Sorry, work has been mad and I have been basically falling straight to sleep as soon as my head hits my pillow. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter - a bit dark, I'll admit, and quite short too. Next one will be longer.


2 January 1998

Elphinstone clutched at his chest where the Venemous Tentacula had bit him. He looked up, panic clear in his blue eyes, then staggered. Minerva rushed to him as he fell.

"Minerva..." he trailed away as the colour drained from his face and he began to shiver.

"It's all right," she said automatically, cradling him in her arms. "Don't—Don't try to speak—just–just let me see."

He shook his head, and Minerva could feel her panic grow. Her hands were shaking as she tried to help move him into another position so that she could assess him.

"Don't move," she ordered him, and slowly she peeled away his hand from the bite. She was unable to suppress the quiet, "Oh," that escaped her lips.

"It's too late, Minerva."

Minerva shook her head. "No, no, it isn't. We just need some help." She put his hand back over the wound and told him to press on it to stop the bleeding. Then, she stood up in the empty shop. "I am going to find some help. Don't move. I'll be back soon."

Elphinstone nodded weakly, and Minerva tried to smile reassuringly but failed quite miserably. Quickly, she walked to the other side of the shop and opened the door.

Instead of being greeted by the cobblestone streets in Hogsmeade, Minerva now found herself standing at the top of the Astronomy Tower at Hogwarts. A series of red spells shot out from the dark and hit her in the chest. Caught off-guard, Minerva stumbled backwards until she was teetering on the edge of the Tower. Then, a hand sporting large ugly rings emerged from the shadows and pushed her so that she fell off the tower.

She screamed until she felt herself land on some cold stone slabs. Her heart began to race and she screamed when once more when she felt somebody move beside her - it was Dumbledore.

"Albus!"

"It's too late, Minerva."

"No! I can help you." Minerva reached out to hold his hand, but he backed away. Then, suddenly, he was enveloped in a bright green light.

Minerva woke up abruptly and sat up, her chest heaving. She could sense the last remnants of her dream, or nightmare, drift away as she slowly woke up and her bedroom came into focus. Still thinking that it was her dream which had woken her, it took several minutes for Minerva to realise that someone was knocking gently on her door.

"It's me, Minerva."

Unsteadily, Minerva slipped out of bed and got to her feet. Her hands were shaking slightly, she noticed, as she reached for her wand and pocketed it before then going to open the door.

Perhaps she was still shaken from her dream, Minerva thought. Though she could not remember much of it now, the heavy weight and dull ache of dread and fear that remained in her stomach suggested that it had been a disturbing one.

"Pomona," she said, once she had opened the door. "It's late? What is it?"

Pomona looked over her shoulder at the dark corridor that stretched out behind her. She shuddered. "Can I come in, Minerva?"

"Oh—yes, of course."

Minerva stepped aside so that Pomona could enter. As soon as the door closed, Pomona began to speak.

"Minerva, I've just heard that Luna Lovegood was abducted. She got on the train and she was kept in a locked compartment to stop anyone from interfering before Death Eaters arrived. They took her in broad daylight on the platform, in front of Xenophilius, in front of every parent standing on that platform!"

"How—how do you know this?"

"I got a message from Remus on that coin of Granger's. He's only just found out because—well, it was the full moon recently and he's been quite ill apparently," Pomona said, wringing her hands. She sat down on the arm of one of Minerva's chairs. "No one knows where Luna is. People are looking but—but, nothing. There's been absolutely no news about Luna."

"Has Xenophilius—"

"He's been arrested. He tried to trade three fugitives for Luna but they escaped and Xenophilius was arrested for lying."

Pomona leaned forwards. "But I don't think he was lying, Minerva. I was just coming back from the greenhouses this evening - my moonflower is having some trouble so I constantly need to move her to a better location," she explained quickly, with a wave of her hand. "Anyway, I passed Severus and Alecto on my way up and they were talking about the Lovegoods. It seems Xenophilius tried to trade Potter and two others, no doubt Granger and Weasley, for Luna."

It felt strange hearing about Potter, Granger and Weasley in this manner. Not least because they were fugitives now, but it also made Minerva feel both relieved that they were alive and confused as to what they might be up to.

"Perhaps they thought they could stay safely with Xenophilius?" Pomona said, clearly thinking along the same lines as Minerva.

"But The Burrow is so close," Minerva mused. "Why not go there?"

"I'm as much in the dark as you are, Minerva," Pomona said. "But Potter escaped, which is the important thing."

"But Miss Lovegood has not been located..."

Pomona looked down at her hands once more. "No. But Remus is going to speak with Kingsley. There have been rumours about a house in the country belonging to the Malfoys, which might be a communal so-called 'base' for our dear friends."

"Will they let us know if they find anything? Perhaps we can ask Severus—"

"I tried. I overhead Severus and Alecto, and I spoke up before they left. I was reminded that it was absolutely none of my business, and if I questioned their authority I would be suspended."

Minerva's eyes widened. "But they did not deny that Luna has been abducted?"

"Oh no, they told me that she was being kept for questioning about her father's practises. Clearly, they have been very unhappy about the Quibbler, and its support for Harry. Not to mention that they can now accuse him of harbouring Harry Potter and allowing Potter to escape before He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named could reach the Lovegood's house. They're fuming."

Minerva nodded, thinking quietly to herself. For the first time, in quite a very long time, she really did not know what to do. She did not know how she could help Luna Lovegood, given that her movements were very much restricted to Hogwarts and sometimes Hogsmeade - at certain hours.

She put her head in her hands and closed her eyes. "Perhaps I should speak with Aberforth? Or Molly and Arthur—"

"Molly and Arthur are being watched 24/7 now, Minerva. Remus told me not to get in touch with them because Death Eaters will find out. To have three of the most looked-for teenagers only fifteen minutes away from the Burrow has not done the Weasleys any favours at all."

Pomona stood up again. "I need to speak with Filius," she said. "So that he knows as well."

Minerva nodded and followed Pomona to the door. "And then we can speak with Aberforth tomorrow?" she said, thinking that it would be easier for Aberforth to get information from Remus, than it would be for anyone in the castle. Indeed, Granger's magical coins allowed for only so much information to be communicated across.

Pomona nodded. She reached out to squeeze Minerva's hand. "And then we need to have some serious discussions with our students when they return this week. About—"

"Their rebellious group," Minerva finished with a sigh. "If they can abduct a child once, and a 'pureblood' one at that, then they will not hesitate to do so again." She rubbed her eyes and took a deep breath in. "I think we also need to discuss what is going to happen on Thursday when the students do return."

"I agree. Ernie can do headcounts before the train leaves, and we can meet the train at Hogsmeade and supervise the students from the station to Hogwarts." Pomona kissed Minerva's cheek. "I'm going to speak with Filius and then we can discuss everything again in the morning."

Minerva pursed her lips as Pomona left her quarters and hurried down the dark hallways towards Filius' office.