A/N: I hope you enjoy.

For the disclaimer, please see the prologue.

Chapter Fifty-Two: September 1955

Minerva watched nervously from her spot at the Head Table as Melody Johnson led this year's group of first-years into the Great Hall. After Horace had proven to be a disastrous Deputy during Albus' first year as Headmaster, Albus had all but begged Melody to take the job. She had agreed, and was a much better Deputy than Horace.

When her partner, Farrow Finch, retired and made way for Ro, Melody had almost retired alongside her. After some cajoling from Albus, she agreed to stay in the role on the condition that he would lighten her teaching load. Consequently, Filius Flitwick had moved from the Defence department to his preferred Charms. He was much happier, and Sylvia Selwyn had proven to be an excellent Defence teacher.

Minerva knew, however, that Melody's patience was waning. She wouldn't want to be Deputy for much longer, and Minerva was prematurely worried about her replacement. Minerva feared that Albus would once again ask her to do the job—Dalton was older and more independent, after all—by the end of the year. That thought, coupled with tonight's special sorting, made her too anxious to notice the pace at which Melody was moving through the sorting ceremony.

Albus gently placed a hand on Minerva's forearm. "You're nervous."

"Is that why you asked me to sit directly to your left tonight?" Minerva smiled weakly. "Of course I'm nervous, Albus. It's Iolanthe's sorting!"

"How could I forget?" Albus smiled. "Your brother has been going on about it for weeks."

"He's excited for her," Minerva chided, laughing. "And he misses her like crazy."

"She has been gone not even a day. How can he possibly miss her already?"

"I don't know, but I have been threatened with a Howler if I don't immediately owl him to inform him which house she is in."

Albus raised his eyebrows. "Shouldn't Iolanthe be the one to tell them that?"

"Lucy wants Iolanthe to tell her, but Callum is too impatient. He doesn't want to wait until after the feast; he wants Iolanthe to spend time making friends. Heaven forbid my dinner is interrupted," Minerva added, grumbling good-naturedly.

Albus laughed. "He must be anxious."

"I know I am anxious, and she's my niece." Minerva leaned closer to him to whisper quietly. "When it comes time for Dalton and Athena's sorting, I don't know how I'll be able to sit still."

Albus paled. "I forgot that we'll have to go through this in a few years."

Minerva patted his arm and turned her attention back to Melody, who had just sorted Lysander Malfoy, Abraxas Malfoy's eldest, into Slytherin.

"McGonagall, Iolanthe!" Melody called.

Minerva sucked in a breath as she watched her niece walk bravely up the platform. She nodded encouragingly, and Iolanthe gave a small smile before turning and sitting on the stool.

"You all right?" Albus murmured as they watched Iolanthe.

"I want to know," Minerva replied softly.

Suddenly, the Hat roared, "Gryffindor!" and the sound of applause rang throughout the Great Hall.

Iolanthe grinned at her aunt before running off to meet her new housemates.

"Relieved, my dear?" Albus chuckled lowly as Minerva's shoulders relaxed.

"I don't particularly care for one House over the other—we are unbiased, after all. But," Minerva admitted, "I do think Lucy and Callum secretly hoped that at least one of their girls would be in Gryffindor."

"So what you're saying is the pressure is off Aoife," Albus teased.

"Exactly," Minerva laughed. "Now, pay attention: you'll be needed for your speech now."

"Quite right. I don't know where I'd be without you." Albus winked and headed to the front of the dais.

Minerva quickly scrawled a note to her brother.

Cal,

She's a lion, just like us.

Min xx

Minerva had preemptively brought Felina to the feast, knowing Callum wanted the letter straight away.

"There you go, Felina," Minerva whispered, gently stroking her ageing owl's head. "Take this home to Cal, will you?"

Felina chirped and flew off, narrowly missing Albus' head in the middle of his speech.

Albus paused as the students laughed and turned to face Minerva. He had a grin on his face.

"Sorry," Minerva mouthed, shrugging her shoulders innocently.

A few weeks later, Minerva was talking to Iolanthe outside of her classroom after her first-year Gryffindor and Ravenclaw Transfiguration class.

"Aunt Min, I love Charms. Professor Flitwick is fantastic!"

Minerva smiled. "He is a very nice man."

"The subject is so interesting. Could I please stop by your office tomorrow at lunch? I want to practice more, but I know Dad would kill me if I did advanced magic alone."

"Iolanthe, you're in your first month. Don't overdo it, all right?"

"That's funny for you to say—Dad told me that you were the nerdiest nerd to ever come to Hogwarts, and that you'd help me every day if I asked." Iolanthe stuck her hands on her hips, reminding Minerva of Callum.

"You should know better than to listen to everything your Dad says," Minerva said firmly. "He was quite the prankster during his own time here. Having said that," she continued, stopping Iolanthe's question before her niece could ask it, "I will happily help you once or twice a week, okay?"

"Perfect! Thanks, Aunt Min!" Iolanthe threw her arms around her aunt. "I knew you were the best aunt ever!"

Minerva laughed. "It's my pleasure, darling. Now, go outside and enjoy the sunshine while it's still here, okay?"

"Yes, Professor," Iolanthe said teasingly. She ran off and ran straight into Albus. "Oof, sorry, Headmaster."

Minerva frowned as she caught sight of Albus' face as he ran towards her. "Albus? What's wrong?"

"I..." Albus looked around and took firm hold of her arm. He practically dragged her back into her classroom and shut the door. "It's about the children."

"The children? Our children?" Minerva's heart jumped into her throat. "What do you mean? What happened?"

"Aberforth had travelled to the Muggle side of the village today to see some suppliers for the Hog's Head, and he walked by our house on his way. Apparently, there was a lot of screaming, and some of the windows in the front room had blown apart. Neighbours were gathering to watch, but Violet was in the front garden—"

"And Dalton and Athena?"

"He didn't know," Albus answered quietly. "We should go home and check."

"I don't like this, I don't like this at all," Minerva muttered. She Summoned her cloak from her desk and asked, "How did you find out?"

"Aberforth was kind enough to send me an owl."

"And your brother didn't think to stay and ensure our children were okay?"

Albus winced. "You know Aberforth."

"I had hoped he would care for children," Minerva snapped. "Come on, let's get a move on."

"Come here." Albus offered her his elbow. "I can Apparate us from here."

She narrowed her eyes. "No one can Apparate on castle grounds, Albus."

"I can." Albus placed her hand into the crook of his elbow himself. "And it's the fastest way to get home."

Minerva nodded and closed her eyes. "All right, then. Let's go."

He spun them through time and space. As had happened many times before, Minerva was sick upon landing. Albus rubbed her back. "Are you all right?"

"Merlin, it's been a long time since I experienced the double effect of Apparition through our bond," Minerva groaned. She Vanished the mess. "I'll be fine; let's just get to your house."

They walked as quickly as possible to Albus' house. Minerva gasped when she saw the crowd outside of the house. She pushed her way through to the gate, where Violet was crying hysterically to a neighbour.

"You don't understand," Violet sobbed. "Their toys started flying all over the room, and then when I told the children to hide from the danger, all of the windows blew open!"

Minerva looked at Albus, her nerves somewhat soothed. "Did you happen to explain to your fiancée the concept of accidental magic?"

"No. She still doesn't know anything about our world."

Minerva gestured toward the house. "She does now."

Albus paled. "You think that's all this was?"

"It's my best guess, but we should probably find out." Minerva stepped out of the crowd and pulled Albus with her.

"Albus," Violet breathed. She collapsed into his arms. "I'm so glad you're here."

"Violet? I'm happy to leave you here with Albus, but where are the children?" Minerva asked.

"They're in there." Violet pointed to the house before burrowing her head into Albus' shoulder.

Albus looked helplessly at Minerva. "Do you mind?"

"No, of course not. Meet me in there when you're ready." Minerva strode into the house, carefully shutting the door behind her. Calling into the darkness, she said, "Athena? Dalton, it's Mum."

"Minerva?" Athena's head of red hair popped over the banister. Her face was full of relief. "Is Dad with you?"

"Your dad is outside with your mum," Minerva explained gently. "Are you both all right? Is Dalton upstairs with you?"

"We're scared," Athena sighed. "Dalton's hiding in my bed."

Minerva felt slightly nervous. "Honey, can I come upstairs? We can all sit together, and you can tell me what happened."

Athena nodded. "Come up! I can show you my toys!"

Minerva laughed gently and made her way up the stairs. "It's been a long time since I've been in your room."

"You don't come over much," Athena shrugged, cheekily blunt like only children could get away with. "Look! Do you like my new dolls?"

"Yes, sweetheart." Minerva patted Athena's head, but her eyes were focused on the lump under Athena's covers that she presumed was her son. "Are you okay if I talk to Dalton?"

The seven-year-old rolled her eyes. "He won't come out." Athena jumped on the bed and threw the covers off, exposing Dalton. "Dalton! Your mum's here."

"Mummy!" Dalton screamed and bolted into Minerva's arms. "It was so scary."

"Here, darling. Let's all sit down on the bed, and you can tell me all about it, okay?" Minerva carried Dalton back to the bed and sat against the headboard. "Come here, Athena."

Athena jumped into the bed and snuggled into Minerva's side. "You're comfy."

Minerva smiled. "I'm glad you think so." She levitated the comforter and released it over the bed, covering them. "Now we can all be comfortable."

"Woah." Athena's eyes lit up. "That's magic."

"I told you magic existed," Dalton mumbled, his face hidden in Minerva's cloak.

Minerva rose an eyebrow. "Athena, do you not know about magic?"

"Dad says that he'll tell me about it when I'm older and that right now I need to pretend I don't know about it." Athena looked hopefully up at Minerva. "Can you teach me?"

"We can talk about that later," Minerva said, slightly taken aback. She knew she'd be having a stern word with Albus later. "Can one of you please tell me what happened?"

"We were playing," Dalton whispered. "We played, and we wanted our toys to fly—"

"And then the toys were flying!" Athena yelled excitedly. "It was cool."

"Did you think it was cool, Dalton?" Minerva asked softly.

"It was like my broomstick, but you told me we couldn't talk about magic if we weren't at home." Dalton looked at his mother, his green eyes wide. "I told Athena to get Violet to make it stop."

Minerva groaned internally. "Violet couldn't make it stop, could she?"

"Mama was mad!" Athena pulled Minerva's arm so that Minerva would look at her again. "She wanted us to stop it."

"Athena, it was scary," Dalton complained. "It wouldn't stop, and then Violet cried, which made it worse."

"Let me take a guess: did the windows explode when you were scared? Or," Minerva smiled at Athena, "when you were excited?"

Athena nodded. "I was really excited, and then the front window blew open!"

"That's when Violet started screaming," Dalton said. "So I got even more scared."

"And then all of the windows kept blowing up! Then even I got scared." Athena looked at Minerva. "Can you tell us why?"

"I can try." Minerva wrapped her arms around the children and sighed. "Dalton, I've told you about accidental magic—do you remember?"

"Yes, Mummy. You said that when I got older, my powers might come out."

"Dalton has powers? Does that mean I have powers too, Minerva?" Athena's voice was hopeful.

"I think you do, yes, if this afternoon is anything to go by," Minerva laughed. "You see, Athena, I'm a witch, and your dad is a wizard." She paused, hoping Albus wouldn't be angry with her for having this conversation. "This means we have magical powers. Most often, the children of witches and wizards are magical, too."

"Woah. I'm magical," Athena said, amazed.

"Yes, you are." Minerva tweaked her nose. "As you get older, sometimes your magic can come out in emotional situations—like today, when you were frightened and excited. Normally," she muttered more to herself, "it doesn't happen until children are nine or ten. You two are early."

"What if this happens at school, Mummy?" Dalton asked.

"Well, it might," Minerva answered truthfully. "But if it does, we will handle it. Besides, Dalton, you know I teach at Hogwarts. When you're eleven, you'll come too, and you'll be trained properly so that you can control your magic."

"There's a magic school?" Athena's jaw dropped. "Is that where Daddy really works?"

"Yes." Minerva whipped around to see Albus standing in the doorway, looking tired. "Yes, Athena. I work at a magical school."

"You never told me that!" Athena shouted angrily. "Dalton knew, but you never told me!"

"Athena," Minerva chided gently. "Let your dad explain."

Albus sat down on the other end of the bed and faced the trio. "Athena, I didn't tell you because your mother doesn't know about magic. Your mother doesn't have these powers, and wizards and witches aren't allowed to tell anyone about the magical world."

"That's dumb," Athena said, frowning. "So I can never tell Mama?"

Minerva looked at Albus expectantly. She wanted to know the answer to this question herself.

"I'll be talking to your mother later tonight," Albus replied finally. He rubbed his forehead wearily. "I should have told you earlier. I'm sorry, Athena."

"Dad." Athena looked at Albus with a stubborn glare on her face. "That wasn't very nice of you."

"I know, and I'm sorry," Albus sighed heavily before changing the subject. "Athena, your mother would like you downstairs to help with dinner. Would you mind helping her tonight?"

"No." Athena jutted out her chin. "I'm staying with Minerva and Dalton."

"What, in your bed?"

"No, I'm going to go home with them," Athena answered haughtily.

It took everything in Minerva not to laugh as Athena purposefully hopped off the bed, picked her backpack off the floor, and started to pack. Minerva looked at Albus, who looked like he had never seen his daughter before in his life.

"Athena, I'd like you to go downstairs to see your mother, please."

"And I would like to know about magic!" Athena yelled back.

Sensing Albus was about to lose it, Minerva intervened. "Albus, perhaps it is best if Athena came home with us. That would give you and Violet the opportunity to talk about today's events. She can have dinner with us, and I can put her to bed. It'll be no extra trouble for me, and I can bring her back here in the morning when I leave for work in the morning." Minerva stopped for a moment. "If Violet is still comfortable with that arrangement, that is."

"Thank you," Albus agreed quietly. "Athena, be good for Minerva, all right?"

"Duh." Athena rolled her eyes and stood at the door expectantly. "Let's go."

"All right, we're coming." Minerva lifted Dalton off the bed and stood beside him. "Dalton, go with Athena and get your things, okay?"

The children took off, and Minerva turned to Albus. "Are you all right?"

"I'm in a mess of my own making, as per usual," Albus said softly. "Thank you for taking Athena tonight. I know she can be a spitfire."

Minerva winked. "She has your thirst for knowledge, you know."

Albus groaned.

It was around midnight when Minerva heard a knock on her door. She opened it to find Albus, looking miserable.

"Well, come in. It's freezing." Minerva pulled him inside and shut the door. "The children are sleeping."

"How is she?" Albus asked quietly. "I can understand she's angry, but I'm worried about how this will affect her later on."

Minerva smiled gently. "I gave her a general explanation. I thought I'd save some of the more intricate details for you. Give you something to bond over."

"Thank you." Albus paused for a moment, looking uncharacteristically awkward. "Would it be all right if I sat down?"

"Of course." Minerva gestured to the couches. "Would you like anything to drink?"

"Whisky," Albus said, flopping onto a loveseat.

"I take it tonight didn't go well then, hmm?" Minerva asked sympathetically. She poured them both a glass and sat down. "What happened?"

"I attempted to explain it all away by saying that "eccentricities" run in my family, but that excuse went out the window when she rightly pointed out that it seemed to worsen when Dalton got scared."

Minerva rose an eyebrow. "Eccentricities, Albus? Really?" She paused, then asked the question that was really on her mind. "Why the hell doesn't Athena know about magic? Violet is one thing, but Athena is magical. You need to tell her more now. You can't tell a child about magic and then tell her to wait until she's older. I'm frankly surprised she hadn't told Violet earlier."

"I should have asked you for advice," Albus admitted, "what with your own history."

"I would have told you to tell her," Minerva said. "I understand that you don't want to rock the boat with Violet, but this concerns the well-being of her daughter. She would have noticed if something was off with Athena if you continually denied her the knowledge of her magic."

Albus snorted. "It would appear that Violet agrees with you."

"How angry was she?"

"Oh, she called me a selfish, lying, egotistical bastard." Albus bit his lip. "Nothing I haven't been called before."

"Oh my."

"That's not even all of it. She asked me to stay at the castle for the foreseeable future, and threw this at my head." He held up Violet's engagement ring. "She told me I could come home to see Athena if I schedule it in advance, but she said I need to work on my priorities."

"I am sorry, Albus." Minerva grimaced. "Can she even stop you from seeing Athena?"

"She's not being prohibitive, rather...restrictive. Besides, don't you think she deserves better than I've given her? The least I can do is agree to her terms on this."

"If you say so," Minerva replied, not unkindly. Then, not quite sure what answer she wanted to hear, she asked, "Where does your relationship stand?"

"I don't quite know, to be truthful. Violet said she still loves me and doesn't want our relationship to end; however, she wants me to put more effort in. Violet wants us to court as if we're starting anew, but fully and honestly this time."

"I see," Minerva murmured. "So, it's like a trial period."

"Exactly. Oh, and by the way, Violet wanted me to make it clear to you that she doesn't hold you responsible for"—here he winced—"my failings. She'll still take the children in the morning."

"Oh, good. I didn't much fancy finding another childcare provider," Minerva admitted.

Albus studied Minerva and then said, "Are relationships always this complicated?"

"In my experience, they haven't been easy," Minerva laughed. "I haven't dated much recently, though; I'm sure it's even more complicated now. There seem to be ever more complications as we age."

"Didn't you go on a few dates this summer?" Albus asked.

"How did you know about that?" Minerva asked, more amused than angry.

"Ro told me," Albus confessed. "She said she was babysitting for Dalton." He shifted in his seat. "Did they go well? I'm glad you finally feel like you're in a place where you can date."

Minerva waved her hand. "Oh, they were fine. Going on one or two dates was fine. I feel more comfortable with the idea, but nothing feels right for longer than a night." She blushed, realizing how that sounded. "I don't mean that I've been…sleeping with men for only one night, I just—"

"Minerva, it's fine. And it's none of my business."

"It could be your business," she replied, and Albus' heart stopped. "I mean, we're friends, after all. It's not nearly as awkward now as it was when we first stopped seeing each other."

"I suppose that's true," Albus agreed. "So, no worthy suitors?"

"No," Minerva laughed. "I had fun, and we had good conversations, but I didn't feel a spark."

"And are you happy?"

Minerva considered the question. "I think I'm at the point where I'm generally happy in my life now. I don't need a partner to make me happy; instead, I'm looking for something to add to the happiness. Does that make sense?"

"Yes, my dear. It does."

"I don't have much hope, though," Minerva continued. "Most men either only want company for one night, or they seem to want to marry me straight off the hop."

"I'm not one to offer advice, especially given my personal situation," Albus said, and Minerva laughed. Albus frowned. "I don't much understand relationships, Minerva."

Minerva replied, "I'll drink to that."

The two friends clinked their glasses and sat in comfortable silence.