Minerva
I sat marking homework in my office, a few days after Christmas. I knew I only had a few days of relative peace and quiet before the students returned, and I was keen to make headway in my huge pile of marking before that happened. Still, I had a tin of biscuits, kindly given to me by Filius for Christmas, open on my desk and I was using that to spur me on.
I was halfway through an essay written by a sixth year, trying to concentrate on how well they understood what they were writing about, when there was a sudden bang directly in front of my desk. I jumped and my head snapped up to look at my fireplace where the noise had come from, drawing my wand instinctively.
But before I could even gather my thoughts, three bodies hurtled out of the grate, landing hard on the stone floor of my office. "What-" I managed to get out before the middle body looked up at me in panic.
It was Jack Nunes, a fourth year student, one of my Gryffindors. "Close the Floo connection," he half-pleaded, urgency etched on his face and in his words. "Please, Professor!"
I opened my mouth to ask something – just to get a handle on what on Earth was happening – but the look on Jack's face made it clear to me that something dangerous was afoot. I pointed my wand sharply at the grate and turned the Floo connection off.
I hurried over to the group. Jack was pulling himself up off the floor, his arm around his sister Ella on one side, helping her to stand up. On his other side, he was holding on to the hand of another small body – it was only when the body looked up at me, I realised that it was a child, presumably their younger sister. How old was she, eight or nine?
"What is going on?!" I demanded of Jack, but when Jack looked up at me again, the urgency wasn't gone.
"Ella," he said, looking terrified.
I frowned but looked over to Ella Nunes properly for the first time. My eyes instantly widened in alarm. Ella had been looking sickly the last time I had seen her, just before she had gone home for Christmas early, but now… the girl was chalk white, blood pouring from one ear, shaking like a leaf. She looked a second from collapsing. I strode over and helped Jack support her, guiding her quickly to the sofa that sat on one side of my office.
"Lie down," I ordered her, panic making my voice harsher than I intended. With a flick of my wand, I sent off a message to Poppy, briefly warning her that Ella was coming. It was only when I remembered the younger sister, rooted to the spot in terror at the other side of my office, that I realised that someone would need to stay with her while another professor took Ella up to the Hospital Wing. I quickly flicked my wand to send a message to find whichever teacher was closest. For the moment, though, Ella was my main concern.
With help from myself and Jack, Ella managed to lie on the sofa. I felt her forehead with my hand. She was burning up. Even lying down, she looked shaky and woozy.
"What's happened to her?" I asked Jack directly.
Jack closed his eyes, grabbing at his own hair anxiously. "I don't know what the spell was," he told me almost tearfully, still panicked. "I don't know what she – it was my mum – she was going for Becky but Ella took it instead – I don't know what the spell was supposed to do-"
I had never seen Jack like this before. Usually he was full of bravado, unable to show he cared about anything. But now, I could see that he was terrified of anything happening to his little sisters.
Ella groaned quietly beside us and Jack's eyes immediately snapped towards her. He grabbed her hand and squeezed it hard. I felt a little lost for words. Was Jack telling me that their mum had attacked Ella? Could their mum have really done so much damage with one spell?
"Does this happen a lot?" I asked, a suspicion forming.
Jack almost hung his head. "Yeah," he admitted, sounding ashamed. "Especially this holiday. Mum's been really angry because of Ella – cutting and that, and Ella always gets it twice anyway because she takes it for Becky…" He trailed off. "I don't know what Mum's done this time, though, I swear I don't."
I nodded in acceptance, but I was feeling a little sick at the sight of the girl so injured and Jack so worried. How had we not known this was going on?
Before I could speak again, there was a sharp knock on my office door. I wordlessly flicked my wand at the door to open it. As it swung open, Remus was standing there, looking concerned. "I got your message," he said, frowning. "Is everything all right?"
I gestured to the couch with a nod of my head. Remus' face paled a little. "What has she…?" he managed to say, his eyes flicking up to Jack and across the room to Becky.
"Their mother has cursed her," I said, forcing myself to keep my voice steady, deciding that it was probably best to keep things brief. Apart from anything else, that was pretty much all the information that I actually had.
Remus took a sharp breath in. "We need to get her to Poppy."
I nodded once in agreement. I glanced between Jack and Ella, and Becky on the other side of the room. Quickly I decided – Remus knew Ella well and got on with her. He should be the one to take her and Jack to the Hospital Wing. Besides, as deputy headmistress, I couldn't leave the grounds if Ella needed to be transferred to St Mungo's. And by the look of her, that was likely.
"Professor Lupin, take Ella up to the Hospital Wing," I said clearly, sharply even. I looked over to Jack and spoke a little more softly to him. "Jack, go with Professor Lupin, please. Whatever information you can give about what's happened here will help enormously."
Jack nodded quickly, squeezing his sister's hand before jumping to his feet. "What about Becky?" he asked quickly. "I know she's not meant to be here but I couldn't leave her there with them…"
I gave Jack a small, sad smile. "I know, Jack," I said, more softly again. I wasn't going to punish the boy for trying to protect his sisters. I looked back over to the younger child and tried to look a little less intimidating. "Becky can stay here with me," I assured him.
Jack hesitated for a minute but then nodded. "Thank you," he said, sounding genuinely sincere.
I merely nodded in reply. The most important thing at that moment was getting Ella to medical attention. I quickly conjured a floating stretcher and levitated Ella onto it. Her head rolled limply to one side; she was almost totally unconscious now.
"Let's go," said Remus hastily beside me, waving his own wand so that the stretcher moved over to him and bobbed at his side. I felt an odd rush of pride, that one of my cubs could be so effective in a crisis.
On the other side of the room, Jack nodded quickly, giving Becky a quick hug and a kiss before striding over to Ella and Remus. Remus clapped Jack on the shoulder gently, and they quickly left my office with Ella.
For a minute, my office felt suddenly eerily quiet. I closed my eyes for a short second, before collecting myself with a deep breath. I turned around to see Becky stood rooted to the same spot, looking up at me with big, scared eyes.
"Hello, Becky," I said, trying to sound warm, and gentler than I would be with my older students. "My name is Professor McGonagall. I'm a teacher here."
Becky looked down at her feet and didn't say anything. She instantly reminded me of a younger Ella. Ignoring the slight pang that this gave me in my chest, I gestured to the sofa where Ella had been lying. "Would you like to sit down?"
Hesitantly, the child moved over and sat down on the edge of the sofa without looking up at me. She was clearly terrified, physically shaking. What was I going to do with her? I looked over to my desk, wondering how to put the child at her ease. My eyes landed on the tin of biscuits from Filius, and I felt a flash of inspiration. "Do you drink hot chocolate, Becky?"
An hour later, Becky had drunk a large mug of hot chocolate, eaten three biscuits and was now sitting more comfortably on my sofa. She had cried rather a lot at first, but my assurance that Ella would be fine seemed to have calmed her down considerably.
"It's my fault," she had initially told me, highly worried. "The spell was meant for me, I should have taken it!"
At this point I was sat on the sofa next to her. I shook my head. "No adult should be firing curses at children," I told her firmly. "Regardless of how they've been provoked."
She looked down into her mug. "Is my Mum going to go to prison?" she asked tentatively, looking afraid of the answer.
I sighed. "Possibly, I'm afraid." It didn't seem right to lie to Becky just to mollify her. This was the truth; I had no idea what Magical Law Enforcement would do to Mrs Nunes when they found out the circumstances.
In fact, however, the idea that the three of them might be protected actually seemed to calm Becky down more. "Ella hasn't told anyone because she knows I don't want to go to foster care," she told me, with an honest innocence that reminded me just how young she was. "But I don't want her to get hurt anymore. Or Jack." She hesitated. "Or me, when they're not there."
It was painfully sad to hear these things from Becky but at long last I felt like I was starting to understand why Ella had been behaving so erratically. Remus had updated me about how he'd found her in the bathroom before Christmas, but I hadn't been able to help him unravel why Ella had hurt herself so badly. And, though I had been much less worried about this, it also started to explain why Jack had been getting more and more – for want of a word – aggressive in his pranks this school year. More than anything, however, I felt terrible that these three children had been forced to keep such a big secret.
I took some solace in the fact that I could contribute that night by keeping Becky comfortable and calm while Ella was being helped by the Healers. I wasn't sure how I was going to keep her occupied the next day, if Ella was still away. Though I was going to contact the child welfare department at the Ministry about all three children as soon as possible, I knew it would take a day or two to sort out accommodation for any of the children, especially if they were safe at Hogwarts. Moreover, I imagined they would want to interview the children before they decided what to do.
But for now, anyway, it was getting late. I had sent a house elf to fetch some spare hospital pyjamas (the smallest size) for Becky to sleep in, and some blankets and sheets to set her up a little bed on the larger sofa in my private quarters. I had also found a spare toothbrush from the small store of such things that I kept in my office.
I pointed at the clock with a small smile. "Bedtime, I think," I said with a small smile.
Becky nodded, though there was something in her expression that I couldn't quite read. I waited for her to speak but she stayed silent. With a small frown, I handed her the pyjamas and toothbrush as I gestured to the bathroom. "You can get changed in there. Then we can get you settled for the night."
Becky nodded again and took the things from me. "Thank you," she said quietly, and again I was reminded of Ella – politely covering up that something was wrong.
While Becky was in the bathroom, I gathered up my marking and moved it to the small desk in my private quarters so Becky wouldn't be left alone. I hoped the small lamp on the desk wouldn't disturb her. Next I spread some sheets over the sofa cushions, as well as a pillow and a warm blanket. She would be comfortable there, I was sure. I briefly considered lending her my only teddy bear, but I felt a little embarrassed to admit that I had kept hold of him. This girl would be coming to Hogwarts herself in two years, I had to remind myself.
Becky emerged from the bathroom looking very young in the slightly too large pyjamas. She hesitantly laid her own clothes on the arm of the sofa. I noticed she was watching me as if almost a little afraid.
"Is there anything I can help you with?" I asked, finding it easier to be gentle with this younger girl than it was sometimes with my students.
She hesitated again, her eyes fixed on one point. I looked behind her; she was focused on the fireplace on the wall in my living quarters. "My stepdad – he can't Floo in here, can he?"
I frowned, finding the question a little odd. In truth, I was more expecting her to be worried about her mum coming into the room. Still, I shook my head. "That grate isn't connected to the Floo network," I answered her honestly. "You have nothing to worry about there." The issue with her stepdad was something to be unravelled on another day, I knew; but in truth, I was finding it hard to shake it out of my head.
In any case, Becky was visibly relieved at my answer. With a little bit more confidence, she climbed into her bed for the night. After such a long day, I knew the poor child must be exhausted. "Good night," she said quietly when she was laid down.
I gave her a small smile. "Good night, Becky." She was a sweet child. I felt fairly confident that Becky would follow Ella into Hufflepuff when she joined the school, rather than going into Gryffindor with her brother.
Before long, Becky was laid still and seemed to be asleep fairly peacefully. It was still early for me, and it was easy to get going with my marking again. I had always had a good ability for putting things out of my head to get on with what needed to be done, and I certainly called on that skill that night. Some thoughts were more difficult to get rid of than others, sadly.
Why her stepdad, not her mother?
I was once again trying to put that thought out of my mind when I noticed Becky starting to toss and turn on the sofa. I put my quill down, and quickly hurried out from behind my desk. As I did so, Becky thrashed particularly violently and suddenly sat bolt upright. I thought for a moment that she was going to be sick and I was about to conjure a bucket when she took a few deep breaths, settling herself. It seemed to take her a few moments to work out where she was.
I crouched down next to her, feeling a little awkward but mostly wanting to make sure she was alright. "What's happened?" I asked quietly.
Catching sight of me seemed to soothe her for a brief moment; but then she seemed to realise something and, to my confusion, she turned bright red, looking down at her lap as tears started to fall. Unlike in my dealings with Ella, Becky didn't try and force the tears back, and she started to sob, looking frankly ashamed.
"Becky?" I asked, slightly bewildered. "What's the matter?"
She brushed off the tears on her face with her sleeve but more kept coming. "I'm so sorry," she wailed at me. "I had a nightmare - I didn't mean to, I promise!"
I frowned, even more confused. "Didn't mean to…?" I prompted, concerned.
Becky closed her eyes as if she was forcing herself to speak. Finally she leaned over to me and whispered the fact in my ear.
Now things made sense. I shook my head slightly, reaching over to lay a hand on her shoulder. But as Becky saw my hand coming towards her, she immediately flinched away backwards. She looked afraid, screwing up her face and bracing herself as if expecting a blow.
I moved my hand back, holding it up to show I wasn't going to hurt her. "It's quite all right, Becky," I said very gently. "We don't punish children for that at Hogwarts." I frowned, choosing my next words carefully. "Does your mother get – very angry, if this happens, at home?"
Becky swallowed, finally looking up at me, and nodded. "Yeah," she admitted sadly, before adding, "only if Ella isn't there. Ella's really good at cleaning it with magic, she does it to her own sheets too-"
My face must have betrayed my surprise at this revelation because Becky suddenly stopped, unsure. "Should I not have told you that? Is Ella going to get in trouble?"
I shook my head emphatically. "Not at all." And I meant it. I was genuinely surprised that Ella was having this same problem, but mostly I was frankly quite concerned. I felt certain that none of her other professors were aware of it (especially Pomona) and I made a mental note to mention it when I spoke to the Ministry. In conjunction with the odd comment about their stepfather, it was possible to say that, I was, in fact, more than concerned.
In truth, my heart was rather aching for the three children. It seemed like they had all been keeping big secrets for a very long time. I couldn't bear the thought of Ella cleaning Becky up in the middle of the night to stop her getting hurt by their mother; but somehow the thought of Ella having to do the same for herself all alone at Hogwarts, too scared or embarrassed to tell anyone… somehow that was worse.
I quickly retrieved my wand from my desk, and with a few household spells, I cleaned and dried Becky and the bed. "All sorted," I said quietly, and Becky was visibly relieved. She gave me a small smile, before, to my slight alarm, throwing her arms around my neck and giving me a hug.
I blinked, but tentatively put a hand on Becky's back. "You're alright, dear," I said, a little stiffly but determined to settle the child. I rubbed her back slightly as she clung to me. I could only hope that things were going as well at St Mungo's with the other Nunes children.
