Morning in the Wizarding World

by Rosepixie

A series of very short stories about characters from the Harry Potter books in the morning. There is very little plot, but it is safe to assume that the stories all take place on the same morning, so small connections may become evident. I have no current plans to expand any of these into longer stories, but may continue to add more of them over time.

4. Minerva McGonagall

Minerva McGonagall lifted her face from the sink and patted it dry. She loved the feeling of being freshly washed, before the grime of the old castle began to resettle on her skin and robes, filter into her hair. She picked up the silver brush and began to run it through her long locks. With practiced ease, she began to arrange it all high on her head. The sleeves of her dressing gown fell down around her arms, but her movements never slowed. A twist here, a pin there, and before long her soft hair was perfectly pinned up. She nodded at her reflection in the looking glass with satisfaction.

Today was the first day of the special summer session. There were more students than usual this year due to the chaos of the past school year. Many students had been pulled from school during the year by scared or outraged parents. Three had spent the year traveling around the countryside trying to ensure victory in the war. Now that Voldemort had been defeated, his minions captured or disappeared, many of the students were back for the summer session to make up missed work.

Minerva walked back to her bedroom and retrieved the heavy headmistress robes that she had laid out for herself. The students had arrived last night, so classes were starting today. Minerva wanted to be at breakfast to ensure that the day got off to a good start. This would be an unusual session, but she was determined to do all that she could to ensure that it felt as safe and normal as possible for the students who had come.

The castle was still being restored from the damage incurred during the battle and some of the teachers had been lost, but education must continue. That's what the friends and colleagues who had given their lives would have wanted, after all, and Minerva intended to do everything she could to ensure things went as smoothly as possible. The students deserved as safe and stable an experience as she and her remaining staff could give them.

Squaring her shoulders and twitching the folds of her robes, she headed down to breakfast in the Great Hall to greet her students on their first day of classes.