Chapter Two:
Minerva was about to enter her Seventh and final year at Hogwarts. Her closest friends, Rolanda and Poppy, has just left as Minerva, the Head Girl, was about to begin the Prefect Meeting, and neither of the two were Prefects. The Head Boy, was fortunately another Gryffindor by the name of Timothy Ranling.
As the Prefect Meeting began, Timothy continually threw admiring glances at Minerva, which annoyed her greatly, and he also seemed to enjoy staring at either her breast or buttocks. At the conclusion of the meeting, Minerva was very near to losing her temper, and she vowed if she caught one more glance by him, she would curse.
"Well, Minerva," he began, "Isn't this nice. We have a Head Dormitory all to ourselves. We can enjoy -" He was cut off by a sharp slap.
"If you deem it appropriate to fraternise during the year, you may do so, but pay heed to what I say. If I so much as catch a glimpse of what you're doing," she paused, her tone threatening, "in our Dormitory, you had better pray that someone hears your screams."
Timothy looked quite scared, and nodded quickly before walking out of the compartment as fast as he could without running. Almost five seconds later, Rolanda and Poppy burst in, laughing.
"What on earth did you do to him?" Rolanda asked, as she took a seat opposite from Minerva, "he looked as though he was ready to pass out."
Before Minerva could describe what she had said, and defend that she had done nothing, Poppy had begun to speak, "She probably threatened to make sure he never had children. You know Tim is very proud of his genetic capabilities."
"I should have done that," Minerva muttered under her breath.
"What?" Rolanda asked, hearing a mutter from Minerva's direction, but not seeing her open her mouth.
"Nothing. All I did was warn him that I better not get a glimpse of what's going to be going on in the Head Dorm."
Poppy and Rolanda laughed, "How's he gonna manage that?"
Minerva shrugged, "Not my problem." They all laughed, and the conversation was forgotten.
When they first arrived within the Great Hall, later that evening, several changes were immediately noticeable. First, there were three new professors. Second, the decorations had been changed, so the Hall now exhibited something that looked like it came out of a fairy tale. And Third, Armado Dippet could never have looked happier, something that Rolanda thought was quite unimaginable.
"Welcome back," Armado began when the Sorting Ceremony was finished, "This year, there have been a number of staffing changes. Firstly, please welcome Professor Slughorn to the post of Potions. Unfortunately, Professor Lamour passed away in the summer. Secondly, the post of Defence Against the Dark Arts will be taught by Professor Grett, who was formerly one of the best Auror's. Lastly, it is my great honour to announce that Albus Dumbledore will be teaching the post of Transfiguration this year. Please join me in congratulating these new staff members."
As all the student applauded, Minerva couldn't help but stare at the man, who must have been Albus Dumbledore. He looked to be in his early thirties, though that couldn't possibly have been right. He had a moderately long auburn beard, and his eyes were a piercing bright blue, that seemed to look right into a person. Minerva thought he might have possibly been the most handsome man she had ever met. Poppy noticing the attention that Minerva seemed to be giving to the man, smiled broadly; maybe this was the man that could break Minerva's rule.
She shook her head, he was a teacher, and even if he had that capability, it wasn't going to work. She tuned into the speeches once more.
"... and as you are all aware the Forest is forbidden, and that includes Prefects and Head students," Dippet looked directly at Minerva, as he said the last few words, "Thank you and I hope you have a wonderful year."
As always the food appeared magically on the tables, and each student began to eat.
"Why were you looking at the young woman, Armado?" Albus asked, as he put some chicken pieces on his plate.
"Minerva McGonagall is one of the most hardworking and dedicated students that we have at Hogwarts. She also likes to sneak into the Forbidden Forest and play with many of its creatures."
"Is she powerful?" Albus asked.
"Yes, she is also intelligent. I know where you are going with this Albus, and the answer is 'no'. Just because you did that when you were at Hogwarts does not mean that I shall allow Minerva to do the same."
Albus sighed, he had had such a wonderful time in the forest when he had attended Hogwarts, despite the dangerous creatures that lingered there.
Meanwhile, at the Gryffindor table, Rolanda and Poppy seemed to be having a wonderful time making fun of Minerva.
"Didn't you see?" Poppy asked Rolanda, as Minerva blushed, "She hasn't even met him yet, and she has a crush."
"I most certainly do not!" Minerva stated, clearly.
"Then why were you looking at him the entire time. And why did you blush when Poppy said you had a crush?"
"I was merely trying to figure out how old he is. He looks to be thirty, but he must be much older. And it is embarrassing to have your friends stating that you like someone if the fact is false."
"Oh, Min. Stop acting so mature. You do like him, admit it!"
"Poppy, I do not. How can I possibly like someone if I don't know anything about them?"
"You must know something considering you said he can't look thirty. And anyway, why does it matter how old he is?"
"It doesn't," said Minerva, "I was just curious."
Rolanda and Poppy rolled their eyes, but dropped the conversation seeing that they were not going to be able to get more information out of Minerva.
The following morning, the trio headed off to their first lesson, which happened to be Transfiguration. Minerva had always dreaded these lessons because of Professor Nott, however, she was looking forward to it greatly today.
As they arrived, they took in the new classroom. A few strange objects were placed on the front desk, and around the room. Before they could be seated, Professor Dumbledore strode in, his periwinkle blue robes billowing behind him.
"Good Morning ladies," he said, as he sat behind his desk, "May I enquire your names?"
Minerva blushed, but quickly concealed it using her hair. When she spoke, she said, "I'm Minerva McGonagall," she pointed to Poppy, "Poppy Pomfrey and Rolanda Hooch," she pointed to Rolanda.
Albus nodded, "We shall see how long it takes for the remainder of the class to arrive."
"Professor Dumbledore, the class might be late. The other Professor we had was very strict and some class members might think this is an opportunity to relax their punctuality and work ethic."
"Thank you, Miss McGonagall. I shall just have to remind them not to do so, don't you think?"
Minerva blushed, and nodded.
"In the meantime, I think it best if I have some idea of where you are up to in this subject."
"Well, we've just finished converting inanimate objects to animate ones. Professor Nott said that we should be working on combing different spells this year."
Albus nodded, and then asked, "Would each of you come forward and show me the most advanced form of Transfiguration that you can perform? I need some idea of where you are individually up to."
The three student nodded, and Rolanda went first. She turned conjured a chess piece and Transfigured it so it was her height. The chess piece began to run as soon as she took the magic off, and Rolanda raced after it, before undoing the spell. Professor Dumbledore laughed and said, "Very good wand work. You might want to remember to use some other spells, though. Those spells, when not enough concentration is used, can be very dangerous."
Rolanda nodded, and Poppy stood. She conjured two chairs and had them waltz across the room, a little out of time. Professor Dumbledore nodded and commented, "Very nice. You're spells are quite concentrated. You might want to make sure that you complete your spells correctly. If you do that, the chairs would be in time to the music."
Minerva stood, and began her work. When she had finished, Albus was astounded. She had conjured a few objects, and transfigured some others. Where his desk had been now stood a confused cow, his chair was a rooster, and another of the desks, a horse. She had conjured what appeared to be a large stable, where all the animals were housed together. Lastly, she had transfigured herself into a cat.
As he looked around the room, he noticed many other spells that she had used, which had not been taught. Briefly he looked back at her, and noticed that she was in the process of Transfiguring herself back to her human form. Albus waved his wand, and Minerva stood before him, her face bright red and her hands hanging limply by her sides.
"Excellent, Miss McGonagall," he said, as he waved his wand once more, and the classroom was transformed to the state it had been before, "Marvellous. Have you considered animagus training?"
Minerva nodded, "Yes, sir. The only problem was that I couldn't buy the necessary ingredient s to make the potion. I know all the theory, though."
"Would you like to become an animagus?"
"Yes please."
"Meet me in my office after dinner this evening. We shall begin your training," Albus spoke clearly, and Minerva nodded before sitting down. A few minutes later, the classroom door burst open and several students arrived, not caring in the least that they were late. The rest of the lesson was quite uneventful as the students' abilities were assessed. Poppy and Rolanda each took turns poking fun at Minerva, as she continued to watch Albus teach.
Albus meanwhile, had noticed the affect that Miss McGonagall had on his sense, and he was determined to make sure that it disappeared. However, he did notice the glances from Minerva, and he couldn't help the lovely feeling it gave him.
During dinner, that evening, Minerva was quite nervous, and appeared to be flushed. Her face was an odd colour between red and white, and her eyes had turned slightly grey. As soon as she saw Albus get up from the table, Minerva followed suit and left the hall, with nothing more than a few vegetables in her stomach.
She knocked on the door and a loud, clear voice called, "Come in."
Minerva entered the office, and said quietly, "Good Evening, Professor Dumbledore."