The transfiguration professor's first class of the day found haggard 6th year Gryffindors and Ravenclaws filing into her classroom. A deep ache was blooming across Minerva's forehead and she suspected the bottles of Firewhiskey that were strewn about her room were the culprit. She noticed with a growing sense of unease that her students did not converse amongst each other as they usually did before lessons, and most of their eyes were cast towards the floor as they refused to meet her gaze.
Despite her reputation as a strict, no-nonsense member of Hogwarts staff, Minerva prided herself on being a support for her students particularly under difficult circumstances. She didn't have the same motherly touch as Pomona or Poppy but she was always ready to offer a listening ear should her students need it. Her 6th and 7th years in particular had a friendly rapport with their professor which is why their lack of engagement struck her with worry.
Minerva studied them intently as the last few filed into her classroom. Sighing deeply the professor took a moment to steady herself before standing to address the class.
"Good morning. I trust you all enjoyed a few days of respite before we dig further into your NEWT studies. If you'd please take out your essays on the ethics of-",
"Professor Mcgonagall", Luna Lovegood interrupted.
Minerva faltered momentarily before turning her attention to the girl.
"Yes, Ms. Lovegood," the professor replied tiredly, not finding it within herself to reprimand the girl for speaking out of turn.
"Ginny isn't here," Minerva's stomach dropped as she surveyed the students before her. The youngest Weasley's desk was in fact unoccupied and the other students glanced at each other with thinly veiled fear. The professor's mind began to spin with all of the possible reasons for Ginny's absence, each more chilling than the last.
The last time Minerva saw her student she was sat with a handful of Gryffindors in the Great Hall the evening before. They huddled close to one another while speaking in hushed tones, which was not an uncommon occurrence in recent months since Severus had taken up the post of Headmaster. Their efforts to organize against dark forces filled Minerva with equal amounts of pride and dread as she knew of the danger that awaited any rebellion, perceived or otherwise. She warned them fruitlessly that they were no good to the resistance if they were incapacitated or worse but her pleas seemed to fall on deaf ears.
"What do you mean 'stand down'?!" Ginny cried. "My brother and best friends are hiding out Merlin knows where, risking their lives, and you want me to do NOTHING?"
Minerva had the good sense not to chuckle in response to the girl's tirade that bore striking resemblance to the one she received from Molly after she was told to stand down while Gideon and Fabian threw themselves into the line of fire.
"Miss Weasley I expect that no matter how many times I urge you to exercise caution you will continue recklessly nonetheless. I simply ask that you do so in a manner that is less harmful to you and your compatriots"
"This is war, Minerva!", Ginny pressed, "danger will find us whether we're ready or not"
The professor's amusement began to sour at her student's indignation.
"You seem to have forgotten that I am a veteran of two wars, Ginevra. I am more than well aware of the dangers that await us all within these walls. I am also aware of the way that younger students follow in your footsteps as you waltz into more peril than you can handle and I have the responsibility of fearing for their safety as well as yours," Minerva finished sternly.
The older which had hoped that her perspective would bring the girl back to earth but it only served to stoke the fire beneath her.
"They should be allowed to choose to fight! They're in this position because adults like you couldn't learn enough from the first two wars to prevent it from happening again. At least allow them the privilege to decide whether or not this is the only war they're forced to live through," Ginny spat, crossing her arms across her chest defiantly.
Minerva rose from her desk chair, matching her student's intensity as fury simmered just beneath the surface of her well-constructed demeanor.
"They are CHILDREN, Ginny!"
The younger woman began to pale in response to Minerva's rage which caused the air around them to crackle sharply.
"How dare you imply that all of those deaths were in vain. Your own uncles laid down their lives in defense of what is right and you have the indecency to suggest that we've arrived here again because that wasn't enough? Your mother would be heartbroken to hear such naivety from her own blood".
A sniffle from Ms. Lovegood drew Minerva back to the present and she attempted to gather her wits.
"When was the last time any of you saw Miss Weasley?" She probed. "Was she present for breakfast this morning?"
"No, professor," Luna replied, "We haven't seen her since last night".
Before the young witches and wizards could register what had occurred their professor had dismissed them and strode from the room. Wasting no time, Minerva broke into a jog towards the castle's dungeon. There was no question in her mind that Ginny had been apprehended by the two newest additions to the staff who bore the same wretched mark as the Headmaster. It wouldn't be the first time the girl had found herself in their clutches and the thought of her previous injuries reminded the witch to fire off a patronus to Poppy so that she could ready herself for a myriad of injuries caused by dark magic and unforgivable curses.
Hogwarts various moving staircases seemed to sense her urgency as they created a path for the witch as she steeled herself for what she may find. Minerva blew past the portrait of Salazar Slytherin, who observed her curiously, and headed for the entrance to Alecto's appointed office where detentions had been taking place. The door nearly flew off its hinges when the powerful sorceress crashed through it with an almighty shove.
The frigid musk of the dungeons amplified tenfold and to Minerva's horror the metallic scent of blood was present as noted by her heightened feline senses. Amycus and Alecto were standing across from each other seemingly in deep conversation. Surprise colored both of their faces as they noted the air around the transfiguration professor's head shift with uncontained raw power. They were accustomed to Minerva's ire since beginning their tenure at the school but had yet to see the former Deputy affect the very air around her.
"WHERE IS SHE?" Minerva roared as she approached them in fury.
"You'll have to be more specific, madam," Alecto sneered in response.
"You will release Ginevra Weasley at once or so help me I will dedicate the rest of my days to your untimely demise". The two death eaters glanced at each other seemingly trying to come to a decision. "We know not of what you speak," Amycus replied "If the brat is missing it must be her own doing".
Running out of patience, Minerva steeled herself and expanded her magic outward in an effort to locate Ginny's magical signature. She brushed past those of the revolting siblings in the room and probed every corner of the office for signs of life. Minerva's brow furrowed in concentration as a she zeroed in on a flickering of a familiar aura beyond the closet door to her right which pulsed faintly as if drained to exhaustion.
The witch broke from her momentary focus and headed for the closet despite the protests of the Carrows. With a wave of her hand the door swung open to reveal the limp form of Ginny Weasley crumpled in a heap and shackled to the wall. The air left Minerva's lungs in a whoosh and she rushed forward to ensure that her student was still in fact alive.
She knelt before the girl and checked for a pulse which was present but incredibly weak. A shaking hand stroked Ginny's pale cheek in an attempt to rouse her but she did not return to consciousness. The chains that tethered her to the wall exploded as Minerva directed her magic towards them with all of her might. Alecto and Amycus shouted profanities at her but she paid them no mind and scooped Ginny into her arms, wincing at the strain in her back.
"Where do you think you're going, bitch!?" Amycus bellowed, "she is a blood traitor and deserves to be punished!" He moved to block Minerva's path but in an instant flew backwards, crashing into the wall behind him with a thud. Alecto rushed to his side and Professor Mcgonagall continued unperturbed to exit the office.
"You will pay for that!" She heard Alecto shout but it barely registered as all of her attention was drawn to Ginny's frail form. Students who were present in the corridor parted in the presence of their professor to let her pass. A path to the hospital wing was carved seemingly by the castle itself and she bounded up the stairs taking them two at a time.
As she approached her destination in a flurry of robes she spotted Poppy standing haggardly at the entrance to the ward. The matron's eyes widened at the sight of the two witches and her heart constricted as she observed Minerva's panicked expression.
Both women rushed into Poppy's office where a temporary triage area had been set up to aid students and professors who had been caught in the crosshairs of the Carrow's violent punishment. Minerva deposited Ginny gently onto the hospital bed while Poppy evaluated the girl in a flurry of complex spells. Minerva wiped some of the blood from the corner of Ginny's mouth where a trickle had slowed. Having removed them both from imminent danger, the professor truly took in her student's injuries for the first time.
A deep purple bruise fanned across Ginny's left eye and extended to her temple. Her lips and teeth were stained red as if she had bit her lip to avoid crying out. Ginny's right arm was bent at the elbow in an unnatural position. Tears clouded Minerva's vision and she shook her head to dispel them, knowing that this was not the time to lose her grip.
The elder Gryffindor emerged from her thoughts to the sound of Poppy gathering potion vials from the expansive rack in her stores. She rushed back to the bedside and pushed four vials into Minerva's arms.
"Heavy blood replenishing potions and magical restoration serum first, followed by this one," Poppy pointed to a vial of cloudy green contents "will subdue her core so it does not lash out when she regains some strength. The pain potion last, she will need it at the first signs of stirring". The matron instructed.
Minerva nodded gravely and poured the first two potions into Ginny's mouth before shutting it gently. Poppy pulled her wand from her robes and set to work repairing the bones in the girl's arm. Color slowly crept back into her pale cheeks as the blood replenishing potion took effect. The aura that Minerva had latched onto in order to locate Ginny stirred simultaneously which helped to ease a bit of the older woman's worry.
She became aware of the rapid pounding of her heart and her shaking hands which ghosted over the girl's marred face. Adrenaline coursed through her body still even though the immediate danger had passed. Minerva focused on Poppy's murmured incantations to anchor herself to the present and shuddered through a few deep breaths.
After a few long moments the transfiguration mistress noticed that her colleagues' spell work had ceased and the crackling of the fireplace was the only remaining sound to distract Minerva from her racing thoughts. She glanced upward and found Poppy worrying her lower lip as if deep in thought. Ginny remained unconscious despite their efforts and Minerva felt panic sink its claws into her heart once more.
"We've done all that we can for now, the rest is up to her," Poppy murmured.
A sob burst forth from Minerva's mouth as the walls she had maintained came crashing down at the implication of the matron's statement. She covered her mouth with a trembling hand in an attempt to muffle her despair at her own abject failure to keep her students safe. Molly's sorrowed cry following the incident within the Chamber of Secrets resounded in her head she pictured once more having to console a grieving mother.
Poppy knelt beside her friend who'd been unable to bear the weight of her guilt and pulled her close. She felt the same helplessness that Minerva bore and had spent countless nights weeping into the other woman's robes in the dim light of her quarters. The deep pain in Minerva's cries shook Poppy to her core.
"Oh, Min," she whispered into the other woman's hair while rocking her soothingly like she would an anguished child. Minerva gripped the back of Poppy's apron as if she would slip beyond the point of no return without something to anchor her.
"It will all be alright," she heard Poppy console. They both knew that it was nothing more than a platitude meant to provide momentary solace.
"I cannot lose her," Minerva said desperately between shuddering breaths. Considering the recent break in at Gringotts Poppy caught the double meaning behind her friend's words. She'd observed the complex relationship between the professor and the brightest witch any of them had taught in decades and often wondered what lay below the surface. Minerva's quiet mourning following Bill Weasley's wedding and the subsequent disappearance of the Golden Trio found Poppy realizing that Hermione meant the world to her oldest friend.
The matron sighed quietly as she rubbed slow circles on Minerva's back.
"They'll come back, my dear. They are more capable than we will ever know. Merlin help any wizard who tries to keep her from coming back to you," Poppy mused.
Minerva let out a watery laugh and nodded into her friend's shoulder, hoping with all of her might that she was right.