Minerva was finally starting to feel comfortable with her situation. After about two or three hours of shuffling parchments and disappearing to find other records, she and the Headmaster had compiled a clear set of instructions for repairing the wards. The Dumbledore from this time-line, whose discrepancies from Minerva's Dumbledore were growing more and more apparent, was beyond helpful to her.
For the sake of security and preserving their separate time-lines, Minerva was confined to the Headmaster's office. There were only a handful of staff and no students at the school, since, as in Minerva's time-line, they were still in early August. It was a relatively easy thing to keep people away from the Headmaster's study. If there was any document needed from the school library, or, on one occasion, the Ministry, Dumbledore would simply pop out to get it. The invading Professor McGonagall remained safely quarantined. Indeed, it proved a sort of medical quarantine as well, for Minerva did not seem to be faring too well in this timeline. She had a persistent headache. Albus once went so far as to reach over and lay a hand on her forehead, declaring her "decidedly feverish". In collaboration of this diagnosis, she had been rather sweaty and woozy since regaining consciousness in this time-line.
It was during one of her moments alone with the stacks of collected parchment that Minerva McGonagall began to ponder the meaning of her situation. She started to wonder what the Minerva in this time-line was up to. Why had Armando Dippet not been appointed Headmaster? Would she actually be able to use the time-turner to get home? For a moment, the Professor toyed with testing the time-turner then and there, out of sheer desperation. To distract herself from that particularly hopeless train of thought, Minerva concentrated on Dumbledore.
This Albus Dumbledore was much the same as her colleague in time-line A (she had begun to think of her own original time-line as time-line A, and her present one as time-line B for the sake of her own mental clarity.). He had aged very little in twenty years, as was to be expected from a wizard as powerful as he. His eyes still sparkled in that brilliant azure way. He seemed equally sagacious, witty, and brave. This Albus had hinted, when discussing the bombing, that he had played quite a large role in this most recent war. Minerva had little doubt that Albus B had been the downfall of Grindelwald just as Albus A had. But beyond these characteristics, there were far more subtle variances.
While Albus A treated her with all the professional courtesy and respect one could expect of one's employer, her seemed to have distanced himself from her. He never asked after her personal life, her family or indeed anything outside of bare academic issues and the occasional article either one published. He also addressed her formally by her title and surname, even when students were not present. At first, she had dismissed this marked difference between his treatment of her and his demeanor with other members of the staff as merely being the result of her recent appointment to the staff. But then Poppy Pomfrey was hired on, and Minerva was offered the position of Deputy Headmistress, and still the cool, professional distance prevailed. Eventually, Minerva gave up hope of a warm, familiar relationship with the great Albus Dumbledore and instead cultivated friendships with Poppy and a few of her fellow professors. The headmaster clearly had little interest in her friendship. But with Albus B, the Albus who had carried her to a couch, called her "Minerva" and so tenderly held her hand, there was clearly a different relationship altogether. It almost gave her hope that perhaps, one day, she and her own Albus might not share such a frosty relationship. But how to even begin such an emotional venture? There was nothing for it but to ask Albus B. He seemed open enough. As they were separate time-lines, there seemed little harm in sharing his past, as it was not destined to be her future.
And so, when Albus B returned with the final stack of parchments, and Minerva blotted the last of her notes dry, she set aside her quill and looked directly up at him. They had shared short stories about each other's worlds, comparing similarities and dissimilarities, for the last stretch of their work. But the Minerva McGonagall in this time had never been mentioned. Minerva decided to gather her courage and face the subject head on.
"What of your Minerva?" She asked. Minerva was not prepared for his reaction. Up until then, Albus B had been rather cheerful, if concerned about her health, and had shown nothing but the most genial manner in his pursuit of their task. But at this question, his face darkened, he stood and turned away from her.
His reply came so softly, Minerva strained to hear, "It's quite a long story." He murmured.
"Well, as a time-traveler, I have the luxury of ample amounts of time, at least." He did not acknowledge her witty response, "Please, Albus, I am terribly curious." She made a gamble using his first name in her plea.
It must have paid off, for with a great sigh, he turned back to her and replied, heavily, "Fine, but you must at least come lay on the settee. I don't like how pale you've become." He came over to assist her in this change in location. To her alarm, his assurance was much needed. Minerva had grown much weaker than she had anticipated during her short stay in this universe.
Once they were situated, Minerva comfortable against a few pillows and Albus in an overstuffed wingback chair, he began, "I cared dearly for my Minerva McGonagall. We fought side by side during the last battle against Grindelwald. While, professionally, we went our separate ways, after a few years we decided to see each other socially. I was delighted when, ten years after the war," Minerva noted this was exactly the time she herself had started in her position at Hogwarts, "Minerva was hired as a teacher by the current Headmaster. We were married within a year." Here he stopped. Studying his face carefully, Minerva could detect the smallest gleam of tears in his eyes. But his face was dominated by a rapturous smile.
After a moment, he continued, "There was never a bride more beautiful than my Minerva. And after three years of marital bliss here at Hogwarts, Minerva gave birth to twin boys. She was a wonderful mother. Somehow, with a lot of lost sleep, eager elves, and help from the staff, we both managed to continue teaching and raise our boys. They grew into fine young men, attending Hogwarts and becoming prefects. Aires even made Head Boy." He nodded to a picture on the mantle of a tall, dark haired youth who was eagerly waving at her from his photograph. "In the meantime. I had been appointed Headmaster, and Minerva Deputy Headmistress in the same year." Minerva nodded. All of this had happened in her time-line as well.
"But as our stars were rising, so was the darkness of another evil force. I will not name him. His perversion was deeper than anything I have encountered since, and it pains me to say his chosen name." The smile had evaporated without any remnant from the Headmaster's face. His dark, brooding voice matched his countenance. "He began by attracting Muggles, and of course, the Ministry turned a blind eye. Then he turned to the Muggle born wizards. By this time, the Ministry was powerless to stop him. His supporters were numerous and deeply embedded in all aspects of wizarding life. In my foolish hubris I assumed I could take him down easily. I formed a secret group to this end. There were many battles, some covert, some pitched combat. It was during one of these battles that Minerva was captured." Minerva sat up abruptly, to the detriment of her throbbing head.
"Did they know of your marriage?" Minerva gasped through the pain.
"Yes. It was not common knowledge, but this wizard had enough informers to have gotten wind of our relationship. And the Deputy Headmaster of Hogwarts is no small trophy in any event." A single tear trickled from his eye, "When Minerva went missing after the battle, I assumed her hiding somewhere safe. However, we were shortly informed of her capture. He gleefully taunted us with it. He would send notes describing the foul ways in which he tortured my poor wife." The lone tear was joined by dozens of others. "It was too much for me. We mounted our final assault on his headquarters. The attack proved successful, but it was too late for Minerva. I found her in the dungeons of the mansion. She had been dead only a few hours. But when I saw what he had done to her..." Here, his words were cut off entirely. He choked back a sob.
Without regard for the pain or her weakness, Minerva launched herself into the arms of the Headmaster. His pain was so real, so profound, she found herself swept away by it. "Oh, Albus!" She whispered, as she wrapped her arms around him and pulled his head to her breast. And even in this moment of anguish, the Scottish witch marked how wonderful it felt to hold Albus Dumbledore like this.
/*\/*\/*\
It was nearly five in the evening on the day after Minerva's disappearance when Albus Dumbledore finally gave in to despair. This time, Filius knew it would be futile to try to pull him out of it.
They had spent hours on time-travel theory, played five chess matches, gone over curriculum issues and in the end, Minerva was still just as far from their power as before. Professor Flitwick was irritable, neither wizard had slept since Minerva's disappearance. The short tempers and the situation they were in led to a small shouting match. This had shocked Flitwick more than any of the other things he had witnessed on the past twenty-four hours. Dumbledore very rarely raised his voice, and only then to exert his authority in times of emergency. Clearly, he perceived this to be such a time.
Filius, tired of dancing around the issue had confronted Dumbledore about his feelings for Minerva. It didn't take a genius to understand the reason Albus was so pointedly stand-offish with her, and yet so panicked by her disappearance. Filius had implied, in no level-headed tone, that if Dumbledore had had the nerve to tell Minerva how he felt about her, they might not be in such a tense situation. While this assertion was completely groundless, it still invoked Albus' ire. It had caused quite a row. But eventually, if angrily, Albus had conceded that he had very intense feelings for the Transfiguration Professor, and had dealt with them thus far by ignoring them. He had felt this way for a decade, but couldn't bring himself to acknowledge that he had romantic feelings for a former student. Thus satisfied, Filius had withdrawn his absurd assertion. But that still left them waiting for a woman who refused to materialize.
Albus balked at the proposal to wait a few more hours. He had stood vigil beyond the promised 24 hours, and he would wait no longer. As the last wisps of the argument skulked away, and clearer thoughts about their situation came to the fore, Albus made his declaration.
"I am calling a staff meeting." He announced in a tone not to be questioned. After a few minutes of concentration, he sent a flock of whispering patronses whipping through the castle. Returning his wand to his desk, he ran a hand through his hair, and grimaced, realizing his toilette needed attention. "Filius, do you mind if I step into my quarters to freshen up?"
At this point the charms professor was so glazed over with defeat, he barely nodded in response. To move himself or perhaps tend to his own ablutions was entirely out of the question. He merely sat in the high-backed chair he had occupied for the majority of their vigil. He stared, mesmerized, at one of the silver objects on the nearest bookshelf. It spun incessantly, and yet, somehow was completely silent. He had no idea how long he spent gazing at the silver blur.
It was during this trance that Minerva reappeared in the middle of the room, and crumbled into a heap on the rug.
Snapped from his stupor, Filius dashed to his unconscious colleague.
"Dumbledore!" He roared as he charged across the room. The tiny man lightly tapped Professor Mcgonagall's cheek as he waited for the Headmaster to return. As he touched her cheek, he was slightly shocked to discover that it was wet. Closer inspection revealed that her eyes were red and puffy, almost as if she had been crying.
Dumbledore burst into the office. "What is it?" His question was answered by Minerva's return to consciousness.
"Albus?" Minerva whispered confusedly. Her eyes lit up for a moment. But when she saw the Charms professor, her countenance fell. Professor McGonagall's eyes regained their focus and she sat up under her own power. "Headmaster, I have the necessary instructions." This sudden change in demeanor provided no more ease of mind for Flitwick. McGonagall's voice was uncharacteristically strained, and her hands shook as she held out the parchment produced from her pocket. He turned to Dumbledore to mention the irregularity.
For the shortest instant, he caught a look of concern dash across the face of the Headmaster. But it fled to be replaced by exaltation over the proffered scroll. "Excellent work, Professor McGonagall!" His voice rang more confident and merry than Filius had heard since the beginning of this hullabaloo. Dumbledore carefully examined the instructions. "Very interesting. This is not as complex as I had imagined." He nodded over the notes. As the Headmaster walked toward his desk, he threw back, "You gave us quite the scare, leaving in the middle of a temporal shift." His tone attempted playfulness, but his voice cracked on the word "scare", reinforcing their recent emotional strain. "Are you all right?" He had come back to her side and was helping her to her feet.
Professor Flitwick wouldn't was convinced the Professor wouldn't be able to stand on her own. But as soon as he had helped her to her feet (with that same fleeting concern in his mien), he returned to the parchment on his desk. "Excellent." He repeated. "I shall use the staff meeting to present this solution." Dumbledore turned to the tottering Professor McGonagall. "I've called a staff meeting for thirty minutes from now. Can we go over your sojourn before that time?"
The look of exhaustion in Minerva's features almost doubled at this question, but she responded, "Of course." And shuffled over to the chair Dumbledore pulled out for her.
Twenty minutes later, Filius was in complete shock. He had never heard of anyone traveling between parallel worlds outside of science fiction stories. But now Professor McGonagall stood before him with this tale. It was almost more than the Professor was prepared to wrap his head around. To think that a parallel Dumbledore presided over another Hogwarts, and that they now had a bridge between the two... The scientific potential was nearly endless.
"I believe the time turner to be irreparably altered." Minerva finished.
"Of course, the Department of Mysteries will want to get their hands on it to study it thoroughly. I will take it to the department in the morning." The Headmaster replied. A look of terror briefly filled Minerva's eyes.
"No!" She cried, a bit too loudly. She seemed to realize this and continued in a much calmer manner, "I should be the one to take it. They will want to record my experience."
"Ah! Of course!" Dumbledore smiled. He had spent the last ten minutes of Minerva's recounting rearranging his office for the staff meeting. "Lastly, Professor, did you engage in any sort of dangerous fraternization or encounter hostility? Do we have any reason to believe that this parallel universe is unsafe?"
"No. The Headmaster there was very friendly toward me." Filius swore he saw moisture in the corner if Minerva's eye, "And he was the only person I encountered."
"Splendid!" Dumbledore grinned. The office door swung open with the first staff members, and Professor McGonagall was completely swept away with their eager inquiries.