A/N: So, here it is - my new story. I actually got the idea from one line in a review from Freelancer and from the Roy Orbison song "Falling". It will be a rather long fic, centering on Minerva, but don't despair, I won't write anything without AD/MM. So if you can't stand the thought of them – do the Rockford turn, NOW! There are more pairings coming, but don't expect me to give anything away before its time. g

Oh and as Freelancer says: "My fic, my rules." There might be things I'm bending to my liking and some people might be OOC, but after all…this is fanfiction.

Oh and one last thing: I started this about a month before OotP came out. I tried to alter anything that doesn't fit, but if I missed a piece, just bear with it

Under Attack

By stoneygem

Chapter I: The Brightness of the Day

The sky was bright over Diagon Alley, but the woman hurrying down the narrow and already crowded road had no eyes for the beaming daylight. Minerva McGonagall was on her way to the Ministry of Magic and she was late. By now, she was almost running through the crowds. The letter had sounded so urgent.

"Meet me tomorrow at 8am in Fudge's office. It's imperative! And don't tell anybody about it. Nobody! Love, Albus."

Somehow, those lines seemed strange to Minerva. This wasn't exactly Albus' style of writing, but then after Voldemort had risen again, nothing was the way it used to be.

Due to the running, several wisps of her greying ebony hair had come loose from her bun, and Hogwarts' Deputy came to a halt in a corner near Madam Malkins Robes-shop to catch her breath and put those annoying pieces of hair back under her hat. She could feel the letter in the pocket of her robe. It was really odd. Minerva looked up at the sky and cringed almost immediately at the brightness of the light. Her face rearranged in a deep frown. This was much too bright for her. Out of experience she knew that days which seemed so bright, usually brought disaster with them.

She went the rest of the way at a much slower pace. It was 7.50, thus she still had a lot of time to reach her destination and contemplate the situation. After receiving this letter last night, she had apparated to London early in the morning. It was a good thing that she didn't have a morning class today, so nobody would suspect anything.  She had basically taken over as head of Hogwarts, since Albus was travelling to gather his supporters for the fight against the Dark Lord.  She could always excuse herself from breakfast in the Great Hall. Nobody would even suspect that her absence wasn't due to the large piles of administrative work. Honestly, she didn't know how Albus was able to tackle those mountains of paper work.

Now she was here in London to meet the man she had long ago chosen as her life companion and to hopefully hear some news from him. 'A little bit of hugging and kissing wouldn't be too bad either,' Minerva thought with a grin. She missed Albus. But under the circumstances she had to be happy to see him at all, even on business. How he had managed to talk Fudge into joining their ranks, Minerva didn't know, but she was glad he had. Meeting him in Fudge's office certainly meant that he had convinced Cornelius to face the truth and act.

Somebody bumped her, and thus shook Minerva out of her musings. She shivered, since even with all the sun it was November already, and a rather chilly one at that. It was time that Fudge saw the danger. It still irked her, how anybody could still reject the idea of Voldemort's return. He had been back for more than a year now, and death rates among the wizards and witches, who were not pureblood, had risen dramatically. The green marks of the Death Eaters alighted the sky on a regular basis and every time there had been more dead people, more destruction, more tears and more fear. It was time the wizarding community saw the threat and fought against it.

Albus had realized the danger from the very first moment. Just like she had. And Severus. And the Weasleys. And the troublesome trio. Along with them and their old friends from "The Order of the Phoenix", they actually had a formidable force against the Dark Side. They could count on the house elves and partially on the giants too. They had a chance…

As long as Albus was leading this force. A smile came to her face at the thought of the man she loved. No one would believe him to be about 150 years old. She certainly knew that he betrayed his age - in every way. They had been a couple for a quarter of a century now, and it had been a wonderful relationship. They lived their love in secret and therefore had never married, but it didn't matter. She loved him, he loved her and together they would conquer everything. Even the Dark Side…

Speaking of dark, Minerva suddenly realized something. There were no dark shades. Since Voldemort's return had become obvious many wizards had applied high security measures to their stores and houses. Hiding windows, especially shop windows and what they offered, behind dark shades was a common thing lately. It was almost like the thing the Muggles had done in their WWII to protect themselves against air raids.

Minerva had always thought it was a ridiculous thing to do. Although the shades here were bewitched, they still didn't hide you from dark wizards. They had other ways to detect their targets. Still, those shades were a common sides in wizard streets. But where were they today? Diagon Alley had had a dark and hushed atmosphere for the last year at least. And just two weeks ago, Minerva had seen basically every house on that street covered in dark cloths. Why weren't any up today? What was different?

Not even Gringotts showed any heavy protection. Two weeks ago, it had been nearly impossible to get into the bank without getting checked and re-checked by aurors and those new guards. A new development. Improved dementors, so to speak. Unlike their ancestors they weren't living off of happy feelings, but off of illegal ideas. A fascinating invention, Minerva had to admit. This Baldur Nipps was a great mind indeed.

In spite of this, there were neither aurors nor justamentors in front of Gringotts today. Didn't the wizard bank with all its treasures and secrets need protection anymore?

Minerva didn't get around to wonder anymore, as she could hear a bell striking eight. She hurried the last steps to her destination and entered the Ministry. Inside the building, however, the almost cheerful mood from outside was instantly reversed. She could almost feel the suspicion in the air. The uneasy feeling, which had come to the witch, grew proportionally. Her animagus form was a cat for a reason. She could feel that something was wrong.

Was this a trap? Had somebody forced Albus to write that letter? If not, why did the employees look at her so strangely.

Minerva forced herself to stay calm and went directly to Fudge's office. But when she opened the door to the secretary's place, her eyes widened in shock. Since when was Percy Weasley Fudge's secretary? The clicking of the door caught the attention of the young man. Minerva shuddered inwardly. For the first time, she realized that Percy was in no way like the rest of his family. He didn't have their heart.

The young man rather unsuccessfully hid his sneer at his former Transfiguration teacher. "Professor," he acknowledged her, "his Excellency was sure you would be coming. However, he is not available for you at the moment. You'll have to wait."

Minerva frowned. She didn't have a problem waiting for Fudge. She wasn't too eager to meet him anyway, but where was Albus? She wanted to meet him. And where, for Merlin's sake, did that boy get his tone from?

The red headed young man grinned evilly at her and her confusion. "As a matter of fact, his Excellency is talking to your successor right now. You see, there was no need to come here. The Minister won't change his mind. You are no longer headmistress of Hogwarts. As a matter of fact, you are no longer allowed to be in the immediate vicinity of the school."

The witch stared at him in bewilderment. Fudge fired her as headmistress? But she never had that position! What the hell was going on here?

Her thoughts were interrupted as the door on the other side of the room opened. Two voices could be heard. And one of them she would recognise anywhere. Minerva almost broke down under the wave of relief. Albus was here and he would explain everything to her.

But then her relief turned to horror, when she heard the coldness in his voice. And it became even greater when she understood that he was saying: "It's about time we got rid of that idiotic bitch, McGonagall. Hogwarts will be a much better school in your hands, my friend."

Minerva couldn't breathe. She didn't believe what she was hearing. And she believed even less what she saw. She knew the other man, too. Knew him well. And had always wanted to forget about him.

Dumbledore turned around and acknowledged her presence. His tone indignant and cruel: "What are you doing here? Weren't the official papers you received enough? You are outlawed. You have to leave England within 3 days. Nobody is allowed to provide you with any assistance. Which part of that did you not understand?" At Minerva's disbelieving shake of her head, the man who she thought loved her, sneered. "You came here for your job, right?… Of course, you won't get it back. We have found a better headmaster." When he saw her hesitating, Dumbledore added: "May I introduce you to Hogwarts' new Headmaster, Ms. McGonagall? Meet Lord Voldemort!"

So, what do you think? Let me know and thus…use the review-button down there…