A/N: Wheee…I'm back again. With a rather odd chapter – but it's necessary, for now, we are going into the action part *folds hands in a prayer: Dear Muse, please help with those scenes*.
And I'm not saying it often enough: Thank you and mucho huggles to my beta-reader and cyber-twin, Petra *wink*. Keep your fingers crossed.
Chapter 27 – Rhythm of the Night"Minerva!" A velvety voice came from the shadows.
The woman didn't even flinch, but pressed two small marble statues closer to her chest. "What do you want, Severus?"
His voice turned urgent. "You need to leave immediately. This place isn't safe for you." Severus paused. Minerva had turned to face him with an expression of disinterested serenity in her features.
She only raised an eyebrow. "Does it matter?"
He could have shaken her in exasperation. "Minerva, if somebody catches you here, you'll go straight to Azkaban. At best! You can't help Albus, when you are stuck on this godforsaken island. And we need you."
The woman's smile became even more infuriatingly serene. Growing extremely frustrated, the potions master drew a deep breath to make an even stronger point, but was stopped by her held-up hand. "I know Severus. There is no need to get so worked up. I will leave right away. But…" The sudden intensity of her gaze almost made the younger wizard reel. "You do understand that I had to do this. Don't you?"
Unbidden, Melina's face flashed before his inner eye and he clamped down on the sudden rush of emotion. With a deep sigh, he admitted: "Yes, I do."
Minerva smiled. "Good."
Then she turned to the bed again. "Good bye, my love. Until soon. Until very soon." Minerva's hand covered Albus' as she bent down and kissed him tenderly on the cheek. "I'll love you always, Albus."
She rose with a sigh, then put one of the small statues onto the nightstand and other one with the delicate chain around her neck. Then she turned to her younger colleague. "I am ready."
Snape thought better than to make a comment. He wouldn't have known what to say anyway. This display of recklessness and desperate love had left him for once in his life at a loss of words. The whole night had been so confusing that he would need some time to sort it all out in his mind.
He followed the older witch to the apartment's doors, then held her back. "Let me check if the coast is clear first," he whispered.
He cautiously peered out. The corridor was empty, except for a few owls hovering in a corner opposite the doors. But for some reason, Severus didn't feel threatened by them.
"Lets go."
Once they were outside, the owls immediately flew closer. Severus tensed, shielding Minerva with his body. However, he was stopped by a calming hand on his shoulder.
Later on, he would always swear to have heard Minerva saying that it was alright and those birds no threat, but when he turned he didn't find the woman standing behind him, but a graceful burrowing owl flapping her wings.
Severus could only stare open-mouthed and then chuckle slightly. The owls, however, paid no heed to the shocked man and instead beckoned the animagus to follow them. With a quiet hoot, the birds took off. The black-haired wizard stared after them for some time and then, with a final shake of his head, went on his way.
*
Standing inside the large black chamber forming the entrance hall of the Department of Mysteries, Uray McGonagall couldn't shake an uneasy feeling. Though he had been inside this area of the Ministry many times in his line of work, it still made his chest tighten in dread. He knew only all too well what dangers lay behind those many doors.
Beside him, Charlie gave a low whistle. "Good thing the doors Hermione marked last summer have not been replaced. Otherwise, we would have no leads at all."
Uray had to agree, though preferred to keep to himself just how lucky they were.
"Still, there are only two doors marked. But not the one to the chamber with the prophecies. How do we find the entrance then?" Arthur asked.
"And why is the room not spinning? Ron said it did." George chimed in.
"I put a spell on it to keep it from spinning." Uray assured the Weasley twin next to him.
"There is a spell?" Fred asked in amazement.
"Of course. How do you think the Department members could work in here without one?" Moody's gruff voice answered.
"Lucky for us, the spells haven't been changed since your quitting, Papa." Melina quietly said. She had closed in on the group just before the entrance to the Department of Mysteries and now stood in the most forward place. "But Arthur is right, Papa. How do we find the right door?"
Her father raised his hand. "Let me concentrate a bit, please. I need to think."
"But hurry up, Uray. It's only a question of time until we have a pack of security officers breathing down on our necks." Moody admonished.
Uranos shot him a warning glare, then closed his eyes. The group waited nervously for any new development. The seconds stretched into minutes that seemed like years to the anxiously waiting people. Finally, the man took a deep breath, opened his eyes and pointed at a door three to the left of the one marked with a fiery cross. "This one."
The high, vast chamber full of rows after rows filled the group with an uneasy awe.
"This thing is huge." Fred whispered in awe. "There are so many rows. What exactly are we looking for here?"
"The proverbial needle in the haystack, Mr. Weasley." Uray deadpanned.
Fred stared at him in shock. "You sounded exactly like McGonagall."
The older man raised a speculative eyebrow. "I am a McGonagall, Mr. Weasley." The corners of his mouth twitched in suppressed amusement.
"Still," Melina put in, "the question is not what, but where. The prophecy could be anywhere. If it has been recorded here at all."
"You are right, Meli. But if Min's dream was correct – which I assume it was– then we can narrow our search down to all prophecies made in 1920."
"Why?" Charlie asked.
"Because our parents changed her name to Minerva because of this prophecy. It is logical to assume that the prophecy was made sometime between the announcement of my mother's pregnancy and the birth of my sister."
Their companions nodded and went to look for the appropriate row. After a short search, they had made out row 46 as the one they were looking for, since it contained all the prophecies of the years 1920 and 1921.
"Very well. If there is a prophecy stored, it will be here."
The group quickly ruled out the first months of the year and concentrated on the second half. After searching for some time, Moody finally said: "Nothing. The last one was from December 25th. And nothing even remotely connected to the McGonagalls, much less Minerva. Unless it was made later."
Uray shook his head. "No. They didn't rename her. She was Minerva from the first moment."
"Then there is nothing here."
"Maybe there is." Came Charlie's somewhat strained response. He was crouching on his knees, trying with his left arm to grab something from the lowest shelf.
"Why do you think so? And why are you down on your knees? We know that you worship us without your doing that." The twins chimed in.
A combined glare from the others shut them up. Charlie's answer sounded even more pressed. "There is a small plaque just above the ground. I can't read the letters, but the numbers say 28 and 1920."
Melina sank to her knees immediately. "It's Greek." She exclaimed enthusiastically. "And it says 'Minerva Athena M. McGonagall, Spyridon Matsikopoulos, Delphi, December 28th, 1920'
"Is there a globe, Charlie?" Arthur asked anxiously.
"Yes." Came the muffled reply. "Got it! But it's hot, as if it's burning my hands." He exclaimed as he rose, with pain evident on his face.
Inside the little glass orb, the usually faint grey fog had taken an angry red color and was lapping at the confines of the glass.
Uray's features tensed. "We need to get out of here. Fast. This is a prophecy shortly before its fulfilment." He took a deep breath as he hastily pushed the little orb into a small textile bag and then shoved it into his robes, with a short, muttered spell. He looked at the others. "We need to run. As soon as we go through the exit of the Department, the intruder-alarm will go off and we will have security personnel all over the place."
"If it is so dangerous to take out, why don't we open it here?" Bill asked.
"Same difference. A prophecy of this ripeness will draw the whole ministry together with its volume. At this stage, only the subject of a prophecy, it's maker or receiver can control it in any way. We need to get it to Minerva. Lets run."
They took off as fast as they could, but it became painfully obvious that their speed was hampered by Moody limping after them with his wooden leg.
"Let's just get out of here. Then I'll hide and you leave." Moody panted.
"No Alastor," Melina gasped, "we won't leave you behind. Come on, boys." She drew her wand, pointed it at her former boss and muttered a short: "Levo!"
Immediately, the former auror felt an awkward weightlessness. At the same moment, Arthur Weasley conjured a foot-long wooden plate and beckoned his two oldest sons. "You two carry him first. Then we'll take turns."
Bill and Charlie nodded and sprung into action. The hoisted the older man up and admonished: "Hold on." It gave a strange picture, but they moved much swifter now.
Meanwhile, Uray had marked the exit door for them. "This way." The group went through the door – one by one. Finally only Uray, who carried the small orb with the prophecy, was inside. He would have to do a sprint, which he didn't really anticipate, but he needed to give the others a headstart before he set the alarm off.
At last, Melina beckoned him to follow. With a deep breath, Uranos McGonagall took the final step. And all hell broke loose.
An incredibly shrill wail boomed through the halls of the Ministry of Magic. "Intruder! Intruder! IIIINTRRUUUUUUDDDEEEEEEEEERRRR!!!!"
At once, many footsteps could be heard from the floor of the corridors.
The group frantically looked around for approaching security personnel. Moody, who had taken the role of the guide, pointed towards a door. "The stairwell." Like the others (except Bill and Charlie), he had his wand drawn, ready to hex anyone standing in their way. The small party rushed into the stairwell. The door closed behind them – not a moment to soon.
Just then a group of security turned the corner. "They must have been here. The alarm came from the Department of Mysteries." The leader said. "Very well," he commanded, "Smith, Wesson, you search this corridor. The others follow me."
Their prey breathed a collective sigh of relief as the footsteps became fainter, then went down the stairs.
Coming down to the floor with their exit, they carefully peered out into the hall. On the far end of it, they could make out the opening of their flight tunnel. Right now, the hall was empty, but this could change at any second. They had no other choice but to run and hope for the best. And so they did.
Melina was the last in line. When she let the door swing back and started to run, the hem of her robes became stuck between the door and the frame, stopping her flight short. At the same time, urgent voices could be heard from around the corner to the right. Melina's eyes frantically darted to said corner, then to her father and finally to her stuck robes. Purely out of instinct, she pulled at her clothes.
With a scratching sound the robes came loose, but a piece of the tartan material remained stuck in the door. The voices came closer and closer. Melina ran after her companions – blood pumping loudly through her veins, effectively shutting out every other sound. The woman hauled herself into the passage and pointing her wand at the opening, yelled: "Cludo!"
~~
Comments:
Morpheus: Thank you. Well, you'll see, what happens to Albus. And yes, "For the Fear of Falling" and this one share a universe. (though it isn't a prequel). I keep my general ideas and just vary certain things.
LinZE: You are so smart, but then…any niece of mine is *wink*
Dicere: *hides* Uhmmm…well…anyways, Italy has it all *sigh*
Athenia M. Dumbledore: Thanks!
Hogwarts Duo: Geee, your compliments warm my heart and make my ego swell. Could you mail me about your stories? Muchos thankos.
Liz O'Brien: Where did you go to? Uhmm…okay, bad joke. Thanks for the compliments.
Jestana: Thankies *huggles*. Does that answer your questions?
Well, thanks to all, who reviewed and to all of you, who read and didn't review: Shame on you! Please, redeem yourself by helping me break through the great barrier of 200 reviews *gets into begging position*. Just with this button down there…