The Reticulation

The ground shook again and Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Luna found themselves in the now deserted Gryffindor boys' dormitory. Ron, Hermione and Ginny looked around anxiously, but Luna had laid down on one the of bed.

"Your bed's really soft, Ronald," she said, closing her eyes dreamily. "You must sleep very well at night."

"Uh, right," Ron said, not really listening to her.

"Look, the door's back!" Ginny said suddenly. "We can leave now."

"Yeah, if we're lucky this was all a dream," Ron muttered to himself as he, Hermione and Ginny left the dormitory.

"Can I stay in here?" Luna asked. "It's very comfortable in here."

"Sure," Ron said immediately, glad to be rid of "Loony" Lovegood.

However, waiting at the bottom of the stairs was a saw a sea of very grim faces and the news that Professor McGonagall had been killed by Harry Potter...

Hermione, having gotten over her grief of losing Professor McGonagall just a little bit, walked slowly into the headmistress' office to find Umbridge had already initiated a complete redecoration.

"Why, hello, Miss Granger," she said sweetly. Hermione was quite angry by how little McGonagall's passing seemed to be affecting Umbridge, but she forced herself to try and be as unemotional as she could--as much as the tears wanted to flow...

"Professor, Voldemort's alive," Hermione informed her point-blank.

"Oh, surly you can't believe that!" Umbridge replied. "You saw the body, didn't you?"

"Yes," Hermione agreed, wishing, for more than one reason, that she hadn't.

"Well, how could anyone possibly survive that?" Umbridge asked triumphantly.

"He's transposed himself over the Reticulation," Hermione said, forcing herself to be as matter-of-fact as possible.

"Impossible!" Umbridge declared. "If there was a way to take over the Reticulation, the Ministry would have discovered it." Hermione, gritted her teeth, and paced back and forth a couple of times. Something was occurring to her...

"Right, because the Reticulation sealed you out of Dumbledore's office the last time you took over," Hermione said slyly, "so, why did it let you in this time?"

"I don't know," Umbridge answered. "Maybe it's because the old head is dead."

"I don't think so," Hermione said sharply. "Just because the old head is dead, doesn't make you any more legitimate to take over, does it? I think--I know, it's because Voldemort now controls the Reticulation and he made a mistake."

"Well, if he controls the Reticulation then he can hear us right now," Umbridge replied, "so why doesn't he just throw me out of here then?"

"Well, that would be a bit of a giveaway, wouldn't it?" Hermione replied. Umbridge looked furiously at them all for a moment.

"Get out of here you foolish girl!" she shouted. "I have very important work to do. The Ministry has just approved of me as your permanent headmistress and, I have to warn you, there'll be a lot of changes around here in the near future."

"I can't believe we had to lose Professor McGonagall and Harry on the same day," Ginny said miserably, sitting in the crowded, but very silent, common room. Umbridge had instituted a new and considerably more strict curfew.

"It could have been worse," Luna told her. "We could have lost someone else as well." Luna hadn't felt like returning to Ravenclaw Tower and no one liked Umbridge enough to report her for being out of her common room past the new curfew.

"Yeah, that helps," Ginny said sarcastically, feeling very bitter. Suddenly, they heard Umbridge's shrill voice magically magnified for the third time that night.

"This is another drill," she informed them. "All students and teachers will evacuate the school immediately. Harry Potter will exit the school in the company of a Ministry guard."

Ginny reluctantly got up and headed towards the portrait hole. This was the third drill they had had in three hours. How much practice did Umbridge think they needed? What did she think was going to happen to them? Hadn't it been her who had insisted they were in absolutely no danger within the school?

It was dark and cold as they headed out onto the grounds. Hagrid was there, standing at the door to his hut and holding a lantern.

"Everyone into the forest!" he told them gruffly. He then proceeded to led them, as he had the previous three times, deep into the dark forest, but this time they reached a source of light--light coming from some kind of a camp--a camp with several Ministry witches and wizards as well as a very alive...

"Professor McGonagall!" Hermione shouted as she ran forward to hug her favorite teacher. Surprisingly perhaps, McGonagall let her.