Let the spoiling continue...

Harry stared at the note. He reread it over and over again, trying to make sense of it. He looked up.
“Hermione, did you learn how to make portkeys in charms this year?” he asked quietly. She gave him a quizzical look and shook her head.
“Not that I remember. But I read about how to make them in…”
“Never mind.” Said Harry before she could recite the entire chapter of advanced Charm-work or whatever other book she had read about this in. He wasn’t in the mood.
“What do we do now?” asked Ron, rubbing his arms to keep them warm.
“We stop Voldemort.”
“And how do you propose we do that?” Harry chewed his lip in thought. Neville cleared his throat quietly and Harry looked up at him.
“What is it Neville?”
“Who set up the portkey?” Harry frowned.
“Why does it matter?” Neville narrowed his eyes.
“It matters.” Harry shrugged and handed Neville the notepad. He read the note in silence before handing the book back. Harry ran his fingers through his hair before freezing for a minute.
“What’s wrong Harry?” asked Hermione.
“Besides the obvious…” muttered Ron, still unhappy about his aparating skills. Harry’s face burst into a grin.
“Anyone up for another trip to the Department of Mysteries?”

**

Draco lifted up his collar as he walked through London. It was blistering cold but he didn’t care, he just kept his eyes on the footpath in front of him. It was late, past midnight the last time he had ventured to check his watch, but he knew that this would still work. It had to. He made a turn towards a dark alley and continued through it, humming “Weasley is our King” quietly to himself for support. He reached the phone box within a few minutes, and dialed 6, 2, 4, 4, 2 before stating his name and business. As the phone box lowered down into the Ministry of Magic, Draco pocketed his badge.

**

“How do you know it’ll work Harry?” Hermione was holding onto Harry’s elbow trying to keep up with him. Neville and Ron had given up doing that a while ago and were tagging behind.
“I don’t know if anything will work anymore Hermione, but I need to try.” Harry and Hermione reached the phone box and decided to wait inside where it was a little bit warmer. Hermione looked up at Harry.
“I’m scared Harry.” Harry looked down at her. “I’m scared because I don’t understand anything anymore. And I’m scared because you don’t tell us anything anymore.” Harry avoided her eyes and instead looked over her head to see where the other two were.
“Harry, look at me.” Hermione demanded. His gaze traveled down to meet hers.
“We’re here for you. Just remember that. We’re on your side…” Harry swallowed and opened the door to allow Ron and Neville to clamber in.
“What’s the number again?” he asked quietly, avoiding Hermione’s eyes again and addressing Ron.
“Six, two, four, four, two.” Harry dialed, and recited the names of the people in the phone box when the cool female voice instructed him to. The pavement rose one again above their heads as the phone box sank down towards the Atrium of the Ministry of Magic.

Harry felt a ball form in his throat as they walked towards the Department of Mysteries.
“How’ll we find the exit again?” asked Neville quietly as they walked down the corridor leading to the circular room. The others stayed silent. They remembered all too well how difficult it was to get out last time. Would the absence of Death Eaters make it easier?
The room was the same as they remembered it: all black doors, with blue candles burning at intervals in between them. Hermione shut the door behind her without a word and they stood and waited for the room to stop moving.
“Now what?” whispered Ron.
“Give me your wand…” said Harry, holding out his hand for Ron’s wand.
“What happened to yours?” Harry didn’t merit that with and answer. Instead he placed Ron’s wand gently on the flat of his hand and whispered:
“Point me…” the wand whizzed around on Harry’s palm before pointing between two doors to their left.
“That only works on directional coordinates…” muttered Hermione. Harry didn’t look away from the way the wand had pointed.
“It has a magnetic field…” All of them were silent. Harry walked over to the doors and pushed one open. It was full of a black mist, so thick he couldn’t breathe.
“Open the other one!” he called to Neville. Neville obeyed, and opened the door next to it, leading to a large stone rectangular room, with tiers of seats leading down to a raised dais. Upon the dais stood an ancient archway, with a tattered black veil.

**

Voldemort had summoned Nagini to him. She curled around the base of his robes and hissed softly, but it brought him no comfort. Harry had escaped again. He surveyed the room slowly, taking in every detail with cold red eyes.
“He won’t get far…” Voldemort looked down, Nagini was unfurling her fluid body and slithering away to the corner of the room. “You still have his wand…” he thought for a moment before hissing back.
“He can use another.”
“But not to the extent of using his own.” Nagini turned her square head to her master. “When a wand meets its brother… it can do great things…”
Voldemort smiled smoothly but did not relax. Instead he summoned the letter Harry had dropped and read it.
“Pity,” he whispered to himself, “If only Harry had listened to Amy … he might have had a chance.” Nagini flicked her tongue. Voldemort held up the paper and watched it burst into flame in his fingers.
“Perhaps Snape is still of some use.” He breathed. “And dear Draco still owes me an explanation…” he glanced at Nagini, switching back to Parseltongue.
“Find him.”

**

Harry slowly ascended the stone steps leading to dais, ignoring everything else in the room. He reached the veil. It still had that same pull on him as it had two years ago, only now it was stronger. Harry stopped directly in front of it and wrenched his eyes away from it for an instant.
“If I get too close, don’t do anything.”
“But Harry…”
“Just trust me on this!” he whispered roughly. “If something goes wrong, get out, but don’t follow me.”
“You mean, you plan to go in there?” Ron’s voice was thin and shaky.
“If need be…” Harry returned to look at the veil. The whispers were not as loud as before, but he felt sure that whoever was there could hear him. He balled his hands into fists and stepped forward, his face a foot from the swinging veil.
“Sirius…” he whispered. The veil flickered and Harry felt a change in the air of the room. The whispers hushed and he felt a familiar presence.
“What is it Harry?” he felt the voice rather than heard it, as though it was pumping through his blood and not being registered through his ears.
“Sirius…” Harry found himself thinking in reply. He was vaguely aware that he was smiling, but he seemed to no longer have any control over his body.
“Sirius… I need your help…”
“Ah… I thought you might need that…” Harry felt tears come to his eyes as he remembered how Sirius would have smiled when he said those words.
“Sirius, I need to know how Regulus found out about the cave…” he felt the veil touch his hand and stepped back involuntarily; it felt cold.
“Why don’t you ask him?” Harry frowned, trying to understand.
“Is he in there?”
“He is…” Harry breathed, and felt the veil flutter away from him. He blinked and realised that he was now dangerously close to the unknown veil. He stepped back. Voices brought him back to the real world…
“Harry! Harry what happened?” Ron was shouting at him from the base of the dais, trying to hold Hermione from running up to him. “You stepped really close to that thing…”
“Harry, don’t go near it again! Please? It was so scary…” Hermione had fought her way out of Ron’s grasp and ran to hug Harry. “You stepped so close… the veil was brushing your face and you looked so frightening… so… so… unnatural!” Harry didn’t understand.
“What happened?” Neville was shaking, his knuckles white around his wand.
“You, well… you got so close to it… every time the veil touched you, you went into this translucent state… like an x-ray or something…”
“Harry, don’t do that again! Please don’t!!” Hermione was shaking violently.
“I’ll just have to ask something else that’s all…” Harry whispered to himself. “Just one more thing…” he gently eased Hermione’s hands from around him and led her back to the others.
“Mate, what happened? Your eyes went all dreamy and glazed…”
“I just… talked to a friend.” Replied Harry quietly. He didn’t want to tell them that Sirius had actually heard him. He didn’t want to tell them that he had to talk again, Hermione looked as though she was about to faint.
“Did… did you get an answer?” asked Neville.
“Not yet… but I know who to ask.” Harry smiled shakily at Ron and Hermione and walked back up to the veil.
“OK Regulus…” he whispered. “Tell me what you saw…” and he stepped closer to the veil.