Chapter 2 –Remembering

Minerva sat on the windowsill seat in her parlor staring unseeingly at the grounds of Hogwarts. Her mind was focused on reliving the day she had experienced, the terrible day. No matter how hard she tried, she could not push the day's events out of her mind. She had given her daughter away to a muggle couple just that morning and now she seemed lost.

Minerva had insisted on taking Hermione to her new home herself and she now regretted it. Hermione had been dressed in a tiny white and gold lace dress and wrapped in the softest red satin blanket Minerva could find. Her dark curls were tamed with a small red bow on the top of her head. She reminded Minerva of a porcelain doll with her pale skin and elegant clothes.

Minerva had held Hermione tightly against her chest the entire way to Hermione's new home. Her sweet baby girl had smiled and giggled throughout Minerva's slow walk. When Minerva had arrived at the well-to-do home, the new home of her daughter, she had started to silently cry. With a shaky hand, she knocked on the large white door and waited patiently for someone to welcome her in.

Within a few minutes, an excited middle aged couple arrived at the door and welcomed Minerva inside their home. She toured the house her daughter would grow up in before pressing a kiss to the babe's forehead. She gently handed her to her new family, tears ran down her face as she asked, "When she's older please tell her how much I love her and how hard it was for me to give her away."

With that said Minerva quickly dashed from the house and headed for the comfort of Hogwarts Castle. When she entered through Hogwarts gates, she slowed her pace as she saw Albus and Poppy waiting for her with sad eyes. She offered a sad little smile for them before walking past them and heading for the solitude of her bedchambers. She was miserable inside and wanted to be alone for the time being. She thought they would understand her need for a little bit of time by herself.

That had been hours ago, Minerva moved away from the window seat she had been sitting at for most of the day. She hadn't realized how long she sat staring unseeing but it didn't really matter. She was grieving from the separation from her daughter. Shaking herself from her depression, she slowly gathered her traveling cloak then draped it across herself. With the grace of a cat she left her chambers and headed towards the moonlit grounds.

Minerva, lost in her thoughts, walked aimlessly across the grounds of Hogwarts. The wind howled and blew furiously causing her hair to unravel from its strict bun; however, Minerva did not pay attention. The rain fell down harshly on Minerva, soaking her thoroughly. She did take notice of the cold rain pelting her, shouted her frustrations and fell to the ground. Minerva was too distracted to realize someone was watching her.

The figure in the dark cloak hidden by in the shadows of the Forbidden Forest watched the depressed woman with interest. When he first spotted her, he tried to stay out of her sight but as he observed her from his hiding place he felt drawn to Minerva. Something was tugging at the back of his mind, a long forgotten memory made its way to the surface of his mind's eye and it surprised him greatly.

He had just come out of the Hog's Head, his breath reeking of Firewhiskey. He was steadying a staggering witch, Minerva McGonagall, and leading her down the path to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The walk should have taken no longer than fifteen minutes; however, with Minerva's unsteady state it took nearly twenty five minutes. As they passed through the front gates, Minerva gained more balance. Suddenly lighten strikes, the thunder boomed and the rain poured down thoroughly soaking both figures. Their eyes met as the thunderstorm intensified, lust was present in both. They embraced tightly as their lips touched and their tongues battled for dominance. He tightened his arms around her, lifted her feet slightly off the ground and walked towards the cover of the Forbidden Forest. They had explored each other and then made love right on the ground.

The figure in the dark cloak watched as Minerva slowly scrambled to her feet and made her way to inside the castle. He watched her disappear from sight then stepped out from his hiding place in the Forbidden Forest. He slowly removed the hood hiding his face and tried to make sense of his newly recovered memory. He had made love to his former professor and in his drunken state had forgotten all about it until now. "Severus, what the hell have you done," he argued with his self before heading off to meet Albus Dumbledore.