I own nothing!
'Why is it always the Gryffindor's?'
Minerva McGonagall, head of Gryffindor house, asked herself morosely.
'Or to be exact, why is it always one of those three?'
She hurried through the corridors of her school at 6 o'clock at night on a Tuesday, and reflected on what exactly made her fonder of the three. They, after all, had given her almost as much paperwork as the marauders before them- and yet they still had five years to go!
She sighed and tried not to contemplate what they would get up to next... Whatever it was would most definitely add to her growing collection of grey hairs. She patted her bun self-consciously, and sped faster.
'Harry certainly inherited his father's trouble making skills. But he without a doubt ends up in the hospital wing more.'
But it was not, that day, Harry Potter she was rushing to the hospital to see, but rather another member of the golden trio- Hermione Granger. The news that she was in the hospital wing had arrived moments earlier from Poppy, and immediately Minerva had sprung into action, almost running to the hospital wing, and praying that her student had not been petrified- or worse was dead.
When she finally arrived, she made her way over to Poppy, trying to look as dignified and calm as possible and asking what had happened to her second year student. Poppy merely scowled, and led her to the corner bed, which was shrouded mysteriously by curtains. "Oh Minerva!" she huffed. "The silly girl had a potions accident. She won't tell me what she did and…. Oh you had better see for yourself." Feeling immensely relieved that nothing worse had happened Minerva mentally thanked every deity that she knew of, and prepared herself for the worst. She pulled back the curtains from Hermione's bed for the briefest of seconds and slipped in. What she then saw astonished her into silence.
Little Hermione was sitting up in her bed, engrossed in a book and looking completely no worse for the wear, but as she turned to face her visitor, Minerva saw that her face was covered in a sleek brown coat of fur and that she had two feline ears poking out from the tip of her head. In conjunction with that, she had a set of sharp fangs, glinting with malice and as Minerva peered closer, a tail to top it all off.
'What on earth!?'
She was speechless for a few moments, managing only to splutter out the barest of sentences. Hermione squeaked as she recognised her head of house, and ducked behind her book. She peeked up after a while, unnerved by her Professor's silence, and began bubbling her excuses.
"Please Professor, I was practicing a potion for class, when it blew up and sprayed all over me. Harry and Ron were nearby and convinced me to come here." She whispered quickly, avoiding eye contact. "But I don't know what I did wrong, so I can't tell Madam Pomfrey anything!" Minerva frowned, sensing a white lie in her midst.
"Well Miss Granger, informing us what you were trying to make would be a good start." Hermione froze and hesitated for a second, biting her lip. Her eyes darted between he cross school matron, and her equally suspicious head of house. Finally she uttered her next sentence.
"Well; I was trying to brew a forgetfulness potion, and I must have made a mistake, but I don't know what!" Minerva frowned. Her common sense was screaming that the girl was lying.
'Why would Miss Granger fail to brew a first year potion?'
It simply did not make sense; and Minerva considered her far too bright a student. Especially since the year previous the girl had passed her potions exam with flying colours (although Severus would be loath to admit so.) The elder woman then opened her mouth to enquire further, saw the fearful look in the child's eye and stopped.
'She's not going to tell me anything. Hmmm…. I shall ask Albus later.'
Minerva was well aware that their esteemed Headmaster was bound to know what she had done, considering his great affinity for meddling in the lives of the students. After all, he was the one who had informed her quite cheerfully of Miss Granger's previous white lie the year before. She eyed the girl beadily, and her eyes continued to flicker from place to place self-consciously.
'This must have something to do with the boys too. Albus will definitely know.'
The elder woman then peered down her nose at the girl, instructing her to be more careful, and having a word with Poppy about her condition, before turning to leave. But, she was stopped upon hearing the girl's timid whisper. "I'm sorry. I should've been more careful." Again Minerva twisted, eyebrow raised and eyes narrow. She saw Hermione's downtrodden aura, and inferred her humiliation. Minerva closed her eyes, knowing she couldn't leave her charge like this. It was incredibly likely that before she had arrived she had received quite some teasing from her friends, and there was no doubt that she was probably feeling awful and stupid by then. It wouldn't help at all to have her head of house disappointed in her. So she searched for the best words to comfort the child.
"There is nothing to be sorry for dear. We all make mistakes and I daresay I have had my fair share too. The important thing is to move on from these errors and learn from them. Think about the positive aspects." Hermione frowned, and Minerva expounded further. "You will miss your lessons…" The elder woman bit back a chuckle at the little Gryffindor's expression of horror. "…but you will have so much more time to study here in quiet. You can even observe how Madam Pomfrey works, and learn a bit about being a mediwitch." Hermione's face rapidly brightened, lighting up like she'd just been told Christmas was early. Knowing that she then felt better about her predicament, Minerva could not resist adding a small joke. "Just… don't ask her too many questions, Poppy can get very stressed at times…In your current form it would not be wise. After all curiosity did kill the cat." Minerva paused to register Hermione's shocked face and then made her exit. However, she wasn't quick enough to clear the room before she heard a small murmur from behind.
"…Says the single person who brings more meaning to the word cat woman than anyone I've ever met."
Minerva bit back a cheshire grin, and rolled her eyes before going off to find Albus and interrogate about the welfare of her students.