Chapter 8 – The Woman from the Ministry
James woke to find himself surrounded by faces. As he looked up he could see his dormmates as well as Professors McGonagall and Longbottom all looking down on him.
"Are you alright Mr Potter?" Professor McGonagall concernedly said.
"Yeah I'm fine. I don't know what happened," James said as he propped himself up on his elbows, his head throbbing and he looked across the room and saw the wand still laying there beside the door. "The wand!" he cried out.
"Yes don't worry about that, we will look into that shortly," McGonagall said, her face full of concern and worry. "Neville do you know where Algernon is?"
"I think he's gone to Hogsmeade this evening," Professor Longbottom replied.
"Would you kindly send an owl for him immediately. I feel this is his area of expertise. And you Mr Potter need to go to the hospital ward so Madam Pomfrey can check you over."
"But I'm fine Miss," James protested.
"No 'buts'. It wasn't a suggestion. Come now can you stand?" McGonagall said as she stood and held out a hand to help James up as Professor Longbottom quickly exited the room and gave the wand on the floor a wide berth as he did.
James stood and started to walk towards the door with Professor McGonagall right behind him and looked to the wand and started to feel faint again. "What are you going to do with that?" he asked pointing to it.
"Well I think it's best no one touches it don't you? Wingardium Leviosa," she said with a flick of her own wand and the other wand lifted from the ground and floated beside her as she held her wand out to control it.
When James got to the hospital ward Madam Pomfrey did all kinds of checks on him. She took his temperature, tested his reflexes, shone her lit wand into his eyes, made him walk in a straight line and waved her wand over him several times but could find nothing obviously wrong with him.
"Professor McGonagall has asked for you to go to her office if you're feeling well enough. I see no reason why you can't go but only if you're feeling up to it?"
"I'm fine," James said, feeling everyone was making a fuss over him for no reason and didn't particularly want to spend any more time in the hospital ward than he had to.
Madam Pomfrey escorted James to the headmistress' office. They stood in front of a stone gargoyle of a bird which to James looked very intimidating and not inviting at all. Madam Pomfrey said something but James didn't catch it and the gargoyle started to rotate and move upwards, revealing a staircase.
"Up you go," Pomfrey said and James hesitantly stepped forward onto the moving stairs and was carried upwards.
Eventually the stone staircase stopped moving and James walked up the last few steps and found himself in a large circular room filled with various unusual things. There were numerous silver instruments on tables dotted around the room that were making funny noises and some were emitting puffs of smoke. There was also a roaring fire and the walls were covered with portraits which James knew to be former headmasters. And in the middle of the room was a large claw-footed desk that McGonagall was sat behind.
"Good to see you're OK Mr Potter, do take a seat," she said pointing to the chair on the opposite side of her desk.
James took a seat but was still too busy looking around at all the wonderful things in the room that he didn't look at McGonagall.
"I actually thought I'd be seeing you in my office a lot sooner than this if you were anything like your father," McGonagall joked and James finally turned to look at her.
"Do you know where that wand came from?" James asked nervously.
"I'm not sure but I have an idea. I'm just waiting on Professor Payne to get back from Hogsmeade to take a look at it and I thought it was also a good idea to contact the Ministry. They're sending someone right away too."
As if on cue James heard the grinding of stone as the staircase came up again and Professor Payne stepped off.
"Professor, Mr Potter," he said greeting them both with a curt nod of his head.
"Thank you for coming Algernon. Did Neville fill you in?"
"Yes he did," Payne replied.
"Good. As I was just saying to Mr Potter we are also waiting on someone from the Ministry. Shall we wait for them or would you like to examine the wand now?"
"Please I would like to look at it straight away. Where is it?" he said eagerly, clearly intrigued by what he had heard had happened.
"I've locked it in the draw over there," McGonagall said, pointing to a cabinet to the right of the room and Professor Payne stepped over to it.
Suddenly the flames of the fire turned green and gave the room an eerie look as it was bathed in the oddly coloured light. James turned to the fireplace to see a tall, dark skinned woman with a shaved head and dressed in a long dark grey cloak step out of it.
"Good evening," Professor McGonagall said as she stood and walked around her desk to greet the visitor.
"Good evening. I am Gwendolyn Godwin. I believe you were expecting me?" she said as she held out her hand and shook Professor McGonagall's.
"I'm Professor…" McGonagall started to say but was cut off.
"No need for introductions I know who you are. Many people at the Ministry speak highly of you," Godwin said and James could have sworn he saw McGonagall blush.
"And this is…" McGonagall started to say as she turned to Professor Payne who was still stood by the cabinet where the wand was locked away.
"Again no need for introductions. I know Algernon. We worked together briefly before he pursued a career in academia. Good to see you again."
"And you," Professor Payne replied looking a little taken a back.
"And this is James Potter," McGonagall said, finally getting to complete an introduction.
"Ah Mr Potter," Godwin said with a smile. "I know your father. It's a pleasure to meet you. Just a shame it's under these circumstances. So where is the item of concern?" she said turning back to Professor McGonagall.
"It's over here Gwen," Professor Payne said as he stepped aside from the draw and she walked over to him.
Payne pointed his wand at the draw. "Alohomora."
A faint clicking noise could be heard as the lock mechanism turned and Godwin reached out and opened the draw but she looked into it in confusion.
"It's empty," she proclaimed and McGonagall came rushing over.
"I don't understand. I put it in there myself and locked it and I never left the room. No one could have got in and taken it without me seeing."
"Well this is a mystery isn't it," Godwin declared looking a bit frustrated. "And how are you feeling now Mr Potter?"
James told Godwin that he was feeling fine and then recounted exactly what had happened in his dormitory.
"And nobody had seen that wand before?" Godwin asked and looked between the three other occupants of the room.
"Well I can't be sure as it has been many years since I last saw it but I had a feeling it might have belonged to a past student of Hogwarts," McGonagall said, looking apprehensive as if she wasn't sure if she should mention it or not.
"Who?" Godwin asked.
"Maybe we should talk about this in private," McGonagall said as she gave a quick glance to James and Godwin understood. "If you have no further questions for Potter then Professor Payne could take him and check him over for any signs of dark magic or curses and we can discuss this further. Maybe you would also like to take a look over Potter's dormitory? That may be helpful."
"Yes of course I think Mr Potter has told me everything he can," Godwin replied.
Professor Payne stepped towards James and waited for him to stand before he escorted him from the room.
"Goodbye Mr Potter," Godwin called out. "I'm sure this won't be the last time I make your acquaintance."
James wasn't quite sure what she meant by that. He was sure it was meant in a friendly way but somehow it also sounded like a threat.
Professor Payne took James to his office in the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom and just like he had been by Madam Pomfrey, he was subjected to more examinations. However this time the examinations were a little more strange. Professor Payne had used his wand to draw a drop of James' blood which he then mixed with a green liquid. The liquid immediately turned yellow, which worried James but the professor didn't seem concerned. Professor Payne then waved his waved around James and said various incantations that James didn't understand a word of. Finally the professor flicked his wand at James who was then bathed in a blueish light. It felt cold to James like he was standing in an icy shower and he was feeling uncomfortable but luckily it didn't last long. Professor Payne finally took a seat at his desk looking perplexed.
"I can't see anything wrong with you or any traces of dark magic," Payne said as he clasped his hands together in front of him. "Are you sure you didn't just faint at the sight of your own blood?"
"No," James replied in annoyance.
By the time Professor Payne returned James to McGonagall's office, Godwin had left. Payne explained that he could find nothing wrong with him and McGonagall reiterated that Godwin herself had thought that James was in no danger.
"Given who your father is she suspects it may have been someone playing a practical joke on you," Professor McGonagall said looking a little less concerned than she had been before but still not looking totally happy.
"So who did you suspect the wand might have belonged to?" James asked.
"I don't think that matters now. You're free to return to your dormitory. You have missed dinner now but I will have some food sent up to you. Goodnight Mr Potter," McGonagall said, dismissing James' question.
James didn't say any more except goodnight and left with more questions than he had answers. Was it just a practical joke? Was there something Professor McGonagall wasn't telling him? Was something more sinister going on?
As James reached the portrait of the Fat Lady which guarded the entrance to the Gryffindor common room he recited the password.
"Oh Mr Potter. I do hope you're OK? I'm so sorry if this was in any way my fault," the Fat Lady proclaimed, seeming rather flustered as she spoke.
"What? Your fault? What are you talking about?"
"Well the incident in your dormitory," she replied. "Professor McGonagall and that woman from the Ministry were asking me about it."
"Why would it be your fault?" James asked puzzled.
"Because of that cloaked figure I let into the common room," she said and looked downwards in her portrait, not wanting to make eye contact with James as she felt embarrassed.
"What?!" James said in shock. "Who? When was this?"
"It was last Friday night. But like I told the headmistress I don't know who they were. It's the strangest thing. My recollection is very vague. Usually I'm very good with faces but I just can't seem to remember this person."
"So they knew the password?" James asked.
"Again that's another strange thing. I don't actually remember if they did but for some reason I felt compelled to let them in. I do hope they weren't the reason you fainted. Was it because of the sight of your own blood?" the Fat Lady asked innocently.
"No!" James said and stormed past the portrait in a huff into the common room.
After numerous questions from various Gryffindors and his dormmates, eventually James managed to go to sleep. However his sleep was far from restful. It was filled with strange images that made James jump awake numerous times during the night. He kept having dreams about the cloaked figure running through the corridors of Hogwarts and of wands flying through the air towards him. And as soon as he woke the questions continued.
"Have you had any more thoughts about who McGonagall thought the wand might belong to?" his dormmate Leo asked as James got dressed.
"No idea," James replied feeling very tired from the lack of sleep.
"Why do you think it felt like it was burning you when you touched it?" asked Zander.
"I don't know," James said as he collected his wash things to take to the bathroom.
"You don't think you fainted because of the sight of your own blood do you?" Anwar asked.
"NO!" James said, slamming the dormitory door behind him as he headed off to shower.
In the shower James went over again what had happened yesterday and tried to piece together the blurred images he could remember from his dream. Everything was a scramble and thinking about it was only giving him a headache. He debated if he should tell Professor McGonagall about the cloaked figure he had seen the other night now that the Fat Lady had mentioned seeing them too. Surely this just confirmed it was someone playing a prank?
James was glad by the time he returned from his shower that the others had already gone down for breakfast. He made his way down to the Great Hall on his own without any annoying questions but that soon changed as he entered the hall.
"Is it true Potter?" Greta called out to him from across the hall in a mocking manner. "Did you really faint at the sight of blood?"
Greta's friend's started to laugh beside her as she started to walk over to him.
"Get lost Greta," James retorted and turned to walk away.
"Was it really his wand?" Greta asked and James didn't know if she was just trying to bait him or not to provoke a reaction.
"Who's?" he asked as he turned back to face her.
"Well there's a rumour going round that is was his wand," Greta said, with an air of being in the know.
"Who?" James said, starting to get frustrated now and wondering if Greta was just trying to wind him up.
"That it was you-know-who's wand," Greta said with glee. "That is was Voldemort's."