AN: I don't own any of it, JK Rowling does. I hope you like it!

Minerva walked into the classroom, anxious about her first year of teaching, but happy that she was also going to have some teachers her age around. The Headmaster had been so kind as to offer all of her friends jobs – Poppy was now working as the assistant Healer until she obtained her Medi-Witch license and Rolanda was going to be joining them as the flying instructor, soon as her season with the Harpies was over.

When Professor Dippet had retired, Professor Dumbledore, her Transfiguration teacher, had taken over his post as the Headmaster. Now, the school needed a new Transfiguration teacher, and Minerva, fresh out of her Mastery in the subject, had eagerly applied. She had always wanted to teach, but she was still nervous.

The night before, she had moved in to her personal quarters, which, for the time being, she was sharing with her best friend Poppy. The school year was fast approaching, and she only had a week left to get everything organized in her classroom and in her office. Despite that fact that she had a headache, she unpacked her office and set about to clean everything before the staff meeting that was at two o'clock.

'Walking into the staff room for the first time as a full staff member is an exhilarating feeling,' Minerva thought. As head girl, she had been in it a few times to find a teacher.

Once they were all seated, and introductions had gone around, Dumbledore had started his first staff meeting. As he talked about special problems that specific first years might have, or new dangers the gamekeeper had found in the Forbidden Forest, Minerva had found herself staring out the cathedral window, rather than paying attention.

'Are meetings always this boring?' she wondered to herself, and she could see from across the table that Poppy was doodling something. Along with her amazing talent for healing, Poppy also could draw really well and had been known to draw a very detailed sketch through class, instead of actually listen to a teacher.

Once the meeting had been dismissed, the two new staff members met up.

"Minnie, you look exhausted! What have you been doing all day?" Poppy exclaimed, as they walked out into the hallway.

"Moving things. We should probably go back to our quarters and finish unpacking," she replied with an even voice, long used to her friend's worrisome nature.

"Yes, we should, but only if you aren't too tired, you don't want to become sick right before all the students get here," Poppy lectured her but the Transfiguration teacher just rolled her eyes and kept walking.

Their quarters had been decorated in a light pale yellow. When they had arrived at the school, the Headmaster had informed them that there was currently only one living space available, but it had traditionally been for a teacher who had a family. The two new teachers had decided to share quarters, because they were still single and wanted to keep each other company. If they had separate quarters, they would always be over each other's quarters anyway, so why bother living apart?They had lived with each other for seven years already, and were looking forward to more. When Rolanda joined them, they hadn't decided if they would ask the Headmaster for a third bedroom onto the quarters they have, or if they would separate themselves out. Since the rooms used to be for a family, they had a large living room with a small kitchen off to one side, as well as two bedrooms. The Headmaster had added an extra entrance to the living room, which lead directly to the Hospital Wing, a measure designed specifically for Poppy, so that she would be able to get to the Hospital Wing in case of an emergency. There were two comfortable chairs in front of the fireplace, as well as a couch. Bookcases lined the wall of the living room, and Minerva had plans to line those soon with many different kinds of books.

Right now, there was a large stack of boxes in the center of the living room. After they had walked in, Minerva pointed her wand at the fireplace and soon a small, but pleasant, fire was going. They walked over to the boxes and sorted them out. About an hour later, thanks to magic, everything had been put away. On the mantel was a picture of the three best friends on graduation day, laughing and smiling. There was a painting of Minerva's father above the fireplace. Since she was now the sole McGonagall, and also had the manor and estate to manage, she needed a monitoring system that she could easily access from Hogwarts.

Now, their quarters truly felt like home. Poppy had decorated her bedroom in the yellow and black tradition of Hufflepuff, and even had brought her stuffed badger back with her. The walls were a brighter yellow than the walls of their living room, and the canopy on her bed was black and gold, with gold curtains. A soft, plush yellow carpet finished off the room.

In between the bedrooms, was a spacious bathroom, which included two sinks and a large bathtub. It wasn't as large as the one in the prefect's bathroom but it still produced the bubbles. A shower stood off to one corner.

Minerva's bedroom was also painted in her house's colors. The canopy was red and gold, with dark red carpeting. She opted to not have curtains on her bed, they just annoyed her. Her room was kept exceptionally tidy, for she was naturally a neat person.

By the time they were done packing, it was time to go up to dinner in the Great Hall. They chatted amicably throughout dinner with their colleagues. By the time, they returned to their quarters, Minerva was exhausted and she went straight to bed. Poppy chuckled to herself, knowing how hard Minerva liked to work, but at the same time worried that her best friend was going to overwork herself and get ill.

Over the next week, both worked hard to make sure that everything was ready. In addition to her regular duties as a teacher, she had been made the Head of House for Gryffindor and had to ensure that the dorms were ready for the students.

By the time that the new students were lead into the hall by the Deputy Headmaster, Professor Slughorn, she felt that she had already been at Hogwarts for a month. She was ready for the year to begin, and ready to start teaching.

AN: Thank you to HealerPomfrey for proofreading this! Please read and review! Any suggestions, comments or ideas from readers would be appreciated and taken into consideration.