Chapter 34
McGonagall In the Middle
Upon receiving Burst, in her office, Athena was immediately filled with a sense of foreboding. Reading Lyra's letter only deepened her unease and heightened her suspicions. That very morning, she had also received a rather lengthy letter from her younger sister, Minerva, imploring her to visit London. The urgency was underscored by mentions of a matter of extreme importance for the well-being of the wizarding world.
Athena couldn't help but think, "Like Mother, like daughter."
As she paced back and forth in her study, she grappled with a difficult decision. Should she succumb to their requests and visit England to address this 'pressing' matter? Or should she stubbornly ignore their pleas, as she initially wished?
With a heavy heart, Athena knew that she would eventually give in and make the journey to the mysterious address Lyra had shared with her letter. Despite their attempts to veil the details in their letters, it was evident that Minerva and Lyra were deeply mixed in with the resistance against You-Know-Who. If Athena were a betting woman, she'd wager all her galleons on their involvement.
Nevertheless, Athena had no desire to immerse herself in the chaos that swept over England. While her mother still lived there, she was well aware that any dark wizard would think twice before involving themselves with the McGonagall family's controlling matriarch. In fact, her entire family had distanced themselves from their mother's domineering influence, most of them living on a different continent. Even Minerva, had found sanctuary for herself at Hogwarts.
Thoughts of Minerva led Athena down a painful memory lane. Her sister had endured a lot at a young age, evoking deep sympathy from Athena. Despite their past disagreements, Athena remembered their significant falling-out during the war against Grindelwald. Athena had introduced Minerva to Alastor Moody, a man she had fallen madly in love with during her time at Hogwarts. However, Moody had fallen for Minerva, who regarded him as more of a friend, and had fallen in love with Albus Dumbledore.
In her youthful naivety, Athena had blamed Minerva for Moody's heartbreak, believing she had led him on. Deep down, Athena knew that Minerva had never intended to hurt him; it was Moody's own misunderstanding. Their argument had caused a rift, but when Minerva returned pregnant and was cruelly rejected by their mother, Athena had fiercely defended her. She had cared for her sister during her pregnancy and ensured her comfort. Athena had even taken care of the baby when Minerva was too exhausted to function. Minerva had eventually apologized for the past feud, and Athena recognized it had been her own failure to admit her feelings for Moody. They had spent a year reconciled as loving sisters. While Athena had never wanted to leave her sister and niece vulnerable to their treacherous mother, Minerva had convinced her to accept the teaching position at AIMS.
However, what Athena truly dreaded about this impending journey was not the prospect of reuniting with Minerva or Lyra, however annoying her sister could be, and however idiotic Lyra was, Athena would love them no other way. It was the fear of encountering Alastor Moody once more, particularly after the events of the previous year when she had mistakenly confronted the impostor, believing him to be Moody. She had poured her heart out, only to be humiliated and embarrassed by him. Even though Athena now knew the truth, she still feared a similar response from the real Moody.
As these conflicting thoughts swirled in Athena's mind, she reluctantly resigned herself to the inevitable. She settled at her desk and began penning a brief letter to her deputy, stating that she needed to rush to England for a day to visit her ailing mother. She cast a glance at Burst, who was twirling in the air, chasing her own tail feathers. The bird's antics amused Athena, and she scolded her affectionately before reminiscing about how she had cleverly persuaded the former headmaster to allow Lyra to bring the persistent bird to school.
"Silly Beast!" She chuckled sternly.
Burst, sensing Athena's readiness, offered her tail, a clear indication that the phoenix knew their destination. Evidently, Lyra had trained her well, instructing her not to leave Athena's side or cease her pestering until she yielded.
With a final sigh, Athena grasped Burst's tail, mirroring the motions she had observed Lyra do countless times. In a matter of seconds, an intense wave of heat engulfed her body, making her want to let go. Traveling via phoenix was an unfamiliar experience, and Athena couldn't fathom how Lyra had endured the fiery heat. She couldn't even open her eyes to witness the phoenix's operation; the flames were too intense. However, just as swiftly as it had begun, the sensation disappeared, and Athena found herself standing in a dimly lit hallway. Burst promptly led the way, flying toward the source of heated voices.
As Athena approached the door with caution and peeked inside, she recognized most of the occupants: Dumbledore engaged in a fervent argument with Alastor and Minerva, who were vehemently denying something he had said. Lyra, visibly agitated, sat on a chair, its back legs raised—a clear sign of her unease. The dark-haired professor, head of Slytherin, whom Lyra had rudely dueled with the previous year, was also present. Sarah and Zeus Shorthorn sat side by side, still displaying traces of shock, presumably from the news they had received. From the ones she didn't recognize, two unfamiliar men caught Athena's attention: one bore the appearance of a werewolf with the full moon approaching, and the other was none other than the notorious criminal, Sirius Black.
"Horace Slughorn has no business making demands!" Minerva's voice cut through the tension. Moody nodded in agreement.
"What do you expect us to do, Minerva?" Dumbledore asked tiredly.
"Force him! Give him Veritaserum?! Anything! Anything to make him talk! You did it with Grindelwald. Why can't you do it with him?!" Minerva responded with equal ferocity.
"He isn't a dark wizard in need of coercion. He's a shattered man, clinging to a faint hope of survival without our support." Dumbledore began firmly, defending his approach.
"And he likely carries an antidote for that. After all, he's a seasoned potions master." Severus drawled, as if pointing out the obvious.
"So, are you suggesting we turn our safe houses into a refuge for anyone who asks, even those with little to offer? Are you carrying your own magic knapsack, Albus, like Newt?" Minerva interjected with a touch of sarcasm.
"You're being unreasonable, Minerva!" Dumbledore responded rubbing his temples, he was evidently tired of this argument.
"She's got a point, Albus! Horace Slughorn needs to understand his place." Moody expressed his frustration, growling.
"Horace Slughorn doesn't work that way. He'll give as good as he gets. He's a bloody Slytherin, after all. They're only in it if it benefits them." Sirius answered.
"We need to see the bigger picture!" Lyra nodded in agreement.
"You seem to be agreeing with everything they say! You're an auror...you're not supposed to bend over backwards for everyone with something to offer!" Minerva remarked.
"I don't want it to be this way, either...but it seems there's no alternative." Lyra stated crossing her arms stubbornly at her remark.
"I don't agree with either of you. I suggest a more forceful approach." Minerva snapped shaking her head.
"If we were to press him, Minerva, we'd lose him completely, with no way to track him down. We'd essentially have to start from scratch. Why can't you see that?" Severus stated bluntly, hoping Minerva would see reason.
"He can't escape from a safe house." Minerva scoffed.
"Are you planning to chain him there? Because that would be a sight to see!" Sirius remarked sarcastically.
"He's a slippery one." Severus leaned forward and conceded.
Tensions continued to rise, and Minerva snapped.
"I don't think the Order of The Phoenix should give in to bullying tactics!"
"Minerva, please try to approach this logically." Dumbledore said, his patience waning. This only seemed to anger Minerva further.
"I am approaching this logically!" She argued.
"This is no longer up for debate." Dumbledore stood up forcefully. Minerva was not one to back down either, she took a step towards him.
"Why not?!"
"Because your sister is already here." He replied calmly. He waved his hand, and the door swung open to reveal Athena, who had been caught eavesdropping.
"Athena..." Minerva greeted her sister with surprise and walked over to give her a gentle hug. Athena, not one for strong displays of physical affection, awkwardly patted her sister's back.
"Hello, Thee-Thee!"
Lyra's cheeky grin only served to irritate Athena.
"Don't call me that!" Athena snapped at her niece.
Sarah, displaying kindness, stood up and greeted her great aunt with a soft smile. Athena returned the smile and patted her cheek affectionately, she was extremely fond of her. She was the best of her family.
"Seems you got our letters, Thee-thee..."
"Enough with that infernal name, Lyra!" Athena threatened
"It's been a while since I bothered you. I've missed it." Whined Lyra. Athena's stoic face now, softened at her niece. She could be a bloody idiot, but she was still, her idiot!
"Athena, it's been a long time." Moody greeted Athena with a bow of his head.
"Hello Alastor, it has…indeed." She replied smiling gently.
"And I assume…those letters have something to do with you?" Athena asked cynically, looking at Dumbledore.
"Of course, when does it not have something to do with you, Albus?" She added snappishly.
She directed her piercing gaze at Sirius Black, questioning his presence.
"And can anyone tell me what this criminal is doing here?"
Sirius extended his hand to shake hers.
"Bloody hell! If Professor McGonagall wasn't standing in this room, I'd have thought you were her." Athena shook his hand with suspicion.
"Sirius is not a criminal. It's a long story, one for another time. Now, if you'd please sit down, there's a lot to discuss." Dumbledore gestured toward an empty chair. Athena glanced at her sister, who sighed and nodded in agreement.
Lyra offered a cup of tea to Athena, who raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"I thought you didn't drink tea." Athena remarked before taking a sip and noting its surprisingly decent taste. This was quite a revelation considering Lyra's aversion to anything domestic.
"Yeah, well...when in Rome..."
Rolling her eyes, Athena turned her attention back to Dumbledore, signaling her readiness to listen to their discussion.
"Well...you have my attention...go on..."
Sarah began the story.
"Well, it started with Aunt Lyra saving my skin from the Death Eaters..."
As the tale unfolded through various voices, Athena listened silently, her eyebrows steadily rising in disbelief. She held her tongue until everyone had finished speaking, and then she released a tirade on the two women, whom she felt responsible for. Her rant, a mix of shock and sternness.
"First of all, you need to be taken back home, Sarah! If your grandmother finds out..." Athena snapped at her, and Sarah looked affronted by the comment.
Athena turned her gaze to Lyra and unleashed her frustration.
"And you, Lyra, you're supposed to be the adult here. You need to put your head back on your shoulders. She's just a child! Your job is to protect her! Using Fiendfyre! Have you not been burnt enough, Lyra? Have you not burned the family enough? Meeting Grindelwald...you know it affects you, Lyra! When you know you have no control over these things, why do you arrogantly keep prodding at them, with or without that bloody ring?"
Lyra looked away in embarrassment.
"Secondly, what does all this have to do with me?" Athena demanded, directing her defiant gaze at Dumbledore.
Albus quickly responded,
"We're getting to that." He proceeded to explain the concept of Horcruxes, soul-splitting, and dropped a name Athena had hoped never to hear again: Horace Slughorn.
"Horace Slughorn?" Athena commented.
"Nasty man." She added with a shake of her head.
"He has something crucial that will help us in our search for and destruction of these Horcruxes. But to obtain it, we need your assistance, Aunt Athena." Lyra explained carefully.
"What can I do?" Athena frowned in response.
"Slughorn has made a request...he'll provide us with what we need, but he wishes to leave England and move to America with a certain security in place." Lyra continued cautiously.
"What exactly are you suggesting? Can you please just spit out already?" Athena snapped impatiently, glaring at the room.
"He wants to become the Potions Master at AIMS." Lyra finally clarified.
Athena did a double take upon hearing this. Then, she burst into laughter.
"You're joking, right?"
"Afraid not." Lyra confirmed. Athena's mood darkened.
"He's one of the most incompetent teacher's I've ever encountered. I doubt he's taught anyone anything! I can't possibly entrust my children's education to that imbecile!"
"What if you split it? Let him teach the first and second years..." Lyra proposed.
"The foundation is the most important in potions, Lyra! Mr. Hogwarts Potions Master, care to weigh in?" Athena refuted the idea and directed her gaze toward Snape for support. He straightened up, feeling as if he were being reprimanded for slacking off in Professor McGonagall's class.
"Well then, the third years? The third year is relatively easier, anyway." Lyra stated, attempting everything she could try to convince her aunt.
"Were any years of potions easy for you, Lyra? You only managed to scrape by with passing marks because Zenia was your lab partner. Have you forgotten the nights she spent poring over books with you?!" Athena countered.
"I wasn't that bad! Besides, I passed because I have a photographic memory."
"I seriously doubt that's true. You always seem to forget where you put your things!"
"That's because people keep moving them! I have a system! But this is not about me!" Lyra waved her hand dismissively.
"Athena, if you can't assist us, we'll be at an impasse..." Albus cut through their argument, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"What you're asking of me, isn't so simple…from the things I've heard…that man…he grooms children…it's vile!"
"You could control that easily…"
"You know it's not that easy, Albus!"
"Sure, it is…for you…you like micro-managing everything." Lyra added under her breath, earning her a sharp glare from her aunt that shut her up.
Athena looked towards her sister for support. She knew, what Horace was like. She'd worked with him. Minerva shrugged, telling her it was her decision. Athena's eyes moved, from her sister's face to her hand. Minerva was twisting a ring on her left hand absent-mindedly. Athena gave her sister a look of extreme shock. Minerva noticed her sister realise. She quickly stopped what she was doing and pulled her hands away.
"Minerva!"
"What?"
"Are you serious?"
"Athena, not now..."
"After everything he did to you..."
"This isn't the time or place."
"Why are you doing this to yourself?"
"Things are different."
"They're never different, Minerva!"
"They are..."
"You're being incredibly foolish. Don't come crying to me later if you regret..."
"AUNT ATHENA!" Lyra interjected, her voice filled with irritation. Athena paused her reprimand, refocusing her attention on Lyra.
"You can have this conversation with your sister later. For now, we need an answer. Can you help us or not?"
"It would mean a great deal, Athena." Moody chimed in.
"Why on earth should I? What utterly deranged reason could you possibly give me to jeopardize AIMS like this?" Athena snapped, her glare fixed squarely on Dumbledore.
"This...nonsense about splitting souls has nothing to do with AIMS. Why should I sacrifice something I've devoted years building, for someone as inept as Slughorn?" She continued, her frustration mounting.
"You're impossible!" Lyra interjected from across the table.
"Would you give up your auror captaincy if you were in my position, Lyra?" Athena turned her attention to her niece, challenging her.
"He's not asking for your role as headmistress. Besides, you're the one constantly complaining about your workload!" Lyra argued.
"I asked a very simple question, Lyra..."
"I did, didn't I? I'm here, after all!" Lyra snapped back defiantly.
"For your own benefit..." Athena countered.
"My benefit? How is this my war to fight?" Lyra scoffed.
"I'm not a fool, Lyra. Everyone and their uncle knows what the Book of Destiny revealed. Every newspaper had its own theories for days, when you left for England!" Athena stated firmly.
Lyra clenched her jaw and averted her gaze.
"Why, the American Dumbledore has nothing to say? Nothing to add? Your celebrity status seems to have rendered you speechless for once." Athena remarked silkily. Lyra's eyes flashed angrily at her aunt.
"I didn't ask for that..." Lyra muttered darkly.
"So, tell me, how is the predicament you're pushing me into any different? You think I asked for it?" Athena pressed.
Lyra was about to offer a similarly cutting response, but before she could reply, Sarah stood and intervened.
"He's just a child, Thea, a 15-year-old boy carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. He has no family, no one to love him. He never asked for this. What about his situation?" Sarah asked, cutting through the tension.
"While we fight for what's yours and mine, he's fighting for his life and the futures of thousands of witches and wizards, and indirectly, yours too. Do you think that's fair? Do you think he asked for this?"
"He needs you to be brave enough to care for him, even if you may never have any direct involvement in his life. His future is in your hands, Aunt Athena. I know you wouldn't want anything to happen to him on your watch. Think of him as one of your own students. Would you wish such a dire fate upon them? Think of me, think of Lyra, think of Aunt Minerva. We're fighting for him too. Would you toy with our lives as well?" Sarah continued.
Athena pursed her lips. Sarah had placed, an argument of empathy in front of her. She had cunningly, tapped into the softest side of Athena. Once again, Sarah had used her intelligence, to get what she wanted. Skilfully manipulating Athena's logical mind, and breaking down the doors of her soft heart.
Athena sighed, taking off her glasses. She rubbed her temples in thought. She then nodded in defeat. Waving her wand, she transfigured the teacup, into two pieces of parchment, and a quill with some ink.
"Fine!" Athena said, handing Albus the letter.
"Give him what he wants. Help that child."
Albus accepted the letter with gratitude, and Athena pocketed the second one. She then stood up as Lyra frowned at her.
"Where are you going?" Lyra snapped.
"Home." Athena replied distastefully.
"Eat dinner with us."
"I'm not interested in your hospitality..."
"I don't care. Eat dinner with us."
"Just get the blasted bird to take me home, Lyra!
Lyra remained motionless as Athena seethed with anger. The kitchen gradually emptied, leaving only Athena, Minerva, Lyra, and Dumbledore behind.
"Dinner was undoubtedly a charade..." Athena snapped knowingly.
"We'll leave you alone." Albus said to Lyra, who nodded. They began to exit.
"HOLD ON!" Athena snapped, causing the two to halt.
Athena cornered Dumbledore, locking eyes with him. Her voice was resolute.
"You know, don't you?" She asked pointedly, her gaze unwavering. He met her gaze and offered a gentle smile.
"Yes." Albus replied softly, glancing at Lyra.
"And this...matter between my sister and you...did it happen before...or after..." Athena gestured ambiguously between him and Minerva. She needed to know whether he was here out of love for her sister or merely because he had discovered their shared daughter.
"Before."
"How long ago? Last year?"
"A few months ago."
Athena bore into him with a sharp remark, her nail prodding his chest.
"I'll say this once, Albus Dumbledore. If you dare mess with her happiness again..."
"I have no intention to, Athena."
"You didn't last time, either!" She spat at him, her distrust evident. He met her with an apologetic expression.
"I understand your concerns." He acknowledged.
"I don't trust you!" Athena stated firmly, her gaze unrelenting.
"I understand that...but I love your sister very much...I always have..." He began, pleadingly.
"And what about Lyra?" Athena inquired carefully. She needed to ensure that Lyra wasn't being neglected conveniently because these two had sorted out their situation. She knew that these matters weighed heavily on her niece.
"She completes us, Athena...do you really think so little of me? That I'd abandon my own child? Do you realize that I have regretted every moment since I left your sister that night? Do you understand that this, all of this, was all that I wanted in my life? But I never got to see her grow up. I never got to raise my own daughter, to love her the way a father should! Don't you see that, Athena? I know you're blinded by your love for your sister, but nothing will change the fact that I deeply love them both!" He responded with all the sincerity he could muster.
Athena's anger began to subside as she listened to him. It was evident that defending himself had taken a toll on him. He seemed to be in inner turmoil, but he also appeared resolved not to run away this time.
"And you're fine with this? You've found peace?" Athena asked, turning to Lyra and holding her hands gently.
"I am, Aunt Athena." Lyra replied softly, placing a tender kiss on the woman's cheek to express her gratitude for her unwavering support. Athena, in response, exhaled a heartfelt sigh and enveloped Lyra in a tight, rare embrace, one that Lyra eagerly reciprocated, the warmth of their affection binding them in that moment.
"I hope you won't repeat the same mistakes, Albus." Athena calmly addressed him this time, her anger toward him gradually waning.
"I assure you I am not as foolish as I was then." He promised her.
Athena then turned to her sister, embracing her tightly. Minerva returned the affection with equal intensity.
"I'm here for you...whenever you need me...whatever you need, Minnie!" Athena whispered into Minerva's ear.
"I know...Thee-Thee." Minerva teased, evoking a faint chuckle from Athena.
With a few more parting words, Athena made her way towards the waiting Phoenix.
AN/- Hey Guys, loving the reviews! Really appreciate the support and kind words, please do write in your thoughts, would love to know your ideas and opinions on the story! Thanks :)