'I'm not going . . . I don't need the hospital wing . . . I don't want . . .'

He was gibbering as he tried to pull away from Professor Tofty, who was looking at Harry with much concern after helping him out into the Entrance Hall with the students all around them staring.

I'm — I'm fine, sir,' Harry stammered, wiping the sweat from his face. 'Really . . . I just fell asleep . . . had a nightmare . . .'

'Pressure of examinations!' said the old wizard sympathetically, patting Harry shakily on the shoulder. 'It happens, young man, it happens! Now, a cooling drink of water, and perhaps you will be ready to return to the Great Hall? The examination is nearly over, but you may be able to round off your last answer nicely?'

'Yes,' said Harry wildly. 'I mean . . . no . . . I've done — done as much as I can, I think . . .'

'Very well, very well,' said the old wizard gently. 'I shall go and collect your examination paper and I suggest that you go and have a nice lie down.'

'I'll do that,' said Harry, nodding vigorously. 'Thanks very much.'

The second that the old man's heels disappeared over the threshold into the Great Hall, Harry ran up the marble staircase, hurtled along the corridors so fast the portraits he passed muttered reproaches, up more flights of stairs, and finally burst like a hurricane through the double doors of the hospital wing, causing Madam Pomfrey — who had been spooning some bright blue liquid into Montague's open mouth — to shriek in alarm.

'Potter, what do you think you're doing?'

'I need to see Professor McGonagall,' gasped Harry, the breath tearing his lungs. 'Now . . . it's urgent!'

'She's not here, Potter,' said Madam Pomfrey sadly. 'She was transferred to St Mungo's this morning. Four Stunning Spells straight to the chest at her age? It's a wonder they didn't kill her.'

'She's . . . gone?' said Harry, shocked.

The bell rang just outside the dormitory and he heard the usual distant rumbling of students starting to flood out into the corridors above and below him. He remained quite still, looking at Madam Pomfrey. Terror was rising inside him.

There was nobody left to tell. Dumbledore had gone, Hagrid had gone, but he had always expected Professor McGonagall to be there, irascible and inflexible, perhaps, but always dependably, solidly present . . .

'I don't wonder you're shocked, Potter,' said Madam Pomfrey, with a kind of fierce approval in her face. 'As if one of them could have Stunned Minerva McGonagall face-on by daylight! Cowardice, that's what it was . . . despicable cowardice . . . if I wasn't worried what would happen to you students without me, I'd resign in protest.'

'Yes,' said Harry blankly.

He wheeled around and strode blindly from the hospital wing into the teeming corridor where he stood, buffeted by the crowd, panic expanding inside him like poison gas so that his head swam and he could not think what to do . . .

Ron and Hermione, said a voice in his head.

He was running again, pushing students out of the way, oblivious to their angry protests. He sprinted, back down two floors and was at the top of the marble staircase when he saw them hurrying towards him.

'Harry!' said Hermione at once, looking very frightened. 'What happened? Are you all right? Are you ill?'

'Where have you been?' demanded Ron.

'Come with me,' Harry said quickly. 'Come on, I've got to tell you something.'

He led them along the first-floor corridor, peering through doorways, and at last found an empty classroom into which he dived, closing the door behind Ron and Hermione the moment they were inside, and leaned against it, facing them.

'Voldemorts got Sirius.'

'What?'

'How d'you — ?'

'Saw it. Just now. When I fell asleep in the exam.'

'But — but where? How?' said Hermione, whose face was white.

'I dunno how,' said Harry. 'But I know exactly where. There's a room in the Department of Mysteries full of shelves covered in these little glass balls and they're at the end of row ninety-seven . . . he's trying to use Sirius to get whatever it is he wants from in there . . . he's torturing him . . . says he'll end by killing him!'

Harry found his voice was shaking, as were his knees. He moved over to a desk and sat down on it, trying to master himself.

'How're we going to get there?' he asked them.

There was a moment's silence. Then Ron said, 'G-get there?'

'Get to the Department of Mysteries, so we can rescue Sirius!' Harry said loudly.

'But — Harry . . .' said Ron weakly.

'What? What? ' said Harry.

He could not understand why they were both gaping at him as though he was asking them something unreasonable.

'Harry,' said Hermione in a rather frightened voice, 'er . . . how . . . how did Voldemort get into the Ministry of Magic without anybody realising he was there?'

'How do I know?' bellowed Harry. 'The question is how we're going to get in there!'

'But . . . Harry, think about this,' said Hermione, taking a step towards him, 'it's five o'clock in the afternoon . . . the Ministry of Magic must be full of workers . . . how would Voldemort and Sirius have got in without being seen? Harry . . . they're probably the two most wanted wizards in the world . . . you think they could get into a building full of Aurors undetected?'

'I dunno, Voldemort used an Invisibility Cloak or something!' Harry shouted. 'Anyway, the Department of Mysteries has always been completely empty whenever I've been — '

'You've never been there, Harry,' said Hermione quietly. 'You've dreamed about the place, that's all.'

'They're not normal dreams!' Harry shouted in her face, standing up and taking a step closer to her in turn. He wanted to shake her. 'How d'you explain Ron's dad then, what was all that about, how come I knew what had happened to him?'

'He's got a point,' said Ron quietly, looking at Hermione.

'But this is just — just so unlikely! ' said Hermione desperately. 'Harry, how on earth could Voldemort have got hold of Sirius when he's been in Grimmauld Place all the time?'

'Sirius might've cracked and just wanted some fresh air,' said Ron, sounding worried. 'He's been desperate to get out of that house for ages — '

'But why,' Hermione persisted, 'why on earth would Voldemort want to use Sirius to get the weapon, or whatever the thing is?'

'I dunno, there could be loads of reasons!' Harry yelled at her. 'Maybe Sirius is just someone Voldemort doesn't care about seeing hurt — '

'You know what, I've just thought of something,' said Ron in a hushed voice. 'Sirius's brother was a Death Eater, wasn't he? Maybe he told Sirius the secret of how to get the weapon!'

'Yeah — and that's why Dumbledore's been so keen to keep Sirius locked up all the time!' said Harry.

'Look, I'm sorry,' cried Hermione, 'but neither of you is making sense, and we've got no proof for any of this, no proof Voldemort and Sirius are even there — '

'Hermione, Harry's seen them!' said Ron, rounding on her.

'OK,' she said, looking frightened yet determined, 'I've just got to say this — '

'What?'

'You . . . this isn't a criticism, Harry! But you do . . . sort of . . . I mean — don't you think you've got a bit of a — a — saving-people thing?' she said.

He glared at her.

'And what's that supposed to mean, a "saving-people thing"?'

'Well . . . you . . .' she looked more apprehensive than ever. 'I mean . . . last year, for instance . . . in the lake . . . during the Tournament . . . you shouldn't have . . . I mean, you didn't need to save that little Delacour girl . . . you got a bit . . . carried away . . .'

A wave of hot, prickly anger swept through Harry's body; now could she remind him of that blunder now?

'I mean, it was really great of you and everything,' said Hermione quickly, looking positively petrified at the look on Harry's face, 'everyone thought it was a wonderful thing to do — '

'That's funny,' said Harry through gritted teeth, 'because I definitely remember Ron saying I'd wasted time acting the hero . . . is that what you think this is? You reckon I want to act the hero again?'

'No, no, no!' said Hermione, looking aghast. 'That's not what I mean at all!'

'Well, spit out what you've got to say, because we're wasting time here!' Harry shouted.

'I'm trying to say — Voldemort knows you, Harry! He took Ginny down into the Chamber of Secrets to lure you there, it's the kind of thing he does, he knows you're the — the sort of person who'd go to Sirius's aid! What if he's just trying to get you into the Department of Myst — ?'

'Hermione, it doesn't matter if he's done it to get me there or not — they've taken McGonagall to St Mungo's, there isn't anyone from the Order left at Hogwarts who we can tell, and if we don't go, Sirius is dead!'

'But Harry — what if your dream was — was just that, a dream?'

Harry let out a roar of frustration. Hermione actually stepped back from him, looking alarmed.

'You don't get it!' Harry shouted at her, 'I'm not having nightmares, I'm not just dreaming! What d'you think all the Occlumency was for, why d'you think Dumbledore wanted me prevented from seeing these things? Because they're REAL, Hermione — Sirius is trapped, I've seen him. Voldemort's got him, and no one else knows, and that means we're the only ones who can save him, and if you don't want to do it, fine, but I'm going, understand? And if I remember rightly, you didn't have a problem with my saving-people thing when it was you I was saving from the Dementors, or — he rounded on Ron — when it was your sister I was saving from the Basilisk — '

'I never said I had a problem!' said Ron heatedly.

'But Harry, you've just said it,' said Hermione fiercely, 'Dumbledore wanted you to learn to shut these things out of your mind, if you'd done Occlumency properly you'd never have seen this — '

'IF YOU THINK I'M JUST GOING TO ACT LIKE I HAVEN'T SEEN — '

'Sirius told you there was nothing more important than you learning to close your mind!'

'WELL, I EXPECT HE'D SAY SOMETHING DIFFERENT IF HE KNEW WHAT I'D JUST — '

The classroom door opened. Harry, Ron and Hermione whipped around. Ginny walked in, looking curious, closely followed by Luna, who as usual looked as though she had drifted in accidentally.

'Hi,' said Ginny uncertainly. 'We recognised Harry's voice. What are you yelling about?'

'Never you mind,' said Harry roughly.

Ginny raised her eyebrows.

'There's no need to take that tone with me,' she said coolly, 'I was only wondering whether I could help.'