The Cupboard Series 3: Potter Haven

Chapter 17

"Miss Granger. Mister Longbottom. What can I do for you," Minerva McGonagall asked as she noticed two of her cubs loitering near the door to her office.

"Do you have a moment, Professor?" Hermione asked.

"Certainly," she replied, indicating the two stiff backed wooden chairs in front of her desk.

She watched, intrigued as the two third years entered the room before pausing and looking between each other and the door.

"Is something the matter?" she asked pointedly.

"Um, Professor, would it be alright if we closed the door?" Hermione asked.

"And locked it?" Neville added in a blurt.

With a single nod and a wave of her wand, Minerva caused the door to close behind the pair and to seal itself within its frame. Laying down her quill, she eyed the two who nervously took their seats in front of her. Whatever the problem was that had caused the pair of them to turn up in her office had them extremely unsure of themselves. And this was only the first day back. Lessons had only finished a scant half an hour before.

"Now, would you like to tell me what the problem is?" she asked, moderating her tone so as to not come across as overly harsh.

Hermione dropped her head to her lap momentarily where she held her burnt orange book bag – a present from Mister Potter, if she recalled correctly – tight against her. Her eyes sought out Mister Longbottom's who gave a slight tilt of his head in encouragement.

"Professor, you're Harry's guardian," Hermione began tentatively.

Minerva nodded slowly. "I share that honour with Mister Black."

"If I may," Hermione continued, "what's your position on what has happened to Harry?"

Minerva sat back in her chair, studying the two before her. They were, she knew, Harry's two closest friends. From what little she'd been able to divine from the scant few letters that Harry had written to her, she knew that the three friends had kept in contact with each other. How much these two knew of Harry's whereabouts though, was a mystery.

"I believe it safe to say that I believe that the charges that have been laid against Harry are not necessarily warranted," Minerva replied slowly, careful to walk the line between the truth and what could get her into trouble with the Ministry if they ever heard her true feelings.

Both children before her smiled briefly before looking at each other.

"Would I be right in assuming that you'd help Harry if you could?" Hermione asked.

"I would," she allowed.

"In that case, Professor, I have something for you," Hermione stated.

Minerva watched as she opened her bag before rummaging inside. Two objects were pulled out before one of them was passed across to her.

An eyebrow rose as she took the obviously muggle-made envelope and noticed her own name written in Harry's distinctive chicken scratch on the front.

"May I ask how you got this?" she said, her eyes still glued to the envelope in her hands.

"We, ah, we received a letter from Harry last night," Neville replied.

Minerva's eyes shot up, piercing the two in front of her. As far as she was aware, no owls entered Gryffindor Tower during the night. The monitoring charms that she'd placed on the Tower's windows years ago after a spate of reckless broom riders using the windows as a quick way in and out of the Tower would have notified her if an owl had visited one of her cubs.