He could not understand why they were both gaping at him as though he was asking them something unreasonable.
“Harry,” said Hermione in a rather frightened voice, “er… how… how did Voldemort get into the Ministry of Magic without anybody realising he was there?”
“How do I know?” bellowed Harry. “The question is how we’re going to get in there!”
“But… Harry, think about this,” said Hermione, taking a step towards him, “it’s five o’clock in the afternoon… the Ministry of Magic must be full of workers… how would Voldemort and Sirius have got in without being seen? Harry… they’re probably the two most wanted wizards in the world… you think they could get into a building full of Aurors undetected?”
“I dunno, Voldemort used an Invisibility Cloak or something!” Harry shouted. “Anyway, the Department of Mysteries has always been completely empty whenever I’ve been—”
“You’ve never been there, Harry,” said Hermione quietly. “You’ve dreamed about the place, that’s all.”
“They’re not normal dreams!” Harry shouted in her face, standing up and taking a step closer to her in turn. He wanted to shake her. “How d’you explain Ron’s dad then, what was all that about, how come I knew what had happened to him?”
“He’s got a point,” said Ron quietly, looking at Hermione.
“But this is just—just so unlikely!” said Hermione desperately. “Harry, how on earth could Voldemort have got hold of Sirius when he’s been in Grimmauld Place all the time?”
“Sirius might’ve cracked and just wanted some fresh air,” said Ron, sounding worried. “He’s been desperate to get out of that house for ages—”
“But why,” Hermione persisted, “why on earth would Voldemort want to use Sirius to get the weapon, or whatever the thing is?”
“I dunno, there could be loads of reasons!” Harry yelled at her. “Maybe Sirius is just someone Voldemort doesn’t care about seeing hurt—”
“You know what, I’ve just thought of something,” said Ron in a hushed voice. “Sirius’s brother was a Death Eater, wasn’t he? Maybe he told Sirius the secret of how to get the weapon!”
“Yeah—and that’s why Dumbledore’s been so keen to keep Sirius locked up all the time!” said Harry.
“Look, I’m sorry,” cried Hermione, “but neither of you is making sense, and we’ve got no proof for any of this, no proof Voldemort and Sirius are even there—”
“Hermione, Harry’s seen them!” said Ron, rounding on her.
“OK,” she said, looking frightened yet determined, “I’ve just got to say this—”
“What?”
“You… this isn’t a criticism, Harry! But you do… sort of… I mean—don’t you think you’ve got a bit of a—a—saving-people thing!” she said.