Post by squibstress on Nov 29, 2010 22:08:41 GMT -5
In which Harry makes a startling discovery.
Setting: October, 1996 (HBP)
Characters: HP, AD/MM
Rating: 16, for brief scenes of (dream) torture and implied sexual situations.
Disclaimer: All characters and locations in this story are the intellectual property of their creator, J.K. Rowling. Borrowed with affection and respect.
He feels the familiar rage build behind his eyes, until it explodes from every pore, engulfing the walls of the room in flame.
"So you have chosen! Nevertheless, you will dance to my tune!" he hisses, extending his wand arm toward a smoke-obscured figure.
"Crucio!"
He is rewarded with a high-pitched scream. Wonderful! He feels the power coursing through him now, and craves more. As he continues to hold the curse, the voice cuts off abruptly, gulps for air, then sends another series of screams reverberating through the sooty air. The sound fills him and brings the rage into focus and control. As the screams ebb to a whimper, a few gasps, then redouble, he can almost taste her pain, and it is sweet, so sweet. He inhales deeply, unmindful of the smoke.
Wonderful!
It is
Terrible. Horror eclipses the heady sense of power that had filled him only moments ago as he realizes he recognizes the voice of the screaming woman. An awful knowledge cuts through the fog like a scalpel, and
Harry wrenched himself forcefully from sleep. Professor McGonagall! He leapt from the chair, sending the copy of 50 Quidditch Plays They Won't Be Expecting he had been reading before he dozed off hurtling from his lap, practically dove through the portrait-hole, and ran through the empty hallway with a single thought: Find Professor McGonagall… find Professor McGonagall….
He arrived at the door to her chambers, and pounded on it, calling, "Professor! Professor! It's Harry! Are you there? Please answer!" He waited a moment, then, not hearing movement from within, repeated his urgent call. When she still didn't answer, Harry paused to think for the first time since waking.
What now? It was Sunday afternoon, and the castle was nearly deserted. Most of the older students were in Hogsmeade and the rare warmth of the late October day had beckoned the younger ones out on the grounds. Professor McGonagall could be anywhere—her classroom, the library, the staffroom, Hogsmeade… or she could be captive in a smoke-filled room, being tortured by a madman.
Should he fetch Professor Dumbledore? Since Sirius' death last year, and the events that led to it, Harry had endured no more visions—if that's what they could be called—of Voldemort. Much as he didn't want to fall into another trap—or to admit to Dumbledore that he had made no progress at Occlumency— he had to make sure Professor McGonagall was safe.
Making a decision, he dashed down the stairs, not stopping to apologize to Nearly Headless Nick as he sprinted right through the Gryffindor House ghost. "I say, Harry, just because I'm ex-corporeal…" an affronted Sir Nicholas called after him.
Arriving, panting, at the entrance to the Headmaster's quarters, Harry paused to wipe the sweat from his brow.
"Password?" inquired the gargoyle guarding the door.
"I don't know it," Harry replied quickly. "Could you please just…"
"Password?" the creature answered, implacably.
"Look, it's an emergency… can you at least tell me if he's in there," Harry pleaded with the statue.
"The Headmaster is in his private chambers, and not to be disturbed," the creature reported.
Harry sighed in frustration, then began pounding on the outer door, and shouting.
"Professor, please! It's Harry. I have to see you, it's an emergency!"
"Albus, wait… do you hear something?"
"Only the beating of my heart, my angel," murmured Albus with his lips pressed against his wife's neck.
"No, really, I'm serious, it sounds like someone's out there," she insisted.
Albus craned his neck to look questioningly into her face, then he, too, heard the faint thumping. Rising from the bed, he strode quickly to the bathroom and retrieved a plush, purple dressing gown from its hook. Slipping it on, he went to the door, opened it a few inches, and peered out into the sitting room.
"There's nobody. If it were one of the staff or an Order member, they would have Floo'ed into the study, and Fawkes would have alerted me."
The sound recommenced, and this time, they both heard a faint voice echoing in the distance.
"I'll only be a few moments, love," he said as he stepped into the adjoining room. Before quietly closing the door behind him, he added, "Don't even think of leaving that bed."
Minerva sighed. The last time he'd said something like that, she hadn't seen him again for nearly eight hours. She tried to be sanguine about the annoyances of being married to the Headmaster of Hogwarts—to say nothing of the leader of the Order of the Phoenix—but this was the first time in weeks they had been able to steal a few precious hours alone as husband and wife.
Harry was about to give up and try to rouse another staff member (Please, sweet Nimue, tell me Snape isn't the only one on duty today, he silently prayed), when he heard the huge stone walls rumble open to reveal the Headmaster.
"Harry, my boy, what brings you here? Shouldn't you be in Hogsmeade with Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger?" Dumbledore inquired pleasantly.
"Professor, it's about Professor McGonagall… at… at least I think… well, it might be…" Harry stammered.
Dumbledore paused to consider for a moment. The boy looked genuinely troubled.
"Please, do come in, Harry," he said.
Harry followed the headmaster up the spiral stairs, and into the study.
"Now, what is troubling you about Professor McGonagall?"
"She might be in danger. I was… I saw… I had another vision. Of Voldemort. He had Professor McGonagall, and he was… he was torturing her."
"I see," said Dumbledore. "When did you have this vision, Harry?"
"Just now. I was reading, and I guess I fell asleep, and then it happened," Harry answered.
Professor Dumbledore peered at him for a long moment. Harry began to get uncomfortable.
"Please, sir, do you know where she is?"
"You may rest assured, Harry, that Professor McGonagall is quite safe," Dumbledore said calmly.
A sigh of relief escaped Harry. "So it was another trap," he said.
"Oh, I doubt it," replied the Headmaster. "Voldemort underestimates you in many ways, but even he must realize that you wouldn't fall for the same ruse twice. Most likely, you connected with him in a dream state. You were simply a … guest… in the nightmare of a lunatic."
"Oh," said Harry weakly.
Dumbledore smiled reassuringly at him. "You did the right thing, Harry, coming directly to me. I'm happy to be able to reassure you. Now, if there's nothing more…"
"But how can you be sure?" blurted Harry. "Shouldn't we check on her or something?"
Dumbledore tried not to sigh audibly. Clearly, Harry would worry until he had seen his Transfiguration professor for himself.
"Will you step into my sitting room for a moment, please?" asked Dumbledore, crossing the large office to a bookshelf opposite. Harry was startled when the bookshelf disappeared to reveal a mahogany door, which the Headmaster held open for him.
Harry was apprehensive. Had he offended the Headmaster with his doubts? He stepped into the room with trepidation.
"Wait here a moment, if you would, Harry," said the old man, as he walked across the room, opened a door opposite, and spoke something quietly into the adjoining room. He closed the door again, and walked back to face Harry, saying nothing, but smiling beatifically.
It wasn't until that moment that Harry stopped to wonder why the Headmaster was wearing a dressing gown in the middle of a Sunday afternoon.
After a few moments—during which Harry nervously stared at the dirt under his fingernails—the door opened, and Harry's heart skipped a beat.
Professor McGonagall stepped into the room and strode over to stand next to the Headmaster.
"As you can see, Mr. Potter, I am perfectly well," she said. "Thank you for your concern. Now, are there any other questions?" she asked sardonically.
"No… um, that's great… I mean, that you're safe and all," yammered Harry, as he absorbed the astonishing sight of his prim Transfiguration professor wearing a knee-length green silk dressing gown and, it appeared, nothing else. As his eyes darted to her salt and pepper hair, which was decidedly disheveled, understanding dawned.
Minerva had to stifle a most un-McGonagall-like giggle when she saw the blush creeping up from Harry's collar to stain his cheeks with proof of his embarrassment.
Albus glanced at his wife, then turned his attention back to his mortified student.
"Do you need to sit down, Harry?" he prodded gently.
The young man snapped out of his stupor, and answered, "No, thanks, professor. I'm okay… I'm just… surprised, is all. I didn't realize you two were…" he trailed off, not knowing exactly how to finish his thought, and flushed crimson once again.
"It's quite all right, Harry. You see, Minerva is my wife."
"You're married? Wow, that's great," said Harry, with genuine pleasure. "When did…"
"Forty years this Christmas," replied Dumbledore, snaking an arm around his wife's waist.
Harry said, "I didn't realize…"
"Very few people do," said Dumbledore. "It's safer for both of us, and we prefer to keep our relationship professional during the school term."
"For the most part," said McGonagall, with only the hint of a smile in her voice. As Harry seemed rooted to the spot by acute embarrassment, she added, "If there's nothing else, Mr. Potter, Professor Dumbledore and I should like to continue with our didactic exercises."
Albus knew that, true to her Animagus alter ego, she liked to toy with her prey before eviscerating it, and decided to take pity on the boy. "Come, Harry, I'll see you to the door," he said, giving Harry a subtle nudge in the correct direction.
Once the stone door was shut behind Harry, Albus returned to his wife, chuckling. "That was a bit cruel, Minerva. The boy was already mortified."
"Well, it was either that or a slap in the face to pull him out of his shock," she answered.
Taking her hand and leading her back toward their bedroom, he said, "I trust you will show me a bit more kindness than you did Harry."
"On the contrary, Albus, I intend to show you no mercy," she answered.
Albus gulped, and quickened his step.
"Blimey, I'm starving!" exclaimed Ron, as he plopped down next to Harry at the Gryffindor table.
"I don't know how you could be hungry after all the sweets you ate at Honeydukes," tutted Hermione, settling herself across the table from the boys. "How was your detention, Harry? Was Snape beastly to you?" she asked sympathetically.
"It was postponed," answered Harry. "Some second-year sprouted horns and a tail, and kept shouting 'I curse you in the name of Circe's saggy tits' at everyone, so Snape had to help Madam Pomfrey sort him out."
"Well that's good, isn't it?" said Ron, dribbling pumpkin juice down his chin and wiping it with his sleeve. "What did you do all afternoon?"
Before Harry could answer, he saw Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall enter the Great Hall. He couldn't help watching them, mouth open, as they took their seats at the head table. As he stared, McGonagall caught sight of him, and fixed him with one of her sternest looks. Then she winked.
"Did I just see that?" exclaimed a flabbergasted Hermione, who had followed Harry's gaze to the head table.
"See what?" asked Ron between bites of bread.
"What's going on?" Hermione asked, narrowing her eyes at Harry.
"I'll tell you later," he mumbled, dropping his gaze to focus his attention on the wonders of his soup.
"Married?" squealed Hermione, as the three teens sat huddled in a corner of the Gryffindor common room.
Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnegan looked up from their Gobstones.
"Yeah, but keep it down, will you?" answered Harry quickly. "Dumbledore said they keep it quiet, but they've been together for 40 years."
Hermione leaned forward in her chair, and whispered, "And you think they were really…"
"…making love?"
"…having it off?"
…finished Hermione and Ron simultaneously.
Harry chuckled as Hermione threw Ron an annoyed look. "I'm pretty sure," he said.
"Ugh! That's just disgusting!" Ron exclaimed.
"I think it's sweet," Hermione said. "They're still in love after 40 years."
"Yeah, but, 'Mione, think about how old they are. Ugh!" Ron shuddered again.
"Ronald Weasley, you never cease to amaze me," Hermione sighed.
"Albus Dumbledore, you never cease to amaze me," Minerva sighed.
Her husband popped his head up from between her legs and smiled.
Setting: October, 1996 (HBP)
Characters: HP, AD/MM
Rating: 16, for brief scenes of (dream) torture and implied sexual situations.
Disclaimer: All characters and locations in this story are the intellectual property of their creator, J.K. Rowling. Borrowed with affection and respect.
He feels the familiar rage build behind his eyes, until it explodes from every pore, engulfing the walls of the room in flame.
"So you have chosen! Nevertheless, you will dance to my tune!" he hisses, extending his wand arm toward a smoke-obscured figure.
"Crucio!"
He is rewarded with a high-pitched scream. Wonderful! He feels the power coursing through him now, and craves more. As he continues to hold the curse, the voice cuts off abruptly, gulps for air, then sends another series of screams reverberating through the sooty air. The sound fills him and brings the rage into focus and control. As the screams ebb to a whimper, a few gasps, then redouble, he can almost taste her pain, and it is sweet, so sweet. He inhales deeply, unmindful of the smoke.
Wonderful!
It is
Terrible. Horror eclipses the heady sense of power that had filled him only moments ago as he realizes he recognizes the voice of the screaming woman. An awful knowledge cuts through the fog like a scalpel, and
Harry wrenched himself forcefully from sleep. Professor McGonagall! He leapt from the chair, sending the copy of 50 Quidditch Plays They Won't Be Expecting he had been reading before he dozed off hurtling from his lap, practically dove through the portrait-hole, and ran through the empty hallway with a single thought: Find Professor McGonagall… find Professor McGonagall….
He arrived at the door to her chambers, and pounded on it, calling, "Professor! Professor! It's Harry! Are you there? Please answer!" He waited a moment, then, not hearing movement from within, repeated his urgent call. When she still didn't answer, Harry paused to think for the first time since waking.
What now? It was Sunday afternoon, and the castle was nearly deserted. Most of the older students were in Hogsmeade and the rare warmth of the late October day had beckoned the younger ones out on the grounds. Professor McGonagall could be anywhere—her classroom, the library, the staffroom, Hogsmeade… or she could be captive in a smoke-filled room, being tortured by a madman.
Should he fetch Professor Dumbledore? Since Sirius' death last year, and the events that led to it, Harry had endured no more visions—if that's what they could be called—of Voldemort. Much as he didn't want to fall into another trap—or to admit to Dumbledore that he had made no progress at Occlumency— he had to make sure Professor McGonagall was safe.
Making a decision, he dashed down the stairs, not stopping to apologize to Nearly Headless Nick as he sprinted right through the Gryffindor House ghost. "I say, Harry, just because I'm ex-corporeal…" an affronted Sir Nicholas called after him.
Arriving, panting, at the entrance to the Headmaster's quarters, Harry paused to wipe the sweat from his brow.
"Password?" inquired the gargoyle guarding the door.
"I don't know it," Harry replied quickly. "Could you please just…"
"Password?" the creature answered, implacably.
"Look, it's an emergency… can you at least tell me if he's in there," Harry pleaded with the statue.
"The Headmaster is in his private chambers, and not to be disturbed," the creature reported.
Harry sighed in frustration, then began pounding on the outer door, and shouting.
"Professor, please! It's Harry. I have to see you, it's an emergency!"
"Albus, wait… do you hear something?"
"Only the beating of my heart, my angel," murmured Albus with his lips pressed against his wife's neck.
"No, really, I'm serious, it sounds like someone's out there," she insisted.
Albus craned his neck to look questioningly into her face, then he, too, heard the faint thumping. Rising from the bed, he strode quickly to the bathroom and retrieved a plush, purple dressing gown from its hook. Slipping it on, he went to the door, opened it a few inches, and peered out into the sitting room.
"There's nobody. If it were one of the staff or an Order member, they would have Floo'ed into the study, and Fawkes would have alerted me."
The sound recommenced, and this time, they both heard a faint voice echoing in the distance.
"I'll only be a few moments, love," he said as he stepped into the adjoining room. Before quietly closing the door behind him, he added, "Don't even think of leaving that bed."
Minerva sighed. The last time he'd said something like that, she hadn't seen him again for nearly eight hours. She tried to be sanguine about the annoyances of being married to the Headmaster of Hogwarts—to say nothing of the leader of the Order of the Phoenix—but this was the first time in weeks they had been able to steal a few precious hours alone as husband and wife.
Harry was about to give up and try to rouse another staff member (Please, sweet Nimue, tell me Snape isn't the only one on duty today, he silently prayed), when he heard the huge stone walls rumble open to reveal the Headmaster.
"Harry, my boy, what brings you here? Shouldn't you be in Hogsmeade with Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger?" Dumbledore inquired pleasantly.
"Professor, it's about Professor McGonagall… at… at least I think… well, it might be…" Harry stammered.
Dumbledore paused to consider for a moment. The boy looked genuinely troubled.
"Please, do come in, Harry," he said.
Harry followed the headmaster up the spiral stairs, and into the study.
"Now, what is troubling you about Professor McGonagall?"
"She might be in danger. I was… I saw… I had another vision. Of Voldemort. He had Professor McGonagall, and he was… he was torturing her."
"I see," said Dumbledore. "When did you have this vision, Harry?"
"Just now. I was reading, and I guess I fell asleep, and then it happened," Harry answered.
Professor Dumbledore peered at him for a long moment. Harry began to get uncomfortable.
"Please, sir, do you know where she is?"
"You may rest assured, Harry, that Professor McGonagall is quite safe," Dumbledore said calmly.
A sigh of relief escaped Harry. "So it was another trap," he said.
"Oh, I doubt it," replied the Headmaster. "Voldemort underestimates you in many ways, but even he must realize that you wouldn't fall for the same ruse twice. Most likely, you connected with him in a dream state. You were simply a … guest… in the nightmare of a lunatic."
"Oh," said Harry weakly.
Dumbledore smiled reassuringly at him. "You did the right thing, Harry, coming directly to me. I'm happy to be able to reassure you. Now, if there's nothing more…"
"But how can you be sure?" blurted Harry. "Shouldn't we check on her or something?"
Dumbledore tried not to sigh audibly. Clearly, Harry would worry until he had seen his Transfiguration professor for himself.
"Will you step into my sitting room for a moment, please?" asked Dumbledore, crossing the large office to a bookshelf opposite. Harry was startled when the bookshelf disappeared to reveal a mahogany door, which the Headmaster held open for him.
Harry was apprehensive. Had he offended the Headmaster with his doubts? He stepped into the room with trepidation.
"Wait here a moment, if you would, Harry," said the old man, as he walked across the room, opened a door opposite, and spoke something quietly into the adjoining room. He closed the door again, and walked back to face Harry, saying nothing, but smiling beatifically.
It wasn't until that moment that Harry stopped to wonder why the Headmaster was wearing a dressing gown in the middle of a Sunday afternoon.
After a few moments—during which Harry nervously stared at the dirt under his fingernails—the door opened, and Harry's heart skipped a beat.
Professor McGonagall stepped into the room and strode over to stand next to the Headmaster.
"As you can see, Mr. Potter, I am perfectly well," she said. "Thank you for your concern. Now, are there any other questions?" she asked sardonically.
"No… um, that's great… I mean, that you're safe and all," yammered Harry, as he absorbed the astonishing sight of his prim Transfiguration professor wearing a knee-length green silk dressing gown and, it appeared, nothing else. As his eyes darted to her salt and pepper hair, which was decidedly disheveled, understanding dawned.
Minerva had to stifle a most un-McGonagall-like giggle when she saw the blush creeping up from Harry's collar to stain his cheeks with proof of his embarrassment.
Albus glanced at his wife, then turned his attention back to his mortified student.
"Do you need to sit down, Harry?" he prodded gently.
The young man snapped out of his stupor, and answered, "No, thanks, professor. I'm okay… I'm just… surprised, is all. I didn't realize you two were…" he trailed off, not knowing exactly how to finish his thought, and flushed crimson once again.
"It's quite all right, Harry. You see, Minerva is my wife."
"You're married? Wow, that's great," said Harry, with genuine pleasure. "When did…"
"Forty years this Christmas," replied Dumbledore, snaking an arm around his wife's waist.
Harry said, "I didn't realize…"
"Very few people do," said Dumbledore. "It's safer for both of us, and we prefer to keep our relationship professional during the school term."
"For the most part," said McGonagall, with only the hint of a smile in her voice. As Harry seemed rooted to the spot by acute embarrassment, she added, "If there's nothing else, Mr. Potter, Professor Dumbledore and I should like to continue with our didactic exercises."
Albus knew that, true to her Animagus alter ego, she liked to toy with her prey before eviscerating it, and decided to take pity on the boy. "Come, Harry, I'll see you to the door," he said, giving Harry a subtle nudge in the correct direction.
Once the stone door was shut behind Harry, Albus returned to his wife, chuckling. "That was a bit cruel, Minerva. The boy was already mortified."
"Well, it was either that or a slap in the face to pull him out of his shock," she answered.
Taking her hand and leading her back toward their bedroom, he said, "I trust you will show me a bit more kindness than you did Harry."
"On the contrary, Albus, I intend to show you no mercy," she answered.
Albus gulped, and quickened his step.
"Blimey, I'm starving!" exclaimed Ron, as he plopped down next to Harry at the Gryffindor table.
"I don't know how you could be hungry after all the sweets you ate at Honeydukes," tutted Hermione, settling herself across the table from the boys. "How was your detention, Harry? Was Snape beastly to you?" she asked sympathetically.
"It was postponed," answered Harry. "Some second-year sprouted horns and a tail, and kept shouting 'I curse you in the name of Circe's saggy tits' at everyone, so Snape had to help Madam Pomfrey sort him out."
"Well that's good, isn't it?" said Ron, dribbling pumpkin juice down his chin and wiping it with his sleeve. "What did you do all afternoon?"
Before Harry could answer, he saw Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall enter the Great Hall. He couldn't help watching them, mouth open, as they took their seats at the head table. As he stared, McGonagall caught sight of him, and fixed him with one of her sternest looks. Then she winked.
"Did I just see that?" exclaimed a flabbergasted Hermione, who had followed Harry's gaze to the head table.
"See what?" asked Ron between bites of bread.
"What's going on?" Hermione asked, narrowing her eyes at Harry.
"I'll tell you later," he mumbled, dropping his gaze to focus his attention on the wonders of his soup.
"Married?" squealed Hermione, as the three teens sat huddled in a corner of the Gryffindor common room.
Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnegan looked up from their Gobstones.
"Yeah, but keep it down, will you?" answered Harry quickly. "Dumbledore said they keep it quiet, but they've been together for 40 years."
Hermione leaned forward in her chair, and whispered, "And you think they were really…"
"…making love?"
"…having it off?"
…finished Hermione and Ron simultaneously.
Harry chuckled as Hermione threw Ron an annoyed look. "I'm pretty sure," he said.
"Ugh! That's just disgusting!" Ron exclaimed.
"I think it's sweet," Hermione said. "They're still in love after 40 years."
"Yeah, but, 'Mione, think about how old they are. Ugh!" Ron shuddered again.
"Ronald Weasley, you never cease to amaze me," Hermione sighed.
"Albus Dumbledore, you never cease to amaze me," Minerva sighed.
Her husband popped his head up from between her legs and smiled.
.
