December 1942
The sight of the Great Hall exploding in a blast of fire and rubble was one that Minerva knew she wouldn't be forgetting in a hurry. Her heart had been beating so fiercely she was convinced the rest of the Hall's inhabitants could hear it as her eyes locked with Poppy's, before she was blown backwards by the force of the explosion. The rising cloud of dust and smoke leaving her blinded, it was by sound and touch alone that she found her glasses just behind her and another girl just next to them. Fear rose within her as it dawned on her that Poppy and Millicent would have taken the brunt of the blast, but as she tried to find her feet she could suddenly see again.
Professor Dumbledore was stood a few strides in front of them, brushing his wand upwards as if he was physically lifting the dust away. Wiping her glasses clean and putting them back on, Minerva was relieved to see that the girl behind her was Septima and Ro was standing on Minerva's other side. Both appeared unharmed other than the coughs racking Septima's frame, but before she could react Irma had rushed over to firmly rub her sister's back.
When Ro pulled her to her feet, Minerva's first thought was Poppy. She had lost sight of both her and Millicent when the stage exploded behind them, but now the smoke in the Hall had been cleared her main priority was to find them again. There were surprisingly few people remaining in the Hall- she guessed that nearly everyone had evacuated when the fire started- but that only made it easier to work out where and how injured people were.
Professor Aurelius, the Charms teacher, was bending over William Tonks and waving her wand slowly over his unmoving form. Professor Slughorn was performing a similar spell on Druella Rosier, but the difference here was that Druella was awake and emitting a high-pitched wail as she clutched the singed arm of her robe. Professor Kettleburn was stirring from where he lay half-buried beneath a heap of rubble that the Arithmancy teacher Professor Epsilon was levitating slowly off of him. Professor Dippet and Madame Quinine were both still with Professor Beery, who's head had grown to an alarming shape and size.
Near the centre of the Hall, Professor Merrythought had her back to Minerva and was shielding something from view which looked worryingly like the bodies of two people. Minerva tugged Ro's arm and together they crossed the Hall to join her, Minerva having to lean heavily on Ro due to her foot complaining painfully the moment she tried to put weight on it.
Professor Merrythought looked up as Minerva and Ro crouched down next to her. "They'll both be fine, girls, but-" she broke off with a sputter as started coughing harshly, before continuing in a strained voice "it'll be a while before they're out of the hospital wing."
In Minerva's opinion, Poppy and Millicent didn't look very fine. Neither were awake, but Professor Merrythought had managed to turn them over so they were lying on their backs. Both had grazes on their hands from where they had hit the floor, there were shallow gashes on the faces and the whole of Millicent's left sleeve had been burned away to reveal raw skin.
Madame Quinine came hurrying over and ushered Minerva, Ro and Professor Merrythought away before conjuring a pair of stretchers that she levitated Poppy and Millicent onto. The stretchers lifted into the air and cruised slowly out the door, followed by several others bearing the most injured casualties.
With the combined injuries of students and staff, the Hospital Wing was very full after the incident. As it was only a day before the Hogwarts Express was due to arrive to take the children going home for the holidays back to Kings Cross, Professor Dippet decided that they would all be sent home early due to the steep drop in available teachers. This left only a handful of people left in Hogwarts; the only students remaining were those directly involved in the pantomime incident- Minerva, Ro, Poppy, Millicent, Septima, Irma, Druella, and William - with the addition of Gryffindor third-year Reubus Hagrid, and a Slytherin sixth-year she didn't know.
Although the injuries sustained had been serious, especially for the cast of the pantomime who had been closest to the explosion, none of them had proved fatal. Millicent and Druella had both been badly burnt by the flames, William had broken a leg and Poppy had sustained a concussion from the force of hitting the floor, and it was a testament to Madame Quinine's healing skills that all four were conscious and significantly better within a week of the incident. Nearly everyone involved had been left with a throaty cough from inhaling the smoke, with Septima and Professor Merrythought the worst, though it was nothing that a large dose of Throat-Soothing potion couldn't solve quickly. Ro and Irma had managed to escape unscathed, and Minerva's jarred ankle hadn't given her trouble for more than a few days.
Except for Professor Dippet, Professor Dumbledore, Professor Aurelius and Madame Quinine, all the uninjured teachers had departed along with the majority of the students. Professor Beery and Professor Kettleburn were still confined to their beds, Beery with his head still grossly unproportional to the rest of his body and Kettleburn with one less limb than the three he'd previously had left due to one leg getting trapped underneath the rubble. The Divination teacher, Professor Olwen, had also been hit by the rocks that the explosion had sent flying in all directions and sustained a nasty head wound, but with the aid of plenty of the Wound-Healing potion Dittany and a Blood-Replenishing Potion she'd recovered quickly.
By the time Christmas Day rolled around, Madame Quinine determined that everyone was had recovered enough to put on a half-decent celebration. The uninjured had been invited to sleep in the Hospital Wing as she'd forbidden anyone to leave the Hospital Wing, and the beds had been pushed together into a giant square so they could all celebrate together. Hagrid had managed to drag one of the slightly smaller Christmas Trees from the Great Hall into the Hospital Wing which Professor Dippet decorated with twinkling silver and gold lights, and Professor Dumbledore used a summoning charm to bring all the presents within the castle to lie beneath the tree.
When she awoke on Christmas Morning surrounded by the still-sleeping forms of her friends and professors, Minerva thought it all looked quite festive. The only other person awake was Professor Kettleburn, who gave her a wave and mouthed 'Merry Christmas!' from across the sea of mattresses.
Careful not to disturb anyone, Minerva scooted across to sit next to him, appreciating the idea of some company while everyone else slept on. "Merry Christmas to you, Professor." She whispered with a smile.
"Thank you, Miss McGonagall." Professor Kettleburn said with a smile. "How've you been doing, I haven't seen much of anyone for the past week!"
"Much better, thank you."
"Good to hear. Can't say the same about myself, you'd think that having already lost a limb I'd be more careful with the other ones!" He paused to chuckle, motioning to the stump that was all that remained of his right arm. "Lost that to a Hipogriff when I was a young'un. Mighty teeth they've got, sliced it straight off before I could move an inch. Professor Dippet's put me on probation too, though I'll admit that enlarged Ashwinder wasn't one of my better ideas."
Privately Minerva had to agree with him on that point, though she frowned at the thought of him being placed on probation. In the short time she'd known him, Professor Kettleburn had always seemed like a person with good intentions, just reckless ideas.
Professer Kettleburn must have noticed her concern, as he laughed again and patted her on the shoulder. "I shouldn't worry, this is already the fourteenth time Professor Dippet has put me on probation and I doubt it will be the last before I'm done!" he confided, giving her a mischievous wink.
"Good morning, Professor Kettleburn." Sounded a new voice, and Minerva turned to see an older boy sitting on a chair next to the group of beds. He looked at her next, and she couldn't help noticing the absence of any emotion in his eyes. It unnerved her a little, but she managed to give him what she hoped was a friendly smile. "I don't believe we've met?"
It took Minerva a second or two to realise he was talking to her. "Oh, no I don't think so. It's Minerva McGonagall."
"Tom Riddle." Tom stretched his hand out in her direction, and she shook it out of politeness more than willingness.
"And a good morning to you too, Mr Riddle," Professor Kettleburn said brightly, before pulling a worried face as he realised he'd spoken rather loudly.
There was a muffled groan from a few feet away, as Professor Aurelius lifted her head and gave them an irritated look. "Silvanus, will you please go back to sleep!"
Professor Kettleburn laughed merrily, earning him an even dirtier glare from Professor Aurelius. "My dear Edith, surely even you can appreciate the joys of Christmas more than your need for sleep once in your life?" Professor Aurelius ignored his cheerful smile and turned over to face the other way.
"Professor Aurelius and I were both students here together," Professor Kettleburn explained to Minerva and Tom, "and as we were both in the same House, she had to cope with me waking everyone in the Hufflepuff dormitories every Christmas without fail. I think she was rather glad when I graduated and left her two years of peaceful Christmas mornings, isn't that right Edith?"
No reply came from Professor Aurelius, she just muttered something under her breath and carried on pretending to be asleep. The exchange had woken Hagrid though, who jumped to his feet causing all the beds to rattle and shouted "HAPPY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY!"
There was no hope of anyone getting any more sleep after Hagrid's wake-up call; even Professor Aurelius put a smile on her face as Professor Dumbledore started to levitate presents over to their receivers and Madame Quinine handed out bowls of porridge.
Minerva returned to her bed beside where Poppy and Ro were seated. Ro had a few smaller presents in front of her, presumably one from each of her siblings, and Poppy had a couple of square parcels sat on her lap. As Minerva sat down Ro passed her a long, thin parcel wrapped in brown paper with a card taped to the top.
Professor Dippet cleared his throat loudly, and everyone turned to look at where he stood at the head of the beds. "Well, everybody, I don't think any of us imagined spending Christmas Day in quite this way," he sent a pointed look in Professor Beery's direction, who responded by merely rolling his eyes, "but regardless of the past incidents, I'm sure we will all have a festive day. I believe Professor Dumbledore would like to add something?"
Professor Dumbledore nodded, stepping forward to stand beside the Headmaster. "Before we begin opening our gifts, I would only like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you, Professor Dippet."
Laughter followed Professor Dumbledore's words, before the present opening began. Ro looked about to tear into her presents when Professor Dippet started dictating who would open their presents first- she leaned towards Minerva and whispered "This is weird, at home it's pretty much a free-for all!" as they watched Professor Dippet start on his presents.
It was a slow and painstaking process to begin with, as most of the teachers opened their gifts while keeping the wrapping paper entirely intact then proceeded to profusely thank the person who had given the gift if they were in the room. Professor Aurelius made things a little more interesting by charming her presents to open themselves, much to the enthrallment of all the first-years, and using her first present of a crystal ball Professor Olwen was able to successfully predict what the rest of her parcels contained.
Every single member of staff received a pair of knitted socks with little symbols that represented the receiver (Professor Beery's socks had little plants on, Professor Aurelius had tiny wands and Professor Olwen had miniature teacups on hers); Minerva was wondering which teacher had given the socks when the answer became very clear indeed. Every single one of Professor Merrythought's presents contained a ball of wool, each in a different colour.
She was grinning like a child when she explained "I've always been very fond of knitting, so every Christmas since I joined Hogwarts I've gifted my colleagues with a pair of home-knitted socks."
"Which has been most useful," added Professor Dumbledore as he pulled on his socks that were covered in little wizard hats exactly matching his own, "one can never have too many pairs of socks!"
Professor Merrythought smiled widely in agreement. "What I always say too. So to keep my wool stocks in full supply, everyone likes to give me wool for Christmas gifts. A win-win situation, we all agreed."
Professor Merrythought was the last of the staff to open their presents; both Hagrid and Tom were given a selection of Honeydukes sweets from Professor Dippet due to having no family to send them gifts, then it was the turn of the first-years to tackle their presents.
Ro wasted no time in tearing into her parcels, laying the items out in front of her as she unwrapped them. There was a sneakoscope from her eldest brother Kurtis, the second brother Mallory had given her a rather-dull looking book, her only sister Erika had sent her a pair of Omnioculars and from the youngest brother Tavin came a pair of goggles. Tucked in with the goggles was a note that read 'For use in your secret Quidditch career', and it was no surprise to Minerva that the goggles provided the most excitement by far.
"They're just like the ones that the Montrose Magpies all have!" Ro said excitedly, wasting no time in placing them over her eyes and pulling the strap over her hair. "Go on Pops, let's see what you've got."
Poppy eagerly pulled the paper off three books wrapped up together, followed by a much thicker volume in its own parcel. A grin lit her face as she read the titles, holding a book in each hand as if she couldn't decide which one to look at first. "These are the Muggle stories I asked for," she said happily as Minerva leaned over to read the titles. The one she was holding was The Call of the Wild, and piled on her lap were Pippi Longstockings and Animal Farm. In her other hand was the much longer Healing at Home with Herbs, which she waved around as she said "And this one I chose when in Diagon Alley back in the summer."
"It's a very good book," Professor Beery attempted to nod his head in a display of approval.
"Do you never stop reading?" Ro asked in amazement as she stared at the huge books, before turning to Minerva and adding "That goes for you too, at least we can all tell there aren't any books in that package you've got!"
Minerva laughed at her comment, thinking of the bookcase in their dormitory that was all but bursting from the amount of books that Poppy and Minerva possessed between them. Her attention then turned to her own present, she had to agree with Ro's comment that there was no way it could contain any books. It was entirely the wrong shape; long and thin but widening at one end. She peeled the card away from the paper and read aloud:
Dearest Minerva, I do hope you are having a wonderful Christmas with your friends. This parcel includes something that I have been looking forward to purchase for you ever since you were born, and it is with great joy that I ask you to use it to it's greatest extend. While you are celebrating, please remember to say your Christmas prayers. All our love, Mother and Father.
"Intriguing," Ro commented, looking at the parcel with great scrutiny. "Come on then, you've got us all hooked."
Despite Ro's intense watching of Minerva as she unwrapped her gift, she was insistent on taking her time in opening it. That was until a polished wooden handle poked through the end of the paper; in one motion she had whipped the rest of the paper off to reveal a broomstick.
"That's a Comet 180, they've only just been released!" Ro grinned at Minerva after a long while of simply staring at the broomstick.
"Gryffindor will have a splendid Quidditch team next year if both of you are playing." Professor Olwen said with a smile. When both Minerva and Ro gave her confused looks, she chuckled and said "I played for the Gryffindor Quidditch Team myself not too long ago, so I always like to see promising players wearing the red robes."
"You were our star Chaser," Professor Dumbledore commented fondly, and upon looking between Dumbledore and Olwen, Minerva couldn't decide whether he meant that he had been a young teacher or fellow student while Professor Olwen was playing Quidditch. "Miss Rosier, I should be careful unless you intend on catching a fly this morning."
All eyes turned to Druella, who shut her previously gaping mouth with a sharp clanking sound and turned to look in the opposite direction of Minerva and her broom.
As she watched Druella with the hint of a satisfied smile on her face, Minerva couldn't help wishing that the Gryffindors and Slytherins did still have flying lessons together. She was looking forward to seeing the Slytherins' reactions to her soaring around the castle on a broom far better than even the one belonging to Abraxas Malfoy
Author's Note:
This was a fun chapter c:
The Professors of Charms, Divination and Arithmancy are all of my own invention, as is Madame Quinine. Edith Aurelius is about the same age as Professor Kettleburn and hasn't been teaching Charms for very long, Phyllis Olwen is a very skilled Seer who is admired and respected by the truth of her predictions, and Walter Epsilon isn't quite as fleshed out yet. All will make more appearances as the story progresses.
Professor Merrythought's knitting obsession is one of my favourite headcanons that's come out of this story so far.
Special thanks to Iris Stardust, who pointed out my error regarding Tom Riddle's age. It's now been edited to fit with canon.