A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews, messages, subscriptions, and favourites. It means the world to me.

For the disclaimer, please see the prologue.

Chapter Thirteen: Autumn Term, 1942, Pt. III

Aidan Scrimgeour was confused. He had never seen Minerva be anything but composed. She had fun, sure, and she had a secret wicked streak, but she had always kept her emotions in check. However, since that night a few weeks ago when she had randomly wept on him for two hours straight, she had become entirely deranged.

Minerva was still completing her duties with aplomb, never missing Quidditch practice or patrol. She appeared to be getting all of her homework done, and her grades certainly weren't suffering. To anyone who knew her only as "Miss McGonagall," she was fine. To those who knew her as "Minerva," she had lost the spark that kept her eyes such a vivid emerald. Aidan had noticed that she wasn't eating, she sat in the back of all of her classes, she made him report to Dumbledore whenever there was a wayward student, and she refused to go near the library, Great Hall, or dungeons alone. That made him suspect that her mystery man was a Slytherin, but he was determined to believe that someone so very Gryffindor would have more sense than that. Particularly Minerva, who hated the very idea of love. No, Aidan decided, she clearly was suffering from one of those womanly mental breakdown things that Charlotte usually had, and she just needed some help.

So he certainly didn't want to leave her alone at Hogwarts for Christmas.

"McG?" She was clearly out of it, not paying attention to him. "Min!" he shouted when she didn't answer.

He regretted his loud voice when she jumped. "What is it, Aidan?"

"Are you sure you don't want to come to my house for the break? You'd be far more fun than all of the stupid Ministry folk that come crawling around."

Minerva snorted, "No, thank you. I'd rather not subject myself to that. Your mother has a way of making everything seem like a challenge."

Encouraged by her answer, he continued. "Yeah, she does. Why don't you go home, though? You love Christmas."

"Because," she sighed, "Diana and Callum will be in London, and I don't want to be at home alone." Minerva couldn't mention that if there happened to be an electrical storm, she needed to be near her potion so that she could attempt her first transformation. She had hidden it near the Forbidden Forest, and she couldn't find any literature concerning what would happen if she didn't drink the potion during the first storm. It wasn't worth the risk.

"I don't think it's safe for you to be here by yourself," Aidan admitted. "You're not coping well, not after whatever you went through."

"I didn't go through anything, Aidan," Minerva snapped.

"Oh, so that was just par for the course, was it? You never cry, and that was a lot of tears."

"I had one emotional night in six years. That doesn't give you emotional superiority," Minerva told him.

"No, it doesn't," Aidan agreed quietly. "But you're not eating, and Char says you keep muttering in your sleep. Have you thought about going to see Madam Prewett? Maybe she could give you a potion to help you sleep." He paused, searching her face. "Min?"

She huffed, turning to face him. "Will you leave me alone if I say I'll go?"

"I might leave you alone if you actually go," Aidan corrected. "I just want you to be okay here over Christmas. I know none of the girls is staying, and you'll be here with a handful of professors and weird outcasts like Riddle. I don't like him being around you."

"No, I can't say I like that thought, either."

Aidan swore that he saw her turn slightly pink as she rubbed her arm. She was doing that a lot lately. His eyes narrowed, but he was not willing to ask if she had been snogging Riddle throughout the term. He may not have been as smart as Minerva, but he knew enough to know that he wouldn't be asking her that. "At least Dumbledore will be here. He'll set Riddle straight."

"You're right, Aidan," Minerva sighed, looking up at the Head Table where Albus was chatting with Dippet, "they'll both be here."

Mercifully, Christmas break was passing quickly. Minerva woke up on Christmas morning feeling peaceful. She had successfully managed to avoid both Albus and Riddle thus far. In order to do that, she had subjected herself to hours of mealtime conversations with Professor Olivier, the Divination teacher. Still, the awful conversation usually gave her an excuse to leave meals early, escaping both men who often looked like they wanted to speak with her.

Minerva looked out the window for Felina, knowing that her faithful owl would soon be arriving with her presents. "Pity," she murmured, " that Felina will have to fly in the lightning."

In the lightning.

She cursed, jumping away from the window. "Okay, what do I need? I need my wand and an extra pair of clothes, and...I think that's it?" Minerva dressed quickly and was strolling out onto the grounds within a quarter of an hour. She shivered in the rain, wishing she had thought to bring more than a sweater.

"Miss McGonagall, I thought I might see you out here today." Albus' voice came out of nowhere, and he appeared slowly as his Disillusionment charm faded away. "Presumably, you're headed off to have your first transformation?"

"I would have thought you wouldn't give a damn about me or my progress regarding this matter anymore, Professor," Minerva told him without looking over her shoulder, strolling on. "I believe you said I could handle this on my own."

He perhaps deserved that, and he knew it. "Very much the contrary, Miss McGonagall. I do, as you put it, give a damn about this process, as well as about your safety," Albus caught up to her, grabbing her arm, whipping her around to face him. "And you."

Minerva cried out as he put pressure on her arm. "Let go! Please!"

"How long has it been hurting you?" Albus asked her seriously, doing what he could to minimize the pain as he had done oft before.

"Long enough," Minerva flexed her arm, looking at him sharply, "for me to hate you for never giving me that healing spell you use."

"I'll give you the incantation when we get back inside," Albus promised. His eyebrows creased. "Tell me you weren't planning on transforming for the first time -without supervision- while in pain."

"Again, you told me to do it on my own. It's not like I could walk up to Madam Prewett and ask her to fix my arm so it wouldn't bother me when I transformed into a bloody animal," Minerva said hotly, walking again.

"But you could have asked for help," Albus tried, keeping pace with her.

"You practically forced me out of your office, Albus!" In her anger, she let his name slip. "I'm not ashamed to admit that my pride wouldn't allow me to just crawl back into your office. And you hardly made an effort, either."

"No, I didn't, and I am sorry." Albus' tone was earnest. "I hope I can earn your forgiveness."

"You took house points away," Minerva hissed. "For something that had absolutely nothing to do with my conduct in the classroom or with other students. Do you have any idea what it was like the next morning, when our lead was gone?"

"No, I didn't-"

"Was I just supposed to merrily explain to everyone that I had lost us points for accidentally invading your mind? Make everything seem better by pretending it wasn't serious, like you?"

"If it makes you feel better, I did give the points back to Miss LeComte the next day for making wonderful strides in her understanding of Gamp's laws," Albus offered.

"That's a weak cop-out and you know it," Minerva growled. "You made such a bloody case for establishing trust and for boundaries and for changing the dynamics of our relationship while in your office- all that horse shit about being uncomfortable with memories and nakedness? I think you need to see someone like a Muggle counsellor because that was not, by any means, okay."

He squeaked something out, but she plowed on. "I need you to understand something. I am your student, and I respect you as my teacher and Head of House. I also respect you as a friend with whom I pass my Thursday nights grading and studying and talking about the world. You not only betrayed your rules, but you betrayed me," she said this with finality, staring simply into his eyes. "I was broken. I haven't been sleeping. You know, I wanted to be a professor partly because of the way you teach us and treat us like we can be greater than you. You took that away."

"I apologize without reservation," Albus said honestly, meeting her gaze. "I had never intended to make you feel like that."

"Whether you intended to or not," Minerva spoke cuttingly, "you did."

"I wish I could do something to prove that I know I was wrong," Albus waved his arms helplessly. "I've never been good at that."

"Help me through the hell that this will undoubtedly be," Minerva snorted and stopped, having reached her destination, "and you'll be off to a good start."

"I trust that you've received the equipment that I sent you? Along with the instructions?

"Yes. Everyone was wondering who I knew that had a phoenix," she added, smiling lightly.

"And you followed my directions? Everything from the hair to the incantations to the Hawk Moth?"

"Yes."

"Have you felt the second heartbeat?"

"Yeah," Minerva grinned. "Yeah, you bet I did. And by the looks of things, I did everything right." She held up the vial, which contained a mouthful of the deep-red potion. "This looks bloody disgusting."

"Move over here," Albus said suddenly, leading her behind some bushes. "I don't want to risk anyone seeing you. Now, say the incantation and drink the potion. It'll be painful, but you should transform. When you're ready to transform back, think of your human self. I'll be here to watch your wand."

"I brought some extra clothes." Minerva pulled them out of her pocket and handed them to him, his cheeks reddening. "I figured it would be better to be prepared."

"Yes, well, jolly good," Albus replied, somewhat awkwardly. "Ready?"

"Bottoms up, Albus," Minerva raised the glass in his honour. She breathed and pointed her wand at her chest. "Amato Animo Animato Animagus."

Minerva downed the potion, dropping the phial when an intense heat began to radiate from her heart and a second heart started to beat. Everything was on fire all at once, and she cried out when her ears popped. She could only see in colours due to the pain, and she felt popping all along her spine. Minerva began to shrink, screaming as her bones compressed, and new hair sprouted from her skin. It may have taken a minute or a month, but finally, blissfully, she was near the ground. She raised her arm and was shocked to see a paw.

"Well done. That was quite impressive," Albus leaned down to pet her gently. "You're a tabby cat."

"Meow?" Minerva tried to speak, but all that came out were meows. "Meow? MEOW!" She arched her back, finding the stretch to be heaven after such duress. Taking a few steps, she decided to chase a butterfly. The butterfly escaped her reach after a few minutes, and Minerva was utterly worn out.

Albus chuckled. "Do you think you can become human again?" He placed her forgotten wand by her paws. "I don't want you to wear yourself out too quickly."

She didn't know how to grab her wand as a cat, so she pounced on it, thinking of her familiar human body. Minerva groaned inwardly as she felt the same intense pain as before. Her elbows and knees cracked back into place, and she hissed when the hair disappeared, leaving goosebumps in their place. Left with a resounding headache, Minerva found herself to be human again, standing in the same place she had before. Within seconds, she swayed in agony, managing to find her way down to the grass. She felt the wind and rain hit her skin; it hit her that she was completely naked, but she couldn't remember how to rectify the situation.

"Albus? Albus, it's cold," she murmured, sitting up halfway. "I think I did it."

"Yes, you did." She felt her clothes on her body, and then he wrapped his cloak around her tightly. "You did wonderfully."

"I'm tired, Albus. I'm exhausted," Minerva yawned, tipping over. She felt Albus' arms wrap around her, catching her before she fell. "Thanks."

"You're most welcome, Minerva," Albus clutched her to him, and she smiled at the sound of her name. It was the last thing she heard before exhaustion took over.

When she woke up, Minerva found herself wrapped up in blankets on the couch in Albus' office. She attempted to get up, groaning when she discovered it hurt to even lift her head. "Albus?"

"You've been out for quite some time," Albus teased, bringing her some tea. "How are you feeling?"

"Like shit." Minerva accepted the warm cup. "You could have warned me."

"I did tell you that it would be painful," he reminded her.

"There's a difference between pain and being subject to Satan's own torture," Minerva quipped. "I don't think I'll be able to move for days."

"When you're feeling up to it, I'll floo you back to the Gryffindor common room," he told her. "I also took the liberty of having Jilly bring up some of the Christmas feast. I figured you'd be ravenous."

"You'd be right," Minerva said happily as he placed the food on her lap. Once she had eaten a sufficient amount, she addressed him again. "Thank you for your help today, Albus. I would probably still be in the forest if you hadn't been there."

"I think it is me that needs to thank you," Albus spoke softly, "for showing me just how big of an idiot I was."

"Albus, I am-"

He held up his hand. "You eat, I'll talk. I had been too comfortable in my ability to occlude my mind that when I had spoken of trust, I hadn't realized it would need to extend quite so equally. You have a great mind, Minerva. I haven't seen another like it. I pushed your memories, perhaps too hard, and I got what was coming to me. And for that," Albus continued, "I really must apologize. I am incredibly sorry that I didn't take the time to discuss your emotions with you after the fact; I saw some memories that must have been hard for you to relive. I failed you, both as your educator and as your friend. What's more, you are the furthest thing from an insolent idiot," he winced, "and you were doing a fabulous job marking for me."

"I appreciate the apology, and all is forgiven." Minerva wanted to say more, but she knew that with him, it was perhaps better to simply accept his apology and move on. "And your memories are completely safe with me. From others, and from judgement."

"I never doubted you," Albus looked at her. "Not truly."

"Right, well as long as I can start marking for you again, we'll be back to normal. I actually miss that," Minerva pondered.

Albus laughed. "You can definitely start marking for me again. My first years are not doing very well, and it's taking me hours to mark even one essay."

"That's because you're so out of practice." She quirked her eyebrow and was delighted to see his eyes light up. If she could tease him again, their relationship would survive perfectly well, given time. He opened his mouth, and she rolled her eyes. "What now, Albus?"

"Minerva, I feel that I owe you some more honesty," Albus sighed, and for the first time, she saw his age etched into his face. "I was so very insistent on keeping you away from Mr. Riddle because I had fallen into the same trap with Gellert."

"I understand why you were afraid," Minerva told him truthfully, remembering how much she had liked Riddle's kiss. "But I don't have reasons to fall under the same spell, as it were. I don't have any great revenge to seek. The world hasn't been stolen from me. For the most part, I had a very easy and privileged upbringing. I haven't gone through what you did," she shrugged, "nor have I lived Riddle's life."

"When your sister was in the Hospital Wing, you were distraught. Traumatized," Albus whispered. "I knew that feeling so well. I figured that if you were anything like me, you would see the appeal of power and its promises of redemption."

Ah. So that was it. "Albus," she smiled softly, intent on bringing some levity into the room, "the people that attacked Di were Slytherins. I wouldn't likely be joining forces with another one of them, now would I?"

"No, perhaps not at the outset," he muttered, and she laughed. "But people change, Minerva, and I didn't know what he might say or do to try and convince you that he is right in his convictions and worth following.

"I wish I could say I don't know why you're scared, but I do," Minerva shook her head. "I won't claim to understand him, but perhaps if we were nicer to him and didn't doubt his intentions at every turn, he might surprise us."

"How I wish you to be right," Albus looked at her, and she saw doubt in his eyes.

"Albus, I'm always right." They laughed, and she raked her eyes over him, appraising what she saw. "And I think I'd be right in saying you need to be kinder to yourself. It's a challenge to consistently convince yourself that you need to be the saviour, Albus, and you need to remember that the entire world is not yours alone to save. You can't protect everyone, nor do you need to."

He opened his mouth and then shut it, looking a mix between flustered, touched and shocked. Minerva could see his tears threaten to fall before they did, and she painfully leaned over the couch's armrest so that she could wrap her arm around his shoulder, knowing that all he needed was a friend. "Happy Christmas, Albus," she whispered softly.

"And to you as well, Minerva."