I hope you like this chapter :) Would love to know your thoughts!

12 October 1996

Minerva entered the hospital wing again and closed the door gently behind her. The lights in the infirmary had been dimmed, and all that could really be seen were faint shadows of beds - some occupied while others were not.

Currently, Minerva was searching for a particular bed. Her eyes swept the room before then finally drifting to the end of the infirmary where there stood a particularly dark shadow. It outlined the curtains Madame Pomfrey had drawn to give Katie Bell some privacy. It was more of a respectful gesture since Katie, at the moment, would not have known if the curtains had been drawn or not. Indeed, following touching the cursed necklace in Hogsmeade, she had been drifting in and out of consciousness for several hours.

Poppy had managed to get Katie stable and had since put her in a dreamless sleep while decisions regarding next steps were being made. Minerva was coming to discuss these next steps now. She made a move to the end of the hospital wing and knocked gently on a smart wooden door leading to Poppy Pomfrey's office and private quarters.

The door opened and Poppy appeared. She was still wearing her uniform and faint worry lines could be seen creasing her forehead. She looked pale and a little ashen-faced however still appeared capable and in complete control of the situation.

"Come in," she said, opening the door a little wider.

Minerva stepped into the warmly lit room. "How is she?" she asked, as Poppy magicked an extra chair.

"Better than I thought, though not nearly as well as I would like," Poppy said, pausing while she waited until they had both sat down. "Severus did a good job helping with the curse."

Minerva nodded. "Yes, he was very quick on his feet," she agreed.

"And if Hagrid had not acted so fast..."

Minerva nodded again as Poppy trailed away. It was clear what Poppy was trying to say - Katie Bell would not be alive if it were not for Rubeus, Severus and even Minerva's three Gryffindors who had been with Katie at the time of the incident.

"But while she is not in the most precarious position now, I do believe that she would be better off at St Mungo's. The equipment will be much better there."

"I can arrange for that now," Minerva said, making a mental note to send a message to St Mungo's as soon as she got back to her office. "Is there anything else?"

Poppy shook her head, though she looked a little hesitant. Understanding why, Minerva sighed. "I am as much at a loss as you are," she said.

"I was told she was delivering the necklace to someone in the castle..."

Minerva nodded. "That is what I was told. I expect whoever gave Katie the necklace instructed her to do so," she noted.

"Poor girl," murmured Poppy.

Minerva nodded again, quite in agreement with her colleague. She then stood up and straightened her glasses. "I will send a letter to St Mungo's now," she said. "Is it best I ask that they come now or in the morning?"

"In the morning," Poppy answered firmly, getting up too to see Minerva out. "The girl isn't in any immediate danger anymore, and I rather think waking her now to move her would do more harm than good."

"Very well," Minerva replied. "I shall see you tomorrow, Poppy. Do alert me if there are any changes."

"Of course, Minerva," Poppy said, opening the door to her office. Minerva stepped out and, after pausing slightly in front of the curtained off area in the hospital wing, she sighed as she felt an uncomfortable knot form in the pit of her stomach, and then left.

The walk to her office was brief, and once Minerva had opened the door and strode swiftly to her desk she immediately waved her hand so that a piece of parchment, her quill and an almost empty ink bottle floated gracefully towards her and settled onto the table. Seeing the little ink she had left as she unscrewed the cap of the inkbottle, Minerva made a mental note to go to Hogsmeade to purchase some more.

She printed St Mungo's address on the front of an envelope, then moved on to write the letter. She had almost reached the end when a blue phoenix flew directly through her wooden door. Minerva barely looked up. And, already knowing what the phoenix was going to ask, she spoke before it had a chance to open its beak.

"Use the fireplace," she said. "Office, not quarters," she added as an afterthought - it would not do to have Albus turn up in an empty room, she thought.

The phoenix disappeared back where it came from, and barely a minute later emerald flames erupted in the fireplace. Unfazed by Albus' sudden appearance, Minerva acknowledged his presence with a brief glance, a gesture indicating that he should sit and that she would be with him in just a minute, before then returning her attention to her letter. She signed her name, re-read what she had written, then casually waved her fingers so that the letter folded and slotted itself into the envelope. With another small wave, she sealed the envelope with burgundy wax and the Hogwarts stamp.

"Sorry, Albus," she said. "I will be just a moment," she added, getting up to walk to the fireplace. She sprinkled some floo powder onto the logs and then placed the envelope into the green flames. Though she knew the magical fire would not send the parchment to light, Minerva was still not entirely used to the process and so still felt a small amount of relief when the letter remained intact. "St Mungo's urgent care office," she said, "for Healer Milbourne."

Faint black letters appeared on the back of the envelope and, after a small pop, it vanished. Minerva sighed and got up, feeling grateful again for the direct line Hogwarts had to St Mungo's.

"Poppy wanted Miss Bell to be transferred," she explained as she took a seat opposite Albus again. "An owl would not have arrived in time."

Albus nodded. "I spoke to Madam Pomfrey before I came," he told her. "She told me that you were arranging the transfer. Thank you," he added after a slight pause.

Minerva made an odd movement between a shrug and a shake of the head indicating that it was no trouble. "I take it you have spoken to Rosmerta?"

"Naturally," Albus confirmed. "Though the information was not as nearly as helpful as I would have liked," he added. "She cannot tell us for certain who entered that bathroom. There are many customers at the Three Broomsticks. To be able to recall everyone who entered and all who used the bathroom would be—"

"—nigh on impossible," Minerva finished with a sigh and a tired nod. "I thought as much."

There was a short silence during which time both Minerva and Albus thought about the necklace lying on Severus' desk in the dungeons.

"Thank goodness Miss Bell was not alone when she opened the packaging," Minerva finally said, closing her eyes briefly. She breathed in and opened her eyes again. "Have you seen the necklace?"

Albus nodded. "Severus and I looked at it earlier on," he said.

Minerva swallowed. "The girl could have died," she said quietly. "She could have died trying to deliver a cursed necklace of all possible things."

"Have you spoken to Harry, Weasley, and Granger?"

Minerva nodded, remembering the peculiar conversation she had had with those three Gryffindors. "I have. I did as soon as they returned from Hogsmeade," she added, pausing briefly. "Potter told me the most unusual theory about who could have given Miss Bell the package."

Albus raised his eyebrows interestedly. "Indeed?"

"Yes," Minerva said slowly. "He believes Draco Malfoy cursed Bell and forced her to deliver the necklace he apparently purchased at Borgin and Burkes. Granger began to tell me about an attempt she Potter and Weasley made to enter Borgin and Burkes and discover what Malfoy had bought or reserved there."

"Reserved?"

Minerva nodded, frowning again, even more puzzled now by the odd story.

"I can make neither head nor tail of it," she admitted finally. "Sometimes, I think those children speak in code. They were hardly making any sense. And, a most ludicrous idea indeed, that Draco Malfoy should wish such ill on a fellow student. He is still a child after all."

"And yet sometimes children are the easiest to manipulate and blackmail," Albus said pensively. "And it is not a student he would have intended to harm..."

"He?" Minerva repeated. "He could not have done anything Albus. I was with Malfoy all afternoon today - he was serving detention with me."

Albus looked up, a flash of surprise passing across his piercing blue eyes. Then, he frowned looking even more puzzled and deep in thought than he had before.

"You appear even more surprised than Potter was when I informed him of Mr Malfoy's whereabouts," Minerva said, looking at her friend suspiciously. It was clear Albus had tried to suppress whatever thoughts were passing through his mind. Unfortunately, for him, Minerva could read him far more easily than he was aware. Something about the news she had just given him had shocked him deeply.