Hermione pulled on her black teaching robes and smiled, they were almost identical to the robes that Severus wore in her time. At least these are familiar.
"Thou art dashing in thy attire." Godric smiled from where he was leaning on the door frame. "Thee color black complements thou. Why dost thy wear that color though?"
Hermione hummed. "They are similar to the ones my uncle wears."
"Thou art close to thy uncle?" Godric questioned.
"Yeah," Hermione nodded. "I am. He's my godfather."
Gryffindor's eye brows rose. "That ist an honor for any man. Do thou knowest where thee word cometh?"
"I do." The animagus nodded. "And so do my godfather and godmother."
"That ist wonderful." Godric smiled at the witch. "Art thou ready for thee Welcoming Ceremony?"
Hermione nodded. "I'm excited to be sitting at the Professor's Table. Who'll be escorting the First Year's in?"
"Lady Hufflepuff sayeth that she enjoyeth escorting thee First Years." Gryffindor explained.
Nodding, Hermione approached the wizard. "Ready to go down?"
"As my lady wisheth." Godric bowed.
Hermione smiled. "I do wisheth."
"Thou hast finally spoken thee King's English." Godric beamed.
Chuckling, Hermione shook her head. "I was joking with you."
Gryffindor nodded. "Ah, thou dost enjoy a joke."
The animagus was smiling as they entered the Great Hall. Godric pulled out her chair and Hermione slipped into it. "Thank you."
"My pleasure, Milady." Godric smiled as he took his chair.
Salazar scoffed and Rowena just ignored them.
Hermione had to hide her smile, she was so excited to finally be teaching at Hogwarts. She watched as the returning students took their seats and realized that she was actually shorter than some of them.
"Do not worry thyself, Lady McGonagall." Rowena whispered, and yet it was still haughty. "Thou mayest be thee height of thee elder students, thy eyes showest that thou hast seen many terrible things."
"What you're saying is that while I may physically look young, my eyes are old?" Hermione inquired.
"That ist what I sayeth." Ravenclaw nodded.
Hermione quickly looked to the front of the Hall when the doors opened. Her eyes lit up and a smile graced her face at the look of wonder on some of the children's faces.
The Welcome Feast was very similar to the ones back in Hermione's own time. She couldn't keep the smile off her face, no matter how hard she tried.
"Dost thou knowest that thou hast a smile on thy face?" Helga grinned.
"Yeah, I know." Hermione shrugged. "But I've always loved the Welcoming Feast."
"Thou art smiling like a fool." Rowena haughtily stated.
"I thinkest 'Mione lookest better with a smile on her face, mother." Helena bit her lip.
"Thou knowest better than to speaketh unless thou art spoken to." Rowena remanded.
Hermione shot Ravenclaw a glare. "Thank you Helena."
Rowena frowned, she didn't like it that McGonagall treated Helena like an adult. Helena was a child and needed to know her place.
Hermione took a deep breath, before she walked into her Transfiguration classroom. "Good morning class, I am your new Transfiguration Professor Hermione McGonagall. Now, Seventh Years, I want to know how proficient you are in Transfiguration. I don't want to go over something you already know."
A girl in blue robes raised her hand.
"Yes, Miss…" Hermione trailed off, she didn't know the girl's name.
"We hast learned through Transfiguration of small animals into inanimate objects." The Ravenclaw answered.
"Thank you." Hermione nodded. "But you didn't tell me your name."
The Ravenclaw sat up even straighter in her desk. "I beggeth thy pardon Milady, I didst not knoweth that thou werest requesting mine name. I am known as Lady Morgana Fae, mine family canst trace magic in our lineage back generations." Morgana nodded toward her professor's arm. "Hitherto, we believeth that muggleborns shouldst learn magic. Mine father threatened Lord Gryffindor that if he banished muggleborns from Hogwarts, father would cease gifting Hogwarts gold."
"Thank you for telling me your name and the history of your family." Hermione dryly stated, pulling her sleeve down. She didn't really appreciate anyone pointed out that certain scar.
The students carefully looked at each other, this professor spoke very strangely.
"Now, we are going to learn the theory of human transfiguration and hopefully we may even get to practice." The animagus turned around and started writing on the black bored.
Morgana slowly raised her hand.
"Yes, Lady Fae?"
The Ravenclaw started, how did the professor know she had raised her hand? "Mine elder brother, Merlin, ist proficient in thee art of Transfiguration and ist a wand crafter. He sayeth that human Transfiguration ist impossible."
Hermione raised her eyebrow. "Really?"
"I doth tellest thou thee truth." Fae insisted.
Smirking, Hermione leaped into the air and landed on her desk. She had changed – midair – into her Serval form.
"Whoa!" The class breathed, before they turned to each other and started discussing how this was even possible. They knew of werewolves, was this the same magic?
Hermione quickly changed back into her human form and rapped her wand on the desk. "If you would be quiet, I'll answer your questions."
The class immediately quieted down.
"What you just saw was a very advanced form of Transfiguration and it is very dangerous." Here, Hermione paused to reinforce to point. "I'm an animagus, the singular form of the word animagi."
At this point, Morgana gasped, something had clicked in her mind.
"Something to add to the class?" The animagus asked.
"Milady, forgiveth mine rudeness." Morgana bit her lip. "I hath realized something."
"You know something about animagi?" Hermione smiled. "I want to know what it is."
The Ravenclaw blushed. "Mine brother hath telleth me a tale that there ist a tribe of Celts and they calleth themselves animagi. He sayeth that they canst change their form into that of animals. I didst not believe him."
"Thee Celts didst not murder him?" A Hufflepuff boy whispered.
"They didst not, Lord Gylel." Rowena slightly inclined her head to the professor. "Mine elder brother wast learning hitherto craft wands."
"As interesting as all this is." Hermione raised an eyebrow. "It has little to do with class. Now…."
After class as Hermione was packing up her notes, Morgana slowly approached her desk. "Lady McGonagall."
"Yes?" Hermione looked up from her paper.
"I wast wondering if thou wouldst teachest me to become an animagi."
A twinkle interred Hermione's eyes. "Hmmm, perhaps."
"I begest thou, Milady." Morgana pleaded.
Okay, I guess that I'll have to ease her into my sense of humor. The animagus smiled. "Of course I'll teach you. Come by my quarters, Saturdays at two."
A huge grin split the Ravenclaw's face. "Thou hast my undying gratitude."
After her student had left, Hermione gently shook her head. Morgana seemed to have the same thirst for knowledge that she did. Hermione just hoped Morgana wouldn't practice on her own, she didn't need to explain to Rowena why one of her student's insides were on the outside.
"'Mione, why dost Lady Fae cometh?" Helena whined. She wanted to keep Hermione all to herself.
"Morgana want to learn a very advanced form of Transfiguration." Hermione patiently explained. "And unless she wants to travel to a certain tribe of Celts, I'm her only option."
Helena frowned. "But, 'Mione, doth she hast to cometh on Saturday?"
"Yes, Beag Raven." The elder witch chuckled, ruffling Helena's hair.
"Doth I hast to leaveth when she cometh?" The young witch pouted.
Hermione frowned. "Why would you have to leave?"
"Mother sayeth that I canst not stay with her when she ist teaching." Helena shrugged. "Mother sayeth that I ist a bother."
"You're not a bother." Hermione empathetically stated as she pulled the young witch into her lap.
A hesitant knock sounded at the door.
"Can you get that?" the animagus asked, placing a kiss on her forehead.
Helena nodded and slipped off Hermione's lap to get the door. "Good day, Lady Fae."
"Good day, Helena, ist Lady McGonagall inside her chamber?" Morgana asked.
The younger witch nodded. "'Mione ist preparing tea and biscuits."
As Morgana followed Helena into her professor's quarters, she frowned. The elder witch thought that Helena was being disrespectful by shortening the professor's first name.
"Lady Fae, glad you could come." Hermione smiled.
"I beggest thou." Morgana inclined her head. "Callest me Morgana."
The animagus inclined her head. "Call me Hermione." Then she smiled. "As long as we aren't in class."
"Of course, Milady."
After Hermione had settled onto the settee, Helena scrambled up and snuggled against the elder witch.
Morgana frowned, that behavior was not how a younger witch interacted with her elders.
Hermione turned her attention to the young Ravenclaw. "What's wrong?"
"I beggest thy forgiveness." Morgana blushed. "It greatly surpriseth me that thou seemeth to encourage Helena's disrespectful behavior."
"I don't think she's being disrespectful." The animagus raised an eyebrow.
Helena stuck her tongue out at the Seventh Year.
Pursing her lips, Morgana shifted in her chair. "Lady Hermione, what canst thou teacheth me about human Tansfiguration?"
"On yourself? Or on someone else?" Hermione cheekily asked, causing Helena to giggle.
"On myself. I doth wish to learn to change mine appearance into that of an animal." Morgana explained.
Hermione shook her head. "That's your first mistake. You're not changing the appearance of anything when you do Transfiguration. You're changing it atomically."
"I beggest thy pardon?"
"You're not a Metamorphagous, they won't be discovered for about 200 years." Hermione mussed. "So you're not changing your appearance, you're changing yourself."
Morgana decided to ignore whatever a Metamorphagous, for now. "Pray tell, how dost a person change themselves?"
"Do you know the theory of Transfiguration?"
"Thou art changing thee nature of something." Morgana stated.
"Eh, close." The animagus smiled. "You're changing the atomic structure of one object or animal into that of another object or animal. You want to change your atomic structure into that of an animal."
Morgana slowly nodded. Some words that her professor used, she had no idea what they meant. "I wouldst relish changing into thee cat thou changest."
"Oh, sweetie." Hermione chuckled. "You don't get to choose what your form is. My animagus form is a serval, which is surprisingly different from my patronus."
"What ist a paronus, 'Mione." Helena asked, looking up at the elder witch.
"A patronus is a spell that wards off Dementors and can be used to communicate over long differences."
"It doth?" Morgana questioned.
The animagus opened her mouth only to close it again. "And it hasn't been invented yet. Why don't we get back to animagi?"
"Pray tell, how wouldst I execute thee spell?" Morgana asked.
"There isn't a spell." Hermione shifted in her seat. "And not every can become an animagus. It is a very dangerous piece of magic to perform. Do you have absolute control over your magic?"
The Ravenclaw looked offended. "I attempt to keepeth a firm grasp on mine magic."
"Stop." Hermione simply stated.
"I beggest thy pardon!" Morgana was thoroughly confused by now.
"You need to let your magic flow." Hermione explained with a small smile. "Don't keep it locked away, only 'accessing' it through your wand."
"Thou art forgetting accidental magic happeneth when thou dost have no control." The Ravenclaw quipped.
"You have a point." Hermione conceded. "But you also can perform wordless and wandless magic if you let go of your control. And become a better dueler."
"Why dost thou seemeth excited about a duel?" Morgana asked, slightly horrified at the fact that a woman liked to fight.
"'Mione sayeth she ist an excellent dueler." Helena gushed. "She hath scars from surviving!"
The young Ravenclaw looked scandalized.
"Now do you see why it's no good to have a tightly controlled magical core?" Hermione smirked.
Morgana nodded. "Will thou teacheth me to loosen mine control?"
"Of course." Hermione chuckled.
"'Mione, will thou teacheth me to becometh an animagi?" Helena asked, looking up at Hermione with hopeful eyes.
"I'll teach you the theory." The animagus smiled. "But I don't want you to attempt a Transfiguration until you are much older."
Helena jumped into Hermione's arms and the elder witch settled her onto her hip. "Thou art a lovely witch, 'Mione."
"Why do you say that?" Hermione had a suspension, but she wanted the young witch to discover it for herself.
"Thou art more lovely than mother." Helena explained. "Mother sayeth I ist a bother and a mistake. She dost not want to be bothered by thee spawn of satan when she ist teaching."
"Who's the spawn of satan?!" Hermione exclaimed.
"Mother sayeth that all young children ist thee spawn of satan." Helena fiddled with the collar of Hermione's robe. "Canst thou beest mine mother?"
Hermione started. "Helena, what would your mother think is she heard you say that?"
"Mine mother wouldst not care." Helena sniffed. "She dost not care what happeneth to me."
"Helena." Hermione breathed and gently hugged the young witch.
"I beggest thou, canst I call thou mother?" Helena begged, trying not to cry. She already felt that Hermione was her mother and not Rowena.
The animagus but her lip. "Why don't you call me… màthair? It means mother in Gaelic."
A contagious smile spread across Helena's face that Hermione couldn't help but respond in kind. Suddenly the young witch threw her arms about Hermione's neck. "I loveth thou, Màthair."
"And I love you, mo beag Raven." Hermione chuckled.
Helena grinned. "I knoweth."
Hermione was slightly concerned of Rowena's reaction to her own daughter calling someone else mother. But Helena had asked; so, Hermione reasoned, the girl already considered her to be her mother.