Sorry for the delay- I got back from vacation a couple days ago but fanfiction wouldn't let me log on till today :(
I forgot to do this last chapter- Disclaimer: I own nothing in the HP universe.
Thank you everyone for the great reviews!!!
Oh, and the restaurant in the story is a real restaurant in England, I found it online and tried to describe it vaguely from the pictures. I'm sorry if I didn't get the geography of London and Victoria right- I've never been to England.
After they arrived at The Three Broomsticks- Harry, Ron, and Hermione parted ways with Ron's parents and made their way into London.
The walk to the restaurant wasn't a long one but Harry noticed that there were not many wizarding establishments around Palace Street. When the trio finally arrived at The Phoenix they realized that the restaurant was actually muggle- run.
"Oh," Hermione said, looking up at the sign over the doorway. "I thought it would be like The Three Broomsticks. The Phoenix sounded like it was in tribute to The Order of the Phoenix."
"Yeah, that's what I thought too." Ron added.
Harry noticed that Ron appeared to be overly nervous. Hermione seemed to see this too and squeezed Ron's shoulder comfortingly.
"I've never really been in a place that was completely full of muggles." Ron admitted. Hermione's face softened and she looked at Ron with great tenderness.
Harry looked away from the pair and focused his attention on the menu posted near the restaurant's door. He was happy that Ron and Hermione had finally realized that they had feelings for each other, but wished that they didn't always have to make things so awkward. Though, truthfully, Harry figured that Ron and Hermione were awkward no matter if they were around people or not- it was just their nature.
The three friends entered The Phoenix after Hermione had convinced Ron that he was not going to do something stupid around the muggles. The restaurant appeared to be more of a cozy pub. It was dimly lit but felt inviting instead of foreboding.
Ron had spotted Professor McGonagall sitting at a table near the back and they made their way over.
"Potter. Granger. Weasley. Have a seat." Professor McGonagall commanded when she saw them approach. Harry was slightly confused as to why they were meeting in the muggle part of London as Professor McGonagall didn't seem to enjoy the company of muggles, but pulled a wooden chair up to the table anyway. There were several moments of silence while everyone subconsciously decided how the conversation should start. Finally, Hermione took control of the situation.
"Professor, why are we here?" Hermione asked bluntly, placing her ever-present beaded purse onto the table. Professor McGonagall cleared her throat slightly in a near perfect imitation of Dolores Umbridge.
"You are here, Miss Granger, because certain people, including the Minister of Magic, require your assistance." Professor McGonagall pulled a watch from her tartan dress pocket- she had worn muggle attire for their meeting- and checked the time.
"In about a hour," she said "we will go to the Ministry and speak with Kingsley Shacklebolt directly. Until then I thought we might all enjoy an early lunch as it has been awhile since there was time for such frivolities." Ron looked confused and Harry couldn't blame him. They had never known Professor McGonagall to share more than a conversation with a student, let alone a meal. Harry then remembered that they were students no longer and that Professor McGonagall was technically their equal- though he could never imagine calling her Minernva.
Hermione was practically beaming with excitement over having lunch with a professor and Harry could tell that Ron was trying- and failing- not to laugh.
McGonagall flagged down the waiter, a thin man in his thirties, who brought the group some menus. They perused their menus silently but Harry could tell that Hermione was itching to bombard McGonagall with questions.
Finally, the tension seemed to be too much for Hermione. She closed her menu and looked awkwardly around the restaurant before speaking.
"How are the repairs going, Professor?"
McGonagall stared at her menu for a few moments longer before looking up.
"Sorry, I didn't catch that."
"How are the repairs going?" Hermione repeated.
"Oh, very well, thank you Miss Granger. The castle will never look and feel exactly the way it did, as you can understand, but we are making it habitable again. Your brothers," she indicated to Ron "Charlie and Bill, are helping out quite a bit actually." Ron smiled at this but said nothing.
"Are you going to be taking over as Headmistress?" Harry asked suddenly.
"No, I don't think so, Potter. I like my position now and I do not feel I am prepared to fill the shoes of Professor Dumbledore."
"Well, you would actually be filling Snape's shoes and he was a rubbish Headmaster." Ron said stupidly. Hermione glared at Ron and aimed a kick at his shin under the table. Ron winced but kept quiet.
McGonagall stiffened and resumed the staid demeanor that Harry had know for so long. "I suppose that is true Mr. Weasley, but it does not change my decision." Thankfully, the waiter chose that moment to make a reappearance so that he could take their orders.
Eventually, their food arrived and they ate in silence. Harry had more questions about the fate of Hogwarts but knew that it would not be wise to ask them at that moment.
Don't worry you will know what the meeting is really about next chapter- though there will be more twists to the story later on.
Sorry about the short chapters, it's just easier for me to write them that way.
I will hopefully post chapter 3 in the next couple of days.
