Chapter Nine
In which Minerva McGonagall is very much surprised
The day was wearing on and the four missing students and teachers were no closer to being found than the were when darkness still ruled the heavens. Albus Dumbledore was troubled, terribly troubled. He sat in his office, waiting for Minerva to return from conferring with Hagrid, who was quite distraught, and Mister Filch, who was feeling rather put out. If she returned without good news, then the headmaster would be divulging some information that, if he had his wish, would remain secret long after his time at Hogwarts ended.
A knock at the door caused the aging wizard to sigh.
"Come in." he called, leaving his desk.
Minerva McGonagall had returned. Her face was drawn, and she looked to be at her wits' end. The day had already been a long one for her. She cared about all of students, but those missing were among some of her favorites, though she tried not to show it. Remus, who had been a shy and kind child, had been among the best she had taught during her long years of teaching. Hermione was exceptionally smart and brave. Ginny was a sweet girl and special to most of her house. Even at sixteen, she was still a kid sister to most of the sixth and seventh years. And then there was Severus, of course, who was never her charge, but who had been through so very much.
"Albus, there's been no luck." she said, taking a handkerchief from her pocket and dabbing her right eye. "We've been over every inch of the castle and the grounds."
"Perhaps there is one more place that should be taken into consideration." said Dumbledore.
"Oh, yes, Hagrid and Filch have been sent to Hogsmeade. The Shrieking Shack will be checked too, of course." said Professor McGonagall.
"Minerva, this may come as something of a shock to you, but do you recall the strange circumstances that occurred during your sixth year?" questioned Dumbledore.
"That was the year that you missed teaching nearly half your classes because of Grindelwald, wasn't it?" she questioned. Stern Professor McGonagall immediately blushed as Albus raised his eyebrows.
"What a funny way of remembering it, but, yes, that was the year." he nodded.
"And what does it have to do with the disappearances?" she asked him.
"A memory charm was placed on you during the first week of May that year. At your request, I should add."
"Albus? It seems rather absurd to say that I don't remember being subjected to such a charm, but ..."
"I know."
"In fact I clearly remember having a wonderful time all that spring while you were away. I had a study group with several of my friends to keep us from falling behind in transfigurations."
"I am pleased that the charm worked so well, but since I placed it on you myself, I must dispute what you remember, or rather what you do not." said Albus gently. "It was a rather weak charm actually. I half expected you to break through it over the years, but you have never dwelled unnecessarily on the past."
"Thank you."
"But I have to remove it, Minerva, so that we may discuss another possible answer for our current crisis." he told her, drawing his wand.
"All right, if you think it's for the best." she agreed.
"Instauro!" he said with a wave of his wand.
Professor McGonagall swayed dizzily for a moment. Dumbledore caught her by the arm to prevent her from falling.
"It may not all come back at once, but that should do it, Minerva."
"Yes, Albus." she nodded. Frowning, she asked, "I went with you to fight Grindelwald, didn't I?"
"You managed to tag along." he chuckled. "Against my better judgment."
"I'll never be able to lecture Harry Potter again." she groaned, removing her glasses and rubbing her eyes. "Or Weasley for that matter."
"There, there, Minerva. You were very helpful. I would never have been able to defeat Grindelwald alone. I would have had to find Aurors to help me, and who knows what Grindelwald could have accomplished by then? You were an invaluable asset."
"It was horrifying, Albus, what that man had done." she said, shaking her head.
"I know." he agreed quietly. The things she had seen. That had been the chief reason she had asked him to cast a memory charm on her.
"And what you did to him ... it was only just. It was the only way. No mere prison could have held him, not even after you snapped his wand. And his followers ..."
"Terrible times. Terrible indeed. But you do realize why I wanted you to remember. It wasn't because of the blood or carnage or pain, Minerva." he said gently.
Her eyes widened as she realized what he meant.
"Albus, you don't mean that they have gotten inside the other place, the prison world, somehow! Everything about it was removed from the books! Not that anyone read those particular ..."
"Yes, Minerva, I fear that it is true. Our friends and students somehow managed to cross the barrier between our world and the demons' prison. And I do not believe that they will find it easy to return without some assistance from us."
"Is there any way for us to bring them back or to contact them?"
"The Founders may have left a way to reach the demon realm. I know that at least one of them was good at preparing for emergencies or the unexpected. But finding this method of communication may not be easy. I seem to recall that it had something to do with mirrors."
"And we must hurry! Goodness knows what must be happening to them in there."
"Yes, time is of the essence." Albus agreed. "I must locate a text that I saved from before the defeat of Grindelwald. Instructions, if you will."
"And I should ...?"
"Contact the parents of your students. Do not frighten them or tell them too much, but apprise them of the situation."
"Of course." she nodded, turning to go. She had been planning to do just that.
"Minerva, you haven't mentioned the kiss."
Her thin cheeks turned bright scarlet in hue as she turned again.
"All these years I thought you were barely aware of my ... of my school girl crush on you and now I find out that I kissed you! What the devil am I supposed to say?"
"I don't know, Minerva. I wasn't exactly expecting a thank-you, but some comment might have been nice." he said, his eyes twinkling, laughing, behind his glasses. He had been waiting fifty years to tease her about that, and he was going to enjoy it.
"You old rascal!"
"Who me? I'm just a defenseless old man."
"You? Defenseless? That will be the day!" she snorted before dashing out of his office.
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A/N: I'm sorry I didn't warn everyone about the very mild AD/MM pairing. It won't be a big thing. I'm pretty sure about that. And, yes, the next chapter will focus on the intrepid quartet in the other world. Just lightening the mood and so forth, so on.
JoeBob1379: Your observations on writing were really neat, and I totally agree with you. Thank you for reviewing!
Lady Lynet ap Evyn: It's nice to know that I can write something addictive. Thanks!
Astraea: I'm glad you like the pairing. I usually prefer Remus/Sirius (not that Hermione/Remus isn't cool sometimes), but I thought this would be kind of different. I like a lot of very different pairings myself. Thank you for the review!
Dixiehnsnluver: Thanks for reviewing!
Rosmerta: I don't know if the demons are like vampires. *winces* That's a really interesting thought. Sometimes I feel compelled to give a long rambling answer to a question ... If they wanted to try the Bible theory (just drifting out in to the hypothetical here), they would possibly need to get back to the library ... That might be a little rough. Unless, of course, Snape's predecessor happened to have one in the apartment (and since I am writing the guy as an OC in another story, I feel qualified *chortles ironically* to say that he just might). I think I've already hinted that there are some books in there (potions' stuff mainly), but they would still need to locate it. A cross would be infinitely easier to come by in that they could make one easily enough; however, there is a knowledge problem with both options (they've never been trained to fight these creatures and probably haven't seen Buffy: Vampire Slayer or Angel). *sighs* But I loved the question. I had never really thought of any of that. Thank you for reviewing and I hope my answer doesn't freak you out or anything!
Ledele: I'm glad you have found the story to original. Thanks for the review!
Aqua Child: Thanks!
Mercurial: Many, many things ... Thank you for reviewing!
In which Minerva McGonagall is very much surprised
The day was wearing on and the four missing students and teachers were no closer to being found than the were when darkness still ruled the heavens. Albus Dumbledore was troubled, terribly troubled. He sat in his office, waiting for Minerva to return from conferring with Hagrid, who was quite distraught, and Mister Filch, who was feeling rather put out. If she returned without good news, then the headmaster would be divulging some information that, if he had his wish, would remain secret long after his time at Hogwarts ended.
A knock at the door caused the aging wizard to sigh.
"Come in." he called, leaving his desk.
Minerva McGonagall had returned. Her face was drawn, and she looked to be at her wits' end. The day had already been a long one for her. She cared about all of students, but those missing were among some of her favorites, though she tried not to show it. Remus, who had been a shy and kind child, had been among the best she had taught during her long years of teaching. Hermione was exceptionally smart and brave. Ginny was a sweet girl and special to most of her house. Even at sixteen, she was still a kid sister to most of the sixth and seventh years. And then there was Severus, of course, who was never her charge, but who had been through so very much.
"Albus, there's been no luck." she said, taking a handkerchief from her pocket and dabbing her right eye. "We've been over every inch of the castle and the grounds."
"Perhaps there is one more place that should be taken into consideration." said Dumbledore.
"Oh, yes, Hagrid and Filch have been sent to Hogsmeade. The Shrieking Shack will be checked too, of course." said Professor McGonagall.
"Minerva, this may come as something of a shock to you, but do you recall the strange circumstances that occurred during your sixth year?" questioned Dumbledore.
"That was the year that you missed teaching nearly half your classes because of Grindelwald, wasn't it?" she questioned. Stern Professor McGonagall immediately blushed as Albus raised his eyebrows.
"What a funny way of remembering it, but, yes, that was the year." he nodded.
"And what does it have to do with the disappearances?" she asked him.
"A memory charm was placed on you during the first week of May that year. At your request, I should add."
"Albus? It seems rather absurd to say that I don't remember being subjected to such a charm, but ..."
"I know."
"In fact I clearly remember having a wonderful time all that spring while you were away. I had a study group with several of my friends to keep us from falling behind in transfigurations."
"I am pleased that the charm worked so well, but since I placed it on you myself, I must dispute what you remember, or rather what you do not." said Albus gently. "It was a rather weak charm actually. I half expected you to break through it over the years, but you have never dwelled unnecessarily on the past."
"Thank you."
"But I have to remove it, Minerva, so that we may discuss another possible answer for our current crisis." he told her, drawing his wand.
"All right, if you think it's for the best." she agreed.
"Instauro!" he said with a wave of his wand.
Professor McGonagall swayed dizzily for a moment. Dumbledore caught her by the arm to prevent her from falling.
"It may not all come back at once, but that should do it, Minerva."
"Yes, Albus." she nodded. Frowning, she asked, "I went with you to fight Grindelwald, didn't I?"
"You managed to tag along." he chuckled. "Against my better judgment."
"I'll never be able to lecture Harry Potter again." she groaned, removing her glasses and rubbing her eyes. "Or Weasley for that matter."
"There, there, Minerva. You were very helpful. I would never have been able to defeat Grindelwald alone. I would have had to find Aurors to help me, and who knows what Grindelwald could have accomplished by then? You were an invaluable asset."
"It was horrifying, Albus, what that man had done." she said, shaking her head.
"I know." he agreed quietly. The things she had seen. That had been the chief reason she had asked him to cast a memory charm on her.
"And what you did to him ... it was only just. It was the only way. No mere prison could have held him, not even after you snapped his wand. And his followers ..."
"Terrible times. Terrible indeed. But you do realize why I wanted you to remember. It wasn't because of the blood or carnage or pain, Minerva." he said gently.
Her eyes widened as she realized what he meant.
"Albus, you don't mean that they have gotten inside the other place, the prison world, somehow! Everything about it was removed from the books! Not that anyone read those particular ..."
"Yes, Minerva, I fear that it is true. Our friends and students somehow managed to cross the barrier between our world and the demons' prison. And I do not believe that they will find it easy to return without some assistance from us."
"Is there any way for us to bring them back or to contact them?"
"The Founders may have left a way to reach the demon realm. I know that at least one of them was good at preparing for emergencies or the unexpected. But finding this method of communication may not be easy. I seem to recall that it had something to do with mirrors."
"And we must hurry! Goodness knows what must be happening to them in there."
"Yes, time is of the essence." Albus agreed. "I must locate a text that I saved from before the defeat of Grindelwald. Instructions, if you will."
"And I should ...?"
"Contact the parents of your students. Do not frighten them or tell them too much, but apprise them of the situation."
"Of course." she nodded, turning to go. She had been planning to do just that.
"Minerva, you haven't mentioned the kiss."
Her thin cheeks turned bright scarlet in hue as she turned again.
"All these years I thought you were barely aware of my ... of my school girl crush on you and now I find out that I kissed you! What the devil am I supposed to say?"
"I don't know, Minerva. I wasn't exactly expecting a thank-you, but some comment might have been nice." he said, his eyes twinkling, laughing, behind his glasses. He had been waiting fifty years to tease her about that, and he was going to enjoy it.
"You old rascal!"
"Who me? I'm just a defenseless old man."
"You? Defenseless? That will be the day!" she snorted before dashing out of his office.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A/N: I'm sorry I didn't warn everyone about the very mild AD/MM pairing. It won't be a big thing. I'm pretty sure about that. And, yes, the next chapter will focus on the intrepid quartet in the other world. Just lightening the mood and so forth, so on.
JoeBob1379: Your observations on writing were really neat, and I totally agree with you. Thank you for reviewing!
Lady Lynet ap Evyn: It's nice to know that I can write something addictive. Thanks!
Astraea: I'm glad you like the pairing. I usually prefer Remus/Sirius (not that Hermione/Remus isn't cool sometimes), but I thought this would be kind of different. I like a lot of very different pairings myself. Thank you for the review!
Dixiehnsnluver: Thanks for reviewing!
Rosmerta: I don't know if the demons are like vampires. *winces* That's a really interesting thought. Sometimes I feel compelled to give a long rambling answer to a question ... If they wanted to try the Bible theory (just drifting out in to the hypothetical here), they would possibly need to get back to the library ... That might be a little rough. Unless, of course, Snape's predecessor happened to have one in the apartment (and since I am writing the guy as an OC in another story, I feel qualified *chortles ironically* to say that he just might). I think I've already hinted that there are some books in there (potions' stuff mainly), but they would still need to locate it. A cross would be infinitely easier to come by in that they could make one easily enough; however, there is a knowledge problem with both options (they've never been trained to fight these creatures and probably haven't seen Buffy: Vampire Slayer or Angel). *sighs* But I loved the question. I had never really thought of any of that. Thank you for reviewing and I hope my answer doesn't freak you out or anything!
Ledele: I'm glad you have found the story to original. Thanks for the review!
Aqua Child: Thanks!
Mercurial: Many, many things ... Thank you for reviewing!