The Department of Mysteries

• Ron can't figure out how to get on his Thestral if he can't even see it.
• Eventually, everyone manages to get their seats.
• They tell their Thestrals to take them to the Ministry of Magic.
• The Thestrals set off, moving faster than Harry has ever moved in his life.
• At last, they land on the pavement in front of the Ministry visitor's entrance.
• They rush down into the Ministry.
• Harry tries to get a few of his friends to stay behind, but they all insist on coming with him.
• They walk down into the Department of Mysteries.
• As soon as they get through the door to the Department, the circular wall of the room seems to rotate on some unknown trajectory.
• Ginny realizes that it's "to stop us knowing which door we came in through" (34.59).
• So, they don't know how to get out of this room now that they've gotten in.
• Harry tries a door at random.
• It's got jars full of softly glowing brains in it.
• They try another door.
• It's larger than the last room, and it contains only one thing: "Unsupported by any surrounding wall, the archway was hung with a tattered black curtain or veil which, despite the complete stillness of the cold surrounding air, was fluttering very slightly as though it had just been touched" (34.85).
• Harry moves towards the archway.
• He is attracted by the sound of voices from beyond the veil.
• No one else can hear these voices except for Luna Lovegood.
• Harry almost moves through the archway, but Hermione grabs his arm and shouts, "Harry, we are supposed to be here for Sirius!" (34.103).
• Harry nods and leaves the room.
• The next door they try is locked.
• Harry uses Sirius's knife to try and open the lock.
• But the knife melts in the door.
• Hermione tells them, "Right, we're leaving that room" (34.117).
• They try the next door.
• Harry recognizes the long corridor on the other side of the door at once.
• His heart pumps with adrenaline as he walks down the hallway.
• Harry goes through the doorway at the end, which leads to the giant room full of glass baubles.
• He finds row 97, the row from his dream.
• Harry keeps expecting to find Sirius at any moment.
• But even in row 97, there is no sign of Sirius, or of any kind of struggle.
• What they do find is a label under "one of the small glass spheres that glowed with a dull inner light, though it was very dusty and appeared not to have been touched for many years" (34.164).
• The label says, "S.P.T. to A.P.W.B.D. Dark Lord and (?)Harry Potter" (34.166).
• Slowly, Harry takes the glass sphere from its shelf.
• A voice from behind him says, "Very good, Potter. Now turn around, nice and slowly, and give that to me" (34.177).