The Boy Who Lived

Turmoil

Two days before term was about to start at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the school was thrown into turmoil.

And Ron appeared at Beaumont Hall before breakfast in a state of panic.

'Where's Harry?' he blustered as he charged into the dining room to find Draco and Teddy having breakfast, staggering slightly because of the aftershock of an unanticipated and very fast Apparation from Scotland to Wiltshire.

'Showering,' Draco drawled after the redhead who was already leaving and taking the stairs two at a time up to the master bedroom.

'Harry! HARRY!' Ron was bellowing as he flung open the bedroom door, not even knocking first.

He felt sick.

'RON!' Harry exclaimed as he hurriedly pulled on his combats. 'What the hell?'

'Harry, Minerva's gone missing...' he panted.

Both Hermione and Draco appeared at the bedroom door, drawn by the pale Ron and the commotion. It didn't bode well.

'What do you mean?' snapped Harry as he pulled on his t-shirt.

'Just that. She's not in her office or apartment rooms, not in the Great Hall or staff room. No one can find her.'

'She's probably just out walking or in her Animagus form or something,' Harry dismissed.

Ron wanted to slap him. He wasn't listening. 'NO! I was supposed to be having a bloody breakfast meeting with her but she wasn't there. The breakfast was, and Diana was on the desk, looking distressed. It looks like there was some commotion but no Minerva... And now the Floo's down and, for some reason, the school let me Apparate straight here. It was like it sent me. I just thought I needed to get here to tell you and next thing I know I was landing in your hall.' Ron faltered and sunk onto the daybed in the turret area, scrubbing a hand through his hair. Bloody hell! How could the world function without Minerva McGonagall in it? Where had she gone? His hands were shaking.

It took him some time to realise Hermione was sitting beside him, an arm around his shoulders, her side pressed firmly against him.

'We'll find her,' she said softly.

'I need to go to Hogwarts,' said Harry, surprisingly calmly. 'Draco, will you be able to come too?'

'Of course. I'll Owl Agatha.'

'Right, I'll meet you all downstairs in five minutes.'

The next time Ron saw Harry, he was talking to Severus Snape's portrait in the gallery. He still didn't quite get why Harry had a portrait of that bloody greasy git hanging in his house.

Professor Filius Flitwick met the group of four ex-students on the doorstep to the school. He was somewhat pleased to see Ronald Weasley, partly because he had suddenly disappeared as they stood in Minerva's office, deliberating what to do next. After that, Filius had left the office quickly, in case the office was mysteriously vanishing people. He then sent a Patronus to Kingsley Shacklebolt and was waiting for the Minister to arrive. He had to admit it was somewhat more comforting to see the Golden Trio arrive, albeit with Draco Malfoy and a large shaggy dog that was bigger than he was. If anyone could resolve this, he knew they could.

'Has anyone else been in her office?' Harry Potter commanded.

Filius shook his head, 'the Aurors and Kingsley are on their way.'

'And I assume you're in charge in mum's absence,' Harry said.

'Yes,' he said quietly, the sobriety of the fact settling on his shoulders. Filius looked up at the young man in front of him and thought he looked distracted, understandably. He was pale and jittery, most unlike the schoolboy he remembered, the very same who'd faced Voldemort many years ago. But Filius seemed to remember that Harry Potter always defied assumptions about who he was, right from the time he first came to the school as just little Harry with Minerva and sat in his classes waving Hagrid's whittled wand.