Hermione Granger shuffled nervously in the hard plastic chair next to Harry's bed in the Hospital Wing, jiggling her leg anxiously and twisting her hands in her lap, muttering under her breath in fast bursts.
"I must have done it right…I did it just like the book said…unless it's out of date…or the translation was inaccurate…oh no! But what if…it should still work…unless I got the wand movement wrong…the diagram was faded…so I just improvised…but what if it needed to be specific…oh come on Harry! Wake up!"
There was no response from the teenage boy on the bed, who just kept breathing in the same steady rhythm that was starting to get annoying after two hours of it.
"Um…this Mister Sabashan better not have been lying to sell his book, or I swear I will burn every copy of it…I don't care if it's an antique…I'll take pleasure in destroying…oh please be okay Harry! Please!"
Behind Hermione, the door to the Hospital Wing crashed open and a short, pretty redheaded woman burst in, face frantic, and ran up to Harry's bed.
"Oh my God is he alright?"
"He's still asleep at the moment, Mrs Potter, but he'll probably wake up soon."
Hermione winced at the probably, and Lily shook her head kindly at her.
"It's Lily. Calling me Mrs Potter makes me feel about a hundred and fifty. I'm only twenty one. You must be Hermione?"
The girl in question nodded and stuck out her hand, but Lily bypassed it and engulfed her in a surprisingly strong and warm hug.
"I don't know how to thank you. You have…you have completed our family again. There are a few people who I'm pretty sure would like to thank you too."
James Potter came through the door, rushing straight over to Harry's bed.
"No change?"
"Not as of yet." Hermione had answered the question so frequently that hour that it felt like a mantra.
James shook her hand firmly, murmuring his thanks and the door to the Hospital Wing opened again, with Remus hurrying over.
"Any change?"
"Not yet."
Remus smiled gratefully at her. She couldn't believe the change in both of them; his faces looked more alive than she'd ever seen it, all lit up.
Ron slipped into the Hospital Wing, looking excited.
"Dumbledore's not in his office. Professor McGonagall's gone to look for him now. Any change?"
"No!"
The esteemed staff of Hogwarts did not look so collected and respectable gathered in the staff room, faces pale and pinched with shock. Lack of any information but the knowledge that Albus Dumbledore had gone missing after a student had visited his office had injected the calm sort of panic that only adults with the responsibility of hundreds of children will feel into the darkened, spacious room. Quick, tentative mutters punctured the uneasy silence as Professor Sprout and Professor Flitwick discussed what to tell the students, but they soon died out as they ran out of excuses and ideas. An antique clock chimed out the lateness of the hour in twelve low, ominous notes, making the assembly of teachers startle.
A scuffling at the door knob whipped all of their heads towards it, and a few rose to their feet hurriedly as they listened to the curious sounds outside, a few of their faces stunned, others hopeful as they heard the voices.
"Oh for frick's sake-"
"Be gentle with it, James! No don't yank it-"
"That's what he said-"
"James!"
"Damn door…aha!"
The door shuddered as James Potter shoved it open, and peeked around the door, hair askew, grinning.
"I'm baaaack!"
"We're back, James!" Lily Potter elbowed him out of the way and smiled excitedly at them all. "Hey!"
The group flurried around them, questions and exclamations littering the air like sweet wrappers. Unbeknownst to the crowd, Severus Snape swept out the room, long black swishing out behind him, like curtains closing over a stage.
Professor Minerva McGonagall sighed disappointedly as she stalked down the corridor back to the staff common room, heart heavy with the knowledge that she was going to have to deliver the frankly worrying news: Albus Dumbledore had vanished without a trace. As she approached the corner turning around to the staff room the sound of her footsteps was drowned out by surprised shouts and muffled voices emanating from the corridor ahead of her, and she frowned as she got nearer. There was a rowdy crowd of people, huddled around a tall man with spiky black hair, and Minerva caught sight of another person too, a short woman with fiery red hair. Professor Flitwick let out an excited squeak as the Head of Gryffindor House stopped, looking perplexed.
"Minerva! It's James and Lily!"
"Filius, you're going to have to be a bit more specific," Minerva tried to sound stern, but her heart leapt.
"Hello, Minnie!" James Potter pushed through the throng to grin at her. "Miss me?"
"James, honestly, you need to stop doing that, people will panic- Professor McGonagall! How are you?"
Lily Potter smiled brightly up at her, and Minerva was stunned.
"But…how…how is this possible?"
"Well, it's a long story, you'll probably want to talk to Hermione for the details, I still don't quite understand it myself, but basically there was a thing with Voldemort, and Harry, and souls or something, and Dumbledore lied about a bunch of stuff…oh that's why he's done a runner! Anyway, yeah, talk to Hermione, she's the one who did it all, worked it all and everything. Bloody genius she is."
"Hermione, Hermione Granger, fifth year?"
"Well it's not exactly a common name, is it Minnie?"
"James!" Lily elbowed him in the ribs, and smiled apologetically. "It's nice to see you Professor."
"And you." Professor McGonagall quickly regained her composure, drawing herself up to her full height and putting on an authoritative look. "I expect you'll need somewhere to sleep?"
"Yeah, that would be excellent, thank you, Professor."
"Please, Lily, call me Minerva. You're not a student anymore."
"Sorry, it must be habit!"
Less than one hundred metres down the corridor and away from the happy, milling crowd, Severus Snape sat down on his bed in his quarters, and looked up at the mirror on his wall.
Tears glittered in obsidian black eyes.
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Fly xx