Chapter 55-Voldemort's Return

After her discussion with Albus the night of the Yule Ball, Minerva had decided to ignore Alastor as much as possible. Of course, he was always around at meal times, but he sat halfway down the table from her, and she could easily pretend to be wrapped up in a conversation with someone nearby. She also started paying more attention every time she left her classroom, and avoided the staff room all together. One afternoon Rolanda practically forced her into the staff room, though, and Minerva did end up in a conversation with Alastor, who for some strange reason was discussing gillyweed with her. Even more peculiar though was that, on the twenty-fourth of February, during the second task of the Triwizard Tournament, when Minerva's nervousness had returned, Harry Potter used gillyweed to complete the task. She only hoped Alastor hadn't cheated for Harry, but then again, she found herself thinking she should just be grateful the boy survived the task. After all, he was only a fourth year, and one shove in the right direction wasn't so bad, right?

Minerva had been thankful when the second task was finally over and she could once again focus on things much less nerve racking, but then her mind was once more thrown for a loop over the mystery of Barty Crouch. First she had heard from Anexandra and Callisto that Harry had seen Barty Crouch's name on the Marauder's Map – something Minerva remembered confiscating at one time long ago, and which she had been informed now resided with Harry – but that couldn't be possible, seeing as Barty Crouch was supposedly ill and had just been sending letters in to Percy Weasley to take care of things at the Ministry. As Head of Barty's Department, Isadora had gone to his house to see him multiple times, but every time it had appeared that nobody had been home. And then, on the evening that Ludo Bagman informed the Triwizard champions of what their third task was going to be, Barty Crouch showed up, insisting he speak with Albus to warn him that Voldemort was getting stronger, and then promptly disappeared, leaving an unconscious Viktor Krum behind. Neither Minerva nor Albus could figure out what had happened, but both were highly unnerved, and Minerva had stressed to the three quadruplets and the twin boys that they were under no circumstances allowed to step outside the castle after their last class of the day, and if she caught anyone of them she would hold their hand and walk them to their classes throughout the day, every day, until the end of the year. And to top it all off, Harry's scar hurt once again and he saw a vision of Voldemort, this time of him torturing Wormtail, which in and of itself showed that Voldemort was indeed growing stronger.

And then it was June twenty-fourth, and the evening of the third and final task had arrived. The Triwizard champions' families had arrived that morning, and were now seated in the stands with the rest of the students and staff. Minerva was seated behind Albus and the other judges, Minaveara was seated in her lap, Isadora and Sirius were to her right, and Anexandra and Callisto and Andromeda were to her left. Minerva was doing her best to avoid looking at Andromeda though, who was dressed in bright yellow robes with Cedric's name painted across her face. Even in the dim evening light her ensemble was nearly blinding, and Minerva found it extremely ridiculous. But Andromeda had refused to change. So while the three quadruplets argued over what was in the maze and the outcome of the tournament, Minerva spoke to Isadora and Sirius in an attempt to forget about how worried she was for Harry Potter. Because she knew exactly what was in that maze. And she didn't just worry for Harry, but for Cedric as well, because even though he wasn't in her House, he was one of her students, had been for nearly seven years, and she had watched him grow. And, truthfully, she didn't want any harm to come to Fleur or Krum either. Even if the two of them and Cedric were of age, they were still only children. Overall, Minerva had a very bad feeling about this task for some reason, and nothing she told herself could stop her stomach from twisting. She tried to tell herself she was just being paranoid, but, unfortunately, for the first time that year she suddenly wasn't being paranoid.

She had just been discussing a rather complex Transfiguration theory with Isadora – who had always understood Transfigurations and the theories and laws behind them, but had never been very good at the actual magic portion – and Sirius – who, as clever as he was, seemed utterly confused and bored out of his mind – when suddenly a hand gripped her left arm in a vice grip, their fingernails digging through her robes and pinching her skin. Minerva spun in her seat to see Anexandra hunched over, clawing at the front of her robes and gasping for air. Suddenly becoming frantic, Minerva searched for the reason of Anexandra's discomfort, her eyes searching her daughter for something, anything that would make her understand. Was she choking on something? Was she suddenly extremely hot? Because she was sweating. But why would this suddenly be happening? What was going on? And while Minerva was trying very hard not to have a panic attack, she noticed Callisto and Andromeda doing nearly the same thing as Anexandra. And just as Minerva heard Isadora and Sirius's worried voices asking what was wrong, a scream pierced the air that silenced the entire crowd and made Minerva's skin crawl.

It was Andromeda, and she promptly fell out of her seat and to the floor of the stands, where she rolled around, still clutching the front of her fluorescent yellow robes as she screamed Cedric's name and started wailing. Minerva was entirely at a loss and she felt absolutely worthless for it. Minaveara was still seated on her lap and had now buried her face into Minerva's chest, Anexandra was no longer clawing at her robes but she was still squeezing her mother's arm, and Callisto was gripping the edge of her seat and trembling as if they were sitting in Antarctica without coats. Minerva tried to pull Minaveara away to set her on Isadora's lap, but the toddler was scared and was not letting go of her mother's robes. Looking around desperately, the sound of Andromeda's cries ringing in her ears, Minerva glanced down at the judges table. All of them had turned around to see what was going on, and Albus seemed just as shaken and surprised.

Murmurs broke out around her and she knew she needed to gain control of the situation so, with one hand holding Minaveara on her lap, Minerva used the other to gently turn Anexandra's face towards her as she asked, "What is it, Anexandra? What's going on?"

Anexandra could only stare up at her mother with a pale face and wide, terrified eyes before it happened again. Anexandra bent forward, this time her head falling onto her mother's shoulder and both of her hands taking hold of Minerva's arm as she whimpered quietly. Callisto put her face between her knees and entangled her hands in her hair, while Andromeda continued to roll around, sobbing and repeating Cedric's name.

Minerva had had enough. She needed to take care of her children. She needed to understand what was going on. To do so, she was going to have to move Minaveara, but it was the only way. Gently but quickly prying the toddler's fists from her robes, Minerva placed the now whimpering Minaveara onto Isadora's lap before gripping Anexandra's shoulders and trying to get an answer from her, but Minerva wasn't getting anything but the grimace set onto Anexandra's face. Thankfully, Albus had bound up the stands and was now holding Andromeda in one arm and attempting to get an answer from Callisto by getting her attention with his free hand. But still, the three of them said nothing, and then they were still once more – or at least, they weren't pulling at the front of their robes.

Curious, Minerva grabbed the front of Anexandra's robes and pulled them open to stare at the t-shirt underneath. Anexandra tried to pull Minerva's hands away, but Minerva had already seen what Anexandra was trying to hide. Just a few inches down from Anexandra's neck was a hole in the front of her t-shirt, or, more specifically, a burn mark, as if a lit cigar had been pressed against her chest. Instead, through the hole Minerva could see, dangling from a chain around Anexandra's neck was a small red stone that, as she reached out to touch it, glowed bright and seemed to attract towards her hand like a magnet. Minerva knew that stone – well, that piece of a somewhat larger stone. It was from the Sorcerer's Stone, and Minerva was shocked, angry, and horrified to realize that three of her daughter's currently had a piece of this stone dangling around their necks. But then, what was the stone doing to them? She had never known it to be capable of causing hallucinations.

So lost in thought as she was, Minerva touched the piece of stone without realizing it, noticing only when something flashed before her eyes and her body reflexively recoiled. The flash of something…it had been an image…and she fought desperately with her mind to keep the image from fading. Perhaps whatever she had seen would shed some light on the situation. But it didn't. In fact, it only confused her further. She couldn't remember much, but she did know that it had been a person's face, a man's face more specifically. His hair had been black, like her own, and even the face seemed to remind her of a young Albus. But as far as she could remember, it didn't look like any of her children, especially since the stranger's eyes were pure white. Deciding to think on that later, Minerva returned her thoughts to the situation at hand as the girls doubled over once more.

And then, Anexandra screamed, "HARRY!"

Swallowing hard – or at least trying to – and looking to Albus once more, Minerva saw that he too was just as baffled and terrified as she was, and it seemed he had seen the sliver of the stone that was around Andromeda's neck.

And then there was a sort of shift in the wards and a loud thump, and Albus, Minerva, Anexandra, Callisto, and Andromeda all stopped shaking and looked to the spot just outside the entrance to the maze. There lay Harry Potter, face first in the ground, the Triwizard Cup in one hand, and Cedric Diggory's arm in the other. Harry did not move, nor did Cedric, and Minerva's stomach once again twisted into knots and she nearly retched. Instead, she watched as, in an instant, the three quadruplets were back on their feet and throwing themselves from the stands to reach the two people on the ground. Minerva and Albus hesitated only a second themselves before following their daughters, Isadora and Sirius close behind the five of them. And while Minerva hoped against hope that both boys were okay, her hopes faded as she drew nearer and saw Cedric's pale face and lifeless eyes.

Andromeda was the first to reach Cedric, and she collapsed at his side, once again sobbing and repeating his name as she flung herself across his chest. Anexandra skidded to a halt at Harry's side, more than likely tearing up her knees in the process, and flipped Harry over as she gasped, in a strange, high-pitched voice, "Harry! Harry are you okay?"

Harry did not respond, instead staring up at the sky, but Minerva was close enough to see that he was breathing. He looked to be in shock, but he was alive. As Callisto stood behind Andromeda, seemingly wondering what she should do, Harry's hand reached out blindly, grabbing hold of Anexandra's hand as she bit her lip and held back tears of her own. And then Albus and Minerva were there as well, and they both fell to their knees above both boys, staring grimly at Cedric's body for a moment before returning their attention to Harry, who seemed to be trying to speak.

"He's back," Harry whispered, looking from Anexandra, to Albus, to Minerva, and then back to Anexandra. "He's back. Voldemort."

Anexandra did not seem at all surprised by this news, and truthfully, neither was Minerva. Only Voldemort could have caused this, though what exactly had transpired Minerva did not know.

Then Cornelius Fudge's annoying voice broke through her thoughts as he appeared behind Albus and Minerva, staring down at Harry and Cedric as he said, "My God – Diggory! Dumbledore – he's dead!"

Had Minerva not been quite so unnerved and aware that this was not the time nor the place, she would have definitely had quite a few scathing remarks for the Minister. What an absolute stupid statement.

More and more figures were pushing in now, and Minerva suddenly noticed the shouts and the screams that had ensued when Harry and Cedric had arrived. And the people were shouting, screeching, "He's dead!"…"He's dead!"…"Cedric Diggory! Dead!"

Honestly! Did these people have no idea what they were doing by saying that! The boy's parents were there for Merlin's sake! Pushing those thoughts aside, Minerva gripped Albus's arm and murmured in his ear, "He needs to be taken to the hospital wing, and someone needs to tell Amos before –"

But Minerva's words were cut off as Fudge suddenly said, "Harry, let go of him." And he tried to pry Harry's fingers from Cedric's arm, but he wasn't letting go. Looking around, Minerva noticed that Callisto had somehow managed to pull Andromeda away and was now holding onto her still distraught sister.

"What the hell, Minister!" Sirius's voice rang out then, and Minerva looked up to see Sirius clenching his fists and glaring down at Fudge. "Can't you see Harry's been through something terrible! Don't be fighting the boy!"

"Sirius!" Isadora hissed at him, gripping his arm and pulling him away from the now indignant looking Fudge. Minerva sighed in relief, not only to see that Isadora was still holding tightly to Minaveara, but also that she had stopped Sirius from doing something stupid. His heart was in the right place, but Harry really didn't need anything else to happen at the moment, he seemed to be disoriented. Of course, Minerva knew that wasn't all, she had seen that look in the eyes of young people in the war many times before, and she hated that it was now present in such a young boy's eyes.

Only a few minutes had passed since the three quadruplets had started clutching at their chests, but Minerva felt like it had been an eternity. She needed to hold them, sooth them, anything…but there wasn't time for that yet. There was just so much going on. There were too many people around, too many thoughts, too much confusion.

Then Albus spoke quietly to Harry, "You can't help him now, Harry. It's over. Let's go."

"He wanted me to bring him back," Harry muttered, as if his very life depended on him explaining this. "He wanted me to bring him back to his parents…"

"I know, Harry," Anexandra said then, her voice soothing as she continued to hold Harry's hand with both of hers. "Just let go now…"

And he did.

Albus took that moment to grip Harry's arms and pull him to his feet, he and Anexandra steadying him as he swayed, leaning heavily on one leg.

With one more glance at Cedric, Minerva rose to her feet as well and moved to pull Anexandra away from Harry. She resisted at first, but she didn't seem at all up to her usual determination, which in and of itself worried Minerva. Gripping Anexandra's arm tightly and exchanging a look with Albus, Minerva began pushing her way through the crowd of onlookers as they pressed in closer. The voices and shouts mingled into a buzzing noise in her ears. Girls were screaming, sobbing, but as much as Minerva wished she could help them all, she knew that she could not, so instead, she searched for the one that was hers.

And there, right where they had been moments before, was Andromeda and Callisto. Minerva mused at how they had only been a few feet away, but now so many people had pressed in around Cedric and Harry that it had taken far longer to reach the girls. Andromeda was no longer sobbing, but tears still streamed down her cheeks and she was staring at the spot where, somewhere behind all the people, lay Cedric Diggory's body. Callisto was patting Andromeda's back awkwardly, and she too seemed entranced, her gaze focused on the ground. And that was when Minerva came to a realization that had been in the back of her mind since Harry and Cedric appeared and the three quadruplets had run towards them immediately. She didn't know how the bloody hell it was possible, but it had happened, and it had something to do with the Sorcerer's Stone. Anexandra, Callisto, and Andromeda had seen whatever it was that had happened when Cedric died, when Voldemort had returned. That's why they looked so confused, so lost. That was why they had been screaming and whimpering, why Andromeda had been repeating Cedric's name, how they had not looked at all surprised when Harry and Cedric had appeared and when Harry had said Voldemort was back. And yet, with this information, Minerva was no closer to understanding anything.

It seemed all of that was about to change though, because as Minerva gently lifted Andromeda and Callisto to their feet and started pushing the three around the crowd to where Severus, Ororo, Isadora, Minaveara, and Sirius were waiting, Albus came rushing towards her looking furious.

"Severus," said Albus quickly, his tone of voice not one Minerva ever enjoyed hearing, "Minerva, I need you both to come with me, now, quickly!"

Severus nodded curtly and Minerva turned to make sure Isadora and Ororo would take care of their younger sisters before running off after Albus and Severus, who were already yards away from her. It didn't take long for her to reach them though, and when she stepped up beside Albus her wand was out and her face was set in determination. She had no idea what the hell was going on, once again, but she would follow this man anywhere, and he was obviously upset about something…well, upset was an understatement.

Albus remained silent, striding quickly, out of the Quidditch field where the third task had taken place, across the grounds, and into the castle. Still he said nothing, and Minerva could take no more, "Albus, what –?"

"You were right, Minerva," he interrupted, his voice gruff and entirely unlike the Albus she knew. She had heard that voice only a few times and it had hardly ever been directed towards her.

"About what?" asked Minerva, trying to understand as she lifted the skirts of her robes slightly to make it up the marble staircase as fast as Albus was going. Her head was still spinning with so many thoughts – she did not even want to attempt at a guess as to what Albus was referring to.

"Alastor," stated Albus simply, and Minerva very nearly tripped up the stairs. Before she could speak, Albus continued, "The real Alastor would not have removed Harry from my sight."

At these words Minerva gasped, understanding that an imposter was now with Harry Potter somewhere…

And then the three of them were outside "Moody's" office, and Minerva heard, "now I conquer you!" just before Albus aimed his wand at the door and it blasted apart. Inside the room, the fake Alastor was thrown backwards onto the office floor and lay still, and Harry stared only a moment before turning around to see the three people who had quite literally just burst into the room.

As Albus stepped over to "Moody's" body, Severus following him, Minerva hurried over to Harry and, in a nearly breathless whisper said, "Come along, Potter." She could feel her mouth twitching as the weight of all that had happened tonight seemed to suddenly set into her, and she quickly attempted to shake the onrush of emotions away. "Come along…hospital wing…"

"No," said Albus sharply, and Minerva turned to look at him incredulously.

"Albus," she said, her voice betraying her disbelief, "he really ought to – look at him – he's been through enough tonight –"

"He will stay, Minerva, because he needs to understand," Albus said curtly, and Minerva's eyes narrowed slightly. "Understanding is the first step to acceptance, and only with acceptance can there be recovery. He needs to know who has put him through the ordeal he has suffered tonight, and why."

Minerva wanted nothing more than to say, "Save me the bloody speech, Albus, he can have his acceptance after he's been given a strong dose of Dreamless Sleep potion and has recovered physically." Instead she merely stared at her husband, but she was sure he could see in her eyes exactly what she was thinking.

"Moody," Harry said then. "How can it have been Moody?"

"This is not Alastor Moody," said Albus quietly. "You have never known Alastor Moody. The real Moody would not have removed you from my sight after what happened tonight. The moment he took you, I knew – and I followed."

Albus bent down over "Moody's" limp form and put a hand inside his robes, pulling out Moody's hip flask and a set of keys on a ring. Then he tuned to Minerva and Severus, who were now standing beside one another and watching Albus with no emotion on either of their faces.

"Severus, please fetch me the strongest Truth Potion you possess, and then go down to the kitchens and bring up the house-elf called Winky. Minerva, kindly retrieve Sirius and take him up to my office, tell him I will be with him shortly, then come back here."

Minerva, like Severus, turned at once and left the office to do exactly as Albus asked. As irritated as Minerva was by Albus's tone of voice, she decided to brush it off as his odd way of handling the night's events. It was strange, normally she was the one snapping at people. Somehow she found that she just wasn't up to it at the moment. She felt weary just thinking about raising her voice.

She managed to find Sirius and her daughters easy enough. Everyone else was still outside in the confusion, but Sirius, Isadora, and Ororo had managed to find Pleis, Perseus, and Aurora and had ushered the three of them and the three quadruplets inside. Pleis and Perseus were to either side of Aurora, and it looked as if they were watching her closely as if she would fall at any moment. Aurora, however, did not look at all affected by the way she stood tall, her head held high. No doubt she had merely learned how to hide her emotions nearly as well as the majority of the women in her family. Minerva could not tell if Andromeda was still crying because her head was down and her arms were wrapped tightly around herself. Anexandra was rather pale, but she too looked determined. And Callisto stood between the two of her sisters, looking weary and older than she was, a hand on either of her sisters' arms. Minaveara had fallen asleep and was now held by Ororo, and Sirius had an arm around Isadora's waist. They had just started up the marble staircase when Minerva practically flew around the corner, not noticing them until she had started down the stairs, and nearly tripped for what felt the millionth time that night. She really needed to get ahold of herself.

"Sirius," Minerva gasped, resisting the urge to put a hand to her chest at her surprise. "Good, you're here. Albus needs you in his office, he's not there yet but he'll be with you shortly."

"Of course," Sirius replied, not moving from his place at the bottom of the stairs. "But what's going on? Where's Harry? I didn't see –"

"He's with Albus at the moment," Minerva interrupted, wanting to get back to see who the imposter was that she had danced with at the Yule Ball. "All will be explained soon enough, but I must return to them and you must go to Albus's office." Before Sirius could respond, Minerva turned her gaze to Isadora and Ororo. "Could I ask the two of you to take care of your siblings for me until I can get things sorted out?"

"Of course, Mum," answered Isadora. "But what –"

"Later," Minerva cut in once more. "Take the girls to the hospital wing."

At these words, Anexandra looked at her mother with an indignant expression, but as she opened her mouth to argue, Callisto said in a quiet voice, "Drop it."

Anexandra frowned, but said nothing.

"I'll take the boys and Minaveara and Aurora to my rooms then?" said Ororo.

Minerva and Isadora nodded in agreement.

Minerva was just about to turn away when she thought perhaps she should say something, anything. But what could she say? What was there to say? Nothing that wouldn't take longer than the short time she had. So instead she merely inclined her head in her family's direction before turning around and hurrying back to Moody's office.

As she hurried down the corridor towards the office, she saw Severus up ahead, the house-elf Winky at his heels. Minerva caught up to the two of them, and then nearly lost her footing again, this time when Severus and Winky came to a sudden halt just inside the doorway.

"Crouch!" said Severus, and Minerva leaned forward to get a better view of the room. "Barty Crouch!"

And indeed, there lay Barty Crouch Jr. on the floor where before had lay Alastor Moody's body. Even though Minerva knew the man on the floor hadn't really been Alastor Moody, it was still surprising to see Barty Crouch Jr. lying there. He had supposedly died after all, but then, so had Pettigrew. How many other witches and wizards were actually alive, and not dead as everyone thought they were?

Soon enough Minerva had been told the whole story. With the help of Veritaserum, Barty Crouch's son told them everything; about how he had shot the dark mark into the sky at the Quidditch World Cup, how he had helped Harry win the other two tasks, helped him reach the Triwizard Cup in the maze, how Voldemort had used the Imperius curse on Barty's father, and then why Barty himself had murdered his own father when he somehow managed to escape home. And that his mother had died in Azkaban disguised as him.

By the end Minerva was feeling slightly overwhelmed and nauseous. How in the world did so much happen in one night? And it wasn't even over yet.

Albus asked Minerva to watch over Crouch while he took Harry upstairs with him to where Sirius was waiting, and she agreed with no arguments, even though a part of her wanted to know exactly what had happened to Harry and Cedric now so that she could just understand something, but she knew Albus would tell her later, and besides, she wasn't sure how much more she could really take tonight. What she really wanted to do was go comfort her children, the three quadruplets specifically, and Andromeda especially. And she needed to take those pieces of the Sorcerer's Stone and throw them into the nearest volcano, and after the girls had recovered, give them a proper lecture for keeping them in the first place…but those were thoughts for later. She needed to focus. She was more than likely going to be awake for a very long time. And suddenly she wished she had gotten more sleep the night before.

And indeed she received absolutely no sleep that night. First, Fudge brought in a dementor that immediately swooped upon Barty Crouch Jr. It was terrible, watching his soul being ripped from his body, no matter what he had done before, the sight was sickening, not to mention the feelings that overwhelmed her the moment the dementor had entered the corridor. And then Albus had snapped at her again because she had rushed to the hospital wing in search of him. Arguing loudly with Fudge while Harry and the three quadruplets had been trying to sleep may have been a bit rash, but there was too much happening in one time span for her to think rationally, and the dementor had unnerved her more than she wanted to admit. Then that damn Fudge had refused to believe that Voldemort had returned, so that conversation had been absolutely fantastic in Minerva's sarcastic opinion. After said discussion Albus had sent her on yet another errand – apparently he couldn't walk outside the damn castle by himself for two minutes – and she did as he asked, once again, still not asking what had happened to Harry and Cedric, and still not arguing that she should be at his side, or at least with her children rather than running around like an overworked house-elf. But she was Deputy Headmistress and this was what she was supposed to do. But the one thing she had not agreed with at all was when he had allowed Ororo to go back to Voldemort. Of course, she and Severus were Death Eaters and expected to return to him or be hunted down and murdered, not to mention a spy in Voldemort's ranks was needed and that's what Severus and Ororo had agreed to years ago not long before Voldemort's first downfall. But still, sending her daughter off into that once again was not something Minerva wanted to consider at all. And, somehow unsurprisingly, Albus acknowledged Minerva's words with only warning looks and emotionless words.

By the time everything had been – for the most part – sorted out, it was nearly ten o'clock in the morning and Minaveara had just woken up, having slept all night while Minerva and Albus worked restlessly. There were still things to be taken care of, though, including the three quadruplets, so Minerva had to ask Poppy to watch Minaveara for the day – Sirius and Isadora had left the castle hours before to alert former Order members. Thankfully, Pleis, Perseus, and Aurora seemed okay, if not a little shaken. Albus had spoken to the rest of the school that morning at breakfast, also asking them not to bother either Harry or the three quadruplets. Fortunately, Albus had canceled classes for the day as well, and even though he had Minerva running around for hours, she still managed to find time to finally check on three of her youngest daughters, though by that time she had completely forgotten about the pieces of the Sorcerer's Stone.

So she sat with Anexandra and Callisto – Poppy had preferred Andromeda go back to sleep when she woke up shouting Cedric's name again – and just talked to them. The two of them had been sitting on the same bed when she had entered, and they instantly slid apart so that she could sit between them. After about an hour of talking about nothing, they finally spoke of Cedric's death, and soon Anexandra and Callisto were curled up against Minerva's sides with their faces buried in her shoulders. She stroked their hair and kissed the tops of their heads, whispering soothing words that probably meant nothing, but she had a deep need to make them feel better in whatever way possible. Eventually they fell asleep for, even with the Dreamless Sleep potion, they had not slept much the night before.

After a few moments of watching Anexandra and Callisto sleep, Minerva very slowly and gently moved off of the bed, laying their heads onto separate pillows and then covering them with the stark white blanket that had been pushed to the foot of the bed. She kissed them both on the cheek, pushed their hair from their faces, and then moved to the bed next to theirs. There Andromeda lay, sleeping peacefully, curled up on her side with her face half buried in her pillow. Her breathing was heavy from all of the crying she had done the night before, and her cheeks were still pink from rubbing furiously at her tears. Minerva sighed and sat down on the edge of Andromeda's bed, reaching out to stroke the hair back from her daughter's face as she had with Anexandra and Callisto only moments before. Andromeda stirred slightly – she had always been a light sleeper – and, without opening her eyes, shifted across the bed so that her head came to rest on her mother's thigh. With a sad smile, Minerva leaned down to kiss the side of Andromeda's head, and then leaned back, at which time she noticed that Harry was lying in a bed on the other side of the room, awake, but not moving, his eyes focused on the ceiling. Minerva watched him with a pained expression, knowing what was going through the boy's mind even without acknowledging the emotions she could feel emanating from him. She wanted to help him, she really did, but she was an intelligent woman – more specifically, she knew herself – and she was more than aware that she was not what he needed. She was only his teacher, and probably not his favorite, and she knew that he didn't want pity or any sort of cliché words.

But then something occurred to her. As Minerva made the decision to talk to Harry, Andromeda shifted once more and rolled over to the other side of the bed, and Minerva was sure she heard her whimper slightly. While the Dreamless Sleep potion prevented one from having dreams, the subconscious still held onto the painful memories that caused the dreams in the first place. Minerva stood, readjusted Andromeda's blankets, and then strode purposefully to Harry's side, letting her heels click slightly so that he would be aware of her approaching his bed.

Sure enough, Harry sat up rather quickly when he realized that his Professor was standing at the foot of his bed. He didn't say anything, but he eyed Minerva with a bit of apprehension. She made sure to soften her expression, even though a part of her did not want any student to think she'd gone soft, she'd never live it down. Still, this was for Harry, not her, and she had faith that he wouldn't run off and tell the whole school that McGonagall was weak or some such nonsense.

After a moment of awkward silence, Minerva inclined her head. "Mr. Potter," she said softly.

"Professor McGonagall," said Harry, sitting up even straighter and nervously patting at his hair. For some reason, it made Minerva feel better. At least, this action of nervousness wasn't the dead eyed look she had received only moments ago. "Er, is something wrong?"

"There's no need to worry," she assured him, taking a step around the bed so that she was somewhat closer to him, but not too much. "I merely would like to say something to you, if you will permit it."

Harry's expression changed from one of anxiety to confusion, and he stumbled over his response. "Oh, uh…yeah – sure, Professor."

Minerva nodded gratefully and seated herself gracefully in a nearby chair. With her back straight and her hands clasped in her lap, she eyed Harry over her glasses as she began, rather bluntly, "Now, I am assuming that you blame yourself for the events that took place in the graveyard."

Harry's look of slight confusion instantly changed to one of complete bewilderment and surprise. He did not respond, merely frowned and stared at his Professor for a few moments before averting his gaze to a spot somewhere on his bed.

"I will take that as a yes," said Minerva, her voice coaxing Harry to look back up at her. He seemed weary, lost. "Well, I am here to inform you that you are in no way responsible for Cedric Diggory's death, nor should you feel worse of yourself for believing it in the first place."

There was a flash of anger in Harry's eyes then, which was not at all unexpected to Minerva – she knew exactly how this would play out – nor was the heated reply of, "How do you know it's not my fault? How does anyone that wasn't there know? I told Cedric to grab hold of the Cup –"

Minerva cut across him before he could continue. "I understand what you're saying, but none of it makes any difference –"

Harry interrupted her this time, his eyes alight with irritation and rage as he shook his head furiously and said, "You can't understand, no one understands because they weren't there –"

Minerva continued as if Harry had not interrupted her. "As much as I hate to say it, Harry, these things happen for a reason, and as tragic as Cedric's death was there was no way to stop it. You could not have foreseen that that Cup would take the two of you to that graveyard, just as I could not have foreseen that allowing my daughter to leave my house on the thirty-first of October would lead to her death."

Harry's anger instantly faded at these words, and he looked down again, his expression now one of embarrassment, "I – I'm sorry, Professor," he murmured without looking up at her.

"You have nothing to apologize for," said Minerva dismissively, though she shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Still, she knew this had to be said, so she continued. "I am merely pointing out to you that I know full well what you are feeling. I have blamed myself for my daughter's death since the moment I was told it had happened, but it has taken this tragedy and your sorrow for me to see how truly foolish it was of me. The only reason I share this information with you is because I would like to help you. I know that you do not want to hear condolences, or be pitied, because I never wanted that either, so I am attempting to help you by making you see who is truly to blame. In both our cases, that person is Voldemort. While you may blame him somewhere deep down inside of you, I know that what you feel on the surface is regret. All you have probably been thinking about over the last few hours is how this could have all been different had you done something, anything else so that Cedric did not have to die. And while I myself wish that he did not have to die, I know that there is nothing that could have changed what happened.

"I won't lie, this will be difficult for you, even with this knowledge. And it will not be easy to overcome the pain that resides within you. I will never truly be over the death of my daughter, but I have learned to live with it, as you will learn to live with Cedric's murder. What I want you to remember though, as you recover, is that nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing that took place in that graveyard was your fault, nor will you be responsible for anything Voldemort does now that he has returned. Everything Voldemort does is by his doing, and his doing alone. He must be the one to pay for the lives he has taken. We must not blame ourselves for the death of those around us or we will be forgetting who took those lives to begin with. Now, should you become a psychopathic murderer, then I shall of course allow you to take the blame." Minerva was glad to see Harry smile slightly at that. "Until then, erase all regrets from your mind. It will not bode well for you if you are to carry such a burden."

Thankfully, Harry seemed to be taking in his Professor's words and actually considering them as he stared at Minerva with a contemplative expression. After a full minute of silence, he, at last, nodded and said, "You're right."

Minerva very nearly sighed in relief, instead she inclined her head in Harry's direction once more, this time with a nearly imperceptible smile on her face as she replied, "I'm glad you agree."

"But I have a question," he said, and Minerva assumed that she visibly stiffened at these words, because Harry hastily added, "If I may ask, Professor."

"Very well," she conceded, shifting in her seat and wondering what on Earth he was about to ask her.

"Well, it's just that…you said that…so you've been blaming yourself for your daughter's death for almost fourteen years?"

"That is correct."

"So no one ever told you it wasn't your fault?"

"Well…of course they told me, but their argument was not nearly as convincing as mine," she said with a slight smirk in an attempt to lighten the mood. Perhaps revealing that information to the boy whose parents also died that night was not the best of ideas.

"Oh," was all Harry said, but Minerva sensed that he had something else to say.

So she said, "Yes, Harry?"

The use of his first name was not missed this time, and he seemed to find it rather strange. But he did not comment on it. "But now…you don't still think it's your fault? Because of what you just said to me?"

"I assumed perhaps I should take my own advice," said Minerva, her voice even and nearly emotionless as always. "What do you think? Should I continue to blame myself?"

"No!" said Harry quickly, ducking his head slightly when he realized how loudly he had spoken. He glanced across the room at the three quadruplets, who continued to sleep. Then he returned his gaze to Minerva. "It wasn't – isn't your fault. Voldemort killed your daughter and my parents."

Minerva watched the young boy before her for a few moments, noticing, with grief, that he, like her youngest children, had to grow up far too soon. She sighed wearily, allowing herself to show her feelings for a moment before nodding, the tables having turned. "You're right."

There was an odd moment of silence, in which Harry and Minerva seemed to study each other, until Minerva blinked as the realization of who she needed to go to next suddenly dawned on her, and she stood rather abruptly. "I must be going, Mr. Potter," she said before turning on her heel and taking a step forward.

Only to stop when Harry said, "Wait, Professor –"

Minerva turned to face him. "Yes?"

Harry's cheeks reddened slightly and he murmured, "Er, well, I just wanted to say thanks."

Minerva allowed herself to give him a smile as she replied, "No, Harry, thank you."

And with that she checked on her daughters and then strode purposefully from the room. When she reached her destination, she slowed her pace, taking the spiral staircase up to her husband's office. Unsurprisingly, he was still sat at his desk, having sat there most of the day, and was scribbling away on a piece of parchment, his brow furrowed and his shoulders visibly tense. There was a frown playing on his lips and his forehead was creased as his narrow eyes attempted to focus on the parchment before him.

Minerva closed the door behind her and locked it, the click seeming to echo around the room, the only other sound being the scratch of Albus's quill. But Albus did not look up at the sound, nor did he look up when Minerva walked across the room to stand beside him. After watching him for a moment, she reached out slowly to still his hand.

Still he did not look up at her, but his voice was sharp and cold as he demanded, "Minerva, let go of my hand. I haven't got time to –"

His voice left him in a rush as she plucked the quill from his grasp and placed it on the desk, afterwards turning his face up so that his eyes met hers. There was an instant change in the atmosphere as Albus took note of the loving gaze being directed towards him, and his entire body relaxed. He reached up to grasp the hand that was still resting on his cheek, and he brought her fingers to his lips before allowing her to pull him to his feet. He opened his mouth, probably to ask why Minerva was there, but she shook her head and placed her fingers lightly over his lips and his mouth snapped closed. She gripped his hand tightly and turned, leading him from his office and into their sitting room, and then down the hall, to their bedroom, where she changed each of their robes into nightwear with a flick of her wand. After placing both of their wands and glasses on the stands on either side of their bed, she pushed Albus down to sit on his side of the bed.

And at last he spoke, though what he said was not what she wanted to hear. "Minerva, I have a lot of work left to –"

"It can wait," she interrupted him, her voice soft and barely above a whisper. "Right now, we both need to rest. But first, tell me, Albus, how do you feel right now? And I mean really, what has made you so frustrated?"

"I would have thought that would have been obvious," he replied, his irritated tone of voice betraying his true feelings.

Quickly coming to the conclusion that words weren't working very well, Minerva stroked Albus's cheeks and placed a kiss on his lips and his cheek before moving her lips so that they were mere inches from his ear and whispering, "Tell me…please."

"Fine," said Albus suddenly, his blue eyes dark and dangerous as he rose to his feet in one swift, abrupt movement, causing Minerva to take a step back from him, but still managing to hold his gaze the entire time. "You want me to explain to you what I'm so damn upset about? Well, okay. If you hadn't noticed, I failed. You were right."

"Albus –"

"I didn't keep Harry safe. He's alive, but his spirit is crushed. He had to watch a boy die, a boy whom, I might add, was one of my students, a student I also failed to protect. And now, not only Harry, but three of my daughters are lying in the hospital wing with broken hearts and confused thoughts. And, to top it all off, Voldemort has returned. It's only a matter of time before he's after you again."

"Stop –"

"He spent the whole first war having Death Eaters trying to snatch you anytime you were out dueling, and I am sure that this time he will do the same, and it's apparent that my luck seems to be fading so you might as well disappear off the face of the Earth now, dear before I fail you too."

"Albus stop," Minerva demanded, grabbing him roughly by the shoulders and forcing him back onto the bed.

His expression faltered slightly as a flicker of guilt crossed his features, but then the anger returned and he said, "You wanted me to tell you what was wrong, Minerva."

"I know," she sighed, placing her forehead against his and closing her eyes. "But it was harder to hear than I had expected."

Albus did not respond, and for a few moments, they fell into a comfortable silence. Albus's hands came to rest on Minerva's waist, and she slid her hands from his shoulders around his neck. And then they both opened their eyes at the same time and moved simultaneously to press their lips firmly against the other's. And as Minerva's lips parted her entire body seemed to come to life as she gained strength from her husband, the man she had been in love with for so long, and married to for nearly as long. She felt him pull her onto his lap and cling to her desperately, as if she kept him alive, and perhaps she did, though she would never be selfish enough to say it herself. They rolled back onto the bed and fully wrapped themselves together, taking comfort in the contact, and as Minerva felt a tear escape her closed eyelid, she felt Albus's own tears drip onto her cheeks.

And then they broke apart, slightly at least. Their lips were at least apart, but they were pressed against each other so closely that they could probably pass for one person. Minerva recalled the conversation she had meant to have with Albus, to assure him that none of this was his fault, but as he placed a kiss atop her head and summoned the blankets to drape across their intertwined forms, she decided that the conversation would have to wait because her eyelids were already drooping and she finally seemed to have noticed how truly exhausted she was. But they would definitely talk later. She needed to make him understand that he was not to blame. She owed him that much.