TIMES OF TRIAL
Disclaimer: None of the characters, places, objects etc. that you recognise belong to me. They are mot likely the property of one JK Rowling.
Summery: This story is and will probably always be centred on Minerva McGonagall and the other professors at Hogwarts. It is set in Harry's fifth year and the dream-team will likely appear however. The rating may be subject to change but all reviews are welcome.
A/N: Woohoo! I have (eventually) managed to get another chapter completed and this one is a little longer than the others *smile*. Thanks again to GEM and yet again, more requests for reviews. I also want to plug my other on going fic (Hidden Truths) for those of you who haven't r&r-ed.
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Remus' relief was almost palpable when he saw the aurors arriving on the castle grounds along with the Headmaster. It had been almost quarter of an hour since the Death eaters had begun their attack on the shield that the staff had managed to erect. He had watched them all as they concentrated on their conduits, arms and wands pointing directly at the pair in the centre both of whom seemed oblivious to everything else inside their protection. From the very beginning their interaction had been incredible, almost as if they were each reading the others mind making sure that their efforts reaped maximum benefit. The students had been behaving for the most part, and the noise level had been minimal, at least until Minerva had lost her wand. Remus wasn't sure what had happened to her wand. He just caught sight of it flying through the air and out through the shield. It hadn't been designed to keep things in and now it was beyond any of their reach. For an instant he thought the worst, but then she rocked back onto her heels and closed her eyes again, and succeeded in regaining her control. It was taxing though, he could see that even from a distance. Then the cavalry arrived, and had effectively taken out most of the opposition. Remus noticed however, that a large proportion had taken to the sky, and escaped, but he knew that there had to be priorities. As the fighting began to ebb he ran over to the gap in the corner closest to the castle, where he saw Albus standing it look as though he was trying to get Lupin's attention.
"Professor?" He asked through the barrier, the slight shimmer it created along with the low winter sun lending the older man an even more ethereal look than usual.
"Remus. Is everyone all right? We came as soon as we heard from you but Hagrid only gave us the basics."
"I don't think there have been any casualties, but I think you have Minerva and Serverus to thank for that." Dumbledore nodded.
"I have the upmost pride in how you have al acted today, but we haven't finished quite yet. Do you think you could ask them to hold on for just a little longer? Alastor wants to try and make sure that they've caught the last of them and they haven't left any unpleasant surprises. Just a few more minutes."
"I'll pass on the request." He told him not entirely sure that they were going to be able to hold the stability of the shield for much longer. The look of concentration on Minerva McGonagall's face as he approached, winding his way through the beams of light that still crossed the pitch, was that of a true Gryffindor, and only served to reaffirm this belief. He soon realised that if anyone was going to be able to acknowledge him even if they could hear, it would be Serverus.
"Help's arrived. The death eaters have been… well they've been taken care of. Dumbledore wanted me to ask you to hang on just a few more minutes. Moody and the others just want to make sure that they really have all gone." He looked to Snape's face for any sign that he had understood. His eyes were still closed and, though his hands had stopped their constant movement, he still seemed to have to concentrate to maintain the charm. After a second he gave a terse jerk of his head, which Remus took as meaning he had understood. The students were beginning to grow restless again and he spent the next few minutes ensuring that he was close enough to the stands that no one would try anything too drastic. He was watching the aurors confer about something when he noticed that the bubble was closing in on them. Dumbledore seemed to have noticed too and when Remus looked to him he simply nodded. There was no point in interfering now.
The feeling when the barrier passed through him was most unusual, making his skin tingle with excess energy. The level of commotion in the stands increased again as (all) the lights disappeared. It was only then that he realised just quite the toll the process had taken on all those involved. Around the pitch many of the Professors had sat down where they had stood and even those who weren't looked like they were in need of a good fortnights sleep. Again he headed straight for the centre seeing that neither of the two heads of house had moved or opened their eyes yet. He was just in time to see Minerva do just that, her gaze quickly surveyed her surroundings and then picked out Albus. If the moment had been right he would have allowed himself a slight chuckle at that, but before he would have had a chance he saw her reel slightly and her knees give way beneath her. Reaching out he placed a hand on her shoulder griping just tightly enough so that she didn't fall any farther. He was more than surprised however when he ended up staring at someone who had taken up exactly the same position on her other side. The other mans reactions must have lightening quick as the moment before he had been standing behind her. Lupin looked into Serverus Snape's obsidian eyes and seemed trapped there for a moment before he brought his attention rapidly back to the woman they both held.
"Minerva?" He asked cautiously. He bent down to see that she was blinking as if to bring the world back into focus. He crouched down as she continued to stare into the middle distance. She blinked a few more times and then nodded slowly. Remus wasn't convinced but decided not to comment on the fact that she looked like death warmed over.
"Thank you." She said quietly as using the two of them as leverage pulled herself upright again.
"Minerva? Serverus?" This time the younger man did allow himself a small smile at Albus's words as he approached hurriedly. "And would you sit down before you fall woman?!" He continued when he came to a stop.
"I am not about to keel over Albus." She told him wrenching her arms away from her supports, lifting her chin and straightening her shoulders, moulding herself into that indomitable Professor that was so well known to the students.
"So you're perfectly fine then?" He asked gently his eyes twinkling a little.
"Yes." She replied adamantly. Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. "Ok, fine, well I'm not perfect. If we're being honest I'm absolutely shattered but I hardly think that singles me out here do you?" She continued gesturing vehemently to the rest of the staff. "In any case. We should be getting the students inside. We should seal them in their common rooms until we have a chance to search the castle and the grounds properly."
"Look. Please Tabby, just humour me? Professor Lupin and Professor Vectra, would be more than willing to take your charges…" Up until this point, Serverus had been standing off to one side scowling at the ground and pretending to ignore the raging argument between their superiors. Despite the impression he gave off most of the time Remus knew that he did care deeply about his Slytherins. His head shot up and his mouth opened but he didn't get a chance to say anything.
"Precisely Albus! – 'Our charges'! They are our responsibility and we need to ensure their safety. No offence meant of course Remus." She added as an afterthought. He nodded quietly too sensible to either be hurt by her comment or to get drawn in to the debate.
"Just let Poppy take a look…"
"No!" With that she stalked over to where Xiomara Hooch was standing and began discussing something in earnest.
"Oh well. In all honesty I think I would have been more worried if she had let me win." The headmaster told them shaking his head a little. The Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor had been around long enough to see through Dumbledore's light comments he knew that he was still worried about her. "Well, she's right on one point – we ought to be getting the students into safety. I'll come with you Serverus. I think there are a few things that we need to discuss. If you would be so kind as to try and locate Minerva's wand an return it to her I think she would be most grateful Remus."
"Of course Professor." He said and turned towards the corner of the stadium. He had been looking for five minutes during which the stadium had been systematically emptied before it occurred to him that there was an easier way.
"Accio Professor Minerva McGonagall's wand." Sure enough her wand came flying towards him from a patch of long grass not too far away. Catching it he turned and headed back up to the castle.
"Oh for Merlin's sake." Remus sighed trying not to loose his temper with the young auror who was baring his way into the castle.
"I'm sorry Professor, I'm just following orders and not taking any risks so unless you have some way of proving that you do in fact teach here at the school then I'm not going to let you past." The most irritating thing about the situation was that he agreed with guys' logic and wasn't surprised that his half-hearted arguments over the last few minutes had not been successful. He was just about to give up for the time being when Alistair Moody who had taken charge of the Ministry officials came up to the door his clawed foot clumping onto the hard floor, the sound echoing around the entrance hall.
"What's going on here Greenwood? Lupin?"
"He's claiming to be Hogwart's DADA professor but he has no way of…" He didn't a chance to finish as his superior cut in.
"Good work, but in this case you were wrong. This is in fact Remus Lupin, Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. In you come lad." He said gesturing for him to come passed.
"Thanks." He said before rushing past him and taking the stairs up to the Gryffindor tower at a run. Luckily the staircases were cooperating with his efforts at speed and were in the correct places to allow him to take the shortest route to his destination. He reached the portrait of the fat lady only slightly out of breath and it was a good thing, because when he remembered the password (let sleeping lions lie) and entered the room he was met by a scene roughly approximating chaos.
"Professor…!"
"Thank Merlin…!"
"…fire…collapsed…!"
"… sealed shut. No way out…"
"…DEAD…"