January 1948
The New Year was marked by the arrival of a large sign on the Gryffindor Common Room notice board, announcing that Apparition lessons would be available starting on the first weekend of term. While Minerva knew that the Apparition test could only be taken by those who had come of age, the lessons were available to all sixth year students as well as any seventh years who hadn't taken part the year before. She was glad of that, since it meant they would all be able to learn together even though Poppy's 17th birthday would be nearly a year later than Ro's was.
"It's harder than it seems," Larry's voice sounded behind her, a slight tone of laughter in his warning.
Minerva turned from where she was writing her name on the sign-up sheet to grin at him. "Isn't everything to do with magic?" she teased in response, handing Ro the quill and moving back to put her arm around his back. He'd returned from spending Christmas with his family earlier that day and she hadn't realised how much she'd missed him until she saw him walking through the portrait hole.
"It took Mallory five times to pass his test," Ro said, smirking a little as she mentioned her second-oldest brother. "The one chink in his armour, Erika used to tease him. He took the most goes out of the five of us, assuming I don't end up doing worse. As long as we don't splich ourselves though that's the main thing, I don't fancy loosing any fingers in the run up to Quidditch next month."
There was a clatter as Poppy dropped the quill in shock, looking at Ro with wide eyes. "We might what now?" she asked in a high pitched voice, picking the quill back up and finishing writing her name with new reluctance.
Ro waved her hand. "Sorry Pops, I'm over-exaggerating I promise," she said, placing a hand on Poppy's tense shoulder. "Splinching isn't great, it does mean you can leave bits of you behind like bits of hair or… or-a-limb-if-you're-really-really-unlucky-but!" she paused after blurting out the last bit with a guilty look at Poppy. "But if you're concentrating really hard then it doesn't happen and it's super easy to heal. We'll be fine."
Her words clearly didn't provide the reassurance that they'd been intended to as Poppy still looked just as worried, though even Minerva could admit to feeling a little wary as they walked out onto the grounds for their first Apparition lesson. All four Heads of House were there, something both reassuring and a little nerve-wracking that it was necessary, as well as a man she didn't recognise and assumed was the instructor sent by the Ministry.
"Good afternoon everyone," he began, giving an odd little bow once he had everyone's attention. "My name is Augustus Tweddle, and I will be teaching your Apparition classes for the next 12 weeks. To begin, there are three principles of Apparition that you must remember; determination, destination, and deliberation. These form the basis of what you will be beginning to learn today."
Minerva repeated the three words in a whisper a few times, knowing that saying things out loud always helped her commit them to memory. Beside her she could hear Poppy muttering them under her breath too while Ro seemed unfazed by the information; Minerva assumed it wasn't new to her.
The Heads of House started to walk around the students passing out metal hoops as Tweddle continued. "Each of you take your hoop and spread out over this area so that you can place it an uninterrupted five foot away from you. Make sure that no-one is standing too close to you. The Anti-Apparition charm that normally governs the whole castle and grounds has been lifted on this entire area so you have the room to separate out a little." Once all the sixth years spaced themselves out around the designated area, they were suddenly asked to try Apparating themselves with what Minerva thought were very few instructions.
"3…" Poppy's face held a look of sheer panic when she turned to lock eyes with Minerva, but there was nothing either of them could do when Tweddle had started counting down.
"2…" Ro gave her hands and feet a vicious shake like she did before a Quidditch match to warm up her wrists and ankles.
"1…" Minerva fixed her eyes on the metal hoop in front of her and hoped for the best.
"Apparate!"
Not a second passed after his shout before the students went from tense in concentration to falling about laughing. The only two students still on their feet were Irma and Septima, who glanced at each other over the sea of floored sixth years and smiled brighter at each other than they had done all year. Minerva assumed it was thanks to their ballet lessons as children that they were both able to turn without losing their balance. She had topped sideways midway through her spin but managed to shoot out her hand fast enough so she didn't wipe out completely, unlike Poppy who was flat on her back and Ro who looked to have taken a mouthful of grass. Druella Rosier was giving Irma a furious glare from behind her back, looking personally offended that Irma had stayed upright and she hadn't, while Abraxas Malfoy and Owle Bullock either side of her just had expressions of confusion and disbelief as they tried to comprehend what had gone wrong.
After giving them a minute to recover and get back on their feet, Tweddle gave a delicate cough to catch their attention. "That was expected for a first try. Your doubt is holding you back, you must have sufficient determination that you are able to succeed. Try again."
With that, he made them all get back into position and try again. The results weren't much better than the first time though a few more of the Quidditch players among them managed to keep their balance, including Minerva much to her triumph though Ro managed to outdo her first attempt by staggering sideways into Poppy and taking them both out. "Never been graceful on land," she muttered, jumping to her feet and offering a hand to pull Poppy off the ground.
The next hour continued in a dully similar fashion, with no one managing to get into their hoop except for Druella's attempt at jumping into hers and pretending she'd Apparated. The boast that was obviously coming was stopped by Professor Merrythought clearing her throat very loudly as she walked past, shooting her an unimpressed look, and Druella's mouth snapped shut as she walked meekly back out her hoop. Everyone seemed to be nothing but frustrated as they filed back into the castle and it felt like not one of them was looking forward to their next lesson the following weekend.
Although almost as unproductive as the first lesson their second attempt turned out to be far less unexciting. Once again they were out in the castle grounds with the metal hoop that Minerva was already beginning to despise and simply made to practise over and over again. More and more of the yeargroup were managing to not fall over though no-one had successfully Apparated yet, until two telltale cracks sounded in succession and everyone turned to look to see who the lucky pair had been.
Or, as it turned out, the unlucky pair. Screams of shock and pain followed the cracking sounds and Minerva whipped around in horror as she recognised one of them as Ro. She and Wilhelmina Grubbly were on the floor next to each other with Ro pressing a hand over one side of her head where blood leaked through the gaps between her fingers, while Wilhelmina was cradling one hand close to her chest as she curled into herself protectively.
"Everyone keep back," Professor Beery shouted as a crowd started to form around them, Poppy and Minerva both pushing through to the front to get to Ro. "Everyone not involved can go back to your hoops and stay there, give them some space!"
Minerva's chest tightened when she saw a detached ear on the grass, immediately identifiable as Ro's by the triangular notch that her owl had once bitten out. That meant that the fingertips had to belong to Wilhelmina since Ro's hands both looked intact from what Minerva could see.
Ro looked up when they knelt down beside her, face white as she gasped out in a panicky voice "Poppy- Poppy, help- help me-"
"I'm here, I've got you," Poppy interrupted her hysterics with a soothing tone. She took Ro's hand in hers but didn't try to fix her ear, instead looking up at Professor Merrythought as she said "I don't know how to heal this properly." Minerva understood her reluctance to try, thinking back to a bloodied bathroom in fourth year when Ro's broken nose had never looked the same again.
Crouching down to their eyelevel, Professor Merrythought gave a nod with unfazed assuredness. "That's ok Miss Pomfrey, I admire your ability to admit where you need help. Rolanda, give Poppy your other hand for me so I can put this back on. I'm not going to hurt you."
Ro's breathing hitched in agonised sobs as she let Poppy take the bloodstained hand away from the side of her head to expose a clean hole filled with crimson. The sight made Minerva's stomach churn a little but she didn't look away, as Professor Merrythought lifted the ear to its rightful place and started to recite an incantation that she recognised as Vulnera Sanentur. Slowly, surely, the severed skin began to knit itself together before their eyes and the steady gush of blood slowed to a stop.
"That should be all healed," Professor Merrythought muttered, leaning back to examine her handiwork and giving Minerva a glimpse of Professor Beery reattaching Wilhelmina's fingertips in the same manner.
Movement in the corner of her eye made Minerva look up, watching as Augustus Tweddle looked over the scene with a vaguely uninterested expression. "It looks to me like you didn't have enough deliberation. That and your hoops were too close together so you distracted each other," he said, sounding very bored in comparison to Minerva's racing heart.
Professor Merrythought scoffed, standing up to look slightly down on Tweddle. "It looks to me like these girls have just had a nasty accident and need a moment to catch their breath," she said firmly, giving him no room to quarrel with her. "Miss Hooch, Miss Grubbly, come and sit down. Miss Pomfrey, Miss Clarke, you two can come with us but everyone else carry on!"
Minerva watched as Poppy helped an obviously shaken Ro to her feet, one arm behind her back to slowly guide her to sit on a bench by the castle wall. Wilhelmina followed on behind with Norma Clarke, as Minerva exchanged an uncomfortable and worried look with Irma who was now the nearest to her. If she was honest with herself she didn't know what had unsettled her more; the accident itself, seeing the normally unfazeable Ro look so upset, or the level that their Instructor seemed not to care. Privately she wished that they'd called it a day as soon as Ro and Wilhelmina were injured, but the beaming smile on Millicent's face when she became the first person to successfully Apparate into her hoop was more than worth it.
As soon as they were dismissed, Minerva didn't waste time handing her hoop back in before she sprinted across the grounds to where Professor Merrythought was still watching over Ro and Wilhelmina. Poppy was kneeling on the grass resting her elbows on Ro's lap as she spoke to her quietly, though both of them looked up at the sound of Minerva's approaching footsteps.
"Hey," Ro said, her voice slightly hoarse though Minerva was relieved to hear only a hint of a tremour there. "Sorry I panicked a bit out there."
Minerva's rebuttal was interrupted by Professor Merrythought who managed to speak before she had a chance to. "Nonsense Rolanda, you have no need to apologise. More experienced witches than you would be rightfully panicked if they lost a body part," she said from where she was stood on Wilhelmina and Norma's other side.
"She's right, it's neither of your faults," Minerva agreed, giving Wilhelmina a smile. She was probably her closest friend in sixth year outside of her five best friends, so as much as Ro was her priority in that moment she still cared to make sure Wilhelmina was ok too. "The only person we can blame is that Ministry twit who didn't give us enough instructions and didn't do anything to help."
While aware that there was a Head of House within earshot, Minerva knew very well that Professor Merrythought firstly wouldn't rebuke her for speaking her mind, and secondly would probably share the sentiment. That was confirmed when she gave a quietly amused huff of laughter.
Poppy smiled as Ro gave an uncertain nod. "Sorry I couldn't fix your ear," she murmured after a few moments of quiet, "I didn't want to risk getting something wrong again. You've already got a crooked nose because of me."
"Ah, but I wouldn't be me without it now would I?" Ro whispered conspiratorially, taking a hand back from Poppy's to gently bop her on the nose.
Minerva watched them fondly, though her smile dropped when Ro left a smudge of blood on the tip of Poppy's nose. "We should get you back up to the dormitory to get changed," she pointed out, chuckling when Ro looked down at her bloodstained shirt with a sigh of disappointment.
Thankfully there were no more splinchings as their Apparition lessons continued into the term, but a new handful of successes every week following on from Millicent's achievement. Irma and Septima were quick to follow her with almost simultaneous successes on their next lesson with Minerva also managing to Apparate but not quite getting in her hoop, though Ro managed to get stuck in a rut of disappearing and reappearing in the exact same spot for weeks on end.
It was far from the only new thing they were struggling to learn though, as the return of lessons after the Christmas holiday gave them no adjustment period before they were back into the difficulty of NEWT level magic. That was particularly true with the onset of Human Transfiguration, although she did have a slight advantage from the year before when she'd learnt how to Transfigure herself to breathe underwater for the Second Task. But unknown to most was the fact that Ro and Poppy had also been forced to learn that skill for the part they'd played in the Task.
"Wish this was easy as putting gills on," Ro muttered under her breath as she stared into her mirror and jabbed the tip of her wand into her left eyebrow.
Minerva smirked, but she was too wary of Professor Dumbledore walking around the classroom to comment anything that could give their secret away. Instead she reached over to reposition Ro's hand, adjusting one of the fingers around her wand so it wasn't quite so angled. "Relax your wrist a little, it'll come easier," she advised.
The sound of someone clearing their throat loudly made them both look over towards Poppy who was at the desk on Ro's other side, Minerva jumping a little when Poppy opened her eyes to reveal bright yellow pupils. "What do you think?" she laughed, giving Ro a wink.
"Merlin's arse!" Ro exclaimed as she jumped in her seat, laughing loudly. "Is that really how bright they are! Don't know how you two ever got used to it."
Poppy shrugged, and Minerva thought back to that September day so long ago when Ro had fallen into their train compartment and locked eyes with her for the first time. A smile came to her face at the memory; they had all been so tiny back then. "It's just the you I'm used to I suppose. A little surprising when I first met you, but nowadays it's not even startling when you wake me up far too early for Quidditch practise," she said with a teasing grin, thinking of the many occasions that she'd woken up to Ro practically sitting on her chest to drag her down to the pitch first thing in the morning.
"It just suits you," Poppy agreed, smiling, but then she turned back to her mirror and frowned. "But I'm not sure it suits me. I might need a hand changing these back," she admitted.
Laughing, Ro put up her hand to catch Professor Dumbledore's attention. "No, you're too pretty for eyes that sharp!"
Poppy said nothing, and Minerva pretended not to notice the blush creeping across her cheeks.
The Ravenclaws and Slytherins had Transfiguration just after the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs did for the last lesson of the day, so there were some interesting hair colours and styles in the Great Hall for dinner that night. While Professor Dumbledore had agreed to change Poppy's eye colour back to normal he'd given them all the homework task of fixing their own hair mishaps. This proved easier for some than others; Minerva had all of History of Magic to tame the curls that Ro had decided to put into her waist-length hair, and both Ro and Poppy returned from Care of Magical Creatures looking normal with the exception of Ro's left eyebrow which was still causing her trouble.
On the contrary, Millicent was very proudly wearing a walrus moustache when she sat down at the Gryffindor Table. The changes in Irma and Septima were far less obvious but a little more unsettling for a reason Minerva couldn't put her finger on, until a lot of glancing back and forth between them lead her to realise they'd essentially swapped places.
"Can you see it now?" Septima asked, grinning at Irma as the realisation dawned on Minerva's face.
Minerva nodded just as Ro snapped her fingers triumphantly. "I can and I don't like it!" she burst out, causing everyone to laugh.
While on the surface it was just a change in hair colour, the black hair just didn't suit Septima's cheerful face at all and neither did the drawn-back hairstyle that Irma normally wore it in. Irma's thinner face and hooked nose with Septima's warm brown hair was just as odd a combination. Minerva wondered for a second if they'd changed their eye colour too but then decided they had the exact same eyes, it was just the way they held their faces that made Septima's look brighter and Irma's that little bit narrower.
"It was certainly an odd sight in the mirror," Irma agreed, tucking her hair behind her ear from where it was threatening to cover her eyes. Glancing at Septima again she asked "Do you think we'd get away with pretending to be each other if we switched robes?"
Ro hummed for a moment before shaking her head. "Maybe from a distance and to people who didn't know you. But you're not fooling us for a second!"
The next Quidditch match approaching gave Minerva and Ro plenty to keep them busy with as the year continued, with the added pressure of a number of Quidditch team managers attending the match against Ravenclaw. Ro had helped Ravenclaw's Captain Philip Ackerley organise it for Nina Hilliard who was planning on going professional after graduating Hogwarts in July, but Minerva was very aware that they would be there to watch her next year if she decided to stick with her growing hope of being a Quidditch Player before settling down with a Ministry Job. It was a nerve-wracking thought, but for the time being she knew she just had to play to her best to support Nina.
There was still one celebration to go before Quidditch rolled around though, and that was Septima and Irma's 17th birthday in early February. The day fell on a Saturday so they were able to go straight up to the Ravenclaw Common room for birthday celebrations, both Minerva and Irma showing off their Ravenclaw sides by tackling the knocker's riddle with relative ease. Once in the Common Room they found Septima and a couple of her dorm-mates sat in a circle on the floor, everyone gladly making room for the non-Ravenclaw arrivals.
"Happy birthday!" Ro shouted as she leaned across the circle and handed both Septima and Irma with their gifts. "Present time! Present time!"
Minerva thought she looked more excited than the twins did, but she had to admit that she was excited too. It was the first coming of age that all six of them had been present for since Septima and Millicent had missed both her and Ro's birthdays, plus Irma was so used to talking down on herself that Minerva thought she deserved a day dedicated to lifting her up.
Ro's present to Septima was a new pair of Quidditch goggles to replace the pair that had never quite recovered from when she'd fallen off her broomstick in fourth year, while for Irma she'd brought a pocket rune dictionary that looked far easier to carry around than the enormous volume that she'd brought from Diagon Alley. Poppy had managed to find Irma a quill charmed to prevent it rubbing from the sheer amount of writing that Irma did and for Septima she had a Muggle Astrology book with fictional stories of the stars that she normally studied so factually. Minerva's gift for Septima was also Quidditch-related, the same style of cushioned gloves Ro had got her for her birthday which were specially designed for Chasers, while for Irma she'd brought a delicate jewellery box for the earrings and necklaces she normally wore.
"Twist that handle there before you open the lid," Minerva instructed with a smile playing about the corners of her mouth, and she grinned at Irma's surprised smile when she opened the lid and the box started playing the silly Hogwarts school song.
"That's so clever!" Ro said, twisting forwards to try and look under the box as Irma lifted it up. "Where in Merlin's name did you get that?"
Her reply was interrupted by Septima's triumphant cry as she posed in all her new Quidditch gear. "Have you seen the little mechanical repair shop in Hogsmeade? Larry took me there before Christmas so he could get his pocketwatch repaired and I saw they made custom music boxes," she explained.
"It's brilliant, they all are. Thank you," Irma said as she glanced from the collection of presents in front of her to the people who had given them to her. From the genuinely happy smile on her face Minerva suspected that they were the most thoughtfully picked gifts she'd ever been given.
Septima hummed in content agreement. "Thank you, all of you. This is amazing," she said, leaning round to kiss Philip briefly from where he was sat behind her with his arms around her waist. Her smile then fell suddenly though, and she leaned over to pick up one more parcel which had gone unnoticed. "Irma this, er, this arrived from mother and father this morning," she said nervously.
The happy look was gone from Irma's face as if it had never existed. "Is there anything for me?" she asked in a stoic tone.
Nodding, Septima undid the parcel string to reveal a few smaller wrapped gifts and two cards. "This one is; I looked in the outer packaging last night to make sure they'd sent you something too," she said as she handed over a small wrapped box and the card with Irma's name on the envelope.
There was tense silence as Irma quickly skim-read her card, then opened the parcel to reveal a small ring box. "Just a ring," she said in a carefully measured voice.
Minerva thought her tone and the way that she slid it on but then hid it beneath her other hand suggested that it wasn't 'just a ring' at all. But she wasn't going to say anything then, very aware of Emily Stretton, Mali Shafiq, and Philip Ackerley sat with them who Irma probably didn't want knowing her secrets. But she watched her carefully as Septima opened the presents from their father – an antique counting machine apparently called an arithmometer which looked more hassle than it was worth amongst a couple of other nick-nacks – waiting for them to be alone so that she could ask her in private.
Her chance came as they were heading down the seventh floor corridor towards the Grand Staircase; Septima had helpfully stalled the rest of the Ravenclaws by asking Emily and Mali to give her a hand carrying things back to her dormitory so it was just the four of them again. "Irma, Irma!" Minerva hissed quietly as Irma attempted to stalk on ahead of them.
"Irma please," Poppy pleaded, and that was what made her slow to let them catch up at last. "The ring, the one your mother sent. What is it?"
She hesitated for just a moment, shielding her ring hand beneath the other before she eventually gave it over into Poppy's outstretched palm. "It's mother's ring. The one she was given by her mother when she came of age. It's… it's a Black family heirloom."
"Ah." Minerva and Poppy spoke in unison, whereas Ro was a beat behind them and swore instead.
Irma hummed in agreement. "I'm surprised she sent it, she knows my stance on my ancestry. Perhaps she was hoping to take advantage of what happened between father and I to draw me into her blood supremacy. She never truly let go of them aside from marrying him; if she were offered the chance to be reaccepted into the Blacks she would take it in an instant," she said. There was an air of bitterness in her tone, but a detached sort of bitterness as if she had given up on being affected by her parents' beliefs.
"Maybe she hopes it's not too late for you?" Ro suggested with raised eyebrows.
A snort of harsh laughter came from Irma. "If she really thinks that she's very out of touch," she sneered. "Not even the strictest blood purity views could override me being a halfblood. If she had a clue what's gone on here she'd known that."
Poppy squeezed Irma's fingers gently in silent support. "They're not worth it," she said softly.
"Agreed," Ro gave a firm nod. "They're not worth a Knut. You've got proper morals and a good heart and that's more valuable than anything they might have."
Irma smiled at that, lifting her chin for the first time since they'd left Ravenclaw Tower. "I've decided that if my maternal family are disappointed in me then I must be doing something right," she said with a hint of laughter.
"Here here," Minerva murmured, agreeing wholeheartedly even though her situation was world's apart from Irma's.
"Hey," said a voice from behind, and Minerva turned to see Septima and Millicent hurrying ahead of Philip, Emily, and Mali. "Everything ok?"
Irma nodded to her sister, the tension gone from her shoulders which relieved Minerva to no end. "Everything's fine. I'm going to take my gifts down to the dormitory first and then I'll join you all for breakfast. I won't be long."
Once down the stairs they all sat down at the Ravenclaw table for once, a change of scenery that meant Septima's friends in her house and on her Quidditch team could share in having breakfast with them. But when they'd been seated for 10 minutes and Irma still didn't make a reappearance, Minerva couldn't shake off the persistent feeling that something was wrong. She'd been down to the Slytherin Common Room once in her time and knew that it didn't take that long to get from the Great Hall to the Dungeons and back.
"I'm going to go and make sure Irma's ok," she whispered across the table to Poppy and Ro, waiting for their nods before she stood from her bench and headed out of the Hall.
As soon as the breakfast chatter had faded she became aware of raised voices in the distance, picking up her pace as she hurried towards the Potions Classroom. The sight that greeted her as she skidded round a narrow corner was enough to render her speechless for a second; Cygnus Black was attempting to hold Irma with his arms holding around her stomach in a vice grip still while Druella tried to wrestle something out of her hands.
"What on Earth?" Minerva shouted, barely holding herself back from breaking them up physically.
Irma's eyes flickered to Minerva for just a second, but that was enough for Druella to twist Irma's wrist around with a painful gasp and pull the ring off her fingers. She used Druella's triumph as a distraction of her own to kick at Druella's stomach with her booted heel, dropping hard on the stone floor when Cygnus shoved her out of his grasp while she was still unbalanced. Minerva moved in then, taking Irma under the arm as she scrabbled out of their way and pulled her to stand.
"Don't interfere McGonagall, this is a Black family matter," Druella snarled, holding up Irma's ring to display the Black family crest printed on the surface. "If she dares think she can walk around wearing an artefact of blood purity when she's been dirtied by a Mudblood then she deserves exactly what she's got! Filth like her cannot be allowed to besmirch our name by-"
"Yes we get the picture," Minerva snapped back, tired of hearing the tirade of abuse against her friend. "But with all of that said you've still stolen a ring out of someone's possession. Return it, now."
Druella's face was unforgiving as she stared them both down. "No. You don't deserve to own something you're unworthy of wearing. Consider this returned to it's rightful home with the House of Black."
With one last scything glare, Druella and Cygnus turned and continued down the corridor to the Slytherin Common Room. Minerva scoffed at their retreating forms before her attention turned to Irma who has remained silent from by her side. "Are you alright?" she asked hurriedly, giving her a brief look-over for obvious injuries that she knew Poppy would repeat in more detail later.
"Fine," Irma muttered, shaking off the dust from her skirt. "What do I even care, it's not like I was going to wear it after today. I've as little want to associate with them as they have to associate with me."
Minerva watched her closely as she spoke, able to see the regret in her eyes despite the bitterness in her voice. "But it was still a present from your mother, and we're still going to get it back," she said firmly.
Irma looked up at her for the first time at that. "How? If she catches one of us going through her drawer then we might as well get beds reserved for us in the Hospital Wing!"
Humming in thought for a second, Minerva did have to admit she had a good point. "We'll think of something," she vowed, giving a firm nod in promise before they began to head back to the Great Hall.
As expected, when they explained to the others what had happened once back in the Gryffindor dormitory Poppy set about examining Irma closely for any injuries. She was only satisfied once she'd carefully massaged bruise paste into wrist that Druella had twisted back on itself, the tiny flinch Irma couldn't quite hide as Poppy patted her down overriding any insistence that she was unhurt, while Ro and Minerva set about planning how they were going to get the ring back. It was Millicent reminding them how Minerva had snuck into the Slytherin Common Room the last time they had something to prove against Druella that gave them the spark they needed, and after a while of drafting ideas they had a solid plan ready to be put into action as soon as the day came to a close.
The sixth years had Prefect duty that night, so after Minerva and Irma finished their rounds they both headed down to the Dungeon together after parting ways with Millicent. Just as they'd done last time Minerva switched into her Animagus form before entering the Common Room, immediately glancing around the gloomy room for the telltale glimpse of white fur. To her relief she quickly spotted Eileen Prince sat on one of the sofas with her cat on her lap, waving her tail to catch Pearl's attention and beckon her over.
'Minerva. Hello again,' Pearl greeted her with a dip of her head which Minerva returned. 'You're here again. Why?'
Very aware that there was little time on her hands, Minerva decided to cut out all the details and just tell Pearl what she needed to know. 'I have a favour to ask. Stay away from Eileen's dormitory tonight until Irma leaves the Dungeon tomorrow morning. It's very important."
Pearl tilted her head. 'Why?' she repeated.
'So I can pretend to be you. There's a job I can't be seen doing as a human.'
Minerva's nerves threatened to creep up on her as Pearl's pale blue eyes continued to regard her, but eventually she nodded. 'I will. I trust you do not mean Eileen harm," she said, the slight hint of an inquiry in her tone.
'No. Not at all. You have my word," she vowed.
Seeming satisfied by Minerva's promise, Pearl dipped her head again. 'I will make myself scarce. I wish you the best,' she said in parting, before twitching her whiskers and disappearing into the dark.
Once Pearl had gone, Minerva looked up to where Irma was pretending to read a book and gave a nod in signal. Irma bent down to pick her up before heading under an archway and down a dimly lit corridor, eventually pausing by a door and awkwardly opening the door handle while being careful not to drop Minerva. Irma's dormitory looked a lot gloomier than Minerva's brightly lit bedroom up in Gryffindor Tower but she could appreciate its cosiness; there were no windows but each bed had a silver lantern hanging from each post which basked the room in a cold light.
"Let's get this done quickly. Hop up here," Irma said, patting what Minerva assumed to be her bed for her to jump up on. As Irma drew her wand, Minerva sat neatly with her tail over her paws and tried not to move too much. "Crinus Muto."
Minerva closed her eyes as she was bathed in pale light, then at Irma's satisfied hum she looked down at her very white paws and tail tip. "Just the eyes now. Oculi Muto," Irma continued when she glanced upwards, her ears twitching in surprise when Irma picked up a hand mirror from her bedside table and let Minerva take in her reflection. Pure white fur and blue eyes; the perfect replica of Pearl.
With Minerva safely disguised, she settled down comfortably on the end of Eileen's bed while Irma pulled the hangings around her own bed closed to change into her nightdress. After that it was a waiting game as Eileen and Druella eventually returned from the Common Room for the night, few words spoken between the three of them other than Eileen's brief enquiry on how Irma's birthday had been before they were all getting ready for bed. Minerva waited a little impatiently for Eileen to fall asleep, then nosed her way out of the heavy curtains and gently jumped down to the floor. After very carefully checking that Druella was asleep too, she headed back to Irma's bed
Irma was sat up reading but immediately put her book down when Minerva climbed over the back of the bed frame. "Are they both asleep?" she asked after quietly casting a silencing charm over the bed, and Minerva nodded. "Ok. The ring has an Anti-Theft Charm on it so Accio won't work. So you'll just need to search the dormitory. But I know where she keeps her jewellery box so we'll start there."
Carefully drawing back her curtains on one side, Irma pointed to the dressing table by the door where the jewellery box Minerva had given Irma just a few hours ago was sat with two others. "The pink one," she whispered, though with her altered colour perception it took a bit of guessing to make sure she was fiddling with the right latch. She managed to get the lid open despite the difficulty of using her claws without needing to ask Irma for help, but her triumph was short lived when she pawed through the contents and came up empty.
"Bedside table next," Irma whispered, so Minerva closed the jewellery box with a lot more ease than she'd opened it with before jumping down and padding back over to Druella's bed. The top drawer thankfully wasn't locked when she pushed her paw between the drawer and side to wedge it open, keeping her movements as gentle as possible as she stepped into the drawer so as not to rattle anything too much.
But her patience was rewarded when she nosed at something metal and cold. Even with her night vision it was still a little too dark inside the drawer to see properly, so she picked it up carefully with her teeth and placed it on the table. Sure enough, there was Irma's mother's ring.
Closing the drawer was a lot harder than getting it open had been, and the angrily muttered "Cat will you shut up," from Druella's bed made Minerva freeze for a moment with ice running through her veins. Deciding it was best to hide the evidence before she further risked getting caught, Minerva insistently patted the ring with her paw until Irma got the message and leaned over to take it then only kept going once the hangings around her bed were shut and still.
The clunk as the draw slid shut seemed to reverberate around the silent room. Minerva had just enough time to pretend to be playing with the drawer handle before Druella's curtains were flung open and she glared down at her in displeasure, rolling her eyes as she swung her legs over the side of the bed to stand up. There was no time to run before she was being picked up a little roughly, giving a quiet mrrow of displeasure at being lifted without permission, worried about where she was being taken until Druella pulled back Eileen's hangings and dumped Minerva on the end of the bed.
"Bother her instead," Druella said, and Minerva stared up at her for a moment before the curtains closed.
After waiting a minute or so to make sure Druella was safely back in bed, she quietly jumped back down to the floor and up onto Irma's bed. "I thought we'd be caught for sure there," Irma murmured once the silencing charm was recast, and Minerva nodded fervently. "Well. We got what we came for," she added, gazing at the ring for a moment before she slipped it on her finger. "I'll hide it somewhere safe tomorrow. For now, we should get some sleep."
Minerva agreed, yawning widely as she realised how tired she was. Irma gave an amused smile at the sight of all her feline teeth as she moved to lie down, Minerva just opting to curl up on the end of Irma's bed rather than go back to Eileen's. She was still in enemy territory after all, and if Druella noticed the ring missing before they had a chance to sneak out of the Dungeons she knew they would both feel safer if they were together.
Thankfully Druella gave no indication that anything was amiss when Minerva saw her briefly the next morning. Irma didn't hang around for long, only staying in the dormitory long enough to get dressed before she beckoned for Minerva to follow her back into the Common Room and out of the Dungeons. The feline sense of being watched lead her to quickly spot the real Pearl peering out from underneath a curtain, and when Minerva nodded towards her she bounded off to take Minerva's place back with Eileen where she belonged.
Ro, Poppy, and Larry were sat in their own Common Room when they reached Gryffindor Tower, all three smiling in relief when Irma and Minerva walked over. "We were getting worried we'd need to rescue you from the Hospital Wing," Poppy fretted.
Irma shook her head, looking far less tense now that Druella and the Dungeons were far behind them. "We had a close call but I believe we've got away with it. Time will tell, but I'm planning on keeping it in my trunk in future where she won't be able to find it again. So without tempting fate we should be fine."
"Thank Merlin," Ro sighed. "Now that's done, let's go get breakfast. Us three have got Quidditch practise in two hours and I don't know about you lot but I'm starving."
Minerva had been distracted by a pair of first years trying to catch her attention with their feathered quills, but looked back over at Ro when she was reminded of Quidditch practise and the fact they only had a week until they played Ravenclaw. Switching back into her human self for the first time that day, she was about to head towards the portrait hole when a stifled laugh from Ro made her stop.
"What?" she asked, giving a confused smile when Poppy giggled and both Irma and Larry covered their shocked expressions with their hands. "What is it!"
"Um, Minerva," Larry started slowly, reaching out to take her hands while Ro took off up the girls' staircase. "There's just a little, um, I mean, we can't quite go down to breakfast yet," he said, the apologetic tone mostly hidden beneath barely restrained laughter.
Ro thundering back down the stairs made Minerva turn to see her with their dressing table mirror in her hands, nearly falling backwards at the shock seeing herself with white hair and bright blue eyes retained from when Irma had transfigured her Animagus form. "Ah," she breathed, giving up on trying to process the sight she was in as she looked back at her friends. "I, err, I think I see what you mean."
There was a pause before they were all in hysterics, Minerva included once the surprise wore off a little. "We might need to go and see Professor Dumbledore for this one, in case the Animagus transformation has interfered with the transfiguration," Larry managed to say between breaths of laughter.
"Before that though," Ro started, pausing to double over laughing again before she straightened up and held out the other object she'd fetched from the dormitory.
Minerva groaned as she realised it was the instant camera, shaking her head as Ro declared "This is one for the album – I need to remember this forever!"
Author's note:
Have I done anything else other than write this since I posted the last chapter, I hear you ask? No. Pretty much no.
But it was a case of a) the events in the second half of this chapter are things I've been looking forward to writing forever, and if I'm honest I wanted to push through since I'm so excited to write what'll happen in the next chapter. No spoilers, of course, but I'm excited. Though I do need to actually do some uni work as well as writing during this quarentine... we'll see how that goes.
In light of everything with the tournament and PTSD and all that, this chapter felt like going back to our roots with lesson disasters and Slytherin fights. Apparation shenanigans were fun, and I went into splinching a bit more than they did in the book because I feel like they really undersold it in HBP compared to in DH. It was nowhere near as real as it should have been. So here's my amendments, and I alway find it really interesting to write Ro being vulnerable since she's normally so good at putting up a brave front with Quidditch injuries. But new pain that's out of her control and she panics, and Poppy really is a lifeline for her in these situations.
I put a lot of thought into what everyone got the twins for their birthday, and it's so obvious that Irma's friends know her far better than her parents do. Druella is just as awful as we remember, and having Pearl back briefly was fun. Then we get the heist of the century which I really played around with how I wanted to go, and the image of that ending scene is still hilarious to me. I was actually meant to squeeze a Quidditch game in here too but the word count just got away from me as usual and I couldn't justify pinning it on the end, so we'll get an action packed start next time!
Once again, I hope you're all staying safe and keeping well. Until next time :)
