...
"There's so many fragile things after all. People break so easily, and so do dreams and hearts."
Neil Gaiman
...


Harry couldn't move. He couldn't even speak anymore. He was frozen in shock, unable to do anything. Tears were freely falling from his eyes, flowing down his cheeks, but he didn't care. He barely realized Ron, Hermione and Ginny running towards them to stand next to him, followed closely by Xemerius and Aidan. Or Moody, who walked straight to Umbridge and with a flick of his wand put a thick iron chain around her. All Harry could do was stare at the scene enfolding in front of him. He watched, completely horrified, as Professor McGonagall, white as a sheet of paper and hands shaking, reacted within seconds. Whispering some complicated spells Harry had never even heard of, she pressed her thin hands on his godmother's chest, desperately trying to stop the bleeding. But it didn't work. With each passing second more and more blood spilled from the wound through his teacher's fingers and a pool of dark red blood started to form around the two witches on the ground.

"Minerva!" Xemerius shouted, causing Harry to snap out of his stunned silence. Professor McGonagall however, didn't react at all.

Aidan, who had already transfigured himself a pair of medical gloves, a white lab coat, and a medical bag, knelt down next to the injured witch with a pained expression on his face.

"Merlin, that's way too much blood. Expecto Patronus!" He muttered and a silver fox appeared. "Get Poppy here as soon as possible; tell her it's an emergency level 5."

Harry had no idea what that meant, but as he watched the silver fox head of to find the mediwitch, he knew it wasn't good at all.

"Minerva, get your hands of her immediately." Aidan suddenly ordered in a demanding, but surprisingly calm voice. For a brief moment Harry wondered how and where the young healer learned to gain that kind of authority that everyone listened to what he said. Well, almost everyone. Again, the transfiguration mistress didn't move a single muscle, her small hands still pressed around the knife and her eyes fixed on the unconscious woman lying in front of her, whose head was resting on the Professor's lap.

It was the first time that Harry could take a proper look at his godmother. Her bright blue eyes, which Harry had looked into earlier, were still closed and her long, black hair - though nicely braided in a French twist with only some loose strands – created a frightening contrast to her beautiful, but now ashen face.

"Damn it, Minerva, move! Hang in there, love! Xem, I need your help; you know what to do." Aidan said the first to Professor McGonagall; the second to Harry's bleeding godmother and the latter to the silver eyed wizard, who acted without a moment of hesitation. He walked around Professor McGonagall, and Harry watched in amazement as he managed to snatch her wand out of her robes, then wrapped his arms tightly around his friend and tried to drag her away, while muttering a spell that caused a soft pillow to appear under the other woman's head.

"Stop! Aidan – What are you doing?! Let me go, Xemerius!" she screamed desperately, struggling to get out of Xemerius' grip, and a burst of uncontrolled magic shattered one of the windows behind them. "We have to do something or she'll bleed to death!"

Harry was shocked when he saw his teacher. All color was drained from her face, her lips thinner than a line, blood flowing down from her own wound on the forehead and her usually bright emerald green eyes were clouded with unshed tears. But the thing that frightened Harry the most was what he saw in them. Something he had never seen in them before. Fear. Not even when she faced Voldemort himself.

As soon as Professor McGonagall's hands had left the body, Aidan replaced them with his own to stop the bleeding.

"I am trying to do my job and therefore I need you to be rational, Minerva! Your hands are way too small to stop a bleed like this! Even mine aren't big enough."

To Harry's horror he was right. Even though less blood spilled through Aidan's bigger hands, it was still too much.

"Furthermore, you are bleeding yourself! I cannot let her get in contact with your blood, it could cause serious infections!" he said and looked at her sternly. Professor McGonagall's eyes widened in shock and she nodded in understanding. Xemerius eased his grip on her and just held her, offering comfort, as they all watched the Healer do his work.

Suddenly Madam Pomfrey came rushing into the hall, pushing a hospital bed in front of her, trying to make her way through the crowd of people that had formed around them. With a sharp "Out of my way, Weasley!" she pushed an open mouthed Ron to the side and when she stopped, the first one she spotted was Harry himself.

"Oh, Potter, I should have known it was you again. "

"Harry's fine. " Xemerius pointed out, causing the mediwitch to turn towards him. "It's – "

"Oh, Merlin!" This time the Mediwitch interrupted him as her eyes fell on Professor McGonagall, who was shaking uncontrollably in her friends arms.

"Heavens, Minerva, look at you! What have you done? Head injured, probably a broken leg and at least four broken ribs! You're soaked in blood! We need to-"

"Poppy -" Professor McGonagall cut in, her voice full of desperation. "Please - Please do something. You – You have to help Dan. She – She – It's Arina! She's bleeding to death, please - please save her!"

Harry and Hermione - and assumingly everyone else - stared at the transfiguration Mistress in shock. Not only because of all her injuries, but for the fact that they had never seen her losing control in front of her students before. Tears fell down her cheeks, her whole body was shaking and without Xemerius' support she probably wouldn't be able to stand on her own anymore.

Madam Pomfrey turned around once more, and her eyes widened as she noticed Aidan and the bleeding witch on the ground. For a short moment she covered her mouth with her hands, suppressing a scream.

"Holy Godric! Hold on, my dear! Aidan, what happened?" she asked Aidan, and took a deep breath to calm herself down.

"You see that knife? Barely missed her heart by inches. It won't stop bleeding, so I think it probably hit the aorta. We have to get her off the ground so I can start working. Fast."

Harry and his friends watched in awe as they, with a carefully cast wingardium leviosa, lifted the limp body up and placed her on the hospital bed.

"Wait, you plan on doing this all here?" Madam Pomfrey asked slightly confused, gesturing around the hall and all the people standing around. Harry could see everyone else was thinking the same as the old witch.

"I wouldn't have to if the hospital wing wasn't already otherwise occupied." Aidan snapped.

This answer left the Mediwitch speechless. "But-"

"There's no time!" Aidan said a little edgy.

Harry observed in amazement that he was conjuring all kind of medical things with his wand while his other hand was still pressed on his godmother's chest. He just hoped that Aidan was as good a healer as everyone always said. After all, he couldn't lose his godmother now that he found her!

"I need you to get me some space around here. I'll set up a medical curtain so I won't be disturbed and she'll have at least some kind of privacy. I try to get her more stable, but I need your help to perform an emergency surgery as soon as possible. You'll join me right after you fixed Minerva." Aidan ordered and Madam Pomfrey nodded, turning her attention to Professor McGonagall, who – in Harry's opinion - looked even worse than before.

"Don't you even dare waste your time on me, Poppy! I can fix myself and you bloody well know it!" she snapped to everyone's surprise, before the mediwitch could say a single word.

"Don't be stupid, Minerva! You cannot even stand on your own anymore!" Moody shouted from behind. The Scottish witch shot him an angry glare and in a weak attempt to convince everyone that they were wrong, the transfiguration mistress tried to free herself from her friend's arms and took a step forward. This, however, only proved the opposite and Harry watched horrified as her legs gave in and she almost hit the ground if Xemerius hadn't caught her in time.

"You were saying, Minerva?" Madam Pomfrey snapped in return and rolled her eyes.

The transfiguration mistress looked defeated as she clung to her friend. "Just go! Please! She needs you more than I do!"

"You go, Poppy, I'll look after Min." Xemerius said.

Ignoring Professor McGonagall's weak "I don't need anyone to look after me!" the mediwitch actually started laughing.

"I don't mean to be rude; Xem, but that's completely out of the question! You have always been horrible in healing spells. Worse than Alastor, and that's almost impossible." She shot both men a slightly annoyed look.

Professor McGonagall looked directly at Aidan, who was working constantly, her green eyes pleading with him.

"There's no arguing, Minerva. You're injured, someone skilled needs to-"

"Alright, then please, just let Miss Granger perform the bloody spells. She is more than capable of doing it, right?" she asked, her eyes fixed on Aidan as she gestured with one hand towards Hermione.

The young healer looked at Hermione, who was obviously shocked to hear her favorite Professor suggest something like that.

"You're alright with that, Hermione?" Dan asked his niece concerned.

"I- I think so, yes." Was the somewhat overwhelmed answer. She looked at Professor McGonagall who apparently had accepted that she wouldn't get away without any sort of treatment. The Scottish witch just nodded to Hermione, then fixed her sad and tired emerald eyes on Aidan.

"Dan, please, go get Poppy and stop fussing over me! You – You need to save her. That's all I ask for. Arina's life is worth more than mine and we both know that." Her voice was thick and full of emotion as she sent him a meaningful look, which Aidan apparently understood and he vanished with Madam Pomfrey behind the curtain; the transfiguration mistress on the other hand leant back on her friend with a deep sigh.

As soon as the two of them were gone, people started to talk all at the same time. Harry noticed some of them were still shocked from all the things that happened and sat down on several tables to calm down. Mr. Weasley and Neville helped Augusta Lonbottom up, who had apparently fainted by the sight of so much blood. But before he could look around further, Harry was hugged tightly by Ginny and Hermione, Ron patted him on the shoulder.

"Bloody hell, mate, you're sure you're alright?" he asked concerned.

Harry nodded and stared at the curtain, wondering what was going on behind it. Ginny who had noticed this, kissed him softly on the cheek.

"Don't worry, Harry. Aidan is the best. She'll pull through. She won't leave you."

"I just can't stop thinking – she saved my life! What if she doesn't make it? I mean, I just found her, I - " he couldn't go on.

Ron and Hermione glanced at each other, obviously confused.

"Harry, what exactly is going on? Do you know her?" Hermione asked and a lot of people looked at him expectantly.

Harry took a deep breath, trying to prevent new tears from falling down. He had to be strong now; after all he was a Gryffindor.

"Yes – No. I mean – not really," He stuttered.

"Maybe you should try to form a complete sentence for starters, so we could actually understand whatever you were trying to tell us." Said ghost-Fred while he was flying towards Harry.

Harry closed his eyes for a short moment, trying to clear sort out his thoughts, then opened them again and looked at his friends and the people he considered family. He wondered whether he should tell them or not. But then he remembered Ginny's words and decided on the first.

"She – She's my godmother."

A stunned silence followed. Almost everyone stared at him, shocked. Hermione's eyes went wide.

"What? But this is – Oh my goodness! That – That's great, Harry!" she hugged him again.

"Where – I mean, how – I mean, when did you find out?" Neville asked, astonished.

"Neville, for Merlin's sake, don't stutter like that or we won't understand a thing, dear," Augusta Longbottom interrupted, causing even Moody to chuckle.

Harry however gave his friend a sympathetic look and answered his question.

"When Gin and I went to the graveyard in Godric's hollow, she was standing in front of my parent's grave. We overheard her talking. To my mother. About me," Harry explained.

"Bloody hell!" was all Ron said and Hermione elbowed him slightly in the ribs.

"She vanished before I had the chance to speak to her. I thought I'd never see her again," Harry continued.

"Oh, Harry, dear, I am so happy for you!" Mrs. Weasley smiled at him.

Harry didn't like being this emotional but somehow he couldn't hold back his tears anymore. "But – But what if she really dies?"

"You need to have faith, Harry. It'll be alright," Luna said reassuringly and Harry shot her a thankful glance. He also noticed she had apparently taken Batty with her, who was sitting on her shoulder, looking kind of sad. If a bat is even capable of showing any kind of emotion, he mused.

"I would offer to go and take a quick look how everything's going in there, but that curtain seems to be kind of ghost-proof." Fred said disappointed, causing everyone – including Harry – to smile; and it took some time until all the laughers around him had quietened down a little.

"So. Just out of curiosity… why haven't you heard of her before? I mean, if she's your godmother and all, shouldn't she have done something for you in the past?" Ron asked bluntly.

"Don't be rude, Ronald!" Hermione scolded him.

"I didn't mean to. But honestly, you cannot tell me that I am the only one who is wondering about that," he said defensively.

"She just saved his life!" Hermione shouted.

"And we heard her talking, Ron!" Ginny intervened, "She obviously cares about Harry otherwise – like Hermione already mentioned – she wouldn't have thrown herself in front of that knife. She clearly must have had a good reason for staying in the shadows for all those years."

Harry kissed her cheek and whispered a small thank you in her ear. But before he could say anything to stop his two best friends from arguing any further, Mrs Weasley calmly held up a hand.

"Children, stop fighting. We had enough of that already."

When she saw the two of them give a defeated nod, the older red head looked at Harry and continued. "Harry, dear, I can imagine this a lot to take in. But to put your mind on ease I can tell you that – though I don't know who she is – I have seen her before."

Harry's eyes widened in surprise and his heart began to beat faster. "You have? Really? Where?"

Mrs. Weasley smiled and patted his shoulder. "Yes, Harry, I remember her voice. I only saw her once in Grimmauld Place. She never attended a meeting, but from what I have heard, she's a member of the Order of the Phoenix."

Harry couldn't believe his ears. He felt his lips forming into a big smile.

"So someone has to know her properly! Thanks, Mrs. Weasley!" he said, hope clearly audible in his voice, and he gave Mrs. Weasley a big hug.

"Your welcome, dear. And don't give your hopes up," she said and returned the hug.

When she released him, Harry saw Hermione with a thoughtful expression on her face.

"You know, Harry, I think you should ask Professor McGonagall about her," she suggested. "She's been Dumbledore's second hand concerning both Hogwarts and the Order; and she called her Arina."

Harry stared at Hermione, and his smile grew even wider. Arina. Now he finally knew his godmother's name!

"That's brilliant, Hermione! She knew her name, and until Dan is done with his work I am sure she can tell you more about your godmother." Ginny added happy.

"I'm really sorry to interrupt all this, and I am sure Minerva will be happy to help you find answers to your questions. But as annoying as Poppy can be sometimes, I have to admit that she was right about my medical skills – or lack thereof. I really do suck at this stuff. Therefore I could really need some help right now," Xemerius interrupted, worry clearly visible in his silver eyes, "Minerva just passed out completely."

The happy chattering immediately stopped and almost everyone in the great hall turned around sharply; just in time to see Xemerius making his way towards them – carrying the slim body of the now unconscious transfiguration mistress carefully in his arms.


Hi everyone! I know, I know, it felt like ages since I last updated! I'm really sorry for that but I had some kind of a writers block and somehow this chappie didn't want to be written. Anyway, a big thank you to all of you who fav/followed the story! As always, I hope you like it and please let me know what you think!

Yours, Lexi