a/n: Here's another chapter up, hope its starting to get interesting :)
Hermione's eyes widened in shock, Minerva had been in a similar situation?
"You mean, you have been a spy too? When? For who?"
Minerva smiled slightly. "For the resistance during Grindlewald's war."
There was silence in the office as Hermione processed this new information. Minerva had mentored Snape, she had suspected as much, but to actually have been a spy too?
"What did you do?" Hermione asked, regarding the Headmistress with even greater respect.
"Albus was a close friend to Gellert, as you know. After Gellert killed Ariana, Albus of course realised that he could no longer sustain a relationship with him. Despite his love for Grindlewald, he of course could not forgive him for murdering his sister, however accidental, and was afraid of his own appetite for power. As Gellert's own power increased, the muggle world started to fall to pieces under Hitler's dictatorship and Albus knew that we needed an inside source. That responsibility fell to me. I was very young at the time, but ultimately I helped to weaken Gellert's influence and in turn set up the duel with Albus that led to him being incarcerated."
"But how?" Hermione asked, chocolate brown eyes wide.
"I don't wish to go into details Hermione, but I became very close to Gellert's right hand woman, Madeleine Fournier. She was much like Bellatrix in a way and helped devise many of Gellert's more destructive plans against the muggle world."
Minerva sighed, memories of long ago clouding her mind. It had been years since she had discussed this, even with Severus.
"What happened to her, I've never even heard of her?" Hermione's voice cut across Minerva's thoughts.
"I killed her."
Minerva's succinct tone of voice suggested she did not want to discuss this further.
Hermione nodded quietly, but her mind was ablaze with questions. Minerva McGonagall, the most conservative Headmistress Hogwarts had ever seen, had also been in a secret relationship with a woman. And killed her, leading to the fall of Gellert Grindlewald.
The older woman reached across the desk and took the last biscuit, before settling her gaze on her former student once more.
"Now, with respect to your current situation, I don't want you going in without a plan. What did you have in mind?"
"Right now, I am working on getting closer to Bellatrix. She knows I'm important, and I think she's beginning to trust me a bit more. She's searching for something, although Merlin knows what, I don't think even her closest followers have a clue. I can name the majority of Death Eaters who are in contact with her, she moans about them often enough. She has a source in the ministry, but I have no idea who that is yet, and highly doubt that she'll tell me any time soon. I'm hoping that she'll properly introduce me to her inner circle in the next week. Hopefully, that'll stop the ambushes."
Hermione bit her lip, knowing that her plan was not much of a plan at all. More of a wing it and hope for the best kind of thing.
"I see." Minerva looked sternly at her professor. "I'm assuming that you're proficient in occlumency, you must be to have survived this long. What about duelling and defense?"
Hermione felt a slight blush rise to her cheeks.
"Well, it's not one of my strengths."
Minerva raised an eyebrow. "And you decided to march into a situation when you knew that you'd find it hard pressed to defend yourself?"
"I always seem to get out alive." Hermione said in a small voice, hating that they both knew that she had been uncharacteristically foolish.
"Rule number one: constant vigilance." Minerva smirked and Hermione's eyes widened at Alastor Moody's trademark phrase.
"You trained Moody too, didn't you?" Hermione gasped.
Minerva laughed lightly at Hermione's shock.
"Not quite, we trained together." The older woman smiled.
"There's so much I don't know about you." Hermione said quietly, watching the older woman's smile widen slightly.
"That's the whole point to being a good spy, Hermione." Minerva said sarcastically, quirking her eyebrow.
Hermione let out an annoyed breath. "Well, I know that much at least, I'm not completely incompetent."
"I never suggested you were, dear, but you need to make sure you are able to protect yourself. Unless the circumstances are dire, you should never go into a situation without that knowledge." Minerva's expression became serious again. "I propose that we start your training from tomorrow. It will be hard work, Hermione, but I suspect you already know that."
"What do I need to do?" Hermione's eyes flashed with barely supressed excitement. Knowledge is power, and Minerva was going to enable her to gain that knowledge.
Minerva glanced at the clock above the door and was surprised to note that it was getting well onto midnight.
"How about 9pm tomorrow, room of requirement? It's getting late now and I need some rest. If you cannot make it for any reason, call Flossie and let her know."
HGMM
The next day
It had been an easy day for Hermione with regards to her teaching duties and she had managed to catch up on the majority of her marking. She made her way up the seventh floor, once again going through the new information she had learned last night. Minerva was certainly full of surprises. Hermione felt slightly embarrassed that as a spy herself, she had never caught on to the fact that a woman she spent a fair amount of time with was also full of secrets. She'd always known that Minerva valued her privacy, but to have known so little about the woman up until now?
Hermione stood outside the room of requirement, feeling uncharacteristically nervous.
"I don't want to wait around all day, professor." Minerva's soft voice came from behind her, making the younger witch jump.
"How did you sneak up on me like that?" Hermione gasped, trying to calm herself down and letting out a deep breath.
Minerva simply smirked and led the way into the room, holding the door open for the younger witch.
Hermione looked around, the room was surprisingly empty. It had similarities to the Great Hall in its size, but was devoid of any of the tables and portraits. She glanced at Minerva, who had made her way to the centre of the room.
"I have to say, Hermione, its been a long time since I've been able to practise duelling, so I apologise if I am not a worthy opponent." Minerva spun her wand between her fingers, watching the young woman with interest.
Maybe this wouldn't be so hard after all, Hermione thought to herself as she took out her own wand. She didn't want to underestimate the other woman, but her modest statement had given Hermione a slight confidence boost.
They both stepped towards each other and bowed, mentally preparing themselves for a duel.
Minerva didn't waste any time. She quickly shot a stunner at Hermione and followed with a stinging hex. Hermione dodged the stunner and deflected the hex, realising that this was going to be a lot tougher than she initially thought; the older woman was lightning fast.
Hermione sent curses flying towards her opponent, marvelling at the way Minerva easily blocked them, ducking and sending back her own spells at nearly double the speed that Hermione was casting.
Within moments, Hermione felt herself being propelled backwards, landing straight on her backside.
"Are you alright?" Minerva called over to her, flicking her wand through her fingers.
"Yes, the only thing seriously damaged is my pride. I thought you said you hadn't practiced for ages?" Hermione called back, picking herself up and noting that she was probably going to have a nice bruise tomorrow.
Minerva smirked. "I haven't. You need to be faster, Hermione, and don't ever underestimate your opponent. Watch my movements, and go from there."
Hermione stood up and warily pointed her wand at the older witch, before quickly deflecting another well aimed hex. The constant barrage of spell work started up again, forcing Hermione backwards as she tried in vain to defend herself against the onslaught.
She couldn't even see Minerva behind the network of spells the woman was sending towards her, and in even less time than before, she had been blown backwards. The younger witch hadn't even been able to send a single offensive spell towards the Headmistress.
"Concentrate, Hermione." Minerva walked over to her colleague and offered a hand to help her up. "Maybe we should start with some more basic defence…"
"No, it's fine." Hermione's lips thinned as she bought her wand up again, determination crossing her face.
Minerva sighed. "If you insist."
This time, Minerva allowed Hermione to cast the first spell, easily blocking it. Hermione quickly began to cast streams of offensive charms, trying to attack rather than defend. Minerva dodged the spells, casting a couple of jinxes before sending a powerful reducto towards the younger woman. Once again, Hermione had left her side completely open and was forcefully projected back to the other side of the room.
"Right, that's it Hermione, we are starting with the basics."
Hermione groaned in annoyance, hating that the older witch knew she was incapable of defending herself, despite the fact that Minerva hadn't duelled for years.
"I'm going to teach you muggle defence first, Hermione. Have you heard of taekwondo?"
Hermione's mouth fell open in shock. What else was this woman hiding?
"Um… yes, I have. When I was little my parents took me to a few ju-jitsu classes, and I'm guessing its not that different?"
Minerva smiled. "There are similarities, but where ju-jitsu concentrates more on grappling and holds, and is a ground-fighting sport, taekwondo focusses more on kicks. Both have benefits, but personally I prefer the Korean martial arts. They are extremely effective. Now copy me, I'll teach you."
The floors of the room started to change into mats, and kick bags appeared in the corner of the room. Minerva swiftly transfigured their robes into comfortable sportswear and made her way over to one of the bags.
"How will this help my duelling exactly, Minerva?" Hermione asked, warily watching the Headmistress stretch her hamstrings in a display of flexibility which was surprising for her age. The woman was wearing an outfit similar to Hermione's, a comfortable white, long-sleeved top and black fitted leggings. They were both bare-footed. Hermione ran an appraising eye over the older woman's slender figure as Minerva placed her hands flat on the floor and then gently stretched out her calf muscles, swinging her legs smoothly, warming up.
"Understanding the way the body moves and how your opponent will react is key to winning a duel. Strength, stamina and flexibility should not be underestimated, as well as the ability to adapt to your surroundings. Focus and self-discipline are other benefits, although I suspect you've already mastered them through your occlumency skills. Also, many wizards do not suspect muggle defence tactics, and I have found that they come in handy every now and again. Now, are you watching?" She focussed her attention on the bag, and quickly brought her leg up into a powerful roundhouse kick, following through with the other leg, spinning round.
Hermione watched in awe as her former professor kicked the bag. Her hair was still in the trademark bun, although a couple of wisps had escaped after Hermione's pitiful duelling attempt.
"Are you trying to turn me into a ninja?" She asked, preparing herself for the intense physical activity. She was definitely going to be sore tomorrow.
Minerva simply smirked at her. "That's Japanese, Hermione. Go ahead." She gestured at the bag.
Hermione's kicks were very noticeably slower than the older woman's, and her legs immediately began to ache.
"You need to work on your posture, keep your core tight and that will help your balance. Try again, faster this time."
Hermione stood up a little straighter, and put all of her effort into kicking the bag, moving as fast as she possibly could.
"Again. Kick with the balls of your feet, and keep your arms closer to your body, you are leaving yourself open to attack."
Hermione kept up the onslaught on the bag, breathing heavily as her muscles protested. It was half an hour before Minerva allowed her to stop. Hermione could feel beads of sweat running down the sides of her neck and along the small of her back.
Minerva handed her a glass of water that had appeared on a table near the kick bag and she gratefully swallowed it down.
"Who taught you this stuff?" Hermione asked her, wiping the sweat from her forehead onto her sleeve.
"Madeleine. Now, we will continue working on your stamina until it is at an acceptable level, and then we will move further onto your technique. We will finish every session with a duel, before a cool down. Are you ready?"
Minerva pulled out her wand and pointed it straight at Hermione, who was bent over with her hands on her knees, taking in deep breaths, looking up at the Headmistress in abject horror.
"Are you trying to kill me?" She panted, drawing herself up and taking up her wand. She felt as if she couldn't move another step before passing out from fatigue.
"No, but the Death Eaters will be." Minerva shot a stinging jinx at Hermione, which she barely managed to deflect.
Hermione felt her body kick into action, she couldn't allow Minerva to put her on her arse within minutes another time. She started to attack, despite her screaming muscles, and moved towards Minerva, parrying curses and panting heavily.
Hermione could see that Minerva was barely moving, barely breaking a sweat countering the spells. Her wand flicked in precise movements and occasionally her body twisted to avoid a well aimed spell. Within five short minutes, Hermione felt her concentration slip, tiredness betraying her body. For the last time that night, she was sent flying backwards. Minerva again offered her a hand as she picked herself up again.
"Well done, Hermione, you've worked hard tonight. Now copy my movements and breathing and we'll cool down. If you don't, you'll be aching for days instead of hours, trust me on this."
Hermione felt as if her body would collapse from fatigue, but obediently stretched herself through the yoga-style shapes that Minerva twisted her own body into with practised ease. Hermione again found herself amazed by Minerva's flexibility and control over her body; no wonder she looked so healthy and young.
After fifteen minutes, every single muscle in the women's bodies were stretched, leaving them feeling relaxed and ready for bed.
"Same time tomorrow?" Minerva asked, transfiguring their clothes back into teaching robes, and tucking a few stray hairs back into her bun.
"Yeah, I'll finish my rounds and come straight here."
"Excellent. Hermione, it'll get easier, I promise." Minerva smiled warmly at the young professor, who looked like she was ready to pass out.
"See you tomorrow, Minerva."
Hermione trudged back to her rooms. She had not felt this worn out in a long time, even after her months gallivanting across the country with Harry, fighting Death Eaters. As she reached her bed, she smiled at the small tub of bruise salve that had been left on her bedside table. She didn't even bother to shower, quickly stripping off before falling into the warm duvet. Tomorrow, she would be very, very sore.
HGMM
a/n: I know this is kind of a stretch for the imagination, but I absolutely love the idea of Minerva being a badass martial arts master! I am no expert at all, only do a little bit of kickboxing when I have time, so forgive me if I haven't described the martial arts properly. Hope you all enjoyed, looking forward to reading any feedback!