Chapter 6 – A decision

Hermione was preparing a speech to support an exchange programme the Department of Education was looking to set up with Durmstrang and Beauxbatons. She internally groaned in frustration at how stupid it sounded. She resisted the urge to screw up the paper and throw it in the bin and also silently cursed Hogwarts for making it impossible to use her laptop. She kept meaning to bring it up with McGonagall. She was sure she could devise a spell to get around it.

"Ms Granger" a voice said gently.

Hermione looked up to see who was speaking to her, realised it was Professor Flitwick and looked down to meet his eyes.

"Yes sir?"

"How are you?" His voice sounded funny, like he was holding back tears.

"Fine, thank you, sir."

"Hermione?"

Hermione gazed at her teacher, half worried and half impatient. "Yes, sir?" She said, trying not to sound impatient.

"Minerva, uh professor McGonagall has ah, well she's had a heart attack."

Hermione felt like her entire world was crashing around her, there was a strange buzzing in her ears and she felt like she was going to be sick. The next minute she felt someone grip her elbow tightly and hold her steady.

"For goodness sake Filius, what are you doing upsetting the girl in the library?" Mrs Pince said sharply. "This girl needs some Pepperup potion" the grey haired lady hissed.

Flitwick nodded, Hermione, feeling somehow detached from her body as if she was in a dream watched surprised as Flitwick conjured a futon with overly plush white cushions and gently waved his wand, and she was lifted up and placed gently on the futon, tiny Professor Flitwick following her keeping the futon levitated down several corridors. Students walked past without noticing the weird sight. Hermione supposed Flitwick would have placed some sort of charm making them not realise she was there, she thought to herself. She would have laughed at her current situation if it wasn't for the news she had just heard. She wasn't feeling detached anymore. She felt a plunging sensation and just wanted to cry and cry and to hug someone, which was weird, she wasn't prone to doing either. Then she rolled her eyes, now she was analysing herself, great.

Flitwick stopped her futon outside a door, completely painted with a view of the Niagara Falls, he touched the door gently and the painting began to move and she heard the sound of the waterfall. Flitwick gently moved the futon inside the room and placed it on the ground.

"Welcome to my office, Ms Granger. Here have some pepper up potion." He handed her a goblet and a small golden plate with Turkish delight.

"I feel somewhat like Edmund with the White Witch" Hermione joked weakly "thank you, sir."

"Edmund? The White Witch?" Flitwick looked confused and a bit concerned. Was Hermione having a delusion?

"Never mind sir, thank you for these."

There was a long silence as Hermione sipped her drink and took in Flitwick's office. She had never been in it before, the walls were painted with a picture of the sea, all around. Albatrosses flew over the water and dolphins were seen under it. In one corner there were rock pools with starfish and crabs and shell fish. She gazed in wonder for a while before remembering where she was and why she was there.

"How, how is she doing?"

Flitwick looked down at his hands which were twisted in his lap. Somehow this was more horrible than the war deaths. Minerva had survived so much and now her life was in danger because of a stupid heart attack.

"She's still alive" Flitwick said, pausing over his words, thinking over each one before he spoke. "She was conscious when I took her to St Mungo's but then she slipped into a coma."

Hermione covered her mouth with her hands and stared at the ground. Flitwick came over and put a hand on her knee. She regained composure, not wanting to embarrass her teacher.

"May I, may I visit her? Or would that invade her privacy?"

Flitwick smiled, "of course, Ms Granger. She is extremely fond of you."

Hermione stood up "thank you, sir."

"Ms Granger?"

"Yes, professor?"

"I think you should go to St Mungo's with Ms Weasley and Messers Potter and Weasley. These sorts of things are better with friends, in the main. You can help each other keep your chins up. But news of this is not to spread further than those three."

Hermione nodded, wishing she had glasses to hide her red eyes.

XXX

"You look reasonably excited" Rita Skeeter said to Umbridge as the two met inside the Obese Tapdancer's backroom.

Umbridge's normally perfectly coiffed hair was falling about her face and she let out a breathy, girly giggle. "We've got reason to be, Rita."

Skeeter raised an eyebrow "do spill."

"McGonagall's had a heart attack."

Skeeter's heart plunged. She remembered how professor McGonagall had always been kind to her at Hogwarts. Rita had managed to hide the fact she was the child of two poverty stricken muggles from most, but McGonagall had known, being the one who sent her letter. She'd recognised her cleverness. She forced a smile to her face. She knew Umbridge was heartless, that's why she'd chosen her, but wanting power wasn't the same as callousness, and Umbridge was callous.

"I see."

"Yes, Rita. We can target Potter now. If Potter is somehow out of action, then Kingsley loses his main popularity playing card. Without McGonagall, he doesn't have his main mentor, you can start undermining his reputation."

Skeeter nodded, "and how to you plan to get Potter 'out of action'? Are you going to send him out of the country or something?"

Umbridge wasn't stupid. She knew that Seekter sometimes had a conscience which sometimes held her back. Skeeter didn't need to know everything. "Something like that, Rita. Leave Potter to me. You need to start thinking about ways to undermine Kingsley."

"That I can do" Skeeter said bitterly. She was back to her badass self again, no longer concerned about McGonagall. Kingsley and the Daily Prophet had ruined her and she needed to get revenge. "I'll get back to you in a week or so. I'm going on holiday for a bit."

"I hope you have a good time. I'll hold the fort here."

Skeeter nodded and left, her purple dragon skin suit disappearing down the corridor. Umbridge envied her ability to walk in stilettos with ease. She cast a disillusionment charm over herself, she didn't feel like being seen. She walked out of the pub and apparated into her home.

She had always been good a potions. She liked the fact that she could create so many powerful things from unconnected and weird things that were useless on their own. She took out a vial of polyjuice potion, which she always had on tap, especially since her fall from grace meant that she couldn't really afford staff anymore. Then she went into her quarantined area. No one knew about this. She had worked for weeks to create enough charms to hide its existence from the outside world. It contained several useful potions which could be used to ensure people did not get in her way. And Potter certainly was in her way, stupid, nasty little boy.

XXX

Neville felt ridiculous confessing his suspicions to Harry and Ron. Of course professor Griffin wasn't his mother. His mother was at St Mungo's, and why was he so upset, and why did he feel so weird around her?

"Hey, Neville" he heard Hermione say softly as she entered the longue. She had red eyes and had obviously been crying, a lot. She's been like for the past couple of days, if he thought about it.

"Heya, want a cup of tea?" He wasn't going to pry, Hermione would tell him if she wanted him to know what was bothering her.

"Thanks, Neville" Hermione said, relieved that he was going to ignore her red eyes "just a quick one. I've got to pop out soon."

Hermione went into her room to get changed. When she came back in jeans and t-shirt Neville handed her the tea and the door to their chambers opened without so much as a knock.

"Ron" they said to each other at the same time, and laughed. Sure enough Ron came into the room, dressed in chinos and a collared shirt, Harry followed him in faded jeans and crumpled t-shirt. Hermione smiled. He was the most famous wizard in the world, and very wealthy but he did not care about his appearance at all.

Ron walked over to Hermione and hugged her tightly, which surprised Neville. Normally the two were very British and didn't do public displays of affection. Something was up and had been for a couple of days. But he wasn't going to ask. They'd tell him if they wanted him to know, and besides he wasn't part of their golden trio, he didn't want to intrude.

Then to his surprise, Harry hugged Hermione tightly as well.

"Let's go get Ginny and then head off. We can take the floo out of Flitwick's office" Harry said.

Ginny was going as well? That was weird, Ginny usually told him everything, she was one of his best friends.

"Sorry guys, but where are you going?" He was too curious now.

Hermione turned around to look at him, tears welling up in her eyes "oh, just ah, just St Mungo's" she said, her voice going high at the end of the sentence as it always did when she was about to cry.

Neville touched her shoulder gently "hope it goes well."

He felt stupid worrying about Professor Griffin, now, not when something huge was clearly going on. But maybe he should go and visit his parents when he next had the chance.

XXX

Umbridge looked in the mirror. A pretty blonde nurse in St Mungo's uniform looked back at her and winked. She was holding four goblets, one which contained the dragon pox virus. She went down the hallway to Minerva McGonagall's room, Potter and his little friends were around her bed, all the other visitors had left the room. This was the perfect opportunity.

"Hello dears, pumpkin juice?" She said holding out the tray. She smiled as Harry took the poisoned juice and drank it heartily. She left, grinning. That was easier than taking candy from a baby.

Hermione watched the nurse leave.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Ginny asked.

"Oh nothing, that nurse seemed to be acting a bit weird, that's all. Anyway should we go? Harry and I have a meeting with Kingsley tomorrow and I haven't prepped for it."

Ron rolled his eyes "oh yes, we can't keep Kingsley waiting now can we?"

"Shut it Ronnikins."

XXX

Neville was waiting for Hermione when she came back to their chambers, he jumped up and walked over to her when she entered.

"Flitwick told me" he said before wrapping her in a hug. They both cried. McGonagall had mentored both of them and looked out for them over the years, two misfits with parents who were unable to guide them through their Hogwarts journey.

Hermione went into their kitchenette and made them both a salad. They ate in silence for a while, both grateful that they didn't have to go down to the Great Hall.

After a while Hermione said "Neville, McGongall's heart attack has made me realise that we have to live in the moment and not hold onto regrets."

Neville nodded "definitely."

She took a deep breath "I think I'm going to go and find my parents. I don't need to do all this head girl and other stuff, well not over Easter anyway. I think I can take a couple of extra weeks beforehand and then go."

Neville beamed at his friend "Hermione, this is a great idea. I think you really need to reconnect with your parents. Your family is the most important thing."

"You don't mind holding the fort here?"

Neville paused. "No Hermione I don't mind."

"But…?"

"But what?"

"You paused, you were going to say something else."

Neville glared "you are too good at reading people, you know that?"

"What were you going to say?" Hermione said, brushing of the half-compliment.

"Well I was kind of wondering if I could come with you? I would be nervous if you went alone, and there are ways to communicate with people back home, and we would only be gone for a month."

Hermione was taken aback, but then she was pleased. Neville would be perfect company, he was calm under pressure and sensitive.

She kissed him on the cheek "I'd be thrilled to have you come along. So long as Flitwick is ok with us going."

XXX

Harry and Ginny had gone for a walk after returning from St Mungo's. It was a calm night with cicadas chirping and the occasional owl hooting. Harry and Ginny hadn't seen much of each other in their few months back at Hogwarts. Harry had been busy and they didn't have quidditch in common anymore. He kissed her goodnight when they returned to the common room and Harry went up to his dormitory. Ron, of course was still awake.

"Hellooo Harry, where have you been?"

Harry laughed "with your sister, actually." Harry said, knowing that would shut Ron up. "She's damn good at kissing, you know."

Ron pretended to throw up "eurgh sorry I asked" he said throwing his pillow at his best friend.

A/N I am SO sorry taking so long to update! Hope you liked the chapter