Saved
Chapter VII
Rolanda stared speechless at the young man she had just yanked out of Minerva's bathtub.
"How'd you get in the tub?" she asked. It was a rather silly question, but she felt determined to get to the bottom of things. The Headmistress of Hogwarts was missing, having disappeared through the bottom of her bathtub and some Samwise Gamgee had taken her place. Needless to say, Rolanda was far from happy.
"What tub?" he asked, looking around, his eyes wide and full of fear. Rolanda grabbed his jacket by the back and pointed at the tub.
"That tub! Now what did you do with Minerva McGonagall?" Poor Sam just stood there, mouth hanging slightly open.
"Nothing, honest!" Sam returned. By then Pomona had entered the bathroom and two wands were pointed at the quivering hobbit's neck.
"What's this?" The Herbology professor asked, her wand gesturing toward Sam. Rolanda sighed.
"Minerva...disappeared into the bottom of the...bathtub." she explained. Pomona gave her a you-cannot-be-serious look and then glanced into the tub. Water had been splashed all over when Sam had been yanked out but she could clearly see the solid bottom of the tub through the soapy water.
"I don't see how..." Pomona murmured. Rolanda jabbed her wand into Sam's side.
"We'll soon find out." she threatened lowly.
***
Minerva sat quietly by Gandalf's side as the horse slowly made its way through what was referred to as Hobbiton. Frodo had bade them a good day, saying how glad he was to meet Minerva and how wonderful it was to have Gandalf back.
She took this to mean that Gandalf had not visited the hobbits in some time, but refrained from asking him about it. The blurry images about her were distorted and difficult to make out, but she felt from the bumping of the cart and Gandalf's encouraging words to the horse that they were going up a hill.
The cart came to a halt and Gandalf descended from the seat, helping Minerva down moments later. He led her through a gate and up a short walkway until they reached a round green door with a knob directly in the centre on it. Minerva blinked several times to be certain she was not seeing things, as most knobs were put in a different location.
Gandalf knocked on the door with his staff and immediately a rather grouchy voice responded. "No thank you! We don't want anymore visitors, well-wishers, or distant relations!"
Gandalf chuckled softly, although Minerva didn't see what was funny about what had just been yelled at him. "And how about very old friends?" the wizard asked, obviously still amused. The door opened soon after and an older hobbit emerged, overjoyed to see Gandalf and surprised to find that he had brought someone with him.
After a few exchanged greetings, Gandalf led Minerva into the home with a warning to watch her head. Ironically he bumped his own head only moments after entering.
Soon the three of them were carefully seated around a low table in the kitchen, with Bilbo constantly bustling about getting tea or some other treat. It was apparent to Minerva that hobbits ate a great deal.
"You mean to go through with your plan then?" Gandalf murmured, looking at Bilbo. The elderly hobbit nodded. Whatever was said next, Minerva missed as her mind fell into a daydream.
She saw Harry Potter so valiantly fighting Voldemort; Molly Weasley crying over her dead son; Hagrid carrying Albus' limp body... the images swirled about her and she slipped from the chair.