Title: Woman, I am Born
Summary: AU. The story takes place in Ireland in the 1550's -1600's. There are historical allusions to the events that occurred during this time and the people who lived in this period. Some of the references are accurate (I have done extensive research on this period) while others I have taken some artistic liberties to match my story.
The story will have our darling Minerva and other characters. If you haven't ever read about this period in Irish/English history, I recommend it… It's quite fascinating.
Thanks to my Gaelic Queen, my muse.
Lucero is begging me to add Severus Snape in this, so yes, he'll be in here.
Background- a MacWilliam is like the chief of a clan/area of land (like a county would be).
Rating: M for violence, sex, and language. Some femslash. I'll post a warning
Enjoy!
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The place was Ireland; the time, 1562. The land was divided amongst the clans- some forever-battling age-old civil wars between one MacWilliam's clan and another. Others- working together to survive on the Irish lands.
An age-old Gaelic tradition kept these families going. Almost like clockwork, their different clans fought and cooperated for the glory of Ireland.
Only the eminent invasion of England struck fear in the proud Irish. But even with the exploitive policies of one nasty Sir Richard Bingham, the Gaelics knew that they would be safe.
The McGonagalls would make sure of that.
There was something different about the clan. Ruled by the iron-fisted Riordan and the fierce Rioghnach, their clan seemed immune to the troubles that plagued the surrounding families.
Their crops always seemed to weather storms, the livestock was always healthy, and the women never died during childbirth.
Bail ó Dhia, the others called it. Prosperity from God.
God may have had something to do with it. Certainly the McGonagalls were all devoted and loyal Catholics, their family having adopted the religion some years back, as many other Irish had.
The west wing of their castle contained a rather large chapel and prayer room.
But the McGonagalls knew that God played a very small part in their victories.
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In the time of England's King Arthur and Camelot, the awe and mystery of magic had captured the imagination of the people, embodied by the small wizard Merlin.
He dazzled them with displays of twinkling lights and vanishing goblets, his skills the center of the town's entertainment.
His own magical powers were highly concealed, for to him, light shows and vanishing spells were child's play and nothing to be fawned over.
No one knew how much his magic could actually do.
He didn't fear their admiration of his small magic, hence the reason he displayed it at appropriate times. Other times he would feign ill or weakness, making the skeptics raise their eyebrows, their suspicions of his false magic seemingly confirmed.
Merlin's fears were based on his all-too-real knowledge of how dangerous magic could be. In the hands of the wrong person, magic was destructive, dangerous, and deadly.
The village demanded him to marry, hoping his children would have the same incredible powers.
Merlin had, unknowingly to them, started his own family in Ireland.
Knowing his wife Morgana's magical powers and their unborn children's magical potential, he decided the open plains and rolling hills of Ireland would be a much more suitable place instead of the crowded city of Camelot.
And so his family stayed, adapting their home and their trade to match those around them. Though outsiders originally, by the fourth generation, the clan of Merlin had been accepted.
In 1253, Merlin's great-great-great-great granddaughter, Margaret, fell in love with a tall, handsome, strapping man named Connor McGonagall.
Their marriage was originally forbidden, him being without magic.
But no orders or space could separate the two, and they married secretly on Connor's land, his parents having no objection to the marriage.
However, upon their return to Margaret's castle, Connor was locked in the uppermost room in order for him to digest hard truths about his wife's heritage.
For a man brought up in the rough world of Irish farming and fishing, he took the news surprisingly well… after fainting first.
Taking a magical oath as old as time, he vowed to protect their secret and raise his children to achieve their full magical and worldly potential.
Keeping this secret, however, proved difficult, as his children, Connor II and Tibbot had a nasty inclination in their toddler years to throw fire out of their hands during temper tantrums.
Their children started the line of the McGonagalls, a line that had begun to prove itself as the most skilled descendants from Merlin.
Of course it wasn't just the McGonagalls. Several other family lines had begun to grow, but
And as the years progressed, the magical family grew. The Merlin home evolved from one castle into a small village all their own. Some descendants displayed no magical power, but more often the new additions brought even more skills to the family.
All the children were educated together, learning to harness their power for the good of the village- protecting the crops from harsh winds and rains, luring the fish in for a more plentiful catch (but never wasteful), and occasionally helping out others not in their village who needed a break from the cruel and majestic land that was Ireland.
By the 1400s, the McGonagalls were the most prevalent family in the area, consisting of nearly a fourth of the total people, numbering close to ten thousand. Their isolated little village masked by several well-placed spells and charms.
The Gaelic tradition of Ireland divided power amongst the MacWilliams. In 1550, the O'Malley clan, the O'Flaherty clan, and the Bourke clan had emerged as the most powerful in the coastal region near Belcare, Clew Bay, and Rockfleet.
Though not involved in all Gaelic affairs, the McGonagalls positioned themselves as a neutral family, helping any clan who clearly and accurately expressed their needs.
Their principals of neutrality and non-interference were kept strong.
Until Minerva and Siofra McGonagall, the beautiful daughters of Riordan and Rioghnach.
Minerva's forbidden affair with the Pirate Queen, Grace O'Malley and Siofra's disastrous marriage to Gregor O'Flaherty plunged the magical clan into civil war and forced the McGonagalls into the front line against the invading English.
Their actions would plunge the clan into a civil war and force them into the front line against the invading English, jeopardizing not only the lives of those around them, but the very future of magic itself.
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A/N: Sound interesting? This is more of a background than the beginning of the story. The war will build up.
If this sounds like a good story to everyone, I'll continue.
Reviews and concrit always welcome!