I couldn't comprehend anything. I felt like I was going to faint again.

"Catch her, Ron!" I heard Hermione scream. I felt myself slip but fell into Ron's arms instead of hitting the floor. He released me and I took several deep breaths, trying to stay conscious.

I heard voices. Ginny and Luna seemed to have arrived. I vaguely listened as Harry argued with them, not to mention Ron and Hermione, to come up with a plan. Despite the loud, angry shouting, I didn't pay much attention. Instead I thought of Sirius, writhing under the pain of the Cruciatus Curse. I knew what it felt like. Nobody else here did.

The group dispersed. As Harry began to charge out of the room, I said, "Wait, where do I fit into all of this?"

They all stared at me. Finally Harry said, "You'll stay here. We have enough people."

It was quite a stab in the heart. But I wouldn't let this go. "I'm coming. I'll help. Whatever you need."

"We're just going to Umbridge's fireplace to check Grimmauld Place and see if Sirius is there. The fewer people, the better."

"I'll go to the fireplace with you," I said. "I want to make sure Sirius is really with Voldemort."

Harry looked at me angrily and said, "No! I don't want to get anyone in any more trouble than we could get in, and we can't all fit under the cloak! Sirius is my godfather, I should be - "

"Your godfather?" I snapped. "He's my cousin, and I think I have every right to see if he's still there! I don't think the two of you share the same blood, do you?"

Harry swore. "This isn't about rights or blood, Lindsey, this is about his life. Why don't you stay behind with Ginny and Luna? They're going to keep watch."

"No! I'm coming whether you like it or not!"

"Harry, let her come. He is her cousin, she does have every right, and we can all fit under the cloak if we stay close," said Hermione.

"FINE!" Harry shouted. "Fine-come, then!" And he turned around, slammed the door, and went to the dormitories to get his invisibility cloak. The rest of us followed Hermione to Umbridge's corridor. Harry returned a few minutes later, out of breath and saying, "Got it. Ready to go, then?"

Hermione explained the plan. Ginny, Luna, and Ron headed off; Harry tossed the Invisibility Cloak over us. If I had not been so nervous about Sirius, I would have been amazed with this cloak that concealed the three of us entirely.

As we walked toward Umbridge's office, I heard Ginny warning people about the dangerous gas that wasn't really there. It was a clever diversion. When we reached the door, Harry removed a knife from his bag and used it to undo the lock. I heard a click. We were now permitted to enter the room.

Inside, we pulled off the cloak. Hermione ran to the window to make sure the coast was clear while Harry and I hurried to the fireplace. He was faster than me as he grabbed some floo powder and tossed it into the fire. The flames turned green and he stuck his head in, yelling the name of his godfather's home.

I couldn't see what was happening on the other end. There wasn't enough room in the fire for both of us. I did my best to visualize based on Harry's conversation.

"Sirius?" he shouted. "Sirius, are you there?" A pause. "Who's there?" A longer pause. "Where's Sirius, Kreacher?"

Kreacher. A tiny amount of relief hit me. Kreacher would listen to me because of who I was...

"Where's he gone? Where's he gone, Kreacher?"

I would have to step in. I knew Kreacher wouldn't obey Harry ...

"I'm warning you!"

I didn't know what Kreacher was doing, but as Harry said, "Where has Sirius gone? Kreacher, has Sirius gone to the Department of Mysteries?" I yanked the back of his robes and pulled him from the fire. He swore, which didn't surprise me, but I ignored this and stuck my head in.

My head swirled through the Floo Network and seconds later I was facing the elf in Grimmauld Place.

"Kreacher!" I exclaimed.

He looked surprised, but relaxed and said, "Miss Lyra! How are you?"

"Kreacher, where's Sirius? Tell me! Where is he?"

"Miss Lyra ... why is you so frightened? Master has ... " He paused, and I yelled, "Kreacher, tell me? Where's Sirius?"

"Master is ... Master has not ... "

I felt a sick sensation as Kreacher's last words were drowned out. An iron grip tightened around my arm and I felt myself flying through the network again.

"Kreacher!" I screamed, but only ended up gasping and choking from inhaling the cinders and ashes in the fireplace. Once my head was back in the office, I was still gasping for air-but not because of the fireplace. Umbridge was holding onto the neck of my robes so tightly I couldn't breathe.

"You children think you can outsmart me after all those nasty things happened around the school? I'm not a bit surprised that Mr. Potter would dare to do something like this, but as for you, Miss Tonks, you never struck me as a troublemaker."

Always the invisible wall. Right.

"Please step outside, Miss Tonks, and do not run away. I repeat, do not run away. I will deal with you in a moment, but first I would like to interrogate Mr. Potter and Miss Granger in order to find out what they're up to now and why they have recruited you as their accomplice."

I felt like I was sinking. Sirius wasn't at home and we were wasting time being lectured by a toad lady. I tried to stay conscious as I left the room, each step feeling like I was wearing iron boots. It would be so must easier just to pass out and let everything else work itself out, but Sirius could be dying, or worse, he could be already dead. No, I couldn't think that ...

I was sliding out of focus. The shock and stress of everything made me dazed. I was going to pass out; I couldn't think. Everything was slipping away ...

Sirius could be dead, I thought. He's being tortured undoubtedly by the Cruciatus Curse. The same curse my mother used on me ... the same curse I once used ...

I blacked out.

Hospital wing again. A wave of both extreme relief and extreme dread hit me at the same time. The sky outside was still a sunset, so maybe I had not been unconscious for that long! I could still save Sirius!

Then the dread part came: maybe it was days later. Maybe Harry and the others had already saved Sirius. Or maybe ...

Maybe Sirius was dead.

"No," I whispered, and my voice came out weak and hoarse. "No ... no, he's not ... he can't be ... "

I shot up from the bed. There was nobody else in the room, not even Madam Pomfrey. I could leave and find the others. I could find out what happened with Sirius.

My wand. It was on the table beside me. I grabbed it and ran out the door. My head spun from nerves and the force of getting up so quickly. I felt thankful that Madam Pomfrey had not caught me.

Once outside of the ward, I didn't know which way to go. Were they still in Umbridge's office, or were they in the dorms? I decided to walk by the office, just in case. It was risky business, but it was worth it, I decided. I was doing it for Sirius.

As I hurried down the staircase in a frenzied panic, I saw a student. It was Hannah Abbott, a Hufflepuff from the D.A. This was great. Just meeting anyone was perfect.

"Hannah!" I exclaimed, panting heavily. "Have you seen Harry anywhere? Or Hermione, or anyone?"

"Yeah," Hannah said, looking confused. "I saw Harry and Hermione go to the grounds with Umbridge behind them. I don't know what was going on, though."

"Thank you!" I wheezed, and dashed off again.

When I reached the grounds, my heart leapt. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Luna, and now Neville were all at the forest's edge. I ran closer to them, noticing Harry and Hermione were extremely scratched up and covered in blood. They all seemed to be arguing.

I skidded to a halt in front of them just as Harry said, "Yes, and I'm sure Sirius is still alive, but I can't see how we're going to get there to help him."

Sirius. Alive. My eyes widened.

"Harry," I croaked. "What time is it? How did everything ... what happened?"

They all looked surprised to see me.

"How did you escape the hospital wing?" Ginny asked.

"Doesn't matter. Harry, how do we get to London?"

"Well, we'll have to fly, won't we?" Luna said. [*]

"Okay," Harry said, getting even more irritated (if that was possible), "first of all, ‘we' aren't doing anything if you're including yourself in that, and second of all, Ron's the only one with a broomstick that isn't being guarded by a security troll, so - " [*]

"I've got a broom!" [*] Ginny protested.

"Yeah, but you're not coming," [*] Ron told her.

Bickering, bickering! We had no time for this!

"Listen, we're all going," I said. "We're all in the D.A. You can't stop us, Harry. There's no leader in this, so let's just find a way to get to London and go with it. There's no reason for you to not let us go, nor is there anything to stop us."

"Fine! Fine, then! How do we get there? Any ideas, Lindsey?"

"We fly," Luna said plainly. "Look."

Thestrals! Harry was petting one on the head, though to me it looked like he was just stroking air. Well, that would certainly work, though I would much rather see what I was riding. Then again, it was the only way to rescue him.

Harry, Neville, and Luna each got on a thestral. Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and I stood there, wondering how to get on something we couldn't see.

"What?" [**] Harry asked.

"How're we supposed to get on?" Ron asked. "When we can't see the things?" [**]

"Oh, it's easy," Luna said. "Come here..."

She helped each of us onto a thestral. I found the mane of mine and gripped it tightly, staying as still as I could so I wouldn't slip off. A few seconds later, each thestral was rising into the air and the seven of us were flying into the sky. The thestrals flew fast, which was good, but I kept feeling like I would fall off. I tightened my hold on the mane of the horse.

The sky became gray as we flew over Muggle towns. As we flew, I thought of how I wasn't sure how Harry knew Sirius was gone in the first place, but it didn't matter. My stomach lurched as I realized Kreacher had never actually proved Sirius was gone. Maybe we were all flying to our deaths ...

Eventually the thestrals flew downward. We were in London, we were about to touch the ground. The thestrals landed and we were outside a telephone box covered with vandalism, looking faded in the streetlights.

We all got into the telephone box. It was as cramped as could be. Harry said, "Whoever's nearest the receiver, dial six two four four two!" [***]

Apparently Ron was closest. He dialed this number and a strange automatic female voice said, "Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. Please state your name and business." [***]

The floor began to descend underground into the Ministry. We hit the bottom, the Atrium. It appeared to be empty. The door opened and we all fell out.

It was silent except for a flowing fountain. We followed Harry to several sets of lifts. He pressed the down button on the closest one. The golden grilles around the lift opened. We went in, Harry pressed the button for level nine, the grilles closed, and we descended again.