The moment he had passed the place where the...
The moment he had passed the place where the Patronus cat patrolled, he felt the change in temperature: It was warm and comfortable hereThe Patronus, he was sure, was Umbridge's, and it glowed brightly because she was so happy here, in her element, upholding the twisted laws she had helped to writeSlowly and very carefully he edged his way along the platform behind Umbridge, Yaxley, and Hermione, taking a seat behind the latterHe was worried about making Hermione jumpHe thought of casting the \iMuffliato\i charm upon Umbridge and Yaxley, but even murmuring the word might cause Hermione alarmThen Umbridge raised her voice to address MrsCattermole, and Harry seized his chance
"I'm behind you," he whispered into Hermione's ear
As he had expected, she jumped so violently she nearly overturned the bottle of ink with which she was supposed to be recording the interview, but both Umbridge and Yaxley were concentrating upon MrsCattermole, and this went unnoticed
"A wand was taken from you upon your arrival at the Ministry today, MrsCattermole," Umbridge was saying"Eight-and-three-quarter inches, cherry, unicorn-hair coreDo you recognize the description?"
MrsCattermole nodded, mopping her eyes on her sleeve
"Could you please tell us from which witch or wizard you took that wand?"
He did it instinctively, without any sort of plan, because he hated the sight of her walking alone into the dungeon: As the door began to swing closed, he slipped replica gucci handbags into the courtroom behind her
It was not the same room in which he had once been interrogated for improper use of magicThis one was much smaller, though the ceiling was quite as high it gave the claustrophobic sense of being stuck at the bottom of a deep well
There were more dementors in here, casting their freezing aura over the place; they stood like faceless sentinels in the corners farthest from the high, raised platformHere, behind a balustrade, sat Umbridge, with Yaxley on one side of her, and Hermione, quite as white-faced as MrsCattermole, on the otherAt the foot of the platform, a bight-silver, long-haired cat prowled up and down, up and down, and Harry realized that it was there to protect the prosecutors from the despair that emanated from the dementors: That was for the accused to feel, not the accusers
"Sit down," said Umbridge in her soft, silky voiceCattermole stumbled to the single seat in the middle of the floor beneath the raised platformThe moment she had sat down, chains clinked out of the arms of the chair and bound her there
"You are Mary Elizabeth Cattermole?" asked UmbridgeCattermole gave a single, shaky nod
"Married to Reginald Cattermole of the Magical Maintenance Department?"
MrsCattermole burst into tears
"I don't know where he is, he was supposed to meet me here!"
Umbridge ignored her
"Mother to Maisie, Ellie and Alfred Cattermole?" MrsCattermole sobbed harder than ever
"They're frightened, they think chanel j10 watch knockoff that I might not come home -"
"T-took?" sobbed Mrs"I didn't t-take it from anybodyI b-bought it when I was eleven years oldIt - it - it - \ichose\i me
She cried harder than ever
Umbridge laughed a soft girlish laugh that made Harry want to attack herShe leaned forward over the barrier, the better to observe her victim, and something gold swung forward too, and dangled over the void: the locket
Hermione had seen it; she let out a little squeak, but Umbridge and Yaxley, still intent upon their prey, were deaf to everything else
"No," said Umbridge, "no, I don't think so, MrsWands only choose witches or wizardsI have your responses to the questionnaire that was sent to you here - Mafalda, pass them to me
Umbridge held out a small hand: She looked so toadlike at that moment that Harry was quite surprised not to see webs between the stubby fingersHermione's hands were shaking with shockShe fumbled in a pile of documents balanced on the chair beside her, finally withdrawing a sheaf of parchment with MrsCattermole's name on it
"That's - that's pretty, Dolores," she said, pointing at the pendant gleaming in the ruffled folds of Umbridge's blouse
"What?" snapped Umbridge, glancing down"Oh yes - an old family heirloom," she said, patting the locket lying on her large bosom"The S stands for Selwyn\a133I am related to the Selwyns\a133Indeed, there are few pure-blood families to whom I am not related\a133A pity," she continued in a louder voice, rolex fakes flicking through MrsCattermole's questionnaire, "that the same cannot be said for you'\iParents professions: greengrocers\i'
Yaxley laughed jeeringlyBelow, the fluffy silver cat patrolled up and down, and the dementors stood waiting in the corners
It was Umbridge's lie that brought the blood surging into Harry's brain and obliterated his sense of caution - that the locket she had taken as a bribe from a petty criminal was being used to bolster her own pure-blood credentialsHe raised his wand, not even troubling to keep it concealed beneath the Invisibility Cloak, and said, "\iStupefy!\i"
There was a flash of red light; Umbridge crumpled and her forehead hit the edge of the balustrade: MrsCattermole's papers slid off her lap onto the floor and, down below, the prowling silver cat vanishedIce-cold air hit them like an oncoming wind: Yaxley, confused, looked around for the source of the trouble and saw Harry's disembodied hand and wand pointing at himHe tried to draw his own wand, but too late: "\iStupefy!\i"
Yaxley slid to the ground to lie curled on the floor
"Harry!"
"Hermione, if you think I was going to sit here and let her pretend -"
"Harry, MrsCattermole!"
Harry whirled around, throwing off the Invisibility Cloak; down below, the dementors had moved out of their corners; they were gliding toward the woman chained to the chair: Whether because the Patronus had vanished or because they sensed that their masters were no longer cheap chanel jewelry in control, they seemed to have abandoned restraintCattermole let out a terrible scream of fear as a slimy, scabbed hand grasped her chin and forced her face back
"\iEXPECTO PATRONUM!\i"
The silver stag soared from the tip of Harry's wand and leaped toward the dementors, which fell back and melted into the dark shadows againThe stag's light, more powerful and more warming than the cat's protection, filled the whole dungeon as it cantered around the room
"Get the Horcrux," Harry told Hermione
He ran back down the steps, stuffing the Invisibility Cloak into his back, and approached Mrs
"You?" she whispered, gazing into his face"But - but Reg said you were the one who submitted my name for questioning!"
"Did I?" muttered Harry, tugging at the chains binding her arms, "Well, I've had a change of heart\iDiffindo!\i" Nothing happened"Hermione, how do I get rid of these chains?" "Wait, I'm trying something up here -"
"Hermione, we're surrounded by dementors!"
"I know that, Harry, but if she wakes up and the locket's gone - I need to duplicate it - \iGeminio!\i There\a133 That should fool her\a133
Hermione came running downstairs\iRelashio!\i"
The chains clinked and withdrew into the arms of the chairCattermole looked just as frightened as ever before
"I don't understand," she whispered
"You're going to leave here with us," said Harry, pulling her to her feet"Go home, grab your children, and get out, get out of the country if you've got chanel sheepskin bag