London

Hermione gripped the invisible creature with white knuckles. The first time she tried she fell off and landed flat on her back with her legs spread openly right in front of Harry and Ron, despite all she had been through, that moment still felt undignified enough to send a tiny hint of colour to her cheeks. It was a bizarre experience, watching the other naked witches try to straddle magical horses. They were **** to spread each leg either side of their mount, but with the thestrals being invisible to most of the party, they were stuck in a very exposed position.

Suddenly, harry shot forward, clinging for dear life to apparently nothing at all and then he rose smoothly into the air, his black robes billowing behind him. Before Hermione could process what she just saw, she felt the creature beneath her jolt forward and accelerate after Harry. It was all she could do not to scream as she felt her self rushing through the air, ever higher above ground. When she regained enough control of herself to look around, she saw most of the others weren't faring much better, except for Luna, who seemed to be enjoying the whole affair - freak.

Ginny was staring straight ahead at Harry with a clenched jaw, evidently willing herself not to look down. Mel seemingly couldn't help but look down anxiously, as if as soon as she looked away her thestral would disappear and she would plummet to the ground. Finally there was Ron at the back of the convoy, his face was paler than normal and his arms were gripped so tightly around what was presumably the creatures neck he should have been worried about **** it.

Hermione wasn't sure how much time passed before she saw tall buildings over the horizon, it was getting dark, but she could recognise the London skyline immediately.

The six of them landed on the ground not far from a phone booth. Hermione clumsily toppled off her thestral and landed in a heap on the pavement. She tried to nonchalantly dust herself off while glowering at Luna who elegantly dismounted with practiced ease, and Harry who rigidly dropped to his feet.

"Hermione, Ginny, you look a little bruised, come here." Mel said, brandishing a small potion bottle from her robes.

Hermione recognised it instantly as essence of dittany. "Where did you get this?" Hermione asked, wondrously.

"Hagrid's hut: he works with dangerous creatures and stupid children, it would be irresponsible not to have a few remedies on hand. Now, you two, come here."

Ginny went first, she looked relieved as she bent over in front of Mel who applied just enough potion to remove the evidence of the thrashing Ginny received earlier. Hermione breathed a pleasant sigh as the dittany healed the cuts and bruises on her limbs and closed up the scabs on her feet from her encounter in the forest.

Harry impatiently ushered them all into the phone booth, much to Hermione's confusion. Despite it's apparent small size, all of them could fit inside quite comfortably, evidently the booth was enchanted, Harry must be right.

The floor below them began to descend as if they were in a lift and soon they were far underground. The lift came to a rattling stop in front of the atrium. A dark room made entirely of polished black stone. A fountain depicting people and magical creatures in brilliant gold made the only sound in the vast chamber. Even in the dead of night, the ministry wouldn't be left deserted, Hermione felt immediately uneasy.

"This way." Said Harry, marching off down a darkened corridor.

"How do you know where to go?" Hermione couldn't stop herself from asking.

"The same way I know Sirius is here at all." Harry replied coldly. His face was an inexplicable mixture of cold determination and burning hot rage. Hermione had never felt scared of one of her friends before, she grew more anxious with every step.

They walked past a set of large cages, inside them were the only people they had seen since arriving. All young women and all completely naked. They wore collars and had the initials W.H.O.R.E. written on their torsos. They stirred from their sleep as the intruders approached.

"What are you doing here?" shrieked one witch, scrambling to cover herself with her hands.

"They must be new conscripts," answered a witch in the next cell over, who held her two hands over her breasts and kept her legs tightly crossed, "the mistress said she was expecting new ones."

"You're probably right." A third voice came from a cage slightly further ahead. The witch inside it couldn't have been much older than eighteen, but she was slouching in her cage with her arms and legs by her side, obviously not concerned with her modesty. "But if they were stripped and shaved, why weren't they given tattoos like the rest of us?"

"This must be the service program Umbridge mentioned in the forest" thought Hermione. This must have been her plan for Hogwarts, turning the witches into pretty young slaves. The realisation made Hermione feel sick.

The group made there way forward, leaving the slaves to their discussion. Before long, Harry lead them through a heavy black door into a dark room, forcing them all to light their wands to see.

They had entered a wide, circular room with five black doors leading in different directions, not including the one from which they entered.

"In my dream there was only one door." muttered Harry, just audibly enough for Hermione to hear.

"Which direction was it?" Hermione whispered back.

"Straight ahead."

"Let's go that way then."

Harry lead his friends through the center door. The room the entered was dimly lit by candles floating high in the air. A thick red carpet softened their footsteps as they looked around. The room was filled with contraptions and mechanisms that looked like they were designed to restrain a victim and then inflict pain. The cruel **** devices made Hermione uneasy, not just because of their malicious design, but it felt like they were watching her.

"What's this?" Ron pointed to a large inscription above the door they came through,
__

The will to resist your rightful masters
will not last while you hang from the rafters
your spirit shall bring you but disasters
abandon courage, now and hereafter

"What does that mean?" asked Ginny.

"It doesn't matter." said Harry "This is the wrong way, let's go back."

Hermione was glad to leave the room behind. Harry chose the next door to the right of the first one. They walked through, wands raised. Inside was what looked like a comfortable sitting room with large black leather sofas and bright yellow cushions. Harry dismissed it instantly and the group backed away, as they did so, Hermione noticed another engraving above the door.

The only virtue is in servitude
you crave a command as others crave food
you are but a servant, lowly and crude
you wake each day with devotion renewed

Hermione felt herself reeling at how creepy the department of mysteries was becoming.

Harry was getting visibly more anxious. He practically kicked through the next door, but it wouldn't budge. That was the only proof they needed that it was the right door. Harry tried alohamora, but to no avail, then he kicked and bashed at the door, grunting with frustration, nothing happened.

"Harry, look!" exclaimed Mel.

Harry stopped abusing the door and noticed for the first time, pale white writing inscribed on it. Hermione was sure it wasn't there before, but it now read quite plainly, "To gain a secret of beyond, one must sacrifice a secret kept."

"What could that possibly mean?" Ron blurted out, bewildered.

"Whatever you're looking for must be some kind of secret knowledge, to prove that you deserve it, you must give a secret in return." Replied Mel.

"Well what do we do? Confess our darkest personal secrets to the door?" Hermione asked no one in particular.

"I have an idea." Mel seemed unusually calm. She approached the door and removed her robe in one fluid motion. She wasn't wearing anything under it save for a pair of black shoes which she also removed and laid at the foot of the door.

"What the?" Ron and Harry looked stunned at Mel's now nude form.

"Don't act like you haven't seen it before." Mel stated tersely.

Before anyone could reply, the door slowly creaked open revealing a vast room with row upon rows of shelves, each one displaying hundreds of ghostly blue lights. Mel's clothes had vanished.

"One of the big secrets people keep, is what they look like naked, I think I just gave that up." Mel explained as Harry almost tripped over himself rushing through the doorway

"This is it!" He was almost shouting, "Row ninety seven!" He took off charging down the rows of shelves.

Hermione wasn't sure what he was talking about, but soon she noticed a number labelled on the edge of each row, that must be what he meant. She quickened her pace after Harry, hoping to catch up with him before something terrible happened.

sixty four, sixty five, sixty six, she was nearly there. So far no sign of **** eaters, Hermione told herself that was good, but it only heightened her sense of unease and she couldn't shake the feeling of eyes watching her from the shadows.

"We should be here!" Harry called from ahead. He was standing alone amid the rows of glowing lights. Looking closer, Hermione could see, they weren't just lights, they were crystal balls, the kind Trelawney used for divination.

Quickly, the rest of the group caught up with them.

"Where's Sirius?" Luna asked. The eerie light on her pale body made her seem to glow in a ghostly fashion, her white hair and skin reflecting the soft blue of the crystal balls gave her a beautiful but somehow alien appearance.

"He's here. He has to be. He isn't far." Harry muttered. Hermione wasn't sure who he was trying to convince.

"Harry, look at this." Said Ron, he was pointing to a small ball on a high shelf. Underneath it was an old worn label.

"It has my name on it." Harry whispered. Without warning Harry reached up to take it. Hermione and Mel both protested as soon as they saw, but in vain.

"Excellent work, Potter. Now hand that prophesy over and we can all leave this encounter happy and content."

Hermione almost screamed and turned to face the drawling voice that spoke. Out of the darkness came two figures robed in black. One was a pale witch with wild black hair and an eager look of malice in her eyes. The other has a wizard with long blonde hair Hermione recognised as Lucius Malfoy.