June 1943
When Ro awoke the next morning in a bed in the Hospital Wing, it took her a couple of moments to decide if the events of the previous evening had been real or not. She, Minerva and the two Slytherins Orion and Olive had been taken to the Hospital Wing to spend the rest of the night rather than going back to the Great Hall, as Professor Dippet hadn't wanted to disturb any of the other students.
Minerva was still asleep on the bed to her left, but the beds that had been occupied by Olive and Orion were both empty making Ro think they'd already gone back to the Great Hall. On her other side was a long row of beds that Ro had refused to look at. She'd caught a glimpse of them when entering the Wing, and her blood had run cold upon seeing the unnatural positions that the people lying on the beds were in. They were the people who had been petrified; a couple were almost totally hunched over and nearly all of them had hands extended into the air. Ro's stomach clenched every time she accidentally looked towards them, knowing full well that one of them was Poppy, so kept her back firmly to that end of the ward.
In the bed opposite, deathly quiet and still, was Professor Merrythought. She had been all but carried by Professor Dippet and Professor Dumbledore after her ordeal, too weak and disorientated to even stand. As none of them still had any idea what had been responsible for removing her hand, deciding what potions were necessary to treat her had been quite a challenge for the combined efforts of Madame Quinine and Professor Slughorn. Ro had lost count of how many different ointments were applied to her wrist before Madame Quinine bandaged it with a flick of her wand, and then she had been given a Dreamless Sleep potion which had her unconscious within seconds.
Quieter than a ghost, Ro carefully got out of bed and tiptoed over to Professor Merrythought's bed. She looked pretty much the same as she'd done last night, although due to the excessive amount of blood that had been spilled over her robes they'd been disposed of and she was now wearing a white hospital gown. Her hat had been removed so her dark grey hair spilled out over her pillow, and her face looked absolutely lifeless. This was what unnerved Ro the most; she was so used to seeing Professor Merrythought beaming joyfully that her blank expression was just as bad as the heavily bandaged arm which lay across her chest.
"How are you feeling Miss Hooch?" asked Madame Quinine behind her.
Ro turned to give the elderly matron a small smile. "I'm ok thank you. Is Professor Merrythought any better?"
Madame Quinine sighed as she walked around Ro to stand at Professor Merrythought's bedside. "Her condition is neither better nor worse, which is not surprising given her age, but I am confident she will make a full recovery. But her hand I can do little for."
"How old is Professor Merrythought?" Ro asked, looking back at the Professor. She certainly didn't look old, despite her greying hair, making it almost impossible to tell her age.
Madame Quinine chuckled as she dampened Professor Merrythought's forehead with a cool cloth. "Well if I say she was a first-year here at Hogwarts when I was in seventh-year, and that she taught both Professor Dumbledore and Professor Slughorn, does that give you any indication?"
Ro looked incredulously at Madame Quinine, her tired mind trying to process what that would mean. She was saved from answering by the Hospital Wing door swinging open, and Professor Dumbledore striding in.
"Professor Dumbledore?" Madame Quinine handed the cloth to Ro, who kept dabbing Professor Merrythought's forehead, before wiping her hands on her apron and approaching him. "Is there anything I can do for you?"
"I've come to collect Miss Hooch and Miss McGonagall, if they are awake. There has been a development that I think they would like to know about." Ro frowned at the seriousness in Dumbledore's voice- whatever this development was it was hardly likely to be anything good.
Madame Quinine gave Ro a long look before turning back to Professor Dumbledore. "You can take Miss Hooch, but Miss McGonagall needs her rest. She was very shocked after the events of last night, and I don't want her disturbed." With a nod to Professor Dumbledore she bustled away down the Wing, leaving Ro to pull her outer robe over her pyjamas and follow Professor Dumbledore down to the Great Hall.
The scene when they arrived was unusually, unnervingly quiet. Students were sat in small groups on their beds, most with sombre expressions and teary eyes, especially from the Ravenclaw dominated corner of the Great Hall. Practically everyone was still wearing their night clothes including the teachers who were walking around in dressing gowns and wonky hats, occasionally pausing to talk to a student before continuing their patrols. Ro picked up her pace as she ran through the beds to where she had been sleeping, to find Septima and Irma huddled together on the bottom bed of their bunk. Septima had her face buried her hands and Irma had her hand around Septima's shoulders, but they both looked up as Ro approached.
"I... I guess you've been told then." Ro said hesitantly as she sat down on Irma's other side.
Irma nodded blankly. "Professor Dippet announced it this morning. Is everybody alright?"
"Yeah," Ro said, though in truth she still felt a little too shaken to be considered alright. "Min was just pretty shocked, but Professor Merrythought's in a bad way. Madame Quinine said she'll recover, but her hand's gone for good."
The news set Septima off crying again, sniffing into a handkerchief that Irma fished out of her dressing gown pocket. After whispering something into Septima's ear, Irma turned back to Ro and said bluntly "They've found a suspect."
Ro's interest piqued, thinking that must have been the development that Professor Dumbledore had mentioned when in the Hospital Wing. Out of instinct she thought it must be a Slytherin, but knowing how Irma had suffered for that general opinion she just asked "Did they say who?"
"No. We'll be told when they're convinced they've got the right person." Irma shook her head, pulling Septima towards her slightly as she let out a small sob. "But apparently if they can't guarantee the attacks will stop, the Ministry of Magic might-" she paused for a moment as her voice wobbled, inhaling deeply before continuing "-have to close Hogwarts down for good."
Ro could only stare numbly. Hogwarts had been a central point in her life since she could remember- her eldest brother Kurtis being 12 years older than she meant that his graduation was one of her earliest memories. The idea of the school not being there anymore was hard to even imagine; Ro shook her head stubbornly and said "But they can't!"
Irma shrugged. "But they can," she said with an attempt at a careless attitude, though it wasn't hard for Ro to tell how much the situation was hurting her. She was unsure how to console Irma, who usually kept herself so distant from everyone else and concealed her emotions almost perfectly. In attempt to be comforting Ro placed a hand on her knee, relieved when she didn't move away.
They both looked up as Professor Dippet's magnified voice rang out across the Great Hall. "Please can I have everybody's attention. All Gryffindor students are required to assemble back in their Common Room, where Professor Dumbledore will make an announcement to you separately."
"I wonder what that's about." Irma said, glancing at Ro as she stood up and took a deep breath.
"I guess I'm about to find out." Ro muttered, giving Irma half a smile which she returned with a grateful expression.
Septima lifted her head from Irma's handkerchief and rubbed her eyes with her sleeve. "Good luck," she said to Ro with a brittle voice, resting her head on Irma's shoulder. Ro nodded in thanks before turning and following the other Gryffindors out of the Great Hall.
As she fell in step beside Larry Spencer-Moon, bringing up the rear of the Gryffindor Party, Ro couldn't help noticing that the deathly still atmosphere in the Hall had reached the corridors too. The people in the paintings lining the walls who could usually be heard chattering quietly all through the day had fallen quiet, merely watching as the students headed up the stairs to the Common Room.
It was strange to see the Fat Lady again and to climb through the portrait hole after two weeks away. When the Gyffindors gathered in a rough half-circle around the fireplace, they were greeted by Professor Dumbledore and a man who, in Ro's opinion, looked strikingly like an older version of Larry. Minerva was already in the Common Room, and when Ro caught her eye she pushed through the crowd to stand with her and Larry.
"Good morning to you all." The man started, though from his tone of voice Ro could tell it was going to be anything but a good morning. "In case any of you are unaware of who I am, my name is Leonard Spencer-Moon and I am the current Minister for Magic.
Ro looked towards Larry with a raised eyebrow; he leaned over and whispered in her ear "My father!"
Professor Dumbledore stepped forward to stand beside Spencer-Moon. "This news will be announced to all the Houses together when we return to the Hall, but the Minister and I felt that as the news is likely to be a shock to you most of all, it was fair if you were told first."
"The reason I have asked your Head of House to bring you all here is that the person responsible for the attacks on students which have been plaguing the corridors of Hogwarts for the past 5 months has been revealed." Relieved sighs could be heard from nearly every Gryffindor, but they were silenced instantly when Spencer-Moon continued "But it troubles me greatly to inform you that it was one of your own ranks."
Silence met his words; the only sound Ro could hear was the pounding of her heart that rang loudly in her ears. She looked frantically around the Common Room trying to see who was missing, but with every Gryffindor squashed together it was hard to tell different people apart. That was until she realised that the absentee was the one Hogwarts Student who could never blend into the crowd, always sticking out over everybody else by at least 2 feet. But it couldn't, she thought, it just couldn't be who she was thinking of.
Spencer-Moon paused for a moment, allowing his words to sink in. "Another student came to Professor Dippet's office this morning while we were meeting with Miss Warren's bereaved parents, to inform me that this student has been illegally raising a dangerous creature within the castle."
Ro's heart was racing as Professor Dumbledore said "Although the Actomantula responsible for the attacks on our students and Professor Merrythought has escaped, Rubeus Hagrid has been expelled from Hogwarts and forbidden from practising magic."
In contrast to the stunned silence that had filled the Common Room, it was clear that nearly everyone was furious about Professor Dumbledore's verdict. "Hagrid would never do such a thing!" roared Edgar Maurice, and several people shouted their agreement. The only person who looked satisfied was Shirley Miller, who was whispering to another second-year something that sounded to Ro like "Finally we have justice for Ernest, Marilyn, and Poppy!"
Professor Dumbledore's wand emitted a loud whistling sound that made Ro, Minerva and several others clamp their hands over their ears. Before the noise could start up again, Professor Dumbledore said "I know this is quite unexpected, but you must all understand how we were forced to take immediate action or we faced having our beloved school closed down."
"But Professor Dumbledore," objected Fleamont Potter, "what makes you so sure that the Acromantula is responsible if none of us saw the attacker?"
"Minerva saw Professor Merrythought get attacked, ask her!" an unknown voice shouted, and Ro felt Minerva stiffen next to her as every eye in the room turned towards her.
"Well, Miss McGonagall?" Professor Dumbledore prompted as she stood speechless.
Minerva swallowed before shakily saying "I was there, but my glasses had been knocked off. Everything was blurred, so all I saw was a dark shadow."
"But the signs we have do fit," Mr Spencer-Moon loudly called out over the disappointed groans. "Professor Merrythought was attacked by a very venomous creature, and the antidote to the venom was phoenix tears. Both of these factors are traits typical of an Acromantula, as is the liking for human flesh. I am convinced that the culprit has been caught and there will be no more attacks."
Nothing more that any of the Gryffindor students said would sway either Spencer-Moon or Professor Dumbledore, so it was with an overwhelming sense of disbelief that the Gryffindor students left the Common Room and returned to the Great Hall. Another week of sleeping in the Hall and being escorted everywhere followed, before the students were finally allowed to return to their Common Rooms.
With the threat of attack apparently over, the general thought was now how long it would be before the petrified victims would be revived. Poppy's disappearance was more noticeable than ever now that Ro had to see her empty bed multiple times each day, and the same could be said for the other two petrified Gryffindors. As the end of June drew closer, Ro still held on to Professor Merrythought's promise that the Mandrake Restorative Draught would be available quickly. She too hadn't been seen out of the Hospital Wing since the fateful night, but Professor Dumbledore was happy to give updates on her progress whenever Ro asked him.
Hagrid's absence had left a huge hole in the House too. Nearly every Gryffindor was unconvinced that he was responsible for the attacks, but the majority of the school just seemed to be glad that there was someone to blame. This was especially the case regarding most of the Slytherin students; although Irma agreed that accusing Hagrid was likely to be unjust, whenever Ro encountered a Slytherin in the corridors they could usually be heard making some sort of jibe against Gryffindor House.
"I bet the Gryffindors can't believe that while they were all accusing us of the attacks, one of them was the traitor!" Druella Rosier sniggered behind Ro and Minerva as the first-year Gryffindors and Slytherins left the History of Magic classroom. Abraxas, Owle and Apollyon laughed loudly in response, and Ro gripped the handle of her bag tighter to prevent herself from hexing them.
"Ignore them," Minerva whispered in her ear and she nodded, though her teeth were still gritted.
"Though I suppose it's no surprise the half-breed was responsible," Druella continued loudly, "I don't know why Professor Dippet let him in here in the first place, to me it's obvious he would cause trouble."
"But I guess other people just don't understand how important purity is, Druella," Abraxas chimed in, "If the oaf had been using that creature intentionally, he would have had the right idea. There are too many mudbloods plaguing this school, if I'd known I might have gone to Durmstrang instead."
It took a great deal of self control for Ro to keep herself from whipping out her wand. She was distracted though by another voice shouting behind them, and Ro ground to an abrupt halt when she realised the voice belonged to Irma. They were right in front of a staircase, but thankfully the corridors were all but empty.
"Don't you have anything better to do than picking on people you've nothing to do with?" Irma snapped, walking swiftly past the Slytherins to stand by Ro and Minerva.
Druella let out a malicious laugh as Abraxas, Owle and Apollyon sneered at Irma. "How dare you talk back at us, muggle-lover! The child of a mudblood and a blood traitor, you're a disgrace to the noble house of Black!"
Ro's vision blurred slightly, leaving her feeling disorientated, which wasn't helped by the fact that everyone around her let out shouts of surprise. Regaining her senses she was shocked to discover that the large window they had been stood next to bore a large crack right through the centre, and there were shards of glass on the floor from where Minerva's glasses had shattered.
"She tried to curse us!" Druella screamed, pointing an accusing finger at Ro as she, Abraxas, Owle and Apollyon all backed away. "She tried to-"
"That will be enough, thank you Miss Rosier." Said a stern voice, and Ro tore her gaze from the cracked window to see Professor Merrythought walking slowly down the stairs. Her left arm was wrapped up in a sling, but with that exception she appeared to be fully recovered. "I will not accept these prejudiced terms being used at this school; that will be 20 points from Slytherin House. Now, I expect you have somewhere to be?"
Druella nodded dully, turning around and continuing down the corridor with Abraxas, Owle and Apollyon beside her.
"Apparently she's retiring at the end of term- she could match Kettleburn now with that limb missing." Owle could just be heard saying, and Professor Merrythought's face contorted in fury.
"And that will be a further 20 points for being inexcusably rude to a member of staff!" she shouted behind them, though they gave no indication that they had heard her.
"I'm really sorry," Ro broke the silence that had descended, her mind seeming to fall apart for a moment as she looked back at the window. She had been very prone to attacks of accidental magic as a young child, but since coming to Hogwarts she hadn't once lost control of her magic yet. "I thought I'd stopped doing that, I'm sorry, I'm really sorry-"
She was interrupted by Professor Merrythought crouching down to place a comforting hand on her. "You were angry, Rolanda, this is just something that can happen." She said as she leaned back to look Ro in the eye. "It doesn't make you weak, not in the slightest."
Ro nodded, taking a few deep breaths before giving Professor Merrythought a shaken smile.
"Now let's fix this up, shall we?" Professor Merrythought said, pulling her wand out of the pocket of her robes. She waved it around, and without needing an incantation the glass began returning to Minerva's glasses and the damage in the window slowly began to fade.
As the repairing charm worked, Ro reached out and touched Irma's wrist. "You alright?" she asked, concerned that the string of insults Druella had thrown her way had hurt her more than she was willing to show.
Irma nodded curtly, though didn't meet Ro's eyes. Clearly keen to change the subject, she instead looked at Professor Merrythought and said "Is it true you're retiring, Professor Merrythought?"
Professor Merrythought laughed. "Goodness me, no! Contrary to what you may have been told-" she paused to wink at Ro "-I've got a good few years left in me yet. Not to mention that Professor Beery is undecided whether he wishes to return next term, and we can only afford to lose one teacher at the most."
She stepped backwards onto the first stair that led upstairs, beckoning for Ro, Minerva and Irma to follow her. "I'm glad I found you three here actually," she said, a smile widening on her face as she glanced at each of them in turn, "there's someone in my office who's very eager to see you!"
Author's Note:
Another long chapter, I must work on shortening these up a little xD
it is absolutely infuriating how little sense everyone had when they expelled Hagrid. In my opinion it is obvious that he and Aragog weren't responsible, but I'm presuming they were desperate to just find someone so that the school wouldn't,t have to be closed. This will be explored more in the next chapter.
I know someone suggested looking at Irma's reaction to this in a review of the last chapter, and as she's one of my favourite characters now I was very happy to comply. It's funny really, she wasn't even in my first notes of this story but she's a firm favourite to write now! As for her family, more will be revealed as time goes by.
Professor Merrythought's age is canon compliant- about 70 years old. But as the wizarding life expectancy is so high (it was 137ish in the 2010s, and if we're assuming life expectancy of wizards and muggles has increased at the same rate it would be about 120 in the 1940s) she's still technically middle aged.
Leonard Spencer-Moon is also canon compliant, I've just given him a son. As I may have said before, Larry will become a more important character from second year onwards.