-1Chapter Twenty-Four
Minerva's POV
The Dark Mark in the sky, above the Shrieking Shack.
It's the worst beginning of a school year in history, and I run, no regard for what people think, towards the Shrieking Shack; I'm joined by Hagrid. No words are exchanged -- there's hardly time. My heart dreads what I'll see; images flash through my head like water upon sand. Students, spread-eagled.
The sight before me makes me stop in my tracks.
It's enough to make one nauseous: three students, surrounded completely by Death Eaters and in the middle… there can be no mistaking the head of He Who Must Not Be Named. The students are outnumbered; there can't be any victory for them. There's only three…
Words catch the air but I find I can't move. Maybe I've been hit with a curse. Maybe I'm just petrified as I recognise the boy who stands up to Voldemort, looking quite the reckless hero.
My heart clenches painfully but still, I can't move, as the earth-shattering cry of You-Know-Who rips through the air, followed by the urgent yell of Harry.
"Avada Kedavra!"
"Expelliarmus!"
The two beams hit each other just as I manage a feeble step forward -- even though I know it's too late to help Harry. They join, intertwine into a huge golden line that scores through the country like some kind of pathway to the heavens; shuddering, trembling, a cobweb stains the landscape and Harry and Voldemort are forced into the air. It's hard not to admire the bravery of Mr Potter; but he's fighting a losing battle.
I can't say how proud I am to have known this boy as I watch the connection severed and watch him run towards his companions -- which, inevitably are Mrs Granger and Ron Weasley. I should have predicted they'd go to join the boy.
Words surpass me when it comes to mentioning those three's commitment to each other. And as I see them disapparate, not an ounce of reproval about Mr Potter's apparating without a license touches me. Voldemort wheels round, furiously, and disapparates after the trio: not that he'll know where they are. It's childish, but I feel a sense of loss. I would have been proud to go down fighting for Hogwarts -- or at least, for those students.
So, I'll say these words. I don't think I can do much physically to help them.
…Good luck.
A/N: Just a preview of Minerva's feelings towards the trio.