12 April 1998
They reached the castle without a single spell hitting them - barely. Minerva was sure that either Amycus or Alecto had followed them up the hill to the castle. Their arrival was imminent and Minerva thought it best that none of the students were found out of bed at this time.
"Come quickly," she said, ushering the students and Pomona to the Transfiguration classroom which, thankfully, was nearest.
"They are coming, Minerva," Pomona said. "They will find us."
They reached the classroom and Minerva opened the door and then shut it, firmly but quietly. She lit her wand and waved it. A small white orb of light floated away from the tip and hung in the air. The students looked frightened and confused, but Minerva did not have time to reassure them. She turned to Pomona. "There is a small door next to the bookcase in my office," she said. "Do you know the one I am talking about?"
Pomona nodded.
"If you follow the tunnel it will lead you to the corridor opposite the Gryffindor Common Room," she said. "Follow the light, it will lead you down the correct path. Quickly."
She ushered the four towards her office at the end of the classroom, but Pomona turned and grabbed her wrist.
"Minerva—"
"I can buy you time," Minerva said. "Either this or we are all caught."
They held their gaze for a moment as they silently argued with each other. Finally, it was the sound of hurried footsteps outside in the corridor that seemed to make Pomona's mind. She pursed her lips, nodded once, then let go of Minerva's wrist and hurried the students upstairs to Minerva's office.
Any later and Minerva's predictions would have come true. As soon as her office door closed again, Minerva's classroom door exploded. Too close to the door, and not having expected such a dramatic entrance, Minerva did not have the time to protect herself from the splintered wood soaring across the room or the force of the spell.
Minerva was knocked backwards and she felt a distinct crunch as her body slammed against the classroom wall. Minerva could not remember the last time she had felt such pain radiate through her hip, chest and shoulder.
"Where are they, McGonagall?"
Minerva was vaguely aware of a strong pair of hands gripping her arm and yanking her up. Dark spots clouded her vision as her shoulder gave a painful throb and her heart beat wildly in her chest.
"Who? I do not know what you are talking about, Amycus," she said, trying to sound firm but her voice sounded weak and slurred even to her own ears. She tried to focus and not lose consciousness, but with every second it became harder and harder to do so.
Amycus shook her aggressively. "Tell us now or Matthews gets it!"
It took a moment for Minerva's mind to catch up with what Amycus had said. She frowned. "What has—what has Miss Matthews got to do with—"
"We caught her on her way to Hagrid's," Amycus interrupted. "She told us everything - after some persuasion, of course. And if you don't tell us now who else was there and where they are now, Matthews won't be the only one who's sorry tonight."
Minerva suddenly felt sick to her stomach. It churned disconcertingly and her head began to pound. "I do not know—"
"YOU WILL TELL US RIGHT NOW!"
Consumed by complete and utter rage and hatred, Amycus shoved his wand straight towards Minerva's chest. Uncontrolled sparks flew from the tip and all Minerva could think of was Albus and what it must have felt like at the top of that Astronomy Tower one year ago now as he was attacked in his own home.
"Amycus!"
BANG
Whoever had shouted Amycus' name was the catalyst for the sudden surge in emotion. Amycus' anger reached boiling point. With no control over his own emotions or his own power, a white spell shot from the tip of his wand and struck Minerva straight in the chest. Her vision swam. This time there was no stopping the blackness that overcame her vision.
"Will she be all right?"
"I don't see why you would care. Given that it was your friends who injured her in the first place."
Minerva opened her eyes and slowly blinked once or twice to adjust to her surroundings. It was dark. Someone had removed her glasses, yet Minerva did not need them to recognise that Poppy and Severus were a little way away and engaged in a rather heated discussion.
"Perhaps you would prefer if Professor McGonagall was left to recover on her own?" Snape said acidly. "If not, I recommend that you mind your tongue, Madam Pomfrey."
Minerva made an attempt to sit up, but a pair of hands shot out from the darkness to push her back down.
"Shh," the owner of the hands said. Minerva recognised the voice to belong to Pomona. "Lie down."
Snape had not seemed to notice the small disturbance behind the curtains which shielded Minerva's bed from view. He cleared his throat. "See that Professor McGonagall is taken care of," he said. And, without waiting for a reply, Snape marched out of the hospital wing.
Pomona took her hands slowly from Minerva's shoulders. "Is he gone, Poppy?"
Poppy pulled the curtains gently apart and stepped inside. Her wand tip was lit and it revealed a tired, worried and slightly cross-looking witch. "Yes," she sighed. "Minerva McGonagall, don't you dare get out of that bed," she snapped.
"Oh, Poppy—"
"You will remain here for the night whether you like it or not, Minerva," Poppy interrupted. "You very nearly had a heart attack this evening. And with your broken ribs and punctured lung—I'm surprised Severus managed to drag you in here standing!"
Minerva could neither remember arriving at the Hospital Wing nor being supported by Severus in order to get there. The thought that she had relied on that man to get halfway through the castle did not make her feel any less upset with her current predicament.
"You are a foolish woman," Pomona said, though she kissed Minerva's forehead. "One day you won't be so lucky."
"How encouraging," Minerva said. Then, she suddenly remembered Amycus' taunts earlier on in her classroom before he had lost control like a loose cannon. "Grace—"
"Is perfectly well. Thanks to you," Pomona added. "Snape walked into your classroom possibly a few seconds after Amycus took leave of his senses. You mumbled something about Grace when he was bringing you to the Hospital Wing so Snape dropped you off and went to find her. She's fine."
"Where was she?" Minerva asked.
"In one of the disused classrooms in the dungeons," Pomona said. Minerva felt that Pomona was purposefully leaving out some details; Poppy's dissatisfied huff only confirmed Minerva's suspicions.
"That stupid boy and his sister had taken those chains Argus has been threatening to use on students for years," the matron said. "Argus spouting a load of old nonsense to put the fear of the gods in young children. I suspect he never intended on using them - he wouldn't have dared."
"Maybe so but Amycus and Alecto's threats have a little more weight to them," Pomona said. She appeared to shake herself. "Anyway, nothing happened. Grace is shaken but that is all. You are our main concern, Minerva."
"Well, you need no longer be concerned about me because I am absolutely fine."
Poppy pursed her lips. "I think not, Minerva. You need rest and...this," she pulled out a small phial with a blue liquid in it from the pocket of her white-frilled apron. "Drink it all and then I will ask that you sleep if you do wish to return to your dormitories in the morning."
"I think that's my cue to leave," Pomona said, noticing Minerva's more than unhappy expression. She smiled slightly. "I'm glad you are all right, dear. Never scare me like that again."
"I promise," Minerva said.
Pomona rolled her eyes and kissed Minerva on the cheek. "See you in the morning," she said. And then she bustled off.
"Drink, Minerva McGonagall. Or I'll keep you here until you do," Poppy said.
Minerva did as she was told.
