Minerva McGonagall walked briskly down the London street, her long skirt flowing loosely past her knees, the bright emerald jacket wrapped around her sparkling in the sunlight. Her face was composed in her usual stern expression, but her eyes betrayed a sense of uneasy. As she ascended the large stone steps, she scorned herself for being irrational. This child was no different from many others she had to visit this summer, as she had done every summer since being appointed Deputy Headmistress. Over the years many of them had had unknown parentage. Just because the child happened to have the ancient wizarding name of 'Black' did not mean she was connected with that particular family. After all, she reasoned, the Muggle world was so vastly populated these days it was bound to happen the surname 'Black' would occur in a Muggle-Born child. As she reached the large door at the top of the stone steps she shook herself. No, she was being ridiculous. Glaring at the peculiar Muggle contraption referred to as a 'Doorbell' she sniffed indignantly before ignoring it, raising her fist and knocking twice.

A couple minutes later the door opened and a young girl of no more than fifteen appeared on the other side. The young girl blinked a couple times, taking in the brightness of McGonagall's jacket, taking a step back to get the full affect, her large hoop earrings swinging in the process. After a short time had passed and the young girl was still looking her up and down, McGonagall cleared her throat loudly. Shaking her head as if coming out of a trance the girl retreated out of the way, allowing McGonagall in.

'Hiya, how can I 'elp ya?' The young girl asked once the elder woman had crossed the threshold into a small messy reception.

'Ms McGonagall' The witch said, stretching her hand out to the girl, who raised a curious eyebrow before shaking the older woman's hand, the older woman flinching as the young girl's nail extensions grazed her palm. When the girl didn't offer her name in response McGonagall went on stiffly, irritated by this young lady's lack of manners 'Shouldn't you be in school?'

'Work experience, Miss' the young girl replied, a piece of gum visibly moving in her mouth as she spoke.

'I came to see Ms Bradshaw about the young Persephone Black.' McGonagall stated, having no clue what 'work experience' meant. 'I have an appointment.' She added impatiently.

'Ah right, I heard about that, caused quite a stir' the young girl said, visibly illuminated at being able to share this gossip.

'What do you mean?' Asked McGonagall cautiously, considering whether a Memory charm would be necessary.

'Well y'know, like, til she was five the little babe lived with a batty old girl who called herself her 'Nana' and yet had no children herself. Quite the scandal I heard' the girl recounted, her eyes sparkling behind her extended eyelashes. ' After the old girl passed away the little babe was brought here. The old bill never worked out where the little babe came from, there weren't never a birth certificate or nothing like. The little one just said her name was Persephone Black, and who could argue different?' The girl concluded before lowering her voice to a whisper 'I reckon the mad old bat kidnapped poor Penny myself' she confided 'Felt lonely in her old age, or something like that'

'I think' McGonagall said sternly 'That you should keep such serious and unproven speculations to yourself.'

'Y...Yer Miss' the young girl flushed scarlet under McGonagall's fierce glare 'I'll fetch Mrs Bradshaw for ya Miss' the girl mumbled before shuffling quickly out the room through a small door. She returned a few minutes later with a short round woman, that, like the young girl, paused to take in McGonagall's unusual appearance. Stretching her hand forward she introduced herself 'Mrs Bradshaw'.

'Ms McGonagall' the taller witch responded, taking the round woman's hand.

'You are hear about little Miss Black, correct?' Mrs Bradshaw inquired, circling around the messy reception desk to tap on a computer keyboard as McGonagall nodded 'Chantelle, go see if Connor needs his nappy changing' addressing the young girl, who quickly exited the room with a nervous glance at McGonagall.

'Sorry about her' Mrs Bradshaw apologized 'Kids these days' McGonagall nodded, a ghost of a smile playing on her lips. 'Speaking of which' Mrs Bradshaw continued 'I'm afraid we have had a slight hiccup in checking your references and the apparent school you represent' Mrs Bradshaw looked up at McGonagall with concerned eyes.

'Elaborate' McGonagall said, readying her wand.

'Well you see' Mrs Bradshaw said, shifting uncomfortably in her seat 'In this day and age, children's safety comes first, and unless you can validate yourself...I mean...If Persephone was to come to any harm it could reflect badly on us' Mrs Bradshaw finished hastily.

'What exactly' McGonagall's voice lowered dangerously 'Is it you are accusing me and my school of?' she demanded her eyes glaring at the round woman, who shrank away from the intensity of the gaze.

'Nothing' she replied quickly, wringing her hands nervously 'I'm not accusing you of anything. It's just...well' she shrugged, looking almost apologetic. McGonagall sighed, pulling a piece of parchment from her jacket pocket. Quickly tapping it with her wand she handed it over to the round woman.

'Here is all the validation you require' she said as Mrs Bradshaw's eyes unfocused and refocused.

'It all appears to be in order' Mrs Bradshaw said dreamily 'I will take you to see young Penny immediately where you can discuss the next stage of her application to your school.' Mrs Bradshaw rose from her seat ad practically drifted towards the door, leading McGonagall through several corridors and flights of stairs before coming to a small wooden door. A sign on the door read 'Persephone Black', underneath it a large road sign said 'Keep Out!' Ignoring this, Mrs Bradshaw knocked once and without pausing opened the door.

Inside was a cramped bedroom, with a wardrobe, bed and bookcase all squeezed into the small space. On the bed was an very large old desktop, resting on a small child's legs, obscuring most of her face and head from view. Despite the two women entering her room, the little girl did not raise her eyes but continued to tap away at the keyboard on her lap, apparently absorbed in her work.

'Penny dear, you have a visitor, a Ms McGonagall' announced Mrs Bradshaw 'I'll leave you to it, you have much to discuss' she said, quietly retreating out of the small wooden door, closing it behind her. McGonagall remained still, waiting for the child to acknowledge her. The minutes past.

'You know its rude to ignore someone' McGonagall finally relented, realising that the girl was not going to respond 'If you would mind as to put away your...toys' McGonagall gestured the unfamiliar items on the bed. McGonagall heard a small sigh, as the girl clicked something on her screen before untangling herself from the desktop. Swinging her legs over the bed she got to her feet, her features suddenly being thrust into the light. McGonagall could not suppress the gasp that escaped her lips.

In front of her stood an eleven year old version of the infamous Bellatrix Lestrange, maiden name Black. The girls hair curled into the familiar bird nest, her cheekbones already prominent and impressive, a familiar scowl already formed on her features. The only thing that revealed that this was not in fact a young Bellatrix was that instead of the eerily black eyes, in their place was bluey green eyes. These uncommon eyes were currently narrowed with clear suspicion.

'Who are you?' The miniature Bellatrix demanded, her voice revealing none of the accent the young Chantelle displayed 'What do you want?' The voice was powerful, insistent. McGonagall shivered involuntary, a million questions coming to her head. Pushing them aside she resumed her business-like composure.

'Hello Persephone, I am...' McGonagall began

'Penny.' The young girl interrupted. Unlike the previous two woman, Penny did not squirm under the glare McGonagall gave her, but instead met her gaze unrelentingly.

'Penny' McGonagall corrected 'I am Professor McGonagall and I...'

'Professor?' Penny interrupted again 'Professor of what?'

'Interrupt me again, young lady' Threatened McGonagall 'And I will turn you into a ferret'

Penny sniggered, 'A ferret? Surely you mean a toad? What, you saying you are a witch or something?' Penny snorted, rolling her unusual eyes in impatience.

'Yes.' McGonagall replied simply. Penny froze, frowning at McGonagall as if trying to work out if she was being serious or not.

'Yes what?' Penny asked curiously, not sure if she had understood the older woman correctly.

'You asked me a question, I answered it' retorted McGonagall, growing weary of this girl's attitude 'You asked, in a manner of speaking, if I was indicating I was a witch. I believe yes is the term for confirming things.' Penny's frown deepened as she digested this. Finally she looked up at the older woman.

'Prove it' she challenged with a glare to rival McGonagall's own.

'First of all, young lady, you need to learn some manners.' McGonagall replied looking down at the small girl. 'If we are to progress any further with this, you will learn to refer to me as 'Professor McGonagall' or simply 'Professor'. Is that understood?'

'But..' Penny began.

'Is that understood?'

'YES...Professor' Penny said finally. As she looked up expectantly at the tall woman, McGonagall flicked her wand at the desktop that lay on the small bed. In a blink of an eye it transformed into a massive python. Penny gasped.

'Oh my lord, it is true' Penny hissed at the snake, unsurprised when it tilted its head in curiosity. McGonagall froze, looking from the young girl to the snake, before flicking her wand, and the desktop retook its form. McGonagall stared down at the little witch, inspecting her face thoughtfully.

'You really are a witch' Penny stated bluntly staring wide eyed at the taller witch, before eyeing the wand in her hands. 'Does that mean I am a witch? I mean, Professor, with the things I can do?'

'What things can you do Penny?' Asked McGonagall.

'Lots of things' gushed Penny 'I can make things move' she said, eyes flicking to a cable out of the desktop, making it visibly levitate 'I can make broken things work without fixing them, I can make things burn, I can make plants grow before my eyes' she continued looking lost in thought.

'And you can talk to snakes' McGonagall pointed out, her guts twisting uncomfortably.

'Yes' breathed Penny excitement spreading over her face, giving her a slightly crazed look that made McGonagall recoil slightly. Coming out of her thoughts she looked up at McGonagall questioningly. 'As I'm a witch, and you are a witch, does that mean I get to come live with you now?' She asked hopefully.

'What?' McGonagall snapped 'No.' Seeing how crestfallen the young girl looked she continued 'I am Professor McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and the reason I am here today is to offer you a place at my school.' McGonagall let out a sigh of relief. At long last she had actually gotten to say her usual opening sentence. Penny's eyes widened even further as she simply stared for a few seconds.

'A school...of witchcraft?' She said slowly 'You mean of magic?' She continued as McGonagall nodded 'But...it is boarding? I have no money, I can't afford school fees' she rushed on, panic clear in her eyes as McGonagall raised her hand to cut her off.

'All is explained in your letter' she said drawing out a large padded letter from nowhere and handing it to the young girl. 'There is a fund for cases such as yours' she said handing Penny a fairly large bag of coins. 'It also includes your school kit list, I shall return in a couple weeks to escort you in purchasing all your necessary items. Any questions you have you may ask me then.' McGonagall finished before adding 'By magical law, you must not reveal any of this to your Muggle, non-magical people that is, counterparts. Is that understood?' Penny nodded. 'In that case I must be off, it was good to meet you Miss Black.'

'It was good to meet you too, Professor' Penny replied for the first time smiling up at the older witch. However as McGonagall paused to look over the young girls face the smile turned to a look of concern. 'You are afraid of me.' Penny stated bluntly. 'Why?'

McGonagall hesitated before saying 'I am not afraid of you, Miss Black.'

'You are lying' Penny retorted, anger flashing in her eyes 'I always know when people are lying to me.'

'Well that is a good skill to have' McGonagall said curtly 'Goodbye Miss Black.' she added before leaving a little bit too fast to hide her unease. She felt her anxiety increase as she contemplated the girl she had just met. There was no denying who was her mother, the resemblance rivalled even that of Potter and his father. But who was the father of this remarkable child? Rodolphus Lestrange? It was the only option. Unless it was...

'Merlin's beard, for all our sake's do not let that be!' McGonagall prayed aloud as she descended the stone steps. For if that was the truth, this child could one day kill them all. McGonagall shuddered as she disapparated.