Harry Potter and the Web of Lies

Chapter 7: Guilt, Lies and a Funeral

Madame Pomfrey waited until Ron came out of his Common Room for supper. She'd thought about keeping him in the Hospital Wing overnight but decided against, and just as well because she needed him to help her now. She stopped him as he climbed through the portrait hole.

 'Weasley, please direct me to the Room of Requirement you were in earlier'.

'Oh okay.... Why though?' he asked, not sure if he should give away its location.

She told him what Harry had said and he agreed 'If you're sure...'

They climbed the many flights of stairs in silence until they reached the tapestry on the seventh floor. Ron walked in front of the invisible door, eyes shut, concentrating hard with Madame Pomfrey following suit until the elusive black gateway appeared. The first things they saw when they stepped were the shattered window and scorched walls but their attention was quickly diverted by Professor McGonagall's corpse as they stiffened in shock. Her face was in repose because she had been killed while unconscious and she looked more peaceful than Ron had ever seen her before. Ron's eyes widened and his mouth dropped as Poppy Pomfrey threw herself onto the ground beside Minerva McGonagall thumbing the floor and sobbing . Ron was in denial, half-expecting McGonagall to dust herself off and order him back to class - she'd been so tough... What had happened?

                                He took a step towards Madame Pomfrey. She was usually so composed and organised - now all her walls were down. If Ron was honest with himself, it scared him, knowing that adults couldn't fix things all the time and that he wasn't a child anymore, that there wasn't a generation between him and the front line. But there was nothing he could do about it and worrying wouldn't help, so he spoke quietly to Madame Pomfrey as one would to a child - death tended to do that to most people, reduce them to their basic instincts. That seemed to work well for those like Harry, who worked best instinctively, under pressure, but others, like Madame Pomfrey, became emotional wrecks for a while.

                                                                Ron nudged her. 'Come on Madame Pomfrey. It's alright, it'll be alright', trying to convince himself now as much as her. 'We need to move the body, plan a funeral. It won't hurt as much if you stay busy. Believe me, I know.... Remember Fred?' He faltered but Pomfrey had raised her head.

                                                               'Yes, of course I remember. How could I not?' She managed a half-hearted chuckle. 'Harry Potter in the Hospital Wing and they send a toilet seat. A toilet seat! Imagine! And between you and me, when they flew away on their brooms they were doing exactly what we wished we were brave enough to do!' She attempted a small smile. 'Okay, okay, let's move her.' They Disillusioned themselves and McGonagall before walking to the Headmistress's office and temporarily laying her bosy down on the desk after explainning to the Gargoyles what had happened and that they were to protect the body and guard the office. Madame Pomfrey went to the staffroom to break the sad news to the teachers and Ron went to get Neville, Luna and Ginny and brought them to the Hospital Wing to wait for Harry and Hermione to wake up.

Hermione woke up first but froze when she realised where she was and that her friends were watching her. Her heart hammered ferociously in her chest. It felt as though there was a flashing neon sign in the air above her head screaming 'MURDERER!!!'. No matter that it had been the bst and only way, the route McGonagall would have taken if she'd had a choice in the matter. A murder is a murder is a murder. How could she ever look any of them in the eye again, knowing what she had done?

                             The worst part was the guilt. Lying and keeping bad secrets are among the worst things you can do to a clean soul. She was lying by omission, and it definitely ticked both boxes. While she'd never said that Evelyn was the murderer, she hadn't said anything against that assumption or made her part in the whole thing clear.