Tom's years at Hogwarts flew by quickly. Tom strived to be the top student at Hogwarts and did so easily. He was on the quidditch team, chaser of course, and helped his team win many matches over the years. He was the Slythrein prefect his fifth and sixth years and then ultimately Head Boy his seventh year.
Tom made every decision based on his main goal. Would this make Minerva's life better or worse? The question he posed to himself served him well. His teachers adored him, the students respected him and he had made quite a lot of friends from all of the houses. His bestfriend, a half giant Gryffindor named Rebeus Hagrid, who was kind-hearted and loyal to a fault. Minerva had asked him to open his heart to others and he had been amazed at the fruit that it bared.
His father was proud of him and supported his need to make his own way. His uncle and cousin constantly sent him care packages and letters. He had never received one in his past lifetime while at Hogwarts and it made his heart swell when he saw them. The McGonagall clan had accepted him wholeheartedly and treated him as family already. And then there was Minerva, his brilliant little love.
He loved spending time with her but he had recently noticed the increased need to touch her. He would never touch her inappropriately until she was of age. As much as he loved their soul bond, he realized he had to keep their private interactions limited. With that in mind, he decided to travel and continue his education. He wanted to gain knowledge and his masteries.
"I don't want you to go," she yelled defiantly as she stomped her foot and crossed her arms much to the suprise of all present.
Tom smiled sadly at his 9 year old little love. Their families had met at the Hog's Head to say goodbye to Tom before he began his travels abroad. "Minerva," he said soothingly. "You know I must go. I have so much to learn yet and I have to go where the masters of the fields are."
"There are masters in Britain," she replied, her voice breaking slightly from emotion.
Tom turned her to face him and tucked a curl behind her ear. "There are," he agreed. "But we know I am destined to learn from abroad. How are we to change the bigotry in the Ministry if I am taught by those masters?"
"I will miss you," Minerva offered as her Scottish brogue was thick from her emotions, tears streaming down her face.
"As much as I will miss you," he pacified her. "I will write frequently and I will visit when I can. I promise I will be home for Christmas. Besides it wouldn't be much of a Christmas without my favorite person, would it?"
"Promise," she begged, tears streaming down her angelic face.
"Promise," he agreed as he drew her into his arms and held her tightly while she cried.
10 year old Minerva McGonagall flinched as spellfire errupted around her. The little town of Caithness was attacked by Grindelwald's forces. She knew this was different from her last timeline and didn't know what to do. She rushed towards her house and searched for her family.
Isobel McGonagall held her wand tightly in her grasp and barked orders. "Robert take the children into the basement and lock it. Minerva I need you to take my spare wand and activate the runes on it. There's no time to grab yours right now but it should work for you."
"But Mother," Minerva said frantically. "You won't be able to access the basement if I do that."
Isobel looked her daughter in the eye and smiled reassuringly. "As long as my family is safe I will be fine. You know I will not stand down when I can help. You go protect our family and I shall help our neighbors as much as I can."
Minerva struggled with her mother's stance but followed her father to the basement. She knew her mother wouldn't survive this battle without help. Minerva took a deep calming breath before she turned to her father. "I'm sorry Daddy," she whispered as she slammed the door shut from the outside and activated the runes. "Mother won't survive without help. I'm too much of a McGonagall to not help those that need it."
She ignored her father's tearful pleas as she rushed to the journal Tom had left her. Caithness is under attack! Need help now! I love you with all I am! she scribbled. Tom would be aware of her message immediately but she didn't know if help would arrive in time.
Steadying her emotions, she focused on the magic she had willed in her past lifetime and moved towards the attackers. Her mother's spare wand wasn't the best fit for her but it was usable. She used her surroundings as cover and fired spell after spell at the enemy. She had managed to drop 3 of them before they became aware of her presence.
As some of the wizards focused their attention on her, she briefly met her mother's gaze. Determined green ones met horrified blue ones. Minerva mouthed "I'm sorry" before focusing her attention back on the fight. She noticed her mother did as well.
It seemed as hours passed but she knew it was significantly shorter than that before help arrived. Albus, Aberforth and several others in red robes showed up. Aurors! she thought as she continued to fight. She watched as Aberforth moved towards her mother and then realized Albus was next to her fighting. Bloody fools were so noble and protective! It wasn't long until the fighting ended and all of the enemy either laid on the ground dead or captured.
Minerva was swept up into her mother's arms as she was squeezed tightly. Her mother's form was shaky as she looked Minerva over. Finding nothing but a few scrapes on her, she cried tears of relief. "What were you thinking," Isobel demanded angrily. "You could have been killed!"
Minerva met her mother's gaze and spoke earnestly. "You would of not been able to hold up against all of them. It would of been foolish of you to attempt it. I could not, would not, stand down while others needed me, especially when my mother was the only one available to hold the enemy at bay."
"You mean to tell me that a Potions Mistress and a child too young for Hogwarts held all of these witches and wizards off until we arrived," a senior Auror asked in disbelief. "We will have to get the Improper Use of Magic Office involved. That child should of never had that wand and certainly shouldn't have used it in front of muggles."
Before Albus or Isobel could say anything, Minerva replied back angrily. "This child is well aware of the laws. I have a right to protect myself from danger and I also am allowed to use magic in front of muggles when it is life threatening. Now if a group of Aurors felt the need to return spellfire than I can rest assured I made the right decision to protect myself regardless of my age."
"What about the wand?" the Auror asked in disbelief. "We still will need to involve Improper Use of Magic Office."
"You mean this stick," she asked with a raised eyebrow. "Surely an Auror can tell the difference between a wand and a stick."
The Auror looked at Minerva's hand and saw a stick. Flushed with embarrassment, he took the stick and ran test after test on it. "Seems it is a stick."
"Apologize to the lass for your deployable behavior and get back to the Ministry," a new voice boomed. "This lass and her mother should be treated like the heroes they are. Not questioned over mute points." Theseus Scamander, Head Auror, continued.
"I'm sorry Miss," the Auror stammered before moving away from her and fleeing from the scene.
Theseus greeted Albus and Isobel before he pulled her mother's spare wand from his pocket. He handed it to Minerva with a grin. "That was impressive magic," he said. "Switching the stick with the wand silently. How powerful will you be once you actually graduate Hogwarts?"
Minerva offered a huge smile to the Head Auror. "Far more than your senior Auror," she said unafraid. "It's a good thing I plan on joining the Department of Magical Law Enforcement once I graduate. You need all of the help you can get from what I have seen today."
Theseus Scamander chuckled at the audacity of the girl. He could feel the power radiating off of her. "Are you the one soul bound to Albus' son?" he asked curiously.
"I am," she answered proudly.
"He is quite proud of that fact too," he answered. "Tom is a friend of my younger brother. He notified me when he received your message. Calm, collected and able to focus during such an event is an amazing feat. I daresay you have already got a job waiting for you when you graduate Hogwarts." With that the man left and took control of the scene.
Minerva turned her attention back to her mother and Albus. Shock evident on both their faces. "Just what do you do in the future love," Isobel asked with a smile. "You were fearless just then."
"Just a little bit of this and a little bit of that," she said with a grin. "Let's go get Daddy and the boys out of the basement. I'm sure they are going insane by now."
"Very well," Isobel agreed. Apparently Minerva would keep her some of her secrets from them.