A/N: sorry for the delay! Keep the reviews coming! Thanks to Lucero for reading this before I publish (: I can't thank you enough.
Xxxxx
Minerva threw off the covers and ran to the bathroom.
Lunging for the toilet, she fell on her knees and threw up whatever was left in her system. It tasted like pure bile, and it burned her throat and mouth.
She kept heaving even when everything was gone. She could hear the rocks falling, could feel the ground shaking- and worse- could smell her daughter from beyond the closed door.
Was she safe? Was she alive? Had she given Donal any information? Was she hurt like Esmerele?
When the dry heaves finally stopped, Minerva rolled onto the cool tile and pressed her cheek against the cold.
From her office she heard a clock chime. 2 am. Barely two hours of sleep.
Pushing herself up, she slowly sat up and leaned against the wall. Her head was pounding against her eyes.
She closed her eyes and tried to focus on her breathing. In... Out... In... Out...
Slowly, she felt the nausea begin to fade, and with careful movements she stood up.
She whispered a spell and the shower transformed into a large bathtub. Water instantly filled the tub. Another spell, and the water turned hot and infused with lavender.
She took off her nightdress and stepped into the water. There was nothing more healing to her than swimming.
She lowered herself under the water and let the heat cover her whole body, healing her, cleansing her, refreshing her.
She stayed in there for nearly an hour. Though her skin was pruned, she felt better.
Pushing herself up and out, she grabbed her purple robe and banished the tub.
Not bothering to look in the mirror, she slowly made her way back to her bed.
Sitting down, she summoned a quill and parchment and scribbled a quick note to the kitchen.
She knew what she needed. Chicken broth and apple cider, her forever cure for any ailments... Along with a Pepper Up potion and a Pain Potion.
She knew she ought to take a Dreamless Drought to make her sleep, but she just couldn't bring herself to take it. It felt selfish. If Esmerele hung onto life for her, she could lose sleep.
On the table beside her, her food silently appeared. Grabbing the soup, she breathed in the steam rising off of the pale liquid.
Soothing for the soul, it was.
She took a spoonful, savoring the heat as it ran through her body.
She would take a spoonful, sip cider, spoonful, sip.
Routine. Mindless.
She was finishing up when she heard a rustle from her office. It sounded like the Floo, but there was also a faint sound of wings.
Suddenly alert, she banished her food and morphed into her stealthy cat form.
Creeping around the corner, she tip toed down the stairs. When she reached the bottom, she sniffed the air and felt immediate relief.
No one should smell like a hundred potions all melted into one.
But Percival did.
Minerva leapt forward, morphing back into her human form.
"Percival! Darling!" She grabbed his cheeks and kissed all over his face, a classic mother reunited with her child.
Percival laughed and gently removed his mother's hands and held them tightly. "Yeah, hi, I'm here. Like always."
Minerva scowled, "Not like always. I've been worried sick over you. God, what on earth are you doing here? It's three in the morning!"
"Well, the thing was..."
"Fortuna!" Minerva interrupted him. "You sweet darling!" She grabbed a ginger newt off the desk and fed the owl.
"Friends?"
"Yes, she likes ginger as much as I do. We visit a lot on the North lawn. I'm sorry, you were saying dear?"
Percival laughed, "You're fine. Yeah, Fortuna delivered your letter. But when I said Mathair's Rooms it..."
"Took you to the house at Godric's Hollow." She finished.
"Yes. And I poked around the library a bit and decided I'd Floo over anyway and surprise you in the morning. So now your turn. What's going on? Why the panic?"
Minerva sighed and mentioned for him to sit on the sofa with her.
"It's a long story, Perc."
"I'm all yours."
Minerva smiled and fixed her stare somewhere in front of her.
"Some years ago, I testified against a man during the war with Grindelwald. He had stolen Transfiguration texts that, in Grindelwald's hands, were extremely dangerous."
"How so?"
"Transfiguring air masses."
Percival nodded.
"So, he stole them and Grindelwald used the information to wipe out and entire village. But Donal was caught right after stealing the book, so he was not there during the attack."
"But..."
"But, he still held a grudge against me for turning him in. He was sentenced to life. And now he's escaped, and he's hell bent on killing me and everyone I love."
"So what has he done so far?"
"He's hurt Esmerele."
Percival's eyes went wide with fear and anger. "How bad? Will she live?"
Minerva held his hand. "She's been seriously injured, but they are sure she will make a full recovery eventually."
He exhaled with relief. "Can I see her?"
"She's in St. Mungo's in an induced coma."
Nodding, "And Tessa?"
At this Minerva closed her eyes and shifted uncomfortably. Because really, she had no proof except her dream that anything was truly amiss.
"Mom...?"
Minerva sighed. "I don't know. She hasn't written back..."
Percival pierced his mom with his ice blues. "You know more."
"I don't, really."
She couldn't tell him. Why make him worry? And besides, it was insane for her to be so convinced at her own Divination skills- she had never put any faith into it.
Still staring, Percival relented, "All right. And what's your plan now?"
Minerva wrapped her son in a hug. "Be thankful for my wonderful son. Be thankful my daughter is alive, and pray I find the other alive, too."
Xxxxx
Tessa moaned and forced her heavy eyes open.
Seeing nothing but empty blackness, she blinked, trying to get her tired eyes and mind to focus.
The first thing she felt was pain. Her knee was now painfully twisted at an angle so that it made it impossible to move without seriously injuring herself.
Her first thought was to cry out for help. But she thought silence might be better in case her attacker was near.
Attacker. Who was he?
Her head pounded she couldn't think.
Remember, she told herself.
She remembered… Her house… a letter… cursive writing?...
Mom! She remembered. A letter from Mom. About what?
Something about Hogwarts… Jacques? … They had started to… but then…
She closed her eyes as her memory hit her. The flash of light, the cruel laugh, Jacques' eyes dull and vacant, his life extinguished.
She started to cry despite her wanting to keep quiet. Her husband was dead. And there was nothing she could do.
Stop it. She told herself. Stop crying. You are no help to anyone if you cry.
A steely resolved formed in her. She had to get out. She had to find whoever killed her husband and kill him too.
Was that what her Mom was warning her about? How could she know?
Tessa tried to pull on her magic stores and focused her magic on her leg. She saw a faint glow around her knee and then felt a jolt and heard a sickening crack as her kneecap slid back into place.
She screamed at the pain as daggers shot up and down her leg.
She felt herself blacking out, her body willing itself to shut off from the pain, but Tessa strained her eyes open to stay focused.
After… what…. Minutes? Hours?... who knew… but after a time the pain started to subside into something that was mildly tolerable.
Tessa sat up and tried to scoot across the floor.
She tried to tell how far she'd gone… now maybe one meter… now perhaps two. Before she could hit three, she felt a wall.
It was made of the same stone as the floor, but the rocks were jutted out. Grabbing onto one, she tried to pull herself up.
Avoiding putting pressure on her hurt knee, she rose up on her good leg and braced herself against the wall.
Her head didn't hit a ceiling. She was five feet five inches, so the room was at least that high.
Stepping gingerly onto a stone, she did a sort of one-legged rock climb. About a foot up, she finally felt a ceiling. It felt… natural… like in a cave.
Ok, so unlikely there was a way out up there. Lowering herself down, she sat on the floor and thought about her choices.
She could sit here and wait. That was easy. Or she could crawl around and try to find a way out of this dark cave. Which could be just as useless.
She felt a low rumbling from somewhere in the distance. But just as soon as it came it stopped, and once again she was greeted with deafening silence.
Xxxxxxx
Esmerele awoke with a start. She thrashed her limbs and let out a strangled cry, throwing her covers off and shaking her bed. She knew she was still trapped, still with him…
A soothing voice called out to her and gently touched her hand. Not the man's voice, and definitely not his hands.
"Esmerele, darling, you're in the hospital. You're safe. He won't hurt you here."
She looked around to see a small blonde healer standing beside her.
"Who are you?" She asked, voice hoarse and almost unrecognizable to herself.
"I'm Sydney. I'm a healer here at St. Mungo's."
"What happened?"
"You were hurt pretty bad. The healers just stopped working on you about two hours ago. Your back is all healed, but it will be dreadfully sore for a while. Your burns are the same, healed, but the skin will be tender. You also suffered from a lot of blood loss, so you'll have to stay here for a week until your levels are back to normal."
"And I came in?"
"Yesterday. The Headmistress of Hogwarts brought you in."
Esmerele closed her eyes. Her mother had saved her. "The wonderful Headmistress." She whispered. "Where is she? Is she here?"
Sydney shook her head. "The Minister sent her back to the castle. She was just pacing around the lobby. But do you want me to call her in the morning?"
"Time?"
The healer glanced at the wall. "Four thirty in the morning."
Esmerele shook her head. "She'll be up. Call her now."
The healer looked hesitant. "I promise." Esmerele urged. "Call her."
The healer nodded. "Yes ma'am," and walked off down the corridor.
Esmerele closed her eyes and waited to hear the familiar cadence of her mother's footsteps.
Xxxxxx
Percival sat with his mother in silence. He understood the gravity of the situation. They didn't have much to go on, and Tessa was probably in danger.
Minerva shifted in her seat. "Do you think he found Tessa? She lives in relative anonymity. She'd be the hardest to link back to me."
Percival shook his head. "I have no idea. He didn't find me, but I was out of place."
Minerva gave him a look. "Out of place?"
"Yeah, I was at my house in Belclare. I wanted time away from work so I was staying there for a couple of days. Probably why Fortuna didn't find me for a while."
"Floo your house and peak in. See if anything's amiss."
Percival shook his head. "No, that can wait. And what if he has found it? He won't find anything there, nor in Belclare if he finds that."
"You aren't concerned for your home? Your things?"
He shrugged. "They're just things, Mom. I don't keep anything of importance at the house- at least, things that would be important to him. All I have at the house is potions journals and my random notes throughout my time as an apprentice and at the Order."
"Nothing personal?" Minerva exclaimed.
"Well, my pictures of you all are in my office. They're charmed to look different to other people. But since I'm always in my office and it's underground and through so many security checks…"
"It's the safest place." She finished.
"Exactly."
Minerva patted his leg. "You're smart, Perc. You really are."
He nodded. "I know."
She gave him a playful nudge and then she heard the Floo activate.
"Headmistress?" A timid voice called out.
"Yes, I'm here and awake, come on through."
A small blonde stepped out. "Ma'am. Sir. Esmerele is awake."
Both Minerva and Percival stood up quickly and started firing questions.
"How is she?" "Is she healed?" "What does she remember?" "Can she remember?" "Can she speak?" "Is there permanent damage?"
The blonde's eyes went wide and she looked terrified.
Minerva cleared her throat. "Sorry. We rushed in. You were saying?"
"Esmerele's awake and she was calling for you. You can come see her whenever you want."
Minerva started to walk to the fire when Percival stopped her. "Mom, you're in a bathrobe."
Minerva looked down. Suddenly a tad self conscious, she crossed her arms. "Tell her we'll be there in a moment."
The healer nodded and walked back through the fire.
"I'll get dressed. You wait here for me."
Percival started pacing her office. "I'll be here."
Minerva turned and dashed upstairs, flinging open her wardrobe, pulling out the first thing she found. She flicked her wrist and her outfit changed.
She stared to go back downstairs but realized she probably needed to do a quick toilette. Upon looking in the mirror, she was glad she had. She fixed her hair up into her signature bun, securing the pins firmly in place.
She reached into her cabinet and withdrew some mascara, one of the few Muggle things she really loved having. With a few strokes her eyes looked clearer, and with that she cut out the light and moved downstairs.
"Ready?"
"Ready."
She grabbed the powder and threw it in the flames, and they walked through into the bright lobby of the Ministry.
The healer rose up from the desk and motioned for them to follow.
They walked down a hall to a large corridor with rather large rooms. The rooms looked like a Muggle ICU unit- floor to ceiling glass walls and lots of different floating quills taking furious notes on any changes in patients.
The last room on the right was Esmerele's. Before they entered, Minerva asked, "Could we please be alone with her?"
The healer looked hesitant. "Please, it's very important that I speak with Ms. Brian alone."
The healer nodded and walked away. Minerva whispered to her son, "Silencing charms, and strong ones too."
Percival nodded, and his lips began moving as he quietly charmed the hallways. Nodding, they walked forward and went into Esmerele's room.
"Mommy!" Esmerele called weakly.
It broke Minerva's heart. She rushed forward and kissed her head and gently hugged her daughter's small frame. "My beautiful baby girl! I love you so much."
She leaned her forehead against her daughter's and gently kissed her nose. "I love you too, Mama."
Percival stepped around the other side of the bed. "Hey, Nugget."
When they were little, Esmerele had a strange liking of chicken nuggets. For a while it was all anyone could get her to eat. Tessa was always picking on her for it, but Percival turned it into a loving nickname that stuck. He had one too, for his love of potions.
"Hi there Goo."
Minerva stepped back as Percival placed a gentle kiss on his sister's cheek.
Summoning two chairs, Minerva and Percival took seats opposite of Esmerele's bed, both holding her hands.
"What happened, darling?" Minerva gently asked.
She shook her head. "It's really fuzzy. I remember coming home from work and finding everything ransacked. All my things were everywhere. I was going upstairs when a curse came at me from behind. I could see it reflected in a picture, so I darted and sent one back…
… the house isn't good for dueling, but we went at it. I managed to get a few hits on him, but nothing that could knock him out. I was on the defensive most of the time, and when I could get an attack on him it hardly ever hit. And he was devilishly good at Transfiguration. Anything I managed to change he could morph it back and turn it against me just as quickly…
… So we had been going for a while and I was growing tired. I haven't dueled in years, not like that. And I screamed at him 'what do you want from me?' and he said 'Minerva'. So I started fighting harder. We went at for a long time, really tearing up the place. It hit him once and I think broke a rib, but he kept going. And then he said a spell that I'd never heard before. And then the air turned really sweet and I blacked out.
Minerva thought about it. "He probably Transfigured the air."
Esmerele gave her a look. "That information is…"
"Classified, I know, but he stole those texts with that information. No doubt someone in Azkaban enlightened him on how to do it."
"I still don't know who he was."
"Donal Bregger. He worked with the Society when I did before he turned against us."
Esmerele shook her head. "That's really dark magic, transfiguring air. It hasn't been used in…"
"Forty years. Grindelwald."
"Yeah. He told me about you testifying against him, but he didn't say what he did. Just that you were wrong for turning him in without letting him explain himself. He kept asking me where home was? I don't know why he kept asking but I didn't say anything. Really cause I didn't know what he meant. Cause my home is obviously not what he was looking for. And we were raised in Hogwarts. And I can't really speak about the Manor even if I wanted to. So I really couldn't give him anything."
Minerva shut her eyes and groaned. So that was what he wanted.
"What?" Percival asked.
"The Manor."
"What of it?" he asked.
"There's something in that Manor that I don't think you two understand."
Both of them looked confused. "Huh? It's our family mansion."
"Yes, but it also holds our family's magical stores. Ever wonder why we were all so skilled? Nearly everyone in our family has NEWTS and Masters in nearly every subject. The first McGonagall clan figured out that if they tied their magic to a secure location, each time a new heir was born, the magic would increase for everyone in the family."
Esmerele nodded. "That's why there's all the enchantments and blood wards and so on and so forth."
Minerva nodded. "The plot of land it's on isn't even on Muggle maps. It literally doesn't exsist- there's no record of it anywhere."
Percival gave her a look. "But we have a secret keeper."
"We did have a secret keeper. Remember Aunt Catherine?"
"The aunt that wasn't an aunt but was more than an aunt?"
Minerva nodded. "She was our secret keeper. And when she died your father and I decided not to have another one until Percival inherited the Manor after our deaths, then he could choose one."
Esmerele nodded. "So why is he searching for something that no one can find?"
Minerva shook her head. "I don't know. You know the house in Godric's Hollow?"
Esmerele and Percival groaned. "That monstrosity you made us stay in that summer?" She said.
He nodded. "That was the worst house ever, Mom. Beautiful and enormous? Yes. But it was so creepy on the inside."
Minerva laughed. "Yes, that one. Well, I refer to that as the Manor in front of Kingsley, Rolanda and Filius. That way I have an excuse to leave if I need to and they think I'm going home."
Esmerele nodded, "Oh, so you apparate there and then to the Manor? Cause if you do something inside the creepy house it can't be traced, right?"
"Right, Albus made sure of that. That's why it was so cold all the time."
Percival shivered involuntarily at the memory. "Hated it."
"So there's a decoy house, so to speak."
"Yes. So if Donal finds that one, he'll likely think that he's found the real thing. The house has enchantments around it for seclusion and privacy, and I'm thinking that will convince Donal that THAT house is the one he needs."
Percival nodded. "Ok. So what do we do now?"
Sighing, "Now we need to find your sister. She needs to know what's going on too."
A knock at the door made all of them jump. Motioning quickly to Percival, he broke the silencing charms.
"Ma'am," the healer said tenderly. "The Prophet for you."
Minerva took the paper. "Thank you."
The healer left and Minerva tossed the paper to the table. "You aren't going to read it?" Percival asked.
"It's all slander and gossip, why should I?"
He shrugged. "I don't know, couldn't hurt."
Minerva sighed and picked up the paper. The front page didn't look interesting or pertinent. Flipping through, she went to the fourth page, Jennifer's column. It was the only thing that ever accurate.
The fourth paragraph had the heading:
JACQUESROUSSEAU,FOUNDDEADINAPARTMENT.
Two evenings ago, the French Magical Embassy found Jacques Rousseau dead in his apartment. There were signs of a struggle. The apartment was ransacked, but because of its Muggle location, authorities believe it was a robbery gone wrong. His wife, Tessa Rousseau, called authorities the following day, stating that she was in the South of France working during the time of the crime. The authorities do not believe she was involved. She has not returned to Paris as of this morning, but she assured authorities that she was making her way back as quickly as possible.
Minerva's blood went cold and she dropped the newspaper.
"Mom?" Her children asked. "What's wrong?"
Minerva shook her head in disbelief. "Tessa's husband is dead. And she is no where to be found."
Xxxxx
A/N: So a rather long chapter, but I thought I owed it to everyone for a lack of an update! As always, hope you enjoyed! Thanks to all the readers, and a special thank you to the reviewers. If everyone wants this story to be updated quickly, feedback is what will make that happen!
Xoxoxo