Finally Gone!
Pomona placed their deck on the table, then Filius charmed it to start shuffling. Severus slid them each a glass, then passed around the bottle.
"Aren't we going to wait for Minerva?" Pomona asked.
"She's still recovering," Severus replied.
Pomona furled her brow in concern. It'd been bad enough that their staff had been shuffled around so much during the year, but to have Minerva out of commission was concerning. If nothing else, Pomona was quite certain it was Minerva that kept Hogwarts running on a regular basis.
"How are we supposed to play without her?" Filius asked as the deck dealt four hands.
"Who says you can play without me?"
Minerva hobbled into their secret meeting place. A cane supported her weight.
Pomona quickly got up and pulled Minerva's chair out for her.
"That's quite unnecessary, Pomona, but I appreciate it all the same."
Minerva used her free hand to steady herself on the chair as she eased herself into it.
"Just keep the drinks coming, and all will be well."
"That was a nasty incident you had," Filius said, more to remind himself than to inform anyone else.
"I don't know when the Ministry started using stinging hexes," Minerva said. "Or anything more than simple Stunners. Hagrid and I weren't resisting, simply refusing to move."
Chips appeared in front of each of them. Minerva filled her glass, downed it, then filled it again.
"Are you sure you're alright to—" Pomona started, but Minerva dismissed her concerns with a wave of her hand.
"I'm celebrating the vanquishing of a fearsome beast."
Filius and Pomona exchanged glances. They looked at Severus for a moment, but he ignored them all and started the game.
Severus eyed the large pile of chips in front of Minerva and groaned.
"Did Albus give his favorite students points in secret again?" he asked.
Minerva took another sip of her drink before answering.
"I don't know, I wasn't there."
Pomona tossed some of her chips into the table.
"Everything's thrown off with Umbridge canceling Quidditch the end of the year," she said. "I was sure we would win it this year."
"But now Diggory's gone," Severus said. "Such a shame."
"I must admit," Filius said, tossing some of his chips into the pile, "Slytherin has been quite astounding this year on the Pitch."
They all turned to Minerva to await her comeback. Gryffindor had handed Slytherin their only loss that year, and Ravenclaw was no joke. The fact that Malfoy had beaten Chang to the Snitch, when it hadn't appeared right next to him, was nothing short of a miracle. He'd also managed to spot the Snitch before Potter, adding to their equal surprise. Unlike Chang, Potter had still beaten Malfoy to the Snitch.
"Nothing to add, Minerva?" Filius asked.
Filius had caught on to events, even if no one else had. He'd spotted the Snitch himself, then Malfoy, then Potter. Except Potter hadn't spotted the Snitch, he'd turned around and dove for it. He shouldn't have caught it before Malfoy. Then Potter had been conveniently pulled from the next match. Out of respect for Minerva and Potter, Filius had kept quiet about it.
"Only that I'm happy that awful woman is finally gone," Minerva said, changing the subject before she started having to deflect more questions she didn't want to answer.
"I will have to agree with you there," Pomona said. "Everyone was so miserable. Not to mention, poor Sybill."
Minerva downed her glass again, then refilled it. After putting her chips on the table, she took another drink.
They all eyed Minerva as they went around again. She took another drink when Severus took the hand.
"Might want to take it easy," Pomona said.
"I've kept up with Hagrid, I'll be fine," Minerva said. "If you ever need a lightweight, talk to Albus. He can't hold his liquor to save his life."
Pomona and Filius exchanged glances.
Severus nodded understandingly.
���I won't ask how you know that," Pomona said.
"That woman had it out for my students." Minerva's face hardened into a glare. "She bullied us into turning a blind eye. She took over our school, and kicked our friends out of their home. Not to mention, she had the Ministry attack Hagrid and I." Minerva took another drink. "And she tried to torture Ms. Granger!"
She turned a fierce glare on Severus, who shifted in his seat.
"You could've stopped that."
"He got word to the Order," Pomona said calmly, "and Ms. Granger seems far more stable now than she was at the start of the year."
"Her choice of hair colour was rather unnerving," Severus said. "Although speaking of Peta-Lorrum, is there any word?"
Filius frowned at Minerva, then at Severus.
"Is she alive?" Pomona asked.
Severus and Minerva, the only two who'd heard from Granger, exchanged glances.
"Ms. Granger seems to think so," Minerva said. "She was quite sure of herself this time, but refused to speak to anyone apart from Albus."
"It may simply be grief," Pomona said.
"Or it may not be," Filius added. "If Albus thought we needed to know, he would've told us. Until then, all we can do is speculate."
All they did for the next few minutes was speculate. Nothing was spoken out loud, but each of them kept in their own thoughts what they thought could've happened.
"Changing the subject before we all get carried away," Pomona said, sensing the disturbance at the table, "The Dating Pool."
Minerva groaned and took another drink. She was still too sober for this.
"Yes, yes, you had Longbottom and Lovegood."
"And that Ms. Parkinson and Mr. Malfoy would break up," Pomona said. "Although I will admit I didn't expect Cedric and Ms. Chang to break up. That was a little unexpected."
"I heard she didn't take it well," Minerva said.
"Heard from whom?" Filius asked.
Minerva went to take another drink and froze. She'd forgotten whom, forgotten about him for a while. Umbridge had sacked him and his sister several months ago, but she could still remember his voice.
"Alavel told me," she said, putting down her drink.
A dark cloud fell over their game, and they all put their cards down.
"The first casualty in war is never easy," Filius said.
"That was supposed to have been Peta-Lorrum," Severus said. "Now her creation's gone too."
"I don't suppose he's faking it too?" Filius asked, although he knew the answer.
"That's not his style," Severus said.
"He's not just another casualty," Pomona said. "Alavel was our friend. He was everyone's friend."
"He even tried defending Umbridge," Minerva muttered.
She looked at her drink, then decided against it.
"I really thought he'd end up becoming a permanent member of staff," Pomona said. "Argus rather liked them both. Made his job easier, but didn't make him feel bad about himself."
They sat in silence again, but neither chips nor glasses moved.
"Is there any word on his sister?" Minerva asked.
She looked from face to face, but no one had any idea.
"I'm sure she'll turn up," Severus said. "As tolerable as Alavel was, Taltria was as intolerable."
Minerva stared at her glass again. She felt as though she were trapped in a box that someone kept shaking. Nothing was constant, despite them all trying to move forward with their lives. Even Albus seemed unsure of how to proceed, but she knew what that would mean. It meant that they'd keep pushing forward, no matter what. No matter how many friends they lost.
Minerva picked up her glass and raised it.
"To Alavel."
Pomona raised hers and smiled.
"To Alavel."
Filius and Severus soon followed suit. After a drink, they all went back to their game. They talked, they glowered (Severus was exceptionally good at that), they laughed (Severus was exceptionally bad at that), and they all let the troubles of the past year go.
They all knew it wouldn't last. Deep down they all knew something was coming. They could feel it. Everything was about to change again. Just like it had when the last war started.
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