Harry Potter Alphabet

In which there is a character and a one-shot for each letter

Minerva McGonagall was the transfiguration professor at Hogwarts.

M is for Minerva McGonagall

Minerva McGonagall was tired. No, she was exhausted. This new batch of students was definitely a handful. She all but collapsed on her chair at the end of class. That was when she saw IT mixed in with what few essays had been handed in.

IT was a questionnaire, probably made by a student, and addressed to her. The first question was, "Why are you such a strict, killjoy of a professor?"

This was a shock to Minerva, she never saw herself as super-strict. She always thought of herself as caring for her students and helping them reach their full potential by instilling a deep respect for the rules. Maybe she could be going a bit far by taking points from her own house, but she would show her students that the world could be fair. No, she frowned, that couldn't be right. Life isn't fair, is it? Favoritism is rampant in the Ministry today.

She was stuck, why did she rely on the rules so much? She never thought it all the way through before. She just always stopped once she reached the idea that rules were meant to keep people safe. She made a mental note to think about it when she was less tired.

Now the next question, "Why don't you have a boyfriend?" My students sure are getting nosier these days. This one she knew the answer to, but she certainly was not going to write it down.

At the time it had seemed perfectly natural to take the job offer over the marriage offer. She loved to teach and transfiguration was her favorite subject. At the time she thought he might wait. If they really loved each other, it would work out all right in the end. He didn't wait and after him, she couldn't be with anyone else. She was too involved in her work. She shook her head as if trying to erase the unpleasant memories from her head.

What else had they asked, "Why is your animagus a cat?" She couldn't keep herself from sighing at this one. Didn't her students pay any attention in their first class with her? She guessed not. At least this one wasn't too personal, an animagus form is directly related to your personality and abilities. You don't get to pick one, it chooses you, almost like a wand. A wand is symbolic of who you are and what you are capable of. You don't get to pick that. Wait, calm down. There's no need to to rant about it to yourself, it's only a question.

Speaking of questions, "Did you ever know Tom Riddle?" She froze, how could any current student know who that boy grew up to be, let alone the fact that she went to school with him?

Her mind drifts back to those many years ago. She was in her second or third year at Hogwarts, it was all so long ago she doesn't remember exactly which, when she first saw him. The strange little boy who was so calm and collected he could only be hiding his fear, even from himself. Seeing his strange, cold smile when he was sorted into Slytherin. By all appearances, your typical pure-blood, full of himself and cunning.

Later he was made prefect with her. He had seemed charming at the time, but his close circle of friends? Creepy in their devotion. She could remember thing he could be cute if his stony face would only crack. She was a little afraid that he would be made of ice or something equally as cold and unfeeling beneath his mask, so she always left him alone.

Even now, years later, his icy demeanor still sent shivers down her spine. Especially considering what he became. But, no student needed to know all that.

She dismissed that thought and moved on to the last question, "Do you know who we are?"

She snorted, literally. If she knew who was bold enough to ask her these questions, even if only on parchment, she would have them in detention for the rest of the year for disrespecting a professor. Sadly, it could have been any students from the previous class. Too bad Fred and George weren't at Hogwarts anymore, they would be her first suspects. As it was, they left last year. She didn't blame them, in their situation she would have left too.

Anyway now that she wasted her time reading this worthless question sheet she could be on her way. Maybe she would retire early tonight and give her students another day to hand in their essays so she could get more sleep.

And so, stifling a yawn, Minerva McGonagall carelessly tossed the questionnaire in the wastebasket and left the classroom. Unknowingly leaving it to two disappointed first years, who were trying oh so hard to figure out what had happened to their enchanted parchment. It was charmed to ask people exactly the questions they did not want to be asked and was quite useful in practical jokes, but they couldn't find it anywhere.