Me A poor starving actress/ writer who owns none of these people.

J.K.R A goddess who probably runs the universe as well as Harry Potter.

Chapter Four…Woot! I'm working my way past HBP, still in mourning. Sniff. On another, happier note, I hope everyone is enjoying the story thus far…I know I am.

Big Thank-You's to all of my wonderful reviewers…treats at the end.

Another Year Another Problem

4. Are we there yet?

They sat in silence for about twenty minutes while both happily, and thoughtfully munching on the hot chicken and buttered biscuits. Harry looked over at one point to see the car was driving itself through the English countryside. His professor had a biscuit in one hand and a drumstick in the other. She just looked over and said innocently "What?" Harry just laughed, something he hadn't done in a long time. Too long, actually.

They traveled this way for quite sometime before Harry had brought back up some of the questions that had been bothering him earlier. Maybe he would start with an easy one. "Professor," he began tentatively, "I was wondering, do you know why I haven't gotten a Daily Prophet all summer? I mean after everything that happened at the Ministry last year, I was sure that there would have been something in there, but now there isn't even a paper, why?"

"Oh that's easy Harry, and please no more 'Professor' this holiday, alright?" She asked, "You can call me Minerva, it's kind of a rule I have for people who live with me to call me by name."

Harry just said, "Alright M-M-Minerva." "Wow, that was odd," he thought. "I wonder if Hermione is having kittens over calling her favorite professor by name." Then he laughed out loud when he thought of Ron calling Professor McGonagall 'Minerva'.

"What is so funny?" Minerva asked, "I'll admit that my name is far from common, but I didn't think…"

Harry cut her off, "No, I was just thinking of how hard a time Hermione and Ron must have had getting used to calling you that. Funny is all."

"Ah, well, that explains it. It was rather funny, Hermione stumbled with it for quite sometime and Ron turned quite pink for some time." She began, "Now, as I was saying about the Prophet, There is a very good reason why you haven't received it. It doesn't exist." She paused to take a rather large bite of a scone that had just put jam on itself. "As I am sure you would have guessed, Cornelius Fudge is no longer the Minister of Magic, not after everything that went on recently at any rate. But the current Minister cancelled the paper and all of it's gossip until he can smooth everything out, then the Daily Prophet will come back into print. In the meantime most people are just subscribing to the WWN print edition."

"Who is the new minister? Do I know him? Is it Dumbledore? Do people know what happened then?" All of these questions came out of Harry's mouth so quickly it was hard for Minerva not to laugh.

"Yes you know him, no it isn't Dumbledore, but not for lack of everyone's trying. The new minister is Kingsley Shacklebolt. I suppose after being a rather accomplished Auror, and rather adamant that Dumbledore was right about you and You-Know-Who people noticed. He was almost unanimously voted in. As I'm sure you can imagine Harry, the good this has done for everyone." She finished matter-of-factly.

"Well, he is in the order, so that's good for us right? Now we aren't fighting both the order and Voldemort." Harry noticed as Minerva gave a slight start at the sound of his name, but decided to ignore it. "But what other good did it do?"

"Well, Percy Weasley in his attempts to always please the ministry is now at least being civil to his family. I was hoping he would do so much better, but, alas…Oh yes, and since one of the main reasons Arthur was in that Muggle Artifacts job for years with no promotion was because Fudge knew he was for Dumbledore no matter what, when Fudge left, Arthur was promoted.

At this news Harry absolutely beamed. If anyone deserved to have something good happen to their family, it was the Weasleys.

Minerva looked at Harry to see him smiling, she was glad that he was so happy for his friends.

"Why, I mean if you know, I was wondering why Dumbledore didn't want to be minister?" Harry asked, not wanting to but in if it wasn't his place, yet too curious not to ask.

Minerva thought for a moment, and then replied, "I do not know all of the reasons for anything Alb-Professor Dumbledore does, however I am aware of a good many. One of them being he feels he would do more good to not only the wizarding world, but the muggle world too, indirectly, if here were out and about actively fighting against the return of You-Know-Who instead of doing paperwork behind a desk."

Harry thought for a minute, "makes sense," he concluded.

Minerva gave a small laugh., "I'm glad you approve of the Headmaster's reasoning."

Harry's blush that crept into his cheeks said plenty clear that he had not intended to voice that particular opinion. Oops!

"Um, yeah….so are we there yet?"

After another hour in the car full of talk about next years Quidditch team, last year's Quidditch team, and Quidditch through out time, they arrived at another rest stop and got out to stretch they're legs.

When they got back in the car with plenty of rations from the vending machine, Harry remembered one of his earlier questions, "Profess-Minerva, why are we riving to your house? I mean we could have flooed, or well, not apparate, because I haven't gotten my lice sense, but we could have taken a portkey, or flown, why drive?"

"Because Harry, she stated, "all magical transportation is being watched."

"But, if the Minister is one of our guys, can't he just let us do it? Not watch for a few minutes?" Harry wondered aloud.

"No. If no one looks for even a second, in that one second Pettigrew, or Lestrange, or even You-Know-Who could sneak by undetected. Besides," she explained further, "the Minister is not the one personally looking at all of these modes of transport, there are people in departments working under him whose jobs are that, specifically. We don't know if the people watching are on our side or not. So it is safer if we take the long, if not tedious, road and do it the Muggle way."

"I get it," Harry said simply. After a few moments of dead silence Harry spoke up again…"Soooooo how much longer?"

Minerva just laughed, "actually we will be home in about 2 minutes. Even though we did travel the 'Muggle way' I was able to make it through faster than would be normal."

"Like the Night Bus?" Harry questioned, remembering his very bumpy, and overall, odd ride one dark night from Little Whinging to Hogwarts.

"No, most certainly nothing at all like the Night Bus!" Minerva said loudly, "I don't cram people through cracks in walls, no. I simply let traffic move for me. And the police not feel the need to come after me if they see me, smudge the rules a bit." She smiled almost mischievously then.

"You? Professor McGonagall smudging rules?" Harry said in a mock disbelieving tone, next thing you know I'll be being told that Fred and George are going back to school, and sending Get Well Soon cards to Delores Umbrige. "

They both instantly busted out laughing. Between pants Minerva said, "Oh shush, I don't want you to breathe a word of any of this, especially the 'rule smudging' to Hermione, she'll have no respect left for me."

And at this Harry noticed the car turning into a wonderful driveway with a large gate at the bottom. Minerva took out her wand and pressed the end of it to a pad which then began to glow a faint gold. Minerva said Evigilo Cattus. The golden gates sprang forward at this and opened to let the car through. What lay beyond was more beautiful than anything Harry had ever remembered seeing. A castle could be seen in the distance, probably one third the size of Hogwarts. Surrounding it was a lake, multiple gardens spanning acres, tennis courts, a Quidditch pitch, and fields full of wildflowers. On what appeared to be the border of the property was a long row of trees that looked like the edge of a forest.

Minerva noted the stunned look on Harry's face, and laughed inwardly. "It was good," she thought to herself, "to see him happy here."

"Like it?" She asked teasingly, for she could tell he did.

Harry let out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding and said, "Yeah, I think I could live here forever." He sounded far away and dreamy, bur quickly realized what he had just said, and tried to scramble for an attempted recovery. "I mean, it's really nice, it's huge though!"

She tried to stifle a laugh, "It is big, I daresay you, Ron, and Hermione should have plenty to keep busy with, what do you think?"

Harry just nodded silently becoming more and more dumbstruck after every turn in the drive.

Okay, well enough for today….two updates in like 3 days…I am beat guys! This one is like a page longer than the last, and although I know it isn't the greatest chapter in the world…It is necessary, transition and all. More fun to come in chapter 5 when Harry meets up with everyone inside the house.

Oh, Evigilo Cattus is Latin for 'Watchful Cat', or at least according to my trusty online English-Latin dictionary.

Now is the time for mew to tank my great and wonderful reviewers…

Especially…

The ever-faithful SherbertKitty (was Mmrulz4eva)…I liked the hugging part too…I'm big on hugs.

Liat1989…I can honestly say I have no idea…I'm playing this one by ear.

Minerva McGonagall…Yay, you are so nice! Here is the next bit for ya!

To all of my readers and reviewers…THANK YOU!

And if you read it and have constructive criticism or compliments, please leave them after the pretty blue button. Thanks!

Tabby Kat