Disclaimer: Much to my dismay, and for many others I am sure, the book series Harry Potter does not, and will never, belong to me. So thank you J. K Rowling for allowing us to borrow your characters and books.

Warnings: Nothing. (That's a second.)

AN: I somehow got persuaded to join the Quidditch League Competition so I'll be writing a oneshot every two weeks to try to win this tournament. Every two weeks, I will be given a prompt that I will have to fulfill as Captain of the Kenmare Kestrels. The stories must be T-rated, minimum 1,000 words and maximum 3,000. Wish me luck so that my team and I can win. =)

This week, my team and I have to select a mascot that represents our team the best. We chose Minerva McGonagall. Now, since I'm writing as a stand-in for our missing Seeker, I have to write about my mascot's biggest mistake.

Hope you guys enjoy.

Summary: QLC. As the years passed by, Minerva had one regret that still haunted her. Something that traumatised her so much that she did not know how to react. After all, how can a child atone for a mother's unfulfilled desire?

Word-Count: 1,154 words (including the title).

Mother

"I don't have nothing to regret at all in the past, except that I might've unintentionally hurt somebody else or something." Jimmy Hendrix

Minerva knew that she was one of the few lucky ones concerning her parents. Most Half-Bloods, especially during her time, would not have such understanding Muggle Parent like her father when his child revealed his wife's secret.

When a Witch or a Wizard would fall in love with a Muggle, they had two possible choices. The first one revealing their Magical Statues, hoping that their loved one would not be disgusted by them. The other one was to not say anything, seal up their magic and live in a wall of silence.

Minerva's mother, Isobel McGonagall née Ross, chose the second option. She went through the excruciating pain of such a ritual to see forever her magic. (It was to be noted that this ritual would be banned in 1983 due to the unexpected side-effects as well as the high suicide rate since no wizard doing the Ever Sealing Ritual could never again regain their magic.)

Most of the time, children born from such a union had a very low rate of having any magic. When Minerva was born, Isobel desperately prayed the Lord that Minerva was part of the majority of the un-magical children.

It was not to be, unfortunately for Isobel. When Minerva was barely a year old, she performed her first act of Accidental Magic, summoning her teddy bear from across the room. Luckily for Isobel, her husband, Robert, was at the Church during some social work. Otherwise, he would have been treated to the sight of his beloved wife bursting into tears, knees tumbling her to the ground as gravity did its job. Great, big, fat tears dripped from her eyes, gliding down her cheeks as she realised what she had gave up for absolutely nothing. Her child had magic, forcing her hand in revealing who she was to her husband.

Worse case scenarios came to mind, while she tried to think of a way to still hide the secret. The fear grew bigger and bigger, as Isobel tried to think of solutions, each more desperate than the last. She even brought out her dusty old heirlooms from her hiding place to see if their could something, anything that could help her, like a potion or a ritual. She was even ready to contact (somehow) her old friends to do the spell, drastic enough that she would have normally refused to do such a thing if she had been in her right mind.

By a stroke of luck, she kept the magic under wraps for more than six months. Six, frightful months where Isobel jumped at every shadow, at every action, keeping a sharper than an eagle eye on her baby girl for any other accidental magic that could happen in the vicinity of her husband.

— "Self-pity is our worst enemy and if we yield to it, we can never do anything wise in this world." Helene Keller —

Like all good things, it soon came to a quick end with a literal BOOM! A fact that you must know about Minerva was that she was a very impatient child. A trait that took her years to subdue into something more mature. It was even more pronounced when she was a child, especially during meal time.

This was how it happened. It was during breakfast time that everything started. Baby Minerva was very hungry and the bowl of porridge was so tempting, sitting there in the middle of the rest of the food on the table. The smell was so tantalising (not that she knew what that word was, for her it was yummy) and papa was still talking, mumbling words behind clasped hands while her mama did the same thing.

Tummy rumbling, she wanted the bowl of porridge RIGHT NOW! The bowl of porridge that belonged to her flew from the table straight into her pudgy little hands, much to the horrified look of her mother and the surprised one of her father. She didn't pay that much to mind as she put her chubby little hands to scoop up the porridge.

Isobel had to reveal everything to her husband, Robert: her magic, her previous life, … every secret that she had kept from her husband pouring out of her mouth. It felt as the end of the world was upon her, not daring to look in his eyes.

She was ready to use her body as a shield for her baby girl, the horror stories from bad reveals had haunted her for the past fours years of her marriage, culminating during the past six months in her nightmares.

In the corner of her eyes, she saw her husband's big, calloused hands reach out towards her. She automatically flinched, ready for anything. Instead, the hand gently placed itself on her shoulder.

"Isobel," came that gentle voice of her husband, "it's alright, I'm not mad."

Teary eyes slowly lifted to stare in her husband's. "Robert?"

The preacher gave her a shaky smile, yet his hand was still a steady presence on her shoulder. "I'm not going to lie to you and say everything is alright." He drew a deep breath. "However, know that I love you and we will pass through this hard time."

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I lied." Isobel wailed on her husband's shoulder, all the while muttering her apologies, Minerva squashed between the both of them, babbling some sort of nonsense, unaware of the seriousness of the situation.

— In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on." Robert Frost —

Since The Revelation, as it was now known between the couple, everything was better for the family. Minerva never really knew how serious the situation had been. All that she knew was the warmth and comfort of a whole, accepting family.

Two new additions soon came: Malcolm and Robert Jr. Both of them also had signs of magic, much to the mother's dismay. Something that Minerva sensed without completely understanding why, seeing from time to time a haunting look in her mother's eyes when the woman thought she was alone.

It was when she received her Hogwart's letter on her eleventh birthday did Minerva finally understand what was tormenting her mother. Her mother regretted the fact that she had sealed her magic forever when her husband was so supportive and that she had all three children who were magical.

The revelation slammed straight into her heart (and mind) when she was about to board the Hogwart's Express and saw the look on her mother's face.

That look would forever be engraved in Minerva's mind. It would be one of her biggest regrets that she would never be able to atone for.

For how could a child be able to atone for a mother's unfulfilled desire?