And once again, much to her frustration, they all failed miserably.
"No, Collins. That's a bowl, not a teacup. And...Taylor, what the hell is that?"
Ada Taylor, a third year Hufflepuff, had somehow managed to create a perfect hybrid of teacup and bird. Minerva had seen all manners of bad transfigurations, but this was unprecedented.
"Ehm...sorry, professor." said the girl timidly, her cheeks slightly reddening. One of her classmates began to chuckle, until he was silenced by Minerva's icy glare.
Minerva rubbed her left temple. She could already feel a headache forming. How much until the end of this class? Oh, well. "That's enough, everyone. We will try again next time." She took her wand and turned all the failed transfigurations back into regular doves, who then proceeded to fly away out of the window. "Class dismissed." She knew she was a little earlier than the scheduled time, but she felt that just this once she could make an exception. Merlin knew under how much stress she had been lately. She needed rest and some time just for herself. And maybe even a cup of Pomona's herbal tea. Yes, that would be lovely.
The students, Slytherin and Hufflepuff, began to file out of the classroom. Minerva went back to her desk to gather some papers. Only then she noticed a Slytherin girl standing by the doorway, nervously looking her way as her classmates left. She sighed. It seemed that her tea would have to wait. As the last student closed the door behind his back, she motioned for the girl to approach the desk.
"Is something the matter, miss Carlton?" she gently said when the girl arrived in front of the desk. There had to be a reason if the girl had stayed, instead of coming later to her office. Minerva hoped it was a good reason.
The girl, Janine Carlton, muggleborn and particularly quiet, nodded. "Yes, professor. I wanted to talk to you about my friend. Michael."
"Hmm." Michael Allen was the only other muggleborn Slytherin in the entire school. Minerva had noticed how close he and miss Carlton were. It couldn't be otherwise, of course, Slytherin House being what it was. Sometimes she wondered what had possessed the Sorting Hat to place those two in there. "Is it about his absence from today's class?" Of course, upon realizing Allen wasn't there, she had asked about it. Miss Carlton hadn't answered, but one of the Slytherin boys had mentioned that mister Allen had opted to stay in bed because he wasn't feeling well. Something about his stomach.
"Yes, but...well, it's not just that. It's...something more, and it has been going on for a while."
"Shouldn't you be talking about this with your Head of House, then?"
"I..." The girl seemed to hesitate. Minerva furrowed her brow. Something is wrong, here.
"Don't worry, girl. Feel free to talk. Nobody will hear us."
Janine Carlton looked at her. "Well, professor, I...it may sound bad, but I...I came to you because I don't trust professor Rookwood."
"Why? Has he done something to you or mister Allen?" While she couldn't claim that Augustus Rookwood was any friend of hers, he was a competent enough potions teacher, and so far she hadn't heard any complaint against him. But if he had mistreated Carlton or Allen, or any other student...
"No, not that." the girl hurriedly said. "He has never phisically harmed us, or mocked us for being muggleborn. It's just that...I don't know why, but I could never trust him. He is...he is so cold, and strange, and...well, he is from an old pureblood family. I'm not sure how he would actually treat me if I asked for help.
"You, on the other hand, have always been kind to all students. Sure, you are strict, but you are fair. You would never...you would never treat me differently because my parents are muggles."
Minerva couldn't help but smile a little at those words. It was the first time one of her students had placed so much trust in her.
"That's why I came to you. I hoped you could help me...and Michael."
"Well, miss Carlton, I feel honored. Thank you for your trust. I will do my best to earn it.
"Now, tell me. What happened to mister Allen?"
"That's the point, professor. I have no idea. He has been acting so strangely for the past few weeks, and...he has become so distant. I don't know why."
"Maybe he found himself a girlfriend." Unrequited love. She sighed. It wouldn't be the first time she witnessed such a thing. "Or even a new friend. Not everyone here at Hogwarts shares the same views as Slytherin..."
"No, professor. I know for certain that Michael has neither a girlfriend, nor new friends. And I know what you are thinking," she interrupted her. "but it's not like that. I love Michael, but like a brother."
"What has he done, then?"
"As I said, he has become distant. We don't spend as much time together as we used to anymore. He is always by himself, either writing in his diary or studying in the library, or...sometimes I catch him muttering under his breath. He has never done that before! I tried to ask him about it, but he didn't answer.
"And another thing. A couple times I saw him sneaking into the girls' bathroom on the second floor. You know, the one nobody ever uses because of the ghost..."
"I'm aware of it, yes." Minerva nodded. Allen's behaviour did indeed look strange. And Miss Carlton sounded so sure about him not having a girlfriend. But what other explanation could there be?
"Have you tried asking him?"
"Yes, professor. He always evades my questions, and once even screamed at me to mind my own business. I..." She sounded on the verge of tears. Minerva felt sorry for the girl. "Professor, I don't know what to do! I...I just want my friend back."
Minerva sighed. She had to do something, even if it was just a case of unrequited love. It was her duty to help her students.
"Well, miss Carlton, I can't promise you the impossible. But know that I will do my best to find out what is going on." She saw the ghost of a smile on the girl's face. "I will have to talk with mister Allen, and then..."
Suddenly, she heard a commotion from the other side of the door.
"What the..."
And just then, a scream. A high pitched, blood curling scream. Janine Carlton recoiled at that, while Minerva stood and glared at the door.
Another scream followed, soon joined by sounds of hurried footsteps and cries for help.
"Stay here, miss Carlton." She drew out her wand. "And don't move until I come back." Something must have happened. Something serious. She had to find out what. Miss Carlton and mister Allen's issues could wait.
The girl just nodded as Minerva walked to the door.
As soon as she entered the corridor, she was greeted by the sight of a Ravenclaw boy running for his life. "You! What happened?"
The boy stopped and looked at her. Minerva could see the terror in his eyes, and his white, sweaty face spoke of something horrible. "Professor..."
"Calm down, first. What happened? Who was screaming?"
The boy gulped and briefly looked behind his back. "It's a monster, professor! A...a monster! It came out of a corridor and..."
"What are you talking about? What kind of monster?" How could a hostile creature have breached the castle grounds? Hogwarts was impenetrable!
"I don't know, professor! I...I only saw its back, and I wasn't even close! It was...it was so big that it reached the ceiling, and green, and...it looked like some kind of snake..."
What kind of creature was that? She had never heard of such a snake. Perhaps it was some kind of unknown being who lived in the Black Forest and had somehow found its way to the castle. But how?
"...and...it killed them..."
She gasped. If the creature, whatever it was, was running around killing students, she couldn't waste any more time. She had to stop it.
"Ok, now listen to me." She looked into the boy's eyes and tried to be as reassuringly as possible. "Go call the other professors. And Hagrid, too. If you see other students, tell them to either go back to their common rooms or to hide somewhere. You...don't worry, everything is going to be fine." she added, seeing the fear in the young Ravenclaw's eyes. "Now go."
The boy nodded, and then left.
Minerva then went into the direction the boy had come from, wand ready and eyes and ears alert. Perhaps it would have been wiser to wait for her colleagues to arrive. But she couldn't leave her students in danger. She had to do something.
A couple of minutes passed in which absolute silence reigned. Then, suddenly, she heard something. She stopped in her tracks and listened. It was...it seemed a hissing sound. Like a snake's. And it was coming from a nearby corridor. It was close, very close. Minerva mustered all her courage and prepared herself to fight. She turned the corner, wand raised, and...
...found herself face to face with the monster the Ravenclaw boy had talked about. It was indeed big, and green, with yellow reptilian eyes that seemed to stare at her very soul. For a moment, she wondered how such a thing could have arrived into the castle unnoticed.
But it was only a moment, as just then Minerva felt life leaving her. She didn't even have the time to ask herself how it could happen, as darkness surrounded her mind and her body fell to the ground.