They Were Brave

Minerva MacGonagall was brave. The sorting hat had told her that much all those years ago. But courage wasn't the absence of fear. Because she felt the fear. But she didn't let it break her. She stood up for herself, the students, and what was right. That was true courage.

She had known that year would be different. A different headmaster, some different teachers, and a different atmosphere. For the first time she felt no happiness seeing the children sitting at their tables the first day. All she felt was sorrow for the year they would have to go through.

At that moment she had no idea exactly what would go on that year. Nothing could have prepared her for the horrors she would witness. The pain, the torture, the tears, all of it. That year Hogwarts wouldn't be Hogwarts. It would be a place that was completely unrecognizable to her.

She remembered the first day of classes. Her office was near the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom and when she heard the screams she went to see what was going on. The sight sickened her but was etched in her brain forever. How heartless he was to torture children.

She hated feeling helpless. It was that which upset her more than anything else. She knew that if she made the wrong move they would remove her from the school, or kill her. She couldn't let that happen. Who would protect the students if she was gone? They needed her.

Sometimes she would say something, usually to Snape. She had trusted him. She had never doubted Dumbledore's judgement. Never once thought that he wasn't on their side. So when the anger overwhelmed her, she'd scream at him and he'd look at her coolly and order her out of his office.

Worse than Snape were the Carrows. They terrified her. They were heartless. They could have killed most of the students with not even a shred of guilt. But then they would have no one to torture. And the torture was almost worse. To see those students that she cared about so much treated that way.

She hated how the Slytherins joined in the torture. They were just children, really, and they had been twisted to believe that what they did was right. Nothing was worse than seeing children who had been taught in that way. Seeing that was almost as bad as the torture itself.

She could clearly see the ones who were cowards. The ones who gave in without thinking. Draco Malfoy had always been one to go along with what his parents told him to do. Whether he agreed or not no one would ever know. She wished she could have changed that.

Sometimes she would hear the crying. It hit her right in her heart. She wished she could do something, just to tell them it would be alright. But she couldn't lie to them. They deserved more than that. And they would know it wasn't true. Nothing was alright.

The other teachers tried to help her. They would say, "That's enough," when they saw someone being tortured, even when it resulted in being cursed themselves. They could be brave. They could defend the weaker ones. It was then she realized how proud she was to work at that school.

There were other moments when she felt proud. When the students from her house, or others, stood up to the Carrows. Neville, who had always been the one to make mistakes, now was one of the strongest. She could see how brave he was. He wasn't willing to give up.

When a student would come to her covered in blood she wished she could to tell them to escape, hide, get out, but where could they go? Nowhere was better. The pain, the suffering, the terror, it was everywhere. There was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, nowhere was safe.

The year drug on, the days blending together, each spent waiting for something to change. One side had to win eventually. The war couldn't last forever. But there were days when it seemed as if it could. Everything kept getting worse. She would hear news of people dying and wish more than anything that she was out of the school where she could actually do something.

There were moments when she thought of leaving. Maybe she could just walk out. If she could overcome all the spells surrounding the castle she could apparate somewhere, find the members of the Order, and help them. But she'd push the plan away. It was her duty to stay at the school. That was where she belonged.

She remembered the feeling she felt when Harry returned. There had been many moments through the year when she had wondered if he'd given up; and others when she just wondered if he was still alive. The sight of him standing before her convinced her of what she had always known, he would never give up on them.

Then there was fighting, so much fighting. She saw the people falling, from both sides. She heard people screaming, "No!" But they were still dead. She fought hard with the others. But at times it felt like they were fighting a losing battle. Even if they won, would it be worth it?

Finally, it was over. There were loses, people had been killed but it was finished. There were tears. There was confusion but still she smiled. They had made it. She had made it. She hadn't given up and neither had the others. Now, finally, they had won.

Hogwarts would never be the same. The memory of the battle would linger inside of her forever. She could feel it every time she walked down those corridors. Every time she entered the Great Hall she saw the bodies. But there are some things that aren't meant to be forgotten.

Each new class of students coming to school knew less and less about the war. She hated telling the story yet at the same time she knew how important it was for them to know. It was a part of Hogwarts and the entire wizarding world. It was history. Something that would never go away.

The pain would fade but the memories would remain, Minerva was glad of that. She didn't want to forget the ones who'd died or the ones who'd fought. They had given all they could and they deserved to be remembered and honored for that. They were brave.