A/N: Hello again! I hope everyone is having an amazing holiday season, and I am happy to say I have an update for you.

Enjoy, and please review!

January 1943

The first week of the new term after the holiday is hectic, to say the least. Students have been adjusting back into their normal routines after so long away. It was obvious to every professor that it took at least a few days before any of the information we were teaching actually committed into the students' memories. I found myself chuckling softly when I heard students groaning in protest or complaining quietly to their friends when professors assigned homework the first day of classes. It is not in the nature of a Hogwarts professor to go easy on their students, much to their dismay.

Even being hectic, I was happy to see the students return to the castle. I was beginning to feel restless with nothing to do, and I'm grateful that Kettleburn and Riddle have seemed to let go of any imagined slights they had against me last term. Both seem to be keeping their distance, thank Merlin.

Perhaps it's a good sign, I think to myself during dinner one night. Maybe this means it will be a fairly quiet term. Usually I don't like to jinx myself with these kinds of thoughts, but being optimistic would be a welcome change this year.

It's been a few weeks since the new term began, and things have finally settled down in the castle, much to every adult's relief. It's my turn on patrol duty tonight as well, which I've actually been looking forward to this week. The castle is deadly quiet at this time, but rather than finding it creepy and unnerving like some of my colleagues, I find it to be kind of nice. It can be a welcome break from the usual noise and activity.

I turn the corner, noting almost belatedly that I'm nearing the Hufflepuff common room, which means my rounds are nearly finished. I sigh in relief, suddenly excited to be going to bed, only now realizing how tired I am. This week has been a tough one, and to think it's only Wednesday!

Suddenly I trip, nearly slipping on something on the ground, making me gasp in surprise. I turn, looking down, expecting to find water or something to that effect. What I find causes my breath to catch.

On the floor of the hallway is a student. She's sprawled out as if she'd fallen there quite unexpectedly. The only thing that looks as if it'd been moved was her robe, which must be what I slipped on.

"Oh my God, what in the name of…"

I quickly move toward her and kneel. She is white as a sheet, and it's not just her face. Every part of her body I can see seems to have taken on this sickly pale tone. Her eyes are wide open and the only thing she has with her seems to be a small compact mirror, still clutched in her left hand. I recognize her as Olivia Green, a fifth year Hufflepuff.

"Miss Green? Miss Green! Can you hear me?"

There is not a single movement from the poor girl. I move to touch her hand, more fearful now than ever.

"Olivia-"

The instant my hand touches hers, I gasp and pull away as if I'd been burned.

Her skin is cold as ice. Panic stricken, I quickly send a message to Albus and Armando, telling them to hurry and where to find me.

With that done, I sit on the floor beside Olivia Green. I touch her hand again, forcing myself to ignore the deathly temperature and horrible feeling of dread it gives me. I push away all of the red flags jumping out at me, focusing instead on giving the child some form of comfort, even if I'm not sure she can feel it.

Albus rushed through the hallways much quicker than he ever thought he would at this time. He'd been startled awake by Minerva's message, telling him there'd been an emergency and to come as quickly as he could. He had no idea what the emergency was, but he was afraid. Minerva's voice sounded more unnerved than he'd ever heard it; almost panicked. She's usually so calm; he's seen her angry before, but never genuinely frightened like she sounded. The thought made him quicken his pace; dread filling him with each step closer to Minerva's location.

The sight that greeted him as he turned the last corner made his breath catch in his throat.

"Oh my God, Minerva, what's happened?!" Albus asked as he rushed to her spot on the floor next to the fallen student.

Minerva looked up at him upon hearing him speak. She looked frightened, but the relief she felt at seeing him was obvious on her face.

"I have no idea! This is how I found her."

Albus bent to help her stand, but his hand lingered on her arm.

He paused, looking at the student more closely. "Is that Olivia Green?"

Minerva nodded, "I was on patrol… I was nearly finished with my rounds. I didn't even notice her until I tripped on her robes. I don't know what happened!"

Her long hair shook around her shoulders as she shook her head. Albus figured she must have let it down during patrol. He tightened his hold on her arm, pulling her against his side in an attempt to give her more comfort. He was shocked when she allowed him to do it with no protest.

"Oh, Albus, what happened to the poor girl?" She looked up at him, and seeing the unusually bright green of her eyes amplified by unshed tears made his chest tighten. She looked as though she was in pain.

"We will figure it out Minerva, I assure you."

Just as the words left his mouth, he heard footsteps approaching and a moment later, Armando Dippet's voice.

"So sorry for the delay, it took a bit longer to get my wits about me at such a late hour. Now then, what is this emergency you—sweet Merlin!"

Minerva and Albus heard his voice from around the corner, but neither bothered to answer his inquiry. Armando almost immediately gasped when he saw the answer for himself, making his way toward the scene as quickly as his age would allow.

"My God, the poor child! What happened?"

"We don't know. She was found like this during patrol."

"Is she…" The headmaster seemed afraid to ask the question he needed an answer to.

"She's alive, Headmaster." Minerva spoke suddenly from her place at Albus's side. "I made sure of it. She's freezing, her body is completely rigid, and she doesn't seem to be conscious despite her eyes being open, but her heart is beating. She's alive." Her voice cracked with her last words.

Armando looked at her, and the relief was obvious on his face even though the fear was definitely still there. He took a deep breath.

"Good, good… Albus, could you please levitate Miss Green? We need to take her to the hospital wing."

Before Albus even had the chance to reach for his wand, Minerva's was already out, "I'll do it." She spoke quietly, doing as the headmaster asked with just a simple wave of her wand.

Armando gave her a small nod before turning away and beginning to walk down the hall. Albus followed behind him for a moment before turning to glance at Minerva. She was walking beside Miss Green, and he was more than a little surprised to see her grasping the girl's hand as she walked with her. Minerva followed his gaze, seeing what had caused the slight surprise suddenly on his face. She did not move her hand though; instead she looked back up into his eyes. Albus found it hard not to drop his gaze from her. The heartbreaking look on her face was almost too much for him, but he attempted a reassuring smile anyway.

He turned away from her then, following closely behind Armando, who was too preoccupied with his own thoughts to notice the silent exchange behind him.

Albus, Minerva and Armando made the journey swiftly for Miss Green's sake, but silently. None of them knew quite what to say. The headmaster had alerted Poppy of their pending arrival, so she was already up and waiting for them when they arrived. Her eyes widened when she saw the reason for their unusual late night visit.

"Oh my! What in Merlin's name happened?" She asked, gesturing them toward the nearest bed.

"We don't know. She was found not far from the Hufflepuff common room." Albus explained, watching Minerva levitate the girl gently onto the bed. "I imagine she was slightly late, so no one saw her in the hallway. She must have been there for hours."

Poppy nodded, "I'll run some tests. She's alive, but that's all I know right now. Hopefully I'll have a clearer answer by tomorrow."

"Good," Armando agrees, "I'm going to call an emergency staff meeting when you've finished so we can discuss it further. Do you all think you can be ready for that?"

Each of his employees simply nodded in agreement, all too stunned or confused. The only thing they could do was stare at the poor girl lying motionless on the bed.

Armando calls his promised staff meeting three days after I find Olivia in the hallway. It takes Poppy that long to run all of her tests, and Armando didn't want to alarm anyone yet when we didn't even have all of the information. Miss Green's professors have noticed her absence the last couple of days, but Armando must have told them something to placate them, though I have no idea what that could be.

During the three-day wait, Albus has been checking on me constantly. I tried not to make it obvious how disturbed finding the girl made me because I didn't want to worry him, but I should have known it was hopeless. Albus was the first one to find us; he knows me well enough now to know when I'm upset, and let's be fair; that night keeping my stoic facade up certainly wasn't the first thing on my mind. I can't get Olivia Green out of my head. I've visited her every day, and each time I'm more disappointed than the last to find her condition hasn't improved in the slightest.

If Armando is calling this meeting now, it must mean Poppy has finally collected as much information as she can. As I make my way to the meeting, I hope desperately that not only has she found out what happened to Miss Green, but also that she's found a solution.

"Good afternoon, everyone. I apologize for the rather sudden announcement of this meeting, but I only just discovered this morning that I would need to see all of you today."

Armando pauses, no doubt trying to think of an appropriate way to tell them the news. I commend him for it, but with news like this I doubt a decent strategy exists. He must come to the same conclusion, because a moment later he looks up at each of us with solemn eyes.

"I know a few of you have come to me expressing concern for Olivia Green. I have not been able to disclose the full reason for her absence until now, as I did not want to create unnecessary worry. Only a handful of people in the room know what I am about to tell you, but I am afraid I cannot keep it a secret any longer. It would seem that Olivia Green has been attacked. She was found a few nights ago in a corridor closest to the Hufflepuff common room during patrol."

As expected, things get a little out of control when Armando utters these words. Panic, shock and quite a lot of yelling and questions are thrown throughout the room in a matter of moments. When Armando is finally able to get control of the room again, Professor Merrythought is the first one to speak.

"But Armando, how could this have happened? What happened to her?"

"I don't know, Galatea. Madame Pomfrey has been attempting to discover just that. Madame?" He turns to Poppy, and not even a second later every pair of eyes in the room is staring at her.

I almost immediately feel bad for Poppy; the poor woman looks terrified. "I've run every test I can think of, Armando. I even called in one of St. Mungo's healers yesterday for a second opinion, but the answers were all the same. We have no idea what's wrong with her."

"But how can that be?" Professor Beery asks the question before the Headmaster can.

Poppy shrugs, looking miserable. "It's not a spell, curse, or any potion that we know to exist. I've looked in every book I can find but nothing matches the description of her symptoms, nor have I found any way to counteract it. She's just… she's just frozen. Nothing we've tried in the last three days has done anything to change her condition. I'm so sorry, Headmaster."

The room is deathly quiet and everyone just sits completely still in their chairs. I glance over at Poppy beside me and realize that she started crying at some point, looking beyond ashamed of herself. Seeing her tears, I suddenly notice that my own eyes are burning, and finally become aware that my vision has become blurry listening to Poppy's words.

I force myself not to let them fall, and instead I distract myself by grabbing hold of Poppy's hand on the arm of her chair, squeezing it reassuringly. She stares at our joined hands before looking up at me. She sees my tears too, but she doesn't point them out. The sheer relief and gratefulness I see in her eyes when she looks at me almost causes the tears to fall again.

The sudden cough from Armando jolts everyone out of his or her state of shock, but as I turn back toward him, I don't remove my hand from Poppy's and she doesn't pull away. Instead, she squeezes back, as if to say thank you.

The staff meeting ended rather abruptly. After Poppy spoke, no one really knew how to respond. Albus and Armando attempted to reassure everyone that Miss Green's condition wasn't permanent, but I think everyone was too shocked to really take it to heart.

Later that day I find myself in the infirmary again, once again mildly disappointed to find Olivia Green motionless on the bed in the same position I discovered her in. The chair I was using the day before is still pulled up next to her bed, and I walk over and sit there again. I don't say anything to Miss Green; the most I ever do is take her hand and squeeze it, but there are times I just sit with her. I doubt she even senses anyone is with her, but on the off chance she can, I feel like I need to do something for her. Right now, it's all I can do.

"Back again?"

I turn my head to see Poppy standing at the end of the bed, giving me a sad smile.

I nod, returning the smile. "Are you alright?"

Now Poppy nods, but I instantly don't believe it. She must know, because instead she sighs.

"I don't know. This is my job, Minerva. I'm supposed to be a healer, but I can't do anything for this poor girl. She's still only a child." She shakes her head, the poor attempt at a smile now completely abandoned.

"This is going to sound awful, but I almost find it difficult to look at her anymore, because every time I do I feel like I'm failing her. I can't tell you how many times I've apologized to her, asked her to forgive me, and I'm not even sure she can hear it!"

I'm out of my chair in a moment, placing a hand on Poppy's shoulder to comfort her. When I see the tears in her eyes again, though, I pull her toward me and hug her without a second thought. If things weren't so tense, I would find this situation comical. Only a few years ago I never would have considered doing this for anyone; I used to avoid contact with other people at all costs. Then again, no one ever wanted to get close enough for me to try, anyway.

"Shh," I whisper, "It's alright, Poppy. I'm sure she can hear you. Besides, if she can't then you and I both are fools; because I've come here every day on the off chance she can sense me. You have nothing to apologize for, you didn't do this to her. You are wonderful at your job, Poppy, don't let this make you doubt yourself."

I pull away from the hug, but I don't move away from her or remove my hand. "We may not know what is wrong with her, but I promise you we will find out. She won't be like this permanently. I don't know how long it will take, but I know you won't rest until she's well again."

Poppy nods, managing to smile at me again. "Thank you, Minerva. I'm sorry I fell apart for a moment there."

I shake my head, "Don't apologize; everyone needs a little help now and then."

She looks at me a moment before managing a small laugh, "That's funny coming from you; I wish you'd take your own advice every now and then."

I shrug, waving it off.

"Thank you for earlier, at the staff meeting Minerva. Truly. It meant a lot to me to feel like not everyone in the room thought I was a failure."

"I'm happy I was able to help, but you are not a failure, and I'm sure no one else feels that way either. We're going to figure this out, I promise. We're going to find out what happened to her, and we are going to find out who did this to her."

Now Poppy looks at me, slightly shocked. "Minerva, what are you saying? You think someone purposely attacked her?"

I look down at my feet, "I'm not sure. It's… I don't know how to explain it. It's just a feeling I have. Someone is responsible for this."

"But… Minerva why? What kind of a person would do this to someone intentionally?"

I sigh, looking again at Olivia Green's still form on the bed. "I don't know, Poppy. I honestly don't know."

A/N: Things are about to get interesting, folks. Thank you for reading!

Please review! I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Happy Holidays!

~Neve