Disclaimer: JK Rowling is awesome, fanfiction is fun, may it continue to be treated so kindly by her copyright holders.

Author's Note: Several reviewers mentioned they would like to read this "deleted scene" which falls between Chapters 19 and 20 of Unwritten. I loved this scene, but it just doesn't fit in the story unfortunately! It derailed the action a little too much for my liking. It can be considered part of the continuity of Unwritten, and Minerva's history will likely come into play in the sequel.

Dumbledore doesn't really come off as a hero here; I've long been frustrated by his actions in the books and wished there were some way he could be shown the error of his ways before it was too late.

Spoiler warning for Unwritten: if you haven't read it yet, I suggest that you stop, rewind, and come back to this when you're finished. You'd hate to wreck the whole mystery for yourself, wouldn't you? ;) Thanks!

Chapter 19 ½

Minerva McGonagall stared out of the tower window in Dumbledore's office, her slender body bowed with anxiety and grief. The glass-calm waters of the Black Lake lay invisible at the base of the fog-shrouded valley below. From beneath the surface, the merpeople sang a blessing to the full moon, their faint, screeching songs rising from the surface like an orchestra made of broken violins. Minerva didn't react to the grating music, only clutched her folded arms tighter to her rib cage as the song swelled to an atonic crescendo. To Albus, it seemed as if she were trying to physically prevent herself from falling to pieces.

"Albus?"

Removing his half-moon spectacles from the bridge of his broken nose, Albus lay them down on the desk between a half-eaten packet of lemon drops and a copy of James Potter's last will and testament. "Yes, Minerva?"

"We've made a terrible mistake."

"What do you mean?" asked Albus gently.

"We know that Riddle… that Voldemort will kill Harry Potter. Why haven't we gone after him? Why haven't we brought the full power of the Order and the Ministry to bear?"

"Minerva, dear, the Ministry is not mine to command."

"But it could be."

Flustered, Albus shuffled through teetering stacks of books and scrolls. A lemon drop rolled out of a Ravenclaw house listing and he tucked it in his cheek surreptitiously. Albus swallowed the rush of extra moisture in his mouth before he responded. "My first responsibility is to the students of Hogwarts School and so, may you never forget it, is yours."

Minerva swept up to his desk as quickly as her feline Patronus. "We are pledged to rid this world of Tom Riddle. You wrote the damned pledge! We are sworn to keep this world safe for Muggles and wizards alike. If you're not prepared to take decisive action, you're not the right person to lead the Order of the Phoenix."

Fawkes shrieked on his perch, brought awake with a start. Minerva McGonagall a mutineer? Unlike her school rival Dorcas Meadowes, Minerva had never before challenged his primacy. She followed orders with unswerving loyalty in her dual capacities as Deputy Headmistress and second-in-command of the Order.

"He murdered two Order members and kidnapped their helpless child and you haven't done a damned thing about it. You've sent Dorcas out with less concern than you would a hunting dog! She's done everything in her power to find that motherless boy while you rot your teeth on lemon drops." Albus concealed a flinch of embarrassment as furious tears ran down Minerva's cheeks. "Why won't you challenge him face to face and end this war? You're making a mockery of us all!"

"I have to ask, Minerva," said Albus with great delicacy, "whether your personal feelings toward Mr. Riddle have influenced your desire for revenge."

Minerva's harsh laughter caused Fawkes to cry out once more and leave his perch, circling the room restlessly until Albus called him to his shoulder. "My story is remarkable only for its ending. Every other foolish woman who thought to tangle with Tom Riddle is rotting in her grave. I don't need revenge, only to stop him from hurting anyone else."

In the careworn face of the Transfiguration teacher, Albus saw the terrified shadow of the eighteen-year-old girl whom he had found sobbing in the stairwell to the Astronomy Tower. Albus had failed to save Minerva-the-girl from Tom's toxic greed; her unswerving loyalty in later life proved the exception to the rule.

"Even if he had never touched me, he would have taken someone else, a girl just as weak as myself." Minerva faltered at last. "I thought I was special. I thought he loved me: Slytherin and Gryffindor reconciled at last through my extraordinary beauty and bravery." Self-loathing colored her Highland burr, lengthening her vowels and the roll of her 'r's. "That's what he said just before he turned on me, Albus. I've never forgiven myself for believing it."

Albus extended his hand to his companion. He expected her to fall sobbing on his shoulder as she had so many times in the aftermath of Riddle's attack; she remained upright and never moved her wand from its defensive position.

"The Order bylaws state you can be removed by a majority for dereliction of duty. There'll be a vote. Perhaps Hogwarts is all you can be responsible for."

"Professor Dumbledore!" bellowed a deep voice from the bottom of the stairs. "Don' know the bloody password! Let me in!"

Albus sent a silent spell and the staircase spooled downward, encircling the stone eagle at the base with graceful ease. In the doorway, Hagrid panted after his rapid climb.

Minerva led the pale and shaking man to the dragon-skin davenport, the only seat large enough for him. "What's the matter?"

"Death Eaters," Hagrid moaned. "Gone after Lily and Snape and the baby."

"Lily and Snape?" Shock and betrayal vibrated in Minerva's voice. There could be no worse timing to learn the truth Albus had concealed.

"Lily's alive!" Hagrid shouted. "Harry, too… at least, they were alive, last we heard. Dorcas's gone after them. Can' find Sirius anywhere, bet she's taken him along. They've gone to Wales, Professor, sir. Dorcas used Veritaserum on Pomona. Snape took them to hide out with some ol' Druid witch he used to study with."

"Rubeus Hagrid, you're not making the least bit of sense," snapped Minerva.

Albus leaned against his heavy carved desk and rubbed the bridge of his broken nose. "Yes, I'd heard that was why Scrimgeour let her go yesterday – unauthorized use of Veritaserum on Professor Sprout. And yet, the ends justify the means…"

"That is precisely what is wrong with you!" Minerva burst out. "You're just like Riddle! You taught him everything he knows! Is that why you won't strike? Are the deaths, the lives destroyed not enough for you? Do you need a dead child on your conscience to be forced to act?" Minerva grabbed Hagrid by the collar of his rough woolen jacket. "Tell me where they are, Rubeus! Tell me and I'll finish him off myself!"

"Minerva, don't be too hasty."

Enraged, Minerva flexed her wand. Albus had a defensive spell at the ready, but Hagrid pulled a battered pink umbrella out of his hip pocket before he could set it free. "Protego!"

Between Albus and Minerva, Hagrid's inexpert Shield Charm wobbled to life and shimmered in the conical ceiling of the tower room. All around them, the portraits gasped. A look of astonished pride spread on the gamekeeper's florid face. Minerva appeared as frozen as if Hagrid had Stunned her. Albus had the self-deprecating thought that neither of his most loyal supporters could ever have anticipated this situation.

Minerva waited inside the Shield Charm. "Please, Rubeus… where are they?"

Hagrid looked stonily at Dumbledore before he answered. "They're in Snowdonia near a Muggle village; I know the way. I sure was mad at Dorcas when she used Pomona that way, but…"

"You care for her, don't you?"

Hagrid bowed his head. "I can't let her go without a fight."

"Rubeus, you're a braver man than I." Beside Albus, Minerva snorted with contempt. He lay a hand on her wand arm and she shrugged it away. "Minerva, one of us must go to Lily's aid in the name of the Order of the Phoenix, mustering as many reinforcements as possible. One of us must stay with the students and protect them from retaliation."

"You should stay," said Minerva at once. "I want him, Albus. I want to kill him."

"Dear Minerva, that is precisely why you should stay. He will feed on your desire for revenge and turn it against you. I would prefer to know you were here defending the castle."

Hagrid growled. "I beg your pardon, Professor, but that's stupid. Don' think there're too many Death Eaters who can stand up to our Professor McGonagall."

Minerva smiled tightly as if a greater expression of emotion would crack her face in half. "Albus, if you're here with the students, I won't worry."

Albus's heart pulled in two directions like a child's wad of chewing gum, tearing apart in the center and leaving loose, wobbly strings that stuck to everything. It was not the proper time to challenge Voldemort in person, and yet his innermost soul said with all certainty that if he did not go to Wales, he was sending Minerva McGonagall to her death.

"I want you to know, Minerva… if anything happens… how sorry I am."

Minerva took a step toward him with her wand raised. All at once, her tension crumbled and she embraced him tightly. "I know you didn't want any of this to happen." Albus held her close and kissed her forehead as a father might, remembering the slight girl in his Transfiguration class still fresh from the Highlands with the scents of sheep and hay clinging to her robes.

Rubeus wiped his eyes with the back of his brown hairy sleeve. "Let's go already. I'm gettin' a headache from all this cryin', and yeh can't kick Death Eaters' arses into next week when you've got a headache."

"You'll need Moody, the Prewetts, and Frank Longbottom at a minimum. The Prewetts and Frank were on Dorcas's squad – they are loyal to her personally far above the Ministry. If you can, find Marlene McKinnon…" Minerva raised a hand to her mouth and choked back a sound like a door creaking. "Forgive me, my dear friend. We have lost so many."

Albus watched Rubeus and Minerva depart through the Floo. He feared he would never see either of his colleagues again. Albus had little time for self-recrimination. He concentrated on drawing up stronger wards for the castle in the event that Voldemort himself, fresh with a final victory over the Order of the Phoenix, turned his sights on conquering Hogwarts at last.