Disclaimer: Not mine
Chapter Five: A Forgotten Prophecy
Minerva awoke the next morning feeling as though she had never truly been asleep. She absolutely dreaded facing Albus, Poppy and Lily. Knowing she had no choice, Minerva rolled over and prepared to leave the warmth of the bed.
Albus had awoken long before Minerva. He had not slept well, either. He knew his wife was hurting and wished to help her. Minerva would not accept help until she was ready though, so until then Albus would be forced to sit back and watch her struggle.
As Minerva turned over, she saw her husband was already awake. Their eyes met but neither said anything. Albus took one of her hands in his and stroked it gently for a very long moment.
"I'm sorry, Albus."
"You need not apologize, my dear."
"Yes, I do. I was completely disrespectful to you, both in your role as headmaster and as my husband. I don't understand what came over me. I will control myself from now on. I am very sorry."
"It is alright, Minerva." he said, gently kissing her cheek. "Is there anything you would like to discuss?"
"Not unless you know why Poppy made that announcement in the staff meeting, or why she didn't want Lily to attend the feast last night."
"I do, but I believe the two of you should deal with that. You have always been friends, Minerva. Please hear her out. You both only want what's best for Lily. That is the most important thing."
Minerva hurriedly dressed and went to the Great Hall. She had schedules to give to the students. From there, she spent the day teaching. Most unfortunately, she had the sixth year Gryffindors first. That meant seeing James, Sirius, and Remus. Their antics were the last thing she needed right now. Them, along with Peter to a certain extent, were sometimes too much even on her best days; when Minerva was this emotionally distraught, they would be almost impossible.
Sure enough, ten minutes into the class, Sirius accidently lit Peter's hair on fire. He claimed it was an accident, anyway. It may have been, though had he been actually listening to Minerva's instructions it would not have happened.
Minerva was also trying to keep an eye on Lily. The young witch seemed to be doing well. She had been the first to adequetely transfigure her goblet into a rodent and then the rodent into a toad. It was extremely difficult to make an object mesh into two different creatures, but Lily had done a superb job.
After class, which ended when James oversized rat ate Remus' toad, Minerva called Lily up to her desk.
"How are you doing today, Lily?"
"I'm fine. Class was great. I can't believe I did it right on the first try."
"How did you sleep?"
"Okay. I was pretty tired after the events of the last couple of days."
Minerva paused, then pushed ahead. "I noticed you haven't been eating that much."
"Oh, well no, I suppose not. I will. I promise. It's just been stressful. I really am feeling much better now. Don't worry. I'm fine."
The speed and tone in which she spoke were unlike Lily, but Minerva reasoned the girl was simply nervous.
"Very well. I am going to be watching to make sure you eat. If you need anything, please come to me, no matter when it may be."
"I promise, Professor. Thank you."
The day dragged on. When Minerva's last class finally filed out, she made her way to the hospital wing. Poppy was working in her office. Minerva gently knocked on the door and was told to enter. Poppy looked slightly shocked to see her, but recovered quickly.
"Please, sit down. I'm glad you came. Would you like some tea?"
"Yes, please."
Poppy fixed tea as silence descended on the room. It was not a comfortable silence, but one that made Minerva want to jump to her feet and leave the room. The two sipped their tea until Minerva finally got up the courage to talk.
"I'm sorry. I know you only want what is best for her, too. I overreacted."
"I wanted to talk to you before the meeting yesterday. I'm sorry I didn't get a chance. I do have my reasons for having the staff told."
"I would like to hear them." Minerva said calmly.
"Very well. Do you remember what happened after you were raped?"
"That's kind of hard to forget, Poppy."
"I know. You tried to pretend everything was fine for awhile. It didn't work. I was trying to save Lily from that."
"It might not be like that for her, though." Minerva said.
"I do not believe that any woman on earth who is raped is capable of putting it behind her and acting as though it never happened. Eventually, the rape must be dealt with, and the sooner the better. It would be unhealthy for her to begin the year as if nothing had changed. It would be even more unhealthy for us to endorse this. That is also the reason I preferred her to not attend the feast last night. She needs time to adjust. Her professors needed to know so they could grant her this time."
"I'm sorry. I should have respected your opinion more. You have far more knowledge of the mental health of adolescents." Minerva said.
"You have far more knowledge of what it actually feels like to be raped. You also know Lily better than I do. That's why it is usually the student's head of house that handles these situations. I do believe you may still need a little guidance, given your history; Lily is going to need you, however. You will be the one she turns to when she is ready to talk about her ordeal."
Minerva didn't say anything. She simply nodded and stared at the tea still in her cup.
"Minerva?" Poppy asked tentatively.
"Yes?"
"Do you remember that morning at breakfast a few weeks after you were raped? The one that Cassandra Trelawney came to."
"Yes." Of course Minerva remembered that morning. It was the day that Cassandra had given-"
"Do you remember what she said? That something terrible had happened and you would need the wisdom gained from it to deal with something in the future." Poppy pressed.
"I remember her saying that, yes."
"Minerva, I know how you feel about Divination, but you have to admit it is weird."
"Cassandra was not making a true prophecy that morning. What she said was very ambiguous. We learn things all the time and use them later. It's called experience, Poppy."
"Still, she did say it right after you were raped, and now a student in your house needs you to help her with the very same thing."
"Cassandra Trelawney didn't foresee anything. She was nothing more than a fraud. I have told Albus numerous times that the subject of Divination should no longer even be taught."
"Speaking of Albus," Poppy said, trying to avoid another disagreement, "how are you and he doing?"
"We're fine."
Poppy gave Minerva a penetrating look.
"Well, maybe not fine, but we are okay." Minerva said.
"Good. I was afraid after last night that you wouldn't be."
"I regret my actions yesterday. I do not know what made me feel so out of control, but I think that was why I was acting the way I was. I felt out of control and became desperate to feel in charge of something."
"That is pretty typical with rape victims, Minerva. You have nothing to be ashamed of."
"But I was raped years ago. I should be over it by now."
Poppy looked at her friend sadly. "I thought you had figured out by now that you will never just be over it. It's not that simple."
"I know that. But it shouldn't affect me like this anymore."
"It normally wouldn't. Your subconscious has resurrected all the feelings associated with what happened to you because it has been at the front of your mind. This will help Lily in the long run, but will also force you to deal with it all over again. That is why I was so concerned when you agreed to be the one Lily turns to with this."
"I understand that now." Minerva muttered.
"Do you mind if I speak with Albus regarding you? I would just like to reinforce to him what we just said. He will be better equipped to help you if he understands what you are facing."
"No, Poppy. Don't do that. He is very busy and need not worry about me."
"I can assure you, he is already worried. Deep down, you know it is true. My speaking with him may help to alleviate some of his concern."
"If you insist." Minerva consented. She knew Poppy was right; Albus was concerned.
As the two parted company, Poppy gave Minerva a quick hug. "Remember," she said, "If you need someone to talk to, Albus should be your first choice. If for whatever reason you can not go to him, I am here."
"Thank you, Poppy."
Minerva left to begin marking the essays that had served as summer homework for her classes. Poppy did indeed speak with Albus as soon as Minerva was gone. When they were finished, he felt he had a better understanding of his wife's current situation, for which he was very grateful.
Dinner was not nearly as tense as it had been the night before. Minerva kept glancing at Lily, who was only taking very small, infrequent bites. Having spoken to Poppy regarding her own rape, she also remembered something else. She would have to keep a closer eye on Lily to make absolutely certain that she was eating. Minerva had once eaten so little that she had stopped menstruating.
Minerva and Albus both went back to their duties for the school after dinner. Several hours later, they met back in their rooms.
"How was your day, my dear?" Albus asked while pulling her into his arms.
"It was-" she thought back to her first class with the Marauders. "Interesting. How was yours?"
"It was alright. Minerva, Lily's sister has scheduled a joint funeral for their parents."
"I see. When is it?"
"Tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?" shrieked Minerva. "How is Lily supposed to be ready to bury her parents by then?"
"Petunia doesn't want her there." Albus said gravely.
"She can't do that, can she?"
"I am afraid so. I knew her sister was not fond of magic, but I was not anticipating this."
"Albus, what are we going to do?"
"We will think of something, my dear. Let us wait until we speak with Miss Evans. She may have something in mind that she would like to do to honor her parents. We will just have to wait and see."
"I suppose you are right." Minerva said. She couldn't believe that anyone could be so cruel as to deny their own sister a chance to say good-bye to their parents.
"Shall we make it an early night?" Albus asked. "I daresay you are exhausted."
Minerva nodded and allowed herself to be led to their bedroom. Both changed in silence with Minerva wearing another nightgown. As she snuggled into her husband's arms, she once again thought of the supposed prophecy. As she slipped into dreamland, Albus heard her mutter about ridiculous school subjects and smiled. He knew exactly which class his wife was referring to.
A/N: Okay. I am down on my knees begging for forgiveness. I became depressed a week ago, and intended to simply take a couple of days off. During that time, I received an email telling me my writing was crap and I should delete everything and give up writing entirely. Then my hard drive fried and I lost EVERYTHING that was on my computer. This did not help the depression at all. I am better now and committed to finishing this story. In another note, I have decided not to focus on Lily that much in this. It was suggested that I do a LE/JP story with this arc, so that is what I am going to do. She will, of course, still be here, but her total perspective will be in the next sequel. Sound good? Please review:)