Disclaimer: This is claim of the dis, guarding of the re of the Potter of the Harry. If you understood this, you get imaginary virtual pickles! :P
Minerva McGonagall: From the Eye of the Cat
Chapter One: N.E.W.T.s
The last days of term at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry were always very special. They were filled with joy, laughter, and good spirit for most students. It was very good to relax on these days, because all of the end-of-the-year exams were finished, including O.W.L.s. For most seventh year students, they were finishing their final N.E.W.T. exams. However, this story is not about most students, but one individual student, by the name of Minerva McGonagall. Her story begins like this:
June 24th, 1942
Sunlight was pouring into the girls' dormitory when Minerva McGonagall woke up. She saw that the dormitory was empty, so she went downstairs to the main common room. There, she found her friend Alastor Moody, who was Head Boy, talking to John Dawlish and Caesar Proudfoot. She said a friendly, "Hi,", took her schedule, and went down to the Great Hall for breakfast.
She opened the large oak doors to find that the hall was very crowded. She found a seat next to Penda Patil, Castella Finnigan, and Augusta Longbottom, who were the three girls that she shared a dormitory with.
"So what do we have first, Minnie?" asked Penda.
"Let's see," said Minerva, glancing at her schedule. "Looks like we have double Herbology, and then we have Charms."
"Oh shoot! I hope Professor Beery doesn't fail me; his last test was really hard! I couldn't remember how to properly trim Devil's Snare off of Mandrake roots."
"Don't worry, I'm sure you did just fine," Minerva reassured her. Professor Herbert Beery was their Herbology professor and was also Head of Ravenclaw House. "Besides, I saw his expression when he looked over your written test, so you couldn't have gotten a grade below an 'Acceptable'."
After they had finished their breakfast, they went down to Herbology, which they had with the Hufflepuffs. Professor Beery was handing back their final N.E.W.T. exam for Herbology. He was an old, plump man, and his robes were constantly covered in dirt.
"Now many of you were very scared before taking this exam," he said once he handed back all of the exams. "But some of you, I'm afraid, studied too hard," he said, eyeing Castella, who had received an "Exceeds Expectations". She had almost covered the entire piece of parchment with ink because she wrote so much. She got only half credit for the questions that wanted a brief answer. Minerva also managed to scrape an "Exceeds Expectations".
The only person in the entire class who had received an "Outstanding" was Pomona Sprout, and everyone knew that she was always at the top of the class, and that Herbology just came naturally to her.
They spent the rest of the lesson going over the exam answers and talking about the most dangerous plants in the world. When the period was over, Minerva went to Charms, with Professor Flitwick.
"Now there was a very wide variety of grades," Professor Flitwick said in a squeaky voice once the exams were passed back. "I could clearly see who studied and who didn't."
Minerva, who had received her first "Outstanding", glanced over to Augusta, who was frowning deeply at her exam, and saw that she had received a "Dreadful", with only half of the questions filled in. Minerva would have felt sorry for her, but she was not good friends with Augusta. A couple places over, Alastor Moody was holding up his exam for Minerva to see that he too had received an "Outstanding".
Minerva did not find this surprising, as they both wanted to be Aurors when they graduated. In order to become an Auror, one of the requirements was to have top grades in Charms, Herbology, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Potions, and Transfiguration.
Once the bell rung, Minerva started on her way back to the Great Hall, when she saw Tom Riddle. His gang of "close friends" always followed him. Minerva thought that they looked more like servants, with Saturo Lestrange carrying his schoolbag, Theodore Nott tipping him off about what the next Potions lesson will be about, and Abraxas Malfoy, a prefect, confiscating candy from a first year and giving it to Riddle.
She had to admit that she did have a crush on him earlier this year, because she admired his leadership and his perfect grades. Also, she thought he was very handsome. She did not care that he was a year younger than her. But all those feelings were thrown out the window and erased permanently when the Chamber of Secrets was opened. Minerva knew that Riddle had been the one who opened the Chamber, made the school almost shut down, murdered Myrtle, a seventh year Ravenclaw, and worst of all, blamed the murder on Rubeus Hagrid, and innocent third year Gryffindor. The only reason she couldn't bring Tom to justice was that she did not have the proper evidence, and the evidence against Hagrid was too strong. The only reason, she thought, that Riddle blamed Hagrid was because he was a half-giant and didn't "fit in".
Minerva carried these negative thoughts all the way through lunch and into Defense Against the Dark Arts. Professor Galatea Merrythought, Head of Hufflepuff House, taught D.A.D.A.. She was a very old witch, who had been a teacher at Hogwarts for over fifty years. Professor Merrythought's lessons were always fun and practical, and it was also Minerva's second favorite subject. Not to mention that Professor Merrythought was always in a positive mood.
"You all did wonderfully on your final exams!" she said in a cheerful voice. "Well the truth is that some of you did better than others, but no one received a grade lower than a 'Poor'!"
Once the exams were passed back Minerva happily found out that she had received an "Outstanding", and showed Savage Hadrian, a fellow Gryffindor who was sitting next to her, who received the same grade. She could tell that Quirinus Quirrell, a seventh year Ravenclaw, also got an "Outstanding", because he nearly leapt out of his seat. D.A.D.A. was probably the only subject he was good at.
After the lesson, she went down to the dungeons for Potions, which they had with the Slytherins. Professor Horace Slughorn, who was Head of Slytherin House, taught Potions. He always took favorites, and gave extra House points and encouragement to those who were "gifted" in potion making. Tom Riddle was one of these people.
"Many of you did excellently on this exam!" he said, booming, looking at Saturo Lestrange. "Others did a acceptable job," he said in a considerably lower voice that almost trailed off. "You exams are here," he said and waved his wand so the exam papers soared to their designated student. "Now, you will use the time left in the lesson to brew a potion of your choice based on memory. I will come around to every student and make comments on his or her potion ."
After Minerva glanced at her exam (she also got an "Outstanding"), she chose to brew the Draught of Living Death, and she was very precise on which ingredients she used and how and when she added them. Finally, Professor Slughorn came over to Minerva, looking cheerful. After a few seconds examining her potion he said, "Minerva, this is an excellently brewed potion! I can see that it is also very powerful because I feel a little bit drowsy just by smelling it! Very good indeed! Now, as for your exam, you have received an 'Outstanding', which I think is a very good grade. Tonight, after dinner, I am hosting one final 'Slug Club' dessert party, and I was wondering if you would like to join us? From your House, Mr. Dawlish, Mr. Proudfoot, and Mr. Moody are coming."
"Yes Professor, I'll be there," Minerva replied. She was happy that she would make it into Slughorn's "book of fame", and when the bell rung she was off to the last subject she had to pass in order to become an Auror: Transfiguration.
Transfiguration was easily Minerva's best subject; she did not know why, but it came so naturally to her. She was positive that Professor Dumbedore was her favorite teacher, and she was also positive that she was one of Professor Dumbledore's favorite students.
Professor Dumbledore taught Transfiguration, and was also the Head of Gryffindor House. He was tall, thin, and had a long grey beard that went down to his chest. Not to mention that he was a pure genius, and was nominated to be Minister for Magic several times.
"Transfiguration is one of the most difficult and complicated magic you have learned in Hogwarts," he said in a deep voice to the entire class. "And it is therefore rewarding for me to tell you that every single student in this class has received a grade higher than a 'Troll'!" he said jokingly. Everyone laughed appreciatively. Professor Dumbledore also had an excellent sense of humor. "Just kidding! You all did just fine! Here are the exams." He waved his wand and the exams appeared in front of each student.
Once Minerva saw that she achieved an "Outstanding", she jumped up out of her seat and cried, "Yes!" A wave of emotion flooded her; she had been the only one in the class to achieve an "Outstanding"; she had achieved the necessary goals to become an Auror; the path ahead was clear, her dream was to come true. She could barely wait.
After class, Professor Dumbledore approached Minerva and said, "Minerva, I am very proud of you. Not only did you show academic excellence, but you also showed true concentration and power. This shows me that you will grow up to be an excellent witch. I understand you wish to become an Auror?"
"Yes, sir,"
"Then it will take a very large amount of focus and power in order for you to pass the tests which lay ahead. But Minerva, if you ever chose that you do not wish to be an Auror anymore, then I think that when you are old enough, you will make a very fine Transfiguration teacher."
"Thank you sir," Minerva said, and she meant it. As Minerva was walking towards the door, she noticed that Professor Dumbledore was reading an article about Gellert Grindelwald, with a very worried expression on his face. She turned and went towards the Great Hall for dinner.
I hope you enjoyed this, it's my very first story. More to come, regarding Tom Riddle and the Ministry of Magic. I'm probably going to write about 30 chapters. :P