Hermione awoke to a soft gurgling sound coming from her daughter's room. She stood with a yawn and reached for her nightgown to keep her warm. Quietly she walked into the next room to take Lilly, noticing that she didn't feel as exhausted as she usually would in the mornings. She felt almost rested after all the sleep she had gotten during the night.
Lilly was obviously in a good mood this morning, floundering happily in her cradle when her mum stepped closer to pick her up.
"Good morning, my little darling," Hermione whispered into her daughter's ear and tenderly kissed the soft cheek. Cradling the infant against her chest, she walked over to the window and looked at the vast grounds of McGonagall Manor. She was half surprised to be really in the home of her trusted mentor. Everything had seemed to happen in such a blur yesterday that it could have easily been a dream.
Hermione felt Lilly getting a little fussy and quickly walked through her room, heading for the kitchen. She didn't know if Minerva was already awake. She suspected it, but she wasn't sure, and she didn't want to take the chance, especially now that she knew that her mentor's hip was bothering her more than she let on.
Lilly was about to make unequivocally clear that she was hungry now when Hermione entered the kitchen with her.
"Good morning, Miss Hermione," Dilly greeted and moved to the cupboard where she had stored their little guest's bottles and started to prepare breakfast for Lilly.
"Good morning, Dilly," Hermione replied, rocking the now screaming baby in her arms. It was amazing how loud such a tiny voice could be.
Dilly giggled when she brought the warm bottle. "She has a lovely voice," the kind Elf commented, looking quite pleased as she waited from Hermione to sit down on one of the four chairs placed around the round table in the center of the room.
The young mother shifted the baby in her arms and gratefully took the bottle from Dilly's long fingers and offered it to her daughter. The wailing was instantly replaced by a soft sucking sound, and Hermione breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Dilly. Did you sleep well?"
"Oh yes, like a stone," the Elf assured and sat opposite of Hermione. "How did you sleep?"
The question brought a smile upon the young mother's face. It was the first time since she had given birth that she could answer positive. Not that anyone had asked her lately. "More than well, really. I didn't have to get up once," she said happily. "Is Minerva up, yet?"
Dilly shook her head. "It seems that she is still asleep." Her voice indicated that it was a situation that didn't arouse often.
"Is that unusual?" Hermione had always suspected Minerva to be an early riser, but if there was one thing about the woman that she could say with certainty was that she was full of surprises.
"Yes, normally her…" she stopped, realizing that she shouldn't talk about Minerva's health issues.
"Her hip," Hermione finished. "It was bothering her quite a bit yesterday night. I've managed to soothe the pain enough for her to fall asleep, but I want to bring some cream from…" The word home just wouldn't come over her lips, "the place where we lived."
"Did she take a potion?" It would be a shame if Minerva had taken one despite her promising to get by without it, but she couldn't bring herself to blame the elder witch for not wanting to tell her guest about their deal. It was surprising enough that Minerva had brought them here and had invited them to stay.
Hermione shook her head, unaware of Dilly's musings. "No, I've applied a heat pack and will continue to do so. I'm not a big fan of taking potions." She shifted Lilly in her arms, earning a slightly annoyed look from the still drinking infant.
Dilly, who had watched the scene closely, was amazed at how much the tiny human could express with her face already. She wondered if that was common, or if Hermione's baby was special, but looking at the child's mother, it was highly possible that Lilly was special. The young woman was unusually kind to her, treating her like an equal and not like a lesser slave. Despite her problems she radiated a warmth all around her that had even touched Minerva. The mere thought of Minerva having allowed her guest to try and ease her discomfort as much as possible, was a small miracle. Dilly couldn't believe her luck that Hermione hadn't opted for the easy and obvious action and simply given her a potion, but had thought about a more permanent way to help her mistress.
The soft chuckle coming from the object of Dilly's musings drew the Elf's attention back to the young woman. She raised her bushy eyebrow in question and sat a little straighter to get a better view on the baby.
"She has fallen asleep again with the bottle in her mouth. Sometimes she does remind me of her father," Hermione said, her eyes momentarily filling with sadness at the thought of her destroyed marriage.
"Oh Minerva used to do that all the time when she was a baby," Dilly tried to lighten the atmosphere. She stood and snapped her fingers, leaving Hermione a little confused as nothing happened. "The cradle is now ready for Lilly on the terrace. It is such a beautiful day. You really should have breakfast outside."
"Oh thank you very much. You've known Minerva as a child?" It was so hard to imagine the proud woman as a little girl, let alone as a baby. She must have been very cute with her emerald eyes and Hermione thought of how lucky Dilly was to see her so innocent and carefree. She doubted that there was another person alive, having seen a carefree Minerva McGonagall, and suddenly Hermione felt a longing in her heart to witness such a moment.
"Yes, I've known her since she was born. She turned out to be quite a mischief-maker." She shook her head, laughing as she remembered all the pranks Minerva had put her brother and sister through. It had been a happy childhood until one night during the first war had changed everything…
Hermione laughed softly and stood up to follow the Elf outside. "I know I should be shocked now, but I am not in the least. I've always suspected she silently praised Fred and George for their pranks when I was in school."
"The twins? Oh yes, she would. I do recall a story about a swamp they produced." Dilly took the blanket out of the cradle and waited for Hermione to lay Lilly down, then carefully covered the small body with the quilt Eleonora McGonagall had once made for her great-granddaughter Minerva.
The young woman tenderly stroked the fine hair on Lilly's head and turned to Dilly. "Can I help you with breakfast?"
The Elf smiled brightly, just having found proof that her earlier thoughts had been accurate. This woman was more than special. "I really do thank you very much, but I have my own way of getting things done, and it only takes longer when someone, especially Minerva, tries to help. Your kind offer is more than appreciated, though."
"Whatever suites you," Hermione said understandingly. "Just call me if you need a hand. I'd be glad to help."
"I will do that," Dilly assured."Would you like to eat alone or do you want me to wake Minerva?"
The young witch shook her head. "No, please don't. The sleep is good for her. I'll just have a cup of tea and wait with breakfast until she is awake."
Xxx
Minerva sighed deeply, but inaudible as she leaned against the doorframe that held the terrace door. The night had been much better than any other she'd had lately. In fact she couldn't even remember the last time she had slept that long, but climbing down the stairs remained challenging. Her pulling hip was bad enough, but having to get by without a potion, she felt how uncomfortably tense her back was because of her poor posture. To minimize the pain in the hip, she had started leaning slightly forwards to the right, especially when she had to use that bloody walking cane. Well, her great grandmother had said once that aging was a disgrace. Her words couldn't have been more truthful. Another deep sigh escaped her mouth, and this time Hermione, who had been staring into the distance, rocking the cradle with one hand and holding a cup of tea in the other, turned to look at her.
"Good morning, Minerva," she greeted, a smile upon her lips. She hadn't heard the woman approaching, but that wasn't very surprising. Minerva had always had the ability to walk stealthily, much to the dismay of many pupils. Hadn't it been for Harry's Cloak they would undoubtedly have been caught many times by her.
Minerva walked the few steps to the cradle, trying to hide her limping as well as she could. Hermione's slightly concerned look told her that her hopes of remaining undiscovered had been in vain. Much to Minerva's delight, Hermione, however, seemed to sense when a discussion about her mentor's health wouldn't take them anywhere and didn't comment. Instead she watched the elder woman reach into the cradle and tenderly stroke Lilly's head in greeting.
"Good morning to you as well. I'm sorry I've slept for so long. You should have eaten breakfast without me." The old woman sat carefully into the free chair opposite of Hermione.
"Every meal is more enjoyable with good company, and I didn't mind waiting at all," Hermione said and poured Minerva a cup of tea. "On the contrary; I've enjoyed the peace of this place. I still can't believe you are willing to share it with Lilly and me for a little while."
The elder witch nodded and reached for a bread roll, spreading Dilly's homemade strawberry jam on the halves. "Every place is more enjoyable with good company, and I don't mind sharing at all," she smirked and watched Hermione reach for a bread roll as well. She looked slightly more rested than yesterday, but still a little unhealthy and far too thin. With the warm sunlight shining on her bronze colored hair she looked undeniably beautiful, though.
Laughing, Hermione put her right hand over her heart and bowed slightly. "Touché, Professor," she said and watched Minerva grin. She had missed the easy flowing talks with her mentor and especially her spot on humor. Such a simple thing as a comfortable conversation over breakfast hadn't been possible with Ron, and Hermione wondered if there had been a time when Ron had loved her or if he had just done what everybody had expected. If she was quite honest with herself, she didn't even know anymore if she had ever loved him as a lover or if he had always been one of her best friends. It was painful to think that not even a friendship between them had lasted.
"He was a fool, Hermione," Minerva offered softly, having seen her friend's faraway look.
The young woman refocused on her mentor, looking slightly startled. "It is a little frightening that you can read me like this," she paused for a moment and looked thoughtfully into the cup of tea in her hand, "and it is strangely comforting that you can."
Minerva nodded in understanding. She had felt the same with Albus all those years ago, before he had gotten too involved in the war to take notice of anything else around him. "You are safe with me," she assured the woman she had known as a child. She had had years of training in studying Hermione, who had quite often escaped everybody's notice as the crowd had always mainly focused on Harry.
"I know," Hermione whispered truthfully and reached over to touch her mentor's hand. "I've always known." She allowed Minerva to cover her hand and give it a little squeeze, before she leant back in her chair with her cup between her hands.
