10 February 1998
Minerva knocked urgently on the door to the Charm's Classroom but did not wait to hear an answer before she entered.
At the head of the classroom, Filius put his wand down and the heads of all seven students turned to face her. Minerva did not miss a beat.
"Professor Flitwick, might I borrow Mr Longbottom?" she asked him quickly.
"Erm—" Filius frowned but Minerva widened her eyes slightly.
"I am afraid it is rather urgent," she added significantly.
"Oh—erm—right," he said. There was still a frown creasing his forehead, but he did not attempt to argue with her. He motioned at Neville Longbottom to get up. "Off you go then, Longbottom."
Neville got up and Minerva held the door open for him. As the boy passed her and waited at the doorway, Minerva returned her attention to Filius and cursed the fact that she could not communicate with him without speaking out loud.
"Longbottom will not be back this hour," she told him, hoping that he would cotton-on. "If anyone comes for him..." she trailed away, hoping again that Filius would understand.
Thankfully, he appeared to, as he nodded his head vigorously. "Of course, Professor McGonagall," he told her. "Now, eyes back to the front please," he addressed his class.
Seventh year students turned back to face Filius, who was still watching Minerva. She mouthed her thanks to him before leaving the classroom.
"Professor—?"
"Mr Longbottom I promise you that I will explain, but for now you need to do exactly as I say," she interrupted. "Yes?"
He nodded.
"Good," Minerva said. She looked left and right to make sure that they were quite alone in the corridor. Once she was satisfied, she retrieved her wand from her pocket and turned to face Longbottom again. "Stand still."
Neville did as he was told and Minerva tapped him smartly on the head with her wand. The spell worked almost immediately and, in a matter of seconds, the boy was completely invisible.
"You will need to follow me, Longbottom. Understood?"
"Yes, Professor."
Minerva nodded and began to make her way down the corridor and towards the staircase. Several minutes later, they had almost reached the seventh floor when they crossed Amycus and Alecto.
"Wait, McGonagall!"
Minerva stopped suddenly, and she felt Longbottom bump into her and trod on her heel. It took all of her willpower not to wince or express her pain. Instead, she inhaled rather sharply then looked at Alecto.
"Good afternoon, Alecto. I am afraid I am quite in a rush, so if you will excuse me." She tried to continue down the hallway but this time Amycus blocked her path.
"Not so fast, McGonagall," he said. "We're looking for Longbottom but he isn't in class like he should be."
"Ah, I see." Minerva frowned. "How unfortunate. I would have thought our students had better time management," she said, internally berating herself for not having come up with a more sensible thing to say. "Have you tried the Gryffindor Common Room, perhaps?"
"He was not there," Amycus replied.
"We believe you could point us in the right direction, McGonagall," said Alecto. "You see, the boy seems to have vanished in thin air. Is that something you would know about?"
Alecto took a step forwards so that she was inches away from Minerva's face but Minerva did not back down.
"Unfortunately, I can make neither head nor tail of it," she said, trying to frown. "This is most unlike Longbottom. But I expect he must be in the castle somewhere. Perhaps try the library? With the recent timetable change, he might have forgotten that he has a lesson with Filius." She forced a smile then sidestepped Alecto. "Now, I really must get on. I have quite an urgent meeting with the Headmaster, who, as you know, does not like to be kept waiting. Good day, Amycus, Alecto."
She nodded at the twins before her, then made her way briskly down the corridor before they could call her back. Knowing that her excuse would no doubt get her into some serious trouble later on, indeed the meeting with the Headmaster she had mentioned was a complete fallacy, Minerva tried not to ponder on it too much. Her first priority was Longbottom, whom she hoped had followed her.
As they finally reached the hallway on the seventh floor, which sported the large tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy, Minerva was pleased to find it empty. She sighed with relief, almost unconsciously. Then she cleared her throat.
"We are stopping here, Longbottom," she said, hoping that if she gave the boy enough warning then he would not bump into her again. Then, she closed her eyes. I need, she thought, I need a room where one can safely hide.
No sooner had the words crossed her mind, did Minerva hear the unmistakable sound of stones moving. When she opened her eyes, she was greeted by the sight of a large door standing in the place of what had been a stone wall, only a few seconds before.
"Follow me," she instructed Longbottom. She opened the door, waited a few seconds until she felt someone walk past her, and then closed the door again. With a casual wave of her hand, Longbottom appeared in front of her again.
"Sorry I walked into you, Professor" he apologised.
"That is of no importance anymore, Longbottom," she said dismissively. Then, without wasting time beating about the bush, she proceeded to explain. "Mr Longbottom, I am afraid that the news I have to share with you is not good. Your grandmother—"
"Has something happened to her? They haven't got her, have they? Is it bec—"
"No, Mr Longbottom. Quite the contrary, in fact," Minerva said, interrupting her student mid-flow. "There was an attempt to take your grandmother this morning, however, Augusta was very much underestimated and the little excursion did not prove fruitful. Nevertheless, Augusta is now in hiding and, due to the fact that she proved rather difficult to take, you are now a target."
"To get her out of hiding?"
Minerva nodded. "We believe so, which is why it has been decided that you will stay here for the time being. That is, until we can get you out of the castle to join your grandmother."
Her eyes flicked to Ariana's empty portrait at the end of the room, then she looked back at Longbottom who appeared confused - not that Minerva was surprised.
"I am afraid that there is very little time to explain everything, Longbottom," she told him, speaking before he could interrupt. "But rest assured that we do have a plan, which we will share with you soon. Now, I must return outside to deal with Professor Snape and Amycus and Alecto. In the meantime," she bit her lip and frowned. "I am assuming you know how to work this room?"
Neville nodded. "We've been using it all year."
Minerva was not surprised by this news though it did not stop her from sighing. "Very well," she said. "Then you will find your every need can be taken care of—"
"Not food."
"I am aware, Mr Longbottom," Minerva said. "However, I do have a solution for that problem. I will leave you now, and either Professor Sprout, Professor Flitwick or myself will return soon to speak with you. I understand that these are not ideal circumstances, but please do not leave this room. I promise that we will explain exactly how we are intending on dealing with your situation. Understood?"
Neville Longbottom nodded. "I didn't know anyone else knew about this room," he said. "Is this where you brought Bertie Lawson, Professor?"
"Yes, it is," Minerva confirmed. Then, suddenly feeling a rush of compassion for the boy, she reached out and patted him on the shoulder. "All will be well, Longbottom," she told him.
"And my grandmother? Will she be all right?"
"Augusta has demonstrated that she is more than capable of looking after herself," Minerva reassured him. "She is a very competent witch, and I know that she made plans should this scenario arise. I will try my best to find out any more about her whereabouts if I can."
He swallowed and nodded. "Thank you, Professor, really. I hope—I hope you don't get into much trouble out there because of me."
