A/N: All characters and places belong to J.K. Rowling and affiliates. Only the plot line and OC's belong to me. There was a lot of love for the last chapter and the flashback into Minerva and Albus' Transfiguration History. I really enjoyed writing that part and will hopefully be able to include more of that sort of thing in the story. If you like this story or Minerva check out my other story, Nurmengard Chains. They aren't related, but it's a good story if you like this time period. I love these next few chapters because not only do we see Minerva out of her beloved Hogwarts, but we also get to meet her family. Enjoy and please review!
Late December, 1953
Minerva found her way through the thong of students, going against the flow towards the Great Hall for their final goodbye before going off for the holidays.
Dumbledore's classroom, she had found, was not an easily assessable place. She took one of the secret passages on the second floor and made her way towards his door.
She floated through the door to find two boys asking the Professor a few questions after their last class of the term. The fourth years gave the Head Girl a nervous smile and returned to the textbook perched on Dumbledore's desk.
Minerva saw Dumbledore's eyes flicker over to her for a moment; his way of discreetly acknowledging her presence, and then nodded to something on of the boys said.
"I would say that in order to transfigure the poor creature you'd have to use a different spell, that one wouldn't penetrate the thick armored skin. Minerva?"
Minerva blinked, startled by the sudden address to her blinked quickly in surprise. "Sir?"
"If you were going to transfigure a welsh dragon into a scaled green handbag would you use the switching spell or a double transformation between a second bag and the beast?"
Unalarmed by the comment, Minerva answered immediately as if this happened every day. "Neither, I'd do a reverse of the original draconifors spell."
"Ah! That's it, excellent idea, my dear! But in theory, boys, this is a terrible idea. Welsh dragons are highly unpredictable and in order to reverse the spell, you'd have to be dangerously close to the beast. But that's an excellent question! I hope you boys have a nice and restful holiday and I look forward to seeing you when term resumed."
The two boys bid the professor goodbye and gave Minerva a small wave as they left for the Great Hall. Dumbledore took in Minerva's traveling cloak and gave her a small smile. She sat down in one of the desks in his front row one of her normal seats.
"You're leaving," he said simply.
It was a statement, not a question. She nodded.
She wore a thick emerald green traveling cloak and her long ringlets were pulled away from her face by a matching green pin.
"My father wrote to me last week and asked if I'd consider coming home for my last Christmas before I leave … and I've decided to go."
"Minerva, that's wonderful!"
She gave him a small, unsure smile, one Dumbledore was not accustomed to seeing on his apprentice's face.
Dumbledore knew that Minerva and her mother did not let along well since her parents had a terrible argument over Minerva's magical ability three years ago. Even abnormally talented witches only had a faction of Minerva's fantastic power.
Unaware their fourteen year old daughter was in the doorway listening, Isobel had mentioned that there was something wrong with their daughter, that she was a freak among freaks. Her father, who Minerva was closest to, was a Muggle, and had never really forgiven his wife for lying to him about her own magic, had tried to convince Isobel's tirade that regardless of how powerful she was, they could not change who their daughter was. But their argument had grew and spiraled out of control with things that should have never been said were screamed. It had left Minerva heartbroken with the everlasting feeling of abandonment from her family.
Dumbledore watched her for another moment and then gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "Minerva, there's nothing wrong with you," he repeated to her as he had often done that year. She tilted her head and nodded carefully as if she still wasn't sure he was telling her the truth.
"I haven't been back for Christmas in three year, I can't help thinking something terrible is going to happen," she revealed. "But part of me keeps telling me it's ridiculous to be so anxious."
"Minerva, everything is going to be okay in the end, if it's not okay, then it's not the end." Minerva's eyes brightened as he sank back in his chair watching her again.
Minerva was always such an interesting read. She had confidence and power that simply demanded attention; though that was the last thing she wanted. She was beautiful and cool with the unattainable look that said that she had it all together. Only her striking green eyes said when everything was crashing down around her and she felt afraid.
Everyone thought Minerva McGonagall was perfect and powerful, beautiful and smart, though most were unaware of everything else about her. Her life was far from always happy and perfect, though private Minerva wouldn't let anyone know. Dumbledore knew she felt much safer in the security that no one could attack her in her vulnerable moments.
"Thank you," she spoke finally.
He smiled lightly in response trying to take away from the seriousness of his advice. "I'll be back a few days before terms starts again. A bunch of us are going to Kelsie Appanitis' summer cottage home for New Years and we're coming back early to get back on schedule before we have to start preparing for N.E.W.T.S."
"I'm sure when one takes every N.E.W.T. level class offered, you have to start preparing months in advance," he teased with a smile. Most thought a wizard as powerful as Dumbledore was cold and had no sense of humor, but his teasing always left a special few with a grin on their face. Even less had enough courage and familiarity to tease back. Minerva had earned that right early on in their friendship from her second year on.
"Scared I'm going to beat your scores on exit exams, Albus?"
"Ah, my dear, you'd have to get a perfect score to beat mine, so you'd better start studying now."
Minerva faked offense and put a hand over her heart in theatrics. Dumbledore just shook his head, amused.
Their relationship in public was a much more formal version of their relationship in private. Upon their apprenticeship, Albus had decided it would be more prudent and slightly less awkward for the then fourteen year old girl to address him on a first name basis instead of their more formal 'professor' or 'sir'. Minerva was careful, as he had hoped she'd be, when speaking and interacting with him during classes and at school functions.
Discretion was a large word in Minerva's vocabulary.
If he was as casual and free with their exchanges as they were in private, it might make the Board of Governors a little suspicious by their time together as would Armando and the other professors.
"You'd better watch out, next I'll be after your job," Minerva teased. There was a ringing bell indicating it was time for the students to head out. Minerva rose shakily to her feet all the smiles gone.
"I'll see you soon. If I finish the next section of my paper then I'll owl you the copy."
Albus sighed, sorry to see her leave the safe haven of Hogwarts. "All right, my dear. Have a good holiday and remember, Minerva: Christmas is time for rest, not work. Though I'm sure that brilliant mind of yours has a hard time turning off sometimes." Minerva blushed slightly and nodded.
"Have a good holiday," she called as she exited the room. "Tell Fawkes I said Happy Christmas."
He nodded and kissed her on the cheek as they parted.
Dumbledore chuckled and turned back to his essays and found he couldn't focus on them. His thoughts were on Minerva and her family. She would be just fine, he knew, it was just that she didn't.
Minerva was a brave girl and had always been, but in those few moments, she seemed so unsure about everything...her family. No one should feel that way, Dumbledore decided, but Minerva McGonagall had always had that look of tragedy about her.
*Hogwarts 1953*
"I'm so happy you're coming home this Christmas, Minnie!"
Malcolm McGonagall was a first year and if they hadn't shared a surname, no one would have guessed they were related.
Malcolm was already taller than his sister who was six years his senior. He was tall and burly with big bones and a large frame. His blonde hair was thin and resembled his mother's fragile locks. He was slightly tan with a sprinkle of freckles across his nose. His eyes were a muddy combination of brown and hazel. Only his face showed his young age. His cheeks were slightly plump and rosy and his nose was still a little too big for his features like he hadn't grown into it yet.
The rest of her family was so unlike Minerva that in family photographs, she looked like an outcast, standing there, pale, dark, and beautiful. It made her wonder sometimes if she was supposed to be here.
With permission to side-long apparate from the Headmaster, Malcolm was excited for his first experience with Minerva, who had easily passed her test after she turned seventeen back in October. They stood at Platform Nine and Three Quarters Station with people moving around and getting off the train, waving and colliding with their loved ones.
"See you, Minerva! I love you girl!" Arabella had called as the horde of people pulled her away with her dozen of suitcases.
Alastor appeared from behind Minerva with a grin on his tanned face and made Malcolm jump with fright. Alastor had always looked a little strange with his freakishly attentive blue eyes and scared many of the first years he came into contact with. He moved out of the train door as Tom Riddle and a few others of their friends hopped off the train doors including Ryan Garrett.
"Head Girl! We expect to see you at New Year's party, no rain check, you hear me. I bet twenty galleons that our team is going to win the pickup Quidditch game and we need you." Minerva smiled, but didn't answer the Ravenclaw Seventh Year.
"Bye Minerva!"
"Happy Christmas, Head Girl!"
"See you McGonagall!"
Malcolm watched from his sister's side as random people were talking to her and his sister seemed so calm and still in the chaos. He continued to watch curiously.
Tom Riddle moved forward and politely embraced her. His arms tightened around her and when he released her she felt the safety and security she felt his him and Hogwarts leave her.
"New Years, Minerva, you need a serious break."
She nodded and his dark eyes found hers. "New Years," she repeated with a small smile. He smiled and pulled down on a piece of her hair curling around her cheeks playfully before moving back.
Everyone seemed so strange in their Muggle clothing. It was so out of the ordinary. Ryan Garrett jumped off none too gracefully and moved over towards Minerva. He embraced her and kissed her cheek roughly, picking her up off the ground and spinning her once, though not in a polite manner that Tom had embraced her earlier. "Love yah, see you at New Year's, 'kay."
The train whistled and he broke apart from her. "Time to go, boys!" Garrett called and they made their way in towards where Arabella had moved.
Alastor stood watching Ryan's actions carefully. He put on a smile and kissed her cheek. "See you Min, baby, it won't be the same if you don't come. Bye Malcolm, Happy Christmas."
Malcolm snapped to attention and gave a shy wave. The platform was slowing down and Minerva turned to force a brave smile on her lips. "Ready, Mac?" He nodded eagerly.
Minerva tapped her wand to their luggage and it disappeared with a puff of smoke. "All right, this probably won't feel great…"
"Come on, Minnie! Let's go!"
She smiled and shook her head knowing he wouldn't know what hit him. She held out her hand and Malcolm eagerly took it. She shut her eyes, seeing their family cottage clearly in her mind and took a deep breath.
They apparated with a pop!
When the swirling stopped and Minerva opened her eyes, they were at the far end of their house's estates and Malcolm was kneeling on the ground spitting out the rest of this vomit from his mouth.
"That was…" he tried to find a word for the experience and Minerva just chuckled. "Miserable. Can we not do that ever again please?"
"It gets better with time, don't worry. You don't have to even attempt it until your seventh year, but luckily you made it with all your appendages intact." His eyes grew wide at her throwaway comment and quickly checked for all his fingers and toes.
Minerva gazed up at her house and for a moment she was overwhelmed with homesickness for the safety of Hogwarts and her dormitory. The house was large and made with old stones. The grays varied as they went around the house.
The seaside view was priceless and had been a refuge for her parents who had eloped and ran away from their families. It was a twenty minute drive to her father's church where he was a minister, but far enough from everything else to be a quiet and untouched area. The architecture was old and supported a gothic style and Minerva knew it was an older estate. The trees were tall and gave off a wonderful shade in the summer. There were three small towers that reminded her of the Astronomy Tower, but were nowhere near as tall. She noticed there were newly planted flowers and the gravel road was new since her last summer here.
Malcolm took her hand as they walked up through the green grass and up the gravel walk way. "Minnie?"
"Hmm?" she hummed in response, trying to ignore the twisting her stomach as they drew closer and closer to the house.
"When you graduate from Hogwarts are you going to go far away and never come back?" Minerva was so startled by the question that she stopped walking.
Malcolm's question seemed innocent, but Minerva heard and saw nothing in his face and she knew meant that he knew more than he let on. "I don't know, Mac, maybe, it depends what I decide to do. Why?"
Malcolm shrugged and looked away from his sister uncomfortably. "I just don't want to leave and never come back … because I love you and I've missed you." He had mumbled the whole explanation so quickly that Minerva had almost missed it.
"Malcolm," she turned him to face her, "I'd never leave to hurt any of you, but if I could make a difference somewhere else, then I'd go. I haven't come home because you or Robert, I love both of you so much."
He sputtered into a smile and grabbed his sister by her little waist and squeezed hard. "Come on, let's go." He took her hand and they quickly made their way to the door. Malcolm banged on it quickly several and then stepped back a little bit in front of his sister.
Minerva's heart was racing and her thoughts turned to take a step back from the house and apparate right back to the gates surrounding Hogwarts, but before she could make a clear decision, the door swung open to reveal the rest of her family.
"MUM!" Malcolm shouted, jumping into their mother's arms. Meanwhile, a smaller version of Malcolm rushed out of the doors and Minerva found herself smiling as she realized that little Robert was rushing towards her.
"Minnie!" he screamed racing into her arms. At five years old, Robert McGonagall Jr. was just reaching three feet tall, which was impressive for his age. Minerva smiled as he gave her a sloppy kiss on the cheek.
"Miss you, Minnie!" he said and took her hand. She let him lead her towards the door where her father stood positively beaming at his only daughter.
He was tall and thin with a bronze short cut hair with strands of gray moving in. His eyes were brown and muted like someone had tried to wash them out. They were darker than her mother's, but still less intense than Minerva's green ones. He wore a winter jacket over his black preaching slacks.
"Minerva," he said quietly embracing her with his long arms. Her father was tall, almost six feet, towering over her. Minerva let herself relax in her father's arms somewhat before he let go.
He smiled down at her and took her hand. "I'm so happy you're here. I've missed you." She gave him a smile and gave him another quick hug, still not saying anything, not trusting herself to say anything. Malcolm tore them apart, tackling their father down to the ground, laughing.
"Hey big man, I missed you!"
Minerva turned around to find her mother looking at her with a sorrow in her eyes as she gazed upon her daughter. She had lost some weight, Minerva had noticed and she wore a plain white Muggle dress with a pink ruffle apron. Her thin blonde hair was manually curled and seemed to be the opposite of Minerva's natural tiny ringlets.
"Hi mathair."
Isobel's lips quivered and she quickly embraced her daughter and Minerva could feel tears running back the back of her hands as her mother cried. But Minerva was not sad at all and only half-heartedly hugged her back. A mess of words and memories pierced her heart and that sense of being abandoned flooded her senses.
She pulled apart and gave her mother a forced smile and Isobel watched her daughter interact with their youngest child and she knew that all was not forgiven. Minerva was still hurting.
*Hogwarts 1953*
It was that night when the questions began to flood in for the two Hogwarts students. They sat at their dining room table eating a feast of sorts. Minerva sat next to her father and Malcolm and was intently listening to Malcolm talking about all his classes.
"-but I don't really like Astronomy that much; the planets all blend together you know. And Charms is really fun because we get to do a lot of practice. Professor Rose said that my charm work is the best in my year!"
"That's great, Mac!" Robert said cutting into his steak and beaming at his son. Malcolm took a big bite of mashed potatoes and swallowed before continuing.
"But Transfiguration is really hard and Professor Dumbledore is sort of confusing, but Minnie gets to teach my Transfiguration classes now!"
Minerva choked slightly on her glass of water and found that her entire family was looking at her. "Really? Are you allowed to do that Minerva?" There was a cold sense of curiosity in her mother's voice.
"Yes. Professor Dumbledore has to be at the Ministry quite a bit during his morning classes and I'm more qualified than a Ministry substitute," Minerva said calmly, watching her mother's reaction carefully. She carefully dabbed at the corner of her mouth with her tartan napkin and took a drink of wine.
"That's excellent, Minerva!" Minerva tore her eyes away from her mother and gave a small smile to her dad who had spoken. "Do you enjoy it?"
Minerva nodded. "I do. It's really satisfying."
Malcolm quickly turned the attention back to him and Minerva smiled listening to him tell his parents all about the castle and secretly she was grateful for the attention being taken off of her.
Dinner after that was quick and easy and everyone retired early for bed, excited for the rest of the holiday to get started. Minerva wasn't sure if she had ever felt more homesick for Hogwarts in her life.
*Hogwarts 1953*
Robert McGonagall had learned a lot about magic over the years since he had seen his daughter last. The last two summers after Hogwarts she had been home a single week before studying abroad in both France and Ireland. She hadn't come home for Christmas either, working over the holidays with one Professor Dumbledore on what she claimed was her independent study for her fifth year exams.
So it was surprise to see how much his daughter had grown up since then. He stood in the doorway to the kitchen early in the daylight hours watching her write away on a stack of parchment while the dawn light was shining through the windows behind her.
She had a pot of tea sitting to her right and her wand to her left. Robert watched her with interest. His daughter was seventeen, though she was stunningly more beautiful and mature than her years.
Minerva had always been tiny. When she was born she had weighed in at four and a half pounds and even now she barely reached two inches past five feet and couldn't be over a hundred pounds. Her long hair was braided away from her pale flawless face and a few curly fly away draped around her cheeks. The focus of her face was her mysterious and illusive green eyes that were like emeralds.
"Da?"
Robert jumped out of his haze and smiled to his daughter and moved into his kitchen. She had glanced up at him for several moments before she moved again.
"You're up early," he said in a cheerful voice, sitting down next to her. Minerva smiled once and her left hand paused on the parchment, her quill floating up above the paper. "Having trouble sleeping?"
He didn't miss Minerva blinking once quickly before answering. "No, I'm used to little sleep with homework. My hours are still messed up from mid-terms and I thought I'd do something productive if I was going to be awake."
"What are you working on?"
Minerva set down her quill and her hand found the cup of tea in front of her. "My newest thesis paper for Professor Dumbledore … I've been working on it since I finished my Animagus Paper."
Robert smiled and looked down at her neat and curve handwriting. "Interesting. Are you enjoying your … uh … " he struggled for the correct terminology.
"Apprenticeship?"
He nodded. "Yes, I couldn't think of the word."
"Yes, it's been a bit slower now that I finished my work on animagi, but I'm enjoying it. Professor Dumbledore and I are very close.
He smiled, though there was a pang in his gut that resembled jealous every time the name Dumbledore was mentioned. "How many animagi are there?"
"Still living? I'm the only one. There are four other known throughout history, but they left no records on how they managed their transformation. There was an Egyptian woman who left some scraps about her process here and there, but no one could really make sense of her writing so it was destroyed. Professor Dumbledore says that even with my notes it's going to be hard for the Ministry to repeat the process with others, but even so, they haven't been very pleasant about the subject."
Minerva took her eyes off him and picked up her quill again, scribbling a few more sentences. "Malcolm told me that you're Head Girl. Congratulations." Minerva paused again in her writing and nodded her head towards him.
"Thank you."
He took another stab at conversation. "So Malcolm's told us about his classes, what are you taking this year?" Minerva wasn't sure if he was really interested or just trying to find out all he could about what he'd missed in the past years.
"This semester my N.E.W.T. classes are Potions, Transfiguration, Ancient Runes, Herbology, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms, Astronomy, Alchemy, Care of Magical Creatures, and Arithmacy, but I had Ancient Studies last term."
"Wow, that's a lot," Robert sounded impressed. "And you're Head Girl, and you're on the Quidditch team, so Malcolm said, and you help Professor Dumbledore teach. Is there anything else you can do at Hogwarts that you aren't going, Minerva?"
She gave him a small smile. "I keep busy," she said quietly. Robert opened his mouth to say something else but there was a chorus of hoots from three owls as they flew into the open window.
They each dropped their letter to Minerva who rummaged around in the leather bag at her feet and pulled out three sweets that resembled dog treats. The owls hooted in appreciation and perched themselves on the back of the kitchen chairs.
Minerva set the moving newspaper aside. The Daily Prophet, Robert read and slid a finger under the seal of the first letter and quickly scanned the letter. She smiled and shook her head and setting the letter away with the corner of another paper sticking out of it. She turned to the second letter and paused as she noticed the Hogwarts seal.
It would be from Dumbledore she reasoned and was quickly proven correct. She smiled again reading the words and Robert noticed that she took more time reading over the words from the second letter. She took the stack of papers to her left, about twenty or so sheets, and tapped her wand twice to it and right before his eyes, the paper duplicated.
His mouth hung open as he watched again how Minerva pointed her wand at the stack and they shrank and could suddenly fit in the palm of his hand. She busied herself putting the paper in the third owl's pouching and without a farewell the owl burst forth in flight.
Minerva turned back with her wand in hand and quickly took in her father's startled expression. "I'm sorry," she said quickly. "I didn't mean to startle you…"
Robert blinked quickly and shook his head. "No-no, I'm sorry. It's just that's not something I see every day. Malcolm said he couldn't do magic outside of school…"
"I'm of age, at seventeen any witch or wizard can produce magic outside of school without being expelled from Hogwarts," Minerva said simply. She turned to the other two owls and quickly paid the larger on with a tiny bronze coin. He quickly tried to take off, successfully knocking over the stack of papers before getting into the air.
Before he could help her pick up the paper, Minerva had snapped her fingers that the papers had flown back into their original positions. Robert picked up three photographs that had fallen out of the first letter she had received. Curiously he looked at the first one.
Minerva was rising in the air on a broomstick and was wearing a uniform of red and gold. He watched with wonder as she chased around boy with a similar but different colored uniform on a broomstick. She dodged a black ball with a sharp curve and then he saw what she was chasing: a tiny gold ball. His heart raced when she tumbled off the broom, only to be caught by it again. With a broad smile on her face she held up the tiny gold ball in her hand grinning in triumph.
The second was of her and a boy. They were sitting together in an obviously posed position. Minerva was perched in a black and green laced dress and he was in a black and white suit. The two seemed to be attending a ball. The boy was tall and muscular and had an arm wrapped around her waist. For a moment they were still then they were obviously laughing at something someone outside the lens had said and the boy took Minerva's hand and spun in her around, kissing her cheek in an elaborate display.
The last was a group shot of five people. Minerva was in the center with three boys and a girl spread out on either side of her. They moved in the photo, laughing with huge smiles on their faces.
The first boy to her right was tall and slim with a paler complexion, dark hair, and piercing dark eyes. The other was tall and buffer with long blonde hair and tanned skin. He had his arm slung much more casually around Minerva's waist and had somewhat of a smirky laugh. This had been the boy in the previous photo. The last boy was oddly shaped with lanky bronze hair and a tanned complexion, even though the relaxed setting of the picture his eyes were flicking every which way like they were about to be attacked. The girl on the other end of this way was a normal looking blonde with regular brown eyes. Her hair was short, only reaching the top of her shoulders.
Robert had been about to ask about them when there was a herd of footsteps coming down from the stairs and Malcolm and Robert ran down the stairs.
Robert set the photographs back down on the table and turned to greet his sons. Minerva had moved her paper off the table by the time Isobel had made it down the stairs and had begun to cook breakfast with the help of their house elf, Potts.
There was still some tension between Minerva and her mother, Robert noticed. They turned back to Malcolm's story of Minerva's last spectacular Quidditch game; she was the best Seeker that Hogwarts had ever seen, Dippet had said. Minerva had a slight smirk on her face as Malcolm dramatically described the four hours long game. They ate breakfast without any real drama, except for Robert Jr. spilling his milk all over Robert's head by accident much Malcolm's amusement.
This was supposed to be normal. This was how families were supposed to be, but this didn't feel right. There was something so wrong about this scene and Robert McGonagall could tell that his only precious daughter felt the exact same way.