When he sat down opposite Ron and Hermione, he caught sight of himself in the window opposite; he was very white and his scar seemed to be showing up more clearly than usual.
“How did it go?” Hermione whispered, and then, looking concerned. “Are you all right, Harry?”
“Yeah… fine… I dunno,” said Harry impatiently, wincing as pain shot through his scar again. “Listen… I’ve just realised something—”
And he told them what he had just seen and deduced.
“So… so are you saying…” whispered Ron, as Madam Pince swept past, squeaking slightly, “that the weapon—the thing You-Know-Who’s after—is in the Ministry of Magic?”
“In the Department of Mysteries, it’s got to be,” Harry whispered. “I saw that door when your dad took me down to the courtrooms for my hearing and it’s definitely the same one he was guarding when the snake bit him.”
Hermione let out a long, slow sigh.
“Of course,” she breathed.
“Of course what?” said Ron rather impatiently.
“Ron, think about it… Sturgis Podmore was trying to get through a door at the Ministry of Magic… it must have been that one, it’s too much of a coincidence!”
“How come Sturgis was trying to break in when he’s on our side?” said Ron.
“Well, I don’t know,” Hermione admitted. That is a bit odd…”
“So what’s in the Department of Mysteries?” Harry asked Ron. “Has your dad ever mentioned anything about it?”
“I know they call the people who work in there ‘Unspeakables,’” said Ron, frowning. “Because no one really seems to know what they do—weird place to have a weapon.”
“It’s not weird at all, it makes perfect sense,” said Hermione. “It will be something top secret that the Ministry has been developing, I expect… Harry, are you sure you’re all right?”
For Harry had just run both his hands hard over his forehead as though trying to iron it.
“Yeah… fine…” he said, lowering his hands, which were trembling. “I just feel a bit… I don’t like Occlumency much.”
“I expect anyone would feel shaky if they’d had their mind attacked over and over again,” said Hermione sympathetically. “Look, let’s get back to the common room, we’ll be a bit more comfortable there.”
But the common room was packed and full of shrieks of laughter and excitement; Fred and George were demonstrating their latest bit of joke shop merchandise.
“Headless Hats!” shouted George, as Fred waved a pointed hat decorated with a fluffy pink feather at the watching students. “Two Galleons each, watch Fred, now!”
Fred swept the hat on to his head, beaming. For a second he merely looked rather stupid; then both hat and head vanished.