"Amato Animo Animato Animagus," Minerva recited with the tip of her wand over her heart.
She said the words without fail every sunrise and sunset.
She went to sleep soon after, but woke to the sound of a light boom, God moving heaven's furniture around her father had told her and her brothers when they were younger, so they wouldn't be frightened by the sound. As if something so commonplace as thunder could frighten those rapscallions.
Tonight, she couldn't think of a more musical sound as she rushed to the window. A golden flash lit up the clouded, night sky. Tonight was the night she would become an animagnus.
Professor Dumbledore had seen the storm, too, and met her in the corridor. "Do you have the potion?"
"Yes, sir." She felt guilty about being out of bed after curfew, but it wasn't like she didn't have the approval of a teacher.
He led her to a trapdoor.
He must have sensed her puzzlement for he explained, "You need a large place to transform. What if you become a dragon? There's just no telling what you'll be, and you don't want to have someone interrupt midstream, the results could be disastrous. Therefore, a large and safe place is needed."
She was a little embarrassed she hadn't remembered that part. It was just all the excitement of it finally happening. If she did turn into some dangerous, magical creature in plain sight, she could just see Professor Kettleburn come running to capture her and show her off at the next class.
She descended the stairs into the darkness after Professor Dumbledore. He illuminated the way with his wand until they came to a empty room big enough to hold any creature she might turn into.
She didn't have to ask what to do next. She held the wand over her heart and recited one final time, "Amato Animo Animato Animagus."
She drank the potion she had saved all theses months, which oddly enough had a very fishy taste.
The stone floor rose up to meet her or rather she shrunk down to meet it. She felt the physical changes: sprouting fur, going to all fours, feeling her teeth sharpen under her tongue.
She looked up at Professor Dumbledore, who looked much sharper and brilliantly colored with her new eyes. He was possibly more thrilled than she was, which proved what a fantastic teacher he was. "I knew you could do it. This is a rare accomplishment!"
He pulled a mirror from his pocket so she could see herself. She was a tabby cat, gray with dark stripes. She would have snorted if she could have in her current state as she could see the outline of her spectacles in the markings of the cat. She supposed they were such a part of her, they had transformed with her.
There were so many things she wanted to try in this new form: her newfound physical prowess, her razor-sharp claws, her stellar hearing. But she had been out of bed long enough, and she was curious to see if it was as easy turning back as it was turning into a feline.
She bounded back into her true form as easily as if she'd been doing it all her life after clearing her mind of all but an image of herself.
Professor Dumbledore looked reflective. "A cat: intelligent, curious, physically capable, and possesses an inner strength. Your Animagus fits you well as they always do. You will probably find when you learn to make a Patronus that it will be a cat also. Though Patronuses are funny things. "
May could be a dreary month to her for it meant another school year was drawing to an end, but she felt like she was walking on air on her way back to her bed.
She didn't realize she'd been seen, and as she pulled the covers up, she heard, "So Minerva McGonagall sneaking out at night, has the world come to an end?"
It was just Vera. "It was part of a lesson, a final lesson. I'm an Animagnus now." She tried to say it soberly, but even she could hear the delight in her own voice.
"That explains a lot. What animal are you, and why did you hide it from me?"
"A cat, and I didn't mean to hide it. It's just Professor Dumbledore wasn't sure the headmaster would approve, but of course, I'm going to add my name to the Animagus Registry. It won't be a secret anymore, and it's not like I'm using my ability to transform to get away with devious, evil things."
Vera chuckled. "Trust me. Nobody that knows you would think that."
Minerva was glad her friend wasn't angry and happy to have it out in the open. She hated subterfuge.
"I've actually been keeping a secret as well. This was my last year." Vera said the last part in a rush as if the words would sting less pushed out faster. Like ripping off a Band-Aid, the pain was still there.
Minerva was shocked speechless.
"Don't take it hard," Vera begged. "I knew you would take it hard."
"Did I not help you enough? I can spend more time helping you next year. I won't be so busy now that my Animagus training is over, and Malcolm is as well-adjusted as he'll ever be."
"No, it had nothing to do with you. It's Frederick's last year. He did well enough on his OWLS, and he's already gotten a job offer training trolls for security."
A mediocre job with a mediocre income but one he would probably do well at. "Tell me you're not giving your education up for Frederick."
"No, I'm giving it up for me. Education is your dream, not mine. I've learned everything a witch needs to know. The rest of my learning would be nice to know maybe but not necessary and not worth the torture of two more years."
"What is your dream?" She felt like a lousy friend for not knowing.
"I want a little house of my own. I want to plant some self-fertilizing shrubs out front. I want to be Frederick's wife and have a houseful of children. Is there anything wrong with that?"
There was nothing wrong with wanting different things. "No, I wish you all the best."
Vera jumped out of her own bed and brought her into a tight embrace. Not a hugging kind of person, she awkwardly patted her. They really couldn't have been more different, but she was going to miss her terribly next year.