No one expected the prophecy orb to be so fragile; it merely fell down one step and shattered completely.
Harry was no exception. He had always thought the thing was quite sturdy; otherwise, he wouldn't have casually stuffed it into his pocket.
He sat on the ground, staring blankly at the spot where the orb had shattered.
A milky-white figure, with eyes that seemed magnified many times, rose into the air.
Harry found it vaguely familiar. Those characteristic bulging eyes were so reminiscent of Professor Trelawney from Divination Class… if you added a pair of glasses, they'd be practically identical.
Then, the figure spoke, emitting a voice that sounded almost like a whisper,
"At the moment of decision, a new…"
The voice from the figure was too faint. Harry only heard this part before the sound was drowned out by the surrounding crashes, shouts, and screams.
Simultaneously, someone dragged him forcefully to another location.
"Get out of the way…" Harry heard Sirius's anxious voice.
Soon enough, he understood why.
Two differently colored spells hit the spot where he had been sitting. If Sirius hadn't pulled him away in time, he would have been done for.
"Thanks," Harry quickly stood up.
"Don't daydream," Sirius, without looking back, sternly reminded him while staring at Bellatrix in the distance.
Bellatrix had also seen the prophecy orb shatter.
"No!" she screamed, wildly casting spells at Harry.
Voldemort wanted the orb brought back intact, but now everything was botched, which was unacceptable to Bellatrix. She now only wanted to kill Harry… perhaps that would make up for it.
Bella, who was crazily casting spells, didn't notice that a ball of dragon flame had appeared above her head.
A nearby Death Eater quickly pulled her away, dragging her toward the nearest door and escaping the room without a word.
Before the door closed, the crowd could still hear Bellatrix's heart-wrenching screams, "I will kill him, I will kill him… Master, I did my best, don't punish me!"
Their escape also triggered a series of chain reactions.
The Death Eaters instantly lost the courage to fight on, scattering in a frenzy. Those with skill or luck all fled the room at the first moment, while the remaining ones were blocked by Sirius, Lupin, and others who reacted in time.
...
"Ha ha, lucky day, we've caught a big prize."
Sirius walked over, holding a Death Eater.
It was Antonin Dolohov, the one who had been torturing Moody. That was indeed a big prize.
Sirius seemed to have used a Full Body-Bind Curse, as Dolohov was now stiff all over, glaring viciously at everyone.
However, none of those present cared.
"I think we should keep him until Alastor wakes up and let him handle it," Lupin said.
He was holding a tall Death Eater as well.
"It's Macnair," Kingsley said, "a member of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. I should have realized he joined the Death Eaters."
By this time, the battle was mostly over.
The remaining Death Eaters, realizing they had no escape, almost scrambled to throw away their wands and surrender voluntarily.
Two minutes later, Fluffy wobbled back to Kael, collapsing with a thud, sending up a cloud of dust and rubble.
Although the Three-Headed Dog could ignore most spells, it couldn't handle it if multiple wizards cast spells simultaneously.
There had been a dozen Death Eaters here, and Mr. Weasley and Lupin couldn't handle that many people.
Fluffy was covered in charred marks, and there was a long wound on its leftmost head, with blood dripping onto the ground.
"You've worked hard, Fluffy," Kael patted its chin, and the other two heads immediately leaned over, almost fighting for attention.
Norbert also landed back on the ground. Since it could fly and had long-range attack capabilities, its condition was better than Fluffy's, and it even seemed a bit eager for more.
"Amazing…" Lupin couldn't help but say as he looked up, "I never thought I'd see a Three-Headed Dog and a Fire Dragon at the Ministry of Magic.
"What's even more astonishing is how… docile they are."
Instinctively, Lupin wanted to soothe Fluffy's charred fur, but as soon as his hand reached out, a massive head turned to growl at him.
Lupin immediately pulled back his hand awkwardly, deciding to retract his previous statement. The big guy wasn't at all docile… at least not to anyone other than Kael.
Others also gathered around.
In the crowd, Harry found the Wampus Cat and walked over to give a sincere bow, "Thank you…"
The first time Bellatrix used the Killing Curse on him, it was the Wampus Cat that kicked him to dodge it… Harry was all too familiar with that sensation.
The Wampus Cat nodded slightly in response.
Then Harry turned to look at the Three-Headed Dog and Fire Dragon, feeling this combination was somewhat familiar.
"This… must be Hagrid's Fluffy, right?" Harry tentatively asked.
Three-Headed Dogs weren't common magical creatures, and so far, he had only seen one once in his first year.