Chapter 8: A plan
"So you're saying that Minerva told you he was going to die?" asked Rolanda as she couldn't believe her ears.
"Now let's try to remain optimistic here. She said fate would decide, she never said he was going to die." pointed out Madame Pomfrey who seemed like the only optimistic person in the room. Then a moan from Harry disrupted the four in the room. Filius leapt towards the boy first as he wanted to talk to Harry for a long time.
"Is Minerva a banshee?"
"A what?" asked Harry as he still felt dizzy, but then he gasped as he could hear things again. He could hear his voice, and he could hear his professor.
"Please Filius, don't pressure the young lad. He's only woken up and I have to run exams before you can talk to him." interrupted Madame Pomfrey as she stepped in front of Filius.
"Well no matter, we still have to come up with a plan to keep you from dying Filius." sobbed Pomona who was losing hope by the second. Her dear husband's life was ticking before her. Each tick made her heart beat faster with in to the point she thought it might burst.
"No we cannot waste time on my life. I think the most effective plan is to try to get Minerva back to who she was. We can't have a crying Banshee around the place." Filius uttered which caused Harry's mouth to drop. So that was a banshee he saw, but how was that possible? What was a banshee? All he could think of was how ghastly his professor looked. How mystical she was in front of him before she let out that dreadful scream.
"What professor, what do you mean?" interrupted Harry and then Pomona gulped as she remembered Harry was still in the castle.
"We have to get Potter out of here. We can't have him around the school when Minerva is in this state."
"You're right and let's not forget the Order. The Order is here and we can't have them listening to all this" stated Filius but just then Alastor Moody closely followed by Arthur Weasley
"What the bloody hell was that screaming last night? It sounded like a bloody banshee!" roared Mad-Eye. He obviously wasn't in a very good mood, but who could blame him, none of them were. His graying blond hair stood to wits end like he never took care of it. His never-stop-moving-blue eye ball scanned the room as everyone wondered what that eye could actually see. Arthur with his bright red hair stood astute despite how weary he was feeling. He had just gotten conformation that his son Bill had not been transformed into a werewolf.
"It was a banshee Moody, and unfortunately it was Minerva." confessed Poppy as she turned to confront the ex-auror.
"What?" asked Arthur. "How is that possible?"
"We don't know ourselves, but to top it all Severus, the greasy git of a murderer, is back as headmaster." yelled Rolanda. Harry fumed in anger along with Moody and Arthur.
"Impossible, Minerva should have been appointed Headmistress, and everyone knows it!" snapped Mad-eye as his anger didn't improve but only worsened.
"We know, and she did fill in temporarily before she turned of course and then Severus came waltzing in on his high horse." mumbled Rolanda as she was fed up with this as well.
"Well what are we going to do?" asked Mad-Eye. "You must have a plan."
The others looked down at the floor as they looked ashamed before Filius piped up, "No, unfortunately we don't"
"Well let's get to it. We don't have all day. Hogwarts needs its rightful Headmistress back!" barked Mad-Eye as he took charge.
Harry propped himself up from the bed as he felt fine despite the fact that Madame Pomfrey was trying to push him back down. "Sir, I'd like to join in the search as well."
Mad-Eye gave him an all too knowing smile. "Then by all means my boy, join us."
-/-/-
Severus paced back and forth as he's read the children's book over a million times and still he couldn't find an answer. Yes he was going to die, but that didn't matter at the moment. He wanted Minerva back despite the way she had been under his skin since the day he started teaching at Hogwarts, but at the same time she was the only one that made it worthwhile to stay at this miserable place. He respected her and now he needed to save her from this wretched new life.
"Severus you look like you need some help." said an all too familiar voice. Severus whipped around as he looked at awe to see Albus awake in his picture frame.
"You're…You're up."
"Obviously Severus, now what's the problem?"
"Minerva, she's turned into a banshee." Severus answered and he was shocked to see the previous headmaster giggle.
"Hmm, I always joked about her yelling like a banshee, but I never expected her to become one."
"Yes, well she has and I don't know how to change her back."
"I see you have The Tales of Beedle the Bard out. I love that book. Have you found it useful for the situation at hand?"
"No Sir, I've read it more than I can count, and I haven't." confessed Severus. Dumbledore just sighed and looked at Severus with his twinkling blue eyes.
"Well then Severus, you haven't read it enough."
"What?" asked the new headmaster outraged. He had read the bloody book a thousand times and still he didn't find anything useful.
"You heard me Severus, you haven't got the concept."
"Enlighten me." Severus responded dryly.
"The Banshee is a woman who is troubled and mournful. She feels as if she can't go on as she warns others of their misfortune that will happen in the future."
"Yes I got that part."
"You haven't gotten it all Severus. Why is Minerva so troubled? What has caused her to such distress that deemed fit for as banshee?"
Severus snorted as the answer was obvious. "Because you died obviously."
"Not quite. She has loomed over Hogwarts and I imagine she's visited my grave many times. She has faced the truth that I have died, but she hasn't faced what truly is upsetting her. They say that the person must confront what troubles them before they can move on."
"Aren't they just prudent?" Severus replied sarcastically as the old coot wasn't helping him.
"Why Severus, isn't it apparent now that Minerva is being troubled by something else? You must go to her Severus. Find out what is wrong and then have her face it. Only then will she be back to her normal self, but you must act quickly. A banshee's life span isn't a very long one as the delicate creatures can only bare the burden for so long before they pass it on." Dumbledore's wise words cut through Severus like daggers as he had finally got it. How stupid of him? The answer was so simple and yet it had slipped his mind.
"Go to her Severus." was the late headmaster's final words before Severus was out the door once again. He knew where to find her and he was going to find her.
-/-/-
"So you think we'll find her out here?" asked Rolanda as she stepped over an uprooted decaying tree.
"It's so dark and gloomy here." pointed out Pomona as she went deeper into the forbidden forest.
"Exactly, and it's where a Banshee would want to be during the day. It gives her shade and darkness so she can dwell in her misery in piece. Not many things can disturb her in the darkness and there for she will find shelter here. Plus it will be easier for us to get her during the day where she has less ground to run. At night she has the whole bloody damn place to run while here she only has the shaded parts." explained Mad-Eye as he navigated through the dense forest despite the fact that he had a wooden leg.
Mad-Eye had created a small search party to catch Minerva. There were the three heads of the houses, Arthur Weasley, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Rolanda Hooch, and Harry Potter. It was a good group he thought. All were well equipped and ready for Minerva if she cried. They had their wands out and ready with protective charms over their ears.
They kept on going deeper and deeper into the Forbidden Forest as they tried to keep on the path, but it got harder as the light from the sun had been diminishing. They had to light up their wands in order to see.
"This is getting us nowhere." announced Arthur.
"Agreed, I say we split up. We'll cover more ground if we do. Teachers in one group Order in the other. Send up red sparks if you're in trouble and green if you've found her alright?" ordered Mad-Eye and they all nodded in agreement. They then split their ways as the teachers went to the right as the Order members went to the Left.
What seemed like half an hour of searching Harry thought he saw something glowing. He swiftly spun his head around as behind a thick clump of brambles he thought he saw her. He slowly inched farther so he could peer through the cracks and there she was. She was in what looked like a little den made from a pile of large sticks and dead tree limbs. She still had an unearthly white glow as she was rolled up in a fetal position. Her pale face was stained with dried tears as she seemed at peace for once with the world sleeping for what looked like could be a million years.
"Psst…Moody, I've found her. She's sleeping." whispered Harry to Mad-Eye as he indicated him to where he was. Kingsley and Mad-Eye quickly made their way to Harry. They peered through the crevices of the little hovel and saw the new Minerva. They were in awe of how mystical and beautiful she looked. How could she be an omen?
"We have to find a way in." said Kingsley as he started to look around.
"Sir, I was just wondering, and this might be a bad time to ask-"
"Then don't." grumbled Mad-Eye to Harry.
"I was just wondering what we're going to do once we've got her, and how're we getting her. Are we stupefying her?" Harry asked.
"I don't know, but we'll find out as time goes on." Mad-Eye answered as he looked for an opening as well. He smiled as he saw a small entrance. As he looked more closely at Minerva's shelter it reminded him more of an igloo. Kingsley shot the green sparks and then he and Harry crept silently inside while Moody waited outside.
"Should we wake her?" asked Harry. "Or do we levitate her out?"
"I don't know, Moody never said what to do, but I don't want to wake her to have her screaming. I guess we'll just levitate her." Kingsley decided and he moved in closer towards her with Harry close behind.
"Crack" Harry looked wide eyed from beneath his foot as it stepped on a twig. Kingsley whipped his head around as he glared at Harry, but Harry was too busy focusing on the now awake Minerva.
"Ah…Kingsley, I don't think levitating her is an option anymore." stated Harry as Kingsley and him were knocked off their feet and sent flying against the wall of the wooden structure. The structure soon started to tremble under the sudden collision and collapsed. Minerva was fuming as she still was very much powerful. You could feel the power of her wrath in the air as sudden new breeze swept through her hair and new white robes. She looked more spiritual in front of them than ever before. She let out a terrible scream as her head flew back. Everyone had to cover their ears. Yes there were protective walls against their ears but Harry could feel the walls tremble as they were tempted to fall. It seemed like the whole forest shook beneath them from the disturbance in the air.
"Someone bloody hell shut her up!" yelled Mad-Eye, but no silencing charm would work on her. No spell was victorious as Mad-Eye had sent a red beam of light at her, but she didn't falter. The beam was reflected by what looked like a faint protective shield that surrounded her. The other four arrived just after as they dodged the red beam that had been reflected.
"It would have helped if they mentioned her shield in the books." Rolanda scoffed.
"Now's not the time Ro." reprimanded Pomona as they regained their balance to face Minerva. Minerva now had more of a frightened and defensive look than a scornful one. Harry could see it in her glowing eyes and she stopped screaming. That was a cue for the others to start firing at her. Each spell they shot only got reflected and her eyes only read more fear and more of the old Minerva was slipping as the new one took its course.
"Stop!" yelled Harry to everyone, but no one ceased. Soon Minerva fled from the scene.
Mad-Eye watched their prey as he said, "She's on the run, move!" The rest automatically followed her though she was fast. Her feet touched the forest ground only for a second as she sprinted through the Forbidden Forest. Her glowing aura wasn't helping her as they could see her gracefully move. She dipped and dodged through the brambles with ease while the others had more difficulty in the unfamiliar new territory.
"Ah to hell with this!" roared Mad-Eye as he blasted away anything that came his way making his path towards her less difficult. Her hair flew widely through the wind as she ran, but soon her feet stopped. She was coming towards the light, the dreadful light of day. She found herself hissing with displeasure as she made her way back, but she couldn't unless she ran into the others.
"We've got her, c'mon and hurry up!" ordered Moody with triumph, but this wasn't over yet. Minerva's glowing eyes darted from left to right as she saw how many there were and where they were. Moody could see the wheels turning in her mind as he wondered what she could do as a Banshee. She let out another blood curdling scream throwing her head back. Moody smirked as he thought it was a futile attempt since they had charms to protect themselves, but just then he felt her scream force through his barriers he had created around his ears. They forced to knock them down. This couldn't be happening. He had made sure this wouldn't happen, but it did. Soon they all found themselves at mercy of Minerva's wails for it had broken down the barriers. They found themselves powerless and writhing in pain. A dark warm liquid slipped through the tightly clasped fingers that were around their ears. It was undeniably blood. Harry had found himself loose conscious along with the others.
Minerva's screech had come to an end as she looked satisfied at her pursuers. They were now all unconscious and she was safe. Soon the old Minerva's thoughts came back to her as the Banshee one had slid away. She had regained her self-control and realized what she had done. Minerva slowly walked up to the closest person which was Harry, her pupil. Why did he come after her when he had already been in the situation once before. She felt horrible that she had done this to the Order, to her friends. Albus certainly wouldn't be pleased about this Minerva thought, but then a faint sound of crushing dry leaves brought her back. Her head whipped around to see a new advancing dark figure coming towards her. She wanted to let out a scream, but she feared she would only cause more damage to her friends so she kept her mouth shut and ran for it.
She ran back into the dark depths of the forest only to hear the figure close behind. Who was this person, and what did he or she want with her? Surely it wasn't another Order member or was it? Either way she wasn't stopping to find out as she continued to run. Minerva then surprised and shocked she felt something slither around her feet as it entangled her. It tripped her up as she felt herself plummeting to the hard forest ground where her head collided with a root from a tree. She saw little red spots all around until she saw nothing but darkness.
Author's note: Hoped you enjoyed and sorry for the big delay. Was figuring out what to write. Hehe...well your reviews are always welcomed and as always I wish you well. ;)
