Chapter 5: Minerva verse Umbridge
a/n: The underlines passages are taking directly from "The Order of the Phoenix" as I am trying to make the story seamless with the books. Thank you for the reviews on the last chapter Saeshmea – I agree that they are both such complicated people that I can't envision them getting together and riding off in the sunset. I envision a rollercoaster ride…so hang on!
Days had gone by and while Minerva and Severus were acting "normal" around one another, they still had not spoken about their night together, nor what it meant for their future.
It was the last evening of exams and Minerva was walking the corridors on patrol. The fifth years were taking their evening practical exam in Divination but the rest of the castle was quiet. As she moved towards one of the windows facing the forbidden forest she saw a handful of people making their way to Hagrid cabin. Umbridge she thought She is going to sac Hagrid.
Knowing the personalities of Hagrid and Umbridge, Minerva knew this was not going to go smoothly. She hurried her pace to the entrance to the castle and started to make her way towards Hagrid's cabin. As she exited the cabin she could see red sparks flying everywhere as Umbridge and her crew were trying to hex Hagrid. Anger welled up inside her and she screamed "HOW DARE YOU!"
When the mayhem continued she marched further still yelling "LEAVE HIM ALONE." They were still paying her no heed.
The screams and commotion had been heard by almost the whole castle. Severus ran to a window to try and discern what was happened. He heard Minerva yelling "On what grounds are you attacking him? He has done nothing, nothing to warrant such-"
Then Severus's heart got caught in his throat as he saw four stunners hit Minerva in the chest. She was lifted off her feet, thrown to the ground, and lay there motionless. He sprinted to the entrance of the castle begging his legs to carry him faster.
In the remaining minutes it took him to get onsite Hagrid had disappeared into the forest and Doloros Umbridge and gang were licking their wounds and heading back up the castle steps. Minerva still lay motionless and not one of them made a move to attend to her.
Umbridge took his arrival as a sign of solidarity and said "He's gone, but thank you for coming" he still wasn't prepared to show his hand so he simply replied "I will attend to Minerva for you".
Doloros seemed to have forgotten about Minerva as she mumbled "Yes, yes, we should probably do something with her" as she made her way inside the castle.
As Doloros entered the castle, Severus ran to Minerva's side. She was knocked out but alive and the fear that had come over him had subsided slightly. He could have used his wand to move her to the infirmary but instead he wrapped on arm around her back and the other under her knees and he carried her, yet again, to Madam Pomfreys.
Minerva starting to come to as he carried her down the corridor of the castle. She threaded her arm around Severus back and tightened her grip. When they reached the infirmary he gently laid her on the bed. "Are you alight?" he asked.
She didn't respond right away but she reached out and held his hand. He realized she would need a few hours and some potion draughts before she could use her throat muscles for speech. Poppy came running over asking "What happened?"
Severus continued to hold her hand even in Poppy's presence as he brought her up to speed on the evening events. Her face was filled with shock but she was an experienced healer and immediately went into crisis control mode. She rattled off a list of potions she needed and laid out an action plan for the evening but recommended Minerva be moved to St. Mungos at first light. While she felt confident she could heal her friend, she wanted her as far away from Umbridge as possible. Severus agreed and made to get up to start on the potions.
Minerva kept a strong hold of his hand to prevent him leaving. Severus stopped and looked into her eyes and could tell she wanted him by her side. It filled his heart. Ignoring the fact that Poppy was standing right next to the bed, he leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips saying quietly, "I'll be as quick as I can." He waited for her to nod her ascent and then left without a word or glance at Poppy and sprinted to his dungeon laboratory. Minerva glanced at Poppy and smiled inwardly at the priceless look on her dear friends face.
a/n: I know this one was short but I am almost done the next chapter and this was the best break. Please drop me a note if you have time.
