The Teacher's Son

Chapter 8

"Mum!" Harry burst into McGonagall's office.

"Harry, classes start in six minutes."

"I know, I just need to talk to you!" He seemed distressed. Minerva put down the parchment she was reading.

"What's wrong, Harry?"

"I saw the weirdest thing in the forest and then I had a dream about it and it was really scary and-" Harry's babbling was cut off when his voice suddenly stopped. He looked up at his mum, who was smiling slightly with her wand in her hand.

"Sorry." He apologized when she released the spell.

"It's alright, my boy, just slow down and start again."

Harry nodded and took a deep breath.

"Last night, when I was in the forest for detention, I saw this thing. I don't know what it was, Firenze said it was Lord Voldemort!"

"Firenze said it was He Who Must Not Be Named?" McGonagall sat up. The centaurs were notoriously good at divination, especially Firenze.

"Yeah." Harry looked confused. "Is that a bad thing?"

"N-no. Go on, Harry."

"The...thing... was drinking unicorn blood. And then when it saw me it tried to attack me."

McGonagall's mind raced. There were too many signs pointing to the same thing. But Voldemort couldn't have gotten into the Forbidden Forest without permission from a teacher or student.

"Firenze saved me."

"Firenze is a bit of an outcast among his people, Harry. He will be your friend, should you see him again. I hope you thanked him for saving your life."

"Oh I did, Mum. But when I went to bed, I had a dream about that thing."

"What was the dream about?"

"It was really jumbled. I saw it killing the unicorn... And I saw a flash of purple cloth. I don't know why..."

"Well," Minerva glanced at the time and blinked in surprise, "Harry, you're late for class, as am I. I do have the Weasley twins for first period today. I'll send a message along with you for your teacher."

She scribbled a message down on a spare piece of parchment.

"Go, go." She shooed him out of the room. "And do remember, you can go to Dumbledore as well if this happens again."

Harry nodded and sprinted off to his class, ducking an enchanted paper airplane that soared past his face.

"Mr. Weasley, Mr. Weasley! Sit down." Minerva ordered, charming the scrap of parchment that was flying around the room so that it flew up to her desk and landed neatly.

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"Where were you before class, Harry?" Ron asked as the raven-haired boy slipped into his seat, panting from running down the corridors.

"Had to talk to McGonagall." He whispered back breathlessly.

"About what?" Hermione asked.

"Nothing important." He answered.

"It's about that thing you saw last night, isn't it?"

"Hermione! It's not important!" Harry hissed.

"Miss Granger, Mr. Weasley, Mr. Potter, please pay attention." Flitwick called.

"Yes, sir." Hermione responded, sitting up straighter.

"You're telling us later, mate." Ron whispered before going, or at least attempting to go back to the nap he had been taking. Hermione elbowed him hard in the side to wake him up again.

"Ow!" The redhead grunted.

"Pay attention." Hermione ordered.

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"Albus, did Hagrid tell you what they found in the forest?" McGonagall asked.

"A dead unicorn, as I know. Was there something else?"

"Harry said there was a cloaked figure drinking the unicorn's blood. When it saw him, it attempted to attack him. You don't think..."

Albus frowned as Minerva trailed off, thinking.

"I do not know, Minerva. It is highly unlikely he would be here, yet if Harry says this is true, and he usually can be trusted, correct?"

"Are you doubting my son, Albus?"

"Of course not. But did he seem Confunded to you?"

McGonagall opened her mouth to retort hotly, then stopped herself. Dumbledore was only being cautious.

"No. He was fully in control of his mind and memories, and he was very decisive. He also mentioned having a dream about the same creature later that night, and a Confundus charm doesn't last for that long. Especially with the complexity of the spell."

Albus nodded slowly. "That is true. I will look into it, Minerva, don't you worry. Tell Harry if he has another dream, he should come speak with me about it."

"I already did, when I was sending him on his way to his first class."

"Good. Is that all you needed, Minerva?"

"Yes, thank you Albus." McGonagall stood and smoothed her green robes before turning and leaving the room.

"You knew the boy's years would be treacherous, Albus." One of the many portraits on the wall commented.

"Yes, I know. But I didn't expect it to start so soon." The old man sighed and rubbed his forehead. "I guess, it was inevitable."

"Yes, yes it was." A blonde woman off to the side commented.

"Oh, let's have none of that sass, Gabrielle." The first portrait said.

"It wasn't directed at you, Margaret."

[A/N just so y'all know, Megan is actually a Welsh version of the name Margaret, which is why I used that :D cameos!]