The Soul Of A Teacher
By: Althea
Disclaimer: All canon characters are from JK Rowling, while other characters you do not recognize and the plot, is mine.
Spoilers: All four books
Rating: PG-13 (can go to R)
Summary: It's time to take a break from the Hogwarts students and settle in for the one of the most important part of the school. Our teachers. This is their story, this is their life, their love and their past. Let's venture out to the souls of our dear teachers and see what they are really made of. And sometimes, what you see can shock you.
A/N: Every chapter will deal with a single teacher, about his/her life, love, past and his/her innermost thoughts. This is supposed to be a prologue or an extra piece for my other fic, "The Final Battle" in which it's already Harry's 7th year and the battle between good and evil will finally start. The Great War is coming and it's up to Harry and friends to defeat the Evil Dark Lord once and for all. Please read it also and review.
WARNING: This chapter deals with a very delicate matter involving sexual abuse. If you're uncomfortable with these stuff. Please don't read this since you'll only get offended.
The Soul of a Teacher
Chapter Two: Transfiguration
//His eyes, his hands
All over, all over my body
His lips, his breath
Connecting with mine
His skin, my skin
Rubbing with each other
I tried in vain
To push him away
But he was too strong
To strong for me to fight him
I was too weak
Too weak to defend myself
And as he entered me
I cried and screamed
And felt the pain of his abuse
What did I do to deserve this
I asked myself as I
Clawed my way out of this nightmare
That fate has unfairly
Brought upon me
And I knew at that moment
That my life would never be the same again
Never going to forget the hell
I've been through
And now, years from all of those
I stand proud
Chin up in the air
But the memory still remains
Forever buried in my memory
Forever buried in my heart
Forever buried in my soul...//
~ ~ ~
She was only fourteen when it happened. She did not know anything then. She was an innocent. But innocence was one of the things that malice loved to corrupt. Hence, her life was changed forever.
~ ~ ~
Minerva McGonagall brought down the book that she was holding and took a deep, calming breath. Memories of pain, misery and suffering buried deep in her thoughts, never to be re-awaken again, never to be reminisce again.
She got up from the big comfy cushion in her vast teacher's dorm and headed to her bedroom to get ready for the day. It was just four o'clock in the morning and she was already wide-awake, preparing for the usual busy and chaotic day ahead. She picked up her towel and walked into her own private bathroom. She opened the faucet, dipped her hand in and splashed the ice- cold water on her face. It was relieving to feel that freezing sensation as she felt her body waking up completely and shaking itself off that sleepiness and disorientation.
She would not deny, if anybody would care to ask her, that for the past few months, she had been waking up in the middle of the night, drenched in cold sweat, breathing hard and feeling that indescribable dread that visits her every night. The reason for all of those things still remains unseen but what she knew is that the visions, the dream that she had been having had been too vivid for her to ignore.
Why? Why now? Why after almost five decades of living in peace and trying to forget all of those things that happened, that the memory finally and unfortunately decided to visit her again. She did not want to remember anymore, she just want to forget the whole thing, let go and bury it in her past but, how can she when the images of that dreadful night seems to be hunting every minute of her sleep.
After a few minutes later, fully bathed, clothed and ready to go to work, Minerva found herself looking at the full sized mirror in her bedroom and feeling that vogue sensation of deja vu. As if she's looking at herself forty years in her past and feeling that cold and horrible sentiment of the feeling that she had been used, somebody took advantage of her individuality, thrown it inside the trashcan and pressed it flat. She had once looked into a full-sized mirror the same way she is looking at herself right now and felt the impurity of her body and soul.
Caught into an impenetrable trance, Minerva forced herself to look away and walk towards the door to visit the Teacher's Lounge and catch up with some paperwork. There are essays to be checked and news to be read. There is no time for thinking about the past. Especially when she's trying to forget it and bury it somewhere where it can no longer haunt her.
Professor McGonagall dragged her heavy feet down the marble staircase to the Teacher's Lounge and pushed the door open with little effort and strode in. Professor Trelawny and Professor Sprout were already in there, both clutching identical steaming coffee cups in their hands.
"Good Morning Tanah, Good Morning Sylvia!" Minerva greeted, taking her wand and Charming herself with a fresh hot coffee. They too, greeted her in return.
She gladly sat beside Tanah and sipped her steaming hot coffee.
"Have you heard the news today, Minerva?" Sylvia asked her as she settled down.
"Why, what's new?" Minerva replied.
"Oh, the usual," Sylvia said. "blood and mayhem everywhere! The Great War is starting you know?"
"Ah, yes," Tanah airily and mystically said, taking a sip of her coffee. "The Great War, the final battle between good and evil... Reminds me of a certain boy who will be very affected by the upcoming war. A certain spectacled and green-eyed boy... Yes! He will play a very big role in it, but I could not assure you that it will end the way we want it to."
"Oh, please, Tanah!" Sylvia begged, setting her coffee cup down on the table in front of them. "Don't start with that again!"
"But the stars! The stars--"
"Oh, I don't give a rat's tail about the stars!" Minerva exclaimed. "If Potter is destined to die, then he'll die. But don't tell me that it was predicted already because I believe that it is not. It is his actions that will decide what will happen to him in the future and at the end of the war. That is if the war will ever end."
"I agree with you, Minerva!" Sylvia said, taking the cup again and finishing her coffee with one gulp.
"All of you are the same!" Tanah exclaimed. "You all ignore the signs of the stars and my visions--"
There is an audibly heard cough of disagreement coming from Sylvia's way as Tanah said that.
"--but someday, when all of my predictions come true, you will all come running to me and I will have the last laugh telling you all that 'I told you so'." Tanah finished.
"I'm sure we will, Trelawny," Minerva said. "I'm sure we will."
After a few seconds of beautiful silence, it was Sylvia who spoke up about having to go to the Great Hall already for their breakfast.
The Great Hall was packed with students dressed in their usual black ensemble, eating and chatting with each other as if nothing was wrong, nothing was out of place. Luscious and brightly colored foods and cool drinks fill the enormous and long tables of the Great Hall and the students are seated according to their appropriate house. Professor McGonagall watched as they go on their way happily and without a trace or worry.
She scanned the crowd, slowly pushing her food around her plate and taking a sip of her Pumpkin Juice. Just what exactly is with Hogwarts and Pumpkin Juice? Don't the students even get sick of the orange liquid that seems to fill their cups every day?
She pushed the non-sense thought away as she noticed Ms. Laura Madley's unusual behavior.
Laura is currently at her fourth year of studying at Hogwarts and was sitting at the Hufflepuff table, picking her food, unmindful of her chatting and joyous schoolmates surrounding her. Minerva could tell that she was too preoccupied to think about and notice anything else. Laura sat there looking sulkily at her food, her face clouded with confusion and despair.
And out of the blue, Minerva felt as if she's going to be sick as the truth and realization dawned on her. At that moment, she knew what Laura's dilemma was. She did not know how but the idea just popped into her brain, and she was sure. She knew it since she experienced and felt the exact same thing decades ago. Pain and pity filled her heart as she thought and wondered what had happened to this girl who was once full of spirit and innocent beauty.
One of the Hufflepuff boys walked behind Laura's seat and Minerva watched as she recoiled in silent horror from the harmless boy. That incident just gave the Transfiguration teacher concrete evidence.
She had once been like Laura, and the fear of men did not leave her until after several months and a few years of recuperating after that unfortunate night. The paranoia was gone, yes, that is true, but Minerva could confess that the mistrust and suspicion is still there, present in her mentality, present in her heart.
The case of Laura Madley brought a great deal of pain and confusion in Minerva McGonagall's mind. It also brought anger and fury to Minerva's spirit. Who could do something like that to an innocent little girl? What had she done wrong to deserve that kind of treatment? To deserve that kind of disrespect to her individuality and her existence? Up until now, she could still not believe nor understand what had happened to her, and thousands of other women and girls out there, and why? Why?
They certainly did not deserve that kind of inhumane handling. Nobody does. But yet, it happens and she could only wonder why it happened, why her, and what would happen to her life now, now that she's. adulterated.
Breakfast ended without Minerva even realizing it, and the next thing she knew, there were only approximately fifteen students in the gigantic Great Hall compared to the hundreds that were in here just a few minutes ago. Her gaze automatically went to the seat that Laura was occupying just seconds ago and saw that she too left, her food haven't been touched as Minerva could still see the bread and eggs the house elves served for breakfast.
She then hurried on to her class, which is coincidentally with the fourth year Hufflepuffs, dragging her feet as fast as it would go without her looking like she's in a great hurry. One thing she learned is that a running teacher who appeared to be late for her class is not a good example for the little kids that she punish for the exact same thing. Better be as cool and composed as possible.
She arrived at her class just to see the Hufflepuffs complete, none of them appearing to be late. Oh, well, at least no student today would feel her stern and wicked wrath of giving detentions to pupils who are behind their schedules.
She started her complicated lesson about transforming a ferret into a beaver, and the Hufflepuffs caught right on. Seems pretty easy they all thought, but that's before they did the hands on, which resulted into a throng of different species of feathered objects that doesn't look like a beaver at all.
Laura sat there, whispering rather than saying the magic word and pointing her wand at the little ferret. She was quite the quiet one in the lot, and she knew that, since her housemates are now screaming and running around the classroom, away from the horribly changed ferrets, while she's still sitting there, lost in her own world, just dodging the flying half beaver, half ferret species. But what she didn't know is that Professor McGonagall had been observing her since the class began. She did not know that she had reawakened turmoil of feelings and memories from the old lady. She did not know that she too had suffered the same unspeakable fate decades and decades ago.
The class finally ended with mutated species of ferrets running wildly everywhere and just a few beavers to put into Professor McGonagall's cage. She did not worry, however, to her student's catching up. They will learn the spell correctly just a few days of practicing. It is a complicated spell.
A few seconds after the bell rang, the classroom was unsurprisingly free from students, and just full of different-colored feathers here and there. Minerva raised her hand and in one swing of her wand and with a single word from her thin and pale lips, the room underwent such a miraculous transformation. From a four-cornered room filled with feathers and streaking half ferrets, the area suddenly became one of the cleanest and most orderly vicinity in Hogwarts with all of the feathers and half-changed ferrets gone and the chairs and tables in their proper position. It was then that she realized that she was not very well alone in the supposed to be deserted classroom.
Minerva saw Ms. Madley still crouched at the floor with her bag and was still struggling with her things when Professor McGonagall straightened up the classroom.
What a perfect opportunity to speak with this girl. Minerva thought, walking down from the platform and approaching the petite little girl.
"I'm sorry, Professor," she said automatically as she sensed Professor McGonagall walking her way. "I-I'll be off now."
"I noticed that you've been a bit preoccupied, Ms. Madley," Minerva said, her hands clasped behind her back. "Is there something bothering you?"
"Uh, no," Laura quickly answered, standing up, her back pack hurled at her shoulders, obviously preparing to leave. "I'll promise I'll be a lot attentive in the following discussions, Professor. I'm just a bit absent- minded these days. But I'll be better, promise."
"Will you?" Minerva said, still standing directly in front of Laura and purposely blocking her path. "Are you sure it will go away just after a few days?"
"I'm positive, Professor," Laura replied, a hint of annoyance evident in her voice. "Look, if you're talking about what happened in today's class, I'm not the only one who messed up."
"I'm not talking about today's class, Ms. Madley," Minerva said, still as calm as ever. "I'm talking about some other more serious things here."
"Well, whatever it is, Professor, with all due respect," she said, standing up straighter. "I'm sure we could discuss it some other time. I'm going to be late for my next class."
"Who's you're next class Ms. Madley?"
"Potions," she answered. "With Professor-"
"Snape," Minerva finished for her. "Yes, I know."
Laura looked at her expectantly.
"I'm sure we could deal with Professor Snape later on," Minerva said. "In the meantime, let's take a seat and talk for a minute."
There is an audible sight of frustration coming from Ms. Madley's direction as she sat down in one of the chairs, with her Professor in front of her, but Minerva let it slip. She could not blame the girl for being irritated about her meddlesome teacher. But this is a serious matter and a matter that should be talked about and brought in public.
"What is this about, Professor?" Laura inquired, looking at Minerva in the eye for the very first time since the start of the forced conversation.
"It's about." Minerva started, but could not continue. What was she supposed to say to this girl?
"About what?" she again asked, genuine curiosity present in her eyes.
"Have you ever been." Minerva again began, but was cut off as a tornado of emotions and memories came crashing through her mind. She closed her eyes as she fought back tears of memory and pain.
"Look, Professor," Laura again said, standing from her seat. "I really have to go. Even if you talk to Professor Snape, he will still cut my head off if I don't pass his written exam that will consist of today's lesson. So please-"
"Who was it, Laura?" Minerva finally said, as she too rose from the wooden chair that she was sitting on. "Who did this to you?"
"Who did-"
"Who was he?" Minerva, driven by her angry emotions that were currently resurfacing in her brain, bombarded Laura with questions. "When did this happen?"
"What?"
"Where? How?"
"I don't know what you're talking about!"
"Don't lie to me, Laura! What happened?"
"I--"
"What did he do?"
"He-"
"WHO WAS HE, LAURA?"
"HE WAS MY FATHER!"
"What?" Minerva's shouting suddenly scaled down into an almost silent whisper. She had not been expecting this. How. how could a father.
It was when McGonagall finally got her presence of mind that she realized that Laura sat back again on the wooden chair and was now crying as if she has got no tears to shed anymore. Minerva felt her heart contract as she saw the façade of a normally jolly and innocent girl crumpled into dust, as she cried as if there's no tomorrow. She was tempted to embrace and comfort the poor girl but she could not, for the reason that she does not have the slightest idea how to do so. Instead, she just there, her own tears, brimming at the edge of her eyelashes.
"When did this happen?" Minerva slowly and quietly asked Laura sometime later when her crying turned down a bit.
"This. this summer vacation," she said in an almost inaudible voice.
"What happened?" Minerva asked. She knew that this is not her business anymore, but she's already involved now, and there's no turning back.
After a long deep breath, it seemed that Laura was ready to tell everything. Ready to confide everything to her Transfiguration teacher.
"It was a dreary cold evening that day of August twenty-first."
//It was a lifeless and cold late afternoon.//
"I was at home alone, sitting at my table in my room and looking out the window, waiting for my mother to arrive, when I heard footsteps and voices coming up the stairs."
//She was walking in a dark alley on her way home from an errand when she heard footsteps on the wet pavement and voices coming from behind her.//
"I turned around and saw my father staring at me with an indescribable and unnerving sort of look. I asked him what's wrong but he just continued to stare at me with malice and. lust."
//She turned around and saw somebody coming her way. He was eyeing her with those lust filled eyes that made her uneasy and nervous.//
"My heart began to pound when he would not take his eyes off me and answer my questions. He approached me with a corrupt air, and then. I knew."
//She turned the other way around and saw another two men, who are also approaching her with the same lust filled eyes and cruel smirks. They were cornering her in the dark wet alley. then she knew.//
"He first roughly grabbed my hands and dragged me to my own bed, and shoved me to it. He then put himself on top of me and started kissing me in a repulsive way, and forced me to stop pushing him back. I tried, believe me I tried to get away from him but he was too strong."
//She tried to run for it but it was too late, the three cornered her, held her arms wide and pinned it into the rough and cutting wall behind her. The other two held her hands so she could not move and the other one started doing things to her. Horrible things. She tried in vain to push him away, but they were too strong.//
"My wand. my wand was in my cabinet since you can't do magic out of school and there's no way that I could get it. I felt so powerless and weak and felt the spiteful pain of hopefulness. He ripped my clothes off and as I felt the cold pain of being used. He suddenly and out of nowhere took a rope beneath my bed and tied my hands to the corners of it. The rough ropes cut the skin of my hand, but even then, I could do nothing but endure the pain."
//They were also smart for their kind. They took her wand from her pocket, snapped it in half and threw it away. She had lost her only hope. They started ripping her clothes off and doing things to her body, touching places that shouldn't be touched. She tried to push away with all her might, but he fight was three to one. There was nothing she could do but endure the pain...//
"After he was done with me I wondered why he didn't just stun me. It would've made it much easier for him. Why did he have to let me feel the sting, the soreness, the pain of what he did to me."
//They took turns into doing her, and when they were finally done, they left her alone, quivering in the coldness of the evening with no clothes on and no energy to run for her life or to even stand up. She suddenly heard some talk about the perfection of having live tasty meat to play with when they were already walking away. Now she felt as used as ever.//
"After that, he told me not to tell anybody about what happened," Laura continued. "I was in so much pain and depression that I could not even speak. He threatened me that he would kill my mother if I did as much as mention any part or anything that has something to do with it to her. And I love my mom, I would do anything for her. so I kept quiet."
There was a brief pause as neither of them could speak in the despair and misery of the situation. The once brightly lit walls of the classroom now seemed so gray and ancient. Minerva too, was attacked by the memories of that night, and it seemed so overwhelming that she could hardly speak and fight back the tears that were threatening to fall from her eyes.
"We're going to do something about this, Laura," Minerva said, standing up and heading to her desk at the front of the classroom.
"But my father," Laura was supposed to say when Professor McGonagall cut him off.
"Your father must pay for what he did." Minerva said, fierce determination evident in her voice. "He must and will pay. Trust me on that."
Laura surprisingly remained silent. And that was the end of their discussion as Minerva let Laura silently walked out of the desolate room, her mind still clouded with unwanted thoughts and ferocious willpower to do what is right and to have justice.
Minerva McGonagall never had the justice that she so truly deserves for what had happened to her. In fact, nobody ever knew, with an exclusion of her mother who already passed away. She told her at her last remaining breath and Minerva never knew what her reaction was. She never had any justice to those horrid things that took place, but she won't let that happen to young Ms. Madley. She is just at the brink of her life, and Minerva vowed at that very moment, at her mom's grave, that Laura Madley is going to have justice. No matter what it takes she's going to have justice and have some of her integrity and self-respect back. Minerva is going to make sure of that.
=====+=+=+====
A/N: I just invented the first names of Trelawny and Sprout. If they have canon first names, please tell me and I would gladly change them to their proper identifications. Thanks.
A/N2: A contrary to what you think, Laura Madley is actually a canon character. She was one of the students who got sorted into Hufflepuff in Harry's fourth year. So please don't bombard me with comments about inventing a new character. You can check it in your books if you like. (",)
A/N3: I have not yet decided if I'm going to make a part two of McGonagall's story or if I'm just going to slip some comments on the other teacher's chapter to tell you guys what happened. Tell me what you think.
REVIEW!!!
By: Althea
Disclaimer: All canon characters are from JK Rowling, while other characters you do not recognize and the plot, is mine.
Spoilers: All four books
Rating: PG-13 (can go to R)
Summary: It's time to take a break from the Hogwarts students and settle in for the one of the most important part of the school. Our teachers. This is their story, this is their life, their love and their past. Let's venture out to the souls of our dear teachers and see what they are really made of. And sometimes, what you see can shock you.
A/N: Every chapter will deal with a single teacher, about his/her life, love, past and his/her innermost thoughts. This is supposed to be a prologue or an extra piece for my other fic, "The Final Battle" in which it's already Harry's 7th year and the battle between good and evil will finally start. The Great War is coming and it's up to Harry and friends to defeat the Evil Dark Lord once and for all. Please read it also and review.
WARNING: This chapter deals with a very delicate matter involving sexual abuse. If you're uncomfortable with these stuff. Please don't read this since you'll only get offended.
The Soul of a Teacher
Chapter Two: Transfiguration
//His eyes, his hands
All over, all over my body
His lips, his breath
Connecting with mine
His skin, my skin
Rubbing with each other
I tried in vain
To push him away
But he was too strong
To strong for me to fight him
I was too weak
Too weak to defend myself
And as he entered me
I cried and screamed
And felt the pain of his abuse
What did I do to deserve this
I asked myself as I
Clawed my way out of this nightmare
That fate has unfairly
Brought upon me
And I knew at that moment
That my life would never be the same again
Never going to forget the hell
I've been through
And now, years from all of those
I stand proud
Chin up in the air
But the memory still remains
Forever buried in my memory
Forever buried in my heart
Forever buried in my soul...//
~ ~ ~
She was only fourteen when it happened. She did not know anything then. She was an innocent. But innocence was one of the things that malice loved to corrupt. Hence, her life was changed forever.
~ ~ ~
Minerva McGonagall brought down the book that she was holding and took a deep, calming breath. Memories of pain, misery and suffering buried deep in her thoughts, never to be re-awaken again, never to be reminisce again.
She got up from the big comfy cushion in her vast teacher's dorm and headed to her bedroom to get ready for the day. It was just four o'clock in the morning and she was already wide-awake, preparing for the usual busy and chaotic day ahead. She picked up her towel and walked into her own private bathroom. She opened the faucet, dipped her hand in and splashed the ice- cold water on her face. It was relieving to feel that freezing sensation as she felt her body waking up completely and shaking itself off that sleepiness and disorientation.
She would not deny, if anybody would care to ask her, that for the past few months, she had been waking up in the middle of the night, drenched in cold sweat, breathing hard and feeling that indescribable dread that visits her every night. The reason for all of those things still remains unseen but what she knew is that the visions, the dream that she had been having had been too vivid for her to ignore.
Why? Why now? Why after almost five decades of living in peace and trying to forget all of those things that happened, that the memory finally and unfortunately decided to visit her again. She did not want to remember anymore, she just want to forget the whole thing, let go and bury it in her past but, how can she when the images of that dreadful night seems to be hunting every minute of her sleep.
After a few minutes later, fully bathed, clothed and ready to go to work, Minerva found herself looking at the full sized mirror in her bedroom and feeling that vogue sensation of deja vu. As if she's looking at herself forty years in her past and feeling that cold and horrible sentiment of the feeling that she had been used, somebody took advantage of her individuality, thrown it inside the trashcan and pressed it flat. She had once looked into a full-sized mirror the same way she is looking at herself right now and felt the impurity of her body and soul.
Caught into an impenetrable trance, Minerva forced herself to look away and walk towards the door to visit the Teacher's Lounge and catch up with some paperwork. There are essays to be checked and news to be read. There is no time for thinking about the past. Especially when she's trying to forget it and bury it somewhere where it can no longer haunt her.
Professor McGonagall dragged her heavy feet down the marble staircase to the Teacher's Lounge and pushed the door open with little effort and strode in. Professor Trelawny and Professor Sprout were already in there, both clutching identical steaming coffee cups in their hands.
"Good Morning Tanah, Good Morning Sylvia!" Minerva greeted, taking her wand and Charming herself with a fresh hot coffee. They too, greeted her in return.
She gladly sat beside Tanah and sipped her steaming hot coffee.
"Have you heard the news today, Minerva?" Sylvia asked her as she settled down.
"Why, what's new?" Minerva replied.
"Oh, the usual," Sylvia said. "blood and mayhem everywhere! The Great War is starting you know?"
"Ah, yes," Tanah airily and mystically said, taking a sip of her coffee. "The Great War, the final battle between good and evil... Reminds me of a certain boy who will be very affected by the upcoming war. A certain spectacled and green-eyed boy... Yes! He will play a very big role in it, but I could not assure you that it will end the way we want it to."
"Oh, please, Tanah!" Sylvia begged, setting her coffee cup down on the table in front of them. "Don't start with that again!"
"But the stars! The stars--"
"Oh, I don't give a rat's tail about the stars!" Minerva exclaimed. "If Potter is destined to die, then he'll die. But don't tell me that it was predicted already because I believe that it is not. It is his actions that will decide what will happen to him in the future and at the end of the war. That is if the war will ever end."
"I agree with you, Minerva!" Sylvia said, taking the cup again and finishing her coffee with one gulp.
"All of you are the same!" Tanah exclaimed. "You all ignore the signs of the stars and my visions--"
There is an audibly heard cough of disagreement coming from Sylvia's way as Tanah said that.
"--but someday, when all of my predictions come true, you will all come running to me and I will have the last laugh telling you all that 'I told you so'." Tanah finished.
"I'm sure we will, Trelawny," Minerva said. "I'm sure we will."
After a few seconds of beautiful silence, it was Sylvia who spoke up about having to go to the Great Hall already for their breakfast.
The Great Hall was packed with students dressed in their usual black ensemble, eating and chatting with each other as if nothing was wrong, nothing was out of place. Luscious and brightly colored foods and cool drinks fill the enormous and long tables of the Great Hall and the students are seated according to their appropriate house. Professor McGonagall watched as they go on their way happily and without a trace or worry.
She scanned the crowd, slowly pushing her food around her plate and taking a sip of her Pumpkin Juice. Just what exactly is with Hogwarts and Pumpkin Juice? Don't the students even get sick of the orange liquid that seems to fill their cups every day?
She pushed the non-sense thought away as she noticed Ms. Laura Madley's unusual behavior.
Laura is currently at her fourth year of studying at Hogwarts and was sitting at the Hufflepuff table, picking her food, unmindful of her chatting and joyous schoolmates surrounding her. Minerva could tell that she was too preoccupied to think about and notice anything else. Laura sat there looking sulkily at her food, her face clouded with confusion and despair.
And out of the blue, Minerva felt as if she's going to be sick as the truth and realization dawned on her. At that moment, she knew what Laura's dilemma was. She did not know how but the idea just popped into her brain, and she was sure. She knew it since she experienced and felt the exact same thing decades ago. Pain and pity filled her heart as she thought and wondered what had happened to this girl who was once full of spirit and innocent beauty.
One of the Hufflepuff boys walked behind Laura's seat and Minerva watched as she recoiled in silent horror from the harmless boy. That incident just gave the Transfiguration teacher concrete evidence.
She had once been like Laura, and the fear of men did not leave her until after several months and a few years of recuperating after that unfortunate night. The paranoia was gone, yes, that is true, but Minerva could confess that the mistrust and suspicion is still there, present in her mentality, present in her heart.
The case of Laura Madley brought a great deal of pain and confusion in Minerva McGonagall's mind. It also brought anger and fury to Minerva's spirit. Who could do something like that to an innocent little girl? What had she done wrong to deserve that kind of treatment? To deserve that kind of disrespect to her individuality and her existence? Up until now, she could still not believe nor understand what had happened to her, and thousands of other women and girls out there, and why? Why?
They certainly did not deserve that kind of inhumane handling. Nobody does. But yet, it happens and she could only wonder why it happened, why her, and what would happen to her life now, now that she's. adulterated.
Breakfast ended without Minerva even realizing it, and the next thing she knew, there were only approximately fifteen students in the gigantic Great Hall compared to the hundreds that were in here just a few minutes ago. Her gaze automatically went to the seat that Laura was occupying just seconds ago and saw that she too left, her food haven't been touched as Minerva could still see the bread and eggs the house elves served for breakfast.
She then hurried on to her class, which is coincidentally with the fourth year Hufflepuffs, dragging her feet as fast as it would go without her looking like she's in a great hurry. One thing she learned is that a running teacher who appeared to be late for her class is not a good example for the little kids that she punish for the exact same thing. Better be as cool and composed as possible.
She arrived at her class just to see the Hufflepuffs complete, none of them appearing to be late. Oh, well, at least no student today would feel her stern and wicked wrath of giving detentions to pupils who are behind their schedules.
She started her complicated lesson about transforming a ferret into a beaver, and the Hufflepuffs caught right on. Seems pretty easy they all thought, but that's before they did the hands on, which resulted into a throng of different species of feathered objects that doesn't look like a beaver at all.
Laura sat there, whispering rather than saying the magic word and pointing her wand at the little ferret. She was quite the quiet one in the lot, and she knew that, since her housemates are now screaming and running around the classroom, away from the horribly changed ferrets, while she's still sitting there, lost in her own world, just dodging the flying half beaver, half ferret species. But what she didn't know is that Professor McGonagall had been observing her since the class began. She did not know that she had reawakened turmoil of feelings and memories from the old lady. She did not know that she too had suffered the same unspeakable fate decades and decades ago.
The class finally ended with mutated species of ferrets running wildly everywhere and just a few beavers to put into Professor McGonagall's cage. She did not worry, however, to her student's catching up. They will learn the spell correctly just a few days of practicing. It is a complicated spell.
A few seconds after the bell rang, the classroom was unsurprisingly free from students, and just full of different-colored feathers here and there. Minerva raised her hand and in one swing of her wand and with a single word from her thin and pale lips, the room underwent such a miraculous transformation. From a four-cornered room filled with feathers and streaking half ferrets, the area suddenly became one of the cleanest and most orderly vicinity in Hogwarts with all of the feathers and half-changed ferrets gone and the chairs and tables in their proper position. It was then that she realized that she was not very well alone in the supposed to be deserted classroom.
Minerva saw Ms. Madley still crouched at the floor with her bag and was still struggling with her things when Professor McGonagall straightened up the classroom.
What a perfect opportunity to speak with this girl. Minerva thought, walking down from the platform and approaching the petite little girl.
"I'm sorry, Professor," she said automatically as she sensed Professor McGonagall walking her way. "I-I'll be off now."
"I noticed that you've been a bit preoccupied, Ms. Madley," Minerva said, her hands clasped behind her back. "Is there something bothering you?"
"Uh, no," Laura quickly answered, standing up, her back pack hurled at her shoulders, obviously preparing to leave. "I'll promise I'll be a lot attentive in the following discussions, Professor. I'm just a bit absent- minded these days. But I'll be better, promise."
"Will you?" Minerva said, still standing directly in front of Laura and purposely blocking her path. "Are you sure it will go away just after a few days?"
"I'm positive, Professor," Laura replied, a hint of annoyance evident in her voice. "Look, if you're talking about what happened in today's class, I'm not the only one who messed up."
"I'm not talking about today's class, Ms. Madley," Minerva said, still as calm as ever. "I'm talking about some other more serious things here."
"Well, whatever it is, Professor, with all due respect," she said, standing up straighter. "I'm sure we could discuss it some other time. I'm going to be late for my next class."
"Who's you're next class Ms. Madley?"
"Potions," she answered. "With Professor-"
"Snape," Minerva finished for her. "Yes, I know."
Laura looked at her expectantly.
"I'm sure we could deal with Professor Snape later on," Minerva said. "In the meantime, let's take a seat and talk for a minute."
There is an audible sight of frustration coming from Ms. Madley's direction as she sat down in one of the chairs, with her Professor in front of her, but Minerva let it slip. She could not blame the girl for being irritated about her meddlesome teacher. But this is a serious matter and a matter that should be talked about and brought in public.
"What is this about, Professor?" Laura inquired, looking at Minerva in the eye for the very first time since the start of the forced conversation.
"It's about." Minerva started, but could not continue. What was she supposed to say to this girl?
"About what?" she again asked, genuine curiosity present in her eyes.
"Have you ever been." Minerva again began, but was cut off as a tornado of emotions and memories came crashing through her mind. She closed her eyes as she fought back tears of memory and pain.
"Look, Professor," Laura again said, standing from her seat. "I really have to go. Even if you talk to Professor Snape, he will still cut my head off if I don't pass his written exam that will consist of today's lesson. So please-"
"Who was it, Laura?" Minerva finally said, as she too rose from the wooden chair that she was sitting on. "Who did this to you?"
"Who did-"
"Who was he?" Minerva, driven by her angry emotions that were currently resurfacing in her brain, bombarded Laura with questions. "When did this happen?"
"What?"
"Where? How?"
"I don't know what you're talking about!"
"Don't lie to me, Laura! What happened?"
"I--"
"What did he do?"
"He-"
"WHO WAS HE, LAURA?"
"HE WAS MY FATHER!"
"What?" Minerva's shouting suddenly scaled down into an almost silent whisper. She had not been expecting this. How. how could a father.
It was when McGonagall finally got her presence of mind that she realized that Laura sat back again on the wooden chair and was now crying as if she has got no tears to shed anymore. Minerva felt her heart contract as she saw the façade of a normally jolly and innocent girl crumpled into dust, as she cried as if there's no tomorrow. She was tempted to embrace and comfort the poor girl but she could not, for the reason that she does not have the slightest idea how to do so. Instead, she just there, her own tears, brimming at the edge of her eyelashes.
"When did this happen?" Minerva slowly and quietly asked Laura sometime later when her crying turned down a bit.
"This. this summer vacation," she said in an almost inaudible voice.
"What happened?" Minerva asked. She knew that this is not her business anymore, but she's already involved now, and there's no turning back.
After a long deep breath, it seemed that Laura was ready to tell everything. Ready to confide everything to her Transfiguration teacher.
"It was a dreary cold evening that day of August twenty-first."
//It was a lifeless and cold late afternoon.//
"I was at home alone, sitting at my table in my room and looking out the window, waiting for my mother to arrive, when I heard footsteps and voices coming up the stairs."
//She was walking in a dark alley on her way home from an errand when she heard footsteps on the wet pavement and voices coming from behind her.//
"I turned around and saw my father staring at me with an indescribable and unnerving sort of look. I asked him what's wrong but he just continued to stare at me with malice and. lust."
//She turned around and saw somebody coming her way. He was eyeing her with those lust filled eyes that made her uneasy and nervous.//
"My heart began to pound when he would not take his eyes off me and answer my questions. He approached me with a corrupt air, and then. I knew."
//She turned the other way around and saw another two men, who are also approaching her with the same lust filled eyes and cruel smirks. They were cornering her in the dark wet alley. then she knew.//
"He first roughly grabbed my hands and dragged me to my own bed, and shoved me to it. He then put himself on top of me and started kissing me in a repulsive way, and forced me to stop pushing him back. I tried, believe me I tried to get away from him but he was too strong."
//She tried to run for it but it was too late, the three cornered her, held her arms wide and pinned it into the rough and cutting wall behind her. The other two held her hands so she could not move and the other one started doing things to her. Horrible things. She tried in vain to push him away, but they were too strong.//
"My wand. my wand was in my cabinet since you can't do magic out of school and there's no way that I could get it. I felt so powerless and weak and felt the spiteful pain of hopefulness. He ripped my clothes off and as I felt the cold pain of being used. He suddenly and out of nowhere took a rope beneath my bed and tied my hands to the corners of it. The rough ropes cut the skin of my hand, but even then, I could do nothing but endure the pain."
//They were also smart for their kind. They took her wand from her pocket, snapped it in half and threw it away. She had lost her only hope. They started ripping her clothes off and doing things to her body, touching places that shouldn't be touched. She tried to push away with all her might, but he fight was three to one. There was nothing she could do but endure the pain...//
"After he was done with me I wondered why he didn't just stun me. It would've made it much easier for him. Why did he have to let me feel the sting, the soreness, the pain of what he did to me."
//They took turns into doing her, and when they were finally done, they left her alone, quivering in the coldness of the evening with no clothes on and no energy to run for her life or to even stand up. She suddenly heard some talk about the perfection of having live tasty meat to play with when they were already walking away. Now she felt as used as ever.//
"After that, he told me not to tell anybody about what happened," Laura continued. "I was in so much pain and depression that I could not even speak. He threatened me that he would kill my mother if I did as much as mention any part or anything that has something to do with it to her. And I love my mom, I would do anything for her. so I kept quiet."
There was a brief pause as neither of them could speak in the despair and misery of the situation. The once brightly lit walls of the classroom now seemed so gray and ancient. Minerva too, was attacked by the memories of that night, and it seemed so overwhelming that she could hardly speak and fight back the tears that were threatening to fall from her eyes.
"We're going to do something about this, Laura," Minerva said, standing up and heading to her desk at the front of the classroom.
"But my father," Laura was supposed to say when Professor McGonagall cut him off.
"Your father must pay for what he did." Minerva said, fierce determination evident in her voice. "He must and will pay. Trust me on that."
Laura surprisingly remained silent. And that was the end of their discussion as Minerva let Laura silently walked out of the desolate room, her mind still clouded with unwanted thoughts and ferocious willpower to do what is right and to have justice.
Minerva McGonagall never had the justice that she so truly deserves for what had happened to her. In fact, nobody ever knew, with an exclusion of her mother who already passed away. She told her at her last remaining breath and Minerva never knew what her reaction was. She never had any justice to those horrid things that took place, but she won't let that happen to young Ms. Madley. She is just at the brink of her life, and Minerva vowed at that very moment, at her mom's grave, that Laura Madley is going to have justice. No matter what it takes she's going to have justice and have some of her integrity and self-respect back. Minerva is going to make sure of that.
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A/N: I just invented the first names of Trelawny and Sprout. If they have canon first names, please tell me and I would gladly change them to their proper identifications. Thanks.
A/N2: A contrary to what you think, Laura Madley is actually a canon character. She was one of the students who got sorted into Hufflepuff in Harry's fourth year. So please don't bombard me with comments about inventing a new character. You can check it in your books if you like. (",)
A/N3: I have not yet decided if I'm going to make a part two of McGonagall's story or if I'm just going to slip some comments on the other teacher's chapter to tell you guys what happened. Tell me what you think.
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