A/N: Hello again! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday. Here's another chapter for you. Once again I wrote so much that I decided to split this chapter in two, so I'll have the next part up very soon.

Enjoy!

~Neve

No one really speaks as we make our way to the infirmary, nor when we reach it. Poppy guides me to one of the beds, and I sit on it without protest. I see the Headmaster levitating a still knocked out Kettleburn into another bed.

The room is almost unnervingly silent as Poppy evaluates and treats my injured arm. I have to bite the inside of my mouth hard enough to draw blood to keep myself from screaming as she moves it around, but I don't make a sound. Everyone is still staring at me, but I can't really blame them for it so I force myself to ignore my discomfort.

Finally, Poppy finishes what she's doing and I breathe a sigh of relief. When she comes to stand in front of me, she sighs.

"Well, Minerva, you definitely did a number on yourself, but again I'm shocked it wasn't much worse. That was the arm you caught Silvanus with, wasn't it?"

I nod.

"I thought so. You dislocated your shoulder and elbow, and your wrist is severely sprained, but I'm amazed that it wasn't dislocated too. I've fixed them, but I'd feel more comfortable if you wore a sling on that arm to avoid using it unnecessarily and giving it more time to fully heal on its own."

"Poppy—"

"Yes, Minerva, I know it isn't ideal but you have to understand that it's a bloody miracle you weren't killed! Count yourself lucky you're able to walk out of here so easily!"

That immediately shuts me up, and one glance around the room tells me that while they might have all been thinking the same thing, the possibility being said aloud shocks everyone. I don't make a single sound of protest while she helps me into the thing, either.

"Professor McGonagall," The Headmaster is the first to recover from his shock, and he steps forward as Poppy finishes. "Is what Madame Hooch said true?"

I nod, "Yes, she was correct. We were surveying from the skies as you requested, but when we got closer to the Astronomy Tower, that's when I saw Kettleburn with the Chimera. We were just debating how to handle the situation when the creature lunged for him. Kettleburn, he…"

I pause, remembering the screaming and the way my stomach twisted watching it happen.

I clear my throat. "He jumped back trying to avoid it, but he was too close to the edge. He ended up tipping himself over, and before I even fully realized what I was doing I was racing on the broom to catch him."

Armando nods, looking shocked but grateful. "I see. Well, let me be the first one to say thank you, Professor McGonagall. The outcome of today would have been quite different had you not been there."

I'm not sure why I'm so surprised by his gratefulness, because of course logically it would be expected, but I still can't believe it. At one time any good deed I attempted was only met with suspicion and disgust, never this.

"You're… you're welcome, Headmaster. Of course."

He nods, giving me a slight bow, "I'm very happy you're alright, dear. If you need anything at all, please do not hesitate to come to me. For now, I'm afraid I must leave you to check on the progress of the rest of the staff."

"Thank you, Headmaster." I manage to give him a small smile, which he returns before he leaves and closes the doors behind him.

It's silent once again in the room, and part of me almost wishes someone would just say something.

I glance at Albus, who's standing the closest to me besides Poppy, but from the look on his face right now something tells me I would rather not have any one witnessing the conversation I feel is coming.

It's this thought that has me looking in Rolanda's direction. She's standing, almost slumping against the wall, and she's staring at me so intensely I'm surprised I didn't notice it before. The woman looks oddly pale, and my eyebrows almost immediately knit together in concern.

"Rolanda?"

There's no immediate response, but I find myself stepping down from the bed and moving closer to her. I can't stifle the gasp when I realize there are tears in her eyes.

"Rolanda! Are you—"

"Don't." Her voice is barely above a whisper, but the power behind it surprises me. What's going on? Is she this upset by what happened outside?

"Ro, please, it's okay! I'm fine—"

"Don't!" She yells this time, pushing off of the wall and coming closer. "Do you have a death wish, Minerva?!"

I jolt at her question, and I can hear Albus's sharp intake of breath behind me.

"W-What? Of course not, what kind of question is that! Don't be ridiculous!" I can't help but answer indignantly, because surely that can't be a serious question!

"Then you must have completely lost your mind! Why would you pull a stunt like that?"

I can't hide the irritation I feel now, because this is the third time someone's asked a question like that and I can't understand why anyone thinks it's a valid question.

"What did you expect me to do, Rolanda?" I don't quite yell back at her, but my voice does rise.

"He was falling over a hundred feet toward certain death! I couldn't just sit there and watch! I physically wouldn't have been able to restrain myself even if I wanted to, and I didn't want to!"

Rolanda just stares at me for a moment, and as I stare back at her I realize the tears that were in her eyes a moment ago are now falling onto her cheeks, and I feel my expression soften.

"Rolanda. Come here." I tell her, extending my left arm toward her. She doesn't move, and at first I fear she'll push my arm away, but the next moment she's closing the distance between us and almost slams into me.

She doesn't make a sound, but it barely takes a second before I feel sudden wetness on my shoulder. Not for the first time, I'm grateful for the extra water repelling charms on my clothes.

"Sh, Rolanda. It's okay. Please don't be so upset, I'm right here. I'm fine."

"I know you wouldn't have been able to just sit by and watch. I know that, and I know the only reason that stupid git is alive is because of you. But that doesn't change the fact that it was absolutely terrifying to watch."

I feel myself smile just a little when she refers to Kettleburn without actually using his name, but I sigh.

"I'm sorry I scared you, Ro."

Rolanda hugs me tighter when she hears my apology, but then she pulls away and wipes her eyes.

"Dammit Minerva, leave it to you to be the one to make me bloody cry!" She almost reprimands me, but it's harder to take seriously when she's still sniffling, so it makes me chuckle instead.

"That certainly wasn't my intention."

"I know." She sniffs, "But dammit, don't do it again!"

The tension in the room seems to dissipate as I hear small chuckles coming from both Albus and Poppy, and I look over at Poppy to see her smiling at us, although her eyes look curiously wet.

I turn back to Rolanda and smile warmly at her, "I'll do my best." I tell her, pulling her in for one more comforting hug.

A loud groan interrupts the moment, and I turn my head to the next bed to see Silvanus beginning to sit up. Poppy's spell must just be wearing off.

All four of us turn to look at him, and the first thing I notice is that he's much calmer now, though he does look confused.

"What's going on?"

Silence meets his question, and we all glance at each other for a second before looking back at him. As expected, Poppy is the one to answer him.

"You're lucky to be alive, Professor Kettleburn."

I know it's not the explanation he was expecting, but it's obviously enough, because his eyes suddenly widen and he rubs his hand over his face.

"Oh my God. The Chimera… I almost died…"

"Yes."

Being a medi-witch, Poppy is kind, but she's also extremely direct. So, when she confirms his statement out-right, no part of me is surprised.

However, the hard edge to her voice is what has me turning toward her. She's staring directly at the man sitting on the bed. Her jaw is set and she's glaring at him almost furiously.

There's a part of me that almost feels bad for Silvanus, because he did almost die, but it's obvious that Poppy's level of sympathy is nearly non-existent.

"However, you're still alive, thank Merlin. A miracle you can thank Minerva for."

My eyes widen and my mouth falls open as I give her a questioning look. Her blue eyes look at me now, almost daring me to make light of saving him. I snap my mouth shut.

"W-What?" His voice is suddenly low, and I can't make myself look at him to see the look on his face.

"She caught you as you were falling, on her broom." Rolanda supplies, but she keeps it short and her voice also has a sudden hard edge to it.

"B-but… How am I not hurt? I remember; we were still falling."

"Albus and the Headmaster ran outside just as she caught you. Albus managed to slow you both down just enough not to injure you when you hit the ground."

My head whips around to Albus, who steps closer to Rolanda, Poppy and I. His voice must have been what I thought I heard when we were falling, when it felt like we were suddenly slowing down. I realize at that moment that my injuries would have likely been much worse had he not been there.

I open my mouth to say something to him, but Silvanus interrupts me before I can get my thoughts together.

"Thank you, Professor Dumbledore."

Utter silence fills the room again after Silvanus's words, along with most of the tension I worked so hard to get rid of a few minutes ago. No one moves for a moment, and part of me wonders why Poppy, Rolanda and Albus all seem to be varying degrees of upset.

"You're welcome, Professor Kettleburn." Albus responds, though his voice seems oddly strained, as if he's trying somewhat unsuccessfully to hide his anger. Although precisely why he would be angry for being thanked baffles me.

"However," He says just a moment later. "I feel I must make you aware of the severity of the situation. It is true that I slowed your descent, but the fact that I managed to was pure luck, Silvanus."

"Considering the speed of your fall and the momentum you'd built up at that point, no amount of magic could have saved you had Professor McGonagall not been there. You owe your life solely to her."

His voice is shaking now, but I can't tell if it's from anger or something else. My mouth falls open once again, and I stare at all three of them as they in turn stare at the man that's now almost slumped on the bed.

"She thought nothing of her own safety when she raced to catch you from certain death. A decision that resulted in multiple dislocations and a severe sprain. An act of such selflessness that I daresay you may not have repaid, considering your past behavior where she was concerned."

I almost gasp when he says these words, because he can't honestly believe that, can he? I don't hear anyone else disputing the statement, though. Regardless of how much of a complete imbecile Kettleburn has been to me in the past months, I find it hard to believe that had our situations been reversed, he would have done nothing. Then again, I also can't say with one hundred percent certainty that he would have done the same, either.

If possible, Kettleburn only seems to slump further down on the bed. I find it difficult to look at him and it seems he's having difficulty looking at me as well, though I do feel his eyes on me for a few seconds before he looks away again.

I see him nod slightly out of the corner of my eye before he speaks in a voice almost too low to hear.

"Can I go?"

I almost feel, rather than see, the glares in the room get more intense and Poppy answers him in a voice that holds barely-contained anger.

"You may go whenever you wish, Professor Kettleburn. As you can see, you are completely uninjured. Something else you can thank Minerva for."

Kettleburn says nothing else as he slowly gets off the bed and, almost as if he's in a daze, walks out of the infirmary with the doors closing softly behind him.

The moment the doors are shut, I turn on my heel to stare incredulously at the three people behind me.

"Why would you do that? It wasn't necessary for you to—"

"Yes it was." Albus interrupts me firmly, apparently already anticipating what I was going to say. "Kettleburn needed to be made aware of the severity of his actions."

"But for all of you to get so angry… I don't see why. After all, even if I was the only one injured, he did nearly die."

"Yes." Poppy concedes, "However, he didn't, thanks to you. Besides, neither of you would have been in such a perilous situation to begin with if he had better control of his bloody creatures."

"The git didn't even thank you for saving his life! I have half a mind to—"

While the others have relaxed a bit, Rolanda seems to still be riled up so I put up a hand to stop her before she makes up her mind to go after Silvanus.

"I don't expect him to thank me, Rolanda." I tell her with a sigh.

Rolanda stares at me as if I've completely lost my mind. "Well you should! Good deeds should be met with gratitude at the very least!"

I'm already ready to argue with her, but these words completely stop me in my tracks and my mouth snaps shut. Not for the first time today, I find myself completely disarmed because Rolanda, just like Headmaster Dippet, seems so genuine. Not just that, but she's so riled up and offended on my behalf because I didn't get the recognition that she feels I should have gotten from the man I saved. It's so different from what I was used to in Oz.

"Why do you look so shocked?" Poppy asks, and it's enough to snap me back to reality.

"What?"

"You look completely dumbfounded that we believe that you should be thanked for doing what you did today. What is it? Are you used to being condemned for doing good deeds where you're from?"

I know Poppy says it as a joke, but from the way I jump just slightly when she asks the question, suddenly the amusement in her eyes disappears and her face turns solemn. I shake my head minutely.

"That's—that's not the point! You didn't need to defend me."

"That most certainly is the point." Poppy pushes back. "You're obviously not used to anyone recognizing how extraordinarily kind you are, Minerva. Not to mention the fact that that man has done his best to make you miserable for months, yet you still risked your life to save him."

I can't recall anyone ever using such words to describe me before, but I ignore that for the moment and focus on the more troubling part of her statement.

"But, that's not… that's no reason to watch someone die. For Merlin's sake, I'm not a monster. It doesn't matter what he's done to me, of course I would have."

"Exactly," She says, as if I just proved her point. I shake my head, slightly frustrated with their insistence that I did something extraordinary.

I stay quiet, which gives Rolanda the chance to speak.

"We're your friends, Min. Of course we're going to defend you, especially when it's obvious you have no desire to do it for yourself. Even when you don't want us to."

I open my mouth to answer her, but I genuinely can't think of a response to something like that. I close my eyes and pinch the bridge of my nose, sighing tiredly. Today has involved far too much excitement for my taste, and I have a sneaking suspicion that it's not quite over with, either.

I open my eyes, looking back up at the three people in front of me. All of them look downright determined to win this battle, and I can't quite decide if I'm more confused or frightened by that idea, because it's certainly not something I've ever experienced before. Even Glinda, as kind as she was to me for that brief time, never openly defended me like they have today.

Even so, I also find myself strangely relieved, and… well, happy, with this. It's this realization that finally causes me to smile at them, looking at each of them in turn. I almost laugh at their expressions, because I think they expected me to put up more of a fight.

"Thank you," I tell them, as genuinely as I can manage at the moment.

"I don't… I have no experience with such things, but…"

I look down at my hands, "I can't even begin to explain to you how grateful I am to all of you for your support. It…"

I take a deep breath, looking back up at them.

"Well, it means more to me than you know."

It's a simple enough statement, I think, but I suddenly see Poppy's eyes fill with tears again and Rolanda looks like she's struggling herself. Before I have the time to become concerned that I upset them again, both women suddenly ambush me as they simultaneously pull me into a hug.

After a moment's hesitation, I relax into it, and I smile to myself and join into their laughter as I hug them both in return as best I can despite the sling. Over both of their shoulders, I see Albus, who elected to stay where he was. For the briefest of moments, I think I see him smile before it's gone.

A/N: I hope you liked it! The next part should be up either today or in the next few days. Minerva's not going to get off quite so easy just yet!

Thank you all, and Happy New Year!

Please review!

Until next time...

~Neve