shook her head wordlessly, collapsing against one of the walls in relief. She looked down at her watch, ridiculously girly against a man's hand, but thankfully mostly hidden by her robes. She wasn't sure how long after her Harry had left, but she knew that her heart would be beating in her throat until she saw him.

"No," she said finally, sneaking another glace at her wrist. It had been mere seconds; she couldn't expect Harry to arrive yet. She had at least five minutes to go before she would allow herself to properly worry, and even then it may be too early. "I don't think anyone saw me. "You?"

It was a silly question, she knew as soon as it left her mouth. He was here, uninjured, and she had not heard any alarm being raised. Of course he had arrived without problem. He would have told her by now if anything had gone wrong.

[augury_ron]

He shook his head. "No, I think we're pretty much invisible so far." For which he was incredibly thankful; the last thing they needed was to be detained in any way. Their appearances might check out at first glance, but to anyone who knew the people they were impersonating, their stories would disintegrate after a few simple questions.

Ron slipped a hand into the pocket of his robes and gripped the handle of his wand anxiously. "Was Harry all right when you left him?"

He realized as he said it that it was a ridiculous thing to ask, but he was concerned. So may things could potentially go wrong with this endeavor, and he needed to know that things were holding together so far.

No doubt about it, this thing is only going to work if a staggering number of things miraculously fail to go wrong.

[augury_harry]

The man fell in step beside Harry, walking casually with him down the hall. Well, he was casual. Harry fought the crazy urge to shove the man aside, make a break for the end of the hallway.

Just walk. Walk slowly. Walk like you belong here.

The man was talking about... something. Quidditch. Harry's mind was spinning. How could he talk about Quidditch when there was a world to save and the clock was ticking and his hands felt sweaty and clammy and...

Focus!

"Well, this is my elevator." Harry cleared his throat. "My stop, I mean, I'm getting on the elevator."

Idiot!

The man raised an eyebrow. "You feeling okay, Shuffleport? You look a little pale."

Don't run.

"Well, it's Monday." Why wasn't the elevator coming any faster? "I'm not a fan of Mondays and I've all this filing to do." He gestured at the papers as if to prove it.

Get lost!"All right, well... see you around." The man turned to go. "See you at break. Take care, Shuffleport

[augury_hjg]

Hermione sighed in relief, peering over Harry's shoulder. She couldn't quite believe that they had made it here without any of them being followed. It seemed entirely to good to be true, she she kept expecting the entire plan to fall down around their ears at any moment.

"Are you all right?" She asked, belatedly registering the strange tone in his voice. She reached for her wand, clutching her hand around it as though it had the ability to save them all from what she could only assume would be certain disaster. "Did something go wrong?"

She took a deep breath, counting to three to stop herself babbling and give him time to answer. She could be calm; the fact that she wanted to let herself collapse into a babbling mess didn't mean that she should let herself do so.

[augury_harry]

Harry shook his head. "Just a friendly co-worker. I hope. Asking friendly questions."

Or raising the alarm right now. He felt it should be a good sign that no one had come running yet. Then again, how long had he been down here? A few minutes, at best.

"Let's keep going. How long do we have left with the polyjuice?"

[augury_ron]

As pleased as he was to see Harry, Ron still felt a sickening twist of his stomach at the mention of someone asking questions about any of them. Friendly or not, they didn't need someone getting suspicious and sending someone down to ask after them.

"Around half an hour, I'd say. And we'll need every last second of it if we're going to navigate this place."

And more than that, if we're going to be doing any sort of investigation. Especially in that... room.

He nodded towards the door. "Come on. No time to waste and all that. Hermione -" He turned to face her. "-can you do that thing you did before to mark the door?"

[augury_hjg]

Hermione nodded, the sick feeling that had settled in her throat not allowing her to answer properly. She held out her wand, thanking Merlin that she had learned wordless magic, concentrating of the thought of fire. An X made out of flames appeared on the door, and she gestured for them to open it; she did not think she could make her legs move if she tried.

"Flagrate," she whispered, clearing her throat. "The spell's flagrate. In case we get separated."

Her breath caught. She couldn't think of that now, she wouldn't let herself. The only reason she could think of that any of them would leave the others was...oh god. No. She would not think like that.

[augury_ron]

Separated? Ron thought with a mental snort. Not bloody likely. No way I'm letting either of you go off on your own, no thank you.

Nevertheless, he nodded his understanding to Hermione and drew his wand. "All right. I'll open the door and see if the coast is clear. You guys follow me in and make sure to stay together. This place is a maze, after all, and the last thing we want is to get lost."

And before he could lose his nerve, he took a deep breath and wrenched open the door.