Chapter Twelve

It took significantly less time than Hermione had predicted. Within a few hours after leaving, Minerva returned with Snape, Severus, and Lupin. All four of them looked shaken and the woman all but suffocated the toddlers that had woken up shortly after her departure. She sat in the middle of the living room floor and made sure to hold each one of them as the men who went with her pulled Harry and Hermione aside to tell them what happened.

"We have a rather serious problem," Lupin told them.

"What?" Harry inquired.

"He's back. The Dark Lord. We watched him follow the children through a portal."

"Voldemort is back?" Harry asked for clarification.

Snape excused himself, "I need to go alert Dumbledore."

Sirius followed behind him as they each grabbed a handful of floo powder, "You're not going alone.

As the two men vanished from the fireplace, Lupin continued, "I don't even know if I believe what we just witnessed." He slowed down to gather his thoughts. "We arrived at Hogwarts. It was 1951."

Hermione looked puzzled, "Did it not work?"

"Oh no, Miss Granger." Lupin stopped to try and calm himself. They hadn't noticed before, but he was shaking pretty bad. "Everything worked accordingly. However, we assumed the children were from our time."

Harry seemed just as baffled as Hermione, "Are they not?"

Lupin placed his hand on the young man's shoulder, "They're not even from our reality."

"How is that possible? The time turner-"

"The time turner was able to send us back in time, but the spells we used sent us to them in another reality. One where Minerva happened to be their biological mother."

"What?" Hermione asked, sounding just as shocked as Harry looked.

The professor nodded, "When we arrived, we came across a younger version of Minerva. She was dating a boy named Thomas MacMillan. Yes, of the MacMillan's. He got her pregnant just before the school year started. After she gave birth to Liam, they moved into a small house in Hogsmeade. She had Rain and just before she had Sadie, a woman showed up from Romania. Preston's biological parents are the ones who helped start the sanctuary Charlie works at."

Harry asked, "The one in Romania?"

"The very same. His mom showed up a few months before Sadie was born. Apparently she had been asking around to a family to take Preston and Minerva told Dumbledore to let her know they would adopt him. A little while later she had Ashe and Emmett, who happen to be twins." He paused to let them take in all the information he'd just shared.

"He's dead," Minerva told them from where she was sitting, holding Preston as tightly to her as she could. "He killed Thomas and tried to kill the children. I sent them here to protect them. I think the reason they have memories of being adults is because I tried to replace their old memories with new ones to make them forget about everything, but not each other. Something must have happened during the process and they have these memories of a life they couldn't have possibly lived yet."

Dumbledore apparated into the room they were all occupying and asked Minerva, "Is it true?"

Minerva, who had been fighting tears, simply nodded before telling him, "We need to find a better way to hide them. He knows where we are."

The headmaster told Harry and Hermione, "You two come see when you're done here. I need to have a word with you." He looked at his long time friend and reassured her, "We'll find a way to fix this."

Without another word, he apparated out of the room, leaving Minerva to clutch her children while Lupin, Harry, and Hermione talked amongst themselves until Sirius and Snape returned. It took a while, but eventually both men walked in from the front door with a few books, some potion supplies, Neville Longbottom, and even Madam Hooch. The school's flying instructor had spent time fighting in both wars and was well enough equipped to help move the children.

"Who should I take with me?" Rolanda asked McGonagall.

The other woman was confused, "What do you mean?"

"Right. I suppose they wouldn't have had the chance to speak with you about this yet."

Snape told her, "We decided it will be safer to have you and the children up at the castle. I know you've enjoyed living here, but we will have an easier time keeping them safe if we have more people close by."

Minerva nodded, "It's almost summer time. I suppose we would have made the change to live there during the break anyway."

Rolanda asked, "Would you like some help getting everything together?"

Hermione walked over and told the professors, "I'll keep an eye on them while you get everything you need."

Minerva gave the student a brief and gentle squeeze, "Thank you for your help, Hermione."

"Of course, Professor."

Madam Hooch was gathering up the blankets and clothes that Minerva had sitting on the dining table, waiting to be folded and put away. Minerva handed her a large diaper bag that had an extension charm on it, leaving plenty of space for them to pack everything. Without missing a beat, Rolanda tapped the bag when they were done packing and it disappeared. It would show up in Snape's office, where he had the door warded. Minerva went upstairs to pack clothes and shoes once they reverted the students back to being eleven years old. With the summer break coming up, she knew they would be spending a lot of time outside, helping the children get caught up on all their schooling. She knew they would need every piece of clothing they owned that was summer appropriate. Luckily for the current situation, their selection was limited, which meant less packing and a family trip to Diagon Alley.

Instead of following her colleague and friend up to the other rooms, Rolanda stayed downstairs with Hermione and helped look after the children. At one point Minerva looked over the balcony to find the flying instructor comforting Rain, who'd woken up feeling a bit cranky. Minerva had never seen the other woman with a baby before, so it was a little surprising to see. Even after returning to the packing she could hear Rolanda talking to calm the crying toddler. Of course Snape eventually felt the need to step in and give her pointers on the best way to settle Rain. Before disrupting what was going on downstairs, Minerva tapped the suitcase full of clothes to send it away.

"Everything for the children is packed," Minerva announced as she made her way back down to everyone.

Lupin told her, "Sirius packed clothes for you, Severus, and himself. I packed my bag as well."

"Good. Where are they?"

Sirius kissed her on the cheek as he walked by her, "Already waiting at the castle, dear. I'll take Emmett and Preston. Remus will take Sadie and Liam."

Lupin tipped his head toward his friend in confirmation as he walked over and picked up the two toddlers he was told to get. The pair stepped outside where four Bluebottle brooms were propped up against the side of the house. As they flew off toward the school, Madam Hooch and Minerva bundled up Ash and Rain before mounting their brooms. Caught off guard once again, professor McGonagall watched as Rolanda easily put Ash into her harness. It took Minerva a few tries to get any of them into one, but Hooch managed to do it on the first try.

As they flew up and over the trees, Minerva said, "You do very well with babies, Rolanda."

"Is that so? I felt a bit rusty."

"Rusty?"

"Well it's been several decades since I've had to look after an infant." Minerva's puzzled look earned her an explanation from her friend. "I was married briefly in the thirties. Ronaldo and I had a daughter in 1931. Genevieve."

"Rolanda, you never mentioned any of this."

The woman smiled, but there was a sting behind it. "I know. That's because she was stillborn."

"Rolanda I-"

"It's alright, Minerva. Honestly. I don't talk about it because no one knew. We met, got married, and had a baby all in the same year. It was love at first sight and we thought we were destined to be together."

As they approached the school and Minerva was still processing the story the Madam had told her on the way to Hogwarts. She watched on in disbelief, trying to make sense of everything in her head as they rounded the final corner to McGonagall's office. Rolanda stopped dead in her tracks, causing Minerva to run into her. The professor poked her head around the flying instructor to find a student had nearly collided with them.

"What are you doing out of bed, dear?" Minerva asked.

The girl stammered, "I-I'm sorry."

She noticed the girl looked a little dazed and like she'd been crying. Recognizing the signs of a nightmare, McGonagall handed rain to Rolanda and reached out to try and guide the girl back to her room. Her plan was to calm her down along the way. Without warning, the girl recoiled hard enough to fall to the ground as she let out a loud shriek. As Rain began to cry, Madam Hooch made a B-line for their original destination while Minerva stayed back to help the student who was scrambling to her feet. Minerva put her hands up to show she wasn't a threat, but the girl turned and sprinted away.

"I'll be back!" Minerva called to Rolanda as she leapt into her feline form and ran after the girl.

It had been a few months since Minerva discovered Storm Malfoy wandering through the halls after a horrific nightmare. She'd brought the girl back to her classroom, seeing as there were no other first year girls from Slytherin to keep her company. After some consideration, she concluded that the best thing she could do was look after the girl for the next few weeks until summer break. It was perfect, because Snape had finished brewing a potion to reverse the aging on the students the following day. Unfortunately Minerva had to face the task of informing the students about the information they obtained while they were still under the effects of their potion.

They were all shocked to learn they were McGonagall's biological children from another reality and Lord Voldemort had killed their father during a duel in which he had tried to kidnap them so that he could use them for their powers. Snape, Sirius, and Lupin did their best to remove the memory block that had been put in place by their mother, but it would take some time for them to get all their memories back. As best they could figure, the other Minerva tried to erase and replace their memories so that they would still have each other, but wouldn't be in danger of Voldemort coming after them. She wasn't planning on him following them through time and space, but he did.

Each day that passed, the children's power restored to what it was before they were flung from their reality and it became abundantly clear as to why the Dark Lord was hoping to recruit them for his army. They were a lot more powerful than other wizards their age and Minerva suddenly found herself in the position she'd witnessed her alternate self trying to maintain while they were tracking down the children. They were fast learners and great at thinking on their feet. Half the time they would come up with a plan that was certain to fail, but they somehow managed to avoid near disaster every time.

On top of looking out for her own children, Minerva now felt compelled to keep an eye on Storm Malfoy. She knew the girl had a gift for transfiguration, but the child kept to herself and stayed out of trouble to the point where she almost avoided making any sort of contact with anyone. There were a few nights between the time their paths crossed and the start of summer break that the professor got the distinct feeling there was something more to this particular student, other than the fact that she was the child of Lucius and Narcissa. She was nothing like her older brother and Minerva's own children had even seemed to grow fond of the girl before they had to tell her goodbye at the end of the school year.

"Mom, is she here yet?" Sadie asked as she ran up behind Minerva with Rain.

Minerva turned her attention from the path in front of her to her daughter, "Not yet, sweetie."

Rain looked up at her mom from under the umbrella she was holding as she took a step closer and inquired, "Can we go out to the end of the path?"

"As long as you don't leave my line of sight."

The two girls looked at each other excitedly before running down to the end of the path. Within a few minutes the other children had followed and were all standing under the one umbrella. Occasionally Minerva would see one of them step out to let the rain fall on them, but then quickly return to the safety of the umbrella.

"They're getting better with their magic," Rolanda said as she approached Minerva.

McGonagall nodded, "It would appear so. I never thought I'd see the day when someone put an extension charm on their umbrella."

"How long do you think it will take before one of them gets sick of being cold and adds another charm?"

"Oh trust me, that was likely the first charm they put on it. Rain likes the cold, but she also likes being able to get some place warm as soon as possible. She sneaks them into the pockets of my coats and the inside of my robes."

Lupin walked up and asked, "Any sign of the students?"

"Not yet."

Rolanda added, "Hopefully they get here soon. Rain and Sadie seemed overly excited to see Storm."

Minerva confirmed, "Rain mentioned her a lot over the summer break. I think she's just excited to have a friend that doesn't mind her being quiet."

Their conversation was cut short when Snape came into view from the edge of the walkway, the carriages slowly creeping up behind him. He continued making his way toward the school, but then stopped when he caught a glimpse of Storm amongst the crowd of students. Minerva's children called and waved to their newest friend as Snape escorted her to them. All of them turned to follow the professor up the path to the school. Minerva smiled as she watched Rain gesture at the blonde girl walking alongside her.

"She seems overly excited to see her," Rolanda said.

Lupin chuckled, "She definitely has a soft spot for the Malfoy girl."

Snape stepped up to his partner before anyone else could speak a word and told her, "I need to speak with you and Rolanda. Now."

Minerva nodded and instructed her kids, "Go back to my office with Remus, please."

"But mom, we-"

She stopped Rain from finishing her complaint, "You need to help get Storm settled in first since she'll be staying with us. Besides, the rain is only going to get worse, there's not much you would be able to do outside anyhow."

Rain sighed, "Fine."

Snape didn't hesitate to lead the two women to his office. Once he knew they were out of earshot of anyone hearing, he told them, "The Malfoy's are abusing Storm."

Rolanda took a couple of quick steps to get caught up with her friend so she could look him in the eye when she asked, "How do you know?"

They rounded the corner of the hall that sat outside his classroom and he replied, "Because I witnessed it happen with my own two eyes."

Minerva waited until they were in the classroom and the door was shut before letting her emotions get the better of her, "Why didn't you do something?"

"Like what, Minnie?" He sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair, "If I'd try to take on Lucius right then and there, it would have been a disaster. I couldn't just take her and run."

"You should have!"

"I know!" Snape shouted as he turned and shot daggers at Minerva with his eyes.

"Then why didn't you, Severus?! She is a child! She can't defend herself and if this has been going on for long enough, that would explain why she doesn't speak very much and why she doesn't like anyone touching her."

Snape growled, "If I could have brought her back with me, don't you think I would have?"

Rolonda stepped between them and said, "We can't change what has already happened, but we can do something to prevent it from happening again."

Minerva fumed to the room as she responded, "We can send them to Azkaban."

"I can't believe I'm the one telling you this, but let's not be rash," Snape warned. "If we aren't careful, things could get worse for the girl."

"We need to go speak with Dumbledore. Something has to be done," Minerva told the other two as she turned on her heels and headed toward his office.

"You expect us to just sit here and do nothing?" Rolanda asked Dumbldore for clarification.

"We can't do anything right now. There's no one in place at the Ministry that we could report this to," He explained. "If we had enough aurors I would insist you go to the Ministry with this information. For now, the best we can do is find a solution that doesn't require higher authority."

"Like what?" Minerva almost hissed.

Snape offered, "I think I can convince Lucius that his daughter has great potential and would require a little extra training over the winter break."

Minerva began to pace, "But what about over the summer? We can't just let her go back there for that long. If she's being beaten, then we need to keep her safe."

Dumbledore responded carefully, "Minnie, I know you have a soft spot for the children, but Storm isn't one of them."

The older woman looked at him, almost seething, "She is a child, Albus. I've taken her into my home. You expect me to just sit here and wait? And I should have a soft spot for those children. They are mine."

"As much as-"

"No, Albus. I witnessed myself give birth to them. I watched as I walked home from the Hogwarts hospital wing with Preston after his mother came to you and said she couldn't keep him. I watched their father die and I watched as I fought to keep Voldemort from getting through that portal. To everyone here it may have only seemed like a couple of hours, but Sirius, Severus, and I were there for years. Watching them."

"Minerva, I'm sorry. I was not implying that you-"

Minerva retracted slightly, "No, I know… I'm just… I think we need to do everything we can to keep her safe. Even if that means I need to take her in."

Madam Hooch questioned, "Are you sure that's the best option? I've seen the way Rain looks at her. You could be taking on a much bigger task."

Dumbledore chuckled, "Rain has taken a liking to Storm?"

Snape droned, "To say the girl has a crush on her would be an understatement."

"What other choice do we have right now?" Minerva asked in hopes of someone coming up with a better solution.

"For now, I think it would be wise to let Storm stay with people she's already learned to trust." Dumbledore took a seat behind his desk and told them, "Let's just make sure to keep a close eye on her and Rain."

"They're twelve, I don't think they'll be much of a problem," Snape remarked.

Minerva reminded him, "You have to pull apart two thirteen year olds at the end of the previous school year. Also, keep in mind that this is my daughter we're talking about. She prefers to keep us all on our toes."

As Mcgonagall turned to leave, Rolanda followed quickly behind while Snape said goodbye to the headmaster. By the time he had caught up to his partner and the flying instructor, Minerva was going on about how something seemed fishy about Dumbledore's almost uncaring reaction. He had to admit, it did seem a bit strange that Albus sounded unfeeling and a bit more cold than everyone else, but he could have been trying to keep a level headed attitude about things.

"I don't know what's going on, but for now we can't trust him with matters regarding Storm," Minerva told them. "For the time being I don't have a problem looking after her. She's quiet and keeps to herself most of the time. The children mostly center their activities around her, so maybe she will have more success at getting them to stay indoors."

As they approached the door to where Minerva and the kids would be staying, Rolanda asked, "Is it really a good idea to not keep him up to date with Storm?"

Minerva shook her head, "It's the only choice we have right now. There was something about his reaction to the news that just doesn't seem right. I'm all about following the rules, but in cases like this I think the rules need some bending." As she opened the door and stepped in, she turned and told both of them, "For now let's just brainstorm ideas of how to keep her out of harm's way."

"Mom, where's my wand!" Ash called from somewhere inside their new residence.

"On top of your bookshelf, dear," She responded as the youngest of her three girls walked up behind her. The child thanked her and ran off just as she turned and told them, "We can meet together tomorrow night and discuss our options."

Sadie's voice screeched, "Preston, give it back! I swear I'm not afraid to curse you!"

Followed by Rain, "Wingardium leviosa!"

The sound of crashing caused Minerva to stiffen up, "If you'll excuse me, I'm sure we all have things we need to get done before the new first year students get here. I apparently need to prevent my children from killing each other."

The first night of the school year was always exciting for returning students. There was a mixing of fear for the new wizards joining their ranks, but it usually faded after the feast. The previous year Minerva didn't have to worry about it too much, because she wasn't having to look after six of her own children and their friend. This year had already proved challenging and they'd only just finished up with the Welcoming Feast.

As the entire McGonagall clan made their way back home with Sadie in tote, the children stopped multiple times to goof off and toy around with their increased power. Ever since the reversal of the spell that created their false memories, Minerva's children had begun to see an improvement in their skills and abilities. This meant they had more magic charged up and ready to go at almost any moment. Luckily, they were well aware of what could happen if they didn't learn to control it, so they'd started teaching themselves with the help of their mother and Hogwarts professors.

"Mom," Rain started, "Do you think I'd be able to conjure a horse?"

Minerva sighed, "Please don't."

"So I could?" The girl asked excitedly.

"Let's not find out," Minerva replied, "Maybe one day we can see, but let's not make today that day. We all have to get up early and I am exhausted."

"We could always try-"

Minerva stopped and pulled Rain aside, "I know you're excited about what you can do, but we already talked about the exchange of energy. It's not possible in the way that you and your brothers and sisters are wanting to use it. Even if you could give and take from each other, it would be dangerous."

"But-"

"No, Rain. You heard what Snape said. If it were possible you could all become addicted to it." She looked over at the rest of her menagerie at the end of the hall, smiled, and said, "Now go catch up."

The girl sprinted toward her siblings and caught up just as they rounded the corner. They could hear Minerva shouting down to them to not go too far, which they took as an open invitation to wait and mess around with their magic while she caught up to them. Storm stood off in the corner behind the circle, but everyone noticed, so they rearranged themselves to include her. Even though she was still a bit shy with them, they weren't with her and wanted to make sure she felt welcome.

"I think I figured out how to make electricity," Preston announced as he opened his hand. They all stared at his palm as he tried to concentrate on reproducing his results, but all that happened was a small flash. "It worked better earlier."

Emmett pointed out, "It was also raining earlier."

Preston snapped and pointed at Emmett, "Good point."

Rain whispered, "If we can learn how to do that energy transferring, we could probably give you enough power."

"Energy transferring?" Storm asked in a similar whisper.

"Why are we whispering?" Liam interjected before his sister could answer.

Rain flicked her wrist and a hint of static filled the air, "There we go, chamber of silence, are you happy now?"

"I just wanted to know why we were whispering."

"Because mom doesn't want us to try and learn about transferring our energy."

Storm spoke up, "Is that even possible?"

Rain nodded, "I wouldn't be surprised if we could figure it out. Wanna help?"

The feeling of cold rushed past them and they turned to see Snape standing over them, "I thought we had this discussion already. No silencing charms for the foreseeable future. It's how people sneak up on you."

Rain shrunk down as she responded, "Sorry."

"I'll let it go this time, but if I catch you again, I'll be taking points." He looked up and saw a shadow approaching, "Now go back to your discussion, your mother is coming."

As Snape walked away, Rain whispered to Storm, "We'll explain it to you later."

Minerva rounded the corner and Preston quickly announced, "And that's why Wolfsbane and Monkshood are different."

"Preston, do I need to have Neville spend more time with you this year?" His mother asked.

"Huh?"

Rain sighed, "Idiot."

"Come along, children, we need to get home."

As they began walking to the area of the castle they were living in, Sadie elbowed her brother and said, "Wolfsbane and Monkshood are the same plant, you moron."

"Are you sure, because I could have sworn-"

Sadie tapped Rain's shoulder, "Rain, you're the botanist."

"Are you talking about the Wolfsbane thing?" With a confirmation nod from her brother and sister, she replied, "They're the same thing." She looked up ahead at their mom, who was leading the pack and whispered, "Luckily, I think she's just used to hearing you say stupid shit."

"Hey," Preston started, "One of us had to cover. I'm quick on my feet."

Rain chuckled, "Odd for someone who always has their foot in their mouth."

"Hey!"

Minerva turned and called over her shoulder, "Rain, come up here with me. I don't need the two of you dueling before bed."

"But we-"

"Rain, please."

The girl groaned as she trudged to the front of the group and walked on the left side of their mom. She and Preston shouted harmless banter to one another until they got to where the rest of the students had crowded in the courtyard. The returning students started whispering as the group passed. The previous year had been chaotic and the rumor that Voldemort was back had somehow begun to circulate. Nearly everyone blamed the McGonagall children, despite no one else knowing the link between the two sides.

Once they'd passed the crowd, the children started talking again. It was clear that the forced isolation had conditioned them to get quiet when in the presence of other students. The heavy reality of their situation hit Minerva as they approached the front door and she fought back tears as she instructed everyone to get ready for bed. Sirius, who had got home an hour or so before they did, could tell there was something bothering his lover, but he knew she would talk about it with him when she was ready or after all the children fell asleep. He helped her remove her robe before the two of them sauntered off to get ready for bed like everyone else. The first day of classes started in the morning and they all needed their rest.