Author's Note: I want to start by saying I am so sorry about the hiatus! However recent events have made me step back and take a look at my involvement in the Harry Potter fandom. My beta reader Pixie, also expressed similar reservations. I am of course referring to J.K. Rowling's comments on transpeople, specifically transwomen. I very much disagree with Rowling on this and I believe transwomen are women. As such I took some time to evaluate what my response should be.

The first thing I want to assure you was that I always intended to finish Twisted Path through all of this. I am so close to the end of this story, I didn't want to leave people hanging. I just wasn't sure how I should do it. I do not want to publish something that leads to people buying things from Rowling. This statement is my compromise. I am ready to continue now, and Pixie has graciously agreed to continue betaing.

As for my other stories, I am still writing Harriet Potter, but you should not expect me to publish any more for a while. If I ever continue to publish fanfiction, I will have to publish it in a way that makes very clear my desire that it not inspire someone to support Rowling financially. Everything else is on hold as well. I am probably not done writing fanfiction, but until I get a better handle on things Twisted Path will be all I am sharing publically.

Content Warning: Scenes of torture and mild sexual content. Warning for sexual assualt survivors: there are scenes of women being harrassed and groped by prison guards.

Chapter 56: The Path to Salvation

May 30th, 1998

Tracey felt herself pulled along down a cold corridor. She had been blindfolded, so she couldn't see where she was going. She'd been stripped down to her underwear, so there was nothing to protect her from the chill. And she had been fed something that she was pretty sure was drugged.

Suddenly, she was stopped roughly. That, she was getting used to. At least whoever this was wasn't using every chance to grope her. The first person who'd been pulling her around had been. She found herself being pushed to the side, into some room. The blindfold came off of her face roughly.

She was in a small cell. The stonework was familiar, from the lower levels of the Ministry. The person who had escorted her here was cutting her hands free now. It was a woman, though a man was leering at her from the doorway.

"What do you want from me?" Tracey asked in slurred speech. The guards did not reply, but the woman grabbed Tracey's bra and cut it off. Then the woman pulled off her knickers. The man continued to leer, but the woman pulled him out of the cell and closed and locked the door.

The cell was small. It had a bucket and a bed with a bare mattress. Suddenly Tracey felt a growing sense of horror. What did they want? And what would they do to her?

It was only a few minutes later that the door opened again. Dolores Umbridge walked in, flanked by two male guards. Tracey refused to cover herself. She wanted to, but she wasn't about to give them the impression that she was bothered by this situation.

Umbridge seemed to see what she was thinking though. "How brave," said the toadlike woman gleefully, "but my guards are still getting an eyeful."

"Good for them," said Tracy through gritted teeth.

"This can all end," said Umbridge, "Just tell me about Potter."

"How about you fuck off, okay?" said Tracey defiantly.

Umbridge's eyes bulged. Tracey realized that she seemed surprised. She must have expected Travey to talk. Had she given Tracey Veritaserum? If she had, it wasn't working.

"We'll try again later," said Umbridge, storming out.

Travey had no idea how she had resisted the Veritaserum, but suddenly she felt far more powerful than she had moments before.

XXXXX

May 31st, 1998

Ginny opened her eyes to see morning light streaming into her eyes. The room she was in was well lit from a skylight. No other windows though. It looked like it was some sort of attic. She was lying in a bed, which had a thick blanket at the bottom. Where was she?

And then she remembered being taken by Snape. He'd called her Lily. That hadn't been creepy at all. Still, Ginny wasn't getting the sense that she was in danger here. She wondered if Nott had survived. The wound he'd received had looked lethal, but Ginny hadn't managed to get a good look at it.

She shook her head. She kept flitting from one topic to another, and she felt very odd. Snape must have given her something to make it hard to focus. Wandless casting required intense focus.

She was still dressed, which was a good sign. Ginny was beginning to suspect that Snape wasn't entirely sane anymore. She wondered what his justification would be. She hoped Tracey was all right.

I need to get my head on straight.

Ginny tried taking deep breaths. It helped a little. Not enough, but a little.

And then Snape entered the room. He looked like… well he looked like himself. But he seemed less angry than he had before.

"You woke early," said Snape, "How do you like the skylight? I had it installed especially for you, Lily."

"I'm not Lily Potter," said Ginny angrily.

"Of course you aren't," said Snape, "you're Lily Evans. The first time I saw you, alongside Potter, I knew that you were Lily Evans reborn, and I finally would have my chance to save you."

"I was born two months before Lily Potter died," said Ginny, "I cannot be Lily reborn."

"You were a vessel, waiting for your true soul," said Snape, "You are Lily."

Well, this was awkward. She had actually wondered about this. It did make an insane sort of sense though. She wondered just how broken Snape actually was.

"The only danger I'm in is the danger you've put me in," said Ginny.

"The danger I saved you from was Potter," said Snape, "I saw the way you looked at him. But Potter is a terrible mistake. Being with him will destroy you!"

"I am not with Harry," said Ginny, "I'm with Justin. And Harry is engaged to Hermione."

"Then why were you engaged?" asked Snape.

And that was why he had put her into a marriage contract with Harry. It was to create the fake danger of her being about to marry him. He needed to see Harry as the threat to Ginny that he would save her from.

He was completely insane.

"It's pathetic," said Ginny, "a girl rejected you in school and you couldn't let her go, even after she made it clear that she preferred a better man."

"James Potter was not a better man," said Snape angrily, "and I did let you go. For years I'd been over you. And then… the Dark Lord said he was going to kill you. And it was my fault. I had to save you! And I failed. If you hadn't chosen Potter you never would have died. But it was my fault. I might have gotten over losing your heart, but I could never, ever get over letting you die. And now I have my chance to save you."

And suddenly Ginny just felt intense pity for this man. He was utterly, utterly lost. The fact that the side he had chosen in the war had killed his former best friend…

Ginny thought about what it would feel like for Harry to die in similar circumstances. It made her sick to her stomach just thinking about it. But there had to be more to this. There had to be.

"Tracey," said Ginny suddenly, "what happened to Tracey?"

"Umbridge's people took her," said Snape, "I didn't really care otherwise. Of course, I did make it harder on Umbridge. The Veritaserum I provided her was actually an extra strength Veritaserum antidote. By the time she finishes trying to use it on Tracey the girl will have enough immunity to last for a month."

"You don't want Riddle to win," realised Ginny.

"Of course not," insisted Snape, his eyes sincere, "He killed you."

"What do you want?" demanded Ginny, "Do you think I'm going to fall in love with you? Because it will not be happening."

"Of course not," agreed Snape, "I failed you. You won't be able to fall in love with me until Potter and The Dark Lord kill each other. Probably not even then."

Okay, Ginny had to admit that that was terrifying. She had to escape. Soon.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to be trying anything funny, if you're worried about that," said Snape, "You're just a houseguest until it is safe for you to leave. I'm here to protect you."

Snape drooped his head. "That's why I had to kill Nott. He kept coming after you, despite your objections. I will return you to your Justin after Potter dies, if that is what you want. As long as you are alive and happy."

Ginny tried to focus her magic, but it was still beyond her. She had to get out of this place!

XXXXX

Harry wasn't happy when Krum came in with the scouting report. Harry and Hermione, as well as Daphne, Ron and Blaise were meeting with Krum and Cedric, both of whom were sending reports from their respective stations.

"Are you sure?" Harry asked insistently.

"There is no doubt," said Krum sadly, "The location is under Umbridge's surveillance."

"So we need disguises," said Ron.

"Those are unlikely to work," said Harry, "pretty much nobody except for Snape goes to his house in Spinner's End. We'll have to do this stealthily. That means going under cover of night."

"We can't just leave Ginny in Snape's hands," insisted Ron.

"I know it's difficult Ron," said Harry, "I can't imagine what you are going through with both Ginny and Tracey missing. But if we don't move carefully Snape might move Ginny someplace that we don't know about or can't go to easily. We have to wait for nightfall."

Ron nodded, clearly not happy, but accepting Harry's logic.

"Any news on Tracey?" asked Daphne.

"Nothing concrete," said Cedric, "but Umbridge's people have total control over the courtroom level holding area. No one not in Umbridge's security group is allowed in. That includes Percy."

"Is Percy compromised?" asked Blaise.

"I don't think so," said Cedric, "it's more that Umbridge probably suspects that Percy won't let her hold people illegally in that fashion. It isn't a minor violation of law."

"Freezing Percy out of sensitive matters makes sense, because Percy was on record as being anti-Voldemort," said Hermione, "No sense in accidentally giving him enough to put two and two together."

"Amelia could try to do an inspection of the judicial holding cells," said Cedric, "but that will probably start an all out battle for the Ministry."

Harry sat and looked at Hermione for a long time. Finally Hermione shook her head slightly, and Harry nodded in agreement sadly.

"We can't force the issue until we retake control of the Ministry," said Harry, "Believe me, I want to storm that jail right now. But doing so would compromise the security of the Ministry in an unacceptable way."

"That being said, it is now our top priority," said Hermione, "We're going to move Umbridge up on our to-do list, though we have to figure out exactly where to put her."

"We also have a bigger problem," said Blaise, "I've managed to discover that my mother is meeting one of her major contacts tonight, thanks to the Irish underworld. We have to take this chance to capture her."

"What!?" said Ron, "We can't put back the rescue operation!"

"We won't," said Hermione, "I'll just have to lead the raid to capture Clarise Zabini instead of Harry."

"Who vill be in charge here then?" asked Krum.

"Daphne," said Harry and Hermione simultaneously.

"Are you certain?" asked Krum, "I know Daphne is trustworthy, but is she up to the task?"

"Well they're making me Minister for Magic, so I'd better be," said Daphne, "and thanks for the vote of confidence."

Krum hung his head in apology. "I didn't mean to offend you. I was just surprised they vould trust someone so young who didn't have Voldemort's memories."

"I didn't have his memories when I was made a Triumvir," said Hermione.

"You vere by far the smartest witch at Hogwarts," said Krum, "No offense to Daphne, of course. I know you are also very intelligent. This is all so confusing though."

Daphne laughed. "Do you need a personal explanation?" she asked.

"I vould very much like a personal explanation," said Krum who frowned as soon as he said it. "Vait… I didn't mean…"

"Aaaah! So that's what you want," said Daphne with a smirk, "Funny way of getting it, insulting me."

"Please, I am very sorry," said Krum, "None of this has come out the way I intended at all. I have a tendency to stick my foot directly into my mouth!"

"Oh don't worry," said Daphne, "I can find far more interesting things to stick in your mouth."

XXXXX

"Harry," said the unmistakable voice of Justin. Harry stopped and turned to face the young man. He should have expected this.

"I want to go with you to save Ginny," said Justin.

"I'm sorry, but you can't," said Harry.

"I have the right," said Justin accusingly.

Harry shook his head. "If Hermione was available I'd take her, but she isn't, so I have to keep my team small, because we're sneaking in."

"You're taking Ron," Justin said in the same accusing tone.

"Because Blaise and Tracey aren't available," said Harry, "Ron is the best combatant in the group of people I absolutely trust that isn't committed to something else. My goal is for him to not have to fight at all, but if he does fight he'll be able to make good his escape. No offense Justin. You're a skilled wizard, but you aren't really a fighter."

Harry put his hand on Justin's shoulder. "I won't let anything happen to Ginny. I promise," Harry said softly.

Justin nodded. It would have to do.

XXXXX

"Crucio!" shouted Umbridge as once again pain wracked Tracey's body. It was horrible beyond anything Tracey could ever have imagined. For what seemed like hours the pain tortured her, savaging her senses, and then suddenly it stopped.

"So, what is Harry Potter planning?" asked Umbridge sweetly.

Tracey managed to slowly get control of her breathing as she calmed down. She had been strapped to the wall of her cell by some magical force, and had once again been stripped of her clothes. "I don't know," she lied, "He doesn't tell me his plans."

Umbridge had dosed her with even more Veritaserum that morning, and it hadn't worked. Tracey suspected someone had played Umbridge, but she wasn't exactly sure how. Of course, the result was that Umbridge was now trying to torture the information out of her.

Umbridge's eyes narrowed. "You know, you are remarkably resistant to interrogation," she said thoughtfully.

"Or maybe I'm just a dumb jock who Harry doesn't confide in," said Tracey.

Umbridge shook her head thoughtfully. "You forget, I used to be your teacher. I wasn't very good at it, but I was observant. You are hardly dumb. And I know Potter trusts you."

Suddenly a smile came across Umbridge's face. "You know what? I'll be right back."

With that Umbridge left the room. As soon as she left Tracey felt the constraints on her let go. She landed on her feet, but she stumbled across the room to where the thin ratty robe she'd been given was laying. Throwing it on, she then stumbled to the dirty mattress in the corner of the room. Umbridge would probably just strip her again when she got back, but it would at least be annoying for the older witch for a moment.

But when Umbridge returned, she wasn't alone. She had Millie with her. Tracey gasped as she realized that Millie had been stripped as well. Umbridge swept her wand at the wall, and suddenly Millie was locked to the wall the same as Tracey had been. Two men walked into the room behind Umbridge and stood between her and Tracey.

"I see you've dressed yourself," said Umbridge, "Good, there is clearly no reason to keep you naked. It isn't working. I'm just going to torture Millicent here for a while."

"She betrayed me," said Tracey.

"Oh, but how she fought it," said Umbridge, "She outright refused at first. But when I showed her that I could have her whole family killed… well she came around then!"

"You bitch!" snarled Tracey.

"No, no, that won't do at all," said Umbridge, "Crucio."

Suddenly Millie screamed as her body started spasming. Umbridge stopped the spell after mere seconds.

"Be polite," said Umbridge, "Or poor Millicent here will suffer for it. Now, what is Potter planning?"

"I don't know!" said Tracey, trying to figure some way out of this.

"Crucio!" said Umbridge, a vicious smile on her face. Millie screamed. This time the spell lasted almost twenty seconds.

Finally she relented. "It will get longer each time," said Umbridge, "Now tell me what Potter is planning.

And that's when it hit Tracey. "Wait! I wasn't lying about not knowing Harry's plan, but…"

"But?" asked Umbridge eagerly.

There was one thing that the Triumvirate had been sure about, and it was that Voldemort would try to hide the fact that they had his memories from as many people as possible. If people were aware that Harry Potter knew everything that Voldemort knew almost no one would be willing to serve him. But that almost certainly meant that Umbridge didn't know about it. Which meant that it was exactly the sort of thing she was looking for. But one small tweak would be necessary.

"Harry Potter has been able to stay ahead of You-Know-Who for one reason," said Tracey, "and that is Ginny Weasley. She absorbed the memories of a young You-Know-Who in her first year, and has absorbed more since. That's how Harry manages to stay ahead of him."

Umbridge grinned triumphantly. "So you are saying that one of Potter's closest advisors has You-Know-Who in her head?"

With a wave of her wand Millie fell to the floor, and Umbridge and her guards marched out. As Tracey ran over to help her friend she hoped Ginny was ready to defend herself, because Umbridge was coming after her!

XXXXX

Hermione looked out across the field in the dimming light. They were close to the coast here, she could hear the waves. Clarise Zabini was meeting a representative of the Polish magical underworld. It made sense that the meeting would be by the coast. Still, the whole thing was a bit public for Hermione's taste. They were due east of Hull in the Spurn National Nature Preserve. She didn't actually know much about this place. That bugged her. She should have looked it up before she left.

"Is this a normal place to have a meeting" asked Hermione.

"Yeah," said Blaise, "It's the typical place for the Poles. They've got all sorts of magic up in the area."

Blaise and Seamus were there, as well as Gustav and five of his men. Should be enough with Hermione there. Blaise might be an issue though.

"Please try not to cast in the direction of your mother, Blaise," asked Hermione.

"You think I would kill her," said Blaise, his voice sounding hurt.

"What I think is that your combat style is mostly big explosions, so yes, I think whatever your intentions, if you cast spells in her direction she's probably going to end up maimed or dead."

"Fair enough," said Blaise.

Suddenly Hermione saw a light in the distance. Two men with lit wands. They were approaching the site. The dark seemed to grow darker as the bright lights threw everything into contrast.

Soon there was an answering light. Another small group. Hermione could see Clarise Zabini as well as two big men walking by her side.

"Jack and Charlie Bolton," whispered Blaise in Hermione's ear, "Jack's big and dumb, but his brother can be a bit clever. They're both dangerous though."

Hermione nodded. "You and Seamus take out the Poles," she whispered back, "Gustav, you take out the Boltons. I've got Zabini."

Gustav nodded. Everyone quickly disillusioned themselves and they all began to silently move towards the meeting. Quietly Hermione imbued the small rune she was carrying with magic. No one within 40 metres of her would be able to apparate away.

They grew closer. They heard an argument going on.

"Is this the best he can send?" asked Clarise.

"If you had not lost so many men in failing to take over the Ministry it would not be a problem," said one of the Poles in heavily accented English, "But it seems to us that you are not ready to deliver on your promises. So you must give us something more concrete."

"We will have control of the Ministry by the end of the month," said Clarise, "and Hogwarts as well. We've had a few bumps, but we are in position for victory now."

Hermione was practically on top of them. She knew that all of her people had stopped about 10 metres from their targets. Normally spells would have alerted Clarise and her people of anyone coming this close, but Blaise had disabled all the wards that had been here when they had first arrived.

"You have said that before," said the other Pole.

Hermione whistled.

Seamus and Blaise immediately sent spells flying towards the two Poles. Both suddenly exploded in a flaming boom. Both of Clarise's bodyguards also went down, no less dead but with less explosions. And Hermione sent a disarm towards Clarise.

Clarise just barely managed to block the spell, but she made an immediate error. She tried to apparate away. Which was a moment in which she left herself vulnerable. Hermione disarmed her, Clarise's wand flying through the air into Hermione's hand.

Hermione pulled off her mask with her off hand while she kept her wand focused on Clarise. "Not bad for a mudblood, eh Clarise?" she asked with a grin.

"Granger," said Clarise, her eyes narrowing, "Paying back a petty grudge? I actually don't recall ever doing anything to you."

"You haven't," said Hermione, "But you made Blaise's life a living hell with your pureblood garbage. Maybe if you'd actually listened to your son instead of trying to reprogram him, you'd have managed to get out of this unscathed."

"My family bloodline..." started Clarise.

"Is going to end with me," said Blaise as he took off his mask and grabbed his mother's arm.

Hermione depowered the runestone, then sent the signal to Daphne on the set of coins she had set up just for thia mission. Ten seconds later all of them apparated directly into the specially prepared cell in the caves on Harry's property.

Daphne was sitting there with an arm around Krum's neck. She'd apparently been whispering something into his ear. But when she saw the task force disapparate she waved her wand, re-establishing the anti-apparition ward.

"You fools," said Clarise holding up her arm to display the Dark Mark that was magically tattooed there, "I'm a marked Death Eater now."

Hermione grinned. "This room is warded to prevent Voldemort from detecting your Dark Mark," she said, "He can't track you by your Mark, sorry."

"You'll have to take me out of here sometime," said Clarise, "and then he will come for me."

"True," said a smiling Blaise.

"We're counting on it," said Hermione with a joy that caused Clarise's self assured smirk to falter.

XXXXX

Ron wasn't sure what was going on. Harry had left to scout around under his invisibility cloak almost as soon as they'd arrived at Spinner's End, but now Ron could see multiple people joining the team watching Snape's house. He was pretty sure one of them was Scrimgoeur. That had to be bad. Harry needed to get back now!

As if on cue, Harry dropped his invisibility cloak next to Ron.

"I think I've found a way in," said Harry.

"Well you need to take it," said Ron, "I think Scrimgoeur just showed up, which probably means…"

"Umbridge is after Ginny," said Harry, "All right, don't fight the people from the Ministry, whatever happens. If they capture Ginny we'll have to let Amelia deal with it."

"Harry," said Ron warningly.

"Ginny will not thank you if you screw up our plan to take over the Ministry," said Harry, "In fact, the Ministry holding Ginny could be a godsend, IF we can get her into the custody of the DMLE. Keep a cool head. I'm going to go in."

And with that Harry put up his cloak again. And he was gone.

Ron swore, but he knew Harry was right. He'd stay out of it, whatever happened.

XXXXX

"You need to eat, Lily," said Snape.

"And take more of whatever is keeping me from using magic? No thanks," said Ginny. Snape had been very accommodating, all things considered, but Ginny was pretty sure he would keep drugging her. She could feel the haziness growing weaker. And she didn't want to know what drugs he might slip her. A love potion? She wouldn't put it past him once he realized she wasn't going to react in the way he wanted. It was dark out now, so Harry was probably on the way.

"I wish you could understand that this is for your own good," said Snape.

And that was when the skylight broke, and Harry suddenly appeared in the center of the room.

"Took you long enough, Potter," said Ginny.

"Yeah, yeah," said Harry, "The Ministry is about to attack here. I had to sneak in."

"YOU WILL NOT TAKE HER, POTTER!" screamed Snape, his eyes filled with rage and terror. Suddenly he rushed Harry, putting his head into Harry's midsection and forcing him back. Harry's back slammed into a window behind him and suddenly both Harry and Snape had fallen out through the window.

"Bloody hell," said Ginny.

She heard signs of a scuffle outside, but suddenly she heard loud signs from the opposite side of the house. The Ministry was here.

XXXXX

Harry sent two spells at Snape's head as the greasy man tried to pull away, but the man managed to dodge them. Harry tried to leap onto his feet, and he sort of managed it. It was hard with tiny shards of glass in his back.

"You will not have Lily!" Snape roared.

"Oh shit," said Harry as he realized how far gone Snape must be right now, "I don't have time for this."

He suddenly heard crashes from inside the house, which took his attention for one moment. That meant he suddenly had all the time in the world. The Ministry had Ginny. He turned back to Snape, but the man was apparating away.

Harry swore to himself. No, this wasn't good. He needed to contact Amelia immediately.

XXXXX

Ginny had been dragged into a cell and stripped naked. Honestly she was less than impressed. Nudity was a good way to break some people, but Umbridge had to know that Ginny was made of sterner stuff than that.

The sense of her magic was starting to come back as well. Ginny suddenly wondered if Umbridge was going to feed her any of that Veritaserum. If she did…

Ginny grinned at the thought. The antidote to Veritaserum had a mild magical purgative that would almost certainly clear up her magic problem.

Umbridge suddenly marched into the room, two male guards behind her. One of the guards openly leered at Ginny. Ginny decided she was going to hurt that one.

"Ah Miss Weasley," said Umbridge, "Such a pity you've ended up here. Your brother has been so helpful to me. Still, I must go where opportunity takes me. I am sorry to take Snape's plaything from him, but what must be must be."

"Hey, you just rescued me from Snape," said Ginny, "if you hadn't had me stripped naked I'd have thought you were my rescuer. If you want my cooperation you just needed to ask."

"Oh, but I need more assurances than that," said Umbridge, pulling out a vial.

"You want me to take Veritaserum?" asked Ginny, "I'm okay with that."

Umbridge seemed genuinely taken aback. "Well, here then," she said handing Ginny the vial.

And Ginny immediately put three drops of the potion on her tongue. And all of a sudden the block on her magic was gone.

"The sky is green," she said after a moment. And then she summoned Umbridge's wand.

The two guards went for their wands, but it was too late. Ginny snatched the wand from the air and hurled a spell at the guard who had been ogling her. His head was slammed against the wall of the cell and he fell unconscious. The other man tried to stun Ginny, but she dodged and summoned Umbridge. And then Ginny was holding Umbridge's wand into Umbridge's neck.

"Bring me Amelia Bones," said Ginny, "If anyone other than Amelia Bones walks through that door, Umbridge dies."

The guard stood stupidly, obviously trying to figure out how this naked witch had done this.

"Do as she says!" screamed Umbridge.

The guard fled the room.

XXXXX

Amelia was making her way down to the courtroom level as quickly as she could. The moment she'd received Harry's Patronus she'd known she had to move quickly. Luckily she was alone when the Patronus had come. Amelia wasn't sure her plan would work though. Honestly, she doubted she'd get into the cells at all.

Sure enough, Scrimgoeur stopped her right outside. "Where are you going?" he asked.

"I'm the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement," she said, "and I'm inspecting the cells."

"No you aren't," said Scrimgoeur, "Minister's orders."

Amelia was about to respond when a very frightened looking guard ran out of the prison area. "The Weasley girl has taken the Minister hostage!" he shouted.

"What?" said Scrimgoeur angrily.

"She's taken the Minister hostage and said that she will kill her if anyone other than Amelia Bones comes in and…" The guard trailed off as he realized that Amelia was right there. Scrimgoeur looked like he was about to have a fit.

"It looks like you need my help Rufus," said Amelia pleasantly.

Rufus seemed to deflate a bit at that. "FINE," he said angrily. Amelia marched into the prison and went to the door the guard had indicated.

Amelia went in without hesitation. Ginny had been stripped, and was holding Umbridge's own wand to her neck. Smart girl, thought Amelia. That had been some quick thinking.

"Ginevra Weasley," said Amelia, "Ginny, right? You need to let the Minister go."

"She's dangerous," said Umbridge, "she has the memories of You-Know-Who!"

"How did you know that!" raged Ginny. Amelia decided to take her cue from that.

"Really now?" said Amelia, "Now that is serious. I can't let you go Ginny, not now that I know that. But this doesn't have to end in violence."

"I don't want violence either," said Ginny, "But Umbridge isn't just holding me. She's holding Tracey Davis and Millicent Bulstrode. They haven't done anything wrong. They have to be released."

"They are in protective custody," insisted Umbridge.

"Then they can be moved to homes owned by trusted wizards," said Amelia, "Millicent's parents can take care of her while Tracey can go to the home of Bryant Greengrass. Will that satisfy you?"

Umbridge's eyes grew wild, but she nodded, knowing her life was probably hanging on what her answer was.

"And Ginny will go into my custody at the DMLE," said Amelia.

"But…" said Umbridge.

"If Miss Weasley has You-Know-Who's memories she is incredibly dangerous," said Amelia, "We need to put her on trial. But it needs to be legal. You have seriously jeopardized our ability to try Miss Weasley here already."

Umbridge nodded. And after a moment, so did Ginny. Ginny dropped Umbridges wand.

"Find the girl some clothes," said Amelia to the guard outside.

"Oh," said Ginny, "Just so you know, that Vertiaserum you gave me? It's actually the antidote to Veritaserum."

Umbridge suddenly snarled as she realized she'd been tricked by Snape.

"Make sure Tracey and Millicent are released immediately," said Amelia, "You've already seriously jeopardized our ability to convict in the Wizengamot with your… tactics."

Umbridge nodded curtly. Little did she know it, but she'd pretty much sealed her own fate today.

XXXXX

June 1st, 1998

Tracey didn't know how much time had passed. It had been hours since they'd taken Millie out of her cell. Still, she had the feeling that something was happening. And that was confirmed when a guard opened her cell.

"Get dressed," said the guard, throwing the clothes she had come here in on the floor. Her school robes. Tracey quickly got dressed. Shortly afterwards a woman opened the door and told her to follow. Soon they were leading her out of the cells on the courtroom level of the Ministry.

It was very late, or more correctly very early, and there was hardly anyone around. But when they finally reached the main lobby Tracey's heart leapt. Bryant Greengrass was waiting there.

"Umbridge has agreed to release you into my custody," said Bryant, "We'll talk more at my home."

Bryant took her hand, and suddenly she was being apparated. When she opened her eyes she was suddenly mobbed as Ron threw his arms around her.

"Oh Merlin, I was so scared," said Ron.

"At least Umbridge is keeping her word," said the voice of Harry.

Tracey managed to get free of Ron, to see that Harry and Hermione were there as well as Ron and Bryant.

"Where's Ginny?" she asked, suddenly frightened.

"Umbridge has her," said Harry, "But she's agreed to turn her over to the DMLE."

"That's my fault," said Tracey sadly, "I told Umbridge that Ginny had Voldemort's memories."

Harry gave Hermione a sharp look. "Well that is interesting," said Harry, "and it explains a great many things. Maybe you should tell us the whole story?"

So Tracey did. When she told them how she had been humiliated she noticed that Bryant seemed to grow grim, Ron gripped her hand tightly, Harry's eyes grew flinty, while Hermione gave her a reassuring smile. She told them how the Veritaserum hadn't worked and how Umbridge had tortured her. And finally, she told them how Umbridge had tortured Millie, and how she had handled things.

After she was done, Tracey shook her head. "I'm so sorry," she said sadly.

Harry suddenly smiled at her. "You did well Tracey," Harry said warmly.

"What?" she asked, not believing what she was hearing. Surely she'd messed everything up.

"Thanks to your quick thinking, Ginny was arrested by Umbridge's people, which gave her the opportunity to capture Umbridge. Thanks to that you and Millie are now safe, and Ginny will soon be in DMLE custody," explained Hermione.

"And this has set up a perfect situation," said Harry, "An opportunity that we might never get again."

"What are you playing at Potter?" said Bryant.

"Victory, Bryant. Victory," said Harry.

"Daphne had to look after our base," said Hermione to Tracey, "She'll stop by to see you tomorrow."

"Next time I see Umbridge, it will be all I can do to stop myself from strangling her," said Bryant.

Tracey was surprised that he was acting this way. "I didn't know you'd react so strongly," she admitted.

"You are my daughter's best friend, and the daughter of my best friend," said Bryant, "Did you think you were just some acquaintance? You're like a daughter to me Tracey."

"Just don't actually strangle Umbridge," said Harry, "She needs a nice fair trial. The magical world needs to see her go down."

Bryant nodded.

"Would you like me to stay tonight?" asked Ron. Tracey felt herself blushing at the question, but she nodded.

"You're welcome to stay then," said Bryant.

"We need to get home," said Harry, "and spread the good news."

"My wand," said Tracey, "They didn't give it back."

"Oh!" said Bryant as he reached into a pocket of his robe. He pulled out Tracey's wand.

"Thanks for reminding me," he said.

And as Tracey grasped her wand, she felt her strength returning. Yes, this was a good feeling.

"Shall we go to bed?" asked Ron, "It's almost midnight."

Tracey nodded. Suddenly she wasn't nervous or anxious at all anymore. She'd been through a terrible ordeal, and come out knowing she could weather it. She could handle a night with her boyfriend.

Oh Merlin, could she handle it!

XXXXX

Daphne breathed a sigh of relief as she left Harry and Hermione's sitting room. Nothing had happened all night at the Potter residence, and now Tracey was safe. Harry had volunteered to stay so Daphne could go see Tracey, but Daphne had no intention of seeing her father yet. That being said, Daphne knew Tracey would be safe at her childhood home. Suddenly her heart felt lighter. She walked downstairs to get a butterbeer… no a Firewhiskey. That would hit the spot. But on her way down she ran into Krum.

"Tracey?" he asked.

"She's safe at my dad's place," said Daphne.

"Thank heavens," said Krum, "I know she and I vere never really a thing, but still I do care about her."

"Same here," said Daphne, "Want to get a drink?"

Krum ginned his agreement, and they headed into the kitchen to get Firewhiskey.

They'd been flirting all night. And somehow, it hadn't been awkward. It was like they were dancing around something. And as they drank firewhiskey together, Daphne realized that Krum had something she wanted. And she was well on her way to getting it.

"So, how about we head up to my room?" she asked Krum.

Krum suddenly seemed reticent. "I don't know. This is happening so fast…"

"Yes it is," said Daphne, "Because it has too. I don't have time. In days I'm either going to be in jail or running this country. I don't have time. Except now. These next few days I have nothing but time. And I would very much like to spend a not inconsiderable amount of that time with you. If you're willing."

"I have tried to avoid casual relationships vith my fans..." started Krum.

"I hate Quidditch," said Daphne, "I only put up with it because of my friends and my house. I am not a fan."

"In that case, lead the vay," said Krum with a wry smile.

And so Daphne did.

XXXXX

Ginny settled down in her cell in the DMLE. It was far more comfortable than the cell Umbridge had put her in, and she had clothing. A plus.

Amelia walked into the cell. "Well done yesterday," she said.

"To you as well," said Ginny, "You thought quickly."

"I also convinced Umbridge that your trial will require enhanced security," said Amelia with a grin.

"Oh boy," said Ginny.

"Your brother has convinced Umbridge that if you have Voldemort's memories, he no longer considers you a sister," said Amelia, "He was weaving a tale of how you came between him and your mother."

"Clever," said Ginny, feeling proud of her brother.

"He won't be able to visit you of course," said Amelia, "I'd smuggle in your boyfriend if I could, but it would be too likely to get found out."

"I assume my trial will be memorable?" asked Ginny.

"It'll be one of a kind," said Amelia.

Ginny smiled. As it should be.

XXXXX

Harry awoke the next day in a far better frame of mind than he had the day before. Before he'd gone to bed he'd sent a message to Molly Weasley to come see him when she had the chance. That was one of the last two pieces of the puzzle. If this worked… it was so elegant, it had to work!

"Sleep well?" asked Hermione, who was looking at him lovingly.

"Yeah," he said, "I did. You been up long?"

"About half an hour," said Hermione, "I was watching you sleep."

"I've done that to you a few times," said Harry.

Hermione nodded. "It is a nice way to spend a morning."

"I need a shower," said Harry as he stood up. He pulled off his clothes as he headed for the bathroom.

"Nice bum," said Hermione as he left the room. He didn't bother to close the door. If Hermione wanted to watch him she was welcome to. As far as he could tell she didn't. Well she didn't need to peek at him after all. If she wanted to see something all she had to do was ask.

When he finished his shower he returned to the bedroom, his lower half wrapped in a towel. Hermione was sitting on the bed, but she was in her underwear.

"What's this?" Harry asked.

"Time to let off some steam," said Hermione with a grin. She reached over and pulled off his towel, eying what was underneath appreciatively.

Harry laughed as he climbed onto the bed and lay down beside Hermione. He felt her reaching around him and grabbing his backside. He began to kiss her.

And that was when Molly Weasley walked into the room.

"Whoah!" said Harry as he threw the blankets over himself, "Umm, please knock!"

Molly had covered her eyes as best she could. "I am so sorry! I hadn't expected you to be doing… that. Not so early."

Harry managed to straighten out the blankets. "Well, okay. I'm covered now," said Harry. Molly uncovered her eyes.

"You needed to see me?" she asked.

"I thought you'd come at night," said Harry.

"During O.W.L. week it's actually easier for me to come earlier," said Molly, "Everyone's testing now."

Harry nodded. "Well, Ginny once mentioned that for your N.E.W.T. you did a special potion. A polysoul potion. A potion that lets you imitate another person's soul."

Molly looked surprised. "Why yes, I did. All you have to do is take Polyjuice Potion and perform a few steps. It's difficult to make, but not time consuming."

"Can you make some before Ginny's trial?" said Harry.

"It'll only take a couple of days if you have some polyjuice potion," said Molly, "Why do you need it?"

Harry laughed. "I need Magic itself to believe that I'm Tom Riddle for a short while. Don't worry, we have plenty of polyjuice potion."

Molly nodded. "Well, that can be arranged then."

Once Molly had left, Hermione turned to face Harry again. "Shall we continue?"

Harry sighed. "I am NOT in the mood right now. Not after that."

"Poor Harry," said Hermione as she gave him a very serious kiss.

Well maybe he was a little in the mood…

XXXXX

June 4th, 1998

Blaise only visited Clarise once. He walked into the area outside her cell and just stared at her. She supposed he had the right.

"What are they going to do with me after," she asked him.

"Put you on trial," he said, "You deserve it."

"Probably," admitted Clarise.

"Why couldn't you just accept what I was?" asked Blaise.

"I'm… I'm sorry Blaise," said Clarise. And she found she meant it.

"I'm sorry I sicced Crabbe and Goyle on you. And I'm sorry about your father," she continued.

"It doesn't change anything," insisted Blaise.

"No it doesn't" agreed Clarise.

"You owe a debt to society," said Blaise, "But you owe me more."

"What does that mean?" demanded Clarise.

"Just think long and hard about how you have treated me, and how I want to be treated," said Blaise, "When the Triumvirate has no further use for you… well let's not get ahead of ourselves."

And he left. Leaving a very confused Clarise Zabini.

XXXXX

June 8th, 1998

Hypernia Baxter was a Death Eater.

No one knew who she was. She'd only ever done one thing for the Dark Lord. She'd activated the Taboo for him the first time he'd come to power. And she'd covered her tracks so well that no one had known it was her.

And she was still in the same job at the Ministry, with the same opportunity. Waiting for someone to tell her to do her one true calling.

Still, she hadn't expected this.

"Excuse me?" she asked Percy Weasley.

"The time has come," he said, "Umbridge has received word. At midnight on the night before my sister's trial, you must reactivate it. It will be needed."

She couldn't believe it! She'd known Umbridge was a Death Eater, but not Percy. But here he was acknowledging her one true purpose. And why shouldn't she comply? It could only help the Dark Lord anyway.

Of course what Hypernia Baxter did not know was that she had been identified ages ago as a Death Eater. That she had remained here under surveillance. All she knew was that she was once again going to serve her master.

Only, she wasn't. Instead, she was going to help destroy him.

XXXXX

June 13th, 1998

The night before the trial, Harry drank the potion that Molly Weasley had provided him. And he waited.

It seemed to take a long time. But suddenly he felt a power clawing at his mind. The Taboo had become active, and it was searching for the soul of Lord Voldemort.

But Voldemort's actual soul was damaged. And within Harry was the very outline of that soul, written on his mind. An outline that the potion he had just swallowed had brought to the forefront.

The Taboo bonded with Harry, and suddenly he was bound to the sound of the word "Voldemort." Harry controlled the Taboo. Which meant that if any person uttered the name "Voldemort," all protections around them would temporarily fall and Harry would be alerted to their location.

"Tell Blaise to take his mother to Hogwarts," said Harry. Hermione nodded. The students at school had all left that very day. Everything was now ready. All his pieces were set.

Tomorrow would decide the fate of Magical Britain.

Author's Note: I don't think I ever established it, but I do actually have a ranking of the combat abilities of the various characters. Hermione is the most powerful, while Harry is the most skilled at fighting. Ginny is more skilled at fighting than Hermione but is substantially less powerful than her. Next you have Blaise, who is in his own tier between the Triumvirate and everyone else. He's more than capable of taking down multiple enemies at once. Then you have a tier that includes Seamus, Ron and Tracey. They are all very skilled, but maybe not who you want fighting multiple enemies at once. Then you have a tier with Daphne, Luna and Justin. Skilled at magic, but not really any better than average at fighting.

Some of you may be asking, "Why didn't Ginny just kill Umbridge?" If Ginny had killed Umbridge there are even odds that Rufus Scrimgoeur would try to take control of the Ministry. Amelia doesn't want an open battle for the Ministry. She wants to handle them quietly and bloodlessly.

Next Time: Ginny's trial and the Battle for Hogwarts.