Minerva and her siblings stayed at school over the vacations and the summer with the staff, though she tried to keep out of their way. Meals over the summer were particularly embarrassing for her. Professor Dumbledore always insisted that she sit at the staff table, because half of the staff was gone. Her siblings loved being up high, but Minerva just stared at her plate trying to disappear. Sometimes she'd just give up and go down to the kitchen to make sandwiches (or rather, try and persuade the house elves that she could do it herself), then make a picnic for her family outside.
Two years later, Minerva got an outstanding on every one of her owl subjects and skipped up to a sixth year level. She didn't mind it at all, because well, she had no friends anyway. Diana and Apollo had received their letters (Dippet was a stickler for tradition) and had eventually been sorted into Gryffindor. It was rather lonely without them, but they came to play with Mercury, Minerva, and Vesta very often. One day, upon completion of their homework, Diana and Apollo volunteered to watch Vesta. Minerva declined the tempting offer. She would have like to be alone for a while, but Vesta was almost two, and tended to get in a lot of trouble. She left her other siblings with some new books and walked outside. She went down the hill to her tree, but instead of going inside, she went up. Minerva put Vesta on her shoulders and started to climb.
Suddenly, she grabbed something that was most certainly not wood. "Ouch!" she heard a voice. She quickly changed her course and sat on the nearest branch. She shifted and found herself staring face to face with a six year old boy. He had greasy black hair down to his shoulders and scrawny limbs. He was as pale as she was, and had the same determined look in his eyes. "Yes?" he asked coldly.
"Um, who are you?" Minerva responded, at a loss for words.
"I'm Severus. Severus Snape." He said.
"What are you doing here? You're not eleven!" she asked.
"Brilliant deduction. I am not eleven. I am almost seven," Snape replied. "I am here because my parents wanted to get rid of me and sent me to my grandfather. I assume you know who he is." He said cynically. Minerva raised her eyebrows. "Professor Snape." He said, "Potions teacher. Now, who are you?" he asked curtly.
"I am Minerva McGonagall." She told him with a hint of pride in her voice, "and this," she swept Vesta down from her shoulder, who giggled silently, "is Vesta McGonagall."
"Oh! I know who you are!" a look of understanding swept over his sallow face, and he dropped his cold front. "My grandfather told me all about you and your family!" Minerva turned red. "Oh, I didn't mean to embarrass you." Severus said, looking a bit ashamed.
"No, no, it's okay. I get embarrassed really easily." She assured him, bouncing Vesta on her leg.
"I get mad really easily." Severus told her, and then suddenly said, "Minerva, will you be my friend? I've never had a friend before." Minerva just about melted inside. She was filled with empathy.
"Yes," she told Severus "I've never really had…had a friend either. It's just my sisters and brothers." Severus's face lit up.
"Great!" he said, "I don't have any siblings, so… you can be my older sister!" And with that, a friendship was made. Severus loved being with Minerva's siblings almost as much as he loved being with Minerva. They made up the loving family he never had.
The next year, Minerva was told that she had achieved top scores in her NEWTs and was graduating Hogwarts with honors. Minerva immediately told her siblings and went to find Severus. She found him in the same tree. She suspected he went for reasons similar to hers, but was never one to pry into his personal life. She sat down next to her friend, her eyes sparkling more than they ever had. "Sev, Sev, I'm graduating from Hogwarts!" Severus stared at her for a second, as if he was trying to see if she was telling the truth (it gave Minerva an eerie feeling – he had a soul-searching stare like Dumbledore's). When he decided that she had, he turned around and crossed his arms, leaving his back to Minerva.
"Sev," she started, "what's wrong." There was no reply, but after a moment, he turned to look at her once more and she could see a small tear forming in his eye. He buried his head in her lap and tried not to cry. Minerva, used to crying children, stroked Severus's hair (noticing the excessive oil) and patted his back. "Sev, you need a bath," she muttered.
When he picked his head up, he ran a hand through his hair. "I'm sorry." He said weakly. Minerva swept her wand over his head, which helped greatly. She smiled at him. "What's wrong?" she asked gently.
"I-I-I don't want you to go. You're my only friend," he cried, "You're my sister and I love you!" as soon as those words were out of his mouth, he turned pink.
"Oy, Severus!" Minerva exclaimed, "I'm not leaving; I have nowhere else to go! I'll be staying here as a teachers' helper until I'm old enough for a job. Maybe one day," she led, a mischievous tone in her voice, "I'll be teaching you." Severus wiped his eyes.
"You will?" he asked unsurely.
"Definitely," Minerva replied more confidently then she had felt in a while. "By the time you're sorted, I should be on my way."