The Burrow's Sorrow
A/N: For my purposes, Alastor Moody is not dead yet, and he went to school with Minerva. No one seems to know his exact age, so I am taking a little bit of liberty here.
Harry Potter did not realize his hands were shaking until the tea cup Remus Lupin placed in them started to rattle. Professor McGonagall had called the second meeting since the disappearance of Ginerva Weasley and Hermione Granger. The incident had been rather sudden and vaguely unexpected, considering the circumstances.
Had the Death Eaters maliciously attacked them, it might have made more sense. However, everything had been extensively planned out, which only worried the member of the Order of the Phoenix even more. The two young women had gone into Muggle London to be fitted for Ginny's dress for Bill and Fleur's wedding that would be taking place later that week. Molly, Arthur, and Bill Weasley had all been there at the time of the ambush, as well as three hired aurors. In the end, one auror ended up dead, one in St. Mungos, and Mrs. Weasley walked with a permanent limp.
Now they waited in a prolonged silence for any hint of life. The Death Eaters had taken what they had come for and had yet to make any sort of demand. Harry stared long and hard at the flower printed tea cup in front of him. Nothing tasted anymore. The brown of the tea was only mocking him to no end. Ginny's eyes. All he could see were Ginny's brown eyes. He pondered briefly for a moment what they might look like in pain and fear, but quickly brushed the thought from his whirling mind.
Just as he thought he would go mad in the silence, the front door to the Burrow sung open and Professor McGonagall swept through the doorway, her tall frame shadowing the somber sitting room. Arthur and Molly sat in the corner; he holding his unusually pale and quiet wife's hand tightly. Fred and George sat obediently at their parent's feet, eyes glazed over. Ron looked lost sitting next to Harry. Fleur, who seemed to have managed to cry for two days straight, sat on the other side of Ron with a gruesome Bill holding her close. Alastor Moody, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Remus Lupin, and Nymphadora Tonks, now Lupin, lined the all beside the crackling fireplace. They seemed to be trying to put as much distance between themselves and the grieving family as possible.
Minerva took in the scene for a moment before putting on her sternest face and pulled a blue velvet pouch from inside her robes and dropped it in Harry's lap. Next from a seemingly invisible pocket came a stack of letters. Harry glanced up in confusion at his teacher's abrupt actions.
"Read the letters first. Each one has a corresponding memory with an identical date." Sure enough, the top envelope read May 1940. "I did my best to give you a proper introduction or explanation of what is in those memories. It still may be hard to follow, but believe me; you will be even more confused if you don't read them. And I mean read, Potter. Not whatever it was you did to get through your schooling."
"Yes, Professor," was the automated response.
"Share with who you will for they won't be secrets long. If all goes as planned, Ms. Granger and Ms. Weasley should be here by morning." Catching Molly's whimper, she quickly added, "For their safe return, I make no promises."
"What are we going to do?" asked Shacklebolt in his calming vocals. For a moment McGonagall seemed to hesitate. Harry thought he imagined the sad look in her eyes, but when she spoke, even he could sense the reserved nature of what she was saying.
"We are doing nothing." All of the sudden, Mad-Eye's mad eye stopped paying attention to the door and locked onto her.
"No. No bloody way." He limped forward, his walking stick thumping along the wooden floor.
"Alastor, please do not make this harder than it is. I haven't the time or patience."
"What about the school? What about the students? You can't give up the Headship that easily." Everyone in the sitting room held back their confusion at Moody's sudden outburst rather well. Still, some uneasy glances passed through the group.
"It doesn't matter anyway. The Ministry has instated a new Headmaster-"
"What?" Harry handed the bag and envelopes over to Ron and prepared to rise. "Who?"
"Severus Snape." Minerva visibly flinched at the outburst that filled the room. Amidst the commotion, Alastor had drawn his wand and a loud bang silenced the room.
"You are going to insult Albus' memory by letting that worthless, cowardly, piece of-"
"No. Stop. All of you!" snapped McGonagall, clearly taking offense at the idea that she would be insulting Dumbledore in his death. "In regarding Snape, promise me one thing, all of you. You will not murder him the moment he walks through the door. Promise me that you will allow him the chance to prove himself. Disarm him, bind him to a chair, I don't care. But give him the chance. You will need him in the end. Do I have your word?" Hesitant glances frantically scanned the room as if she had gone completely insane.
Finally, Remus nodded his head. "You have my word." The others reluctantly gave their promise amidst grumbling.
"Good. Now that's settled, I ought to be going." She gave one last look to the blue bag before turning sharply on her heel and moving to the door.
"Like hell you are," growled Moody. "You'll go back to him over my dead body, Minerva. Don't think I can't see that bloody ring in your pocket."
"Alastor, I know exactly what I am doing so put that wand away." Moody shuffled over to place himself between her and the door. The tension in the room was so thick that even the Muggle expression 'cut it with a knife' would not suffice. Mad-Eye had his wand clutched in his knarred hand and it was unwavering as he faced Minerva.
"I won't let you put yourself through that again."
"Don't be ridiculous. You really think you are going to fight me to keep me from doing what is right?" Seeing Mad-Eye was not going to yield, she slowly pulled her wand from her robes. "This is foolish, Alastor."
"Hey, now, everyone calm down," murmured Remus. He wasn't the only one to look incredibly nervous at what seemed to be taking place. Minerva's emerald eyes darkened and using Remus' interfering comment as a distraction she clicked her wand wordlessly at Moody, whom, at the last moment, produced a shield charm to deflect her spell. However, to everyone's surprise, Minerva took two steps forward and two bursts of purple light later, Moody's wand was in Lupin's hand and Minerva as was out the door.
Lupin quickly gave the wand back to its owner, still confused on how he had come to be in possession of it in the first place. Everyone was holding their breath as the retired Auror took back the stick.
"Should we go after her?" Even in the perplexity of the moment, Shacklebolt was firmly in charge of the situation. Tugging on the front of his navy robes, he straightened his appearance and approached Moody.
"No. If she feels it is necessary to completely destroy everything she has done in the last forty years, let her." Though anger shone on his face, Mad-Eye did not seem at all abashed at the Transfiguration Mistress getting the best of him in the short duel. In fact, it seemed he had expected it.
"What about Ginny and Hermione?" whispered Molly, unable to allow the concentration of the conversation to stray from her only daughter's fate.
"If there is one thing to say about Minerva in this instance, is she is no liar. I give her a couple of hours before you see your daughter and Granger again." Moody's blue eye began to spin once more. "All we have to do is wait."
"What is she going to do?" asked Harry, running his hand through his unruly dark hair.
"You'll figure it out once you get through those memories. In a manner of speaking she's..." a bitter smile briefly crossed his grizzly features, "...standing by her man. Now which one she is standing by is anyone's guess." The gaze of his good eye rested on the door, a clear sign that they were not going to be getting a better explanation than that. The Burrow relapsed into an uneasy silence once more.