A/N: It's Friday and that means it's time for a new chapter. You guys are so wonderfully supportive and your reviews are so amazing. It really motivates me to update this story regularly. This chapter turned out shamelessly sweet and I don't regret it one bit. Hope you don't either.

35. Lullaby

Unexpected visitors were a rare occurrence at Hogwarts, but when Minerva got an owl from Elphinstone, asking for an urgent meeting, she left her office to meet him in the Entrance Hall.

"I'm so sorry to barge in like this," the Head of the Magical Law Enforcement Squad said when he entered the castle.

"No need to be sorry," Minerva assured him. "But why didn't you mention that you were planning to come up to Scotland?"

Elphinstone sighed and took off his hat. "Unfortunately, this is not a social call, Minerva. Can we talk in private?"

Trying not to worry before she knew if there really was cause for concern, Minerva nodded. "Of course. This way."

She led her former boss to her office and offered him a seat and something to drink.

"Yes, I think tea would help. And make it a strong one."

"You're really beginning to worry me, Elphinstone," Minerva said as she conjured two cups and sat down as well.

Elphinstone tried to give her a small smile. "That's not my intention, but better safe than sorry, right?"

"I don't think I can agree with that until I know what exactly I would rather not want to be sorry about," Minerva replied.

"Right, well, do you remember Eion Northcroft?" Elphinstone asked almost timidly.

Minerva nodded. "You know I do. He was one of the biggest arrests I made during my time with the Squad."

"Yes, very true, but you probably don't know that he recently offered to divulge new information about some of his still unsolved crimes in exchange for his sentence in Azkaban to be reduced." Elphinstone paused as though he expected her to comment.

"I no longer have anything to do with such dealings of the Ministry," Minerva said. And she was immensely grateful for that.

"It doesn't really matter because Northcroft never actually got to the Ministry. He escaped during transport."

Minerva nearly dropped her cup of tea. "He did what? But that's supposed to be impossible!"

"It's impossible to break out of Azkaban, yes," Elphinstone agreed. "But they had already taken him off the island and somebody made the call not to bring along the Dementors and well, we don't really know what happened then, but it's clear he got his hands on a wand somehow."

"The Dementors are looking for him now?" Minerva assumed.

"Yes, and so are the Aurors, and I'm sure we'll catch him soon, but…" Elphinstone's voice trailed off unhappily.

"… you haven't yet," Minerva finished his sentence for him.

"No. The Aurors think that Northcroft will try to leave the country as soon as possible because that would be the easiest way for him to disappear for a while, and I must say I agree. However, there's a slight, highly unlikely possibility that he might come for you."

Minerva's eyebrows shot up. "Me? What good would that do him?"

"None whatsoever, but we don't know how his mind works. He could have spent all these years dreaming about revenge, or he might want to embarrass the Ministry further, or he could be following whatever depraved instincts made him murder innocent people in the first place." Elphinstone looked miserable and honestly concerned. "The fact of the matter is that you and you alone found and arrested him. I just want you to be prepared. Just in case. That's why I came here in person."

She leaned in and squeezed his hand. "Thank you. For warning me. But no one just walks right into Hogwarts to kill someone."

"Good, then perhaps just stay in the castle for a while, yes?" Elphinstone suggested with a slightly forced smile. "Just until we've caught him again."

"Perhaps it would be more prudent if I went out there to help you look for him," Minerva mused.

"No, no," Elphinstone said quickly. "I think you should stay right here. You're a teacher now, so go teach."

Before Minerva could respond to that, there was a knock on her office door and Albus entered with a bunch of papers in his hand.

"I apologise," he said when he saw that she had company. "I didn't mean to interrupt. I just thought I'd give you the exam questions you asked for."

"Thank you," Minerva replied and stood up to take the scrolls of parchment from him. "Albus, this is Elphinstone Urquart from the Magical Law Enforcement Squad," she added.

"Ah, yes, of course." Albus reached out to shake the other man's hand.

"We've caught glimpses of each other occasionally over the years, but there never seems to be enough time to talk," said Elphinstone. "Sadly, now is not the time either, since I'm only here because of the situa…"

"Because he wanted to catch up. With me," Minerva cut him off.

Both men gave her curious looks, and there was an awkward pause until Albus said, "Well, I will leave you to it then."

"I'm sorry," Elphinstone said once Albus had left. "I didn't realise you didn't want him to know."

"I don't see any reason to make a big deal out of this by alerting the staff."

Elphinstone shrugged. "Up to you, I guess. Just promise me that you'll be careful."

Minerva smiled softly. "I'll be fine."

Although he was needed back at the Ministry, Elphinstone made up excuses not to leave for a little while longer. When he finally left, Minerva skipped dinner in the Great Hall to catch up on the work she had meant to do this afternoon. She worked well past her usual bedtime, so when she finally went to bed, she really needed to get some sleep.

Instead, she lay on her back, staring at the ceiling with her eyes wide open. Her mind was racing with old memories. At first, she just thought back to when she had caught Northcroft in the hope of remembering something useful she could pass on to Elphinstone to help with the search. But with that came the memory of her rapid heartbeat and the fear in her veins when Northcroft's Killing Curse had only missed her by inches. The realisation that she wasn't at the top of her game because she had been too miserable to care, and the complete certainty that Northcroft would use that to kill her without batting an eye.

She had prevailed, but no one knew how close she had come to dying. The idea that the man who had almost killed her was now back out there, possibly hurting others, was more disconcerting than Minerva had expected. Earlier today she had sat in her warm, brightly lit office, surrounded by the hustle and bustle of students and teachers alike. Now she was alone in her cold, dark bedroom in an ominously quiet castle that had more entrances than most people realised.

Northcroft wasn't here, of course. She knew that. Day or night, light or dark, what she had told Elphinstone was still true. No one just walked into Hogwarts Castle with murder on their mind. Because if they did, they would have hundreds of innocent victims right there at their fingertips.

With a huff, Minerva threw back the covers and got out of bed. She considered putting on a dressing gown, but then she simply stepped out into the corridor and transformed. As a cat she didn't have her wand, which made her feel vulnerable, but she could see and hear a lot better and thus search the castle a lot faster.

It took the rest of the night until she was truly satisfied that the castle was safe. When she returned to her rooms, she fell onto her bed for all of five minutes before it was time for breakfast. She could have tried to sleep through it, but she hadn't eaten anything for hours.

Minerva dropped into her usual chair at the staff table in the Great Hall, wondering how she would teach her classes today if she was too tired to reach for some food even.

Somebody placed a bowl with a sharp citrusy scent right in front of her. "What's this?" she asked wearily.

"Fresh grapefruit with cinnamon," Albus replied cheerfully. "I hear it's great hangover food."

"I'm not hung over!" Minerva said indignantly, doing her best to sit up a little straighter.

"No? You weren't at dinner last night, so I thought you and Elphinstone had a…" Albus cleared his throat, "… late night, catching up."

Minerva was too exhausted to decipher all the nuances of what he was implying, but she didn't like it on principle. "First of all, if we had, it would be none of your business, and second, who even thinks of such a thing as grapefruit with cinnamon?"

"Someone who wants you to live a long and happy life, though we can settle for long and leave happy for when you're in a better mood," Albus replied, his eyes twinkling.

"And you think this will help with that?" Minerva asked dubiously, nodding towards the bowl of fruit.

"I will get you whatever it is you need if you tell me what it is," Albus told her. His tone was just a little too sincere to pass for another joke.

Minerva was definitely too exhausted to get into that, so she just ate her grapefruit.

The day passed agonisingly slowly, and after class was over, she still had exams to prepare. Minerva had never been one to procrastinate. Today she might have made an exception. But she was afraid that even if she were to go to bed, she wouldn't find sleep. She had hoped for a message from Elphinstone, but it hadn't come. Northcroft was still out there.

Later that evening, Minerva sat in an armchair, staring into the fireplace, imagining Northcroft's face as best as she could remember it. It was hazy, distorted, not by fear so much as anger. Anger that he dared to disrupt her life like this and be a potential threat to the people around her.

She must have dozed off a little because the next thing she noticed was a shadow falling over her and a tall figure closing in. Within seconds Minerva had her wand in her hand and a curse on her lips.

A Shield Charm flickered when her spell bounced off harmlessly. It brightened her dimly lit office for a moment. Enough to recognise the familiar face of her unannounced visitor.

"I take it that is a 'no' to hot chocolate to help you sleep," Albus said drily.

"Good Lord, I'm sorry!" Minerva breathed, sinking deeper into her chair and dropping her wand.

Albus swiftly sat in the chair next to her and leaned forward to rest a hand on top of her own. "You can curse me any time you want. But since there are less deserving targets who could come walking through that door, I really need you to talk to me, Minerva. What's going on?"

She heaved a sigh before she told him the truth. "Elphinstone wasn't here yesterday to catch up. He came to tell me that Eion Northcroft has escaped from custody."

Albus took a moment to place the name. "The dark wizard you arrested shortly before you ended your Ministry career? Why did I not hear about that?"

"They are hushing it up in the hope of catching him before they need to tell anyone," Minerva replied. "But they haven't yet."

"And Elphinstone thinks that he might be coming for you," Albus guessed shrewdly.

"It's unlikely, and it's silly, but… I spent last night patrolling the corridors," Minerva admitted. "Because if – for whatever reason – the students were to get hurt, I would never forgive myself."

Albus caressed the back of her hand with his thumb. "Minerva, Hogwarts is very well protected."

"I know that! I said it was silly, didn't I?" she snapped.

He looked at her thoughtfully for a moment. "Come with me," he said, rising.

"To do what?" Minerva asked stubbornly.

"Humour me. Please."

She met the look in his soft but equally determined blue eyes and gave in. They left her office and it didn't take long for Minerva to realise that they were heading for his instead. But she didn't comment, not until they had entered Albus' rooms and then his bedroom.

"You can have my bed for now," he explained simply.

Minerva had a little more to say than that. "How is that going to help? If I wanted to go to bed, I could bloody well sleep in my own rooms."

"Is that why you were up all night yesterday?" Albus countered.

"So I didn't sleep well…"

"… or at all."

"I'm not a child. I don't need you to tuck me in!" she argued.

Albus remained just as persistent. "Leaning on a friend doesn't make you a child," he said, his voice calm and reassuring, as always.

"But we just both agreed that this is unnecessary," Minerva reminded him. "He's not coming for me at Hogwarts."

"I'm not saying he is, but at night we all have irrational thoughts sometimes. I think it helps to know that someone is there. Someone who's more real than the fear."

They had reached a familiar point in their argument. The one where Minerva could no longer find or didn't even want to find a rebuttal because what Albus was saying was not only reasonable. It meant that he cared. Still, her eyes strayed towards the bed with some hesitation. Even if she accepted his offer, she wasn't clear what exactly he was proposing.

He seemed to read all that on her face. "I will be in my office. Fawkes will stay with you," he said. As if on cue, the phoenix flew over from his usual perch in the sitting room. He cocked his head and blinked at her with his beautiful, beady eyes.

With the two of them ganging up on her, Minerva was quite powerless to refuse. "Fine."

Albus smiled. "Sleep tight then."

He left for his office while Minerva stood there, feeling awkward, for a moment longer. But Merlin's Beard, she really just wanted to go to sleep. It might hurt her pride a little, but knowing that Albus was so close – smelling him on the very pillow she would rest her head on –, it made her feel warm and protected. And that feeling stubbornly refused to go away.

So she took off her shoes and crawled onto the bed. Only it wasn't quite that simple. The irrational fear that Northcroft might find a way to get into Hogwarts had only been part of the problem. Exchanging her bed for Albus' didn't mean that Minerva could just shut off her brain.

In that moment Fawkes began to sing. Softly, barely loud enough to be heard in the next room, but the melody was so peaceful and uplifting that it magically seemed to force all of her dark thoughts to dissipate. In fact, it probably was magic.

A phoenix lullaby.

As soon as Minerva surrendered to it, she was fast asleep.

She was patrolling the corridors again. She knew there was no use, but she couldn't sleep in Albus' bed every night. This wasn't a temporary state of emergency anymore. It seemed this would become her new normal. She would always be looking over her shoulder, just a little. The Ministry still hadn't caught Northcroft, and by now Minerva suspected that they were quite incapable of doing so.

Most likely, it meant that Northcroft had fled the country, which was good as far as the safety of Hogwarts was concerned. But it left Minerva without closure. Patrolling the castle when she couldn't sleep had become a habit.

Tonight she was in her human form, which meant that she had one hand on her wand at all times. She was almost done with her usual round and was about to turn back when she heard a scream that made her blood curdle.

Minerva ran down the stairs and stopped dead. There he was, standing right in the middle of the Entrance Hall, and he had a student in a chokehold, his wand pressed against her temple. It was one of the Gryffindor first-years, the little sister of the Prewett brothers.

"Don't you dare hurt her!" Minerva hissed, trying to ban the fear from her voice.

Northcroft wasn't fooled. "Drop your wand!" he ordered her with a lewd grin.

He knew he had won. If she dropped her wand, she was dead. If she didn't drop it, little Molly was dead. It was an easy choice, and yet Minerva really didn't want to die.

She lowered her wand, her hands shaking. Northcroft laughed. Green light flashed in front of her eyes.

And Minerva sat bolt upright in bed.

She blinked, shaken from her nightmare and confused because these were not her usual surroundings. This was not her bed.

Slowly, reality came rushing back in and Minerva took a deep breath. This dream had felt disturbingly real. Perhaps it was an aftereffect of being sung to sleep by a phoenix. She looked around and saw that Fawkes was sleeping as well with his head tucked under his wing. If the phoenix was at peace, all had to be well, Minerva told herself.

Nevertheless, something made her rise from the bed. The sitting room was dark, but she could see a flicker of light coming from Albus' office.

He looked up from a book he was reading by candlelight when she entered. "Why are you up?" he asked. "I promise you there's no one in the castle who shouldn't be."

"In my dreams they are," Minerva confessed. "Which is proof, by the way, that I did sleep."

"Only for a few hours," Albus said critically.

"That's more than you have. Why are you still up?" she asked in return.

"You know I don't sleep much."

Minerva watched the light of the candle dance in the reflection of his half-moon spectacles. "Then either we both sleep or neither one of us does."

Albus closed his book with a thud. "That is completely illogical."

"Nothing about this feels very logical right now," Minerva admitted.

"All right," he conceded with a sigh. "I will try to catch some sleep on the sofa then."

"Don't be ridiculous." Minerva pulled him to his feet and back into the bedroom.

"Minerva?" For the first time she caught a flicker of uncertainty in his eyes.

It was oddly satisfying to have turned the tables on him. "I've tried to sit and read on that sofa. I don't want to hear you complain tomorrow about how you've thrown your back out," she explained while she sank onto the bed.

It took a moment longer, but then she could feel the bed shift as Albus slowly lay down next to her.

Minerva turned onto her side, resting her head on her elbow. "Why don't you let Fawkes sing you to sleep?" she asked quietly. "When you're lying awake, I mean. It worked wonders for me. For a while."

Albus shifted to mirror her position. "He does that sometimes. But there are some aches that even a phoenix's magic can't soothe, so it doesn't always work."

"Perhaps you need what you offered me. Someone to be there," Minerva suggested.

"I offered that to make you feel safe. How does that work if we both sleep?"

"I guess it doesn't. But I refuse to give him that power over me. If I sit here and worry, he has already won," Minerva decided.

She could only see a hint of it in the dark, but she could hear the smile in Albus' voice. "I'm beginning to feel sorry for him if he ever does come for you."

His words brought a smile to Minerva's lips as well, but also a warning. "He nearly killed me the last time," she confessed. "I was careless. I went in there without a wand!"

"When I went to face Gellert," Albus said after a pause, "there was a moment when I couldn't remember a single spell. It was as if my heart had erased them all."

"What happened then?"

"Thankfully, I already had some practice in keeping my heart under lock and key, so my mind reasserted itself, and the rest is history."

"Don't say it like that," Minerva told him. "Like it's just a page in a history book."

"It literally is," Albus pointed out.

Minerva shook her head. "Not to you, and not to me. I know what it took from you."

"Yes, you do," he acknowledged, sounding somewhat amazed, as if he didn't know how that had happened.

Neither did Minerva, truth be told.

"I still think you should sleep," Albus said into the silence.

"You first," Minerva replied.

He laughed softly. "Will you let me say something without sending another curse my way?"

"No promises."

"Fair enough," he chuckled, but then his voice changed. It was low and unwavering. "I will not let him or anyone hurt you, Minerva."

She needed a moment to sort through the different emotions that threatened to overwhelm her, ranging from indignation to affection. "I believe you," she said eventually. "And I'm willing to accept it, too. But you need to let me do the same for you."

Albus sighed. "I fear no one can fight my demons for me."

"Not for you, with you," Minerva corrected.

"How about you let me sleep on it?" he joked.

"Fine, but don't you dare run off in the night," she replied and shifted onto her other side to get a few more hours of sleep.

She wasn't sure if she was still awake or already dreaming when she thought she heard Albus respond, "Where would I run if not towards you?"