Chapter Four

The following morning at breakfast, Minerva took her customary seat next to Albus. She grabbed a couple slices of toast and buttered them, hoping to have a quick breakfast so she could prepare for her next class.

Albus watched Dolores out of the corner of his eye, and when he could see she was distracted he leaned closer to Minerva. "It's all set up. Password is tabby," he whispered, making Minerva strain her ears to catch what he said.

"Thank you Albus," Minerva replied just as quietly. They shared a quick smile, then resumed eating.

Chewing her last piece of toast, Minerva stood up and turned to leave, ensuring her back was to Dolores. She stole a quick peek down at the Gryffindor table, where Hermione just happened to be glancing up. Minerva caught her eye, and gave an almost imperceptible wink. Hermione nodded slightly, the corners of her mouth twitching, and she turned back to her meal.

Minerva swept out of the Great Hall, off to organise herself for her first class of the day.


Finally, transfigurations, Hermione thought to herself much later that day. It was her last class of the day, and she was eager to find out what Minerva meant through that wink.

Hermione took her seat next to Harry and Ron, who were talking to themselves. They quietened immediately when Minerva entered the classroom.

"All right class, today we will be working on transfiguring mice into wine goblets. The instructions," she said, as she waved her wand at the blackboard behind her, "are on the board. Mr Weasley, please come up and hand out the mice. Whilst he does this I will be passing back your homework from your last lesson. Although your marks are still not as high as they should be for your OWLs, they are slowly improving. You may begin."

Ron came to the front and collected the box of mice from her desk. As he began to pass them out to the class, Minerva picked up a stack of parchments and made her way towards the students' desks. One by one, she handed the assignments back to their owners, being careful to leave Hermione to last.

Finally, she got to Hermione. "Outstanding work, Miss Granger," she said quietly, placing the paper on her students' desk. Hermione looked up at her, and extremely subtly Minerva nodded at the paper. Hermione caught on and nodded back, just as subtly, and Minerva moved up to her desk.

Hermione began to transfigure her mouse into a wine goblet, and before long she had successfully finished. She stole a glance at Harry and Ron, who were both busy attempting to transfigure their own mice – somewhat unsuccessfully. Certain they were not paying the slightest bit of attention, she turned to the parchment that Minerva had placed on her desk.

There were two pages. The first was her homework, with a large O at the top in red ink. Hermione smiled slightly to herself, and then turned her attention to the second page. It appeared to be a letter. Stealing another glance around her to ensure no one was paying attention, she began to read.

Miss Granger,

I have spoken to Professor Dumbledore about our plans for your training, and he has been able to come up with a solution for us. The next time you go into the Gryffindor common room, you will notice a new door, which is located in the far left corner. It is completely invisible to everyone except us, and only you can be admitted. The password is 'tabby'. It will take you directly to my living room – it is safest to continue your training in my quarters, I hope you do not mind this. If you are willing, we shall continue your training this evening, at 11pm. Should the common room still be occupied at this time, just wait until it is safe for you to come through the door undetected. I will be waiting.

Sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Minerva noticed Hermione finish reading and glance up at her. Hermione nodded slightly, and Minerva smiled to herself. She then moved towards the students at their desks to check up on each person's progress.


At five minutes to eleven, Hermione glanced up around the common room. Noticing it was completely empty, she smiled to herself and closed her Ancient Runes book. Quickly, she moved over to the new door and whispered "Tabby." A doorknob appeared and she quickly entered through the door.

A minute later, Hermione reached the other end of the door. Hesitating slightly, she tapped softly against the wood.

"Come in Hermione," came a voice from inside, and Hermione entered to find her professor sitting on a comfortable looking sofa, reading a Transfiguration book. Hermione took a quick moment to take in the new surroundings.

The living room was decorated in deep reds and gold – quite fitting for the Head of Gryffindor. The walls were a deep mahogany wood, which contrasted beautifully against the gold coloured carpet. The lounge which Minerva rested upon was a rich maroon, decorated with gold pillows, and in front of the sofa was a mahogany coffee table.

"Good evening, Hermione, I'm glad you made it," Minerva said warmly, closing her book and placing it on the coffee table "Come in, make yourself comfortable."

Hermione moved further into the room, and placed her bag on the floor. She took a seat on the sofa next to Minerva and smiled hesitantly at her teacher, still getting used to the more personal friendship she and Minerva were having lately.

"Before we start, do you mind doing this in my quarters?" Minerva asked.

"No, its fine, as long as you don't mind, after all it is your quarters," Hermione replied.

"For you, Hermione, I don't mind at all. Now, shall we begin with your training?" Minerva asked, getting to her feet. Hermione mimicked her actions, and they both stood opposite each other in the middle of the room. "Alright, so you know your form. Let's get you started on transforming. It will take a while, and you will require your wand, then we'll move onto wandless transformations, like I do."

"Okay, sounds good," Hermione agreed. She drew out her wand, and Minerva began to demonstrate the intricate wand movements for Animagi.

Two hours or so later, Hermione had managed, with her wand, for whiskers to appear on her face. Hermione was slightly disappointed in herself, as she had hoped to get further in her transformation. Due to her high observation skills, Minerva picked up on this.

"Hermione, you should be feeling very proud of yourself right now," she said gently, as she conjured two cups of tea and handed one to her student. "Learning to become an Animagus is a very lengthy process; it won't happen in a few lessons. It takes hours and hours of extensive training, so it may take months. So what you have achieved tonight, that is excellent for your first session."

Hermione, who had sat back down on the sofa, glanced up into her professor's eyes. She could see the sincerity behind Minerva's eyes; she knew she wasn't just saying it to spare her feelings, and this cheered Hermione up considerably. She shared a smile with Minerva, who took a seat next to her with her tea.

The two began to chat, starting off with simple subjects, like Hogsmeade and classes, but they slowly began to chat about more personal things. Normally, Minerva would never allow herself to get this close to a student, it was a strict rule of hers. Yet, here she was socialising with a student – in her 

personal quarters no less – and she was enjoying herself. She hadn't realised how close Hermione had gotten to her heart.

When the conversation lulled, Hermione stretched out, and glanced at her watch. "Well, as much as I've been enjoying myself, I better go back to my dorm," she said. "It's nearly two in the morning."

Minerva's eyes widened. "Merlin, I had no idea it was that late," she exclaimed. "We have a habit of letting time slide, don't we?"

Hermione chucked lightly as they got to their feet. Minerva banished the mugs, and then gave Hermione a hug.

"Good night Hermione," she said, withdrawing from the embrace.

"Good night Minerva," replied the young girl, and she turned to go through the passageway back to the common room, content after a successful evening.

A/N – Bit of a slow chapter, I know, but necessary for later chapters. Any tips, suggestions or ideas, please feel free to let me know! TBC…