TIMES OF TRIAL
Chapter 11
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.
Authors Notes: Thanks to M for beta-ing and GEM for the thought *grin*
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Albus had been watching his Deputy out of the corner of his eye since she had arrived at the table for dinner. He had suspected that she had been working herself too hard over the last few days but her appearance, at least to begin with, hadn't heightened his concerns. She had looked a little weary, but not unhealthily so despite the inroads he was certain she was making into her marking. He had thought a few days ago, to offer to help her with correcting the end of term exams and essays that the students had handed in but when he mentioned the idea in front of Poppy she had halted the idea in its tracks. She had pointed out, quite correctly, that when Min was marking she wasn't pacing hallways or stalking the library or heaven forbid – the grounds. He also had to admit that they were all doing their best not to 'smother her into rebellion' as the Nurse had so succinctly put it. But when he had asked her about their visit to London when they had seen the magician, her answer had been more distant than he had come to expect. He had increased his interest in her though he didn't pry any further. There was something wrong, he established that fairly quickly, and he was just about to act when she made her own rather hasty departure. He glanced at Rose who had been seated on Minerva's other side and was already in the process of getting up to follow her friend. The flying instructor, who was sitting at that end of the table nearest the door, bobbed her head and mouthed 'Poppy' to him before she too left. The atmosphere in the hall had changed a little. The students couldn't help but to have noticed what was going on he supposed, but though their chatter was dulled somewhat it continued until, after almost ten minutes of nervous fidgeting on Albus's part, he dismissed them back to their common rooms. They went quickly, or at least more quickly than they tended to usually, and once they were mostly out of the room he too headed out the side door. It was only then that he realised that he had no idea of where he ought to go for them. Looking up the corridor to the left, then back towards the entrance hall he caught a glimpse of Xiomara and Poppy and headed swiftly in their direction. He arrived just in time to greet them as they went through the heavy front doors which had thankfully been left ajar. As they approached it was plain to see that all was not well. Rose glanced up from where she was kneeling in front of Minerva and the worry etched on her face was enough to send Albus' heart racing.
The Hufflepuff quickly recounted what had happened as Poppy set about to try and do something for her patient.
"She seemed much better, then…well she seemed to just sort of, zone-out on me."
"Her pulse is racing and she's hyperventilating, that's about as much as I can tell you right now." Poppy said, her hand still on Minerva's wrist. "We need to try and calm her down. Anchor her. Albus?" She asked. He had already sat down next to her, and after glancing up at the mediwitch gently placed a hand on Tabby's back rubbing gentle circles as he began talking to her. He wasn't sure exactly what he said but he talked quietly in words that were meant solely for her, whether or not she could hear them.
"Albus?" She asked. Her voice was barely audible but all the same it sent a rush of relief pouring through his veins.
"Shhh it's ok." He reassured her.
"Maybe if you sat with her back up against your chest Albus? That way she'll be able to feel you breathe." Poppy suggested. Determined not to lose contact with her he left a hand on her as he shifted around so that she was settled between his legs her head tucked just underneath his own. He was vaguely aware that Rose and Mara had both backed off a little, but was more concerned that the woman in his arms seemed to have slipped away again. After a minute or two though, the constant shaking stopped for a moment followed by a shudder. Albus could feel her shivering now and without a thought he turned and summoned his travelling cloak from the staff Cloakroom just inside the store. When it arrived he draped it over her shoulders.
"Hospital wing now. And don't even try to argue Min." Poppy's voice held some of the relief they must all have felt when it seemed Minerva was more herself. He interjected in the hopes of salvaging their already delicate relations.
"I think she knows better than to argue too fervently with you my dear." As he spoke he stood and then neatly picked up the other woman before she could tax herself by insisting that she could walk. As they walked through the empty corridors he noticed that she seemed to relax further into his embrace and by the time they arrived at the Hospital wing he was certain that she was asleep. He tried to lay her down on the bed gently in order to not wake her from her slumber, but it seemed he was unsuccessful as her eyes fluttered gently and then opened fully. Her remark, though superficially flippant, told him she wasn't gearing herself up for a long stay. He listened closely to what she said, being intrigued by what she described more than anything else. It was only when Minerva described the feeling as an all-encompassing fiery pain that ideas began to formulate in his head. When she mentioned someone else's pain it was the final straw. It was an easy enough theory to check out he supposed and decided to do just that. The distance between the Slytherin dungeons and the hospital wing was not far and the Headmaster traversed it far more quickly than usual. As he approached the final few corners however he slowed his steps and ordered his breathing, knowing that he had to try not and attract attention to his visit to Severus' quarters. After knocking and receiving no answer, he checked to make certain that he wasn't being observed before he spoke the password to the wards and stepped inside. The fire was burning low in the grate, sending eerie shadows all around what was to begin with a disconcerting room. Severus' office was attached to his others but in a completely different style. Where he had made a few concessions to comfort in his sitting room, the walls here were covered in shelves that were in turn stacked to the gunnels with books, journals and perhaps most unsettlingly, jar upon jar of specimens and some of the rarer, more dangerous potions ingredients. Albus crossed quickly to the unsurprisingly neat desk and identified what he was looking for straight off. He wasn't sure whether what he found there was reassuring or not. If Severus had in fact been called, then that certainly backed up his original theory that it was his pain that Minerva was feeling. It did not however bode well for the potions master himself. He knew that when the other man returned to the school, he would have to visit his quarters to divest himself of his mask and hood before he went anywhere else. This being the case Albus let himself into the sitting room and settled in front of the fire to wait.
As he watched the flames flickering in the grate he let his mind wonder only down constructive pathways. He thought of what he was assuming to be the cause of their problems, the strong ancient magic that they had both performed. It's uses and even successes were only documented sparsely and so there was little known about the spell itself or the long-term after effects that could be suffered by those instigating the spell. However, there really didn't seem to be any other obvious explanation for what he was assuming had gone on. He was so deeply lost in his thoughts that he almost jumped as the main door opened and someone entered the chambers in which he now sat. There were several hasty footsteps across the flagstones before the door was almost thrown open.
"Albus?" Obviously Severus had not expected him to be there. "Do you know where Minerva is? We have to go find her – there could be……." The headmaster stood and turned to face him and gestured that he should stop speaking and calm down.
"Minerva is safely ensconced in the Hospital wing. She seems well enough now – if a little confused." The other man looked relieved at this. Albus took his elbow and lead him towards a seat in front of the fire.
"Are you alright?" He asked taking in his paler than usual complexion, but though he was somewhat shaky he certainly didn't look nearly as bad as Albus had seen him previously on return from meetings where Voldemort had been less than pleased. He got a short nod in reply. As he conjured a tea set and poured two cups, adding a dash of whisky to the one he passed to the younger man, he thought of the next most important item that had to be dealt with.
"I think you had better tell me what happened." Severus did that and Albus didn't have a hard job reconciling this with the story Minerva had told him earlier, even down to the imagery she had used.
"When he finally got through with us," He continued. "He didn't seem too interested in anything else. He kept highlighting Malfoy's stupidity to us all and like I said, he'd obviously had a go at him before we arrived, but he sent him away alive. I guess he's still of use to him, but he'll have to make it up."
"Did he say anything about your actions?" Dumbledore asked refilling both their cups.
"Actually, he credited me with saving the day. He seemed to think that if I'd done anything that could have raised suspicions, that would have been the final straw."
He nodded slowly, mulling over what he had been told. "I'm assuming that this…this connection, has something to do with the channelling?"
"It would seem to be the most sensible cause I've been able to come up with. You were able to feel her presence straight after you had broken the link proper so to speak?" Severus nodded.
"But it was certainly gone after she collapsed." He added.
"And this is the first time since then that either of you have been in a severely stressful situation, so perhaps….." Albus suggested and Severus continued.
"It is possible that that's what activated the link."
"Hmmmm. Possibly. We really ought to do some more investigation into this."
"You said that the experience wasn't particularly pleasant for Minerva?"
"Yes, but nothing serious and I think once she realises what it is that's going on, she will be able to have a little more control."
"I have to say that when she started thinking of the cool places she was certainly a… comforting presence."
"But you're certain that Voldemort suspected nothing?"
"Nothing. What about here?"
"She made a rather hasty exit from the dining room but that is easily enough explained."
"It would certainly be best for all of us, I think, if this was kept quiet."
"Quite, quite." He replied whilst deep in thought. What Voldemort would choose to do with that kind of information was not a pleasant thought.
The next three months were an odd combination of secrets for Albus Dumbledore. While the school year continued as usual his involvement with the Order became heavier, despite Voldemort having gone quiet. Add to that the more secretive investigations into the lingering bond between Minerva and Severus and things were distinctly more hectic than usual. Having explained what they thought was happening to Minerva, the three of them had decided that some additional expertise was going to be required if they were to come up with any solutions. This being the case, they had informed both Poppy Pomfrey and Fillius Flitwick, who had been in the process of documenting the event for a charms journal in any case, and together they had been researching, hypothesising and eventually conducting their own experiments. Poppy had been the one to figure that the simplest way to determine whether or not it had been the stress that had resulted in the link re-initiating would be to recreate those conditions. While Severus had suggested throwing the Gryffindor out of a tower window, the mediwitch had simply injected him with high levels of adrenalin. When that did result in the connection being re-established, at least to some extent, they attempted the reverse, injecting Minerva. This also had the same effect and though the experience was not particularly pleasant for either, of them it certainly wasn't to be the worst. If Albus were honest, he would admit that he was concerned about both of them. Though they had tried several combinations of potions and charms, the adrenalin had always had the same results and the side effects had not always been pleasant. What worried him most though was that they were still putting up a front for the students and most of the staff. On one occasion Severus had been called and only been able to leave once he had dismissed class. He had been reprimanded for his lateness and whilst this was going on Minerva had had little choice but to continued teaching her class. When he had gone to see why she had not appeared at lunch, he had found her with her head on her desk where she had, it seemed, simply fallen asleep after her students had left. In any case, there was a little light at the end of the tunnel in that, a few days ago Severus had left to go to a 10-day symposium on truth serums. It had been his idea in reality, designed primarily to get some distance between the two of them, thereby ensuring that there could be further experimentation, and due to the fact that this conference was being held in St Petersburg, Russia, Voldemort had had little choice but to excuse Severus from any obligations. He planned to try and convince Minerva to go away for at least a few days when the school broke up for spring break in a fortnight or so, but for the moment all he could do was hope the space would be of some help.
Albus had been covering the more advanced potions classes himself and it was when he had finished cleaning up after a rather trying class that he began to get the feeling that something was wrong. As the dungeons were so far away from the main body of the school, and so well insulated from the noise of the students that when he heard the muffled noises from, what he assumed was the main stairwell, he was somewhat shocked. Since the incident before Christmas the staircases had been somewhat temperamental, moving more frequently than they had previously, which in turn had resulted in a little more chaos when the entire school was headed in one direction – like lunch. He hurried along the corridors and as he realised the level and tone of the noise that was emanating from the stairwell he began to outright run.
A/N: Please let me know what you think, I really do enjoy reading what you have to say.