Minerva woke in the early hours of the morning in her sixth year. She was sweating, she was cold, and she had a huge headache. She tried to sleep again, but after many attempts, sleep just wouldnt come back to her, however exausted she was. Ill go for a walk, she thought, then I might be able to sleep again.

She got out of bed, and she realised she was unsteady on her feet. Im getting sick, she thought, horrified. It was a good thing she was best friends with a girl who wanted to be a healer. Minerva made her way outof the common room and into the dark, cold, staircase. Shivering, she descended the stairs until she reached the main floor. Making her way out into the cool air, the landscape infront of her looked like a painting. The reflection of the moon was glistening in the lake, the forbidden forest extending over the hills, and the stars twinkling above her. Even if she was cold, she liked to come out here at night, because it looked so beautiful, and what was good was that she was always alone. It was her own place where she could go at night and noone would find her.

After walking around a little bit, she noticed her headache became increasingly worse, and she felt slightly dizzy. Oh dear, I hope I can make it back to the castle,she thought. So, slowly, she left the peaceful, cold outdoors and retreated to the castle. On her way, she got increasingly dizzy, so when she managed to get inside the castle walls, she had to hold onto them to stop herself from falling. It didnt help, so she sat down, leaning her hot skin on the cold felt good, but it made her shiver more. She felt a drip of moisture fall from her head and she heard it drip onto the floor which echoed off the walls. She sat there for a while, and closed her eyes to try and get rid of the dizziness. It didnt work, so when she heard footsteps coming down the hall, she tried to stay hidden, she didnt want anyone to find her.

However, someone did find her. Her head of house, Albus Dumbledore, walked up to her, knelt down beside her.
"Miss McGonagall?" He asked, concerned.
"Professor Dumbledore." She whispered with closed eyes. "I dont feel good."
"I can see that." He said, sympathetically. "We are going to the hospital wing."
"No." She shook her head slightly. "Its so nice here."
"You cant stay here all night." He said, pulling her to her feet. He realised that her knees just gave way as he tried to make her stand, so he lowered her back down to her seating position on the floor. She just curled up, bringing her knees to her chest and putting her head between them.
"Dont feel good." She whispered again, and a violent shiver over took her body once more. A tear escaped her eye and Albus wiped it away, frowning at how warm her skin was. He decided he would pick her up and take her to the hospital wing. Taking her in his arms, he realised how awful she must be feeling. She radiated a lot of heat, and he could hear her whimpering quietly.
"Ssh, Ms McGonagall. Sleep." and in the gentle rocking of his arms, the girl fell asleep.

On arrival at the hospital wing, Minerva was still shivering in her sleep. Albus put her on the closest bed and tucked her in before going to fetch, Theresa Pomfrey, the current mediwitch.
"Theresa." Albus called to her office. The door was thrown open by the mediwitch, who was always alert, whatever the time of night.
"Whats wrong Albus?" She said.
"I have Minerva McGonagall. Found her just inside the main entrance sitting against the walls."
"Where is she?"
"On the bed near the door." Albus said, holding the door open for the mediwitch.
"Oh dear." She said, taking in the girls sickly appearance. "I think its the flu."
"I thought so." Albus said, sepping back, letting the mediwitch take a closer look. She pulled out her wand and waved it over the girl, causing a small piece of parchment to appear out of the end of the wand.
"Its the flu alright." She frowned. "Headache, fever of 41 degrees, dizzy, aching muscles."
"41?" He repeated. "Thats very high."
"Yes, we need to bring it down." She said and bustled off and came back with a fever reducer. She spelled it directly into the girls stomach, and she visibly relaxed. She waved her wand over her again.
"Its gone down now." She said. "38.9. It will continue to go up and down for the next few days, but she will get better within the next week."
"Thats good then." Albus replied. "I think its time we both got some rest."
"Yes. Good idea." She replied. "I will put a charm on her that will tell me when anything changes during the night."
"Ok. Goodnight Theresa."
"Goodnight Albus."

Both went to their beds and Theresa hoped she would not be woken. The poor girl needed rest. However, after sleeping for an hour, Theresa was woken and told that Minerva's temperature had risen again, and she was currently having a fever induced nightmare. Rushing out of bed, Theresa arrived at Minerva's bedside to see the girl thrashing around.
"Minerva, you are fine, you are safe at Hogwarts." She soothed. She still didnt wake. She decided to shake her gently. "Minerva." Her eyes then shot open, and she began to cry. "You are safe at Hogwarts."
"Madam Pomfrey." She said, and lifted her hand to wipe her eyes. "My head hurts." She sobbed.
"I know, dear. I cant give you any potions so soon." However, she conjured a wet cold cloth and applied it to her forehead.
"Thank you." Minerva said.
"Try and rest." Theresa said. "You will feel better soon."
"Okay." Minerva said, and turned over and closed her eyes.
"Feel better soon." Theresa said, soothing the girl.

The end