1 November 1981
The last rays of the golden sun disappeared behind the Scottish mountains. Minerva watched from her position on Dumbledore's balcony as stars started to fill the indigo sky. It was the first clear night in years; no deep grey thunderclouds, no rain, no lightning, no danger. It was all over. Voldemort was finally gone and defeated. At last, she could relax.
Feeling her eyes start to tingle, Minerva tried to stifle a yawn behind her hand.
"You know you did not have to stay there the whole night," said Albus, who was sitting beside her. He looked at her and smiled. "He was perfectly safe."
"A baby left on a doorstep in the middle of the night in Surrey?" she said incredulously. Minerva wrapped her arms around her middle as Fawkes flew over to her chair on the balcony and perched himself next to her. He hummed something beautiful and rested his head next to hers. "He might be gone, Albus, but his followers are still out there. If they ever find out where Harry is…" She felt her chin tremble and looked away from her friend.
"They won't, Minerva," he assured her.
"But they could," she said. "It is not a difficult house to find."
Albus looked deeply into her eyes. "Minerva," he said, "They won't. Trust me."
Minerva held his gaze before she started to feel tears form in her eyes. Despite the great sense of relief and happiness she felt now that You-Know-Who was finally gone, all the emotions she had been avoiding were now flooding back: the death of the Bones' family, the McKinnons, the Prewetts, her brother Robert and his wife, and now Lily and James Potter…
The list of those whose lives had been so cruelly robbed went on and on. And now that she no longer had the Order of the Phoenix to distract her, or the fear of seeing something terrible in the news the following day, or even the constant worry of finding out somebody else that she cared for had been hurt or worse, Minerva's mind was now free to finally deal with all the thoughts and feelings she had been burying.
"Is the Hogwarts Express still coming tomorrow?" she asked, grateful that Albus had tactfully turned his head so that she could dry her eyes.
He nodded. "It has been a difficult few years. Students should spend this time with their families."
Minerva silently agreed with him. Today had been one of the most emotional days she had ever experienced at Hogwarts. As soon as she had arrived back at the castle in the early hours of the morning, she had found Pomona standing outside her office door. They had hugged and Pomona had half-sobbed half-laughed into Minerva's shoulder.
Later on in the day, as the news started to spread, students could be seen laughing, screaming and running around the corridors to see friends or rush to the owlery to send letters to their relatives. Even Filch, who had spent most of his time at Hogwarts trying to punish every student he could lay his hands on, refrained from calling people into his office.
Nobody seemed able to concentrate in class and Dumbledore, at dinnertime, had announced that the Hogwarts Express would be arriving the following morning to take everyone home for a long weekend. He argued that after everything that had happened, now was an important time to spend with relatives to celebrate the end but also grieve all the lives that had been lost.
"Will you be going home too, my dear?" Albus asked, stroking Fawkes who had hopped over onto his lap.
"Malcolm sent me a message as soon as he heard the news," Minerva answered, checking her watch. "I probably should start getting ready now that I think about it."
She got up and Albus followed her, walking her back inside.
"I don't think I will see you in the morning, Albus," she said as they stepped inside his office. "I will be back on Sunday, though."
Dumbledore smiled and, to her surprise, leaned forward and gave her a rare but appreciated hug. "Take care of yourself, my dear," he said, releasing her, "And I shall see you on Sunday."
Minerva felt a lump form in the back of her throat. "You too, Albus."
He smiled and opened the door for her. Briefly smiling back, Minerva slipped quietly out of his office and made her way down the eagle staircase.
Hello all! :) Just to give a brief overview, this story is going to follow Minerva from the end of the First Wizarding War until the end of the Second Wizarding War or after. I have written a story that precedes this one in case you want to read about her life before 1981. It's called What defines us is how well we rise after falling – long title, I know.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! If you want me to write about a particular event just PM me and I'll try and incorporate it into the story. Reviews are highly appreciated as well! :) Apart from that, I have nothing else I need to say so I'll let you get on with your day. :)