October arrived with Hermione bursting threw the Great Hall doors at breakfast. She ran full speed to reach the staff table. "He's alive," she announced while panting for beathe. "Will has been found alive, Poppy!"
"What," Poppy asked dumbfounded as her completion paled.
"They were attempting to break his mind," Hermione said. "He held knowledge Tom sought but he refused to give it up. He was found relatively well in one of Voldemort's compounds. The house elfs there were keeping him alive. I have a porkey for you."
Minerva stood up when she noticed Poppy's shocked expression. "Stand up Poppy," she whispered then turned to the other staff. "Filius you have the wards. Cancel my classes for the day."
"I will teach them," Hermione offered. "St. Mungo's is sending a temporary healer to the school until Poppy is ready to come back. They expect Poppy will need to be there for Will. He was was held under the Crucio near the breaking point a lot but managed to survive it with his mind intact."
"Thank you," Minerva said as she held her hand out for the portkey. Hermione reach it to her. Once they both held on tight, she activated it and watched them disappear from sight.
Minerva sat down next to Harry exhausted. She had stayed with Poppy most of the day with the exception of sneaking to a closet to pump her breastmilk and send it back to her children by a Potter elf. Harry wrapped his arms around her and drew her close. "How did it go?" Harry asked.
"Tearfully," Minerva answered honestly. "Poppy broke down when she saw William. She had been holding in her emotions in order to care for William's three children. His wife had died in a potions accident a few years ago and they had no one other than Poppy. I don't know how she managed it."
"She did it because she had to," Harry offered.
Minerva nodded her head. "William will make a full recovery," she offered.
Harry smiled at that. "Mione and me went through Unspeakable training with Will," he confided. Minerva looked at him in suprise. "He told his family he was a Ministry healer but he did a bit more than that."
"I had no idea," she confessed. "I never grasped why Tom wanted a Ministry healer before. I guess he wanted an Unspeakable."
Harry nodded at that. "William is the one that placed the wards around the twins. Mione said he created them. He used blood from Malcolm to weave a wake up charm. The twins were enchanted to sleep in a statis bubble he created."
Minerva didn't know what to say to that and merely laid her head on his shoulder.
"William," Minerva exclaimed as she opened the door and saw William and Poppy standing there. "Come in," she said as she tugged the duo inside.
"Hey Will," Harry and Hermione greeted with smiles and hugs. Poppy raised her eyebrows in suprise at the interaction.
Minerva smiled at her friend before explaining, "Will is an Unspeakable," she revealed at which Will just smiled at his mother's suprise. "Will went through Unspeakable training with two time travelers."
"How did you figure out that much?" Will asked suprised. "The oaths should prevent it."
"Soul bonds trumps Unspeakable oaths," Minerva said with a grin. "Harry struggles to keep secrets from me and I haven't taken any oaths to prevent me from speaking to others about it."
"I'm certainly glad of that," Will said with a grin. "I sure wanted to tell Mum what I really did."
Poppy smiled at her son and wrapped him up in an embrace. "Things make so much more sense now," she said teary-eyed. "I really should of seen it. My Dad was an Unspeakable."
"He was a nice wizard," Hermione commented with a smile. "He stole a couple of birth certificates for us."
"I rather favor him," Will said with a grin.
"You all met him?" Poppy asked suprised.
"He distracted your mother so we could sneak the twins out of the hospital," Hermione answered with a smile. "He was rather proud when I told him you would become the healer at Hogwarts."
Poppy teared up at that. Her father had been murdered right before she became a healer. "Thank you," she managed emotionally.
"It's the least we could do considering you had to falsify nine months of medical records because of us," Harry said with a grin.
Poppy snorted at that. That extra work had been well worth it in her opinion. Her dear friend had finally found the happiness she deserved. "Happy to help Mr. Potter," she said in her professional tone.
"Are you ever going to call me Harry?"
"I can strike more fear in you this way," she said with a wink to Minerva before picking up Jasmine who was reaching for the healer.
"Poppy," Harry whined much to the room's amusement.
