A/N: I really try to have several chapters in wait at all times, just in case I hit a particularly stubborn bit of writers block. I just finished writing chapter fifteen, and I'm not patient enough to hold this any longer. I hope you all enjoyed the lighthearted fluff break, because it's time for a bit of reality to set in...
Thank you all for your review and for reading. It completely warms my heart and inspires my pen!
Isn't it always the moment when you least expect it? It's those moments when you feel truly free, when the wind is dancing through your robes as you sing lightly under your breath—those are the moments when the terrible things creep in through the cracks in your defense.
And that's how it happened.
It was March 1st, and for the first time in a month, it wasn't snowing. In fact, it was uncharacteristically warm and as the Hogwarts students traipsed down the worn path to Hogsmeade many of them pulled off their heavy cloaks and hats, shrinking them down to the size of galleons before stowing them in their pockets. A cold breeze ruffled their hair and caused their breath to freeze, but the sun was so undeniably refreshing that the students couldn't find it in themselves to care.
Harry, Hermione, and Minerva were no exception. They laughed in the wind as they stumbled through the doors of the Three Broomsticks, excited from a day free of studying or practice. They had shopped for sweets, and visited the owls at the post. Afterwards they decided to grab lunch before the girls disappeared in search of a new book or two.
Ron had planned on going with them, having finally gotten over his anger towards Minerva. He wasn't entirely comfortable still, but Hermione had made it clear that their former professor wasn't going anywhere and that if Ron wanted to spend time with his two best friends, he would have to look kinder on the other witch.
Hermione had nearly cried when he started eating dinner with them again, and Harry had felt a keen sense of relief as their quidditch practices lost the tense atmosphere which had plagued the month following Minerva's reveal.
Unfortunately, the boy in question had landed himself in detention for failing to complete his homework. While Harry and Hermione missed their friend, and Minerva surely didn't celebrate his absence, his loss didn't put a damper on their spirits as they had traipsed through the small town.
"I'm just saying," Harry argued as they sat down at a booth, "I don't see why a potions NEWT is required at the Auror academy. I mean, can't they just buy the potions they need?"
Minerva groaned, "Harry, open your eyes. What else do you learn in potions?"
"What do you mean?"
"She means, you learn how to identify potions as well—by their scent, appearance, and texture," Hermione interjected, "That's an important skill for an auror—identifying poisons or traps, recognizing if someone is under the influence of a particular potion. A truly exceptional Auror would have been more suspicious of Professor Moody if they paid more attention in potions class."
Harry groaned, "I guess. I just hope that isn't something people are going to rely on me for, I'm hopeless—passing marks or not."
Hermione just shrugged, "I'm sure you'll be fine Harry, you're a natural with all of the other courses."
"And you are the Boy who Conquered," Minerva smirked, "I doubt they'll deny you."
"But I don't want to be accepted because I'm famous; I want to be accepted because I've earned my place."
"Harry, I'm sure that you will earn the marks required to join the Aurors, but even if you don't—they wouldn't be accepting you because you're famous," Minerva chided.
"Then what would they be accepting me for?"
"They would be accepting you because you have demonstrated in numerous real-world situations that you have the potential to fight and capture dark wizards, and handle yourself maturely under dangerous circumstances," Minerva said shaking her head, "Really Harry, you are so blind sometimes."
"Hey!"
"You are still under the impression that you're famous for the same reasons you were when you were eleven," Hermione piped up, "You're not! You're famous because of the work you've put in over the years and the sacrifices you've made."
"In that case, you should be more famous than me; you were way more important Mione."
"I can't argue with that," Minerva said with a grin, causing Hermione to swat her on the shoulder.
"What did I tell you in your first year Harry? Books and Cleverness? There are more important things, bravery—friendship," Hermione said softly, "We have both earned our fame, whether or not we actually want anything to do with it. But don't put down all that you've done—all that you've sacrificed Harry."
Harry blushed darkly, before muttering about picking up their food and hurrying towards the bar. "You've made him speechless, dear."
Hermione shook her head, "He's never going to see just how extraordinary he is."
"And you're never going to see just how extraordinary you are," Minerva argued squeezing her hand gently.
Harry laughed as he approached the table again a moment later, "You two really aren't subtle, I hope you know that," he joked, causing Minerva to blush and pull her hand away quickly.
Just as Harry set down a basket of chips and three butterbeers, two men approached their table. "Excuse me," the first interrupted, looking directly at Minerva. "Are you Minerva McGonagall?"
Minerva looked up, her eyebrows raised in surprise. She didn't recognize either of the men, though they wore the stiff black dress robes she recognized as Ministry issue.
"I am," she answered crisply, "And who are you?"
"We have orders to collect you for interrogation," the taller of the two answered, taking her elbow.
She ripped her elbow away quickly, "Kindly refrain from laying your hands on me, sir. I would like to see those orders, please."
The shorter man handed her a piece of parchment which she scanned quickly, "I hope you boys realize that it would have been far more appropriate to approach me at Hogwarts with the permission of the Headmaster. He won't take kindly to you abducting one of his students from Hogsmeade."
Both men grasped an elbow and tried to lead Minerva towards the doors.
"Wait!" Hermione exclaimed, pulling Minerva away from the strangers. "According to Ministry Decree 2052, enacted in 1993, you must inform the Headmaster or mistress of Hogwarts of your intent to take a student or faculty member into custody, and in the case of students you must have his consent. As Head Girl, I will not allow you to abduct a student."
"Miss. Granger, I must ask you to step away from the Professor. That decree has no bearing on our current mission."
"The hell I will!" Hermione bristled, her wand in hand before either professional could point theirs.
"Hermione," Minerva said calmly.
"No Minerva, you know I can take them both down before they can blink. Let's go back to the castle."
"Hermione," Minerva said again, "You know that I'll have to talk to them eventually. I'm going. You and Harry make sure that Dumbledore knows exactly what's going on."
"But Min," Hermione said weakly, her wand faltering slightly.
"I'll see you later," Minerva said apologetically, finally allowing the two men to lead her from the Three Broomsticks.
Hermione was out the door in a matter of moments, no trace of Minerva or the Ministry men to be found. They had obviously disapparated.
"Hermione, wait!" Harry called, struggling through a crowd near the door. Coming next to her he placed a hand on her shoulder, "Are you alright."
"Not in the least," she bit out, "I've got to go find Dumbledore and get to work fixing this." She took off towards the entrance to Hogwarts, mumbling under her breath all the way. "You wouldn't think that they could do that, just abduct a young girl. I don't care who she was, she's a Hogwarts student and it isn't proper. Besides, those rumors were never actually corroborated. There was no DNA test, for all they know she is Mary McSweeney."
"I don't think they do DNA tests in the wizarding world, Hermione."
"Well they should!" Hermione snapped, letting out a huff of frustration as Harry jogged behind her. "What kind of government doesn't require DNA testing before unceremoniously kidnapping an eighteen year old from a weekend outing?"
"I think they have other ways of finding that out. Wizards don't do a lot with blood," he said reasonably.
"Dammit Harry, I know. Have you met me? Of course I know that they don't do DNA tests, but they still haven't worked any of the necessary charms or tests on her magic or anything. They just took her!"
"But she is Minerva McGonagall, so they aren't wrong."
"It doesn't matter! They shouldn't have taken her!"
"Hermione," Harry tried to stop her, "Hermione!" Finally he grabbed her, causing her to spin around. "Hermione, she's going to be okay."
Hermione shook slightly as Harry held her in place, "You don't know that, Harry. You can't know that. And you and I know better than most how crooked the Ministry can be. Those were Unspeakables that took her in. Unspeakables. The plain black robes, with silver fastenings? That's their uniform, and they are the only department which isn't bound by all of the other laws of the Ministry."
"What does that mean?" Harry asked, confused.
"It means that they can keep her. They can hold her indefinitely, and study her, and she may never come back," Hermione said, stifling a sob. "Now I appreciate you trying to be a good friend, but if you wouldn't mind, I need less comforting and more conversation with Dumbledore right now."
She turned quickly on her heel, sprinting through the front doors of Hogwarts and ignoring the perplexed glances of her schoolmates as she ran.
When they finally reached the headmasters doorway, Hermione began spouting off various sweets impulsively and gave a sigh of relief when the gargoyle finally let her pass. Harry hurried behind her on the stairs, and waited as she knocked on the door.
"What if he isn't in, Hermione? You know he leaves the castle sometimes."
"I don't know. This is just the first place to try, if he's not here I'll find professor Flitwick, he may have an idea." Thankfully, after knocking a second time Professor Dumbledore opened the door.
"Mr. Potter, Miss Granger. What an unexpected surprise, please come in," he said, gesturing towards the two seats in front of his desk.
Hermione frowned at the already made tea on his desk, "We don't seem unexpected, do you know why we're here?" she asked quickly.
"Alas, I'm not quite all knowing, though I was informed of your swift return to the castle and to my office. I thought I would be prepared, just in case," he said calmly, sitting behind his desk. "What brings you here today?"
"Minerva has been taken, Professor," Hermione said quickly. "We were in the Three Broomsticks when they came. Two men from the Department of Mysteries, they wanted to interrogate her—I'm assuming in regards to her accident. They ignored her when she suggested that they should have come here and spoken to you, and ignored me when I cited Decree 2052. After being shown their orders, she went with them willingly, but I don't know that she realized they were Unspeakables."
Dumbledore held up a hand to silence her, "Miss. Granger, did you happen to notice anything specific about their orders?"
Harry shook his head, "Like what, Professor."
Hermione closed her eyes in concentration, trying to remember what she had seen from behind Minerva. "I didn't see much, Professor. It was form D-480, but I don't know what that is, and I didn't see the specific orders, or their names."
Dumbledore frowned deeply, "That particular form is used to take a person into confinement. They are only used in very specific situations. Not exactly arrest, but often-times long-term interrogation."
"Wait, so Hermione is right then?" Harry asked, suddenly looking anxious, "They're going to study her, aren't they Professor?"
"That is my concern." Dumbledore said, his eyebrows furrowed uncharacteristically and a frown marring his usually calm features. "My apologies, but I must ask you to go at this time. I need to look into this further and travel to the Ministry. I will inform you once I have gathered any information of value."
"Thank you sir," Harry said quietly, standing from his seat.
Hermione stayed still, looking up at the professor. "She's counting on you professor, to get her out. You will get her out, won't you?"
Professor Dumbledore sighed, "I am certainly going to try, Miss. Granger."
Meanwhile, at the Ministry, Minerva sighed for what felt like the hundredth time. She had been in this room for little over an hour, and yet they were already repeating questions.
The two men who had taken her to the Ministry had been left behind some time ago; obviously they had yet to prove themselves as Unspeakables of this level. Naturally, you would have to be a certain caliber of wizard, and a certain level of clearance, to question the woman who had been doused with the fountain of youth.
The new witch who was questioning her had first tried to be her friend.
She empathized with Minerva. How hard it must be to be in her situation, how they simply wanted to help her return to her own life. Minerva had snickered at that, and commented on the woman's failed attempt at a glamour charm. She somehow doubted that a woman concerned with crowsfeet around her eyes, was the most trustworthy with a potion which could turn her back to a blushing twenty year old.
At that point, the ministry worker had turned to ice. She must have thought herself stern and intimidating, but she had obviously forgotten who had taught her to act like that.
"Mel," Minerva said quietly, interrupting the woman's questions, "May I call you Mel?"
The witch's eyebrows rose in surprise, no one was supposed to know the identities of the Unspeakables. "Short for Mellasandre Eleanor Winthrop. You were a two-minute hatstall. Observing you as a student, I suspect it was between Slytherin and Ravenclaw, but you were eventually sorted into Ravenclaw. You received top marks in my class, though you always struggled with charms. Not because it was difficult, but because you considered the spell work to be inconsequential."
The unspeakable continued to gape, unsure of what her next move should be. Finally she pursed her lips, and Minerva couldn't contain the chuckle. "Now that is exactly what I wanted to talk to you about, Mel. You were always a clever and independent witch, but you're quite obviously stealing your interrogation techniques from someone else." Mel just raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow, causing Minerva to laugh all the harder, "Me, you silly woman. You look just like me. What, do you think that expression came naturally? I practiced endlessly as a young teacher, desperate to have the students respect me." Minerva then put on her most stern professional mask, as if to demonstrate.
"I am certainly doing no such thing," Mellasandre snapped, her cheeks turning ever so slightly red.
"Oh, but you are," Minerva sighed, "And even if you weren't, those techniques won't work on me. I've stared Tom Riddle in the eyes, girl. I've dueled Severus Snape. And I am likely the only person alive who has given Albus Dumbledore a stern reprimanding. I may look like an eighteen year old girl, but you won't frighten me, so you may as well save the effort for a more creative interrogation."
Can I just say, that last line from Minerva is one of my favorite that I've ever written. I wish I had a resume like that to threaten people with!
I wanted to quickly respond to a few common questions/comments I've received in my reviews (especially ones which have shown up in "guest" form), I hope you don't mind too much!
Will the rating be going up at any point? At this point I'm really not sure. Currently I'm very much in their relationship. I feel like they've just started something new and passionate but that neither of them are quite ready for that step. If they hit that point within this story, which seems fairly likely eventually, I will raise the rating. That being said, I'm not always comfortable writing complete lemons, and I'm only willing to even attempt if I feel I can do my characters justice. They aren't in the midst of a one-night stand, and I don't want to write something which would feel like that. So in the end... maybe?
What's up with the other professors? Quite a few of you have brought this up in your reviews and messages. I'm as frustrated with their behavior as anyone else, but keep in mind that this is their friend, but also their superior in terms of employment. She is the Deputy Headmistress, and as such will most likely eventually be Headmistress. If your manager is in the room you would be on your best behavior, right? But do you ever get caught doing something irresponsible or not working quite as hard when they're not around, text messaging on the job, or reading fanfiction ;-)? I think that these professors feel as if they've been being spied on for months now, and they need a chance to reconcile that.
I imagine that Professor Flitwick would be understanding, seeing as how he recognized her in September and didn't reveal anything. But the professors who aren't upset with her, probably realize that her publicly displaying their friendship would make her experience with her new peers even more difficult. (Teachers pet, basically.
Thanks for reading as usual, and I hope you all have a lovely week! Happy Monday! (Ps: One more plug for my Twitter page, I spend more that a little time talking about what I'm writing, and when updates are coming. Consider it! LadyChristineM )