Disclaimer; None of these characters belong to me.
For the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition, given the character Minerva McGonagall.
Minerva was 15 when she first saw her. She had eyes the colour of the ocean and hair shaped like waves and the prettiest face Minerva had ever laid eyes on.
She was browsing the stores, looking at dresses that could match her dark complexion, all the while oblivious to the way Minerva's heart was soaring and her mind was racing and the very fact that Minerva even existed in the first place.
She wanted to talk to her, to find out what her voice sounded like or whether her heart was as pure as her appearance. She wanted to hold her hand and be by her side, she wanted to have inside jokes and to be able to communicate without even talking. But just as she was about to walk over and strike up a conversation she stopped, her mind coming to the earth-shattering realisation that would soon end up being the story of her life.
They were in muggle Edinburgh in a muggle market looking at muggle clothing. All signs pointed at this girl being a muggle too. Meaning that no matter how pretty she was or how nice she looked, Minerva had to leave her alone. For good.
Minerva sighed and shook her head at her stupidity. How did she expect it to turn out? With a love story? She was a witch for Merlin's sake and witches only fall in love with wizards they met at Hogwarts, not random girls they met at muggle markets.
She turned, focusing on the way the sun hit the pavement instead of the way her heart was breaking. Deep down she knew that she didn't really love the girl, they hadn't even had a conversation and Minerva was certain that the muggle didn't even know she existed in the first place, but she was still upset. Upset over what could've been but never will be.
She turned and she left and she retreated back into the world of witches and wizards and magic. The world she loved so much but at the same time hated. She left and never returned to the muggle markets of Edinburgh.
The next time it happened she was in her last year of Hogwarts, excited for what was to come but sad about what she was about to leave behind. She had pretty much forgotten about the gorgeous girl with the nice eyes but she still yearned to be a part of the world she knew she could never join.
It wasn't that she didn't love magic or Hogwarts or the wizarding world, in fact her life revolved around it. But that didn't mean she didn't think about what she missing out on. Being a witch excluded her, it meant she was forced to hide and pretend and act like the muggle world didn't fascinate her as much as it did. She wanted to understand, to learn how they lived and thought the way they did. But it was the late 1940s and that meant that if she wanted a normal wizardly existence, she had to ignore muggles completely.
Minerva had seen just how bad marrying a muggle had affected her mum. It had made her tired and powerless and confined from the world she had once loved. Minerva valued her freedom too much to ever consider leaving it for a muggle, even if that muggle was gorgeous.
Which this one definitely was. He was tall and lean and what her friends would call 'devilishly handsome'. His hair was unruly and his skin was smooth and his eyes were honest.
She kept glancing at him from the corner of her eye as she pretended to read her book in the muggle library. She was waiting for someone. Cecilia Hughes, a muggleborn with a heart of gold. She was one of Minerva's best friends and they often met up in muggle libraries to study.
The boy was yawning as he continued scanning the room, perhaps looking for someone too. He looked at her, probably noticing the way she had been staring at him for the past few minutes.
She quickly averted her eyes and returned back to her book, which was nowhere near as captivating as he was. She felt her face go red and scrunched up her nose in frustration. Why couldn't she just be normal? Why did this stuff always have to happen to her?
Before she knew what was happening he was walking up to her and sitting down in the seat she had specifically reserved for Cecilia. She couldn't bring herself to mind though, not when he looked at her like that.
"Hey," he said in a smooth sweet voice that he must've known would make her knees go weak and her mind go fuzzy.
'Hey," she says breathlessly and she scolded herself for being so obvious.
"You come here often?"
Minerva just shook her head in response, worried about what would come out of her mouth if she dared to open it.
He smiled at her and she felt like her whole world was spinning but then she felt stupid because she didn't even know his first name and he definitely didn't even know the first thing about her.
"I'm Minerva by the way."
He nods, probably glad that she's starting to communicate like an actual human being.
"I'm Jack."
This time it's Minerva's time to nod and she can feel the tension in the room, mainly caused by her awkwardness. She doesn't know what to say. Instead she just hopes that Cecilia will be here soon so that she can save her from this beautiful stranger that she wants to talk to so bad even though she knows she shouldn't.
Cecilia did end up coming and Jack did end up leaving and as much as Minerva wishes her life was different she knows it isn't.
She knows she needs to stop putting herself in situations like these but she's never been one for self-control.
The last time it happens she's 55 and all grown up and not one for stupid mistakes. The wizarding world's mentality when it comes to muggles may have changed but her upbringing hasn't and she's too scared to let her curiosity run its course.
Of course, when Pomona found out about this she just had to enrol her into this muggle class near her house.
That isn't to say that Minerva isn't grateful, she is and that's kind of the problem. She was supposed to have grown up and gotten over all this muggle business. But she obviously hasn't. She isn't a death-eater, far from it but she still has some reservations, especially when it comes to her own behaviour.
She goes anyway though, her loyalty to Pomona and her curiosity getting the better of her.
She walks in slowly, cautious just in case someone will know what she really is and that she's just pretending. Which is extremely unlikely but not something she is willing to risk.
She sits down somewhere and adjusts her scarf before removing her notepad. If she's going to be attending this class she may as well actually learn something.
It doesn't take long till Minerva sees her. She's short, extremely so, with bright brown eyes and long curly hair. Minerva had always been a romantic but this is starting to get ridiculous. Must she always fall in love with every pretty person that she sees? She obviously hasn't grown up as much as the thought she had.
The pretty muggle comes up to Minerva and sits in the seat beside her. She looks about her age, with her greying roots and wrinkles. Minerva is certain she has never seen anyone as beautiful and that includes all the pretty muggles she has met in her lifetime.
The class starts not long after but despite Minerva's attempts to pay attention, she just can't stop glancing at the woman beside her. She knows that she's being stupid and that falling in love with every person that you meet is a sure sign that you don't actually know what love is.
Minerva's only ever been with one person in her entire life, a wizard who was kind and sweet but definitely not who she expected to spend her life with. She doesn't regret it though, it was a good experience but she does wonder about what would happen if she just let her guard down.
The class ends sooner than she'd like it to and she is a little disappointed with how things went down. They didn't even speak and Minerva can't help but wonder what would happen if they did.
She stood up, packing her things away quickly so she can go back home and sleep away her troubles.
A hand wraps around her wrist, stopping her from packing her things and her heart from beating simultaneously. She looks up to find that the pretty muggle is staring at her with wide eyes and a warm smile.
She smiles back, the knots in her stomach becoming almost unbearable as she waits for the conversation to start.
"Meena Kapoor."
"Minerva McGonagall."
And after that Minerva finally gets her happily ever after, with her beautiful muggle princess.