Minerva woke up in her Animagus form, an exceedingly unusual habit for her. She felt numb, trapped in a dense feline lethargy, until a strange disturbance in her own body pulled her from her torpor. In her initial daze she didn't pay much attention to it, but consciousness struck her fully as she perceived the warmth of another furry creature curled up against her back. The memories of the preceding hours invaded her in a violent rush, forcing her to acknowledge the origin of that intense and throbbing satiety she was experiencing inside.
Panicking, the tabby cat made a forced leap, regaining her human anatomy in midair. The abrupt movement awakened the other feline, who observed her with half-lidded, confused eyes.
McGonagall found herself unable to hold his gaze. Almost at the exact instant her feet touched the ground in her witch form, fear drove her to transform back into a feline and hurry away through the owl conduit at top speed. She knew that fleeing in that manner was a cowardice unworthy of her maturity, but she felt completely ill-equipped to face a conversation. Her emotions were a mess; she feared that the brothel's atmosphere would drag her into another frenzy, and above all, she was terrified to admit the immense physical and psychological fulfillment that consumed her. That had been one of the greatest post-coital climaxes of her life. What Minerva did not know was that mating in an Animagus state merged the complexity of human pleasure with the brutal satisfaction of animal instinct when quenching its heat.
In such a state of vulnerability, it would have been impossible for her to keep a cool head and judge the matter objectively. Although it pained her to abandon Tom to his fate, her absolute priority was to put distance between them and calm her mind. There would be time to return and severely reprimand the boy for subjecting her in such a wild manner... though every time the memory crossed her mind, an unmistakable electrical current ran down her inner thighs.
Thus, Minerva returned to Hogwarts, seeking refuge in the routine of work to disperse her thoughts. However, what she encountered upon crossing the castle gates shattered any semblance of calm: the hospital wing was overflowing with several students and a professor, all in extremely grave condition. The mystery of the Chamber of Secrets had finally been resolved during her absence.
The magnitude of the crisis left Minerva perplexed, instantly burying her personal dilemma. Grateful to have a distraction that demanded her total attention, she immediately went to visit those affected, most of whom belonged to Gryffindor house.
The professor felt deep pity for her pupils, combined with a surge of indignation upon learning the details of the event. Once again, she was forced to lament the reckless and imprudent nature of the lions. Likewise, a pang of guilt tormented her: she bitterly reproached herself for having failed in her responsibilities on such a critical day, questioning her worth as an educator for having absented herself from the school merely to be possessed by a gigolo. Nevertheless, she was unable to fully blame Tom. With a heavy sigh, she tried to focus on the present.
During her stay in the hospital wing, she confirmed that almost the entirety of the Weasley family occupied the cots. All presented wounds of varying severity, with the exception of one boy with scarlet hair. For some reason she couldn't quite fathom, the proximity of that youth caused her a visible shudder; even perceiving his scent in the air ignited an inexplicable alarm in her senses. Minerva attributed it to the boy's turbulent history and the sexual issues she had experienced with him. She assumed it was a mechanism of her own conscience, punishing her with remorse for having judged him severely in the past over those unwanted exchanges, when she herself had just capitulated to the most absolute carnal pleasure. Now she understood how addictive that path could become and how a teenager could lose his way, if she—an adult and experienced witch—had nearly lost herself in the attempt. She made a mental note of the need to have a serious conversation with the young man later on. However, the immediate enigma was a different one: how was it possible that this boy was the only one who had emerged completely unscathed from such an ordeal?
The arrival of Molly and Arthur Weasley interrupted her musings. Minerva couldn't help but direct a look of mild reproach at the youngsters for subjecting their parents to such anguish.
The Weasley spouses rushed toward Percy's bed, bursting into tears upon seeing the young man, who could barely half-open his eyes. It was inconceivable to them that misfortunes would target their children with such relentless cruelty.
Up until that moment, the hospital wing had been packed with curious onlookers and visitors, but the entrance of the adult Weasleys forced Madam Pomfrey to clear the room under severe threats.
The twins, Fred and George, didn't seem affected by the tension; in fact, they were already joking about demanding a medal for magical merit for their exploits. Although initially their concern for Percy had been real, seeing him safe prompted them to resort to humor to lighten the heavy atmosphere, mocking the girls who had needed to "rescue the problematic brother."
Ron adopted a similar attitude, recounting his supposed heroic participation to the few remaining visitors, at least until his eyes met those of his mother. At that instant he fell silent, sinking his head between his shoulders in anticipation of a monumental earful. Fortunately for him, with one brother possessed by dark forces, two others involved in the rescue, and a final one implicated in the death of Lucius Malfoy himself, any infraction Ron might have committed paled to insignificance.
For her part, Ginny was the main target of Molly's attentions and anxiety, as she pounced on her upon learning that she had risked her life to save her brother. The young girl, who had maintained an unusually serious composure throughout the crisis, flushed completely red at being showered with kisses and exclamations of anguish in front of everyone present. Finding herself unable to break free from the effusive maternal embrace, she chose to drag Luna over to share her embarrassment; however, the strange girl didn't even flinch, merely enjoying the warmth of a mother's affection with serenity.
For my part, I maintained my composure and acted exactly as I should. No one in the castle knew that I had also been in the Chamber of Secrets, let alone that I had come out completely uninjured. However, after my actions at the Ministry, my parents couldn't shake off their anxiety. In a way, their combined presence made the hospital wing the epicenter of attention. At least I served a purpose by helping to contain my parents, preventing them from lynching Gilderoy Lockhart right then and there.
For her part, Minerva spent the following hours listening to the statements of those involved, just as the rest of the professors had done the day before.
Broadly speaking, what she uncovered left her dumbfounded. It was a chain of improbable revelations: Percy possessed by the Heir of Slytherin himself, a group of boys attempting a suicidal rescue only to end up confronting Lockhart's criminal incompetence, and finally, the girls defeating Percy in the depths of the castle. Minerva rubbed her temples, overwhelmed by the sheer number of dangers her students had been exposed to during her absence. She felt the urge to severely reprimand the boys for their foolhardiness in facing Lockhart, but at the same time, remorse assailed her for not having been present when they needed her. As for the infamous Defense professor, she certainly didn't lack the desire to curse him, but it was unnecessary; justice was already taking care of him. The corrupt teacher lay immobilized on a cot, subjected to medical treatment that deliberately did not alleviate his pain in the slightest.
Then there were the girls. Minerva wavered between punishing their audacity or awarding their bravery. Nor did the presence of that student who remained pristine amid so much chaos escape her. Her intuition warned her that this whole ordeal might very well have been orchestrated by him, or that, at the very least, he had accidentally influenced the girls to act that way.
In the end, the Head of Gryffindor settled in beside the young women to listen to the chronological account, from the first investigations to the final duel. For some reason beyond her control—perhaps a lingering effect of the intense mystical and carnal experience lived in the brothel—Minerva behaved in an unconsciously affectionate manner. Her hands sought physical contact, resting on the girls' shoulders, invading their personal space with uncharacteristic warmth, and offering comforting hugs that none of them required, extending this unusual affection even to students from other houses.
This attitude was grating on the students' nerves. Following the events of the previous day, the residual magic of her encounter with "Tom" had rejuvenated Minerva even further, endowing her with an overflowing vitality. Due to the abruptness of her flight through the owl conduit, she had completely forgotten to apply Transfiguration charms to simulate older years. Seeing the habitually severe and rigid Professor McGonagall transformed into an energetic woman brimming with an overwhelming maternal vibe instilled an instinctive tension in the girls. They didn't know whether that uncharacteristic sweetness was genuine or the prelude to an imminent expulsion.
Ginny suffered double the torment: trapped between the suffocating attentions of her mother and the caresses of her Head of House, the red on her cheeks threatened to eclipse the tone of her own hair. Beside her, Luna Lovegood merely smiled, genuinely enjoying that bath of maternal affection. That unusual situation and embarrassment would not take long to become a running joke among the group of girls.
When the professor finally became aware of her strange behavior, she attempted to regain her composure and act as if nothing had happened, departing shortly after. Perhaps, finding herself blessed—or cursed—with that rejuvenation and with so many dilemmas racing through her mind, her thoughts sought refuge in the innocence of those troublesome young women who had saved the school. The moment had a cathartic tinge, evoking the days when she was just starting out in teaching. And although she detested the origin of the "gift" Andra had imposed upon her, as well as the murky web surrounding Tom, Minerva considered that perhaps it was time to retire part of her rigidity to offer her students a more compassionate and understanding face. But that was a reform she would plan another time.
Just as the Deputy Headmistress prepared to leave the room, the atmosphere in the hospital wing took a drastic turn. First, an order was issued for the immediate transfer to St. Mungo's of those most affected by Lockhart's Memory Charms, as well as Percy, whose state of magical degradation was the most critical of all. Straight after, a delegation of Aurors burst onto the scene to take the former professor into custody, ready to interrogate him and put him on trial for his crimes. The officers also proceeded to take the girls' official statements regarding the discovery of the Chamber. The young women, exhausted, slurred their words under the weight of the pressure; maintaining the pact of silence and lying to cover up my involvement left them drained. They longed for the storm to pass so they could speak freely, knowing that once the matter cooled down, everything said about the Chamber would be nothing more than exaggerated rumors, feeding the school's long-standing tradition of distorting heroic feats.
Of course, the echoes of the scandal didn't take long to reach the ears of Cornelius Fudge, who presented himself at the castle shortly after. The Minister had publicly assured everyone some time ago that the danger at Hogwarts was eradicated; this discovery was not only an insult to his administration, but the virtual public execution of his political reputation. He arrived desperate to control the damage, doctor the reports, and, if possible, use the rescue to climb back up in the magical polls.
However, he ran into me right in the middle of the hospital wing. I held his gaze, cold and calculating like a snake stalking its prey. Following the death of Lucius Malfoy at my hands, my status in the eyes of the Ministry had changed: I was no longer a promising student, but "someone dangerous." Although Fudge desired with all his might to throw me out of the room, he lacked an excuse; I was the brother of several of the primary victims of the incident. He was forced to tolerate my presence and swallow my precise interventions whenever he attempted to distort the story to favor his cabinet. And what the Minister did not know was that I was not there merely to keep an eye on him...