Chapter 18
Minerva wasn’t sure what she was expecting when she heard a knock on her office door in the middle of the night, but the scene she saw when she opened it; wasn’t it. She wasn’t even fully sure she was awake until Harry finally spoke.
“I wasn’t sure where else to go. Alyssa’s stable, an ampule and some Phoenix tears did that much. But I think we need to talk.”
“I would think the Hospital wing Mr. Queen.”Minerva couldn’t quite bring herself to sound angry as she ushered the three in, taking Alyssa from Harry’s back, laying her on the couch in her private quarters. Gently she checked for a pulse, and looked them over for any remaining injuries.
Slowly she felt her breathing ease. Despite the sorry state of their robes, Alyssa appeared to be perfectly fine. None of their old injuries had opened up, and while the burn like mark on their stomach had gained some tenderness to it, they had no other new injuries.
“Now-“ Taking a moment to compile herself Minerva turned quickly made her way back to the two remaining students in her room, eyes narrow and voice level. “Would one of you please tell me what on earth is going on here?”
Ginny shrunk into Harry’s side, skin pale. She looked hardly awake, a bit weak on her feet as Harry brought her towards Minerva’s desk.
“Miss Weasley, you look half dead dear. Come, let’s get you to bed.”
“But-“
“No protests. I’m sure Mr. Queen can explain just fine. Bedsides if your going to confess, I’m afraid I wont hear it. I know this wasn’t your fault, I do have some understanding of this situation.” As Ginny went to follow she swooned, eyes rolling back as she feinted. Thankfully harry was able to catch her and Minerva sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “How are none of you dead?”
“Respectfully Professor, I’m not sure myself.”
“You all need rest, we can discuss this in the morning.” Minerva let out a heavy sigh, Harry carrying Ginny as she lead him to a guest room. Gently he placed Ginny down and followed her into the main office. “Mr Queen.”
“I wanted to give you this.” Harry said, pulling a rather small diary from his vest pocket, holding it out. “It was the Horcrux. Thing basically bleed ink. I stabbed it with one of the snake’s fangs, so it’s definitely dead.”
“Very well. I’m going to have to deal with madam Pomfrey, so you may spend the night in my room. I just have one question-“
“Dead.” Harry nodded, eyes hard. “The snake ate him first.”
“Good.” Minerva nodded, watching as Harry headed into her room before quickly flu-ringing the Hospital Wing.
“Minerva, why are you ringing so late?”
“I’ve got two students in my office who need to be looked after. Neither are petrified, and I have it in good faith that situation has been taken care of.” Minerva took a deep breath, shaking her head. “No. Miss. Weasley was unfortunately the victim of a dreadful possession at the hands of you-know-who, and Mx. Wayne.” Minerva faltered, looking back at the sleeping student. “I’m have no idea. Somehow the worst injury on them is the burn on their stomach, and that seems to be… it might be best if you checked on them just to be sure.”
“I suppose that’s all the information you managed to get?”
“At this moment yes. It’s two in the morning Poppy, I sent Harry to sleep.” Minerva shook her head. “I don’t know how any of them are alive.”
In a flash of green Poppy stepped out of the fireplace, quickly dusting herself off before heading up to Alyssa.
“Burning hot. They need to be chilled off before they run ill.” She said, pausing as Alyssa let out a small groan, blinking awake. “My dear, are you quite alright? You look as though you’ve been on fire.”
“Was.” They blinked a few times. “Feel like I still am.”
“That explains why your- You were on fire and you don’t have a single burn on you?” Poppy’s eyes narrowed as she shook her head. Minerva quickly headed into a small cupboard and pulled out a simple sleeping gown she had stored. Alyssa had shrugged off what remained of their uniform and Poppy was giving them a quick once over, clearly shocked.
“I’ve never been hurt by fire. Not externally at least. Surprised the other wounds didn’t burn.”
“Your skin is somewhat burnt, but it’s surprisingly not bad.”
“So Harry got an Ampul in me. Impressive.” They nodded, shivering slightly as Poppy applied a burn ointment to their skin, slipping into the provided night gown. “I’m exhausted.”
“I would expect.” Poppy crossed her arms as Alyssa sat. “Can you tell me what happened tonight?”
“I found Riddle’s diary. That was last week and came up with a plan to get Lockhart out of the school, permanently. I- this is partly my fault. I should have just dealt with the diary, but I wasn’t sure if the bit of Riddle from it would still have hold on Ginny, and I wanted to make sure that he didn’t get stuck to her. So I planed Lockhart’s death, got the diary back to Ginny and set it up to force Lockheart into the Chamber. Harry followed me, and he made sure Ginny was out of the Chamber when I changed. I don’t remember anything after transforming, but I think if it weren’t for Harry, Ginny would be dead. And that is my fault.” Alyssa’s voice was weak, and they clenched their hands on their lap. “I should have been smarter about it, I know how to contact Constantine. I just… I wanted to do something. I wanted to deal with a problem that Dumbledor was letting fester.”
“Mx. Wayne… Did you know how much danger Miss Weasley was in?”
“Yes and no. I knew there was some sort of drain, but I didn’t think it would escalate that fast.” Alyssa shook their head, tears running down their cheeks. “I thought that maybe I could kill the snake, and then the book. And I don’t even know what happened.”
“The Horcrux is dead, Harry killed it.” Minerva soothed as Poppy headed into the guest room. “I have to ask though. Why did you think it was a good idea to try and handle this alone?”
“I don’t know. I couldn’t, and I think I just put everyone in danger. I just saw an out to such a small issue comparatively.”
“You are very mentally troubled. While this was a dangerous mistake; and I do have to take twenty points for student endangerment, I understand that you genuinely thought you were doing what was best.” Minerva soothed. “Everything is going to work out just fine alright?”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. The mandrake’s are just about ready to be brewed. It wont be until closer to June, but their will be an understanding towards them for things like exams.” Minerva nodded. “And thankfully all three of you are okay. Due to Lockhart being dead it’s likely the DADA exam will be canceled once again.”
“Alright.”
“Now, Mr. Lupin’s sleeping quarters are not far from here. I know he has some of your blankets for emergencies, I suggest you go and get some sleep. All of you will be excused from classes for the following week.”
“Thank you Professor.”
As Poppy headed out of Minerva’s room she nodded.
“Madam Pomfrey, would you please escort Mx. Wayne to Mr. Lupin’s quarters.”
“Of course Minerva.” She nodded, leading the enby out. Taking a few breaths, Minerva headed to her desk to start work on penning parents.
“Professor McGonagall.”
The smooth drawl caught Minerva off guard as she glanced up from her grading. The man was tall, and slim, almost a bit too slim. He seemed healthy. He had sandy almond skin, and brilliant ice blue eyes, slightly sharp features. Partly perched on his pointed nose was a pair of black, square framed glasses the pale orange glass left open.
“Doctor Crane correct?”
“Please, it’s Professor. While I have both taught Psychology and worked as a practicing Psychologist, Alyssa much prefers calling me Professor. Takes a way a little bit of their stress over offices and the likes.” The man smiled, bginging his fingers together. He wasn’t dressed for either job. He was dressed fairly simple, in a black long sleeved shirt with two orange stitches, gray jeans, and a pair of brown fingerless gloves. His fingernails were painted jet black and their was a smile toying at this lips.
“Of course Professor.” Minerva gave a nod. “I see you’ve gotten my letter.”
“Apologies if I’m late, Mx. Winters was causing trouble and someone had to calm them down again.” He gave a nod. “Rarely an easy task, especially with how poorly the trains have been running lately in Gotham, though I suspect that will be cleared up.”
“I see. I called you here because Mx. Wayne needs active assistance I’m afraid the school can not directly provide.”
“Oh, I’m well aware. Though I’m afraid your letter was a tad vague as to the recent events. Of course I will be more than happy to speak to the students involved to get a clearer understanding, but you must understand my concern.”
“Of course Professor, but it’s not exactly a simple situation, and I thought it best to speak in person over the matter.” Minerva offered a small smile, leading him to her sitting room. “Tea?”
“Much obliged.” He nodded sitting with a smile on the couch, nodding as one of the many House elves appeared with a tray, pouring a cup and adding a bit of sugar. “Now, what happened?”
Taking a deep breath Minerva went over everything she knew, the professor nodding along and occasionally jotting down a few notes. As she finished the professor took a long drink of tea.
“Yes, your right in worrying about the situation at hand. That sort of disregard for life will get people into trouble, though I’m certain that we both can understand that no harm was intended, save for that of a horrible, vial person.” He drawled slightly, giving a nod. “Alyssa is a special kind of person, one I find I have great respect for. They mean a great deal to me, and I take a great responsibility in the trust they have; in turn, granted me.”
“Of course.”
“You must know by now it takes quite a bit for Alyssa to trust someone enoughs to be venerable. A certain type of personality that they can ground themselves with.”
“What are you getting at?”
“I wonder if the relationships they currently have are merely exploitive in nature and are not to be considered solid. That isn’t to say that they aren’t good friends, I appreciate that you’ve talked to their friends since writing to me to inform my information more.” For whatever reason Minerva found herself both fascinated by the man and deeply unnerved. She didn’t think he was going to hurt any of the students, but there was something just behind the eyes that she felt was watching her.
“Is everything alright Minerva?”
“Your eyes.”
“Hm? Yes, sometimes if one of the others is nearby you can sense your presence. You shouldn’t mind Crow, he’s rather frightening appearance wise, but he’s actually the systems biggest protector.”
“System?”
“I have Dissociative Identity Disorder, and I would like to make it very much clear that it is not what makes me do what I do. That only has to do with how each individual personality develops, my situation is not the normal for the disorder, nor should it be treated as such.” He nodded. “I do hope that doesn’t upset you.”
“No. I understand, but this situation is not entirely my cup of tea. I wish you were an upstanding citizen and yet I find that I can not entirely fault you for ending up the way you have.” Minerva smiled softly. “And again I must thank you for coming on relatively short notice.”
“Always a pleasure to take a trip. Now I would like to know where my patient is Minerva, it’s best we get started with sessions right away.”