Chapter 5 - Recovery
Saturday dawned with brilliant blue skies. Combined with the upcoming Quidditch match, all spirits in the castle seemed to lift as everyone made their way to the Quidditch pitch. The teams were matched well and the game went long, with Hufflepuff taking a surprise victory of 420-310. Everyone in the stands had yelled themselves hoarse and the last of the tension from the previous two days seemed to have been shouted out. Professor Dumbledore had returned the night before and had been busy since. He enjoyed the match as much as the rest of the school and declared the day too good to waste. He conjured several large tables to the lawn by the lake, as well as a plethora of picnic blankets. Then he had the house elves serve an array of picnic foods outside. The rest of the afternoon was spent lazing in the sun with good food and friends.
Professor McGonagall and the rest of the staff were arrayed on blankets at the top of the hill overlooking the students. Professor Dumbledore sat next to her. Since she hadn't had a chance to talk to him since his return, she decided it was time.
"Albus, I know I sent you an owl with a brief summary of the events, but.."
Professor Dumbledore put up a hand to stop her. "Not today Minerva. We will have a staff meeting tomorrow, but right now we all need to relax, yourself especially." With that said, he laid back, pulled his hat over his eyes, and began to snore lightly.
The next morning brought all the staff together for their first meeting since Professor Dumbledore's return.
"Good morning everyone. Thank you for being here extra early. Given the events that occurred while I was called away, I felt we could use some additional time for discussions. First, I must thank each of you, especially Minerva for putting a difficult situation under control. I'm going to let her start. She sent me a few details by owl, but I need the unabridged version now."
As Dumbledore, finished, McGonagall spoke up and began a detailed review of the events. Beginning with Professor Sinistra's warning, then the first feelings when the alignment began waxing, onto her realization of what was occurring and then the actions of the staff to bring the school under control in the early hours of Friday morning. She was careful to not provide details on where or how she found many of her fellow professors.
As she finished, Albus nodded. "Thank you Minerva. I appreciate your candor regarding your initial assessment of Aurora's warning. I will say that if I had been here my actions would have been similar. The magnitude of impact that this alignment caused is something that I have never heard of in the past. Which means we are indebted to our astronomy professor for her foresight. Action may have been taken late, but we would have been left in a much greater state of confusion without her knowledge."
Professor Sinistra gave a small nod of thanks before Professor Dumbledore continued. "My next concern is the health and well-being of the students afterward. Madam Pomfrey, can you please provide details from the hospital wing? I know the last days have been quite busy for you."
Madam Pomfrey nodded and began. "Yes, Albus, I was quite busy on Friday, but thankfully yesterday the flood of patients dwindled. I handled a number of distraught students, but with the help of the house heads counsel, we were able to settle everyone. I administered a total of 42 emergency contraceptive potions and 30 calming draughts..." Madam Pomfrey was about to continue, but a low hiss began from the assembled staff at hearing the numbers.
McGonagall was the first to speak up. "42?"
"Yes Minerva, that is correct. I actually had to call St. Mungo's for an emergency shipment. We don't carry near that amount in the Hogwarts stores."
As everyone allowed that bit of information to settle, Dumbledore spoke again. "Thank you Poppy for your prompt response. I am glad St. Mungo's could assist. I think now I will update everyone on how this rare astronomical alignment affected the rest of the magical community. Late Thursday night, the Department of Magical Law Enforcement began to respond to calls for assistance at a number of locations, primarily pubs. Shortly after midnight, they put out an emergency order for all pubs, shops and restaurants that were still open to be closed immediately. They didn't know what was causing the issues, but they knew that something bad was brewing and that the best course was to prevent any further large gatherings. They continued to be busy throughout Friday, with most of the calls being domestic related arguments between spouses and partners. The Ministry finally caught up on Friday night and sent an emergency notice out via the Wireless Wizarding Network about what had caused the events of the previous evening. The notice was printed in the Daily Prophet Saturday morning and by Saturday evening the number of calls that the Department of Magical Law Enforcement was receiving had dropped back to normal levels. Meanwhile, St. Mungo's has been at a heightened state as well. I doubt if they have any more contraception potions left in stock now. They also had a rise in violent injuries and hex reversals. I spoke to a friend who is a senior Healer at the hospital and he advised that the hospital's maternity ward is planning for a busy season in about nine months." As Dumbledore finished his briefing, the last statement found several people trying not to smirk.
Dumbledore let the news settle and continued. "Now, I think we didn't let Poppy finish her report. Poppy, did you have anything additional?"
Madam Pomfrey nodded and began again. "The last information I wanted to let you know is that we had nine injuries come into the hospital on Friday morning. None are serious and most are due to certain individuals being a bit, um, rough during the events of Thursday evening. I repaired three broken bones that resulted from levitation failures, but both those students are completely well now."
Dumbledore nodded and looked around the room. "Does anyone else have any questions, concerns? I don't have any more information for you." Everyone looked around at each other, but no one else spoke up.
After a full minute had passed, Professor Dumbledore wrapped the meeting. "Thank you all for your hard work under extraordinary circumstances. Let's all keep our ears open for any new issues. I am available if you need me." With that, the staff dispersed and headed downstairs for breakfast.