a/n: I've had this idea brewing for some time now, and decided to finally write it. This is set after Deathly Hallows and does not follow on from the canon. Bellatrix is still alive, and although Voldemort has fallen, she has become the leader of the Death Eaters, continuing his cause. This will be a Hermione/Minerva with a bit of Hermione/Bellatrix. Rated M, not for innocent minds. Hope you enjoy!
Minerva McGonagall sipped her peppermint tea, gazing out onto the black lake of Hogwarts. The dark blue sky was littered with stars, and their glittering reflections were scattered across the lake as if it were a mirror. The clock was striking one in the morning, and after hours of sorting through the Hogwarts budget, Minerva was finally getting ready for bed. Her eyes narrowed as she saw the dark outline of a figure make its way slowly up the long path to the doors of Hogwarts. Who on earth could be out at this time, she thought to herself, the hairs on the back of her neck rising as her instincts told her something was horribly wrong. She set her tea down on her desk and swiftly made her way out of the Headmistress's office down to the main entrance.
She waited hesitantly by a staircase for the person to emerge behind the doors, holding her wand at the ready. Although it had been seven years since Voldemort had been defeated, the majority of Death Eaters were still in hiding and the number of muggle killings were beginning to rise again. Someone had taken up Voldemort's mantle, and Minerva suspected that Bellatrix Lestrange had become the new dark leader, doubting that the formidable witch had fallen from Molly Weasley's curse.
No one entered the building, and Minerva waited, her heart hammering in her chest. If they had made it into the grounds it would be easy for a student or teacher to simply open the doors and let themselves in. An intruder would have triggered the wards, and the doors would be an almost impenetrable obstacle for them. Someone was definitely waiting outside the doors and something was horribly wrong.
Minerva quietly stepped down towards the doors, her wand grasped tightly between her long fingers, ready to send curses flying towards the intruder. She considered alerting Filius in order to gain an extra wand, but gritted her teeth, knowing that she would be able to handle one person alone without too much fuss. At least she hoped so; it had been a while, and she was sorely missing a duelling partner that could keep up with her, since Albus had died years ago. She cursed herself for not practising for so long, but knew that muscle memory and reflexes would instinctively kick in if it came to a duel. After all, she'd had years to hone her skills. She placed her hand gently on the door, opening it slowly.
Minerva stepped outside into the darkness, scanning the steps for intruders and her breath caught as she saw a motionless heap of a person, collapsed at the bottom of the steps. There was no one else there, and she quickly made her way down the steps to the heap, wand still out. The person was covered in a long black cloak that hid their face, and as Minerva knelt beside them, she saw that the cloak was covered in spatters of dark blood.
Hesitantly she pulled the hood away from the face, and her breath caught as she saw the familiar mass of curly brown hair that belonged to Professor Granger. Without thought, Minerva cast a diagnostic charm, assessing the damage. Open wounds along the leg, a broken rib, fractures along several vertebrae, and a nasty cut along her right cheek. She was unconscious, but breathing.
There was no time, Minerva quickly levitated Hermione into the castle, not wanting to move her for fear of worsening her condition. She ran towards the Hospital Wing, breath catching at the sight of Hermione's bruised face.
"Poppy!" she cried out upon entering, and the healer quickly sprang into action. Minerva saw Hermione's eyes flutter as Poppy quickly cut though her clothes, revealing dark purple-green bruises the size of bludgers down her side.
"Minerva, you need to wait outside, I can heal her but she may need to go to St. Mungo's," Poppy said, summoning several potions and starting to administer them, whilst casting charms along Hermione's sides. Minerva started to protest, but Poppy waved her away, closing the curtain around the hospital bed. She cut through Hermione's robes again, revealing huge lacerations along the Professor's thighs. "Merlin, girl what have you been doing?" She breathed, as she began to repair the skin and heal the damage done.
HGMM
Minerva had been waiting in the Hospital Wing for two hours before Poppy came to see her. Both women looked tired and Poppy made her way over to the Headmistress with a small smile.
"Well, she'll live. It'll take a few days for her to be back to normal, but I've healed the cuts and her rib is pretty much fixed. Minerva, I think she's been put under the Cruciatus several times, the fractures in her vertebrae…"
"I know, I recognised the signs. When will she wake up?"
"Not for a few hours, I gave her a dreamless sleep potion. She'll need her classes covering for the next couple of days though. Do you think she was taken?" Poppy looked up to Minerva, worry creasing her features. Since joining the staff a year ago, Professor Granger had been widely accepted, making friends with nearly every member of the team. She was a fantastic transfiguration teacher, quickly learning the balance between being firm but fair, and the students settled into the flow of her classes easily.
"I don't know, Poppy, we'll find out when she wakes. I'll cover her classes today. Let me know when she wakes up, and we'll find out exactly what's been going on. We both need some sleep."
Minerva sighed softly, placing her hand comfortingly on the shoulder of her closest friend. Blue eyes met green ones, and the healer gently dipped her head in agreement.
"Yes, you're right. Though you look like you need it more, Min." Poppy squeezed her friend's hand as Minerva raised an elegant, black eyebrow at the comment before taking one last glance at the curtained-off bed and heading back to her rooms.
Thoughts flooded through Minerva's mind as she unpinned her long, ebony hair, letting it fall softly behind her back. What had happened that had caused Hermione such intensive damage? How had she been caught? What did this mean for the future? She regarded herself in the mirror, sighing at the dark bags under her eyes. She changed into her pyjamas, appreciating the comfort of her soft cotton loungewear, and fell rather ungracefully into bed. Times were getting darker and Minerva closed her eyes, curling up and preparing herself for a long day.
HGMM
Minerva looked across the class of fourth years, all diligently copying her notes from the board. It was the final class of the day, and she had received a note from Poppy half an hour ago, letting her know that Hermione had woken up just after lunch. There was still 10 minutes left of class before Minerva could go and find out exactly what had happened to Hermione Granger last night.
The girl had grown into a formidable witch, and had taken to teaching like a duck to water. The first few months of her being on the staff had been slightly awkward as she settled into the new dynamic of being a colleague instead of a student, but since then Hermione had almost become friends with the iconic Headmistress. If not friends, then certainly friendly acquaintances. Minerva had offered Hermione an apprenticeship straight after she had graduated Hogwarts which had been gracefully declined in lieu of travelling and studying around the world. Minerva had a sneaking suspicion that Hermione had gone to a muggle university and pursued a Ph.D. in a science, but the young woman had never explicitly discussed it with her and it had only been briefly mentioned in her interview. Minerva had hoped that Hermione would eventually pursue a mastery in transfiguration, if not with her then with somebody else who was equally capable. She hadn't seen talent like Hermione's since she herself had begun teaching, and it was clear that the young woman had the potential to become one of the top masters in the discipline.
"Class dismissed," Minerva called out in her clear Scottish brogue, waving her hand to erase the blackboard. She waited until the last student had left the classroom before stepping through an alcove into the teacher's passageway to the Hospital Wing. As she strode through the door, Minerva heard Hermione's voice; she seemed to be having an argument with Poppy.
"No, please, really Poppy I'm fine, I've had enough rest and need to get back to teaching tomorrow. Minerva has enough on as it is, and I'm perfectly capable of working with a few scratches," Hermione said, as she started to get out of the bed, a slight wince passing her face as she swung her legs over the side.
"A few scratches?! Hermione, you have broken a rib that is still healing, you need bed rest! Not to mention the cut on your thigh!" Poppy shrieked, looking over as Minerva came through the door. "Minerva, talk some sense into her, please!"
Hermione started to stand up.
"Where are my robes Poppy, please?" She asked, tugging at the short hospital gown disgustedly. A bandage covered nearly her whole thigh, and there was another bandage across her face, covering the cut that Minerva had witnessed in the early hours of the morning. Hermione's hair was a tangled mess around her face and her eyes were circled with dark rings that betrayed her tiredness. The young professor put her hands on her hips and gave Poppy a look that would have made the seventh year Slytherins quake in their boots.
"Hermione, really, if you're so insistent of going back to teaching so soon after what you've been through, I must admire your determination, but I highly discourage it. And you'll have a hard time hiding that scratch across your face." Minerva sighed, watching her Professor purse her lips.
"Nothing a simple glamour can't cover up, Minerva." Hermione replied succinctly, a flash of Gryffindor determination crossing her face. Hermione swiftly reached up to her cheek, and with a sharp intake of breath ripped the bandage from the skin on her face. With a quick wave of her hand, the angry, stitched up gash that covered Hermione's cheek vanished, replaced by slightly freckled, rosy skin, and her hair seemed to relax into a less tangled, feminine wave that framed her heart-shaped face. The bags around her eyes disappeared, leaving Hermione looking fresh-faced and professional, despite the unflattering hospital gown.
"She's even worse of a patient than you are Minerva!" Poppy cried, "And I assure you Hermione, that is no easy feat!"
Minerva sighed again, a small smile tugged at the corners of her lips as Poppy fussed around Hermione, gently feeling the skin over the young woman's cheek and huffing as Hermione swatted her hands away.
"If you insist, Hermione" Minerva said, "but we need to understand what happened to you last night. Are you alright?"
Concern laced the Headmistress's face as she saw Hermione's annoyance at Poppy's fussing disappear, to be replaced by a guarded expression, evaluating the situation. She watched the young woman's resolve strengthen as she seemed to pull herself together in preparation for a difficult conversation. Her face was almost void of emotion as she slowly sat back down on the bed, her gaze on the floor.
"Perhaps we could get some tea?" Hermione whispered, shrugging her shoulders into the long navy robes Poppy handed to her. She wrapped the robes tightly around her and sat up slightly straighter as both Minerva and Poppy sat in the armchairs beside the bed. A tray of tea and biscuits appeared on the bedside table, and Minerva wordlessly took the teapot and poured three cups, adding splashes of milk to each and two spoonful's of sugar to Poppy's.
Minerva settled her gaze on her former student, who looked directly at her as she said, "Last night I was captured by death eaters. I had gone into Hogsmeade to meet up with Harry for a drink, and they appeared out of nowhere. I tried to fight back, but they completely outnumbered me; I think there were about seven of them. Lucius Malfoy was definitely there, as were the Carrows and, I think, Bellatrix Lestrange." Hermione swallowed. "They took me away somewhere, I don't know where, I was blindfolded and I was… questioned. I don't really remember much of it, to be honest, and I don't think I want to. I don't know why they brought me back here, but they did. I'm just happy I survived really, and would like to get back stuck into teaching as soon as possible. One thing for sure though, Bellatrix Lestrange is still alive."
Hermione looked down at her tea as Minerva studied her face. Something wasn't right. Minerva had looked into Hermione's eyes, and although her words seemed genuine, her face was too emotionless, too devoid of the trauma that she had obviously undergone at the hands of the Death Eaters. There was something Hermione wasn't telling them.
"What did they question you about, Hermione?" Minerva asked gently, placing her hand on top of the younger woman's.
Hermione's gaze flicked back up to the Headmistress, and Minerva thought she could see her mind flashing through possible explanations.
"It's all a bit of a blur really, but definitely Harry and how he'd defeated Voldemort. How Voldemort had survived for so long. I didn't say anything, of course. At least… I don't think I did…" Hermione bit her lip as she trailed off, retreating into her own thoughts.
"It's ok dear, I'm sure you did a marvellous job. And at least you're here now. We're all grateful you got out alive. Why on Earth did they let you go though?" Minerva squeezed Hermione's hand, and felt the woman flinch slightly at the pressure. Minerva's mind raced through possible explanations as to why Hermione was lying, perhaps she had been tortured even more badly than they had initially thought. Perhaps a memory charm? But Hermione seemed to be focussed, it was just her words that disagreed with her almost emotionless face. Her speech sounded sincere, but her expression was disconnected.
"I don't know." Hermione said, eyes flashing with resolve and a strength crossed her face that nearly took Minerva's breath away. "I'd like to start lessons again tomorrow, I'm sorry you had to take over my class today, but I'll be happy to finish the marking for you, Minerva. I'm assuming all the papers are on my desk? Poppy thank you for doing an excellent job of taking care of me, I'll take the salve and apply it as you said. For now though, I'd really appreciate a good nights sleep in my own bed without any fuss. You don't have another dreamless sleep draught, do you Poppy?"
Hermione stood up, without wincing this time, and as Poppy started to protest, Minerva handed her a vial from the shelf by the hospital bed.
"Thank you," Hermione said softly, looking up one last time into Minerva's green eyes which were narrowed in disbelief at Hermione's story. Hermione looked down, almost ashamed of lying to her former favourite professor, and current boss, knowing that she hadn't fooled the Headmistress in the slightest. She would have to be more careful. Hermione steeled herself and strode out of the Hospital Wing without any sign of the pain she must have been feeling due to her recent injuries.
Poppy turned disbelievingly to Minerva, "She can't teach in this state, it's a miracle she can even walk!"
Minerva sighed and looked over at her friend. "Sometimes Poppy, all you want after a difficult mission is to get back into normality and I'm sure that's just what Hermione is doing. She's been through a lot."
Poppy huffed, "I know." Her shoulders sank as she looked into emerald green eyes that had returned to the door that Hermione had just left from. "That poor girl. The fractures along her spine must have been LeStrange's work, it's all too familiar."
"I know." Minerva pursed her lips, "But there's something she's not telling us Poppy. And we need to know so we can sort out this mess. If Bellatrix is growing stronger again, we have to start taking some form of action, and soon before its too late."
Poppy's eyes filled with tears, "It seems to never end, Minerva. They've all given up so much, including you and me. I just don't know how much more there is to give to this damn war."
Minerva stood up and placed a comforting hand on her friend's shoulder, eyes crinkling into a sad smile. "I know my dear, but we can't give up. Hope always shines through, even in the darkest of times. But for the moment, I fear they will only get darker before we can live without fear again."
a/n: Hope you enjoyed, let me know what you guys think!