Harry and McGonagall promptly reappeared in what looked to be a dingy, red-bricked alleyway that seemed to run off of a main street. The buildings on either side of them were tall, casting down large dark shadows that shielded them from the hot summer sun that blazed above them.
It was a stark contrast from the cloudy weather of the west side of Birmingham they had been in not even moments before.
Harry choked loudly, withdrawing his hand from McGonagall's arm and flailing backwards. The boy barely managed to right himself in time before he fell over, feeling horribly like he was going to throw up at any moment.
The stern-looking woman actually let out a smile upon seeing his reaction.
"You handled that quite well for someone of your age." She commented, the sentiment quickly dropping off her face to be replaced by a professional lack of emotion. "Most people tend to throw up after their first side-along apparition - especially children."
'This old bint. Is she really a professor?' Cursed an irate Harry, who was still bent over, desperately trying to hold back the bile that was building up in his throat. 'A warning would've been fantastic.'
「 Play nice little brother. 」I warned Harry amusedly.「 You do want to see Lily don't you? 」
I could have kicked myself. Why was I being so stupid? Why was I not calling Lily 'Mum', like Harry was?
My brother, thankfully; just snorted in response, quickly recovering from the apparition-induced sickness.
"Did we just teleport?" Harry asked aloud, doing a masterful job of keeping his bitterness firmly under wraps.
"In essence, yes." Agreed McGonagall, stowing her wand back into her sleeve. "Though truthfully it is a tad more complicated than simply disappearing and reappearing."
Harry grunted in an uncaring acknowledgement before straightening back up.
"So where are we?" He questioned, looking around rather dubiously. "This doesn't look like a hospital."
"No, it is not." Replied the witch, beckoning for Harry to follow her out of the alley and into the main street. "We cannot apparate directly into the hospital as its wards do not allow for it. This is simply the closest area nearby that is a ministry-sanctioned apparition hotspot."
Harry frowned, not possessing familiarity with any of the terms she had used.
'What's a ward?' He asked me.
I hummed, mulling over how best to explain it to him. I vaguely remembered Lily, James and Sirius talking about them back when Harry was a toddler.
「 From what I remember, it's a spell that's been anchored to a physical object. It can apply a variety of properties to the surrounding area like protection; or in this case, anti-apparition. 」I paused, losing faith in my explanation the longer it dragged on. It had been over a decade ago after all.「 You should take advantage of McGonagall while she's here though. She'll know far more than me about anything magical. 」
"What's a ward?" Harry asked aloud, repeating his earlier question now to the old witch ahead of us instead.
McGonagall came to a stop in front of an old department store with the words 'Purge and Dowse, Ltd.' emboldened above the entrance.
"In layman's terms," The witch replied, holding up her wand and tapping on the building's blackened window. "A ward is a specialised type of spell that has been routed into a physical object, which will then project the spell's effect outward over a designated area. It doesn't however, work on every spell, and can only be projected through certain conductive materials."
The glass shimmered under her wand's touch, rippling outwards across the shop's entire front.
"I… See." Said Harry, distracted by the magical phenomenon the older woman had just caused.
"Now then," McGonagall said, stowing her wand back into her sleeve. "St Mungo's is on the other side of this wall. I advise you to step through it quickly; as it tends to be a rather suffocating experience."
Harry stared at the blackened glass apprehensively, reaching out a hand and tentatively placing a finger onto the dirty window. His extended digit passed straight through the not-so-solid object and disappeared from view, obscured.
Harry retracted his finger slowly.
"Any reason why I'm only getting advice now?" He asked, casting the woman a slightly resentful look.
I could definitely see the mirth hidden behind her eyes at Harry's implied complaint.
"Experiencing apparition unwarned is something of a tradition amongst wizardkind at this point. Try not to take it personally."
Satisfied, but feeling somewhat mulish about McGonagall's answer, my brother looked away from the older witch, taking in a deep breath before stepping into the department store wall.
I watched as Harry melded with the red-bricked wall for about two seconds. Uncomfortable as he was, he kept walking forward, pushing past the suffocating feeling of being filtered through solid matter.
I could feel his grudging appreciation for the warning - Not that he would ever admit it to his benefactor after her earlier stunt.
My brother then popped out of the wall, finding himself in what seemed to be an expansive, crowded reception area.
It was more normal than either of us were expecting.
Rows and rows of oddly dressed people sat upon lines of rickety wooden chairs, while men and women wearing lime green robes strode up and down these rows attentively, either inspecting or directing patients away deeper into the hospital.
Harry stared around curiously, turning just in time to watch as McGonagall appeared through the barrier behind him.
She looked disgruntled, though quickly schooled her features when she saw that Harry was looking at arrival.
"With me Mr Potter," McGonagall said briskly, moving forward and making a beeline for a circular stairwell that stood off to the right of the spacious room.
McGonagall easily cut through the gaggle of witches and wizards milling around in the lobby, with Harry unashamedly taking advantage of her imposing figure to shield himself against the oncoming crowd.
My brother couldn't help but stare at some of the more noticeable ailments people were suffering from, his gaze lingering on a few of them for far longer than was polite.
'Well, that's definitely not something you see every day.' He said, tearing his eyes away from someone who was sporting a set of large multicoloured wings.
The unlikely duo breached the crowd and headed up the wide stone stairwell, quickly reaching the hospital's first floor.
A green emblem of a white arm encased by a jagged set of teeth lay painted above the hallway door, with the large words 'Creature Induced Injuries' emboldened shortly beneath it.
McGonagall didn't even spare the door a second look, leaving Harry to have to hurry up the steps after the older woman because he wanted a glimpse of what lay in the hallway beyond.
I was surprised how spry the older woman was turning out to be, with the steep climb up the hospital stairwell not having slowed down her stride in the slightest.
The second floor was labelled 'Magical Maladies & Ailments' and the third was the 'Potions Department'.
McGonagall didn't stop for either, instead continuing upward and coming to a stop on the fourth-floor landing.
McGonagall glanced down at Harry, her expression almost unreadable - But I could see the guilt hiding behind her grey-blue eyes. She shook her head slightly and turned away.
『 Is she having second thoughts? 』I frowned. 『 Is Lily's condition that bad? 』
She pushed open the double doors before striding down the long corridor that lay ahead.
'Is it just me or did she look guilty there for a second?' Harry asked, continuing on after the older witch.
「 No, you're right, I saw it too. 」I replied, unsurprised by my brother's keen attentiveness.「 It probably means- 」
'That mum's in such a terrible state that McGonagall feels guilty about bringing us to her.' Harry finished my sentence.
『 Huh. Dead on. 』I thought, a tad warily.『 He's getting better at this. 』
I could feel my brother's anxiety grow stronger the further we progressed down the hallway.
McGonagall reached the end of the corridor, passing underneath a sign labelled 'Janus Thickey ward - Permanent spell damage' and continued onward for a short while afterwards, showing no sign of difficulty navigating the maze of a hospital.
The tall woman came to a halt beside a suspiciously long stretch of wall that seemed extremely out of place in the otherwise cramped hospital.
Harry stopped next to her abruptly; jarred back into reality and away from his brooding thoughts.
McGonagall reached inside her breast pocket and pulled out a small slip of yellowish parchment, taking a quick look around before handing it down to Harry carefully.
My brother looked down at the slip, staring down at the stylish, but a tad loopy, handwriting that was penned across its surface.
" The Red Room is located in St Mungo's Hospital, fourth floor, Janus Thickey ward. "
Harry blinked, looking down at the parchment in confusion.
He looked back up at McGonagall, only to stare past her in shock as the stone bricks of the wall behind her began to push themselves apart, the quiet hallway suddenly filled with the roaring, grating sound of grinding brickwork.
A moment later and the architectural changes subsided, leaving behind a red-coloured door which now occupied the once-empty patch of wall.
The older woman opened her mouth to answer Harry's unasked question.
"Mrs Potter's residence is under a very advanced magical protection known as the Fidelius charm." McGonagall paused, furthering her explanation after seeing the gleam of interest in Harry's green eyes. "Once cast, the secret - in this case, the location of your mother's room, is completely hidden from perception and concealed within another's soul. No creature, animal or human, will be able to perceive the secret's existence unless the secret keeper willingly divulges its location with them."
Harry looked down at the slip before wordlessly offering it back to McGonagall.
I was a tad confused by my brother's lack of interest, but quickly realised he likely assumed McGonagall was the secret keeper.
I knew better though, as she wouldn't have needed that slip of paper if that was truly the case.
The question was, who was it? Presumably Dumbledore, right?
The woman took it back from him, before tapping it once with her wand, the motion causing it to turn to ash in her hand. A flick later and the flaky grey dust vanished from her palm, winking straight out of existence.
Harry's eyes flickered away from her now empty hand, his gaze coming to rest upon the door that lay ahead of him.
McGonagall's features softened upon seeing Harry's expression. "Would you like me to accompany you?" She asked kindly.
My brother shook his head firmly; his confidence, although shaky, returned somewhat. He stepped forward and slowly grasped the door's handle.
"Then I'll be waiting for you in the cafeteria on the fifth floor." The witch replied softly. "And Harry?" McGonagall addressed the boy by his name for the first time since their meeting. "Try not to string the letters C and R together into a singular syllable while talking with her." Her stern gaze visibly faltered as they locked eyes. "It provokes a… Bad reaction from her."
"Okay," Harry replied tonelessly, looking away again.
'Art?' He said, calling out to me, his voice cracking.
「 I'm right here with you. 」I affirmed quietly. 「 Let's go inside now. 」
Harry swallowed, nodding.
My brother then pushed the door open and slowly stepped inside.
✽ ✽ ✽
〘 A/N: Now, some of you may be wondering why a sensible woman like McGonagall allowed Harry to visit a clearly unstable Lily, alone. The reason why is simple; she feels too guilty to argue with him, which is leading her to act against her better judgment. She was present when Dumbledore left Harry with the Dursleys, and she knew what kind of people they were. As a result of this inaction, Harry was left to grow up in an orphanage - hence her unwillingness to challenge his decision to visit Lily alone. 〙