…
"Don't let anyone tell you no. Do it with conviction, do it with passion, and you'll find a way."
— Amanda Tapping
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A guide to advanced Transfiguration. Chapter 17. Human Transfiguration
(…) Human Transfiguration could be used to essentially replicate the natural abilities of Metamorphmagi, allowing the practitioner or the subject to take on an entirely different form or make various individual changes to their appearance, such as growing or changing the colour, style or pattern of one's hair, or taking on individual animal body parts.
Although it was possible to transfigure humans into inanimate objects, it is unknown how someone who had himself transfigured into an object would be able to untransfigure without the intervention of another witch or wizard. Probably, if witches and wizards performed this on themselves, they would do this with the intention of retaining their mental consciousness and abilities. Therefore, they could untransfigure themselves back to human form, both nonverbally and wandlessly.
When or witch or wizard is transfigured into an animal by someone else, it is almost impossible for them to return to their human form on their own. Whether or not they still have access to their human memories while stuck in animal form is as of yet still unclear. (For comparison with Animal see chapter 20.)
Dangers: It had been stated many times that Human Transfiguration could go badly wrong when performed poorly. The user had the risk of getting stuck in their transfigured state (…)*
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Liam Granger first felt like throwing up when he first arrived at Arina's family home. He let go of his daughter's hand and immediately reached out and tried to get a hold of something that would prevent him from losing his balance, for his knees were about to give in. Apparating, as Hermione had earlier explained, was not at all as pleasant and 'easy-going' as she had promised him. He took several deep breaths in order to get his upset stomach under control again. Opening his emerald eyes, he glanced to his right and noticed that his wife had similar problems.
Once his breathing had calmed down and he was able to get a better look around the great and majestic entrance hall with its gigantic white marble staircase, Liam Granger felt utterly flummoxed at the sight that greeted him. Putting an arm around his still slightly green wife, he turned around to look at his brother-in-law and Arina.
"Is – is this… " he was at a loss for words.
Hermione and Ronald's eyes, however, had also widened in surprise. Little Arielle on Arina's arm giggled.
"You see it, too, don't you?" he asked again, eyebrow raised, and pointed towards the elderly man with silvery-grey eyes in front of them, who was apparently in the process of dusting off the entrance hall. However, apart from the bucket that stood on the bottom of the stairs, and the mop he held in his hands, he didn't seem to get a lot of cleaning done.
A small bat sat on his shoulder. He wore a bright purple pair of earmuffs, with a Walkman in his left hand, and the mop in his right. He moved across the marble staircase in swift dance moves –- about half a dozen rusty knights dancing along with him. Apparently, he had reached a particularly good point in his song, for the old man started singing the chorus at the top of his lungs.
Once she had adjusted to the scene, Arina laughed whole-heartedly.
"Oh, you will get used to him," she laughed and shook her head. "That's my godfather, Xemerius."
Apparently, Jean had recovered as well, for her lips twitched in amusement. "And is he always like… this?"
Aidan nodded, smirking, too. "Yes, pretty much."
Liam couldn't help the stupid grin that settled on his face. He already knew that he would get along with this wizard splendidly.
"Shouldn't we tell him we're here?" Hermione asked, giggling, and leaned closer against Ronald's chest. Liam's lips thinned involuntarily.
'Get a grip on yourself, William,' he told himself. 'Your little girl's got a boyfriend now. He's a good lad. All you want for her is to be happy.'
"What do you think, Ellie?" Arina asked in a voice every young mother would use with her first-born child. "Let's watch Uncle Xemmi's outstanding performance for a bit longer, shall we?"
Liam couldn't help but smile. Both at the funny wizard, and at Arina and her little girl. Although he and the ebony-haired witch liked to bicker every now and then, they mostly did it to annoy each other. Truth to be told, he's always been close to Jean's brother, and when Aidan had told them all those years ago that he had a new girlfriend, Liam had not expected her to be such a sweetheart. More than once, Aidan had complained that most girls he went out with only wanted to be with him because he was quite popular at that school of theirs. So naturally, when he had first laid eyes on Arina, Liam was skeptical. But half-way through their dinner, all worries vanished in thin air.
"Do behave yourself, will you?" Jean hissed and held on tighter to his arm.
They had only just arrived at the small Italian restaurant but could already see two figures waiting by the doors.
"Hey, he's my brother-in-law," Liam had argued with a soft smile, and kissed his wife on the cheek. "I'm only looking out for the kid."
Jean rolled her eyes. "Aidan's not a kid anymore. He's 19 years old for goodness sake. And, may I remind you that you're not that much older?"
Liam shrugged. "Yeah, so? The last girl he fell for broke the poor lad's heart."
His wife sighed. "'Well, he's three years older than most of his classmates… and a lot of girls are attracted to that."
Before Liam got the chance to reply, they had reached the couple in question. Immediately, his emerald eyes scanned the 16-year-old girl in front of him. She was a beauty — that he couldn't deny. Her ebony hair was tied together in a high ponytail and her curls dangled down her back. Her face was slim, she had high cheekbones — very much like his own — and her cheeks were rosy from the cold winter's air outside. However, when she noticed them approaching and her sparkling blue eyes met his, a warm feeling washed over him, which only intensified when he extended his hand and shook hers, which trembled nervously.
"Arina Pendragon," the beauty introduced herself. "It's lovely to finally meet you."
"Nice to meet you, too, darling," Jean said, and greeted her with a tight hug. Then she looked at her brother and whispered something to him before they opened the restaurant door and headed inside.
Liam, always the gentleman, opened the door for the freezing girl and smiled at her encouragingly. "Don't look so frightened, Kiddo, we don't bite. Besides, you can do magic, so if anyone has the right to be frightened it's me."
The young witch couldn't help but laugh, and when she playfully nudged Liam with her elbow, he knew that she was not like any of the other girls Dan had dated before.
Not long into their dinner — lovely Italian cuisine recommended by his mother — her initial shyness and nervousness quickly disappeared, and he and Arina got along splendidly. She was kind, funny and brave, and challenged him in a way not many people could. Growing up as an only child, he had never really known what it was like to have any siblings, but like Jean always loved to point out, the constant teasing, eye-rolling, and playful bantering between them was just like that.
Now, almost 20 years later, he glanced at his sister-in-law and couldn't help but feel relieved that they had all made it through this terrible wizarding war. For about two weeks, little Arielle had stayed with Dan and Jean's father Max, for her parents were needed at the front lines. From what Hermione had told him, it must have been terrible. And he was quite sure that his daughter hadn't told him everything. Aidan had been working day and night at St. Mungos hospital, taking care of witches and wizards that got wounded or cursed. Liam had absolutely no idea what Arina's role had been, but he assumed that whatever she had been up to was just as important. At least important enough to give her beloved little girl to Max.
Arielle's happy giggle brought him back from his daydreaming. The little girl was a perfect mixture of her parents. She had inherited her mother's deep blue sparkling eyes, but Dan's light blond hair. In her adorable, indigo-coloured dress, white stockings, and blue ribbon in her hair, she looked like a little angel.
His emerald green eyes twinkled, and he reached out to take the little girl in his arms. "Now, come to Uncle Liam," he cooed, and the toddler happily wrapped her arms around his neck.
Aidan chuckled and wrapped his arms around Arina; their eyes traveling from Arielle and him to a still dancing Xemerius and back.
Liam was about to mention how good a dancer the old wizard was, when a loud 'PLOP' was heard.
His heart skipped a beat, and he instinctively turned around, shielding little Arielle from harm's way.
However, instead of the danger he had anticipated, it was only a group of people that had appeared right next to them.
Relieved, he released the air he had been holding.
Amongst the new people, he spotted the boy with the lightning-bolt scar on his forehead –- Harry. The red-haired girl next to him, thus, had to be Ginny, Ron's little sister and — if he had listened to his daughter correctly –- their mother Molly, whom he had met shortly in Diagon Alley while shopping for Hermione's school supples just before her second year at Hogwarts was about to start.
Next to them were a couple of people Liam had never seen before: an elderly man with goats all over his cloak and two other elderly looking witches –- one with sharp yellow eyes and one wearing a rather ridiculous looking hat. Then there was what seemed to be a family of four –- a man with sleek black hair, a blonde woman and young man with light blond hair, and a brunette girl with light blue eyes.
From what Arina had told him, the old and white-haired wizard with the half-moon spectacles had to be her father Albus. His hands held on tightly to a beautiful witch wrapped in a dark blue traveling coat and grey-streaked ebony hair that fell loosely from her bun. And even though he had never seen her before, there was no doubt she was Rina's mother — the resemblance was astounding.
Shaking his head, Liam couldn't help but smile. He remembered it as if it happened just yesterday when Arina told him with an excited smile that his daughter's name had shown up on her mother's magical list and she had even leaked details about when the deputy headmistress would come to deliver Hermione's Hogwarts Letter. Unfortunately, Liam had been called to an emergency dental surgery. Nevertheless, ever since the witch had shown up at their house, his daughter wouldn't stop telling him about her beloved Head of House.
Liam made a mental note to thank the witch for looking out for his daughter and her friends throughout all these years. It probably wasn't an easy task, he supposed, especially in times of war. He noticed that the elegant witch did look rather tired and terribly exhausted.
Just in that moment, the Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts turned around, and her mesmerizing emerald eyes locked with his own. Immediately, a warm feeling spread through Liam's entire body and his skin tingled excitedly. So strong that, for a second, it took his breath away.
He noticed that the witch's beautiful emerald eyes widened, too, and for small second, an astonished look spread across her face. But the witch quickly schooled her features, then smiled kindly towards him before she turned her attention towards the silvery-eyed wizard on top of the staircase, who was still dancing happily with his mob.
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"Oh, Xemerius," Professor McGonagall sighed heavily when she saw her best friend dancing and singing with half a dozen charmed knights.
Hermione giggled. "He seems to enjoy himself."
Emerald eyes turned towards her. "He always does, Miss Granger. It got him into quite a bit of trouble more than once…"
Madam Hooch coughed heavily, and Mrs. Longbottom laughed.
It was Professor Dumbledore who shook his head, chuckling, and waved his hand until Xemerius' earmuffs disappeared.
"Brooks!" the flying-instructor shouted, laughing hysterically.
Terribly startled, the silver-eyed wizard turned around.
"Bloody hell," he cursed, silver eyes wide and clearly embarrassed. "How long have you lot been standing there?"
"Long enough to know that you really need another girlfriend, Uncle Xem," Arina laughed and her blue eyes twinkled.
Immediately, the wizard flicked his wand and both mop and bucket vanished.
"What is it with you and these knights?" the transfiguration mistress asked, rolling her eyes, while heavily leaning on her husband.
Hermione couldn't help but smile at the sight. It felt strange, but at the same time so natural to see the Headmaster and his deputy so close together with their usual guard down. Instinctively, the young witch leaned closer against her boyfriend. Ron moved his head ever-so-slightly, the corners of his mouth twitching as he leaned in and kissed her cheek.
Up the stairs, Xemerius shrugged and quickly checked if little Batty still sat on his shoulder. "I got bored and the knights are good company. I thought you would be here hours ago. Besides," he said and brought his arms to rest on his hips, "I cleaned the whole place. You should thank me instead of lecture me, Min."
Hermione heard her father chuckle. Ron did, too.
"Just be careful, Xem," Aidan pointed out and circled his arm closer around Arina's waist. "Sunny doesn't really like it when people interfere with her work."
"Sunny?" Jean Granger asked, confused. Hermione smiled at her mother and whispered, "Sunny's her house elf."
Xemerius ignored all further laughter and descended the marble staircase. "It's about time you show up," he said to the transfiguration Mistress and engulfed her in a tight hug. Then he turned towards the rest of the crowd, flicked his wand once more and a small piece of parchment came flying towards him. "I took the liberty to assign each of you a room. Now, let's see…"
With a sigh, he rummaged through the pockets of his jeans, until he found a pair of glasses.
"Looks who's getting old," Augusta Longbottom mumbled, and Hermione couldn't help but smile at the glare which the silvery-eyed wizard sent towards Neville's grandmother. Then a thought hit her.
"Where is Neville anyway?"
Augusta smiled at her but it was Mrs. Weasley who answered. "Don't worry, dear. He decided to stay at Hogwarts with George and Arthur to help find Miss Lovegood's father. Unlike us, they seem to be quite excited about sleeping in a tent…"
Xemerius shrugged. "The lad's young… Although the war would have been enough of an adventure for me… but anyway, why don't you follow me upstairs and I'll show you to your rooms before we can all gather for a lovely cup of tea?"
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Harry smiled, and although he was still looking around the grand entrance hall in amazement, he managed to tear his gaze away and took Ginny's hand in his own — eager to learn more about the place his mother had basically grown up in. And, if he was completely honest with himself, he was quite curious to get to know his Professors a little bit better. He had already learned quite a few things from the memories, but spending actual time with them was something he was really looking forward to. Spending time with strict ol' McGonagall… who would have thought she'd be so different in private?
A warm feeling spread through his chest, and he was about to follow Xemerius when an adorable "Granny!" echoed through the hall of McGonagall Manor.
Immediately, everyone turned towards the little girl in Liam Granger's arms. Apparently, she had just now spotted Professor McGonagall. Her charming blue eyes shone brightly and she struggled to get out of her uncle's arms.
"Arielle," whispered the transfiguration Mistress, and her emerald eyes filled with tears at seeing her little granddaughter again. Harry's heart grew fond at the scene, and he was once again reminded of how different Professor McGonagall and Minerva McGonagall were. The strict, no-nonsense Professor and the kind, caring and loving witch, who apparently had an even softer spot for her little granddaughter.
However, once Harry's own green eyes fell upon the young girl, he knew that she would have all of them wrapped around her little fingers immediately. Tiny Arielle, with her blue dress, white stockings and blonde curls was simply adorable.
Moving out of Dumbledore's embrace and ignoring the obvious pain that the injured leg caused her, the most powerful witch of her age bent down on her knees and held out her arms. The toddler ran, as quickly as her little feet carried her, towards the elderly witch and all but threw herself into her arms, knocking the Deputy Headmistress straight to the ground.
"Missed you, Granny," Ellie whispered and buried herself deep within the witch's robes.
The transfiguration mistress, who was now sprawled across the floor with the toddler all over her, hugged the little girl tightly, gave her a soft kiss on the cheek and chuckled. "I missed you, too, little witch."
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Like so many times before, agonizing pain shot through Minerva's poisoned blood and it only worsened when her already fragile body made contact with the cold marble floor. But holding her beloved granddaughter in her arms again made up for it all. Afraid that something would separate them once again, she held on tightly to the little girl's body and whispered words of loving endearments into her ear.
She felt several pairs of eyes on her, and she knew that most of them still had to get used to seeing this side of her. And if she was quite honest with herself, Minerva was really looking forward to it.
So far, she'd always held a respectable distance to the boy, for she knew that no matter how much she wanted to, she could never take Harry from Petunia, who was able to protect Harry in a way Minerva never could. She had discussed it with Albus so many times, but every time they came to the same solution; there was nothing stronger to be found than the blood-protection which only Petunia was able to provide. Thus, she watched — and loved Lily's son — from the shadows. She's always kept an eye out for Harry, Hermione and Ronald as best as she could, though how the three of them always managed to get themselves in trouble was beyond her.
"Look at that. The most powerful witch the wizarding world has seen in centuries…" Xemerius chuckled at the scene. "Knocked to the ground by a three-year-old. Arielle, Arielle… we expect great things from you in the future."
A roar of laughter erupted around her, and Minerva rolled her eyes at her old friend, but couldn't help the smirk that crept over her face. Finally, Albus took pity on her, extended his arm, and pulled them both up from the floor.
"Thank you."
"You're quite welcome, my dear," Albus replied, ruffling his fingers through his granddaughter's hair and wrapping his arm around Minerva's waist.
Exhausted, Minerva shifted Arielle so that she would sit on her hip, and the little girl buried herself — if possible — even closer into her robes. Then, Minerva leaned against her husband and for just a second, the witch closed her eyes and enjoyed his strength.
She had missed him terribly. But most of all, she had missed leaning into his solid embrace, his strong arms firmly around her. It made her feel safe. Protected. Loved. Shielded from harm's way.
Involuntary, a quiet sigh escaped her. If only Albus could protect her from her disease… but not even such a powerful wizard like her husband was able to remove the poison from her bloodstream. And although she was convinced that her son-in-law was by far the best healer St. Mungos had seen in a long time, Minerva knew that Aidan found it hard to accept that he would not find a cure for her in time.
For a moment, her thoughts travelled back to a couple of weeks prior to the battle…
When the sound of Aidan's owl scratching against the window frame rang through to her, she had opened her eyes lazily and realized that she was lying on the floor of her office, after an incredibly excruciating pain had riffled through her body and knocked her unconscious. Making sure the Carrow siblings would not be able to follow her, Minerva left the castle grounds to see what kind of news her daughter's husband had for her. After the initial diagnosis of 'Mors ad Crutiam' there was hardly a way he had more bad news for her…
"I'm glad you're here, Minerva. Please, take a seat," the young healer said and with a flick of his wand sent the pile of files flying towards the shelf where they sorted themselves on their own.
Silence fell over them and for a moment, he just stared at her.
"Aidan," Minerva reminded him, and her soft Scottish accent echoed through the surgeon's dimly lit office when she reached out to take his hand. "You said there were news on my condition?"
"Yes, sorry," he said, and brushed his fingers through his blond hair before he took a deep breath. "I got back yet another paper with new results on the latest blood examination."
The transfiguration mistress wasn't able to look into the surgeon's brown eyes. "How bad is it?"
The lack of a response was enough of an answer and with a slightly nauseous feeling she leaned back against her chair.
"The blood analysis shows that the poison in your system has almost taken over completely," Aidan explained and tried to keep his own voice under control.
Minerva swallowed hard, but nodded. After all, she had already expected this kind of answer.
"That's why I fainted earlier?" she asked emotionlessly.
Her son-in-law nodded. "Yes. The only good thing is that the pain your magic causes you has almost reached its limit."
The emerald eyed witch wasn't able to hold back the pretty dark and dry laugh. "Only almost?" She managed to ask, and a shudder ran down her spine seconds later.
She couldn't take this kind of excruciating pain for very much longer. And despite the Gryffindor that was embodied in her very soul, Minerva knew she'd be relieved when she would once again be united with her late husband.
"I'm afraid so. 'Mors ad Crutiam' is created to torture with a cruelty beyond imagination, but we already knew that."
"Indeed we did…" Minerva mumbled and thought back to the time when she had first talked with her son-in-law about the ancient poison.
With another flick of his wand, Aidan sent the file into his little emergency bag.
Then he sighed and looked at her. "We will find a cure, Minerva."
The emerald eyed witch sighed and once again reached out to take his larger hand in her thin one. "I'm so very glad to have such a skilled healer by my side. But we both know that there is no cure, Dan. There's a time for everyone. For some, sooner rather than later. That's just how it is."
Dan vehemently shook his head and snipped his finger and yet another paper flew into his hand. "I am not giving up just yet. Here, this is a recently published muggle article about a bone-marrow transplant."
Minerva had managed to regain her composure and raised — in her typical Professor manner — an eyebrow at him. "Apart from the fact that I am not aware that something like that has ever been accomplished successfully in the wizarding world before –"
"It hasn't."
"Then what does all this have to do with my case? You already said that a blood-transplant wouldn't help matters."
Aidan's eyes lit up; it always happened when he had one of his more or less brilliant ideas.
"These kinds of transplants are used to do something against very aggressive forms of cancer."
"I don't have cancer," Minerva pointed out logically.
The young surgeon nodded. "You don't. But it got me thinking."
Minerva now only stared at him; completely lost. Thus, her son-in-law elaborated. "Alright. In order to restrain your magic from turning against you any further, we first have to get rid of the poison in your blood system."
The emerald eyed witch nodded; so far, she was able to follow him.
"So, once the poison is killed by the antidote, your blood cells will recover."
Minerva raised an eyebrow suspiciously. This solution sounded far too easy for such an ancient toxin. "Where's the catch?"
"The only problem is… no matter how fast we try to 'clean' your blood, the poison in combination with such powerful magic like yours will have infected everything all over again before we are even halfway through with the procedure."
Minerva nodded; once again irritated. "I know. You already told me that a couple of months ago."
Dan nodded. "Yes; like I already said pure-bloods are affected even worse on top of everything else."
The emerald witch didn't know what to reply. She had always known that nothing good ever came of being a pure-blooded witch…
The young surgeon grabbed her hands enthusiastically once more. "Okay, but like I said, the article gave me some ideas…. What if we were to transfer your magic?"
Minerva's eyes widened and she felt her mouth drop.
"You want to do what?"
"Just think about it," Aidan said enthusiastically, jumped up from his desk and started pacing next to her. "Once your blood is magic-free, there is no reason for the poison to withstand the antidote."
The witch opened and closed her mouth, but no words came out. Dan reached out across the table and took her hands in his. Then he looked her in the eyes. "I know tempering with one's magic is dangerous. I know. But I refuse to give up. And this might be something worth investigating further, Minerva."
Minerva sighed at the memory and clutched Arielle closer to her. Part of her wanted nothing more than to believe in her son-in-law and that he would find a way for her to live. However, the witch also knew that it didn't do well to dwell on dreams and hold on to false hopes. She knew very well that everyone that tried to temper with magic usually ended up dead. If transferring one's magic to someone else or ridding someone of his or her magic had been possible, there would have been a constant bloodshed over power. Sure, it was possible, though highly illegal, to contain a person's magic — to calm it down and bind most of it to an object — just like she had done with her little boy's magic all these years ago… but there was no way to extinguish one's magic completely — and thus hardly a way to find a cure in time — no matter how hard Aidan tried.
And as if to confirm her doubts, another wave of excruciating pain rushed through her veins, and she sucked in a deep breath, bit down on her lower lips, and balled her left hand that was not holding on to her granddaughter into a fist — so hard that her nails pierced her own flesh.
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Aidan Gold watched the scene with mixed feelings. Like everyone else in the hall, he smiled when he saw his little girl's happiness at seeing her grandmother again. However, he had noticed the painful expression on his mother-in-law's face as she leaned against her husband. Minerva was always quick to mask her pain, but having known the Deputy Headmistress for more than two decades now, Dan could read her like an open book. Well, at least when her health was concerned.
She took great pride in her strength, and he knew that almost every single student — even most Slytherins — looked up to and admired the emerald-eyed witch for that. If Albus Dumbledore was considered to be the Head of Hogwarts, Minerva was the heart — in more than one way. She had dedicated her life to protecting her family and her students, searching for and destroying one of Voldemort's horcruxes… even if it would eventually cost her life.
After almost a year of skimming through every book he found on the old 'Mors Ad Crutiam', the young surgeon knew that her pain would only worsen during the next couple of days. They had pinpointed the origin of her infection back to the day when she had opened the blood entrance. Back then, he didn't even know about the horcrux hunt, but in hindsight, it didn't surprise him that the Dark Lord would secure his secret spots with an old and ancient poison on top of everything else. So far, only very little was known about the disease, but back then healers usually estimated that once infected with the toxin, one would die within the next six months. Apparently, a lot has changed since the last known case, for Minerva had lived over a year without having noticed a difference. When she first consulted him some time after Albus' 'death', Harry, Ron and his niece had already taken off to their Horcrux hunt.
Adian sighed. Sometimes, he wished Minerva had come to him sooner. Once he had given her the shocking diagnosis, the witch was at least aware of the fact that her pain would only worsen the more magic she used. But he knew that his mother-in-law would always put her students' lives above her own. Especially during the recent battle. Minerva didn't even deny her use of extraordinarily powerful magic. Aidan shook his head with a sigh once more.
The woman had – with one single spell – charmed every single statue and ordered them to man the boundaries and protect Hogwarts. And each statue that came to life needed an additional amount of her magic. Which, in itself, was once again a testimony of how powerful and skilled the witch really was.
Dan's heart almost broke when his eyes fell upon his daughter, who sat happily on Minerva's hip, her tiny arms wrapped around the older witch's neck, and her little body cuddled closely against her grandmother's robes. Then he caught sight of his own wife – her blue eyes dancing and her beautiful red lips formed a small smile – and he knew she enjoyed the scene as much as he did.
Aidan sighed for a third time, for he knew that the tears that shimmered the transfiguration mistress' eyes were not only tears of joy, but also of guilt and remorse. After all, how was she to explain to her beloved little granddaughter – and the rest of her family – that her death was closer than they all thought?
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"Now, Ellie, why don't you give Granny some time to breathe?" Harry heard the elderly ebony-haired witch mumble, and he couldn't help but smile. It was just so different to see the usually so stern professor chuckling so happily with her little granddaughter. He knew by now that Arina was absolutely right in what she had said about her mother, and he was sure that staying at McGonagall Manor would reveal even more of the caring and loving witch that had already surfaced.
Little Arielle, however, wasn't joyous about leaving. She held on to her grandmother and looked at her with blue puppy-dog eyes.
Professor McGonagall laughed slightly and shook her head before she turned slightly to glare at Professor Dumbledore. "She's learned that look from you, Albus."
Harry couldn't help but laugh, so did everybody else. The old wizard merely shrugged under his wife's glare.
His wife, Harry thought with a small smirk. He still couldn't quite believe that his professors had been married for all those years without anyone noticing. Hiding a relationship and a child… It must have been quite difficult not to let anything slip. On the other hand, Harry had experienced first hand what it was like to have people he loved taken from him… his parents, Sirius, Remus and Tonks to name only a few of them. They were all casualties of war, but Minerva – as he told himself to call her now – was an ex-Auror and had a position among the Hogwarts staff on top of that. She was basically a walking target for Death Eaters. And although he had not seen a memory of it yet, Harry was sure that Voldemort must have tried at least once to get such a powerful witch on his side. Having loved ones – and thus, black-mail material – was dangerous. He could, by now, understand why Arina had, until now, never told him that she was his godmother. If he had stayed with her — an Harry knew he would have wanted to — someone would have eventually found out and dug deeper into her history, and thus uncovered her secret heritage…
Harry was sure that his childhood with Arina and Dan and his Professors would have been a lot happier than growing up with the Dursleys' but it was enough for him to know that they had taken in his mother with open arms. And probably loved her more than her own family ever did.
Well, if the Evans' ever were her real family… Considering what Aunt Petunia had told him, and the fact that Athena McGonagall's necklace had somehow found its way into his late mother's possessions.
The-boy-who-lived put his hands into his right pocket to make sure the ruby-heart-sheaped necklace was still in its place. He would follow Ginny's advice and ask Prof- Minerva about it when less people were around… The elderly ebony-haired witch wanted to show him a picture of his mother's wedding day anyway, so maybe he could ask her then.
"Now, if you all would follow me upstairs now?" Xemerius asked, bowed and in doing so almost dropped Batty off his shoulder.
Naturally, they all did as they were told. Harry looped his arm through Ginny's and together, they all followed Xem. The young man's eyes wandered all over the castle-like home, fascinated by how elegant everything looked. Almost everything was adorned with white marble and sparkling crystal chandeliers.
Once they had ascended another marble staircase, they were led through what Arina explained to be the 'Hall of Ancestor', where quite a lot of old witches and wizards – one of them Godric Gryffindor himself – waved excitedly out of their portraits. Next was an enormous library, and both Hermione and her father's eyes lit up.
"My mother loved astronomy and my father used to work as an alchemist before he became Minister of Magic," Minerva explained, still carrying little Arielle, after they had passed a staircase that led upstairs towards a small observatory and potions laboratory. They walked by several other doors and corridors until they finally reached their destination.
Not only Harry's jaw dropped in awe when his emerald eyes took in the room. It was magnificent.
Like most other rooms, the sitting room was equally beautiful and painted in a modern light grey. In the middle was a comfy looking sofa with about a dozen pillows and neatly folded grey blankets, as well as a huge fireplace at the end. One wall was made of tall and wide window fronts, allowing a look at the wooden porch and enormous gardens. On the other side, the room was openly connected to a rather modern looking kitchen and dining room, which was by far the most impressive. Once more, a huge chandelier hung from the ceiling, right above a large rectangle dining table that was even larger than the one he had seen at Grimmauld Place. Most surprising, however, was that the table was already perfectly set for all of them, with black marble plates, goblets and matching silver cutlery.
"Looks like Sunny out-did herself again," Professor Dumbledore chuckled and wrapped his arm around his wife and granddaughter once more.
As if summoned by the mere mentioning of her name, a small little house elf – wearing a nicely fitting white apron – appeared with a small PLOP, causing both of Hermione's parents to jump at the unexpected sight.
"Speak of the elf," Arina laughed and leaned against Dan. "Hello, Sunny."
The elf turned around and bowed. "Miss Rina," she said, bowed once more and turned towards Minerva and hugged her leg. "Sunny is happy to see yous being well, Mistress."
Minerva shook her head with a small smile and softly caressed the elf behind her ears. "It's good to see you, Sunny. And thank you for taking care of everything."
The elf smiled proudly while Xemerius mockingly protested, "Hey, what about me?"
"Oh, we're so proud of you, too, Xemmi, dearest," Rolanda mocked, yellow eyes dancing mischievously. "Probably took poor Sunny twice the time with your help than without…"
Xemerius huffed. "Should have made you sleep in the attic after all…" he mumbled as he retrieved his roll of parchment once more. "Now let's see…"
Ignoring Augusta's comment about his glasses, Xemerius presented his ideas concerning the sleeping arrangements. Little Batty looked constantly over his shoulder as if the bat was supervising his work.
"Alright… let's get the kids sorted out first, shall we?" he asked, and Harry couldn't help but roll his eyes in amusement. He was 17 years old, and hardly a kid anymore. "Harry and Ginevra will use Lily's old room on the first floor; Ronald and Hermione the one next door."
"If Molly agrees," Minerva added carefully, and looked questioningly over her glasses at the Weasley matriarch.
Harry felt Ginny leaning closer to him, and when he looked at her, brown eyes sparkled excitedly and he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.
Molly seemed a little less excited, but eventually, she nodded with a sigh. "If Liam and Jean don't mind…"
The older ebony-haired witch was about to answer, but Xem interrupted her impatiently. "Seriously, people! They fought in a war. They," he pointed towards Harry, Ron and Hermione, "bunked in an old tent for months. I dare say they are all responsible enough to share a room."
Hermione's father – whom Xem probably didn't know or didn't care about – winced slightly at the thought of his little girl spending the night with her boyfriend. Out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw how both Arina and Jean elbowed Liam on either side. The emerald-eyed man winced even more, before he stared at Ron intensely, who nodded quickly.
"Fine," Liam Granger mumbled with a shrug, and pointed towards Arina and Jean. "I wouldn't stand a chance against these two anyway."
Dumbledore chuckled and clapped the younger man on the shoulder. "From one man to another, I wish I could tell you it gets easier in time."
This said, Professor McGonagall turned around with a small laugh and – like the two younger women – nudged the elderly wizard playfully. "Careful, old man, or you'll be the one sleeping on the couch tonight."
Harry never thought the day would come when he saw Dumbledore wince, and he laughed at the expression the old man wore.
Madam Hooch, as it turned out, found it quite hilarious as well. "Pray tell, how many times did she make you sleep on the couch, Albus?" she asked, laughing. "Was she responsible for your broken nose as well?"
"No, I'll take credit for that," Aberforth spoke, though he didn't seem sorry at all. It was, after all, for their sister Ariana.
The Head of Gryffindor House chuckled. "I don't think his nose would have survived being broken for a third time, Ro," she said with a small smirk, and shifted Arielle on her hip once more. "Though I did break his hand once."
Mrs. Longbottom giggled. "Really?"
The ebony-haired witch merely shrugged, and a small blush coloured her cheeks which Harry noticed made her look a lot younger. "When I was in labour with our girls."
"I never knew she was that strong," Dumbledore chuckled and gave his wife a small kiss on the cheek after she had given him a playful nudge. "You did splendidly, my dear."
The transfiguration mistress shook her head with a small smile playing around her lips and mumbled something incomprehensible before she decided to ignore the Headmaster altogether and turned to face Xemerius. "Ready to continue, Professor Brooks?"
"Been ready for ages, Min," he said, grinning. "Merely waiting for you to finish your lover's quarrel, which – come to think of it – you can take to your bedroom. You'll find it – "
"We're quite capable of finding our own bedroom, Xem, thank you very much," the Deputy Headmistress interrupted, and Harry almost laughed out loud when Xemerius decided to double the distance between them. Arina on the other hand only rolled her eyes and seemed to have a hard time to not imagine her parents in the same room together.
"Not funny, Harry," Arina whispered, and the boy-who-lived chuckled.
Xemerius, in the meantime, had turned around to look at Hermione's parents. "You must be Aidan's sister, if I'm not mistaken?"
Hermione's mother smiled and extended her hand. "Yes, but please, call me Jean. And this," she pointed at Hermione's father, "is my husband, Liam."
Xemerius paused for a moment when he met Liam's gaze, then shook his head and extended his hand to him. "It's a pleasure. Arina and Aidan have told me quite a lot about you."
Liam laughed. "Nothing to bad, I hope."
Xem smirked. "That's for me to know and you to find out. Anyway," he continued and handed him a small golden key. "I hope your room is to your liking."
"Are you kidding?" Hermione's father laughed. "This place is like a palace."
Arina nudged him softly. "Wait till you see Hogwarts."
"Next up," said Xem, and softly petted Batty, "are Abe and Augusta — third floor. Ro you'll bunk with Poppy when she returns."
"Why don't you bunk with Poppy?" Madam Hooch asked sweetly. "Once upon a time you couldn't keep your hands off each other."
Harry's jaw dropped at this particular piece of information. The memories he had watched so far had not even hinted that the Ilvermorny Headmaster and Hogwarts' Head nurse were once more than friends.
"You used to date Madam Pomfrey?" Ron finally found the guts to ask, sounding equally surprised, and from the looks of it, Arina hadn't known about that either, for she stared at her godfather with wide eyes.
"You – you and Aunt Poppy?" she stuttered, and her wide blue eyes wandered from her mother – who only shrugged – towards Augusta and Madam Hooch – who both grinned mischievously – and back to Xemerius.
He only rolled his eyes and sighed dramatically. "Yes. We used to date. Past tense. End of story. Now can we please get this sorted out already? I already have my room — mine, you hear me? We've got two more spares for Augusta, Ro, Abe and Poppy. Whenever she'll be back. Honestly, I don't care how you split it up. Here are the keys," he said and tossed one to Aberforth and the other to Augusta. "Next up, Molly."
Another set of keys flew through the air. Molly Weasley nodded gratefully.
"And last but not least, Severus and Narcissa. Second floor, third door."
There was an awkward silence, and Xem once more glanced over the rims of his glasses. Narcissa blushed a bright crimson, Arina giggled and Snape turned towards her, glaring.
"That's your doing, isn't it, witch?"
The blue-eyed witch shook her head, but didn't stop giggling. "Nope, I am – for once – completely innocent, Sev."
The potions master sighed, and turned towards the blonde-haired witch at his side, one eyebrow raised questioningly.
Narcissa smiled ever-so-slightly at him before she gave the silver-eyed wizard a short nod.
Xemerius looked like Merlin had just answered one of his silent prayers. "Excellent. Draco, where are you?"
"Over here, Sir."
Silver eyes lit up and a grin spread across his face. "Sir?" he asked, and smiled brightly at Professor McGonagall. "I like that young man. You have, thus, earned yourself the last room — all to yourself, I might add. Third floor, first door to the left."
Draco smirked. "Thank you." Then, his eyes widened, and he turned towards the brunette next to him. "Hold on, what about Astoria?"
Xemerius now removed his glasses completely and with a wave of his hand, the scroll of parchment vanished in thin air.
"Who?" he asked, clearly confused, and his silvery-eyes scanned the small crowd in front of him.
"That's my fault, Xem," Professor McGonagall interrupted. "I forgot to tell you that young Miss Greengrass would be joining us as well."
The silver-eyed wizard raised an eyebrow and brushed a hand through his greying her, then he glanced at Astoria. "You mind sharing with him?" he asked hopefully, and gestured towards Draco, who – like his mother earlier – blushed a bright crimson.
Harry tried to hide the smirk on his face and once more he was quite glad that he had recused the Slytherin back in the Room of Requirement.
Astoria flashed him a nervous, but nonetheless bright smile. "I don't mind. Thank you."
"Wonderful!" Xemerius said excitedly and threw his hands up in the air. "Now that everything's settled, please excuse me. Batty and I have a date with the couch until dinner is served."
A. N.
Hello my dearest readers! I hope you're all doing well! Thanks again for your continued support and all your lovely reviews/favs/follows! Don't know what I'd do without y'all! I had a really busy year... taking my finals at Uni and all the studying... thankfully, I've graduated now! Finally, more time to continue this story! Hopefully I'll find the time to write ahead for a bit... this chapter took like forever to write, but worry not! There are many many more memories to come! Let me know what you think 😇 xoxo
*entry about Human Transfiguration taken from HP Wiki*
words: 8.015
