Disclaimer: J.K.Rowling is the creator and true owner of the characters of Hogwarts and the wizarding world, and no infringement of copyright is intended. I'm just playing with them for my own amusement; no money is being made.

Warnings:Slash Folks!

Written by Morganlefay1958 and Calanor

Honor

Chapter 35

Progress and Plans

Minerva dismissed her last class, and sat at her desk rubbing her hands over her face. She was exhausted. Busy schedules, exams, restless students, getting ready for the Hols and the trip to Italy, and worrying about Petunia and the boys. It had taken its toll on her, and on the others. Thank goodness everything had been moving relatively well. They'd had to sidestep Albus a few times, but they'd managed. He just thought it was end of term stress and eagerness for the holiday to start.

She sighed heavily and cast a spell to clear her desk, drawers opening and closing, and all parchments, books and quills stowing themselves for the night. Papers needing to be marked marking zoomed into her satchel, and the lesson tools stowed themselves in the cabinets at the back of the room. Once she was sure everything was locked, she exited the classroom, the door locking automatically behind her.

She walked to the Staff Lounge and Floo'd to the Hospital Wing. Stepping out of the fire, she brushed the soot from her robes. Poppy looked up from the parchments and books on her desk, smiling.

'Hello, Gràdh. Long day?' She tipped her face up as Minerva leaned down to press a kiss to her lips.

'Yes, very long. As if it would never end.' She sat in the chair near the desk with a relieved sigh. She spelled her shoes off and flexed her toes as she rotated her ankles. 'How is our patient doing?'

Poppy cast 'Privacio', and a locking charm on her office door, before answering. 'She is doing much better, with almost a week of total bed rest, she is finally able to ingest clear soups and soft foods. Her bruises have almost cleared, and she is able to move with only discomfort rather than pain. Tomorrow I will go and help her start some exercises to get her mobile again.'

'How is she faring emotionally?'

Poppy closed the book she had been referencing, and laid down her quill. 'Arabella says she has been crying quite a bit, but only, when the boys cannot see it. It alarms them. It seems they have seen her cry too many times in the past.'

'Understandable.'

'It seems the boys, and the cats have been sneaking into the bedroom. When Arabella checks on her, she is not alone. The boys and several of the cats are usually asleep in the bed with her. Ironically, after that started, Petunia began to rest better. She's even smiled once or twice.'

'It's a good sign. It means she won't shy away from touch.'

'Hopefully. But, she will have a long road to travel to get past everything she has been through. Are all the arrangements made for them to accompany us to Italy?'

Minerva stretched and rubbed the back of her neck. 'I received an owl from Luisa this morning. Everything is taken care of. The Covenant will move Petunia and the boys, erasing thier trail behind them. They will arrive as we do, just not with us.'

'Oh, that's a relief.'

'Ach! Bugger it!' Minerva exclaimed as she rubbed her neck again. 'I can't get this knot out of my neck!' Poppy smirked as she watched Minerva stand and walk away from the desk. A moment later, a large grey tabby stood where her mate had been. It meowed at her, then proceeded to stretch. First she arched her back and her tail stiffened and trembled as she stretched that too. Then, she dropped her front to the floor, her hindquarters in the air and stretched her back and body out as long as she could get it. She ended by stretching each back leg, then sitting down primly to wash her face and paws.

Poppy chuckled uncontrollably as she watched. She never tired of watching her Kitten do this. In a blink of an eye, her mate was back, standing loose and rotating her head.

'Ahhh, much better,' she purred as she dropped back into the chair.

'You know love, I could have rubbed that knot out for you,' Poppy said, with a raised eyebrow and a twinkle in her eye, as she continued to chuckle at her mate's antics.

'Why do you think I change so often in class? If I didn't, I'd be a mass of knots by the end of the day.'

'I know, and my offer would still stand…' Poppy winked at her as she charmed her desk clear. Waving her wand, she cancelled the Privacy spell and unlocked the door. 'Currently, the Hospital Wing is blessedly empty. Shall we go to dinner before I get called away?'

'That sounds like a wonderful idea. I'm ready for a cup of tea—or several.' Minerva rose as Poppy came around the desk, and stopped in front of her, wrapping her arms around Minerva's waist. Poppy leaned in and brushed her lips against Minerva's.

'Do you have any detentions tonight?'

'Hmmm…no.' Minerva kissed her back. 'Do you have plans?'

Poppy just smiled evilly and pulled Minerva in for a deep kiss, nibbling her bottom lip as she broke away. Minerva was smirking at her with a raised eyebrow. Poppy stepped back, releasing her mate and exited the office. Minerva followed, and they talked quietly as they entered the hallway.

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As Vernon Dursley entered the house, he dropped his keys on the table in the hall before hauling his considerable bulk up the stairs to his bedroom. The house was quiet, so he assumed Petunia must be out on one of her walks with the boys. She was probably visiting that odd little old woman over on Wisteria Walk again. No matter, he would just leave her a note. He'd try to call her when he got to New York—if he remembered. Scribbling a note, he dropped it on the table and grabbed his keys and suitcase, exiting the house. The door slammed loudly behind him, causing several curtains in neighbouring windows to be pushed aside. Tyres squealed as he pulled out of the driveway and sped off down the street. Inside the house, the note he'd thrown on the table fluttered to the floor and disappeared under the grandfather clock.

As soon as Vernon's car disappeared around the corner, a small lorry approached the house at 4 Privet Drive, and pulled up into the driveway. The Bright Shine Cleaning Service workers exited the lorry and walked to the stoop, knocking on the door. After a moment the door opened and the men entered, carrying their cleaning supplies. Two more workers exited the back of the van and began cleaning the exterior windows. Once the windows were finished, the men entered the house. Approximately an hour later, the two men and two women exited the house, carrying the cleaning supplies and 4 rubbish bags. It was approaching dusk, so the exterior light was turned on. They loaded everything into the lorry, climbed in, and left. Their activities were duly noted by several of the Dursley's neighbours.

The van travelled four blocks and pulled into an alleyway. Five minutes later, a parcel delivery truck exited the same alley and drove to the Figg residence, on Wisteria Walk. The driver exited the van with an armload of large parcels and was met at the door by Mrs. Figg. She signed for them and held the door open so he could place them inside for her. As he exited, she stopped him and handed him a bag of her freshly baked chocolate mint biscuits. He smiled as he thanked her, entered the truck and proceeded to his next destination.

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Petunia Dursley sat in a charmed chair that moved her from room to room as needed. She was not strong enough to walk unaided yet. Though Poppy had been coming by for a couple days to supervise her therapy, and adjust her potions, she was still weak, and her sense of balance was still off. Currently she was sitting with Bella and the boys, by the fire. A once-crisply ironed handkerchief was being twisted between her hands, as she spoke quietly to Arabella about her less than blissful marriage to Vernon. Her face was tear-stained and her nose was red, as Dudley and Harry climbed into her lap, to wrap their arms around her neck and place sloppy little toddler kisses on her face until she started to laugh. Their goal accomplished, they climbed back down and settled near her feet, playing with the cats again.

A knock on the door prompted Arabella to peek through the front curtains, then excuse herself before leaving the room. Artemus and Cornelius walked nonchalantly over to the hall and sat down, watching. Petunia could hear her speaking with a man. A few minutes later, she reentered the room with a smile on her face.

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Jonas Wylie stood by the doors to the Great Hall waiting for Hannah McConnaughy, the Seventh Year Slytherin assigned to chaperone him this week. She was exchanging post addresses with one of the Ravenclaws. Bezoar licked his cheek, sensing his impatience. Jonas had an essay to finish and spells to practice. He wanted to get that book from the library before it was too late.

'Hannah…' Jonas called, pleadingly. She had taken good care of him all week, but he far preferred the boys. They didn't get sidetracked quite as much.

'Hang on, Jonas,' she called, as she grabbed the scrap of parchment the other girl held out. 'I'm coming.'

He watched as another Ravenclaw grabbed her sleeve and asked her a question. He sighed. It would be another 20 minutes before he could pull her away. He turned and walked into the Main Hall, pacing back and forth, humming to himself. Bezoar followed closely, occasionally rubbing against his ankles.

'Well, if it isn't the little bitty Slytherin cat-lover,' sneered a male voice from behind him.

Jonas spun around, wand in hand and ready to cast, as Bezoar hunched and hissed loudly, his coat standing on end, and his ears flat against his head. Leaning against one of the stone statues, his arms crossed over his chest, stood Daniel Bell. He was currently flanked by two other students who also had a penchant for trouble.

'Ohhh, look boys, he doesn't have a babysitter. Did big bad Jonas 'Willy' finally learn how to take care of himself?' Daniel spoke in a taunting singsong voice, as his companions snickered. 'What do you think boys? Should we see if he's learned yet how to defend himself and that useless bag of fur since that day in the courtyard?'

Jonas narrowed his eyes at the bigger boys, as they began to advance on him. He kept his wand pointed toward them as he moved back to keep them from surrounding him. Bezoar moved in front of him, hissing and growling loudly. He remembered this boy, and he was not going to get a second chance to hurt him or his wizard.

Jonas knew the school's rules about doing magic outside of classes, but he also knew that if the situation turned bad and he had no choice but to defend himself, his Head of House would understand. He kept his gaze moving from one tormentor to the other, so he could hopefully anticipate their actions, and act accordingly.

Several times, the boys made motions with their wands as if they were preparing to cast hexes at him, trying to unnerve him. They were aware of the rules regarding unauthorised magic as well. They cast a few harmless spells to startle him, and continued to move closer to him, herding him slowly into a corner. When Jonas' back hit the wall, he realized he was in trouble. Bezoar was still between him and the other boys, hissing and growling, and keeping the boys just out of physical reach—for now. He had to do something, but what? He didn't want to break rules, but he wasn't about to become a victim again, even if Bell hadn't learned his lesson.

'What are you going to do now, Mr. 'Willy'? Big bad Slytherin, show us the awesome power of the snake…' Daniel taunted, and the other boys laughed loudly.

Daniel raised his wand. Jonas watched the movement and his eyes widened as an idea formed.

'Accio Daniel Bell's Wand!' Jonas yelled, as Bezoar leapt at the boy. As the mahogany wand slapped into his hand, Bezoar's claws sunk into Daniel's chest and he screamed as both of them went down. The other boys watched Daniel hit the floor and turned their wands on Jonas.

'Yer gonna pay fer tha', Snake Boy!' one of the boys yelled over Daniel's cries.

Jonas raised his wand again as he heard the beginnings of spells being uttered by the boys.

'Stupefy!' Called several voices and the other two boys dropped to the floor where they'd stood. Daniel was suddenly silent, Bezoar sitting calmly next to his Stupefied body cleaning the blood from his claws. Jonas looked around and saw Hannah standing by the Great Hall doors, and Professors McGonagall and Snape standing in the Hall, to either side of the boys on the floor. All held drawn wands.

Hannah rushed over to Jonas and knelt in front of him. 'Jonas! Are you all right?'

'Yes, I'm fine.' He pocketed his wand as he felt another presence near him.

'Mr. Wylie, I am pleased to see you are unharmed.' Severus Snape eyed him closely, making sure he was not injured. 'Very Slytherin of you, disarming the Bell boy.'

'Thank you, Professor. It seemed the best way to not break rules.' Severus nodded, a look of respect on his face.

'I'm so sorry, Jonas—Professor Snape. I saw Bell and started to come to Jonas' aid. But I was grabbed from behind and was only able to get free when Jonas got Bell's wand.' Hannah's face was red, her hair mussed, and bruises were forming on her arms and throat.

'No matter, Miss McConnaughy. I trust you will not let yourself get distracted again while you are fulfilling your responsibilities.'

Hannah looked down, duly chastised. 'No, Sir. I won't, I promise.'

Jonas picked up Bezoar, guiding him around his shoulders, and reached out to take Hannah's hand. 'I forgive you, Hannah. I know you didn't do it on purpose. In any case, it gave me a chance to work out a strategy, like we talked about yesterday in Defense class.' He smiled up at her. 'Can we go to the library now, please? I want to finish that Potions essay.'

'Before you go, Mr. Wylie, can you tell us what happened?' Professor McGonagall had walked up to stand next to Severus.

'Yes, Professor. I came out here to wait for Hannah. She was talking to one of the Ravenclaws. Daniel was standing over there.' Jonas pointed. 'He started teasing me and calling names, trying to get me to duel them. I Accio'd his wand, when I realised I was cornered, and Bezoar jumped at him. That's when the other boys started to cast spells. Then you Stupefied them.' He looked back and forth between his professors. 'Can we go now?'

'That's what I saw too, Professor.' Hannah volunteered.

'Yes, you may go, Mr. Wylie. We have other students who witnessed the event as well. If we need any more information, Professor Snape will let you know. Off with you two now. Madam Pince will be closing the library doors soon.'

'Yes Ma'am, thank you Professors.' Hannah and Jonas, with Bezoar securely perched on his shoulders, headed down the hall toward the library, at a brisk pace. Severus and Minerva watched them go, before releasing the three boys and leading them to the Headmaster's office.

Tbc…