House: Gryffindor
Position: 7th-year stand-in
Category: Short
Prompt: 3 [First line] It was days like this where she really questioned her life choices.
Word Count: 1476
Beta: Tigger
A Long Seven Years
It was days like this where she really questioned her life choices. She loved her job most days, but today was not one of those days.
The beginning of the school year was normally a non-stressful day in her life. She would run through any last-minute preparations and then greet the eager children in the hall. Their wide eyes would twinkle with excitement as they took in the enchanted ceilings, the suits of armor, and the moving staircases. She would then lead them into the Great Hall where they would be sorted into their new living quarters and houses. The Great Hall would be noisy as the new students began to make friends but the night would be quiet, the students too exhausted to cause any trouble.
This year things would be different.
She had been hunched over her desk examining her lesson plans when the first owl flew into her office, swooping low and dropping a letter in front of her.
She stared at the letter; there was no indication of who had sent it. Pushing aside her classroom objectives she grabbed at it and tore it open.
Dear Headmaster/Professor McGonagall,
I am horrified to report that the arrival of the train will be delayed. It seems that someone has had some fun with the regurgitating toilet charm. While we have been able to reverse the effects of the spell, we do still need to stop briefly to clean up the residual effects of the spell.
We are doing everything in our power to find and apprehend the culprit.
This should only set us back thirty minutes.
See you soon,
Conductor Murphy
Minerva shot up, her chair scraping behind her. She clutched the letter in her hands and rushed off to find Dumbledore.
"But Albus, they haven't even arrived at the school and are already causing so much trouble! We must find out who did this and expel them!" she said, waving the letter angrily at him.
"Minerva, while I appreciate your concern for the safety and well-being of our students," Dumbledore drawled, "I do think it is nothing more than an innocent prank. The students are adolescents after all."
She huffed before stomping off.
The second letter arrived a few hours after lunch.
Dear Headmaster/Professor McGonagall,
It seems that the culprit has stricken again. A Dungbomb went off in every train car, relatively harmless, but the students will smell when they finally arrive. We, unfortunately, do not know who is causing these problems. Hopefully, you will be able to shed light on this.
We should not be further delayed.
Regretfully,
Conductor Murphy
Minerva placed the letter face down on her desk and sighed heavily.
It had to be a new student; they have never had issues in the past like this. Sure, students pulled the occasional prank, but never anything to this extent. She would have to put a stop to it or it was going to be a long year. She would be diligent in observing the first years when they arrived; eleven-year-old children were not very good at hiding things, and their expressions usually gave them away.
Minerva stood in the Great Hall of Hogwarts, watching the older students file through the doors. The overwhelming smell from the Dungbombs was making her eyes water.
The crowd of students talked excitedly to each other about the unusually eventful train ride to the school. Their mutterings quieted as they rushed into the Great Hall eager for food, having arrived sixty minutes later than their usual time.
Minerva watched as the last student arrived in the carriages before she sauntered off into the entryway to wait. She began to tap her foot in irritation and frowned when she glanced at the wall clock. That couldn't be right; she had been waiting for forty-five minutes for the first-year students to arrive.
She could hear the growing impatience of the students echoing out of the Great Hall and began to pace in front of the entrance. She had resorted to counting her steps to keep herself distracted, a habit she had kept from her childhood.
"567, 568, 569, 570, 571, 572."
Her sharp ears picked up the loud bellow of Hagrid, the unruly gamekeeper. She paused and straightened her shoulders, aiming her fierce glare at the two doors.
Hagrid flung open the doors and shot her an apologetic glance. "Er, sorry, Minerva. There was a… er… an accident."
"What happened?" she demanded of Hagrid, her eyes glancing towards the nervous students entering the school. They were all dripping wet, their lips blue and quaking from the cold. "Oh Godric, Hagrid! Whatever happened!?"
Her anger was momentarily forgotten as she rushed towards the students. She summoned house elves to get each student a large towel to wrap themselves in and help dry them off.
"Well, yer see," Hagrid started. A student cut him off.
"We all fell into the lake!"
'Yeah, an explosion went off in the boats and we all fell in."
"The giant squid tried to get me! I felt its tentacles wrap around my ankle!"
"Shut it, Henry! You didn't feel nothing! The giant squid is just a myth."
"No, it isn't! My brother said he's seen it, with his own two eyes!"
"That is enough!" McGonagall shouted.
The students quieted and rustled uncomfortably. She took a step back and ran a steely gaze over each student, most bowing their head or diverting their eyes, except for two red-heads that stared straight back at her. Their backs were straight and they had innocent smiles plastered on their faces.
"You two," Minerva said sternly, nodding towards them. She beckoned them over with the crook of her finger.
She walked the boys to the far corner of the room, the rest of the students craning their heads towards them, trying to hear what she had to say.
"Now tell me what you two boys think you are doing," she said, her steely gaze on them.
"We didn't do anything!" they said in unison.
"Boys, please. While I think it would be wise to expel you, Headmaster Dumbledore has different ideas; so for now, you will be joining Filch in detention for the next two weeks. But I do want to make it very clear that pranks of this magnitude will not be tolerated here at Hogwarts. I suggest, if you wish to continue schooling here, that you do not attempt any more pranks—especially of that caliber."
"Of course," the twin on the right said.
"My lady," the other twin said, "I give you my heart for your generous nature."
His pudgy hands reached out towards McGonagall. Clammy fingers gripped hers as he over-exaggerated his undying love for her. Once the shock wore off, she pried her hands from his grip and narrowed her eyes.
"Not necessary," she admonished. "You are missing the feast and still need to be sorted. Just remember what I have said; this will be your only warning."
She marched the two troublemakers and the rest of the students into the Great Hall. Shoes were squishing behind her, leaving wet footprints on the stone floor. She saw Filch narrow his eyes and had to hide her smile.
Once reaching the front of the hall, she turned towards all of the students.
"We, the staff, would like to welcome all of the new students to Hogwarts! Take a look around; you will be sorted into one of these houses, and your fellow students will be your family. Together you will learn, study, and live together. Accomplishments of one will be celebrated by all, and any unwanted behaviors," she glanced at the twins pointedly, "will be felt by all. At the end of the year, the house with the most points will win the house cup. Let's begin."
She gestured towards Severus who was running the sorting ceremony that year and took her seat behind the head table.
She listened as Severus called out the student's names and watched as each chosen student hesitantly made their way towards the Sorting Hat.
The twins were the last to be called.
"Fred Weasley," Snape said with a sneer.
Minerva took in a sharp breath; they were Weasleys? She glanced at Percy sitting haughtily at the Gryffindor table and blinked. She could see the physical resemblance, but their manners were so different. Percy was a great student and followed every rule. He was as tightly laced as they came, but these two boys were already breaking rules before they even arrived at school!
"Gryffindor!"
George, the other twin, was sorted into the same house and threw her a wink before following his brother down the steps to their newly assigned house.
"So many bright minds this year, wouldn't you agree, Minerva?" Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as he smiled at her.
This was going to be a long seven years.