Disclaimer and Copyright: This work of fiction is based on characters and settings created by J. K. Rowling. All recognizable characters, settings, and plot elements are copyright © Ms. Rowling and her assignees. The author believes this work falls within the scope of the Fair Use Doctrine as a transformative work. For more information, see the Organization for Transformative Works.
All original characters, settings, and plot elements are copyright © Cate Eliot. This work of fiction is available for use under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC-BY-NC-SA 3.0) license.
Summary: It was 1944 when Albus Dumbledore and several teams of Aurors liberated Grindelwald's prison during the Great War. They broke free the dozens of captives and lost souls held there only to find a surprise chained in the most heavily guarded tower cell. Her name was Minerva McGonagall and she was the reason Albus Dumbledore came.
Author's Note: I've fallen in love with writing about Minerva McGonagall. She's by far the most beautifully mysterious and amazing complex character I've ever read about. J.K. Rowling gave us just enough information to scratch the surface of her character and I love to explore her. This novel is NOT relate to my other series on Minerva "The Eyes of the Tempest" ("Head Girl") or my other stand-alone one shots. I took a lot of liberties with the non-cannon work and really enjoyed stretching my wings with this time period. I really appreciate all feedback, good or bad. Please review.
So without further ado, dim the lights, cue the music, and enjoy the story…
Chapter One
Junior Auror Melanie Ramirez swallowed thickly as she watched the girl interact with her Professor. The sun was setting just outside of the makeshift camp. Inside one of the smaller tents, the dark hair girl sat up in the army bed with Albus Dumbledore.
He was speaking softly to her, his words seemed to calm her. His larger and calloused hand was wrapped around her smaller slender one with their fingers intertwined.
She was ghostly pale and looked unwell. Ramirez was surprised the healer had let Dumbledore inside after the shape the girl was in after they eradicated the prison. She was among the most heavily wounded and had almost been lost twice in surgery.
Outside the tent, sounds of soldier's voices and running feet echoed around them. The tent flap swung open to reveal a ragged looking man with long and messy bronze hair. He was in his mid-forties and wore black robes, smeared with blood and dust from the recent battle.
"Junior Auror Ramirez, may I speak to you outside, please?"
She immediately rose from her stool to follow him outside. "The rest of Nurmengard has evacuated and those needing lifesaving medical attention are being treated as we speak. How is Miss McGonagall?"
"She's not well, sir. She's remained conscious since the healer injected a Muggle drug called adrenaline into her system, but he says it will be touch and go for a few days before she stabilizes. Professor Dumbledore is with her now."
The man growled under his breath and rubbed his face agitatedly. She watched him with wide eyes. Alastor Moody, the legendary Auror Leader, was not known for showing his emotions other than his anger at Dark Wizards or annoyance at junior Aurors.
"Look Ramirez, I have an assignment for you. You cannot being to fathom how important this is to win the war against the Blackcoats and Grindelwald."
"Okay, sir."
"I need you to stay here with McGonagall. Sources inside the say that she was one of the most highly guarded prisoners in the entire place which means she was valuable. She could have the answers we need to bring down Grindelwald. Things she may have seen or may have heard could be crucial to our success."
Ramirez glanced back at the heavy duty levitating tarp that housed the girl.
"She's only fifteen sir. Do you think she could really hold the key to bringing them down?" She ran a hand through the little strands of blonde hair that had fallen out of her pony tail since the morning she had pulled it up.
Moody gave her a maul of a grin. "Do you know who she is?" he growled, nodding towards the tent. Ramirez shook her head automatically; something she learned early on when joining the Aurors.
"She's Dumbledore's prodigy. The thing can do doctorate level magic with a bat of her pretty little eyelashes. She the greatest Transfiguration genius since Dumbledore himself and he claims she's much more advanced than he was at her age, not to mention she's Muggleborn. I need you to befriend her, Auror, I need to gain her trust, make her open up to you and tell you about her captivity."
"But, sir—"
"Cut the 'sir' crap, Ramirez," he cut her off, folding his arms over his chest. He smeared some of the still half wet blood on his jacket, but the man didn't seem to notice. "If you can pull this off, then you will be moved up the ranks so quickly the other Junior Aurors will be reporting to you."
The promise of success made Melanie swallowed quickly and her heart beat a little faster. "I understand, but what about Dumbledore? Wouldn't he be better suited to talk to her?"
Moody frowned and ran a hand over the fresh cut on his cheek that would scar to add another white line to his collection all over his body.
"Albus cares for her. How deeply, romantically, or emotionally, I don't know, but we don't have time to be gentle with her. She's a big girl, she'll survive it. We need that information. The only question is, are you going to get it for me?"
"I—of course, sir, er Moody."
He nodded, seemingly satisfied.
"Come on there, I'll introduce you lot," he said, moving back towards the tent. He opened the door and both Dumbledore and the girl immediately looked up to him. Dumbledore's hand flashed towards his wand, but he relaxed when he saw Moody.
"Albus, this is Melanie Ramirez. She's going to keep an eye on Miss McGonagall, if that's all right, of course," he said courteously, nodding towards the girl sitting next to Albus.
Ramirez gave both the esteemed professor and McGonagall a nervous smile which Dumbledore only nodded to. Her eyes found the girl who seemed so small and childlike covered in thick blankets and sitting next to the tall Dumbledore.
Her deep green eyes looked her over with clear intelligence and interest.
"I think that will be quite all right, Alastor, right Minerva?" he questioned lightly, turning back towards the girl. Only after a moment did Minerva turn to look back at Dumbledore's face. She inclined her head ever so slightly and squeezed his hand once.
The Auror inwardly sighed. This was going to be harder than she thought.
*The Great War 1944*
Melanie stood with her fellow Aurors as Alastor Moody and Auror Deputy Gawain Robards stood in front of them silently. Melanie's teammates stood with her.
Robards looked like a wet lion with wild brown hair and eerie gray eyes. He wore a ripped uniform and resembled Moody with his body wracked full of scars.
The whispering in the crowd ceased when he raised his hand. "Today we storm Nurmengard," Robards said gruffly. "Today, we took the first step in taking back out country from the hands of the Dark Lord, Grindelwald."
The crowd erupted in cheers.
Melanie smiled broadly as the euphoria rose around her. Robards waited until they had quieted down before speaking again. "Some of you fought alongside us, others stayed here and held down the fort. When we eradicated the prison, Grindelwald wasn't present. Nor was his second in command, Macnair. We captured a handful of Blackcoats and our most advanced interrogators at working on them as we speak. The rest of their ranks are still out there. The best thing to do now is rest, take care of the survivors. They need our help now."
He turned his back and marched towards the large tent parked right in front of the prison gates. Moody folded his arms in front of his chest, sizing up the crowd.
"You heard Robards. We camp here. It may be some time before we pack out trash and leave. Our priority now is the survivors and what's left in the prison. You know your assignments. Don't fail us. Don't fail your people. Don't fail magic." Melanie felt his eyes linger on her form from the crowd.
With that followed Robards into the night.
"Crazy right? To think that with another few attacks like these the war could be over?" Melanie wordlessly nodded to her teammate and friend from Hogwarts, Jack Hessle, as she followed him back towards their tent.
Her other teammates chattered away about how they wished they had been in the battle rather than scouting for Blackcoats on the perimeter, Melanie caught sight of Dumbledore's form still sitting with McGonagall's small frame in the tent off to the side.
The battle may be over she realized, but the war was still very much alive.