Chapter 2
The scene Albus found when he arrived stilled his heart, and would be forever burned into his memory. Minerva was on the ground, surrounded by the Golden Trio as Severus had dubbed them, while the rest of the class stood in the background watching. Hermione was casting Envenerate over and over again, but nothing was helping. Minerva's skin was sheet white, and a small pool of blood was growing from beneath her head. All eyes turned toward him as he made his way to her.
"What happened?" he asked Harry as he felt for her pulse.
"Neville was doing something to his rabbit. The Professor went to help him, and his wand shot some red light. No one knows what spell it was sir, not even Neville. I've never seen anything like it before sir."
Albus was starting to panic. Being hit with a spell was dangerous enough, but not knowing what the spell was could make it nearly impossible to help her. "Hold on Minerva, help is coming," he whispered in her ear as he tried to staunch the blood flow.
Just then, Madam Pomfrey came bustling into the classroom, pushing the students out of the way. "Out of my way," she commanded. She knelt down and waved her wand over Minerva. A blue spark emitted from the end, and she terminated the spell. She just looked up at Albus, "We need to get her to the hospital wing now."
Albus didn't need to think about it; he lifted Minerva into his arms and started walking toward the door. Minerva's head had landed on his shoulder, and Albus was surprised at just how light she was. "Those robes do hide quite a bit," he couldn't help but think as he pulled her closer to his body.
Just as he was about to exit the room behind Madam Pomfrey he heard Ron speak. "She will be alright, won't she Hermione?"
He could hear the pain in the young woman's voice . "I just don't know Ron. I just don't know."
"That makes two of us Miss Granger," he said to himself as he swept into the corridor.
The group made their way toward the hospital wing, making use of secret passages only available to professor's to speed the process. The walk seemed like it would never end to Albus. Thoughts kept running through his mind, the next one worse than before. Would she be alright? Would they be able to revive her? One thought came foremost to his mind, and it scared him more than anything else he had ever faced. What if she doesn't make it, and she doesn't know how I feel? He had to shake himself of these thoughts; they wouldn't help Minerva, she need him to focus. Luckily the group didn't meet any resistance along the way. Albus knew Minerva didn't like to appear weak in front of the students, and, if anything did, this counted as a weak moment.
They arrived in the Hospital wing and Albus placed Minerva down on the nearest bed. Madam Pomfrey was already pulling the screens around her bed and shooing him away. "Albus go and wait outside I need to examine her." She saw the look of anguish in his eyes as he looked at his Deputy. Poppy stopped and she reached out to touch his arm. "Albus, I'll do my best, but I need you to go wait. I'll come and get you when I've finished. I promise."
His eyes slowly made his way toward the school's nurse, the fear plain on his face. "Help her Poppy. Please." With that he walked into Poppy's office, and sat down in one of the over stuffed chairs placed there for just this purpose. As his head came back to rest against the cool wall, a single tear slid down his aged cheek while he began the longest wait of his life.
