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4 June 1992
Minerva lifted her wand and waved it so that the devil snare recoiled and slithered into the ceramic pot she had previously conjured. She had been dismantling the protections on the third floor since she had left the Hospital Wing; only once she had been quite sure that Harry, Ron, and Hermione were safe and well. Now, almost an hour later, she was starting to feel the beginnings of tiredness creep up on her.
With another graceful flick of her wand the hole that the plant had been covering resealed itself. It was at that moment that the door opened, and Albus entered the room. He seemed tired as well, which was of no surprise to her, of course.
"I thought I might find you here," he said, giving her a small smile as he closed the door behind him and sat down on one of the stone steps.
Minerva couldn't find it in her to return it. "I wanted to get as much of this cleared up as possible," she said, vaguely waving her hand in the general direction of the Devil Snare. "The only one I can't get rid of is the Cerberus-"
"Hagrid will be able to take care of Fluffy tomorrow," Albus reassured her.
"Good, that's good," Minerva said distractedly. Suddenly she screwed up her eyes and put her head in her hands. "How could this have happened, Albus?" she said. "Three students almost died, again! Not to mention that the school was under my protection at the time! They were under my care..."
"You should not blame yourself, Minerva," Albus cut in however Minerva barely registered this.
"...I should have been there, outside the third floor."
"All night?"
"If I had to be."
Albus shook his head. "My dear, you did all that you could," he told her calmly. "You placed Severus on the third floor, tended to Mr Longbottom when he needed help, and then summoned me immediately afterwards. Sometimes these events cannot be prevented."
"But they should be preventable," she sighed, lifting her head. "What is the point of being a Head of House if you cannot even perform your duties? I should have locked them in the Gryffindor Common Room," she added, shaking her head.
Albus smiled slightly. "I believe that would have been a breach of health and safety guidance."
"I think allowing three students to gallivant across the castle undefended, in the middle of the night, in hot pursuit of the Dark Lord no less, is a greater breach of health and safety." She pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes. "I will never unsee what I saw today, Albus. I know we suspected Quirrell but having... to stray so far-to even allow... I just cannot understand it!"
"I think you do understand it, my dear, but the process repulses you slightly. Professor Quirrell was tempted by Voldemort, as many have been before him."
"But to share a body-Albus, that is beyond what you and I have both seen in our lifetimes! Well, I can't speak for you, I suppose, but I certainly have never seen anything like it."
"It is quite horrible," he agreed.
Minerva pursed her lips, her mind going back to Quirrell's crumbling body in the chamber downstairs and then to the thing underneath his turban.
"He is gone then?" she asked. "You-know-Who, I mean?"
"For the time being," Albus replied. "But I am in no doubt that he will be back at some point, in some form or another."
"For Harry?"
"It is very likely, my dear," Albus conceded tiredly. "Although I believe the events of this evening will dissuade him from trying anything else soon."
Minerva swallowed. "I see," was all she was capable of saying.
After a moment of silence, Albus reached out and held her hand.
"I believe, as the saying goes, we should call it a night, my dear," he said. "We can finish the last two chambers tomorrow," he added. "But we will be of no use to our students tomorrow if we cannot stay awake."
Minerva looked at him, thinking that she would never manage to go to sleep again after the events of this evening. Nevertheless, she still stood up and followed him out of the room.
"What will we tell the students about Quirrell?" she asked him when Albus sealed the door.
"Students have a way of finding these things out for themselves," Albus said. "However, I will speak to them tomorrow morning at breakfast. Although, I think it would be wise not to mention all the details."
He looked at her significantly over his glasses, and Minerva nodded silently.
"Very good," he said, patting her shoulder. "I shall say goodnight to you then, my dear. Do try and get some rest."
"And you," Minerva said quietly. "Goodnight, Albus."
He smiled slightly. "Goodnight, my dear."
Then, with a swish of his midnight blue cloak, he walked back up the corridor.
