The Boy Who Lived

The Goddess Minerva

Hebe paced her library, unused to such drama. Anxiety filled her every bone. She wanted to help but wasn't sure what she could do. How could she provide anything ground-breaking to help such illustrious people? She didn't feel useful like the Weasley men who had banded together with that man from the Ministry and were all working on the Wards together. A veritable team patrolling the boarders of the estate and fixing, repairing, strengthening... Or the team who were helping Draco move his surgery into the coach house so he could continue his work helping others.

But Minerva had been missing for nearly thirty-six hours and despite Harry and Neville sporadically disappearing off. They came back with nothing. No news. No signs. And Aurors kept coming and going and the Minister for Magic spent a lot of time with Harry. But no one had any ideas on how to trace Minerva or the Carrows and how to find them.

They all knew, with some amount of sadness, was that hundreds of school children were already on the Hogwarts Express, innocently making their way to Scotland and the Sorting was due to start in a matter of hours without Minerva there to greet them.

Ronald had to leave. He was expected at the school and it was with some obstinance that he submitted to Flitwick's summons. But as Molly had said, Minerva would have been very disappointed if he's missed it and the children came first. At least Hogwarts was nearly as safe as Beaumont. Well, it was now, but only because the Minister for Magic had posted Aurors in the corridors of Hogwarts.

All Hebe knew was her books. Books, books, books! What use were they when someone like Minerva was in trouble and needed help. How could that even be possible? Minerva, named after the Roman goddess of wisdom, the professions, the arts, and war. How could the goddess of war be held hostage or worse...? It didn't bare thinking about.

She sat helplessly on one of the sofas, Iolaus was with her. He often was. He seemed to like the quiet solitude of the library when Draco wasn't around or was busy. Minerva's little tabby kitten, Diana, had taken to following Iolaus around, so she was there too. Hebe sat stroking Iolaus's soft white fur and she wondered what to do about fresh clothes for the morning but she didn't like to bother anyone. She acknowledged that she should continue with her cataloguing and they were supposed to be having visitors from the Ministry. She needed to talk to Andromeda about that because they'd have to be postponed. She couldn't talk to her yet though. Andromeda and Molly Weasley were dealing with young Teddy who was inconsolable about his Granny Minnie. Harry had pulled the boy from his Induction Day at his new school in Godric's Hollow. Victoire Weasley too, for although it wasn't the nearest school for Bill and Fleur Weasley, the Weasleys thought the two children would be happy together. Plus, with the school being in the centre of a magical community, it was equipped for dealing with accidental magic. Since returning to Beaumont and after some careful explanations from his father, Teddy didn't want to let his Gran'ma Drom'da and Nanny Molly out of his sight. Although he really wanted to be with Harry, the young boy had tearfully demanded that his dad find his missing Granny Minnie.

Perhaps Ossy could help Hebe but she worried he might be terribly busy with the Hall suddenly being filled with people once more.

She got up and paced the library again. There must be something here, she thought. Something she could do.

She stood again and browsed the bookshelves in the History, Mythology, and Folklore section. She pulled out a book on Greek gods and goddesses and flipped it open at the page indexed 'Minerva'. Roman goddess of wisdom and strategic war, it read. She is not a patron of violence, like Mars, but of defensive war only. It seemed so right but Hebe wondered if there was something in it. She is highly revered, honoured, and respected... That much was obvious, just from the way the Hall was filled with people trying to work out where she might have been taken and how to rescue her and how to protect her extended family. She distractedly read about how Minerva, or Athena as she was called in Greek mythology, had helped Hercules defeat the Hydra of Lerna by making and presenting Hercules with a magical golden sword encrusted with rubies.