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:  Well this is the first chapter for a while and you will be glad o hear that the plot thickens once again *smile*  I would really appreciate it if you not only let me know wheat you think of this chapter but where you think I'm heading when you review (which I know you will *grin*).  Thanks again to my fabby beta GEM andto everyone who did review chapter 8.

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            Minerva glanced at the clock on the study wall and then back down at the pile of unmarked essays that sat to her right.  With the students returning to classes after their Christmas break in just a few days she really did wish that she was further on.  Usually she would have had all her marking done and out of the way before Hogmanay but due to the rather exceptional circumstances that had surrounded the end of the last term she really oughtn't be too upset if she were a little behind.  She had spent the last week of the term confined to her bed and though Poppy had dained she was allowed up in the following days, her activities had been significantly hampered by her constant guardians.  It had been another five days before she finally got so tired of the invasion of her personal space that she put an end to Poppy's over protective scheme that ensured there was constantly somebody under her feet.  It had been for the most part Xi, Rose or Poppy herself, who took up residence in her quarters and she learned to live with that.  On one occasion though, when she had woken from her compulsory afternoon nap she had found Sybil Trelawney, of all people sipping tea in her favourite chair.  Luckily for the 'seer' Albus had arrived and offered to 'relieve' the other woman before blood was spilled, but only just.  Much to her chagrin she really hadn't been up to doing a great amount of work up until the close of the year anyway and had again been hampered by visitors of all shapes and sizes.   On the first or second of the year, Remus Lupin had turned up outside her door with two very tearful looking Gryffindor first years.  She had thought at first, to be angry at him for not giving her any warning to their arrival, after all her distinctly casual attire of black slacks and loafers with the red fine-knit cashmere sweater was not exactly what she usually met with her students wearing, and yet again her hair had simply been braided to keep it out of her face.  That thought quickly vanished though when he explained that one of the sixth year Slytherin had been trying to convince the girls that their head of house had died and that was the explanation for her absences at meals.  The real reason was simply that the long climb up and down to the Great Hall had, until recently, taxed her so much that it wasn't really an option to make the trip three times daily.  But apparently they hadn't been entirely reassured by Remus' promise that she was in deed most defiantly alive and recovering nicely, he ought to know as he had spent many a pleasant hour with her. However he had decided that the best way to put any rumours to rest was to let them see for themselves.  Upon hearing this she had invited them in then after reassuring them that she would speak to Professor Snape about the boy poured them all tea and sat and conversed with them in her usual fashion until they were suitably calm and reassured that they acquiesced to be escorted back to their dormitory by Professor Lupin.  She had found it a little strange slipping back into the Professor that she usually was but whose mask she hadn't needed for some time.  After this encounter though she had made a conscious effort to attend at least one meal a day and thus thwight any further rumours of her untimely demise.  That had been almost a week ago and she was now pleased to say that she could travel up and down to the Great Hall three times a day without batting an eyelid – even if she would have rather sped up the trip going travelling on four legs.  Poppy was being unnaturally stubborn about that one even for her – no transforming.  In any case, she was still behind in her marking though she had been hard at it all afternoon and it was almost time for dinner.  She would have much rather stayed and worked on now that she was on a roll, but she knew that any time she did save by missing the meal was likely to be lost when Poppy came storming up to find out where exactly she had been.  Sighing a little she gave in to the inevitable and pushed the papers to the side and headed towards the door.

            Though the students had been returning in dribs and drabs over the last week or so there were still many empty seats at the house tables.  The same could not be said however for the staff table as, as was usually the case it was nearly filled to capacity.  Minerva did notice as she took the seat that Albus waved her over to between Rose and himself, that Poppy was one of the few missing but she did remember Xi saying something about one of the Hufflepuffs coming back to the school with the muggle flu so perhaps that explained her absence.  Serverus had not appeared either but she suspected that he was merely holed-up in his damp and dreary dungeons, as he tended to be during the holidays.  It didn't seem to matter how long she had known him she would never understand what he saw in that place – especially at this time of year.  But then again it wouldn't do if they were all the same she supposed.  The only other remarkable absence was Hagrid's and she let herself have a sly smile as she remembered him telling her about going to visit a friend in France over the break.  She raised her goblet and took a mouthful of the foul concoction that the mediwitch was still insisting she drank twice a day.  Well she could be fairly certain that somebody would have told on her even if Poppy weren't here to notice her absence.  Soon they were presented with their first course and everybody began to dig in.  The conversation at meal times was anything but predictable and tonight it seemed that Albus was steering it in a somewhat unusual direction.  By the time that the main course had arrived he had engaged everybody in a fervent discussion on muggle magicians.

"But you can't deny Fillius, that they are exceptionally talented at their art.  They have been managing to fool each other for centuries now.  I too have seen them perform and I have to admit that if they aren't using magic I am quite flummoxed as to how they do manage."

"You also have to acknowledge that some of the greatest 'magicians' were in fact wizards though."  The much smaller man countered.

"True, quite true, but the gentleman we saw certainly wasn't one of those however.  Was he Minerva?"  The sound of her name caught her out, as her mind must have been wondering.   She nodded a little, obviously satisfying him as he turned onto his next victim.  As she turned her attention back to her plate she couldn't seem to concentrate on what she was doing, there was something at the edge of her consciousness.  Invading it slowly but surely.  Her hands began to tremble ever so slightly and the room seemed to be getting warmer.  As she tried to pinpoint the feeling, the walls began to close in on her.  Looking down she closed her eyes as her surroundings began to spin.  'Come on.'  She encouraged herself but when she opened her eyes again the only change was that her stomach roiled violently.  Taking a shallow breath, she muttered something approximating "Excuse me." And fled towards the nearest exit, a door that was roughly level to the end of the Professor's table.

            Once out of sight she sped up, one hand subconsciously clamping its self to her mouth the other brushing up against the wall steadying her as she ran.  Without really thinking it through she found herself in the girls bathroom down the hallway and was soon on her knees throwing up what felt like the entire contents of her body into one of the toilets.  As the heaving paused momentarily she rested her head on the cool porcelain and tried once again to identify the feeling that now seemed to envelop her but yet remained just outside her comprehension.  She hadn't had any success when shortly after another wave of nausea set her back retching over the bowl.  She could feel the sweat pouring down her back but she was shivering, her damp robes clinging to her hypersensitive skin.  She was vaguely aware of someone brushing back the strands of hair that had come loose and now hung irritating about her face.  As the unusual feelings began to diminish she began to feel more like herself, for which she was immensely grateful as if there was one thing she disliked more than being generally ill it was actually being sick.  She manoeuvred herself into a more comfortable position so that her back rested against the wall of the cubical and she was no longer sitting on her feet.

"Here you go honey."  Said Rose, who had obviously been the one to follow her out and handed her a glass of water.  She took a mouthful and swilled it around her mouth before spitting it out into the bowl and hitting the flush.

"Thanks."  She replied somewhat hoarsely.

"My pleasure.  Xi went to go get Poppy, they shouldn't be too long now."  She couldn't help but scowl at this.  "Don't you start that Madame!"  The other witch warmed.  "You were as white as a sheet when you left the table and you don't look a whole lot better after the incident."  Minerva was tempted to argue this as, though she was fairly certain that her appetite wasn't going to return anytime in the near future she did feel significantly better than she had.  She stayed quiet for a moment before she spoke.

"Can we at least go outside and grab some fresh air?"  She asked.  "Honestly, I feel much better but it's getting awfully stuffy in here."    Rose looked somewhat sceptical at this suggestion but eventually conceded standing up, proffered her an arm for support.   Minerva would have declined the offer but she got the distinct impression that her balance was not quite what it ought to be as she stood up.  They made their way through the thankfully deserted corridors relatively quickly and were soon out on the front steps.

"Thanks." she said again as they both sank down onto the cool stone.  The wind was brisk as it swept around the castle and quickly caught up her damp robes but she enjoyed the distraction. 

It seemed however that her return to health was going to be short-lived as soon it felt as though there was an ice-cold grip creeping through her thoughts and she realised that she was becoming more and more focussed on the alien feeling that had returned.  She was aware that her breathing was becoming more and more rapid but yet her lungs burned for lack of oxygen.  She could see Rose as she moved to kneel down a few steps and turned to face her taking a grip of her arms, could hear that the other woman was talking but couldn't decipher what she said.  There was a bang from behind them that some part of her managed to identify as the sound of the heavy front door being swung shut, but try as she might, she couldn't turn to see who was there.  She knew that her entire body was shuddering now but still she couldn't enforce any kind of control over it.  She couldn't decide whether she wanted to block the feeling, to bypass and try to ignore it or to reach out and identify what it was.  'Knowledge is the key to success.' Came the somewhat abstract thought.  With a huge effort she managed to lower her head to her knees and tried to focus on what was going on inside her.  She had little luck but did become aware of a hand on her wrist and thought automatically of Poppy.  Suddenly though she was pulled back down and away as if by an undercurrent.  Her whole body was at once consumed and not, with the most immense pain imaginable.  Something clicked in some part of her brain that was still functioning, that that was it.  The feeling that she had been trying to identify – it was pain, but disassociated from any one part of her body or even her body at all, she had failed to recognise it for what it was.  Extreme, heart-breaking, soul shattering agony.  This revelation did not however, help her to quell the rising panic that she had been trying to fight.  Suddenly she was aware of a hand on her back rubbing slow circles in a comforting rhythm.  It seemed strange that such a small action could make such a difference but she felt her muscles relax a little and the calm began slowly to spread from her body to her mind.  She became more aware of her own body again even if her ability to control it seemed to still be severely limited.

"Albus?"  She didn't realise she had spoken out loud he responded.

"Shhh it's ok."  These words were like oil on rough water to the part of her brain that was still her own.  Soon though his hand seemed to move, it stayed on her shoulder, but he was moving.  When he settled back down it felt as though she were cocooned within his power.  Another wave of fiery agony swept over her but instead of giving in to it she fought.  Thinking rationally for the first time she realised that if she could not isolate and bypass the pain as she had taught her self to do then she would just have to do something else.  It felt as though her entire body was on fire, tiny pinpricks of heat marching through it – so she tried to think of cool thoughts.  She thought of swimming in the North Sea on New Years day, she thought of Albus giving them ice-cream cones at the last staff meeting before Christmas, she thought of standing up at the top of Gryffindor Tower, on the castles old battlements the wind and snow whipping around her.  She managed to have some effect and the feeling of power that came with it was more help still.  She tried to focus on the goings on around her, realising that her breathing was slowing down tried to open her eyes and sit up on her own.  She was at least partially successful.  She felt somebody wrap a heavy cloak or something similar, around her shoulders as she realised that now that the heat of the fire and pain was receding rapidly that she was shivering with the cold.  Poppy was hovering around her again and even, somewhat distracted as she was, she could see the worry in her friend's eyes.  She gave her a small smile and though she wasn't how successful it was in reassuring her it did enough that the other woman returned it before returning to her usual formidable self.

"Hospital wing now.  And don't even try to argue Min."  In all honesty she was exhausted and didn't think she could put any form of protest at all at the moment but she wasn't about to say that and in any case she didn't need to as someone else got there first.

"I think she knows better than to argue too fervently with you my dear."  Albus said from behind her.  Then moving himself beside her scooped her into his arms and began to carry her inside.  She was vaguely aware of Xiomara, Rose and Poppy following them in but her world seemed to shrink again, in a much more pleasant fashion, to just the strong arms that held her and the comforting scent comprised mainly of lemon but encompassing so many other things that escaped her.   A part of her was aware that she could have been levitated, that dinner must have finished some time ago, and that she should be concerned that there might well be students in the corridors, as well as the fact that she still had no idea what had happened to her but as she drifted into sleep these things were pushed further and further away for examination on a later date.

            When she woke a short time later it was when someone was lowering her gently onto a bed.

"And I thought I'd seen the last of this place."  She said as she pushed herself back into a sitting position.  She felt surprisingly refreshed after what could have only been a few minutes rest.  Poppy was bustling around and Albus had seated himself on the chair next to the bed in the room she had spent her first week after the 'incident' in.

"How are you feeling?"  The mediwitch asked as she began taking her temperature and her blood pressure.

"Surprisingly well."  She replied feeling distinctly unnerved by all this scrutiny.

"Well your vital statistics are all fairly normal again."  The other woman continued sounding more irritated than anything else.  "Can you tell me what happened?"  She continued her voice mellowing dramatically.  She thought about it for a minute before trying to explain what had happened.  It felt so stupid trying to explain the feeling that was there and yet not, a pain that she felt but wasn't hers.  It wasn't until she said exactly that that Albus stood and without saying a word bolted from the room.  Minerva couldn't decide if she was hurt or merely intrigued by this action but it was plain to see Poppy was not pleased.

"Well I'm still at a loss to what happened."  She told her bluntly perching on the edge of the bed.

"In any case…" She began, about to suggest that as the other witch couldn't see anything wrong with her now that she should be allowed to go.

"You are staying right here for the time being!"  She paused for a moment before reaching over and taking her hand.  "I don't know what was wrong with you earlier, or what happened but whatever it was it scared me.  One of these days you are going to be the death of me Minerva McGonagall!"  She ended with a smile albeit a nervous one.  She returned the favour.  "Now I want to run some more tests but for the moment I'm guessing you're going to have two very insistent visitors sitting outside – feeling up to letting them know you're still alive?"  This had been a bit of a joke between the four of them since they had learned of her visit with her first years.  The three of them seemed to have jumped on it as a very good excuse to 'just drop by'.

"Sure."  She replied as she rearranged herself and the pillows a little.  She may have disliked being coddled but the fact that there was someone, or someones who cared enough for her to be concerned about her well being was a reassuring fact.  Unfortunately this brought her thoughts back to Albus and his untimely departure but with an effort she pushed it to the back of her mind knowing that when he was ready to confide in her he would.