Lockhart looks around the Great Hall as the time to start his duelling club gets closer. A moment before the club is due to start, Professor Snape stalks into the room and stops to look around. Finally, he lets out a chuckle before turning back to the door and leaving.
After a few minutes waiting for any stragglers, Lockhart's shoulders slump, and he begins the process of removing the transfigured stage.
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Minerva looks up from her paperwork as the door to her office opens.
"Ah, Pomona. This won't take long. I've had 43 letters from your students complaining that you've disappeared, without warning in the middle of class. Now I appreciate that you are somewhat under an apprentice contract with Morgana, but you are employed here to teach. Because we've been working together for so long, this is just a verbal warning. However, if you continue to disappear without letting anyone know in advance, I will have to start docking your pay."
Pomona opens her mouth to defend herself when Minerva looks up again, "Pomona, I'm sorry, but I really don't have time to discuss this right now as I've got to finish a report for the board of governors, one for the Ministry, and do my NEWT marking before my next lesson in an hour and a half."
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Kate looks up in alarm, "Madam Pomphrey, it's back! And it's looking for a victim."
Poppy looks up from the student she's tending to before quickly saying a prayer to Brigid, that she's been practicing with Kate. As the faint hiss of 'Rip, tear, kill' echoes through the walls, she shares a glance with Kate before turning to the student, "Miss Ede, head to my office and close the door." She turns back to Kate, who already has a spear and shield in her grasp, "Kate… Kate, let the Morrigan know what's going on."
Kate nods and takes hold of the raven necklace hanging around her head. A moment later she turns back to Poppy, "It's done, and she's contacting Amelia. She wants us to defend the infirmary, can you make yourself a shield?"
Poppy shakes her head, and instead transfigures a few of the beds into a barricade against the door, "I wouldn't know how to use it, even if I could."
"I'll let Brigid know later, they're proficient in using a two-handed shield."
Belatedly, Poppy sends a message to each of the teachers informing them of the danger, and to keep their students in class, or their common rooms.
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Amelia looks up from her paperwork in alarm as Morgana sends her a message. Quickly taking her shield out of the mist, she sprints out of her office into the main office area, "Everyone, we have a situation at Hogwarts! Moody, get to Creature Control and grab a couple of hunters, there's a deadly snake loose. Dawlish, Thomson, you're with me. Everyone else, if you're not on duty head to Hogsmeade and make your way to the school. First priority is to get any students that are out of class, into their common rooms or the Great Hall. Do not attempt to engage the snake."
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Slowly the Aurors and staff, that aren't looking after students, find their way to the second-floor corridor. There, they gather around Sally-Anne Perks, who is frozen in a slight crouch, with one foot behind her. In front of her, she holds her shield to cover the head and torso of a smaller student. In her other hand is her blunted spear, held in a loose grip ready to stab forward at her foe. Her head is bowed behind her shield, with only the barest sliver of her eyes still visible above the topmost rim of the shield.
There they gather, in seemingly silent vigil. None wanting to breach the subject of how, despite their best efforts, they failed.
When Morgana finally arrives, she calls out, "Airmed, I need you here, now."
As the echoes of her call fade, a faint sobbing starts from under the shield. As soon as the sound is heard, everyone bursts into action to free the child. Amelia is the first one to grab their leg and pull them into the mist. As steps out of the mist once more, she sees Morgana backhand one of the Auror's into a wall, the words of a bludgeoner dying on his lips.
"I've got her, I've got her! Wands down!"
As the hubbub dies down, the sobbing girl becomes the centre of attention. More than one person taking note of the green trim. Over the next few minutes, first Moody turns up, literally dragging a couple of hunters from the DMCC, and starts looking over the scene.
Morgana rounds on the Auror that was about to use a bludgeoner, "Are you an idiot!? You do not use magic like that to rescue people!"
Amelia stands up holding the child, and puts her hand on Morgana's arm, "Morgana, I'll handle the discipline later. Right now, we have two students that need to be looked after."
As Poppy and Kate both round the corner at a run, Morgana nods curtly and makes her makes her way over to Sally-Anne. Carefully, she follows Sally-Anne's gaze to the blade of her spear before cursing loudly in Celtic, and starting to cry, "Stupid, stupid girl. Why did you have your spear tip so low…"
Behind Sally-Anne, Morgana is aware of Poppy lowering her wand, and Kate pulling the old mediwitch into a hug.
Vaguely, she's aware that Airmed has appeared, arms dripping with blood, and is talking to Poppy and Kate.
Eventually, Airmed touches her gently on the arm, "Grandmother, there's nothing we can do."
Morgana looks up at Airmed, "What do you mean there's nothing? You can sing…"
Airmed shakes her head, "Not for this, she's not entirely dead. When we sing at the well, we are calling a soul from Donn's domain, or the Otherside, and restoring it to their body. Sally-Anne's soul is still here, but her body is further gone than anything Madam Pomphrey's knowledge could bring her back from. It's almost like the trees in Auntie's domain, where she's still there, but…"
Morgana grips Airmed's wrists tightly, "Do you mean that, that she's like one of Harry's trees?"
Airmed nods, "It's the only thing I can compare it to."
As Morgana is digesting that information, Minerva comes jogging into the corridor, along with Lockhart and Snape.
With a quiet, desperate hope, Morgana covers her mouth and whispers, "Yvor, please come, I need you."
Within moments, Harry appears in the hallway, much to the consternation of the teachers that are present.
Minerva calls out, "Mr Danann, what are you doing outside your common room?"
Harry looks over, "Mum called for me." Turning to Morgana, Harry sees her tears and pulls her into a hug, "Hey Mum, what do you need?"
Morgana sniffs, and points at Sally-Anne, "Airmed says that there's nothing she can do. Please, if there's anything you can do…"
Off to one side, Poppy silences Minerva as she opens her mouth to shout at Harry, before one of the various beings around her can get offended and possibly wipe out the school. Leaning over to Snape, she softly says, "Take her to the infirmary and give her a calming draft."
Harry swallows hard, fearing the answer to his question, "If Airmed said that, what do you think I could do?"
Morgana hugs her child, "She's still in there. Like the trees in your forest. It's our fault that she's like that, if we hadn't…"
Harry puts a finger on Morgana's lips, "She may have died and been consumed. Both children could be dead. She might not have been here. We cannot know what might have been, only what is now. What of her fate? For she is still mortal."
Morgana nods, and her eyes glow white, as she focuses on Sally-Anne, the words force themselves from her throat in a choked gasp, "Sally-Anne, this is your doom, you will die, trapped in your own body as your soul withers away. Or you will die from a spell to your back as you shield others. Which is the better death is not yet known."
Harry nods, "So she still has a chance, however slim."
Morgana nods, her eyes still glowing. In front of her, Auror's scatter out of her sight lines, having heard of what happened to their boss. Lockhart and Poppy are not so knowledgeable about doom speakers, "Gilderoy Posey Lockhart, this is your doom. In a dark corridor, with a broken wand, you will be born anew, all trace of who you are erased in an instant. Or you will die alone on a snowy mountain top with all the world beneath you."
Startled, Lockhart steps back, "She's joking isn't she?"
"Poppy Lilith Pomphrey, this is your doom. You will die as you are forced to break your oaths in order to fulfil your oaths. Or you will die as a chosen of Brigid fights to protect you, and you will see them fall with your dying breath."
With the third seeing, Morgana's eyes roll up in her head, and she collapses into Harry's arms.
Lockhart backs against a wall, "She was joking, wasn't she?"
Amelia approaches Harry, "Your mother, is she…?"
Harry nods, "She's just exhausted, Doomsaying while glamoured takes it out of her, and she's been responding to prayers almost constantly when she's not teaching us."
Amelia holds a hand up, "Remember, I'm on duty at the moment."
Harry nods, "I understand. I'm going to take her home." Harry takes a deep, shuddering breath, "Kate, would you take Sally-Anne to my cottage. I…I know what needs to be done."
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A little later, a much calmer Minerva, Severus Snape, Amelia, and Madam Pomphrey are all stood around the bed of first year, Retha Corbeld.
Minerva gently asks Retha, "Miss Corbeld, can you tell us what you saw before Sally-Anne covered you with her shield?"
Retha shrinks back into her pillow, and shakes her head fearfully.
Snape leans forward, "Are you afraid someone will retaliate if you tell us?"
Retha whispers, "You won't believe me, you didn't before."
Gently, Snape tries to explain, "Is this about Weasley being possessed? I exhausted all of my knowledge on possessions, and even consulted Madam Pomphrey, and she showed no signs of having any form of ghost or spirit inside her."
"You said I was making it up, I'm not, and I wasn't. I want Professor Harris, she listens to us."
Amelia nods, "We can…"
Minerva, with a slight amount of heat in her voice, says to Retha, "Miss Corbeld, a student has already died. We need you to tell us what you saw so that other people don't die."
Retha shouts, and points to Minerva "You still haven't done anything to help Luna, she's still being excluded by her house for not relying on books." She moves her finger to Snape, "And you won't let us make friends with her. 'Slytherin house must be seen to stand together, everyone else is against us. You are here to hone your abilities.' Professor Harris doesn't care, she actually listens to us."
Snape snarls, "Why you little…"
Amelia shouts, "Enough, it's clear that for whatever reasons, Miss Corbeld doesn't trust you. Now, before you two leave, Miss Corbeld, apart from Professor Harris, are there any professors you trust here?" Retha looks at Minerva and Snape warily, so Amelia deliberately softens her stance, "Can I call you Retha?"
Retha nods.
With permission given, Amelia nods, "Retha, I am here as an Auror. As you are underage, you need to have two professors present, or one of your parents, while I question you. Normally, this would be the headmaster and your head of house. But it can be any two professors, so apart from Professor Harris are there any professors you trust to be here?"
Retha looks down and whispers, "Professor Babbling?"
Amelia smiles the way she used to smile at Susan when she was younger, and Amelia was proud of her for doing something difficult, "Thank you. I'll escort the Headmistress and your head of house outside. If you're still awake when Professors Harris and Babbling arrive, we'll talk then. Is that ok?"
Retha nods.
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Amelia walks outside the doors to the infirmary and closes them behind her. Once they're closed, she rounds on Minerva and Severus, "As a concerned parent, what the hell is going on in this school where a first year doesn't trust the headmistress or her head of house?"
Minerva angrily turns to Amelia and points in the vague direction of the headmaster's office, "You want to know what's going wrong? I don't have time to do anything except paperwork, teach, and sleep. Beth is doing my job as the head of Gryffindor because I just do, not, have, time, to do anything else. Albus let so much work slide, and I am doing my duty as both the Head and Deputy head of the school, and teaching Transfiguration. On top of that, Pomona keeps vanishing for no reason, and we're having to substitute in staff to keep an eye on her classes. And now we have this going on. I have no idea if anyone has spoken to me about a Luna or not. I am at my wit's end, and the Department of Education hasn't got back to me with any solutions yet. Oh, and Professor Lockhart isn't helping things, as I am getting 40 letters a week from 3rd year and above students about his teaching style, specifically the lack of content. Something that is adding extra work to all of the other professors including me, as they try to cover some of the material that should be covered in his subject. I used to leave notes for Albus because he was never around to do his job, and now everyone is leaving me notes because I don't have time to do anything but my jobs. I don't have any time to relax, as if I'm seen outside of class or my office, everyone needs to talk to me. So you want to know what's going on, that's what's going on, an I canna take it anymore."
Amelia blinks a couple of times, before turning to Snape. "And what's your reasoning?"
Snape scowls, "She's just a jumped up half-blood that doesn't understand the rules of Slytherin's house yet."
Amelia nods seriously, as she replies sarcastically, "Right, that's what I remember from my time at Hogwarts too. Slughorn with his cross house little club, people making cross house friendships, and Slytherins being amongst the top scorers in their favourite subjects because they were driven to be the best."
Snape reels back as if slapped by Amelia.
At the same time, Amelia waves her hand and conjures a chair with a slight gasp of effort, "Well, I'll be sitting here waiting for those professors."
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With Morgana laid out on the bed in his cottage, Harry walks outside and touches Sally-Anne's cold, hard, hand. When he can't hold back the tears anymore, he walks into the forest to the heart tree.
Once he's there, he puts his hand against Brigid's tree, and pushes gently. As his hand gently sinks into the tree, he shudders and snatches it back. Staring at the place his hand went in, he sinks to the loamy ground and crying as he holds his knees and rocks back and forth.
He's still sitting there, eyes red with unshed tears, as Susan comes to find him in the morning.