Also, it's my lovely Kayla's fault that I didn't get this done by the time I wanted to! She did two things to stop me. 1. She came and visited me for the whoooole day. (Yay!) 2. She wanted to write with me, which means I was writing on a separate story and not on this...sorry! Hahaha...I blame her! 3 Love you, woman.
Alrighty! Thanks go to AryaElf, Juliefan1, DuchessofWords, and a Guest for reviewing. I love reviews, so big, huge super thanks! Also, thanks to DuchessofWords & kljrxx08 for favoriting or story alerting. Please continue to let me know what you guys think. Feedback and comments are always welcome, as are suggestions. I'm totally cool with incorporating other people's ideas, so just let me know!
Anyway... I'm not J.K. Rowling and I don't own any of her wonderful creation of Hogwarts, Harry Potter, or the lovely, fantastic, amazing Minerva McGonagall. (Or anything else she created!)
Minerva wouldn't leave Annabelle's bedside for more than a moment's time. She'd convinced Poppy and Albus to continue with their plans. The pair would meet Pomona, Filius, and Rolanda for drinks and a celebration of the upcoming New Year. Minerva had to promise to send word if something changed with Annabelle.
An hour ago, she'd walked into the study to retrieve her book. Her mind was beginning to get the better of her, and she needed to stop letting it wander aimlessly. She could only imagine torturing Mr & Mrs. Wyte so many times without actually apparating away and doing so. Chuckling, she set her book down in her lap. She was doing it again. Dittany could be a dangerous tool when used for torture. A malicious smile formed on her lips, imagining the couple's suffering.
The same smile faded away as an abnormal sound met her ears. Looking around, she realized it had been Annabelle. The child whimpered in her sleep and began to jerk her head back and forth, pain clear in her face.
Minerva reached out to the child and laid a hand lightly on her arm. "Annabelle, lass, you're alright. I'm here, dear. You're alright." Her hand carefully tightened over the girl's cold flesh as she felt the beginnings of goose bumps.
Annabelle flinched away from her touch as her eyes shot open. She didn't understand where she was. Why did her head hurt so badly? Groaning, she slowly lifted her hand to cradle her head, but changed directions halfway and reached under her pillow for her wand. Eyes widening in fear, they landed back on the professor. She tried to talk, but found that her lips weren't functioning correctly. Her fear only grew at this revelation, but began to settle again as she noticed Sylvanna purring at her feet.
Identical green eyes connected with each other and Annabelle half-heartedly reached out for the kneazle. The cat was immediately at her side, nuzzling her face and arms repeatedly. Eventually, it settled on her stomach and looked pointedly at Minerva.
Though Minerva couldn't physically understand the cat, she caught the message loud and clear. Leaning in closer to Annabelle, she cleared her throat, effectively catching the girl's attention. "Annabelle, you are in my private quarters. You sustained a rather nasty head injury and are now recovering from it. It shouldn't last more than a day or two, and then you will be free to roam the castle, but until then, you'll have to stay put." Leaning back, she noticed the girl was shivering again. "Annabelle, do you mind if I cast a warming spell on you?"
Annabelle moved to shake her head, but a sharp pain shot through her whole body and she cried out in pain. Slowly, the agony subsided and she lay back, whimpering softly. Voice croaking in effort, she whispered, "No."
Seeing her student in pain agonized Minerva, but she tried to ignore her own troubles in exchange for her patient's. She took the simple response as meaning that she could perform the spell and quickly pulled out her wand. "Calefactio."
Annabelle's skin flushed a healthy, pink color and she let out a deep sigh. "Thanks…" She rolled her eyes to the side and took in her professor's disheveled appearance. She found herself staring at the raven hair, now falling out of a sloppy-looking bun. A grin split her lips. "You're….h-hair." A careless grin settled on her face and her body visibly relaxed as Minerva began to smile.
"Thank you, Belle. I could fix your hair like this if you wish." Minerva cautiously reached out and took a stand of yellow hair and twirled it between her fingers.
Annabelle met Minerva's hand with her own after a quick fumble. She took hold of it, carefully shaking her head and squeezing the hand as the pain rang out through her body again. " 'M Not pretty."
Minerva simply frowned and ran her other hand through Annabelle's golden locks. "I think you're very pretty, Miss Wyte. Anyone who says differently can deal with me." And they surely would. Minerva doubted that idea had simply popped into Miss Wyte's head. It was planted by someone, and Minerva would find out whom and deal with them in her own ways.
Annabelle's eyes had filled with tears and she didn't even thinking about possibly wiping them away. One hand was safely within Minerva's, and the other was still under her pillow. As time had slowly passed, Annabelle began to recall what had happened and that meant her wand was still under her pillow at home. Then a thought occurred to Annabelle. "Do I haff to go back?" It was the first real sentence she had said since waking up, and it was more than full of emotion. She couldn't go back.
Minerva's heart sank at the child's question. Did she have to go back? There was no way Minerva was letting her go back, but how could she keep her away from there? Eventually, they'd have to get the Wizengamot involved if they wanted to change custody. Would Albus be okay taking the girl in? Maybe it would be best if she ended up being adopted by someone else, no matter how much Minerva cared about her. Suddenly, Minerva realized she hadn't answered the girl's question, even though that was the one thing Minerva knew for sure. "No. You will never have to go back there again, Annabelle. Lindy has already collected your belongings and brought them back here."
Annabelle let out a sob, unknowingly beginning the mourning of her childhood. She was losing everything she'd ever known and she had no clue what would happen now. Who would take her in? She couldn't survive on her own, but who would want to take care of an abandoned witch? Would she be all alone again?
Minerva's grip on her hand loosened as the girl's tears grew. She knew she wouldn't be able to handle this situation alone, so she pulled out her wand again and cast a patronous and sent the cat on a mission to find the quartet in Hogsmeade and tell them to come home straight away. She needed help.
After sending the cat on its way, Minerva turned back to the younger witch beside her and resumed her hold on the child's hand. "Annabelle, you're okay now. I'm here, lass. You're safe." She smothered down the child's hair and leaned down to kiss her forehead. "You're safe, Belle. I promise, you're safe."
At first, she feared that the blonde witch hadn't heard her, but soon, Annabelle gave her hand a slight pulse, and Minerva knew that she'd understood. She would be kept safe with Minerva. However, it wasn't long before the pair heard footsteps coming their way.
Minerva positioned herself between Annabelle and the door, wand ready. One hand still held tightly to Annabelle's, but she was ready to defend her if the need were to arise, as well. No one was getting to this cub again. No one was hurting her.
The door opened and in walked Albus, Rolanda, Poppy, and Pomona. All four adults were dressed for a night out and certainly not for a confrontation with a student. Of course, this wasn't just any student. This was a student who'd just been rescued and taken in by Minerva, so she was special.
Her gaze landed on Poppy, who was staring at Annabelle inquisitively. "She didn't just wake up, Minerva. She's been up for awhile and you didn't tell us." The medi-witch gave Minerva a hearty glare before making her way to Annabelle's other side. She cast a few diagnostic spells over her body and smiled lightly at the results. "Minnie, have her take another one of the green potions. It's not going to taste well, though. After that, she needs the maximum rest possible. This means we're taking you out of here. Plus, we have things we need to discuss," She lowered her voice so that Annabelle couldn't hear her. "That little ears shouldn't necessarily hear." Smiling, Poppy shooed everyone else out of the room.
"Alright, lass. I need you to swallow some of this potion for me. It will help with your headache and help your head heal faster too. Then, I'll be right outside the door. Throw something, or call me or Lindy if you need anything." After a moment's hesitation she summoned the green potion and added. "Believe me when I say I'll hear you. Animagus ears help that." She tipped the potion and winced at Annabelle's grimace. The potion looked and smelled horrible. Surely, it tasted even worse.
Standing up, she walked to the door and slowly exited it, coming face to face with her four best friends. "What do you want?"