Prompt: Forbidden Knowledge

Chapter 26: Forbidden Knowledge

Minerva McGonagall walked through the empty castle. The summer holiday brought mixed emotions. Now more than ever. While her students were on Hogwarts Grounds she knew they were protected and accounted for. Turning them back over to their families at the end of the term felt like turning them loose into a minefield. Obviously the students in the most danger were the muggleborns. The Order was providing personal security and protections for those families. After ten years of the process, they had a one hundred percent success rate. How that had been possible had been a topic Minerva preferred not to discuss.

A shadow at the end of the hallway to her office had her taking her wand out. The protections hadn't been breached. Better safe than sorry. It didn't take long for her to recognize the form. She wasn't surprised by his visit either. "Mister Potter, Happy Birthdays are in order," she said, securing her wand. She was worried for the wizard. Nearly as much as she was the day he found out Hermione was killed.

"I'm not sure it's happy, but it's my birthday, alright. Twenty-nine. Seems like a year to question your choices," he commented.

"In order to correct mistakes before a milestone birthday?" she asked. In the years since the battle at Hogwarts, Minerva had never been shy to question Harry's motives and choices. She felt responsible for him, perhaps more than her current students. There should have been something she could have done to spare him the pain he'd experienced.

"Something like that," he said, dismissing her and changing the subject. "I wanted to check in and see if you had any addition names of first year muggle born students. We're updating assignments tonight for next month. I'd like the families to be introduced to their protection. It's important they understand their kids will be safe."

"I haven't consulted the book and quill yet today, but you have the most up to date list I have. I've always sent the names to you the day they were revealed to me," she told him, trying not to sound like she was scolding him. This wasn't the reason he was lurking outside her office door alone on his birthday. "Would you like to come up and have some tea? Perhaps a cake if the house elves are still in the kitchens."

Harry rubbed his neck awkwardly and nodded. "That'd be… I'd like that. If you don't mind."

Minerva gave the password to the gargoyle, she led the way up the spiral stairs. Motioning to the sitting area, she made her order for a kitchen service on a small pad on her desk. The tea and large silver dome were already on the coffee table by the time she took her own seat. When she studied him, she was sad at what she saw. He looked exhausted and dejected. He was carrying the weight of the war and seemed to keep all his friends at a distance. There was a time she suspected that choice was about protecting himself from another loss. After learning about Albus Dumbledore's theory about Voldemort's horcruxes, she had a different idea. Glancing at the painting of the former headmaster, she scowled to see it empty. "Wouldn't you rather be having dinner tonight with your friends?"

He looked up with some surprise and hurt. He served two cups of tea and took one in his hands. "Aren't you a friend?"

"Well, certainly. But I'm not an obvious choice for celebratory events."

"Hm," he muttered, staring into his cup. "Not dying this year is a cause for celebration I guess. That might depend on who you ask," he finished and glanced toward the same empty portrait Minerva had been looking at.

"Albus didn't want you dead."

"Not me exactly."

This was a familiar dance between the two of them. He suspected she knew. And she knew but didn't want him to suspect. She didn't want him to think what happened to him as a baby changed the way she felt about him, because it didn't. What he did with his condition was another matter. "Harry. I will always be grateful for what you've done for this school. If not for your efforts to liberate it from the Death Eaters and your continued efforts to keep us isolated from the war, a generation of magical students would have been lost."

"That's a long lead up to a but," he observed.

Tilting her head toward him, she continued, "But, you deserve to have a life too. This war isn't yours alone to fight and there are any number of people close to you who want to share your burden."

He stood, not wanting to really continue the conversation. "I had my shot at spending my life with the person who was willing to share my burden. It's easier to keep it to myself."

Minerva didn't want to argue with such a broken man. He needed to heal more before he could hear what she had to say. With a wave of her wand, the silver dome turned into a cake box. A plastic window revealed a chocolate cake with a simple Happy Birthday scrawled neatly on it.

Harry smiled down at the treat and picked it up. "You'll tell me if the book of admittance names more muggleborn students?"

She nodded, "You'll be the first I tell. Try to unwind tonight. The war will still be there tomorrow. You won't have another twenty-ninth birthday." She watched him go and sighed. She wasn't giving up on him for good, just for the night. Deciding to focus on a happier thought, she wanted to see if an eleven year old was recorded that day. Perhaps a young wizard who shared the same birthday as the boy who lived could give her hope. With a wave of her wand, a staircase appeared in the back wall of her office. She purposely climbed the old steps, and as was her custom, she thought about the few witches and wizards in history who had the privilege to witness this bit of magic. The quill was hovering above a large open tome. A sign that at least one name had been added recently. What she saw wasn't a combination of surnames she ever thought she'd see. Liam Granger-Potter.