Harry Potter and the Order Of the Phoenix [107]
“Congratulations Harry,” she said, though she was looking grim.
“Thanks professor,” said Harry.
“Harry, I have some good news and some bad news.”
“What is it?” asked Harry.
“Well, the good news is that Lupin and Sirius have found the last phoenix we need to bring your mom back.”
“And what’s the bad news?”
“The bad news… ah, yes… the bad news… well, Harry, I’m afraid your mom’s body has been stolen.”
CHAPTER 20- The Trap
Harry waited until everyone in the Great Hall had left except for himself, Ron, Hermione, and Mrs. Figg until he said anything.
“What?! How could it be stolen?”
“It has just been reported missing,” said Mrs. Figg. “Me, Sirius, and Remus decided the safest place to keep it was in the Forbidden Forest, with the giants.”
“Why didn’t you just keep it in your office?” asked Ron.
“There are random checks in offices, Weasley,” said Mrs. Figg. “Ever since lest year, with Barty Crouch hiding Alastor Moody in his office, security has been tighter. Every drawer, every inch is checked. If I kept her in the office, she would have been discovered and confiscated.”
“So what are we going to do?” asked Harry. “We have to get it back.” Mrs. Figg was looking quite uncomfortable now.
“Well, that’s the problem. You see, under normal circumstances, I would have just gone and looked for it, but I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because I have to be at the Ministry of Magic in just a few hours.” At this remark, Harry, Ron, and Hermione gave a grunt.
“What? There has to be some way around that,” said Harry, folding his arms.
“I’m afraid not. Since I am a ranking wizard, that is, a wizard over the age of forty, I am required to attend. If I don’t go, I could be sent to Azka- well, whatever prison they have set up now.”
“Can’t you just clone yourself?” asked Ron.
“No, I’m afraid that’s not an option,” said Mrs. Figg.
“Why not?”
“Security will be tight at the election. If I send a clone, they will find out. They have ways of telling if you’re a clone or not, and they don’t want people sending clones to elections, they don’t want people to take democracy for granted.
“Also, cloning humans is messy business. Since there’s no clean way to get rid of a clone, besides killing it, I’d have to send it to the Ministry of Cloning, and I’d have to tell them why I had made a clone of myself.”
Hermione nudged Harry in the side.
“I wish someone had told us that before we cloned ourselves,” she whispered.
“I wouldn’t be asking you to do this if I wasn’t completely confident you’d be able to accomplish it,” said Mrs. Figg. “Anyway, it’s probably just some elves or centaurs that took the body anyway. You can just ask for it back and they’ll give it to you.”
“Alright,” said Harry. “We’ll do it.”
“Great,” said Mrs. Figg. “Now, I’ve been told by Hagrid that you know where the giants are, so just go to them. Ask them where they last saw the body, and you can just follow the tracks in the ground that the body made when they took it away.”
“What does the body look like?” asked Ron. “How will we identify it?”
“The body is incased in a light-blue, transparent box. You should be able to see the skeleton inside it.”
Harry shuddered at this last comment. He’d see the skeleton of his mother.
“It’s almost time for bed,” said Mrs. Figg. “Everyone should be in their dormitories now, so it’s the perfect time to set out. Good luck!”
Harry, Ron, and Hermione walked away from her, and out of the Great Hall. When they exited, the candles that were alight inside snuffed out, and they were left in complete darkness.
“Geez,” said Harry. “We might not even need the invisibility cloak it’s so dark.”
“We should bring it, just in case,” said Ron as they got to the portrait of the Fat Lady. She yawned as they arrived at her.
“Ah, I heard about your match today Harry, dear. Congratulations,” she yawned.
“Thanks,” said Harry. “Mungadae.” The portrait swung open to reveal an empty common room.
“You stay here,” said Harry to Ron and Hermione. “I’ll run up and get the cloak.”
Harry dashed up the stairs, careful