WHO: Ron, Harry, and Hermione; Umbridge and other NPC'ed Ministry employees WHAT: Getting the locket from the Ministry WHEN: July 24, 2002; noon WHERE: Ministry of Magic RATING//STATUS: PG//Incomplete
Getting into the Ministry hadn't been the hard part. The three of them had observed enough to get the basics of how everything ran, on the outside at least. As the days of observation had progressed, they had drawn up a careful plan of entry. In the last few days, ever since learning about the executions, they had made sure everything was prepared, and discussed thoroughly everything that could go wrong. They had rules, though Harry wasn't sure he'd be able to sacrifice Ron and Hermione to get himself out. He knew that if he was caught, it was game over, but...well, it was better to hope he wouldn't have to make that decision.
Once they had assumed their new identities--chosen only that morning as employees left to attend the executions - and entered, they set about their tasks, which were to find Umbridge and other things to steal to distract Voldemort and the Death Eaters from their real task, even if only for a day or two. So there they were, walking through the second level of the Ministry, past empty desks, looking for things--files, papers, anything really, and keeping an eye out for Umbridge. By the time they found her office, Harry had snatched a nice-looking quill and several files.
But they needed a spot to talk through the next step, so as they went along, he kept an eye out for a corner to hide in. Finding one, he got the other two close to him and cast a Muffliato around them. "Right so, let's talk this through again."