Author's Note – Man … I feel like the worst writer in the world!! I am so sorry for the super long time it's taken to update, but I've had my reasons. First of all, exams are finally over. January's been pretty hectic, thanks to the recent much-mourned demise of a friend's father, and then owing to a virus may dad deleted about 15 pages of unedited fanfic and subsequently, 'course exam preparation. March was a full holiday, but since we were shifting to another city, I couldn't write at all. Then, results were out, (I got a whopping 99, and I'm not kidding) and now schools finally begun. I must say ninth grade is very hectic, but I'll try my best to get the story updated soon. Oh yeah, and I'm working on about four more fan fics in my head so that's a bit distracting too. Ah well, thanks for all the fabulous reviews; they really make my day!

I've just put up another fanfic – Solitary Grievances which is also Harry Potter, MMAD (duh!); so I'll be glad if you can take the time to read that as well. It's my first one shot … hope you like it!

PS - I had already written this chapter once; thanks to the accursed virus I had to rewrite it.

Disclaimer – Every character in this chappie with the possible exception of Jeremy Carter and Helio Chandler belongs to Rowling.

Chapter 11 – Staffroom Gossips

Minerva McGonagall glared at the untidy piece of parchment in front of her. The oddly twisted scribbles were so muddled up and cramped on the tiny parchment; it only further fuelled her desire to abandon reading it and relax on her first day at Hogwarts.

Unfortunately, the atmosphere in the staffroom permitted no such relaxation. Minerva rolled her eyes inwardly; it was only the first day of the term, and yet the staff had already found another poor soul to gossip about.

Her sympathies with that person.

Yet, as she attempted another futile endeavour to discern the writing on the piece of parchment in front of her, Minerva found that she was better off listening to the staff gossip, anyways.

'-impossible!' Minerva caught the uncharacteristically shocked look on Leto's face as she looked up from the table. Something truly great must have happened, Minerva thought, smiling to herself. Leto was rarely so stunned.

'And yet, you yourself claim it to be true,' the voice of Filius Flitwick squeaked back at her, looking a bit flustered.

'-but she said she did it and it didn't look like she was lying!' Leto pointed out, frowning slightly at him.

'Then, it is obviously truethat she did do it!' The jovial voice of Horace Slughorn cut in unabashedly through their conversation. 'Should invite her to the Slug Club …'

Aha, Minerva thought, smirking as she mock-read the scribbles before her and eavesdropped on her colleagues' conversation simultaneously. Some new prodigy had turned up at Hogwarts. Not unusual, yet quite rare. Prodigies were always interesting.

'Too bad she blew up…' Helio Chandler, the new DADA teacher with scraggly brown hair and a heavily scarred face, piped up vaguely from somewhere.

'Oh yeah?' Leto admonished defensively, wheeling around to face him. ' "Blew up" is it?' Her thin fingers sketched the quotations marks in mid-air. 'Well, so would you, if people rained you with questions on your first day at school,' she added snappishly.

Helio as usual, did not bother to respond to her admonition. Leto turned back to Filius and Horace, satisfied.

'It's true, then?' Jeremy Carter, the soft spoken Arithmancer asked of her. 'I mean what she said at lunch hour about not knowing who her real parents were?'

Minerva felt a dire stab of guilt and tried to gulp down hastily.

'Yes,' Pomona Sprout, the resident Herbologist asserted, nodding her head sadly, her light brown pitiful. 'She had Herbology after lunch hour, and well, she did look a bit … upset.' she said, finally, having struggled to find the right word for some time. 'I won't deny she's a genius though.' she vouched firmly.

Minerva's doubts about the girl's identity were fast waning.

'And a genius she is!' Horace boomed cheerfully. 'Couldn't see her myself, see, she didn't have Potions today.' he explained to the crowd in general.

'Good thing!' someone mumbled incoherently. Horace looked most offended as Leto shot him a satirical glance.

'Well, bad luck about her parents though,' he sputtered loudly, noisily shuffling the numerous papers and books on his desk in an hurried attempt to cover up his embarrassment. 'I'd wager ten Galleons she's a pure blood.'

'Ten Galleons isn't much, Horace,' Leto retorted at his speculation. 'And hasn't your tendency to underestimate Muggle-borns been proven wrong enough already?' She glared fiercely at a very snubbed Horace. It was common knowledge that Leto, being a Muggle-born herself, could not stand Muggle-borns being underestimated.

'But, Leto' Horace continued futilely. 'It's highly advanced magic-'

'A fact that I am fully aware of, thank-you very much, Professor Slughorn,' Leto said irately, in a voice that suggested she would very much like him to shut up.

Horace however did no such thing. '-and it is not something one could learn out of a book.' He waved his stubby hands in mid-air as he conjectured his theory. 'Think about it. Her parents, great wizards, must have already taught her a lot before she came here. They would have probably Obliviated her memory, poor dear, before she arrived here; come to think of it … it's quite obvious really.'

Minerva instantaneously had no more doubts about who the girl was.

No…

She couldn't have found out already…

'That, Horace' Leto berated, eyes widened in revulsion with dripping disgust, cutting right into Minerva's thoughts. '-is one of the most far fetched schemes I've ever heard. Honestly, Horace, what sort of a parent would want to erase their own daughter's memory?' she glowered furiously at him.

'It's obviously…for her own safety…against…the Dark Lord…' Horace managed to stammer back.

'Well, I'd rather have my daughter beside me, knowing who I am; rather than Obliviating her memory "for her own safety".' Leto returned loftily.

'Oh stop!' Pomona Sprout cried out ultimately, cross and annoyed to boot by their useless bickering. 'Why are you arguing about her blood status? Does it make a difference? I thought we were speculating how she couldn't remember who her parents were in the first place. And besides, where's the proof that her parents are pure bloods in the first place?'

'Oh, but it's rather obvious, Pomona-' Horace shot up immediately, grabbing the chance to prove his conjecture.

'Says who?' Leto reprimanded hotly, raising her eyebrows authoritatively.

'FOR MERLIN'S SAKE! GIVE IT A REST, YOU TWO!' Pomona bellowed at them, much to the astonishment of the staff, who knew Pomona to be characteristically gentle and peaceful. 'You're quarrelling like two little kids fighting over who get the bigger bag of candy!'

Leto and Horace glowered at each other sourly before turning away, slightly shamefaced.

'I think-' she huffed with the same atypical severity, ' that since you two are bent upon continuing this … little trivial discussion of yours, (here she waved her hand at Leto and Horace; just in case anyone didn't understand who "you two" referred to) and since Transfiguration is Minerva's area of expertise, that she ought to decide … Minerva?'

Minerva looked up innocently from the muddled-up writing on the parchment, that is, as innocently as possible with her mind over-burdened with guilt.

'Mmm-hmm?'

'You weren't listening?' Leto asked, who had craned her neck from the other end of the staffroom across Horace's broad shoulders to stare at Minerva, looking somewhat crestfallen.

Minerva just shook her head numbly.

'And I thought you could hear these two squabbling till the moon!' Pomona remarked cynically, rolling her eyes as she put down the bundle of third year holiday assignments she had been grading.

Minerva suddenly realised how foolish it must look for her to be so tongue-tied.

'Is anyone going to have the courtesy to tell me?' she inquired of the staff, with an abrupt return to her usual self, though deep down inside, she wasn't even sure if she wanted to hear this or not.

'Surely, you would have heard the rumour, Minerva…' Jeremy Carter pointed out, looking surprised.

'Nah!' Filius contradicted squeakily. 'She was with Dumbledore at lunch hour, remember?'

'Oh well, I guess someone ought to tell her,' Leto obliged instantly before Horace could. 'Minerva, there's a new girl at Hogwarts-'

'First year?' Minerva asked tentatively, hoping against hope that she was wrong.

'Yes,' Leto assured her, nodding in a business-like fashion. 'Gryffindor, in fact, so I dare say you've seen her around. I assume, she had Charms first today and as far as Filius told me after class, she was brilliant - '

'Managed to Levitate her feather in the first attempt!' Filius squeaked at Minerva in an approving voice.

Leto simply ignored his comment. 'Well, quite a few students can manage that in their first attempt; this wasn't the first time, so I wasn't that surprised. But then, during lunch hour, I came to look for you –'

'I was with Dumbledore.' Minerva stated flatly without listening to what her associate had to say.

'Yes,' Leto said through gritted teeth, with the aim of implying that the next person who interrupted her would be cursed into the last century. 'I know, Minerva, so do let me continue.'

Minerva glanced briefly over her shoulder and noticed that Horace, Filius and Jeremy were having an animated discussion over the same topic – the first year's inability to recollect her past. 'I quite agree with you,' she heard Jeremy say musingly to Horace, who looked positively thrilled that someone was taking into consideration his theory. 'But I quite agree with Leto, as well, I mean parents Obliviating their own daughter's memory is quite … improbable.'

'Indeed Jeremy,' Filius said, nodding his bearded head in vigorous approval. 'But the fact that she can remember spells and the like she may have learnt in the past, but cannot recollect her own parentage goes to show that it is indeed a memory modifying charm, and a very powerful one too. No other charm works that way.'

Minerva turned back to Leto, feeling slightly sick. 'Pray go on.'

Leto sighed and stared at Minerva in an rather peculiar way before she did so. 'Peeves had wreaked havoc down in the kitchens, you know, the usual … so I thought maybe we could go fix it together, since you're the only one, apart from Dumbledore 'course, who can actually handle that wretched poltergeist. But, you weren't there and … oh Minerva, you're not going to believe this -'

Leto glanced at Minerva momentarily, as if to see if Minerva was still paying attention. It suddenly occurred to Minerva that Leto might be expecting some anticipation on her part.

'What happened?' she asked with a credible imitation of enthusiasm and curiosity.

This seemed to satisfy Leto; at any rate, she continued pretentiously, 'Well, there were four first years, three from your own house and one was, I presume, from Slytherin-'

'Rightly so!' Horace commented, butting in blatantly.

Leto shot him an ugly glare in reply. 'Anyways, there was also … any guesses?' she asked Minerva.

'Leto, I'd appreciate it if you get on with the story.' Minerva told her wearily, absently shoving a loose strand of her hair behind her ear. 'I don't exactly indulge in guesswork.'

Leto smiled benignly and relented in an animated voice, 'There was also a PIG with them! It was apparently after the Slytherin girl, who looked mad enough to faint by then; and though the beast was practically harmless, she was still yelling her head off. Understand, Minerva that it was rather shocking for me to see a P-I-G (she spelt it out; like one would to a two year old) in your class which was unoccupied with the possible exception of the four first years. I presumed of course that it had been Transfigured since we do not breed pigs at Hogwarts-' she grinned at her own joke '- and logically it was impossible for the Slytherin to have done it –'

'Are you implying that Slytherins are good-for-nothings?' Horace enquired with some dignity, disrupting their conversation for the second time now.

Leto was on the verge of telling him off for interrupting them when smirked scathingly, very much wanting to agree, but in no mood to spark another debate between the Potions master and herself. 'Horace, I highly doubt someone would Transfigure a table into something they were very much afraid of.'

Horace could not think of a come-back to this, so the Hufflepuff head continued, 'And since the other two Gryffindors, blonde and brunette, were standing a bit apart enjoying the scene, they couldn't have done it … so I presumed the one standing in the front with a pensive expression on her face would be the one.'

'Pensive?' Minerva was puzzled.

'Uh uh.' Leto said, nodding. 'A girl of medium height, black hair and green eyes … lot like yours, Minerva –'

Minerva blinked in surprise and pushed back another runaway strand of her raven-black hair uncomfortably.

'Mia Bridger,' Pomona, who had been listening to the dialogue, pronounced for Minerva's benefit. 'And by the way Leto, her hair is auburn, not black …'

'It's black, all right!' Leto argued pointedly. 'I saw it, Pomona –'

'She's a Metamorphmagus.' Minerva stated quietly, yet perceptibly, causing the two witches to stop opposing each other and stare at her, instead. This made Minerva suddenly wished she hadn't said that.

'How do you know?' Leto enquired curiously.

It was a valid question. 'Dumbledore told me,' she lied, not exactly meeting their inquisitive gazes. 'And besides, her hair was auburn at the Sorting; just in case you two were too busy to notice.' she supplemented as an afterthought.

'So you do recognize the girl,' Pomona stated thoughtfully.

'Yes, now do go on.'

'Right … where were we … yeah … so it was pretty obvious, she had done it, but just to make sure that she did, I asked her and she assured me she had done it herself. Well, I was downright stunned that a first year could actually Transfigure a table into a pig, I mean, correct me if I'm wrong, Minerva but I believe even sixth years find that tricky.'

Minerva felt a fleeting surge of pride; but it vanished as soon as it had come.

'So, Minerva tell me, is it not possible for a Muggle-born to learn such magic from a book?' she asked testily. They had reached the point which Leto was so anxious to discuss and which Minerva had entirely forgotten owing to her interest in the story.

'It could be,' she replied somewhat lamely, '… if they're really good.'

Leto shot an exultant look at a much snubbed Horace who was distinctly heard saying, 'From where would she have got the book…' He made no effort, however, to point this out to the newly jubilant Leto and returned to his discussion with Filius and Jeremy. Minerva could have, of course, mentioned to Leto that being a Metamorphmagus, she could not be a Muggle-born, but she did not wish to draw attention to the fact that Horace's version of the story might actually have a lot of truth in it.

'Oh! These two,' Pomona Sprout sighed, glancing at them, exasperated. 'Always at the loggerheads … anyways,' she continued, strongly of the opinion that continuing the story was far more important than some pure-bloods-are-better-than-Muggle-borns-or-vice-versa argument. 'I guess the story of her genius reached the Great Hall far more quickly than herself … you know Hogwarts; it's like Rumours-Ville … and the minute she sat at the Gryffindor table, they rained her with questions …'

Minerva groaned inwardly. She could clearly recollect being a victim of her fellow Gryffindors' never-ending question-and-answer session after her first day.

The one big difference. She had known who her parents were.

'Erm, yes …' Pomona said, clearing her throat stridently, since Minerva seemed to be lost in her own contemplations. 'They asked her all sorts of questions … I presume the ones about her parents were what perturbed her the most … so she yelled-'

'Yelled?' Minerva asked faintly, surprised that she had managed to speak. 'In the Great Hall?'

'Yes, but I wouldn't blame her for that … rattling someone with questions on their first day at school … she just left the Great Hall without any lunch, poor dear … was with Hagrid as far as I know, but – erm, Minerva, are you … alright?' For the Gryffindor head had just left her seat.

Minerva turned her head away; she knew she could not bear to hear more. Wishing her befuddled colleagues a hasty good-night, she left the staffroom, wondering if even Horace knew just how much truth there was to his words.

TBC

A/N: Hiya! Please let me know what you think … I really value your suggestions and reviews! I know Leto and Horace argue a lot, but I kinda like it that way. And, I so cannot imagine Pomona yelling; but in my opinion that's fits in okay. And I really like the end of the chappie better than anything else … " … wondering if even Horace knew how much truth there was to his words … " I like the sound of it. Well, that's all for this chappie! The next one is, of course, as mentioned earlier, a meeting between Albus and Minerva. School schedule is really hectic, but I'll try my best to update soon. Please review, though!

And some of you had some questions regarding the story; I really have no time to send individual replies, so kindly be content with reading my author's notes and finding out …

First of all, this takes place some fifteen years before the Marauders. Secondly, just to clear things up – THERE IS NO CONNECTION BETWEEN MIA AND RIVERS PHOENIX (the Ravenclaw geek) though it is a good idea, I really can't afford to change the story line now.

By the way, the chapter – Fame on the first day, has accidentally been labelled as Chapter 10, when it is actually chapter 9 … sorry for the error. Also, no one seems to have noticed, but I've twisted the "boats across the lake" scene a bit on purpose … hope you don't mind!

And for all those who had to wait almost 8 weeks (I think) for me to update, thousand apologies … hope this chappie was worth the wait!

- Adios Amigos! … I guess that's Spanish or Mexican for "Goodbye friends" … can't be too sure … I picked it up from a Speedy Gonzales cartoon my brother was watching … ;) C'ya!