"Stupefy!"
With a flick of her wrist, a flurry of scarlet beams flew from the tip of Oleandra's wand, streaking down the long corridor that led to the lift and accurately striking their marks— three unsuspecting Security Wizards bravely guarding a vending machine that dispensed, of all things, Cornish pasties.
"Good aim!" whispered the portly Witch, giving Oleandra a hearty pat on the back. "I was runner-up in a duelling competition in my youth— would've won, too, if that confounded Flitwick hadn't kept signing up for every tournament I entered. I'd love to help, really— but you know, no wand..."
Of the twenty or so Muggle-Borns she and Mai had just sprung from behind bars, Oleandra had already learnt far more than she cared to about the rotund Witch she'd punched in the nose a few days ago, though a few others had caught her attention as well— and not because they couldn't stop chattering in her ear while she was trying to aim.
"What do you think, Mai?" said Oleandra helplessly. "Should we make a detour to fetch Mrs Ollivander's wand?"
It turned out that the woman who looked just like your average housewife was, in fact, none other than the famous wandmaker's wife, Jianxia Ollivander. Oleandra had never cared to look into the wandmaker's marital status— it had never been any of her business, and, to be frank, she couldn't have cared less— but now that his wife was breathing down her neck, she rather wished she'd never known she existed.
Was it too late to take her back to her cell?
"It depends," said Mai, frowning. She turned to the newly freed Muggle-Born and asked, "Do any of you have any idea where they took your wands?"
Rescuing an army of Muggle-Borns was all well and good, but without their wands, she might as well have stayed at home and caught herself a few more stray Londoners wandering the countryside. What was the point of having Witches and Wizards around if they couldn't do magic?
"I don't know where they took our wands, but what I do know is that a new group of suspected Muggle-borns were brought in about an hour ago," said a very familiar-looking girl, jerking her thumb to the right. "They won't have confiscated their wands yet, but they'll take them away just as soon as they've finished with their sham of a trial."
Oleandra's gaze followed the girl's finger.
The group had reached an intersection in the corridor. Behind them were the holding cells; to the left lay the passage leading to the stairs, which in turn led to the entrance of the Department of Mysteries and the lift; and to the right were the courtrooms.
"Aren't you a Half-Blood, Mafalda?" asked Oleandra curiously. "What are you even doing here to begin with?"
The second prisoner to catch Oleandra's eye was Mafalda, the only girl (and Slytherin) in her year who could rival Hermione in sheer magical talent and intelligence (without resorting to cheating). Unfortunately for Oleandra's cousin, she had ended up taking the blame for the entire Heir of Slytherin debacle.
But now that Oleandra knew for certain she was innocent, her attitude towards her had softened considerably!
"That's what I've been telling them all along!" said Mafalda in exasperation. "My father was a Squib and my mother a Muggle— that makes me a Half-Blood!"
"It's true," commented Jianxia. "She never shuts about it."
The crowd behind them started grumbling.
"What's so ruddeh bad about bein' Muggle-Born, eh?" said the tall man with the thick Manchester accent. He had grown impressively haggard in the short time since Oleandra had last seen him— or, more accurately, since she had made him bang his own head against his cell bars. "Bloodeh bint, she is, tha' 'un."
Mafalda peered at Oleandra suspiciously.
"You know who I am?" she asked.
"Who doesn't?" Oleandra fired back. "I know they accused you of trying to murder all those Muggle-Borns years ago, but I know you're innocent. Ginny Weasley is the real Heir of Slytherin! Spread the word."
Oleandra's voice echoed down the hall.
"Shh!" hissed Mai. "Enough chitter-chatter! Ole- Tonks, you're with me. You lot, stay here, and wait for our return. We're going to fetch the others in the courtrooms."
"What about me?"
Startled, Oleandra and Mai turned around and looked at the Muggle boy who'd somehow managed to tag along for the ride.
"You don't have any magic or enchanted equipment, Mister Hitchhiker," said Mai disparagingly. "You'll only get in our way."
"The name's Hitchens, and I think you knew that," said the Muggle in annoyance. "Besides, what kind of man would I be if I let two young girls run headfirst into danger like that?"
Mai was only twelve, and Oleandra had just celebrated her seventeenth birthday.
In the Muggle world, they would still be underage, whereas he was twenty-five! He couldn't, in good conscience, let them throw themselves to the wolves like that, but it seemed he would have no choice in the matter. Mai lazily waved her wand, and Hitchens' limbs snapped together, and luckily for him, someone caught him before his rigid form could topple face-first onto the unforgiving stone floor.
With that out of the way, they marched up to the courtroom's door.
"Finally, some action," said Oleandra, cracking her knuckles. The rest of their party peeked through the doorway a few yards away, watching in anticipation. "I find Stunning people in the back so incredibly unimaginative."
Mai stood back, allowing Oleandra to do the honours.
"Reducto!" Oleandra shouted gleefully.
A blue ray shot from the tip of her wand, blasting the door before them and reducing it to dust. The brilliant beam continued its course across the courtroom, forcing Corban Yaxley to throw himself to the ground to avoid having his head turned into a fine, red mist. The spell ended its flight against the Magic is Might banner hanging behind him, setting it alight and sending fiery sparks raining onto his head, singeing his scalp.
"Get them, you fools!" Yaxley shrieked, taking refuge under his desk as Mai indiscriminately fired spells in his direction. "Give them the kiss!"
Oleandra's blood ran cold as several ghastly, dark-robed figures left the Muggle-Born they were guarding and glided towards them.