Longest chapter so far - and more memories in memories. I hope you enjoy it.
Dumbledore sat in the secure room, waiting patiently.
Finally the door opened and an official stepped through it. He was followed by Minerva, her hands fastened in chains, and then two dementors behind. Dumbledore couldn't hold back the gasp that escaped him as he looked at her. She was deathly pale and her dark hair was lank and messy. Her cheeks were hollow. Her face was expressionless and her eyes stared blankly ahead of her. She looked almost completely lifeless, but her lips were moving frantically, muttering to herself.
"Sit," said the official, gesturing to the seat across the table from Dumbledore.
Minerva sat.
"Would you like me to stay, Sir?"
"No, thank you, we'll be fine," Dumbledore told the official.
The man nodded, "And them?" He indicated the dementors.
"Definitely not," said Dumbledore.
The official and the dementors left and he was alone with Minerva. There were some useful perks to being Albus Dumbledore, defeater of Grindelwald, it was unlikely anyone else would have been allowed to sit alone with a 'dangerous prisoner'.
"Minerva," Dumbledore said gently.
She didn't respond, still muttering to herself.
"Minerva," he reached out and placed his hand on top of hers. It was freezing. "I'm so sorry," he said.
He gently stroked his hand along her arm, wishing he could warm her. He took a bit of chocolate from his pocket and held it out to her. Still she didn't react.
"Please eat some," he said.
Nothing.
Getting up from his seat he moved closer to her. He broke a piece of the chocolate off and held it gently to her lips.
"Come on, Minerva, please."
She finally let him feed her the chocolate.
"Good girl," he whispered, trying not to cry. He rubbed her shoulders gently, and then broke off another piece of chocolate and held it to her lips. Again she ate it. When the bar was finished he produced another one from another pocket and fed her again.
After two bars of chocolate she finally spoke. Her voice was fragile and halting, as though she hadn't used it in a long time and had forgotten how.
"W-why are y-y-you h-here?"
Dumbledore returned to his seat, so he was looking her in the eyes.
"I would like to talk about the night Grindelwald fell," he told her gently. "I think you saved my life. I think I virtually killed myself with the mass stunner on top of the hits I'd already taken. My magic was utterly drained. And you gifted your power to me – you revived me."
She looked at him in silence.
"Suddenly I can do wandless magic."
"That must impress your fans."
"Minerva."
"I see you in the newspaper sometimes. I mean – I see the newspaper sometimes. You are always in it when I see it."
"I think I've misunderstood that whole night."
"We fulfilled our prophecy. I didn't kill you – you took all my power instead."
He looked up, "All," he choked.
"My wandless magic is yours, my wand is gone, I'm prevented from taking my animagus form and I'm going to spend the rest of my life in a cage, surrounded by my worst nightmare. Yes, Professor – that is all my power, I think."
"I'm sorry."
"It doesn't matter." Her voice was as dull and lifeless as her face.
"Yes it does, Minerva. It really does. I've brought this." He indicated a pensieve, "With your permission, I would like to view your memories of that night."
"Why?"
"Because I want to know the truth."
"And if there is nothing you can do about it?" she asked sadly, "Is there really a point in knowing then?"
"I need to know, Minerva. And I will come here every day until you give me that memory."
"You shouldn't say things like that," she murmured softly, "I may never give it to you."
His eyes scanned her still emotionless face.
"Please," he said.
"Will you promise not to tell anyone else what you see?"
"If that's what you want."
"It is."
He nodded.
"Do you have your wand?" she asked.
"They took it on the way in. But I have wandless magic now."
She nodded. Then she closed her eyes and leaned forward.
Dumbledore pressed his hands to her head and waited. She began to cry, quiet, silvery tears. He caught them in the pensieve.
"Thank you," he said. He leaned in.
Minerva was at the door of the dungeon screaming. "No! Rex! REX!" She hammered on the door with her fists. She tried wandless spells to open it, but nothing worked.
Finally she sank down onto her knees, holding her head in her hands and began to cry.
With a crash the door flew open, hitting her. Grindelwald was before her. She fell backwards, choking, gasping with pain. "Stop crying over your pathetic treacherous, brother," he barked, "Now is the time. Tonight Albus Dumbledore falls and a new world order begins!"
She moaned weakly.
There was the distant sound of running footsteps. Grindelwald pressed himself back against the wall, wand at the ready.
Dumbledore arrived. He ran to Minerva. Grindelwald stepped out of the shadows.
"Hello, Albus," he said.
Dumbledore stood between Grindelwald and Minerva's body, holding his wand outstretched. "Gellert," he said calmly.
"You realise she has lured you to your death," Grindelwald smirked, nodding towards Minerva. "Fulfilling a certain prophecy perhaps?"
"I don't think so."
Grindelwald laughed, and held his wand, turning it over in his hand. "This is the most powerful wand in the world, Albus. You really think you have a hope?"
"There is always hope, Gellert. Hope and love. You could stop this now, you could put your wand down and turn to what's right."
Grindelwald laughed, "Love, Albus. That was always your weakness. Always compromising your power, your destiny for the nonsense of 'love'. Is it her now?" he gestured to Minerva. "Has she replaced me? Or has she replaced your dear little sister?"
"Expelliarmus," Dumbledore's voice shook as he cast. Minerva watched him with sympathy in her eyes.
Grindelwald easily brushed Dumbledore's spell away.
"Crucio," he hissed.
Dumbledore also shielded with ease.
The duel became faster and faster. Minerva's eyes darted between then as both wizards traded spell after spell, somehow managing to block and shield, neither receiving more than a torn robe or a gash to their cheeks and arms, despite the ferocity of their battle and the power of their spells.
She began to push herself up from the floor until she was crouching behind Dumbledore, slightly to his left. She closed her eyes and squeezed her hands tight together.
"What are we to do, Gellert?" shouted Dumbledore, "Continue like this forever?"
"My wand will triumph," Grindelwald shouted between curses.
Minerva raised her hands and began to mutter.
Finally Grindelwald raised his wand and screamed "Avada Kedavra."
Simultaneously Dumbledore yelled, "Stupefy" and Minerva thrust her hands forward, her cry drowned out by the shouts of the two wizards battling in front of her.
A great silver light emanated from her hands. It seemed to get caught up with Dumbledore's spell and then raced towards Grindelwald. A great tidal wave of glowing silver magic. It met the powerful green light shooting towards Dumbledore. The shining lights hit each other and burned for a moment. Then the silver of the stunning spell seemed to swallow the green light of Grindelwald's curse and continue racing towards him. As it reached its target, Grindelwald fell.
Dumbledore stood, frozen for a moment. Then he stepped forward, checked Grindelwald was unconscious, conjured a length of silver rope to bind him, and took his wand.
He turned back to Minerva. "It's okay now, Minerva," he said. "I'm going to get you out of here."
He tried to lift her and heard her gasp of pain.
Then they heard the sound of running feet and Dumbledore left her on the floor. He stood up suddenly, both wands in his hand. The dungeon was full of Grindelwald's followers, racing towards them. Dumbledore barely hesitated for a moment, raising Grindelwald's wand and desperately casting a mass stunning spell.
"Stupefy-omnes."
The nearest two men fell. The others kept coming. He tried again. Another one down. There were at least thirty left. Dumbledore used his own wand to deflect the curses that were being thrown at him from every direction. He dropped Grindelwald's wand.
Minerva crawled forwards weakly, her hand clasping Grindelwald's wand. She balanced on her knees and one hand, using the other to brandish the wand. Dumbledore was trying the mass stunner with his own wand. She joined in.
Five of Grindelwald's followers went down. But behind them more were entering the room. Another ten, perhaps. They was horribly outnumbered. Minerva's arm gave way and she was face down on the ground.
Desperately pushing herself up again, she cast at Dumbledore "Titillo."
She saw him react to the ticklish feeling, then brush it off with a quick 'finite incantatem' and return his attention to trying to tackle the approaching hoards. He only just blocked a cutting curse aimed at his chest, and his arm was now wounded and bleeding. Some Aurors arrived, but nowhere near enough.
"Titillo," she cast again.
"Finite incantatem," he bellowed. Then "stupefy, stupefy, stupefy." He was trying desperately to pick off as many as he could one by one. But the curses were hitting his body, and he couldn't possibly block the impact of them all. He was weakening.
Minerva took a couple of deep desperate breaths. This was going to hurt. She forced herself up to her feet and saw Dumbledore turn to look at her.
"Minerva, get down!" he yelled.
She lifted the wand in her shaking hand. Her whole body swaying slightly.
"Minerva!"
She pointed the wand at Dumbledore.
"Avada Ked." She yelled. She waited a second.
"Expelliarmus!" Dumbledore cried at her.
As the wand flew from her hand it all went dark.
When she came round everyone was on the floor. Dumbledore lay just a short distance from her. She dragged herself towards him. She stared at his deathly pale face, the horrible glow of the magic leaving his body. Tears filled her eyes.
"Restituetum," she murmured desperately, "Restituetum."
She laid her hand on his chest, over his heart.
"Beneficio."
There was a movement in the doorway. She looked up suddenly. Tom Riddle stood there. He stared at her and Dumbledore for a moment. Then he raised his wand.
She lifted the wand in Dumbledore's hand.
"Protego," she whispered desperately. A small shimmering shield appeared over Dumbledore.
She tried to maintain it but she was weakening rapidly now. As she got weaker Dumbledore's eyelids began to flicker open.
Minerva moved away from him, trying to push herself to her feet. She had to get to Riddle, she couldn't let him hurt Dumbledore. Riddle was raising his wand.
The room spun and went black.
Dumbledore pulled away from the memory and stared open-mouthed at the woman sitting opposite him.
"It was you," he told her, the sound of dawning realisation in his voice. "You defeated Grindelwald."
She looked back at him with solemn eyes. "I was only trying to save you," she said, "I didn't realise at first…"
"What was the spell you used on Grindelwald?" Dumbledore asked curiously.
"Nothing special," she told him calmly, "I just joined in with your stunning spell."
He stared at the table for a moment, thinking hard.
"Then how…The wand – the wand… was yours…" He looked up suddenly, "You had already defeated him?"
"A basic wandless expelliarmus when he came to fetch me," she replied. "Not that it did me any good at the time. He was momentarily surprised but he wasn't alone. He had plenty of his followers with him. I was too weak to fight them. I collapsed and Rex brought me to Grindelwald's base."
"But the wand remembered," said Dumbledore slowly, almost to himself, "The wand remembered he had been defeated, and when you defended me it remembered its new allegiance…and then." Dumbledore's eyes widened and he grabbed her hands, "Oh, Minerva," he gasped.
"They were all coming towards us," she said, taking up the tale with a slight choke to her voice, "And you seized Grindelwald's wand to try to defend us and for a moment I believed that you would succeed. The most powerful wizard and the most powerful wand. But then, it wasn't working, you were strong but the wand was weak and I couldn't think why. And then, after you threw it aside, I remembered… I had read the book too, you see – the 'Secrets of Wand Magic'."
"The wand wasn't mine to use. It was yours."
"I picked it up." She said, "And I tried. I joined in with your mass stunner. But I was too weak. I had to get you to take the wand from me. I tried that ridiculous tickling curse first. I hoped you would turn and disarm me. But you didn't. I don't think you even realised it was me, you just shook it off."
Dumbledore nodded, vaguely recalling the tickling sensation.
"And I realised, you would never disarm me first, unless… unless I made myself the most pressing threat. And then I remembered the prophecy, and I knew what to do."
"You let me see you and hear you start the killing curse."
"I would never have gone through with it," she told him desperately, "Never – I just had to make you think I would."
"I know," he answered softly, "You had already stopped speaking before I struck you."
She nodded. "And then you took the wand, and it was yours, and you won." She gave the first, slight shadow of a smile he had seen on her face.
"Minerva," his voice broke and he held her hands to his lips.
"It's okay," she said comfortingly.
"Why didn't you just tell the truth?"
"I tried straightaway, but you wouldn't listen."
Dumbledore clutched her hands tighter, his cheeks becoming wet.
"And then not long after I realised that I shouldn't tell – not ever."
"But – why?"
"Why? Let the whole world know that a simple expelliarmus is enough to win such a powerful wand? Tell them that you did not defeat Grindelwald alone? How safe would you be then? How safe would the world be then?"
"Minerva –"
"He's afraid of you," she said cutting him off, "Tom Riddle, he's afraid of you, and only you. I already know that. I've seen his Boggart. That's why he wanted me – he hoped I'd kill you. If you are Albus Dumbledore, defeater of Grindelwald, master of Grindelwald's powerful wand, then he will fear you – and the whole world will be safer for that."
"I –"
"He will never fear me," she said softly, "He's already defeated me." And she rolled up her sleeves to show her arms, covered in dark marks. Dumbledore knew what they were now.
He stared down at her arms, tears wet in his eyes. Finally he looked up into her face.
"You would give up your whole life?"
"I once told Tom that I would willingly sacrifice my life if it would enable someone else to defeat Grindelwald. I think the same applies to Tom now too."
Dumbledore nodded slowly. "I understand – and I admire it, though it breaks my heart."
"Thank you." She said solemnly. "Tom never did, you know – understand. I think he thought it was an offer to sacrifice myself for him to achieve great power."
"Riddle makes the mistake of confusing power with greatness," Dumbledore said softly, laying a hand on hers. "You may be powerless now, Minerva, but you are also the greatest witch I have ever known. No wonder the Sorting Hat struggled with you – brains, loyalty, resourcefulness and bravery – you have them all."
Tears glistened in her eyes. "Thank you." She whispered, laying her head down on the table between them, her face close to his hand, which still clasped her own.
Gently Dumbledore reached out his other hand to stroke the messy black hair from her face. "I will get you out of here, Minerva, I promise. I will get you your life back."
Her head shot up, sudden panic on her features. "No – you can't – you can't tell anyone. You must know that."
"I can't take the credit for your achievements."
"It was yours too," she gasped, "We did it together. You led and I assisted, like a good student. Professor – if you tell, you destroy your reputation and you hand Riddle and his followers a great advantage. I can see that you know that. Please. Don't let all this be for nothing. If you think you can't trust me to keep the secret then obliviate me – do whatever it takes."
"Minerva, are you so afraid of Riddle?"
"He is worse than Grindelwald, I'm sure of it. He is a monster and the world will need you." She was shaking violently as she spoke.
He caught both her hands in his and tried desperately to calm her.
"Minerva, it's okay. It's okay. I won't tell, if you are sure – truly sure."
She calmed slightly, "I am – I am."
He nodded, "But I will still get you out from here. I will find a way, I promise you that. And soon." He reached out a hand to brush a tear from her cheek. "You will spend Christmas a free woman."
She shook her head, and her voice was hollow and bitter, and barely more than a whisper.
"Please don't promise me that."
"Why?"
"It is such a big promise, such a big hope."
He tried to interrupt but she continued.
"Professor, if I go back to my cell with that hope in my heart it will be a feast for the dementors, they will be drawn to it and rip it from me in an instant. Such hopes are no good here, they only make the pain worse."
She looked at his face, filled with pity.
"It is better to give me something that is joy, wrapped in sadness. They seem to struggle with bittersweet – it takes them longer to understand and devour those thoughts."
"Like what?" he asked, inwardly marveling at the young woman before him.
"Like – like the stories in the newspapers. When I read of your power and your success I'm happy for you, but I know that you are further and further away from me. So it's a happiness that hurts. They find that difficult."
"Minerva."
"I know you are going to leave," she told him softly. "And you can't come back to see me again."
There were tears in Dumbledore's eyes, but he didn't deny the truth of her words. He could hardly be making frequent visits to Azkaban without causing suspicion.
"So this – this moment. This can be one too." She paused for a moment, looking nervous. "Tell me that you're going to keep our secret – that you'll be strong and powerful and always stand for what's right – that you'll do all you can to repair and protect our world and stop Tom. And then – then…" she took a deep breath and addressed her next words to the table, "Then kiss me and tell me that you can't visit again. That being you and doing what you must will keep you from me forever… That will be the happiest moment of my life, wrapped in the truest despair, and I'm sure I will be able to keep it, and think on it, and treasure it, even if I have another hundred years with the dementors."
Dumbledore stared at her, her face resting on the table, breathing heavily, her words apparently exhausted.
Then Dumbledore stood and swiftly moved to stand beside her. As she looked up at him he pushed a strand of hair back from her face, and then very gently reached for her chained hands and pulled her to her feet. When she was upright he pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her weak, emaciated form, pressing his face into her hair.
"I love you, Minerva McGonagall," he whispered, his lips close to her ear.
He heard her gasp and loosened the embrace, so they could look into each other's faces. Then he kissed her, deeply and passionately and she kissed him back with a sort of desperation that made his heart ache.
Finally he broke away from the kiss and pulled her tightly into his arms, to whisper to her again.
"I love you, Minerva. But you are right – if we must conceal the truth, then I can't take the risk of seeing you again. I'm afraid this is goodbye, my love."
She wept softly in his arms as he held her. Then he finally pulled back, planted a gentle kiss on her forehead, and turned and walked away. He didn't look back as he left the room. Didn't hesitate as he strode down the corridors towards the exit. He headed straight to the apparition point and arrived just outside Hogwarts. He stalked into the castle, up staircases and along corridors, ignoring everyone around him, and they seemed to accept this. He looked like a man on a mission. Finally he ascended the staircase to his office, sank down into a chair and wept uncontrollably.
The memory ended.
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