A/N: Thank you for all of your messages. For reference, the last chapter took place in August 1959.

For the disclaimer, please see the prologue.

Chapter Fifty-Six: April 1963

"Minerva, may I talk to you for a moment?" Filius asked after dinner one evening, pulling her to an unoccupied corner of the staff room.

"What's wrong, Filius?" Minerva frowned. "Do you need help with the budget paperwork again? I talked to Albus about that—he said he would talk to the Board of Governors about extending the deadline."

"No, no, none of that." Filius clasped his hands together and sighed, uncharacteristically nervous. "I hate to tell you this, but you were set to watch your lions practice on the pitch tonight, weren't you?"

"Yes, why?" Minerva crossed her arms.

"Ah, so you'll find out no matter what," Filius muttered. "I'm afraid your team will be a little short on players this evening."

"What happened?" She sighed and rubbed at her temples. "What did they do this time?"

Filius grimaced. "We were learning the Vermillious charm in class today, and Mr. Scrimgeour may have intentionally caused the red sparks to set the chandelier on fire. It wouldn't have been so bad if he hadn't then challenged a few of his teammates to do the same."

Minerva closed her eyes. Over the years, her son had proved to be a goodhearted troublemaker, often finding—and creating—trouble no matter where he went. However, he had never done anything intentionally dangerous before, and the thought made her angry. "Was anyone hurt?"

"Miss Parkinson did require a visit to the Hospital Wing," Filius admitted. "Some shards of glass fell on her arm, and I thought it would be best if Poppy took a look at her."

"Of course," Minerva muttered. "Was she all right?"

"A few cuts that Poppy healed, so no lasting harm done."

"Are they serving detention with you tonight? Is that their only punishment?"

"Yes, I thought that was adequate. They didn't duel anyone, and I thought taking away time from their last Quidditch practice before their big match against Hufflepuff this weekend would add enough insult to injury."

"Oh, I'm sure they were frustrated with their punishment," Minerva snorted. "Where are they now?"

"I told them to head straight to my classroom after dinner. I wanted to make them sweat it out for a few minutes while I told you."

"Thank you, Filius," Minerva sighed. "Do you mind if I go up and speak with them first?"

"Not at all." Filius grinned. "Strike the fear of God into them so they're meek by the time I get there."

Minerva laughed. "Will do, my friend."

Like a woman on a mission, Minerva stalked her way up to Filius' classroom, where she immediately caught sight of Dalton, along with Cayley Spinnet and Malcolm Fudge, all wearing expressions of nervous frustration on their faces.

"Where could Flitwick be?" Miss Spinnet moaned. "We won't even be able to watch the end of practice at this rate."

"Do you honestly think you deserve to watch practice after your actions earlier?" Minerva made her presence known, causing the three of them to turn around. Dalton noticeably winced at hearing the anger in his mother's voice. "You all should consider yourselves very lucky that Professor Flitwick only gave you one detention."

"We didn't mean to do anything, Professor!" Mr. Fudge protested. "Honest!"

"You may not have set out to injure Miss Parkinson, but you intentionally used a spell for harm. That's shameful. And not only did you injure one of your classmates, but you also let down your teammates tonight."

"Yes, Professor." Fudge hung his head in shame. He always had been one of Minerva's meeker lions. "We're sorry."

"I'm glad to hear it. And for what it's worth, Miss Spinnet, I played on the Gryffindor team with your mother," Minerva added. "I highly doubt she'd approve of anything that would risk Gryffindor's chances of winning the Quidditch Cup."

Cayley Spinnet's eyes widened at that bit of information. "You played with my mum?"

"Yes." Minerva nodded. "I'm sure she'll be disappointed to learn of today's events."

Fudge paled. "You're going to tell our parents?"

"As your Head of House, I am responsible for you. What happened today could easily have ended much, much worse. I am obligated to inform your parents. Now, why don't you two go in and wait for Professor Flitwick? As the instigator, Mr. Scrimgeour, I'd like you to wait here for a moment. I'd like to speak to you alone."

His friends shot him sympathetic smiles as they scurried into the Charms classroom. Minerva quickly cast protective spells so no one would hear them and glared at her son. "Explain yourself."

"Mum, we didn't mean to! It was an accident."

"Dalton, if you had cast the spell as Professor Flitwick had intended, and then you had hurt someone, that would be an accident. You were playing around with magic—which you know not to do—and then you coerced your classmates into doing the same thing!"

"We apologized to Parkinson," Dalton defended. "It was meant to be a silly prank."

"You know better than to pull a potentially dangerous prank in a classroom, Dalton, especially while learning a new spell!" Minerva scolded. "And even if you didn't stop to think about your classmates' well-being, I would hope that you'd care about the Quidditch team. Especially after all the time we spent practicing for you to have a shot at making the team."

Dalton reddened. He had fought hard for his spot on the team after failing to make the team in his second year. Now that he was in his fourth year at Hogwarts, and his second on the team, he was finally coming into his own as a player. Dalton loved playing as chaser, and he worked extremely hard to make sure he was always ready to perform at his best. "That's not fair."

"It's the truth, Dalton. Harmless, funny pranks are one thing, but playing with magic is dangerous. What's unfair is that I now have to spend my evening writing letters to parents explaining what happened today. Even more, Miss Parkinson's situation is unfair. A parental scolding is mere comeuppance, darling."

He glared at her, unflinching. "Fine, Professor. I apologize for my actions and will promise you that it won't happen again. Lucky for you, you only have to write two letters, not three. You see, my Dad is dead."

Minerva took a step back, shocked. "Dalton..."

Dalton could see his words had wounded her, but he kept going. "My Dad is dead, and my mother doesn't care much about parenting. She was never around to raise me, and then she sent me here, where she can't even be my parent!"

"I had no idea you felt that way," Minerva said hoarsely. A tear snuck down her face. "Is that really how you feel?"

"Minerva?" Filius had come up behind them and was frowning at the situation before him.

Quickly, Minerva wiped her eyes and turned to face her colleague. Filius looked at them curiously, no doubt taking note of Minerva's distraught expression and Dalton's angry one. "I'm sorry, Filius. I sent the other two inside earlier, but I wanted a quick chat with the student responsible."

If Filius had any thoughts about the interaction, he didn't voice them. "Very well. Mr. Scrimgeour, why don't we join your classmates in my classroom?"

Dalton glared one last time at Minerva. "Yes, Professor." He walked in and slammed the door behind him none too gently.

"Are you truly all right, Minerva?" Filius asked gently. "That seemed like a heated conversation."

"I'm fine, Filius, thank you." She ground out a smile. "I think I'll make my way to the Quidditch pitch now."

Normally, watching her lions play was a great stress-relieving activity for Minerva; instead, tonight, it felt like a constant reminder that her son was angry with her.

"Hi, Min." Ro plopped down beside Minerva in the stands and passed her a travel mug full of ginger tea. "I know it's April, but it can still get cold out here at night."

"Yes, thank you." Minerva smiled gratefully and accepted the warm mug. "What brings you out here?"

"Well, technically, I'm supposed to supervise all practices," Ro said, laughing. "Normally, I watch from my office, but Poppy told me you might like some company tonight."

"Oh?"

"She said there was some trouble in the fourth-year Charms class today, and that Dalton may have been a guilty party."

"I can't believe him, Ro!" Minerva groaned. "He knows better than to do something that stupid!"

"Yes, he does." Ro nodded in agreement. "But Min, how many times have we done things that we shouldn't have done?"

Minerva tore her eyes away from the practice so she could glare at her friend. "Lots, but we never caused anyone harm."

"I know. And you should know, as Dalton's self-appointed aunt, I'm angry with him, too. It was a stupid thing to do, and it makes my life harder if I have to referee a game with the Gryffindor team in shambles this weekend. But..." Ro eyed Minerva carefully. "I know it's been four years, but have you ever thought of how difficult this must be for Dalton? With the exception of Athena, all of his friends can do whatever they want and risk nothing more than detention. Dalton has his mother watching him at every turn."

"That's no excuse, Ro."

"No, it's not," Ro agreed. "I will say this, though: if you were a bit too hard on him, I could see him lashing out."

"Oh, he lashed out," Minerva sighed. "He said I wouldn't have to worry about sending a letter to his parents because his father was dead and his mother never bothered to raise him."

"Oof. That's harsher than I thought he would be," Ro admitted. "You know he doesn't mean it, right?"

"Whether he meant it or not, it still hurt," Minerva responded glumly. "Besides, part of me thinks he had a point. I mean, he spent most of his time with Violet and Lucy."

"Because you were working," Ro insisted. "Min, it's not like you were off with a different man every night or avoiding your responsibilities. You went to work, picked him up, and spent all your free time with him at the expense of having a life. It's basically the job of children to make their parents feel like shit—that's why we never had any."

Minerva laughed. "You also hate responsibility."

"Exactly." Ro nudged Minerva's shoulder with her own. "You're allowed to be sad about it, but I would wager one of my best broomsticks that Dalton was merely upset that he was caught doing something he shouldn't. And, if you were hard on him, he was probably defensive."

"I was hard on him, but only because he hurt another student. Even if it was indirectly," Minerva added quickly. "He's lucky it happened in Filius' class; heaven knows I would have banned them all from playing in the match this weekend had it happened in mine."

"Speaking of the match," Ro said casually, "did Callum tell you he's coming?"

Minerva raised an eyebrow. "No, he didn't."

"Oh, maybe it was supposed to be a surprise. Oh, well." Ro shrugged. "He wanted to come and see the match. Cal seemed excited to see his daughter and his nephew play."

"We don't do a wonderful job of ensuring parents can come and see their children," Minerva admitted, "so I can see why he would be excited. It'll be wonderful to see him, at any rate."

"It'll be nice to have him here," Ro agreed. "As for you—those letters to the parents can wait until tomorrow. Enjoy the rest of the practice, and then enjoy your night. You're a person, too, Min. Fighting with Dalton clearly took a lot of energy out of you. Take the night off and come back tomorrow with a fresh head. Besides, I'm sure Dalton will feel less angry in the morning."

As it turned out, Ro was very, very mistaken. Four days later, it was match day, and Dalton hadn't spoken to his mother. Minerva had tried to call on him in class, but he had merely nodded and performed the spell. She had even asked Athena to talk to him on her behalf, but Athena had said all of her efforts had been rebuked.

Stubborn, her son was.

Minerva had felt so sick about it that she had barely eaten since, something that Albus remarked on at breakfast before the match.

"Minerva, is there a reason I feel unnaturally hungry despite eating my regular amount of food over the past few days?" Albus murmured in her ear.

"I don't know, Albus. Have you eaten fewer sweets lately?"

"Ha, very funny. No, my habits haven't changed, but I wouldn't be surprised if it had something to do with the fact that you haven't eaten very much as of late."

"Haven't I?" Minerva muttered. As if to prove a point, she scooped a small spoonful of oats into her mouth and forced herself to swallow. "See?"

"That's not going to convince me of anything, my dear," Albus said, raising an eyebrow. "Are you feeling well? You look rather peckish."

"I'm fine, Albus," Minerva smiled tightly. "Thank you for your concern."

Albus looked at her thoughtfully for a moment. "Does this have anything to do with the incident that occurred in Filius' fourth-year class this week?"

Minerva sighed. She knew he wouldn't let her get away with saying nothing, so she replied, "My lack of appetite is not a direct consequence of the incident itself; rather, what happened afterwards."

"Ah." Albus nodded in understanding. "You tried to discipline Mr. Scrimgeour, didn't you?"

"Yes, and his response was to wound me with his words."

"He clearly succeeded," Albus commented mildly. "You're not yourself, Minerva."

"Nor would you be if it had been your child that called you an absentee parent." Minerva stabbed angrily at a breakfast potato.

Albus could sense that the conversation was about to take a turn, and so he cast a few charms that would ensure no one would learn their secret. "My dear, Athena quite literally left my house to live with you because she was so upset with me. Trust me when I say that I have borne my fair share of a child's wrath."

"Even still, it hurt," Minerva said quietly. "He won't talk to me—hell, he only looks at me in class when I call on him."

"He'll come around. That's the way of parents and children. One will inevitably hurt the other before the bonds of love bring everyone back together."

"That's quite poetic, Albus."

"Sometimes I have my uses." He patted her hand and smiled gently. "If he's still not talking to you in a week, I will summon him to my office and have a word."

"Merlin, I hope he talks to me by then. If he doesn't come down for our typical Sunday evening tomorrow, I'll be crushed."

After the children's very first night at Hogwarts, Minerva and Albus had developed a system. Every Sunday, when most students were lazily dozing, Athena and Dalton would go to Minerva's rooms so they could spend time together. Albus would join them when he could; in four years, there had only been a handful of Sundays when they hadn't all been together.

"I hope he comes, for your sake. It can't be healthy to not eat, Minerva. If this goes on any longer, I'll be forced to send you to Poppy," Albus mused. "Speaking of Poppy, she informed me that Callum is coming for today's game."

"Ro told me the same thing. My brother couldn't be arsed to tell me himself, mind you, but yes, he is apparently coming."

"Oh, he's already here." Albus nodded in the direction of the staff door, and Minerva turned to see Ro standing there with Callum. "Why don't you go and see him? Perhaps some family time will do you some good. You can go down to the match together."

"Thank you, Albus. I sincerely appreciate your concern." Minerva smiled and stood, walking over to her brother. "Hi, Cal."

"Hi, Minnie. My visit was supposed to be a surprise for you, but Ro told me she has already spoiled it."

"Hey, she needed cheering up," Ro protested. "She still does, to be truthful."

"Nothing I can't fix," Callum said, grinning. "Walk me down to the pitch, Minnie?"

"Please stop calling me Minnie. I work here, and can't have the students hearing that."

"Why, lest they think of you as human?" Callum chuckled. "Fine. Ro, will you come down with us?"

"No, I need to get ready to officiate. Duty calls. Have fun, McGonagalls!" Ro waved and walked away.

"You better help my daughter win!" Callum called after her. He grimaced. "Geez. It feels wrong to cheer against Gryffindor."

"While I understand, Aoife is truly a marvellous beater. You'll be proud of her. I know I am, even if it sometimes hurts to see her whack a bludger in Dalton's direction."

"Oh, I am in for a good match, aren't I?" Callum rubbed his hands together excitedly. "This will be wonderful. I told Lucy I'd show her the memories in the Pensieve later."

"Depending on how this match goes, I don't know that I'd subject her to that," Minerva laughed. She smiled as Filius came into view. "Filius! Are you on your way down to the match?"

"Yes, I am. I've finally finished rounding up the wayward students." Filius frowned for a moment and looked at Callum. "I'm sorry, have we met? You look awfully familiar."

Minerva's pulse quickened. Given that she and Dalton looked so much alike, Dalton and Callum didn't look dissimilar, either. "This is my brother, Callum McGonagall. Even though I hate to admit it, we do look rather alike. He's the father of Aoife McGonagall, and Iolanthe, who graduated last year."

"Ah, that must be it," Filius commented, but he didn't look convinced. "It's a pleasure to meet you. How is Iolanthe doing?"

"Well, thank you. She's doing her mastery in Potions with Monsieur Tremblay in Lyon. Learning French was a bit of a challenge, but she loves it down there." Callum grinned. "I'm thinking of bringing my wife there for a vacation this summer. To hear Iolanthe speak, you'd think it was heaven on earth."

"I went once, a long time ago now," Filius said, walking with them. "It was beautiful then. I'm sure it has only become more so with time."

"I'm looking forward to it," Callum said.

"Will you be bringing Aoife, or will this be a romantic excursion?" Minerva asked.

"Depends on if she wins tonight," Callum joked. "No, I'm thinking it will be a nice trip for Lucy and me. We've never really had the chance to travel. I thought a nice long visit with her Aunt Minerva would do Aoife good. Especially given her mark in Transfiguration."

Minerva rolled her eyes. "Aoife is not a bad student by any means, but yes, I'd happily take her for a week or two."

"She's quite skilled at Charms," Filius supplied helpfully. "And I've heard she has top marks in Defence."

"It's true. I have great reason to be proud of both my girls," Callum agreed. "I'm excited to finally be able to watch one of Aoife's matches. She has been begging me to come up for ages."

"I must admit that I also like Quidditch weekends," Filius laughed. "I can't play to save my life, but I enjoy the role of spectator. There's something thrilling about seeing another side to our students. Speaking of which, Minerva, do you have faith that your lions will win today?"

"I hope they do, but Hufflepuff is a tough opponent—due in large part to my niece's right arm." They arrived at the staff seating on the edge of the pitch. "This must be odd for you to be here, Cal."

"I never thought I'd be sitting here." Callum took a look around. "It definitely looks different from this angle. It feels weird to not be on the pitch."

"Did you play as well?" Filius asked.

"Callum and Minerva made quite the team of Gryffindor chasers," Albus interjected, appearing behind them. "Every year they played together, the two of them won the Quidditch Cup."

Filius raised his eyebrows. "Wow. That's quite the achievement."

"I was a very lucky Head of Gryffindor. I'm sure Minerva hopes she will reap the same benefits." Albus' eyes twinkled. "Why don't the three of you join me in the front row? I'm sure Callum would love to have an unimpeded view of the pitch."

"Absolutely! Thank you, Albus." Callum grinned and took his sister by the arm, following Albus down to the front. "This is fantastic."

"I hope it's a good match for you and your daughter," Albus said, laughing.

"I thought as Headmaster you needed to be impartial, Albus," Minerva teased.

"I also hope it's a good match for you," Albus responded. "I merely hope for an all-around good match."

"And that's how we know our dear leader never played competitive Quidditch himself," Filius quipped, and they all laughed. "Oh, look. Rolanda is leading the players out."

Minerva's heart thumped as it always did when Dalton took to the pitch. She was proud of him for making the team, but as she had discovered was common for parents, the danger made her nervous.

"She's wonderful out there," Callum noted a few minutes into the match. "Her aim is perfect."

"Yes, she is impressive. Aoife has taken out a number of players over the years," Minerva said. "Poppy could tell you all about the injuries she's treated because of Aoife and her aim."

"A prankster and a skilled Quidditch player. I couldn't have hoped for more."

"She's definitely yours," Minerva agreed. "Oh, drat."

"And she just caused one of your chasers to lose the Quaffle!" Callum announced giddily. "Go, Aoife, go!" He narrowed his eyes. "Wait, did she pull that off against Dalton?"

"You know Mr. Scrimgeour?" Filius asked, curious.

Minerva pinched her brother's thigh, low enough that Filius couldn't see.

"Callum and Minerva went to school with Mr Scrimgeour's father," Albus answered, slightly too quickly. "They were all very good friends."

"Yeah, we've had Dalton over a lot," Callum added. "He's good friends with our kids."

"Well, Miss McGonagall may owe him an apology after that hit." Albus winced. "Oof, and another. Poppy will have another patient on her hands, at this rate."

"Did Dalton do something to annoy her?" Callum muttered. "This is a bit much."

"I don't know, but it's making me feel nervous," Minerva whispered. She held up her hands. "Look. I'm clammy."

Another bludger to Dalton's stomach caused Minerva to gasp audibly. All three men turned to her.

"I'm sorry, but that looked painful," Minerva apologized.

"Is she always this ruthless?" Callum asked.

"Not usually," Albus admitted. He was watching the game out of one eye and Minerva out of the other. "Minerva, my dear, you really don't look well."

Filius turned to look at his colleague and noticed how pale she was. "Minerva, he's right. Do you need a glass of water?"

"I'll be fine, thank you. It just makes me nervous to see one of my lions get hit like that." Minerva smoothed her robes. "I'll be having a word with my niece."

Albus leaned over so that he could whisper in Callum's ear. "Callum, I feel sick. She must be unwell."

Callum blanched. "Min, do you need to go see Poppy?"

"Oh, for the love of—!" Minerva stood, instantly feeling the effects of her empty stomach and nerves rushing to her head. "I'm fine."

"Oh, dear!" Filius squeaked as Minerva took a step and swiftly fell onto his lap.

"Dalton, you have to talk to her! She's your mother!" Athena hissed. "And she got sick because you were an asshole and wouldn't talk to her!"

"She wouldn't listen to me!" Dalton snapped. "She thinks I hurt Parkinson on purpose!"

"Well, Dalton, you kind of did," Athena said, crossing her arms. "You intentionally set the chandelier on fire, and you knew there was a good chance someone would get hurt. I told you in class that it was a stupid thing to do."

"Yeah, well, she didn't have to go off on me!"

"Yes, she did." Athena rolled her eyes. "You were completely irresponsible. You're lucky Parkinson wasn't seriously hurt."

Dalton glared at her. "Way to take her side. You always take her side."

"Dalton, I'm on the side of sense. You screwed up, and yeah, maybe she should have talked to you about it at home or in her rooms, but she had every right to be mad. I know it sucks, but she's your professor and your parent. Sometimes that means life double sucks."

"That's easy for you to say. Albus doesn't seem to ever get you in trouble."

"That would be because I don't get myself into trouble," Athena said primly. She took him by the hand. "Now, come on. We need to talk to Min."

"They're going to be even angrier when they find out we snuck out of the tower," Dalton grumbled, letting her pull him to the Hospital Wing door. "Curfew was fifteen minutes ago."

"And we should have gone to see Min right after the match, but you were being a twerp." Athena took a deep breath and knocked on the door. "Follow my lead."

"I followed you here," he mumbled, and she glared at him.

Poppy opened the door and frowned. "Are you two all right? Did something happen in the tower?"

"No, we're here to see Min and make sure she's okay," Athena said. "And Dalton needs to apologize."

Poppy quirked an eyebrow. "Well, then. By all means, come on in. Callum and Albus are here, too."

"Fantastic." Dalton swallowed. "Where are they?"

"Come, I'll take you to her room. I have a separate space partitioned for professors and staff," Poppy explained. She led them down the ward and to a door, which she knocked on before opening. "Min, you have some visitors."

The hopeful look on his mother's face as she caught sight of him made Dalton feel very, very guilty.

"This is a nice surprise," Minerva said gently. "I didn't think I'd be seeing you two here tonight."

"We wanted to see you." Athena shrugged. "And we figured you or Dad could write us a note if we got caught out of the tower after hours."

Albus rolled his eyes. "Yes, in this instance, you're correct."

"Can I hug you?" Athena asked, peering at Minerva. "I don't want to hurt you."

"You won't." Minerva laughed gently. "Poppy is keeping me here under observation, that's all."

Athena ran to Minerva's arms and curled herself under her arm. "Good. I'm glad you're okay."

"She will be, once she gets some food in her," Poppy said firmly. "That's why I'm keeping her."

"Your Aunt Poppy doesn't trust me to eat," Minerva laughed. "And this time, she may have a point."

"Do you get to leave tomorrow?" Athena played with Minerva's necklace. "It's our evening to all hang out in your rooms."

Minerva smiled into Athena's hair. "Yes, if Poppy here sticks to her word. I'm just happy you still want to hang out with us at your age."

"Of course we do," Athena scoffed. "He's my dad, and you're my Min."

Callum grinned. "Call her "Minnie", Athena, and see what happens."

"Shut up, Cal."

"Before you two fight," Athena interjected, "we all need to leave Dalton here with Minerva. He needs to apologize."

Dalton stared at her. "Athena, what the hell?"

"Language," Callum said softly. "But that may be a good idea. Athena, why don't you come with your father and me? We'll raid Poppy's candy stores. I'm sure she has some good chocolate laying around somewhere."

"Awesome." Athena kissed Minerva on the cheek and left. "Bye, Min! See you tomorrow."

As they left, Albus was last out. "I'll close the door. If you need anything, you know how to find me."

"I do. Thank you, Albus." Minerva smiled gently as he shut the door and disappeared. "Dalton..."

"Mama, I'm sorry you got hurt." Dalton bit his lip. "I didn't know that would happen. Are you really okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine. Truly. I just fainted because I hadn't eaten enough, and then seeing your cousin attack you with a bludger made me nervous." Minerva narrowed her eyes. "Are you okay after that?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Dalton shrugged. "I had a busted shoulder and some bruises on my stomach, but Poppy fixed me up."

Minerva groaned. "That is not what I wanted to hear. You're fine now?"

"Yes, I'm fine." He looked at her nervously. "Can I come and sit on the bed?"

"Of course, darling." She patted the space Athena had occupied. "Come on over."

Dalton did so, toying with a blanket. "I shouldn't have said what I said to you about Dad and you not being there. I was angry, and it was a rotten thing to do. I'm sorry."

"Thank you for the apology. I'll admit your words hurt, but I have to ask: do you really feel that way?"

He blushed. "You won't get mad?"

"Not if you tell me how you feel, no."

"Sometimes," Dalton said honestly. "I mean, it's not your fault Dad's not here. That wasn't a fair thing to say, and I know you miss him, too. Maybe," he looked at Minerva hopefully, "we could talk about him more?"

"I'd like that." Minerva smiled gently. "You're right. We should do that more. Now, what about the part about me, hmm?"

"I don't really blame you for working. I mean, I get it. We needed money, and you needed a job. That makes sense."

"But?"

"But sometimes I wish we didn't have to hide," Dalton explained. "I still don't even really know why you can't just be my mom. I mean, yeah, it would be awkward in class, and I'm sure the Slytherins would tease me, but I could handle it. And," he added, "it bothers Athena, too, but that's the one thing she'll never say to Albus' face."

Minerva sighed. "I think it's time I tell you something, but I'm going to ask you to keep it from Athena until Albus can talk to her about it. Is that clear?"

Dalton nodded. "Okay."

"We keep our relationships and you children private," Minerva began, "because we have enemies. I don't want to scare you, darling, but your father died during a duel. There are a few people your dad and I went to school with that aren't good people. They didn't like us, and blamed our family for...well, for their own lives going wrong. There was a fight, and Albus, Uncle Callum, and I managed to survive, but they killed your father."

"Who did it?" Dalton asked angrily.

"No, I'm not telling you that until you're older." Minerva shook her head. "Your dad once had to choose light over vengeance, and darling, I'm asking you to do the same thing. This isn't your fight."

"How can you say that?"

"Because it's mine," Minerva said simply. "Albus and I are quietly doing what we can to collect intelligence on them, but our research hasn't been fruitful. I need you to trust me: we will find them, and we will handle it."

"Why didn't you tell me earlier? Will Athena and I be okay?"

"I honestly didn't know how to explain it to you. It's not a nice thing for anyone to come to terms with, let alone a child. As for your other question, yes, you'll be fine. Our enemies don't know about you two, and you'll be safe as long as that remains the case. I think Professor Flitwick knows more than he's letting on, so I'll probably have to tell him tomorrow..." Minerva trailed off, sighing. "It's not like we're keeping your parentage a secret because we don't love you. We want to keep you safe."

"I wish you'd told me this sooner. But," Dalton added, "I get it. Can we just forget this whole thing? You and Athena were right: I put everyone in danger, and it wasn't okay."

"Yes, let's forget it. You served your detention," Minerva chuckled. "I just hope you know I was upset because I worry about you, and because I taught you better than that."

"I know." He nodded. "I'm sorry."

"It's all right, darling. Now, would you be a dear and go and steal me some biscuits from Poppy's stash?"

After leaving the Hospital Wing the following morning, Minerva stopped by Albus' office. She explained to him that Filius knew about Dalton, and she wanted to tell him. Albus had paled, but invited his Deputy up anyway.

"How are you feeling today, Minerva?" Filius asked, sitting himself in a chair.

"Better, thank you. I apologize for falling in your lap."

"Oh, it's no matter." Filius smiled. "I'm just glad you're feeling well again."

"Yes, thank you." Minerva looked down at her lap and then back at Filius, determined. "I have something to tell you, but I think you already know."

"That Dalton Scrimgeour is your son?" Filius asked. "I didn't put it together until this year, but I did suspect."

"Yes." Minerva nodded. "Dalton is my son. No one knows, outside of my family and my closest friends. Really, that's only Poppy, Ro, and Albus."

"I admire you for keeping it a secret," Filius said. "I would never have suspected if Dalton hadn't let slip to me earlier in the year that his mother could turn into a cat."

"Oh, dear," Minerva groaned. "Well, that'll do it."

"I may have checked the Animagus registry, and well, it all made sense after that," Filius admitted. "Congratulations, Minerva, even if it's fifteen years too late. He's a wonderful boy."

"Thank you. I think so, too. I hope you understand why we've chosen to keep this a secret."

"Oh, of course. You're well-known. I can't imagine the stress and pressure it would put on any child of yours. Er—is Dalton your only child?"

Minerva frowned briefly, then recovered. "Yes."

Albus, who had been a silent bystander, suddenly felt very guilty. "Filius, I too have a confession to make."

Minerva's eyes widened. "Albus, you don't have to."

"What, are you his father?" Filius looked between them. "Is that why we're in your office?"

"No." Albus exhaled. "We're in my office because Minerva wanted to talk to me before she told you. You see, Athena Williams is my daughter."

Filius was flabbergasted. "Truly?"

"Yes." Albus nodded. "Athena is mine. She carries her mother's name. I've kept her a secret for the same reasons as Minerva."

"I didn't expect that. But, now that you say it, it makes sense," Filius mused. "She certainly shares your brilliance. Now, forgive me if I'm overstepping here, but...what happened to your husband, Minerva?"

"Dead."

A look of sorrow crossed Filius' face. "I'm sorry. And your partner, Albus?"

"Gone," Albus said simply. "I'm afraid I don't know much more than that."

"Merlin," Filius muttered. "I do believe I'll need a drink after this conversation. Aside from Ro and Poppy, am I to understand that I am the only staff member to be trusted with this information?"

"Well, Hagrid already knows," Minerva said apologetically. "At the very least, he knows that one of the two is mine. It's a long story, but he found them wandering around the grounds when they were younger."

"My God. Do you two think you'll really be able to keep this secret forever?" Filius looked at them, incredulous. "I'll admit, I'm surprised no one else has figured it out."

"We have been rather lucky," Albus confessed. "We intend to keep it a secret for as long as we can. I have enemies, my friend. You know that—what you might not know is that I share a few with Minerva. We couldn't risk anything happening to our children because of who we are."

"Well, I'll keep your secret. Don't worry about that," Filius said. "No one will ever hear it from me."

"Thank you, Filius." Albus smiled gently. "I appreciate your confidence."

"And we'll appreciate your help even more when it comes time to choose the Prefects for next year," Minerva added. "I don't think it's fair if I choose the Gryffindor Prefects, given that one of the frontrunners is my child, and the other may as well be."

"Fantastic," Filius groaned. "Absolutely fantastic."