A/N: I am ashamed: such a long time without an update. Anyway, here it is. We get a little bit into the fantastic and magic this time.

Additionally Disclaiming: The idea with the whistle isn't exactly mine. I don't know, if L. Frank Baum or Alexander Volkov had the idea first. So, whoever did it, owns it. I just bend it to my needs.

Chapter 20 – Magic Moments

Instead of the expected shrill sound only a hollow hoot came out. And then there was a tap on the window.

"What the hell?" came Melina's shocked exclamation.

Right after Minerva had blown the whistle, three owls had appeared on the window sill.

The three occupants of the room stared at each other in surprise. "Do you…do you think they came here because of the whistle?" Minerva finally choked out.

The other two shrugged. Meanwhile, the biggest of the three owls tapped impatiently against the window, demanding to be let in.

Minerva went and opened the window. The three owls zoomed into the room and finally settled on the table. The humans curiously stepped closer and took a better look at the owls. There was one barn owl, a snowy owl and a burrowing owl, which was the biggest of them and apparently the leader of the pack. Observing her, the humans discovered to their surprise that she was wearing a silver ring around her leg which was adorned with a sapphire.

"I have never seen a bird with a sapphire ring." Melina whispered to her father. "Me neither" he whispered back.

The owls took no notice of them, but instead focussed completely on Minerva. The witch found herself completely mesmerized by the burrowing owl's amber eyes. Staring at the bird, Minerva suddenly gasped. "Is it true? Can this really be true?"

"What is it, Min? What is true?"

The woman ignored the question, while the owl hooted soothingly. Suddenly, Minerva bowed to the owl. "Your majesty…"

"Papa, do you think Aunt Min is losing it now?" Melina whispered.

"No Melina, I am not losing it, as you so nicely put it." Came the calm reply. "This is the owl I saw in my animagus vision. It is the queen of the owls. She is here to serve me."

"The…the queen of owls? T..t..to serve you? How? How can you understand her?" Uray sputtered in astonishment.

His sister was still not looking at him. "The whistle. With the whistle I can call her for assistance. The powers of Minerva, remember? The owl is the animal of Minerva. And since I seem to indeed have powers of the ancient Goddess Minerva, I can command their queen to my service."

"Did the bird tell you all of this?" Melina asked sceptically.

"'The bird', Melina, is a queen. And yes, she can communicate with me."

"Wow!" Uray uttered and fell heavily down into a chair. "This is unbelievable. You can communicate with owls. You can call them to your service….all of them?"

Minerva looked at the queen again. A hoot was her response. "Partially yes." The woman brightened suddenly. "Now the thing with the broom makes sense."

"The broom?"

"Never mind."

"Ask her if she knows which powers of Minerva you have. Then we won't have to break into the Ministry."

His sister grinned in spite of herself. "Always searching for a way out, aren't you?"

Uray shrugged and grinned too. "Can't blame a guy for trying."

Minerva turned to the owl again. After a short silence, she sighed in defeat. "She can't tell me. With the whistle I can summon her and enlist her help and thus the help of the owls. But she doesn't know which other powers I have and how they will help me to save the school."

"Too bad. Can't she fetch the prophecy for us?"

An angry hoot was the answer.

"I'd say that was a 'no'." Melina commented dryly.

Minerva chuckled. "I'm afraid so. So we still have to do the break."  

"Couldn't she help us somehow? I mean, we can use all the help we can get."

Again a tense silence filled the room as Minerva wordlessly conversed with the queen owl.

Finally, the woman turned to her brother. "Her Majesty is a little upset due to your behavior, Uray." The man's eyes widened. However, he saw the seriousness on his sister's face and refrained from a smart comment. Instead, seeing that this was a time to do an odd thing, he bowed in apology to the bird. The owl hooted again. This time the sound was much friendlier than before.

Minerva continued. "Even though she can't fetch the prophecy for us, she thinks she can be of service, nonetheless. Due to the fact that her folk deliver the mail to the Ministry, they do know all entrances into the building, and probably some passages inside, which are pretty unknown to humans. Thus, they could lead us into the Ministry and probably to the Department of Mysteries so we won't be discovered."

"It would indeed help us quite a lot." Melina muttered. "There have to be several passages inside the building that aren't used much. And…the owls could function as a warning system too. In case some unwanted eyes or ears come near."

"That is true." Uray agreed. He bowed again, since he figured it couldn't hurt. "Is there something else?"

If an owl could glare, that is exactly what the big burrowing owl would have done. Her angry shriek was impossible to misunderstand.

Minerva rolled her eyes. "There is indeed, Uray. She can also solve our communication problem."

Now, Uray's interest was piqued. "How so?" Melina leaned forward as well. "How?"

"Her Majesty has certain magical powers too. If I give her my message for Arthur Weasley or Alastor, she would fly and deliver it. Without the use of parchment, that is."

The others' faces were masks of confusion. "How is that possible?"

Minerva shrugged. "Well, I'd give her the message and when she reached the person it was meant for, she would conjure the message into the air. Apparently, her powers are that way."

All three owls hooted importantly, as if they wanted to strengthen that statement. The queen nipped at Minerva's hand that was lying on the table. The woman looked at the bird and a silent communication was given.

Suddenly, the queen leaped up from her place on the table, zoomed around the room several times and finally landed on Uray's shoulder. The man sat stock still. The grey-brown owl hooted several times and with each hoot some more amber lines appeared in the air. After a final shriek, the lines in the air arranged themselves into words:

"Of course you can demonstrate your abilities, your Majesty."

The humans stared at each other and then at the words, which slowly started to dissolve from the first to the last.

"Was that what you were thinking, Min?" Uray managed to gasp.

Minerva swallowed. "Indeed it was. Each and every word."

"I don't believe it."

"But it was there."

"I know."

The three owls seemed to grow larger with triumph.

Melina, who had been silent for quite some time now, suddenly said: "So, where do we send her first? And how do we make Alastor and Arthur trust her? I mean, we can't expect that they will automatically assume that an owl with its own magical powers comes from you, Aunt Min."

"She is right, you know. We have to give them a sign that makes it clear that she's a messenger from you."

Again the queen hooted importantly. Minerva turned to her and suddenly put her hand onto the back of the owl.

Out of nothing a small cloak appeared on the queen's back. The cloak was the McGonagall tartan, and the family crest was embroidered on it. It was held together by a miniature version of Minerva's beloved amber brooch.

Uray shook his head with a smile. "I rest my case, Min. This is amazing."

His sister smiled back at him. "Now, whom should we inform first?"

"Alastor, I'd say. He could contact the Weasley's too and thus quicken the pace."

Minerva nodded. "Well then, Alastor it is." She turned back to the owls and another silence ensued, while she drew up the message for the former Chief of Aurors.

After some minutes, she stroked the owls and bowed to the queen. The owls attempted some sort of a bow too, then rose from the table and with a flap of their wings they were gone.

Even some time later, the three McGonagalls were rooted to their spots. Finally, Melina broke the silence. "Did that really happen?"

Minerva took in the feathers on the floor. "It seems like this has really happened." She answered dumbfounded, and sat down heavily too.

~~~

Comments:

Isabelle3: Thanks and you will see.  

Jestana: After you got me onto the Alastor/Poppy bandwagon, I couldn't leave them out. Couldn't I?

Mascaret: Does that answer your question?

LinZE: I am to please…and after all I am in my prime.

VoyICJ: You might have been a normal child – I certainly wasn't. But if you are taught that something is an almost sacred object and you are a good child like Minerva, then you would leave it alone. In my book, that is, how Minerva saw it. And you are not toast yet…

Palanfanaiel: I'm not English either, but the saying is nice. Your humor is just fine…I was worried myself that I would end up with 117 chapters or the like *keeps fingers crossed*. Hope, your question has been answered.

Laura Kay: Thanks

Tartan Tabby: Indeed, the whistle is important…heheee

Thank you all for reviewing. Thank you all for reading….

So, what did you think? Let me know. And REVIEW, please!!!!!!!!