A/N: I do not own Harry Potter

Minerva McGonagall & Godric Gryffindor

The Forgotten Year.

Tuesday, January 24th, 1978

It was early hours when Minerva McGonagall decided she wasn't going to be able to sleep anymore that night, she had already had a shower and dressed in her robes with a warm cloak wrapped around her slim figure. Her brown hair pulled back in its signature bun as she walked from her chambers, quickly finding herself by Black Lake. She had always found it peaceful in the late evening or early morning when everyone else was in bed.

She had been sitting by the lake as the sun started to come up when she felt something hit her chest, she looked down and saw a small stone in her lap and felt something falling down her front, though before she could investigate she felt the familiar pull of time-travel.

Once she landed she was still in front of Black Lake, but the bench was no longer there, she pulled the chain from inside her robes and found the time-turner she had been wearing was now broken. "Oh for Godric's sake!" She cursed herself, she had been wearing it so it would be safe from dangerous hands and now she was stuck sometime in the past. Hearing someone approach she turned around and raised her wand, suddenly she was face to face with the founder of her house. "Godric?" She questioned carefully. "This can't bloody be happening."

Godric had heard his name from an unfamiliar voice as he walked around the grounds to get away from Salazar for a while, the school was nearly complete and would fully open in three years. "May I ask, who are you and how do you know me?" He questioned seeing that the woman was lowering her wand.

Minerva was nearly in shock as the founder spoke to her, internally she hoped it was a bad dream, but she knew better. "I'm Minerva McGonagall, transfiguration professor at Hogwarts and head of Gryffindor house. I am here by accidental time magic." She replied simply. "I know I'm somewhere in the 900s A.D., but I would like to know exactly when." She added as she looked behind him seeing the nearly completed castle.

He knew Rowena was studying time magic but he knew very little himself. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Minerva." He smiled. "It is the 20th of December 986." He explained with an apologetic smile. "Let me introduce you to the others, maybe Rowena can help you get home."

Letting out a breath she didn't know she was holding she gave a curt nod. "Thank you." She was grateful that he was so kind and willing to let her around the castle with only a few short words. "This is all quite a shock as I am from a time nearly a thousand years away." She sighed turning to look back at the Lake.

"A thousand years?" Godric questioned in shock. "We better be getting on than, the others were in the hall when I left them." He needed the others to meet this woman, something about her was intriguing. Quickly he turned on his heels heading for the entry doors near the Great Hall. Minerva quickly followed though she was nervous about meeting the other founders and possibly changing the future, but that was a thousand years away… Could she really mess everything up now. Once they entered the hall three others turned and looked at their friend and a stranger.

"What's all this?" Salazar questioned with a quirked brow.

Rowena walked over to the pair carefully looking the newcomer over with a questioning looked on her features. "McGonagall or Ross?" She stated simply causing Minerva to step back in shock. 'How would a founder know my muggle fathers name?' The head of Gryffindor thought to herself, before glancing at Godric.

"McGonagall, but my mother was a Ross." Minerva stated with a sigh. "How is my father's name known to you? He wasn't magical."

"The McGonagall's are a powerful clan, their magic can almost rival us." Rowena explains softly. "Some of them even helped with construction of the school." The founder of Ravenclaw was friends with a few of them though they preferred to stay under the radar. "The Ross Clan, though they can hold their own are not as powerful as some and so they keep to themselves. I could spot a member of either clan miles away"

Minerva listened to the history of her family, she could never have imagined her father's family was once more magically inclined than her mothers. "Now it makes sense why my grandfather wasn't shocked when my brothers and I started showing signs of magic." She sighed as her mind raced. Was her paternal grandfather actually a wizard or was he a squib and his parents magical, she didn't know but would research once back in her own time.

Rowena nodded and placed a hand on the new McGonagall's shoulder. "I am glad Godric found you, I cannot imagine what you may be feeling."

Salazar and Helga were now standing closer to Minerva, Godric and Rowena. "This is Minerva McGonagall; she will be the transfiguration professor and head of my house in a thousand years." Godric told the others proudly. "She will stay here until we can get her back to her own time." He added before turning to Minerva. "Though the school isn't completely open yet, we have started teaching classes to young ones, they come during the day and their parents pick them up in the evening. We have almost fifty students right now." He started explaining their own situation with a knowing look in his eyes. "I would like to offer you work teaching while you are with us, you may use another name if you wish to avoid history books."

At this suggestion Rowen and Helga nodded at the idea, Salazar taking a few more moments to agree. "At least it will keep my mind busy until I can get home." Minerva agreed. Teaching was the most important thing to her, so she was grateful that she would be able to do so in this time as well. "While I am here you may call me Athena McBride."