Prologue, Sunday Night, Monday Morning:

Minerva McGonagall stood on her tiptoes in the library of Hogwarts and pulled a thick volume off of the shelf.

She sighed. She'd been working nonstop since 5:00 that morning, till now, 10:00 PM, and she was exhausted. But she had to finish this work. She flipped open the book and shivered. A strange feeling had suddenly passed over her, a dizzy sort of cold feeling. She rubbed her eyes and snapped the book shut. 'That's it, Minerva, you're going to bed,' she thought.

She checked the book out and started down the many hallways of Hogwarts, heading towards her rooms. Along the way, since she was looking at her feet, she nearly ran right into the Hogwarts headmaster, and Minerva's dear friend Albus Dumbledore.

"Oh, I'm sorry Albus. I wasn't looking where I was going."

"That's alright my dear." He inspected her closely. "Don't you usually go to bed by 9:00?"

Minerva smiled. "Yes, but I had so much work today, I simply had to finish it, tomorrow is the start of the school year, and I STILL haven't finished it yet." She rubbed her eyes and sighed. "I just had the strangest feeling back in the library. I hope I'm not coming down with something. I felt so dizzy and cold." She rubbed her arms.

Albus looked worried. "Perhaps you should get some rest, Minerva. Surely your work is not more important than your health. Besides, if you're sick, who else is going to help me get through the school year?" He smiled at her.

She smiled tiredly. "Yes, I'm going to bed now. Good night Albus dear." She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him gently on the cheek before starting down the hallway again.

Albus watched her, a little smile twitching at the corners of his mouth.

Suddenly Minerva felt dizzy again, and nearly fell over. Albus rushed over to her and caught her. "Minerva, dear, are you alright?"

"Yes, Albus, I'm fine," she insisted, standing up straight. "I'm just tired, that's all."

"I don't know Minerva, you're so pale." He felt her forehead. "You feel warm too. Come on, you're coming to my office, it's closer. You can rest there until you feel better."

"Albus, really, I feel fine, there's no reason to...ohhhh," she moaned, rubbing her head.

Albus swung her up in his arms and carried her down the one flight of stairs to his office entrance, a statue of a gargoyle. "Dog biscuits," he said, and the gargoyle opened.

Minerva rolled her head on Albus' shoulder. "I feel so strange..."

"Don't worry Minerva," Albus said, trying to calm his own rising fears, "we're almost in my office."

Once in his office, Albus carried her up to his rooms and laid her down on his bed. "Minerva?" He asked. "How do you feel?"

"Dizzy," she answered, with a little moan. "And my head hurts."

He covered her with a couple of blankets and waved his wand over her in a pain relieving charm. It didn't seem to work.

Minerva yawned. "I'm fine, Albus..." Her head fell against the pillow. She was asleep.

Albus felt her forehead. Her fever seemed to be going down, and she was sleeping peacefully. He went into the small sitting room, grabbed a chair and brought it over beside his bed. He'd never felt so worried about her in his life. He picked up her hand and held it in his. He stroked the back of her hand absently while he thought of what could have made her feel this way. Her symptoms didn't sound like fatigue. Oh well, Madame Pomfrey and the other teachers would be there tomorrow, she'd know more than he did. He may as well stop trying to figure it out. He looked up at Minerva. He suddenly realized that he'd never seen her sleeping before. She looked so serene, so peaceful. He reached up, took her glasses off and placed them on the nighttable.

'I may as well go to bed,' he thought, 'I'll just put a warning charm on her so if something goes wrong I'll know.'

He stood up. "Elbourt fo em naw," he said, waving his wand in a circle around Minerva's body. Green sparks flew from his wand and circled Minerva, then went back into his wand.

Albus bedded down on the couch in the sitting room and after a few minutes fell into a deep and dreamless sleep.

The next morning, Albus yawned and stretched. He felt so weird, so light. He reached over for his glasses, with his eyes still closed, and slipped them on over his ears and nose. Then he remembered Minerva and he jumped up. He stopped suddenly. Why did the world seem so big? And why was he in his own bed? He should be on the couch, in the sitting room.

Minerva blinked and slowly sat up. She felt so heavy. "Uhhh..." she moaned. Whoa! Her voice was so deep. She fumbled for her glasses and slipped them on. Why was she sleeping on Albus' couch? She swung her legs over the side of the couch and stood up slowly, feeling taller than usual. The world seemed so small. She walked slowly towards Albus' bedroom, nearly falling over a couple of times.

Albus walked out of his bedroom door and his mouth dropped open.

Minerva looked up and saw herself walk out of Albus' bedroom.

Albus stared, his eyes wide open, and then they both screamed.