september 1, 1975
Maggie shuddered as a cold sinking feeling fell upon her. The sound of clattering silverware and chewing filled the usually joyful Great Hall. The Gryffindor table was mostly quiet save for a few Second Years bragging aimlessly to the newly Sorted First Year Gryffindors. Not even a single Slytherin made any passes toward the Gryffindors. The usual quick chatter that the Ravenclaw table hosted was silent. The cheery Hufflepuffs were also mute.
"A bit quiet this year, no?" Maggie nudged Lily.
"I expect they all heard about Eugenia Jenkins resigning."
"She resigned? When?" Maggie gasped.
"Just last weekend?" Lily whispered. "I thought you'd have heard from your mum. Aren't they close?"
Maggie made a face, glancing toward her mother at the staff table. Minerva chatting casually with Professor Hooch.
"Who is due to replace her?" Maggie probed.
"No idea," Lily replied. "I imagine someone with enough gall. Think about it. The pressure they face must be crippling. I am no fan of the way the Prophet has been reporting the war but you must admit this are trying times."
"It's a good thing Hogwarts has the best prefects Gryffindor could ever offer," Maggie tried a grin to dissuade the tension as she cheered her goblet with Remus and Lily.
"Oh, are we referring to these two teachers' pets?" Sirius chuckled but Maggie could see the pride in his eyes as he looked toward Remus.
"Say, Marlene?" Maggie switched her gears, turning toward the blonde to her left.
Marlene did not acknowledge Maggie in any manner. She simply pushed her soft, golden hair out of her eyes and continued picking at her kidney pie.
"Marlene?" Maggie said more urgently.
"What?" Marlene hissed back.
"Why did you ignore me just now?"
"I wasn't ignoring you. I just didn't want to speak to you."
Maggie gaped.
"Is that not the very definition of ignoring?" Maggie's cheeks turned a scarlet red.
"Oh, really Maggie McGonagall? You should know!"
In one swift movement, Marlene jetted from the Gryffindor Table, leaving a stunned Lily and Maggie behind.
To Maggie's relief, the boys were still stuffing their faces with food from the feast. Only Remus noticed the ordeal but he chose not to make eye contact with Maggie.
"What's her problem?" Maggie huffed, glaring at her empty goblet as it quickly refilled with pumpkin juice.
"She hasn't said a word to me," Lily waved her hand dismissively, clearly not in the mood to intervene on her friend's behalf.
Maggie pushed her glasses higher up her nose and angrily stabbed her fork into a baked potato.
By the time the welcome feast had ended, most of the lot had returned up to Gryffindor Tower save for Lily and James.
"Coming up?" Lily asked.
"I think a bat needs to stretch her wings," James smirked as he tugged Lily along by her robe.
Maggie smiled warmly, both at the fact that James knew her so well and his success in slowly winning over Lily's heart.
"Something of that sort. Meet you up there later. Check on Marlene, will you? She seemed off."
"Can't imagine why!" James laughed as he and Lily sauntered off.
"Shut it, Potter!" Maggie yelled back over her shoulder as she walked toward one of her hideaways.
Maggie came to a halt when she reached a particular red door, the entrance into the Arithmancy classroom. Due to the fact that scarce few students ever signed up for Arithmancy, some years the classroom was entirely desolate which was the perfect venue for Maggie to make her change.
The red door to the arithmancy classroom creaked open as Maggie emerged into and shut it behind her.
A few moments later, a small black bat flew lazily out of the classroom. The bat appeared to have not flown for sometime, as its movement were sporadic and uneven. Nevertheless, it zoomed its way down the main corridor and eventually out of the main entrance to Hogwarts.
Having stretched its wings enough, the small bat performed a few backflips midair and eventually landed on a nearby small tree.
In a split of a second, Maggie hopped down from the tree, the bat having been replaced by the young witch.
"I've still got it." Maggie smirked to herself.
Hogwarts at nighttime was something that surprisingly very few students had seen. With strict bedtimes and restrictions now in effect ever since You-Know-Who, it was rare to have any peaceful moment alone. Everything had been so tense and Maggie could not remember a less relaxed period in her entire life. There was something about seeing Gryffindor Tower lit up that made Maggie's chest swell with pride. There was nothing else in life that made her prouder than being a Gryffindor like her mother.
"Expecto Patronum!" Maggie jutted her wand forth.
Only a few pathetic white wisps sprung forth from her wand before evaporating into the fall air. Maggie had been keen on practicing her Patronus charm after Lily's comment about Eugenia Jenkins. She didn't ever feel at ease when news broke out like that.
"Expecto Patronum!" Maggie swung her wand out one more time.
The wisps ebbed out once again, seemingly mocking Maggie now.
"School rules restrict any student from walking outside the grounds past curfew," a sharp voice said from Maggie's right.
Maggie knew the voice all too well. It was the same voice that had so often barked at her for indulging in one too many chocolate frogs before dinner.
"Well then give me a detention." Maggie mumbled, not turning to face her mother.
She still had a raw aching feeling in her chest from the news about Eugenia Jenkins. It was one thing if she simply had not known but the fact that her mother and Eugenia had been best friends while at Hogwarts made it all the worse.
"Unfortunately I never mastered the skill of mind-reading so you must be candid with me should you have something to say, Magdalene."
The use of her first name was all Maggie needed to let her eyes water a bit in discomfort.
"Why didn't you tell me about Eugenia?" Maggie turned on her mother.
"Oh, love," Minerva sighed as she approached her daughter and wiped away a few tears from her now blotchy cheeks.
"You think I'm just a girl but I'm not anymore. You can't keep trying to protect me from everything. I need to know these things. I need to be prepared. Whatever that might mean."
"I do not merely see you as a girl," Minerva quickly interjected. "Eugenia's resignation was an extremely private matter. Some blithering fool released the information before she went public. It was all a matter of her safety."
"Why was it a matter of her safety?" Maggie peered deep within her mother's eyes.
"The Ministry is not a safe place despite what many may think," Minerva said carefully as she toyed with her wand. "Eugenia was a half-blood, not unlike myself. She was very lenient toward Muggle-born rights. You can imagine why that was a less than savory fact for You-Know-Who."
"Why do you refuse to say his name?" Maggie sighed annoyedly.
"He is not like any wizard I have ever seen."
Minerva's voice had gone an entire pitch too soft. Maggie's stomach lurched. It was never a nice feeling to see your mother frightened.
"Anyone can be defeated." Maggie replied defiantly, her voice laced with sharp courage.
"You'd have made a fine Slytherin, just like your father." Minerva grinned teasingly.
"You're really mad now," Maggie allowed herself a chuckle.
"You're having trouble casting your Patronus Charm." Minerva raised an eyebrow.
"It doesn't mean I'm scared," Maggie quickly defended herself.
"No. It does not." Minerva approached her daughter more closely. "It is incredibly difficult to cast a Patronus in today's world."
"What do you think of? When trying to cast one?" Maggie looked toward her mother.
"I think of my very first introduction to a certain raven-haired little witch," Minerva smirked, brushing back a few of her daughter's long raven curls. "And of the day I met her father. The day I married her father. The day we found out we were having said witch. The day said witch was sorted into Gryffindor. Generally speaking, the means to and present being of said witch."
"You can be afraid, mummy." Maggie said solemnly. "You can let me be brave for the both of us sometimes."
In that instant Minerva was once again reminded of how brave of a woman she had raised. She smiled inward, knowing that had Elphinstone been alive to see her he would have beamed with joy daily.
"I will leave you to practice some more." Minerva said as she kissed her daughter's forehead. "Only a bit longer, alright?"
Maggie nodded once and watched her mother safely make it back to the castle's doors before extending her wand again.
There was one memory that erupted into Maggie's mind, without warning. It was the first time that she had gone trick-or-treating with James Potter. James, ever the clever trouble-maker, had seen the muggle children perform this strange ritual nearly every year and every year he had gone without the heaps of candy rewarded.
With some strong convincing and planning, James and Maggie were able to convince their parents to let them participate in the muggle activities just this once.
Maggie's chest warmed with the thought of seeing James Potter dressed up as a house elf while Maggie was giving her best impersonation as Albus Dumbledore.
There had been such a feeling of utter bliss, of safety, of belonging. Maggie had never longed to be a part of the muggle world and neither had James but the sense of fitting in with other children their age was enough to spark loads of fun. They had licked enough muggle lollipops and chocolates and while they both firmly agreed that none of these muggle treats could come close to chocolate frogs, they were content.
Maggie spoke the words expecto patronum, her mind still fixated on her and James skipping through muggle neighborhoods with Euphemia and Minerva trailing behind them.
As expected, a flittering patronus bat came spewing out the end of Maggie's applewood wand.
"Still got it!" Maggie laughed insanely, watching her bat flitter around and perform spectacular maneuvers.
Maggie went to bed that night with a smile on her face and a plan hatching in her mind. Only sleep would help her reach the best course of action for her plan to succeed.
"Headmaster! Headmaster!" Maggie chased after Dumbledore the next day, her black robes billowing behind her. She bustled past numerous students, most giving her glares for pushing them side in the already crowded hallway.
"Miss McGonagall." Dumbledore still peered down at the tall young witch.
"Headmaster, do you think I can have a word with you?" Maggie begged. "Privately?"
"Of course, my dear. Come along, come along."
As Maggie adjusted herself into one of Dumbledore's slightly uncomfortable chairs, she went over her speech in her head.
"Is there something troubling you, Miss McGonagall?" Dumbledore asked his eyes peering over his spectacles.
"Well myself and everyone else at Hogwarts, sir," Maggie began. "Headmaster, I've never seen the school look quite so gloomy. I've seen the darkness infiltrate nearly every other corner of our lives but Hogwarts always seemed to remain safe, untouched. It's been a light for many of us, sir but that's not the case this year. I'm sure you've noticed the somberness that has infected everyone."
"These are trying times, Miss McGonagall," Dumbledore began. "As much as we would like to turn a blind eye to the war raging outside, we cannot ignore it for much longer. Surely you know that. McGonagalls are astoundingly perceptive people."
"Sir, I agree with you. Completely. But we cannot take away the one place, the one thing, that has been a harbor for so many students. We need to remind them, especially the young students, that they can still call this their home."
"And how do you suggest that?" Dumbledore asked, a small smile toying at his lips finally.
"It's no secret that Voldemort—"
"You're not afraid to say his name, Miss McGonagall?" Dumbledore asked, leaning on his elbows as he examined Maggie closely.
"Fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself, sir," Maggie replied simply. "And I am not a witch who seeks to increase fear within myself or anyone else. I am not afraid of him, sir. I am not afraid of resisting the terror he seeks to instill in all of us."
"Spoken like a true Gryffindor." Dumbledore smiled, the corner of his eyes wrinkling. "Continue please."
"As I was saying, it is no secret that Voldemort has a pureblood agenda. He is lighting the fire against muggle-born students. What better way to resist and make a statement than by celebrating a union of the muggle and wizarding worlds?"
"You have peaked my interests," Dumbledore obliged.
"I propose we have a first ever Hogwarts Halloween party." Maggie said proudly. "With costumes and trick-or-treating throughout the castle. The Muggle-borns will feel comfort at doing something from the world they came from in the world they belong in. It's a perfect symbol of unification and solidarity. Plus it'll be loads of fun if the ideology behind it goes over their heads. It's something, albeit a small thing, which can cast a light if anything, sir."
Maggie knew she had won her case when Dumbledore stood up and gave her a great big smile, one of pride and understanding.
"You never cease to surprise me, much like your mother." Dumbledore relented. "I will speak with the staff and take a vote. If there lies favor in a Halloween party, then so be it. You will have my full support. I myself am rather fond of Muggle holidays."
Maggie skipped her way out of Dumbledore's office, feeling as though she could hop on the nearest broomstick and catch fifty snitches if she wanted to. There was a fire ablaze in her spirit, a tenacity she had finally found the outlet to release it from.
Only a few days later did Maggie receive a bit of parchment in the middle of class that confirmed the staff voted in favor of her idea.
Maggie grinned rather stupidly at the parchment sitting on her textbook, a dreamy glaze over her eyes.
"Who is that from?" Lily whispered to Maggie, not wanting to cause a scene in Professor McGonagall's classroom.
"Tell you later." Maggie grinned.
If Maggie thought that her good spirits were going to win over the silent feud she had with Marlene she was wrong. No amount of good luck was going to relinquish the pressing amount of indifference that Marlene was bludgeoning her with.
Not wanting to spend one more second on their tumultuous game, Maggie made the decision that she would confront Marlene once and for all that very night. As the young witch had learned early on, bravery was much bolder in one's mind than in one's footsteps. As the day sped by, Maggie found her stomach growing more and more easy, to the point where she had no other choice but to consult with Alice and Lily.
"Do you reckon she feels the same about me? I don't…I don't even know why I got it in my head to do this. I could be completely bonkers!" Maggie exasperated, throwing herself on comfortable chair in the Gryffindor common room.
"You'll never know if you don't try," Lily gently squeezed Maggie's arm.
"I've known Marlene since we were kids, Mags," Alice continued. "And I know what she's like when she has a bit of a crush. Honestly, all of Gryffindor can see it."
"I can agree to that," Lily added, prompting Maggie to sit upright.
"Really?" Maggie raised her brow.
"Really," Alice nodded. "Perhaps you've been looking at it in the wrong light. Maybe she's been waiting for you to make a move and you haven't yet. I don't know. All I know is anything's possible in this day and age. You might as well go for it."
"Now's as good a time as any to say what you really feel." Lily said quietly, her eyes not on the two girls in front of her but on James who had just barged in the common room.
"Alright then." Maggie said sternly, mostly taking a sharp tone on herself.
"Tell us what happens!" Alice clapped her hands.
"What is happening?" James interrupted, plopping down on a seat next to Lily.
"Wouldn't you like to know, Potter." Maggie grinned, leaving the common room with a plan in her head and some hope in her heart.
It was a chilly October night and the trees were billowing with the promise of a cold winter. Maggie pulled her robes tighter around her, clutching a tartan blanket under her arm.
Once Maggie had walked all the way to the edge of the Quidditch pitch, she laid out her tartan blanket. She was not the brightest when it came to romance and any of her friends could've vouched for that, but Maggie did put thought into everything she did. When she was resolved to prove a point, she proved it. Her mother had raised her right in that manner.
Maggie put a pile of candies in the middle of the blanket and then quickly went to fetch her wand from inside her robes. Using her own non-verbal spell, she produced a small bit of bright blue flames. It had been one of her crowning achievements. Maggie was by no means talented in Charms but this one she was able to create with the help of Marlene herself, a sort of testament to their incredible gifted teamwork.
Sooner than Maggie had anticipated, she noticed Marlene walking down the field toward her.
Instead of the worry she felt from earlier, Maggie felt complete confidence. Marlene had always done that for her. Even if she was upset with her, Marlene had a way of still reaching in the crevices of Maggie's mind and letting her know that she cared forever.
"Thought you were never going to show!" Maggie hollered, accidentally putting her own blue flames out.
"Wasn't sure I was either…" Marlene trailed off as she took in the scene before her. "What are the blue flames for? Trying to impress me with a charm I taught you?"
There was a large tartan blanket spread out which Marlene was fairly certain belonged to Minerva, as Maggie was not at all inclined toward picnics. A dozen chocolate frogs and pumpkin pasties decorated the middle portion of the blanket.
Maggie was standing somewhat awkwardly by the edge of the blanket, some blue flames sprouting from her wand. She wasn't sure whether or not to put them out after Marlene's comment.
"You've always showed me the best parts of magic," Maggie spoke honestly.
"What's the meaning of all this?" Marlene asked, her eyes not meeting Maggie's fully.
"I know you're upset with me and I know why. I know exactly how I feel nearly all the time. I guess the trouble is being a coward about it. And you and I both know I am not a coward so I need to shelf that nonsense. You're angry with me because I won't admit how I feel. The last thing I want is for you to be upset with me, Marlene McKinnon."
Marlene did not need to hear much more from Maggie apparently because she flung herself into the taller witch's arms.
"You're so stupid sometimes," Marlene spluttered, releasing Maggie from her arms.
"I've heard that more than a few times in my life." Maggie grinned, brushing back some of Marlene's hair.
Maggie would often think back on this memory, seeing Marlene's face dashed with just a bit of hope, just enough to show that one thing that Maggie had been so earnestly searching for. It was the only confirmation she needed, the only missing piece to her bravery.
Without any hesitation in her bones, Maggie gently cupped Marlene's face in her hands and kissed her with a gentle protectiveness.
Their first kiss, which both later agreed was far overdue, was not one of passion or longing or lust or necessity. It was a promise that both had been waiting patiently to make to one another. In that kiss held all of the years they seen each other's true form, true essence—from the day they both met at Diagon Alley to this moment here.
"Magic," Maggie breathed out, her lips barely a hair's length away from Marlene's.
"Took you long enough," Marlene whispered, brushing her fingers over Maggie's lips.
"I wasn't sure if you felt the same. I didn't want to ruin what we had or even what our group had. I was scared I suppose."
"You're not scared of anything," Marlene said softly, still peering deep into Maggie's eyes.
"There is one thing I'm scared of." Maggie bit her lip.
"We can get through anything together, remember?" Marlene gripped her hands on either side of Maggie's face.
"I won't let anything happen to you," Maggie swore. "Not to you or any of our friends. I promise you."
"I know you won't. I've never doubted your word." Marlene went to gingerly readjust Maggie's glasses.
"I know this looks like a mess," Maggie chuckled nervously, waving toward her blanket set-up.
"We used to stargaze our first year at Hogwarts," Marlene laughed, taking Maggie's hand and sitting down on the tartan throw.
"Back when things were much simpler," Maggie sighed, falling onto her back.
"Everything seems so simple to you still." Marlene sighed.
"What does that mean?" Maggie asked, propping herself up on one elbow as she eyed Marlene, who had her eyes fixated on the stars above.
"You've always had this spirit of unfailing determination," Marlene sighed again, throwing one arm behind her head. "It's what gives you that faraway look. You have never failed to do what is right. Sometimes that distances you from your own realities, from the here and now. It's not a bad thing. It's just one of the contributing factors that took you so long to realize I loved you."
"I'm sorry." Maggie breathed out. "I never knew."
"It's not anything to feel sorry about," Marlene quickly interjected, cuddling into Maggie's side. "You have a purpose greater than what this life seems to offer. It's what drew me to you. I never want you to change that about yourself."
"You love me?" Maggie tried to keep her voice as even as possible.
"Shut it, McGonagall," Marlene smiled into Maggie's neck.
Maggie could feel the skin around her cheeks tighten with her grand smile. She figured she could have produced about ten thousand patronus charms right in that moment.
"I love you too."
The next few weeks after Marlene and Maggie's kiss were some of the best days that Maggie had at Hogwarts. There was a newfound confidence in her every step, something that Marlene joked she did not need in the slightest.
Every waking moment she found herself in Marlene's presence, both of the young women simply pleased to be in each other's company. Studying became a hard task. Once something they both excelled in, the newly released spark of romance made Transfiguration homework duller than it had once been before. Maggie found herself spending more time in the common room, Marlene cuddled close, enjoying the close company of their friends as they all laughed and share stories.
For the first time in a long few years the war seemed placated. It was as if the entire world had reverently bowed to the budding romance and allowed them these few months to just be in love.
Just a few days before Maggie's celebrated Halloween Bash was to take place, she received a note from her mother asking her to come to the professor's quarters sometime that day.
Not known for her saintly patience, Maggie immediately bolted to her mother's office, her heart pounding achingly at the thought of something wrong. She felt stupid for having been inside her own personal bubble of love for so long.
"Mum?" Maggie called out as she burst through the doors of her mother's office, taking in the scene in front of her.
"Didn't your mother ever teach you to knock, love?" Minerva looked up from the papers she was grading to take in the sight of her disheveled daughter.
"I thought something was wrong!" Maggie exclaimed, a long-held sigh escaping her. "Well...is there something wrong?"
"Not at all," Minerva tutted. "I just wanted to see how you were doing. I know that your romance with Marlene has taken you on a bit of a whirlwind. Now, are you still caught up on your studies?"
"Marlene is the brightest witch of our age, do you really think she'd let me fall behind?" Maggie chuckled softly before taking a seat across from Minerva.
"Precisely why she is my favorite of your lot," Minerva eyed Maggie.
"Mummy," Maggie breathed out unsteadily, "Is everything really alright?"
"You are almost of age," Minerva said with a hint of distaste in her voice. "And it is no secret that your father left us both a ridiculous amount of galleons to live. If your father was one thing it was thorough."
"Opposites do tend to attract," Maggie joked, hoping to relieve some of her mother's visible tension.
"Maggie, he left us enough so that you can simply take some time off after you graduate from Hogwarts."
"Time off?" Maggie rose to her feet now.
"Yes. It would do you well. We can visit America or South America. Just the two of us. We can invite Marlene too if you'd like. Your cousins Gregory and Samuel would be more than pleased to see New York."
"Mum, stop. Stop. What are you talking about?" Maggie asked in an annoyed tone. "You'd leave your Transfiguration post?"
"Just until all settles over."
"Mum, we are not leaving," Maggie shook her head in disbelief. "We are not leaving in the middle of a war. We are not leaving our world behind."
"But we can, Maggie. We can is what I am trying to tell you."
"You were one of the best lead charges in the Auror department!" Maggie exclaimed shakily. The young witch was visibly shaken. "I don't understand. Why are you acting like this now?"
"Because I did not have you then, Magdalene." Minerva said with a whip-like voice. "It is one thing to be a hero when you have nothing to lose, it is an entirely different ordeal to be one when you have everything to lose."
Maggie took in the sight of her mother, a paleness covering the entirety of her face. She looked unlike she had ever before. There was nothing regal shimmering in her eyes.
"When we have everything to lose we have just as much to fight for." Maggie took a firm grip of her mother's hand. "We will stay and fight. Just as you raised me to."
Minerva looked up to her daughter with tears streaming down her face. Maggie felt sick, she had never seen this side of Minerva McGonagall before.
"I'm sorry, you're right, love," Minerva sighed as she took her daughter in her arms, holding her with a desperate grip.
"I can be brave enough for the both of us sometimes too, you know?" Minerva smiled into the crook of her mother's neck. The echo of Maggie's words stung Minerva.
"I know that better than anyone else."
"Here, sit down. Let me make you some tea."
Maggie gingerly released her mother and gently pushed her to sit down at her desk.
A few moments later, Maggie returned with a fresh cup of tea and some biscuits from her mother's secret stash.
"Have a biscuit, mother." Maggie sighed.
Minerva tried and failed to hide the small smile from forming on her face.
"You'd make a fine professor."
"At the very bottom of the list," Maggie let out a small laugh before returning her serious gaze. "Mum, what is the meaning of all this?"
Minerva sighed, putting her biscuit down and brushed some strands of her hair away from her face.
"You turn seventeen in just under a year," Minerva relented. "Your father left you a great deal of wealth behind. I let my emotions get the best of me and tried to enforce what I thought was best for you. Just another mother gone mad is all I suppose."
"You wouldn't be a good mother if you weren't mad these days," Maggie comforted her mother. "I didn't know father left me anything specifically."
"We always had more than we needed," Minerva explained. "I didn't want you to be take on the likes of Potter and Black and waste your galleons on every new broomstick that came out on the market."
"Fair point." Maggie smiled bashfully. Both women knew there was undeniable truth in that statement.
"In all honesty, Maggie, you can do anything you wish with it. You can study curse-breaking at your own disposal, you can secure a Ministry position, you can live more than comfortably as a professor. You have unlimited options that scarce few young witches have."
"I am thankful for that," Maggie admitted absentmindedly. "I'll consider it all, mum. I promise."
As Maggie nibbled on the remaining bit of her biscuit she couldn't help but feel guilty. She knew in her heart of hearts that only one career was in her future but in this moment, she didn't have the heart to tell her mother.