August 1995
Lucy quietly reached up and turned the doorknob of Daniel's room. She opened the door and poked her head in. Daniel was sitting on his bed with a book in hand when she entered. He looked up and gave her a small smile.
"They're yelling again," she whispered.
He sighed and nodded. "I know, kid," he said, motioning for her to come over. She walked to the bed and climbed up beside him. He put an arm around her. "It'll be okay, Lucy. Sometimes mommies and daddies fight but it'll be okay."
"Why are they fighting?" she asked, looking up at him.
"I - I don't know," he said honestly. "Probably something stupid. I'm sure they'll get over it and make up soon."
Lucy sighed but doesn't respond. In the silence she could hear the sounds of yelling from the floor below. She couldn't make out what was being said but whatever it was could not be good. She just wanted her mother and father to stop fighting and be happy. This was their third big fight just this month.
Daniel saw her getting sad again so closed his book and tossed it to the corner of the bed. "Hey, how about we do something?" he said. "We could play a game or I could read you a story."
She looked up at him for a second before nodding. "Can you read me a comic?"
Daniel smiled and nodded. He climbed over her and got off the bed. He walked over to the bookshelf. "Hmm..." he said, running his finger across the line of comic books, "where did we leave off last time?"
He grabbed the next Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic from the one they finished the last time he read to her and walked back to the bed. He got back into his spot, pulled the blankets around them and started reading. Lucy snuggled closer so she would be able to see the pictures better and smiled as Daniel started reading.
...
"How could you leaving do anything to protect us?!" Jay yelled downstairs in the kitchen. He was standing opposite Minerva, the kitchen table sitting in between them.
"I put you in danger every time I Apparate to or from this bloody house!" Minerva exclaimed, slamming her wine glass down on the kitchen table.
"And what about the children!" he yelled back, glaring at her. He was very angry now and was about to say something that he would surely regret later. "They need you! Don't you care about them!?"
"Jay! How - what! Of course I care about them! That's why I have to leave! Because I love them... and if you loved them too you would let me go!" she screamed, tears fell down her cheeks. "Don't you want to protect them? How can you keep me around when I put them in danger?!"
He glared at her and shouted, "Because I love you!"
Minerva stopped. She took a couple deep breaths. When she spoke next her voice was quiet and soft. "I love you too, my darling," she whispered. "I love all three of you so much and that's why I must go. I couldn't bear to think of something happening to you because of me. Because some Death Eater follows me home or You-Know-Who somehow finds out about you. I have to go, even though it'll kill me to leave you."
Jay stared at her for a long time before flopping down in a chair. He rubbed his tired eyes with his hands before picking up the glass of wine he had set down before their fight and downing the contents. Minerva walked closer to the table and picked her own back up but did not sit down. He avoided looking at her.
"It's not just you. It's Isobel, Malcolm, Robert and them. Amelia and Albus as well," Jay mumbled. He was no longer angry, just disappointed. He loved this woman but he could not understand what she was saying now. No matter how many times she explained her reasons he would never understand why her leaving them would be the best option. "That's so many people that Daniel and Lucy are losing. All at once."
"I know," Minerva said with a sigh, "b-but it's safer this way, Jay. It is."
"And who will help Lucy? She's a witch too. She's doing so much magic already. She needs someone to help her understand it and Daniel and I are not those people."
"I know," Minerva said again sadly, "but it is dangerous for me to stay. The war is getting more intense and I don't want to put you or the children in danger."
"You think it will be safer if you leave?"
"Yes."
"And who will explain that to Lucy and Daniel? They are children, Minerva! They won't understand," Jay exclaimed.
"I know," Minerva agreed. She walked around the table to her husband and placed a hand on his. He turned his hand over and their fingers interlocked. Minerva gave his hand a little squeeze. "I know they won't understand and I know that Lucy needs me here to help her understand her magic but it is important that I leave for now. I don't want a Death Eater to follow me here or for He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named to find out about you all. I want you to stay safe and for this war to be over and so I must leave."
"But you will return?"
"Yes, when the war is over I will return," Minerva said with a smile.
Jay looked up at his wife. He tried to look reassuring but Minerva could see the hurt and sadness in his eyes. He hadn't forgiven her. She wondered if he would. If only he could understand how much this hurt her as well. She didn't want to leave. She wanted to stay. She wanted to watch Lucy and Daniel grow up. She wanted to be there for Daniel's graduation and to see him off to university. She wanted to take Lucy to her first day of school and hear all about it when she got home. She just had to fight this war first. She had to fight and win and then. Then she could be with her family again.
"Alright," Jay said finally, breaking the silence. His voice was neutral and his expression unreadable, "but if anything happens and you need a safe space, come home. You will always be welcome here."
She smiled a little and leaned down so she could hug him. He kissed her cheek. It wasn't the same. Minerva still felt the hesitation and the disappointment in their interactions. He was trying very hard to forgive her, she knew he was, but he had yet to do so. When they pulled away Minerva wiped the tears away from her face and sighed. He sighed too and looked at his now empty wine glass, also feeling the same off feeling she was.
"When are you going to leave?"
"As soon as possible."
"Stay for Lucy's birthday," he said quietly. "She deserves to have her mother there when she turns four."
Minerva nodded. "I will."
He stood up and walked towards the kitchen. "I need a scotch."
She sighed. She downed the rest of her wine before getting up too. "The children are probably awake still."
"I don't think anyone could have slept through that," he muttered, back to her as he poured his drink.
"I'll go check on them," she said quietly. "I'll see you in the bedroom."
He didn't respond so she left the kitchen. Minerva walked up the stairs and saw Lucy's bedroom door wide open. She sighed and walked to Daniel's bedroom. She knocked on the door and heard him say, "come in."
She opened the door to see him sitting on the bed with Lucy beside him. He had a comic book open that he had been reading to her. Minerva smiled. "It's time for bed, my darlings," she said. "Lucy say goodnight to Daniel."
Lucy looked over at Daniel and he gave a little nod. "Goodnight, Daniel."
"Night, kid," he replied with a smile. She climbed off the bed and walked towards the door. Minerva gave her a small smile and picked her up into her arms. Daniel looked over at her and said, "night, Min."
"Goodnight, darling," she said, closing Daniel's door and walking towards Lucy's bedroom. "It is way past your bedtime, my love."
Lucy didn't say anything. She just wrapped her arms around Minerva's neck tightly and hugged her. Minerva smiled a little. They walked to the bedroom and Minerva put Lucy down on the bed. She kneeled down on the floor next to the bed and helped Lucy under the blankets. Lucy looked at her and reached a hand out to touch Minerva's cheek.
"Mommy crying?"
"I'm not crying, my love," Minerva said. She gave her a small smile but she knew that her red eyes was probably what gave her away. Lucy didn't look very convinced. Minerva put a hand on her little one that was still on Minerva's cheek. Lucy was copying what she had seen Minerva and Jay do when she cried.
"Why were you fighting?" Lucy asked quietly.
"Oh you don't have to worry about that. We're sorry that we made it hard for you to sleep," Minerva said, brushing her fingers through Lucy's hair. "We aren't fighting anymore."
"You and Daddy made up?"
Minerva smiled. "Yes, your father and I made up."
"Good!" Lucy said with a smile. "You and Daddy shouldn't fight."
"We won't, my love," Minerva said. She looked at the time and sighed. "Alright, time to go to sleep, darling. I'll see you in the morning, okay?"
"Okay," Lucy whispered. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight, my darling," Minerva whispered, leaning down and giving Lucy a kiss on the forehead. "Sleep tight."
She got up off the floor and walked to the door. She turned off the lights and closed the door before heading back to her bedroom. Jay still hadn't come upstairs yet. Minerva sighed and got changed. When she was already for bed, Jay still hadn't come back. Minerva got into bed and tried to get some sleep but she couldn't. Time past slowly and sleep still evaded her.
Finally she heard the stairs outside creak. Jay walked into the bedroom but she didn't greet him. He looked over at her before walking towards the closet to get changed. Minerva sighed and turned to look at the clock on the bedside table. It was much too late. She felt angry at Jay for not coming to bed sooner. Jay came back to the bed.
"I know you're awake," he mumbled as he got in.
"Are you drunk?" she asked.
"Maybe a little," he replied honestly. He sighed and moved closer to her. He pulled her into a hug and kissed her cheek. This embrace felt a lot warmer than the last one had. It felt more sincere, more real. "I'm sorry."
She smiled and hugged him back, resting her head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry too, my love. I'm sorry for everything."
"You don't have to be. You're just doing what's best," he whispered. "I never should have implied that you didn't care about Lucy and Daniel."
"I did the same to you," she whispered. "And I'm still sorry."
"Let's not waste the few day you have left before you leave fighting," he said.
Minerva smiled and nodded. He smiled too and kissed her.
Thursday, June 25th 1998
"It's over! It's over! Yay summer!"
"Is your school year over?" Minerva asked as Lucy ran into the kitchen and threw her backpack on the chair. "I wouldn't know. It's not like you've been yelling about it all week."
Lucy and Nina laughed. Lucy ran up to her mother, putting her elbows up on the table, and said, "You're off school too, right?"
"Yes."
"And so is Daniel and Nina so we can all do something together!" Lucy said excitedly. She looked over at Nina who was standing in the kitchen looking for something to eat. "Maybe Uncle Raj can take some time off work and we could all go somewhere on vacation!"
Nina looked at her and smiled. "Maybe," she said, opening up the pantry and looking inside. "We can ask him and Daniel when they come home."
"Where do you want to go?" Minerva asked.
Lucy shrugged. "Anywhere! Anywhere away from here."
Minerva smiled. "Okay, little one. Why don't you go get changed out of your uniform before you do anything else."
Lucy nodded and ran out of the kitchen singing about school being over. Minerva smiled and shook her head. "She is very excited."
"Don't worry. In about a week she's going to be bored out of her mind and wishing school was still going on," Nina said with a laugh, picking up a bag of chips and coming over to the table. She sat down and put the bag down in front of her.
Minerva reached over and grabbed a chip. "I don't know if I can handle all that excitement for a whole week."
Nina laughed and with a mouthful of chips said, "well, at least you're off school as well so you can deal with it with us."
Minerva gave her a look but before she could respond Lucy ran back into the room and said, "Deal with what?"
"You," Nina replied.
Lucy walked up to the table and gave her a look. "I'm great to deal with," she said, sitting down and pulling the bag of chips towards her. "I'm a good little Indian girl, remember?"
Nina and Minerva laughed. They talked for a little while longer before Minerva had to get going to her meeting with Dumbledore. Lucy and Nina saw her out before going to sit down in the living room to watch some television. They played some board games as they watched and Nina asked Lucy more about her last day of year seven.
"My teacher said that I was a wonderful student," Lucy said.
Nina smiled. "That's great."
"I don't think she was a very wonderful teacher," she replied, making Nina laugh.
"Your teacher probably wouldn't think you're very wonderful if -"
Just then there was a loud bang outside the living room. Nina jumped slightly before standing up from the couch and turning towards the door. Lucy got up too.
"What was -"
Before she could finish three very large and dirty looking men with evil smiles that showed their rotten teeth and wands in their hands came into the living room. Nina gasped and slowly moved back so that she was standing in front of Lucy. Lucy was frozen with fear.
The man at the head of the group pointed his wand up at the two girls. He had long greasy hair, slicked back, and very sharp looking teeth. He had a very bushy short beard that just went around his jawline. He growled, "Don't move!"
They did as they were told. Lucy's heart was pounding in her chest. She was so scared. She looked up at Nina and whispered, "Nina..."
"Take whatever you want," Nina told the men as she moved a little so that she was now covering Lucy from view. Lucy gripped Nina's leg, not sure what was about to happen. "Just please don't hurt us."
Wicked smiles appear on the men's faces. "Shut up," one of them grumbled, walking forward towards them. He walked up to Nina, grabbed one of her arms and pulled roughly.
"Don't!" Lucy yelled and suddenly the man was thrown backwards.
The other two men reacted quickly. One of them pointed his wand at Lucy and yelled, "Crucio!"
Lucy suddenly felt immense pain course through her entire body. She fell to the ground and screamed out in pain. Tears filled her eyes and washed down her face. It felt like thousands of white hot needles were boring into every inch of her skin. She screamed louder than she had ever screamed before, not able to hold it in.
Nina quickly fell to her knees beside her and held her as she squirmed around in pain. Nina didn't know what to do. Tears fell down her own face. She just held Lucy close to her and screamed at the men, "stop it! Stop! You're hurting her!"
The man with his wand pointed at Lucy put it down slightly and the pain stopped. Lucy pushed herself up into Nina's arms, tears still pouring down her cheeks. "Get up. Sit there," the man said, pointing to a couch. "Try to use magic again and see what happens."
Nina stood up with Lucy still in her arms and moved to the couch the man was pointing at. She sat down and held Lucy close to her chest. She didn't know what the men wanted or what she could do to get them away from her and Lucy. There was silence for a long time. Nina watched the men walk around the room, touching things, knocking them over or pulling things apart just to look at them.
"So, this is McGonagall's house," one of the men said looking around the living room.
"Are you sure these are her kids?" another asked looking at the man with sharp teeth. "Why would McGonagall care about these dirty brown kids?"
"They're hers," the man replied. "Guess she couldn't find a good white guy."
"Disgusting, really."
Lucy buried her face in Nina's chest and Nina held her tighter. She just wanted these men to go away. "Nina..." Lucy whispered. "Dar lag raha."
"Mujhe pata, sonu," Nina whispered back. She looked back at the man that had used his magic to hurt Lucy. "What do you want? Maybe I can help you find it."
The man laughed a malicious laugh. "We don't want any of your muggle toys."
"What do you want then?"
The man didn't respond. Nina realized what they were doing. They were waiting for something or someone. "Who are you waiting for?"
"You ask a lot of questions, maybe you should shut up," another man said menacingly.
"Nina, bus caro," Lucy whispered.
Nina didn't listen. "If you're waiting for Minerva. She's not coming back today."
The man smiled. "We know."
"They're waiting for Daniel," Lucy whispered, realisation hitting her. She sobbed into Nina's chest. "They want all three of us... Nina... what do they want with us?"
"Shh, Lucy, it'll be okay," Nina whispered, stroking Lucy's hair and trying her best to sound calm. She looked around the room. There must be something she could do or something she could use.
"When's this bloody kid gonna get here, Greyback?" one of the men asked, sounding very impatient.
Greyback, the man with the sharp teeth who had hurt Lucy, glared at the other man. "We've only been waiting five minutes, Fenic. Shut the hell up!"
"Ask them," Fenic said, pointing at Lucy and Nina.
Greyback turned to Nina. He walked closer to her, wand out and ready. "When's the other guy coming back?"
"Not for hours."
"How many hours?"
"I don't know. He could be gone for the rest of the day."
The third man, the one Lucy had flung across the room, smirked. "Well, Greyback, if we have time to kill..."
Greyback rolled his eyes. "Do what you want Turk."
Turk smiled evilly and walked right up to the couch. He grabbed Nina's face roughly by the chin and moved it side to side. "You're a pretty one, aren't you?"
Nina's heart rate quickened. She pulled her head back, away from his grasp. He just laughed and grabbed her arm tightly, forcing her up. She pulled back, turning so that Lucy was farther away from him. "Stop, please," she whispered, tears falling down her cheeks now.
"Let go of the kid," Turk grumbled, pulling Nina back around and moving his hand up her thigh. Nina moved Lucy so that she could hold her better. "Fine, the kid'll do too."
Turk wrapped his large hands around Lucy's waist and tried to pull her away from Nina. Lucy wrapped her arms around Nina's neck and buried her face in Nina's shoulder so she couldn't see Turk or the other two men. Nina held her tightly.
"Let go, kid! We can have some fun! You'll like it!"
"No!" Lucy yelled, tears streaming down her face. Nina held her tighter.
Turk was getting angry now. He pulled harder, trying to get her away from Nina but the two girls held onto each other tightly. Nina moved back quickly, trying to get as far away this man as possible. Turk waved his wand and Nina was pushed backwards. She hit the wall with a thud and slid to the floor. "Ouf!"
"Turk, just stop," Fenic mumbled. "Watching this is sad."
Turk glared at him. Greyback mumbled something that Nina and Lucy couldn't hear and Turk moved to sulk in a corner.
"Nina, theek ho?" Lucy whispered.
"Main theek hoon, sonu," Nina whispered, putting Lucy down in her lap. She ran her hand over the top of Lucy's head. Her head had been on Nina's shoulder when she had hit the wall. Nina checked for any bumps forming. "Aap theek hai na? Is your head okay?"
"I'm okay," Lucy replied. She buried her face in Nina's chest. "Hum kya karenge?"
"I don't know, Lucy."
"Daniel will be home soon and Mommy's not coming home to help us," she cried. "What are they going to do with us?"
"I - I don't know, Lucy," Nina whispered again, wrapping her arms around Lucy tightly. She did her best to wipe the tears from her own face but the tears kept coming.
...
"James, hurry up," Sirius said, running through the gate of McGonagall's house. "We're already late."
"Sorry, Sirius," James said, following after him, pulling out his cloak as they went. Sirius walked up to the house and started around the perimeter. He poked his head up to look through the living room window. "Hey, be careful, their car's here. They might see you."
"Oh my god!" Sirius whispered, ducking down quickly. He turned and motioned for James to do the same. "Death Eaters!"
"What!" James raced over to the window. He looked inside and saw Lucy and Nina sitting on the floor holding each other while three men walked around the room. He ducked down, kneeling beside Sirius.
"What do we do?" Sirius asked.
"Okay, okay," James said. "You send a message to McGonagall and tell her to hurry down here and then we'll use the Invisibility Cloak and sneak up on them."
Sirius nodded. He stood up and used his wand to send a silver dog off to Hogwarts. James also got up and covered the both of them with the Cloak. They walked towards the front door that looked like it had been blasted open. It hung on one hinge and had large cracks in the glass.
"Okay, we have to be really quiet," James said as they reached the door. "We'll go to the living room and then I'll stupify one, you stupify another and then we can take on the third one together."
"Sounds good," Sirius said.
They slowly walked through the open door and made their way quietly to the living room. They could hear Nina whispering to Lucy, trying to keep her calm. James pointed his wand at his target and waited for Sirius to point at another. Sirius gave a small nod and in one motion they both pulled the Cloak off of them and yelled, "Stupefy!"
The Death Eater that James's had targeted fell to the ground unconscious but Sirius's had been too quick and blocked the attack. Lucy and Nina stared wide eyed at the two men who appeared out of nowhere and were now in a duel with the two standing Death Eaters. Spells were being cast every which way. Nina took the opportunity to pull herself and Lucy behind the couch.
"James! Sirius!" Lucy exclaimed.
"Hey, Lucy. Hey, Nina," James said with a smile as he sent a spell towards Turk. "Alright?"
Nina put Lucy down into a crawling position. "Come on."
Lucy followed as Nina crawled across the room from behind the couch while the wizards kept fighting. Nina put an arm out to stop Lucy as a blast of green light shot in front of them.
"James," Sirius muttered as he blocked another spell from Greyback. "We've got to get the girls out of here."
"I know," James said, sending a stunning charm towards Turk. Turk blocked it and sent a green light back at him.
"Nina, if we run -"
"No," Nina said. "It's too dangerous. Sirius, can you -"
Suddenly a silver light filled the room. It hit Greyback and then Turk. They toppled to the ground unconscious. Albus Dumbledore walked into the living room followed closely behind by Minerva. She raced quickly to Nina and Lucy and pulled them into a hug.
"Are you two okay?"
"Yeah, yeah," Nina whispered. Her heart was still racing and tears were still pouring from her eyes. "I - I think so."
"Mommy," Lucy whispered through her own tears.
"It's okay, sweetheart. I'm here now," Minerva said, pulling her daughter and Nina closer to her.
"What the hell happened?" Daniel said, entering the living room. He had seen the front door wide open and had run up from the driveway to make sure everyone was alright. He looked at three men lying unconscious on the floor to the other three men standing over them and then over to where his family was sitting on the ground behind the couch. Lucy pulled away from her mother and ran over to Daniel. He leaned down and hugged her, picking her up into his arms. She wrapped her arms around Daniel's neck and buried her face in his shoulder, tears still streaming from her eyes. Daniel rubbed circles on her back. "Hey, hey, it's okay."
Nina stood up and walked over to Daniel as well. He held onto Lucy with one arm and hugged Nina with the other. Minerva watched them for a second before getting up herself and looking over at Dumbledore, Sirius and James.
"Where were you two?" she asked angrily, walking over to the two boys.
James looked up at his Professor sadly. "I'm sorry, Professor. We were running late today. We're really sorry."
Minerva glared at them. Dumbledore shook his head. "What's done is done. James, Sirius, you did well," he said. "It was a good thing you thought to contact us first. You may go now."
"Wait," Nina said, turning around in Daniel's arm so she could look at them. "What happened? Where did these guys come from? What did they want with us?"
Dumbledore looked at the three children, huddled together and motioned for them to sit down on the couch. Nina shook her head, still hugging Daniel tightly. Lucy was still crying on his shoulder.
"These three were Death Eaters," he said. "They came after you to get to Minerva."
"Death Eaters..." Lucy whispered, looking over at the men, still lying on the floor. Daniel reached out a hand and gently guided Lucy's head away from the men and back down into his shoulder. He rested his hand on the back of her head for a little while before putting it back around Nina. Minerva sighed. She hadn't wanted Lucy to find out about the war. She hadn't wanted her to be scared like this.
"We were worried that something like this may happen," Dumbledore continued. "Which is why James and Sirius were assigned to watch over the three of you."
"So they know about us now?" Daniel said. "It's not safe here anymore?"
Dumbledore looked over at Minerva and then back to Daniel. "I fear it may not be."
"Where will we go?" Nina asked quietly, moving closer to Daniel. She turned to look at him. "My flat at the university?"
"There are a couple options you have," Dumbledore said. He looked at James and Sirius. "We should get these three away from here and leave the others to plan their next move."
James and Sirius nodded. They pulled out their wands and lifted the men from the room. They said their goodbyes and left everyone still standing in the living room. When they were gone, Minerva walked over to Daniel and held out her arms for Lucy. Daniel handed her over and then hugged Nina properly.
"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked her.
Nina nodded. She held him tightly. "I'm okay."
"Mum," Lucy whispered, wrapping her arms around her mother's neck.
"Yes, love?" Minerva asked.
"What does Death Eater mean?"
"They're bad people, Lucy," Minerva replied. "But they're gone now. You don't have to worry."
"What do we do now?" Daniel asked.
Minerva thought for a second, she looked at the scared faces of Nina and Lucy looking up at her. "I think we may need to leave Rochester for a while."
"Where are we going to go? And for how long? All three of us have school in two months," Nina said, starting to sound frantic. "This is our home! How long will we have to stay away?"
"I know," Minerva said with a sigh. "I don't know how long we will need to stay away but it's too dangerous for us to stay here now."
Daniel sighed. "Alright, well we can figure out the school thing when we get there," he said, placing a hand on the Nina's arm. "Where are we going to go?"
Before Minerva could answer another voice called from the front door making Lucy and Nina both jump.
"Minerva?" Amelia's worried voice called.
"We're here, Amelia," Minerva said. "In the living room. We're all okay."
Amelia came in and looked them all over. "Oh, thank god!" she exclaimed, coming up to Daniel and Nina first. "Dumbledore told me what happened and I came down as fast as I could. Are you alright, my dear?"
She pulled Nina into a hug and Nina hugged her back. She nodded into Amelia's shoulder and Amelia rubbed her back soothingly. When they pulled away Amelia hugged Daniel too and then walked Minerva and Lucy.
"How - how could this happen?" she asked as she took Lucy from Minerva's arms.
"I don't know," Minerva said quietly. She felt tears in her own eyes and did her best to push them back. She shook her head. "I don't know how they managed to find our house. There were so many protections on it."
"Aunty Amelia," Lucy whispered. "Our house isn't safe anymore."
"It'll be okay, my love," Amelia whispered, rubbing Lucy's back. She looked from Daniel and Nina to Minerva. "What are you going to do now?"
"I was thinking we could stay at Hogwarts," Minerva said, reaching up and running her fingers through Lucy's hair. "I have rooms there and a lot of other families are staying there too. It most likely the safest place in the United Kingdom right now."
"We will need to leave soon, won't we?" Nina said.
Minerva nodded. "We should leave as soon as possible. We cannot be sure that more Death Eaters aren't coming."
"More..." Lucy whispered as she gripped Amelia tighter, making Minerva regret saying that. Amelia rubbed small circles on her back and whispered in her ear to calm her down a little.
"Okay," Daniel said. "Why don't we pack and we can leave today. I don't think we will be able to get any sleep in this house tonight." Everyone agreed and Daniel gave a small nod. He looked over at Nina. "You should also call anyone you need to and let them know that we won't be in town for the rest of the summer."
Nina nodded. "Lucy, you'll probably want to call Anne as well, right?"
Lucy nodded. Nina held out her hand out for Lucy to take and Amelia put her down. Lucy walked over and took Nina's hand. They walked out of the room towards the kitchen where the phone was. Daniel took a deep breath and gave his stepmother a small smile. "We'll be okay."
Minerva closed her eyes and gave a small nod. "This is all my fault."
"No it's not."
"Maybe if I had stayed away at least until the war ended this wouldn't have happened."
"What if you hadn't come back and they found out anyway?" Daniel said. "Then James and Sirius wouldn't have been here to help and who knows what would have happened."
"I guess you're right," Minerva mumbled.
"We need you here. No matter what happened, we're glad you're back," Daniel said. Minerva gave him a small smile. "Lucy will be done on the phone soon and then you should help her pack. I'm going to go pack my own things."
Minerva nodded. She watched him walk out of the room before looking at Amelia. Amelia gave her a small smile. "It'll be okay," she said. "Hogwarts is safe. They'll be safe there."
Minerva nodded a little. The tears in her eyes finally fell down on her cheeks. She did her best to wipe them away but it wasn't working. Amelia pulled her into a hug.
"It's okay," she whispered. "Everyone's safe. It's okay."
"It was so close, Amelia," Minerva whispered. "If... if something happened to either of them... I - I don't know what I'd do."
"It's okay. Nothing happened," Amelia said. "They're both safe and we're going to make sure it stays that way. Lucy and Nina will love Hogwarts. Lucy hasn't been there in a while. I'm sure she'll love exploring the castle again."
Minerva nodded. "There - there are children her age she can play with," she said. "She - she can make friends."
"Yes! Exactly," Amelia said with a smile, pulling away a little. "This will be good for them. They'll like it there."
Minerva nodded again and wiped the tears off her cheeks. "Okay," she whispered. "Okay, I'm done being ridiculous. Let's get to work."
"You weren't being ridiculous. It's okay to cry sometimes, Minerva," Amelia said. "Now, why don't I go upstairs and help Daniel pack his and Nina's things. Then I'll do your room and you just worry about Lucy's room."
"Thank you," Minerva said with a nod. "Thank you, Amelia."
"Of course," she said with a smile.
They walked out of the living room and Amelia headed up the stairs while Minerva went into the kitchen. Nina was talking on the phone while Lucy sat at the kitchen island with her head down on her arms. Minerva walked over to Lucy and put a hand on Lucy's back. Lucy flinched and looked up quickly but relaxed when she saw it was just her mother. Minerva frowned and pulled away but Lucy reached out for her. Minerva hugged her.
"Have you talked to Anne already, darling?" she asked quietly.
Lucy nodded.
"Alright, why don't you come upstairs with me and I'll help you pack your things," Minerva said.
Lucy nodded again, slid off the stool and took her mother's hand. They walked up the stairs and into Lucy's bedroom. Lucy sat down on the bed and pulled her knees into her chest. Minerva picked up the backpack that Isobel had given Lucy for Christmas. She walked over to Lucy's bed and sat down, pulling Lucy close to her.
"Here, you can put your things in here. It should fit everything," Minerva said.
Lucy leaned into her mother's chest. "He tried to touch Nina," she whispered.
Minerva closed her eyes. "She's okay. They're gone now. Nothing happened."
"They hurt me," she whispered. "With magic, I think."
"Oh, darling," Minerva whispered. She wrapped her arms around Lucy.
"It hurt so bad. I've never felt like that before."
"I know, love, I know."
"Why would they do that?"
"I honestly don't know, Lucy. I'm sorry but I don't have a good answer for you. I wish I knew," Minerva replied honestly, not wanting to lie to her daughter.
"Now we have to leave home because of them. I don't want to leave home," Lucy mumbled.
"Oh but I'm sure you'll love Hogwarts," Minerva said with a small smile. "It's a huge castle."
"But I wanted to spend the summer with Anne," Lucy mumbled. "Will we be back when school starts again?"
"I don't know, Lucy. Hopefully," Minerva whispered. She pulled her wand out and Lucy looked up at it. She watched as Minerva flicked her wand and clothes flew out of the closest and folded themselves. The clothes drifted into the open bag that Minerva was holding. "What else do you need?"
Lucy shrugged. She moved to lie down in the bed, burying her face in the pillow. Minerva frown. She flicked her wand again, shoes, toiletries and other things Lucy may need flew into the bag as well. She put the bag down and moved over to where Lucy was lying.
"Lucy, please. We have to go," Minerva said.
"I'm packed and ready," Lucy mumbled.
Minerva rolled her eyes but smiled. She stood up. "Alright, your bag is over there if you have other things you want to take. I'm going to go see how Daniel and Amelia are doing."
Lucy looked up quickly. "Wait!"
Minerva raised an eyebrow at her. Lucy got out of bed and grabbed her bag. She looked around the room quickly. She ran around the room, grabbing things and stuffing them in the bag. When she was done she closed the bag, threw it over her shoulder and walked back over to her mother. She grabbed her mother's hand. "Okay, let's go."
Minerva gave her a small smile. She could tell that Lucy didn't want to be left alone right now. They walked to Daniel and Nina's bedroom where Nina was sitting on the bed and Daniel was zipping up his last suitcase. Amelia flicked her wand and that suitcase, along with the rest containing Daniel and Nina's things, flew out of the room and down the stairs to be with the others she had packed in Minerva's room. Lucy let go of Minerva's hand and climbed onto the bed into Nina's lap. Nina hugged her close.
"Ready to go, love?" she asked Lucy.
"Yes," Lucy replied with a nod. She pointed back at her backpack. "Mum helped me pack."
"That's good," Nina said with a smile.
"Okay," Daniel said, straightening up. He looked over at Minerva and Amelia. "Why don't we go downstairs and give them a minute?"
Minerva nodded. She took Lucy's backpack from her and she and Amelia followed Daniel from the room. Lucy turned so that she could look up at Nina. She hugged Nina's chest and rested her head on her. Nina gave her a small smile and a little squeeze.
"We'll be okay, Lucy," she whispered. "I know today was scary but we'll be okay."
"Nina we're going to a school for more magical people," Lucy replied. "What if -"
"They won't be like these ones," Nina interrupted quickly. "We wouldn't be going if they were."
Lucy nodded slightly. "Nina... I'm still so scared."
"I know, sweetheart, I am too," she replied. "But in time I think we'll both be okay. Now come on, let's not keep everyone waiting too long."
"Okay," Lucy said.
Lucy and Nina walked down the stairs. Lucy saw the front door was closed now but the glass was broken and anyone could just walk through it. She stuck close to Nina as they walked by the door. The sun was setting outside now. Lucy hadn't even realized it had gotten this late. She heard her stomach growl and realized it was past dinner time now. Nina told her that they would probably eat at Hogwarts.
They made it to the living room where everyone was waiting for them. The living room was still a mess. Things were broken and knocked over, furniture was pushed around, the television was smashed. Their bags sat by the door and Daniel, Amelia, and Minerva were sitting in some chairs. Lucy let go of Nina's hand and walked over to Minerva. Minerva smiled a small smile at her and wrapped her arms around Lucy's waist.
"Portkey is ready," she said as Nina walked over as well and sat down on the arm of Daniel's chair. Daniel put an arm around her. "Leaves in about fifteen minutes so we have some -"
"What the hell?!" a voice exclaimed from the entrance, cutting Minerva off. They heard the sounds of glass breaking as the front door opened. "Daniel? Lucy? Nina? Are you okay?"
Minerva looked over at Daniel quickly. "I completely forgot that Raj was coming back today!"
"I did too," he said. He looked over at the door and called loudly, "we're fine, Uncle Raj. We're in the living room."
Raj walked into the living room and looked around with wide eyes. "What the hell happened?!"
Lucy pulled away from Minerva and ran over to him. He dropped his briefcase and picked her up. "Uncle Raj!" she cried. "Bad people came to our house."
Raj looked around at them with a horrified expression on his face. "There was a break in?"
Minerva stood up and nodded. "Yes," she said. "Thankfully everyone is fine, nothing was stolen and the perpetrators have been arrested." She motioned to the bags by the door. "However, we have decided to leave the house for a little while."
Raj nodded as he walked over. "That's understandable," he said. "Have you already made hotel arrangements or shall I? Were you all here when they broke in?"
"Nina and I were," Lucy whispered.
"Oh god," Raj said, reaching up and putting a hand on Lucy's head. "Are you okay, sweetheart?"
Lucy nodded. Raj put a hand on Nina's shoulder and she stood up and hugged him too. He wrapped an arm around her her and rubbed her arm.
"I can be packed in five minutes," he said, holding both girls. "Where are we going?"
"Actually... we're going away for the rest of the summer, Raj. Maybe longer," Minerva said a little awkwardly. "It's no longer safe here for us. We need to leave and I don't know when exactly we'll be able to see each other again."
"What?" Raj asked with a frown. He didn't understand what Minerva was saying right now. "See each other?"
"We won't be able to contact you where we're going," Minerva said.
"Wait... no," he said, shaking his head and holding Lucy and Nina tightly. "No. Who the fuck do you think you are?!"
Lucy's eyes widened. She looked over at Daniel who was standing now too. Nina pulled away a little and looked up at Raj, a little frightened. Amelia also stood up and whispered something to Minerva. Minerva should just tell him everything.
"Raj, I -"
"No. No," he said, letting go of Nina so she could go back to Daniel. He kept Lucy in his arms though. "No. You were gone for two fucking years and now you come back and you tell me that I can't see these children anymore? Who do you think has been here while you were gone? Who do you think was raising them because it sure as hell wasn't you or Amelia! I've been here looking after them for the past two years and you don't get to just take them away from me! How fucking dare you!"
"Raj, please calm down," Minerva said. She knew that he still hadn't forgive her but she hadn't expected this. "That is not what this is. Please just listen to me. It's safer this way."
"Safer? That is absolute bull-"
"Okay," Daniel said suddenly. "This is ridiculously. Amelia is right, we need to tell him the truth. This has gone on long enough. Uncle Raj, what happened today wasn't just a break in. It was a kidnapping attempt. These men, they were part of this group called the Death Eaters. They are a group wizards who believe that they are better than other wizards and witches and non-magical people. There's a whole secret world full of magical people and it's at war right now because of the Death Eaters. Min, Amelia and Lucy can all do magic. Min and Amelia are part of this group called the Order of the Phoenix that fight against the Death Eaters. Which is why they came here today. They came to try to get us to get to her."
Raj stared at him for a long time. "Magic..."
Daniel nodded.
Raj looked from Minerva to Amelia and then to Lucy. "You can do magic?"
Lucy nodded. She lifted up her hands and held them together. Suddenly a small flame ignited in her palms and danced around. It got a little bigger and Raj could feel the heat on his face. He reached up and put a hand near the flame. It was real. It was real and it was in her hands without burning them.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you," she whispered, closing her hands and making the fire disappear. "I wasn't allowed to tell anybody."
Raj looked back at Daniel. "You knew. This whole time?"
Daniel nodded. "That's the reason Min left for so long. The war got really bad and she thought it would be safer so something like this -" he motioned around the living room - "wouldn't happen."
"It's why you went up to Castletown back in October," Raj whispered, realization hitting him. If Isobel had been home, she could have used magic to save Jay.
Daniel nodded again, not trusting himself to speak. He didn't like talking about that trip. It was one of his lowest moments.
"We're going to Hogwarts," Minerva said finally. "It's the school for magic that I teach at. It's become a home for many refugees displaced by the war and is probably the safest place in the whole United Kingdom right now. We could stay, keep moving around from hotel to hotel, but I think that this will be safer."
"Did he know?" Raj asked, staring at Minerva. "Did Jay know?"
"He did," Minerva said with a nod.
Raj stared at her and then at Amelia. He shook his head and Amelia saw the hurt on his face. "Ten years," he mumbled. "We've known each other ten years and never once was I informed."
"Raj, we -" Amelia started but he cut her off.
"And now you have to take them away," he said. He looked at Lucy and gave her a kiss on the cheek before setting her down on the floor. He kneeled down in front of her and held her arms. He gave her a little smile. "Hogwarts is safe?"
She nodded. "Everyone says so."
Raj sighed. "The rest of the summer, maybe longer," he mumbled. He shook his head and made himself smile again. He had to be strong. Strong for her. "I love you, Lucy, and I want you to know that you and Daniel helped me just as much as I helped you."
"No," Lucy said, tears filling her eyes. This felt like a goodbye and she didn't like it. She didn't want to say goodbye forever. She moved forward and wrapped her arms around his neck quickly. "No! I don't want to leave Uncle Raj!"
"Lucy, I -"
"No, we're not going to leave him," Daniel said. He looked at Minerva. "Not contacting him is ridiculous. We can send letters, maybe come down for a visit every so often. I don't want to cut off contact with Uncle Raj either."
"I can bring him up to Hogwarts for visits," Amelia said. "There are a lot of other Muggles staying there too. I don't think anyone will mind."
"Lucy and Daniel need him," Nina said quietly. She looked over at Raj and gave him a small smile. "And I need him too."
Raj smiled back at her. "I need you all too."
Minerva nodded. "You're right. Cutting off contact is ridiculous," she said. She did not want to make the same mistake twice. "We will send letters. They are sent through the Owl Post. Meaning tied to the leg of an owl. They will be sent to your office at the Collins Enterprises building only. Owls can be tracked and it won't seem out of the ordinary for us to be sending letters to our own company. I don't want anyone to track you down to your apartment, Raj. If they think you're close to us you'll be in a lot of danger too."
Raj stood up with Lucy in his arms again and nodded. He smiled and looked down at Lucy. "Owls, huh?"
Lucy smiled a little and nodded, still hugging him tightly.
"Amelia will bring you by for visits. We will arrange them at a later date," Minerva said. She looked down at her watch. "Our Portkey leaves in one minute. Raj, I would suggest you pack up your things and head home. It's not safe for you to stay here either."
"I'll stay behind and help him pack as well as fix up the house," Amelia said. "You four go on ahead."
Minerva nodded and picked up the folded up newspaper on the coffee table.
"Uncle Raj, why can't you just come with us now?" Lucy asked.
"I think it's best you just go with the others," Raj said, putting her down again. "But I'll see you soon, Kitten."
"See you soon, Uncle Raj," Lucy whispered before walking over to Minerva.
"Goodbye, Daniel, Nina, Minerva," Raj said with a little smile. "I'll see you all soon."
They said goodbye and grabbed onto the newspaper as well. Minerva pulled out her wand and flicked it. The bags by the door shrunk in size and flew over to her. Raj watched them with wide eyes. She grabbed them out of the air and stuffed them in her pocket before picking Lucy up so she could grab the newspaper too.
They stood there for a moment without anything happening and then suddenly Raj blinked and they were gone. It was now only him and Amelia left in the living room.
"Wow," he said quietly.
Amelia smiled. "Portkey," she said. "It's a magic object that takes you from one place to another in a matter of seconds."
"So... a war?" Raj said.
Amelia sighed and nodded. "It's been going on since '93," she said. "The leader of the Death Eaters was the one that killed my parents and grandparents. Then last month my brother and his family."
"I'm very sorry."
"You don't have to be," she mumbled. She pulled out her wand and looked around the room. "I'll fix this and the door first and then we can go up and pack your things."
He nodded as he watched her flick her wand. Suddenly things around the room began to move. Furniture went back in their rightful places, broken things mended themselves, and knocked over things turned upright.
"Magic," Raj mumbled. "Wizards and witches. War. That's a lot of things to process all in one day."
"It is," she said. "I'm really sorry we didn't tell you earlier. I wanted to back when you asked me the real reason I never came back but... I didn't and that was very unfair to you."
"What's done is done," he said quietly, moving over and picking up his suitcase. "Nothing to be done about it now but move on. Tell me about the war. It must have been horrible if it made Minerva leave her family for two whole years."
Amelia sighed and nodded. "It was," she said as she began walking towards the front to fix the front door. She told him all about it. Everything thing that happened, every attack, everyone who had been murdered. She told him more about the Order, about Hogwarts, and just the Wizarding World in general. She told him about her work with the Ministry of Magic and about Muggles and Muggleborns. The prejudices that the Death Eaters held against them and what they wanted exactly. As they went up to his bedroom to pack his things, she told him about the giants and the werewolves. She also told him about how unique Lucy's magic was. How she didn't need a wand and how she was quite advanced for her age. Raj had just learned about magic and this new world but he was already proud of Lucy for being a great witch.
"I'll come by later this week to help you figure out the Owl Post," Amelia said when they were done and Raj was about to leave. "You do have windows that can open in your office, right?"
"Yes, I do," he said. "It's pretty high up so I'm not too worried about people seeing an owl fly over to it. Though, I will say, owls seem like a strangely non-magical way to deliver mail. I expected more from your Wizarding Community."
Amelia smiled. "Owls are very magical creatures, Raj," she said. "They can find almost anyone anywhere around the world and they deliver mail very efficiently. A lot faster than your... what do you call it? Oh, yes, snail mail."
Raj laughed. "We don't actually use snails, you know."
"I've sent letters through the Muggle Post before," she said. "I know how it works and I know that owls are faster."
"Alright," Raj said with a smile. "Well, we should probably get out of here. How you leaving? Portkey too?"
"No, I'll be Apparating. That's when you disappear in one place and reappear in another. It's like using a Portkey but you don't need an object to do it and you can only do yourself and two others."
"I see."
"I can Apparate you home, if you'd like," she said. "It's a lot faster than driving."
"That's alright," he said as he opened the now fixed front door and walked out. She followed after him and he closed and locked the door behind her. "I'll need my car tomorrow to get to work. I don't want to take the tube."
Amelia smiled. "God forbid you travel like a peasant!"
"That's not what I said," he said with a laugh, walking down to his car.
"Well, I'll see you soon, Raj," she said with a smile. "I'll have to walk out the gate to be able to Apparate. There are spells on the house to stop people from Apparating directly onto or off of the property."
"Oh, well, hop in," he said. "I'll give you a ride. It'll save you like ten minutes."
She laughed. "I'm not that lazy."
"Just get in, Bones," he said with a smile as he opened the passenger side door for her.
Amelia smiled and shook her head but got into the car anyways. He closed the door behind her and walked around to the other side. He got into the driver's side and drove them to the gates. When they got out on the other side, Amelia decided just to keep him company on the rest of the drive back to London. She could Apparate from anywhere after all. He was happy to have her company and insisted on buying some food for their drive as it was past dinner time by now and they were both starving.
"I don't want to go to some fancy restaurant, Raj," Amelia said. "I'm not that hungry it's fine."
"Fancy restaurant?" he said with a laugh. "No, Amelia, we're getting fast food. I think I've earned it today."
She looked at him with a raised eyebrow as he pulled into the drive-thru of some restaurant with large golden arches on the front of it. She had never been through a drive-thru before and found it very fascinating. They got their burgers, fries and drinks in record time and were on the highway towards London before Amelia even knew it. She was quite impressed by this feat of Muggle ingenuity.
...
Lucy, Nina, Daniel and Minerva appeared on the outskirts of the Hogwarts grounds. Minerva put Lucy down and took her hand as she led them up the steeps slopes towards the castle gate. Standing in front of the tall, black iron gates were two men. One younger, with brown hair, a mousy face, and a thick coat on that made him look a little marshmallow like. He was quite skittish looking, turning his head left and right quickly as if making sure nothing snuck up on him. The other was a wide, muscular man with dirty blonde hair and a glass eye that swivelled around looking every which way and a lot of scars on his face. He also had a metal leg, poking out of the end of his trousers.
"Good evening, Minerva," the man with the strange eye said as they walked up.
"Alastor, Peter," Minerva greeted. Lucy stared at the man called Alastor and moved closer to her mother. Minerva looked down at her and gave her a small smile.
"Hello, Professor McGonagall," Peter said. "We heard the Death Eaters found your safe house. I'm glad you're all okay."
"Thank you, Peter," Minerva said with a sigh. "It was a close call but fortunately James and Sirius got there before anything could happen."
"They're good boys," Alastor muttered. "Shouldn't've been late for their post however. We get no breaks anymore. Constant Vigilance." He looked down at Lucy who was half behind her mother's legs now, gripping her trousers tightly with her free hand. Moody gave her a small gruff smile. "Ah, little Miss Lucy Collins. It's been a while."
Minerva tugged Lucy out from behind her. "This is Alastor Moody and Peter Pettigrew," she said. She looked back at Daniel. "You remember Mr. Moody, don't you, love?"
Daniel smiled and nodded, walking closer and shaking Moody's hand. "It's nice to see you again, Mr. Moody," he said. "It been quite a while."
"It has," Moody said. "Yeh've definitely grown, Daniel. Taller than me now. Yeh look a lot like yer father."
Daniel smiled. "Thank you," he said. He looked over at Nina. "This is my girlfriend, Nina. Nina, Mr. Moody is a friend of Min's from when she worked at the Ministry."
"It's nice to meet you, sir," Nina said with a smile, shaking his hand as well.
"It's nice to meet yeh as well, Nina," he said. "Hope this one's treating yeh righ'. Yeh let me know if ever he annoys yeh too much."
Nina laughed. "I doubt it'll be a problem," she said, "but thank you very much for your concern."
"I doubt the little one remembers me," Moody said, looking back down at Lucy. His other eye whizzed around every which way as he stared down at her.
"I don't think she remembers me either," Peter said with a smile.
"Well, she was quite young when she met you both," Minerva said with a smile. She looked down at Lucy and frowned. Lucy was being quite rude.
Minerva gave her a look and Lucy got the message. As Daniel and Nina greeted Peter, Lucy looked up at Moody hesitantly before sticking out her hand towards him and, very politely, saying, "hello, Mr. Moody. I'm sorry for not remembering you."
Moody chuckled a little as he shook her little hand with his massive one. "That's alrigh'," he said. "I jus' hope I didn't scare you too much."
Lucy shook her head and he laughed again. Lucy moved over and stuck her hand out towards Peter as well. "Hello, Mr. Pettigrew. I'm sorry for not remembering you either."
"Hello, Lucy. You can just call me Peter," Peter said with a little smile. "It's alright. You were very little when we met. Got my friends and I in a lot of trouble, you did."
Daniel laughed. "Sounds like Lucy."
"I'm sorry," Lucy said uncertainly.
"That's alright," Peter said with a smile.
"So, I assume Albus told you we would be coming," Minerva said, looking back at Moody as Lucy moved back over to her and took her hand again.
Moody nodded. "We still gotta check yer bags," he replied. "'S'just protocol."
Minerva nodded. She flicked her wand and all of their bags flew over to the two wizards, going back to regular size again. Lucy watched as the two men wave their wands around the bags for a while before giving a nod. They waved their wands one last time and the bags disappeared. "Bags are clear, as expected," Moody said. "Yeh may go."
"Have fun at the castle," Peter said.
"Thank you," Minerva said. She led the group through the gates and up towards the castle.
When they were far enough away, Daniel moved closer and whispered, "Moody's really… changed."
Minerva sighed and nodded. "I know," she whispered. "I forgot that you hadn't seen him with his fake eye and leg. It's been a long time since he acquired those."
"Is he okay?" Nina asked.
"Oh, he's fine," Minerva said. "Not so fond of the leg, needs a cane to walk now but he's getting more used to it the more he uses it. He loves his new eye though. Claims to like it a lot better than his old one. It's magical so he can see through anything, even the back of his own head. He can see how many Death Eaters are inside a building without going inside first. I've heard him joke that he should have replaced one of his eyes with this one years ago."
"That's good at least, I suppose," Nina said, looking back towards the gate and moving a little closer to Daniel. Daniel gave her hand a little squeeze.
"What – what happened to his leg and eye?" Lucy asked, looking up at her mother with a frightened look on her face.
"Um, I'm not sure actually," Minerva replied. She knew that Alastor Moody had lost his leg and eye fighting against Death Eaters but she wasn't about to tell Lucy that.
They walked to the huge stone castle. It was dark out now but light shone through the windows of the castle giving it a warm glow. There were green vines climbing up parts of the stone walls and the towers were so tall.
"Wow," Nina said. "The castle is beautiful."
"And you were worried," Daniel said, giving Lucy a little nudge.
Lucy smiled a little back at her brother. They walked into the castle and Lucy looked around every which way, not wanting to miss a thing. The halls were empty but there was still chatter amongst the paintings that moved around and talked to each other. Lucy watched them laugh and joke and wave at her. She waved back as they called their greetings. They welcomed Lucy, Daniel, and Nina to Hogwarts.
"It's quite late. Everyone is probably in their rooms by now," Minerva said.
As they walked, Minerva pointed out some important doors as they passed them. The doors to the Great Hall, the staffroom, doors down to the dungeon. They walked up staircases that moved and everything was lit up by floating torches or candles. Finally they made it to their desired destination. Minerva opened a door and said, "This is my office."
The office was a good size. There was one wooden desk with two chairs in front and one larger, more comfortable looking chair behind it. The walls were lined with bookshelves filled with large books. A fireplace stood directly across from the desk. Minerva walked around the desk to the torch on the wall. She grabbed it and pulled it down. This caused the stone wall beside it to fold in on itself and reveal a room. "This is my private quarters. Where we'll be staying."
"Cool! A hidden door!" Lucy exclaimed, following her mother into the private rooms excitedly making Minerva smile. Daniel and Nina smiled and followed as well.
The hidden door opened into a sitting room that was decorated in a red and gold theme. Around a wooden coffee table was a large maroon couch, two matching armchairs and a loveseat. In another corner of the room was a huge black grand piano. A beautiful gold chandelier illuminated the room. The sitting room flowed into a hallway that had three other doors in it.
"This is the sitting room, over there is my bedroom, that one will be your bedroom -" she looked at Daniel and Nina. "Your bags should already be in there. That one is the toilet," Minerva said, pointing out each door. "There are only two bedrooms so, Lucy, you can share a room with me, if that's alright."
Lucy nodded. She was actually glad to be sharing a room with her mother. After everything that happened today she didn't want to be alone.
"Why don't you all sit down and I'll have a House Elf bring us some dinner," Minerva said.
They did as they were told and Minerva called a House Elf named Dotty to bring them food. The food appeared on the coffee table a few moments later and Minerva sat down to eat with everyone else as well. They didn't talk very much while they ate, everyone was too hungry and still a little shaken up over what happened.
After dinner they decided to get ready for bed. It was quite late now, way past Lucy's bedtime.
"But I wanted to explore," Lucy whined, not wanting to go to bed yet.
Minerva smiled. "You can explore tomorrow. There are a lot of children your age here. You can meet them as well tomorrow," she said as she took Lucy's hand. "Come now. Nina is right. It's bedtime."
Lucy frowned. She looked over at Nina and Daniel. Daniel gave her a smile. He walked over and tousled her hair. "Goodnight, kid."
"Night, Daniel," Lucy said. She let's go of Minerva's hand and walked over to Nina. Nina kneeled down and gave her a hug. "Night, Nina."
"Goodnight, Lucy."
She got up, they said goodnight to Minerva and she and Daniel walk into their bedroom. Lucy walked back to Minerva and took her hand. Minerva led them to her bedroom. The room was a decent size. It followed the same red and gold theme that ran throughout the sitting room. There was a four-poster bed with maroon covers in the middle of the room. On either side of the bed were small wooden side tables. On the farthest wall from the door was a half hexagonal bay window. The large windows overlooking the courtyard. On the yard was a small hut. Beyond that was a very thick forest. There was also a dresser with a large mirror on top of it. The closet in the room was on the smaller size but Lucy could make do. Lucy's bag sat on the bed.
"Do you like the room?" Minerva asked.
Lucy nodded. "Yeah, it's nice," she said, pulling herself up onto the bed. "I feel like... like it's familiar."
"Well, you and Daniel have both been here before," Minerva said with a smile as she pulled out her wand to unpack their bags. Things flew out of them and placed themselves in their rightful places around the room. Lucy smiled as she watched them. Lucy's pajamas float over to her and she grabbed them out of the air. She got up off the bed and changed her clothes. Minerva put Lucy's bag away and grabbed her own clothes. She excused herself to go to the bathroom to change. When she returned, she got into the bed beside Lucy. Minerva tucked her in and gave her a kiss on the forehead and said, "Goodnight, my love."
"Goodnight, Mum."
Minerva flicked her wand and the lights around the room go off. She then set her wand down on her bedside table and snuggled closer into the blankets. Lucy had been very tired. She had an exhausting day. It had been both emotionally and physically draining. She fell asleep quite quickly. Minerva listened to her rhythmic breathing and looked over at her with a smile. She looked so small lying in bed beside her. Minerva fell asleep not long after that.
...
Minerva was woken by stirring on Lucy's side of the bed. She wiped the sleep out of her eyes and looked over at her daughter. Her breathing had quickened and was no longer consistent. Her body was shaking and she mumbled in her sleep. "No... don't hurt us... please."
Minerva sat up a bit and reached out a hand. She touched Lucy's arm but before she could say anything, Lucy suddenly woke up and pushed her away. "Don't touch me!"
"Lucy?" Minerva whispered.
Lucy looked around frantically, trying to figure out where she was. Tears filled her eyes. "Mommy..."
"Lucy, I'm right here, darling," Minerva said, pulling her close to her. "It's okay. It was just a bad dream."
"I'm sorry, I thought you were..." Lucy sobbed into her mother's chest.
"It's okay, darling," Minerva said, rubbing small circles on her back. "It's okay."
"I had a dream about the Death Eaters," Lucy whispered.
"I know but it's okay. You're safe at Hogwarts," Minerva whispered. "Nothing can happen to you here."
"But what if they come here?"
"They won't."
"How do you know?"
"I know they won't come here because they're scared," Minerva said with a smile.
"Scared?" Lucy asked, confused. "Why are they scared?"
"They're scared of your Uncle Albus," Minerva replied. "He's the only one they're scared of. You saw how easy it was for him to take out those Death Eaters. Albus is probably the strongest and most powerful wizard out there so as long as he's here the Death Eaters wouldn't dare come here."
Lucy thought about this for a second and then smiled. "They're scared of Uncle Albus? That's funny. He's so nice."
"He's only nice to nice people. He doesn't like bad people like Death Eaters," Minerva said with a smile.
"Uncle Albus is staying here?"
"Yes, he's been here for a really really long time and he's not going anywhere any time soon. That's why Hogwarts is so safe," she replied. "That's why people come here. It's the safest place in the whole world because of your Uncle Albus."
"Uncle Albus is the best," Lucy said with a smile.
"He is," Minerva said with a smile as well. "He would never let anything happen to this school."