If you were to ask Minevra McGonagall if she had children, she would respond in her stern yet warm Scottish accent a simple 'yes'. If you were to ask her how many, she would look at you through her round spectacles and give a rare smile and tell you she had over 1000 children… Her proud lions were her cubs and loved them as if they were her own during their time at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and even after they left the great castle walls and into the wizarding society.
Some students come and go…but others leave a lasting imprint on your heart
Some students…Like Hermione Granger.
Yes she loved all her children, but she would always remember when she met the bushy haired girl for the first time. She knew from the moment she had met she would do great things, Studious and Bright, Loyal, Observant, with a fiery determination to make a difference. And that she did, after her years at Hogwarts, she went on to work for the ministry and eventually took over Amelia Bones as Head of the DMLE and enforced equal rights amendments for magical beings, yes the old professor couldn't help but let her heart swell with pride for one of her cubs.
But there are always two sides to being a parent… the pride and the worry.
So when news had broken out that Hermione had gone missing without a trace, Minevra couldn't help but panic for her missing child, even as to take a few days off as headmistress to help the search for her favorite student. But after 6 months and not even a trace to go on… it seemed hopeless…
Now Four years after Hermione's disappearance, Minevra McGonagall sat in her office at Hogwarts by the fire sipping her tea while looking over a photo album that was a collection of pictures from her students over the ages flipping over the worn pages. McGonagall stroked the pictures lovingly as she remembered her students, closing the book she placed on her coffee table and headed to her bed chambers for the night. As she was turning off the lights with a swish of her wand after saying good night to the portrait of Albus, she heard the distinct crack of apparition from the common room, baffled by who would be able to apparate into Hogwarts.
"P-PROFFESSOR!" a strangled cry came from the next room.
Without hesitation the elderly professor grabbed her wand and rushed to the common room to see a heart wrenching site…
There lay an unmistakable tangle of brown curls, Chocolate brown eyes full of worry and fear as she clenched on to the bundle of blankets in front of her as if to shield it from the unknown danger, covered in cuts, blood and bruises.
"Ms. Granger!" McGonagall ran to the crumpling young women and braced her as she began to collapse of exhaustion. "Ms. Granger, what in Merlin's name happened!"
Hermione looked up at her mentor bleary eyed fighting the blackness to stay awake.
"P-Protect…" the bushy haired witch strained forward pushing the bundle of blankets into Minevra's arms "He-Hero…." Hermione fainted on to the Headmistresses lap.
Panicking McGonagall ran to the fireplace throwing in some floo powder sticking her head into the flames to call Madame Pomfrey
"Poppy! Please come to my office at once! We have ourselves a crisis!"
No sooner had she made her head out of the chimney did the nurse step through, Glancing over the room she quickly saw the bloody heap of Hermione Granger.
"Oh my Godric! What happened Minnie!" Madame Pomfrey quickly examined the girl before getting to work stabilizing the injuries.
Minevra had no answer for the woman, finally looking down to the bundled blanket in her arms. Pulling back the bloodied cloth she gasped in shock to see a sleeping toddler of maybe 3-4 with brown locks of hair sweeping past her shoulders, sleeping blisfully in her arms unaware of the chaos that had happened.
Poppy looked up from her healing, after already getting most of the severe injuries under control to see what had made the Headmistress gasp only to gaze in shock as well.
"What could have happened?" Poppy's voice was in shock, hearing a gasp from she quickly began tending to the injuries again.
Minerva laid the child on the couch that was close the fire place and removed the tattered blanket that engulfed her dropping a small envelope to the floor. The professor picked up the crumbled paper and took a chance to look over the child briefly as she recovered her with a blanket adorning her Gryffindor colors. The small girl in front of her was without any injuries, her golden tented brown hair fanned our around her like a halo, her face heart shaped with olive skin that was given an orange glow from the fire. The child was dressed in a light blue summer dress and wore a small pendant around her neck that seemed to dance in the light as it lay on the girl's chest rising and falling with her breath.
"Minnie, I was able to stabilize her, but we should still take her to 's for safety measures…"
Nodding in agreement with the nurse, she quickly levitated to the couch and transfigured it into a stretcher before enlarging the fire place to accommodate the added company. McGonagall put the envelope into her pocket and picked up the sleeping mystery child leading Madame Pomfrey into the fire place with Hermione in tow.
"St. Mungos!"
24-year-old Harry Potter sighed and ran a hand through his messy ebony hair as he sat down heavily on his couch. He opened the new Auror manual and stared at it with unmoving eyes, using this time to think…as he always did.
He had had a long day in the office, what with all the crimes happening and whatnot. He had taken the position of Head of Criminal Intelligence about a year ago, meaning he was pretty much involved with every criminal case in the magical world and some of the more severe in the muggle. When originally applying for the recently vacated position, he had informed his superiors that he was tired of fighting Dark Wizards, having done it his whole teenage life.
The truth was actually quite a bit different.
He loved fighting Dark Wizards and fighting crime—it was his life's calling. He had actually taken the intelligence position for very personal reasons, reasons known to none but himself. Some may have called it selfish and even manipulative had they seen how he had used his fame to attain the position, for nobody under the age of forty had ever received it. Some may have called it selfish…if they could see that much but not the reason for which he had done it.
He had done it to find his bestfriend.
Nothing more, nothing less. Just love for a woman who had been like his sister who had up and vanished from the wizarding world without a trace four years ago, just two years out of Hogwarts. Just two years after helping Harry defeat one of the most evil wizards of all time. Just two years after she happily informed him that she was now the head of the DMLE.
Harry dropped the book on his lap with a sigh, not possessing enough energy to try to fool himself that he was working and was most definitely not thinking about her. Just as he did every night. He indeed thought about her every night, every day, every hour, every minute. He couldn't help himself. Like the bossy older sister he had always dreamed of as a child but never received, Four years she had been gone and she still ran every aspect of his life.
Especially his job.
For it was for her that he had taken the Head of Criminal Intelligence position. For most of the day he worked for the law, but the last hour of his workday was always devoted to finding her. He didn't have enough power as a regular Auror to spearhead the search, so he had taken the intelligence job to attain that necessary power. But it wasn't enough.
Harry would never give up hope, though, no matter how impossible it seemed. They had exhausted every strategy they could think of and Harry knew many of his subordinates were beginning to think he was a bit of a nutter…even Ron Weasley, the third member of the golden trio.
"Never," Harry said croakily, startling both himself and his phoenix, Fawkes. Though close, Fawkes was no Hedwig (and he knew to Fawkes that he was no Dumbledore), yet still gave him a very morose note and hopped onto the back of the couch to nuzzle Harry's head sympathetically. Harry absentmindedly reached up a hand to stroke Fawkes as he thought about the devastating news Ron had given him today.
"Hey Harry," he had said, knocking on his friend's open office door. "You remember that lead on Hermione, that one that said he had seen her on one of his business trips the other day?" Harry had nodded eagerly, hoping for good news. Ron's lips had pressed into a downtrodden line and Harry had felt his heart clench as Ron said, "He was found dead today in his home."
That was just another in a string of leads that had led to nothing, absolutely nothing. They had all forgotten, or disappeared, or in this case, died.
Harry sighed again and pinched the bridge of his nose before rubbing tiredly at his eyes, ready for the day to be over.
He stood up and Fawkes suddenly squawked before disappearing in a burst of flame. That's odd, Harry thought to himself as he started to make his way upstairs. Fawkes had never done that before. Harry, eyebrows furrowed in thought, sat down on his bed and began tugging at his left shoe, the first step in getting ready for bed.
He stopped halfway though, feeling as though he would need to leave it on for the reason Fawkes had suddenly decided it was prudent to leave like that. He sat in silence, growing more agitated by the second. Annoyed, he finally decided that Fawkes was just incredibly hungry and the urge to eat had overcome him. He went back down to restart taking off his shoe when Fawkes suddenly reappeared, scaring the hell out of him.
Fawkes dropped a piece of paper in Harry's lap and landed on the bed next to him. "Thanks," said Harry to the bird before hastily grabbing the paper and reading the note recognizing the letterhead of the headmistress's office.
Hermione's at St. Mungo's. Get here quick.
Minevra McGonagall
Harry dropped the scrap of paper in shock as Fawkes held his tail feathers out for Harry to grab. Harry quickly did just that and Fawkes quickly used the the phoenix's form of apparation, which was actually much more comfortable than the wizard's form of apparation.
They arrived in a hallway crowded with bustling Healers and a small amount of people hugging the walls and speaking in hushed whispers with one another. Harry stopped in his tracks as he saw an open door at the end of the hall. Inside the room was a woman who was screaming one of the most horrible screams he had ever heard as she trashed around on her blood-stained bed while Healers tried to operate on her. And he felt as though he was about to die when he realized that it was none other than the love of his life on that bed.
"Hermione," he said quietly, his feet automatically taking him in the direction of her room. "Hermione!" he said louder as his feet quickened the pace to a quick jog.
A hand grabbed him at the elbow and stopped him from going in the room. ", You can't go in yet!"
"I can and I will," Harry snarled as he tried to grab his wand out of his pocket.
When that didn't work he began thrashing, trying to escape the arms and rush to Hermione to save her, to protect her. A set of arms picked him up and slammed him against the wall none too gently, knocking his head against the plaster. As white spots danced in his vision, the owner of the arms said, "Godric, Harry. Get a hold of yourself or they'll kick you out."
Harry stopped struggling, Ron's logic cleanly cutting through his haze of desperation. "Good," Ron said with a relieved sigh while slowly, carefully releasing Harry.
Harry focused on his friend's face, which was fraught with worry. "What happened?" Harry asked as more Healers rushed past them and into Hermione's room. "What's wrong with her?"
"Dunno," said Ron with a shrug and worried glance at her doorway. "I was just with Lavender when they rolled her in, screaming a bunch of medical jargon at each other."
Harry, wanting more time to process the fact that Hermione was in the same building as him, swallowed and asked, "How's Lavender?"
"Good," said Ron with a smile. "Giving birth to your godson took a lot out of her is all, She'll be good to come home in a few days."
"Good, good," said Harry. "Where is Hugo?"
"With mum," said Ron.
"Ah," said Harry and looked through the window to the room where his sister in everything but blood was fighting for her life.
Harry swallowed hard, feeling helpless as more sweat beaded on his forehead.
"!"
Harry turned and saw McGonagall and Madame Pomfrey approaching
"If you are done thrashing about now you could say hello and your welcome, to your old headmistress who cared to inform you of location" She looked over her spectacles, her eyes blood shot in her grief to look at Harry
"I am sorry Professor… i-it's just that…"
"Oh… Say nothing more…" She opened her arms and gave him a comforting hug "I would be the same way had it been the other way around."
When releasing his old mentor did he notice that Poppy was holding a little girl with chestnut locks who was sucking her two fingers as she lay her head on Madame Pomfrey's shoulder, her calculating hazel-grey eyes puffy from tears analyzing everything that was happening.
"Uhm… Professor…?" Harry said staring at the small girl with a puzzled expression.
"Oh yes , This is Hero, when had arrived in my office young Hero here was accompanying her"
The little girl known as Hero lifted her head off Poppy's shoulder and took out the fingers she had been sucking on and waved shyly "Hi Harry…" though her 'R's were pronounced more like 'W's.
Baffled Harry looked to Hero "How did you know I was Harry?"
The little girl tilted her head and rolled her eyes much like Hermione would do back in school.
"Minnie said your name just a while ago…" stated the toddler blankly to Harry as if her intellect was insulted "Mione told me lots about you too," she said. "She tells stories about you and Ron all the time. Maybe she'll tell me one tonight."
"Yeah," said Madame Pomfrey with a small smile on her face despite the lone tear that ran down her left cheek as she stroked Hero's hair. "Maybe…"
A Healer came out of the room his brow drenched in sweat from exhaustion, only to be surrounded by the waiting party outside the room.
"How's Mione?" Ron asked immediately
"'s condition has stabilized and will make a full recovery, with thanks to Madame Pomfrey's Quick healing" Said Nurse looked smug and proud as the healer continued on " Unfortunately 's memories have serious holes in them, from what we were able to look through we can only find bits and pieces as to her disappearance over the past four years, it would seem that they could be tampered with…" The healer's face was solemn as he spoke as if trying to understand it himself "In any case she is fine and will be able to leave in a few days"
There was a sigh of relief from the group; Harry spoke up "Would it be okay if we saw her?"
"She is currently sleeping from the side-effects of the potions we gave her, but will wake up soon, you may visit just please don't make her over do it."
They filed into the small hospital room around Hermione's bed. They had cleaned up all traces of the blood and all that were left were a few bruises that seemed noticeable, she still looked like she did from their younger years but her face even though sleeping showed signs of her maturity from the war and stress.
"It's so hard to believe she's actually here and okay…" Harry said gently reaching out to stroke some of the bushy locks from her sleeping face.
"I know what you mean mate…" Ron taking her hand in his and holding it as he and Harry sat down by the bed.
McGonagall looked at her Alumni Students as her heart glowed seeing the friendship of the golden trio being reunited. Hero gracefully jumped down from Poppy's lap and crawled into the bed next to Hermione and snuggled herself under her arm. Seeing the site Harry looked back to his teacher.
"So why was Hero with Mione?"
The Professor only could shrug as she pulled out the envelope from her pocket and handed to Harry.
"We haven't gotten much of an answer, was able to tell us that Mione took care of her, but couldn't tell who her parents were or even her last name."
Harry took the envelope and opened it, inside were documents and other papers of legal importance; one in particular was Hero's Birth Certificate with no last name and no mother or father signatures, the only things on the certificate were, the date of birth, her footprints and her godparents
"Ginevra Potter Nee Weasley and Theodore Nott?" Harry's face turned up in confusion as very pregnant Ginny Potter came bursting in through the door
"WHY DID I HAVE TO HEAR FROM MY MOTHER THAT MIONE WAS BACK! DID NO ONE THINK TO TELL ME!" Harry jumped up over to his pregnant wife in an attempt to calm her down
"Gin… Remember what the doctor said about the twins you need to calm down or you're going to go into early labor…" The Hot headed mother to be calmed downed a little but still seemed on the edge
"Harry you should have told me!" Gin slapped his arm reprimanding him for his actions
"Hey!" everyone looked to see a little Hero standing at the end of Hermione's bed her small arms on her hips as she jutted out her chin her eyes determined as she stared down Ginny "You don't need to be hitting Harry or Yelling! Mione is hurt and needs rest." Hero said matter-of-factly though her voice was small it was somewhat intimidating. Ginny blinked a few times in a confused fashion before she turned to Ron.
"Who's the little girl?"
"That would be your god daughter."