Demigods at Hogwarts | the rescue mission ✔

44| Like Mother, Like Daughter

Nico's POV

"Remind me how we are going to do this."

Sighing inwardly, I turned around to see Piper staring at me with a dubious expression on her face. We were standing right in front of the door to Professor McGonagall's office—it had taken half an hour for me to drag Piper down to the first floor, and I wasn't going to give up. Not yet.

Because Piper was practically my sister. She was family, and I was going to make Noah Adams pay for what he did to her.

Taking a deep breath, I flung open the door and barged into the room. Professor McGonagall was sitting behind her desk, going through a stack of papers. She didn't seem shocked at all—instead, she frowned at us with a disdainful expression on her face.

"I suppose they didn't teach you any manners in America," she said, her voice razor-sharp as she stood up from her desk. The door swung shut behind us. "But, while you two are here, you might as well tell me what's going on."

  Before I knew it, I was in full-on rant mode as I told the deputy headmistress what had happened. Piper was standing behind me, her face turning a deeper shade of red every few seconds. When I finally finished, Professor McGonagall's expression remained blank, her cat-like eyes betraying no sign of emotion.

"You may leave now, Mr di Angelo." she said, her voice crisp as she turned her attention back to the papers she had been marking earlier.

"Leave?" I spluttered incredulously, staring at her in horror. "But you have to do something! Aren't you Gryffindor's head of house?" I slammed my fist onto her desk in anger as the flames flickering in the fireplace died out.

Professor McGonagall looked up and sighed heavily, staring at me in exasperation. "I asked you to leave, not Ms Mclean." She sounded mildly annoyed and pointed her wand at the fireplace. Soon, the room was illuminated in the warm glow of burning embers.

Biting down on my lower lip to stop myself from saying something I would probably regret later on, I was about to slam the door behind me when I caught sight of Professor McGonagall's face. She was staring at Piper intently, her hawk-like demeanor gone completely. Instead her eyes were wide with concern, her expression soft.

I closed the door gently and stepped out into the corridor.

+++

Piper's POV

"Piper," she began as I fidgeted in my seat, stubbornly staring at the ground. It was the first time I had ever heard her call a student by their first name. I knew I was in a lot of trouble—and I deserved it. I wondered what the punishment for having illegal, underage sex with a fellow student was in the wizarding world. Even if I had been forced into doing so.

"First and foremost, what happens within the four walls of this office stays in this office," the professor said firmly as I exhaled in relief. "I respect your privacy, and this isn't the first time Noah Adams has...caused such kinds of trouble at Hogwarts. However, his father does hold much power at the Ministry of Magic, and expelling him would mean grave consequences for this school."

My heart sank. Maybe it was the thought of putting up with Noah for the rest of the year, or maybe it was because I had just learnt that he'd done the same things to other girls before.

"But that's not what I want to talk to you about today, Piper, and you know that."

I clutched my robes tightly, still staring at my feet as Professor McGonagall rose from her seat. I knew what she was going to talk to me about, of course I knew. Ever since the secret of our parentage had gotten out, everyone seemed to have a reason to use it against us. And this wasn't going to be any different, was it?

"Daughter of the goddess of love," Professor McGonagall said slowly, speaking in a soft murmur. "You have the ability to bend minds according to your will. And along with your friends, you have extraordinary abilities in combat. So why, I must ask," she sighed, sounding disappointed, worried and curious at the same time. "did you not make any more attempts to defend yourself? Because I refuse to believe that it was simply because you were frozen in fear."

There it was. The question I had been dreading, the question I knew I was ultimately going to have to answer. I couldn't charmspeak myself out of this situation, and didn't want to run away from it either.

"I wanted intimacy. I didn't defend myself for the same reasons people have one-night stands—because after Jason disappeared, I felt like I needed someone who would understand me and to keep me grounded." I took a deep, shuddering breath and then continued. "I'm not my mom. I don't understand love, I seriously don't understand it one bit. But when you meet someone who claims he can give you the burning passion you long for, you don't think twice. And one thing I do understand about love is that we're drawn to it. No matter how many times it destroys us, we can't help going back for more. That's what happened to me on that very night."

For a moment, Professor McGonagall was silent. There was a stunned expression on her face as she gazed at me—not worried or disappointed, but sad. And that was when I felt tears start to roll down my cheeks, weeks and weeks of bottled-up emotions pouring out. I was about to leave, knowing that I'd done what I needed to do, when I heard a slight scuffle behind me.

It was Professor McGonagall, her arms extended awkwardly as she managed a small smile. Half-grinning and half-sobbing, I hugged her tightly. It was a bit like embracing a hanger—she was all skin and bone, after all—but it was comforting in a strange way.

Muttering a silent "thank you", I slipped out of the room without another word.