Authors Note:

Magitech: So far, I am enjoying the comments that you are sending me, they really help with the story line. To be honest I didn't have a set plot, I just had this idea pop into my head last week and it wouldn't leave.

DS2010: I am so glad you are enjoying the story so far.

To everyone else that has commented, liked, and followed, Thank you. It pleases me that everyone's enjoying the story so far.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Harry Potter world, that belongs to J.K Rowling.

Chapter 7

Later that night, once Harry was asleep, Minerva collapsed into her chair, not believing what Albus had said about her. She always looked up to Albus, even in her time as a student when he was her transfiguration teacher. Now she sees that he deliberately buried her with work that no one person could do on their own.

"Tilly, can you bring me a cup of hot chocolate with some Jameson whiskey in it? I need something to calm me down so I can think of what to do with this information." Minerva realizes that she must send a copy of the memory to the goblins and the DMLE, but who to trust in the DMLE? Like Axewielder said, some aurors are corrupt, and she must make sure this information ends up in the right hands.

While sipping her alcohol infused hot chocolate, she realizes she needs to talk with someone to bounce ideas back and forth, hopefully one of her fellow staff will listen.

Before she can even decide who to write to, she hears a tapping on her window. She looks up and sees a school owl at the window. "Now who would write to me at this time of night?" It may only be 9:30 in the evening but being up since 5am with a toddler makes for a long day indeed. She gets up and lets the owl in. It delivers the letter and heads over to a small feeding station Minerva has set up for times like this, meaning the owl is waiting for her to send a reply.

"Dear Minerva,

I am so sorry to hear about your brother and sister-in-law, I hope they recover quickly, and your 'niece' settles in well. I have a feeling she's going to be a tom boy with how you have described her in the past, so if you tap your wand to this letter, you will find some Mega Blocks and a train set for her to play with. I would like to come over at your earliest convenience and have a small chat with you. Please send a response with Shakespeare (I have a habit of naming the school owls) and I look forward to seeing you.

Sincerely,

Filius Flitwick"

Minerva sighs in relief, she has always enjoyed having coffee when she had time with Filius, along with the teatime with Horace. Glad that Filius reached out to her, she starts replying to his letter, hope filling her chest. She knows that he's part-goblin, so he may want to be in attendance when she brings the memory to Rockgrinder. Once she's done writing her reply, she calls Shakespeare over, and sends him back to Hogwarts.

The next thing she does, is starts writing a letter to Rockgrinder letting him know what her house elf has found out about the headmaster.

"Dear Rockgrinder,

I apologize for the late hour that I am writing you at, but my house elf was able to find out quite a bit of dirty laundry on one Albus Dumbledore. I am willing to share the memory with you, so please send me a letter with an appointment time that is convenient for you. I may also have another guest with me besides young Hendrick.

May your enemies cower at your sword

Sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall"

Before she can call for Tilly to deliver the letter, however, a flash of flame appears in her living room. Minerva's so shocked she drops her hot chocolate, the cup spilling her drink, but not shattering due to the carpet.

"Fawkes, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in the headmaster's office?"

Fawkes makes a motion for Minerva to come over to him and to hold out her hand. She does so, a bit reluctantly, and suddenly feels a small cut form on her hand. Fawkes quickly sheds a tear on the wound, allowing it to heal and bond himself to McGonagall.

"I am sorry about your hand, but this is the only way I can form a bond with you. Due to the headmaster's actions and what I heard in the office today, I could not stay with him anymore. How the mighty have fallen."

"What do you mean, form a bond? And did you have to scare me half to death flaming in here?" Minerva all but shouts but tries to keep her voice down with Hendrick sleeping upstairs.

"I never fully bonded with Albus, as bright as he was when he was younger, I could feel greed within him, and looking back I was right not to bond with him. I have always liked your fiery temper and I can tell you have a heart of gold, despite the trials that have plagued your past. I bonded with you to help take him down, I am sick of him treating me like a mail owl or a prize-winning pet. Let me know how I can help, but please DO NOT use me to send mail." Fawkes calmly explains.

"Well Fawkes, I am honoured that you chose me to bond with you, for now, would you be willing to help keep an eye on my son Hendrick? Truthfully, he is Harry Potter, I adopted him earlier today because I didn't agree with Albus to leave him on his relative's doorstep in the middle of the night. He woke up earlier this morning from a terrible nightmare, and although he has had the opportunity to nap, I have not. If you could help soothe him, just for tonight, it would be greatly appreciated."

"It would be an honour to watch over your son, I'm glad I trusted my instincts when I chose to leave Albus. May I ask why would one so young have such a nightmare? I didn't hear Albus mumbling about young Harry."

"His mother was killed in front of him by Lord Voldemort, formerly Tom Riddle, and he tried to kill Harry as well. Why he targeted the Potters I have no idea, even though I was in the Order of the Phoenix, I found Albus always lacked on the important information. Harry has an upcoming appointment with the goblins to heal him, I brought him to a goblin healer today, and we found out that not only did Albus bind young Harry's magic, but Tom Riddle also somehow got a horcrux to latch onto Harry."

"I can see why he would be having nightmares, and I am glad you brought him to the goblins. Although phoenix tears have healing powers, I cannot cleanse something so vile, for it would send me to my final burning day. I will watch over him tonight so that not only will he have a good night's rest, so can you."

"Thank you so much Fawkes. I will be having Filius over for coffee tomorrow morning, so if you would like to show yourself to Filius or stay hidden, I will leave the decision up to you." With this, Minerva shows Fawkes to Harry's room, and crawls into bed, hoping that tomorrow isn't as crazy as today was.

At Hogwarts, Filius is having a nightcap after informing his Ravenclaws that he will be away for a short amount of time, hoping that Minerva can trust him enough that she will tell him the full truth. Just as he's about to call it a night, he hears a tapping on the window and sees Shakespeare with a letter for him. He relieves the owl of the letter and allows him to go back to the owlery. Deciding one more cup of tea wouldn't hurt, he makes himself another cup to read the letter.

"Dear Filius,

Thank you so much for the toys, I am sure Jayne will love them, because truth be told, I played with toys like them with my brother in my younger years. If it isn't too much trouble, I would be glad to have you over for coffee at 10:30 tomorrow morning. Please do not let the headmaster know about this meeting, I'm not sure if you trust him, but once you hear what I have learned, I hope you don't go too crazy with the more creative charms and jinxes in your repertoire."

Sincerely,

Minerva."

Filius sighs once he finishes the letter, he has never liked the number of secrets that Albus keeps close to his chest, and promises himself not to jinx the headmaster, but may ask a few house elves to carry out a punishment, depending on what Minerva shares with him in the morning.

The next morning, Minerva wakes up refreshed and heads to her sons' room, realizing that the house is just a bit too quiet. When she gets to the nursery, she sees Fawkes hovering over the crib, with Harry giggling and sitting up trying to reach Fawkes tail feathers.

"Pwetty bird mama! He mine?" Harry says once he sees his mama standing in the doorway.

"Fawkes is a bird called a phoenix, he is our new family member and please don't try to grab his tail, he won't like you pulling out his tail feathers." She is pleasantly surprised that for 15 months, he has a decent vocabulary already. 'Might be a Ravenclaw if he keeps this up' Minerva thinks to herself. Looking at the clock and seeing that it's 8:00, she decides to bring Harry down and start the day, hoping that he doesn't wear his breakfast again, but knows that her son needs the hand eye coordination practice, and doesn't want to delay his development.

Once breakfast is over, and Harry is given another bath, deciding he would rather wear his pancakes than eat them, Minerva sets him in the living room with the Mega Blocks, while Doc happily plays Harry, Minerva goes to get ready for the day herself. Minerva then notices a letter on the counter by the coffee pot, and realizes that in her exhausted state, she forgot to send the letter to Gringotts.

"Tilly,"

"Miss calls Tilly?"

"Yes Tilly, did you send the letter I wrote to Gringotts last night?" Minerva asks.

"Tilly did Miss Kitty. I saw how tired you were, and I thought it may be important." Tilly replies.

"Thank you, Tilly, I meant to ask you to deliver it, but it was a long day yesterday. I am so glad I have you here. Now can you and Bashful help me get everything ready for a guest today? He will be arriving at 10:30, so we only have an hour before he arrives." Minerva explains.

"Bashful and I will have the coffee ready on time, and what treats would you like us to bake for this meeting?"

"Could you make some chocolate chip cookies, and some Spikelaas cookies? You know the recipes for them, and they are fairly easy to make."

"We can do that Miss; may we have some too?" Although Tilly knows that Minerva is a nice mistress, she still feels its polite to ask before taking something.

"Of course, you may Tilly, why don't you make a batch just for you, Doc, and Bashful to share, I will give Harry one later today." Minerva says. With that, Tilly and Bashful pop away to the kitchen to get everything ready, while Minerva heads to the living room to keep an eye on Harry and read the letter from Gringotts.