Chapter 673: Riddle's Infiltration of the Ministry of Magic, and Harry Wants to Save Sirius (Edited)
Night fell, and Harry and Ron got into bed early to rest.
The two weeks of O.W.L. exams and the post-exam frenzy had exhausted them both physically and mentally, so they fell asleep the moment their heads touched the pillows.
Of course, this definitely didn't include Fish... Cats are nocturnal creatures!
While Fish roamed alone (Hermione had also gone to bed early due to exam exhaustion), Harry, who had already fallen asleep, once again dreamt of the dark and cool corridors of the Department of Mysteries...
He walked leisurely down the hallway, his steps determined and firm, a sense of joy for having reached his goal filled Harry's chest, confident that this time he would finally reach his destination... The black door opened for him, as always, and he found himself in a circular room with many doors...
Straight across the stone floor, through the second door... Patches of light danced on the walls and floor, strange instruments made sounds, but there was no time to look closer, he had to hurry...
Harry quickened his pace and reached the third door, which opened just like the others...
He was once again in a cathedral-like room filled with shelves and orbs... His heart raced rapidly at that moment... This time, he could really make it... When he reached the ninety-seventh row of shelves, he turned left and hurried down the aisle between the two rows of shelves...
Unlike his previous dreams, at the end of the aisle, a dark object writhed on the floor like a wounded animal... Harry's heart gave a strong jolt, an inexplicable fear engulfed him, and at the same time, a cruel pleasure seized him.
"Bring it to me... quickly, bring it to me... I cannot touch it... you can touch it..."
A cold, sharp voice, devoid of any human goodness, came from Harry's mouth, a voice he knew all too well... it was Voldemort's voice.
Something dark on the floor stirred slightly. Harry saw a pale, thin hand extend from the front of his arm, gripping his wand... and he heard Voldemort shout in a cold whisper, "Crucio!"
The man on the floor screamed in pain, tried to get up, but writhed and fell again.
Harry laughed, but his fear grew, the voice of the man on the floor sounded familiar, but he couldn't quite identify it because it was a scream, yet Harry was sure the man was someone he knew.
In a mix of fear and excitement, Harry relished the man's screams for a moment before slowly drawing his wand, the spell stopped, and the figure groaned and ceased moving.
"Lord Voldemort awaits..." he said softly.
The man on the floor, his arms trembling, slowly lifted his shoulders a few inches off the ground and raised his head. His face was bloodstained, contorted with pain, but with unwavering strength...
"Unless you kill me," Sirius said quietly.
"Eventually, I will," Voldemort replied softly, "But first, you'll have to bring me the object, Black... Do you think you've felt pain? Think again... we have plenty of time, no one can hear you scream..."
He pointed his wand at Sirius again, Harry struggled to stop Voldemort like the last time, but this time it was completely ineffective.
"... Ha... Harry... Harry!"
A distant call echoed in Harry's ears as his scar felt like it was burning.
Harry covered his forehead and screamed as he got out of bed, surrounded by Ron and the others who looked at him with concern.
"Harry, are you okay?"
"Did you have another nightmare? Neville went to fetch Professor McGonagall."
"Do we need to take you to Madam Pomfrey?"
The worried crowd asked.
"I... I'm fine," said Harry, covering his forehead and crawling out of bed, drenched in sweat.
However, the pain in his forehead had left Harry weak, and he stumbled a few steps before being caught by Ron.
"Where do you think you're going? Professor McGonagall will be here soon," Ron said with a slight reprimand as he helped Harry sit back on the bed.
"Sirius... Sirius has been captured by Voldemort... I need to see Dumbledore!" Harry struggled to get up, but Ron held him firmly and continued shouting.
The truth about Sirius had been revealed when Harry and Fish were interviewed together by Skeeter, so Seamus and Dean knew he was innocent.
They just didn't know that Sirius was in the Order of the Phoenix, and they thought he was hiding from the Aurors, just as the Ministry had claimed.
But Ron was aware of the situation and said in surprise, "But hasn't Sirius been at the Black family's ancestral home? It's impossible for You-Know-Who to have found him."
"I don't know what's happening! But I saw it with my own eyes in my dream!" Harry growled, continuing to struggle to get up. "Don't forget how your father was saved!"
Ron unconsciously let go of Harry's hand, and Harry immediately pushed him away and stumbled towards the Common Room.
"This way, Professor," Neville said, returning with Professor McGonagall at that moment.
She hurried into the Common Room, wearing her tartan robe, her glasses askew on the bridge of her thin nose, obviously having rushed over as soon as Neville had awakened her.
Harry had never been so relieved to see Professor McGonagall, who was a member of the Order of the Phoenix.
"Sirius! Sirius has been captured by Voldemort." Harry stumbled towards Professor McGonagall, shouting urgently, "He's in the Department of Mysteries! He needs Sirius to take some kind of object!"
"That can't be." Professor McGonagall frowned. "He should be safe at home."
"But I saw it! I saw it in my dream!" Harry yelled in frustration. "If we don't save him, Voldemort will kill him!"
Professor McGonagall wasn't angry at Harry's rudeness; instead, she calmly reassured him, "Calm down, I'll take you to Dumbledore. He can directly contact the Order of the Phoenix, and then we'll know if anything has happened to Sirius."
She then looked at Ron and the others and instructed them, "Go rest, and remember not to tell anyone about tonight."
Professor McGonagall turned around and left the dormitory.
Harry took a few steps after her, then quickly stopped to think, turned back, and grabbed his wand from the bed before catching up to Professor McGonagall and overtaking her.
Harry was in a hurry to save Sirius, so Professor McGonagall had to follow him to the third floor, and then Harry couldn't wait for the slow ascent of the spiral staircase, so he ran up it again.
Professor McGonagall, who was no longer young, didn't have as much strength, and since she didn't need a password after that, she simply sat on the stairs, calming her breathing as she waited for the spiral staircase to slowly bring her up.
"Bang!"
Harry gasped as he reached the top of the stairs, not taking the time to catch his breath as he rushed through the gleaming oak door, shouting as he entered in a hurry.
"Professor Dumbledore! Save Sirius!"
Only when Harry burst into the headmaster's office did he realize that Dumbledore was sitting at his desk in his daytime wizard's robes, with a black beetle in his mouth.
On the desk in front of Dumbledore, a cute tiger-striped cat was pressed against an old wizard's hat, also with a black beetle in its mouth.