78. Stand and Fight

The problem with having cancelled her subscription of the Daily Prophet out of protest was that Minerva was a little behind if there was actual irrefutable news. She knew that something had happened as soon as she entered the Great Hall on Monday. The buzz in the air this morning was overwhelmingly fearful.

As quickly as possible Minerva slipped into her chair at the High Table and Albus slid the front page of the paper towards her without her needing to ask. She glanced at the pictures of Bellatrix Lestrange, Antonin Dolohov and others, the worst of the worst of known Death Eaters and now at large, and she felt a weight settle deep in her stomach. "Those bloody fools at the Ministry!" she burst out.

Half the table looked at her, including Umbridge, who had just been about to sit down and now glared at her furiously. Minerva glared right back and then deliberately turned her back on the High Inquisitor and leaned closer to Albus. She could feel Umbridge's eyes drill angry holes in the back of her head. After the incident with the Christmas cracker Umbridge had switched seats and was now sitting at the very end of the table. Too far away to listen in or talk to them in a normal volume. She was forced to stare at them from a distance and Minerva resolutely ignored her.

She was, however, careful enough to lower her voice. "You told them this would happen! You told them the Dementors would go over to his side!" There had been so many reasons to get rid of the Azkaban guards. That they had never been truly loyal to the Ministry was the most glaring one in the face of this mass breakout. These creatures didn't even know what loyalty was and You-Know-Who didn't need them to. He could simply promise to set them loose and then profit from the fear they would spread all on their own with no need for specific orders. "We should have known the Ministry wouldn't be able to stop this. But what about us? Why didn't we hear about it sooner?"

"With you and Severus busy here at school, the Order's inside information isn't as detailed as it used to be," Albus replied, his own voice grave and low.

"I can go back out tonight," Minerva offered, eager to do something so the moving pictures of the escaped Death Eaters wouldn't haunt her in her dreams later. "See if I can find any of them."

"While very brave of you, that would also be extremely unwise for several reasons. One of them is currently still staring at us," Albus turned her down. Before she could protest that they shouldn't care about Umbridge when there was so much more at stake, he went on, "More importantly, we agreed that Hogwarts would remain your priority during the school year."

"And you don't want me to go," Minerva added sharply.

"I won't pretend that I do, no," Albus admitted, giving her a small, private smile for a brief moment. "In my defence, I don't think this will change anything about Voldemort's current plans. I also don't think we could have stopped this. There was a time when there was a chance at least, but since Cornelius refused to act, I fear it is rather too late now."

It was definitely too late. You-Know-Who had been reunited with the likes of Bellatrix Lestrange, who was nearly as cruel, disturbed and violent as he was. In light of this new information, enjoying her breakfast was no longer possible and so Minerva finished eating quickly.

When she got up from the table, she met Hagrid. He nearly walked right into her and then apologised distractedly. "Hagrid, are you all right?" Minerva asked, glancing up at him.

"Well, I've bin better, ter be honest. Got a note sayin' that I'm on probation. 's not much o' a surprise an' I know there's worse things happenin', but it's bin on me mind," he explained.

Minerva got the feeling that he was trying to hide how much it would hurt him to lose his teaching position. "Don't take it personally. She didn't give me a very favourable review either," she told him, though she knew it wasn't the same thing. But with everything Umbridge had taken away from her already, Minerva could imagine how he felt.

"Wha'?" Hagrid barked. "If yer not a good teacher, then I don' have any business bein' here at all!"

"Yes, you do," Minerva said determinedly. "That woman simply has no idea what it means to teach. She might not even know what it means to have a heart."

Hagrid huffed in agreement. "Yeah, sounds abou' right. Thanks, Professor."

Once he had moved along, Minerva allowed the worry to show on her face. Hagrid could be a wonderful teacher because he loved what he did, but he could also be a disastrous, even a dangerous one. The fact that he was a half-giant was enough for Umbridge to think less of him. If the High Inquisitor zeroed in on him, Minerva was afraid that things would end badly and she vowed to keep an eye on the situation.

The mass breakout finally got people talking. They began to wonder if maybe, just maybe, it wasn't wise to put their faith in a man as grossly incompetent as Cornelius Fudge and if they should turn to what Albus and Potter had been telling them all this time. Most of Minerva's colleagues shared her views and they were also willing to share their thoughts on the matter with any student who cared to ask.

Needless to say, Umbridge didn't like that and so of course it was time for another educational decree – number twenty-six, though Minerva was beginning to lose count. This one was a gag order, plain and simple. It said that Minerva was no longer allowed to talk to her students about anything other than Transfiguration. Technically, she couldn't even ask them about the weather anymore. When she had joked about this next decree banning her and Albus from talking, she hadn't actually imagined that something like this could truly happen.

On her way to class, Filius waved her over to him. He and Pomona were standing outside the Charms classroom, huddled together. "Is it time yet?" he asked.

"Time for what?"

"To storm out of the castle collectively in protest," Filius explained.

"And then what?" Minerva retorted. "Leave the students to be taught by more incompetent Ministry officials?"

She understood where they were coming from. The school felt more and more like they were the ones living in a prison, being censored, watched and forbidden from doing anything other than teach, preferably like mindless, obedient automatons. It was the very opposite of the openly accepting, non-judgmental and welcoming atmosphere that Albus had always created. This was no longer the Hogwarts Minerva knew and loved. But giving up on it was not an option.

"I know this is a frustrating and undignified situation," she continued quietly. "And I'm the last person to tell you that you should stay calm. But the more outrageous these decrees get, the more everyone will see the Ministry's desperation behind them. We can't do anything that would make it look as if any of these measures were justified."

Filius and Pomona nodded, but it wasn't easy to live by her own words over the next few weeks. Umbridge inspected as many of Sybill's and Hagrid's lessons as she could and it felt like only a matter of time until one of them would get sacked. Not even Quidditch helped to improve Minerva's mood. On the contrary. Without three of their best players, the performance of the Gryffindor team was abysmal, with the exception of Ginny Weasley, who was a decent replacement for Potter.

A little ray of unexpected sunshine was an interview that suddenly appeared in The Quibbler, given by Potter to none other than Rita Skeeter. The infamous reporter had dropped off the face of the earth after the Triwizard Tournament. Minerva had no idea what had happened to her or how this unexpected cooperation between her and Potter had come about. She had also never read or even looked at The Quibbler before. But Dolores Umbridge made sure to change that – by banning it with her next educational decree. It was the stupidest thing she had ever done and that was to say something.

In response Minerva did something she had also never done before. She made up a thinly veiled excuse to give Potter a couple of points in his next Transfiguration lesson, simply for being there and for being brave. He had used this interview to tell the truth once again, even the difficult parts about Cedric Diggory dying right in front of him. The difference was that now people were willing to hear him out.

It was a small moment of triumph that didn't last long. In mid-March Umbridge finally used the power given to her by Education Decree Number Twenty-three and she did it in the most ungracious and cruel manner possible. That shouldn't have come as a surprise and yet Minerva was appalled at the sight that greeted her when she stepped into the Entrance Hall. She had followed the sudden commotion that had broken out in the middle of dinner. Sybill Trelawney stood in the middle of the hall with what looked like most of her belongings strewn around her feet. Umbridge towered over her, which was only possible because she was standing on the marble staircase. It was immediately clear to everyone – a large crowd of students had already gathered – what was happening. Sybill was not only being dismissed, she was being thrown out of the castle altogether with as much regard for her feelings and dignity as though she were nothing more than an old piece of furniture.

Minerva had to admit that she had fantasised about doing the same thing once in a while. But now that she saw it happening, she knew that she couldn't allow it. No one deserved to be treated like this, certainly no one who had dedicated herself to teaching at this school for so many years, even if her subject was a load of codswallop. Albus wouldn't allow it either. In fact, he hadn't been at dinner because he was working on solving the problem. But he wasn't back yet and Minerva didn't know if he'd be successful. Either way, she knew what she had to do. Even if it hadn't been crucial to keep Sybill out of You-Know-Who's reach and even if Minerva hadn't been filled with loathing for Umbridge, this behaviour was an affront to human decency and to do nothing was to be complicit in it.

And so Minerva stepped forward to protect the woman she had disliked since the day they had met against the woman she despised more than she had thought humanly possible. The irony was not lost on her. She was finally making a stand against Umbridge in defence of Sybill Trelawney of all people.

There was no telling how that situation would have ended if it hadn't been for Albus' impeccable timing. He entered the hall in that very moment, framed in the doorway against the growing darkness of twilight, just in time to back Minerva up and return light to the castle. She could feel him come closer to her because she felt stronger with every step he took. It didn't matter that Dolores was still standing a couple of steps above them on the stairs. She had never truly possessed the high ground, moral or otherwise.

Sadly, Minerva didn't get to see the confrontation between her and Albus play out because he asked her to bring Sybill back upstairs. Knowing how important this was to him, Minerva could hardly refuse and she really did feel some sympathy for the Divination teacher. She was a frightened, agitated, humiliated mess and also more than a little drunk.

It took Minerva forever to get Sybill settled in her rooms. Perhaps it was the alcohol or the events of the night, but Sybill seemed to have forgotten that she didn't particularly like Minerva either. She latched onto her, desperate for some company and compassion. Minerva wasn't mean enough to refuse her, although she was quite anxious to return.

When she finally descended from the North Tower, the castle had quieted down. The excitement was over, the Entrance Hall empty. She found Albus by following the light that came from classroom eleven on the ground floor along the corridor leading off the Entrance Hall. At least it had used to be a classroom. It now looked like a clearing in the Forbidden Forest. The floor was mossy and trees were growing all over the room, their branches almost touching the ceiling that was no longer a normal ceiling but a canopy of stars. Albus didn't have his wand in his hand, but Minerva immediately recognised the breathtaking beauty of his magic in its purest, most innocent form.

"How's Sybill?" he asked her when he noticed her arrival.

"She'll be fine, though we might have to monitor her alcohol intake now that she has nothing else to do up there," Minerva replied and eyed the room again. "I take it things down here went… well?"

"They didn't go as well as I hoped. But that being said, may I introduce the newest member of the Hogwarts staff? This is Firenze."

Minerva was startled when the centaur stepped forward from behind a couple of trees where she hadn't noticed him at first. He inclined his head in greeting and then turned towards Albus. "Thank you for arranging this classroom for me."

"Not at all. This is nothing compared to the price you had to pay to be here," Albus said, his voice grave and even a little guilty.

Firenze swished his long palomino tail. "The bringer of battle shines brightly in the sky above us and so we must all be prepared for the fight that is to come," he answered vaguely. Minerva arched a brow. He sounded like a Divination teacher already. "Now, if you'll excuse me? While I cannot return home, I wish to go outside and take another look at the real stars."

He left the room and Minerva waited until she could no longer hear his hooves echoing off the walls of the corridors. "What happened in the forest?"

"His herd banished him for agreeing to work for me." Albus heaved a sigh. "I don't know about the bringer of battle, but I sure seem to be the bringer of misery."

"Misery?" Minerva repeated, walked into the middle of the room and spread her arms. "Have you seen this? This is pure wonder and possibility – and it's because of you."

"Thank you," Albus said softly. "For taking care of Sybill," he then added. "Not for complimenting me."

"There's no need to thank me. For either of those. Though I would have loved to see the look on Dolores' face when she realised that she had just dismissed Sybill only so you could hire a centaur in her stead." When Albus didn't respond, Minerva crossed her arms over her chest and demanded, "What else is going on?"

"It seems I was wrong in assuming that the mass breakout from Azkaban wouldn't change too much about Voldemort's current plans," Albus told her, clearly irritated with himself. "I forgot that Augustus Rockwood used to work in the Department of Mysteries. He has now told Voldemort that only he or Harry can remove the prophecy."

Minerva lowered her arms in surprise. "How do you know that? From Severus?"

"Yes. He in turn saw it in Harry's mind, who of course saw it through Voldemort's own eyes."

"I thought Severus was supposed to teach him how to stop that from happening!"

Albus nodded wearily. "He's trying."

"Doesn't sound like he's doing a very good job," Minerva muttered.

"Says the woman who never learned how to do this either." Albus' words were laced with too much concern to be sharp.

"Fair point," Minerva conceded anyway. "So what does this mean?"

"It means," said Albus, casting a look around the room as though he was trying to take in some of its tranquillity before his clear blue gaze eventually held hers, "that Harry absolutely must learn to close his mind and that he has to stay here where he's safe in the meantime. Remember that, Minerva. Don't let him out of your sight. Don't let him leave Hogwarts on his own."

His words sent a sudden chill down her spine. "Of course not," she agreed and then wondered if she should ask – ask why he talked as if he might not be here to watch over Harry himself. Perhaps he was just overly cautious and she was feeling paranoid. A symptom of missing Albus so much even while he was standing right in front of her. These days they were hardly ever fully connected and fully present in the moment, always forced to keep an eye out for Umbridge or You-Know-Who or both.

On a whim Minerva lowered herself to the ground in this magical room. The moss was soft to the touch and emitted a pleasantly sweet fragrance. "If this classroom had been here in my day, I might have chosen to study Divination after all," she commented, ignoring Albus' earlier rejection of her compliments.

He didn't seem to mind now. "With you sitting in it, I might have done the same."

"Then what's stopping you?" She patted the ground next to her.

"Maybe I'm afraid that I won't be able to get back up again," Albus quipped and Minerva was relieved to hear some of his humour resurface.

She shrugged. "There are less beautiful places to get stuck in."

Albus still remained standing. He stepped towards her, though, close enough for his wonderfully familiar lemongrass-and-phoenix-feather scent to engulf her and mingle with the fresh, woody air in the room. Minerva closed her eyes and breathed in deeply.

"Would you like me to redecorate your classroom as well?" Albus had been watching her and he sounded faintly amused.

"Oh no, this is nice when the students only have to worry about their chances of meeting the love of their lives because Venus and Mars are in just the right angle to one another. But the art of Transfiguration requires more substance than that."

"I have a feeling Firenze would deny that he'll be teaching the students anything of the sort."

"He isn't very easy to please, is he? I don't know why he felt the need to go outside," Minerva said, tipping her head back and looking up at the magical sky. "These stars look perfect to me."

"Ah, but the question is: are they telling you anything?" Albus asked, following her gaze.

"Sure," she said wryly. "That the answers aren't up there but down here, in the person who created those stars and in believing that keeping up the good fight is worth it."

Albus' eyes dropped to her face. "Do not go gentle into that good night..." he quoted slowly and rested his hands on her shoulders.

Minerva felt both reassured and invigorated by his strength as she leaned against him and finished the famous poem, "... rage, rage against the dying of the light."


When Filch told her that the Minister for Magic was coming, Minerva was worried. When she hurried to meet him and saw that he had brought two Aurors and his assistant, she froze momentarily. If they were lucky, Fudge was simply too afraid to face Albus without protection and he was trying to flex his muscles. His muscles being Kingsley Shacklebolt – one friendly face at least, though he wisely didn't show it – and John Dawlish. Two capable Aurors and so Minerva couldn't help feeling that this was more than just an empty threat.

"Ah, Minerva, good of you to meet us. We must proceed right to the headmaster's office. There's some urgent business to take care of," Fudge greeted her in a hurry.

"What kind of business?" Minerva asked sharply.

"If you want to find out, I suggest you come along," Fudge replied loftily, then paused. "Actually, I must insist that you do because Dolores forgot to tell me the password."

Minerva was gripped by the sudden urge to refuse. She would have rather cut out her tongue than give up the key to Albus' office. But that was silly and pointless. Apparently, Umbridge was busy doing something else right now (nothing good no doubt), but she would show up soon enough and let Fudge inside.

Having no other choice and wanting to know what was going on, Minerva brought the four men from the Ministry to the headmaster's study. Upon their entrance Albus' eyes widened imperceptibly for the briefest of moments before he settled back and smiled at them serenely. Minerva walked briskly around the headmaster's desk and only stopped once she stood right beside Albus' chair. It was her not so subtle answer to the way Kingsley and Dawlish were flanking the minister like guards.

Albus shot Minerva a quick look out of the corner of his eye, warning her not to overreact, which she chose not to acknowledge.

"Cornelius, what an unexpected surprise to see you this evening." He said 'unexpected' rather than 'pleasant.' Not even Albus thought he could make that sound sincere.

"Yes, hello, Dumbledore, I couldn't call ahead because something came up very suddenly and urgently," Fudge replied. He was struggling to contain his eagerness.

"What exactly is this piece of business that's so important?" Minerva asked again. Her irritation was growing at the same rate as Fudge's excitement.

"Oh, I don't have all the details yet. We'll have to wait for Dolores to enlighten us. I'm sure she'll be here any minute."

An awkward silence ensued when no one had anything else to say while they waited. Kingsley and Dawlish took up position by the door, Fudge rocked backwards and forwards on his toes while Percy Weasley hovered in a corner. He looked like an obedient, sycophantic fool, who had nothing in common with the rest of his family.

Finally Umbridge marched into the office, holding tight to Potter. He angrily struggled free of her grasp once the door had closed behind them. Minerva went completely rigid while Albus still appeared to be at ease. He did, however, discreetly direct Potter to deny everything with an almost imperceptible shaking of his head, followed by an encouraging nod.

As it turned out, Umbridge and Fudge were still after that secret and – according to Educational Decree Number Twenty-four – illegal student organisation Potter had started. They produced Marietta Edgecombe as a witness. All she really proved was that it was extremely unwise to make an enemy of Hermione Granger. Minerva was immediately convinced that the jinx that currently disfigured her face and that Umbridge had been unable to counter was Granger's work. It was somewhat on the cruel side but no less brilliant.

Albus and Minerva worked in tandem to refute the evidence Umbridge tried to present. The situation got dicey when she pressed Miss Edgecombe to confirm that there had been regular meetings even after Educational Decree Number Twenty-four had come into effect. Minerva thought she saw Kingsley make the smallest of movements. She quickly realised that he must have put Miss Edgecombe under the Imperius Curse because she, too, now started to deny everything with an oddly blank expression on her face. Minerva had never been more grateful that the Order had managed to recruit Kingsley, a wizard who was clever, capable and cool in a crisis. For the first time today she dared to hope that they might get out of this awful mess unscathed.

And then Umbridge produced that bloody piece of parchment, the list of names, the pièce de résistance, that Potter and Granger should have never ever allowed to even exist.

It read "Dumbledore's Army."

Minerva's heart stopped in her chest when she understood, without a shadow of a doubt, what Albus was about to do. All year he had been forced to hold back, to stay safe, defamed and disrespected but otherwise untouched, while others had paid the price for their acts of bravery and sacrifice.

All that ended now. He would fall on the sword that Fudge had meant for Potter, or rather he would throw himself right onto it. To protect Potter and everyone else involved in this incident. To repay them for their tremendously touching and incredibly foolish loyalty towards him, as expressed in the name they had chosen for their little rebellion.

Dumbledore's Army.

Feeling impotent with rage, Minerva listened to Fudge and Umbridge as they fell over themselves to secure Albus' confession and to prepare to arrest him. Only then did Albus inform them that he had no intention of going to Azkaban and every intention of fighting his way out of here. When Fudge sneered at him that he couldn't possibly defeat them alone, Minerva could no longer stand idly by.

She reached for her wand. "He will not be single-handed!" she exclaimed and she meant it. She was willing to fight everyone in this room, fight the Minister for Magic himself, do whatever it would take. In her fury she wanted to burn it all to the ground and face the consequences later. For one glorious moment she could see it all in her mind's eye. She and Albus together, the might of their magical talent combined and the both of them unleashed on these few Ministry officials. They were the ones who didn't stand a chance.

Sharp as a whip Albus' voice cut through the air and burst her bubble. "Oh yes he will, Minerva! Hogwarts needs you!"

They had argued about this a thousand times before, but she had never imagined that things would come to a head quite like this. She wanted to yell at him that yes, Hogwarts needed her, but she needed him more, loved him more. In the end, though, she knew that Albus trusted her to do the right thing. He would still love her if she didn't, but losing his trust in her was something Minerva couldn't bear.

Instead of fighting by his side, as every instinct in her body told her to do, she rushed forward to drag Potter and Miss Edgecombe out of harm's way. Just before all hell broke loose in the office around them. When the dust settled, half of the office was in shambles. Minerva, the two students in her arms and Albus were the only ones left standing.

"Are you all right?" he asked urgently.

A lot of answers came to mind, none of them really seemed to fit the situation they were in, but Minerva went with "Yes!" anyway.

There was very little time because Albus hadn't injured anyone permanently. Fawkes circled above their heads as a reminder to hurry. Minerva kept her eyes on Albus' face, watching him with growing dread and desperation, as he gave her and Potter some hasty, last-minute instructions.

The boy wanted to apologise, but there was no time for that either. Nor for the myriad of questions Minerva had or for saying goodbye properly. Not that there would have been any way for that not to hurt. Still, Minerva had the selfish thought that Albus could have stunned Potter and Miss Edgecombe as well. To give them a chance to be alone. One last time.

Albus touched the back of her hand with his own – the softest of caresses – then Fawkes swooped low and Minerva watched them disappear in a flash of fire. A part of her wished that she could have grasped the phoenix's tail and gone with them.

Especially once the others woke up and stormed out of the office, pointlessly chasing after Albus, all except Fudge, who gave Minerva a nasty look. "Well, Minerva, I'm afraid this is the end of your friend Dumbledore."

She wanted to laugh in his face or better yet punch him in it. The only end they had reached today was the end of Albus having to put up with Fudge's pigheadedness. Now that Albus had been set free in that regard, Fudge would soon wish he had been man enough to accept the greatness of Albus Dumbledore and had allied himself with him when he still could. You-Know-Who would reveal himself, Fudge would be done once and for all and Albus would return to Hogwarts as sure as the dawn.

Once again Minerva reined herself in and didn't do or say any of that. "You think so, do you?" she only replied scornfully and then ignored Fudge as she marched Potter and Miss Edgecombe towards the door.

As Minerva left the achingly familiar room, she felt that the trail of destruction that had been left behind led from the wrecked headmaster's office all the way to her heavy heart.


A/N: So far I've tried not to describe scenes from the books in too much detail and I didn't want to use quotes from dialogues in the books either. But in this chapter skipping these scenes was not an option and I just had to quote a few lines because for once all the Albus and Minerva goodness is actually in the book. Thanks, Rowling. This is one of my all-time favourite scenes. I mean, even Rowling's Minerva wants to fight the Minister for Magic himself by Albus' side. If that's not shipping material, then I don't know what is. On the downside, I couldn't really add much to it because what's on the page is already awesome. Except for the fact that Albus and Minerva didn't get a proper goodbye and I couldn't really change that because Harry was right there the entire time. Thanks, Harry. Anyway, I hope I did this ADMM moment some justice and thank you all for reading.