I just finished rewriting this chapter. The first half is very much how I originally wrote it, but the second half is radically different, and I actually like it better than what I had originally. (I guess there are a few benefits to having to rewrite stories!) It's not a whole lot, but I hope you all like it anyway... please review and tell me what you think!

As always, I own the rights to Jeff... and that's really about it. All things Harry Potter-related belong to one Joanne Kathleen Rowling, and that is most certainly not me. :(


Spite and Surprise

Minerva did not give Dumbledore her final answer on the Animagus question until the second week of her fourth year – she had spent all summer asking herself if she really needed yet another obligation to fill her time, and had finally concluded that receiving special training from Albus Dumbledore was an offer that very few people ever had and ever would receive.

To her relief, her professor did not seem at all irked by her delayed response – on the contrary, his blue eyes began to sparkle with enthusiasm when she stopped by his desk after class and haltingly asked if his offer still stood.

'I would be delighted, Miss McGonagall,' he said genuinely. 'Now, I know that you have a busy schedule, but would next Wednesday at eight o'clock be an acceptable time for a first lesson?'

Minerva nodded, a grin spreading across her face as she rushed out of the classroom. She could scarcely wait to tell Jeff that it was settled – she was actually going to start learning how to become an Animagus starting next week…

But Minerva's jubilation was rudely cut short when she rushed into the Entrance Hall and found herself face to face with Abraxas Malfoy.

'Excuse me,' she said somewhat breathlessly, trying to duck around him. But Abraxas stepped slightly to the side to block her way, a sadistic smile turning up the corners of his thin lips.

'No need to be in such a hurry, McGonagall,' he drawled. Minerva frowned and glanced across the Entrance Hall to where Jeff was emerging from the grounds, deep in conversation with one of his fellow Ravenclaws. Abraxas followed her gaze lazily, and his pale eyes twinkled maliciously. 'One would think you needed to talk to someone important,' he added.

Minerva raised an eyebrow at him. 'What do you want?' she asked coolly.

'Only a few moments of your time,' said Abraxas casually, leaning a shoulder against the wall and smirking. 'Just a quick reminder of who you are, and what sort of people you shouldn't associate yourself with if you want to be looked upon correctly.'

'I believe you would fall under that list in my book, Malfoy,' said Minerva sharply. 'Now, if you'll let me by…'

'I don't think so,' said Abraxas, his voice becoming more dangerous. 'Times are not as safe as they used to be, McGonagall, and if you had any common sense, maybe you'd realize that you'd be safer staying with your own kind…'

Minerva opened her mouth to retort, but was spared the trouble.

'What's going on?' Abraxas looked over his shoulder, scowling, as Jeff approached. His eyes narrowed as he met Abraxas's cold sneer. 'Minerva, are you all right?'

'Fine,' snorted Minerva in exasperation, taking the opportunity to shove Abraxas's arm aside. 'Let's get out of here, I have something I need to tell you…'

'And you leave her alone in the future, Malfoy,' Jeff snarled at Abraxas.

Abraxas sniffed arrogantly. 'Nothing wrong in wanting to chat with a friend for a moment, is there?'

'Yeah, there actually is, if the person in question isn't your friend,' retorted Jeff.

'It doesn't matter,' muttered Minerva. 'Let's go.'

Jeff glared at Abraxas and turned to leave with Minerva.

'Well, isn't that sweet?' called Abraxas after them. 'The Mudblood-lover standing up for her filthy heathen boyfriend.'

Minerva wheeled around, her eyes flashing. 'What did you just say?' she hissed.

'I think you heard me,' said Abraxas calmly. 'I was being astonished by the fact that a pureblood, even one as foolish as you, would defend a piece of filth like this.'

Minerva pulled out her wand with a snarl, but Jeff put a restraining hand on her arm.

'Don't,' he muttered. 'He's not worth it. Just ignore him…'

'What's the matter, Cunningham?' jeered Abraxas. 'Afraid I'll hex your girlfriend's face beyond repair? Not that it would make much of a difference, really… considering how ugly she is already it might be an improvement…'

'One more word out of you, Malfoy,' spat Jeff, pulling his own wand from his robes, 'and I'll…'

'You'll what?' sneered Abraxas, drawing out his wand. 'Fight me like a Mudblood, using your fists?' Several Slytherin boys nearby sniggered, and Abraxas twirled his wand idly between his fingers. 'On second thought, that would be rather horrible… the very thought of your dirty fingers touching me is simply revolt-'

BANG!

Malfoy flew several feet backwards and slammed against the wall with a dull thud. He slid slowly down the marble wall and crumpled to the floor, his white-blond hair ruffled, as Minerva advanced furiously towards him.

'Care to finish that sentence, Malfoy?' she hissed. Malfoy blinked slowly as his vision came back into focus, and he flinched when he saw that Minerva's wand was pointed directly between his eyes.

'If you ever…' Minerva began in a menacing tone, but she was interrupted by a sharp voice behind her.

'Miss McGonagall!'

Minerva sighed as Professor Merrythought stormed down the stairs towards the crowd of whispering students, looking positively livid.

'What on earth is going on here!' she snapped. Several students jumped out of the way in alarm as she stormed to the centre of the action and loomed angrily above Minerva.

'Oh, Professor,' squealed the shrill, girlish voice of Dolores Jane Umbridge. 'It was horrible, Abraxas was walking by, and out of the blue McGonagall hexed him!'

'Is that what happened, Malfoy?' said Professor Merrythought, looking down at Abraxas. Abraxas closed his eyes, a pained expression on his face, and nodded feebly.

'But, Professor!' protested Minerva, but Professor Merrythought cut her off.

'Disgraceful, McGonagall,' she fumed. 'Twenty points from Gryffindor for duelling in the corridors, and detention.'

'What!' said Minerva, stunned. Had Professor Merrythought still been looking downwards, she would have seen Abraxas open his eyes and leer maliciously.

'Professor,' began Jeff indignantly, 'Minerva was…'

'Not another word from any of you!' shouted Professor Merrythought, and with that she turned on her heel and marched back up the stairs.

'You see, Minerva?' simpered Umbridge, squirming her way through the dispersing crowd. 'A nasty temperament never wins anyone friends.' Smiling in the manner of a cat that has just swallowed a canary, she seized Abraxas by the arm, helped him to his feet, and strolled away with him, giggling.

'Bloody hell,' snarled Jeff, his hand tightening around his wand. 'What a pack of liars. And something must be going on with Merrythought, I've never seen her in such a foul mood before. Are you all right?'

'Yes,' said Minerva blankly. 'Oh, Merlin, my parents are going to be furious.'

'I'm sorry,' sighed Jeff. 'I should have said something.'

'You tried.' Minerva managed a smile. 'Merrythought just wouldn't listen to you.'

'I suppose.' Jeff glanced at Minerva. 'Thanks, by the way. I mean, I get that sort of talk all the time from the Slytherins, you shouldn't have actually hexed him, not for my sake.'

Minerva shrugged. 'You would have done the same for me.'


To Minerva's utter fury, Professor Merrythought scheduled her detention for the same evening she was slated to have her first Animagus training with Dumbledore, and no amount of pleas or protests would change the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher's mind. Finally, Minerva appealed directly to Dumbledore.

'Professor, you have to understand, it wasn't my fault, Malfoy provoked me by calling Jeff all sorts of horrible things…'

'Be that as it may, I'm afraid there's nothing I can do to change Professor Merrythought's mind and, believe me, I say this from experience,' sighed Dumbledore. 'She is your teacher and has every right to give you detention. I, unfortunately, cannot try to contradict her.'

'But it's not fair,' Minerva burst out in anger.

'I know it's not fair, but sometimes we all must deal with unfair situations as best we can, and hope for the best next time.' Dumbledore leaned forward in his chair and tried to make eye contact with Minerva, who was now steadfastly looking at the ground. 'Try to think of it as one of those annoying little things we professors like to call "life lessons," Minerva,' he said gently. 'The time will come when you will need to learn to keep your mouth shut and control your temper. I do not mean to sound harsh, but you could end up with far worse than detention.'

Minerva shot him a wounded glare, and stormed out of the Transfiguration professor's office slamming the door behind her. Dumbledore sighed and shook his head.


At 8 o'clock precisely the next Wednesday, Minerva met Ogg the gamekeeper in the Entrance Hall. After exchanging nods, Ogg pulled the heavy doors of the castle open with a loud wooden creak, and the two started off down the slope of the silvery lawn.

'You'll be picking unicorn hairs out of the brambles of the Forest,' explained Ogg, tossing Minerva a coarse burlap sack.

'What for?' asked Minerva dully, figuring she ought to know why exactly she was being put through this exercise.

'Wand cores, potions, remedial purposes,' grunted Ogg. 'Now, you make sure you don't go too far into the Forest – be sure you can always see the castle from where you are. Meet me back by my hut at half past ten. Understood?'

Minerva nodded. Swinging the sack over her shoulder, she took a deep breath to steel herself, and strode into the darkness of the Forbidden Forest without looking back.

Nearly two hours later, Minerva had had enough. The sack was nowhere near full, but there was a good number of strands at the bottom of the sack, and she was sure that she was not supposed to fill up the entire sack in the first place. Minerva straightened up and stretched, feeling her neck and back crack after having spent so much time bent over. Her hands were scratched and bleeding from the sharp brambles, and as she opened the sack to assess the amount of hairs she had gathered, a few drops of dark blood feel onto the mass of softly glowing silver.

All of a sudden, Minerva looked up, certain she had heard something nearby. She narrowed her eyes, but could see nothing. Suddenly, she realized in a panic that she had forgotten to make sure that she could see the castle at all times. Turning about anxiously, all she could see were the identical trunks of dark trees, fading after a few feet into the shadows of the forest.

A rustling noise made Minerva jump, and this time she was certain she could hear a low, raspy breathing coming from somewhere near. She swallowed dryly, trying her best to quiet her pounding heart, telling herself to think rationally, to figure out which was the castle was. She glanced up at the moon, a perfectly round orb suspended amidst the stars. It was slightly to her left, which meant that that she was facing south, so if she had entered the forest from its western end…

Minerva turned to her right, and grinned with relief that at least she had some idea of which direction she needed to go. She took one step. And that was when the attack came.

A snarl was all that Minerva had as a warning as something huge and hairy leapt at her. She screamed and threw herself to the ground, covering her hands with her head. She could feel the beast's hot breath on the back of her neck as it flew overhead and felt a sharp pain in her arm.

'Lumos,' panted Minerva, struggling to her feet. A bright burst of light erupted from the end of her wand, and in its light she saw the werewolf turn and crouch low to the ground, its eyes glowing weirdly. With a howl, it sprang again, and crumpled to the ground as Minerva's Stunning spell hit it.

Shaking wildly, Minerva backed away, as if afraid that the werewolf would jump to its feet at any minute. Her arm was bleeding badly, but she barely noticed. Without taking her eyes from the unconscious animal, she groped behind her for the sack of unicorn hairs, and, glancing briefly at the moon, took a few steps towards the direction of the castle. Then she began to run, ignoring the branches that scratched her and the roots that tripped her. She ran until she reached the edge of the forest, and only then did she fall to her knees, still shaking uncontrollably.


'You don't look at all well.'

Augusta regarded her friend with concern as they prepared for breakfast the next morning. Minerva had dark bags under her eyes and seemed much more jumpy than usual. Augusta berated herself for the umpteenth time that morning for having fallen asleep before Minerva got back to the portrait hole… what kind of a friend was she, anyway?

'I'm fine,' insisted Minerva wearily.

'No, you're not,' said Augusta firmly. 'Was detention really that bad?'

Minerva hesitated, and then nodded. Augusta grabbed her by the arm, and Minerva winced.

'Minerva… what in Merlin's name happened?' demanded Augusta as she stared down at the long, blood-crusted gash on Minerva's forearm.

Minerva took a deep breath, and then told Augusta the whole story. By the time they had reached the portrait hole, Augusta's eyes were wide with disbelief.

'So you left the sack on Ogg's doorstep and came back here?' she whispered.

'I know, I should have waited, but I panicked, Augusta, I didn't know what to do!'

'I'm not blaming you!' said Augusta quickly. 'I mean, a werewolf… Merlin, you're lucky you weren't killed!'

'I know,' said Minerva weakly. 'Thanks,' she added to Paul Longbottom, who was holding the portrait hole open for the two girls.

'You're both very welcome,' said Paul, shooting a meaningful glance at the conspicuously silent Augusta.

'That Paul Longbottom,' sniffed Augusta as soon as the portrait hole was closed behind them. 'He always acts like we can't manage for ourselves…'

'He's just being polite, Augusta,' said Minerva, laughing a bit in exasperation. 'You could say thank you yourself, you know.'

'Well, never mind that,' said Augusta, waving her hand impatiently in the air. 'You need to tell somebody. And your arm!' Augusta stopped in her tracks. 'Merlin, you weren't bitten, were you?'

'No, Augusta,' snapped Minerva, unconsciously rubbing the gash. 'Haven't you been paying attention to what Professor Merrythought's been saying in Defence Against the Dark Arts? Werewolf bites disappear within an hour or so after occurring. This has been here all night.'

Augusta sighed. 'Thank goodness. You had me worried to death there for a moment. But you still should tell someone.'

'I was planning to. You don't know where Professor Dippet's office is, do you?'

Augusta thought for a moment. 'You know, I don't think I do,' she said slowly. 'Sorry, Minerva.'

'It's all right.' Minerva sighed. 'I suppose we'll just have to hope we see him some time today, then…'

But luck was with Minerva, for halfway down to the Great Hall, she encountered not only Professor Dippet, but Professors Dumbledore and Merrythought as well, talking amiably with one another as they made their way down to breakfast.

'Professor!' gasped Minerva, dashing forward. Professor Dippet turned around and regarded Minerva with a kind smile.

'And a good morning to you, Miss McGonagall. Is everything all right?'

'No sir,' said Minerva so insistently that Professor Merrythought raised her eyes at her. 'Last night, I had a detention in the Forbidden Forest, and I was attacked by a werewolf.'

Professor Dippet glanced at his colleagues, and then back at Minerva. 'You… what? Surely you're joking, Miss McGonagall…'

'I was attacked,' repeated Minerva, rolling up her sleeve. 'And if you don't believe me…'

'Good heavens!' gasped Professor Merrythought, clutching at her chest as she stared at Minerva's arm, wide-eyed.

'Are you all right, Minerva?' asked Dumbledore seriously. 'Do you remember having been bitten?'

'No,' said Minerva. 'The worst I got was this scratch, but other students might not be so fortunate…'

'A werewolf,' muttered Dippet, wringing his hands. 'A werewolf, on the Hogwarts grounds… oh my, this is going to cause such a scare if word gets out…'

'I will speak to Professor Kettleburn today,' said Dumbledore calmly to the Headmaster. 'All preventative measures will be taken to ensure that no other students are harmed.'

'Are you quite sure it was a werewolf, McGonagall?' said Professor Merrythought in a low voice, leaning forward to examine Minerva's arm.

'Positive,' said Minerva. 'It had a blunt snout and a tufted tail – I could see that much when I lit my wand.'

'Good girl,' said Professor Merrythought gruffly, looking pleased that Minerva had remembered that much from her class. 'You'd best get to the Hospital Wing, get that treated…'

'Yes, Professor.'

'And…' Professor Merrythought absently pushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear as she let out a sigh. 'I'm sorry for having put you in this position, with the detention and all. I had no idea it would lead to this…'

Minerva considered taking the opportunity to make some sort of snide comment about the fact that she could have been killed because of Abraxas Malfoy's despicable nature, but remembered what Dumbledore had said to her and instead bit her tongue and shrugged.

'It wasn't your fault, Professor.'

'Yes, well, you'd better move along, then,' said Professor Merrythought awkwardly, waving her hand in the direction of the Hospital Wing.

'I'll see you later,' muttered Minerva to Augusta, 'I'll just go get this healed, and meet you down at breakfast…'

'Right, see you,' said Augusta, and she started off down the nearest staircase. As she headed in the direction of the Hospital Wing, Minerva glanced back over her shoulder at her professors. All three were talking to each other in low voices, and not one of them looked cheerful any more.


As Minerva had suspected, Madam Malus was able to heal her arm in less than a minute.

'Sending students out into the Forbidden Forest, what nonsense,' the witch muttered to herself as she squeezed a foul smelling potion onto the gash. 'Whatever happened to the days of having students write lines, clean cauldrons, reorganize cupboards? No sense of safety, I tell you…'

With that she tapped Minerva's arm briskly with her wand to make it as good as new, and forced Minerva to choose a bar of Honeydukes chocolate from a large stash in her office before she left the Hospital Wing.

'What on earth happened!' whispered Pomona to Minerva as she slid into the desk next to her in Charms. 'Augusta was saying…'

'I'll tell you later,' whispered Minerva, slipping both Pomona and Augusta large slabs of chocolate. 'It's a long story, so I'll just tell you and Jeff at the same time. And don't worry, I'm fine,' she said in mild exasperation as Pomona opened her mouth concernedly.

But Jeff was not at lunch, nor at dinner. Nor was he in the Hospital Wing when Minerva, Pomona, and Augusta went to go look for him. Finally, when he was still missing the next morning at breakfast, Minerva had the good sense to ask Professor Merrythought if she had any information.

'Jeffrey Cunningham?' she said, raising an eyebrow in surprise at Minerva. 'I'm sorry, I thought he was going to send you an owl. Otherwise I would have told you that he had left.'

'Is he all right?' asked Minerva anxiously.

'I hope so,' sighed Professor Merrythought, leaning back in her chair with a worried expression on her face. It suddenly struck Minerva that Professor Merrythought, although strict and disciplinarian on the exterior, cared about her students as individuals more than she let on. It was a bizarre but strangely comforting thought.

'You hope so?' repeated Minerva tentatively.

'I don't think I should tell you everything I've been told, as I might be wrong on some points,' Professor Merrythought said, leaning forward and fixing Minerva with a serious look, 'but he was called away because of some sort of family emergency, the nature of which I will leave him to discuss with you, if he feels comfortable enough. I believe he will be back in a few days.'

Minerva nodded stiffly, trying not to imagine what had happened as images of all of Jeff's family flashed through her mind. With a brief thank you to her professor, she turned to leave the classroom.

'And Minerva?'

Professor Merrythought's use of her first name caught Minerva off her guard. She turned back and waited to hear what the old Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher had to say.

'I know you're a good friend of Jeff's and you already know this, but I feel obliged to say it anyway,' said Professor Merrythought. 'I think that Jeff will probably need all the help and support he can get when he returns, so please, if you and Miss Sprout and Miss Witherspoon could just be there for him…?'

'Of course,' replied Minerva, unsure of how else to respond.

'Good girl,' said Professor Merrythought, smiling a tense smile at Minerva. 'Takes a good deal of worry off my mind to know that boy has friends like you, it does…'


True to Professor Merrythought's prediction, Jeff was back within the next few days, but from the moment Minerva saw him, she could see that he had changed. Instead of the enthusiastic greeting she had expected, all Jeff did was give her a weak smile and a slight nod. His face was tired and drawn, and throughout their classes together on his first day back, Minerva noted that he no longer raised his hand to answer every question asked, preferring to sit silently looking at his desk.

Minerva was not quite sure what to do, and from the uncertain looks Augusta kept on shooting in Jeff's direction all through the day, she was quite certain that Augusta had no idea what to do either. Even Pomona, who was usually the best at communicating amongst her friends, seemed at a loss when the four were assembled in the Library that evening. There seemed to be a lack of gossip, and between laughs that seemed too loud and worried glances, an awkward silence stifled even the usual light-hearted banter between the three girls.

Augusta and Pomona finally could no longer stand the silence and retreated to the familiarity of their respective dormitories. Minerva, however, remained at the table to work on her Herbology sketches, listening to the scratching of Jeff's quill as he worked to make up a Potions paper he had missed. As much as she longed to follow Augusta back up to the Gryffindor common-room, she had the feeling that Professor Merrythought's words would haunt her all night long if she left Jeff here all by himself.

She did not look up until the scratching of Jeff's quill stopped.

'You don't have to stay for my sake, you know,' Jeff said quietly.

Minerva blinked. 'I know,' she said hastily. 'I mean… I…'

'Yeah,' said Jeff. He sighed, rubbing his eyelids with the tips of his fingers. 'I suppose it's hard to hang around someone so gloomy, isn't it?'

'Of course not!' said Minerva. 'I just… wish I knew what to do, or say. Please Jeff, if there's anything I can do for you, anything at all…'

Jeff laughed mirthlessly. 'Thanks. I really do appreciate it. But, unless you can bring back the dead, I don't think there is.'

Minerva swallowed. 'Do you… do you mind if I ask what happened?' she said softly.

Jeff looked at her, and then quickly looked down at the table. 'My parents,' he said, his voice cracking. 'There was… a fire. Late at night. Amy was at a friend's house to practice for some recital, thank God, but they… By the time any help got there, they were trapped…' He roughly brushed a few tears from his cheeks, still staring at the tabletop.

Minerva reached out a hand and hesitantly laid it on top of Jeff's. 'Oh, Jeff,' she sighed. 'I'm so sorry, you don't need to talk about it…'

Jeff shook his head, sniffing hard. 'I need to just let it out once, I suppose. I've been having nightmares about it. Sometimes I'm in the room with them, being burned alive, and sometimes I'm with Amy, coming home and finding just the burnt-out structure of the house and all the neighbours gathered round, nothing left in the world except for her violin…'

'She has you,' Minerva reminded him cautiously.

'Yeah, and a fat lot of help I am,' spat Jeff. 'Sitting here, learning magic when I could have been there to help them escape…'

'You can't blame yourself,' said Minerva sternly. 'Jeff, stop thinking that, what could you have done…?'

'I don't know!' he burst out. 'I don't know, but even being there would have been better than being here.' He buried his face in his hands. 'I wish I'd just died with them. Then I wouldn't have to deal with all this.'

Minerva knelt down next to him and prised his hands away from his face. 'Jeff, look at me,' she ordered. 'Look at me. Don't ever say that. Think about Amy, how it would be for her if she'd lost her entire family. Think about your parents – they wouldn't have wanted you dead, they'd have been glad you were safe here. And think about us, Jeff – me and Augusta and Pomona… I can't imagine Hogwarts without you, and I'm sure they can't either.'

For a moment neither of them moved: Jeff continued to stare sullenly into Minerva's authoritative glare. Then, with a sigh, Jeff shook his head slightly.

'Merlin, I should have guessed you'd talk some sense into me,' he muttered.

Minerva allowed herself a slight smile. 'I'm glad I did.'

Jeff shook himself and began to put his Potions paper and his quills and ink back into his bag. 'Thanks. For calming me down. And for listening to me too. I needed to get that out just once. I don't think I can talk about it again any time soon.'

'Do you mind if I tell Augusta and Pomona?' asked Minerva. 'I'm sure they'd want to know. I'll tell them to not ask you about it.'

'Sure,' said Jeff dully. 'Might as well tell them now rather than later.' He paused. 'By the way, I should have asked you earlier, but did anything interesting happen here while I was gone? I left right after breakfast the day I got the news…'

'Er, well, I was attacked by a werewolf while doing my detention,' Minerva began offhandedly, 'but…'

'You what!' Jeff looked up at her, stricken. 'What happened? Are you all right?'

'I'm fine, don't worry,' said Minerva soothingly. 'But I'm not going to give you all the details tonight. You need to get to bed, you look exhausted…'

The two left the Library together and walked in silence until they reached the stairwell at which they parted ways.

'Are you sure you're all right?' Minerva asked once more.

'Well enough,' said Jeff with a small smile. 'Actually, could you do something for me?'

'Anything.'

'Write to my sister, will you, if you get the chance,' said Jeff. 'My uncle Jan's going to be taking care of her, but he was already supposed to move to Czechoslovakia to take care of my grandma, her health's been getting worse… Anyway, I know she was a bit nervous about moving to a new country and all, so I was hoping maybe you wouldn't mind… she really seemed to admire you when you came to visit, wouldn't stop talking about you after you left…'

'Of course,' said Minerva. Jeff looked visibly relieved.

'Great. Thanks,' he said. 'I'd try to write myself, but I think I've already said all that I can.'

'Don't worry about it,' Minerva reassured him.

Jeff nodded and left. Minerva watched him until he turned the corner, and then made her way up to her own common-room. She knew she should probably get to sleep, but she did not go up to her dormitory. Instead, she sat down at a table in the common-room, lit a candle, and pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill. She stared into the red-orange flicker of the dying embers in the fireplace, and then began to write:

Dear Amy